Here is a quick guide on how to view the metadata of DICOM files without leaving the terminal.
What is DICOM
DICOM is a file format used in the medical field. The file is similar to “PNG” but it usually has more metadata associated with it.
What is a terminal file-manager?
A terminal file-manager is an app that makes navigating the terminal easier. Instead of writing multiple cd
commands we can use the arrow keys to move around. I found two file-managers, “Ranger” and “nnn” and in this post we will cover setting up Ranger to preview DICOM file metadata on the fly.
Configuring Ranger
After downloading the app, head over to ~/.config/ranger
then open rc.conf
and paste these lines:
set use_preview_script true
set preview_script ~/.config/ranger/scope.sh
and create a scope.sh
file then copy this sample scope.sh into it:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -o noclobber -o noglob -o nounset -o pipefail
IFS=$'\n'
## If the option `use_preview_script` is set to `true`,
## then this script will be called and its output will be displayed in ranger.
## ANSI color codes are supported.
## STDIN is disabled, so interactive scripts won't work properly
## This script is considered a configuration file and must be updated manually.
## It will be left untouched if you upgrade ranger.
## Because of some automated testing we do on the script #'s for comments need
## to be doubled up. Code that is commented out, because it's an alternative for
## example, gets only one #.
## Meanings of exit codes:
## code | meaning | action of ranger
## -----+------------+-------------------------------------------
## 0 | success | Display stdout as preview
## 1 | no preview | Display no preview at all
## 2 | plain text | Display the plain content of the file
## 3 | fix width | Don't reload when width changes
## 4 | fix height | Don't reload when height changes
## 5 | fix both | Don't ever reload
## 6 | image | Display the image `$IMAGE_CACHE_PATH` points to as an image preview
## 7 | image | Display the file directly as an image
## Script arguments
FILE_PATH="${1}" # Full path of the highlighted file
PV_WIDTH="${2}" # Width of the preview pane (number of fitting characters)
## shellcheck disable=SC2034 # PV_HEIGHT is provided for convenience and unused
PV_HEIGHT="${3}" # Height of the preview pane (number of fitting characters)
IMAGE_CACHE_PATH="${4}" # Full path that should be used to cache image preview
PV_IMAGE_ENABLED="${5}" # 'True' if image previews are enabled, 'False' otherwise.
FILE_EXTENSION="${FILE_PATH##*.}"
FILE_EXTENSION_LOWER="$(printf "%s" "${FILE_EXTENSION}" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
## Settings
HIGHLIGHT_SIZE_MAX=262143 # 256KiB
HIGHLIGHT_TABWIDTH="${HIGHLIGHT_TABWIDTH:-8}"
HIGHLIGHT_STYLE="${HIGHLIGHT_STYLE:-pablo}"
HIGHLIGHT_OPTIONS="--replace-tabs=${HIGHLIGHT_TABWIDTH} --style=${HIGHLIGHT_STYLE} ${HIGHLIGHT_OPTIONS:-}"
PYGMENTIZE_STYLE="${PYGMENTIZE_STYLE:-autumn}"
BAT_STYLE="${BAT_STYLE:-plain}"
OPENSCAD_IMGSIZE="${RNGR_OPENSCAD_IMGSIZE:-1000,1000}"
OPENSCAD_COLORSCHEME="${RNGR_OPENSCAD_COLORSCHEME:-Tomorrow Night}"
SQLITE_TABLE_LIMIT=20 # Display only the top <limit> tables in database, set to 0 for no exhaustive preview (only the sqlite_master table is displayed).
SQLITE_ROW_LIMIT=5 # Display only the first and the last (<limit> - 1) records in each table, set to 0 for no limits.
