This document contains important information regarding the installation or upgrade of your Andor Software. We recommend that you read it fully to ensure trouble free installation.

 

 

Attention: For DO or DX cameras please refer to the PDF file included as part of this installation

 

Contents

 

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.15.30000.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.14.30001.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.14.30000.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.13.30000.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.12.30003.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.12.30002.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.11.30001.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.11.30000.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.10.30001.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.10.30000.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.9.30004.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.9.30003.1

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.9.30002.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.9

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.8

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.7

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.6.5

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.6

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.5

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.4

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.3

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 4.2, iXon 4.2, iDus 4.2 and iStar 4.2

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 4.1, iXon 4.1, iDus 4.1 and iStar 4.1

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 4.0, iXon 4.0, iDus 4.0 and iStar 4.0

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 2.62 and iStar 3.12

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 2.61 and iStar 3.11

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 2.6 and iStar 3.1

·        Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 2.5 and iStar 3.0

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.15.30000.0

 

New Features

  1. Clara E now supported
  2. Newton DU970/71P cameras now supported
  3. Cycle time reduced for imaging on Newton and iVac systems
  4. Number of accumulations can now be set in a kinetic series in overlap mode
  5. Added Frame Average option in Setup Acquisition dialog
  6. FVB cycle time reduced in crop mode provided only the height of the sensor has been cropped
  7. Dockable and removable toolbars now available
  8. Dataset display improved with reduced image flicker

 

Bug Fixes

  1. Clara near infra red mode not operating correctly when using FVB read mode
  2. Minimum exposure time increased to 1 millisecond for Clara near infra red mode
  3. Change to remove odd/even pixel noise after a number of accumulations in iDus
  4. Newton P cameras now all supported
  5. Change to resolve image wrap around on Newton sensors
  6. Image was being shifted between frames when photon counting was being used on a Clara
  7. Fast kinetics now working in FVB mode
  8. First pulse missed in ring of exposures on Clara
  9. Updated bitmap header data to allow avi's to play in Windows 7
  10. Clara could not run in video mode when Solis was started up
  11. Fixed issue were changing SR303 slit could cause "Not Responding" error
  12. Fixed the runtime control to disable electron multiplying option for an InGaAs
  13. TimeStamp from Clara meta data was incorrect for a kinetic series of accumulations
  14. Autosave filenames are now prevented from exceeding 255 characters
  15. Video mode was eventually freezing in iCam PCI systems
  16. Fix for Spooling to fits issue in Windows 7
  17. Fix for image corruption problem when loading sif files that are greater than 4GB in size
  18. Fix for batch export were SPE was using EDF extension
  19. Save As Tiff when selecting 8 bit was saving as 16 bit tiff
  20. Fix for image shift seen in DU940P newton cameras

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.14.30001.0

 

New Features

 

Bug Fixes

  1. Fixed crash in spool to disk

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.14.30000.0

 

New Features

  1. Reduced shut down time
  2. Added Andor Basic function difftime
  3. Raw meta data details for Clara can now be seen through preferences dialog
  4. Added monitor for FIFO status on USB systems to flag when PC cannot cope with data rate

 

Bug Fixes

  1. Fixed step and glue dialog to enable the glue width to be set
  2. Fixed Andor Basic problem where local variables were being overwritten when using user-defined functions
  3. Limited number of step and glue points to 65535 to avoid potential crash
  4. Fixed Andor Basic syntax error if 'return' uses an upper case R
  5. Andor Basic function ResetWavelength now defaults to zero order of first grating
  6. Fixed warning message when unable to read spectrograph defaults
  7. Fixed crash in Andor Basic when running out of memory creating new data sets
  8. Fixed problem opening sif file with the word ‘Mechelle’ in path or file name
  9. Fixed memory leak if Solis was not able to allocate enough memory for an acquisition

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.13.30000.0

 

New Features

  1. Virtual memory accessible on 64-bit systems increased from 2 to 4GB
  2. Added progress bar for saving to .tif and .spe file formats
  3. Added kinetic cycle time tag to spooled tiff files
  4. Option to reset spectrograph settings if Shamrock no longer attached
  5. Changed data histogram so image range doesn't change when it's opened and histogram matches image data
  6. Tiff warning messages in batch export disabled unless file is selected
  7. Added use of mouse wheel scrolling in Andor Basic editor
  8. Clara mode of operation added to info dialog

 

Bug Fixes

1.      Fixed issue where subimage position was flipped in Extended NIR mode

2.      Fixed issue where the scale used in Andor Basic function kslice was incorrect after calling setkinetics(0)

3.      Fixed issue in batch conversion which was causing a crash with large spooled files

4.      Fixed export to bitmap for multi-track mode

5.      Fixed issue where a gate step could not be used in external trigger mode

6.      Fixed issue where files saved to .tif, .fits or .spe were going over the recommended maximum size

7.      Fixed issue where Change Units would only work if dataset was same sensor width as camera being used

8.      Fixed option to export tiff series to individual files which was present but didn't do anything

9.      Fixed bug where FVB horizontal bin value was being reset

10.  Horizontal binning and range added to details in a spooled FITS file

11.  Fixed Delete key in Andor Basic editor

12.  Additional pixel shift removed from overlap mode on Clara

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.12.30003.0

 

