1. Introduction
2. General use
3. Image preparation
4. Movie production
5. Index of common problems

Browser is a widget-making machine. It will allow the user to access stored TRACE files, prepare these files for viewing and do multiple interesting applications. However, this tool is merely a first step in data analysis, so keep this in mind when looking through data. BROWSER is a routine that can be called directly from the SOLARIS UNIX prompt. Richard Shine designed it with others at Lockheed Martin for use with their telescope, TRACE. It is simply called by typing browser at the UNIX prompt. A series of windows will appear, and you should follow these steps:

1. The most important window is the one with TRACE data browser as its banner. This is the CONTROL widget for the entire routine. Using the pull-down menu for FILE, select TRACE hourly.
2. Another widget will appear with the banner TRACE raw hourly file. You will notice that there is a input box for a file path. The default path is for the data located on the server at Lockheed in Palo Alto. You aren't there so you will need another file path. Montana State University stores all of the TRACE data in: /disk/trace/archive/sci/planning/ You will need to insert this pathway into the appropriate box.
3. To view data by date you must now select list weeklies to view all data by date or you may use the green selection tool button (this is the most useful) You have now set the browser routine up for TRACE data viewing. From here you will be able to view individual images, or create a movie from sets of images. This is a tool for TRACE data viewing. Investigate the buttons that are not explicitly described. The lack of inclusion herein does not negate the usefulness of most of BROWSER's applications (for example: difference images are very useful but above this beginner's guide)

GENERAL USE

Here we will start with how to select an image set.

There are two ways to get a list of images. They are listed in bullet 3 in the introduction. To start let's assume that you chose to do things the hard way, i.e. you hit the list weeklies button in the TRACE raw hourly file window. This maneuver popped up two more windows. These are TRACE paths for (insert pathway) and TRACE Hourly files for (insert pathway). You may select the week containing the date in which you are interested and in the other window the hourly files for the days within that week can be selected using the standard format for TRACE file names. These are triYYYYMMDD.HH00 Here Y is the digit for year, D day and if I need explain this any further....Within each of these files is all TRACE data collected during that hour. When a file is selected another window will appear (understand the widget-maker quip yet?). This is the list of all image files in the hourly you selected. This is the TRACE Image list. It is important that you become familiar with the information listed within the list in columns. The first column is the image #, next the time for the start of the exposure, 3rd column is the (ask someone else), 4th column is the filter, 5th column is the size of the image, next the (again Charles and I are unsure), then AEC$ is the column for Automatic exposure control. The 9th column is the exposure duration. The remaining columns indicate the UTIM used for the timeline and the type of exposure designated by the binning position for the data (top 2 for longer exposures, top3 for flare watched, etc.) You now have a list of images via the list weeklies button. Let's now assume you had something specific in mind and wanted to select criteria to limit the number of images in the list you create or limit the list to images from only one filter, or for an entire day, etc. From the TRACE raw hourly file window select the green selection tool button. ANOTHER window appears with the banner TRACE Image Selection. As your experience increases the criteria you use to limit images included in your lists will become more complex, but this window will allow you to specify a data, time range, exposure and/or array size range, etc. Instead of hashing out every last detail, remember you are on a UNIX machine. If you play around with the buttons the worst damage you could cause is to crash the routine, requiring you restart BROWSER at the UNIX prompt. So try several different search criteria until you are comfortable with how this window works.
A few specific are necessary:

1. The array sizes are (128, 256, 512, 768, 1024). You may specify a range over these sizes in the appropriate boxes at the bottom of the window.
2. There are two buttons essentially in the center of the box: one for QS mismatch and Wavelength. The first is a button to allow you to view any images created when the Quadrant selector may have been between QS positions or some other form of error was detected. Usually I select ANY. The other button for wavelength is straightforward.
3. There are two green buttons in the top right corner of this window. One is Apply selection. Guess what this does. It creates a list of the images that match your criterion and creates another group of widgets. The other button is Link Match. If you have an image open by whatever method, selection of this application will fill in all of the applicable criteria in the TRACE Image Selection window with those that apply to the image (e.g. array size, exposure length, wavelength, etc.)

