PTUCutter 1.1
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Cuts large PTU file into smaller pieces. The size of the pieces can be defined
by time or using the markers in the file.

Use at your own risk. No warranties.
2018 PicoQuant GmbH

How to use:
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- Open the program, an empty GUI is shown.
- Click "Open File" button to load a PTU data file (point or image).
  The file inspected and the binning is set to get around 100.000 points in the
  preview.
- Adjust the binning to your liking and press "Create Preview" to get a
  intensity time trace of the data in the file.
- Underneath the plot one can define the cut parameter. One have to
  define the start overall "Start" and "End" of the export. These two points are
  also shown in the preview plot via the read marker which can also be moved
  to adjust the settings.
- To cut the PTU into several smaller pieces, activate the "Cut into pieces"
  check mark.
- A new GUI element becomes visible to configure the piece creation.
  There are two different ways to cut the file into pieces.
  Choose the radio button which one fits best for the application.
  - "Cut by time" cut file into equal sized pieces
    Define the length of each piece or define the number of pieces between
	"Start" and "End". Defining the length of each file could result into
	a last piece smaller than the other, if the piece time does not fit exactly to the
	measurement time.
	Check "Show Tiles in Trace" to show the edges of each tile in the preview.
  - "Cut by marker" marker in the file determine the start/end of a piece
    Define at which Marker a new file should be started (1-4 or any) and how many
    markers must be pass before the cut starts.
    Underneath the total number of the marker are shown to estimate how many
	pieces the cut will result it. If an imaging file is loaded, next to the
	number the meaning of the marker is shown (line / frame marker)
	Show marker shows the selected marker between "Start" and "End".
	Note: The marker triggered the start of a new file will be not be
	included in any of the files.
- On the right lower edge of the window the actual cutting process is started.
  using the "Save cut File(s)" button.
  - If "Cut into pieces" is not activated the range between
    "Start" and "End" is saved as new file which you have to select a name and
    folder.
    Attention: you cannot override the original file, but you can put the file
    into the same SymPhoTime/QuCoa workspace. The cut file will be shown 
    as dependent file of the original file like a result file.
  - If "Cut into pieces" is activated the program will ask for a folder to save
    the files. It will save the files with the name:
	  <original file>_cut_<number>.ptu
	Attention: If files already exist with such name (from a older cut for example),
	they are overwritten without further question/notice.
	The cut pieces will be shown as dependent files of the original file
	like result files.
- As special feature one can also export the TCSPC histogram of every defined piece
  Use the combo box next to the "Save" button to select "TCSPC Decay TXT" to export
  the TCSPC decay of every piece as TAB separated table for every channel which 
  contains any photons.
  
Tips:
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Cut multi frame images
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To separate the Frames of an image measurements in separated files choose the
"Cut by marker" options set the frame marker as "Marker number:" (Notice the 
text next to "Number of Markers:" to find the right Marker.)
and define how many frames should be in each resulting file using the "Cut at"
setting.
e.g. Cut at "5." Marker number "3"
     Number of Markers: 22 Frame marker
The selected marker is the frame marker and there are 22 frame marker in the file.
This cut will result in 5 files (1.-4. file each with 5 frames; 5. file with 2 frames)
One might use the "Start"/"End" settings to exclude the last two markers or remove
an additional marker at the start.

Use tool as Marker viewer
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For customer with a imaging only license the PTUCutter can also be used as marker viewer.
Load a file and create a Preview as described before. Choose "Cut into pieces" and 
"Cut by marker". Select "Any" as "Marker number" and activate the "Show marker" option.
In the Preview plot all different marker are shown with different colors.
The "Number of Marker: " text shows how many of each individual marker are in the file.


History:
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1.0
- Initial Release
1.1
- Bugfixes