New Features

  1. Incorporating improved FPGA timing updates for Andor Clara.

 

Bug Fixes

  1. Fixes crash when no system present.
  2. Fix gate step breaking external trigger with iStar.

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.12.30002.0

 

New Features

  1. Andor Clara now supported
  2. Option to batch export to SPE file format
  3. Scrolling and panning in Image Display mode improved. (Hold <shift> key to pan image)
  4. User can now zoom in using the cursor while ROI edit mode is enabled
  5. Added multi-turret selection for SR-500 & SR-750 spectrographs
  6. Added option To auto calculate number of points used in Step & Glue acquisition

 

Bug Fixes

1.      Files opened using virtual memory could not be reopened

2.      File names used for spooling and autosave were not checked for unavailable characters

3.      Spooled files beyond 4GB could not be opened

4.      Data was being lost when spooled files of small images went beyond 4GB

5.      Spooled FITS file had cycle time saved as 0

6.      SPE file format did not work with spooling

7.      Crash when saving a large series to SPE file format

8.      Crash when loading a large SPE file

9.      Mean and standard deviation were incorrect when image was zoomed in

10.  In image display mode resizing the window would change the zoom factor

11.  Several issues with the Andor Basic dropdown selection list on control bar fixed.                      

12.  Andor Basic function "create()" was not using virtual memory

13.  iStar acquisition dialog was not updating when gate mode changed

14.  Cooling on start up was not being applied when a second system was selected

15.  EM gain not displayed in "File Information" dialog for Luca-R

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.11.30001.0

 

New Features

  1. Added separate menu items for opening Solis, Andor Basic and Shamrock help files.
  2. Added description of Subset function to Andor Basic help file.

 

Bug Fixes

  1. Removed potential issue when opening SIF files with more than 9,999 images
  2. Fixed automatic update of settings on Shamrock control panel.

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.11.30000.0

 

New Features

  1. iVac systems now fully supported
  2. Shamrock spectrographs SR500 and SR750 now fully supported
  3. Fast kinetics now available for Luca-R
  4. Control of remote Andor cameras available through Andor Basic
  5. Added ability to Save ROI data directly as a csv file for use in Excel
  6. Solis now auto corrects the FVB horizontal binning value to be a multiple of the CCD width
  7. A single track can now be configured using the random track dialog
  8. *.LMP lamp calibration files can now be used for colorimetry
  9. Changed play option so that it brings the series back to start

 

Bug Fixes

  1. Ring of exposures option removed for Luca-R
  2. Fixed crash during during a multitrack acquisition using step and glue
  3. Fixed horizontal flipping for InGaAs
  4. Fixed crash when overlaid datasets were closed
  5. Fixed discrepancies between cycle times for multi-track and random track
  6. Fixed problem in fast kinetics when there was an odd number of super pixels
  7. Removed corrupted fire pulse in fast kinetics, external trigger
  8. Fixed maximum number in series in fast kinetics for frame transfer systems
  9. Fixed exposure time reported in fast kinetics
  10. Fix to resolve oscillations in data for certain Newton systems

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.10.30001.0

 

New Features

  1. Added High Capacity Mode support for DW936 cameras.

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.10.30000.0

 

New Features

  1. Added TIFF Save options
  2. Added export to BMP in all views
  3. Added Andor Basic function SetIsolatedCropMode
  4. Added Dud column to System section of Detector.ini – allows all cameras to define DUD columns
  5. Added Horizontally Binned Track Plot to right click menu
  6. Added numeric prefix to Classic Camera selection dialog in multiple camera setups.
  7. Added Andor Basic function to change image orientation
  8. Added external exposure trigger mode for Luca-S

 

Bug Fixes

  1. Fixed minimum exposure for Luca-R
  2. Fixed extra fire pulse when using kinetic series external exposure on DU885. 
  3. Fixed incorrect data when using kinetic series external exposure on Luca-R
  4. Fixed hanging of Real-time acquisitions when running a classic camera.
  5. Removed ring of exposures option from Solis
  6. Increased maximum size of user text in SIF to 2KB.
  7. Fixed button options when switching cameras under 'Select another system'
  8. Fixed bug where #0 only updated on first and last images if cosmic ray removal was selected in accumulate mode.
  9. Re-added option to set up a custom shutter - it was no longer available for Classics.
  10. Disabled Fast kinetics for Luca R – shouldn’t be available
  11. Fixed validation of binning under rotation and flipping.
  12. Fixed bug in wavelength calibration - could get out of sync when zooming in and out
  13. Added check for the wavelength range in the step and glue dialog
  14. Corrected bug when re-saving a kinetic series SIF file – caused crash and corrupted file
  15. Fixed maximum gate rep rate for Intelligate systems - was limiting to 5kHz
  16. Re-added option to open “.ii” files
  17. Fixed checking of fast external trigger for iStar – timings were not updating correctly
  18. Fixed Bug in the Manual calibration dialog, when "capture" button is pressed the focus will move to the Wavelength edit box.

