Documentation/4.4/FAQ/General

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Home < Documentation < 4.4 < FAQ < General


For the latest Slicer documentation, visit the read-the-docs.


General

What is Slicer ?

3D Slicer is:

  • A software platform for the analysis (including registration and interactive segmentation) and visualization (including volume rendering) of medical images and for research in image guided therapy.
  • A free, open source software available on multiple operating systems: Linux, MacOSX and Windows
  • Extensible, with powerful plug-in capabilities for adding algorithms and applications.

Features include:

  • Multi organ: from head to toe.
  • Support for multi-modality imaging including, MRI, CT, US, nuclear medicine, and microscopy.
  • Bidirectional interface for devices.

There is no restriction on use, but Slicer is not approved for clinical use and intended for research. Permissions and compliance with applicable rules are the responsibility of the user. For details on the license see here


Where can I download Slicer?

3DSlicer is available for download by visiting the following link: http://download.slicer.org

Where can I download older release of Slicer ?

Older releases of 3DSlicer are available here: http://slicer.kitware.com/midas3/folder/274


How to install Slicer ?

  1. Go to http://download.slicer.org
  2. Click on the link corresponding to your operating system
  3. Linux MacOSX Windows

    Start a terminal and type these commands: 

    
$ tar xzvf ~/Downloads/Slicer-4.3.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz -C ~/

$ cd ~/Slicer-4.3.0-linux-amd64

$ ./Slicer

     

    1. Double click on the downloaded Slicer-4.3.0-linux-amd64.exe package.
    2. Follow instructions displayed on the screen.

     

    1. Double click on the downloaded Slicer-4.3.0-linux-amd64.dmg package
    2. Drag & drop the Slicer.app onto your Desktop or in your Applications. Need help?


Is Slicer really free?

Yes, really, truly, free. Not just a free trial. No pro version with all the good stuff. Slicer is free with no strings attached. You can even re-use the code in any way you want with no royalties and you don't even need to ask us for permission. (Of course we're always happy to hear from people who've found slicer interesting).

See the Slicer License page for the legal version of this.

Where can I find someone to help me use Slicer?

We rely on the community of users and developers to share their expertise.

The Slicer users mailing list can be joined by signing up here, or you can browse the archives to check if your question was already answered. Please provide as much detail as possible if you post a question, including full error logs, a workflow on how to duplicate the problem and what publicly accessible data to use in order to duplicate the problem.

If you post to the mailing list, be sure not to include any Protected Health Information (PHI) or any other data that would get you or anyone else in trouble. However, posting example data can be very important to people who are interested in helping you solve your problems. If you can replicate your question using data from the Sample Data or Data Store modules that's the first choice.

The Users Manual gives descriptions for using each module, and you can check out the Training pages for in depth tutorials about workflows.

Can I use slicer for patient care?

Slicer is intended for research work and has no FDA clearances or approvals of any kind. It is the responsibility of the user to comply with all laws and regulations (and moral/ethical guidelines) when using slicer.


How to cite Slicer?

Please cite the Slicer web site (http://www.slicer.org) and the following publications when publishing work that uses or incorporates Slicer.


How do I create an account for the Slicer wiki?

Please note: You only need an account if you want to edit or add pages.

Follow the Log in->Request Account link from the upper right corner of the slicer wiki page. Once the account request is approved, you will be e-mailed a notification message and the account will be usable at log in.


Can I install Slicer without administrator rights?

The most convenient way to install Slicer is to run the installer package (Slicer-4.10....exe) as administrator. However, installation is not necessary, you just need to unpack the files in the installer package and copy them to your user directory or a USB drive and start it by running Slicer.exe.

You can unpack the installation package by one of the following methods:

  • Install Slicer on any computer where you have administrator access. All the files that you need to run Slicer are in the C:\Program Files\Slicer... directory.
  • Unpack the installation package by using 7zip or using the InstallExplorer plugin in Total commander or FAR manager (http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Can_I_decompile_an_existing_installer). All the Slicer files will be in the $_OUTDIR directory, except Slicer.exe, so you have to copy Slicer.exe into $_OUTDIR and run it from there. You can rename the $_OUTDIR directory and discard all the other directories ($COMMONFILES, $PLUGINSDIR, etc).

