3.2. Viewing parameters 
The FlashPix format records edits - such as spatial transforma- 
tions or image adjustments - to an image as viewing parameters 
called "image views" (fig. 5). The FlashPix format supports the 
following manipulations in the image view: rectangle of inter- 
est, filtering, spatial orientation for rotation, scaling and shear- 
ing, colortwist matrix for color correction, contrast adjustment 
and result aspect ratio. The use of viewing parameters reduces 
the amount of processing power and storage space needed to 
interactively manipulate images. Viewing parameters also re- 
duce storage requirements for users who want to keep their 
original image file intact, along with the edited version. Today, 
the user has to store two full-resolution image files. In the 
FlashPix architecture, the original image data and the edit are 
part of the same file; all the application needs to add are the 
viewing parameters. 
FlashPix image view object 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
FiashPix image Source Flash Pix 
view object root image object 
Summary info. Result FlashPix 
property set 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Compdobj Saume desc. 
stream | | property set 
Global info. C. 
property set 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Extension list ranmsfonm 
—] properly set | | gnroperty set 
Operation 
property set 
fig. 5 
3.3. Result images 
The result image feature builds on the viewing parameters, add- 
ing to the flexibility of the format. Result images are FlashPix 
images with the viewing parameters applied for display up to an 
application- specified resolution. These pre-processed images 
let any users of FlashPix files see what a manipulated image 
looks like, without the application having to process any data 
from the original FlashPix image. This feature accelerates dis- 
play of images up to a certain resolution level by pre-applying 
the viewing parameters edits. The result image is stored directly 
in the FlashPix file. 
3.4. Thumbnails 
Each FPX file includes a 96- x 96-pixel NIFRGB color space 
thumbnail image, which contains the results of any viewing pa- 
rameters for immediate display. This enables quick previewing 
and selection of images. 
3.5. Linking 
Image views can be stored as separate structured storage "con- 
tainer" files, and linked electronically to the original image data 
of a FlashPix file. The link lets optimized applications access 
the original image data whenever it's needed, without having to 
rewrite a full-resolution FlashPix image. 
The components of the FlashPix file also can be separated 
across different devices or media, which means that a different 
version of an image can be very small by storing only an image 
view or a link to the original image. Linking means that using 
an image in any number of ways, the high-resolution image data 
are stored only in one place. For professionals, linking will al- 
low them to share low-resolution images freely. Users can edit 
them with the built-in viewing parameters, and the professional 
photographer can re-apply those edits to high-resolution files 
when fulfilling customer orders (fig. 6). 
  
  
  
  
  
  
fig. 6 
3.6. Extensions 
Due to structured storage, FlashPix files can be used to store 
application-specific data in addition to the core elements of 
FlashPix files, without adversely impacting interoperability. 
Applications maintain an extension list indicating the extension 
is present in the file and the data elements associated with it. 
4. ADVANTAGES AND TECHNICAL BENEFITS 
OF FLASHPIX TECHNOLOGY 
FlashPix shows the following advantages : 
> Hardware requirements and computing power are modest. 
> Color information, presented at capture, is stored in the 
FlashPix file, using a calibrated color space, and is main- 
tained throughout image manipulation and printing. 
= Photographic quality printing directly from your Web 
Browser 
> Cross platform compatibility 
> [tis a universal standard, that connects the entire imaging 
flow, thus eliminating the need to convert from interchange 
formats to proprietary image formats, reducing application 
memory requirements by up to 95 95. 
> Applications automatically grab the minimum resolution 
needed for the selected image size and screen. Memory re- 
quirements will never exceed the amount of data needed to 
fill the screen - usually 1-3 MB. 
= Multiple images can be displayed without depleting 
memory, 
= Zoom to any level without reading the entire file 
> Tiled sub-imaging. 
> Applications can directly access the low-resolution image 
for sharing and viewing, without having to deal with the 
high-resolution data of the image. Edits are stored as 
—528—