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.9.30004.0

 

New Features

1.      Improved noise performance on DZ936 cameras at 3 and 5MHz horizontal readout speeds.

 

Bug Fixes

            None

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.9.30003.1

 

Built on top of SDK version 2.81.30003.0 – No changes affect Solis.

 

New Features

            None

 

Bug Fixes

            None

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.9.30002.0

 

New Features

            None

 

Bug Fixes

1.      Fixed error messages when working with MS260i

2.      Fixed cooling issue on Fibre Optic systems

3.      Fixed hot column issue on iXon DU888 cameras.

4.      Fixed DLL error on Windows Install program.

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.9

 

New Features

1.      When copying a large kinetics series a progress bar is now displayed

2.      Progress bar added when exporting to ASCII

3.      Option to change colour of cursor in image plot

4.      Help button added for Virtual Memory dialog

5.      Improved ‘About’ Dialog with website link etc.

6.      Cosmic ray removal improved

7.      AndorBASIC - Fast kinetics offset can now be controlled through SetFastKinetics

8.      AndorBASIC - SetWaveLength can now move the wavelength off the zero order position

9.      Reset of SR-500/750 Wave drive now returns turret to zero order position of first grating, inline with SR-303 behaviour

10.  New Range feature added to peak labelling

11.  Isolated crop mode now available in video mode

12.  Option to Batch Export from TIFF

13.  Vertical shift speed now reported in information dialog for iDus, Classics and DF8 systems

14.  Faster aborting of SIF spooling. Comments added to show how many images spooled

15.  TIFF images now saved with pixel shape information for binned images

16.  User comments now read back in SPE and EDF file format

 

Bug Fixes

1.      EM gain was not displayed in the file information dialog for Luca range

2.      Model name was incorrect in the file information dialog for Luca range

3.      Baseline clamp was not working in frame transfer multi-tracks

4.      Cropped mode tab in Setup Acquisition dialog should not be available when Fast Kinetics is selected

5.      Spool to TIFF now splits large files into multiple files

6.      Cycle time not updating correctly in random tracks for non-classic systems

7.      The delay option was having no effect on Classic cameras in Real Time mode.

8.      iXon cameras not being detected as iXons if the Detector.ini file was configured for iStar

9.      Information dialog was not displaying model of Shamrock spectrograph correctly

10.  Spooling to SIF was using number in kinetic series even in single scan mode

11.  Step and glue was not working through AndorBASIC

12.  Reduced flashing of ROI Dialog when running AndorBASIC programs that perform dataset copy operations

13.  Real Time not functioning for iStar at certain horizontal shift speeds

14.  Acquisition halted at the first frame in accumulation mode with Cosmic Ray Removal on

15.  External exposure was switching between overlapped and non-overlapped mode

16.  Software no longer remains as a process in task manager after shutdown in Vista and doesn’t crash on shutdown in 64-bit XP and Vista

17.  Centre wavelength in X-Calibration by Spectrograph dialog was getting confused for Shamrock when Raman Shift was selected

18.  Detector offset adjustment on SR-500/750 does not cause a grating change

19.  Fixed communication with input slit on SR-750/SR-500.

20.  Mechelle Improvements - fixed crash and memory leak

21.  Fixed AutoSave tab to prevent illegal characters from being used as part of filename

22.  Fixed opening of TIFF with user comments

23.  Documentation updates and corrections

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.8

 

New Features

1.      Support for Andor SR500 and SR750 spectrographs added

2.      Support for iKon-L camera added

3.      Isolated crop mode added for Newton range of cameras

4.      Baseline flatness improved on DU888 camera

5.      Flipping and rotating available for fast kinetics

6.      Control of mirrors and output slit on JY SPEX, HR320 and HR460 spectrographs added

7.      Random and multi tracks now available in frame transfer mode for iXon+

8.      Reduced cycle time for random and multi tracks read out modes

9.      Improved accuracy of the cycle times calculations for iXon/iDus/Newton cameras

 

Bug Fixes

1.      Not possible to enter a cycle time in Solis when in external trigger mode

2.      Prescan functionality was not working

3.      MCP Gain control was not available for Classic ICCD

4.      Problems with fast kinetics on USB cameras

5.      Random tracks External Start was broken on a DU888 camera

6.      InGaAs camera was not working

7.      Issues with shutter control on Shamrock

8.      Kinetic cycle time calculated wrongly when number of accumulations set to a value greater than 1

9.      When in 2D display mode and the z-axis is expanded the application could crash when 'Manual X-Calibration' clicked

