Manual for editing ActiView .cfg files

[Chan Wai Yen]

Hi all,

I was wondering if there are any manual regard writing/interpreting the cfg file for Actiview? Thanks.

Wai Yen

[daniel]

Good idea this forum, Coen. So hopefully you will answer only once to each question ...


Dear Chan, this is a good point,
indeed we just found out that settings for the 32+8channels (same for the others) did not allow recording of the triggers. By contrast this was possible with the default cfg.
We thus replaced the "save" part at the end of the file and it works. However, it would help to know what exaclty the parameters are.

all the best
d

EDIT BY BIOSEMI (April 29, 2004): ActiView518 solves this 'trigger recording problem'

[Coen]

The CFG can be edited in two ways:

1) Run ActiView, and from the "about" tabpage, save a new CFG. All current settings of the controls are then stored into the new cfg (except for the contols on the "average" tabpage", they will be added to the CFG in the next 5.17 version).
2) Open the CFG in Wordpad, and edit the keys by hand.

Method 2 is useful for a few keys that are not directly linked to controls on the ActiView front panel:

- Electrode/channel labels (section: [labels])
- PauseOff and PauseOn, these keys can be used to press a release the "Pause Save" key with (8 bit) codes sent by the stimulator setup via the trigger port on the Receiver
- AIBmon, this key can be used to toggle between monopolar or bipolar processing of the AIB channels

In addition, system parameter like Motherboard type, AD-box gain and AIB gain can be adjusted in the CFG (section; [system]). Be careful with changing these parameters, because wrong setting may cause wrong scaling factors to be written in the BDF header (can be repaired afterwards by editing the header though).

If you work within the LabVIEW programming environment, the linking between the CFG keys and the various controls is easily found from the LabVIEW diagram. In main (orange) state 0, the CFG keys are read and written. Within state 0, there are 3 (green) cases: case 0 is "wait", case 1 is "read CFG", case 2 is "write CFG". Each key in the CFG is linked to a local variable with the same name. Each local variable points you to the respective control (right click on the variable, and select "find terminal").

The software section of the manual will be available soon, I hope this helps in the mean time.

Bestt regards, Coen

[Coen]

The [save] section at the end of the CFG contains the selector settings in the file initialization popup window. So, by changing these settings, you can select which channels are saved:

Subset: setting 0 (all available channels) to 8 (save as monopolar displayed)
Touchproofs: 0 (do not save touchproofs) or 1 (do save all 8 touchproofs)
Sensors: 0 (do not save sensors), or 1 (do save the displayed sensors)
Anas: 0 (do not save AIB channels) or 1 (do save the displayed AIB channels)

You can change and save these setting directly from ActiView by recording a short dummy file with the preffered setings, and then save a new cfg from the "about" tab.

The remark about the triggers puzzles me: the trigger bits are always saved in an extra last channel. It is not possible to not save the trigger information. You will aways see an N+1 indication in the "number of saved channel display in the right sidebar. The "+1" denotes the trigger/status channel.

Best regards, Coen

[Chan Wai Yen]

Hi Coen,

Is there any update on the manual for Actiview cfg files? I'd like to experiment with triggering on/off the data acquisition by Actiview. I'd also like to relabel the electrodes especially when we decide to place electrodes at uncoventional positions.

Sincerely Yours
Wai Yen

[Coen]

You can modify the electrode labels and start/stop code by opening the CFG file with a simple text editor (Notepad or Wordpad).

When editing the labels, be sure to not change the keys (section before the "=" sign). Also leave the number of keys intact. The labels can be up to 16 characters long. The full label will be stored in the file header (see http://www.biosemi.com/faq/file_format.htm), but ActiView will only show the first 4 characters in the charts.

The start and stop codes are found as last lines in the CFG (PauseOff= and PauseOn=). ActiView reads the first trigger byte (triggers 1-8 ), and releases/presses the pause button if the codes in the CFG are seen at the trigger port. So, the values 0-255 can be used. The value "-1" disables this function. Please note that unconnected trigger inputs are pulled high by a internal pull-up resistors (short to pin 37 to pull down).

The ActiView manual is still under construction.

Best regards, Coen

[abu]

I wonder BDF recording and its data structure . Is it possible to get BDF recording source code? As I know, it is 24 bit version of 2 byte EDF. I want to record my EEG data in BDF. Thank you...

[Coen]

Full specifications of the BDF format are found on http://www.biosemi.com/faq/file_format.htm

The LabVIEW code to write BDF files is freeware, you can download the latest ActiView complete with source codes from http://www.biosemi.com/download_actiview.htm. However, you have to have the LabVIEW programming environment version 7.1 installed on your PC in order to run the Labview library (*.llb) and view/edit the diagram (source). Please feel free to use pieces of our LabVIEW code in your own software.

Best regards, Coen (BioSemi)

[brroach]

Is there a subset value under the:
[save]

subset=0 (or 1,2,3...8)

where you can save none of the channels just the 8 touchproof sites? I want to run a quick test and I don't want to create gigantic files.

thanks,
Brian

[Coen]

Use the "free choice" channel selection option to display only the 8 EX channels in the monopolar chart. In the file popup menu, choose the option "save as monopolar displayed" and uncheck the other options. The right sidebar will then show that 8+1 channels are being saved in the BDF file (8 EX channels, and 1 extra channel with triggers). Use the "save CFG" option on the "about ActiView" tabpage to save the said selections in a (new) CFG file.

Best regards, Coen (BioSemi)

[brroach]

Is there a software section of the manual now? If so, where can this manual be found/downloaded?

thanks,
Brian

[brroach]

I was wondering if there is a cfg file setting that would allow me to mask or ignore a bit from the trigger input. Specifically, I have a custom wired cable that allows codes to be sent to separate devices by stimulus presentation software. Unfortunately, the 128 bit seems to be held high when I try to record. I could try messing with the cable, but it's otherwise working perfectly and I don't want to do any damage. If I could just ignore that bit with the software, that would be great. Any advice?

Thanks,
Brian

[Coen]

It's not possible in standard ActiView to ignore a trigger line with a CFG setting. You can either modify the cable (short the trigger line to ground), or modify the ActiView code in LabVIEW.

Best regards, Coen (BioSemi)

[kanaokano]

Wondering if a manual exists now? I'm aware I'm reviving a 15 year old post but it still seems relevant.

Thanks!

[dkmcf]

Just adding my voice (in 2022) to those who would like a manual that covers this. Specifically, I have been asked to investigate the differences between two labs using BioSemi ActiView. I have the .cfg files from the two labs, and it would help immensely if I could decipher the meaning of each setting. Thank you.

[Coen]

Inspect and modify CFG files with the "Configurator" in the new ActiTools 902: https://www.biosemi.com/download.htm

Best regards, Coen (BioSemi)