Sidebar
Working with flat TIFF or JPEG files
Our software can read flat TIFF and JPEG files. If you're using these file formats to work with gross (macroscopic) imaging data, you should be just fine.
However, for the sake of backward compatibility with standard image editing software (anything ranging from MS Paint to Adobe Photoshop), some vendors allow export to “flat” file structures. While this works to some extent, it is also tedious and slow, because the in-memory representation of such a structure is huge.
If you're confused about the difference between “flat” and “pyramid” file structures (or just need a refresher), you can read our primer on WSI file formats on our blog.
PMA.core is developed to make optimal use of pyramidal image data, so you should generally avoid these flat file formats.
Converting
If you do find yourself with a large collectiong, you can use PMA.start and Python automation to convert large flat images to pyramid structures.
