Having NIS-Elements installed and all hardware accessories set up within the 
Devices > Device Manager 
window, you can start capturing images. Let's begin with the simplest case.
Turn the connected camera and other devices ON and start NIS-Elements.
Select a suitable hardware configuration on startup.
Make sure the Compact tab is selected with the
Acquisition 
panel displayed on the right.Select a lightpath which includes a camera (1).
Figure 111.
Display the camera image by the
Live tool (2).Adjust Exposure on the camera pad to get a nice image of the scene.
Capture the image by the
Capture tool (4).A new image is opened automatically and named “Captured ...”.
Figure 112. Light path tool bar
Buttons for switching between lightpaths available for the current hardware configuration are displayed below the tool bar of the Acquisition panel. An icon is displayed on each button to indicate the type of lightpath:
, DIA, EPI General acquisition based on optical configurations. Different optical configurations can be created within such a lightpath.
, DIA, EPI General observation lightpath. Different optical configurations can be created within such a lightpath.
Lightpath Click this button to open the Lightpath Scheme 
panel which visualizes the current lightpath and may indicate possible errors in the setup.
In case there are some lightpaths you will not use, you can hide them from the tool bar. Click 
Configure... or using the 
RMB anywhere in the tool bar and select to open the User Visible Buttons window.
Figure 113.
(De)select any lightpaths you do not want to display. The ones with the tick icon will be displayed in the tool bar.
Optionally change the icon color (color or monochromatic icons).
If you are a user with the privilege Modify devices and light paths, you can even hide some light paths entirely. To do this, use the
Configure button in the same dialog window to open the Button Order and Visibility System Defaults window.
Figure 114.
Drag the buttons to the bottom area to hide them to the users. Change the order of the available buttons by moving the buttons in the Available to Users area. Quick single-click button setups are available in the Quick Setup section in the top of the window. Rename the button in the context menu over the button.
Click to confirm the selection.
Select a lightpath button with the icon . A tool bar with optical configurations appears below the lightpath buttons. The usage of optical configurations (OCs) within the Acquisition panel is the same as in the previous versions of the software where optical configurations were global. The difference is that only OCs created within the currently selected lightpath are displayed here and in the main tool bar of NIS-Elements. Other optical configurations are available only after switching the lightpath.
Note
To change the described default behavior, click RMB in the OC tool bar and select Show OCs from all Lightpaths. Moreover, particular OCs can be hidden from the tool bar by the Select Visible Configurations command from the same context menu.
Figure 115.
Add Click this button to call the Calibration > New Optical Configuration 
command.
Sample navigation is integrated into the Compact layout to control mainly the Ji and Ti2 microscope systems. Relying on the geometry of the known Ji/Ti2 microscope holders, this improves the identification of sample location, with added functionality for automatically scanning of slides, wellplates, and dishes. The pad can be undocked (opened as a separate window) using the 
button.
Note
Features vary among different software packages and used hardware.
Please refer to Feature dependency on hardware and packages for a detailed comparison of the available functions for each software package and hardware combination.
Figure 116. Stage tab
Area Displays the preview of the scanned area of interest (typically a slide or a coverslip area usable for imaging). To edit the AOI, select the 
Full mode and click on the AOI edge. Confirm the AOI by RMB.
Both the Full and the Area areas can be scanned separately, typically the Full area is scanned just once and the Area area is scanned multiple times (per each sample).
Preview Scans the Full/Area sample preview based on the selection made in the Preview using drop-down menu.
Region This tool is used to draw one or more regions in the preview area which are then scanned using the 
button. Description of the specific tools can be found here: Drawing tools. If no region is defined, it is possible to scan just the Area. The newly improved Focus Surface generator is integrated into the built-in job used for the scanning.
Large Image Scans a large image over the drawn region(s).
Scanning # ROI(s) - shows the number of ROIs to be scanned.
Generate Focus Surface finds the optimal focus surface and performs the large image scan on this surface whereas Current Z-Level scans the large image on the current Z position.
Create Large Image stitches the large image together creating one large image file, whereas Store Single Images does not stitch together, instead a multi-point file is created.
Specifies the settings for the Preview scan.
Current settings perform the scan with the current light path and experiment settings, Optical Configuration scans using the selected optical configuration (click Select optical configuration... to select it).
This selection further specifies the Z position used for the Preview scan.
Show FOV Shows/hides the camera field of view in the preview area.
Show Area Shows/hides the area of interest (e.g. a coverslip) in the preview area.
Select HolderContext menu over the Preview (similar for all sample holders)
Starts scanning the area of interest (white rectangle).
Starts scanning the large image.
Opens the Auto Scale Settings window where the Low and High fields determine how many of all pixels of the picture are left outside the LUTs sliders when Auto LUTs is applied (0-10%). See also Auto Scale Settings.