handle_dicom() {
local filepath="$1"
python3 - <<EOF
import sys
import pydicom
filepath = "$filepath"
dataset = pydicom.dcmread(filepath)
print(dataset)
EOF
}
handle_extension() {
case "${FILE_EXTENSION_LOWER}" in
## Archive
a|ace|alz|arc|arj|bz|bz2|cab|cpio|deb|gz|jar|lha|lz|lzh|lzma|lzo|\
rpm|rz|t7z|tar|tbz|tbz2|tgz|tlz|txz|tZ|tzo|war|xpi|xz|Z|zip)
atool --list -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
bsdtar --list --file "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
rar)
## Avoid password prompt by providing empty password
unrar lt -p- -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
7z) ## Avoid password prompt by providing empty password
7z l -p -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## PDF
pdf)
## Preview as text conversion
pdftotext -l 10 -nopgbrk -q -- "${FILE_PATH}" - | \
fmt -w "${PV_WIDTH}" && exit 5
mutool draw -F txt -i -- "${FILE_PATH}" 1-10 | \
fmt -w "${PV_WIDTH}" && exit 5
exiftool "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## BitTorrent
torrent)
transmission-show -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## OpenDocument
odt|sxw)
## Preview as text conversion
odt2txt "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
## Preview as markdown conversion
pandoc -s -t markdown -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
ods|odp)
## Preview as text conversion (unsupported by pandoc for markdown)
odt2txt "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## XLSX
xlsx)
## Preview as csv conversion
## Uses: https://github.com/dilshod/xlsx2csv
xlsx2csv -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## HTML
htm|html|xhtml)
## Preview as text conversion
w3m -dump "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
lynx -dump -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
elinks -dump "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
pandoc -s -t markdown -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
;;
## JSON
json)
jq --color-output . "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
python -m json.tool -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
;;
## Jupyter Notebooks
ipynb)
jupyter nbconvert --to markdown "${FILE_PATH}" --stdout | env COLORTERM=8bit bat --color=always --style=plain --language=markdown && exit 5
jupyter nbconvert --to markdown "${FILE_PATH}" --stdout && exit 5
jq --color-output . "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
python -m json.tool -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
;;
## Direct Stream Digital/Transfer (DSDIFF) and wavpack aren't detected
## by file(1).
dff|dsf|wv|wvc)
mediainfo "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exiftool "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
;; # Continue with next handler on failure
## for dcm files
dcm)
handle_dicom "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
;;
esac
}
handle_image() { ## Size of the preview if there are multiple options or it has to be ## rendered from vector graphics. If the conversion program allows ## specifying only one dimension while keeping the aspect ratio, the width ## will be used.
local DEFAULT_SIZE="1920x1080"
local mimetype="${1}"
case "${mimetype}" in
## SVG
image/svg+xml|image/svg)
rsvg-convert --keep-aspect-ratio --width "${DEFAULT_SIZE%x*}" "${FILE_PATH}" -o "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}.png" \
&& mv "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}.png" "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" \
&& exit 6
exit 1;;
## DjVu
image/vnd.djvu)
ddjvu -format=tiff -quality=90 -page=1 -size="${DEFAULT_SIZE}" \
- "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" < "${FILE_PATH}" \
&& exit 6 || exit 1;;
## Image
image/*)
local orientation
orientation="$( identify -format '%[EXIF:Orientation]\n' -- "${FILE_PATH}" )"
## If orientation data is present and the image actually
## needs rotating ("1" means no rotation)...
if [[ -n "$orientation" && "$orientation" != 1 ]]; then
## ...auto-rotate the image according to the EXIF data.
convert -- "${FILE_PATH}" -auto-orient "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" && exit 6
fi
## `w3mimgdisplay` will be called for all images (unless overridden
## as above), but might fail for unsupported types.
exit 7;;
## Video
# video/*)
# # Get embedded thumbnail
# ffmpeg -i "${FILE_PATH}" -map 0:v -map -0:V -c copy "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" && exit 6
# # Get frame 10% into video
# ffmpegthumbnailer -i "${FILE_PATH}" -o "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" -s 0 && exit 6
# exit 1;;
## Audio
# audio/*)
# # Get embedded thumbnail
# ffmpeg -i "${FILE_PATH}" -map 0:v -map -0:V -c copy \
# "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" && exit 6;;
## PDF
# application/pdf)
# pdftoppm -f 1 -l 1 \
# -scale-to-x "${DEFAULT_SIZE%x*}" \
# -scale-to-y -1 \
# -singlefile \
# -jpeg -tiffcompression jpeg \
# -- "${FILE_PATH}" "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH%.*}" \
# && exit 6 || exit 1;;
## ePub, MOBI, FB2 (using Calibre)
# application/epub+zip|application/x-mobipocket-ebook|\
# application/x-fictionbook+xml)
# # ePub (using https://github.com/marianosimone/epub-thumbnailer)
# epub-thumbnailer "${FILE_PATH}" "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" \
# "${DEFAULT_SIZE%x*}" && exit 6
# ebook-meta --get-cover="${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" -- "${FILE_PATH}" \
# >/dev/null && exit 6
# exit 1;;
## Font
application/font*|application/*opentype)
preview_png="/tmp/$(basename "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH%.*}").png"
if fontimage -o "${preview_png}" \
--pixelsize "120" \
--fontname \
--pixelsize "80" \
--text " ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ " \
--text " abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz " \
--text " 0123456789.:,;(*!?') ff fl fi ffi ffl " \
--text " The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. " \
"${FILE_PATH}";
then
convert -- "${preview_png}" "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" \
&& rm "${preview_png}" \
&& exit 6
else
exit 1
fi
;;
