FFS_Utilities Software

After acquiring FCS or Raw Photon data we often find it necessary to process and export the data to another application for fitting and analysis. Several spreadsheets and many single-application programs later we finally brought everything together into one interactive graphical application that can:

1. Read in multiple Confocor2 Raw data files and calculate single-channel PCH’s along with standard deviations and total PCH for all files.

2. Read in multiple Correlator.com FLEX Raw data files and calculate single-channel PCH’s along with standard deviations and total PCH for all files.

3. Calculate 2-channel PCH’s for the two raw data sources above.

4. Integrate (“bin”) raw data from the two sources above using any bin time, interactively.

5. Slice out subsets of raw data for separate analysis (and put these in a text format if desired).

6. Calculate correlation functions from the two raw data sources.

7. Calculate mean and standard deviations from Confocor2 FCS file sets, and apply afterpulse correction if desired.

8. Calculate mean and standard deviations from Correlator.com FLEX FCS multi-file sets, and apply afterpulse correction if desired.

This program is NOT FOR ANALYSIS—it just serves as a bridge between the instrument data files and the fitting/analysis routines. Our preferred fitting method is to fit the mean of several runs, weighted by the standard deviations among the runs. Origin (by OriginLab) is our favorite analysis package.

DOWNLOADS: The Current Version is FFS_Utilities2007B

System Requirements: A PC running Windows 2000 or higher. A lot of hard disk space is needed for data files.

Installation: There are two types of installation to choose from:

Full Install—The Labview Runtime Engine (version 7, with analysis support) will be installed along with the application. This is needed for the application to run. In this case unzip the download package and run the setup.exe program. One installation note—on the first launch you will probably be prompted to find a file(s). This is because the installer places the subroutine library (FFS_Utilities2007b.llb) in a subfolder (located in the same directory as the main application and also called FFS_Utilities2007b.llb) and the link between the two is lost. The solution: Quit the launch, then (or even better, before launching) move the library into the same folder as the main program. Sorry, I have not found a way around this installer “bug”. You also must move the FFS_Utilities Help.txt file into this directory for the Help button to work. Download Full Install.

Partial Install—If you have the Runtime Engine already installed (it is if you have installed any of the FFS Utilities before). In this case unzip the download package and just drag the files into your “National Instruments” folder (in your “Program Files” folder). You probably should rename old versions first and update menu shortcuts. Download Partial Install.

Release Notes: This gives more specifics on supported data formats and limitations.

FFS_Utilities2007B Release Notes click here.

Accessory Applications: At times we may offer routines that are not part of the main package yet but can be used in conjunction with the main program in a two-step process.

Confocor 3 Raw Data Converter—This routine produces “.mta” files that the main FFS_Utilities program can process. Batch processing of files is supported, and the output can be in text or binary (recommended) format. The “mta” format is ascending photon detection times in microseconds (text format) or system clock ticks (binary format—unsigned 32-bit integers). THIS APPLICATION HAS NOT BEEN TESTED! We don’t have a Confocor 3 instrument (yet!) but based on available documentation it should work (albeit slowly). We will incorporate this into the main program depending on user feedback.

Full Install—As described above, you only need the Full Install if you have never done a full install before. If you have the FFS_Utilities installed, use the Partial Install instead. See the full install notes above. Download Confocor3 Raw Data Converter Full Install.

Partial Install—This is a simple executable, not a zip file. Place it in your “National Instruments” folder (in your “Program Files” folder). Download Confocor3 Raw Data Converter Partial Install.

Software Support:

We offer NO SUPPORT for this software. We don’t have the time, and it’s free for goodness sake! The application is rather slow in places—this appears to be a characteristic of the Labview compiler for certain operations. We plan to link to C-coded routines to speed up operations like the MTA conversions in the next release. You can send comments and bug reports to tstump(at)wanda.wustl.edu.

Last updated on October 17, 2007