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Introduction

PortaNum is a vision aid software specially conceived to help in the reading of remote documents (blackboard, video-projection screen...). Your computer is connected to a good quality camera or a camescope which films what you do not manage to read, and the software enlarges and applies treatments to the image to adapt it to your vision (inversion, false colours, contrast, luminosity, sharpness enhancement ...). It allows you to record the image. You can also take notes while looking at the displayed images.

At the office, or at home, you can also capture a paper document and PortaNum then acts as a classic video-enlarger. For this application, a simple webcam is good enough. PortaNum can help you to look at prerecorded images, including scanned documents, and also pdf documents.

Finally, in chool environment, collective installations are possible. Depending of the case, a network camera captures the classical blackboard, or an interface transmits the digital data of an Interactive Whiteboard. Images are broadcasted on the users computers, and displayed in conditions fitting with each user viewing constraints by PortaNum software.

Watch the PortaNum internet site http://www.portanum.com to keep informed on this project, and get the last version of the software, or contact us at portanum@thalesgroup.com

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Quick start-up

To launch PortaNum, double-click on the PortaNum icon on the desk, or launch it with the "start" menu (Start / Programs / PortaNum).

If a camera is connected to your computer, the program begins at once to show the images.

Choose if you want to observe them in a window, in 2/3 or in full screen (key F5)

It is also possible to launch PortaNum by making a "drag and drop" of an image on the icon of the program.

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Installation

Material

PortaNum can use any kind of video camera connectable to a PC:

• Webcam (USB plug). High definition webcams are in principle compatible with PortaNum.
• DV camcorder (FireWire or IEE1394 plug). NB It is important to check, before buying the equipment, that it is able to transmit a high resolution video in real time. Many new camcorders do not offer this possibility anymore, and provide a high quality video only in replay mode, but a low resolution video in real time.
• Analog camera : video-surveillance camera for instance (through a video acquisition board, or a video/USB adapter)
• any device with a video driver DirectX/DirectShow compatible

However, the results are not equivalent: a webcam is usable in close vision. For the distant vision, a camcorder is suited, because the optical zoom allows to enlarge the useful part of the image, without quality loss.

It is also possible to use PortaNum without camera, to look at prerecorded images, or at digitized documents.

Finally, in collective installations, PortaNum can receive images broadcasted by the wired or wireless computer network.

Software compatibility

PortaNum is compatible with Windows ME/2000/XP/Vista/Seven

It uses DirectX 9 or +

Installation

The installation of the software on a computer simply consists in executing the program InstallPNxxx.exe, which you will beforehand have downloaded on http://www.portanum.com

It is recommended to choose the default installation directory.

Complementary installations

From the version 4.5, the software allows to open pdf documents, as well as many image formats. However, this necessitates to install compementary software available for free on the internet. This installation is explained in the paragraph "Open PDF files". PortaNum works perfectly without this complementary installation.

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Use

Camera

If a camera is connected, its name will appear in the "Camera" menu. It can be started up or stopped. If, for any reason, the camera does not deliver any image, click on its name to restart the capture.

You may have several connected cameras. In that case, select the one that you wish in the list.

If your camera does not appear, click, in the "Adjustments" menu, "Detect camera ", and return to the menu "Camera". This can occur if you started PortaNum without having connected beforehand, or switched on your camera.

Navigation in the image

To observe the details of an image, you have zoom and navigation controls. Press the key "Z", to select the Zoom, and use arrows. A graphic box, representing the complete image and the visible part, appears in the bottom right part of your window. This allows you to be situated in the image, and to move the visible part by moving the small rectangle by means of the mouse.

Another method to move in the enlarged image is to press the key "N", to select the Navigation, then the arrows of the keyboard.

Finally, you can also move the image in the window with the pointer and the left button of the mouse.

Modes of visualization

You can select your mode of visualization in the menu "Mode". The following modes are available, and can be selected simultaneously:

• colour / black and white
• positive / negative (inversion of the whites and the blacks)
• natural / false colours (colorization of the clear and dark areas with two user-defined colors)

Finally, a mode named "Image Stability" allows to obtain a more stable image. This can turn out useful in the following cases:

• neon light, producing a flicker of the image
• low light condition, producing noise in the image
• observation of certain videos-projectors, producing coloured strips on the image

This filter produces nevertheless a remanence effect, which can be annoying on scenes with movement.

