Sequences

A sequence contains the complete configuration of a measurement: the modules in the Sequencer with all their parameters and drivers, the widgets of the Dashboard, and the window layout. You can save a sequence to a file, load it again later, pass it to a colleague, or define it as the default sequence that is loaded when SweepMe! starts.

Up to SweepMe! 1.5, a sequence was called a setting. In SweepMe! 1.5, the menu Sequences is called Settings and the folder Sequences is called Settings.

The Sequences menu

Menu entry	Shortcut	Action	Name in SweepMe! 1.5
New	Ctrl+N	Remove all modules and widgets and start with an empty sequence.	New
Set as Default	Ctrl+⇧ Shift+S	Load the current sequence whenever SweepMe! starts, see Default sequence.	Set as standard
Save Sequence	Ctrl+S	Save the sequence to its current file. If the sequence has no file yet, the dialog Save Sequence as opens.	Save Setting
Save Sequence As	Ctrl+Alt+S	Save the sequence to a new file.	Save Setting as
Load Sequence	Ctrl+L	Load a sequence file (.seq) or a legacy setting file (.set).	Load Setting
Load Example		Load one of the example sequences that come with SweepMe!, see Load an example.	Load Example
Load → Last Run		Load the sequence of the last measurement run.	last run
Load → Last Session		Load the sequence that was used when SweepMe! was closed the last time.	last session
Load → Last Loaded		Load the file that was loaded last again, e.g. to discard your recent changes.	last loaded
Load → Default		Load the default sequence.	standard

Save Sequence As and Load Sequence are also available in the File menu. All shortcuts of SweepMe! are listed on the page Keyboard shortcuts.

If the current sequence has unsaved changes, SweepMe! asks whether you want to save them before a new sequence is created, another sequence is loaded, or SweepMe! is closed.

Save a sequence

Once you have configured your measurement in the Sequencer, use Sequences → Save Sequence or Save Sequence As. The dialog Save Sequence as opens in the Sequences folder.

• From version 1.6.1.6, SweepMe! saves a sequence as a JSON file with the extension ".seq". The structure of this file is described in Sequence file format.
• In addition, SweepMe! 1.6 writes a legacy setting file (".set") with the same name next to the ".seq" file. In the dialog Save Sequence as, the file type Sequence (*.seq) is selected by default. If you select Sequence, legacy format (*.set), the sequence is named after the ".set" file.
• If you save a legacy ".set" file that you have loaded (Save Sequence or Ctrl+S), SweepMe! does not overwrite it. Instead, the dialog Save Sequence as opens with the same file name and the extension ".seq", so you can choose where the new sequence is saved (from version 1.6.1.7).
• Examples and the copies that SweepMe! saves automatically (Last Run, Last Session and the backup of the default sequence) cannot be overwritten. SweepMe! asks you to save the sequence under a different name.

Load a sequence

Use Sequences → Load Sequence and select a file. The dialog shows the file type Sequence (*.seq) first. To see legacy setting files, select the file type Sequence, legacy format (*.set).

SweepMe! 1.6 loads both ".seq" files and ".set" files that were saved with SweepMe! 1.5. After loading, SweepMe! switches to the Sequencer tab. If a module or driver used in the sequence is not installed, the Version Manager opens so that you can install it.

You can also load a sequence when starting SweepMe! from the command line with the option --sequence, or by dragging a sequence file onto SweepMe!.exe, see Command line interface.

Load an example

SweepMe! comes with example sequences that illustrate the basic principles: Sequences → Load Example. The examples are sorted into the folders "Basic", "Instrument" and "Pro". The examples in "Basic" work on any computer without external instruments. Load one, press Run and see what happens. Then have a look at the Sequencer tab to understand the procedure. See also Examples.

The examples are stored in the SweepMe! installation folder and cannot be overwritten. To keep your changes, save the example under a new name.

Default sequence

If you perform the same measurement over and over again, use Sequences → Set as Default (Ctrl+⇧ Shift+S). The current sequence is then loaded whenever SweepMe! starts. Sequences → Load → Default loads it at any time.

• SweepMe! remembers the file of the current sequence as the default. If the sequence has unsaved changes, SweepMe! asks whether you want to save them first.
• The default sequence is stored per user profile.
• If the default sequence file no longer exists, SweepMe! loads a backup copy that was created when you used Set as Default. If there is no default sequence at all, SweepMe! starts with the example "Mouse".

Automatically saved sequences

SweepMe! saves further sequences automatically. If you forgot to save your sequence, these entries might help you to restore your measurement:

• Last Run: saved when a measurement run finishes or is stopped (not when it is aborted by an error).
• Last Session: saved when you close SweepMe!.
• Last Loaded: not a copy, but the file that you loaded last.

The Sequences folder

By default, sequences are saved to and loaded from the folder Sequences in the public SweepMe! folder, typically C:\Users\Public\Documents\SweepMe!\Sequences. Open it via File → Open Folder → Sequences.

• SweepMe! 1.5 uses the folder ...\SweepMe!\Settings. From version 1.6.1.6, the folder is called Sequences. Files in the old folder are not moved; you can still load them from there.
• With SweepMe! Pro, you can use a different folder: File → Options… → Paths (Pro) → Use custom sequences path:. A custom path that was set in SweepMe! 1.5 is taken over.
• The automatically saved sequences (Last Run, Last Session and the backup of the default sequence) are stored in the roaming application data folder of the Windows user (%APPDATA%\SweepMe!\Sequences).
• Drivers and scripts can get the path of the folder with the folder key SEQUENCES of pysweepme (from version 1.6.1.6; before: SETTINGS), see Folder system.

What is stored in a sequence

• Sequencer: all modules, their order and nesting, and whether they are checked.
• Module parameters: the configuration of each module, including the selected driver and its parameters.
• Dashboard widgets: the widgets of the Dashboard and their configuration.
• Window layout: position, size and arrangement of the main window, the Dashboard and its widgets. The layout depends on your monitors, so SweepMe! restores it as well as possible. If the saved layout cannot be restored, the windows are arranged automatically as with Desktop Autofill (F5).

Options that you set in the Port manager (e.g. port properties or logging) are not part of a ".seq" file, because they describe the computer and not the experiment. They are still stored in the legacy ".set" file.

Sequences as description of your measurement data

Whenever you save measurement data, SweepMe! copies the sequence of the run into the data folder as <file name>_setting.seq and <file name>_setting.set. These files tell you later how SweepMe! was configured. To repeat a measurement, simply load this file again.

Compatibility

• SweepMe! 1.6 loads setting files (".set") of SweepMe! 1.5.
• SweepMe! 1.5 cannot load ".seq" files. It also refuses the ".set" files saved by SweepMe! 1.6, because they were created by a newer version. If you need to use a sequence in both versions, keep the original ".set" file of SweepMe! 1.5.
• On the command line, use --sequence from version 1.6.1.6 and --setting in SweepMe! 1.5, see Command line interface.
• A sequence saved with a newer SweepMe! version than the one you use is not loaded. SweepMe! asks you to update instead.
• If modules used in the sequence are not installed, the sequence is not loaded. SweepMe! lists the missing modules and offers to open the Version manager to download or activate them. If only drivers are missing, the sequence is loaded so that you can edit it, and SweepMe! offers to open the Version manager for the missing drivers.
• See the Migration guide for more details on the change from SweepMe! 1.5 to 1.6.

See also

• Sequencer
• Sequence file format
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Command line interface