How to import data

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Importing sampled data

ASCII (.txt) data

QuB can read tab-separated text files, where each row is a sample and each column is an A/D channel. The first column can have time values (in seconds). A blank line means a break between data segments. QuB may have trouble with Macintosh or Unix text files.

When you open a text file, QuB asks you for information. Here's how to answer:

A/D Channel Count The number of columns in the file, minus 1 if the first column has time values
Scaling See Choosing a Scaling value
Sampling either as sampling interval (milliseconds) or rate (kHz)
A/D Data size QuB converts data to integers for internal use. 2 bytes is standard. 4 bytes has more dynamic range but uses more memory.
Time column Whether the first column has time values
Uneven If the time values are not evenly spaced, interpolate at the Sampling rate. If Uneven is not selected, the numbers in the time column are ignored.
Segmented If selected, blank lines are interpreted as segment breaks; otherwise they are ignored.
Float (single) not applicable (ignored)

Raw binary (.dat) data

QuB can interpret a file as a plain sequence of numbers. You have to know how it was saved:

A/D Channel Count The number of simultaneous traces (e.g. current and voltage)
Scaling For integer data, the ratio of integer units per data unit.

For float data, see Choosing a Scaling value

Sampling either as sampling interval (milliseconds) or rate (kHz)
A/D Data size The size of one sample, one channel
Time column ???
Uneven ???
Float (single) ???

Other sampled formats

QuB can import data from Axon binary (.abf), audio (.wav), HEKA Pulse (.pul), and Igor (.ibw) files. They contain most of the information such as Sampling, but QuB may ask you to confirm those numbers while opening. QuB reads the sampled data and segmentation, and ignores anything else in the file.

If QuB misreads your data, or ignores important metadata, try converting it to a different format using the Synaptosoft Mini Analysis Program.

If you'd like to write data in one of QuB's formats (.qdf or .ldt), see the Overview of file formats.

Importing idealized data (events)

QuB can read Axon event lists (.evl), and can extract the idealized data from a QuB session file (.qsf).

To import events stored in another format, you will have to convert them to a DWT file. Here's the spec.


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