.. |MLA (TM)| unicode:: MLA U+2122
.. |ImAFM (TM)| unicode:: ImAFM U+2122

.. index: File Management

.. _file-management-label:

File Management
===============

The IMP suite is kept in different places, depending on your computer system.  In Windows, it is installed in **c://Program Files/IntermodulatorSuite**.  Users do not need to care about this folder as it contains only static files which should be installed from an installer.  All dynamic files that are changed when you change settings in the AFM Suite, store data, save a script, etc., are stored in the folder **c://IMP sessions and settings**.  This folder has the following sub-folders:

.. sidebar:: Moving data to another computer

    To transport your data to another computer for analysis, be sure to first import the host AFM data (i.e. height image data) in to your session folder using the :ref:`session-overview-label`.   Then simply copy the entire session folder to another computer with the AFM Suite installed.  When you perform analysis on another computer, all newly created analysis files will be added to the session folder. 

**/sessions**
    This folder contains session folders.  Each time you start the AFM Suite a dialog box opens to create a new, or add to an existing session folder.  The default name of the new session folder is the date, but you have the option to append a session name to the date.  When Autosave is checked (see :ref:`status-bar-label`), data is automatically stored in the session folder:  scan files, calibration files, stream files, the session log, etc..  When you analyze data to create new files or import host AFM data files, the default behavior is to always store everything in the session folder.

**/settings**
    This folder contains many files that are changed dynamically by the AFM Suite and configuration files for different AFMs.  Normal users do not need to work directly with these files but advanced users may want to modify them.  If these files become corrupt, they can be discarded and the IMP Suite will automatically recreate the files with their default values on the next start of the IMP Suite.  The settings folder has several sub-folders:
    
    **/calibration**
        Contains several text files with the calibration constants for each type of cantilever programmed in the AFM Suite, including those created by a user.  There is also a file **fluid.txt** containing the density and viscosity of the various fluids that you may want to work in.
        
    **/configurations**
        Contains files for configuring the AFM Suite to work with your particular host AFM.  The normal user will not need to be concerned with these files.

    **/drive_setups**
        Contains the file **user_drive_setups.py** which is a Python file containing the scripts for the :ref:`drive-constructor-label`, both example scripts and user-constructed scripts.  

    **/force_models**
        Contains Python files with the force models.  You can add your own force model files here by copying and modifying **/example.py**.  When you restart the AFM Suite this file will be re-loaded and your model will appear as a new force model.

    **/scripts**
        Contains Python scripts which can be sued to control different measurement schemes and create different modes.  This is for advanced users who will require some knowledge of the basic Python objects in the AFM Suite.  A few examples are given in **/Examples.py**
        
    **/config.ini**
        This is the main configuration file which is dynamically changed by the AFM Suite.  The normal user will not need to be concerned with this file.  If it becomes corrupted, it can be deleted and a new file will be created with default values upon restart of the IMP Suite.

If you run the |MLA (TM)| as a stand-alone instruent, independant of the AFM Software Suite for |ImAFM (TM)|, there will also be other files and folders in the main **IMP sessions and settings** folder.  These files and folders are described in a seperate manual dedicated to the |MLA (TM)| alone.  


File Types
''''''''''
The AFM Suite generates files with a name indicating the type of file, followed by an automatically incremented 5-digit counting number (denoted '01234' below).  You are free to append an underscore followed by any valid file text **after** this counting number (e.g. scan01234_my-file-text.imp).  You may experience problems keeping track of your files if you remove or modify this number or the type name before it.  The following files are generated by the IMP Suite and stored in a session folder:

    * **calib01234.txt** noise data and fitted calibration parameters (see :ref:`calibration-label`).
    * **calib01234.png** image of plot in calibration view.
    * **sweep01234.txt** frequency sweep data (see :ref:`frequency-sweep-label`).
    * **sweep01234.png** image of the frequency sweep plot. 
    * **scan01234.imp** data for one scan, including the current calibration, in HDF5 format.
    * **recorder01234.imp** continuous stream of data taken in frequency mode (see :ref:`stream-recorder-label`).
    * **recorder01234.std** continuous stream of data taken in time mode.  
    * **scan01234_model.npz** parameter map data for the fitted **model** (see :ref:`parameter-maps-label`).
    * **scan01234_p-name.png** color map image of the parameter **p-name**.
    * **sessionlog.txt**  chronological session log (see :ref:`logbook-label`). 

.. |save_icon| image:: ../Icons/filesave.png
   :width: 5mm

You can always export an image of any plot that you see on screen by clicking the save image icon |save_icon| in the :ref:`image-toolbar-label`, which will bring up a save dialog box with several file format options.  You can also export raw data and the results of analysis to a text file using the :ref:`data-tree-label` .