LabAnalyst has six menus, plus on-line instructions in the "Help" menu (OS 8 and above), "Special" menu (OS X), or the Apple menu (earlier operating systems).

FILE	EDIT	ANALYZE	VIEW	CHANNELS	SCRIPTS	HELP / SPECIAL
Open Warthog Import submenu      Warthog format file      Non-Warthog text file      Sable file  Merge submenu      Warthog file      Sable file Save Save as Show file data Print file image  Send results submenu      Printer      Tabular file      Text file      Output results      Close \ print file Preferences Save settings Quit

Appearance of loaded files

LabHelper / LabAnalyst formats

Warthog-format text files (chart or oscilloscope):	binary raw chart data files saved from LabHelper:
binary raw oscilloscope data files (1 or more channels) saved from LabHelper:	binary edited files saved from LabAnalyst:

The file opening box only displays these types.  Note that there are two binary formats for LabHelper and edited LabAnalyst files: Binary-Coded Decimal (BCD) and Floating-Point (FP).  Both versions show the same icons, which can be confusing.  The 'FP' version of LabAnalyst will transparently read both types, but will only write in FP format -- which cannot be read by older LabAnalyst versions.  The only difference in loading files is one of speed: BCD files are loaded fairly slowly (since they are read and converted one sample at a time), while FP files are loaded very quickly (since entire channels are read directly from disk into memory).

   IMPORT       In the 'FP' and 'X' versions, this selection has a submenu with three items:

   ANY WARTHOG-FORMAT FILE...      For loading data files of any type -- as long as they are in Warthog binary format or Warthog text format. WARNING: only files with these formats will load properly.

   NON-WARTHOG TEXT FILE...     Loads text (ASCII) files with variables in spreadsheet format delimited by commas or tabs (note that spaces do not work as delimiters).  The first 8 or so cases of the file are shown on the screen , including symbols for delimiters.  You can specify where to start reading data (to avoid non-numeric text headers, etc.), and elect to ignore selected variables in the 'list'; some of which (as in the example below) don't contain useful data.  You need to specify the correct time interval and enter appropriate variable names, start time, start date, and comments.  The program will automatically read all of the data up to the maximum size of 32,760 cases.  The text file import window looks like this:

This example contains 4 variables (only 3 of which are used; the first is ignored) and the user has specified that data input should begin at line 1 and that this line will be used as variable names.  Also, the user has specified a sample interval of 4.998 seconds.

   SABLE FILE...     Loads Sable Systems data files in the standard Sable format (SSCF).  This routine will handle nearly all Sable files, except those which have more than 16 variables (channels).  It assumes your Mac can read PC-format disks, or you have some other method for moving the Sable data to your computer.  The maximum number of markers in LabAnalyst is 640; Sable files can (rarely) exceed that limit.  The converter will read the first 640 markers only.  Sable files do not include channel labels, so after the completion of file loading you are prompted to provide your own labels.  Also, the values for mass, flow rate, effective volume, and so forth are arbitrary and may have to be edited.

If you save files in SSCF, they will appear (on a Macintosh) with a special icon:

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   MERGE       In the 'FP' and 'X' versions, this selection has a submenu with two items:

  WARTHOG FILE...    
  SABLE FILE...      Merges a Warthog-format file (either text or binary) or a Sable SSCF file with the currently loaded file.

The new file is appended to the last case of the current file (so if you merge a file containing 1000 samples with a file containing 2000 samples, you get a new file totaling 3000 samples).  The program checks to make sure the merged file will not exceed the maximum file size (a warning is shown if this is the case), but it does not check to make sure the channels match in the current and new files.  Thus it is quite possible to create a new file that contains two (or more) types of data in a single channel (i.e., first a set of temperature data from the initial file, then some gas concentration data from the second file, then wind speed data from the third file, etc.).

