User’s manual
FLIR Tools/Tools+

6.0

User’s manual
FLIR Tools/Tools+#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-USiii

Table of contents

1

Legal disclaimer ................................................................................1
1.1
Legal disclaimer ....................................................................... 1
1.2
Usage statistics ........................................................................ 1
1.3
Changes to registry ................................................................... 1
1.4
Copyright ................................................................................ 1
1.5
Quality assurance ..................................................................... 2

2

Notice to user ...................................................................................3
2.1
User-to-user forums .................................................................. 3
2.2
Training .................................................................................. 3
2.3
Documentation updates ............................................................. 3
2.4
Software updates...................................................................... 3
2.5
Important note about this manual.................................................. 3
2.6
Additional license information ...................................................... 3

3

Customer help ..................................................................................4
3.1
General .................................................................................. 4
3.2
Submitting a question ................................................................ 4
3.3
Downloads .............................................................................. 5

4

Introduction ......................................................................................6
4.1
Comparison between FLIR Tools and FLIR Tools+ ........................... 6

5

Installation .......................................................................................8
5.1
System requirements................................................................. 8
5.1.1 Operating system ........................................................... 8
5.1.2 Hardware ..................................................................... 8
5.2
Installation of FLIR Tools/Tools+ ................................................... 8
5.2.1 Procedure .................................................................... 8

6

Login ............................................................................................. 10
6.1
General ................................................................................ 10
6.2
Login procedure ..................................................................... 10
6.3
Logout.................................................................................. 11

7

Enabling FLIR Tools+ ....................................................................... 13

8Managing licenses........................................................................... 14
8.1
Activating your license ............................................................. 14
8.1.1 General...................................................................... 14
8.1.2 Figure ........................................................................ 14
8.1.3 Activating FLIR Tools/Tools+ online .................................. 14
8.1.4 Activating FLIR Tools/Tools+ by e-mail .............................. 14
8.2
Activating FLIR Tools/Tools+ on a computer with no internet
access ................................................................................. 15
8.3
Transferring your license........................................................... 16
8.3.1 General...................................................................... 16
8.3.2 Figure ........................................................................ 17
8.3.3 Procedure .................................................................. 17
8.4
Activating additional software modules ........................................ 17
8.4.1 General...................................................................... 17
8.4.2 Figure ........................................................................ 18
8.4.3 Procedure .................................................................. 18

9

Workflow ........................................................................................ 19
9.1
General ................................................................................ 19
9.2
Figure .................................................................................. 19
9.3
Explanation ........................................................................... 19

10

Importing images ............................................................................ 20
10.1
Procedure ............................................................................. 20
10.2
About UltraMax ...................................................................... 21#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-USv

Table of contents

11

Screen elements and toolbar buttons ................................................ 22
11.1
Window elements: the Library tab............................................... 22
11.1.1 Figure ........................................................................ 22
11.1.2 Explanation................................................................. 22
11.2
Window elements: the Instruments tab ........................................ 22
11.2.1 Figure ........................................................................ 23
11.2.2 Explanation................................................................. 23
11.3
Window elements: the Create imagesheet tab............................... 24
11.3.1 Figure ........................................................................ 24
11.3.2 Explanation................................................................. 24
11.4
Window elements: the Report tab ............................................... 25
11.4.1 Figure ........................................................................ 25
11.4.2 Explanation................................................................. 25
11.5
Window elements: the image-editing window (for still
images) ................................................................................ 26
11.5.1 Figure ........................................................................ 26
11.5.2 Explanation................................................................. 26
11.6
Window elements: the image-editing window (for video clips) ........... 27
11.6.1 Figure ........................................................................ 27
11.6.2 Explanation................................................................. 27
11.7
Toolbar buttons (on the Instruments tab) ...................................... 27
11.8
Toolbar buttons (in the image-editing window) ............................... 28
11.9
Toolbar buttons (in the report-editing window) ............................... 29
11.10 The Panorama tab .................................................................. 29
11.10.1 Figure ........................................................................ 29
11.10.2 Explanation................................................................. 29

12Live image streaming of camera images............................................. 30
12.1
General ................................................................................ 30
12.2
Figure .................................................................................. 30
12.3
Procedure ............................................................................. 30

13Managing images and folders ........................................................... 32
13.1
Grouping files ........................................................................ 32
13.1.1 General...................................................................... 32
13.1.2 Procedure .................................................................. 32
13.2
Saving a sequence file frame as a radiometric *.jpg file ................... 32
13.2.1 General...................................................................... 32
13.2.2 Procedure .................................................................. 32
13.3
Saving a sequence file frame as an *.avi file.................................. 32
13.3.1 General...................................................................... 32
13.3.2 Procedure .................................................................. 32
13.4
Changing the playback speed.................................................... 32
13.4.1 General...................................................................... 32
13.4.2 Procedure .................................................................. 33
13.5
Cloning images ...................................................................... 33
13.5.1 General...................................................................... 33
13.5.2 Procedure .................................................................. 33
13.6
Extracting a digital camera photo from a multispectral image ............ 33
13.6.1 General...................................................................... 33
13.6.2 Procedure: Extracting a photo ......................................... 33
13.6.3 Procedure: Extracting a photo at its full field of view ............. 33
13.7
Enhancing the resolution of an image .......................................... 33
13.7.1 General...................................................................... 33
13.7.2 Indication of supported images........................................ 33
13.7.3 Procedure .................................................................. 34
13.8
Deleting images ..................................................................... 34#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-USvi

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13.9

13.10

13.11

14

13.8.1 General...................................................................... 34
13.8.2 Procedure .................................................................. 34
Adding a directory................................................................... 34
13.9.1 General...................................................................... 34
13.9.2 Procedure .................................................................. 34
Deleting a directory ................................................................. 35
13.10.1 General...................................................................... 35
13.10.2 Procedure .................................................................. 35
Creating a subfolder ................................................................ 35
13.11.1 General...................................................................... 35
13.11.2 Procedure .................................................................. 35

Analyzing images ............................................................................ 36
14.1
Laying out a measurement tool .................................................. 36
14.1.1 General...................................................................... 36
14.1.2 Procedure .................................................................. 36
14.2
Moving a measurement tool ...................................................... 36
14.2.1 General...................................................................... 36
14.2.2 Procedure .................................................................. 36
14.3
Resizing a measurement tool .................................................... 36
14.3.1 General...................................................................... 36
14.3.2 Procedure .................................................................. 36
14.4
Deleting a measurement tool ..................................................... 37
14.4.1 General...................................................................... 37
14.4.2 Procedure .................................................................. 37
14.5
Creating local markers for a measurement tool .............................. 37
14.5.1 General...................................................................... 37
14.5.2 Procedure .................................................................. 37
14.6
Setting local parameters for a measurement tool............................ 38
14.6.1 General...................................................................... 38
14.6.2 Procedure .................................................................. 38
14.7
Working with isotherms ............................................................ 38
14.7.1 General...................................................................... 38
14.7.2 Setting up general isotherms (Above, Below)...................... 38
14.7.3 Setting up general isotherms (Interval) .............................. 38
14.7.4 Setting up a humidity isotherm ........................................ 39
14.7.5 Setting up an insulation isotherm ..................................... 39
14.7.6 Setting up a custom isotherm.......................................... 40
14.8
Changing the temperature levels ................................................ 41
14.8.1 General...................................................................... 41
14.8.2 Why change temperature levels? ..................................... 41
14.8.3 Changing the top level................................................... 41
14.8.4 Changing the bottom level.............................................. 42
14.8.5 Changing both the top and bottom levels at the sametime........................................................................... 42
14.9
Auto-adjusting an image........................................................... 42
14.9.1 General...................................................................... 42
14.9.2 Procedure .................................................................. 42
14.10 Defining an auto-adjust region ................................................... 42
14.10.1 General...................................................................... 42
14.10.2 Procedure .................................................................. 43
14.11 Changing the color distribution................................................... 43
14.11.1 General...................................................................... 43
14.11.2 Definitions .................................................................. 43
14.11.3 Procedure .................................................................. 43
14.12 Changing the palette ............................................................... 43#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-USvii

Table of contents

14.13

14.14

14.15

14.16
14.17

14.12.1 General...................................................................... 43
14.12.2 Procedure .................................................................. 43
Changing the image mode ........................................................ 44
14.13.1 General...................................................................... 44
14.13.2 Types of image modes .................................................. 44
Exporting to CSV .................................................................... 45
14.14.1 General...................................................................... 45
14.14.2 Procedure .................................................................. 45
Creating a plot........................................................................ 45
14.15.1 General...................................................................... 45
14.15.2 Procedure .................................................................. 45
Calculating areas .................................................................... 46
14.16.1 General...................................................................... 46
Calculating lengths.................................................................. 47
14.17.1 General...................................................................... 47

15

Working with annotations ................................................................. 48
15.1
About image descriptions ......................................................... 48
15.1.1 What is an image description? ........................................ 48
15.2
About text annotations ............................................................. 48
15.2.1 What is a text annotation? .............................................. 48
15.2.2 Definition of label and value ............................................ 48
15.2.3 Example markup structure.............................................. 49
15.2.4 Creating a text annotation for an image ............................. 49
15.2.5 Creating a text annotation template .................................. 49

16

Creating panoramas ........................................................................ 51
16.1
General ................................................................................ 51
16.2
Figure .................................................................................. 51
16.3
Procedure ............................................................................. 51

17

Creating reports .............................................................................. 52
17.1
General ................................................................................ 52
17.2
Setting a default report template................................................. 52
17.3
Saving a report in the intermediary *.repx format ............................ 53
17.4
Creating an Adobe PDF imagesheet ........................................... 53
17.5
Creating an Adobe PDF report ................................................... 53
17.6
Creating a radiometric Microsoft Word report ................................ 54

18

Working in the Microsoft Word environment ....................................... 57
18.1
Managing objects in the report ................................................... 57
18.1.1 General...................................................................... 57
18.1.2 Inserting a thermal image object ...................................... 57
18.1.3 Inserting a digital photo object......................................... 57
18.1.4 Inserting a field object ................................................... 58
18.1.5 Inserting a table object .................................................. 59
18.1.6 Inserting a report properties object ................................... 65
18.1.7 Resizing objects........................................................... 66
18.1.8 Replacing an image ...................................................... 67
18.1.9 Deleting objects ........................................................... 67
18.2
Editing an image..................................................................... 68
18.3
Working with formulas.............................................................. 68
18.3.1 General...................................................................... 68
18.3.2 Creating a simple formula .............................................. 68
18.3.3 Creating a conditional formula......................................... 71
18.4
Document properties ............................................................... 74
18.4.1 General...................................................................... 74
18.4.2 Types of document properties ......................................... 74#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US

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Table of contents

18.5
18.6
18.7
18.8
18.9
19

18.4.3 Creating and editing Microsoft Word document
properties ................................................................... 74
Creating a report..................................................................... 74
Exporting a report ................................................................... 75
Creating a report template ........................................................ 75
Changing the settings .............................................................. 75
Help menu ............................................................................ 76

Analyzing and editing images using the FLIR Report Studio Image
Editor............................................................................................. 77
19.1
General ................................................................................ 77
19.2
Starting the Image Editor .......................................................... 77
19.2.1 Starting the Image Editor from the FLIR Word Add-in ........... 77
19.2.2 Starting the Image Editor from the FLIR Report Studiowizard........................................................................ 77
19.3
Image Editor screen elements ................................................... 78
19.3.1 Figure ........................................................................ 78
19.3.2 Explanation................................................................. 78
19.4
Basic image editing functions .................................................... 79
19.4.1 Rotating the image ....................................................... 79
19.4.2 Cropping the image ...................................................... 79
19.5
Working with measurement tools ................................................ 79
19.5.1 General...................................................................... 79
19.5.2 Adding a measurement tool ............................................ 80
19.5.3 Moving and resizing a measurement tool........................... 80
19.5.4 Creating local markers for a measurement tool ................... 80
19.5.5 Calculating areas ......................................................... 80
19.5.6 Setting up a difference calculation.................................... 81
19.5.7 Deleting a measurement tool .......................................... 82
19.6
Adjusting the infrared image ...................................................... 82
19.6.1 General...................................................................... 82
19.6.2 Example 1 .................................................................. 82
19.6.3 Example 2 .................................................................. 83
19.6.4 Changing the temperature levels ..................................... 83
19.6.5 Auto-adjusting the image ............................................... 84
19.6.6 Defining an auto-adjust region......................................... 84
19.7
Changing the color distribution................................................... 85
19.7.1 General...................................................................... 85
19.7.2 Definitions .................................................................. 85
19.7.3 Procedure .................................................................. 85
19.8
Changing the color palette ........................................................ 86
19.8.1 General...................................................................... 86
19.8.2 Procedure .................................................................. 87
19.9
Changing the image modes ...................................................... 88
19.9.1 General...................................................................... 88
19.9.2 Types of image modes .................................................. 88
19.9.3 Procedure .................................................................. 89
19.10 Working with color alarms and isotherms ..................................... 89
19.10.1 General...................................................................... 89
19.10.2 Image examples .......................................................... 90
19.10.3 Setting up above and below alarms .................................. 91
19.10.4 Setting up an interval alarm ............................................ 91
19.10.5 Setting up a humidity alarm ............................................ 92
19.10.6 Setting up an insulation alarm ......................................... 92
19.10.7 Setting up a custom alarm .............................................. 93
19.11 Changing the local parameters for a measurement tool ................... 93
19.11.1 General...................................................................... 93#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-USix

Table of contents

19.12

19.11.2 Procedure .................................................................. 94
Working with annotations.......................................................... 94
19.12.1 General...................................................................... 94
19.12.2 About image descriptions............................................... 94
19.12.3 About text annotations................................................... 95

20

Creating report templates................................................................. 96
20.1
General ................................................................................ 96
20.1.1 Few or many report templates? ....................................... 96
20.1.2 Typical structure........................................................... 96
20.1.3 A note about working in the Microsoft Word
environment ................................................................ 96
20.2
Creating a custom infrared report template ................................... 96
20.2.1 Customizing a basic report template................................. 97
20.2.2 Modifying an existing template ........................................ 97
20.2.3 Adding multiple DATA sections ........................................ 98
20.2.4 Selecting a template category ......................................... 99

21

Creating reports using the FLIR Report Studio wizard........................ 101
21.1
General .............................................................................. 101
21.2
Types of reports.................................................................... 101
21.3
Procedure ........................................................................... 101
21.4
Saving a session .................................................................. 104
21.5
Changing the settings ............................................................ 105

22

Updating the camera and PC software ............................................. 107
22.1
Updating the PC software ....................................................... 107
22.1.1 General.................................................................... 107
22.1.2 Procedure ................................................................ 107
22.2
Updating the camera firmware ................................................. 107
22.2.1 General.................................................................... 107
22.2.2 Procedure ................................................................ 107

23

Changing settings ......................................................................... 108
23.1
Settings relating to Options FLIR Tools/Tools+............................. 108
23.1.1 The Options dialog (for program-wide options) ................. 108
23.1.2 The Options dialog (for plot-specific options) .................... 110
23.2
Settings relating to FLIR Kx3 and FLIR Kx5 series cameras ........... 111
23.2.1 General.................................................................... 111
23.2.2 The General settings tab.............................................. 112
23.2.3 The User interface tab ................................................. 112
23.2.4 Explanation of the different camera modes ...................... 114
23.3
Settings relating to FLIR Kx series cameras ................................ 116
23.3.1 General.................................................................... 116
23.3.2 The General settings tab.............................................. 117
23.3.3 The User interface tab ................................................. 118
23.3.4 Explanation of the different camera modes ...................... 119

24

Supported file formats ................................................................... 123
24.1
General .............................................................................. 123
24.2
Radiometric file formats.......................................................... 123
24.3
Non-radiometric file formats .................................................... 123

25

About FLIR Systems ...................................................................... 124
25.1
More than just an infrared camera ............................................ 125
25.2
Sharing our knowledge .......................................................... 125
25.3
Supporting our customers....................................................... 126

26

Definitions and laws ...................................................................... 127

27

Thermographic measurement techniques ........................................ 129
27.1
Introduction ........................................................................ 129#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-USxTable of contents

27.2
27.3
27.4
27.5
27.6

Emissivity............................................................................ 129
27.2.1 Finding the emissivity of a sample .................................. 129
Reflected apparent temperature............................................... 133
Distance ............................................................................. 133
Relative humidity .................................................................. 133
Other parameters.................................................................. 133

28

History of infrared technology......................................................... 134

29

Theory of thermography................................................................. 137
29.1
Introduction ......................................................................... 137
29.2
The electromagnetic spectrum................................................. 137
29.3
Blackbody radiation............................................................... 137
29.3.1 Planck’s law .............................................................. 138
29.3.2 Wien’s displacement law.............................................. 139
29.3.3 Stefan-Boltzmann's law ............................................... 140
29.3.4 Non-blackbody emitters............................................... 141
29.4
Infrared semi-transparent materials........................................... 143

30

The measurement formula.............................................................. 144

31

Emissivity tables ........................................................................... 148
31.1
References.......................................................................... 148
31.2
Tables ................................................................................ 148#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US

xi

1

Legal disclaimer

1.1 Legal disclaimer
All products manufactured by FLIR Systems are warranted against defective materials
and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the delivery date of the original purchase, provided such products have been under normal storage, use and service, and inaccordance with FLIR Systems instruction.
Products which are not manufactured by FLIR Systems but included in systems delivered by FLIR Systems to the original purchaser, carry the warranty, if any, of the particular supplier only. FLIR Systems has no responsibility whatsoever for such products.
The warranty extends only to the original purchaser and is not transferable. It is not applicable to any product which has been subjected to misuse, neglect, accident or abnormal
conditions of operation. Expendable parts are excluded from the warranty.
In the case of a defect in a product covered by this warranty the product must not be further used in order to prevent additional damage. The purchaser shall promptly report any
defect to FLIR Systems or this warranty will not apply.
FLIR Systems will, at its option, repair or replace any such defective product free ofcharge if, upon inspection, it proves to be defective in material or workmanship and provided that it is returned to FLIR Systems within the said one-year period.
FLIR Systems has no other obligation or liability for defects than those set forth above.
No other warranty is expressed or implied. FLIR Systems specifically disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
FLIR Systems shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential loss or damage, whether based on contract, tort or any other legal theory.
This warranty shall be governed by Swedish law.
Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or in connection with this warranty, shallbe finally settled by arbitration in accordance with the Rules of the Arbitration Institute of
the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. The place of arbitration shall be Stockholm. The
language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English.
1.2 Usage statistics
FLIR Systems reserves the right to gather anonymous usage statistics to help maintainand improve the quality of our software and services.
1.3 Changes to registry
The registry entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\LmCompatibilityLevel will be automatically changed to level 2 if the FLIR Camera Monitor service detects a FLIR camera connected to the computer with a USB cable. The
modification will only be executed if the camera device implements a remote network
service that supports network logons.
1.4 Copyright© 2016, FLIR Systems, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. No parts of the software including source code may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed or translated into any
language or computer language in any form or by any means, electronic, magnetic, optical, manual or otherwise, without the prior written permission of FLIR Systems.
The documentation must not, in whole or part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced,
translated or transmitted to any electronic medium or machine readable form without prior consent, in writing, from FLIR Systems.
Names and marks appearing on the products herein are either registered trademarks ortrademarks of FLIR Systems and/or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, trade names
or company names referenced herein are used for identification only and are the property of their respective owners.

#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US1

1

Legal disclaimer

1.5 Quality assurance
The Quality Management System under which these products are developed and manufactured has been certified in accordance with the ISO 9001 standard.
FLIR Systems is committed to a policy of continuous development; therefore we reserve
the right to make changes and improvements on any of the products without prior notice.

#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US2

2

Notice to user

2.1

User-to-user forums

Exchange ideas, problems, and infrared solutions with fellow thermographers around theworld in our user-to-user forums. To go to the forums, visit:
http://forum.infraredtraining.com/

2.2

Training

To read about infrared training, visit:• http://www.infraredtraining.com• http://www.irtraining.com• http://www.irtraining.eu

2.3

Documentation updates

Our manuals are updated several times per year, and we also issue product-critical notifications of changes on a regular basis.
To access the latest manuals, translations of manuals, and notifications, go to the Download tab at:
http://support.flir.com
It only takes a few minutes to register online. In the download area you will also find thelatest releases of manuals for our other products, as well as manuals for our historicaland obsolete products.

2.4

Software updates

FLIR Systems regularly issues software updates and you can update the software using
this update service. Depending on your software, this update service is located at one orboth of the following locations:• Start > FLIR Systems > [Software] > Check for updates.
• Help > Check for updates.

2.5

Important note about this manual

FLIR Systems issues generic manuals that cover several software variants within a software suite.
This means that this manual may contain descriptions and explanations that do not apply
to your software variant.

2.6

Additional license information

For each purchased software license, the software may be installed, activated, and used
on two devices, e.g., one laptop computer for on-site data acquisition, and one desktop
computer for analysis in the office.

#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US3

3

Customer help

3.1

GeneralFor customer help, visit:
http://support.flir.com

3.2

Submitting a question

To submit a question to the customer help team, you must be a registered user. It only
takes a few minutes to register online. If you only want to search the knowledgebase forexisting questions and answers, you do not need to be a registered user.
When you want to submit a question, make sure that you have the following information
to hand:• The camera model• The camera serial number• The communication protocol, or method, between the camera and your device (for example, SD card reader, HDMI, Ethernet, USB, or FireWire)• Device type (PC/Mac/iPhone/iPad/Android device, etc.)• Version of any programs from FLIR Systems#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US

4

3

Customer help

• Full name, publication number, and revision number of the manual

3.3

Downloads

On the customer help site you can also download the following, when applicable for the
product:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Firmware updates for your infrared camera.
Program updates for your PC/Mac software.
Freeware and evaluation versions of PC/Mac software.
User documentation for current, obsolete, and historical products.
Mechanical drawings (in *.dxf and *.pdf format).
Cad data models (in *.stp format).
Application stories.
Technical datasheets.
Product catalogs.

#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US5

4

Introduction

FLIR Tools/Tools+ is a software suite specifically designed to provide an easy way to update your camera and create inspection reports.
Examples of what you can do in FLIR Tools/Tools+ include the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Import images from your camera to your computer.
Apply filters when searching for images.
Lay out, move, and resize measurement tools on any infrared image.
Group and ungroup files.
Create panoramas by stitching several smaller images into a larger one.
Create PDF imagesheets of any images of your choice.
Add headers, footers, and logos to imagesheets.
Create PDF/Microsoft Word reports for images of your choice.
Add headers, footers, and logos to reports.
Update your camera with the latest firmware.

4.1 Comparison between FLIR Tools and FLIR
Tools+
This table explains the difference between FLIR Tools and FLIR Tools+.
Feature/function

FLIR Tools

FLIR Tools+

Import images using USB.

X

X

Create infrared/digital photo image groups
manually.

X

X

Measure temperatures using spots, areas, lines,
and isotherms.

X

X

Measure a temperature difference.

X

X

Adjust object parameters.

X

X

View a live image.

X

X

Save infrared *.jpg files from a live image.

X

X

Record a video sequence (*.seq).

X

Record a video sequence (*.csq).

X

Replay a recorded sequence.

X

X

Export a recorded sequence to *.avi.

X

X

Create a temporal plot.

X

X

Export plot data to Microsoft Excel.

X

X

Export an image to *.csv format.

X

X#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US6

4

Introduction

Feature/function

FLIR Tools

Create a panorama image.
Create a PDF report.

FLIR Tools+
X

X

X

Create a non-radiometric Microsoft Word report

X

Create a radiometric Microsoft Word report

X

Create text annotation templates for the camera.

