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.