Needless to say, this can cause considerable confusion unless you are careful to avoid merging files with differing channel types.  To help avoid such mistakes, the computer provides a graphical display of the old and new data.  In this example, the file to be merged has 10 channels and the current file contains 9 channels, and after a merge there will be space for another 9923 cases before the maximum size limit is exceeded (this screen shot is from an earlier version with a maximum number of samples < 32,760).

LabAnalyst will allow access to the maximum number of channels in either the current or new file.  Sable files don't contain channel labels, so if you merge them you HAVE to know ahead of time what the channel structure is.

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The major components are the plot area (top half of the screen), data bar (yellow area at upper left), channel indicator (upper right), screen selection buttons (bottom edge of plot area), 'toolbar' menu buttons (across the center, just below the screen selection buttons), comments window (middle right), block window (lower right), and analysis window (lower left).  A selected block appears as a color-inverted segment of the plot area.

The appearance of the plot area depends on the screenwidth (the width of the screen in pixels) and the number of cases.  If the file contains <= screenwidth cases, data are plotted 1 pixel per case (if the number of cases is < 50% of screenwidth, the plot is expanded, with more than 1 pixel per case).  If the total number of cases is between screenwidth and 32,760, the X-axis will be scaled to fit within the screen dimensions.  'Screens' (consisting of screenwidth cases) are indicated by vertical lines, with a crossbar at the top of the active screen.  The example above shows a file containing about 2.5 screenwidths of data. 

If there are more than screenwidth cases, the bottom of the plot area will show 2 to 50 screen selection buttons (the exact number depends on the sizes of the screen and the file).  These buttons represent the screens of data contained in the current file.  The currently 'active' segment of the file -- the active screen - is indicated by the highlighted button (note: none are highlighted if the analysis window is active).  Use these buttons (or the left and right arrow keys) to change the active screen.  To view the active screen only (necessary for some manipulation and analysis operations), double-click the desired screen button.  Do the reverse to go back to viewing the entire file (this example shows the 'entire file' mode).  You can also use the 'return' key to switch between entire file and active screen modes.  Any markers are shown as vertical dashed lines (this file contains several markers).  While in the plot area, the cursor is a cross-hair; out of the area it is an arrow.  The data bar has a readout of case number, elapsed time, and the value of the currently active channel at the cursor position.

To perform analyses and many transformations, you need to select a data block. This can be done by the normal Macintosh 'click-hold-and-drag' method (the cursor must be within the plot area).  A second method uses individual clicks: move the cursor to the desired beginning point and click once; repeat for the end point (which may be on either side of the start point).  Alternately, blocks of defined width can be selected with single clicks (see the BLOCK WIDTH option in the ANALYSIS menu).  Data blocks can include multiple screens.  If a single screen is shown, mark the start of the block with a single click, then shift screens with the screen buttons until the end of the block can be marked.  A selected block is indicated as a color-inverted rectangle in the plot area, and is scaled to fit within the block window (discrete data points on the block window only appear if the number of included points is small).

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  SAVE...    +S     Stores the current file including any modifications you made.  Note that binary files saved from LabAnalyst have different icons than the 'raw' data files generated by LabHelper .  Also note that LabAnalyst FP binary files are in floating-point format and cannot be read by older versions of the program.

  SAVE AS...      Stores the current file -- or optionally a marked block -- with any modifications you made.  You may save all channels or a subset.  Files are stored in the standard Warthog LabHelper / LabAnalyst format, either in text (file type 'data') or floating-point binary (file type 'WHog') format, in Sable format (SSCF) format, or as ASCII text files.

If you save files in the Warthog text format, you will retain almost all of the data that can be contained in binary files.  The major exception is in the 'comment' text.  The floating-point binary format allows very extensive comments (up to 32K of text), and the comments can include carriage returns.  When saved in Warthog text format, comments are stripped of carriage returns (these are replaced with a single space) and limited to a total of 252 characters.

As mentioned above, Sable SSCF files do not include channel labels.  They also lack values for mass, flow rate, barometric pressure, temperature, and effective volume (unless written in the comments), and comments are limited to a total of 240 characters.