10.  If Spooling to disk is active and a Mechelle images are been acquired not all of the spectra are extracted

11.  Several Buttons in Batch Exporting dialog not visible

12.  Software crash if auto-save is used and Mechelle is the selected spectrograph

13.  Rectangular image was displayed incorrectly if horizontal flipping was selected

14.  Delay for video mode in Shamrock dialog could not be changed

15.  Take Background and Take Reference should only acquire single scans even when kinetic series is selected

16.  Reported cycle time for video mode was incorrect for iXon cameras using the latest firmware

17.  Improved multiple camera operation

·        USB cameras handles were getting swapped/corrupted when initialising more than one camera

·        Could not safely initialise or shutdown two cameras simultaneously in one or more applications

·        GetNumberAvailableCameras not updating correctly

18.  Mechelle REC issues

·        During REC calibration the Correction Factor spectrum had a shift of 1 pixel in it, resulting in spikes in the final REC spectrum

·        When clicking on peaks in the #1 spectrum window, the related position in the #0 image window was not being located.

·        When selecting REC from the Acquisition Setup data type dialog the dialog would not close after calibration leaving the software in a state where the calibration would have to be performed again.

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.7

 

New Features

  1. Memory allocation improved to allow larger kinetic series to be acquired without spooling
  2. Luca-R range supported
  3. iKon-L supported
  4. SR500 and SR750 supported
  5. iHR320 supported
  6. Multi-tracks available in frame transfer mode for iXon+
  7. Random tracks available in frame transfer mode for iXon+
  8. Random tracks can now be configured with no gaps in between for iXon+
  9. Gate mode setting added to SIF file format
  10. Calculation of mean and standard deviation in caption sped up

 

Bug Fixes

  1. X-Calibration not handled correctly when exporting to ASCII
  2. Software would occasional hang when resizing an Image data window containing an image with binning
  3. Pixel values for the last column on DU885 were read incorrectly.
  4. Fast kinetics, external trigger not operating correctly on a DU885
  5. Kinetic cycle time could not be set reliably on iXon
  6. Problem when auto-open is selected for spooled files and the auto-append feature is used with auto-increment
  7. Shutter timings not correct at 35MHz on a DU885
  8. Grams files created not compatible with certain software packages
  9. Timeout in single track mode if configuration settings not correct for sensor size
  10. Glitches on the Fire pulse for FVB mode on iXon+
  11. Data values wrapped round at 65K when Software binning used
  12. Custom Program Button crashing
  13. Bad column on left side of images when horizontally binning used on Classic cameras
  14. Problem with DDG gain in accumulate mode on iStar
  15. When in Mechelle REC data type the “Signal” window wavelength out by 1 pixel
  16. Moving average and sum calculation not functioning
  17. CCI-20 controller card not initialising

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.6.5

 

New Features

1.      Commands to change wavelength and grating on an Acton are now read from spectrog.ini file

2.      Change in fast kinetics to use Anti-blooming feature to clear sensor while waiting for the trigger to come

3.      If SaveFits is called with no file extension, ".fit" is added.

4.      Spooling functions added to Andor Basic

5.      Added Andor Basic function minimizeall() which will minimize all open windows

6.      Auto-append to filename is now available for binary spool directories

 

Bug Fixes

1.      Take background with photocathode off has been repaired

2.      Crash in auto-save repaired

3.      Crash when using export options with no camera attached

4.      Crash when optical gate width selected

5.      Memory allocated was not being freed when acquisition settings changed

6.      Fix for subimage selection when flipping horizontally or vertically

7.      Problems with fire pulse sizes in fast kinetics

8.      Subimages were not working on non-EM Newton and USB iKon cameras

9.      Solis About dialog displayed invalid data if no camera is attached

10.  Entering letters on the iStar Run time Dlg causes crash

11.  istar intelligate was not working

12.  IsPreAmpAvailable AndorBASIC command not functioning correctly

13.  JPEG and BMP batch conversion were not working

14.  MCP Gain was still saved as 0

15.  Links to help file updated in installation

16.  Some problems with Luca timings

17.  Problem with video mode and cosmic ray removal

18.  Software was hanging if in video mode and histogram dialog was trying to update

19.  Fixed TIFF & FITS spooling issues

20.  Change required for certain packages to open Grams files created through Solis

21.  Problem with Radiometric Calibration when Shamrock is enabled

22.  2D Peak labeling was not updating during acquisition

23.  FVB mode on an iXon was not operating correctly

24.  Video display rate was not correct when binning

25.  Problem with Print Preview of output window resolved

26.  Gate width error message was not valid for all gate modes

27.  Closed for background shutter mode was not functioning

28.  Spooling with too small an image was causing a crash

29.  Last frame when spooling to bianry was incorrect

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.6

 

