July 23, 1995 XLAEDIT V3.10X for 386/486 class PCs (math coprocessor required): This program was written to facilitate editing data files from the data acquisition system of the Beckman Model XLA analytical ultracentrifuge. The input files MUST be in XLA file format. However, the indepen- dent variable can be either R(i) or 1/2*R(i)**2. The program allows for the optional subtraction of a blank or baseline data set from the data prior to editing. If a blank is to be used the independent variables must be in the same units and the RMS error of the dependent variable from the DATA FILE (not the blank file or any combination of the two) is carried over to any output files you may generate. NO CHECKING OF THE DATA AND BLANK FILES IS DONE TO ENSURE THAT THEY WERE TAKEN AT THE SAME SPEED, WAVELENGTH OR TEMPERATURE! MAIN MENU CHOICES: Choosing an option from the main menu can be done by either hitting the first character of the choice (e.g. E for Re-editing the data.) or by highlighting the choice using the cursor arrow keys and then hitting the key. E. This choice brings up the graphical display of the data and allows the various editing functions to be carried out. N. A new data set and blank can be brought in for editing. S. Saving a data set will output the edited data set (w/out those points that were marked for removal) to an XLA format file. D. Hopefully, this choice is self-explanatory. Just remember to type EXIT to return to the program. Q. Quit will exit the program immediately. Make sure that you have saved any files before choosing this option. R. This choice will interconvert the independent variable for the current data set between R(i) and 1/2*R(i)**2. The current form of the independent variable will be saved to a file when that option is chosen. I. Inverting the sign of the data can be used, for example, to compensate for either an error in loading cells or the subtraction of a data set from a blank ( rather than the blank from the data). In the Re-Editing screen, the mouse is used to position the cursor and either the left mouse button (LMB) or right mouse button (RMB) is used to define the direction of any action taken. The function key, when hit, will allow the user to select a region of the current display and zoom in on it. The LMB sets the lower left corner, and the RMB sets the upper right corner of the region. This process can be repeated multiple times. The function key restores the original plot. The function key toggles the operation involved between deletion and restoration of data points. The key toggles the mode between blockwise and pointwise deletion/restoration. To delete or restore individual points the cursor must be touching the circle that represents the data point in two places (approx.). Only the point closest to the crosshairs will be deleted for a single push of the LMB button. However, if the LMB is kept depressed you can "paint" over any number of points. ==> NOTE: A point that is flagged to be deleted will be removed from the data file when the edited data is saved to a new file. Blockwise deletion/restoration of points from a zoomed display will extend outwards to the limits of the original display. One can also "click" on the choices | REMOVE | RESTORE | BLOCK | POINT | with the LMB to change between the various editing modes. PLOT COLORS: The default colors for the data display are "Good" points : WHITE (15) Deleted points : LIGHT RED (12) Background : BLUE (1) These work well on a color monitor but may not be the best choices for a gray-scale monitor. The colors for the points (actually circles) and background can be changed by specifying different values for them as command line parameters. For example, to change to yellow circles for the "good" points and light blue circles for deleted ones you would enter the command as follows REEDIT 14 9 The background color can be changed by specifying all three values. However, any errors in assigning color numbers will simply result in the use of the default color scheme. The "good" points color can be changed by entering a single value on the command line, REEDIT 14 would show yellow circles, light red deleted points (default) on a blue background (default). If either of the colors is changed to blue (1) then the back- ground will default to either light gray (7) or dark gray (8), in that order, depending on which is still available. The colors and their numbers are as follows (at least for VGA monitors) 0 BLACK 4 RED 8 DARK GRAY 12 LIGHT RED 1 BLUE 5 MAGENTA 9 LIGHT BLUE 13 LIGHT MAGENTA 2 GREEN 6 BROWN 10 LIGHT GREEN 14 YELLOW 3 CYAN 7 LIGHT GRAY 11 LIGHT CYAN 15 WHITE (I don't have any idea whether or not this program will work on a system w/ EGA, CGA or Hercules graphics, but do not expect that it will without some reworking of the code.) NOTE: I have attempted to "bullet-proof" this program as much as possible, but I am sure that there are still a myriad of ways that one can find to "crash" it (some of which I already know about and am working on). Meanwhile, this program should prove useful to those who must deal with the analysis of data from the analytical ultracentrifuge. Jeffrey W. Lary University of Connecticut MCB U-125 Storrs, CT 06269-3125 (203) 486-2104 E-mail: jeff@spin6.mcb.uconn.edu