The 'default save' button saves the existing file (with any modifications you have made with transformations, smoothing, etc.) under the existing file name -- in other words, it replaces the original file.  Note that there are no warnings that the old file will be replaced.

If you select the ASCII option, you have two formatting choices:

• Timing data are stored with each case.  This option is useful for sending files to spreadsheets or plotting programs where time data are important. 
• The sample interval and start time are stored in the comment string (the first line in the file). 

Files (other than ASCII) saved by LabAnalyst have these icons:

for binary files

for Warthog text files

for Sable SSCF files

   SHOW FILE DATA     Opens a window below the plot area showing the labels of all the channels, the sample interval, the time and date of storage, etc., and the conversions used by the LabHelper acquisition program to change raw voltages into appropriate units (temperature, gas concentrations, speed, etc.).  The type of conversion equation ("fan") and the number of samples averaged for each recorded point ("N") are also shown.

The following example shows the file data for a 4 channel file; three of the channels are raw data and the remaining channel was created subsequently within LabAnalyst.

Conversion equations:

Most conversion equations used by LabHelper are 2-order polynomials (shown as "poly" in the fn column):

value = A + B*volts + C*volts²

Note that a C of zero produces a linear conversion.  Occasionally a power function is used:

value = A + B*volts^C

Note that in a power function a non-integer C will produce meaningless data if the voltage is negative; in this condition, LabHelper sets the results to zero.  A C value of 1 produces a linear conversion.

LabHelper allows use of the keyboard as an event recorder, and a single channel can use a 3-degree polynomial conversion.  If data have been transformed or copied into a new channel, no coefficients are shown.

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   PRINT FILE IMAGE...     Sends a graphical image of the file to the printer port.  You can usually do this by hitting the 's' key. If you have selected a block, you have the option of printing an image of the block or of the entire file.

Before printing begins you are presented with 'Page Setup' boxes for whatever printer driver is in use.  Note that for 'US LETTER' (or similar) sized paper, you must use the landscape mode for large image sizes (maximum image sizes are about 70% for portrait mode and 80% for landscape mode).  If you use other paper sizes, the recommended image sizes may be too large to fit on the page or smaller than the available space.

If the file is longer than the screenwidth in pixels, the printed output will match the segment of the file shown in the on-screen viewing mode (Entire File or Active Screen).  A file displayed in the "Compacted and Averaged" format will be printed in that format.  If a block has been selected, you have the option of printing only the block.

You can select which features will appear in the printout, such as labeling, file information, comments, and markers.  If the file has more than one channel, you can print any subset of the channels.

If you click the 'non-standard plot heights' button, a window will open to allow customization of the height of each printed channel:

The window contains a diagram of the printed page.  You select the relative height of each channel in sequence by moving the cursor on the diagram to the desired height, and then clicking the mouse ONCE.  The channels will be redrawn one by one as their heights are selected.  Note that there is a fixed amount of room on the page, so that enlarging one channel requires shrinking one or more of the others.  Consequently, the computer reserves an amount of space necessary for plotting the remaining channels at the minimum possible height (and will not let you exceed that limit).  You must select plot heights for all the channels.  When done, you can accept the results, redo the plot height selection, or revert to the normal setting (all channels plotted with equal heights).

• The speed of printing depends on the number of points and channels to be plotted, CPU speed, the printer interface, the presence or absence of a print spooler, and the size and selected printing resolution of the image.

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   PRINTER     Selecting this option tells LabAnalyst to route the data in the Results Window to the temporary printer file 'printfile' whenever the 'P' (or 'p') key is struck.  Actual printing occurs when you close this file with PRINT \ CLOSE FILE.  After printing the 'printfile' remains available (it is overwritten if any additional printing is performed).

   TABULAR FILE...      Opens a spreadsheet file for storing data in the Results Window.  Unlike the following option, this stores data (mean, SD, number of cases, and variable name) in a tab-delineated format easily read by most database programs, spreadsheets (like MS Excel) or statistical packages.