Features

1.      Support for Luca 285 added.

2.      Data transfer from USB cameras improved.

3.      Option to move Acton to 0nm.

4.      Crop mode option added for iXon+.

 

Fixes

1.      Problems setting up horizontal shift speeds for a Classic camera using Andor Basic.

2.      Exposure time was not being updated in run time control if set to a value less than minimum exposure.

3.      IOC option does not allow selecting the number of pulses required.

4.      Crash when running Mechelle with iStar.

5.      Problems with cosmic ray removal.

6.      Gain value for ICCD's not stored correctly in sif file.

7.      Shutter now works correctly for Classic cameras when software run for the first time after rebooting PC.

8.      Shutter now closes when taking a background.

9.      Zero images when acquiring using a large area chip fixed.

10.  Data was wrapping at 65K if taking a kinetic series of accumulations.

11.  Display range of 0..16383 was not available.


Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.5

 

New features

1.      Supports 32 and 64-bit Windows XP and Vista.

2.      InGaAs range of cameras now supported.

3.      Limit of number in kinetic series increased to 1 million.

4.      T0, T1, T2 increased to 12 significant figures.

5.      Support for Triax 190 added.

6.      Step and glue improved for iStar.

7.      About dialog added for LibTIFF details.

8.      Andor Basic can now access images in a series up to 65535.

9.      Data from aborted acquisition can now be viewed.

10.  Manual calibration now takes precedence for Shamrock.

 

Fixes

1.      DongWoo communication problems resolved.

2.      Large exposure time in frame transfer was causing problems.

3.      Cycle time incorrect for FVB mode on an iDus.

4.      Fixed temperature problems with Mechelle.

5.      Fixed iStar clocking problem.

6.      Timestamp wrong in fast kinetics with minimum exposure.

7.      Cycle times incorrect for random tracks.

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.4

 

New features

  1. Random tracks added to Newton cameras
  2. Additional acquisition information now displayed on the status bar
  3. AVI file export now exports only sub-image.
  4. Cosmic ray removal now available in for kinetics mode on iXon and iStar
  5. Option to select which tabs to save from a dataset
  6. TIFF and FITS file formats added to auto save
  7. Additional spooling options added to Classic range of cameras
  8. Ability to execute another application when acquisition completes
  9. Buttons for faster opening and closing of the shutter added to Toolbar
  10. Control of DongWoo USB spectrograph added
  11. Batch conversion of FITS file format added
  12. Ability to save/open TIFF file format added
  13. Baseline correction available for single track acquisitions
  14. Timings now improved to be accurate to 10us for all iXon systems
  15. Timings down to 1us now available in fast kinetics mode

 

Fixes

  1. Improved timing accuracy for “multi-track” mode on iXon
  2. Fixed issues with spooling to FITS and SIF file formats in “multi-track” mode
  3. Fixed bug which prevented newly saved files from being re-opened
  4. Last selected file type now remembered correctly
  5. Time stamp for video mode now updates correctly
  6. Fixed problem with multiple sub-directories in auto save
  7. Data windows were not being redrawn properly after screensaver finished
  8. Fixed issue where, when using the Histogram and moving from “Filter” to “Range”, the software could crash
  9. Video mode stopped when using the Run-time control at 1MHz
  10. Improve the time taken to update acquisition settings on SurCam and Luca
  11. Fixed crash when trying to save a PGM file
  12. Fixed crash if mouse wheel used on command line when no commands were present

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to Andor SOLIS 4.3

 

  1. Andor software rebadged as SOLIS
  2. Option to control an external shutter through a DV8285
  3. Peak list corrected for dispersion calculation
  4. Dispersion calculation sped up
  5. Dispersion calculation can be used with manual spectrographs
  6. Floating toolbar updating correctly in all modes
  7. Integrate on chip issues resolved
  8. Peak labelling improved
  9. Photon counting on an iXon now works in frame transfer mode
  10. Option to save/open LaVision file types
  11. Some DongWoo spectrographs were inaccessible
  12. Chromex slit control had problems
  13. Problems with rotating flipped images resolved
  14. Crash in About dialog if directory name was greater than 31 characters long
  15. Load and save option added for peak positions in manual x-calibration
  16. In FVB mode the shutter pulse was not staying constant during an acquisition
  17. Cosmic rays were not removed from first image in an accumulation
  18. Potential crash on shutdown with datasets open with overlay fixed
  19. Can now drag and drop .fit or .fits files
  20. Warning if camera is being over saturated
  21. Moving sum option added for iXon systems

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 4.2, iXon 4.2, iDus 4.2 and iStar 4.2

 

