What's New
==========
Version 1.5.2 - 16-December-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- Fix rounding issues with stage step size when using Stage 2Pt on CAMECA instruments.
- Limit the maximum number of pixels to 5120 per axis.
Version 1.5.1 - 13-November-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
New Feature
- Revert the maximum map size to 2048 x 2048 pixels for JEOL 8X30 instruments.
- Limit the total number of pixels to 2048*2048 and the X and Y dimensions to 32k pixels each.
Version 1.5.0 - 16-October-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
New Feature
- Change the maximum map size to 4096 x 4096 pixels for JEOL 8X30 instruments.
- Remove the EDS Inputs panel in the Scan Setup window for JEOL 8X30 instruments.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug in Demo mode where Cameca behavior was always enabled for map size and minimum step size.
==========
Version 1.4.15 - 07-September-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- Included corrected numbering version of ConvertToPrbImg.exe to version 14.2.4.
Version 1.4.14 - 02-September-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- Reverted Set Magnification function to EIKS call for JEOL 8X30 instruments.
- Updated ConvertToPrbImg.exe to version 13.9.0.2.
Version 1.4.13 - 01-July-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- Added verbose log information in the Set Magnification function.
Version 1.4.12 - 17-June-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- Add EOS STATUS structure in amb jeol8x00 driver definition to fix bug with new direct TCP/IP call for magnification get/set for J8x30 instruments.
Version 1.4.11 - 01-June-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- Fix bug with new direct TCP/IP call for magnification get/set for J8x30 instruments.
- Fix bug in verbose log about current spot mode.
Version 1.4.10 - 10-May-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
New Features
- Add direct TCP/IP call for beam current read and magnification get/set for J8x30 instruments.
Bug Fixes
- Fix bug with incorrect acquisition end date.
Version 1.4.9 - 06-March-2025 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- Updated copyright.
- ConvertToPrbImg.exe updated to version 13.9.0.2 from Jan-9-2025.
Version 1.4.8 - 05-November-2024 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- File names are checked to remove invalid characters.
- ConvertToPrbImg.exe updated to version 13.9.0.2.
Version 1.4.7 - 28-May-2024 - Aurelien Moy
- Fix negative stage positions bug when entered by keyboard.
Version 1.4.6 - 07-December-2023 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
New Features
- Included an EDSSynchMapName field in the prbimg file to record the synchronized EDS map file name.
- Included a ProbeImageVersion field in the prbimg file to record the version of Probe Image used to create the file.
- The prbimg file format version is bumped to 1.3.0 because of the new fields added to file.
Bug Fixes
- Removed duplication of EDS saving SI data message in verbose mode.
- Clarified an error message about the image size presets.
- Corrected a bug in the Bruker plugin where after closing the communication with the DLL, a variable was not set back to 0.
Version 1.4.5 - 06-December-2023 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- Corrected a bug where the naming of the maps was inconsistent when using TDI replicates and/or EDS spectrum acquisition.
- Renamed the EDS Spectrum Acquisition from "EDS Channel" to "EDS Synchronized Spectrum Acquisition".
- Display EDS plugin error messages in the log window even if not in verbose mode.
- The Faraday cup is now retracted after the EDS communication is established.
- The Faraday cup is now inserted before the EDS communication is terminated.
Version 1.4.4 - 30-November-2023 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
New Features
- Added the Bruker EDS pluggin. EDS files are now stored in the user selected folder.
- Added a panel in the setup window to enable/disable EDS aquisition for each sample.
Bug Fixes
- Corrected a bug where PI was crashing when abording an acquisition run.
Version 1.4.3 - 21-November-2023 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
New Features
- Added the Bruker EDS pluggin.
Bug Fixes
- Switching from Beam scan to Ctr 2pt scan did not conserve the proper X and Y coordinates.
- Scrolling with the arrow keys in the list of samples was not displayed properly.
Version 1.4.2 - 10-August-2023 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
Bug Fixes
- The caption for the number of replicates is now "Number of TDI Replicates".