## Preview archives using the first image inside.
## (Very useful for comic book collections for example.)
# application/zip|application/x-rar|application/x-7z-compressed|\
# application/x-xz|application/x-bzip2|application/x-gzip|application/x-tar)
# local fn=""; local fe=""
# local zip=""; local rar=""; local tar=""; local bsd=""
# case "${mimetype}" in
# application/zip) zip=1 ;;
# application/x-rar) rar=1 ;;
# application/x-7z-compressed) ;;
# *) tar=1 ;;
# esac
# { [ "$tar" ] && fn=$(tar --list --file "${FILE_PATH}"); } || \
# { fn=$(bsdtar --list --file "${FILE_PATH}") && bsd=1 && tar=""; } || \
# { [ "$rar" ] && fn=$(unrar lb -p- -- "${FILE_PATH}"); } || \
# { [ "$zip" ] && fn=$(zipinfo -1 -- "${FILE_PATH}"); } || return
#
# fn=$(echo "$fn" | python -c "from __future__ import print_function; \
# import sys; import mimetypes as m; \
# [ print(l, end='') for l in sys.stdin if \
# (m.guess_type(l[:-1])[0] or '').startswith('image/') ]" |\
# sort -V | head -n 1)
# [ "$fn" = "" ] && return
# [ "$bsd" ] && fn=$(printf '%b' "$fn")
#
# [ "$tar" ] && tar --extract --to-stdout \
# --file "${FILE_PATH}" -- "$fn" > "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" && exit 6
# fe=$(echo -n "$fn" | sed 's/[][*?\]/\\\0/g')
# [ "$bsd" ] && bsdtar --extract --to-stdout \
# --file "${FILE_PATH}" -- "$fe" > "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" && exit 6
# [ "$bsd" ] || [ "$tar" ] && rm -- "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}"
# [ "$rar" ] && unrar p -p- -inul -- "${FILE_PATH}" "$fn" > \
# "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" && exit 6
# [ "$zip" ] && unzip -pP "" -- "${FILE_PATH}" "$fe" > \
# "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" && exit 6
# [ "$rar" ] || [ "$zip" ] && rm -- "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}"
# ;;
esac
# openscad_image() {
# TMPPNG="$(mktemp -t XXXXXX.png)"
# openscad --colorscheme="${OPENSCAD_COLORSCHEME}" \
# --imgsize="${OPENSCAD_IMGSIZE/x/,}" \
# -o "${TMPPNG}" "${1}"
# mv "${TMPPNG}" "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}"
# }
case "${FILE_EXTENSION_LOWER}" in
## 3D models
## OpenSCAD only supports png image output, and ${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}
## is hardcoded as jpeg. So we make a tempfile.png and just
## move/rename it to jpg. This works because image libraries are
## smart enough to handle it.
# csg|scad)
# openscad_image "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 6
# ;;
# 3mf|amf|dxf|off|stl)
# openscad_image <(echo "import(\"${FILE_PATH}\");") && exit 6
# ;;
drawio)
draw.io -x "${FILE_PATH}" -o "${IMAGE_CACHE_PATH}" \
--width "${DEFAULT_SIZE%x*}" && exit 6
exit 1;;
esac
}
handle_mime() {
local mimetype="${1}"
case "${mimetype}" in ## RTF and DOC
text/rtf|\*msword) ## Preview as text conversion ## note: catdoc does not always work for .doc files ## catdoc: http://www.wagner.pp.ru/~vitus/software/catdoc/
catdoc -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## DOCX, ePub, FB2 (using markdown)
## You might want to remove "|epub" and/or "|fb2" below if you have
## uncommented other methods to preview those formats
*wordprocessingml.document|*/epub+zip|*/x-fictionbook+xml)
## Preview as markdown conversion
pandoc -s -t markdown -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## E-mails
message/rfc822)
## Parsing performed by mu: https://github.com/djcb/mu
mu view -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## XLS
*ms-excel)
## Preview as csv conversion
## xls2csv comes with catdoc:
## http://www.wagner.pp.ru/~vitus/software/catdoc/
xls2csv -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## SQLite
*sqlite3)
## Preview as text conversion
sqlite_tables="$( sqlite3 "file:${FILE_PATH}?mode=ro" '.tables' )" \
|| exit 1
[ -z "${sqlite_tables}" ] &&
{ echo "Empty SQLite database." && exit 5; }
sqlite_show_query() {
sqlite-utils query "${FILE_PATH}" "${1}" --table --fmt fancy_grid \
|| sqlite3 "file:${FILE_PATH}?mode=ro" "${1}" -header -column
}
## Display basic table information
sqlite_rowcount_query="$(