  1. Allow the real time control dialog to be open at the same time as the shamrock dialog
  2. Problem loading > 4GB sif file with background or reference
  3. Luca/SurCam support
  4. Option to autoscale to active overlay
  5. Progress bar added to save as FITS
  6. Crash prevented when trying to save to a directory with insufficient privileges
  7. Problems with spooling in multitrack mode fixed
  8. ARM signal working on iXon cameras
  9. iXon software defaults to imaging mode
  10. Fast kinetics mode available on iDus
  11. Fixes for Solar range of spectrographs
  12. Fixes for automatic chemical labelling
  13. Help About displays more information on USB cameras
  14. Device driver fixed so that it doesn’t blue screen with older versions of software
  15. ROI’s available on all tabs
  16. Line plot utility added
  17. Spooling problems in multi track fixed
  18. Can now use storage area on iXon for fast kinetics
  19. Some memory leaks in Andor Basic corrected
  20. Problem with rotating flipped images
  21. Radiometric calibration for Mechelle

 

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 4.1, iXon 4.1, iDus 4.1 and iStar 4.1

 

  1. Acquire a subimage with Mechelle
  2. Recalculate spectrograph calibration parameters
  3. Fix bug where 2 background/reference tabs were appearing
  4. Mechelle recalibration option
  5. Vernier problem for iXon corrected
  6. EM Clock compensation added for 16-bit channel
  7. Image shifting problem with DV465 fixed
  8. Now able to load > 4GB sif files
  9. Files not paged out when opening with virtual memory
  10. When running in video mode with frame transfer selected on iXon, software could hang.
  11. Problem with modifying spooled files
  12. I2C commands return an error for USB cameras if address is not present
  13. Communications now permitted through Com Ports > 2
  14. Changes to fix crash when switch between non binning and binning in frame transfer video mode and acquire
  15. Wavelength in Manual X-Calibration was limited to being an integer
  16. Support for Newton range of Cameras
  17. Peak labelling with elements
  18. Fix for subimages being used in histogram dialog
  19. Overlap region in step and glue can be controlled
  20. Photon counting option for iXon cameras
  21. Current temperature stored if camera not stabilized
  22. Option to acquire pre scans before kinetic series on an iXon
  23. Problems with random tracks on iDus resolved
  24. Random tracks can be flipped horizontally
  25. I2c commands can now return an error with USB cameras
  26. Andor Basic command SetVSSpeed fixed
  27. Progress bar added when saving sif file

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 4.0, iXon 4.0, iDus 4.0 and iStar 4.0

 

  1. All .cof, .rbf, .txt and .hex files required to operate are now compressed and included in the executable.
  2. Random tracks acquisition mode now available for iXon and iDus camera range.
  3. Brightness/Contrast dialog added.
  4. Option to add additional FITS keys when exporting.
  5. 14-bit rescale option added.
  6. Access to NIST database.
  7. Software binning option added for iXon.
  8. 35MHz PCI card support added.
  9. Spool to sif, fits and tiff option added for iXon and iDus.
  10. Improvements in the handling of large data files.
  11. All Solar spectrograph range supported.
  12. Export to EDF option added.

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 2.63, iXon 1.3, iDus 1.3 and iStar 3.13

 

  1. New real-time and post processing Region of Interest capability added
  2. Data Histogram added
  3. Improved handling of large files via Virtual Memory Manager
  4. Capture large kinetic series with Disk Spooling feature
  5. Option to save kinetic series as multi tiff file
  6. Numerous image-processing functions available via menu and AndorBasic
  7. Improved auto-scale with User defined auto scale region
  8. Ability to display either TTL or optical gate width
  9. IOC fixed for accumulate mode
  10. Direct gate now available on some iStars
  11. Option to play a sound file on completion of an acquisition
  12. User can choose number of IOC pulses both from the Setup Dialog and the Run-Time dialog
  13. Maximum frame rate is updated whenever the fast external trigger check box is checked/unchecked
  14. Cosmic ray removal added
  15. Option to blank screen during acquisition
  16. Status bar displays acquisition progress
  17. Fixed crash in auto save when Signal tab did not exist
  18. Open and close times for shutter can be different
  19. Dialog added to do simple dataset manipulations
  20. Tabbing improved for dialogs
  21. Improved dataset information displayed in “Info dialog”
  22. Points used in manual calibration remembered for duration of session
  23. Screen flicker reduced when auto scaling
  24. Screen update prevented if screensaver is active
  25. Tiff file can now be opened by MetaVue/MetaMorph
  26. Fixed ASCII export problems
  27. AVI file now plays at the same rate as the acquisition
  28. Option to convert subset of kinetic series to an AVI file
  29. Option to save as Roper PI file format
  30. Improvements to Batch Conversion dialog
  31. Batch conversion for FITS
  32. Frame transfer mode stored in file format
  33. Option to save configuration on shutdown
  34. Palettes can now be accessed through right mouse click
  35. Option to open images saved in DOS software
  36. Improved communications with Oriel spectrographs
  37. Fixed some Acton SpectraPro issues
  38. Added mode select function for Chromex
  39. Reverse Spectrum now always available
  40. Updated Photon Design HR320&HR640 control
  41. HR460 Spectrograph supported
  42. McPherson spectrographs supported
  43. MCU203 controller box supported
  44. Grating Blaze is now stored as a string, not a number
  45. Several IOC related functions added to AndorBasic
  46. Andor Basic functions to retrieve gate timings
  47. Andor Basic functions to control available shift speeds
  48. Andor Basic functions to retrieve pixel dimensions
  49. Check for valid number when dataset is created in Andor Basic
  50. Left$ and Right$ can now handle large strings (up to available amount of memory)
  51. ComRead” can now read a specific number of characters
  52. Showtimings” function now works for a dataset
  53. comwritenull” function added
  54. asc” function now always returns a positive number
  55. Custom plotting can now be used with images
  56. Additional com ports made available for remote control and spectrographs
  57. External Start mode can now be selected from Andor Basic program

