How to make Attractors read FCS files

Mario Roederer (Roederer@Beadle.Stanford.EDU)
Mon, 9 Jun 97 15:36:22 -0700

Peter,
this has been a previous sore spot on this mailing list. Primarily, because BD
originally marketed a program that claimed to read FCS files, but in fact, only
reads FCS files that originate from their data collection programs! Perhaps
they have changed the marketing claims to be less disingenuous; I don't know.

In comparing the files that could be read by Attractors and those that couldn't,
it was relatively easy for me to figure out what was needed. It's a relatively
easy fix: Simply put the string "PASCAL" at the beginning of the value for your
$SYS keyword. For existing data files, you would need to edit them (and this
may be less easy, since you have to make sure the length of the keyword section
remains the same if you don't want to edit the header information). If your
existing $SYS keyword is 6 or more characters long, then just replace the first
6 with PASCAL.

I don't know if this is still true for the most recent versions of Attractors,
it works for a version that we got a while ago.

Once again, shame on BD for not opening up this very fine program for general
data analysis use.

mr


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