Processing

Processing allows to improve the image of the captured scene. Numerous possibilities exist. We retained five basic treatments, which adapt themselves to the most frequent cases.

Automatic

This treatment corresponds to the majority of cases: normal, varied kind of images, average illumination, average contrast. The obtained image is in colour and half-tones, with an optimal contrast.

Dark ambiance

The scene is normal, but the light is poor. The obtained image is in colour and half-tones, with an optimal contrast, even in the darkest zones.

Contrast of light

This treatment is to be used when the illumination of the images is inhomogène (clear zones, with parts of the image in the shadow). The obtained image is in colour and half-tones, with an improved contrast, in clear as in dark areas.

Printed text

This treatment is adapted to typed texts. The restored image is two levels in luminance, with possibly certain rendering of the saturated colours.

Handwritten text

This treatment is adapted to images of type hand-written or graphic text. The restored image is two levels in luminance, with possibly certain rendering of the saturated colours. The lines are widened for better legibility.

Raw image

This mode corresponds to the restoration of the image as delivered by the camera. It is adapted to the observation of pre-recorded images or photos.

Alternate treatments

Two possibilities exist to enrich the range of available treatments:

• use the alternate treatments proposed as a replacement of basic treatments. We reach it by F8.
• install "plugins", specialized functions, which will appear in the menu "Treatment" at the following of the basic functions.

The installed plugins of this version are the following:

contours

Extracts the contours in the image. It is possible to visualize only the contours, or the contours superimposed to the original image. It is possible to choose the contour color (F8 allows to select the options).

Pressing the key R ("reglage") and then the up and down arrows allows to increase or reduce the effect.

false colours

This plugin replaces the brightness levels by "false colours", like practised for medical or infra-red images. This can facilitate the perception of details. The choice of the colour palette can be done thanks to the F8 key.

Nagao filter

This plugin gives a painting effect. It is not aimed at facilitating the vision, but more at achieving artistic effects.

green board ("tableau vert")

This plugin is aimed at processing images taken from green/black boards whitten with chalk. This kind of images is particularly difficult to process, because of the low contrast level, of the thin written lines, and of the non-uniform background. It may be useful to adjust te separation level of the written lines (key R, then arrows ^ and v), and to choose between the available options the one most adapted to the situation (key F8).

Adjustments

The adjustments of light and contrast are accessible by pressing the keys L, or C, then by using the Up or Down arrows . To return quickly to the nominal value, press the Left arrow.

Some of the treatments have an adjustment to increase or reduce the effect of the treatment. To reach it press the touch R, and increase or decrease its value with arrows keys. The value by default of the adjustments ( =50 ) is adapted to most of the cases. It is not thus indispensable to make this adjustment. To return quickly to the mean value, press the Left arrow.

The menu "Adjustments" has a command "Reinit" (CTRL + Z) which allows in a click to return to the standard adjustment values, which suits in most of the cases.

The T key allows to rotate the image by 90° steps. It is useful for displaying photos and also for some video enlarger instllations

Preferences

The menu "Preferences" allows the user to modify the parameters proposed by default (choice of colours, fonts, directories). We find there notably:

• False Colours
• Images
• Display
• Navigation
• Text Processor
• Expert Options

Recording and reading of images

PortaNum allows to record, and to recall images captured by the camera. For fast image recording, simply press CTRL + s, the program takes care to automatically name and save your images. If you want to give yourself a name, go to "File" and "Save Image under ...".

Taking notes

Portanum allows to launch a word processor to take notes during your session. By default, the Windows notepad is launched. You can redefine the word processor to be launched, in "Preferences" and "Text processor".

In order to facilitate Copy and Paste operation into the note document, a copy of the display is automatically put in the clipboard when saving an image with Ctrl + S.

Help, information

The menu "Help" gives access to the help file and to a shortcut keys summary.

The second section of this menu gives, for the experts, supplementary information on your system.

Shortcut keys

Most of the commands can be also launched thanks to shortcut keys. This method is often preferred to the access by the mouse, because it is faster and more comfortable for people who masters well the keyboard. We advise you to acquaint with shortcuts.

The list of shortcut keys is given in this document:

shortcuts

In most of the cases, only a small nomber of commands are useful to remember.

