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Old 10-12-2008, 09:05 AM   #1
thomega
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DR100OS Scribble Format?

Apparently, the DR1000S stores the metadata no longer in XML files (like the iLiad did), but in SQLite (v3) databases. Could any of you early adaptors post a scribbled on PDF file and the corresponding metadata.db file (or other .db files, if they appear after scribbling)?

This would allow me to see if the new scribbles format can be reverse engineered easily. Working in a 100% Linux shop and needing to merge scribbles on PDFs, this is a crucial part of my purchasing decision ...

Thanks in advance,
-Thorsten

Last edited by thomega; 10-12-2008 at 09:31 AM. Reason: spelling:(
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Old 10-12-2008, 02:13 PM   #2
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Try this one. As I use a Mac any Windows software isn't much use to me anyway. I'd like to be able to merge the scribbles & pdfs too. There is only a scribble on the first page.

In order to upload, I have had to rename the metadata.db file to a .txt extension, just change it back to .db
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File Type: pdf PhotoField_safe.pdf (662.1 KB, 465 views)
File Type: txt metadata.txt (24.0 KB, 417 views)
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Old 10-12-2008, 03:10 PM   #3
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Thanks :!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pthwaite View Post
There is only a scribble on the first page.
That's consistent with the table annotations in metadata.db (one has to lookup the filename via an index into file_metadata though).

The scribble itself is encoded as 4444 byte of binary data , which is mostly structured in 12byte records. Why would iRex use this obfuscated approach instead of a table in the datebase ?

Could you describe the scribble (or do you have a photo), so that I can test ideas?
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Old 10-12-2008, 03:56 PM   #4
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The scribble is just a handwritten script that says "This is a test". Of course I forgot you can't read the scribble on the pdf.
Here's the photo
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Old 10-12-2008, 09:15 PM   #5
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Here's the photo
And here's the decoded scribble: Click image for larger version

Name:	scribble.png
Views:	616
Size:	6.7 KB
ID:	17000This is of course still very far from a usable program, because I need to figure out how zoom, rotation etc. are encoded. Also I need to reaquaint myself with java if I want to use the iText library.

Now would be a good time to buy a unit. Unfortunately, the german distributor has sold his copies and I have to wait
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Old 10-12-2008, 10:41 PM   #6
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Well, your are getting ahead pretty nicely. You may even beat iRex

I have included a picture of a sketch I made, and the resulting "merged" PDF from the iRex PC application... judge for yourself. Anybody had better luck?

I have also included a zipped folder with the default MeetingNotes.pdf, the 1024x1280 Blankpage.pdf I made and properly "templated" (the one thing that actually works in the PC app) and BlankPage 001.pdf, which contains 5 more or less vertical and 5 horizontal lines, one each for every pen size. (plus the corresponding metadata.db) Maybe that will still help in the decoding. I deleted the .db file just prior to doing the test, so this one should be spot on.

I lost the .db with the sketch when I was playing around with files. Definetely, the drawing contained in the metadata will be applied to simply any PDF with the corresponding filename, even if the content has changed.
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Name:	Sketch.jpg
Views:	603
Size:	117.6 KB
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File Type: zip WritePads.zip (8.9 KB, 379 views)
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Old 10-13-2008, 06:23 AM   #7
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Allovertheglobe, can you tell me how you managed to merge the pdf & scribble. That functionality doesn't appear to work for me. Although you can see the menu function of the irex companion software, it is inaccessable in the irex companiuon software as delivered. Do I have to download anything else?

It's a pity you cannot merge in the DR1000s itself.
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Old 10-13-2008, 08:02 AM   #8
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Quote:
I have included a picture of a sketch I made
Hey! You'r a quite talented drawer! Very nice and cute.

But the pdf is awful. I hope they correct this very fast.