X

X

Add/edit text annotations and image descriptions.

X

X

Listen to voice comments on infrared images.

X

X

Note
A new FLIR Word Add-in was introduced in FLIR Tools/Tools+ version 6.0. The FLIR
Word Add-in adds a number of commands that are specific to the area of infrared imaging and reporting in the Microsoft Word environment. For legacy FLIR Word Add-in information, refer to the manual for FLIR Tools/Tools+ version 5.12 (publication number:
T810199).

#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US

7

5Installation

5.1

System requirements

5.1.1 Operating system
FLIR Tools/Tools+ supports USB 2.0 and 3.0 communication for the following PC operating systems:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Microsoft Windows 7, 32 bit.
Microsoft Windows 7, 64 bit.
Microsoft Windows 8, 32 bit.
Microsoft Windows 8, 64 bit.
Microsoft Windows 10, 32 bit.
Microsoft Windows 10, 64 bit.

5.1.2 Hardware
•
•
•
•
•

Personal computer with a dual-core 2 GHz processor.
4 GB of RAM (minimum—8 GB recommended).
128 GB hard disk, with at least 15 GB of available hard disk space.
DVD-ROM drive.
Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
◦
◦
◦
◦

•
•
•
•

WDDM driver
128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
32 bits per pixel.

SVGA (1024 × 768) monitor (or higher resolution).
Internet access (fees may apply).
Audio output.
Keyboard and mouse, or a compatible pointing device.

5.2

Installation of FLIR Tools/Tools+

Note• If you have FLIR Tools/Tools+ with the legacy FLIR Word Add-in (version 5.12 or lower) installed, you must first uninstall this version of FLIR Tools/Tools+.
• Before you install FLIR Tools/Tools+, close all programs.
5.2.1 Procedure
Follow this procedure:
1. Double-click the installation file FLIR Tools.exe. This starts the installation wizard.

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5Installation

2. Select the I agree to the license terms and conditions and the FLIR Report Studiocheck boxes. Click Install. This starts the setup of FLIR Tools/Tools+.

3. When the setup is completed, click Close.

4. The installation is now complete. If you are asked to restart your computer, do so.
Follow this procedure:
1. Insert the FLIR Tools/Tools+ installation CD/DVD into the CD/DVD drive. The installation should start automatically.
2. In the Autoplay dialog box, click Run setup.exe (Published by FLIR Systems).
3. In the User Account Control dialog box, confirm that you want to install FLIR Tools/
Tools+.
4. In the Ready to Install the Program dialog box, click Install.
5. Click Finish. The installation is now complete. If you are asked to restart your computer, do so.

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Login

6.1

GeneralThe first time you start FLIR Tools/Tools+, you must log in with a FLIR Customer Support
account. If you already have an existing FLIR Customer Support account, you can use
the same login credentials.
Note• When you log in, your computer must have internet access.
• Unless you log out, you do not need to log in again to use FLIR Tools/Tools+.

6.2

Login procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
2. The FLIR Login and Registration window is displayed:

3. To log in with your existing FLIR Customer Support account, do the following:
3.1.
3.2.

In the FLIR Login and Registration window, enter your username andpassword.
Click Log In. Depending on the internet connection, it may take a few seconds
for FLIR Tools/Tools+ to start.

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Login

4. To create a new FLIR Customer Support account, do the following:
4.1.
4.2.

4.3.
4.4.

6.3

In the FLIR Login and Registration window, click Create a New Account. This
opens the FLIR Customer Support Center page in a web browser.
Enter the required information and click Create Account.

In the FLIR Login and Registration window, enter your username andpassword.
Click Log In. Depending on the internet connection, it may take a few seconds
for FLIR Tools/Tools+ to start.

LogoutNormally, there is no need to log out. If you log out, you need to log in again to start FLIR
Tools/Tools+.
Follow this procedure:
1. In the upper menu bar, to the far right, click your username.

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Login

2. Click Log Out.

3. In the dialog box, do one of the following:• To log out and exit FLIR Tools/Tools+, click Yes. This will close the application, andall of your unsaved work will be lost.
• To cancel and return to the application, click Cancel.

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7Enabling FLIR Tools+

FLIR Tools+ adds a number of features to FLIR Tools, such as recording and play-backof radiometric video files, time–temperature plotting, Microsoft Word reporting, groupingof files, stitching of images into panoramas, and more.
To enable FLIR Tools+, follow this procedure:
1. On the Help menu, click License options.
2. For FLIR Tools+, click Apply.
3. Restart the program.
A 30-day evaluation version of FLIR Tools+ has now begun. If you want to use theprogram after 30 days, you need to purchase it.
For more information, see section 8.4 Activating additional software modules, page 17.

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8Managing licenses

8.1

Activating your license

8.1.1 General
The first time you start FLIR Tools/Tools+ you will be able to choose one of the following
options:••••

Activate FLIR Tools/Tools+ online.
Activate FLIR Tools/Tools+ by e-mail.
Purchase FLIR Tools/Tools+ and receive a serial number for activation.
Use FLIR Tools/Tools+ for free during an evaluation period.

8.1.2 Figure

Figure 8.1 Activation dialog box.

8.1.3 Activating FLIR Tools/Tools+ online
NoteYour computer needs to have internet access during this procedure.

Follow this procedure:
1. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
2. In the web activation dialog box, select I have a Serial Number and I want to activate
FLIR Tools/Tools+.
3. Click Next.
4. Enter your serial number, name, company and e-mail address. The name should bethat of the license holder.
5. Click Next.
6. Click Activate now. This will start the web activation process.
7. When the message Online activation was successful is displayed, click Close.
You have now successfully activated FLIR Tools/Tools+.
8.1.4 Activating FLIR Tools/Tools+ by e-mailNoteYour computer needs to have internet access during this procedure.

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8Managing licenses

Follow this procedure:
1. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
2. In the web activation dialog box, click Activate the product by e-mail.
3. Enter your serial number, name, company and e-mail address. The name should bethat of the license holder.
4. Click Request Unlock Key by E-mail.
5. Your default e-mail client now opens, and an unsent e-mail with the license information is displayed.
Note

Send this e-mail without altering the content.

The main purpose of the e-mail is to send the license information to the activation
center.
6. Click Next. The program will now start and you can continue working while waiting for
the unlock key. You should receive an e-mail with the unlock key within 2 days.
7. When the e-mail with the unlock key arrives, start the program and enter the unlock
key in the text box. See the figure below.

Figure 8.2 Unlock key dialog box.

8.2 Activating FLIR Tools/Tools+ on a computerwith no internet access
If your computer does not have internet access, you can request the unlock key by e-mailfrom another computer.
Follow this procedure:
1. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
2. In the web activation dialog box, click Activate the product by e-mail.
3. Enter your serial number, name, company and e-mail address. The name should bethat of the license holder.
4. Click Request Unlock Key by E-mail.
5. Your default e-mail client now opens, and an unsent e-mail with the license information is displayed.
Note If there is no e-mail client on the computer, you will be prompted to configure
an e-mail client.
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8Managing licenses

6. Copy the e-mail, without altering the content, to e.g. an USB stick and send the email to activate@flir.se from another computer.
The main purpose of the e-mail is to send the license information to the activation
center.
7. Click Next. The program will now start and you can continue working while waiting for
the unlock key. You should receive an e-mail with the unlock key within 2 days.
8. When the e-mail with the unlock key arrives, start the program and enter the unlock
key in the text box. See the figure below.

Figure 8.3 Unlock key dialog box.

8.3

Transferring your license

8.3.1 General
You can transfer a license from one computer to another computer, as long as you do not
exceed the number of purchased licenses.
This lets you use the software on, for example, a desktop PC and a laptop computer.

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8.3.2 Figure

Figure 8.4 License viewer (example image only).

8.3.3 Procedure
NoteYour computer needs to have internet access during this procedure.

Follow this procedure:
1. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
2. On the Help menu, select Show license information. This will display the license viewer shown above.
3. In the license viewer, click Transfer license. This will display a deactivation dialog box.
4. In the deactivation dialog box, click Deactivate.
5. On the computer to which you want to transfer the license, start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
As soon as the computer has internet access, the license will be automaticallyadopted.
Note The adoption of licenses is based on a “first-come, first-serve” concept. Thismeans that the first computer that gets internet access automatically adopts the transferred license.

8.4

Activating additional software modules

8.4.1 General
For some software, you can purchase additional modules from FLIR Systems. Before
your can use the module, you need to activate it.

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8.4.2 Figure

Figure 8.5 License viewer, showing available software modules (example image only).

8.4.3 Procedure
NoteYour computer needs to have internet access during this procedure.

Follow this procedure:
1. Download and install the software module. Software modules are typically delivered
as printed scratchcards with a download link.
2. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
3. On the Help menu, select Show license information. This will display the license viewer shown above.
4. Select the module that you have purchased.
5. Click Activation Key.
6. On the scratchcard, scratch the field to see the activation key.
7. Enter the key into the Activation Key text box.
8. Click OK.
The software module has now been activated.

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Workflow

9.1

GeneralWhen you carry out an infrared inspection you follow a typical workflow. This section
gives an example of an infrared inspection workflow.

9.2

Figure9.3

Explanation

1.
2.
3.
4.

Use your camera to take your infrared images and/or digital photos.
Connect your camera to a PC using a USB connector.
Import the images from the camera into FLIR Tools/Tools+.
Do one of the following:••••

Create a PDF imagesheet in FLIR Tools.
Create a PDF report in FLIR Tools.
Create a non-radiometric Microsoft Word report in FLIR Tools+.
Create a radiometric Microsoft Word report in FLIR Tools+.

5. Send the report to your client as an attachment to an e-mail.

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Importing images

10.1 Procedure
Follow this procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Install FLIR Tools/Tools+ on your computer.
Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
Turn on the camera.
Connect the camera to the computer, using a USB cable. This displays a dialog box.

Figure 10.1 Import guide (example).

Note For some older camera models, you need to set the USB mode to mass storage device (MSD) or mass storage device—UVC (MSD-UVC).
5. Click Import images from camera. This displays a dialog box where you can see theimages in the camera. For cameras with more than one folder, you can select thefolders in the left pane.
6. In the right pane, select one or more of the check boxes:••••

Hide already imported items.
Delete items from device after import.
Enhance image resolution (UltraMax, see below).
Backup original images before enhancement.

7. Applicable to cameras with more than one folder. Do one of the following:• To import all images in all folders, click Import all folders at the bottom left.
• To import all images in multiple folders, use the Ctrl key + click to select the folders. Then click Import folders at the bottom right.
• To import all images in one folder, select the folder and then click Import folder atthe bottom right.
• To import selected images in one folder, select the folder and use the Ctrl key +click to select the images. Then click Import items at the bottom right.
8. Applicable to cameras with one folder. Do one of the following:• To import all images, click Import all at the bottom left.
• To import selected images, use the Ctrl key + click to select the images. Thenclick Import items at the bottom right.
9. The Select destination dialog box is displayed. Select the destination folder or create
a new subfolder.
10. Click Import. This starts the import of the images.

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Importing images

Note• When the images are imported, all file associations will be kept. For example, if a digital photo is grouped together with an infrared image in the camera, this association
will be retained in FLIR Tools/Tools+. The same applies for text annotations, voice annotations, sketches, etc.
• When images are imported from a camera with more than one folder, the camera folder structure will be retained in the destination folder on the computer.

10.2 About UltraMax
UltraMax is an image enhancement feature that will increase the image resolution andlower the noise, making small objects easier to see and measure. An UltraMax image istwice as wide and high as an ordinary image.
When an UltraMax image is captured by the camera, several ordinary images are savedin the same file. Capturing all the images can take up to 1 second. To fully utilize UltraMax, the images need to be slightly different, which can be accomplished by a slightmovement of the camera. You should hold the camera firmly in your hands (do not put it
on a tripod), which will make these images vary just a little during the capture. Correct focus, a high-contrast scene, and a non-moving target are other conditions that help toachieve a good-quality UltraMax image.

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Screen elements and toolbar
buttons

11.1 Window elements: the Library tab
11.1.1Figure11.1.2

Explanation

1. Folder pane.
2. Program tabs:••••

Instruments (e.g., meters or infrared cameras).
Library.
Report.
Panorama.

3. Thumbnail view of selected folders.
4. Menu bar:••••

Templates.
Full screen.
Options.
Help.

5. Thumbnail view of the infrared image.
6. Thumbnail view of the digital photo (if available).
7. Measurement pane.
Note Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is above
or below the calibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore incorrect. This phenomenon is called overflow or underflow.
Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is too close to
the calibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore unreliable.
8. Parameters pane.
9. Image information pane

11.2 Window elements: the Instruments tab
Note The Instruments tab will only become available when a camera in UVC mode or a
METERLiNK device is connected to the computer.

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Screen elements and toolbar buttons

11.2.1Figure11.2.2

Explanation

1. Recordings pane.
2. Log area.
3. Recording speed, time interval controls, and temperature range.
Note For FLIR Ax5 series cameras, the High selection in the Temperature range
drop-down menu refers to high gain, i.e., a low temperature range, and vice versa.
4. Camera-related controls:
•
•
•
•
•

Focusing the camera.
Calibrating the camera.
Recording a sequence, pausing a sequence, and resuming a sequence.
Saving a single snapshot as a *.jpg file.
Selecting the measurement range.

• In the Options dialog box (opens by clicking the

button):◦ Setting the file name prefix.
◦ Setting the storage location for sequence files (*.seq, *.csq).
◦ Setting the maximum amount of disk usage.
5. Button to connect to a Bluetooth-enabled device (e.g., a meter)
6. Button to connect a camera.
7. Program tabs.
8. Image window.
9. Toolbar buttons.
10. Sliders to adjust the bottom and top temperature levels in the scale (in effect, changing the histogram).
11. Temperature scale.
12. Measurements window (results from the connected device, e.g., a meter)
13. Toolbar buttons:• Show/hide thermal camera view.
• Show/hide measurements view.
• Show/hide plot view.

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Screen elements and toolbar buttons

14. Menu bar:••••

Templates.
Full screen.
Options.
Help.

15. Measurements and parameters pane (devices).
16. Measurements and parameters pane (thermal cameras).
Note Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is above
or below the calibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore incorrect. This phenomenon is called overflow or underflow.
Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is too close to
the calibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore unreliable.
17. Annotations pane.
18. Auto-adjust button.
19. Plot window.
For more information, see section 14.15 Creating a plot, page 45 and 23.1.2 The Options dialog (for plot-specific options), page 110.

11.3 Window elements: the Create imagesheettab
11.3.1Figure11.3.2

Explanation

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Thumbnail view of the current page.
Tabs to go to the different imagesheets that are currently open.
Detail view of the current imagesheet page.
Page setup, where a company logo and the paper size can be selected.
Page layout setup.
Text box to search and filter the images.
Zoom controls.
Page controls.
Images in the currently selected folder.

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Screen elements and toolbar buttons

11.4 Window elements: the Report tab
11.4.1Figure11.4.2

Explanation

1. Thumbnail view of the current report page.
2. Tabs to go to the different reports that are currently open.
3. Toolbar buttons.
4. Detail view of the current report page.
5. Page setup, where logos and paper size can be selected.
6. Area for image object details and voice comments.
7. Text box to search and filter the images.
8. Zoom controls.
9. Page controls.
10. Images in the currently selected folder.

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Screen elements and toolbar buttons

11.5 Window elements: the image-editing
window (for still images)
11.5.1Figure11.5.2

Explanation

1. Measurement toolbar.
2. Thumbnail view of the infrared image (and digital photo, if available).
3. Additional panes:
•
•
•
•
•

Notes.
Measurements.
Parameters.
Text annotations.
Image information.

4. Temperature scale.
5. Cancel button.
6. Save and close button.
7. Save button.
8. Auto-adjust button, to adjust the image for the best brightness and contrast.
9. Previous/Next buttons.
10. Temperature span and level control.

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Screen elements and toolbar buttons

11.6 Window elements: the image-editing
window (for video clips)
11.6.1Figure11.6.2

Explanation

1. Measurement toolbar.
2. Thumbnail view of the video clip.
3. Information about the sequence file.
4. Measurement and parameters pane.
5. Image information pane.
6. Temperature scale.
7. Cancel button.
8. Save and close button.
9. Auto-adjust button, to adjust the image for the best brightness and contrast.
10. Temperature span and level control.
11. Play/pause and forward/backward buttons.
12. Buttons to save a snapshot as a *.jpg file, to export the video clip as an *.avi file, andto change the playback speed (–60× to +60×).
Note Exporting a video clip as an *.avi file requires that FFDShow has been installed on the computer. FFDShow can be downloaded fromhttp://www.free-codecs.com.

11.7 Toolbar buttons (on the Instruments tab)Note The Instruments tab will only become available when a camera in UVC mode or a
METERLiNK device is connected to the computer.
Selection tool.

Spotmeter tool.

Area tool.

Line tool.

Circle and ellipsis tool.

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Screen elements and toolbar buttons

Rotate right/left tool.

Color palette tool.

Auto-adjust region tool.

Zoom tool.

11.8 Toolbar buttons (in the image-editing
window)
Selection tool.

Spotmeter tool.

Area tool.

Circle and ellipsis tool.

Line tool.

Difference tool.

Rotate right/left tool.

Color palette tool.

Thermal MSX tool.

Thermal tool.

Thermal fusion tool.

Thermal blending tool.

Picture-in-picture tool.

Digital photo tool.

Tool to change picture-in-picture.

Tool to change thermal/photo balance.

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Screen elements and toolbar buttons

Auto-adjust region tool.

Zoom tool.

11.9 Toolbar buttons (in the report-editing
window)
Text annotation tool.

Textbox tool.

Arrow marker tool.

Snap objects to grid.

11.10 The Panorama tab
11.10.1

Figure11.10.2

Explanation

1. Buttons to switch between source file view and panorama view.
2. Buttons to crop the panorama image, to correct the perspective, and to save the panorama image.
3. Pane where all panorama images created from the selected images are displayed.
4. Buttons to change the folder, select images by date, and search images.
5. Buttons to zoom into and out of the panorama image.
6. Pane displaying the source files in the currently selected folder.

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Live image streaming of camera
images12.1 General
You can connect an infrared camera to FLIR Tools/Tools+ and display its live image
stream on the Instruments tab. When the camera is connected, you can lay out measurement tools, change parameters, create plots, etc.

12.2 Figure

Figure 12.1 The Instruments tab.

12.3 ProcedureNote

The tasks in Step 5 below only apply to cameras with radiometric streaming.

Follow this procedure:
1. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
2. Turn on the infrared camera.
3. Connect the camera to the computer, using a USB cable. This displays an importguide.

Figure 12.2 Import guide (example).

Note For some older camera models, you need to set the USB mode to mass storage device (MSD) or mass storage device—UVC (MSD-UVC).
4. Click Connect to livestream. This displays the live image stream from the camera on
the Instruments tab.

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Live image streaming of camera images

5. On the Instruments tab, do one or more of the following:• To adjust camera focus, click the
focus), or the

button (near focus), thebutton (auto-

button (far focus).

• To calibrate the camera, click the

button.

• To start a recording, click the

button.

• To stop a recording, click the

button.

• To freeze the live image stream, click the

toolbar button.

• To save a single snapshot as a *.jpg file, click the• To change a number of recording settings, click the
dialog box.

button.
button. This displays a• To display the live image stream of another camera on the network, click the
button for that camera.
• To lay out a measurement tool, click the tool and then click on the image.
• To change parameters, click the value field of a parameter, type a new value, andpress Enter.
• To create a plot, right-click the image and then select the type of plot you want.
For more information, see section 14.15 Creating a plot, page 45 and 23.1.2 The
Options dialog (for plot-specific options), page 110.
Note The Instruments tab will only become available when a camera in UVC mode or a
METERLiNK device is connected to the computer.

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Managing images and folders

13.1 Grouping files
13.1.1

General

You can group files together, e.g., one infrared image and one digital photo, or one infrared image and a plot. When two files are grouped, a link is created and the images act
as a pair through the reporting process.
13.1.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. In the image window, select two files.
3. Right-click the images and click Group.

13.2 Saving a sequence file frame as aradiometric *.jpg file
13.2.1

General

You can save a sequence file frame as a radiometric *.jpg image.
13.2.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Double-click a sequence file (file suffix *.seq, *.csq).
3. Go to the point of interest in the sequence file, using the playback controls.
4. Click the
toolbar button. This will open a Save as dialog box where you can navigate to the location where you want to save the file.

13.3 Saving a sequence file frame as an *.avi
file
13.3.1

General

You can save a sequence file frame as an *.avi file.
Note Exporting a video clip as an *.avi file requires that FFDShow has been installedon the computer. FFDShow can be downloaded from http://www.free-codecs.com.
13.3.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Double-click a sequence file (file suffix *.seq, *.csq).
3. Click the
toolbar button. This will open a Save as dialog box where you can navigate to the location where you want to save the file.

13.4 Changing the playback speed
13.4.1

General

You can change the playback speed of video clips between –60× and +60×.

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13.4.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Double-click a sequence file (file suffix *.seq, *.csq).
3. Click the

toolbar button and select a playback speed by dragging the slider.

13.5 Cloning images
13.5.1

General

You can create copies of one or more images. This is called cloning.
13.5.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Select the image or images that you want to clone.
3. On the right-click menu, click Clone.

13.6 Extracting a digital camera photo from amultispectral image
13.6.1

GeneralFor cameras supporting multispectral images, all image modes are included inside a single image file—MSX, thermal, thermal fusion, thermal blending, picture-in-picture, andthe digital camera photo.
You can extract a digital camera photo from this multispectral image. The field of view ofthe extracted photo will match the field of view of the thermal image. Additionally, you
can extract a photo at its full field of view.
13.6.2

Procedure: Extracting a photo

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Select the image for which you want to extract the digital camera photo.
3. On the right-click menu, click Extract photo.
13.6.3

Procedure: Extracting a photo at its full field of view

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Select the image for which you want to extract the digital camera photo.
3. On the right-click menu, click Extract full photo.

13.7 Enhancing the resolution of an image
13.7.1

GeneralSome cameras from FLIR Systems support enhancing the resolution of images by using
a feature called UltraMax.
13.7.2

Indication of supported images

Supported images are indicated by a special icon on the Library tab. See the bottom rightcorner in the figure below.

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Managing images and folders

13.7.3

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Right-click an image that has the icon shown above.
3. Select one of the following:• Enhance image resolution (UltraMax).
• Enhance image resolution (UltraMax) and backup original images.

13.8 Deleting images
13.8.1

General

You can delete one image or a group of images.
13.8.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. In the image window, select the image or images that you want to delete.
3. Do one of the following:• Press the DELETE key and confirm that you want to delete the image or images.
• Right-click the image or images, select Delete, and confirm that you want to delete
the image or images.
Note• When you delete an image or a group of images, you can restore them from the computer’s Recycle Bin.
• You can also remove images by deleting the path under Options > Library. Removing
the path does not delete the images.

13.9 Adding a directory
13.9.1

General

You can add a directory to the library.
13.9.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. At the top of the left pane, click Add to library. This will open a Browse for folder dialog box where you can navigate to the directory that you want to add.
Note Only subdirectories can be deleted. Root directories can only be removed by deleting the path under Options > Library. Removing the path does not delete the images.

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13.10 Deleting a directory
13.10.1

General

You can delete a directory from the library.
13.10.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Right-click a directory and select Delete directory.
Note Only subdirectories can be deleted. Root directories can only be removed by deleting the path under Options > Library. Removing the path does not delete the images.

