Using the package

Linux launch

To start the hyloa graphical interface, use the command:

cd path/to/your/files
hyloa

This will open the graphical interface, where you can load the data, view it and analyze it.

Windows launch

Click on the desktop shortcut created during the installation

Getting Started

To begin using the application, a log file must be initialized. This is used to track all operations and comments. - When you load a previous session, the corresponding log file is automatically reused. - Log files and session files must be stored in the same directory. - If the log file is missing, a new one will be created using the previous path and filename.

File Management

  • Use the “Load File” button to import one or more data files.

  • Upon loading, you’ll be prompted to select which columns to load and optionally rename them.

  • All loaded data is stored as Pandas DataFrames, and their structure can be reviewed with the “Show Files” button.

  • The “Save File” button allows you to export modified files, keeping the original header.

  • You can also duplicate a file using the “Duplicate File” button. This is useful for testing operations on copies while preserving the original data.

Analysis Tools

  • Use “Create Plot” to open a control panel for configuring and displaying graphs. Each panel allows you to: - Add/remove cycles - Customize style - Normalize data - Perform curve fitting - Invert axes or branches - Close loops

  • The “Script” button opens a scripting editor where you can: - Write and run custom Python code - Load or save .py files - See script output directly in the application shell

  • The “Annotation” button opens a simple notepad where you can write text that will be saved directly into the current log file.

Session Management

  • The “Save Session” button allows you to save the entire state of your analysis to a .pkl file. This includes: - Loaded data - Graphs and their layout - Custom styles - Curve fits - Open window states and positions

  • The “Load Session” button restores a previously saved session with full fidelity.

  • The “List of Windows” button provides a previewable list of all currently open windows, useful when: - Many plots are open at once - Some windows are minimized and need to be brought back to the front

Additional Features

  • A built-in Python shell is included at the bottom of the interface. - All column data loaded from files is automatically available as NumPy arrays in the shell. - Results from curve fitting and other operations are also added to the shell’s variable space. - Shell and script execution can modify DataFrames in-place.

  • Log View Panel: displays real-time logs of all operations, including system messages, annotations, and errors.

  • The entire GUI is built using a multi-document interface (MDI). Each graph and its control panel are separate, dockable, resizable subwindows.

  • All actions are recorded in the log, ensuring traceability and reproducibility.

Happy analysis