Additional Topics > Medical Imaging in IDL > Expanded DICOM Functionality in IDL

# Expanded DICOM Functionality in IDL

## Using DICOM Network Services

- Query a remote machine and retrieve selected DICOM files
- Build custom queries
- Send files to a remote destination
- Troubleshoot network connections using echo

See Using IDL DICOM Network Services for complete details on using the DICOM Network Services utility. The section Overview of DICOM Network Services provides more detailed introductory information.

## Reading and Writing DICOM Files

Read-only DICOM support is provided through the IDLffDICOM object. The IDLffDicomEx object, described in IDLffDicomEx, greatly expands IDL’s DICOM file access capabilities. The IDLffDicomEx object offers the following enhancements over the IDLffDICOM object:

- Ability to read from and write to DICOM files. Using the IDLffDicomEx object, you can read, clone, or create a new DICOM file. The IDLffDICOM object only supports reading DICOM files.
- Ability to read and write both public and private attributes including sequences and sets of repeating tags within sequences (groups).
- Ability to read and write compressed DICOM files on Windows and UNIX platforms. See File Compression and Transfer Syntax Support for more information.
- Additional SOP class support. See Compliance with the DICOM Standard for information about the conformance statement, which contains the most current list of supported SOP classes.
- Ability to copy DICOM attributes from one file to another, and view all the DICOM attributes contained within a file.