Page History

...

The initial action is to "Load Pattern File" which will present a dialog box for selecting the input file. The default extension is *.txt but the dialog box allows selection of other types even though they are dimmed. The "Execute" button will be enabled after the input has been processed and validated. The validation can cause either an error or a warning. The input file will not be loaded if the code detects an error such as wrong syntax for an input line. A warning on the other hand will generate a pop-up message informing the user that an issue may exist but it will still load the file after the dialog box has been dismissed. Example of a warning is a pattern file with filter=true and having the same filter position for every line.

Pressing the "Execute" button starts the process and there will be no further interaction with the user unless the user wishes to abort the process. The TCS (slew or offset) and filter move commands are asynchronous and are issued concurrently. Both commands have to be completed before the exposure command is initiated. The process checks for the TCS in position flag, the AOS settled flag and the DOME in position flag to determine that the TCS move command is completed. The filter move command completion is based on the responses from the OMS cards. On rare occasions, the filter move operation overshoots the desired filter and settles in the next filter detent. Unlike the LMI Camera Control view, the code in this function does not check that we are at the desired filter. It only checks for completion of the move command.

...

{test=false} {sub=0} {oscan=32} {trigger=soft} {nexp=1} {title=current science target name}

setamp, rbin, cbin, and frame are taken from LOIS cache. The value of the Image Title parameter in the LMI Camera Control is not used in this function. So if title is not provided in the input line, the current science target name from TCS will be used. And if there is no science target has been issued prior to executing the macro, UNKNOWN is used for title.

After the exposure is complete and readout has started, the action will proceed to the next row and the appropriate row in the table is highlighted. There will be a message in place of the iteration number when the pattern is complete.

=1} {title=current science target name}

setamp, rbin, cbin, and frame are taken from LOIS cache. The value of the Image Title parameter in the LMI Camera Control is not used in this function. So if title is not provided in the input line, the current science target name from TCS will be used. And if there is no science target has been issued prior to executing the macro, UNKNOWN is used for title.

After the exposure is complete and readout has started, the action will proceed to the next row and the appropriate row in the table is highlighted. There will be a message in place of the iteration number when the pattern is complete.

The process can only be aborted by pressing the abort button within the view. Using other abort buttons or stop series buttons will have unforeseen results. The abort stops the loop but it may not stop the last exposure. Depending on where LOIS is in the exposure process, LOIS may decide to finish the exposure but the file will not be written to disk.

Some times it becomes necessary to abort a pattern file manually or it can be automatically aborted. In such cases it will be more efficient to reload the original pattern file but start from the aborted row instead of editing the file and starting from the beginning of the modified list. This is accomplished by putting the relevant row number in the text box right below the loop count. If loop count is greater than 1, the next loop begins at row 1The process can only be aborted by pressing the abort button within the view. Using other abort buttons or stop series buttons will have unforeseen results. The abort stops the loop but it may not stop the last exposure. Depending on where LOIS is in the exposure process, LOIS may decide to finish the exposure but the file will not be written to disk.

...