Frequently Ask Questions (FAQ)

1. What platforms (operating systems) does your software run on?
   

   All our software run on PC running Windows, including Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP and Vista.
   
   The software would probably run on Linux or Unix system if they have a Windows binary emulator installed but we have not tested them for compatibility.
   

2. What are the system requirements?
   

   • Operating System: Windows (95, 98, NT, 2000, XP or Vista)
     
   • USB port: we need one to plug the dongle that contains the license
     

3. Can I have a temporary license to evaluate your software?
   

   You do not need any license to evaluate the software!
   Just download the software from our web site (DICOM_Watch is now included in the DICOMatic download). Without licenses, the software has some limitations: it will automatically shut down after 30 minutes; but that should not prevent you from testing the functionality with your system.
   
   If you encounter images that we can not convert, please contact us, we may be able to add the support of your images to our product.

4. What are the prices and do you have an educational discount available?
   

   You can find the pricing of DICOMatic and its modules and the information on how to order a license, on this "how to buy a license" page.

   There is a no educational discount for DICOMatic or any of its modules.
   

5. We wish to purchase a license. What is the procedure for ordering/paying?
   

   You can find the procedure to purchase a license on this "how to buy a license" page.
   In this page, you will also have access to our automatic quote generator and order forms.
   

1. The application does not see my licenses
   

   Most problems with the licenses can be solved by following the instructions in the License troubleshooting page.

2. Do I have to uninstall the previous version when I upgrade the software?
   

   No you dont. Just install the new version on top of the old one.

   However with the new installation, some of the tables may have changed. Since you may have a copy of these files in your user directory (C:\Documents and Settings\your name here\Application Data\TomoVision), your copy may be out of date. If it is, the program will let you know. If which case you can either delete your copy to force the program to use the new one from the installation directory, or add the latest modifications to your copy of the files.

   Also, if your upgrade license has expired, the new version of the software will not be recognized by the licenses.

   If this is the case, you may want to renew your update contract.

3. Can I transfer my licenses to another computer?
   

   Yes you can, the license is in your dongle. Just install the program on the new machine and move your dongle to that system.

1. Can DICOM_Watch push the images to my PACS?
   

   This option is only enabled if one of the "Push" programs are present in the same directory as the DICOM_Watch module (by default: c:\ProgramFiles\TomoVision). For the "push" program, you can use either Mallinckrodt "Send_Image" or OFFIS "storescu" (storescu can be download from the DICOMatic's download page).

2. Can DICOM_Watch send the image to a DICOM printer?
   

   This option is only enabled if the DICOM Print program "dcmpsprt" from OFFIS is present in the same directory as the DICOM_Watch module (by default: c:\ProgramFiles\TomoVision).

3. My images are already in DICOM, Can DICOM_Watch to push them to my PACS without going through the conversion modules?
   

   You can, but for this you need to remove the conversion module (the DICOMatic.exe) file from the default installation directory (by default: c:\ProgramFiles\TomoVision). If the conversion program is not present and the images are already in DICOM, the conversion step will be skipped.

4. How can I use DICOM_Watch to read a CD?
   

   Yes you can. However, since you can not write on a CD, the following arguments must be set in the DICOM_Watch.ini file:
   ; ======================================================
; Working Directories
; ======================================================

; --- "watched" directory name ---
watch_dir= "E:" ; Place the CD root directory here

; --- converted images are sent to "done_dir" ---
done_dir= "C:\DICOM\done\"

; --- file that can not be converted are sent to "failed_dir" ---
; Special case: if failed dir is ".", the file is not moved
failed_dir= "."

; --- Keep original files flag (0/1 flag) ---
; if set, the original will be transfered to the "kept_dir"
kept= 0

; --- a copy (if keep: 1) of the files is sent to "kept_dir" ---
; Special case: if kept dir is ".", the file is not moved
kept_dir= "."


5. How can I use DICOM_Watch to grab the images directly from the scanner's hard disk?
   

   The first thing to do will be to make the scanner's disk visible from the PC running DICOM_Watch. This can be done with programs like "NFS", "Samba", "NetDrive" or "WebDrive".

   The next step is preventing DICOM_Watch from changing the content of the scanner's disk. This is done by setting the same DICOM_Watch parameters as in the previous question (reading a CD).