Atalasoft Knowledgebase : ImgX

Combine images into a multipage TIFF using AppendTIFF in ImgX

Kevin Hulse — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:32:00 GMT

Abstract:

ImgX can be used to combine multiple images into a single multipage TIFF file. An easy way to do this and keep memory usage low is to use the AppendTIFF method. Here is an example:

Private Sub CombineImagesToTiff(ByVal outputFile As String, ByRef inputFiles() As String)
    Dim i As Long
    Dim lb As Long
    Dim ub As Long
    Dim exists As Boolean
    
    Dim ix As ImgX
    Set ix = New ImgX
    
    exists = Dir(outputFile) <> ""
    lb = LBound(inputFiles)
    ub = UBound(inputFiles) - 1
    
    For i = lb To ub
        ix.Import.FromFile inputFiles(i), 0
        If Not exists Then
            ix.Export.ToFile outputFile, ixfsTIF
            exists = True
        Else
            ix.Export.AppendTIFF outputFile
        End If
    Next
    
    Set ix = Nothing
End Sub

ImgX Documentation

Kevin Hulse — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:30:00 GMT

Abstract:

www.atalasoft.com/products/imgxcontrols/docs/

www.atalasoft.com/products/imgxasp/docs/

"Operation Not Allowed" Error on Windows 2003 with ImgX

Kevin Hulse — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:39:00 GMT

Abstract:

When using ImgXASP's Upload class from a Windows Server 2003, you may get the following error:

Request object error 'ASP 0104 : 80004005'
Operation not Allowed

This is caused when the data being uploaded is greater than what is specified for AspMaxRequestEntityAllowed.

Solution:

Open your metabase.xml, which is located in 'c:\Windows\System32\Inetsrv', find the line "AspMaxRequestEntityAllowed" and change it to a value to suite your needs.
Note: Editing the metabase.xml file requires shutting down of IIS before you can edit the file.

For more information on the AspMaxRequestEntityAllowed or the metabase.xml file, see the Microsoft documentation or click the link below.

Combine multiple images into a single image in ImgX

Kevin Hulse — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:35:00 GMT

Abstract:

The following code provides the process for taking several small images and drawing them onto a blank canvas.

Dim ixCanvas As ImgX, ixTmp As ImgX
Set ixCanvas = New ImgX
Set ixTmp = New ImgX

' Create the canvas where all of the images will be drawn.
ixCanvas.Import.FromNew 800, 1100, ixCanvas.Support.Color(vbWhite)

' Load each image, one by one, and render it onto the canvas.
ixTmp.Import.FromFile fil1
ixCanvas.Draw.Image ixTmp.Image, posX, posY

' continue until all images have been drawn, then save.
ixCanvas.Export.ToFile myNewFile, ixfsPNG

Set ixTmp = Nothing
Set ixCanvas = Nothing

Access the byte array elements returned by ToMemoryFile in ImgX

Kevin Hulse — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:58:00 GMT

Abstract:

There is a known issue in ImgX and ImgXASP when accessing the byte array elements returned from ToMemoryFile or ToMemoryFileVariant when used in ASP (or VBScript in general). The following workaround was found by Glenn Turner:

Dim ImgX
Set ImgX = Server.CreateObject("ImgXASP6.ImgX")

'Upload an image from the client computer
ImgX.Import.FromFile Server.MapPath("IPTC.tif")

Dim ByteArray
ByteArray = ImgX.Export.ToMemoryFile(6) 'bitmap

Set objStream = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Stream")
objStream.Open
objStream.Type = 1 ' Binary
objStream.Write ByteArray

objstream.position = 0

' Cannot direct compare stream data type. but strcomp will!
if StrComp(objstream.Read(1), Hex(0) ) = 1 then ' Is the byte greater than zero
response.Write "Yes its greater<br>"
end if

objStream.Close
Set objStream = Nothing
Set ImgX = Nothing

How do I remove the "Unregistered ImgX" watermark from images?

Kevin Hulse — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:57:00 GMT

Abstract: When purchasing ImgX Controls or ImgXASP you will receive an email with a registration name and registration code. By following the steps below, images generated and displayed with ImgX will no longer be watermarked with Unregistered ImgX.

