Clamp File Tab

Folders / Files

When previewing or recording a Stimulus Protocol, the acquired data is stored inside a NeuroMatic Data Folder, the basic structural element of NeuroMatic. Besides the acquired data, NeuroMatic Data Folders will also contain a copy of the Clamp Stimulus Folder used to acquire the data, a copy of the Clamp Notes Folder, and all other global variables necessary to interact with NeuroMatic. After acquisition, NeuroMatic Data Folders are automatically saved to a predefined location on a disk, as described below.

Prefix Name – during initialization of the Clamp Tab, NeuroMatic creates a data folder prefix name based on the current date (e.g. “nm13Oct2017”). To change the date format click the configs checkbox at the bottom of the NeuroMatic Panel, click the FolderNameDateFormat parameter and choose the format of your choice. Alternatively, enter a prefix name of your choice.

Cell Number – a cell counter used to create a short sequence string beginning with “c” that follows the prefix name (e.g. “nm13Oct2017c0”). Once you finished recording from a cell, click the “+” button to increment this counter; the Folder Sequence Number (see below) will automatically be zeroed. Enter NaN if you wish to omit the cell identifier.

Folder Sequence Number – a folder counter consisting of three digits that also follows the prefix name (e.g. “nm13Oct2017c0_002”). This sequence number is automatically incremented after each recording from a cell.

Stim Suffix – a short string to identify the name of the current Stimulus Protocol, added to the end of the stimulus folder name (e.g. “nm13Oct2017c0_002_vstep”). Enter nothing if you wish to omit this identifier. Save your Stimulus Protocol to save this identifier for future use. This string parameter can also be edited on the Clamp Stim Misc Tab as file name suffix.

Save To – the disk directory path where data files are to be saved. To set the path, place your cursor inside the SetVariable control and hit return. You will be prompted to select a directory. You can also set the directory via Configurations (click “configs”). If no directory is specified, NeuroMatic will prompt you to select a directory the first time you click the Record or Preview acquisition button.

Save (When) – option to select when data files are saved (after recording, while recording or never).

• After Recording (recommended) – data is acquired into Igor’s local memory and, after all sweeps have been acquired, is saved to disk.

• While Recording – each data wave is acquired into Igor’s local memory and immediately appended to a NeuroMatic Binary File (“nmb” extension) that has been opened on a disk. This mode safeguards against a computer crash in the middle of acquisition. However, depending on the speed of your computer and the rate of acquisition set by your Stimulus Protocol (i.e. the wave and repetition interlude times), Save While Recording may effect the rate of acquisition, and therefore should be thoroughly tested before use. After acquisition is finished, the NeuroMatic Binary File is closed and your data will also be saved as an Igor Binary or HDF5 file (see below). Hence, you will have two binary files for each recording. Because the NeuroMatic Binary Files are redundant, you may want to delete them at the end of your experiment.

• Never (not recommended) – if selected, it is your responsibility to save your data as you please. The close previous data folder option (see below) will not function in this mode. Note, this option is not recommended since the accumulation of data folders may cause Igor to crash.

Save (File Format) – Igor Binary (pxp) or the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF5).

• Saving as an Igor Binary File (recommended) saves NeuroMatic Data Folders as compact binary files with extension “pxp”. Note, these binary “pxp” files are not the same as an Igor packed experiment file. While the latter also has a “pxp” extension, it contains all data folders, variables, windows, compiled procedures, etc., of a particular Igor experiment. Hence, by default, NeuroMatic saves NeuroMatic Data Folders with the prefix “nm” to make it easier to distinguish between NeuroMatic files and Igor packed experiment files.

• Saving as an HDF5 Binary File saves NeuroMatic Data Folders as compact binary files with extension “hd5”. Saving in this format requires activation of the HDF5 XOP provided by WaveMetrics (see Igor Help topic: Activating Additional WaveMetrics Files).

Close Previous Data Folder (recommended) – have this option checked to close the previous data folder before NeuroMatic creates a new one for data acquisition. This prevents accumulation of data folders during your experiment, providing maximum working memory for Igor.

Notes

Enter values for your name, lab and experiment title at the bottom of the Clamp File Tab, or click the Edit All button to enter values, or create new note variables, via the Notes Table.

Log

After each recording, Notes are saved to a Log Folder. This folder will automatically be saved to an external Igor binary file if auto save is checked. While you are acquiring data, the log can be displayed as a table, notebook (text) or both.