13.11 Creating a subfolder
13.11.1

General

You can create a subfolder to an existing directory in the library.
13.11.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Right-click a directory and select Create subfolder.

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14.1 Laying out a measurement tool
14.1.1

General

You can lay out one or more measurement tools on an image, e.g., a spotmeter, an area,a circle, or a line.
Note Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is above or
below the calibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore incorrect.
This phenomenon is called overflow or underflow.
Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is too close to thecalibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore unreliable.
14.1.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. On the image toolbar, select a measurement tool.
3. To lay out the measurement tool on the image, click the location where the measurement tool is to be placed.
Note You can also do this by double-clicking an image on a report page and then following the procedure above. In this case, only the image in the report will be changed,
not the image in the library.

14.2 Moving a measurement tool
14.2.1

GeneralMeasurement tools that you have laid out on an image can be moved around, using theselection tool.
14.2.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. On the image toolbar, select.

3. On the image, select the measurement tool and drag it to a new position.
Note Measurement tools can also be moved on report pages. In this case, only the image in the report will be changed, not the image in the library.

14.3 Resizing a measurement tool
14.3.1

GeneralMeasurement tools that you have laid out on an image, e.g., an area, can be resized using the selection tool.
14.3.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
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3. On the image, select the measurement area and use the selection tool to drag thehandles that are displayed around the frame of the area:

Note Measurement tools can also be resized on report pages. In this case, only the image in the report will be changed, not the image in the library.

14.4 Deleting a measurement tool
14.4.1

General

You can delete any measurement tools that you have laid out on an image.
14.4.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. On the image toolbar, select.

3. On the image, select the measurement tool and press DELETE.

14.5 Creating local markers for a measurement
tool
14.5.1

GeneralWhen images are imported from the camera to FLIR Tools, the program will respect any
existing markers for a measurement tool in the image. However, sometimes you may
want to add a marker when analyzing the image in FLIR Tools: you do this by using local
markers.
14.5.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image for which, for example, a measurement
area has already been laid out in the camera.
2. Right-click the area and select Local min/max/avg markers.
3. Select or clear the markers that you want to add or remove.
4. Click OK.

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14.6 Setting local parameters for ameasurement tool
14.6.1

General

In some situations you may want to change a measurement parameter for one measurement tool only. The reason for this could be that the measurement tool is in front of a significantly more reflective surface than other surfaces in the image, or over an object thatis further away than the rest of the objects in the image, and so on.
For more information about object parameters, see section 27 Thermographic measurement techniques, page 129.
14.6.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

On the Library tab, double-click an image.
Lay out a measurement too, e.g., an area.
Right-click the area and select Use local parameters.
In the dialog box, select Use local parameters.
Enter a value for one or more parameters.
Click OK.

Note Local parameters in an image are indicated by a white information icon in the
Measurements pane.

14.7 Working with isotherms
14.7.1

GeneralThe isotherm command applies a contrasting color to all pixels with a temperature
above, below, or between one or more set temperature levels.
Using isotherms is a good method to easily discover anomalies in an infrared image.
14.7.214.7.2.1

Setting up general isotherms (Above, Below)
GeneralAn isotherm of the type Above and Below will colorize areas with a temperature above or
below a set temperature.
14.7.2.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. On the image toolbar, click, and select one of the following:• Above.
• Below.
3. In the right pane, take note of the parameter Limit. Areas in the image with a temperature above or below this temperature will be colorized with the isotherm color. You
can change this limit, and also change the isotherm color on the Color menu.
14.7.314.7.3.1

Setting up general isotherms (Interval)
GeneralAn isotherm of the type Interval will colorize areas with a temperature between two set
temperatures.

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14.7.3.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. On the image toolbar, click, and select Interval.

3. In the right pane, take note of the parameters Upper limit and Lower limit. Areas in
the image with a temperature between these two temperatures will be colorized with
the isotherm color. You can change these limits, and also change the isotherm color
on the Color menu.
14.7.4

Setting up a humidity isotherm

14.7.4.1

GeneralThe humidity isotherm can detect areas where there is a risk of mold growing, or where
there is a risk of the humidity falling out as liquid water (i.e., the dew point).
14.7.4.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. On the image toolbar, click, and select Humidity. Depending on your object, certain areas will now be colorized with an isotherm color.
3. In the right pane, take note of the parameter Calculated limit. This is the temperature
at which there is a risk of humidity. If the parameter Relative humidity limit is set to
100%, this is also the dew point, i.e., the temperature at which the humidity falls out
as liquid water.
Note

The parameter Calculated limit takes the following three parameters into account:• Relative humidity.
• Relative humidity limit.
• Atmospheric temperature.
14.7.514.7.5.1

Setting up an insulation isotherm
GeneralThe insulation isotherm can detect areas where there may be an insulation deficiency inthe building. It will trigger when the insulation level falls below a preset value of the energy leakage through the building structure—the so-called thermal index.
Different building codes recommend different values for the thermal index, but typicalvalues are 0.6–0.8 for new buildings. Refer to your national building code forrecommendations.
14.7.5.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. On the image toolbar, click, and select Insulation. Depending on your object,certain areas will now be colorized with an isotherm color.
3. In the right pane, take note of the parameter Calculated insulation. This is the temperature where the insulation level falls below a preset value of the energy leakage
through the building structure.

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Note The parameter Calculated insulation takes the following three parameters into
account:• Indoor temperature.
• Outdoor temperature.
• Thermal index.
14.7.614.7.6.1

Setting up a custom isotherm
GeneralA custom isotherm is an isotherm of any of the following types:
•
•
•
•
•

Above.
Below.
Interval.
Humidity.
Insulation.

For these custom isotherms, you can specify a number of different parameters manually,
compared with using the standard isotherms:• Background.
• Colors (semi-transparent or solid colors).
• Inverted color (for the Interval isotherm only).
14.7.6.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. On the image toolbar, click, and select Custom.

3. In the right pane, specify the following parameters:• For Above and Below:◦ Background.
◦ Limit.
◦ Color.
• For Interval:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Background.
Upper limit.
Lower limit.
Color.
Inverted interval.

• For Humidity:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Background.
Color.
Relative humidity.
Relative humidity limit.
Atmospheric temperature.

• For Insulation:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Background.
Color.
Indoor temperature.
Outdoor temperature.
Thermal index.

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14.8 Changing the temperature levels
14.8.1

GeneralAt the bottom of the infrared image you will see two sliders. By dragging these sliders to
the left or to the right you can change the top and bottom levels in the temperature scale.
14.8.2

Why change temperature levels?

The reason to change the temperature levels manually is that it makes it easier to analyze a temperature anomaly.
14.8.2.1

Example 1

Here are two infrared images of a building. In the left image, which is auto-adjusted, thelarge temperature span between the clear sky and the heated building makes a correct
analysis difficult. You can analyze the building in more detail if you change the temperature scale to values close to the temperature of the building.

Automatic

14.8.2.2

ManualExample 2

Here are two infrared images of an isolator in a power line. To make it easier to analyze
the temperature variations in the isolator, the temperature scale in the right image has
been changed to values close to the temperature of the isolator.

Automatic

14.8.3ManualChanging the top level

Follow this procedure:
1. Drag the right slider right or left to change the top level in the temperature scale.

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14.8.4

Changing the bottom level

Follow this procedure:
1. Drag the left slider right or left to change the bottom level in the temperature scale.

14.8.5

Changing both the top and bottom levels at the same time

Follow this procedure:
1. SHIFT-drag the left or right slider right or left to change both the top and the bottom
levels in the temperature scale at the same time.

Note• You can adjust the temperature levels by using the mousewheel.
• You can adjust the temperature span by holding down the CTRL key while using themousewheel.
• You can double-click the temperature levels scale to auto-adjust the image.
• You can change the temperature levels by double-clicking an image on a report page
and then dragging the sliders. In this case, only the image in the report will bechanged, not the image in the library.

14.9 Auto-adjusting an image
14.9.1

General

You can auto-adjust an image or a group of images. When you auto-adjust an image you
adjust it for the best image brightness and contrast. This means that the color information
is distributed over the existing temperatures of the image.
14.9.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. To auto-adjust an image, do one of the following:• Double-click the temperature scale.

• Click the Auto button.
Note You can also do this by double-clicking an image on a report page and then following the procedure above. In this case, only the image in the report will be changed,
not the image in the library.

14.10 Defining an auto-adjust region
14.10.1

GeneralWhen you click the temperature scale or the Auto button in the image window, the whole
image is auto-adjusted. This means that the color information is distributed over the temperatures in the image.

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However, in some situations the still image or the video image may contain very hot orcold areas outside your area of interest. In such cases you will want to exclude thoseareas and use the color information only for the temperatures in your area of interest.
You can do so by defining an auto-adjust region.
14.10.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. In the image window, click the
button on the top toolbar. This will display a toolwith which you can create a region. The region can be moved and resized to suit yourarea of interest, but will not be saved in the image.

14.11 Changing the color distribution
14.11.1

General

You can change the distribution of colors in an image. A different color distribution canmake it easier to analyze the image more thoroughly.
14.11.2

Definitions

You can choose from three different color distributions:• Histogram equalization: This is an image-displaying method that distributes the color
information over the existing temperatures of the image. This method of distributing
the information can be particularly successful when the image contains few peaks atvery high temperature values.
• Signal linear: This is an image-displaying method where the color information in theimage is distributed linearly to the signal values of the pixels.
• Temperature linear: This is an image-displaying method where the color information in
the image is distributed linearly to the temperature values of the pixels.
14.11.3

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library tab.
2. Double-click the image for which you want to change the color distribution.
3. On the right-click menu, click Color distribution and select Histogram equalization,
Signal linear, or Temperature linear.

14.12 Changing the palette
14.12.1

General

You can change the palette that the camera uses to display the different temperatures
within an image. A different palette can make it easier to analyze the image.
14.12.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. In the image window, click thedown menu.

button on the top toolbar. This will display a drop-

3. On the menu, click the palette that you want to use.

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Note You can also do this by double-clicking an image on a report page and then following the procedure above. In this case, only the image in the report will be changed,
not the image in the library.

14.13 Changing the image mode
14.13.1

GeneralFor some images you can change the image mode. You do this on the toolbar in the image-editing window.
14.13.2

Types of image modes

ButtonImage mode

Image example

Thermal MSX (Multi Spectral Dynamic
Imaging): This mode displays an infrared
image where the edges of the objects areenhanced. Note that the label for each fuse
is clearly legible.

Thermal: This mode displays a fully infrared
image.

Thermal fusion: This mode displays a digital
photo where some parts are displayed in infrared, depending on the temperature limits.

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ButtonImage mode

Image example

Picture-in-picture: This mode displays an infrared image frame on top of a digital photo.

Digital camera: This mode displays a fully
digital photo.

14.14 Exporting to CSV
14.14.1

General

You can export the content of an image as a matrix of comma-separated values for further analysis in external software. The file format is *.csv, and the file can be opened in
Microsoft Excel.
14.14.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. Right-click the image and select Export to CSV. This displays a dialog box.
3. In the dialog box, do one of the following:• To export the image, select Image in the drop-down menu. Additionally, selectwhether to include object parameters and text annotations.
• To export the measurements, select Measurements in the drop-down menu. Additionally, select whether to include object parameters, text annotations, and the values of measurement tools.

14.15 Creating a plot
14.15.1

GeneralWhen FLIR Tools/Tools+ is connected to a camera that supports radiometric streaming,
you can create a plot. A plot displays how the results of one or several measurement
tools vary over time.
14.15.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
2. Turn on the infrared camera.

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3. Connect the camera to the computer, using a USB cable. This displays an importguide.

Figure 14.1 Import guide (example).

Note For some older camera models, you need to set the USB mode to mass storage device (MSD) or mass storage device—UVC (MSD-UVC).
4. Click Connect to livestream. This displays the live image stream from the camera on
the Instruments tab.
5. On the Instruments tab, right-click the image and then select the type of plot you want.
You can choose between the following types:• Points: This displays the plot as a series of points.

• Line: This displays the plot as a line.

• Area: This displays the plot as a colored area.
• Digital Line: This displays the plot as a digital line, i.e., a line with no interpolation

between the data points.
• Digital Area: This displays the plot as a colored digital area, i.e., an area below aline with no interpolation between the data points.
• Impulse: This displays the plot as a series of vertical impulses, with a circular end-

point.
6. Right-click the image again and select Options if you want to change certain aspectsof the plot.
For more information, see section 23.1.2 The Options dialog (for plot-specific options), page 110.

14.16 Calculating areas
14.16.1

GeneralThe distance included in the image parameter data can be used as the basis for area calculations. A typical application is to estimate the size of a damp stain on a wall.

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To calculate the area of a surface, you need to add a box or circle measurement tool to
the image. FLIR Tools/Tools+ calculates the area of the surface enclosed by the box or
circle tool. The calculation is an estimate of the surface area, based on the distancevalue.
14.16.1.1

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Add a box or circle measurement tool, see section 14.1 Laying out a measurement
tool, page 36.
2. Adjust the size of the box or circle tool to the size of the object, see section 14.3 Resizing a measurement tool, page 36.
3. Right-click the tool and select Local min/max/avg markers. In the dialog box, selectthe Area check box. This displays the calculated area, based on the distance value,in the Measurements pane.
4. To change the distance value, click the value field in the Parameters pane, type a
new value, and press Enter. The recalculated area, based on the new distance value,
is displayed in the Measurements pane.

14.17 Calculating lengths
14.17.1

GeneralThe distance included in the image parameter data can be used as the basis for length
calculations.
To calculate the length, you need to add a line measurement tool to the image. FLIR
Tools/Tools+ calculates an estimate of the line length, based on the distance value.
14.17.1.1

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Add a line measurement tool, see section 14.1 Laying out a measurement tool, page36.
2. Adjust the size of the line tool to the size of the object, see section 14.3 Resizing ameasurement tool, page 36.
3. Right-click the tool and select Local min/max/avg markers. In the dialog box, selectthe Length check box. This displays the calculated length, based on the distance value, in the Measurements pane.
4. To change the distance value, click the value field in the Parameters pane, type a
new value, and press Enter. The recalculated area, based on the new distance value,
is displayed in the Measurements pane.

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Working with annotations

15.1 About image descriptions
15.1.1

What is an image description?

An image description is a brief free-form textual description that is stored in an infrared
image file. It uses a standard tag in the *.jpg file format and can be retrieved by othersoftware.
15.1.1.1

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. In the right pane, type the image description in the field under Image description.
Note You can edit existing image descriptions on the final report pages, but you cannot
create new image descriptions there.

15.2 About text annotations
15.2.1

What is a text annotation?

A text annotation is textual information about something in an image and is constructedof a group of information pairs—label and value. The reason for using text annotations is
to make reporting and post-processing more efficient by providing essential information
about the image, e.g., conditions, photos, and information about where an image istaken.
A text annotation is a proprietary annotation format from FLIR Systems, and the information cannot be retrieved by other vendors’ software. The concept relies heavily on interaction by the user. In the camera, the user can select one of several values for each label.
The user can also enter numerical values, and make the text annotation capture measurement values from the screen.
15.2.2

Definition of label and value

The concept of text annotation is based on two important definitions—label and value.
The following examples explain the difference between the two definitions.
Company

Company A
Company B
Company C

Building

Workshop 1
Workshop 2
Workshop 3

SectionRoom 1Room 2
Room 3Equipment

Tool 1Tool 2Tool 3

Recommendation

Recommendation 1
Recommendation 2
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Note• In some cameras and software, text annotation is called text comment or table.
• In some cameras and software, label is called field.
15.2.3

Example markup structure

The file format for a text annotation is *.tcf. This code sample is an example markup
structure of such a file and shows how the markup looks in Notepad. The words between
pointed brackets are labels, and the words without pointed brackets are values.
<Company>Company A
Company B
Company C<Building>Workshop 1
Workshop 2
Workshop 3<Section>
Room 1Room 2
Room 3<Equipment>
Machine 1
Machine 2
Machine 3<Recommendation>
Recommendation 1
Recommendation 2
Recommendation 3
15.2.415.2.4.1

Creating a text annotation for an image
GeneralIn FLIR Tools/Tools+, you can create a text annotation for an image. You do this in the image-editing window.
15.2.4.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, double-click an image.
2. Under Text annotations in the right pane, click the
button (the ‘+’ sign). This adds
text annotation rows.
3. Enter the desired labels and values. See the image below for examples.

4. Click Save and close.
15.2.515.2.5.1

Creating a text annotation template
GeneralIn FLIR Tools/Tools+, you can create text annotation templates on the Templates tab.
These templates can either be transferred to the camera or used as a template during
post-analysis in the program.

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15.2.5.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Click the Templates tab.
Click the Add new text annotations template toolbar button.
Create a name for the template.
Enter the desired fields and values. See the image below for examples.

5. Save the template.
6. Do one of the following:• To use the template in the camera, connect a camera to FLIR Tools/Tools+ andtransfer the template to the camera.
• To use the template during post-analysis in FLIR Tools/Tools+, double-click an image, and then click Import from template under Text annotations in the right pane.

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Creating panoramas

16.1 General
In FLIR Tools+ you can create panoramas by stitching together several smaller images
into a larger one. FLIR Tools+ analyzes each image to detect pixel patterns that match
pixel patterns in other images.
You can then crop the panorama and carry out various perspective corrections.
16.2 Figure
This figure shows the panorama workspace.

16.3 Procedure
Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, select the images that you want to use when creating a panorama.
2. Right-click the images and select Combine into panorama. This will open the Panorama tab.
3. At this stage you can perform a variety of tasks:• Clickto crop the panorama.

• Click

to carry out a perspective correction on the image.

• Click

to save the panorama as an image file.

• Click

to view the original source files.

• Click

to view the final panorama.

For more information, see section 11.10 The Panorama tab, page 29.

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Creating reports

17.1 General
You can create the following types of reports from the program:
1. An Adobe PDF imagesheet: This is a simple report format that contains only infrared and any associated visual images. The report cannot be edited further, and radiometric data is not included. For more information, see 17.4 Creating an Adobe PDF
imagesheet, page 53.
2. An Adobe PDF report: This is a simple report format that contains infrared images,
any associated visual images, and result tables. The report cannot be edited further,and radiometric data is not included. For more information, see section 17.5 Creating
an Adobe PDF report, page 53
3. A radiometric Microsoft Word report: This is the most advanced report format,
and requires an installation of FLIR Report Studio and an active FLIR Tools+/FLIR
Report Studio license. A report in Microsoft Word *.docx file format is generated. Advanced radiometric analysis can be carried out using the FLIR Word Add-in featuresin Microsoft Word. For more information, see section 17.6 Creating a radiometric Microsoft Word report, page 54
Note• The program ships with a number of report templates. You can also create your own
radiometric Microsoft Word report templates, see section 20 Creating report templates, page 96.
• You can export a radiometric Microsoft Word report to a flat (non-radiometric) reportor to a PDF report from the FLIR Word Add-in. For more information, see section 18.6
Exporting a report, page 75.
• You can also create Microsoft Word reports using the FLIR Report Studio wizard. For
more information, see section 21 Creating reports using the FLIR Report Studio wizard, page 101.
• An Adobe PDF report can be saved in an intermediary format called *.repx. For more
information, see section 17.3 Saving a report in the intermediary *.repx format, page53

17.2 Setting a default report template
Prior to working with reports, you need to set a default report template. A maximum of
two default report templates can be set. These templates will then be used when clicking
Generate report on the Library tab.
Follow this procedure:Note

The first row of templates apply to FLIR Tools+ only.

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1. On the Library tab, select any image and then click
able report templates.

. This will display the avail-

2. Right-click a report template and click Set as default report template.

17.3 Saving a report in the intermediary *.repx
formatFollow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, select the image or images that you want to include in your report.
2. Right-click the image or images and select Create report.
3. Under Page setup in the right pane, select the page size and logo that you want touse.
4. On the report, double-click the header and/or footer to add any header/footer text thatyou want to use.
5. Click Save or Save As to save the report in FLIR Systems *.repx file format.

17.4 Creating an Adobe PDF imagesheet
Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, select the image or images that you want to include in yourimagesheet.
2. Right-click the image or images and select Create imagesheet.
3. Under Page setup on the right pane, select the page size and logo that you want touse.
4. Under Layout on the right pane, click the page layout that you want to use.
5. On the imagesheet, double-click the header and/or footer to add any header/footer
text that you want to use.
6. Click Export to export the imagesheet as a PDF file.

17.5 Creating an Adobe PDF report
Note This procedure assumes that an Adobe PDF report has been set as a default
template.

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Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, select the image or images that you want to include in your report.
2. Right-click the image or images and select Create report. This displays the Reporttab.
3. At this stage, you have the option to do one or more of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Drag a group of images, photos, or text annotations into a report.
Drag single images, photos, or tables into a report.
Reorder the pages in the report.
Enter text in a report using textboxes.
Create and edit text annotations.
Edit image descriptions.
Add and edit a header or footer in a report.
Move and delete images, photos, text annotations, and tables in a report.
Resize images in a report.
Update measurements in an infrared image and see updates instantly in the resulttable.
• Zoom into and out of a report page.
• Add arrow markers to the image or any other object in the report.
• Edit an image from the report by double-clicking the image.

4. In the Save PDF as dialog box, select a location and type a filename.
5. Click OK.

17.6 Creating a radiometric Microsoft WordreportNote• This procedure assumes that a Microsoft Word (Report Studio) report has been set
as a default template.
• This procedure requires an active FLIR Tools+ license.
Follow this procedure:
1. On the Library tab, select the image or images that you want to include in your report.
2. Right-click the image or images and select Create report.

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3. The Select a Folder dialog box is displayed. Select the folder to save the report in,enter a filename, and click Save.

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4. The Report Properties dialog box is displayed.

Do one or more of the following:• Enter the customer information and information about the inspection in the predefined fields.
• Click Import to import properties from a previously saved text file.
• Click Add to add a new property.
• Select a property and click Remove to remove a property.
• Click Export to export the current property settings to a text file.
To create the report with the displayed properties, click OK.
5. The report opens as a Microsoft Word document. The selected image(s) and the information entered in the Report Properties dialog box populate the corresponding
placeholders in the report.
6. Once the report is generated, advanced analysis can be carried out using the features in the FLIR Word Add-in. For more information, see sections 18.1 Managing objects in the report, page 57 and 19 Analyzing and editing images using the FLIR
Report Studio Image Editor, page 77.

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18.1 Managing objects in the report
18.1.1

GeneralA report template contains placeholders for objects such as thermal images, digital photos, tables, report properties, etc.
When you create a report based on a report template, these placeholders are automatically populated based on the images you choose to include in the report. You can also insert additional objects and modify their properties after you have launched the report in
Microsoft Word, as described in the sections below.
When you create your own report templates, see section 20 Creating report templates,
page 96, you insert objects and define their properties according to the sections below.
18.1.2Inserting a thermal image object

A thermal image object is a placeholder that automatically loads a thermal image when areport is created.
Follow this procedure:
1. Place the pointer where you want the thermal image to appear in the report.
2. On the FLIR tab, click Thermal Image. This displays a thermal image placeholder on
the page.

3. If you are modifying a report, you can open a thermal image in the placeholder. See
section 18.1.8 Replacing an image, page 67.
If you are creating a report template, you can leave the placeholder as is, without
opening any image.
18.1.3Inserting a digital photo object

A digital photo object is a placeholder for the visual image associated with a thermal
image.
Follow this procedure:
1. Place the pointer where you want the digital photo to appear in the report.
2. On the FLIR tab, click Digital Photo.

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3. If there is more than one thermal image in the report, the Choose Reference dialog
box is displayed. Click the thermal image that the digital photo you want to insert isassociated with and click OK.