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Old 10-13-2008, 01:39 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pthwaite View Post
Allovertheglobe, can you tell me how you managed to merge the pdf & scribble. That functionality doesn't appear to work for me. Although you can see the menu function of the irex companion software, it is inaccessable in the irex companiuon software as delivered. Do I have to download anything else?

It's a pity you cannot merge in the DR1000s itself.
I'm using the slightly updated version (either from the auto-update, or included in the "Card Content" download from Irex's website)

I just selected the pdf in question, the green "Merge" icon became active, and I clicked it. But it might as well not have worked considering the result...
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Old 10-13-2008, 02:20 PM   #10
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Curious, I downloaded yet another updated version last night. Just as well I keep checking their website as their inbox doesn't work. I still cannot get the merge to operate.

Was that done in the writepad though? Maybe the merge only works on the writepads & not other pdfs?

I'll have to try again tomorrow when I've got access to a PC.
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Old 10-13-2008, 02:47 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pthwaite View Post
Curious, I downloaded yet another updated version last night. Just as well I keep checking their website as their inbox doesn't work. I still cannot get the merge to operate.

Was that done in the writepad though? Maybe the merge only works on the writepads & not other pdfs?

I'll have to try again tomorrow when I've got access to a PC.
Good point. I did indeed use a blank page that I created, templated and put in Writepads.

I just tried it now with some other PDF document, and it still "works".
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Old 10-13-2008, 03:47 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by allovertheglobe View Post

I have included a picture of a sketch I made, and the resulting "merged" PDF from the iRex PC application... judge for yourself. Anybody had better luck?
Nifty... ...This is they type of stuff I would be interested in picking up an iRex for. Though, from the way things sound and from what I've seen thus far- I might be asking too much, too soon.

Still, thanks for the sample sketch.
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Old 10-14-2008, 06:51 AM   #13
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Well I'm a frustrated little scribbler. I cannot get any of 3 Windows XP machines, nor a Mac running parallels to merge my scribbles into any pdf document. The function is just "greyed out" I can create templates.

OH and the DR1000s draws the line at opening a 36Mb pdf, it just decided enough was enough. Shame. up to 25Mb was okay.

Howard
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Old 10-14-2008, 07:26 PM   #14
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Upon further investigation:

- The Merge only works for PDF files for now, not images. The reader supports it, even templating, but not the PC Companion.

- The resulting merged PDF seems to have a scaling issue, which may explain the thick lines. The PDF is way too big in any other PDF viewer (the scribble too small relatively speaking) BUT back on the reader it looks the right size (except for the super thick line)

It seems the scribble is stored as coordinates on the metadata.db, and the PC companion replaces every straight line with a black rectangle of the same length but a fixed width, then layers that on top inside the PDF file (which may explain why that is not possible with image files which do not normally support layers (or vectors))
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Old 10-14-2008, 08:32 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by allovertheglobe View Post
It seems the scribble is stored as coordinates on the metadata.db
The scribble is a list of strokes and each stroke is a list of points. If I interpret the coordinates of each point as pixels on a 1024x1280 screen and connect them by straight lines, I get a good approximation for the two examples that I have seen so far.

Quote:
Originally Posted by allovertheglobe View Post
the PC companion replaces every straight line with a black rectangle of the same length but a fixed width,
From your example (thanks!), I could figure out where the width of each stroke is stored. The unit is probably again device pixels.

Quote:
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not possible with image files which do not normally support layers (or vectors))
That's no excuse: the software could always draw on a bitmap of the image (cf. The Gimp, ImageMagick or Photoshop). It's not completely trivial to make joints and diagonal strokes look nice, but it's not rocket science either.

There are some more bytes that I could not interpret yet (one of them must be the color and there should also be zoom, offset and rotation information, but there's more). I would have to purchase a reader in order to experiment with the settings to decode more of them. Unfortunately, the german distributor is currently sold out.

Last edited by thomega; 10-14-2008 at 08:33 PM. Reason: spelling:(
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