Preferences are used for setting various options in the DCam program. To set preferences, in the blue section of the DCam home screen, click Preferences.
Sections:
Preference Summaries
Operator
Device Setup
Capture Feedback
Quality Check
Image Processing
Subnumbering
Import
Advanced Features
Folder Cleanup
DCam Mode
Preference Summaries
The following is a brief description of each preference. Scroll down the page for more detail.
Operator: Use this option to add information that identifies you as the operator of the camera. It generates the Digital Camera Operator's Reports (DOR) that keep track of which operator is capturing images into each folder.
Device Setup: This option allows you to choose both the camera and the camera orientation.
Capture Feedback: To change the visual and audio cues that indicate that an image has been captured, click Capture Feedback.
Quality Check: Use this option to select the quality values to be monitored during image capture.
Image Processing: To have DCam automatically detect the edges of the document and uniformly crop the image using those guidelines, on the image processing dialog, select Autocrop. To specify whether captured images are compressed or not, check Image Compression. To select the speed at which images are captured, check Asynchronous Image Capture.
Subnumbering: Use this option to select the type of subnumbering you want to use: numeric, (“.1”) or alpha (“.a”).
Import: To set the number of errors allowed when importing images, use this option.
Advanced Features: Choose when to enable actions on the Manage Projects, Listings, and Folders screen.
Folder Cleanup: To remove old folders from the database so that they will not slow computer performance, use Folder Cleanup.
Operator: Use this option to add information that identifies you as the operator of the camera. It generates the Digital Camera Operator's Reports (DOR) that keep track of which operator is capturing images into each folder.
Device Setup: This option allows you to choose both the camera and the camera orientation.
Capture Feedback: To change the visual and audio cues that indicate that an image has been captured, click Capture Feedback.
Quality Check: Use this option to select the quality values to be monitored during image capture.
Image Processing: To have DCam automatically detect the edges of the document and uniformly crop the image using those guidelines, on the image processing dialog, select Autocrop. To specify whether captured images are compressed or not, check Image Compression. To select the speed at which images are captured, check Asynchronous Image Capture.
Subnumbering: Use this option to select the type of subnumbering you want to use: numeric, (“.1”) or alpha (“.a”).
Import: To set the number of errors allowed when importing images, use this option.
Advanced Features: Choose when to enable actions on the Manage Projects, Listings, and Folders screen.
Folder Cleanup: To remove old folders from the database so that they will not slow computer performance, use Folder Cleanup.
DCam Mode: When your supervisor directs you to, use this option to change your workstation computer from standard mode to online mode.
Operator
To add information that identifies you as the operator of the camera, use this option. It generates the Digital Camera Operator's Reports (DOR) that keep track of which operator is capturing images into each folder. The operator whose profile is active in preferences is the “Current Operator”.
Online Mode
The first time you start DCam, you will be prompted to add yourself as an operator.
- Enter your FamilySearch username and password. Click Sign in.
- Click Set the Current Operator.
- Enter your FamilySearch username and password and click Sign in.
- Click Save.
After you have been added as an operator, DCam, on startup, prompts you to sign in using your FamilySearch username and password. Once signed in, you become the current operator and remain so until another operator signs in.
- Enter your FamilySearch username and password. Click Sign in.
Mobile Mode
Each time you start DCam in Mobile Mode, ensure that you are set as the current operator before transferring data. If operators have been added in Online Mode, the last operator continues as current operator when you sign into Mobile Mode. If operators have not been added, DCam prompts you to set the current camera operator.
- Enter your FamilySearch username in the FamilySearch Username field.
- Click Save.
Device Setup
To choose both the camera and the camera orientation, use Device Setup.
Selected Device: To indicate which camera is being used, select it from the drop-down list. To view simulated devices that can be used to practice image capturing, click Show simulated devices. Simulated devices include the “Sim” prefix.
SISO Status: The SISO (Silicon Software) status is required when using Illunis and Redlake cameras. To bring up the SISO Status dialog, click SISO Status. Do not make any changes to the SISO status unless directed to do so by your supervisor.
Camera Orientation: To adjust how the camera is physically aligned for capturing images, use this feature. Select from 0º, 90º, 180º, or 270º.
Because of the position of the camera, for the document to be captured correctly with the top of the record at the top of the digital image, the camera orientation normally needs to be set to 180°. When creating templates for specific document sizes, additional changes to camera orientation may be needed. See Templates.
Device Settings:
- Single-step calibration: (for Nikon cameras only), simplifies the calibration process into a single setting that includes focus, color, and grayscale calibration processes all at once.
- Color Mode: The color mode options are Color or Grayscale. Each time the color mode is changed, the camera needs to be recalibrated before capturing images. The project specifications instruct you on which color mode to use. Select a color mode and choose either Still Frame or Live View Focus.
- Output Format: Tiff is the default format. Only select JPEG or RAW format if instructed by your supervisor.
- Camera Output Type: JPEG fine is the default output format for digital images. If your workstation is equipped with a Nikon camera, you have the option to capture records in RAW format, then save the images in Tiff or JPEG format. Keep in mind that selecting RAW will slow down capture times beyond the two-second DCam benchmark.
- ·Focus Preference: Select Live View to see the copyboard in real-time. This option is helpful if you need to reposition a document before capturing the image. If Still Frame is selected, the image area displays the last captured image.
Color Space: sRGB is the default mode. Only change to AdobeRGB “ColorSpace” if the project or archive requests the change.
Note: The Nikon NEF Codec must be installed on the DCam workstation before you can capture images in RAW format.
Capture Feedback
To change the visual and audio cues that indicate that an image has been captured, click the Capture Feedback tab.
Audio: To use an audible sound to let you know when an image has been captured, check Audio. Select a preset sound. To hear the sound, click the Audio Speaker icon.
Background: This feature simulates the flash of a regular camera to let you know when an image has been captured. You can select the color for the flash.
Quality Check
The quality check feature looks for problems during image capture. If an image is out of focus, clipped, or blurry, quality check will flag the images’ thumbnails. You can choose to display a pop-up window, play a sound, or both when a quality issue occurs. The clipping quality check allows you to set a threshold.
Clipping: This feature warns you if too many pixels are overexposed or underexposed. Among other issues, exposure problems can be caused by uneven lighting, paper that is reflective, or a plastic cover on the record. When clipping occurs, a message warns that the image quality may be compromised and suggests retaking the image.
Note: Unless instructed differently by your supervisor, leave the clipping at the default threshold (5%). This is the same value used when images are manually audited.
Out of Focus: Images are labeled out of focus in the quality check when there are more than 3 transitional pixels on all sides of a character. In contrast, an image is labeled as motion blur when there are 3 transitional pixels on 1 side of a character—whether left, right, top, bottom, or diagonal.
Note: Unless instructed to change them by your supervisor, leave out of focus settings at the default values.
Sound: You can set a warning sound for each type of quality check. You can also select which warning sound to play from a predefined list of sounds. Click each selection to preview each sound.
Image Processing
To make basic change on how image functions operate, click the Image Processing tab.
Autocrop: This feature automatically crops captured images. It detects the edges of a document and eliminates all of the unwanted area except for a thin black border. There are 2 settings that control autocrop’s behavior:
- The autocrop threshold value determines the sensitivity for identifying the edge of a document:
- Lower numbers make edge detection more sensitive.
- Higher numbers make edge detection less sensitive.
- The default value is 50.
- The autocrop margin value determines the number of pixel rows or pixel columns to include outside of the document’s edge. The default is 40.
Note: Do not change this preference unless directed to by your supervisor. (For more details about using autocrop, see the Using Templates lesson.)
Image Compression: Using image compression, you can choose whether captured images are compressed temporarily to a smaller number of bytes. When the box is checked, the images are compressed using the zip program. This does not hurt the quality but may increase the time required to reopen the images.
Note: Do not enable this setting unless instructed to by your supervisor.
Asynchronous Image Capture: When enabled, asynchronous image capture speeds up how quickly images can be captured. It allows the next image to be captured as soon as the previous image has been received from the camera as opposed to waiting for the processing of the image.
This means you can request the next image while DCam is doing any of the following: cropping, rotating, generating a thumbnail, or checking for clipping, blur, or out-of-focus conditions on the previous image. A spinning circle displays until the processed image and thumbnail are available for display.
When using asynchronous image capture, DCam can report 3 types of errors and 3 types of warning images. An error requires you to retake the image, delete the image, or clear the flag.
Subnumbering
The Subnumbering option allows you to select the type of identifier you would like to use when capturing attachments. First, ensure that you are in show page number mode, accessed from the capture images panel on the capture screen in the top left corner. Then, select either “.1” or “.a.” During image capture, attachments show on the thumbstrip with a paperclip and list the subnumbering style you choose.
Import
This option enables you to set the number of errors allowed when importing images. While image capture is taking place, the import queue manages the execution of multiple imports in the background. If an import error occurs, the image that caused the error is automatically flagged, but the import continues. When the number of errors exceeds the error limit during a given import, the import is automatically canceled. Use the slider, or enter a number to set the limit.
Advanced Features
Advanced features allow you to choose when to enable actions on the Manage Projects, Listings, and Folders screen:
- When the action is valid for any selected items.
- When the action is valid for all selected items.
Note: Do not change this preference unless directed to by your supervisor.
Folder Cleanup
DCam databases with many folders may cause startup, shutdown, and capture times to take longer on a slower computer.
Slower computer performance can be related to the number of folders and to the amount of memory required to store them. This feature allows you to remove older folders from the database so that they no longer contribute to slow performance. We recommend keeping the total number of folders below 10,000.
The dialog displays the folder totals for all projects and for a selected project. Only completed folders are eligible for removal.
Note: When sent files have met captured image quality standards, you should receive messages from headquarters indicating files are accepted. Then completed folders are deleted from the DCam computer. If folders are not being deleted as expected, contact your supervisor. These messages are sent each time you perform a Send and Receive.
To clean up folders, follow these instructions:
Step 1: To choose projects you want to clean up, from the drop-down list, select the age in months for folders to be deleted. The age is determined by the date that the folder was completed.
Step 2: The dialog displays the total number of folders to be deleted.
Step 3: To delete the folders, click Delete Completed Folders. After the folders have been deleted, the folder totals are updated.
Step 4: When folders have been deleted and you exit the preferences dialog, restart the program when prompted by DCam.
Note: Be careful which folders you remove. Folders that have been deleted are no longer listed in the folders table or the folder history drop-down menu. (They do continue to be listed in DOR reports if you need to refer to them.)
The Locality Option in Preferences
On the listings and folder information screens, when you start to enter or edit a locality, DCam provides a list of possible matches by accessing a database of all approved localities.
The places database is accessed from either your computer or, for users with internet access, from the remote FamilySearch Places database. Because switching between databases is automatic, the locality option has been removed from the preferences dialog. However, if directed by your supervisor, you can still access the locality option. Do the following from any of the preferences tabs:
Step 1: Hold down the shift key.
Step 2: Right-click your mouse and click Show Locality.
The new locality lookup option includes a check box that automatically checks to see if the remote locality database is accessible using the internet. If the internet is available, the radio button Use remote web service is automatically enabled. If not, the radio button to Use local service is automatically enabled.
Note: The localities database is frequently updated. Updates occur each time you receive a new hard drive from headquarters and at each software update.