If there is only one thermal image in the report, the associated digital photo will be inserted automatically.
4. A digital photo placeholder is displayed on the page. The placeholder number refers
to the associated thermal image.

18.1.418.1.4.1

Inserting a field object
GeneralA field object is a placeholder that automatically displays information associated with athermal image when a report is created.
A field object consists of a label and a value, e.g., Bx1 Average 42.3 ℃. You can choose
to display only the value in the report, e.g., 42.3 ℃.
18.1.4.2

Procedure

Note This procedure assumes that you have previously inserted at least one thermal
image in the report.
Follow this procedure:
1. Place the pointer where you want the field object to appear in the report.
Note Field objects will not work if you insert them in a text box. Only Microsoft Word
fields work in text boxes. However, Field objects work in Microsoft Word tables.
2. On the FLIR tab, click Field.

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3. If there is more than one image in the report, the Choose Reference dialog box is displayed. Click the image you want to use as the reference when populating the fieldobject, and click OK.

If there is only one image in the report, the field object will automatically be connectedto that image.
4. The Insert Field dialog box is displayed.

5. Use the GROUP and FIELD panes to select the content you want the field object todisplay. A preview of the field object (label and value) is displayed in the dialog box.
6. Do one of the following:• Select the Insert title check box to display the label and the value in the report.
• Clear the Insert title check box to display only the value in the report.
7. Click OK.
8. The field object with the content you have selected is displayed in the report.
Note If a field object is connected to a thermal image object and you delete either thefield or the image, you will not be able to recreate the connection.
18.1.518.1.5.1

Inserting a table object
GeneralA table object is a placeholder that automatically displays a table with certain information
associated with a thermal image when a report is created.

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The following table objects are available:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Measurements.
Parameters.
METERLiNK.
Geolocation.
Camera Info.
File Info.
Text Annotations.
Notes.
Formulas.
Alarms.

In addition to the built-in table objects, you can create your own table objects. For more
information, see section 18.1.5.3 Creating a custom table object, page 61.
You can also insert a summary table, including information about all thermal images in
the report. For more information, see section 18.1.5.4 Inserting a summary table, page
64.
Note

To insert a table object, you must first insert at least one thermal image.

18.1.5.2

Inserting a table object

Note This procedure assumes that you have previously inserted at least one thermal
image in the report.
Follow this procedure:
1. Place the pointer where you want the table object to appear in the report.
2. On the FLIR tab, click Table.
3. If there is more than one image in the report, the Choose Reference dialog box is displayed. Click the image you want to use as the reference when populating the tableobject, and click OK.

If there is only one image in the report, the table object will automatically be connected to that image.

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4. The Insert Table dialog box is displayed.

5. Use the TABLE and TABLE ITEMS panes to select the content you want the table object to display.
Note• You can only insert table items from the same type of table. To create a table withtable items from different tables, you must create a Custom table. For more information, see section 18.1.5.3 Creating a custom table object, page 61.
• To insert a formula table object, you must first create a formula. For more information, see section 18.3 Working with formulas, page 68.
6. A structural preview of the table is displayed in the dialog box. To change the order of
the table items, click a row in the preview and then click the arrow button
7. Do one of the following:or.

• Select the Insert header check box to display the table with a header in the report.
• Clear the Insert header check box to display the table without a header in thereport.
8. Click OK.
9. The table object with the content you have selected is displayed in the report.
Note If a table object is connected to a thermal image object and you delete either thetable or the image, you will not be able to recreate the connection.
18.1.5.3

Creating a custom table object

If the built-in table objects do not meet your needs, you can create your own tableobjects.
Note This procedure assumes that you have previously inserted at least one thermal
image in the report.
Follow this procedure:
1. Place the pointer where you want the table object to appear in the report.

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2. On the FLIR tab, click Table.
3. If there is more than one image in the report, the Choose Reference dialog box is displayed. Click the image you want to use as the reference when populating the tableobject, and click OK.

If there is only one image in the report, the table object will automatically be connected to that image.
4. The Insert Table dialog box is displayed.

5. Click the Create button.

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6. The Add/EditTable dialog box is displayed.

7. In the Table name text box, enter the name of your table.
8. Use the GROUP and FIELD panes to select the content you want to display. To include an item in the table, do one of the following:• Click the item in the FIELD pane and then click the Add button.
• Double-click the item in the FIELD pane.
• Hover over the item in the FIELD pane and then click the displayed

button.

9. A structural preview of the table is displayed in the dialog box. To change the order of
the table items, click a row in the preview and then click the arrow button
10. To remove a table item, do one of the following:or.

• Click the row in the preview and then click the Remove button.
• Hover over the item in the preview and then click the displayed

button.

11. Click OK.

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12. The Insert Table dialog box is displayed. In the TABLE pane, your table is displayed
under Custom.

13. In the Insert Table dialog box, you can do the following:• To edit a custom table, click the table in the TABLE pane and then click the Edit
button.
• To delete a custom table, click the table in the TABLE pane and then click the Remove button.
• To import a custom table, click the Import button.
• To export a custom table, click the table in the TABLE pane and then click the Export button.
14. Do one of the following:• Select the Insert header check box to display the table with a header in the report.
• Clear the Insert header check box to display the table without a header in thereport.
15. Click OK.
16. The table object with the content you have selected is displayed in the report.
18.1.5.4

Inserting a summary table

A summary table object is a placeholder that automatically displays a table with certain
information on all of the thermal images in the report.
Note• In the summary table, you can only include fields that are available in the report asfield objects or items in a table object.
• In a report template, a summary table can only be inserted into the INTRO or FINALsection (not into the DATA section).
Follow this procedure:
1. Place the pointer where you want the summary table to appear in the report.
2. On the FLIR tab, click the Table arrow. This displays a menu.

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3. On the menu, click Summary Table.
4. The Choose Summary Fields dialog box is displayed.

Note The displayed Fields are the ones that are available in the report as field objects or items in a table object.
5. Select the labels you want the summary table object to display.
6. Click OK.
7. The summary table object with the content you have selected is displayed in thereport.
18.1.6

Inserting a report properties object

A report properties object is a placeholder that automatically displays customer information and information about the inspection when a report is created.
Note• You can create and save a text file with report properties. Saved text files can be imported when creating a new report. For more information, see section 21.3 Procedure,
page 101, step 10.
• See also section 18.4 Document properties, page 74.
Follow this procedure:
1. Place the pointer where you want the report properties object to appear in the report.
2. On the FLIR tab, click Report Properties.

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3. The Insert Report Properties dialog box is displayed.

4. In the Insert Report Properties dialog box, you can do the following:• To select the items you want the report properties object to display, use the checkboxes.
• To change the item name, enter text in the Name text box.
• To change the item value, enter text in the Value text box.
• To add a new table item, click the Add button. Enter text in the Name and Value
text boxes.
• To add default table items, click the Create default button.
5. Click OK.
6. A table with the content you have selected is displayed in the report.
7. You can edit the content of the report properties object using ordinary Microsoft Wordfeatures.
18.1.718.1.7.1

Resizing objects
Resizing an image object

Follow this procedure:
1. Click a thermal image or digital photo object on the report page.
2. Right-click the image object and select Resize.
3. To change the size of the image object, drag one of the handles.

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18.1.7.2

Resizing a table object

Follow this procedure:
1. Select a table object on the report page.
2. On the Table Tools tab, click the Layout tab and use the controls to change the sizeof the table.
18.1.8Replacing an image

You can replace an image in the report, while keeping all connections to other objects.
Follow this procedure:
1. Right-click an image object and select Replace Image.
2. In the Open dialog box, locate and open a new image.
18.1.9Deleting objects

Note If a field or table object is connected to a thermal image object and you delete either of the objects, you will not be able to recreate the connection.
18.1.9.1

Deleting an image object

Follow this procedure:
1. Click an image object on the report page.
2. A label is displayed above the image. Click the label to select the entire image object.

3. Press the Delete key on your keyboard.
Note You can also delete an image object by right-clicking the image object and selecting Delete Image.
18.1.9.2

Deleting a field object

Follow this procedure:
1. Click a field object on the report page.
2. A label is displayed above the object. Click the label to select the entire object.

3. Press the Delete key on your keyboard.
18.1.9.3

Deleting a table object

Follow this procedure:
1. Click a table object on the report page.
2. On the Microsoft Word context-sensitive tab Table Tools, click the Layout tab andthen click the Delete button. This displays a menu.
3. On the menu, click Delete Table.

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18.2 Editing an image
You can edit thermal images directly from the report using the FLIR Report Studio Image
Editor.
Note

This procedure is applicable to editable Microsoft Word reports.

Follow this procedure:
1. To edit an image, do one of the following:• Click the image. On the FLIR tab, click Image Editor).
• Right-click the image and select Edit Image.
• Double-click the image.
2. This opens the FLIR Report Studio Image Editor. For more information, see section
19 Analyzing and editing images using the FLIR Report Studio Image Editor, page 77.

18.3 Working with formulas
18.3.1

GeneralThe FLIR Word Add-in allows you to carry out advanced calculations on various items in
the infrared image. A formula can contain all common mathematical operators and functions (+, –, ×, ÷, etc). Also, numerical constants such as π can be used.
Most importantly, references to measurement results, other formulas, and other numerical data can be inserted into formulas.
The formulas you create will be available in the FLIR Word Add-in and can be inserted infield and table objects in future reports.
Note• A formula can operate only on a single infrared image: it cannot calculate, for example, differences between two infrared images.
• You can use any existing METERLiNK data in the infrared image as a value in a formula, in the same way as you would use an infrared measurement value. METERLiNK
data can be stored in the infrared image by using an external FLIR/Extech meter—
such as a clamp meter or a moisture meter—together with the infrared camera.
18.3.2Creating a simple formula

Creating a formula that calculates the temperature difference between two spots
1. In your report, insert a thermal image object, see section 18.1.2 Inserting a thermal
image object, page 57.
2. Open an image in the Image Editor, see section 18.2 Editing an image, page 68.
3. Add two spot tools in the image, see section 19.5.2 Adding a measurement tool,
page 80.
4. On the FLIR tab, click Formula manager.

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5. The Formula manager dialog box is displayed. Click the Create button.

6. The Create formula dialog box is displayed. Click the field button.

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7. The Select field and entry dialog box is displayed.
Do the following:
7.1.
7.2.
7.3.
7.4.

In the GROUP pane, click Spotmeters.
In the ENTRY pane, click Sp2.
In the FIELD pane, click Temperature.
Click OK.

8. In the Create formula dialog box, click the minus button to add a subtraction mathematical operator.
9. Click the field button. Repeat step 7 for spot Sp1.
10. The Create formula dialog box now displays the temperature difference formula using
FLIR Systems syntax.
In the Label text box, enter the text you want to be displayed with the formula result in
the report. In the Precision box, enter the number of decimal places for the formula
result.

11. In the Create formula dialog box, click OK.
12. In the Formula manager dialog box, click OK.
13. The created temperature difference formula can now be inserted in the field and tableobjects in the report.

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18.3.3Creating a conditional formula

For some applications, you may, for example, want to display the result of a calculation ina green font color if the result is lower than a critical value, and in a red font color if the result is higher than the critical value. You do this by creating a conditional formula using
the IF statement.
The procedure below describes how you set up a conditional formula that displays theresult from a temperature difference formula in red if the value is higher than 2.0 degrees,
and in green if the value is lower than 2.0 degrees.
Creating a conditional formula using the IF statement
1. Create a formula that calculates the temperature difference between two spots, seesection 18.3.2 Creating a simple formula, page 68.
2. On the FLIR tab, click Formula manager.
3. If there is more than one image in the report, the Choose Reference dialog box is displayed. Click an image and then click OK.
4. The Formula manager dialog box is displayed. Click the Create button.

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5. The Create formula dialog box is displayed. Click the IF button.

6. The Create ‘IF’ formula dialog box is displayed. Click the Add... button.

7. A dialog box is displayed.
Do the following:
7.1.

7.2.
7.3.
7.4.

Under Left value, click the ... button. This displays the Select field and entry dialog box. In the GROUP pane, click Formulas. In the FIELD pane, select thetemperature difference formula. Click OK.
In the Operator drop-down list, select >.
In the Right value text box, enter 2.0.
Click OK.

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8. In the Create ‘IF’ formula dialog box, do the following:
8.1.
8.2.
8.3.
8.4.
8.5.

On the Value if TRUE row, click the ... button and select the temperature difference formula.
On the Value if TRUE row, click the Auto button and select the color red.
On the Value if FALSE row, click the ... button and select the temperature difference formula.
On the Value if FALSE row, click the Auto button and select the color green.
Click OK.

9. The Create formula dialog box now displays the complete conditional formula. The
two 10-digit code strings after the equals sign represent the colors.
In the Label text box, enter the text you want to be displayed with the formula result in
the report. In the Precision box, enter the number of decimal places for the formula
result.

10. In the Create formula dialog box, click OK.
11. In the Formula manager dialog box, click OK.
12. The created conditional formula can now be inserted in the field and table objects in
the report. The result of the temperature difference formula will be displayed in red or
green, depending on the measured values of the two spotmeters.

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18.4 Document properties
18.4.1

GeneralWhen creating an infrared report, the FLIR program extracts the Microsoft Word document properties for the report template and inserts these properties into corresponding
Microsoft Word fields in the final report.
You can use these document properties to automate several time-consuming tasks whencreating a report. For example, you may want to automatically add information such as
the name, address, and e-mail address of the inspection site, the model name of thecamera that you are using, and your e-mail address.
See also section 18.1.6 Inserting a report properties object, page 65.
18.4.2

Types of document properties

There are two different types of document properties:• Summary document properties.
• Custom document properties.
For the former, you can only change the values, but for the latter you can change boththe labels and the values.
18.4.3Creating and editing Microsoft Word document properties

Creating and editing document properties
1. Start the FLIR Report Studio wizard. In the center pane, right-click one of the reporttemplates and select Edit. This opens the report template (*.dotx) in Microsoft Word.
2. On the File tab, click Info.
3. From the Properties drop-down menu, select Advanced Properties.
4. On the Summary tab, enter your information in the appropriate text boxes.
5. Click the Custom tab.
6. To add a custom property, type a name in the Name box. To make your custom properties easy to find, you can type an underscore ( _ ) as the first character in the nameof the property.
7. Use the Type box to specify the type of property.
8. To specify the value of the property, type it in the Value box.
9. Click Add to add the custom property to the list of properties, and then click OK.
10. Save the infrared report template using a different filename but with the same filename extension (*.dotx). You have now added summary and custom properties toyour renamed infrared report template.
Note• If you want to change the name of a custom document property, due to how the Custom tab of the Properties dialog box in Microsoft Word works, the only way to do thisis to delete it and then recreate it. If you want to move a document property up or
down, the entire list has to be recreated.
• A Microsoft Word field is not the same as a field inserted by clicking the Field buttonon the FLIR tab.
• You may find that a FLIR Systems property has been added to your document automatically. Do not remove this property. The FLIR program uses it to distinguish between infrared documents and other documents.

18.5 Creating a report
You can easily and efficiently create an infrared report using the FLIR Report Studiowizard.
Follow this procedure:
1. On the FLIR tab, click New Report.

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2. This opens the FLIR Report Studio wizard. For more information, see section 21 Creating reports using the FLIR Report Studio wizard, page 101.

18.6 Exporting a report
Before you send the infrared report to your client, you can export it in one of the following
formats:• Flat DocX: This exports the report as a flat report with the suffix “_flat”. A flat report
can still be edited using ordinary Microsoft Word features, but it is no longer possible
to manage the image, field, and table objects.
• PDF: This exports the report as a non-editable PDF report.
Follow this procedure:
1. On the FLIR tab, in the Export group, click the arrow. This displays a menu.
2. On the menu, select Flat DocX or PDF.

18.7 Creating a report template
You can create your own report templates using the FLIR Report Studio Template Editor.
Follow this procedure:
1. On the FLIR tab, click Create new template.
2. This opens the FLIR Report Studio Template Editor. For more information, see section 20 Creating report templates, page 96.

18.8 Changing the settings
You can change the settings for the temperature and distance units.
Note A change of settings will apply to new objects that are inserted in the report, but
existing objects will keep the previous settings. A change of settings in a report template
will be applied to all objects when a report is generated based on the template.
Follow this procedure:
1. On the FLIR tab, click Settings. This displays a menu.
2. On the menu, click Set units . This displays a dialog box, where you can set the temperature and distance units. If a unit has not been specified in the report template,default or not set is marked.

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18.9 Help menu
The Help menu includes links to support and training sources, license information, checkfor updates, etc.
The Help menu is available on the FLIR tab under Settings.

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Analyzing and editing images
using the FLIR Report Studio
Image Editor
19.1 General
The FLIR Report Studio Image Editor is a powerful tool for analyzing and editing infrared
images.
These are some of the functions and settings you can experiment with:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Adding measurement tools.
Adjusting the infrared image.
Changing the color distribution.
Changing the color palette.
Changing the image modes.
Working with color alarms and isotherms.
Changing the measurement parameters.

19.2 Starting the Image Editor
You can start the Image Editor from an editable (radiometric) infrared report using theFLIR Word Add-in.
You can also start the Image Editor from the FLIR Report Studio wizard.
19.2.1

Starting the Image Editor from the FLIR Word Add-in

You can start the Image Editor from an editable infrared report..
Follow this procedure:
1. Do one of the following:• Double-click an image in the report.
• Select an image and click Image Editor on the FLIR tab.
• Right-click an image and select Edit Image.
19.2.2Starting the Image Editor from the FLIR Report Studio wizard

Follow this procedure:
1. Do one of the following:• In the center pane, double-click an image.
• In the right pane, double-click an image.
Note• If you edit an image from the center pane, the original image will be changed.
• If you edit an image from the right pane, only the image in the report will be changed.

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19.3 Image Editor screen elements
19.3.1Figure19.3.2

Explanation

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Measurement toolbar.
Image mode toolbar.
Temperature scale.
Thumbnail view of the infrared image.
Thumbnail view of the digital photo (if available).
Results and information pane:
•
•
•
•
•

Note.
Measurements.
Parameters.
Annotations.
Image information.

7. Close button.
8. Save button.
9. Auto-adjust button.
10. Navigation buttons. Click the buttons to go to the previous/next image.
11. Zoom setting button. Click the button and select one of the predefined zoom settings.
12. Zoom button. Click the button to display the zoom-in and zoom-out buttons.
13. Pan button. Click the button and then drag the image to pan a zoomed-in image.
Note Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is above or
below the calibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore incorrect.
This phenomenon is called overflow or underflow.
Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is too close to thecalibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore unreliable.

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Analyzing and editing images using the FLIR Report Studio Image Editor

19.4 Basic image editing functions
19.4.1

Rotating the image

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Rotate image and measurements). This
displays a toolbar.
2. On the toolbar, do one of the following:• Clickto rotate the image counter-clockwise.

• Clickto rotate the image clockwise.

19.4.2

Cropping the image

You can crop an image and save the cropped image as a copy of the original image.
Note
Cropping is possible when you start the Image Editor from an image in the center paneof the FLIR Report Studio wizard.
Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Crop). This displays a box on the image.
2. Select the crop region by moving and adjusting the size of the box.
3. In the crop region box, do one of the following:• Clickto crop the image. This opens the Save as dialog box.

• Click

to cancel the crop action.

19.5 Working with measurement tools
19.5.1

GeneralTo measure a temperature, you can use one or more measurement tools, e.g., a spot,
box, circle, or line.
When you add a measurement tool to the image, the measured temperature will be displayed in the right pane of the Image Editor. The tool setup will also be saved to the image file and the measured temperature will be available for display in your infrared report.
Note Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is above or
below the calibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore incorrect.
This phenomenon is called overflow or underflow.
Aicon in the result table indicates that the measurement result is too close to thecalibrated temperature range of the infrared camera and is therefore unreliable.

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19.5.2

Adding a measurement tool

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select one of the following:• Select(Add spot) to add a spot.

• Select(Add box) to add a box.

• Select(Add ellipse) to add a ellipse.

• Select(Add line) to add a line.

2. Click the location on the image where the measurement tool is to be placed.
19.5.3Moving and resizing a measurement tool

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Selection).
2. To move a measurement tool, select the tool on the image and drag it to a newposition.
3. To resize a measurement tool, select the tool on the image and use the selection tool
to drag the handles that are displayed around the frame of the tool.

19.5.419.5.4.1

Creating local markers for a measurement tool
GeneralThe Image Editor will respect any existing markers for a measurement tool as set up in
the camera. However, sometimes you may want to add a marker when analyzing the image. You do this by using local markers.
19.5.4.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.

On the measurement toolbar, select(Selection).
Right-click the tool and select Local max/min/avg markers.
In the dialog box, select or clear the markers you want to add or remove.
Click OK.

19.5.519.5.5.1

Calculating areas
GeneralThe distance included in the image parameter data can be used as the basis for area calculations. A typical application is to estimate the size of a damp stain on a wall.
To calculate the area of a surface, you need to add a box or circle measurement tool to
the image. The Image Editor calculates the area of the surface enclosed by the box or
circle tool. The calculation is an estimate of the surface area, based on the distancevalue.

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19.5.5.1.1

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Add a box or circle measurement tool, see section 19.5.2 Adding a measurement
tool, page 80.
2. Adjust the size of the box or circle tool to the size of the object, see section 19.5.3
Moving and resizing a measurement tool, page 80.
3. Right-click the tool and select Local max/min/avg markers. In the dialog box, selectthe Area check box. This displays the calculated area, based on the distance value,in the MEASUREMENTS pane.
4. To change the distance value, click the value field in the PARAMETERS pane, type a
new value and press Enter. The recalculated area, based on the new distance value,
is displayed in the MEASUREMENTS pane.
19.5.5.1.2

Calculating lengths

19.5.5.1.2.1

GeneralThe distance included in the image parameter data can be used as the basis for length
calculations.
To calculate the length, you need to add a line measurement tool to the image. The Image Editor calculates an estimate of the line length, based on the distance value.
19.5.5.1.2.1.2 Procedure
Follow this procedure:
1. Add a line measurement tool, see section 19.5.2 Adding a measurement tool, page80.
2. Adjust the size of the line tool to the size of the object, see section 19.5.3 Moving andresizing a measurement tool, page 80.
3. Right-click the tool and select Local max/min/avg markers. In the dialog box, selectthe Length check box. This displays the calculated length, based on the distance value, in the MEASUREMENTS pane.
4. To change the distance value, click the value field in the PARAMETERS pane, type a
new value and press Enter. The recalculated area, based on the new distance value,
is displayed in the MEASUREMENTS pane.
19.5.6

Setting up a difference calculation

19.5.6.1

GeneralA difference calculation gives the difference (delta) between two temperatures—for example, two spots, or a spot and the maximum temperature in the image.
19.5.6.2

Procedure

Note This procedure assumes that you have previously added at least one measurement tool to the image.
19.5.6.2.1

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Add delta).
2. The difference calculation is displayed under MEASUREMENTS in the right pane.

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3. To change the setup for the difference calculation, do the following:
3.1.

In the right pane, click

3.2.

In the dialog box, select the measurement tools and what values (maximum,
minimum, or average) you want to use in the difference calculation. You canalso select a fixed-temperature reference.

(Edit). This displays a dialog box.

4. To delete the difference calculation, click
19.5.7(Delete).

Deleting a measurement tool

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Selection).
2. Select the measurement tool on the image and do one of the following:• Press the Delete key on your keyboard.
• Right-click the tool and select Delete.
Note Deleting a measurement tool included in a difference calculation also deletes thedifference calculation.

