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dcmdump

NAME

dcmdump - Dump DICOM file and data set

SYNOPSIS

 
 dcmdump [options] dcmfile-in...
 

DESCRIPTION

The dcmdump utility dumps the contents of a DICOM file (file format or raw data set) to stdout in textual form. Attributes with very large value fields (e.g. pixel data) can be described as '(not loaded)'. String value fields will be delimited with square brackets ([]). Known UIDs will be displayed by their names prefixed by an equals sign (e.g. '=MRImageStorage'). Empty value fields are described as '(no value available)'.

If dcmdump reads a raw data set (DICOM data without a file format meta-header) it will attempt to guess the transfer syntax by examining the first few bytes of the file. It is not always possible to correctly guess the transfer syntax and it is better to convert a data set to a file format whenever possible (using the dcmconv utility). It is also possible to use the -f and -t[ieb] options to force dcmdump to read a dataset with a particular transfer syntax.

PARAMETERS

 
 dcmfile-in  DICOM input filename to be dumped
 

OPTIONS

general options

 
   -h   --help
          print this help text and exit
 
        --version
          print version information and exit
 
   -d   --debug
          debug mode, print debug information
 

input options

 
 input file format:
 
   +f   --read-file
          read file format or data set (default)
 
   +fo  --read-file-only
          read file format only
 
   -f   --read-dataset
          read data set without file meta information
 
 input transfer syntax:
 
   -t=  --read-xfer-auto
          use TS recognition (default)
 
   -td  --read-xfer-detect
          ignore TS specified in the file meta header
 
   -te  --read-xfer-little
          read with explicit VR little endian TS
 
   -tb  --read-xfer-big
          read with explicit VR big endian TS
 
   -ti  --read-xfer-implicit
          read with implicit VR little endian TS
 
 parsing of odd-length attributes:
 
   +ao  --accept-odd-length
          accept odd length attributes (default)
 
   +ae  --assume-even-length
          assume real length is one byte larger
 
 handling of undefined length UN elements:
 
   +ui  --enable-cp246
          read undefined len UN as implicit VR (default)
 
   -ui  --disable-cp246
          read undefined len UN as explicit VR
 
 handling of defined length UN elements:
   -uc   --retain-un
           retain elements as UN (default)
 
   +uc   --convert-un
           convert to real VR if known
 
 automatic data correction:
 
   +dc  --enable-correction
          enable automatic data correction (default)
 
   -dc  --disable-correction
          disable automatic data correction
 
 bitstream format of deflated input:
 
   +bd  --bitstream-deflated
          expect deflated bitstream (default)
 
   +bz  --bitstream-zlib
          expect deflated zlib bitstream
 

output options

 
 printing:
 
   +M   --load-all
          load very long tag values (default)
 
   -M   --load-short
          do not load very long values (e.g. pixel data)
 
   +R   --max-read-length  [k]bytes: integer [4..4194302] (default: 4)
          set threshold for long values to k kbytes
 
   +L   --print-all
          print long tag values completely
 
   -L   --print-short
          print long tag values shortened (default)
 
   +F   --print-filename
          print header with filename for each input file
 
 error handling:
 
   -E   --stop-on-error
          do not print if file is damaged (default)
 
   +E   --ignore-errors
          attempt to print even if file is damaged
 
 searching:
 
   +P   --search  [t]ag: "xxxx,xxxx" or a data dictionary name
          print the value of tag t this option can be specified
          multiple times (default: the complete file is printed)
 
   +s   --search-all
          print all instances of searched tags (default)
 
   -s   --search-first
          only print first instance of searched tags
 
   +p   --prepend
          prepend sequence hierarchy to printed tag,
          denoted by: (xxxx,xxxx).(xxxx,xxxx).*
          (only with --search-all or --search-first)
 
   -p   --no-prepend
          do not prepend hierarchy to tag (default)
 
 writing:
 
   +W   --write-pixel  [d]irectory : string
          write pixel data to a .raw file stored in d
          (little endian, filename created automatically)
 

COMMAND LINE

All command line tools use the following notation for parameters: square brackets enclose optional values (0-1), three trailing dots indicate that multiple values are allowed (1-n), a combination of both means 0 to n values.

Command line options are distinguished from parameters by a leading '+' or '-' sign, respectively. Usually, order and position of command line options are arbitrary (i.e. they can appear anywhere). However, if options are mutually exclusive the rightmost appearance is used. This behaviour conforms to the standard evaluation rules of common Unix shells.

In addition, one or more command files can be specified using an '@' sign as a prefix to the filename (e.g. @command.txt). Such a command argument is replaced by the content of the corresponding text file (multiple whitespaces are treated as a single separator) prior to any further evaluation. Please note that a command file cannot contain another command file. This simple but effective approach allows to summarize common combinations of options/parameters and avoids longish and confusing command lines (an example is provided in file share/data/dumppat.txt).

ENVIRONMENT

The dcmdump utility will attempt to load DICOM data dictionaries specified in the DCMDICTPATH environment variable. By default, i.e. if the DCMDICTPATH environment variable is not set, the file <PREFIX>/lib/dicom.dic will be loaded unless the dictionary is built into the application (default for Windows).

The default behaviour should be preferred and the DCMDICTPATH environment variable only used when alternative data dictionaries are required. The DCMDICTPATH environment variable has the same format as the Unix shell PATH variable in that a colon (':') separates entries. The data dictionary code will attempt to load each file specified in the DCMDICTPATH environment variable. It is an error if no data dictionary can be loaded.

SEE ALSO

dump2dcm(1), dcmconv(1)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 1994-2005 by Kuratorium OFFIS e.V., Escherweg 2, 26121 Oldenburg, Germany.