Quick Measurement Functions

Quick Measure Line uses a rubber band line to measure the distance from the point first clicked to any other point. The length of the rubber band line is continuously updated in the status bar. It is possible to measure the distance across multiple fields of view by clicking on the arrow buttons to move the stage. It is not possible to move the stage using the Move>GoTo or Joy Track commands.

Pressing the SHIFT key allows the entire rubber band line to be shifted. If the CTRL key is pressed, the rubber band line movement is constrained to 22½° increments, which makes it easy to draw perfectly horizontal and vertical lines. Shifting a line makes it possible to place the starting point exactly.

To take multiple-length measures from the same point

The advantage of this technique is that all of the measurements are guaranteed to be taken from the same initial point.

1. Click Tools>Quick Measure Line.
2. Click on a point. The rubber line extends from the point to the cursor.
3. Position the cursor to take a length measurement.
4. Press F8. Neurolucida Explorer records a measurement, but the rubber line is still anchored at the initial point.
5. Move the cursor to another position.
6. Press F8 again to take another measurement.

Click and drag the cursor to use Quick Measure Circle, which uses a rubber band circle centered on the point first clicked to measure the radius, diameter, and area of a circular region. The radius and area of the rubber band circle are continually updated in the status bar. When the next point is clicked with the left mouse button,displays the radius, diameter, circumference, and area of the circle.

Holding down the SHIFT key and moving the cursor moves the rubber band circle. The rubber band circle moves without changing size. This is a useful way to quickly compare circular sizes, for example, comparing cell sizes. The CTRL key has no effect on circle measurements.

Quick measurements for each session of Neurolucida Explorer are temporarily recorded for the duration of that session as well as being immediately displayed. To view the recorded quick measurements, click Tools>Display Quick Measurements. The recorded quick measurements can be viewed, printed, or copied to the Clipboard.

Display Quick Measurements displays measurements in the order in which they were made. The Type column lists Line Length, Angle, or Circle Radius. The Result column lists the most basic result gained from the measurement without units. To see the more detailed results and units, double click an item in the Type column for the measurement of interest.

Clear Selected Entries

Clears all selected entries in the Type column. To select multiple entries, hold down the SHIFT key and click on contiguous entries you would like to select. For non-contiguous entries, or to deselect entries, hold down the CTRL key and click.

Clear All Entries

Erases the display, allowing new measurements to be gathered. All of the previous measurements are deleted.

Copy to Clipboard

Copies the current list of measurements to the Clipboard. Only the selected measurements are copied. If no measurements are selected, then all of the entries are copied to the clipboard.

Comments

Some measurements may be particularly interesting. It is possible to label these measurements with a comment. Click on the Comments button to expand the dialog box. Click one of the measurements by clicking in the Type column. Click in the entry field box to the right of the buttons and enter a comment. The comment is entered and attached to the measurement when you click in any other field of the measurement display table. Comments can be changed by reselecting the measurement, entering changes, and clicking on another field. Click on Collapse to reduce the size of the dialog box.

Print

This button prints out the current list of measurements. Only the selected quick measurements are printed. If no quick measurements are selected, then all of the entries are printed.

Close

This button closes the Display Quick Measurements dialog box.