Slicer does not start

Try the followings to fix the problem. If none of these help then report the problem

Instruction for Windows

  • Your Slicer settings might have become corrupted
    • Go to c:\Users\<yourusername>\AppData\Roaming\ directory. Rename NA-MIC to NA-MIC-backup. If you cannot find a NA-MIC directory there then check the Documentation/4.4/SlicerApplication/Settings page for instructions for getting the settings directory. Try to launch Slicer.
  • There may be conflicting DLLs in your system path (caused by installing applications that place libraries in incorrect location on your system)
    • Start Event Viewer (eventvwr.exe), select Windows Logs / Application, and find the application error. If there is a DLL loading problem a line similar to this will appear: Faulting module path: <something>.dll
    • If you found a line similar to this, then try the following workaround: Start a command window. Enter “set path=” to clear the path variable. Enter Slicer.exe to start Slicer.
    • If Slicer starts successfully then you need to remove remove unnecessary items from the system path (or delete the libraries installed at incorrect locations).
    • If Slicer does not work then collect some more information and report the error:
      • Enable process loading logging using the sxstrace tool and see if it shows any errors (see instructions here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/library/hh875651.aspx).
      • Get DLL dependency information:
        • Download depends.exe (http://www.dependencywalker.com/)
        • Run depends.exe using the Slicer launcher: Slicer.exe --launch .............\depends.exe "bin\SlicerApp-real.exe"
        • In dependency walker:
          • Make sure the full path of DLLs are shown (click View / Full paths if you only see the DLL names)
          • File / Save as... => Comma Separated Values (*.csv)

What if I have problems with Slicer installation?

You can read our guide explaining how to report a problem.


How to uninstall Slicer?

  • On Windows, choose "Uninstall" option from the Start menu.
  • On the Mac, remove the Slicer.app file. To clean up settings, remove "~/.config/www.na-mic.org/"
  • On Linux, remove the directory where the application is located. To clean up settings, remove "~/.config/NA-MIC/"

Note that is you hare having mystery problems that are not reproducible on other machines you may want to clear your settings. Examples of mystery behavior include inability to load or run certain modules or inability to download sample data.

See the information about the location of Settings for all platforms. If the uninstaller is not working on windows you may need to remove the settings manually.

Where can I find Slicer tutorials?

Slicer tutorials associated with the latest 4.10 stable release are available by visiting the following link: Click Here.


I read errors in the logs complaining about memory

Errors such as “Description: Failed to allocate memory for image.” indicate that you don’t have enough memory space. This can be a common issue if you run a 32-bit version of Slicer. You cannot expect a 32-bit executable to deal with any moderately complex problem. The recommended solution is to download/build/use Slicer in 64-bit mode.

Possible workarounds:

  • Use a 64-bit version of Slicer
  • You have somewhat more memory if you run the module in a separate process. To do that open Edit / Application Settings / Modules and check the “Prefer Executable CLIs” option, then restart Slicer.
  • Decrease the size and/or resolution of the input and output images


Which Slicer version should I use: 3.X or 4.X ?

In general slicer3 and slicer4 have roughly similar functionality with respect to registration basics. Probably the most important thing to keep in mind is that slicer3 is no longer actively maintained.

Slicer4, on the other hand, has benefited from literally hundreds of bug fixes over the past several years, and typically has better features and much better performance. Also, the nightly builds of slicer4 are now using ITKv4, which has significantly improved registration code. I am told by active users/developers of ITK that ITKv4 should provide significantly better results in many cases. Also, several new registration techniques are being actively developed for slicer4.

Source: http://massmail.spl.harvard.edu/public-archives/slicer-users/2013/006190.html


What is my HOME folder ?

Linux or MacOSX Windows

Start a terminal. 

$ echo ~
/home/jchris

Start Command Prompt (Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt) 

> echo %userprofile%
C:\Users\jcfr
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