[Paraview] can vtkImplicitPlaneWidget be used in an XML-only paraview plug-in?

Thu Aug 15 08:43:45 EDT 2013

Dear Utkarsh,

On 14/08/13 16:49, Utkarsh Ayachit wrote:
> Can you post the current XML for the filter? I think I can update that
> to add logic for the widget.

Thank You for Your reply. Well, I already got stuck trying to translate my C++ 
programme into XML. Below is The C++ code but I could not find an example how to 
connect a series of VTK-filters in XML-syntax. Is that possible at all or should 
I translate the C-code to python? The idea is to create a plug-in that does not 
need compiling paraview from source.

Many thanks for Your help
Roman

______________________________________________

/////cli program to clip a voxel-dataset with a plane, as in paraview, but in a 
way that the result is a voxel-dataset again. (using 
vtkImplicitFunctionToImageStencil)
////parameter to specify the clipping plane can be optaitned from the paraview 
widget

#include <vtkSmartPointer.h>

#include <vtkMetaImageReader.h>
#include <vtkPlane.h>
#include <vtkImplicitFunctionToImageStencil.h>
#include <vtkImageData.h>
#include <vtkImageStencil.h>
#include <vtkImageMask.h>
#include <vtkMetaImageWriter.h>

#include <vtkCallbackCommand.h>
#include <vtkCommand.h>

void ProgressFunction ( vtkObject* caller, long unsigned int eventId, void* 
clientData, void* callData )
     {

     vtkAlgorithm *d= static_cast<vtkAlgorithm*>(caller);
     fprintf(stderr, "\rFilter progress: %5.1f%%", 100.0 * d->GetProgress());
     std::cerr.flush();

     }

int main(int argc, char* argv[]){
     if( argc != 10 )
	{
	std::cerr << "Usage: " << argv[0];
	std::cerr << " inputImage";
	std::cerr << " outputImage";
	std::cerr << " origin normal";
	std::cerr << " mask-value";
	std::cerr << std::endl;
	return EXIT_FAILURE;
	}

     if(!(strcasestr(argv[1],".mhd"))) {
	std::cout << "The input should end with .mhd" << std::endl;
	return -1;
	}

     if(!(strcasestr(argv[2],".mhd"))) {
	std::cout << "The output should end with .mhd" << std::endl;
	return -1;
	}

     vtkSmartPointer<vtkCallbackCommand> progressCallback = 
vtkSmartPointer<vtkCallbackCommand>::New();
     progressCallback->SetCallback(ProgressFunction);

     vtkSmartPointer<vtkMetaImageReader> reader =
         vtkSmartPointer<vtkMetaImageReader>::New();

     reader->SetFileName(argv[1]);
     reader->Update();

     vtkSmartPointer<vtkPlane> plane =
         vtkSmartPointer<vtkPlane>::New();

     plane->SetOrigin(atof(argv[3]), atof(argv[4]), atof(argv[5]));
     plane->SetNormal(atof(argv[6]), atof(argv[7]), atof(argv[8]));

     vtkSmartPointer<vtkImplicitFunctionToImageStencil> filter =
         vtkSmartPointer<vtkImplicitFunctionToImageStencil>::New();

     filter->SetInput(plane);
     filter->SetInformationInput(reader->GetOutput());
     std::cout << "Executing vtkImplicitFunctionToImageStencil..." << std::endl;
     filter->AddObserver(vtkCommand::ProgressEvent, progressCallback);
     filter->Update();
     std::cout  << std::endl << "done." << std::endl;

     //// Create an empty (3D) image of appropriate size.
     vtkSmartPointer<vtkImageData> image =
         vtkSmartPointer<vtkImageData>::New();

     //image->SetInformationInput(reader->GetOutput());
     image->SetSpacing(reader->GetOutput()->GetSpacing());
     image->SetOrigin(reader->GetOutput()->GetOrigin());
     image->SetExtent(reader->GetOutput()->GetExtent());
     image->SetScalarTypeToUnsignedChar();
     image->AllocateScalars(); // this causes blender to crash if not enough 
space can be allocated

     //// apply the image stencil to the empty image
     vtkSmartPointer<vtkImageStencil> stencil =
         vtkSmartPointer<vtkImageStencil>::New();

     stencil->SetInput(image);
     stencil->SetStencil(filter->GetOutput());
     //stencil->ReverseStencilOn();
     stencil->SetBackgroundValue(255);

     std::cout << "Executing vtkImageStencil..." << std::endl;
     stencil->AddObserver(vtkCommand::ProgressEvent, progressCallback);
     stencil->Update();
     std::cout  << std::endl << "done." << std::endl;

