Running Reactions

After completing the Reaction Wizard or loading a preconfigured reaction template the Reaction Window is shown. The user may start the reaction or continue to adjust the view and reaction settings using the Parameter Panel. There are no special prerequisites for running reactions but please take into account the system requirements and consideration for reactions with a high sample count and/or high resolution samples:

Maximize the available memory and reduce the Reaction Window display options to achieve the maximum possible sample count for long running/high resolution reactions.

System requirements and considerations for high sample count / high resolution reactions

The amount of possible measurements in a reaction is correlated to the amount of available system memory. To maximize the number of possible measurements consider the following guidelines:

• Close all unneeded additional applications that are running on the system to maximize the available memory.

• Turn off unneeded views in the reaction window. Disable the Every Nth Sample option: The preparation of the measured sample data for the visual representation in the Reaction Window consumes a large part of additional memory. Turning off or increasing the Every Nth Sample option will drastically increase the number of maximum possible sample measurements.

• Use the Save to Folder option to guarantee data safety when running long reactions. Using this will ensure that every measured sample is directly written to disc and you will still have access to the measured data, even if the system should run out of memory or should encounter other difficulties. Saving data to projects is perfectly save for the most situations, but saving large projects when the system runs low on resources may be problematic.

To give an idea of the maximum number of possible measurements when saving a reaction to a project, endless reaction have been run with the current software build using the full available resolution (1) and range (0-16000cm-1). This equals a sample size of approximately 16kB.

• Windows XP, 2GB RAM, default RX settings (Save to project, Every 2nd sample, 3D-view enabled, Overlay view enabled): 1500 max. possible samples.

• Windows XP, 2GB RAM, minimal RX settings (Save to project, Every nth sample off, 3D-view off, Overlay view off): 7000 max. possible samples.

These are approximate numbers for your orientation. Changing the sample parameters or system settings will yield different results, but the parameter scaling should be approximately linear (e.g. only using a resolution of 2 should double the sample count; doubling the system memory (if the operating system supports it) should also double the sample count.

These guidelines mainly apply when auto saving long running/high resolution reactions to a project. When using the Save to Folder option as suggested above, the maximum possible sample counts are significantly higher.

Running Reactions

To run the reaction simply click on the Start Reaction button in the control panel. Depending on the configuration the user will be prompted for the reference measurements or the reaction will start directly. Most of the Reaction Window options will still be available while a reaction is running. Display options may be adjusted, Phases, Limits, Golden Batches, Preprocessing settings and Comments can be added or modified. The reaction may also be paused temporarily - see below.

Pausing Reactions / Pausing Measurements

To pause a reaction simply click on the Pause Measurements button in the control panel. Pausing a reaction will not actually suspend the complete reaction but will only pause the following measurements. For this purpose a Pause Phase will be inserted into the current phase. Consequently the current phase will be split into three phases: A phase with the already measured samples, a now active pause phase with zero measurements and a duration that equals the actual paused time and a new phase with the still remaining measurements of the original phase. All following phases will be shifted accordingly.
Since the pause only suspends the actual measurements, a pause phase will only be inserted if a measurement is encountered during an engaged pause. For example: If pause/resume is engaged in-between two measurements of a phase with long intervals, this will have no effect on the phase configuration as long the engaged pause does not reach the next measurement.
The regular reaction workflow is resumed by clicking on the Resume Measurements button.

Stopping Reactions

To stop a reaction simply click on the Stop Reaction button in the control panel. The reaction will stopped at its current state and saved if the automatic saving option is enabled.