Let's now proceed as though you selected criteria and hit the Apply Selection button.
Two new windows appear. One is the image list the other window is a list of the lists you have created since starting browser. From the image list window you may select any image for viewing and this image will appear in a view window. In the viewer (# of image in list) window you have several option available from pop-up menus that are in a tool bar across the top of the window. You should make yourself familiar with the File options; they are simple enough. The DISPLAY menu is very useful. There is a Despiker application that will remove cosmic ray spikes and other anomalous CCD incidents from the image. Also, the image mapping application may be useful. You can also remove EMI noise from the image, insert a time/date box, draw a grid and so on. Again, these are pretty self-explanatory and you should spend some time investigating these applications. The last pop-up menu is Options. It also has useful applications you should look through. Notice that there is a set of buttons at the top that are 1/2, 1, 2, 3, etc. These are magnifications you can apply to the image. The x-y button to the left of these is a rotation about the x and y axis of the image. Lastly, all of the important information about the image is located in a box in the right-hand corner of the viewer window. This information is exactly the same information listed in the image list, but is specific to the image you are viewing.

The List of Images window includes a list of all the image lists you have generated with the selection tool. Button below this list allow the user to delete lists, concatenate several lists into another list, save the file, load a saved file, and at least for me the most important Movie widget.

MOVIE PRODUCTION

For most solar physicists, this is as close to Hollywood as it gets. This can be so much fun (really) that you might not get real work done. Hit this button. Of course a widget window appears...It has more stuff as far as useful applications than WINDOWS 2000. So, let's only hit the high points...

1. The source button in the top right indicates from where the images for the movie will come from. Typically, this is a list of images created by the selection tool. However, you can use multiple lists, or saved files, etc.
2. Directly below this button is another button that reads: show available TRACE image lists. This is as straightforward as it seems. You can select any of the lists that you have created through use of this application.
3. Select the 1st image for the movie from the image list, so that the image appears in the viewer window. You may now hit the green link button and then left click within the image to fill in all the criteria in the movie widget window such as, nx, ny, dx, dy, and range.
4. If you do not want the movie to contain every image in the list, but say every third image, you may change nt to 3. This will insert every 3rd image into the movie.
5. The Display and Modifiers buttons are very useful. Display allows you to modify the images by adjusting the color scaling. You will just need to try this to understand how it changes the image. You can always undo anything you try.
6. Modifiers is for an advanced user. It allows you to normalize the set of images to the 1st image in the set; despike the image, create a running difference movie of the images and so on. As you become more familiar with the capabilities of BROWSER these applications will make more sense. Incidently, a running difference movie will be comprised of images that are scaled will related to the 1st image in the set, where the movie will be the difference in pixel counts from one image to the next. These are useful when studying topological changes, or looking for wave phenomenon.
7. When you have set up the window with all of the inputs required as specified above you may now hit the Do It button. This will begin the generation of the movie. If you have a large image list, say 1000s of images, it may take a while for the movie to be created. When it is finished compiling the movie two more windows will appear. One will be the movie viewer the other is the control widget for the movie. It is similar to a remote control for a DVD or VCR player. It has a STOP, FORWARD PLAY, REVERSE PLAY, FRAME ADVANCE, FRAME REVERSE AND PAUSE. Additionally, there are save options and other applications available for you to enhance the movie. If you PAUSE the movie and select OPTIONS you can insert a date/time box, correct for solar rotation, etc. You will make use of these as you experience with BROWSER increases.

ENJOY the experience. You are viewing a start in action with the highest resolution and temporal capabilities ever! HAVE FUN.

This guide is simply that...a guide. It is by no means complete or comprehensive and should be used in conjunction with the TRACE analysis guide and patience. Please ask questions. Email me at jcirtain@solar.physics.montana.edu and I will be happy to help.

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