Working with OME.TIFF Files

Image-Pro supports both the reading and writing of datasets in the OME.TIFF file format as defined by the OME consortium.

The OME-TIFF format — OME Data Model and File Formats 5.6.3 documentation (openmicroscopy.org)

The OME.TIFF file format allows inter-operability between the many software packages that support this format.

Opening OME.TIFF Files

To open any OME.TIFF file, select File to show the File Management View, and from the Open option navigate to and select your OME.TIFF file.

Most OME.TIFF files will open as a single image set, but some OME.TIFF datasets will open as multiple image sets and/or multiple simple images.  Large pyramidal OME.TIFF or Olympus XV multi-resolution .TIF files will open in a Very Large Image workspace.

A multi-dimensional dataset will open in the Image-Pro image set workspace.

Opening OME.TIFF distributed across multiple files

In some cases, OME.TIFF datasets are distributed across multiple TIFF files.

It’s only necessary to select a single file (which contains the full OME-XML metadata describing the whole file-set) to open the full set.

Opening OME.TIFF distributed across multiple files with a Companion File

If your dataset is distributed across multiple TIFF files and the metadata is embedded in an OME-XML companion file with the .OME extension, then selecting any of the TIFF files or the companion file will open the full set.

Saving OME.TIFF Files

After either building a multi-dimensional dataset using Image-Pro’s Import function, or after modifying a multi-dimensional dataset through a process such as deconvolution or applying filters, you can save your work in the OME.TIFF format so that it can be easily opened in other software packages.

Select File to show the backstage view, then select Save As and navigate to the location where you wish to save your file. 

Using the dropdown menu, select the OME.TIFF file format and click Save.

Image-Pro will always save datasets to a single OME.TIFF file that contains all the necessary metadata.  Distribution across multiple TIF files or companion files is not required. The saved file’s extension will always be “.ome.tiff”.