ScanMagic® has an intuitive multi-document graphic user interface, which provides for simultaneous work with various raster and vector data. The application can quickly visualise the visualize images of up to 4 GB in size with on-the-fly data spooling from the disc. It analyses images with radiometric resolution of up to 16 bit per pixel and provides the user with a possibility to change the visualisation parameters.

ScanMagic® can view a multispectral image band-by-band and to make a false-colour RGB composite out of arbitrary band combinations. Several viewing windows can be created for each image with their individual settings of band combination, zoom and brightness/contrast adjustment.

The application has a set of convenient tools for scrolling and zooming: Zoom In, Zoom Out, Actual Zoom, Zoom To Width, Zoom To Height, Zoom To Region, a handy Zoom Bar for continuous zoom changing, a function to return to a previous zoom and image position in a viewing window, Pan mode for image dragging, image scrolling in automatic mode, a mode for navigation of viewing windows for quick control and positioning of the viewed subset.

ScanMagic® offers the following tools for image enhancement: graphical histogram contrast adjustment tool, linear and non-linear contrast enhancement, min-max linear contrast stretching, percentage linear contrast stretching, histogram equalization.

The application also has specific processing tools for particular sensors, e.g. IRS LISS-III, PAN, Terra/Aqua MODIS, Radarsat SAR. These include correction of specific geometric distortions for MODIS imagery, radiometric correction and noise filtering for IRS LISS-III and PAN imagery, brightness and geometric alignment of three IRS PAN strips, conversion of IRS LISS-III images into natural-colour images, etc. Two types of processing algorithms are provided: instant (done on-the-fly) and real (involve changing file data on the disc).