- The alignment of the "Number of TDI Replicates" textbox has been corrected.
Version 1.4.1 - 23-May-2023 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
New Features
- The status bar displays the number of replicates.
- The sample name cannot end with "_" (suffix underscores are removed from the filename).
Bug Fixes
- The file name for background maps has been corrected (added "__").
- Versionning number has been changed.
- In the property of each map, the position gives the spectrometer position used to acquire the map,
and the Offset field has been replaced by the map type (on peak, MOFF or POFF).
Version 1.4.0 - 31-Mar-2023 - Aurelien Moy
----------------------------
New Features
- A replicate number can be set for TDI measurments in the Setup->Acquisition window.
This value is the number of time the map will be acquired.
If backgrounds are measured, they will be acquired last.
- The total acquisition time is now calculated and displayed in the Setup->Acquisition window.
John,
How often should one update the Matrix COM server? Should it be down loaded each time I download and update Probe Image?
Quote from: Mike Spilde on October 28, 2014, 01:52:18 PM
John,
How often should one update the Matrix COM server? Should it be down loaded each time I download and update Probe Image?
The Matrix COM server interface is used for certain configuration information and is pretty static these days. So I wouldn't worry, but updating it will not hurt.
If I do make a change requiring an update to Matrix, I will post it to the forum very visibly!
Probe Image no longer utilizes the Matrix COM interface. The instrument crystal configuration is now read from the Scalers.dat file in the Probe for EPMA app folder as seen here in the Probe Image Probe Setup dialog:
(https://smf.probesoftware.com/oldpics/i59.tinypic.com/14tr2gx.jpg)
If you would like to discuss the Matrix COM server itself, for use in accessing all CalcZAF matrix correction physics models, including Penepma derived polynomial alpha factors, please see this board:
http://smf.probesoftware.com/index.php?board=8.0
Hi All,
just a note to backup your probe epma directory when installing probe iamge 1.2.2.1984. I installed it last week and it deleted probewin.elm, probewin.pha and scalers.dat files. Fortunatly following one of John's earlier v11 posts i had backed up the Probe for Epma directory and was able to copy them back in.
Ben
Quote from: Ben Buse on October 19, 2015, 01:56:10 AM
Hi All,
just a note to backup your probe epma directory when installing probe iamge 1.2.2.1984. I installed it last week and it deleted probewin.elm, probewin.pha and scalers.dat files. Fortunatly following one of John's earlier v11 posts i had backed up the Probe for Epma directory and was able to copy them back in.
Ben
Hi Ben,
I don't think it deleted them, it just didn't find them in the folder it was expecting them in. Remember PFE moves those files in the old PFE folder to the new PFE folder: C:\ProgramData\Probe Software\Probe for EPMA.
In Probe Image, if you check your Default Paths section under the Setup | Probe Image Setup menu dialog, you should change the .ELM, .PHA and SCALERS.DAT paths to:
C:\ProgramData\Probe Software\Probe for EPMA.
john
Hi John,
I understand now you've split the program into two parts part of which goes in program files directory and part of which goes in program data directory - so for these files it now needs to look in program data directory.
Thanks
Ben
Quote from: Ben Buse on October 20, 2015, 05:13:02 AM
Hi John,
I understand now you've split the program into two parts part of which goes in program files directory and part of which goes in program data directory - so for these files it now needs to look in program data directory.
Thanks
Ben
That's how Microsoft wants it!
john
I note that PI has some bugs when using Concatenate Image | Mosaic. (GRD files)
I have a 3x3 grid of images. If I add the first 3 images in X direction (0,0) (1,0) (2,0) PI will mosaic the images. If I add the second row (0,1) (1,1) (2,1) and try to mosaic the 2x3 grid, PI will stop working with message "A problem caused the program to stop working correctly" etc.
I thought I had read that this was fixed, but since this is version 1.2.2.1984, doublethink will be applied.
