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skycat(1)

NAME

 
skycat - A tool for displaying astronomical images and catalogs

SYNOPSIS

 
skycat ?filename? ?-option value ...?

OPTIONS

 
?-file filename?
        Specify a FITS file to display. '-' means read the file from
        the standard input.  The '-file' part is optional, so you can
        also simply specify a file name. Image compression and
        decompression is done automatically, based on the file name
        suffix: .gzfits or .gfits for GZIP compression, .hfits for
        H-compress, and .cfits for UNIX compression.

-cat bool
        If bool is 1, include 'Data-Servers' menu in the menubar (This
        is the default). The 'Data-Servers' menu gives you access to
        the ESO Archive extensions for browsing astronomical catalogs,
        plotting objects in the image window and getting images over
        the network from the image servers, such as the Digitized Sky
        server.

-rtd bool
        If bool is 1, include the Real-Time menu in the menubar
        (default is 0). The Real-Time menu gives you access to the VLT
        Real-Time Display features, such as camera control and rapid
        frames. To use these features, the rtdServer daemon must be
        running on the local host. A client application, linked with
        the Rtd image event library can then send images via shared
        memory to be displayed in rapid succession.

-float_panel bool
        If the option value is 1, the skycat info panel is put in a
        separate popup window, leaving more space for the image window
        (The default is off).

-panel_layout <saoimage | reverse | default>
        With this option you can change the order of the zoom and pan
        windows in the layout. The default layout is: zoom window on
        the left, info panel in the center and pan window right. If
        "-panel_layout saoimage" is specified, a layout similar to
        saoimage is used (info panel, pan window, zoom window). If
        "-panel_layout reverse" is specified, the order of the windows
        is the reverse of the default.

-remote bool
        If "-remote 1" is specified and a skycat process is already
        running, the existing skycat process is sent a message and
        asked to open a new window and the new skycat process exits
        immediately. This has the advantage of sharing the image
        colormap and using fewer system resources, however it depends
        on being able to use the Tcl send mechanism. For security
        reasons, Tcl send will not work if you are using "xhost" based
        X security. You need to use X-auth security. See the "Tcl/Tk
        Tools" book from O'Reilly for more on this topic.

-min_scale n
-max_scale n
        Specify the min and max scale values for the Magnification
        menu.  Negative values shrink the image, positive values zoom
        in closer. The default values are -10 and 20.

-port portnum
        Specify a port number to use for the remote RTD socket
        interface. See the Rtd User's Guide for details on this socket
        based interface. By default, a port number is chosen
        automatically and written to the file ~/.rtd-remote.

-disp_image_icon bool
        If bool is 1 (default), display a miniature version of the
        image in the tool's icon window.

-default_cmap <cmap>
        Specify the default colormap. This should be one of the names
        listed in the 'Colors' popup window (default is 'real').

-default_itt <itt>
        Specify the default intensity transfer table. This should be
        one of the names listed in the 'Colors' popup window (default
        is 'ramp').

-colorramp_height <pixels>
        This option can be used to change the height of color bar (the
        widget at the bottom of the screen displaying the image
        colors).

-with_colorramp bool
        If bool is true, display the color bar (default).

-with_zoom_window bool
        If bool is true, display the zoom window (default).

-with_pan_window bool
        If bool is true, display the pan window (default).

-dozoom bool
        If bool is true, turn the zoom window on automatically
        (default).

DESCRIPTION

 
The ESO Skycat tool combines the image display capabilities of the RTD
(Real-Time Display) with a set of classes for accessing astronomical
catalogs locally and over the network using HTTP. The tool allows you
to view FITS images from files or from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS).

MENU ITEMS:

File menu
        Open...
                Open and display a (FITS) image file.
        Reopen...
                Reload the image display after the image has changed
                on disk.
        Save as...
                Save the current image to a file.
        Save region as...
                Save a section of the current image to a file.
        Print...
                Print the current image to a file or printer.
        Clear
                Clear the image display.

        New Window
                Display up a new main window.
        Close
                Close the main window and exit if there are no more
                windows.

        Exit
                Exit the application.

View menu
        Colors...
                Display a window for manipulating the image colormap.
        Cut Levels...
                Display a window for manipulating the image cut levels.
        Cuts...
                Display a graph of pixel values along a line drawn
                interactively over the image.
        Pick Object...
                Select an object or star in the image and display
                statistics.
        Fits Header...
                Display the FITS header for the current image.
        Pixel Table...
                Display a table of pixel values surrounding the mouse
                cursor.
        Magnification
                Set the magnification factor of the image display.

        Hide Control Panel
                Toggle the visibility of the upper control panel
        Hide Popup Windows
                Toggle the visibility of the popup windows.


Graphics menu
        Toolbox
                Display the line graphics toolbox.
        Mode =>
                Select the drawing mode.
        Width =>
                Set the line width for drawing.
        Arrow =>
                Select the arrow mode for lines.
        ArrorShape =>
                Select the arrow shape for lines.
        Fill =>
                Select the fill color for drawing.
        Outline =>
                Select the outline color for drawing.
        Stipple =>
                Select the stipple pattern for filling objects.
        Font =>
                Select the font to use for labels.
        Smooth =>
                Set the smooth option for drawing polygons

        Clear =>
                Delete graphic objects.
        Delete =>
                Delete selected graphic objects.

        Hide Graphics
                Toggle the visibility of the image line graphics

Data-Servers
        Catalogs =>
                Select a catalog from the menu.
        Image Servers =>
                Select an image server from the menu.
        Archives =>
                Select an archive from the menu.
        Local Catalogs =>
                Select a local catalog from the menu.


Real-time menu (displayed when -rtd 1 is specified)
        Attach Camera
                Attach the real-time camera - start receiving images.
        Detach Camera
                Detach the real-time camera - stop receiving images.
        Set Camera...
                Set the real-time camera name.

        Rapid Frame
                Create a rapid frame by interactively drawing a
                rectangle on the image.

Help menu
        About Skycat...
                Display a window with information about this Skycat
                version.
        Help...
                Display information about Skycat in netscape (if
                netscape is available).


ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

 
$SKYCAT_CONFIG
        If set, this is used as the URL to access the skycat
        configuration file, which contains the list of available
        catalogs and how to query them. By default, the configuration
        file is also searched for in $HOME/.skycat/skycat.cfg, and if
        that is not found, in the ESO default URL:
        http://archive.eso.org/skycat/skycat2.0.cfg.

$SKYCAT_PLUGIN
        If set, this variable should be a colon separated list of
        files or directories containing skycat plugins. A skycat
        plugin is a Tcl script that defines a Tcl proc to be called
        for each instance of the main window. The script is sourced
        before any windows are created and can also load shared
        libraries dynamically to add new features.  See the Skycat
        User's Guide (ftp://ftp.archive.eso.org/pub/skycat/docs) for
        more information.

FILES

 
        http://archive.eso.org/skycat/skycat2.0.cfg - default
        configuration file.

SEE ALSO

 
SkyCat(n), Skycat(3), rtd(1), RtdImage(3), AstroCat(n)
 


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Last change: 07 May 99

 


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Copyright © 1998 ESO - European Southern Observatory