GISC 7365: Remote Sensing Digital Image Processing

Instructor: Dr. Fang Qiu

Lab Four: Density Slice and Image Composition

Objective:

Through this lab, students will learn

How to measure distance and area on an image
How to density slice an image to gain understanding
How to make image maps in IMAGINE

Part I: Basic Map Measurements.

The measurement tools are a quick means of getting positional and areal values for specific
targets on the image.

Open the SPOT XS image of Marco Island, FL (i.e., mi-fl_10-21-88spot.img). In Viewer #1,
Open Raster Layer (Folder Icon). Select mi-FL_10-21-88spot.img. Click on the Raster
Options tab. Display as: True Color, Layers To Colors: Red-3; Green-4; Blue-2, check Clear
Display, check Fit to Frame. Then click on OK. You are now looking at a false-color
composite of XS Bands 3, 4, 2 (R, G, B).
In the Viewer #1 window, select Utility and then Measure. The Measurement Tool dialog is
displayed.
In the Measurement Tool dialog, set the unit of linear measure to Meters and area
measurement to sq. Miles.
Practice with the tools and get comfortable with how they work. The location tool only
needs to be clicked once; the distance tool needs a double click to stop the line segment; and
the area tool also needs a double click to close the polygon.

Homework: Use the Measurement Tools to answer the following:

Q1: Give the approximate center location of the sand bar at the center of the image (in Latitude
and Longitude).

Q2: What is the perimeter (in meters) and area of the sand bar (in squuare miles)?

When finished, in Measurement Tool dialog, click File and then select Close to close the
Measurement Tools dialog. Do not save changes.

1
Part II: Density Slice

Raw TM Data Band 3 5 Class Density Slice

Density slicing is a form of selective one-dimensional classification. The continuous gray scale
of an image is "sliced" into a series of classes based on ranges of brightness values. All pixels
within a "slice" are considered to be same information class (i.e. water, forest, urban etc.). This
slicing takes place in the Raster Attribute Editor in Imagine.

Copy mi-fl_10-21-88spot.img into your working directory. Look at the file property and
uncheck Read-only attribute. Open the image file as a Pseudo Color image using the NIR
layer (band 3). You are going to density-slice the image into three general land cover classes:
o Water

o Vegetation

o Urban/Barren
To do this you will need to select the Attributes... option in the Raster dropdown menu.
Also, bring up the raw data value histogram for band 3 to aid in your feature discrimination
using Utility LayerInfo
Once you have both a histogram and a Raster Attribute Editor open you are ready to proceed.
Examine the rows and columns in the Raster Attribute Editor. The rows in the menu
correspond to the input file data values that can range from 0 to 255 (8 bits). The columns
show, among other things, the color that is currently assigned to each of the brightness values
available in the image. As you scroll through the Raster Attribute Editor you should see a
progression from dark to light in color.
Move the cursor back into the imagine viewer where the NIR band is displayed and with the
right mouse button bring up a Quick View menu and select Inquire Cursor. Roam the
cursor around the image and watch to see what typical brightness values (Pixel Values) are
associated with the water class, the vegetation class, and the urban/bare land class in the NIR
band. You should be trying to get an idea about what boundary values correspond with each
of these classes (i.e. vegetation = 40 to 56, water = 6 to 9, urban/bare land 70 to 107, NOTE:
these are wrong choices and are only used for example). At this point you may wish to

2
 consult the histogram of the NIR band to make any further "guesstimates" as to the class into
which you plan to place a particular brightness value.
After you have used the inquire cursor and determined the boundary values for the three
classes move back to the Raster Attribute Editor. What you will now do is to assign to each
of these three classes characteristic colors that will represent them in the image (i.e. instead
of water being dark black in the NIR band it will appear as the color you chose- blue might
be nice). The method for assigning your range a characteristic color is quite simple. Use the
left mouse button to "highlight" each row you feel is characteristic of one particular class, i.e.
water. This can be done by clicking on each row number (farthest left column) individually,
or by selecting a series of rows by depressing the left mouse button and keeping it depressed,
moving the mouse up or down within the row column. This will have the effect of scrolling
the attribute editor up or down, highlighting all the rows along the way. If you wish to do a
combination of scrolling and selecting individually then make sure you hold the shift key
down anytime you depress the left mouse button and proceed as before.
Once you have made your row selections you can modify the color in all of them by
depressing the right mouse button when the cursor is over the color column (Note that the
color will only change in the rows you have selected and similarly you can only change the
color in rows you have selected).

Homework:

Q3: Record the range of values you used to density slice each land cover class:
o Water =
o Vegetation =
o Urban/Bare land =
Close the Attribute Window and Save the changes.

Note: In grading the color coded NIR band I will be looking for: Are the 3 land cover classes ask
for represented correctly (i.e. are the boundary choices within reason for the classes ask for)?
Were there 3 different colors assigned to the 3 different classes? Do the colors reasonably
represent their land cover classes (i.e. red for water would be a poor choice etc.)?

Part III. Map Composition

The ERDAS Imagine Map Composer is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor
for creating cartographic-quality maps and presentation graphics. Maps can include single or
multiple continuous raster layers, thematic (GIS) layers, vector layers, and annotation layers. In
this lab, we are going to create an image map of your density slice image results.

Step 1. Start Map Composition:

To start the map composition process, select the Composer button from the Imagine icon
panel.
In the menu that appears, select New Map Composition. You can also create a new
composition by selecting File - New Map Composition from the Imagine Viewer menu bar.

3
 When the New Map Composition dialog opens, enter the name lab4.map as the new map
name.
Specify a Map Width of 7.5 and a Map Height of 10 (to allow for a small margin on the 8.5 x
11 map).
Make sure the Units is set to inches and then click OK. A blank Map Composer viewer will
display along with the Annotation tool palette. The functions of each of the major icons in the
Annotation tool palette can be obtained from Help by clicking ? button.
With your cursor in the Map Composer viewer, right click mouse and select Fit Map To
Window from the QuickView menu, so that you can see the entire map composition page.
In the Imagine viewer, open your density slice file and select Fit to Frame before opening.
Once this image is opened, you must now define your map frame (where you want your
image to appear on your composition). Click on the Create Map Frame icon from the
Annotation tool palette to draw the boundary of the map frame. Make sure you allow ample
space on all sides for the title, legend, north arrow, and scale bar and tic marks.
When you release the mouse button, the Map Frame Data Source dialog should appear. Click
on Viewer... and then left click anywhere in the viewer displaying the density slice image.

Step 2. Draw the Map Frame.

In the Map Frame dialog, Click on Use Entire Source and click OK.
You may edit the map frame by clicking on the Select Map Frame icon in the Annotation
tool palette. When this tool is selected, you can select any map frame within the composition
for resizing or repositioning purposes.
If you make a mistake during this long process, you can delete a map frame by going to View
- Arrange Layers... in the Map Composer viewer menu bar. When the Arrange Layers dialog
appears, position your cursor above the map frame you want to delete and hold down the
right mouse button. Select Delete Layers from the Frame Options popup list, and then click
Apply.

Step 3. Add a Neatline and Tick Marks.

Next we will add a neatline and some tick marks to our composition. A neatline is a rectangular
border around a map frame. Tick marks are small lines along the edge of the map frame that
indicate the map units (meters, feet, etc.). You must be using a georeferenced image in order to
produce tick marks.

Now go to the Annotation tool palette and select the Grid/Tics icon and click on the map
frame on which you want to place the neatline and tick marks.
When the Set Grid/Tick Info dialog appears enter the following parameters:
Horizontal Axis (Length Inside) = 0.06
Horizontal Axis (Length Intersection) = 0.06
Spacing = 500
Click on Copy to Vertical (to copy to vertical axis)
Click Apply
4
 If you are satisfied with the appearance of the neatline, click Close in the Set Grid/Tick Info
dialog, otherwise modify the parameters and click Redo (not Apply). You can also press
Undo Previous Edits button in the Annotation tool palette to make adjustments. You can also
delete the annotation after you close the set Grid/Tic Info dialog by choosing Annotation
from the menu bar of the map composition window but first make sure the annotation you
want to modify is selected.

Step 4. Add Annotations to different kinds of land cover types.

Click on the Create Text Annotation button in the Annotation tool palettes.
Move your cursor in the viewer where you want to place text. Single click and a window will
appear for you to enter a text string. When you are done entering text, click OK.
Select the text by clicking it. A double click with the mouse will bring up the Text Properties
window. You can move the text by selecting it (lmb) and sliding it around while holding the
lmb down. A box will appear around the text string and you can also alter the size by
selecting the box and manipulating it...experiment.
If you want to make any changes in font style, color etc., select and click on the Display
Annotation Styles button. When the Styles window appears, open the Text Styles menu and
choose Other...
The Custom folder will give you several options to choose from including fill style, font
style, and size. Use this tool to make your choices about the text you will place on roads and
buildings.
You can rotate the annotation text by using middle mouse button.

Step 5. Make a Scale Bar.

Select the Scale Bar Tool icon from the Annotation tool palette. Move the cursor into the
Map Composer viewer and the cursor changes to the scale bar positioning cursor.
Drag the mouse to draw a box under the right corner of the map frame, outlining the length
and location of the scale bar. You can change the size and location later if needed. Follow the
directions by clicking in the map frame to indicate that this is the image whose scale you are
showing.
In the Scale Bar Properties dialog, select Feet as the Units and set the Maximum Length to
2.0 Inches. Click Apply. You may reposition the scale bar by clicking on the center point and
dragging it to the desired position.

Step 6. Add a Map Title.

Click on the Text icon in the Annotation tool palette. Move the cursor to the top of the map
and click where you want to place text.
When the Annotation Text dialog appears, enter the following title: Density Slice Map and
click OK. Select the title text and change the text style by selecting Annotation - Styles in the
Map Composer menu bar and setting the following parameters:
Size: 30 points
Font Name: Antique-Olive (Under the Custom tab)
Position the title by double-clicking on the text and entering the following parameters in the
Text Properties dialog:
5
 X: 4.0
Y: 9.5
Vertical Alignment: Center
Horizontal Alignment: Center
You can also manually do the resizing and alignment.
Click Apply and then close the dialog.

Step 7. Place a North Arrow.

Map Composer contains many symbols, including north arrows. These symbols are pre-drawn
groups of elements that are stored in a library.

If the Styles dialog isn't opened, select Annotation - Styles... from the Map Composer menu
bar.
In the Styles dialog, hold down the popup list next to Symbol Style, and select Other...
In the Symbol Chooser dialog, select North Arrows in the menu popup list. Select north
arrow 2 from the list. Change the size to 36 points and click Apply. Close the Symbol
Chooser dialog.
Select the Symbol tool from the Annotation tool palette (looks like a crosshair). In the Map
Composer viewer, click under the map image, on the right of the scale bar. You can
reposition the scale bar and north arrow so they appear neat and orderly on the composition.
Remember you can double-click on most graphics to bring up a Properties dialog for editing
purposes.

Step 8. Write Descriptive Text.

Below the image and on the right of the north arrow, include on your map composition the
following descriptive text using the following properties:
By Your Name
Program in Geographic Information Sciences
University of Texas at Dallas
October, 2006

Size: 10 points
Text Font: Antique-Olive
Fill Style: Solid Black
Step 9. Print the Map Composition.
Go to File in Map Composition viewer. Select File save- Map Composition as
And save the file as lab4.map document. Reopen it in EDRAS IMAGINE. Print screen your
generated map.

Homework:
Q4: Paste your final map composition file on the word file.

6
 Map Creation in ENVI (Alternative)

Objective

Through this lab, students will learn how to create a QuickMap template layout in ENVI
Generate a layout
Modify the layout options (including titles, grid lines, scale bars, logos, and projection
information)
Insert map legends and other generic annotations
Insert and modify image insets
Saving a quickmap template file for reuse

Part I: Build a QuickMap Template.

The data set we will use for this part of the exercise is:
File Name mi-fl_10-21-88spot.img Quick View
Location Marco Island, FL
Sensor SPOT XS
Spatial 20 m x 20 m
Temporal October 21, 1988
Band 1 = Green (.50-.59)
Band 2 = Red (.61-.68)
Spectral
Band 3 = NIR (.79-.89)
Band 4 = Panchromatic (.51-.73) Altitude 832 km

Start ENVI and load a 3-2-1 false color image as discussed in lab 2.
In the image display select File QuickMap New QuickMap to launch the QuickMap
Default Layout dialog box. This dialog allows you to modify the output page size,
orientation, and map scale.
Use the default entries (8.5 x 11.0 in, Portrait, 1:50,000) and select OK to open the
QuickMap Image Selection dialog.
This dialog provides the capability to set the mapping scale and image size (in physical page
space), as well as spatially subset the image for display. Accept the default entries and select
OK to open the QuickMap Parameters dialog.
This dialog provides the options necessary for the user to customize the layout of the map.
The dialog is divided into 10 sections; map parameters, title, page position, logo additions
and preferences, lower left text, map preview options, scale bar, grid lines and preferences,
north arrow, and lower right text.

