Welcome to PhotoModeler

This document describes the PhotoModeler, PhotoModeler Scanner and PhotoModeler

UAS products. PhotoModeler is a Windows program that helps you extract measurements
and 3D models from photographs. By using a camera as an input device, PhotoModeler
lets you capture accurate detail in a short time.

PhotoModeler Scanner has all the capabilities of PhotoModeler plus the ability to scan
surfaces to extract dense point clouds. See Dense Surface Modeling / PhotoModeler
Scanner for information on this product. It also has the ability to model an object over
time. See Time-based Measurement / Motion Projects more information.

PhotoModeler UAS (PhotoModeler for Unmanned Aircraft Systems) has all the
capabilities of PhotoModeler Scanner plus the ability to measure volumes, use multi-
spectral imagery, use imported geographic coordinates (points and camera positions) for
processing and coordinate system setup, and generate project reports in .pdf format. This
product is intended mainly for aerial photography based measurement projects (e.g.
mines/stockpiles, agricultural monitoring, terrain surveys). See Unmanned Aerial
Projects.

“PhotoModeler” will be used in this document interchangably to refer to both the

PhotoModer, PhotoModeler Scanner, and PhotoModeler UAS products.

To use PhotoModeler, one or more photographs of a scene or an object are taken. The
photographs are displayed on screen and the operator marks each photograph with the
mouse, tracing and tagging features of interest. PhotoModeler then combines the data and
locates the marked features in three dimensions. The marks become accurately measured
points, lines, curves, cylinders or surfaces in a single, unified 3D space. The result is a
3D model that can be transferred to any graphics or CAD program.

For an overview of the PhotoModeler process, refer to the section Overview of Producing
a 3D Model.

The Tutorial Movies are the best way to learn PhotoModeler. There are a few concepts in
PhotoModeler that are unique and it is best to read the Quick Start Guide and watch the
tutorials before embarking on your first project.

Technical Support

“We will make sure you succeed”

It is very important to us that all PhotoModeler customers are satisfied. We want to

ensure that every customer can complete their projects with the desired level of quality
and accuracy.

Eos Systems and our resellers/distributors are committed to helping you get started with
PhotoModeler and making the most of the program. Please do not hesitate to contact
Eos or your reseller for support and to have your questions answered. We are very
responsive and we will make sure you succeed.
May we suggest some things to do before contacting support:

If you are new to PhotoModeler or haven’t used a particular function before, please
view the corresponding tutorial video and/or find the description in the help file.

Review the troubleshooting section of the Quick Start Guide and help the file and
look in the index and glossary for relevant information.

Visit the support FAQ on the PhotoModeler web site to see if there are any
suggestions there.

If you think you have found a bug or problem in the product, first try to repeat the
problem and narrow down the circumstances under which it occurs.

If you cannot resolve your problem please do not hesitate to contact us. Visit our
support web site to view our support policies.

When you e-mail or call Technical Support, make sure you have the following ready:

A description of the problem,

A description of the hardware in the PC that PhotoModeler is running on,

Your PhotoModeler serial number (from the Help menu’s About Dialog box - the
serial number is the first 9 digits of your activation code), and

For phone calls, have PhotoModeler running and use a telephone beside your PC.

User Interface
PhotoModeler is a program that runs under Microsoft Windows (2000, XP, and Vista).
It may also run with most Windows NT, 98 and Me systems also but it is not supported
on those platforms. PhotoModeler follows the user interface conventions established by
the Windows operating environment.

Caption Area

The caption area at the top of the application window contains four buttons and a
program title. The title contains the program name "PhotoModeler" and the name of the
active project.

The caption area can be used to move the entire application around the screen. This is
done by pressing the mouse button down on the caption area and holding it down while
moving the PhotoModeler window to its new location.

The button (the PhotoModeler icon) on the extreme left of the caption area is the
System Box. Double clicking on this button closes the application. Clicking once on this
button exposes a menu with standard Windows System Menu choices. These choices
allow the user to size, move and close PhotoModeler.

The left-most button in the right group of the caption area is the minimize button.
Clicking on it turns PhotoModeler into a minimized bar on the desktop toolbar.

The next button is the maximize/restore button. It can be used to make PhotoModeler as
large as possible, or to restore PhotoModeler to its last un-maximized size.