Registration Using the ImgX OCX Control
If the ImgX OCX is used anywhere in your application, click on the ImgX control in your form, and in the properties list select about. That will load a form where you can enter your registration details. You only need to enter the registration details once per development computer. The registration codes are encrypted into the property bag of the control and will be compiled into the application.

Registration Without Using the ImgX OCX Control
If you are using the ImgX DLL only, you must supply the registration details in the ImgX.Register method once during runtime of the project. If your application is to be widely distributed, we ask that you encrypt the codes using the RegCode Encrypter utility that is in your start menu under ImgX Controls.

What operating systems does ImgX support?

Kevin Hulse — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:52:00 GMT

Abstract:

ImgX Controls and ImgXASP is compatible with x86 versions of Win95/98/ME/NT4/Win2000/XP/2003.

However we have dropped support for Win95.

ImgX online demo stopped by IE

Elaine Gorham — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:07:00 GMT

Abstract:

Some customers have come across a problem with getting our online ImgX demo working. We found that the problem is in IE and have a workaround to get it going.

Note: This is only a problem if the system already has ImgX*.dll files installed and registered in the System32 folder before viewing the web site.

Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the "Windows\Downloaded Program Files" folder. If you see any ImgX components in the list, right-click on them and select Remove.
Navigate to the "Windows\System32" folder and look for ImgX*.dll files. Use regsvr32.exe -u to unregister these files on the system.
Rename or delete the ImgX61.dll from the System32 folder. IE will install this DLL from the CAB file.
Open IE and navigate to your Web Application. Now IE should display dialogs to install the ActiveX components.
Use regsvr32.exe to register all of the ImgX*.dll files that were unregistered in step 2.

After these steps both online demo and local applications will work correctly.

Reverse a 1-bit palette in ImgX

Lou Franco — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:54:00 GMT

Abstract:

When saving 1-bit TIFF images, some viewers will display the image inverted. This is caused because a 1-bit TIFF doesn't have a palette, but instead uses a TIFF tag to indicate whether bit 0 = white or black.

This problem can be resolved by correcting the palette so bit 0 = white. Here is an example of how to correct the palette:

' Make sure a 1-bit palette is correct.
If ix.Image.ImageType = ixitPalette_1 Then
Dim clr0 As ImgX_Color, clr1 As ImgX_Color
Set clr0 = ix.Image.Palette.GetEntry(0)
Set clr1 = ix.Image.Palette.GetEntry(1)

' clr0 should be white and clr1 should be black.
If (clr0.Blue + clr0.Green + clr0.Red) < (clr1.Blue + clr1.Green + clr1.Red) Then
' The palette needs to be swapped and image data inverted.
ix.Image.Palette.SetEntry 0, clr1
ix.Image.Palette.SetEntry 1, clr0
ix.Filters.Negative
End If
End If

Copy a selection from one ImgXCtrl into another

Glenn Chittenden — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 11:19:00 GMT

Abstract:

This can be easily done in the Selected event. The following code assumes you have two ImgXCtrl objects on your form named ImgXCtrl1 and ImgXCtrl2.

Private Sub ImgXCtrl1_Selected(ByVal Left As Long, ByVal Top As Long, ByVal Width As Long, ByVal Height As Long)
' Stop display changes.
ImgXCtrl2.AutoUpdate = False

' Copy the image.
ImgXCtrl2.Images.Clear
ImgXCtrl2.Images.Add ImgXCtrl1.Image

' Crop it.
ImgXCtrl2.Effects.Crop Left, Top, Width, Height

' Refresh the display.
ImgXCtrl2.AutoUpdate = True
ImgXCtrl2.Update
End Sub

Now just set the ImgXCtrl1.MouseTool = ixmtSelect and select an area of the loaded image.

Retreive the pixel location from a mouse click using ImgX.

Bill Bither — Tue, 31 May 2005 08:27:00 GMT

Abstract:

Below is code that will get the image pixel location where the mouse was clicked and render text at that location.

Private Sub ImgXCtrl1_MouseDown(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, x As Single, y As Single)
ImgXCtrl1.Draw.Text (x / ImgXCtrl1.Zoom) + ImgXCtrl1.ScrollLeft, (y / ImgXCtrl1.Zoom) + ImgXCtrl1.ScrollTop, "Testing"
End Sub

Why is the print job memory usage so large when using ImgXPrint?

Bill Bither — Tue, 24 May 2005 20:06:00 GMT

Abstract:

ImgXPrint sends the raw image data to the printer. So the print job size is (width * height * bytesPerPixel) bytes.

If you're printing 1-bit images, you can reduce the overall size by setting the Antialias property to False. Antialias will actually convert the 1-bit image into an 8-bit grayscale, which will require more memory.

ImgX.Export.ToMemoryFile error ''800a0005'' in ImgXASP

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:50:00 GMT

Abstract: The most likely scenario is that you are using an enumeration like ixmfJPG when the ImgXASP dll is not registered in your global.asa file.

To fix this error, replace the enumeration with the actual value (can be obtained from the ImgXASP documentation) or add the following metadata to the global.asa file in your web project.


Where C:\winnt\system32\ is the folder containing the registered ImgXASP61.dll

Alternativaly, you may use the Class ID:


Import ImgXCtrl for use in Delphi

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:49:00 GMT

Abstract:

In Delphi select Tools | Environment Options, then select the Type Library tab. Check the Ignore Special CoClass Flags when importing box, and then check Can Create. Now import the ImgX ActiveX control.

Please note that Delphi is not officially supported by Atalasoft, but feel free to post questions to our community forums where there are other Delphi ImgX users.

Distributing ImgX Controls

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:43:00 GMT

Abstract: Which files you need to distribute with your application depends on which features of ImgX Controls that you use.

Required files:
ImgX is written in Visual Basic 6. This means that the computer running your program must have the Visual Basic 6 runtime files installed. These consist of the following:

MSVBVM60.dll - The Visual Basic 6 runtime library.

Support files for the Visual Basic 6 runtime.
OLEAUT32.dll
OLEPRO32.dll
ASYCFILT.dll
COMCAT.dll
STDOLE2.tlb
While most computers already have the above files, it's a good idea to distribute them with your application. You can download a redistributable file containing these files from Microsoft at http://download.microsoft.com/download/vb60pro/Redist/sp5/WIN98Me/EN-US/vbrun60sp5.exe.

Any program using ImgX 6.3.x or lower must install the following files:

ImgX61.dll
_ISource22.dll
_ISEffects10.dll

Any program using ImgX 6.4 and above must install the following files:

ImgX61.dll
AtalaImaging.dll

Optional files:
You only need to distribute the following files if you use them in your application.

ImgX61.ocx - The ImgXCtrl component.
ImgXDialog61.dll - ImgX open and save dialog library.
ImgXPrint61.dll - ImgX print library.
ImgXTwain61.dll - ImgX twain library.
ImgXCapture61.dll - ImgX screen capture library.

Where to install them:
You should set up your installer to put these file in the System or System32 folder, depending on which op

Improving the speed loading multipage TIFF files in ImgX

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:37:00 GMT

Abstract: Many TIFF files have multiple pages (images) stored in them. If you load one of these images like this:

ImgX.Import.FromFile "C:\multi.tif"

ImgX will attempt to load all of the images stored in the TIFF. This can cause it to take a very long time to load, and you may run out of memory.

The solution is to only load one page at a time using the following format:

ImgX.Import.FromFile "C:\multi.tif", pageNumber

This will load the pageNumber image in the TIFF file. You can find out how many pages are in a TIFF image by calling GetImageInfo as shown below:

Dim pageNumber As Long
ImgX.Support.GetImageInfo "C:\multi.tif", , , , pageNumber

By loading only one image at a time, you will increase performance and reduce memory usage.

"Server.Object Access Error" when instantiating an ImgX object in an ASP page

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:37:00 GMT

Abstract: This is usually a permissions issue. To resolve the problem, assign Windows NT File System (NTFS) Read and Execute file permissions to the Everyone group (or to the IUSR_computername user) for the VB run time (Msvbvm60.dll). The VB run time is usually located in the Winnt\System32 folder. This is a confirmed Microsoft bug.

