A GrayMapFile is a text file created with the ThunderScan ~SU~4.0~SU~ software. To create a GrayMapFile with ThunderScan you would select an area of the image, hold down the command and option keys, and halftone it. This will produce a text file on your disk called ╥GrayMapFile.╙
~SB~Opening GrayMapFiles:~SB~
Vision Lab can open GrayMapFiles created with ThunderScan software version 4.0. It can also open any text or EPSF file that contains data in the GrayMapFile format. The format of a GrayMapFile is simple:
{Optional Text; possible PostScript code, header information, etc.}
{ASCII Hexadecimal Data; the actual image.}
{Optional Text; possible PostScript code, trailer information, etc.}
Each scan line of the actual image must end with a single return character and contain an even number of ASCII characters.
An example file in the GrayMapFile format would be:
~F4~imageturkey
003B00
002700
002480
0E4940
114920
14B220
3CB650
75FE88
17FF8C
175F14
1C07E2
3803C4
703182
F8EDFC
B2BBC2
BB6F84
31BFC2
18EA3C
0E3E00
07FC00
03F800
1E1800
1FF800
grestore
showpage~F3~
The above will load as 1 bit (black and white). It is a fragment of the example PostScript program number six from ╥PostScript Language Tutorial and Cookbook╙ from Adobe Systems Incorporated.
~SB~Saving GrayMapFiles:~SB~
Vision Lab does ~SU~not~SU~ allow you to save GrayMapFiles.
~SB~GrayMapFile Preferences╔:~SB~
If ~SB~1 Bit (Black and White)~SB~ is selected the ASCII data will be loaded as 8 pixels, either ╥on╙ or ╥off╙, per pair of ASCII digits. If ~SB~4 Bit (16 gray levels; ThunderScan¬)~SB~ is selected the ASCII data will be loaded as 2 pixels, up to 16 gray levels each, per pair of ASCII digits. If ~SB~8 Bit (256 gray levels)~SB~ is selected then each pair of ASCII digits will be loaded as a single pixel with up to 256 gray levels.
~SB~Pros:~SB~
GrayMapFiles loaded from ThunderScan may yield a slightly higher quality image than the SCAN files. ~SU~Some~SU~ EPSF files can be loaded in to Vision Lab.
~SB~Cons:~SB~
GrayMapFiles are very large. ThunderScan GrayMapFiles contain only 16 levels of gray instead of the maximum of 32 found in the SCAN files.