# PatMax Patterns

When you train PatMax you specify a region of interest in an image or provide a description of a shape that includes the features you want to train. If you are using an image to train the PatMax software, PatMax constructs an internal geometric representation of the features that make the pattern, where features are defined by boundaries between regions of dissimilar grey values. If you are using a shape description to train the PatMax software, PatMax transforms the model information into this same internal geometric description. Once trained, PatMax execution is the same regardless of whether PatMax was trained with an image or with a shape description.

See the following topics for more information: