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Probe for EPMA Tips and Tricks

Started by John Donovan, September 04, 2023, 09:41:43 AM

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John Donovan

Here's something that some of you might not be aware of:

In the File Information dialog, one can "customize" three of the text field labels as shown here:



For instance the "Account #" label could be changed to "Customer PO" or whatever you want.

To customize these labels simply edit the Probewin.ini file for the following keywords in the [general] section using any text editor:

CustomLabel1="Department"        ; user defined user log label field
CustomLabel2="Account #"        ; user defined user log label field
CustomLabel3="Project"            ; user defined user log label field
John J. Donovan, Pres. 
(541) 343-3400

"Not Absolutely Certain, Yet Reliable"

Scott B.

Ever selected 173 samples in Analyze! and hit "Raw Data" or "Analyze" and PFE takes off doing its thing, but then you realize you messed something up and need it to stop? In my experience the "Cancel" button in the lower corner doesn't actually cancel in this situation, and one is left waiting for it to finish.

My "tip/trick" is that you can go up and click "Pause Between Samples", and when it finishes whatever sample it's currently working on, it will pause and the "Next" button will light up. At this point, the "Cancel" button will now stop PFE in its tracks.


John Donovan

Quote from: Scott B. on January 09, 2024, 04:59:29 PM
Ever selected 173 samples in Analyze! and hit "Raw Data" or "Analyze" and PFE takes off doing its thing, but then you realize you messed something up and need it to stop? In my experience the "Cancel" button in the lower corner doesn't actually cancel in this situation, and one is left waiting for it to finish.

Note that the Cancel button in the Analyze! window *will* stop the data and/or analysis output, but one might have to click it a few times to "catch it" at a proper place in the processing so the cancel message gets recognized...
John J. Donovan, Pres. 
(541) 343-3400

"Not Absolutely Certain, Yet Reliable"

John Donovan

#3
As Anette von der Handt demonstrated in her recent PictureSnap/PictureSnapApp Probe Software webinar video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6tzYdyOJmE&ab_channel=ProbeSoftwareInc

One can export stage positions from Probe for EPMA point analyses and import/display them in a PictureSnapApp project for locating your analyses on an image of your sample:



Anette later requested that we give some export options for the type of annotation label that is exported and we responded by adding these additional menu options when using the right click menu in the Analyze! window of Probe for EPMA:

John J. Donovan, Pres. 
(541) 343-3400

"Not Absolutely Certain, Yet Reliable"

John Donovan

#4
Tips for re-processing JEOL or Cameca EPMA data on an off-line computer... that is, a computer that is not actually connected to your EPMA instrument.

As many of you know, all of our Probe Software applications support both JEOL and Cameca EPMA instruments. And we also allow users to download and install our Probe for EPMA/CalcImage software on their own computers (office, home, etc.), for re-processing of point analyses and quantitative x-ray maps off-line (not connected to the EPMA instrument):

https://www.probesoftware.com/resources/

However, as I'm sure you all are also aware, JEOL and Cameca EPMA instruments utilize different stage coordinates and more importantly, different stage orientations:

https://smf.probesoftware.com/index.php?topic=101.msg8444#msg8444

Basically the Cameca stage is Cartesian (max X/Y is upper right), while the JEOL stage is anti-Cartesian (max X/Y is lower left). It would have been too easy otherwise!  ;D

Now most EPMA instruments around the world are of the JEOL variety, so when our Probe Software applications are downloaded and installed for the first time, the default instrument configuration is JEOL (we had to choose one of them!). This works just fine if you are re-processing data from a JEOL instrument, and to be clear one can also re-process Cameca data in a JEOL configuration, as long as one clicks "No" when Probe for EPMA first asks if you want to connect to the instrument when starting up.

But if you are re-processing data or maps from say, a Cameca instrument on a computer with a JEOL configuration, the caveat is that images and maps in Probe for EPMA or CalcImage will be flipped in both X and Y and of course the stage coordinates will be different (mm vs. microns). And the same is true when reprocessing JEOL data in a Cameca configuration (though I assume that this only happens for me!).

Note though, that in these "mixed" configuration situations, although the the images/maps are inverted in X/Y, all analysis points and other data are correctly displayed on the images and maps, so you are "OK to go"!

But if it concerns anyone that their images are flipped because they, for instance, opened a Probe for EPMA database acquired on a Cameca instrument, in a Probe for EPMA off-line computer installation (e.g., in your office or at home), that is in a JEOL configuration (because that's the default installation!), there is a quick and easy solution to change the image/map orientations to be as seen in the actual instrument.

The easiest thing to do is to simply open Probe for EPMA on your off-line computer, and when it asks if you want to interface to the instrument, click "Yes". This puts your off-line computer into EPMA "simulation mode". But, now you have a choice of EPMA simulation modes:



If you want to re-process data acquired on a JEOL EPMA instrument, just click the Use JEOL Simulation Mode menu, and it will convert the computer to default JEOL configuration (DO NOT DO THIS ON YOUR COMPUTER THAT IS ACTUALLY RUNNING YOUR EPMA INSTRUMENT, BECAUSE IT WILL OVERWRITE YOUR INSTRUMENT CONFIGURATION FILES!). Likewise, if you want to re-process data acquired on a Cameca EPMA instrument, click the Use Cameca Simulation Mode menu and it will convert your off-line computer to a default Cameca configuration. 

The software will then close, and you can re-start it and this time click "No" when asked if you want to interface to the instrument. Open your probe run database and your images and maps will also now be correctly oriented!

There's another trick that is even more useful and this allows one to simulate their exact instrument configuration on an off-line computer. This trick is especially useful for teaching, when you would like your students to learn to run the software without taking up valuable time on the actual instrument:

https://smf.probesoftware.com/index.php?topic=837.0

What you do is obtain a Probe for EPMA database, which you created on your ON-line computer connected to the instrument, and copy/transfer it to your OFF-line computer.

Then, open Probe for EPMA on your off-line computer, click "No" when asked whether you want to interface to the instrument, and then open the probe database from your on-line computer. Then click on this menu:



and select the Export All button as shown here:



This will then overwrite your off-line computer configuration, with the actual configuration from your EPMA instrument.  And it will detect that this is an off-line computer and put the off-line configuration into simulation mode if you click "Yes" when asked.

This way, you not only get into the same JEOL vs. Cameca configuration for off-line processing of data and maps, but you also get the exact actual instrument configuration for teaching EPMA in simulation mode (you click "Yes" when asked if you want to interface to the instrument on the off-line computer(s).

Sorry for such a long post, but it can be a little confusing, so if anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer them.
John J. Donovan, Pres. 
(541) 343-3400

"Not Absolutely Certain, Yet Reliable"