Basic Usage

Getting Started

simGUI assumes that the following are in your path

1. distgen - our C++ distribution generator
2. gpt, gdfa, etc - If you are using GPT, its executable and all of its helper executables
   • Needs to have functions for coherence length compiled into gpt
3. astra - If you are using Astra, then it must be in your path

To run simGUI, one can either just run simGUI.m from the Matlab editor, or preferably use (from simGUI's root directory)

• matlab -nodesktop -r simGUI

Loading a Layout / Previous Save

If it is your first time running the GUI, it will start by loading a blank layout (later on, it will default to your previously used layout.) To load a layout, use:

• File -> Select Layout Directory

A dialog will appear, prompting you to select a directory. Do not navigate into the directory, just leave the directory highlighted and click 'OK'. This will load that layout into the GUI with all of its default settings. The GUI will blink and rearrange itself for a few seconds, while Matlab tries to figure itself out.

If you have previously saved an simulation (e.g. one with actual data), you don't have to load the layout directory first, and can skip to just loading the simulation via:

• File -> Load Simulation

In this case, you do select the precise save file you created previously, not the directory.

Changing Settings

The GUI window should look something like the following example.

On the left side is a list of tabs, e.g. "Beamline", "Cathode", etc. The order, names, and contents of these tabs are determined by the files inside of the layout directory that you have loaded. Clicking on a tab will show you the the various settings that you can change. Interacting with most things should be self-evident, but for the settings located in a table, only the "Value" column can be interacted with.

Running Simulations

On the upper-right area of the simGUI window are the simulation run buttons. Typically, there will be more than one step to a simulation, and the steps need to be taken in a certain order. For example, you need to hit "Run Cathode" to make a particle distribution, before you can "Run GPT". If the layout is set up properly, the order of the simulations will be enforced by greying-out the latter simulations until the earlier ones are finished. For example, "Run GPT" is greyed out until a particle distribution is made. In addition, if a setting is changed that affects one of the early simulations, it will grey-out all subsequent simulations, so that the user doesn't accidentally use stale data.

Viewing the Output

On the middle right side of the GUI are two menu selectors, "Plot Style" and "Viewscreen selection". At any time, you can change the plot style, and view whatever data has been created. If a screen type of plot style is selected (has the word "screen" in the description), then the "Viewscreen selection" can be changed.

• Plot -> "Make New Figure" : Clicking this will replot the current plot in a separate window. This is helpful for exporting the data, or fine-tuning the plot for presentation.