Glossary of Technical Terms

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | WXYZ
Cache:
A file of stored information or images.
Caption:
Text associated with an image that is displayed with it.
Calibration:
The act of adjusting the color of one device relative to another, such as a monitor to a printer, or a scanner to a film recorder, or relative to an established standard. .
CCD (Charged Coupled Device):
The device in a digital camera or scanner that converts light into proportional (analog) electrical current. .
Channel:
A piece of information stored with an image. True color images, for example, have three channels -- red, green and blue.
Chroma:
The color of an image element (pixel)made up of saturationand hue values, but separate from the luminance value.
Chrominance:
The color portion of an image comprised of a mixture of hue and saturation or the combination of three primary colors, such as red, green, and blue.
Clipboard:
A Microsoft Windows tool that you can use to copy data from one source to another. To place something on the Clipboard, you can use the Cut or Copy tools. To take something from the Clipboard, you can use the Paste tool.
Clip Art:
Graphic files that are usually distributed on CD-ROMS and can be inserted into documents, presentations, and projects. .
CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor):
Light sensors that capture images taken by digital cameras. Usually they are found in high-end digital cameras with megapixel sensors. .
CMS (Color Matching/Management System):
Software meant to ensure color matching and calibration between video or computer monitors and any form of hard copy output.
CMYK:
A color model that uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black as its primary colors.
Codec:
A technology that compresses and decompresses data. A codec can be used to compress files for transport over a network, the Internet, or to decrease size for storage. The codec then expands files to their original size so that they can be played or viewed on a computer. Stands for compressor/decompressor.
Color Calibration:
The process of setting up your computer so that the color output from your printer matches the colors you see on your monitor.
Color Correction:
The process of correcting or enhancing the color of an image. ACD FotoCanvas photo editing software includes color correction tools.
Color Wheel:
An aid used when selecting colors enabling user to achieve an harmonious color scheme by allowing for the easy identification and splitting of complementary colors.
Command Line:
A line in an application where the system prompts you for a command. ACDSee picture viewer includes options for command line image searching.
Compact Flash:
A form of storage card used in digital cameras to store pictures.
Composite Image:
An image made up of two or more subimages stored separately in a file.
Compression:
The process or result of converting data to a storage format that requires less space than the original data. RealOptimizer image optimizer plug-in for ACDSee is a great way to compress images for web sharing.
Context Menu:
A list of commands that appears when you use the alternate click (usually the right-side mouse button) on a file or an image.
Continuous Tone:
An image where brightness appears consistent and uninterrupted. Each pixel in a continuous tone image file uses at least one byte each for its red, green, and blue values which permits 256 density levels per color or more than 16 million mixture colors.
Contouring:
A visual effect in an image as a result of low brightness resolution which appears as bands of sharp, distinct, brightness change --similar to banding. .
Contrast:
A measure of the differences of color and brightness in an image.
Convert:
To change a file from one format to another.
CPU (Central Processing Unit):
The chip in a computer where virtually all information is processed.
CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check):
An algorithm that recursively generates a 16- or 32-bit numerical values based on a stream of data. The value can be used to verify whether the data has changed.
Cropping:
The process of removing unwanted areas from a photo. ACD FotoCanvas includes a cropping tool.