Image Viewer > Working with Local Files

When opening images in the manner described above, they are loaded only on a per-session basis. That is, if you open some images within the Explorer tab and then close the application, upon restarting the application, the Workstation will not have quick access to the images you had opened previously; you have to go through the tedious process of selecting the files all over again. Fortunately, you can give the Workstation ownership of the studies you have loaded by importing them. Here's how:

1.	Download some sample images from the internet, or from the downloads page of our website.

2.	In the Explorer (which appears by default when you start the application), click on the My Computer tab.

3.	Select the image(s) or folder(s) that contains the images you want to import. You can Ctrl-Click to include additional items in your selection or Shift-Click to select a range.

4.	Bring up the context menu by right-clicking on the file(s) or folder(s) and select Import.

Screenshot

An alert will appear in the bottom right corner of the window indicating that the import has been scheduled. You can click on the alert link to open the Activity Monitor if you want to see the import progress, or you can open it at a later time via the Tools menu.

In the Activity Monitor, there will be a work item in the table that imports files from the selected location ("Processing files for import ..." below). As the files are being imported, you will notice one or more "Import Study" work items appear in the table.

When at least one image in a study has been imported, the study will appear in the DICOM Explorer (My Studies). When the initial import work item and all the "Import Study" work items it spawned have completed, then all the studies have been imported; you can then search for the study you want and open it.

Note that, if you open a study from DICOM Explorer that has not been completely imported yet, what you see in the viewer is incomplete.

Important Notes

•	When importing DICOM files/images, in terms of study completeness, Workstation cannot do anything beyond simply enumerating and importing the files. Make sure you selected all the right files/folders and the studies that were created/updated as a result of the import are complete and correct.

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When files are being imported, it is possible for the work item that imports the files ("Processing files...") into the file store to fail, while the one(s) it spawns that import the study ("Import Study") succeed. It is important to realize that, in order to be certain the imported studies are complete, that the initial import work item and all the "Import Study" work items it spawned must succeed. Files that fail to import are often insignificant (text files, etc), but it is important to check the logs and make sure before proceeding to work with the imported studies.

Having problems importing? See Troubleshooting.

Technical Note

•	Note that for import to work, the ClearCanvas Workstation Shred Host Service must be running, since importing is actually done by the service.