Getting Started with Brillouin DataView

1.1 Minimum System Requirements

• PC (pentium III 600 MHz) with at least 256 MB RAM
• SVGA-graphics with 65000 colours or better
• 15 MB free harddisk space
• Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista

1.2 Download

The installer copies some demonstration files to the common application data folder. You can open an explorer window on that folder as the last step of the installation, or from the Brillouin DataView group of the Start menu. In the explorer window, try the following:

	Move your mouse over one of the demo files. Watch the small infotip hint window appear which displays some parameter data from the file.
	Click on one of the demo files. The Details pane of the explorer window displays a graph of numeric data contained in the file.
	Switch the view of the explorer window to thumbnails. The thumbnails of the demo files are graphs of numeric data contained in the files.
	Switch to the details view. Right-click on one of the column headers, select More. In the check list, scroll to the bottom, and check Sample, and Theta. Click OK. Two new columns appear in the explorer window, with headers Sample, and Theta. The columns display parameter values from the file contents. By clicking on the column header you can sort the file list by parameter value.

The infotips, the parameter columns, as well as the graph styles are customizable. The configuration is easily modified using the Brillouin configuration utility from the Start menu. This section explains some of the key concepts you need to know when configuring Brillouin.

3.1 Levels of Configuration

There are three possible configuration levels the first available one of which takes effect:

1. Current user's configuration
2. All users' configuration
3. Factory configuration

The factory configuration is hard-coded, always available, and cannot be modified. The all users configuration is initialized during installation. It can be modified using the configuration utility, but only by users with administrator rights. The current user configuration can be set up for each individual user account using the configuration utility.

3.2 Configuration Elements

Any Brillouin configuration level consists of four lists of configuration elements of different categories:

Filters

Generalized file types which can be linked to an infotip format and a graph style

Infotips

Format and data selection for infotips

Graphs

Style and data selection for thumbnail graphs

Columns

Format and data selection for parameter columns

3.3 Editing the Current User Configuration

Start the configuration utility, and load the current user's configuration, or (if there is not current user's configuration yet) the all users' configuration, by choosing File > Open Special > Current User's Configuration.

Click through the items of the Elements list on the left side. Each element displays a property page in the center of the window. A description of all the properties will be available separately.

After modifying the configuration elements, save the configuration using the File > Save Special > Current User's Configuration. Your changes will take effect as soon as Brillouin is requested to provide new information. Since the explorer does not refresh its display automatically, you may need to press F5, or switch the folder selection.

Configurations are saved as XML files. The configuration utility allows you to load and save configuration files from/to any location in the file system. However, to become active, a configuration file has to be saved at a particular location. The Open Special/Save Special menu items provide shortcuts to these locations.