19.6 Adjusting the infrared image
19.6.1

GeneralAn infrared image can be adjusted manually or automatically.
In the Image Editor, you can manually change the top and bottom levels in the temperature scale. This makes it easier to analyze the image. You can, for example, change thetemperature scale to values close to the temperature of a specific object in the image.
This will make it possible to detect anomalies and smaller temperature differences in thepart of the image of interest.
When auto-adjusting an image, the Image Editor adjusts the image for the best image
brightness and contrast. This means that the color information is distributed over the existing temperatures of the image.
In some situations, the image may contain very hot or cold areas outside your area of interest. In such cases you will want to exclude those areas when auto-adjusting the image
and use the color information only for the temperatures in your area of interest. You cando so by defining an auto-adjust region.
19.6.2

Example 1

Here are two infrared images of a building. In the left image, which is auto-adjusted, thelarge temperature span between the clear sky and the heated building makes a correct
analysis difficult. You can analyze the building in more detail if you change the temperature scale to values close to the temperature of the building.

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Automatic

19.6.3ManualExample 2

Here are two infrared images of an isolator in a power line. To make it easier to analyze
the temperature variations in the isolator, the temperature scale in the right image has
been changed to values close to the temperature of the isolator.

Automatic

19.6.4ManualChanging the temperature levels

Follow this procedure:
1. To change the top level in the temperature scale, drag the top slider up or down.
2. To change the bottom level in the temperature scale, drag the bottom slider up or
down.

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19.6.5Auto-adjusting the image

Follow this procedure:
1. To auto-adjust the image, click Auto.

19.6.6

Defining an auto-adjust region

An auto-adjust region sets the top and bottom levels in the temperature scale to the maximum and minimum temperatures in that area. By using the color information only for the
relevant temperatures, you will get more details in your area of interest.
Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US(Set auto adjust region).

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2. Use the displayed tool to create a region. This region can be moved and resized tosuit your area of interest.

3. To delete the auto-adjust area, select the region and do one of the following:• Press the Delete key on your keyboard.
• Right-click the region and select Delete.

19.7 Changing the color distribution
19.7.1

General

You can change the distribution of colors in an image. A different color distribution canmake it easier to analyze the image more thoroughly.
19.7.2

Definitions

You can choose from the following color distributions:• Temperature Linear: This is an image-displaying method where the color informationin the image is distributed linearly to the temperature values of the pixels.
• Histogram Equalization: This is an image-displaying method that distributes the color
information over the existing temperatures of the image. This method of distributing
the information can be particularly successful when the image contains few peaks atvery high temperature values.
• Signal Linear: This is an image-displaying method where the color information in theimage is distributed linearly to the signal values of the pixels.
• Digital Detail Enhancement: This is an image-displaying method where high-frequency content in the image, such as edges and corners, are enhanced to increase
the visibility of details.
19.7.3

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Right-click the image and select Color distribution. This displays a menu.
2. On the menu, select one of the following:••••

Temperature Linear.
Histogram Equalization.
Signal Linear.
Digital Detail Enhancement.

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19.8 Changing the color palette
19.8.1

General

You can change the palette that is used to display the different temperatures within animage. A different palette can make it easier to analyze the image.
Color palette

Image example

Artic

Cool

Gray

Iron

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Color palette

Image example

Lava

Rainbow

Rainbow HC

Warm

19.8.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Color). This displays a menu.
2. On the menu, click the palette you want to use.

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19.9 Changing the image modes
19.9.1

GeneralFor some images you can change the image mode.
19.9.2

Types of image modes

Image mode

Image example

Thermal MSX (Multi Spectral Dynamic Imaging):
This mode displays an infrared image where theedges of the objects are enhanced. The thermal/
photo balance can be adjusted.

Thermal: This mode displays a fully infrared
image.

Thermal Fusion: This mode displays a digital photo where some parts are displayed in infrared, depending on the temperature limits.

Thermal Blending: The camera displays ablended image that uses a mix of infrared pixels
and digital photo pixels. The thermal/photo balance can be adjusted.

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Image mode

Image example

Picture in picture: This mode displays an infrared
image frame on top of a digital photo.

Digital camera: This mode displays a fully digital
photo.

19.9.3

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the image mode toolbar, select one of the following:•(Thermal MSX).

•(Thermal).

•(Thermal Fusion).

•(Thermal Blending).

•(Picture in picture).

•(Digital camera).

2. Applicable to the Thermal MSX and Thermal Blending modes: To adjust the thermal/
photo balance, click the arrow next to the image mode icon and drag the slider left or
right.
3. Applicable to the Digital camera mode: To change the image to grayscale, click thearrow next to the image mode icon and select the check box.
Note The grayscale setting for the digital camera remains when switching to otherimage modes that use the visual image, e.g., Thermal Fusion, Thermal Blending, andPicture in picture.

19.10 Working with color alarms and isotherms
19.10.1

GeneralBy using color alarms (isotherms), anomalies can easily be discovered in an infrared image. The isotherm command applies a contrasting color to all pixels with a temperature#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US

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above, below, or between the set temperature levels. There are also alarm types that are
specific to the building trade: humidity and insulation alarms.
You can select the following types of color alarms:• Above alarm: This will apply a contrasting color to all pixels with a temperature above
the specified temperature level.
• Below alarm: This will apply a contrasting color to all pixels with a temperature below
the specified temperature level.
• Interval alarm: This will apply a contrasting color to all pixels with a temperature between two specified temperature levels.
• Humidity alarm: Triggers when a surface where the relative humidity exceeds a preset
value is detected.
• Insulation alarm: Triggers when there is an insulation deficiency in a wall.
• Custom alarm: This alarm type allows you to manually modify the settings for a standard alarm.
Setting parameters for the activated color alarm are displayed under ALARM in the rightpane.

19.10.2

Image examples

This table explains the different color alarms (isotherms).
Color alarm

Image

Above alarm

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Color alarm

Image

Interval alarm

Humidity alarm

Insulation alarm19.10.3

Setting up above and below alarms

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Color). This displays a menu.
2. On the menu, select one of the following:• Above alarm.
• Below alarm.
3. In the right pane, take note of the parameter Limit. Areas in the image with a temperature above or below this temperature will be colorized with the isotherm color. You
can change this limit, and also change the isotherm color on the Color menu.
19.10.4

Setting up an interval alarm

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select
2. On the menu, select Interval alarm.

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3. In the right pane, take note of the parameters Upper limit and Lower limit. Areas in
the image with a temperature between these two temperatures will be colorized with
the isotherm color. You can change these limits, and also change the isotherm color
on the Color menu.
19.10.5
19.10.5.1

Setting up a humidity alarm
GeneralThe humidity alarm (isotherm) can detect areas where there is a risk of mold growing, or
where there is a risk of the humidity falling out as liquid water (i.e., the dew point).
19.10.5.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Color). This displays a menu.
2. On the menu, select Humidity alarm. Depending on your object, certain areas will
now be colorized with an isotherm color.
3. In the right pane, take note of the parameter Calculated limit. This is the temperature
at which there is a risk of humidity. If the parameter Relative humidity limit is set to
100%, this is also the dew point, i.e., the temperature at which the humidity falls out
as liquid water.
Note

The parameter Calculated limit takes the following three parameters into account:• Relative humidity.
• Relative humidity limit.
• Atmospheric temperature.
19.10.6
19.10.6.1

Setting up an insulation alarm
GeneralThe insulation alarm (isotherm) can detect areas where there may be an insulation deficiency in the building. It will trigger when the insulation level falls below a preset value ofthe energy leakage through the building structure—the so-called thermal index.
Different building codes recommend different values for the thermal index, but typicalvalues are 0.6–0.8 for new buildings. Refer to your national building code forrecommendations.
19.10.6.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Color). This displays a menu.
2. On the menu, select Insulation alarm. Depending on your object, certain areas will
now be colorized with an isotherm color.
3. In the right pane, take note of the parameter Calculated insulation. This is the temperature where the insulation level falls below a preset value of the energy leakage
through the building structure.
Note The parameter Calculated insulation takes the following three parameters into
account:• Indoor temperature.
• Outdoor temperature.
• Thermal index.

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19.10.7

Setting up a custom alarm19.10.7.1

GeneralA custom alarm is an alarm of any of the following types:
•
•
•
•
•

Above alarm.
Below alarm.
Interval alarm.
Humidity alarm.
Insulation alarm.

For these custom alarms, you can specify a number of different parameters manually,
compared with using the standard alarms:• Background.
• Colors (semi-transparent or solid colors).
• Inverted color (for the Interval isotherm only).
19.10.7.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. On the measurement toolbar, select(Color). This displays a menu.
2. On the menu, select Custom alarm.
3. In the right pane, specify the following parameters:• For Above and Below:◦ Background.
◦ Limit.
◦ Color.
• For Interval:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Background.
Upper limit.
Lower limit.
Color.
Inverted interval.

• For Humidity:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Background.
Relative humidity.
Relative humidity limit.
Atmospheric temperature.
Color.

• For Insulation:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Background.
Indoor temperature.
Outdoor temperature.
Insulation factor (0–1).
Color.

19.11 Changing the local parameters for ameasurement tool
19.11.1

GeneralFor accurate measurements, it is important to set the measurement parameters. The
measurement parameters stored with the image are displayed in the right pane, under
PARAMETERS.

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In some situations you may want to change a measurement (object) parameter for one
measurement tool only. The reason for this could be that the measurement tool is in frontof a significantly more reflective surface than other surfaces in the image, or over an object that is further away than the rest of the objects in the image, and so on.
For more information about object parameters, see section 27 Thermographic measurement techniques, page 129.
The following indicators are used when local parameters are activated for a measurement tool:• In the image, an asterisk (*) is displayed next to the measurement tool.

• In the result table of the Image Editor, an icon is displayed next to the measurement
value.

• In result fields and tables in infrared reports, an asterisk (*) is displayed and the local
parameter values are included in brackets.

19.11.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

On the measurement toolbar, select(Selection).
Right-click the tool and select Local parameters.
In the dialog box, select Use local parameters.
Enter a value for one or more parameters.
Click OK.

19.12 Working with annotations
19.12.1

General

You can save additional information with an infrared image by using annotations. Annotations make reporting and post-processing more efficient, by providing essential information about the image, e.g., conditions and information about where an image is taken.
Some cameras allow you to add annotations directly in the camera, e.g., notes (image
descriptions), text, voice, and sketch annotations. These annotations (if available) aredisplayed in the right pane of the Image Editor. You can also add notes (image descriptions) and text annotations to images using the Image Editor.
19.12.2
19.12.2.1

About image descriptions
What is an image description?

An image description is a brief free-form textual description that is stored in an infrared
image file. It uses a standard tag in the *.jpg file format and can be retrieved by othersoftware.
In the Image Editor and FLIR cameras, the image description is called Note.

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19.12.2.1.1

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. In the right pane, type the image description in the field under NOTE.
19.12.3

About text annotations

19.12.3.1

What is a text annotation?

A text annotation is textual information about something in an image and is constructedof a group of information pairs—label and value. The reason for using text annotations is
to make reporting and post-processing more efficient by providing essential information
about the image, e.g., conditions, photos, and information about where the image wastaken.
A text annotation is a proprietary annotation format from FLIR Systems, and the information cannot be retrieved by other vendors’ software. The concept relies heavily on interaction by the user. In the camera, the user can select one of several values for each label.
The user can also enter numerical values, and make the text annotation capture measurement values from the screen.
19.12.3.2

Creating a text annotation for an image

Follow this procedure:
1. Under TEXT ANNOTATIONS in the right pane, do one of the following:Click• Click. This adds a text annotation row. Repeat to add more rows.
. This opens the Text annotations dialog box.

2. Enter the desired labels and values. See the image below for examples.

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Creating report templates

20.1 General
FLIR Report Studio ships with several different report templates (Microsoft Word *.dotx
files). If these templates do not meet your needs, you can create your own custom infrared report templates.
Note Custom infrared report templates created in FLIR Report Studio can also be usedin FLIR Tools/Tools+.
20.1.1

Few or many report templates?

It is not uncommon for a specific template to always be used for a particular customer. If
this is the case, you may want to include your customer’s company-specific informationin the template, rather than entering it manually after the infrared report has been
generated.
However, if infrared reports for several of your customers could be created using one
template, or perhaps just a few, company-specific information should probably not be included in the template, since that kind of information can easily be entered when generating the report.
20.1.2

Typical structure

An infrared report template usually consists of the following types of sections:• INTRO: The front cover that, for example, can include your company logo and elements of corporate identity, the title of the report, the customer’s name and address, asummary table, and any additional artwork or information that you want to include.
• DATA: A number of different pages, containing combinations of thermal image objects, digital photo objects, table objects, summary table objects, etc. Multiple DATA
sections with different types of content, e.g., “IR only” and “Visual only,” can be
included.
• FINAL: Your conclusions, recommendations, diagnosis, and summary description.
20.1.3

A note about working in the Microsoft Word environment

Due to the fact that the FLIR Word Add-in is an add-in to Microsoft Word, the existing features you usually use when creating a Microsoft Word document template can be used
when creating your report templates.
The FLIR Word Add-in adds a number of commands that are specific to the area of infrared imaging and reporting. These commands are available on the FLIR tab. You use
these features, along with the usual Microsoft Word features, when you create infrared
report templates.
Note• Creating a report template requires knowledge of how to create document templates
in Microsoft Word. For more information about this, refer to your Microsoft Word documentation, or to the Microsoft Word online help.
• When creating a custom report template, you may find it useful to select Show/Hide ¶on the Home tab in Microsoft Word.

20.2 Creating a custom infrared reporttemplate
You can create a report template in different ways:• Customize a basic report template.
• Modify an existing report template.

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20.2.1

Customizing a basic report template

Follow this procedure:
1. On the FLIR tab, click Create new template .
2. A report template with basic layout opens, including the INTRO, DATA, and FINALsections.
3. You can add more DATA sections to the template. For more information, see section
20.2.3 Adding multiple DATA sections, page 98.
4. Insert content in the report template, following the instructions in the document. You
can use existing features in Microsoft Word and also add and remove objects andmodify the properties of the objects as described in section 18.1 Managing objects in
the report, page 57.
5. You can select a category for the report template. When saved, the report template
will appear under the selected category in the left pane of the FLIR Report Studiowizard. For more information, see section 20.2.4 Selecting a template category, page99.
6. Save the new infrared report template. Make sure that you save the template with the*.dotx file name extension.
7. Click OK.
20.2.2Modifying an existing template

Follow this procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Start Microsoft Word, but make sure that all infrared reports are closed.
On the FLIR tab, click the Create new template arrow. This displays a menu.
On the menu, click Create from existing template.
This displays the Select Template window.

5. In the left pane, select All Templates to display all of the templates available in FLIR
Report Studio.

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6. In the center pane, click a report template. A preview of each page in the selected report template will be displayed in the right pane.
To continue with the selected template, click OK at the bottom of the window.

7. To avoid overwriting the original template, save the template under a different filename before making any changes. When saving the template, make sure that you
save it with the *.dotx file name extension.
8. Make your changes to the original template by adding and removing objects and bymodifying the properties of the objects as described in section 18.1 Managing objects in the report, page 57.
9. You can add more DATA sections to the template. For more information, see section
20.2.3 Adding multiple DATA sections, page 98.
10. You can select a category for the report template. When saved, the report template
will appear under the selected category in the left pane of the FLIR Report Studiowizard. For more information, see section 20.2.4 Selecting a template category, page99.
11. Save the new infrared report template. Make sure that you save the template with the*.dotx file name extension.
20.2.3

Adding multiple DATA sections

You can add one or more new DATA sections to the report template, with different typesof content, e.g., “IR only” and “Visual only”.

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Follow this procedure:
1. In the FLIR Task Pane, right-click the DATA section and select Add Template Part.

2. In the Insert template part dialog box, enter a name of the new section.

3. When completed, click OK.
20.2.4

Selecting a template category

You can select one or more categories for the report template. When saved and imported
to the FLIR Report Studio wizard, the report template will appear under the selected categories in the left pane of the wizard.

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Follow this procedure:
1. On the FLIR tab, click the Settings arrow. This displays a menu. On the menu, selectTemplate categories.
2. In the Select Template Categories dialog box, click the Create default button. To create a new category, click the Add button.

3. Select one or more categories.
4. When completed, click OK.

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Report Studio wizard

21.1 General
The FLIR Report Studio wizard allows you to easily and efficiently generate reports. The
wizard gives you the opportunity to fine tune and adjust your report before it is created.
You can choose different report templates, add images, edit images, move images up
and down, and add report properties such as customer information and information
about the inspection.
Using the FLIR Report Studio wizard is the easiest way to create a report. However, you
can also create a report from a blank Microsoft Word document, by adding and removing
objects and by modifying the properties of the objects as described in section 18.1 Managing objects in the report, page 57.

21.2 Types of reports
You can create the following types of reports using the FLIR Report Studio wizard:
1. A flat report: This is a report in the *.docx file format that contains infrared images,
any associated visual images, and result tables. The report can be edited using ordinary Microsoft Word features, but no radiometric data is included.
2. An editable report: This is an advanced report in the *.docx file format that contains
infrared images, any associated visual images, and result tables. In addition to basic
editing, advanced radiometric analysis can be carried out using the FLIR Word Addin features in Microsoft Word.
FLIR Report Studio ships with a number of report templates. You can also create yourown templates, see section 20 Creating report templates, page 96.
Note You can export an editable report to a flat report or to a PDF report from the FLIR
Word Add-in. For more information, see section 18.6 Exporting a report, page 75.

21.3 Procedure
Follow this procedure:
1. Start the FLIR Report Studio wizard by doing one of the following:• Select FLIR Report Studio from the Start menu (Start > All Programs > FLIR Systems > FLIR Report Studio).
• On the FLIR tab in a Microsoft Word document, click New Report.
2. In the left pane, select All Templates to display all of the templates available in FLIR
Report Studio.
Note

You can also do one of the following:• Click Import template to import a new template to FLIR Report Studio.
• Click Browse for template to locate a template to be used only for the current report. This template will not be available in FLIR Report Studio next time you createa report.

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3. In the center pane, click a report template. A preview of each page in the selected report template will be displayed in the right pane.
To continue with the selected template, click Next at the bottom of the window.

4. In the left pane, choose the folder containing the images to include in the report. You
can also import images from a camera connected to the computer.

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5. Drag and drop the images from the center pane into the right pane. You can also dragand drop folders into the right pane.

6. In the right pane, you can do the following:• To change the order of images, select an image and click(Move Down).

(Move Up) or• To remove an image from the report, select the image and click• To remove all images from the report, click(Delete).

(Remove all).

7. To edit an image, do one of the following:• Right-click the image and select Edit Image.
• Double-click the image.
This opens the FLIR Report Studio Image Editor. For more information, see section
19 Analyzing and editing images using the FLIR Report Studio Image Editor, page 77.
Note• If you edit an image from the center pane, the original image will be changed.
• If you edit an image from the right pane, only the image in the report will bechanged.
8. Enter the name of the report in the REPORT NAME field in the upper part of thewindow.
9. Click the Generate arrow at the bottom of the window. Select one of the following:• Generate an editable report to generate a report with full radiometric data.
• Generate a flat report to generate a compressed report with flat infrared images
and result tables.

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10. The Report Properties dialog box is displayed.

Do one or more of the following:• Enter the customer information and information about the inspection in the predefined fields.
• Click Import to import properties from a previously saved text file.
• Click Add to add a new property.
• Select a property and click Remove to remove a property.
• Click Export to export the current property settings to a text file.
To create the report with the displayed properties, click OK. This generates a report
saved to the reports folder, as specified in Settings. For more information, see section
21.5 Changing the settings, page 105.
11. The report opens as a Microsoft Word document. The selected image(s) and the information entered in the Report Properties dialog box populate the corresponding
placeholders in the report.
12. (Applicable to editable reports.) To edit an image, do one of the following:• Click the image. On the FLIR tab, click Image Editor.
• Right-click the image and select Edit Image.
• Double-click the image.
This opens the FLIR Report Studio Image Editor. For more information, see section
19 Analyzing and editing images using the FLIR Report Studio Image Editor, page 77.
13. (Applicable to editable reports.) To modify objects in the report, refer to section 18.1
Managing objects in the report, page 57.
14. Save the report.

21.4 Saving a session
A session is a way to store a report that has not yet been completed in the FLIR Report
Studio wizard. You can load a saved session in the FLIR Report Studio wizard and continue with the report later.
In the FLIR Report Studio wizard, do the following:• To save a session, select File > Save session.
• To load a session, select File > Load session.

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21.5 Changing the settings
You can change the settings for FLIR Report Studio wizard.
Follow this procedure:
1. Select Options > Settings.
2. In the Report tab, you can select settings related to the creation of reports.

3. In the Units tab, you can select settings related to temperature and distance units.
• Select the Prefer template units check box to apply the unit settings as specified in
the report template. If no units are set in the template, the unit settings in the Temperature and Distance fields will apply.
• Deselect the Prefer template units check box to apply the unit settings in the Temperature and Distance fields.

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4. In the Import tab, you can select settings related to the import of images.

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Updating the camera and PC
software22.1 Updating the PC software
22.1.1

General

You can update FLIR Tools/Tools+ with the latest service packs.
22.1.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
2. On the Help menu, select Check for updates. This displays a dialog box.

Figure 22.1 FLIR Tools/Tools+ update dialog box (example image)

3. Follow the on-screen instructions.

22.2 Updating the camera firmware
22.2.1

General

You can update your infrared camera with the latest firmware.
Note

Before updating the camera you must update FLIR Tools/Tools+.

22.2.2

Procedure

Follow this procedure:
1. Connect your infrared camera to a PC.
2. Start FLIR Tools/Tools+.
3. On the Help menu, select Check for updates. This displays a dialog box.

Figure 22.2 Camera update dialog box (example).

4. Follow the on-screen instructions.

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23.1 Settings relating to Options FLIR Tools/
Tools+
23.1.1The Options dialog (for program-wide options)

Note

This section refers to the Options command on the main menu bar.

23.1.1.1

Recording tab

File name prefix: The prefix that will be inserted in file names for recordings.
Image format: The image format for snapshots that are saved as image files fromrecordings.
Video format: The video format for recordings.
Browse: Click Browse to specify the location where video recordings will be saved.
Disk space: The available disk space for recordings.
23.1.1.2

View tab

Hide cold and hot spot: To hide any existing cold and hot spots in an image, select thischeck box.
Show wizard when connecting a camera: To display the import guide when connecting acamera, select this checkbox.
Use entire-scale setting on auto-adjust image: (Applies to FLIR GF3xx cameras only.) To
use the image’s entire temperature range when importing the image into FLIR Tools/
Tools+, and not only the scene temperature range, select this check box. If this checkbox is not selected, the image may appear considerably darker after importing, since
FLIR Tools/Tools+ uses a default temperature range. For more information about thescene temperature range, see the FLIR GF3xx camera manual.

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23.1.1.3

Library tab

Add existing folder to library: To add an existing folder on your computer to the image library, click Browse and navigate to the folder.
Remove folder: To remove a folder from the image library, select the folder in the folder
list and then click Remove folder.
23.1.1.4

Report tab

Page size: To change the page size, select a new page size in the list. Available options
are A4, US Letter, and US Legal.
Show all parameters: To display all measurement parameters for an image when included in a report, select this checkbox.
Extract digital camera image from thermal image (if available) when generating: For cameras supporting multispectral images, all image modes are included inside a single image file—MSX, thermal, thermal fusion, thermal blending, picture-in-picture, and thedigital camera image. To extract the digital camera image when generating a report, select this checkbox.
User Report Studio templates path: The file path to the program’s Report Studio templates (Microsoft Word *.dotx files).
Logo: To display a logo in the top left corner of the report pages, select this checkbox. To
display another logo, click Browse and navigate to the logo file.
Header: A text field where you can enter any text that shall be displayed in the report
header.