We shall retain in particular:

• CTRL + s, to record automatically an image
• F7, to apply treatments one after the other
• F5, to change the window size : full screen, 2/3 of the screen, real image size
• CTRL + N, to open the word processor
• T to turn the image
• Z followed by arrows, N followed by arrows, for the zoom and the navigation

As well as the shortcuts used in most of the Windows programs:

• F1, to open the help
• ALT + TAB, to switch from an application to the other
• ALT + F4, to close PortaNum

Tactile commands

Tactile tablets under windows can now use PortaNum, thanks to the use of tactile commands. For instance:

• flick left/right with one finger : move to the previous, next image (image mode)
• Swipe left/right/up/down : navigate in the image
• move two fingers farther or closer : zoom in/out
• double-tap : save the image
• tap one finger, hold, then tap the other : access the tactile menu

more about tactile and mouse commands:

shortcuts

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History, evolutions

Novelties of the version 4.6.2

• by default, the images are saved as displayed (zoomed and processed).
• a copy of the image is put in the clipboard.

Novelties of the version 4.6

• adaptation to the tactile tablets under windows : tactile commands (see raccourcis.html)
• handling of the mouse wheel (zoom in/out)
• ability to turn the images (key T) for displaying photos, and for the use as a video enlarger
• better operation of high resolution webcams. The program does not choose anymore the highest available resolution of the camera, but the one which ensures at the same time a high resolution, and a fast capture. The minimum capture rate may be specified by preferences/ expert options/ capture/ frame frequency.
• possibility to use PortaNum with a video projector, or an Interactive Whiteboard, with an interface such as VGA2USB or equivalent.
• better handling of the pdf display : faster rendering, page number display, bugs corrected.
• opening in PortaNum by drag-and-drop of pdf's and all the image formats compatible with ImageMagick (if ImageMagick is installed). More than 100 different formats are available.
• better control of the visualization window (key F5)

Novelties of the version 4.5

The version 4.5 presents new functionalities :

• Parameters and choices of the session are saved when leaving the program.
• fast switch (F5) to full screen mode, 2/3 of the screen(comfortable to take notes while using PortaNum), real image size
• automatic resizing when reading pre-recorded images
• new functions, through the use of "plugins". To chose amongst the different offered options, open the property page with F8.
• the possibility to access new image formats in readout (more than 100 formats are recognized)
• the possibility to access the pdf files, or to record images as pdf. These last functionalities necessitate however to install two free software (see the paragraph "Open PDF files"

Novelties of the version 4.0

If you used the previous version (PortaNum 3.2), you will note some novelties:

• the user interface was simplified, to retain the treatments most frequently used.
• the navigation in the image is simplified, by the representation of the image, and the enlarged part.
• the important information is shown in a legible way.
• images are recorded, by default, in the sub-directory "PortaNum" created in the directory "My Documents".
• the possibility of introducing new treatments is foreseen in the software. These functions, in the form of " plugins ", can complete the palette of basic treatments. As example, two pluginsare already included in this version.
• the notepad included in the previous version was replaced by a direct access to your usual word processor. By default, Windows notepad is used.
• the application window is resizable: this allows, in particular, to see the image of PortaNum on the top of the screen, and to take notes with your word processor on the bottom of the screen.
• it is possible to open an image in PortaNum, by "drag and drop" of the image on the icone of the program, or by clicking the right button of the mouse and by choosing "Open with PortaNum"
• at last, the user manual was rewritten.

Network version

There is besides a Network version, which allows to receive on several user PC's images taken by a unique camera, and diffused by WiFi or wired network. This solution is particularly adapted to the use at School. It is available on the PortaNum website.

For the network installations, or for interfacing with an Interactive Whteboard, don't hesitate to contact us.

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Frequent questions

Choose the treatment

In most of the cases, the first treatment ("Automatic") is the best suited. To find quickly the most adapted treatment, press on F7 several times, until obtaining a good result.

Record automatically the images

By pressing CTRL + S the images are recorded in the directory by default, with a name constituted by a fixed part, and by a unique number, formed from date and hour of capture. To change the directory and the name by default, go to "Preferences" and "Images". At the same time, a copy of the image is put in the clipboard to allow pasting the display into a note document.

visualize the images of a directory

Choose File/Open Image, and select the first image of the directory. Then show the following images with the Space key. To come back to the previous images, use the BackSpace key. Use also these keys to go to the next or previous pages of a pdf file.