     //// mask the input image with the stencil
     vtkSmartPointer<vtkImageMask> mask =
         vtkSmartPointer<vtkImageMask>::New();

     // mask->SetImageInputData(reader->GetOutput()); //6.0.0
     // mask->SetMaskInputData(stincil->GetOutput()); //6.0.0
     mask->SetImageInput(reader->GetOutput()); //5.10.1
     mask->SetMaskInput(stencil->GetOutput()); //5.10.1
     mask->SetMaskedOutputValue(atoi(argv[9]));

     std::cout << "Executing vtkImageMask..." << std::endl;
     stencil->AddObserver(vtkCommand::ProgressEvent, progressCallback);
     mask->Update();
     std::cout  << std::endl << "done." << std::endl;

     //// save the output to an mhd-file
     vtkSmartPointer<vtkMetaImageWriter> writer= 
vtkSmartPointer<vtkMetaImageWriter>::New();

     writer->SetFileName(argv[2]);
     writer->SetFileDimensionality(3);
     writer->SetCompression(0);
     writer->SetInputConnection(mask->GetOutputPort());

     std::cout << "Writing image..." << std::endl;
     stencil->AddObserver(vtkCommand::ProgressEvent, progressCallback);
     writer->Write();
     std::cout  << std::endl << "done." << std::endl;

     return EXIT_SUCCESS;
     }

> On Wed, Aug 14, 2013 at 10:26 AM, Dr. Roman Grothausmann
> <grothausmann.roman at mh-hannover.de> wrote:
>> Dear mailing list members,
>>
>>
>> I managed to write c++ vtk-program that uses
>> vtkImplicitFunctionToImageStencil to "clip" image data. However one needs to
>> copy past the origin and normal coordinates of e.g. a clipping plane in
>> paraview to the cli command. Therefore I'd like to integrate this as a
>> plugin into paraview using the vtkImplicitPlaneWidget as a direct
>> interaction method.
>> Now, I wonder if there is a way to write an XML-only paraview plug-in that
>> uses e.g. a vtkImplicitPlaneWidget as input to a chain of vtk-filters? I.e.
>> would it be possible to write an XML-plug-in that would give the same
>> functionality as the paraview clip-filter or would it have to be a c++ based
>> plugin?
>> It seems there is no plug-in in the paraview XML-plugin list that uses a
>> vtkImplicitPlaneWidget nor could I find any instruction on that in the
>> plugin howto.
>>
>> Any help or hints are very much appreciated
>> Roman
>>
>>
>> On 13/08/13 13:33, Dr. Roman Grothausmann wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear mailing list members,
>>>
>>>
>>> Is there a better way (taking less render time) to clip a voxel dataset
>>> along an
>>> arbitrarily oriented plane in paraview than using the clip-filter? It
>>> works find
>>> as long as no volume rendering is chosen as the displaying method but when
>>> I
>>> change to volume rendering it takes more than a day what before took only
>>> a minute.
>>> My guess is, that the change of the type of the dataset caused by the
>>> clip-filter (output is unstructured grid) is not as efficiently rendered
>>> as
>>> vtkImage. For my purpose it would be sufficient to not clip intersected
>>> voxel
>>> themselves, just not to render those on one side of the clipping plane.
>>> Is there any way to achieve that with existing paraview or vtk-filters?
>>> If not should I use vtkImplicitFunctionToImageStencil in a plugin to
>>> create a
>>> mask image from an interactive plane-widget and then render e.g. black
>>> transparent?
>>>
>>> Any help or hints are very much appreciated
>>> Roman
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Dr. Roman Grothausmann
>>
>> Tomographie und Digitale Bildverarbeitung
>> Tomography and Digital Image Analysis
>>
>> Institut für Funktionelle und Angewandte Anatomie, OE 4120
>> Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
>> Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1
>> D-30625 Hannover
>>
>> Tel. +49 511 532-9574
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-- 
Dr. Roman Grothausmann

Tomographie und Digitale Bildverarbeitung
Tomography and Digital Image Analysis

Institut für Funktionelle und Angewandte Anatomie, OE 4120
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1
D-30625 Hannover

Tel. +49 511 532-9574