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Footer: A text field where you can enter any text that shall be displayed in the reportfooter.
23.1.1.5

Units tabTemperature unit: The unit for temperature values in the program and the reports. Tochange the unit, select another unit. Available options are Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin.
Distance unit: The unit for distance in the program and the reports. To change the unit,
select another unit. Available options are Meters, Feet.
23.1.1.6

Language tab

Language: To change the language, select a new language in the list.
23.1.2The Options dialog (for plot-specific options)

Note

This section refers to the Options command on the main menu bar.

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Chart title: To change the title of the plot, type a title here.
Number of points: Number of sampling points that the plot is based on.
Show cross-hairs: To display a cross-hair that moves when you move the mouse and displays the X and Y axes values, select this checkbox.

Show latest value: To display the latest Y value, select this checkbox.
X axis > Auto: To let FLIR Tools/Tools+ automatically set the boundaries of the X axis, select Auto.
X axis > Manual: To manually set the boundaries of the X axis, select Manual and enter
the start and stop times.
Y axis > Auto: To let FLIR Tools/Tools+ automatically set the boundaries of the Y axis, select Auto.
Y axis > Manual: To manually set the boundaries of the Y axis, select Manual and enter
the min. and max. values.

23.2 Settings relating to FLIR Kx3 and FLIR Kx5
series cameras
23.2.1

GeneralThe FLIR K series is a robust and reliable infrared camera series designed to perform
under extremely severe conditions. It has an intuitive interface with a design that makes
it easy to control even with a gloved hand. The crisp and clear image helps you to navigate through smoke and to make quick and accurate decisions.
By connecting a FLIR Kx3 or FLIR Kx5 series camera to FLIR Tools/Tools+, you get access to a variety of settings in the camera.

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23.2.2The General settings tab

23.2.2.1

Figure23.2.2.2

Explanation

Regional settings area: To synchronize the camera’s date and time settings with the computer, select the checkbox.
Firmware info area: To check whether a newer version of the camera firmware exists,
click Check for updates and follow the on-screen instructions.
Restore to factory default area: To restore all camera settings to the factory defaults, click
Restore.
23.2.3

The User interface tab

23.2.3.1

Figure23.2.3.2

Explanation

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Changing settings• Applicable to FLIR Kx5: To define which camera modes to enable in the camera, select the camera mode. For more information on each camera mode, see section
23.2.4 Explanation of the different camera modes, page 114.
• Applicable to FLIR Kx3: The camera features one camera mode: basic mode. For
more information, see section 23.2.4.1.
Trigger button area: The camera has a trigger button. With the settings in the Trigger button area, you can select the function of the trigger button. You select what will happen
when you click (short press) the trigger button and what will happen when you hold (longpress) the trigger button.
• No action, No action: Select to disable any functionality of the trigger button. Nothing
will happen when you press the trigger.
• No action, Freeze image: Select to make the camera freeze the image when youpress and hold the trigger. The image will unfreeze when you release the trigger.
Nothing will happen when you press the trigger momentarily.
• No action, Record video (not applicable to the FLIR K33 and FLIR K45): Select tomake the camera start a recording when you press and hold the trigger. The recording
will stop when you release the trigger. Nothing will happen when you press the trigger
momentarily.
• Save image, No action (not applicable to the FLIR K33): Select to make the camera
save an image when you press the trigger momentarily. Nothing will happen when youpress and hold the trigger.
• Save image, Freeze image (not applicable to the FLIR K33): Select to make the camera save an image when you press the trigger momentarily and freeze the image when
you press and hold the trigger. The image will unfreeze when you release the trigger.
• Save image, Record video (not applicable to the FLIR K33 and FLIR K45): Select tomake the camera save an image when you press the trigger momentarily and start a
recording when you press and hold the trigger. The recording will stop when you release the trigger.
• Rec. on/off, No action (not applicable to the FLIR K33 and FLIR K45): Select to makethe camera start a recording when you press the trigger and stop the recording when
you press the trigger again. Nothing will happen when you press and hold the trigger.
• Continuous rec. (trigger disabled) (not applicable to the FLIR K33 and FLIR K45): Select to make the camera start a continuous video recording when you turn on the camera. The recording cannot be stopped. Nothing will happen when you press thetrigger.
Gain mode area:• Auto gain mode: Select to make the camera automatically switch between the highsensitivity range and the low-sensitivity range, depending on the scene temperature.
The temperature level at which the camera switches between the two modes is 150°C(302°F).
• Low gain mode: Select to make the camera operate in the low-sensitivity range only.
This has the advantage that the camera does not perform a non-uniformity correction(NUC) when an object with a temperature higher than 150°C (302°F) enters thescene. However, the disadvantage is lower sensitivity and a higher level of signal
noise.
Temperature unit area: To select a different temperature unit, click Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Thermal indication area:• Digital readout only: Select to display the thermal information in the image as the temperature of the spotmeter only. In modes with automatic heat colorization, the colorization of the image will remain but the static heat color reference icon will not be
displayed.
• Reference bar: In modes with automatic heat indication colorization, a vertical heatcolor reference bar is displayed in the thermal indication area. This static icon shows
how heat colors are applied to the range of the camera mode. The colors yellow, orange, and red correspond to a temperature-dependent change in hue as the temperature increases.

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Changing settings• Temp bar: Select to display the thermal information in the image as a temperature bar,similar to a thermometer. This displays a dynamic vertical temperature bar on theright-hand side of the image. The top of the dynamic bar represents the temperatureof the measured spot. In modes with automatic heat colorization, the colorization of
the image will remain, with a static heat color reference bar displayed next to the temperature bar.
Add custom boot image area: To select an image of your choice to appear during startup, click Browse, and navigate to the image file. This is useful for, for example, identifying
your fire department’s cameras. By incorporating your fire department’s logo, and aunique identity number in the image, you can keep track of your cameras. This image
can also be accessed from the camera menu.
23.2.423.2.4.1

Explanation of the different camera modes
Basic mode

Figure 23.1 Basic mode.

Basic mode is the default mode of the camera. It is a multipurpose mode for the initial fireattack with life-saving operations and control of the fire. The camera automaticallyswitches between the high-sensitivity range and the low-sensitivity range, to maintain an
optimal infrared image while at the same time maintaining a safe and consistent heat colorization of the fire scene.
••••

Automatic range.
Colorization of heat: +150 to +650°C (+302 to +1202°F).
High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).
Low-sensitivity range: 0 to +650°C (+32 to +1202°F).

Note To go to Basic mode from any other mode, push and hold the on/off button forless than 1 second.

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23.2.4.2

Black and white firefighting mode

Figure 23.2 Black and white firefighting mode.

Black and white firefighting mode is a standardized firefighting mode based on Basicmode. It is a multipurpose mode for the initial fire intervention that includes life-saving operations and control of the fire. It is specifically designed for fire services that do not want
to use the heat colorization feature.
The camera automatically switches between the high-sensitivity range and the low-sensitivity range, to maintain an optimal infrared image.
• Automatic range.
• High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).
• Low-sensitivity range: 0 to +650°C (+32 to +1202°F).
23.2.4.3

Fire mode

Figure 23.3 Fire mode.

Fire mode is similar to Basic mode, but with a higher-temperature starting point for theheat colorization. It is suitable for fire scenes with higher background temperatures,
where there are already a lot of open flames and a high background temperature. The
camera automatically switches between the high-sensitivity range and the low-sensitivity
range, to maintain an optimal infrared image while at the same time maintaining a safe
and consistent heat colorization.
••••

Automatic range.
Colorization of heat: +250 to +650°C (+ 482 to +1202°F).
High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).
Low-sensitivity range: 0 to +650°C (+32 to +1202°F).

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23.2.4.4

Search and rescue mode

Figure 23.4 Search and rescue mode.

Search and rescue mode is optimized for maintaining high contrast in the infrared image
while searching for people in landscapes, buildings, or traffic accident scenes.
• High-sensitivity range only.
• Colorization of heat: +100 to +150°C (+212 to +302°F).
• High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).
23.2.4.5

Heat detection mode

Figure 23.5 Heat detection mode.

Heat detection mode is optimized for searching hotspots during overhaul after the fire isout—typically to ensure that there is no remaining hidden fire. This mode can also be
used to find thermal patterns (e.g., signs of people in car seats after accidents), to ensure that everyone has been found. This mode can also be used to search for people inwater and open landscapes.
• High-sensitivity range only.
• Colorization of heat: the 20% highest temperatures in the scene.
• High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).

23.3 Settings relating to FLIR Kx series
cameras23.3.1

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it easy to control even with a gloved hand. The crisp and clear image helps you to navigate through smoke and to make quick and accurate decisions.
By connecting a FLIR Kx series camera to FLIR Tools/Tools+, you get access to a variety
of settings in the camera.
23.3.2The General settings tab

23.3.2.1

Figure23.3.2.2

Explanation

Firmware info area: To check whether a newer version of the camera firmware exists,
click Check for updates, and follow the on-screen instructions.
Restore to factory default area: To restore all camera settings to the factory defaults, click
Restore.

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23.3.3

The User interface tab

23.3.3.1

Figure23.3.3.2

Explanation

Camera modes area: To define which camera modes to enable in the camera, select thecamera mode. For more information on each camera mode, see section 23.3.4 Explanation of the different camera modes, page 119.
Gain mode area:• Auto gain mode: Select to make the camera automatically switch between the highsensitivity range and the low-sensitivity range, depending on the scene temperature.
The temperature level at which the camera switches between the two modes is +150°
C (+302°F).
• Low gain mode: Select to make the camera work in the low-sensitivity range only. Thishas the advantage that the camera does not perform a non-uniformity correction whenan object with a temperature higher than +150°C (+302°F) enters the scene. However, the disadvantage is lower sensitivity and a higher level of signal noise.
Add custom boot image area: To specify your own unique image to appear during startup, click Browse, and navigate to the image file. This is useful for, for example, identifying
your fire department’s cameras. By incorporating your fire department’s logo, and aunique identity number in the image, you can keep track of your cameras.

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23.3.423.3.4.1

Explanation of the different camera modes
Basic mode

Figure 23.6 Basic mode.

The Basic mode is the default mode of the camera. It is a multipurpose mode for the initial fire attack with life rescuing operation and control of the fire. The camera automatically switches between the high-sensitivity range and the low-sensitivity range, tomaintain an optimal infrared image while at the same time maintaining a safe and consistent heat colorization of the fire scene.
••••

Automatic range.
Colorization of heat: +150 to +500°C (+302 to +932°F).
High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).
Low-sensitivity range: 0 to +500°C (+32 to +932°F).

23.3.4.2

Black and white firefighting mode

Figure 23.7 Black and white firefighting mode.

The black and white firefighting mode is a standardized firefighting mode based on the
Basic mode. It is a multipurpose mode for the initial fire intervention that includes life rescuing operations and control of the fire. It is specifically designed for fire services that do
not want to use the heat colorization feature.
The camera automatically switches between the high-sensitivity range and the low-sensitivity range, to maintain an optimal infrared image.
• Automatic range.
• High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).
• Low-sensitivity range: 0 to +500°C (+32 to +932°F).

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23.3.4.3

Fire mode

Figure 23.8 Fire mode.

The fire mode is similar to the Basic mode, but with a higher-temperature starting point
for the heat colorization. It is suitable for fire scenes with higher background temperatures, where there are already a lot of open flames and a high background temperature.
The camera automatically switches between the high-sensitivity range and the low-sensitivity range, to maintain an optimal infrared image while at the same time maintaining asafe and consistent heat colorization.
••••

Automatic range.
Colorization of heat: +250 to +500°C (+ 482 to +932°F).
High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).
Low-sensitivity range: 0 to +500°C (+32 to +932°F).

23.3.4.4

Search and rescue mode

Figure 23.9 Search and rescue mode.

The search and rescue mode is optimized for maintaining high contrast in the infrared
image while searching for people in landscapes, buildings, or traffic accident scenes.
• High-sensitivity range only.
• Colorization of heat: +100 to +150°C (+212 to +302°F).
• High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).

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23.3.4.5

Heat detection mode

Figure 23.10 Heat detection mode.

The heat detection mode is optimized for searching hotspots during overhaul after thefire is out—typically to ensure that there is no remaining hidden fire. This mode can also
be used to find thermal patterns (e.g., signs of people in car seats after accidents), to ensure that everyone has been found. This mode can also be used to search for people inwater and open landscapes.
• High-sensitivity range only.
• Colorization of heat: the 20% highest temperatures in the scene.
• High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).
23.3.4.6

Cold detection mode

Figure 23.11 Cold detection mode.

The cold detection mode is optimized for searching coldspots—typically to find drafts
and air flows.
• High-sensitivity range only.
• Colorization of cold: the 20% lowest temperatures in the scene.
• High-sensitivity range: –20 to +150°C (–4 to +302°F).

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23.3.4.7

Building analysis mode

Figure 23.12 Building analysis mode.

The building analysis mode is suitable for the analysis of buildings and the detection ofbuilding-related anomalies. The thermal image can provide information on structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical constructions as well as an indication of moisture, wetness, and air infiltration.
In this mode, the camera uses an iron color palette to display the different temperatures,
where black, blue, and purple are for the coldest areas, followed by red, orange, and yellow for the mid-range and going to white for the hottest parts. The temperature scale isautomatically adjusted to the thermal content of the image.

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Supported file formats

24.1 General
FLIR Tools/Tools+ supports several radiometric and non-radiometric file formats.

24.2 Radiometric file formats
FLIR Tools/Tools+ supports the following radiometric file formats:
•
•
•
•
•

FLIR Systems radiometric *.jpg.
FLIR Systems radiometric *.img.
FLIR Systems radiometric *.fff.
FLIR Systems radiometric *.seq (video files).
FLIR Systems radiometric *.csq (video files).

24.3 Non-radiometric file formats
FLIR Tools/Tools+ supports the following non-radiometric file formats:
•
•
•
•
•

*.jpg.
*.mp4 (video files).
*.avi (video files).
*.pdf (reports and imagesheets).
*.docx (as reports).

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About FLIR Systems

FLIR Systems was established in 1978 to pioneer the development of high-performance
infrared imaging systems, and is the world leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of thermal imaging systems for a wide variety of commercial, industrial, and government applications. Today, FLIR Systems embraces five major companies withoutstanding achievements in infrared technology since 1958—the Swedish AGEMA Infrared Systems (formerly AGA Infrared Systems), the three United States companies Indigo Systems, FSI, and Inframetrics, and the French company Cedip.
Since 2007, FLIR Systems has acquired several companies with world-leading expertisein sensor technologies:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Extech Instruments (2007)
Ifara Tecnologías (2008)
Salvador Imaging (2009)
OmniTech Partners (2009)
Directed Perception (2009)
Raymarine (2010)
ICx Technologies (2010)
TackTick Marine Digital Instruments (2011)
Aerius Photonics (2011)
Lorex Technology (2012)
Traficon (2012)
MARSS (2013)
DigitalOptics micro-optics business (2013)
DVTEL (2015)
Point Grey Research (2016)
Prox Dynamics (2016)

Figure 25.1 Patent documents from the early 1960s

FLIR Systems has three manufacturing plants in the United States (Portland, OR, Boston, MA, Santa Barbara, CA) and one in Sweden (Stockholm). Since 2007 there is also amanufacturing plant in Tallinn, Estonia. Direct sales offices in Belgium, Brazil, China,
France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and the USA—together with a worldwide network of agents and distributors—support our international customer base.

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About FLIR Systems

FLIR Systems is at the forefront of innovation in the infrared camera industry. We anticipate market demand by constantly improving our existing cameras and developing new
ones. The company has set milestones in product design and development such as theintroduction of the first battery-operated portable camera for industrial inspections, andthe first uncooled infrared camera, to mention just two innovations.

Figure 25.2 1969: Thermovision Model 661. The
camera weighed approximately 25 kg (55 lb.), theoscilloscope 20 kg (44 lb.), and the tripod 15 kg(33 lb.). The operator also needed a 220 VAC
generator set, and a 10 L (2.6 US gallon) jar withliquid nitrogen. To the left of the oscilloscope thePolaroid attachment (6 kg/13 lb.) can be seen.

Figure 25.3 2015: FLIR One, an accessory to
iPhone and Android mobile phones. Weight: 90 g
(3.2 oz.).

FLIR Systems manufactures all vital mechanical and electronic components of the camera systems itself. From detector design and manufacturing, to lenses and system electronics, to final testing and calibration, all production steps are carried out andsupervised by our own engineers. The in-depth expertise of these infrared specialists ensures the accuracy and reliability of all vital components that are assembled into your infrared camera.

25.1 More than just an infrared camera
At FLIR Systems we recognize that our job is to go beyond just producing the best infrared camera systems. We are committed to enabling all users of our infrared camera systems to work more productively by providing them with the most powerful camera–
software combination. Especially tailored software for predictive maintenance, R & D,
and process monitoring is developed in-house. Most software is available in a wide variety of languages.
We support all our infrared cameras with a wide variety of accessories to adapt yourequipment to the most demanding infrared applications.

25.2 Sharing our knowledge
Although our cameras are designed to be very user-friendly, there is a lot more to thermography than just knowing how to handle a camera. Therefore, FLIR Systems has
founded the Infrared Training Center (ITC), a separate business unit, that provides certified training courses. Attending one of the ITC courses will give you a truly hands-on
learning experience.
The staff of the ITC are also there to provide you with any application support you may
need in putting infrared theory into practice.

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25.3 Supporting our customers
FLIR Systems operates a worldwide service network to keep your camera running at all
times. If you discover a problem with your camera, local service centers have all theequipment and expertise to solve it within the shortest possible time. Therefore, there isno need to send your camera to the other side of the world or to talk to someone whodoes not speak your language.

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Definitions and laws

TermDefinition

Absorption and emission1

The capacity or ability of an object to absorb incident radiated energy is always the same as the capacity to emit its
own energy as radiation

Apparent temperatureuncompensated reading from an infrared instrument, containing all radiation incident on the instrument, regardless of
its sources2

Color paletteassigns different colors to indicate specific levels of apparent
temperature. Palettes can provide high or low contrast, depending on the colors used in themConduction

direct transfer of thermal energy from molecule to molecule,caused by collisions between the molecules

Convection

heat transfer mode where a fluid is brought into motion, either by gravity or another force, thereby transferring heatfrom one place to another

Diagnostics

examination of symptoms and syndromes to determine thenature of faults or failures3

Direction of heat transfer4

Heat will spontaneously flow from hotter to colder, thereby
transferring thermal energy from one place to another5

Emissivity

ratio of the power radiated by real bodies to the power that isradiated by a blackbody at the same temperature and at thesame wavelength6

Energy conservation7

The sum of the total energy contents in a closed system isconstant

Exitant radiation

radiation that leaves the surface of an object, regardless of
its original sources

Heat

thermal energy that is transferred between two objects (systems) due to their difference in temperature

Heat transfer rate8

The heat transfer rate under steady state conditions is directly proportional to the thermal conductivity of the object,
the cross-sectional area of the object through which the heatflows, and the temperature difference between the two endsof the object. It is inversely proportional to the length, or
thickness, of the object9

Incident radiation

radiation that strikes an object from its surroundings

IR thermography

process of acquisition and analysis of thermal informationfrom non-contact thermal imaging devices

Isotherm

replaces certain colors in the scale with a contrasting color. It
marks an interval of equal apparent temperature10

Qualitative thermography

thermography that relies on the analysis of thermal patterns
to reveal the existence of and to locate the position of
anomalies11

Quantitative thermography

thermography that uses temperature measurement to determine the seriousness of an anomaly, in order to establish repair priorities11

1. Kirchhoff’s law of thermal radiation.
2. Based on ISO 18434-1:2008 (en).
3. Based on ISO 13372:2004 (en).
4. 2nd law of thermodynamics.
5. This is a consequence of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, the law itself is more complicated.
6. Based on ISO 16714-3:2016 (en).
7. 1st law of thermodynamics.
8. Fourier’s law.
9. This is the one-dimensional form of Fourier’s law, valid for steady-state conditions.
10. Based on ISO 18434-1:2008 (en)11. Based on ISO 10878-2013 (en).

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TermDefinition

Radiative heat transfer

Heat transfer by the emission and absorption of thermalradiation

Reflected apparent temperatureapparent temperature of the environment that is reflected by
the target into the IR camera12

Spatial resolution

ability of an IR camera to resolve small objects or details

Temperature

measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules andatoms that make up the substance

Thermal energy

total kinetic energy of the molecules that make up theobject13

Thermal gradientgradual change in temperature over distance12

Thermal tuning

process of putting the colors of the image on the object ofanalysis, in order to maximize contrast

12. Based on ISO 16714-3:2016 (en).
13. Thermal energy is part of the internal energy of an object.

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techniques

27.1 Introduction
An infrared camera measures and images the emitted infrared radiation from an object.
The fact that radiation is a function of object surface temperature makes it possible forthe camera to calculate and display this temperature.
However, the radiation measured by the camera does not only depend on the temperature of the object but is also a function of the emissivity. Radiation also originates fromthe surroundings and is reflected in the object. The radiation from the object and the reflected radiation will also be influenced by the absorption of the atmosphere.
To measure temperature accurately, it is therefore necessary to compensate for the effects of a number of different radiation sources. This is done on-line automatically by thecamera. The following object parameters must, however, be supplied for the camera:
•
•
•
•
•

The emissivity of the object
The reflected apparent temperature
The distance between the object and the camera
The relative humidity
Temperature of the atmosphere27.2 Emissivity
The most important object parameter to set correctly is the emissivity which, in short, is ameasure of how much radiation is emitted from the object, compared to that from a perfect blackbody of the same temperature.
Normally, object materials and surface treatments exhibit emissivity ranging from approximately 0.1 to 0.95. A highly polished (mirror) surface falls below 0.1, while an oxidized
or painted surface has a higher emissivity. Oil-based paint, regardless of color in the visible spectrum, has an emissivity over 0.9 in the infrared. Human skin exhibits an emissivity 0.97 to 0.98.
Non-oxidized metals represent an extreme case of perfect opacity and high reflexivity,
which does not vary greatly with wavelength. Consequently, the emissivity of metals is
low – only increasing with temperature. For non-metals, emissivity tends to be high, anddecreases with temperature.
27.2.127.2.1.1

Finding the emissivity of a sample
Step 1: Determining reflected apparent temperature

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27.2.1.1.1

Method 1: Direct method

Follow this procedure:
1. Look for possible reflection sources, considering that the incident angle = reflection
angle (a = b).

Figure 27.1 1 = Reflection source

2. If the reflection source is a spot source, modify the source by obstructing it using apiece if cardboard.

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3. Measure the radiation intensity (= apparent temperature) from the reflection source
using the following settings:• Emissivity: 1.0• Dobj: 0
You can measure the radiation intensity using one of the following two methods:

Figure 27.3 1 = Reflection source

Figure 27.4 1 = Reflection source

You can not use a thermocouple to measure reflected apparent temperature, because athermocouple measures temperature, but apparent temperatrure is radiation intensity.
27.2.1.1.2

Method 2: Reflector method

Follow this procedure:
1. Crumble up a large piece of aluminum foil.
2. Uncrumble the aluminum foil and attach it to a piece of cardboard of the same size.
3. Put the piece of cardboard in front of the object you want to measure. Make sure thatthe side with aluminum foil points to the camera.
4. Set the emissivity to 1.0.

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5. Measure the apparent temperature of the aluminum foil and write it down. The foil isconsidered a perfect reflector, so its apparent temperature equals the reflected apparent temperature from the surroundings.