7
 Select Change Mapping Parameters to reopen the QuickMap Image Selection dialog.
Change the scale to 1:100,000 and resize the red AOI selection box to select the entire land
use region. Select OK to return to the QuickMap Parameters dialog and click Apply.
Experiment with changing the mapping parameters to investigate the correlation between
map scale, spatial subset, and image size. Reset the Mapping Parameters so the entire image
is on the output map.
Generate a descriptive name for the map and adjust the text size so it is both legible and clean
looking.
Right clicking on the Border box in the Page Position section will allow you to specify the
color of the border. While you can choose any of the provided colors, white is the least
distracting so it is suggested you leave the border white.
Load the provided UTD logo (tiff file) so that it appears in the available bands list. This
makes the logo available for placement within the map layout. Click the Edit Logo Files
and Placements button and insert the UTD logo in the lower right of the map layout.
Right click on the Lower Left Text text box and select Load Projection Info adjust the
font so the projection information is legible.
Leave the scale bars and grid lines turned on. Select the Additional Properties button in
the Grid Lines section. This dialog is divided into both the map grid properties for the map
layout display as well as the Lat/Lon grid properties (the dataset is UTM projected). In the
Lat/Lon Grid Properties make sure the corner is turned on. This displays the corner
location of the UTM zone for the image.
Leave the North Arrow enabled but change the type to Fancy. Add your contact
information in the Lower Right Text text box and click Apply to preview the map. Make
any modifications necessary to ensure a clean legible map product.

Part II: Map Annotations.

ENVIs QuickMap capability allows users to add additional annotations on the map layout.
In the image view window of your generated map, select Overlay Annotation to open
the Annotation: Text dialog box.
Select Object to view the list of annotations that may be placed on top of, or within the
map layout. Select Options Set Display Borders to adjust the margins of the map
layout. This is particularly useful if you have side text or additional annotations (e.g. image
insets) that need to be placed in the margins.
Select Overlay Annotation and then Object Map Key to open the Annotation: Map
Key dialog box. This dialog allows the user to add a legend to the map layout that defines
particular colors. Add a legend to your map that illustrates 1) Water, 2) Vegetation, and 3)
Land Use. Use a combination of the QuickMap Parameters and margin sizes to clearly
position the map legend.
To add image insets the inset image must first be in the Available Bands dialog list.
Once the image is available, select Object Image to open the Annotation: Image dialog.
Use the Select New Image button to open the Annotation Image Input Bands dialog.
This dialog allows the user to select which bands will be displayed in the image inset (both
grayscale and color insets can be generated), as well as selecting a spatial subset of an
existing larger image.
8
 In the Annotation Image Input Bands dialog, experiment with 1) the spatial subset dialog to
interactively select a chip of the larger image to inset, 2) selecting different bands to generate
additional false color and grayscale insets, and 3) adjusting the resize factor to size the inset.
To lay the inset on the image make sure the Image radio button is selected in the
Window option box and left mouse click in the Image display window. The left mouse
button will drag the inset around and the right mouse button will lock the inset in place. To
delete an inset, select Object Selection/Edit and click-drag a box around the inset you
want to delete. This will place a diamond on the inset indicating it is selected. Click
Selected Delete to delete the selected inset or Selected Delete All to delete all insets.

Map layouts will be unique to each individual depending on the type of data and information
the map is intending to convey. Take this time to experiment with other options in the
QuickMap Parameters dialog as well as the Overlay drop down box to generate a generic
layout that may be used in future labs and assignments. Save the QuickMap template you
generate as a .qm file that can be used later and test the template out by restoring it in a later
session. Generating a template now will save the time of duplicating map layouts later.