bin
) file.link
) views across data streams.Compiled SpikeGLX releases contain two executables:
SpikeGLX.exe Full function, but needs NI-DAQmx software
SpikeGLX-NISIM.exe Full Imec function, simulated NI
SpikeGLX-NISIM.exe is provided so you can:
From main console window, choose File/Open File Viewer
then select any SpikeGLX bin
file.
You can open several files, one Viewer for each.
You can view files from different runs at the same time. Linking is smart and only connects files within the same run.
This shows the name of the open file, its channel count, the sampling rate, and some useful time information:
t0 = Seconds elapsed between the start of the run and the first sample in this file. The first sample received from that stream's hardware defines T=0.
dt = Total time span of this file (in seconds).
Note: Each Viewer is listed in the console
Window
menu. Select a window here to bring it front.
Linked viewers send messages to each other so actions in one automatically update the others. These messages are passed:
To turn linking on, choose Viewer menu item File::Link (Ctrl+L)
. The menu item toggles to Unlink
. The currrent Viewer's context will be propagated to the other windows.
You can only link files of the same run. You can only link them if their bin
and meta
files are all stored in the same directory. Said another way, the path and file base name myRun_gXXX_tYYY
are the association keys.
Any time you initiate linking and there are no other files in that run currently open, the software will first open all the associated files it can find and then link them. This saves the steps of manually using the Open command several times.
Note that unlinking never closes windows.
When linking is on, scrolling in one window causes scrolling in other windows which is normally what you want, but if you're mostly looking at a particular file it will certainly slow you down. You can scroll faster like this:
Open the Export dialog
by: choosing File::Export
, or pressing Ctrl+E
, or right-clicking
anywhere in the graph area.
The dialog offers several choices for the range of graphs (channels) to include and for the time span to include.
The next two sections explain how to graphically specify these selections before opening the Export dialog.
You can remove uninteresting channels from the view in two ways:
Channels
menu, toggle that channel off (uncheck it).X
will appear. Click this to remove the channel.Close box
Channels can be restored in the Channels menu by toggling them on or choosing Show All
.
You can use click-and-drag to graphically select a time range either to zoom the current view, or to set a range for the export function.
For either type of drag operation the window will automatically scroll if you move the mouse beyond the right or left edge of the window.
Status
area at the bottom includes an export selection readout.Right-click
anywhere in the graph area to get a menu of additional features.
Only spiking channels have an associated entry in the stream's shankMap. The shankMap describes the location of the sensing electrode that's connected to each channel, and if that channel should be included in spatial averaging -<S>
operations. Bad channels diminish the effectiveness of spatial averaging...
ShankMap: Toggle This Chan
: Right-click on a spiking channel, then select this option to turn that channel off/on.
ShankMap: Turn Off List
: A dialog appears to name groups of channels.
ShankMap: Restore Original
: Revert to the shankMap stored in the meta file. The stored shankMap automatically turns off reference channels, standby channels, and any custom channels you marked when configuring the run.
Note: None of these shankMap editing operations permanently alter the on-disk metadata.
Export
: This is a quick way to get the Export dialog after selecting a time range.Navigating is faster if less work is needed to update the view(s).
fin