Gareth
Quote from: Gseward on November 29, 2015, 01:54:59 PM
I note that PI has some bugs when using Concatenate Image | Mosaic. (GRD files)
I have a 3x3 grid of images. If I add the first 3 images in X direction (0,0) (1,0) (2,0) PI will mosaic the images. If I add the second row (0,1) (1,1) (2,1) and try to mosaic the 2x3 grid, PI will stop working with message "A problem caused the program to stop working correctly" etc.
I thought I had read that this was fixed, but since this is version 1.2.2.1984, doublethink will be applied.
Gareth
Hi Gareth,
I thought so too.
Can you send Brian the images as a ZIP and cc me also?
In the meantime just use Surfer to concatenate them...
john
Hi John
Can PI be updated to include the pixel dimension used in a run to the information on beam I, dwell time and etc. I can get at this the long way around, but as we are specifying this during the run set up, it would be good to have this attribute added to the information.
Cheers,
malc.
Quote from: Malcolm Roberts on November 29, 2015, 04:56:43 PM
Hi John
Can PI be updated to include the pixel dimension used in a run to the information on beam I, dwell time and etc. I can get at this the long way around, but as we are specifying this during the run set up, it would be good to have this attribute added to the information.
Cheers,
malc.
Brian is adding this information to the PrbImg file as we speak... ;D
The latest version of Probe Image now allows the user to specify beam current (in addition to keV and beam size) for each x-ray map acquisition sample for Cameca SX100/SXFive and JEOL 8230/8530 instruments.
(https://smf.probesoftware.com/gallery/1_28_03_16_10_00_03.png)
Thanks to Philippe Pinard for his 8230/8530 help on this.
The latest Probe Image has improved code and a simpler GUI for setting the beam mode for JEOL 8900 instruments.
Download from here:
https://www.probesoftware.com/resources/
If you need assistance please contact Probe Software.
john
Hi all,
Glenn Poirier and Gareth Seward have been working with Brian Gaynor testing the new crystal flipping code in Probe Image and it all seems to work now. This update should only affect JEOL 8230/8530 and Cameca users with large area crystals, that need to flip crystals before or during x-ray map acquisition in Probe Image.
Yes, normally one should probably not flip crystals just prior to acquiring quantitative x-ray maps, but it could happen, so we wanted to get that fixed.
Basically we needed to add a delay between sending the flip crystal command and when we start checking the crystal flip status for the new JEOL instruments, and for Cameca instruments, we didn't have the correct indexing for large area crystals (yes- it's different!). It's always worked in PFE, but somehow we overlooked that in PI.
If you have Probe Image please feel free to download this latest installer using the download link here:
https://www.probesoftware.com/download/PI-Update.zip
john
The latest version (1.3.8.2189) of Probe Image now has a new selection for the analog signal imaging for CL imaging on JEOL 8230/8530 instruments as seen here:
(https://smf.probesoftware.com/gallery/1_24_01_20_3_00_30.jpeg)
If you have Probe Image running on a JEOL 8230/8530 instrument with CL imaging, please feel free to download this latest installer using the download link here:
https://www.probesoftware.com/download/PI-Update.zip
Thanks to Jon Fellowes who pointed out that we had overlooked this signal selection on the 8230/8530 instruments!
The latest version of Probe Image (v. 1.3.11) has been modified slightly to work better with the new JEOL iSP100i and iHP200F EPMA instruments for quantitative x-ray map acquisition.
Apparently on some (but not all) instruments, a small delay (~300 msec) needs to be added after the stage mapping command is sent but before the return mapping data command is sent. This delay is now handled by a new "image start delay" parameter in the Probe Image "probe specific settings" setup dialog as shown here:
(https://smf.probesoftware.com/gallery/1_18_01_22_9_54_46.png)
Please contact Probe Software for more information on this new version of Probe Image for the iSP100 and iHP200F JEOL EPMA instruments.
The latest probe Image version 1.3.15 seems to fix a problem some users have recently reported. This is when running Probe Image from the Probe for EPMA Automate! window as described here:
https://smf.probesoftware.com/index.php?topic=744.msg5573#msg5573
The v. 1.3.15 Probe Image uses a newer WxWidgets GUI library and an older version of WxWidgets was seemingly causing a problem when loading PI from PFE.
