====== XuvTools - the "eXtend yoUr View" Toolkit ======

**About:** XuvTools (pronounced "ex-you-vee-tools") is a fully automated 3D stitching software for biomedical image data, typically confocal microscopy images. XuvTools runs on Microsoft Windows XP and Vista, Linux and Apple Mac computers. It supports 32 and 64bit operating systems (with 64bit highly preferred). XuvTools is free and open source software (see [[license|Licensing]]), so you can start using it immediately. Go to [[Download]]s and give it a try.

<note warning>
Note, while this is free software, if you use XuvTools in your research and/or find it useful, you **have to cite** us. Look at the [[xuvtools-bibtex]] example on how to do that.
</note>

The technical details are described in the following paper:

  * M. Emmenlauer, O. Ronneberger, A. Ponti, P. Schwarb, A. Griffa, A. Filippi, R. Nitschke, W. Driever, and H. Burkhardt. XuvTools: free, fast and reliable stitching of large 3D datasets. //Journal of Microscopy//, 233(1):42--60, 2009
    * [[http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121640011/PDFSTART|PDF on Publisher site (free access)]]
    * [[http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2818.2008.03094.x|doi:10.1111/j.1365-2818.2008.03094.x]]

The goal of XuvTools is to provide tools, that combine multiple microscopic recordings to obtain a larger field of view ("stitching") and a higher dynamic range ("HDR" recombination), or better resolution (multi view reconstruction), and to make these tools publicly available. 

====== Features and Limitations of XuvTools ======

<note important>
**Limitations of XuvTools:** (current limitations, we are working on it!)
   * No 2D Stitching: stacks need 4 Z-slices or more
   * No memory management: You need lots of RAM
   * No rotational alignment
   * The only supported output formats are: Imaris, HDF5 (No TIFF output support)

**What XuvTools can do:**
   * Full 3D Stitching
   * Scaling, if the voxel sizes are known from image data
   * Fully automatic stitching modes
   * Manual pre-alignment modes
   * Arbitrary large datasets
   * Reads stage coordinates if available
   * free, no hidden costs (but **you have to cite** us)
   * Read many input formats: BioRad PIC, TIFF, Metamorph STK (uncompressed and LZW compressed), Fluoview TIFF, Carl Zeiss LSM 5, PSIA TIFF, Nanoscope II/III, JPEG, PNG, BMP, IBW, OME, RAW
</note>

====== Latest Version ======

<note important>
Latest **stable** version is **XuvTools 1.7.0**, get it from the [[:download|Download]] Section. XuvTools-1.7.0 brings better project file support, including **saving of thumbnails** and fixes some bugs from 1.6.0.
</note>

====== Roadmap for next Version ======

**Roadmap:** The next release after XuvTools-1.7.0 will be XuvTools-1.8.0, that fixes many more issues, and has an improved dialog for Advanced Parameters. XuvTools-1.8.0 will be in alpha-testing soon. The release after XuvTools-1.8.0 should feature 2D stitching support, and should fix the long-standing bug that "stacks are too flat".
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====== Registration and Mailing List ======

We have new releases frequently, typically once per month. If you want to be notified of new stable releases, beta releases or want to subscribe to our news feed, please register at

   * [[http://special.xuvtools.org/register.php]]

====== Links ======

   * **Download:** [[Download]] XuvTools
   * **Documentation:** [[Readme]]
   * **Download:** download [[Datasets|Test-Datasets]] to get started


   * **Developers Pages:** [[devel:Development]]
   * **Developers Time Schedule:** Current [[devel:ToDo]] List
   * **Developers History:** Latest [[devel:Changelog]]

   * **Contact:** [[Contact]], or read about, the team behind XuvTools

====== More News And Updates ======

Also see the [[:devel:changelog|Changelog]].

   * **18.02.2010:** Version 1.7.0 released!
   * **18.01.2010:** Release Candidate 1 for XuvTools 1.7.0 available for download.
   * **11.12.2009:** Fixed several bugs concerning usability and GUI-consistency.
   * **28.11.2009:** Many bugs and issues have been fixed (total 15 bugs, see [[devel:Changelog]])
   * **26.11.2009:** Support for reading/writing thumbnails from project files
   * **18.11.2009:** Improved writing of Imaris 5.5 MultiResolution files, including some bugfixes.
   * **10.11.2009:** XuvTools 1.6.0 successfully tested on Windows 7 x64 and x86.