Wish List for PFE Features

[John Donovan]

Could we add "Acquisition options" to the Basic EPMA menu (under "Adjust counting times")? I hate to ask for this because I and others might have already created tutorials with screenshots but I am missing "Acquisition options" almost every time and Basic EPMA is otherwise so incredibly useful.

Thanks!

Your wish is granted!   

For those not aware of this feature it is a simple checklist of the essential functions in Probe for EPMA for new and/or infrequent users to enable them to easily find the features they need. It is described in more detail here:

https://probesoftware.com/smf/index.php?topic=1267.0

[dawncruth]

Hi Dawn,

There are already two solutions to your requests:

1. When peak searching, can you add a button link that takes the user right to the display menu?

If you open "Basic EPMA" in the "File" menu, it gets you to what is essentially a link collection. On this is a link to both the Peaking dialog (for manual peaking), Automated Acquisition (for automated peaking on multiple materials) as well as the "Display Peaking ....". Just have that open and it gets you can essentially toggle between your different windows.

2. I usually calibrate with 5 points per standard. However, for Na and K, I calibrate with 7 points (or more). With the Standard Points to Acquire button, we have to designate the highest number. Could you add something that allows me to tell the software to just acquire the number of set points per standard?

My current solution for this is that 1) I have 7 points set on Na and K standards and 5 points on all the other ones, (2) set "7" in "Standard Points to Acquire" in the Automated window but 3) have "Use only digitized standard positions" set in Acquisition Options (under Miscellaneous options).

That way you get PFE to run your custom number of standard positions.

Added by Anette: Maybe I should not have administrator rights here. I accidentally modified the original request by Dawn instead of replying to it. Sorry about that. Not sure how to restore the original version.

[John Donovan]

1. When peak searching, can you add a button link that takes the user right to the display menu?

Please explain in more detail, we do not understand.

2. I usually calibrate with 5 points per standard. However, for Na and K, I calibrate with 7 points (or more). With the Standard Points to Acquire button, we have to designate the highest number. Could you add something that allows me to tell the software to just acquire the number of set points per standard?

You can always acquire two different sets of standards and edit the number of points to acquire in between...

[Anette von der Handt]

Hi John,

Thanks for adding the "Acquisition options" to Basic EPMA. Much appreciated.

Best,
Anette

[dawncruth]

1. When peak searching, can you add a button link that takes the user right to the display menu?

Please explain in more detail, we do not understand.

After peaking we have to go to the Run menu and then display the peak fit box. It would be nice if there was a link from the box that opens during the peak search routine.

[John Donovan]

1. When peak searching, can you add a button link that takes the user right to the display menu?

Please explain in more detail, we do not understand.

After peaking we have to go to the Run menu and then display the peak fit box. It would be nice if there was a link from the box that opens during the peak search routine.

Ah.

We used to joke that in PFE one only needed one mouse click, not two...  you're taking us seriously!   

I'll try to squeeze it in...

[John Donovan]

1. When peak searching, can you add a button link that takes the user right to the display menu?

Please explain in more detail, we do not understand.

After peaking we have to go to the Run menu and then display the peak fit box. It would be nice if there was a link from the box that opens during the peak search routine.

Ah.

We used to joke that in PFE one only needed one mouse click, not two...  you're taking us seriously!   

I'll try to squeeze it in...

Your wish is granted!

OK, that was a bit more of a pain than one would think because the scan window is a low level form that is also utilized by many smaller apps (e.g., Startwin, Stage, etc) and those other apps cannot access a PFE database.

But it's implemented now, so update from the help menu:



The main caveat is that because the scan data dialog is a "modal" form, it will halt any ongoing peaking or PHA acquisition as long as it is open.

[Probeman]

How about multi-selecting the secondary standards and sending them to the Evaluate program?
You could then have them plot up as either intensity (cps/nA) or wt% over time (e.g. all elements vs time), or as a selected element calculated wt% vs published wt% (as it currently does for standards).