Verify if my installation is correct

Go to the menu "Help" and press "Diagnosis". The program verifies if you have a camera connected and switched on, and if its adjustments are correct. The program always chooses the highest resolution available on the camera which you use.

Know the version of the software

Make "Help" and "About"

Install a new version

It is not necessary to uninstall the software before installing a new version.

Is PortaNum compatible with Linux?

PortaNum was designed under Windows. The "video capture" (camera connection) is specific to windows. However, the visualization of pre-recorded images can work on Linux computers, if the Wine software has been installed (tests realized with Wine and Linux Ubuntu 32 bits).

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Open PDF files

installation

The following necessitates a good experience in installing software under windows.

The complementary installations are the following :

Installation of GhostScript : download GhostScript

Installation of ImageMagick and ImageMagickObject : use the "Windows installation package" at the following url: http://www.imagemagick.org/script/binary-releases.php. Go to "Windows Binary Release" Choose the version "Win32 dynamic at 8 bits-per-pixel".

During the installation, choose the option Register ImageMagickObject.

You can also register the component with the following command, i a dos window, from the installation directory of ImageMagick : regsvr32 ImageMagickObject.dll

If these programs are not installed properly, the options corresponding to the access to pdf files will remain grey and devalidated in the PortaNum menus.

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open a PDF file :

File / Open(PDF ...)

• next page: key SPACE
• previous page : key <- (BACKSPACE)

NB: All the files compatible with ImageMagick can be opened (more than 100 image formats), for instance tiff multipage.

save images under PDF

Preferences / Images / PDF format

Expert Options

The software parameters were pre-defined to cover the majority of the cases of use. However, if you wish to modify them, here are some indications on their usage.

The parameters are classified in several categories, grouped together on pages with tabs. After a modification, it is possible:

• To apply the modification for the current session ("OK")
• To apply the modification and to save this new adjustment ("Save")
• To cancel the modification ("Cancel")

It is also possible to return to the "factory settings" ("Initial values")

General parameters

Interpolation (visualization)

The treated image is interpolated to be displayed with the best quality on the screen. Several interpolation modes are available, going from the simplest, which is also the fastest ("neighbour"), to the most developed, but which slows down the display ("cubic"). The value by default ("linear"), represents a good compromise between quality and speed.

Capture

These options represent the default values of the programming of the camera:

• Frame frequency (this parameter cannot be changed on certain cameras)
• Max resolution: if we confirm this option, the camera is automatically replaced on its maximum resolution.
• Eco mode: this mode allows to reduce the cadence of capture when the computer is battery-supplied. The consumption of the processor is then reduced, what increases the autonomy of the equipment.

Control

Several options of additional displays can be selected here:

• Statistics display: the statistics of the treated image are shown in a special window (histogram, averages, etc.).
• Status bar visible: supplementary indications on the state of the program and the times of treatment and display appear in this "status bar".
• Audio feedback: provides audible feedback of the actions made by the user.

Launch

These parameters are applied by default at the program launch:

• Camera: this allows to select the camera to be used by default at start up, in case several devices are connected on the computer. By default, the first camera (camera 0) is selected.
• Processing: this allows to select the treatment to be used by default at start up. By default, the treatment 0 ("Raw Image") is used.
• Temporal filter: this option allows to apply at start up the temporal filtering ("Image Stability").

Processing Options

For each of the basic treatments, processing variants can be chosen:

• Automatic: by default, the treatment is a luminance histogram stretching ("histogram stretching"). It is possible to make an histogram stretching on each of the components ("RGB stretching"), or to replace the histogram stretching by an histogram equalization, in both modes ("histogram equalization", "RGB equalization").
• Dark ambiance. Besides a lightning of the dark zones of the image, the contrast enhancement is made as previously. Each of four options of the previous case can be also chosen here.
• Brightness contrast. The treatment is a homomorphic filter. The basic option makes a rather "soft" treatment. In more difficult cases, you can try the proposed variant.
• Printed text: in this version of the software, there is no alternate treatment.
• Handwritten text: in this version of the software, there is no alternate treatment.

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License

To consult the license, click the link below.

license

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Conclusion

Thales Mission Insertion hopes that this software will give you full satisfaction. If however you feel a difficulty of use, if you do not find the wished information, or finally, if you have suggestions for the improvement of the features of this product, please contact us:

mailto:portanum@thalesgroup.com

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copyright THALES - 18-Apr-2016