Context menu over a Region
Starts scanning the large image inside the selected ROI(s).
Renames/selects/deletes the ROI.
Selects/deselects/deletes all ROIs at once.
Starts scanning the area of interest (white rectangle).
Starts scanning the large image.
Opens the Auto Scale Settings window where the Low and High fields determine how many of all pixels of the picture are left outside the LUTs sliders when Auto LUTs is applied (0-10%). See also Auto Scale Settings.
Z Navigation
Figure 117. Z Navigation
The vertical column represents the entire Z dimension, with the yellow horizontal line representing the current position, the blue line indicating the Focus position. Place your mouse cursor over the vertical column, then scroll the mouse wheel to adjust the current (yellow) position or double-click a position to move to it.
Sets the current Z position as the “Focus” position. A tool tip over the button shows its Z value.
Zoom in/outThis button appears only when working with slide samples and resets the focus value to default.
Moves the Z stage to the predefined focus position. A tool tip over the button shows its Z value.
(requires: Local Option)
Turns the perfect focus system (PFS) on and applies the current PFS offset.
There are various combinations of hardware, microscopes, and NIS-Elements packages activating some Sample Navigation features. The following table outlines the different options. Each option is closely described below the table.
Table 3.
| Hardware | Ar package + 6D module + JOBs module | Ar package | Br package | D package |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ji/Ti2 microscope, Mono camera supporting fast scan | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 2 | Option 5 |
| Ji/Ti2 microscope, RGB camera supporting fast scan | Option 3 | Option 5 | Option 5 | Option 5 |
| Ji/Ti2 microscope, Mono/RGB camera not supporting fast scan | Option 4 | Option 6 | Option 6 | Option 6 |
| Ni-E/other microscope + MZH+Aux, Mono/RGB camera supporting fast scan | Option 3 | Option 5 | Option 5 | Option 5 |
| Ni-E/other microscope + MZH+Aux, Mono/RGB camera not supporting fast scan | Option 4 | Option 6 | Option 6 | Option 6 |
| Ni-E/other microscope, Mono/RGB camera | Option 4 | Option 6 | Option 6 | Option 6 |
See Cameras supported for continuous movement.
Important
Service Settings dialog is available only:
in Ar and Br packages.
for Ji and Ti2 microscopes.
for Mono cameras from the fast scanning supported list (see Cameras supported for continuous movement).
Fast scanning is supported:
on selected cameras (Mono or RGB) only (see Cameras supported for continuous movement).
on selected XY Stages (Ji, Ti2, MZH+Aux).
Using the Custom job is available only for license containing Ar + 6D + JOBs.
List of Options:
Built-in Job
Custom Job
Generate Focus Surface
Current Z-Level
Create Large Image
Store Single Images
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Service Settings
Sample swap
Current Z
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Service Settings
Generate Focus Surface
Current Z-Level
Create Large Image
Store Single Images
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Service Settings
Sample swap
Current Z
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Service Settings
Built-in Job
Custom Job
Generate Focus Surface
Current Z-Level
Create Large Image
Store Single Images
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Sample swap
Current Z
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Built-in Job
Custom Job
Generate Focus Surface
Current Z-Level
Create Large Image
Store Single Images
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Current Z
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Generate Focus Surface
Current Z-Level
Create Large Image
Store Single Images
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Current Z
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Generate Focus Surface
Current Z-Level
Create Large Image
Store Single Images
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Current Z
Current Settings
Optical Configuration
Scanning is performed by the continuous movement (fast). “Large Image” can be scanned by a custom or a built-in job (scanning routine).
Available features for option1 :
Full mode) Full mode) Area mode) Scanning is performed by the continuous movement (fast). “Large Image” can be scanned by the built-in job (scanning routine) only.
Available features for option 2:
Full mode) Full mode) Area mode) Scanning is performed by the continuous movement (fast). “Large Image” can be scanned by custom or build-in job (scanning routine). Service settings are not available for this configuration.
Available features for option 3:
Full mode) Full mode) Area mode) Scanning is performed by the step-by-step movement (slower). “Large Image” can be scanned by the custom or built-in job (scanning routine). Service settings are not available for this configuration.
Available features for option 4:
Full mode) Full mode) Area mode) Scanning is performed by the continuous movement (fast). “Large Image” can be scanned by the built-in job (scanning routine) only. Service settings are not available for this configuration.
Available features for option 5:
Full mode) Full mode) Area mode) Scanning is performed by the step-by-step movement (slower). “Large Image” can be scanned by the built-in job (scanning routine) only. Service settings are not available for this configuration.
Available features for option 6:
Full mode) Full mode) Area mode)