Tips and Tricks
ImageJ is easy to use, but sometimes you wish for some function that is actually implemented, yet you do not know how to trigger. This page lists a few of those tricks.
Contents
- 1 Show the memory consumption
- 2 Execute external programs
- 3 Quickly see return values
- 4 Find out in which menu (or .jar file) a certain command is
- 5 Put the main window to the foreground
- 6 Close all images (without being asked whether to save them)
- 7 Set the foreground color
- 8 Set the line width
- 9 Quickly copy a ROI from one image to another
Show the memory consumption
Just click on the status bar, and you will see how much memory is used, and how much memory is available.
Execute external programs
The macro language allows executing programs, and capturing their output:
output = exec("dir /w");
Quickly see return values
You do not need to wrap macro calls into write() calls: if you just write something like
getDirectory("plugins");
the return value will appear in your Log window when called.
Hit ^ Ctrl+L to start the Command Finder. Type (part of) the name of the entry, then click on Show full information.
If Edit › Options › Misc...>Require command key for shortcuts is unchecked, typing L is sufficient.
Put the main window to the foreground
Pressing the ⏎ Return key on any image will bring the main window to the foreground.
Close all images (without being asked whether to save them)
Plugins › Utilities › Close All Without Saving
Set the foreground color
Double-click on the pipette, or hit ^ Ctrl+⇧ Shift+K (on Macs, it is ⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+K), or select the menu item Image › Color › Color Picker...
Set the line width
Line selections can have a width larger than one, which also has an effect on line profiles. You can set it by double clicking on the line selection tool, or by calling Edit › Options › Line Width...
Quickly copy a ROI from one image to another
Simply activate the image with the desired ROI, then the image you want to put that ROI into, and hit ^ Ctrl+⇧ Shift+E. This triggers the Edit › Selection › Restore Selection which "restores" the selection.
