the NAVIGATION section:

Many of the elements of the command window are self explenatory,  some others however are not. Most important of these are the controls, that define the layout of the data window, namely the 'Raw/Event'-togglebutton and the 'single/Multiple'-togglebutton, both in the navigation-section.


the  Raw/Event-button
'Raw'- vs. 'Event'- display type: In many analysis types, data is originally loaded from file as a stream of values sampled at a given frequency. During the analysis, this initial signal is examined for specific properties, events, distances, amplitudes etc.  These features can then in turn be plotted over time, although they may not be sampled with a constant frequency (like for instance the interbeat interval (the distance between two ECG-R-Waves), that is sampled with every new heartbeat varying in duration).  The former kind of signal in anslab is considered to be of 'raw' signaltype, the latter is referred to as 'event' signaltype. The 'Raw/Event'-togglebutton switches between the display of these two types of data. Note that switching between the  'Raw' and 'Event' display type leaves the time range of the displayed data segment unchanged, allowing you to directly compare the raw and the calculated traces at corresponding points. Note that both, the 'raw'- and the 'event'-mode offer signal editing options. Changes made in the 'raw'-data-mode are updated in the 'event'-parameters. This, however, does not hold true for the other direction: changes you make in 'event'-mode are not transferred to the 'raw'-signal. Therefore it is generally recommended to first edit data in 'Raw'-mode, and use 'Event'-mode-tools afterwards.

the single/Multiple-button &  the out_of_ x_display_only-control
'Single'- vs 'Multiple' - display type: if for both the 'raw' and the 'event' datatype there are more than one signal, these can plotted each on a different axis  or all on a single one. This is defined with the 'single/Multiple'-togglebutton (If only one signal is available, this button has no effect). If a single axis is activated, and  the 'display-only-checkbox is  checked, only one variable will be plotted. You can specify which one by choosing the corresponding number from  the adjacent 'active

the 'time ticks'-popupmenu
The 'time ticks'-control gives you the choice to display timing information in hours, minutes, seconds or milliseconds. Zoom- and time-related controls are updated accordingly as ar  time axes in the data window.

the 'min time'- and 'max time'-editcontrol
Using these two fields, you can manually set the left and right limit of the time axes in the data window. Changes in either one will also alter cursor-time, which corresponds the midpoint of the displayed window.

the 'cursor time'-editcontrol
'Cursor time' here refers to the midpoint of the displayed data segment. Manual changes of the cursor time, will move the displayed window to the entered midpoint, leaving its range/zoom (in seconds) unchanged.

the timing scroll bar and the 'scroll step size:'-editcontrol
Changes of the scrollbar position are similar to changes of the cursor time: the center of the displayed data segment is shifted left or right, without changing its width. Clicks on the arrows result in smaller steps than clicks in the bar area. Both types of steps can additionally be scaled using the 'scroll step size'-control.  Changes of the zoom will also alter step sizes, as symbolized by increased size of the scroll bar position indicator.

the 'auto'-checkbox
Auto stands for automatic scaling. When checked, this causes anslab to dynamically set upper and lower limits of the y-axis depending on the range of given data. When disabled, the lower limit is taken from the 'min amp'-editcontrol, the upper limit from the 'max amp'-editcontrol.

the 'center'-checkbox
When checked, the limits of the y-axis of the active variable are set symmetrically to zero, the absolute value of the upper and lower limit taken from the maximum absolute value of either the given data or the user entered limits.

the 'max amp'- and the 'min amp'-editcontrols
'Both edit-controls are only accessible if automatic scaling for the active variable is deactivated. You can then enter custom upper and lower limits for the axis of the active variable.

the '+/- up'-button

this button switches between positive or negative y-values plotted in upward direction.

the 'zoom'-editcontrol
Zoom here referes to the length of the displayed data segment. It is given in units defined by the 'time ticks'-control. Manual changes will allter 'min time' and 'max time', while leaving  'cursor time' unchanged, unless beginning or end of data is reached.

the  total interval-button

If you wish to zoom out to display the total length of the loaded data, select the 'total interval'-button in the 'zoom'-section.

the rectangle zoom-button

Use this button to zoom in on an area defined by a rectangle drawn with the mouse. The vertical extent of the rectangle is ignored, only the horizontal extent is taken to set the beginning and end of the shown interval.

the define segments-button, the 'jump to segment'-box and  the buttons '<<', '<', '>', and '>>'
this button allows you to define segments, that you can then zoom in on easily and jump from one to the another. This can be useful for instance to easily zoom in on signal segments, that look suspicious or possibly artifactual. After you hit the 'redefine segments-button, you define intervals of interest by clicking to the left and right of the a segment you wish to explore. Blue lines will appear at these points, marking the beginning and end of the segment definition as shown in the graph below:

By clicking outside the axis area, you finish defining segments. Intervals will be highlighted with a blue background color.

You can then navigate between these intervals, by using the 'segment' section on the command window: the currently displayed segment number is shown in the 'jump to segment'-box, the buttons '<<', '<', '>', and '>>' can be used to move to the first, the previous, the next and the last defined segment. You can also right-click on the blue background of a  marked interval, and select 'zoom in' to zoom in on this segment. The zoom will be set automatically so that the selected interval will fill the entire data window. You can override this behavior by activating the 'jump-to-zoom'. When active, this will cause the display window to begin jump-to-zoom/2-timeunits before the center of the chosen segment and to end jump-to-zoom/2-timeunits after the center of the chosen segment.

the find peak-button

This button lets you define segments automatically, by looking for 'peaks' in a signal. This is meant for digital channels (like a marker or trigger signal type), and does not work on a continuously changing analogue signal. You can specifiy a threshold value to be used as criterion for peak detection. At the present change, only 'absolute' peak types with a simple threshold are supported.

the segment 'wizard'

This button lets you create intervals automatically. You can either divide the length of your file in a fixed number of intervals, or create intervals of a given length, until the end of the file is readed. This is mostly necessary when exporting values for statistical analysis from average event related responses.