The last button is the "X" close button. It will close/exit PhotoModeler when pressed.

Main Menu

The main menu bar appears immediately underneath the caption area. The entries, on
this menu bar, each access a popup menu containing specific PhotoModeler tasks.
Selecting a menu choice with the mouse or keyboard causes that task to be started. Not
all tasks are always available on the menu. For instance, if you do not have anything
selected, the “Delete Selected Items” menu item will be disabled. Menu selections
which are not appropriate at a particular time cannot be selected. These inappropriate
menu choices are shown dimmed. When these menu items become appropriate
PhotoModeler enables them and allows you to select them.

You can also dock and undock the main menu bar. If you move your mouse over the
left edge (the gripper) of the main menu bar, the cursor will change into a four arrow
cursor indicating that you can move the menu bar. If you click and hold the mouse
down while your mouse cursor shows the four arrows, you can drag the main menu bar
anywhere on your screen. The main menu bar can be docked at the edges of the screen
or ‘floating’ and undocked. As you move towards the top, bottom, left, or right edges,
of the PhotoModeler window, the menu bar will become 'docked' and snap into
position. You can also have the main menu bar 'float' anywhere on your screen. You can
move or customize the main menu bar at anytime.

Note that the main menu bar cannot be hidden like the toolbars. However, if you want
to add or remove tools from the main menu bar, you can do so using Toolbar
Customization. See also Menu/Tool Reference.

Tools

A tool is used to accomplish a task or set a mode. Tools are represented by graphical
buttons on toolbars or menu items under the menus. A tool on a toolbar or menu is used
by clicking the left mouse button.

The type of tools available (displayed or enabled) at any one time depends on the
project being worked on and the type of window that is active, and in some cases what
is selected.

When the cursor is moved over the tool a "tool tip" text message appears to help you
remember what each tool does. If you dislike this or the tip causes problems with your
system you can turn them off in the Toolbar Customization dialog. You can also control
whether the short cut key for each tool appears in the “tool tip” using the same
customization dialog. Tool tips look like this :

See also Menu/Tool Reference for more detail on the types of tools available and what
each tool does.

Note: You can also get information about what a tool does by reading the Status Bars
contents at the bottom of the main PhotoModeler window. As you move your mouse
over a tool (either a tool on any of the toolbars or under any of the menus), a brief
explanation of the purpose of the tool and its shortcut key (if it has one) is shown on the
status bar.
Toolbars

Under the main menu bar are toolbars containing a series of tools. These graphical
buttons initiate commonly used PhotoModeler tasks. The Menu/Tool Reference lists
and describes tools used available in PhotoModeler. This section provides a brief
overview of toolbars and the more commonly used tools.

If you click the right mouse button down while over any part of the toolbar or main
menu bar, a list of available toolbars is shown. By selecting any of the toolbars in this
list, you can toggle the toolbar's visibility on or off. You can also set any toolbar's
visibility using Toolbar Customization. See also Toolbars and Menus section of
Preferences - User Interface.

Like the main menu bar, you can dock and undock toolbars. If you move your mouse
over the left edge of a toolbar (the gripper) the cursor will change into a four arrow
cursor indicating that you can move the toolbar. If you click and hold the mouse down
while your mouse cursor shows the four arrows, you can drag the toolbar anywhere on
your screen. Toolbars can be docked at the edges of the screen or ‘floating’ and
undocked. As you move towards the top, bottom, left, or right edges, of the
PhotoModeler window, the toolbar will become 'docked' and snap into position. You
can 'float' your toolbar anywhere on your screen.

When the toolbar is floating, you can hide it by clicking the close button on the top right
of the toolbar. To make it visible again, right click anywhere in the menu or toolbar area
and select a toolbar to toggle its visibility.

When you first install PhotoModeler, the Standard Toolbar and Modes Toolbar will be
visible. Other toolbars will be hidden (hidden toolbars can be made visible by right
clicking anywhere in the menu or toolbar area and select a toolbar to toggle its
visibility, or using the Toolbar Customization).
The toolbars show most commonly used tools for these types of projects and simplify
the user interface (all tools shown on toolbars are also available as items on the Main
menu; the toolbars provide quick access to the most often used tools).

The following shows one of the typical toolbar setups in PhotoModeler:

The top row is the main menu: