IP Step

Can be one of the following types:

The 'Command' property specifies which IP Command will be executed by this IP Step. The command defines the image processing operation performed, such as deskewing, binarization, background removal, or feature extraction.

How to Configure

• Select an IP Command from the available options. Each command type provides its own set of configurable properties.
• Configure the command's settings to match your processing requirements (e.g., set a binarization threshold, enable/disable features).
• The selected command determines which pixel formats are supported and what results are produced.

The 'Should Execute Expression' property allows you to specify a condition, written as a code expression, that must evaluate to a Boolean value. If the expression evaluates to true, the IP Element will execute; if false, it will be skipped. This enables you to create workflows that adapt dynamically to the properties of the input image or the results of previous processing steps.

How to Configure

• Enter a code expression that returns a Boolean value.
• The expression can reference properties of the current image (e.g., Image.IsColor), results from previous steps (e.g., Results.Measure_Entropy.Entropy > 0.85), or other contextual information.
• If left blank, the IP Element will always execute.

Examples

• Execute only if the input image is color:
  Image.IsColor

• Execute only if the input image is black and white:
  Image.IsBinary

• Execute only if the input image is 8-bit grayscale:
  Image.ColorFormat = GrooperImage.PixelFormat.Pixel8bppGrayscale

• Execute only if the previously-executed Measure Entropy command returned an entropy of more than 85%:
  Results.Measure_Entropy.Entropy > 0.85

• Execute only if the previously-executed Classify Image command returned a Class Name of "Noisy Blue Background":
  Results.Classify_Image.ClassName = "Noisy Blue Background"

Impact

Configuring this property allows you to optimize processing by skipping unnecessary steps, improving performance, and ensuring that only relevant operations are performed on each image.

The 'Next Step Expression' property allows you to control the flow of execution within an IP Profile by specifying, via a code expression, which IP Step or IP Group should be executed next. This expression is evaluated after the current IP Element completes, and can be used to implement conditional branching, early termination, or custom workflow logic.

How to Configure

• Enter a code expression that returns an IP Step or IP Group object.
• The expression can reference the current image, results from previous steps, or any other available context.
• If the expression returns Nothing, execution of the IP Profile will terminate.
• If left blank, execution will proceed to the next item in the profile sequence.

Examples

• If the image is black and white, run the 'Binary Cleanup' IP Group. Otherwise, run the 'Color Cleanup' group:
  If(Image.IsBinary, Steps.Binary_Cleanup, Steps.Color_Cleanup)

• If the image is black and white, terminate execution. Otherwise, proceed to the 'Color Detect' IP Step:
  If(Image.IsBinary, Nothing, Steps.Color_Detect)

Impact

By configuring this property, you can create highly flexible and adaptive workflows that respond to the results of previous processing steps, image characteristics, or other runtime conditions.