Windows 7 Transparency Issue. Some features in DataView (notably the Spike Sorter Wizard) currently require a compatability fix to turn off Aero transparency in Windows 7. If you notice a problem with dialogs flickering and not displaying try the following:
Getting started - A file called tutorial.docx (Word 2010 format) and several sample data files will normally be installed in the DataView sample directory within My Document. You can access the tutorial and samples directly from the Help menu in DataView (or simply from the files). You are recommended to follow the tutorial exercises (or at least the early ones) to learn about DataView.
DataView supports drag-and-drop for file loading, but does NOT support double-clicking on a data file to load it. This is because I do not want to overwrite any file associations that might already exist on the user's machine.
On-line help - The program contains full on-line help with detailed instructions for all menu and dialog box operations. The tutorial contains the conceptual overview and "how to" instructions.
DataView comes in two versions. The unlicensed version is available for free download and can read data from files in text format (.asc), or receive clipboard data copied from programs like Excel. It can also construct user-defined files using the built-in expression parser. It can read and write files in native DataView format (.flt).
The licensed version can read files in a variety of commercial formats, including Axon Instruments files (.abf) recorded in gap-free or episodic mode, CED Spike 2 files (.smr), CED Signal files (.cfs), European Data Format (EDF and EDF+) files, EGAA ECR-mode files, EGAA scope-mode files, Wintrontech files (.vet), PicoScope files (.mat), DataQ files (.wdq), sound files (.wav) and raw binary (.bin).
The two versions have exactly the same analysis and display facilities. You can try out the unlicensed version of DataView with data exported in text format, and then if you think it would be useful to read data directly from a commercial file format, you can purchase a license for a very modest fee.
License holders are entitled to free upgrades as they become available and free technical support by e-mail.
A single-user license costs £69.33 (GBP). This allows usage similar to a book - i.e. only one person can use it at a time. This means that you are welcome to install the software on, for instance, a lab machine and an office and/or home machine, but you should not install it on several machines within your laboratory so that it can be used concurrently by different people.
A laboratory license costs £176.25 (GBP). This allows you to install on an unlimited number of lab, office and/or home machines within a university research group (i.e. one led by a single PI).
DataView has been developed without external funding, and the license fee helps to defray the cost of development and support. The fee has been set at a level which should not cause difficulty to most research or teaching institutions. However, the main purpose for developing DataView is to provide a useful tool, and if fee payment does cause difficulties, it may be waived on application with a suitable justification.
If you find that a facility does not work in the way you expect in a new version, please let me know. But if you have an urgent need to use that facility, you can download previous versions of DataView. You will have to manually uninstall any versions with a higher version number that you may have installed.
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