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IMPORTANT: The Open Ephys GUI documentation has migrated to a new site – please visit https://open-ephys.github.io for the most up-to-date information.


The basics

Constructing the signal chain

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Pressing Cmd-Delete (OS X) or Ctrl-Delete Backspace (Linux and Window) will clear all modules from all signal chains.

Setting parameters

Most modules have a straightforward set of parameters that appear in the editor. Although the signal chain becomes locked while data acquisition is active, it's possible to edit parameters at any time. Parameter changes are not currently tracked, so be careful about changing parameters while you're recording.

Opening/saving the signal chain.

Use Cmd-S/Ctrl-S (or the "File" drop-down menu) to save the signal chain. It must have an .xml extension.

Use Cmd-O/Ctrl-O (or the "File" drop-down menu) to open a previously saved signal chain. It must have an .xml extension in order to load.

Most, but not all, modules will save their internal settings. For safety purposes, assume that any module will not reload its settings until you confirm that it does. If settings are not being loaded properly for a particular module, feel free to submit an issue on GitHub.

Recording

There are two places in which recording is configured:

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For information on exactly what is saved, check out the Data format wiki page.

Audio monitoring

Configuring the audio monitor is similar to setting up recording. By default, nothing is passed to the monitor. In order to listen to a particular channel, open the channel selector drawer and switch to the "AUDIO" tab. Any highlighted channels will be sent to the audio monitor. The volume of the audio monitor (and destination of the audio output) can be configured in the control panel.

Submitting issues

In the case of a crash, it's important to replicate what you did. If you can do that, and you don't know how to fix it yourself, go ahead and submit an issue describing the problem. Include your operating system and machine specs if you think it might be relevant.

Issues can also be used to request new features. If you're unsure about whether or not a feature is realistic, don't hesitate to ask about it through the contact page.

Debug console

The GUI is able to send debug messages to a console. In many cases, the information displayed there can greatly help locate and solve an issue. The way to access the debug console varies depending on the operating system.

Linux

To display the debug console on Linux, just run the open-ephys application in a console terminal, the output will be displayed there.

MacOS

To display the debug console on MacOS, open a terminal, navigate to the directory where the GUI application is located and run it inside the console.

Due to the structure of MacOS app bundles, the whole command to run the GUI would be ./open-ephys.app/Contents/MacOS/open-ephys Run this command from the directory which contains the App bundle. Do not access the internal App directories and run ./open-ephys from there, as some features will not be available that way.

Windows

To display the debug console on Windows, follow the following steps:

  1. Create a shortcut by right clicking the open-ephys executable and selecting the "Create shortcut" option
  2. Right click the newly created shortcut and select "Properties"
  3. In the shortcut properties page, add --console at the end of the Target line, which contains the path to the open ephys executable. Add it after any quotes, if there were any. Click OK once this has been done.
  4. Every time you need to open the console, just run the GUI via this shortcut instead of the normal executable