Figure 27.5 Measuring the apparent temperature of the aluminum foil.

27.2.1.2

Step 2: Determining the emissivity

Follow this procedure:
1. Select a place to put the sample.
2. Determine and set reflected apparent temperature according to the previous
procedure.
3. Put a piece of electrical tape with known high emissivity on the sample.
4. Heat the sample at least 20 K above room temperature. Heating must be reasonably
even.
5. Focus and auto-adjust the camera, and freeze the image.
6. Adjust Level and Span for best image brightness and contrast.
7. Set emissivity to that of the tape (usually 0.97).
8. Measure the temperature of the tape using one of the following measurement
functions:• Isotherm (helps you to determine both the temperature and how evenly you haveheated the sample)• Spot (simpler)• Box Avg (good for surfaces with varying emissivity).
9. Write down the temperature.
10. Move your measurement function to the sample surface.
11. Change the emissivity setting until you read the same temperature as your previous
measurement.
12. Write down the emissivity.
Note• Avoid forced convection• Look for a thermally stable surrounding that will not generate spot reflections• Use high quality tape that you know is not transparent, and has a high emissivity you
are certain of• This method assumes that the temperature of your tape and the sample surface are
the same. If they are not, your emissivity measurement will be wrong.

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27.3 Reflected apparent temperatureThis parameter is used to compensate for the radiation reflected in the object. If theemissivity is low and the object temperature relatively far from that of the reflected it will
be important to set and compensate for the reflected apparent temperature correctly.

27.4 DistanceThe distance is the distance between the object and the front lens of the camera. Thisparameter is used to compensate for the following two facts:• That radiation from the target is absorbed by the atmosphere between the object andthe camera.
• That radiation from the atmosphere itself is detected by the camera.

27.5 Relative humidity
The camera can also compensate for the fact that the transmittance is also dependent
on the relative humidity of the atmosphere. To do this set the relative humidity to the correct value. For short distances and normal humidity the relative humidity can normally beleft at a default value of 50%.

27.6 Other parameters
In addition, some cameras and analysis programs from FLIR Systems allow you to compensate for the following parameters:• Atmospheric temperature – i.e. the temperature of the atmosphere between the camera and the target• External optics temperature – i.e. the temperature of any external lenses or windows
used in front of the camera• External optics transmittance – i.e. the transmission of any external lenses or windows
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History of infrared technology

Before the year 1800, the existence of the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum wasn't even suspected. The original significance of the infrared spectrum, or simply‘the infrared’ as it is often called, as a form of heat radiation is perhaps less obvious today than it was at the time of its discovery by Herschel in 1800.

Figure 28.1 Sir William Herschel (1738–1822)

The discovery was made accidentally during the search for a new optical material. Sir
William Herschel – Royal Astronomer to King George III of England, and already famousfor his discovery of the planet Uranus – was searching for an optical filter material to reduce the brightness of the sun’s image in telescopes during solar observations. While
testing different samples of colored glass which gave similar reductions in brightness he
was intrigued to find that some of the samples passed very little of the sun’s heat, whileothers passed so much heat that he risked eye damage after only a few seconds’
observation.
Herschel was soon convinced of the necessity of setting up a systematic experiment,with the objective of finding a single material that would give the desired reduction inbrightness as well as the maximum reduction in heat. He began the experiment by actually repeating Newton’s prism experiment, but looking for the heating effect rather thanthe visual distribution of intensity in the spectrum. He first blackened the bulb of a sensitive mercury-in-glass thermometer with ink, and with this as his radiation detector he proceeded to test the heating effect of the various colors of the spectrum formed on the topof a table by passing sunlight through a glass prism. Other thermometers, placed outside
the sun’s rays, served as controls.
As the blackened thermometer was moved slowly along the colors of the spectrum, thetemperature readings showed a steady increase from the violet end to the red end. This
was not entirely unexpected, since the Italian researcher, Landriani, in a similar experiment in 1777 had observed much the same effect. It was Herschel, however, who was
the first to recognize that there must be a point where the heating effect reaches a maximum, and that measurements confined to the visible portion of the spectrum failed to locate this point.

Figure 28.2 Marsilio Landriani (1746–1815)

Moving the thermometer into the dark region beyond the red end of the spectrum, Herschel confirmed that the heating continued to increase. The maximum point, when hefound it, lay well beyond the red end – in what is known today as the ‘infrared
wavelengths’.

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When Herschel revealed his discovery, he referred to this new portion of the electromagnetic spectrum as the ‘thermometrical spectrum’. The radiation itself he sometimes referred to as ‘dark heat’, or simply ‘the invisible rays’. Ironically, and contrary to popular
opinion, it wasn't Herschel who originated the term ‘infrared’. The word only began to appear in print around 75 years later, and it is still unclear who should receive credit as theoriginator.
Herschel’s use of glass in the prism of his original experiment led to some early controversies with his contemporaries about the actual existence of the infrared wavelengths.
Different investigators, in attempting to confirm his work, used various types of glass indiscriminately, having different transparencies in the infrared. Through his later experiments, Herschel was aware of the limited transparency of glass to the newly-discovered
thermal radiation, and he was forced to conclude that optics for the infrared would probably be doomed to the use of reflective elements exclusively (i.e. plane and curved mirrors). Fortunately, this proved to be true only until 1830, when the Italian investigator,
Melloni, made his great discovery that naturally occurring rock salt (NaCl) – which wasavailable in large enough natural crystals to be made into lenses and prisms – is remarkably transparent to the infrared. The result was that rock salt became the principal infrared optical material, and remained so for the next hundred years, until the art of synthetic
crystal growing was mastered in the 1930’s.

Figure 28.3 Macedonio Melloni (1798–1854)

Thermometers, as radiation detectors, remained unchallenged until 1829, the year Nobili
invented the thermocouple. (Herschel’s own thermometer could be read to 0.2 °C(0.036 °F), and later models were able to be read to 0.05 °C (0.09 °F)). Then a breakthrough occurred; Melloni connected a number of thermocouples in series to form thefirst thermopile. The new device was at least 40 times as sensitive as the best thermometer of the day for detecting heat radiation – capable of detecting the heat from a person
standing three meters away.
The first so-called ‘heat-picture’ became possible in 1840, the result of work by Sir John
Herschel, son of the discoverer of the infrared and a famous astronomer in his own right.
Based upon the differential evaporation of a thin film of oil when exposed to a heat pattern focused upon it, the thermal image could be seen by reflected light where the interference effects of the oil film made the image visible to the eye. Sir John also managed
to obtain a primitive record of the thermal image on paper, which he called a‘thermograph’.

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Figure 28.4 Samuel P. Langley (1834–1906)

The improvement of infrared-detector sensitivity progressed slowly. Another major breakthrough, made by Langley in 1880, was the invention of the bolometer. This consisted ofa thin blackened strip of platinum connected in one arm of a Wheatstone bridge circuit
upon which the infrared radiation was focused and to which a sensitive galvanometer responded. This instrument is said to have been able to detect the heat from a cow at a
distance of 400 meters.
An English scientist, Sir James Dewar, first introduced the use of liquefied gases as cooling agents (such as liquid nitrogen with a temperature of -196 °C (-320.8 °F)) in low temperature research. In 1892 he invented a unique vacuum insulating container in which it
is possible to store liquefied gases for entire days. The common ‘thermos bottle’, used
for storing hot and cold drinks, is based upon his invention.
Between the years 1900 and 1920, the inventors of the world ‘discovered’ the infrared.
Many patents were issued for devices to detect personnel, artillery, aircraft, ships – andeven icebergs. The first operating systems, in the modern sense, began to be developed
during the 1914–18 war, when both sides had research programs devoted to the military
exploitation of the infrared. These programs included experimental systems for enemy
intrusion/detection, remote temperature sensing, secure communications, and ‘flying torpedo’ guidance. An infrared search system tested during this period was able to detect
an approaching airplane at a distance of 1.5 km (0.94 miles), or a person more than 300
meters (984 ft.) away.
The most sensitive systems up to this time were all based upon variations of the bolometer idea, but the period between the two wars saw the development of two revolutionary
new infrared detectors: the image converter and the photon detector. At first, the image
converter received the greatest attention by the military, because it enabled an observer
for the first time in history to literally ‘see in the dark’. However, the sensitivity of the image converter was limited to the near infrared wavelengths, and the most interesting military targets (i.e. enemy soldiers) had to be illuminated by infrared search beams. Since
this involved the risk of giving away the observer’s position to a similarly-equipped enemy
observer, it is understandable that military interest in the image converter eventually
faded.
The tactical military disadvantages of so-called 'active’ (i.e. search beam-equipped) thermal imaging systems provided impetus following the 1939–45 war for extensive secret
military infrared-research programs into the possibilities of developing ‘passive’ (nosearch beam) systems around the extremely sensitive photon detector. During this period, military secrecy regulations completely prevented disclosure of the status of infraredimaging technology. This secrecy only began to be lifted in the middle of the 1950’s, andfrom that time adequate thermal-imaging devices finally began to be available to civilianscience and industry.

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29.1 Introduction
The subjects of infrared radiation and the related technique of thermography are still new
to many who will use an infrared camera. In this section the theory behind thermography
will be given.

29.2 The electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is divided arbitrarily into a number of wavelength regions,called bands, distinguished by the methods used to produce and detect the radiation.
There is no fundamental difference between radiation in the different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are all governed by the same laws and the only differences
are those due to differences in wavelength.

Figure 29.1 The electromagnetic spectrum. 1: X-ray; 2: UV; 3: Visible; 4: IR; 5: Microwaves; 6:Radiowaves.

Thermography makes use of the infrared spectral band. At the short-wavelength end theboundary lies at the limit of visual perception, in the deep red. At the long-wavelength
end it merges with the microwave radio wavelengths, in the millimeter range.
The infrared band is often further subdivided into four smaller bands, the boundaries ofwhich are also arbitrarily chosen. They include: the near infrared (0.75–3 μm), the middle
infrared (3–6 μm), the far infrared (6–15 μm) and the extreme infrared (15–100 μm).
Although the wavelengths are given in μm (micrometers), other units are often still used
to measure wavelength in this spectral region, e.g. nanometer (nm) and Ångström (Å).
The relationships between the different wavelength measurements is:

29.3 Blackbody radiation
A blackbody is defined as an object which absorbs all radiation that impinges on it at any
wavelength. The apparent misnomer black relating to an object emitting radiation is explained by Kirchhoff’s Law (after Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, 1824–1887), which states thata body capable of absorbing all radiation at any wavelength is equally capable in theemission of radiation.

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Figure 29.2 Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824–1887)

The construction of a blackbody source is, in principle, very simple. The radiation characteristics of an aperture in an isotherm cavity made of an opaque absorbing material represents almost exactly the properties of a blackbody. A practical application of theprinciple to the construction of a perfect absorber of radiation consists of a box that islight tight except for an aperture in one of the sides. Any radiation which then enters thehole is scattered and absorbed by repeated reflections so only an infinitesimal fraction
can possibly escape. The blackness which is obtained at the aperture is nearly equal toa blackbody and almost perfect for all wavelengths.
By providing such an isothermal cavity with a suitable heater it becomes what is termeda cavity radiator. An isothermal cavity heated to a uniform temperature generates blackbody radiation, the characteristics of which are determined solely by the temperature of
the cavity. Such cavity radiators are commonly used as sources of radiation in temperature reference standards in the laboratory for calibrating thermographic instruments,
such as a FLIR Systems camera for example.
If the temperature of blackbody radiation increases to more than 525°C (977°F), thesource begins to be visible so that it appears to the eye no longer black. This is the incipient red heat temperature of the radiator, which then becomes orange or yellow as thetemperature increases further. In fact, the definition of the so-called color temperature ofan object is the temperature to which a blackbody would have to be heated to have thesame appearance.
Now consider three expressions that describe the radiation emitted from a blackbody.
29.3.1

Planck’s law

Figure 29.3 Max Planck (1858–1947)

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where:
Wλb

Blackbody spectral radiant emittance at wavelength λ.

c

Velocity of light = 3 × 108 m/shPlanck’s constant = 6.6 × 10-34 Joule sec.

kBoltzmann’s constant = 1.4 × 10-23 Joule/K.

T

Absolute temperature (K) of a blackbody.

λWavelength (μm).

Note The factor 10-6 is used since spectral emittance in the curves is expressed in
Watt/m2, μm.
Planck’s formula, when plotted graphically for various temperatures, produces a family of
curves. Following any particular Planck curve, the spectral emittance is zero at λ = 0,then increases rapidly to a maximum at a wavelength λmax and after passing it approaches zero again at very long wavelengths. The higher the temperature, the shorter
the wavelength at which maximum occurs.

Figure 29.4 Blackbody spectral radiant emittance according to Planck’s law, plotted for various absolutetemperatures. 1: Spectral radiant emittance (W/cm2 × 103(μm)); 2: Wavelength (μm)

29.3.2

Wien’s displacement law

By differentiating Planck’s formula with respect to λ, and finding the maximum, we have:This is Wien’s formula (after Wilhelm Wien, 1864–1928), which expresses mathematically the common observation that colors vary from red to orange or yellow as the temperature of a thermal radiator increases. The wavelength of the color is the same as the
wavelength calculated for λmax. A good approximation of the value of λmax for a given
blackbody temperature is obtained by applying the rule-of-thumb 3 000/T μm. Thus, avery hot star such as Sirius (11 000 K), emitting bluish-white light, radiates with the peakof spectral radiant emittance occurring within the invisible ultraviolet spectrum, at wavelength 0.27 μm.

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Figure 29.5 Wilhelm Wien (1864–1928)

The sun (approx. 6 000 K) emits yellow light, peaking at about 0.5 μm in the middle ofthe visible light spectrum.
At room temperature (300 K) the peak of radiant emittance lies at 9.7 μm, in the far infrared, while at the temperature of liquid nitrogen (77 K) the maximum of the almost insignificant amount of radiant emittance occurs at 38 μm, in the extreme infrared wavelengths.

Figure 29.6 Planckian curves plotted on semi-log scales from 100 K to 1000 K. The dotted line represents
the locus of maximum radiant emittance at each temperature as described by Wien's displacement law. 1:
Spectral radiant emittance (W/cm2 (μm)); 2: Wavelength (μm).

29.3.3

Stefan-Boltzmann's law

By integrating Planck’s formula from λ = 0 to λ = ∞, we obtain the total radiant emittance(Wb) of a blackbody:This is the Stefan-Boltzmann formula (after Josef Stefan, 1835–1893, and Ludwig Boltzmann, 1844–1906), which states that the total emissive power of a blackbody is proportional to the fourth power of its absolute temperature. Graphically, Wb represents thearea below the Planck curve for a particular temperature. It can be shown that the radiantemittance in the interval λ = 0 to λmax is only 25% of the total, which represents about theamount of the sun’s radiation which lies inside the visible light spectrum.

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Figure 29.7 Josef Stefan (1835–1893), and Ludwig Boltzmann (1844–1906)

Using the Stefan-Boltzmann formula to calculate the power radiated by the human body,at a temperature of 300 K and an external surface area of approx. 2 m2, we obtain 1 kW.
This power loss could not be sustained if it were not for the compensating absorption ofradiation from surrounding surfaces, at room temperatures which do not vary too drastically from the temperature of the body – or, of course, the addition of clothing.
29.3.4

Non-blackbody emitters

So far, only blackbody radiators and blackbody radiation have been discussed. However,real objects almost never comply with these laws over an extended wavelength region –although they may approach the blackbody behavior in certain spectral intervals. For example, a certain type of white paint may appear perfectly white in the visible light spectrum, but becomes distinctly gray at about 2 μm, and beyond 3 μm it is almost black.
There are three processes which can occur that prevent a real object from acting like a
blackbody: a fraction of the incident radiation α may be absorbed, a fraction ρ may be reflected, and a fraction τ may be transmitted. Since all of these factors are more or lesswavelength dependent, the subscript λ is used to imply the spectral dependence of theirdefinitions. Thus:• The spectral absorptance αλ= the ratio of the spectral radiant power absorbed by anobject to that incident upon it.
• The spectral reflectance ρλ = the ratio of the spectral radiant power reflected by an object to that incident upon it.
• The spectral transmittance τλ = the ratio of the spectral radiant power transmitted
through an object to that incident upon it.
The sum of these three factors must always add up to the whole at any wavelength, so
we have the relation:

For opaque materials τλ = 0 and the relation simplifies to:

Another factor, called the emissivity, is required to describe the fraction ε of the radiantemittance of a blackbody produced by an object at a specific temperature. Thus, wehave the definition:
The spectral emissivity ελ= the ratio of the spectral radiant power from an object to thatfrom a blackbody at the same temperature and wavelength.
Expressed mathematically, this can be written as the ratio of the spectral emittance ofthe object to that of a blackbody as follows:

Generally speaking, there are three types of radiation source, distinguished by the ways
in which the spectral emittance of each varies with wavelength.
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Theory of thermography• A selective radiator, for which ε varies with wavelength
According to Kirchhoff’s law, for any material the spectral emissivity and spectral absorptance of a body are equal at any specified temperature and wavelength. That is:

From this we obtain, for an opaque material (since αλ + ρλ = 1):

For highly polished materials ελ approaches zero, so that for a perfectly reflecting material (i.e. a perfect mirror) we have:

For a graybody radiator, the Stefan-Boltzmann formula becomes:

This states that the total emissive power of a graybody is the same as a blackbody at thesame temperature reduced in proportion to the value of ε from the graybody.

Figure 29.8 Spectral radiant emittance of three types of radiators. 1: Spectral radiant emittance; 2: Wavelength; 3: Blackbody; 4: Selective radiator; 5: Graybody.

Figure 29.9 Spectral emissivity of three types of radiators. 1: Spectral emissivity; 2: Wavelength; 3: Blackbody; 4: Graybody; 5: Selective radiator.

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29.4 Infrared semi-transparent materials
Consider now a non-metallic, semi-transparent body – let us say, in the form of a thick flat
plate of plastic material. When the plate is heated, radiation generated within its volume
must work its way toward the surfaces through the material in which it is partially absorbed. Moreover, when it arrives at the surface, some of it is reflected back into the interior. The back-reflected radiation is again partially absorbed, but some of it arrives at theother surface, through which most of it escapes; part of it is reflected back again.
Although the progressive reflections become weaker and weaker they must all be added
up when the total emittance of the plate is sought. When the resulting geometrical series
is summed, the effective emissivity of a semi-transparent plate is obtained as:

When the plate becomes opaque this formula is reduced to the single formula:This last relation is a particularly convenient one, because it is often easier to measurereflectance than to measure emissivity directly.

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The measurement formula

As already mentioned, when viewing an object, the camera receives radiation not only
from the object itself. It also collects radiation from the surroundings reflected via the object surface. Both these radiation contributions become attenuated to some extent by theatmosphere in the measurement path. To this comes a third radiation contribution fromthe atmosphere itself.
This description of the measurement situation, as illustrated in the figure below, is so far
a fairly true description of the real conditions. What has been neglected could for instance be sun light scattering in the atmosphere or stray radiation from intense radiation
sources outside the field of view. Such disturbances are difficult to quantify, however, inmost cases they are fortunately small enough to be neglected. In case they are not negligible, the measurement configuration is likely to be such that the risk for disturbance isobvious, at least to a trained operator. It is then his responsibility to modify the measurement situation to avoid the disturbance e.g. by changing the viewing direction, shielding
off intense radiation sources etc.
Accepting the description above, we can use the figure below to derive a formula for the
calculation of the object temperature from the calibrated camera output.

Figure 30.1 A schematic representation of the general thermographic measurement situation.1: Surroundings; 2: Object; 3: Atmosphere; 4: Camera

Assume that the received radiation power W from a blackbody source of temperature
Tsource on short distance generates a camera output signal Usource that is proportional tothe power input (power linear camera). We can then write (Equation 1):

or, with simplified notation:

where C is a constant.
Should the source be a graybody with emittance ε, the received radiation would consequently be εWsource.
We are now ready to write the three collected radiation power terms:
1. Emission from the object = ετWobj, where ε is the emittance of the object and τ is thetransmittance of the atmosphere. The object temperature is Tobj.

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2. Reflected emission from ambient sources = (1 – ε)τWrefl, where (1 – ε) is the reflectance of the object. The ambient sources have the temperature Trefl.
It has here been assumed that the temperature Trefl is the same for all emitting surfaces within the halfsphere seen from a point on the object surface. This is of course
sometimes a simplification of the true situation. It is, however, a necessary simplification in order to derive a workable formula, and Trefl can – at least theoretically – be given a value that represents an efficient temperature of a complex surrounding.
Note also that we have assumed that the emittance for the surroundings = 1. This iscorrect in accordance with Kirchhoff’s law: All radiation impinging on the surrounding
surfaces will eventually be absorbed by the same surfaces. Thus the emittance = 1.
(Note though that the latest discussion requires the complete sphere around the object to be considered.)
3. Emission from the atmosphere = (1 – τ)τWatm, where (1 – τ) is the emittance of the atmosphere. The temperature of the atmosphere is Tatm.
The total received radiation power can now be written (Equation 2):

We multiply each term by the constant C of Equation 1 and replace the CW products by
the corresponding U according to the same equation, and get (Equation 3):

Solve Equation 3 for Uobj (Equation 4):

This is the general measurement formula used in all the FLIR Systems thermographic
equipment. The voltages of the formula are:Table 30.1 Voltages
Uobj

Calculated camera output voltage for a blackbody of temperature
Tobj i.e. a voltage that can be directly converted into true requested
object temperature.

Utot

Measured camera output voltage for the actual case.

Urefl

Theoretical camera output voltage for a blackbody of temperature
Trefl according to the calibration.

Uatm

Theoretical camera output voltage for a blackbody of temperature
Tatm according to the calibration.

The operator has to supply a number of parameter values for the calculation:
•
•
•
•
•

the object emittance ε,the relative humidity,
Tatm
object distance (Dobj)
the (effective) temperature of the object surroundings, or the reflected ambient temperature Trefl, and• the temperature of the atmosphere Tatm

This task could sometimes be a heavy burden for the operator since there are normallyno easy ways to find accurate values of emittance and atmospheric transmittance for theactual case. The two temperatures are normally less of a problem provided the surroundings do not contain large and intense radiation sources.
A natural question in this connection is: How important is it to know the right values ofthese parameters? It could though be of interest to get a feeling for this problem alreadyhere by looking into some different measurement cases and compare the relative#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US

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The measurement formulamagnitudes of the three radiation terms. This will give indications about when it is important to use correct values of which parameters.
The figures below illustrates the relative magnitudes of the three radiation contributions
for three different object temperatures, two emittances, and two spectral ranges: SW and
LW. Remaining parameters have the following fixed values:• τ = 0.88
• Trefl = +20°C (+68°F)• Tatm = +20°C (+68°F)
It is obvious that measurement of low object temperatures are more critical than measuring high temperatures since the ‘disturbing’ radiation sources are relatively much stronger in the first case. Should also the object emittance be low, the situation would be still
more difficult.
We have finally to answer a question about the importance of being allowed to use thecalibration curve above the highest calibration point, what we call extrapolation. Imagine
that we in a certain case measure Utot = 4.5 volts. The highest calibration point for thecamera was in the order of 4.1 volts, a value unknown to the operator. Thus, even if theobject happened to be a blackbody, i.e. Uobj = Utot, we are actually performing extrapolation of the calibration curve when converting 4.5 volts into temperature.
Let us now assume that the object is not black, it has an emittance of 0.75, and the transmittance is 0.92. We also assume that the two second terms of Equation 4 amount to 0.5
volts together. Computation of Uobj by means of Equation 4 then results in Uobj = 4.5 /0.75 / 0.92 – 0.5 = 6.0. This is a rather extreme extrapolation, particularly when considering that the video amplifier might limit the output to 5 volts! Note, though, that the application of the calibration curve is a theoretical procedure where no electronic or otherlimitations exist. We trust that if there had been no signal limitations in the camera, and if
it had been calibrated far beyond 5 volts, the resulting curve would have been very muchthe same as our real curve extrapolated beyond 4.1 volts, provided the calibration algorithm is based on radiation physics, like the FLIR Systems algorithm. Of course there
must be a limit to such extrapolations.