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 2.62 and iStar 3.12

 

  1. Ability to play a kinetic series like a movie. Options are Play, Pause and Stop.
  2. Ability to export a kinetic series as an AVI or MPEG file.
  3. DDG auto-calibrates on start up. (iStar only)
  4. Start up time reduced.
  5. The displayed kinetic series scan updates in sync with acquisition.
  6. Improved updating of edit boxes in iStar “Run Time” control.
  7. Ability to set an additional offset to correct for a calibration problem with Jasco spectrographs added.
  8. When loading a configuration file with Raman Shift as the calibration unit the wavelength is now set correctly.
  9. “Save as” using the FITS file format now saves the active tab.
  10. Number of characters read by ibrd() can be set. (AndorBasic)
  11. Random number generator added. (AndorBasic)
  12. External trigger now available in frame transfer mode.

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 2.61 and iStar 3.11

 

  1. Cooler can be made to automatically start when AndorMCD software runs.
  2. User comments added to information dialog are now saved with FITS file.
  3. Solar TI added to available spectrographs.
  4. Updated to function with latest Acton Spectrographs.
  5. Export to Ascii now has option to append acquisition information to file.
  6. New functions for reading and writing to Windows initialization files in Andor Basic ie. WritePrivateProfileString and GetPrivateProfileString.
  7. SaveAsciiXY Andor Basic function now has option to append acquisition information to the ascii file.
  8. SetDDG Andor Basic function parameters can now accept values up to 25sec.
  9. Message is displayed when performing large kinetic series acquisitions to indicate system is preparing the memory.
  10. Triax can now deal with offsets provided by manufacturer.
  11. Chromex now works with both available terminators.
  12. Screen no longer flashes when acquiring with autoscale on.
  13. Loading a new radiometry calibration is possible via Andor Basic when dataset #0 is open.
  14. Istar and AndorMCD software can now be installed in the same directory.
  15. Accumulate option now available in iStar kinetic series.
  16. Propogation delay fixed at ultra fast for non intelligate systems.
  17. Wavelength control for Acton Spectrograph works correctly.
  18. Fixed problems with communication with Chromex spectrographs under Windows2000
  19. Calibration no longer reversed for Chromex 250i due to an error in spectrog.ini file
  20. Time to initialize Chromex spectrograph under RS232 has been reduced.
  21. Number of gratings now displayed correctly when application is restarted.
  22. Application menu bar no longer erased when dataset is first displayed as an image.
  23. Multitrack now works with horizontal binning.
  24. Displacement of image on DV465 systems using horizontal binning fixed.
  25. Inconsistent exposure time indication in acquisition dialog fixed.
  26. Kinetic Series acquisitions greater than 64MB can now be acquired under Windows2000 and NT.
  27. Aspect ratio when rotating images with DV465 systems during acquisitions has been corrected.
  28. Synchronization of actual gain and exposure time settings with those displayed in real-time dialogs improved.
  29. Crash no longer occurs when using cosmic ray correction and flat field data type.
  30. Mean and standard deviation calculations corrected for sub-images.
  31. Home wavelength for spectrographs now displays 500 as default, if none is known.
  32. GPIB sets EOT when changing selected spectrograph.
  33. Triax slit width is now limited to 2mm.
  34. Data windows now rescale correctly after an Andor Basic program is run.
  35. Closing Spectrograph Calibration dialog no longer causes application to occasionally crash.
  36. Memory leaks caused by flipping and rotating images have been removed.
  37. Batch conversion of kinetic series FVB files now uses correct separator.
  38. Temperature display no longer jumps when the set temperature is changed.