"Object doesn''t support this property or method" error when using ImgX Controls in IE

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:35:00 GMT

Abstract: Normally, the default security settings in IE work when using ImgX from a CAB download. However, sometimes it's not adequate. When the current or newer version of ImgXDialog, ImgXPrint, or ImgXTwain is previously installed on the client system, you will need to set "Initialize and script Activex controls not Marked as safe" to either Prompt or Enable.

Obtain a new registration code

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:26:00 GMT

Abstract: If you lost your registration code for ImgX, send an email to sales@atalasoft.com including the transaction number of your order and the email address you purchased with. We will then send you your code within a few days.

Save a multipage TIFF as individual pages using ImgX

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:24:00 GMT

Abstract: You can save a multipage TIFF to a number of single page TIFF's with the following code. There are two different approaches you can take.

1) Load all images of the tiff into ImgX then set the current image and save it to a file:

ImgX.Import.FromFile "multiimage.tif"
For i = 0 To ImgX.Images.Count - 1
ImgX.Image = ImgX.Images(i)
ImgX.Export.ToFile "singleimage" & i + 1 & ".tif", ixfsTIF, , false
Next

2) Load each image individually and save it to a file:

Dim pages As Long
ImgX.Support.GetImageInfo "multiimage.tif", , , pages
For i = 1 To pages
ImgX.Import.FromFile "multiimage.tif", i
ImgX.Export.ToFile "singleimage" & i & ".tif", ixfsTIF, , false
Next

Highlight a section of an image using ImgX

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:24:00 GMT

Abstract: You can use the ImgXCtrl, MouseTools and Draw.ForeColor.Alpha to do this. Add the following code to your project where you want to activate the highlighter. This will let you draw semi-transparent over the image.

ImgXCtrl1.Draw.ForeColor.Color = vbYellow
ImgXCtrl1.Draw.ForeColor.Alpha = 128
ImgXCtrl1.Draw.Thickness = 10

ImgXCtrl1.MouseTool = ixmtFreehand

Using the ImgX COM DLL''s in Visual Fox Pro

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:23:00 GMT

Abstract:

All ImgX components can be used in FoxPro. To create an object that is a registered COM dll such as ImgXTwain, ImgXPrint, ImgXDialog, or ImgXCapture you need to use CreateObject. This Microsoft VFP article exlplains it in detail.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/fox7help/html/lngcreateobjectexlp_rp.asp

Obtain an LPK file to use ImgX as a client-side ActiveX control in Internet Explorer

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:18:00 GMT

Abstract: To properly register the ImgX Control when using client side downloadable ActiveX in Internet Explorer, you must request the LPK and reg file from sales@atalasoft.com.

See the topic Using ImgX in Internet Explorer in the documentation for more information.

"File Open Error" when attempting to save an image using ImgXASP?

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:16:00 GMT

Abstract: When saving an image in ImgXASP to a file, you must grant the IUSR_computername user write privaledges to the folder being saved to.

embossed text with ImgX or ImgXASP

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:14:00 GMT

Abstract:

Our batch image processing product, EyeBatch, has a neat text effect that will emboss the text onto an image. The following code demonstrates how to do this with ImgX Controls. Slight modifications need to be made when using ImgXASP and that code is also shown below.

Dim ImgX As ImgX
Dim ImgXEmboss As ImgX
Dim text As String
Dim OffsetX As Long
Dim OffsetY As Long
Dim EmOffset As Long
Dim EmAngle As Double
Dim EmSmoothness As Long
Dim ForeColor As Long
Dim BackColor As Long
Dim antialias As Double
Dim Opacity As Long
Dim HeightInPixels As Long
Dim<

Scan only a specific area of the scanning bed using ImgX

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:13:00 GMT

Abstract:

Currently ImgXTwain does not support programmatically scanning only a selection of the scanner bed. You will have to crop the image after acquiring it.

Of course, if you display the scanner interface and the end-user selects a specific area to scan, only that area will be scanned.

Our .NET scanning component, DotTwain, does support this.

GIF and LZW TIFF in ImgX and ImgXASP

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:13:00 GMT

Abstract:

The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) uses LZW compression. This compression was patented by the Unisys Corporation which expired in July 2004 in all countries. Therefore, the most recent version of each of our components supports reading and writing LZW in both TIFF and GIF images.