To update your Probe Image software please contact your Probe Software support specialist or Probe Software directly.
The latest version (1.3.16) of Probe Image for x-ray map acquisitions now has improved code to preserve the current scan area center and map sizes when switching between stage center and 2 point map areas.
For example this stage center map:
(https://smf.probesoftware.com/gallery/1_08_03_23_9_42_55.png)
preserves the stage center when switching to a 2point defined stage area map:
(https://smf.probesoftware.com/gallery/1_08_03_23_9_43_16.png)
And switching back to the stage center defined map it keeps your original stage mapping area.
Download the latest Probe Image version from the Update page here:
https://www.probesoftware.com/resources/
We are very pleased to announce the latest Probe Image application v. 1.4.1. See the first post in this topic (above) for details. Or open the Readme.txt file after updating.
But we will show in this post a couple of the latest improvements. For example, the Setup | Acquisition dialog window now has a field for the number of replicate maps to acquire, as seen here:
(https://smf.probesoftware.com/gallery/1_05_06_23_11_18_48.png)
If the number of replicates is 1, then the maps are acquired as usual. However, if the number of replicates is greater than one, then Probe Image will automatically acquire replicates maps with the _TDI_n suffix, where n is the replicate number.
This means that one will no longer have to manually convert the replicate maps into TDI maps using the CalcImage Convert menu as described here:
https://smf.probesoftware.com/index.php?topic=933.msg10185#msg10185
So, with this Probe Image upgrade, you can skip this step and import your PrbImg x-ray map files from Probe Image directly into CalcImage for quantification.
Of course we will keep the Convert to TDI menu for backwards compatibility. Also, if you utilize the JEOL or Cameca software for x-ray map TDI acquisitions and convert them to PrbImg files (using the ConvertToPrbImg application in Probe Image), you will still need to use the CalcImage Convert to TDI menu manually.
And by the way, if you do acquire off-peak maps for your TDI map background corrections (as opposed to using the MAN background corrections), Probe Image will now automatically only acquire the off-peak map(s), only after the last replicate maps (as one should). This used to be something easy to forget, as described here:
https://smf.probesoftware.com/index.php?topic=609.msg10167#msg10167
So, another thing to no longer worry about. In addition, the new Probe Image release also display the total predicted acquisition time as shown in the screen shot above.
Finally Probe Image also provides an improved status update as shown here:
(https://smf.probesoftware.com/gallery/1_05_06_23_11_19_09.png)
Download this latest Probe Image v. 1.4.1 ZIP file as usual from the various download sites, e.g.,
https://www.probesoftware.com/resources/
We don't usually post about bug fixes, but the latest Probe Image 1.4.7 fixes a small bug when the user enters negative stage positions by hand (keyboard).
See here for the v. 1.4.7 download ZIP:
https://www.probesoftware.com/resources/
Quote from: John Donovan on July 11, 2024, 01:27:31 PMWe don't usually post about bug fixes, but the latest Probe Image 1.4.7 fixes a small bug when the user enters negative stage positions by hand (keyboard).
See here for the v. 1.4.7 download ZIP:
https://www.probesoftware.com/resources/
Be sure to update to the latest Probe Image as we've fixed a number of small bugs over the summer.
One of our users recently had an issue where the x-ray maps acquired in Probe Image weren't being saved automatically.
It turns out the user entered some invalid characters into the samples names and Windows didn't like that. For example you shouldn't use the following characters in file names: "\", "/", ":", "&", etc.
https://www.mtu.edu/umc/services/websites/writing/characters-avoid/
If any of these invalid characters are found entered by the user, Probe Image will now automatically convert them to allowed characters. Funny that we'd never run into this issue before.
Please update to v. 1.4.8 of Probe Image:
https://www.probesoftware.com/resources/
Contact us at Probe Software us if you need the unzip password...