sqlite3 "file:${FILE_PATH}?mode=ro" -noheader \
'SELECT group_concat(
"SELECT """ || name || """ AS tblname,
count(*) AS rowcount
FROM " || name,
" UNION ALL "
)
FROM sqlite_master
WHERE type="table" AND name NOT LIKE "sqlite_%";'
)"
sqlite_show_query \
"SELECT tblname AS 'table', rowcount AS 'count',
(
SELECT '(' || group_concat(name, ', ') || ')'
FROM pragma_table_info(tblname)
) AS 'columns',
(
SELECT '(' || group_concat(
upper(type) || (
CASE WHEN pk > 0 THEN ' PRIMARY KEY' ELSE '' END
),
', '
) || ')'
FROM pragma_table_info(tblname)
) AS 'types'
FROM (${sqlite_rowcount_query});"
if [ "${SQLITE_TABLE_LIMIT}" -gt 0 ] &&
[ "${SQLITE_ROW_LIMIT}" -ge 0 ]; then
## Do exhaustive preview
echo && printf '>%.0s' $( seq "${PV_WIDTH}" ) && echo
sqlite3 "file:${FILE_PATH}?mode=ro" -noheader \
"SELECT name FROM sqlite_master
WHERE type='table' AND name NOT LIKE 'sqlite_%'
LIMIT ${SQLITE_TABLE_LIMIT};" |
while read -r sqlite_table; do
sqlite_rowcount="$(
sqlite3 "file:${FILE_PATH}?mode=ro" -noheader \
"SELECT count(*) FROM ${sqlite_table}"
)"
echo
if [ "${SQLITE_ROW_LIMIT}" -gt 0 ] &&
[ "${SQLITE_ROW_LIMIT}" \
-lt "${sqlite_rowcount}" ]; then
echo "${sqlite_table} [${SQLITE_ROW_LIMIT} of ${sqlite_rowcount}]:"
sqlite_ellipsis_query="$(
sqlite3 "file:${FILE_PATH}?mode=ro" -noheader \
"SELECT 'SELECT ' || group_concat(
'''...''', ', '
)
FROM pragma_table_info(
'${sqlite_table}'
);"
)"
sqlite_show_query \
"SELECT * FROM (
SELECT * FROM ${sqlite_table} LIMIT 1
)
UNION ALL ${sqlite_ellipsis_query} UNION ALL
SELECT * FROM (
SELECT * FROM ${sqlite_table}
LIMIT (${SQLITE_ROW_LIMIT} - 1)
OFFSET (
${sqlite_rowcount}
- (${SQLITE_ROW_LIMIT} - 1)
)
);"
else
echo "${sqlite_table} [${sqlite_rowcount}]:"
sqlite_show_query "SELECT * FROM ${sqlite_table};"
fi
done
fi
exit 5;;
## Text
text/* | */xml)
## Syntax highlight
if [[ "$( stat --printf='%s' -- "${FILE_PATH}" )" -gt "${HIGHLIGHT_SIZE_MAX}" ]]; then
exit 2
fi
if [[ "$( tput colors )" -ge 256 ]]; then
local pygmentize_format='terminal256'
local highlight_format='xterm256'
else
local pygmentize_format='terminal'
local highlight_format='ansi'
fi
env HIGHLIGHT_OPTIONS="${HIGHLIGHT_OPTIONS}" highlight \
--out-format="${highlight_format}" \
--force -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
env COLORTERM=8bit bat --color=always --style="${BAT_STYLE}" \
-- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
pygmentize -f "${pygmentize_format}" -O "style=${PYGMENTIZE_STYLE}"\
-- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 2;;
## DjVu
image/vnd.djvu)
## Preview as text conversion (requires djvulibre)
djvutxt "${FILE_PATH}" | fmt -w "${PV_WIDTH}" && exit 5
exiftool "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## Image
image/*)
## Preview as text conversion
# img2txt --gamma=0.6 --width="${PV_WIDTH}" -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 4
exiftool "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## Video and audio
video/* | audio/*)
mediainfo "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exiftool "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
## ELF files (executables and shared objects)
application/x-executable | application/x-pie-executable | application/x-sharedlib)
readelf -WCa "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
exit 1;;
esac
}
handle_fallback() {
echo '----- File Type Classification -----' && file --dereference --brief -- "${FILE_PATH}" && exit 5
}
MIMETYPE="$( file --dereference --brief --mime-type -- "${FILE_PATH}" )"
if [["${PV_IMAGE_ENABLED}" == 'True']]; then
handle_image "${MIMETYPE}"
fi
handle_extension
handle_mime "${MIMETYPE}"
handle_fallback
exit 1
The above file is the default scope.sh
with the following parts added to enable previewing DICOM metadata:
- The
handle_dicom
function which uses thePydicom
Python library to open the file and read its metadata. - The
dcm
case insidehandle_extension
function
Needless to say that you will need to install Pydicom on your system for this to work, you can do that using PIP or Conda.