Talon Ultra Script Files

in text format

Script files are posted here with a ".Script" extension. This way, you can click on a link to simply "view" a script file in your browser, or you can right-click on it to download it to your computer. Save it to your Talon Ultra install directory (or, if you wish, to the "scripts" subdirectory below that - your choice.) Then, using Windows Explorer, rename the file from Xxxx.Script to Xxxx.Scr. (If they were posted here with the "SCR" extension, Windows systems would incorrectly recognize the "SCR" extension as a Windows screen saver - an executable file - and would not let you "view" the script file directly. Further, some virus scanners and security protections in browsers might interfere or block downloads.)

Once a file is downloaded to your computer and renamed as Xxxx.SCR, you can start Talon Ultra, and select the new script file as follows:

In Talon Ultra, select the "Macro | Macro" menu item.
Click the "Change" button, and select this script as your current script.

Some script files that use the COM capabilities of the Talon Ultra (for example, to control MS Word or MS Excel automatically) will require that you enable the proper "references". This step is necessary because different machines have different versions of MS Office, for example, and you need to enable the references that are correct for your machine. Any needed references will be noted in the text at the top of a script file. In that case, follow the steps below:

In Talon Ultra, select the "Macro | Edit Macro" menu item.
In the macro editor, select "Edit | References". If there are any references shown as "invalid" then just uncheck them. Then make sure to check the references that are noted in the text of the macro file.
In the macro editor, select "File | Save" to save any references you just added.
Close the macro editor.

Save sequences as AVI files

SeqAvi.Scr - Converts grayscale sequences to AVI - current version 1.0, 18 May, 2001

Converts a 12- or 16-bit sequence to a 24-bit RGB sequence, respecting the display range and any pseudo-color table that is applied. Then prompts user if they want to save as an AVI file. If so, pulls up "Save As" dialog box with AVI format as default. User needs to specify file name and location as required.

Before starting this macro, the user should have the subject sequence adjusted to the desired Display Range (with "Enhance | Display Range"), and if desired, should apply a pseudo-color palette (with "Process | Pseudo-Color")

Note that in the "Save As" dialog box, with the AVI format selected, you can use the "Compression" drop-down box to pick different encodings, depending on which "codecs" are installed on your system. A full discussion of codecs is beyond the scope of this macro header, but be aware that uncompressed AVI files take up significantly more disk space than compressed ones, and that some codecs are more common than others (and therefore the resulting AVI files will tend to be more portable to other computers.)

Sometimes, at the mid-point of the conversion, on a sequence where you do not have a pseudo-color palette applied, you will see the error message: Error; Cannot read file. If you get this message, just click "OK" and the process should continue to completion with no problem. I am researching ways to eliminate this message.

Export pixel intensities to Excel

ExcelBitmapExport.Scr - Export pixel intensity data to Excel workbook - current version 1.1, 24 Jan, 2001

The macro in this script will export individual pixel intensity values from an Area-of-Interest on and image or sequence to an Excel workbook. It will automatically open Excel, if needed, and step through the frames in a sequence, putting the intensity data from each frame into a new worksheet in the workbook.

This script gives a good example of manipulating sequences, as well as opening and interacting with Excel workbooks and worksheets from the macro language.

Please read the comments at the top of the script file for setup and operational notes. Before running this script, you do need to check the COM references under the Macro editor "Edit" menu. (version 1.1 has original references removed - user must enable them upon installation.)

Plot Intensity vs. Time across a sequence

TimeProfiles.Scr - Plots graph of population statistics (Mean, Std-Deviation, Min, Max) vs time across a sequence.

Pretty simple and self-explanatory. No COM references needed.