 

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 2.6 and iStar 3.1

 

1.      Batch Export added as a menu item

2.      Email capability from within software

3.      Export to JPEG added

4.      Option to make subimage fill entire window when acquired.

5.      New data type of Counts/sec added

6.      System configuration displayed in About dialog

7.      Ability to manually enter installed gratings added. No longer need to edit Spectrog.ini file

8.      User definable colour scheme for data and program windows.

9.      Control of  Bentham monochromator added

10.  Ability to adjust spectrograph while acquiring

11.  Software will automatically update the registry entry DMASizeBYTES if too small for current system configuration

12.  Quick launch buttons added to main software for Basic programs

13.  Additional AndorBasic functions for controlling “remote” systems added.  - Shutdown under Windows 2000 and  Delay generator control

14.  Improved arithmetic functionality added to AndorBasic (e.g. #1= 1/#2)

15.  Improved autoscaling functionality

16.  Improved error recognition when incorrect COF/RBF are used with I2C and non-I2C cards.

17.  Improved Custom plotting functionality

18.  Improved functionality for Triax, Acton spectrographs

19.  Fast kinetics added to iStar software (iStar only)

20.  Horizontal binning for multitracks, randomtracks, singletrack added (iStar only)

21.  Improved pulse calculation for “Integrate on chip” (iStar only)

22.  Shutter ComboBox changed to EditBox

23.  Filename displayed differently when window small

24.  When opening multiple files they are opened in order they were selected

25.  Bug where Program ComboBox looses track of which program to Run, fixed

26.  Option to display Mean and Standard deviation of active dataset

27.  Only one application is allowed to access the device driver at one time.

28.  “Find Pulse” bug fixed (iStar only)

29.  Images displayed in Image mode when acquired.

30.  Various memory leaks in AndorBasic language fixed

31.  Print preview for basic program now works

32.  Various Chromex spectrograph control problems fixed

33.  On-line Help updated

34.  Exposure time updated in “Setup acquisition” dialog if changed in “Run time control” dialog.

35.  Help enabled in preferences dialog

36.  When X-Calibration dialog was closed using “X” button it could not be reopened now works.

37.  Fast external trigger setting now saved in configuration file

 

Software improvements and new functionality added to AndorMCD 2.5 and iStar 3.0

 

 

1.      Native Windows 2000 device driver added

2.      Can control the EMCCD (i.e. gain) and iStar systems

3.      Introduced Large DMA transfer model to reduce problems with long interrupt latency on some PCs

4.      Shutter now assumes correct state when program first started and when trigger mode changed. Previously the changes only updated when next scan was completed.

5.      Shutter/fire pulses now correct when shutter time > 920ms

6.      Fixed several problems when using an Active Low shutter (i.e. open on low TTL level)

7.      Fire pulse modified to go low as shutter closes in external trigger

8.      Fixed problem when aborting an acquisition in external trigger. Software could previously loose communication with card.

9.      Various GPIB communications with MS257 fixed.

10.  Motorised slit width adjustment for MS257 (auto detect).

11.  Improved communication with Chromex spectrographs.

12.  Cooler now switches off properly if temperature above 5C when cooling switched off.

13.  Keep clean cycle now works correctly for Frame Transfer CCDs when in external trigger.

14.  Image window refreshed properly when expanding or contracting. x, y and z axes.

15.  Now takes into consideration the pixel dimensions when displaying in image mode. Required for non-square CCD pixels.

16.  Background corrected data can now handle cosmic ray removal.

17.  Data corruption when image flip and rotation with binning selected fixed.

18.  Various bugs in Change units dialog fixed.  Now allows user to vary Raleigh wavelength.  Does not toggle when Calibrate is pressed multiple times.  Combo boxes now grey out at the correct time.

19.  Exported image now appear the right way up when imported into other packages.

20.  Calibration linearised when exporting to GRAMS.  (format changed to standard GRAMS rather than XT format)

21.  Various resource/memory leaks fixed

22.  Additional information added to File format and information Window. (EMCCD Gain ICCD Gain iStar parameters Flip and Rotation settings)

23.  Increased the size of the Command line list and added scroll bar.

24.  Key command silenced (i.e. removed beep)

25.  Reflection about axis and rotation are disabled for fast kinetics

26.  16/32-bit signed/unsigned integer Fits file format added

27.  Head model name now accepts up to 270 characters.

28.  WaveToRaman() function added to convert wavelength calibrated data to Raman shift calibrated data

29.  New copyxcal() format added

30.  Implement exp/log gate step in kinetic series (iStar only)

31.  Exitwindows() basic function added

32.  Calibration via spectrograph function in Basic

33.  Auto running of NT4 install.bat program during installation

34.  Andor Basic help updated to include all new functions

35.  Help added for Frame Transfer mode

36.  Andor Basic program selection combo-box length increased

37.  When acquiring data into a new window the initial display format will reflect the readout mode, i.e. an image will be displayed as an image, and spectrum will be displayed as a 2D graph.

38.  In external trigger, you can now enable the system to trigger before a complete keep clean has been preformed. This feature allows for faster acquisitions.

39.  Peak labelling now works on spectra with 2048 data points

40.  Control of the BNC555 delay generator