Turns out, this feature (mostly) already exists! It's under Output > Output Standard and Unknown XY Plots.
It does pretty much what I was after, plotting "DateTime" vs the intensity (BG corrected or not) or the calculated wt%. You can multi-select both the standards/unknowns and the Y axis components.

Only thing I'd ask is whether its possible to have the DateTime formatted as a proper date and time vs the "excel time" value? e.g. 31/10/21 00:00 rather than 44500.

It's possible, just complicated. Because everyone uses a different date time format convention...

I think it's also possible, once you open the input file in Excel, to "format" the column into the local time format.

[Anette von der Handt]

I wish that when I use the "report" function in "Analyze!" and PFE asks me for a file name for the report table that it also would use this name for the ...report.txt file.

Reason is that I often use different sample setups and want to have a "report" for each of them. While I can modify the table file name and add "...Report_garnet.dat" and "...Report_sulfide.dat", I have to remember to manually change the report.txt file name as it otherwise gets overwritten the next time.

Is that possible and doable?

[John Donovan]

I wish that when I use the "report" function in "Analyze!" and PFE asks me for a file name for the report table that it also would use this name for the ...report.txt file.

Reason is that I often use different sample setups and want to have a "report" for each of them. While I can modify the table file name and add "...Report_garnet.dat" and "...Report_sulfide.dat", I have to remember to manually change the report.txt file name as it otherwise gets overwritten the next time.

Is that possible and doable?

That's actually a very good idea!  Probeman was just telling me the other day that he often needs to edit the report file name when outputting reports for samples with different conditions within a single run.

Therefore your wish is granted!

Please update your Probe for EPMA from the Help menu and you should be good to go.

[Anette von der Handt]

That's actually a very good idea!  Probeman was just telling me the other day that he often needs to edit the report file name when outputting reports for samples with different conditions within a single run.

Therefore your wish is granted!

Please update your Probe for EPMA from the Help menu and you should be good to go.

Probegrrrl and I talked and we both agree that you rock. Thanks!

[AndrewLocock]

Hello,
I wish that the Report function in Analyze! was available or customized for Wavescans.
I have run a bunch of long wavescans at high current (to help explain some unusual spectral interferences).
It would be useful for the purposes of documentation to have the conditions, and length of time etc. available for output.

Or am I missing something (again)?
Thanks,
Adnrew

[John Donovan]

You are correct that the Report button only applies to standard or unknown samples.

But what is it exactly that you are looking for that isn't already displayed when one simply lists the raw data for a wavescan sample? I would think that all the parameters that one would want are already displayed for a wavescan as seen here for example:

Wa    1 unknown sample
TakeOff = 40.0  KiloVolt = 15.0  Beam Current = 30.0  Beam Size =    2
(Magnification (analytical) =   4000),        Beam Mode = Analog  Spot
(Magnification (default) =        0, Magnification (imaging) =    100)
Image Shift (X,Y):                                         .00,    .00

Normal Wavescan: Step/Count Scan
Number of Data Lines:  50             Number of 'Good' Data Lines:  50
First/Last Date-Time: 10/01/2003 03:57:26 PM to 10/01/2003 04:03:28 PM

Stage position of first data point:
    1G  16.0000  26.5000  11.2000

ELEM:  Angstro   si ka Angstro   fe ka Angstro   si ka Angstro   si ka   BEAM1
SPEC:                1               2               3               4
CRYST:             TAP             LiF             TAP             TAP
CRY2D:         25.7450          4.0267         25.7450         25.7450
CRYK :         .002180         .000058         .002180         .002180
ORDER:               1               1               1               1
WVTIM:            6.00            6.00            6.00            6.00
ONPEAK         77.6740         134.724         77.6740         77.6740

[AndrewLocock]

Hello,
I guess that I am asking that these parameters be exported to a file for later reference (so that I don't have to copy and paste them all individually).
When a wavescan is 500 or 1000 lines long, these parameters flash by pretty quickly 

Perhaps the Output | Save Wavescan Output options could be modified to export these parameters for each wavescan?

Cheers, Andrew

[John Donovan]

OK, I see. You just don't want to have to cut and paste.

We can work on this. Give us a few days.