2.10. View Multiple Series

There are several modes for arranging series windows in the Image viewer tab. The selected layout template is applied to the entire tab.

You can choose the mode for arranging series in the  Series arrangement button menu. There are three ways to open this menu:

1. Click the arrow on the Series arrangement button on the toolbar and select the arrangement mode from the drop-down menu (Fig. 2.12).

   

2. Move the cursor to the window with the open series, right-click and select Series arrangement command from the shortcut menu.
3. Select Series arrangement from the Image section of the main menu.

You can choose from the following series arrangement modes:

• Automatic — the default series arrangement mode (see Section 2.10.1);
• Stacked — only one series window may be opened in the tab (see Section 2.10.2);
• 2 near — the tab is divided into two windows (see Section 2.10.3);
• 2x2 — the tab is divided into four windows (see Section 2.10.3);
• 2x3 — the tab is divided into six windows (see Section 2.10.3);
• Custom arrangement... — the user customizes the arrangement of series windows (see Section 2.10.4);
• Switch to hanging protocol — the arrangement of windows for the current series is configured according to a hanging protocol suitable for this series (see Section 2.11).

The current series arrangement mode is highlighted in blue on the toolbar and on the menu.

There are several ways to maximize any of the series windows to full screen and restore its size:

• click on the Expand button in the right-hand upper corner of the series window;
• double-click with the left mouse button on the tab of the series window;
• double-click with the left mouse button on the series window.

2.10.1 Auto Mode

This mode is active by default. If more than one series is open, the viewing windows for these series are arranged within the tab and automatically scaled to occupy its entire area. Five series are displayed in Fig. 2.13.

There are three ways to activate this mode:

• select the  Automatic item in the Series arrangement button menu on the toolbar;
• locate the cursor to the window with the open series, right-click and select command Series arrangement->utomatic on the context menu;
• on the main menu, select Image->eries arrangement->utomatic.

2.10.2 Stacked Mode

In this mode only one series viewing window can be open in the tab. If you try to open another series, the current series will be closed.

Activate this mode in several ways:

• select the  Stacked item in the Series arrangement button menu on the toolbar;
• locate the cursor to the window with the open series, right-click and select command Series arrangement->tacked on the context menu; on the main menu, select Image->eries arrangement->tacked.

2.10.3 Grid Mode

In this mode the tab is divided into cells in advance, and a series window can be opened in each of them.

To set up a 1x2, 2x2 or 2x3 grid, select the  2 near,  2x2 or  2x3 item in the Series arrangement button menu.

These grid configuration types are available from the image context menu. Locate the cursor to the window with the open series, right-click and select command Series arrangement.

Selection of 1x2, 2x2 or 2x3 grid is available on the main menu Image->eries arrangement.

If the selected grid configuration has fewer cells than there are open series in the study, a warning dialog box pops up (Fig. 2.14), in which the program asks for a permission to close the open series.

Click OK to close the series, or CANCEL to cancel.

There are two ways to disable the warning dialog box:

• Check the Don’t show this dialog again box in the dialog (Fig. 2.14) and click the OK button.
• On the main menu, select Options->strong>Settings...->strong>Modules->strong>Image Viewer, then choose the Image arrangement tab and uncheck the Confirm series closure on the arrangement changing box. For more information on the module settings see Section 18.7.1.

Click OK to apply the settings or Cancel to cancel.

2.10.4 Custom Mode

A grid may have from 1 to 100 cells. The maximum number of rows and columns is 10. This mode can be set by default (see Section 18.7.1).

Fig. 2.15 shows a grid consisting of four columns and two rows (4 x 2). Three of its cells are filled.

To define a custom series layout template, do one of the following:

• select the  Custom arrangement... item in the Series arrangement button menu;
• locate the cursor to the window with the open series, right-click and select command Series arrangement->ustom arrangement... on the context menu;
• on the main menu, select Image->eries arrangement->ustom arrangement....

The Custom layout template dialog box that opens (Fig. 2.16) shows the current series layout template in the Image Viewer tab. If automatic series arrangement was selected for the tab, the dialog box shows a template consisting of a single cell with default settings.

Define the required layout template. The template can consist of one or more cells and subtables created by successively dividing cells into columns and rows. For each template cell, you can specify the series window settings: image arrangement, scrolling method, and sorting of series images. For details on configuring the template, see Section 18.7.1.

Click OK to apply the custom template to the current tab. The series windows will be arranged according to the specified template, and the settings of the corresponding cell will be applied to each series window. The template defined in the Custom layout template dialog box applies only to the current tab and is not saved in the module settings.

The custom mode can be set as the default (see Section 18.7.1).

For customized grids, the DICOM Viewer allows for auto-fill of the cells with the current study series. The auto-fill function is disabled by default. To enable it, on the main menu, select Options->strong>Settings...->strong>Modules->strong>Image Viewer, then choose the Image arrangement tab and check the Automatic fill with series box. For more information on the module settings see Section 18.7.1.

When a series is opened in a new tab, the other series are opened in the cells available. The cells are sorted by serial number.

When positioning series on the grid, the DICOM Viewer allows you to move the boundary between cells. To do this, move the cursor to the panel border so that it would look like or and drag the border holding the left mouse button. Setting the priority of horizontal or vertical separator is described in Section 18.7.1.