Skip to content

Using Hurricane (Full Manual)

Introduction

Hurricane Image Encoder is a batch image converter application with two main interfaces. The primary interface is used to import image files, queue them for conversion, and archive them once completed. The secondary interface is used to preview converted files outside of the browser with various configuration options. This page consists of a full reference manual for both of the main interfaces, including visual aids and descriptions for each key component and how they are used in action. Additional reference material is included for users interested in running Hurricane Image Encoder at the command-line.

Primary Interface (Main Window)

Figure: Hurricane's primary interface, with key components outlined in red. Each segment is labeled with numbers 1-4, top to bottom.

Shown above is a legend for Hurricane's main window, which is used to process image files provided by the user. Each segment is described as follows:

  1. Menu bar - presents options to import image files, see output files, and navigate to key web resources for help.
  2. Batch panel - shows imported images as thumbnails; each can be right-clicked for more processing options.
  3. "Up Next" queue - displays filenames of images that are staged for processing but are not actively being converted.
  4. Command palette - presents options for interacting with the batch processor, including starting/stopping active processing and archiving/discarding output.

File - top level menu

  • Open - import one or more image files using the system file picker
  • View Log - shows the "Console Log" window which shows verbose information about the file conversion process
  • Show Output Directory - opens a file explorer window into the main output directory created and managed by Hurricane

About - top level menu

Help - opens https://chosenfew.software/docs/ in the default browser

Batch panel

The batch panel consists of a dynamically updated series of image thumbnails representing the conversion inputs. The batch panel has two main operational states, active and inactive. The active state is engaged when one or more images are sent to the queue, with the inactive state reengaging when the processing is completed and/or interrupted. In addition to importing images via File -> Open, one can also drag and drop image files of all kinds into the batch panel to have them imported automatically.

For either given program state, each image thumbnail has an outline indicating its processing status:

  • None - not yet queued
  • Purple - in "Up Next" queue
  • Yellow - actively processing
  • Green - completed processing
  • Red - processing interrupted

Additionally, each image thumbnail can be individually interacted with via right-click. The context menu that appears as a result consists of the following options:

  • Send to Queue - immediately queues the image for processing
  • Clear from Queue - if listed in "Up Next", preempts the image from processing; otherwise removes the image from the batch panel entirely
  • Preview - opens this image in a new preview window e.g. Secondary Interface (Preview Window)
  • Archive - archives this image's corresponding output file to the main output directory
  • Discard - permanently discards this image's corresponding output file, removing it from the batch panel and deleting it from the system

"Up Next" queue

The "Up Next" queue consists of a list of filenames that, when processing capacity is available, will be processed next by the program. Importantly, only the files' names + extensions are listed, excluding any directory information. Internally, however, each image is kept track of using the full path. Duplicates are only consolidated if they share the same name, extension, and parent directory.

Command palette

The command palette consists of a few key actions that apply to the entire processing batch. Each action is context-sensitive, which means that depending on the overall program state, they will perform different actions or be automatically enabled/disabled.

  • Process All Images - when the batch is inactive, all available images are queued. Depending on how many logical threads are available to the application, more or less images will start processing immediately. The rest will be added to the "Up Next" queue.
  • Stop Processing - when the batch is active, all queued images (including those that are actively processing) are interrupted and/or removed from the queue. The affected images remain in the batch panel.
  • Clear Current Queue - when the batch is active, all images listed in the "Up Next" queue are dequeued, but remain in the batch panel. If no images are "Up Next," the batch panel is cleared of any unqueued or interrupted images. Completed images remain in the batch panel regardless.
  • Archive All Completed - regardless of whether the batch is active, all images marked as complete are archived to the application output directory and removed from the batch panel.
  • Discard All Completed - regardless of whether the batch is active, all images marked as complete are discarded / deleted from disk and removed from the batch panel.

Secondary Interface (Preview Window)

Figure: Hurricane's secondary interface, with key components outlined in red. Both segments are labeled with numbers 1 and 2, top to bottom.

Shown above is a legend for Hurricane's preview window, which is used to preview output SSRG files generated by the program. Each segment is described as follows:

  1. Preview options - presents the user with options to control image loading behavior and speed
  2. Image panel - presents the user with a refreshable view of the selected image

Preview options

The preview options panel allows the user to control how much detail to display for the given image, and a way to simulate the loading behavior for a given network speed. Each option is described below, from left to right:

  • Resolution - refers to the maximum pixel resolution of the image preview, generated from SSRG metadata
  • Download rate (label) - displays, in text, the current simulated download speed for the image preview
  • Download rate (units) - allows the user to select download rate units by increasing orders of magnitude, those being "bps" (bits per second), "Kbps" (kilobits per second), and "Mbps" (megabits per second)
  • Download rate (slider) - allows the user to select the download rate as scaled by the configured order of magnitude, ranging from 0 to 1000; selecting 0 will make the image load instantaneously at the selected resolution

Image panel

The image panel consists of the actual preview display. This region of the screen can be right-clicked to see more options, most notably the Reload option which allows the user to reload the image preview from the beginning.

Command-line Mode

Hurricane Image Encoder can also run in command-line mode, either for single-file or multi-file conversion. Note that the Hurricane CLI can only be accessed when using the Full version of the application; Trial users can only use the main GUI. Run Hurricane directly from the Terminal using the command-line for your platform listed below.

  • Windows: .\CFS.Surge.Hurricane.exe run-cli <input-file-patterns>
  • Linux: ./CFS.Surge.Hurricane.exe run-cli <input-file-patterns>
  • macOS: open ~/Applications/Hurricane\ Image\ Encoder.app -W --stdout $(tty) --stderr $(tty) --args run-cli -d $(pwd) <input-file-patterns>

The <input file patterns> can be a standard Unix-style glob or a specific filename, and can include directory information. Multiple patterns can be specified and they will all be matched (e.g. run-cli *.png *.jpg).