Editing vessels (2D)
There are also editing capabilities in the 3D environment.
Changing vessel color
- Click Trace>Edit>Select objects.
- Click the tree to select it.
- Right-click and select change vessel to color.
- If you're not satisfied, right-click and select Undo last color change.
If markers are attached to the vessel, changing vessel color will also change marker color. To keep the original marker color, uncheck Operate on attached markers in the right-click menu. When you're done with the color change, make sure to re-check the option so that markers remain attached.
Nodes and segments
If you notice that you missed a node while tracing, you can easily add it later.
- Click Trace>Edit>Select objects.
- Click a vessel to select it.
- Right-click and select Insert Node into Selected Tree.
- Click the new desired location to place the new node.
- The new node is represented by a filled circle.
- It is inserted at the Z value of the point immediately preceding the node.
- To trace the segment that emanates from this node, hover the mouse over the node until the N appears next to it. N indicates that the mouse is in the correct position to select the node.
- Right-click and select Add Branch.
The program switches from editing to tracing mode with the correct segment already selected.
- The next click inserts the next point in the new branch, so be sure that you have adjusted the focus and process diameter appropriately before clicking.
Node with only one segment (i.e., no bifurcation)
- Right-click it and select Eliminate Node. The process now appears as one continuous process.
- Click Trace>Edit>Select objects.
- Click to select the segment that you want to remove from the node.
- Right-click the point nearest to the node and select Remove segment from vessel.
- Remove all other segments in a similar manner until the node only has one segment extending distally from it.
- Right-click the node and select Eliminate Node.
To join the removed segments together as a separate vessel, splice them.
- Right-click over the ending and select Add to Ending.
- The program switches from Editing mode to Tracing mode and displays a dialog box. .
- Yes - The program automatically sets the Z stage position to the Z value of the ending.
- No - You will manually adjust the Z value with Move>Z axis>Set stage Z.
- Click Trace>Edit>Select objects.
- Click to select the segment.
- On the segment to be detached, place the cursor over the point immediately after the branching node.
- Right-click and select Detach segment from vessel. The segment between the node and the point on the segment is deleted.
- Click Trace>Edit>Select objects and click a segment to select it.
- Place the cursor over the end of the segment, right-click and select Splice. A line extends from the end to the cursor.
- Move the cursor over the end of the segment you want to join to. A circle appears at the end.
- Click to splice the two segments. You are prompted to "adjust the Z values of the spliced segment to match those of the selected vessel."
Click No to avoid introducing distortion into the Z position of the newly joined segment.
All options available from the right-click menu
To see the options, select the tree then right-click slightly away from the vessel.
Same as Trace>Tools>Correct Z shrinkage command.
Most commonly used when flipping sections that were mounted upside down (Flipping a single section with a completed tracing).
Choose a different color for the traced vessel.
Copy to the clipboard.
Delete the traced vessel.
Corrects large deviations in the Z values. The Z discrepancy that is corrected by Fix Z Values is the same as the Z value that triggers a Z Position Out of Range warning during tracing.
When Fix Z Values is selected, any move in Z position larger than this specified value is automatically corrected. The Z values shown in the Ortho View window do not change until you exit the editing mode.
Use to increase the precision of the tracing.
You can also use the slider in the Edit Tool panel.
To display the thickness, go to File>Preferences>Tracing>View and check Display line Thickness.
There are two methods to change the Z position:
Defines an absolute Z value; if multiple points are selected, Set Z Values assigns the same Z value to each point.
Moves the position of a point up or down a given value relative to the current Z position (identified using the Z meter).
This is how you calculate the shift: shift = desired Z - current Z
If the shift value is negative, the Z position moves down.
If the shift value is positive, the Z position moves up.
Example: If desired Z=-30 and current Z=-10 then shift = -30 - (-10) = -20
The Z position of the selection moves down by 20 micrometers.
See Modify Z position for details on using Shift value.
Once this option is selected, you can drag the tree to another location.
Rotates the tree or group of trees around the center point indicated by a green target icon.
- Drag the green target icon to change the location of the rotation center.
Selects all the objects the same color as the selected tree.
Also see Editing Individual Points, Placing Markers