PicoQuant HydraHarp 400 - Software Overview; Starting the Program; The Main Window

PicoQuant GmbH HydraHarp 400 Software V. 3.0.0.1
4. Software Overview
4.1. Starting the Program
After correct installation the Start Menu Programs contains a shortcut to the HydraHarp software. To start the
HydraHarp software select PicoQuant – HydraHarp 400 v3.0.0.1. Note that after switching the HydraHarp on,
you need to allow a warm–up period of at least 20 minutes before using the instrument for serious
measurements. You can use this time for set–up and preliminary measurements.
If the HydraHarp software cannot find the device (or if there are driver problems) it will display a notification
message, but it can still start. Device dependent toolbar buttons and functions of the program will then remain
disabled. This allows you to use the software without the HydraHarp hardware, e.g. to view or print files on
another computer.
If the HydraHarp 400 is correctly installed and there are still device related errors, you can use the Windows
Device Manager for troubleshooting (see the corresponding section above). If problems cannot be resolved,
see section 7 for support. If possible, try the device on another computer.
For regular use of the HydraHarp you may want to create an icon for it on your Windows desktop. If you missed
this during software setup you can do it any tim later via a right mouse click on the start menu entry ( send to >
Desktop – create shortcut). Alternatively use the Windows Explorer to locate the file HydraHarp.exe in the
directory you selected for installation and drag the icon onto the desktop. This will create a link to the
HydraHarp executable file.
You can also start up the HydraHarp software directly from a HydraHarp histogram file by double–clicking on
the file or dragging it onto the HydraHarp icon.
4.2. The Main Window
The HydraHarp software provides a measurement control interface to the HydraHarp hardware and an online
histogram display. The HydraHarp main window accommodates the histogram display area.
Above the display area is the toolbar. Here you can access frequently used commands by simple mouse click.
Above the toolbar is the menu bar for access to additional commands. At the bottom of the histogram display
area is a set of ‘panel meters’ showing count rates, count sums, and histogram peak characteristics. These will
be updated continuously, some only when a measurement is in progress. Note the selector at the right of the
panel meters. This selects the channel the meters are displaying. Instead of a single channel you can also
select Sum, which then displays the summed rates from all channels. The panel meters can be enlarged by
double–clicking, which is useful for optical alignment etc. when the PC is at some distance.
In the top center of the display area a title line is shown. This can be double–clicked to edit the title. When
editing the title, note that only the first line will appear in the display. The remaining lines are meant to be used
as a file comment. All lines will be stored with the file data, but the maximum total is 256 characters.
The main window is resizeable and the actual histogram display will adapt its size accordingly. If you make the
window smaller than the minimum histogram display, two scrollbars will permit access to hidden window areas.
Note that the actual size of the main window depends on the system font selected. It will scale to the size of the
current system font. Screen resolutions under 800x600 are not suitable for serious work with the software.
Note that the position and size of the main window on the screen will be stored in the Windows registry and
retrieved during the next program start. The registry settings are kept separately for each user, provided
he / she is logged on with a unique user name. Consult the section 6.1 for further main window command
descriptions. Toolbar, Menus, panel meters etc. will be explained in the next sections.
At the very bottom of the main window there is a status bar. The leftmost area of the status bar describes
actions of menu items as you navigate through menus. Similarly it shows messages that describe the actions
of toolbar buttons. The second status bar area from the left shows the current measurement status of the
HydraHarp. The rightmost area of the status bar indicates if the <Caps> and <NumLock> keys are latched
down.
Page 19