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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0002835Slicer4Core: GUIpublic2012-12-18 10:262012-12-18 10:56
Reporterlassoan Assigned Tofinetjul  
PrioritynormalSeverityfeatureReproducibilityalways
Status assignedResolutionopen 
Product VersionSlicer 4.2.2-1 
Target VersionFixed in Version 
Summary0002835: Changing window width/level of in the Volumes module is error-prone
Description

We gave a Slicer training to about 10 students and we found that they were confused by the Volumes module behavior:

  • Load 2 volumes
  • The second volume is shown in the slice viewer
  • Go to Volumes module
  • Change window width/level
  • The window width/level doesn't change in the slice viewer

Of course the problem is that the loading a volume makes it the active volume in the slice viewers, but nowhere else. So, when the user changed window width/level then it modified the first loaded volume, and not the displayed volume.

Potential solutions:

A) When a volume is made "active" (e.g., when loaded into Slicer) then make it the active (default) volume in the modules GUIs as well

B) Make it very obvious if the selected volume is not the current foreground/background volume + make it easy (single-click action) for the user to select the current foreground/background volume in the node selector. The current foreground/background volume name could be displayed in the node selector with a different color, bold, and/or with an additional [F]/[B] icon. There could be also an [F] and [B] icon on the node selector widget that the user could conveniently click to select the current foreground/background volume.

TagsNo tags attached.

Activities

kikinis

kikinis

2012-12-18 10:37

developer   ~0007542

Perhaps we should briefly discuss during AHM?
pieper

pieper

2012-12-18 10:45

administrator   ~0007543

I agree this is very confusing for the users.

Another way to address this might be to pop up a dedicated slice viewer next to the volume controls that shows the currently selected target volume independent of the red/yellow/green viewers. This would also have the advantage of allowing you to see the changes even when in 3D only mode.

This viewer might also include a button to propagate the volume selection into the other viewers.
pieper

pieper

2012-12-18 10:50

administrator   ~0007544

On a similar note, one thing I've always liked about Osirix is that when they have a set of options for something like a transfer function, they actually render the thumbnail using the data you currently have selected. We could do that for both the Volumes and Volume Rendering modules.
lassoan

lassoan

2012-12-18 10:54

developer   ~0007545

The dedicated slice viewer is a good idea, could be useful regardless of how we make the volume selection easier.

One more thing: the highlighting and easy selection of current F/B volume in the volume node selector shouldn't be limited to the Volumes module, but could be a common feature of the node selector that is used in all the other modules.
pieper

pieper

2012-12-18 10:56

administrator   ~0007547

I agree with Andras that reflecting the current selections in the node combobox would be a good feature all the way around. We would need to deal with different F and B selections in different viewers, but I'm sure a workable interface could be designed.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
2012-12-18 10:26 lassoan New Issue
2012-12-18 10:26 lassoan Status new => assigned
2012-12-18 10:26 lassoan Assigned To => kikinis
2012-12-18 10:33 kikinis Assigned To kikinis => finetjul
2012-12-18 10:37 kikinis Note Added: 0007542
2012-12-18 10:45 pieper Note Added: 0007543
2012-12-18 10:50 pieper Note Added: 0007544
2012-12-18 10:54 lassoan Note Added: 0007545
2012-12-18 10:56 pieper Note Added: 0007547