Figure 30.2 Relative magnitudes of radiation sources under varying measurement conditions (SW camera). 1: Object temperature; 2: Emittance; Obj: Object radiation; Refl: Reflected radiation; Atm: atmosphere radiation. Fixed parameters: τ = 0.88; Trefl = 20°C (+68°F); Tatm = 20°C (+68°F).

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The measurement formula

Figure 30.3 Relative magnitudes of radiation sources under varying measurement conditions (LW camera). 1: Object temperature; 2: Emittance; Obj: Object radiation; Refl: Reflected radiation; Atm: atmosphere radiation. Fixed parameters: τ = 0.88; Trefl = 20°C (+68°F); Tatm = 20°C (+68°F).

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Emissivity tables

This section presents a compilation of emissivity data from the infrared literature andmeasurements made by FLIR Systems.

31.1 References
1. Mikaél A. Bramson: Infrared Radiation, A Handbook for Applications, Plenum press,
N.Y.
2. William L. Wolfe, George J. Zissis: The Infrared Handbook, Office of Naval Research,
Department of Navy, Washington, D.C.
3. Madding, R. P.: Thermographic Instruments and systems. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin – Extension, Department of Engineering and Applied Science.
4. William L. Wolfe: Handbook of Military Infrared Technology, Office of Naval Research,
Department of Navy, Washington, D.C.
5. Jones, Smith, Probert: External thermography of buildings..., Proc. of the Society of
Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, vol.110, Industrial and Civil Applications ofInfrared Technology, June 1977 London.
6. Paljak, Pettersson: Thermography of Buildings, Swedish Building Research Institute,
Stockholm 1972.
7. Vlcek, J: Determination of emissivity with imaging radiometers and some emissivities
at λ = 5 µm. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing.
8. Kern: Evaluation of infrared emission of clouds and ground as measured by weather
satellites, Defence Documentation Center, AD 617 417.
9. Öhman, Claes: Emittansmätningar med AGEMA E-Box. Teknisk rapport, AGEMA
1999. (Emittance measurements using AGEMA E-Box. Technical report, AGEMA
1999.)
10. Matteï, S., Tang-Kwor, E: Emissivity measurements for Nextel Velvet coating 811-21
between –36°C AND 82°C.
11. Lohrengel & Todtenhaupt (1996)
12. ITC Technical publication 32.
13. ITC Technical publication 29.
14. Schuster, Norbert and Kolobrodov, Valentin G. Infrarotthermographie. Berlin: WileyVCH, 2000.
Note The emissivity values in the table below are recorded using a shortwave (SW)camera. The values should be regarded as recommendations only and used withcaution.

31.2 Tables
Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference
1

2

3

4

5

6

3M type 35

Vinyl electricaltape (several
colors)< 80

LW≈ 0.9613

3M type 88

Black vinyl electrical tape

< 105

LW

≈ 0.9613

3M type 88

Black vinyl electrical tape

< 105

MW

< 0.9613

3M type Super 33+

Black vinyl electrical tape

< 80

LW

≈ 0.96

13

Aluminumanodized sheet

100

T

0.55

2

Aluminumanodized, black,
dull

70

SW

0.67

9

Aluminumanodized, black,
dull

70

LW

0.95

9

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Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Aluminumanodized, lightgray, dull

70

SW

0.61

9

Aluminumanodized, lightgray, dull

70

LW

0.97

9

Aluminum

as received, plate

100

T

0.09

4

Aluminum

as received,
sheet

100

T

0.09

2

Aluminum

cast, blast
cleaned

70

SW

0.47

9

Aluminum

cast, blast
cleaned

70

LW

0.46

9

Aluminum

dipped in HNO3,
plate

100

T

0.05

4

Aluminum

foil

27

10 µm

0.04

3

Aluminum

foil

27

3 µm

0.09

3

Aluminumoxidized, strongly

50–500T

0.2–0.3

1

Aluminum

polished

50–100T

0.04–0.06

1

Aluminum

polished plate

100

T

0.05

4

Aluminum

polished, sheet

100

T

0.05

2

Aluminumrough surface

20–50

T

0.06–0.07

1

Aluminumroughened

27

10 µm

0.18

3

Aluminumroughened

27

3 µm

0.28

3

Aluminum

sheet, 4 samples
differently
scratched

70SW

0.05–0.08

9

Aluminum

sheet, 4 samples
differently
scratched

70

LW

0.03–0.06

9

Aluminumvacuumdeposited

20

T

0.04

2

Aluminum

weathered,heavily17SW

0.83–0.94

5

20

T

0.60

1

Aluminum bronze
AluminumhydroxidepowderT

0.28

1

Aluminum oxide

activated, powder

T

0.46

1

Aluminum oxidepure, powder(alumina)

T

0.16

1

Asbestos

board

T

0.96

1

Asbestos

fabricT

0.78

1

Asbestos

floor tile

35

SW

0.94

7

Asbestos

paper

40–400T

0.93–0.95

1

Asbestos

powderT

0.40–0.60

1Asbestos

slate

20

T

0.96

1

4

LLW

0.967

8

Asphalt paving

20

Brass

dull, tarnished

20–350

T

0.22

1

Brass

oxidized

100

T

0.61

2

Brass

oxidized

70SW

0.04–0.09

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Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Brass

oxidized

70

LW

0.03–0.07

9

Brass

oxidized at 600°C

200–600T

0.59–0.61

1

Brass

polished

200

T

0.03

1

Brass

polished, highly

100

T

0.03

2

Brass

rubbed with 80grit emery

20

T

0.20

2

Brass

sheet, rolled

20

T

0.06

1

Brass

sheet, worked
with emery

20

T

0.2

1

Brick

alumina

17

SW

0.68

5

Brick

common17SW

0.86–0.81

5

Brick

Dinas silica,
glazed, rough

1100

T

0.85

1

Brick

Dinas silica,
refractory

1000

T

0.66

1

Brick

Dinas silica, unglazed, rough

1000

T

0.80

1

Brick

firebrick

17

SW

0.68

5

Brick

fireclay

1000

T

0.75

1

Brick

fireclay

1200

T

0.59

1

Brick

fireclay

20

T

0.85

1

Brick

masonry

35

SW

0.94

7

Brick

masonry,
plastered

20

T

0.94

1

Brick

red, common

20

T

0.93

2

Brick

red, rough20T

0.88–0.93

1

Brick

refractory,
corundum

1000

T

0.46

1

Brick

refractory,
magnesite

1000–1300

T

0.38

1

Brick

refractory,
strongly radiating

500–1000T

0.8–0.9

1

Brickrefractory, weakly
radiating

500–1000T

0.65–0.75

1

Brick

silica, 95% SiO2

1230

T

0.66

1

Brick

sillimanite, 33%
SiO2, 64% Al2O3

1500

T

0.29

1

Brick

waterproof

17

SW

0.87

5

Bronzephosphor bronze

70

SW

0.08

9

Bronzephosphor bronze

70

LW

0.06

9

Bronzepolished

50

T

0.1

1

Bronzeporous, rough

50–150T

0.55

1BronzepowderT

0.76–0.80

1Carboncandle soot

T

0.95

2

Carboncharcoal powder

T

0.96

1

Carbongraphite powder

T

0.97

1

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Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Carbongraphite, filed
surface

20

T

0.98

2

Carbonlampblack

20–400T

0.95–0.97

1

Chipboard

untreated

20

SW

0.90

6

Chromium

polished

50

T

0.10

1

Chromium

polished

500–1000T

0.28–0.38

1

Clay

fired

70

T

0.91

1

Cloth

black

20

T

0.98

1

20

T

0.92

2

Concrete
Concrete

dry

36

SW

0.95

7

Concrete

rough

17

SW

0.97

5

Concretewalkway

5

LLW

0.974

8

Coppercommercial,burnished

20

T

0.07

1

Copperelectrolytic, carefully polished

80

T

0.018

1

Copperelectrolytic,
polished

–34

T

0.006

4

Coppermolten1100–1300

T

0.13–0.15

1Copperoxidized

50T

0.6–0.7

1

Copperoxidized toblackness

T

0.88

1

Copperoxidized, black

27

T

0.78

4

Copperoxidized, heavily

20

T

0.78

2

Copperpolished

50–100T

0.02

1

Copperpolished

100

T

0.03

2

Copperpolished,commercial

27

T

0.03

4

Copperpolished,mechanical

22

T

0.015

4

Copperpure, carefully
prepared surface

22

T

0.008

4

Copperscraped

27

T

0.07

4

Copper dioxide

powderT

0.84

1

Copper oxide

red, powder

T

0.70

1

T

0.89

1

80

T

0.85

1

20

T

0.9

1

EboniteEmerycoarseEnamelEnamellacquer

20T

0.85–0.95

1Fiber board

hard, untreated

20

SW

0.85

6

Fiber board

masonite

70

SW

0.75

9

Fiber board

masonite

70

LW

0.88

9

Fiber board

particle board

70

SW

0.77

9

Fiber board

particle board

70

LW

0.89

9

Fiber board

porous, untreated

20

SW

0.85

6

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Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Glass pane (float
glass)

non-coated

20

LW

0.97

14

Gold

polished

130

T

0.018

1

Gold

polished, carefully

200–600T

0.02–0.03

1Gold

polished, highly

100

T

0.02

2

Granitepolished

20

LLW

0.849

8

Granite

rough

21

LLW

0.879

8

Graniterough, 4 different
samples70SW

0.95–0.97

9Graniterough, 4 different
samples70

LW

0.77–0.87

9

20

T

0.8–0.9

1

GypsumIce: See Water
Iron and steel

cold rolled

70

SW

0.20

9

Iron and steel

cold rolled

70

LW

0.09

9

Iron and steel

covered with red
rust

20

T

0.61–0.85

1Iron and steel

electrolytic

100

T

0.05

4

Iron and steel

electrolytic

22

T

0.05

4

Iron and steel

electrolytic

260

T

0.07

4

Iron and steel

electrolytic, carefully polished

175–225T

0.05–0.06

1

Iron and steel

freshly worked
with emery

20

T

0.24

1

Iron and steel

ground sheet

950–1100T

0.55–0.61

1Iron and steel

heavily rusted
sheet

20

T

0.69

2

Iron and steel

hot rolled

130

T

0.60

1

Iron and steel

hot rolled

20

T

0.77

1

Iron and steel

oxidized

100

T

0.74

4

Iron and steel

oxidized

100

T

0.74

1

Iron and steel

oxidized

1227

T

0.89

4

Iron and steel

oxidized

125–525T

0.78–0.82

1Iron and steel

oxidized

200

T

0.79

2

Iron and steel

oxidized

200–600

T

0.80

1

Iron and steel

oxidized strongly

50

T

0.88

1

Iron and steel

oxidized strongly

500

T

0.98

1

Iron and steel

polished

100

T

0.07

2

Iron and steel

polished

400–1000T

0.14–0.38

1

Iron and steel

polished sheet

750–1050

T

0.52–0.56

1Iron and steel

rolled sheet

50

T

0.56

1

Iron and steel

rolled, freshly

20

T

0.24

1

Iron and steelrough, planesurface50T

0.95–0.98

1

Iron and steel

rusted red, sheet

22

T

0.69

4

Iron and steel

rusted, heavily

17

SW

0.96

5

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Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Iron and steel

rusty, red

20

T

0.69

1

Iron and steel

shiny oxide layer,
sheet,

20

T

0.82

1

Iron and steel

shiny, etched

150

T

0.16

1

Iron and steel

wrought, carefully
polished

40–250T

0.28

1

Iron galvanizedheavily oxidized

70

SW

0.64

9

Iron galvanizedheavily oxidized

70

LW

0.85

9

Iron galvanized

sheet

92

T

0.07

4

Iron galvanizedsheet, burnished

30

T

0.23

1

Iron galvanizedsheet, oxidized

20

T

0.28

1

Iron tinned

sheet

24

T

0.064

4

Iron, castcasting

50

T

0.81

1

Iron, castingots

1000

T

0.95

1

Iron, castliquid

1300

T

0.28

1

Iron, castmachined

800–1000T

0.60–0.70

1Iron, castoxidized

100

T

0.64

2

Iron, castoxidized

260

T

0.66

4

Iron, castoxidized

38

T

0.63

4

Iron, castoxidized

538

T

0.76

4

Iron, castoxidized at 600°C

200–600T

0.64–0.78

1Iron, castpolished

200

T

0.21

1

Iron, castpolished

38

T

0.21

4

Iron, castpolished

40

T

0.21

2

Iron, castunworked

900–1100T

0.87–0.95

1Krylon Ultra-flat
black 1602

Flat black

Room temperature up to 175

LW≈ 0.9612

Krylon Ultra-flat
black 1602

Flat black

Room temperature up to 175

MW≈ 0.9712Lacquer

3 colors sprayedon Aluminum70SW

0.50–0.53

9Lacquer

3 colors sprayedon Aluminum70

LW

0.92–0.94

9Lacquer

Aluminum onrough surface

20

T

0.4

1

Lacquerbakelite

80

T

0.83

1

Lacquerblack, dull

40–100T

0.96–0.98

1Lacquerblack, matte

100

T

0.97

2

Lacquerblack, shiny,
sprayed on iron

20

T

0.87

1

Lacquerheat–resistant

100

T

0.92

1

Lacquer

white

100

T

0.92

2

Lacquerwhite

40–100T

0.8–0.95

1

Leadoxidized at 200°C

200

T

0.63

1

Lead

oxidized, gray

20

T

0.28

1

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Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Lead

oxidized, gray

22

T

0.28

4

Lead

shiny

250

T

0.08

1

Lead

unoxidized,
polished

100

T

0.05

4

100

T

0.93

4

100

T

0.93

1

T

0.75–0.80

1Lead red
Lead red, powder
LeathertannedLimeT

0.3–0.4

1

Magnesium

22

T

0.07

4

Magnesium

260

T

0.13

4

538

T

0.18

4

20

T

0.07

2

T

0.86

1

1500–2200

T

0.19–0.26

1

600–1000T

0.08–0.131

700–2500T

0.1–0.3

1

17

SW

0.87

5

Magnesium
Magnesium

polished

Magnesium
powderMolybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum

filament

MortarMortar

dry

36

SW

0.94

7

Nextel Velvet
811-21 Black

Flat black–60–150

LW> 0.97

10 and11

Nichromerolled

700

T

0.25

1

Nichrome

sandblasted

700

T

0.70

1

Nichrome

wire, clean

50

T

0.65

1

Nichrome

wire, clean

500–1000T

0.71–0.79

1Nichrome

wire, oxidized

50–500T

0.95–0.98

1

Nickelbright matte

122

T

0.041

4

Nickelcommerciallypure, polished

100

T

0.045

1

Nickelcommerciallypure, polished

200–400T

0.07–0.09

1

Nickelelectrolytic

22

T

0.04

4

Nickelelectrolytic

260

T

0.07

4

Nickelelectrolytic

38

T

0.06

4

Nickelelectrolytic

538

T

0.10

4

Nickelelectroplated oniron, polished

22

T

0.045

4

Nickelelectroplated oniron, unpolished20T

0.11–0.40

1Nickelelectroplated oniron, unpolished

22

T

0.11

4

Nickelelectroplated,
polished

20

T

0.05

2

Nickeloxidized

1227

T

0.85

4

Nickeloxidized

200

T

0.37

2

Nickeloxidized

227

T

0.37

4

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Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Nickeloxidized at 600°C

200–600T

0.37–0.48

1

Nickelpolished

122

T

0.045

4

Nickelwire

200–1000T

0.1–0.2

1

1000–1250

T

0.75–0.86

1

Nickel oxide
Nickel oxide

500–650

T

0.52–0.59

1Oil, lubricating

0.025 mm film

20

T

0.27

2

Oil, lubricating

0.050 mm film

20

T

0.46

2

Oil, lubricating

0.125 mm film

20

T

0.72

2

Oil, lubricating

film on Ni base:Ni base only

20

T

0.05

2

Oil, lubricating

thick coating

20

T

0.82

2

Paint

8 different colors
and qualities

70SW

0.88–0.96

9

Paint

8 different colors
and qualities

70

LW

0.92–0.94

9

Paint

Aluminum, various ages

50–100T

0.27–0.67

1

Paint

cadmium yellow

T

0.28–0.33

1

Paint

chrome greenT

0.65–0.70

1

Paint

cobalt blueT

0.7–0.8

1

Paint

oil

17

SW

0.87

5

Paint

oil based, average of 16 colors

100

T

0.94

2

Paint

oil, black flat

20

SW

0.94

6

Paint

oil, black gloss

20

SW

0.92

6

Paint

oil, gray flat

20

SW

0.97

6

Paint

oil, gray gloss

20

SW

0.96

6

Paint

oil, various colors

100T

0.92–0.96

1

Paint

plastic, black

20

SW

0.95

6

Paint

plastic, white

20

SW

0.84

6

Paper

4 different colors

70SW

0.68–0.74

9

Paper

4 different colors

70

LW

0.92–0.94

9

Paper

black

T

0.90

1

Paper

black, dull

T

0.94

1

Paper

black, dull

70

SW

0.86

9

Paper

black, dull

70

LW

0.89

9

Paper

blue, dark

T

0.84

1

Paper

coated with black
lacquer

T

0.93

1

Paper

green

T

0.85

1

Paper

red

T

0.76

1

Paper

white

20

T

0.7–0.9

1

Paper

white bond

20

T

0.93

2

Paper

white, 3 different
glosses70SW

0.76–0.78

9#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US

155

31

Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Paper

white, 3 different
glosses70

LW

0.88–0.90

9

Paper

yellow

T

0.72

1

17

SW

0.86

5

Plasterplasterboard,
untreated

20

SW

0.90

6

Plasterrough coat

20

T

0.91

2

Plastic

glass fibre laminate (printed circ.
board)

70

SW

0.94

9

Plastic

glass fibre laminate (printed circ.
board)

70

LW

0.91

9

Plastic

polyurethane isolation board

70

LW

0.55

9

Plastic

polyurethane isolation board

70

SW

0.29

9

Plastic

PVC, plastic floor,dull, structured

70

SW

0.94

9

Plastic

PVC, plastic floor,dull, structured

70

LW

0.93

9

Platinum

100

T

0.05

4

Platinum

1000–1500

T

0.14–0.18

1

Platinum

1094

T

0.18

4

Platinum

17

T

0.016

4

Platinum

22

T

0.03

4

Platinum

260

T

0.06

4

Platinum

538

T

0.10

4

Plaster

Platinumpure, polished

200–600T

0.05–0.10

1

Platinumribbon900–1100T

0.12–0.17

1

Platinum

wire

1400

T

0.18

1

Platinumwire

500–1000T

0.10–0.16

1

Platinum

wire

50–200T

0.06–0.07

1

Porcelainglazed

20

T

0.92

1

Porcelain

white, shinyT

0.70–0.75

1Rubber

hard

20

T

0.95

1

Rubbersoft, gray, rough

20

T

0.95

1

Sand
Sand

T

0.60

1

20

T

0.90

2

Sandstone

polished

19

LLW

0.909

8

Sandstone

rough

19

LLW

0.935

8

Silverpolished

100

T

0.03

2

Silverpure, polished

200–600T

0.02–0.03

1

Skin

human

32

T

0.98

2

Slag

boiler0–100

T

0.97–0.93

1

Slagboiler

1400–1800

T

0.69–0.67

1

Slagboiler200–500T

0.89–0.78

1#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US

156

31

Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Slag

boiler600–1200T

0.76–0.70

1

Soil

dry

20

T

0.92

2

Soil

saturated with
water

20

T

0.95

2

Stainless steel

alloy, 8% Ni, 18%
Cr

500

T

0.35

1

Stainless steel

rolled

700

T

0.45

1

Stainless steel

sandblasted

700

T

0.70

1

Stainless steel

sheet, polished

70

SW

0.18

9

Stainless steel

sheet, polished

70

LW

0.14

9

Stainless steel

sheet, untreated,somewhatscratched

70

SW

0.30

9

Stainless steel

sheet, untreated,somewhatscratched

70

LW

0.28

9

Stainless steel

type 18-8, buffed

20

T

0.16

2

Stainless steel

type 18-8, oxidized at 800°C

60

T

0.85

2

Stuccorough, lime

10–90

T

0.91

1

Styrofoam

insulation

37

SW

0.60

7

T

0.79–0.84

1

Tar

paper

20

T

0.91–0.93

1

Tile

glazed

17

SW

0.94

5

Tin

burnished

20–50

T

0.04–0.06

1

Tin

tin–plated sheet
iron

100

T

0.07

2

Titaniumoxidized at 540°C

1000

T

0.60

1

Titaniumoxidized at 540°C

200

T

0.40

1

Titaniumoxidized at 540°C

500

T

0.50

1

Titanium

polished

1000

T

0.36

1

Titanium

polished

200

T

0.15

1

Titanium

polished

500

T

0.20

1

Tungsten

1500–2200

T

0.24–0.31

1

Tungsten

200

T

0.05

1

Tungsten

600–1000T

0.1–0.16

1

Snow: See Water

Tar

Tungstenfilament

3300

T

0.39

1

Varnish

flat

20

SW

0.93

6

Varnishon oak parquet
floor

70

SW

0.90

9

Varnishon oak parquet
floor

70

LW

0.90–0.93

9Wallpaper

slight pattern,light gray

20

SW

0.85

6

Wallpaper

slight pattern, red

20

SW

0.90

6

Water

distilled

20

T

0.96

2

#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US

157

31

Emissivity tables

Table 31.1 T: Total spectrum; SW: 2–5 µm; LW: 8–14 µm, LLW: 6.5–20 µm; 1: Material; 2: Specification;
3:Temperature in °C; 4: Spectrum; 5: Emissivity: 6:Reference (continued)
1

2

3

4

5

6

Water

frost crystals

–10

T

0.98

2

Water

ice, covered withheavy frost

0

T

0.98

1

Water

ice, smooth

0

T

0.97

1

Water

ice, smooth

–10

T

0.96

2

Water

layer >0.1 mm
thick

0–100

T

0.95–0.98

1

Water

snow

T

0.8

1

Water

snow

–10

T

0.85

2

Wood

17

SW

0.98

5

Wood

19

LLW

0.962

8

T

0.5–0.7

1

WoodgroundWoodpine, 4 different
samples70SW

0.67–0.75

9Woodpine, 4 different
samples70

LW

0.81–0.89

9Woodplaned20

T

0.8–0.9

1

Woodplaned oak

20

T

0.90

2

Wood

planed oak

70

SW

0.77

9

Wood

planed oak

70

LW

0.88

9

Wood

plywood, smooth,
dry

36

SW

0.82

7

Wood

plywood,untreated

20

SW

0.83

6

Wood

white, damp

20T

0.7–0.8

1

Zincoxidized at 400°C

400

T

0.11

1

Zinc

oxidized surface

1000–1200

T

0.50–0.60

1Zinc

polished

200–300T

0.04–0.05

1

Zinc

sheet

50

T

0.20

1

#T810209; r. AS/40301/40301; en-US158

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T810209
AS
40301
40301
en-US
2017-02-14
2017-02-14