Typical Installation
For processing captured images - ImAdjSoft should be installed onto the same computer as the camera control software.
For processing any images - ImAdjSoft can be installed on any computer that has access to the images.
Typical Usage
You would generally start by ensuring that a reference image exists in the input image folder. It is important that this folder be defined at the start of creating a new layout as it will be where the ImAdjSoft configuration and layout files will be saved and is also where the layout will expect to find it's source images. The reference image needs only to be the same image type (e.g. Fits, Jpg) and dimensions, as the rest of the images you will be processing.
Load the reference image by clicking the "Load Image" button on the Layout tab
Setup File handling options, for input of unprocesed source images, output of processed images and any extra file handling options, like backup or deletion of source images after processing.
Process the image to the reference image, aiming to to get the image into the final size and shape required. i.e. Apply all transforms and add borders. Remember to check the On checkbox for each processing step that you want to apply. Only applied processes are shown on screen.
Add text to the image like Datestamp, or an unlimited number of static text lines.
Save the layout to the appropriate directory using the File/Save As menu option, or if editing a previously saved Layout or want to keep the currently displayed layout directory, select File/Save or simply press the Save button on the layotu tab.
Execute the layout automatically via command line, script, scheduling or immediately by clicking the Run button on the ImAdjSoft Process panel.
Note: Running from within ImAdjSoft will run the currently loaded layout, including any image processing, source file deletion and FTP upload options.
Scheduling - There are many ways to schedule ImAdjSoft to run, here are two examples.
ImAdjSoftCCD - is an included plugin for CCDSoft that allows CCDSoft to be scheduled to take images within set times during a day. The plugin also ties in ImAdjSoft so that it is called with each image saved by CCDSoft, for seamless integration with the camera control software. The plugin can also calculate it's own start and end times for each successive day with a built-in sunrise/sunset calculator and optional offsets for fine-tuning the best running times.
WinCron , is a scheduling application that can be setup to run ImAdjSoft on a layout directory at specific time intervals. This is less efficient than using a script or plugin (as ImAdjSoftCCD above) directly controlled via the camera control software, as there is no direct synchronisation between image capture and ImAdjSoft processing.