GIF/LZW License and Patent

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:13:00 GMT

Abstract: The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) uses LZW compression. This compression was patented by the Unisys Corporation which expired in July 2004 in all countries. Therefore, the most recent version of each of our components supports reading and writing LZW in both TIFF and GIF images.

Find out which TIFF compression method is used in a file using ImgX

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:12:00 GMT

Abstract:

Here is a basic example of how to find the compression used in a TIFF file, then read the file and save it using the same compression.

Dim dlg As ImgXDialog
Set dlg = New ImgXDialog

dlg.Filter = "TIFF|*.tif;*.tiff"
If dlg.ShowOpen Then

Dim ix As ImgX
Dim tiffComp As Long

Set ix = New ImgX

' Get the compression type.
' Read the help file for more information about GetTIFFTag.
tiffComp = CLng(ix.Support.GetTIFFTag(dlg.FileName, 259, 0))

' Make sure it's a compatible compression for the save.
Select Case tiffComp
Case 2:
ix.TIFCompression = ixtcModifiedHuffman
Case 3:
ix.TIFCompression = ixtcGroup3FAXEncoding
Case 4:
ix.TIFCompression = ixtcGroup4FAXEncoding
Case 5:
ix.TIFCompression = ixt

Why does drawing text directly onto a printer DC causes a white block under the text using ImgX?

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:02:00 GMT

Abstract: If you draw text directly onto the printer DC, the text will have a solid white background. This is a limitation of the printer DC and will only be a problem if you want to draw the text on top of an image or other object.

You can solve this problem by resizing the image to match the printed size, then draw the text onto the image before drawing the image onto the printer DC.

Here is some example code:


ImgXPrint.StartDoc "Image with Text"
ImgXPrint.StartPage
    
ix.Effects.Resize ix.Image.Width * ImgXPrint.PixelsPerInchX / ix.Image.DotsPerInchX, _
        ix.Image.Height * ImgXPrint.PixelsPerInchY / ix.Image.DotsPerInchY

ix.Draw.Font.HeightInPixels = 48 * ImgXPrint.PixelsPerInchX / ix.Image.DotsPerInchX

ix.Draw.ForeColor.Color = 255
Set ix.Draw.Font.BackColor = Nothing
ix.Draw.Text 40, 40, "Just Testing"
    
ix.Render.Image ImgXPrint.hDC
    
ImgXPrint.EndPage
ImgXPrint.EndDoc

Be sure the adjust the X, Y parameters sent to Draw.Text so it will be positioned correctly on the printed image. You can use the same formula as used above to get the Font.HeightInPixels value.

Create a Thumbnail List Viewer in ImgX

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:00:00 GMT

Abstract:

A common question for ImgX users is how to create a thumbnail list which shows a list of images in a nice thumbnail view. This example demonstrates one way of accomplishing that task. It takes advantage of the Scaled load of JPEG images and is fairly quick.

This particular example is fairly easy to implement, but will become slow with a directory of many images which is why the example limits the images shown to 100. Some improvements could be made including:

1) Using an ImgX object (not tied to the control) to resample the image and set that resulting image to the ImgXCtrl. This method doens't require nearly as much memory and it more efficient.

2) Cache the images in a file similarly to the Windows Thumbnail Viewer. Also, only load as many ImgXCtrl objects as are shown on the screen.

Use ImgX Controls in Internet Explorer with Javascript instead of VBScript

Bill Bither — Mon, 23 May 2005 09:00:00 GMT

Abstract: Can I use ImgX Controls in Internet Explorer with JavaScript instead of VBScript?

Of course you can. You can call ImgX methods directly from DOM events or from within JavaScript functions.

For instance, to react to a button click:

<input type="button" name="Rotate" value="Rotate" onclick="ImgX.Effects.Rotate(90)">

This will rotate an image loaded in an ImgX object or ImgXCtrl when the button is clicked. You can also react to events raised from ImgX components:

<script type="text/javascript" for="Twain" event="ImageAcquired">
    alert("ImgXTwain has acquired an image.");
</script>

The "for" element should be set to the ID or NAME of the object and the "event" should be the name of the event you want your script to react to.