Storage of other parameters (start of block, end of block, analysis type, and channel number) is user-selectable.  The file also contains column labels.

Optionally, you can enter one or two user-typed 'notes' with each case (edit fields appear in the COMMENTS window when the 'p' key is struck; hit 'return' when the values are correct).

Some additional considerations:

• Certain analyses, such as regressions and integration, do not fit this format and cannot be put into tabular files. 
• Actual storage occurs when you press the 'P' or 'p' key, or select OUTPUT RESULTS from the FILE menu.  Note that when doing waveforms or pairs-difference, pressing the 'p' key stores BOTH frequency and amplitude data.  If you want to store one or the other, press the 'f' key to store frequency data only, or the 'a' key to store amplitude data only.

  TEXT FILE...     Opens a text file for storing the contents of the Results Window.  The format of the disk file is similar to that shown in the Results Window and is identical to the format of data sent to the printer.

• Actual storage occurs when you press the 'P' or 'p' key, or select OUTPUT RESULTS.

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In early 68K versions of LabAnalyst, the following two items are found in the 'OUTPUT' menu.

  OUTPUT RESULTS     Sends the data in the Results Window to the chosen file or to the printer (see below).  NOTE: you can usually do this by hitting the 'p' key (use the 'print' button in REGRESSION, SLOPE vs TIME, and a few other operations).  In WAVEFORM analysis, hit the 'a' key for amplitude stats and the 'f' key for frequency stats.  A small icon of a disk or a text page appears in the Results Window when the data have been sent to printer or disk.

• Note that even if you have selected to send output to the printer, pressing 'p' sends the data to a temporary disk file called 'printfile'.  Actual printing occurs when you close this file with the PRINT \ CLOSE FILE option (see below).  The 'printfile' is not erased after printing and remains available as a text file (it is overwritten if additional printing is done).

  PRINT \ CLOSE FILE   +J     If you have selected hardcopy output, this closes and prints the temporary printer file 'printfile'.  You are presented with the usual print dialog box and can select resolution, etc.

• If you are making either a text file or a tabular file with the results, this command closes the file.

In LabAnalyst X (OS X version), the PREFERENCES and QUIT options are in the 'LabAnalyst X' menu, just to the right of the apple icon in the menu bar. SAVE SETTINGS is accessed from within PREFERENCES only.

  PREFERENCES...      This window allows the user to set various options, including:

• Sound volume and use of unusual noises. 
• Use of the button click noise. 
• Whether or not the program beeps to indicate block marking. 
• Defaults for using the "large plot area" option. 
• Defaults for spike removal (whether the interactive spike removal routine begins in "spike removal mode" or in the most recently used setting). 
• Defaults for gas exchange calculations (whether to store results in a new channel, get flow rates from a channel, show the conversion equation (FP only) and whether to run the lag correction, smoothing, and baseline correction operations before beginning the gas exchange window series). 
• Defaults for the smoothing operation (whether to open the smoothing window set for the last smoothing values used, or the default of 3 cases and one cycle). 
• Whether the last analysis operation is automatically repeated ("Autorepeat") after a smoothing or a de-spiking operation. 
• Whether an empty 'Results' window shows the WartHog logo or nothing. 
• Whether or not the program gives a warning to indicate a file has been changed before any operation (Quit; Open) that will delete the file from memory:

   SAVE SETTINGS     Stores the current settings (for colors and functions set in the PREFERENCES window; also saves the current values of FiO₂, FiCO₂, and RQ, and the current display mode) in the file 'LAprefs'.  When launched, LabAnalyst looks for this file and, if it exists in the folder that contains LabAnalyst, reads the user's preferred settings from it.

  QUIT   +Q     Exit the program.  If you have turned on the 'file changed warning' (see above), you should get a warning message if you have made changes to the file that have not been saved.

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