Getting Started

The first step on either beamline is to log onto the three panel beamline control computer: either IDC23 or BMC93. If you do not have a user account and (or) password you will need to contact your local user support person.

Once you are logged onto one of the control computers you will need to start the MAR remote server. Open a new terminal window and enter the command Marccd <>. This will start the Marccd software and place the detector control in remote server mode. The Marccd window will normally open in the left hand most of the three terminal windows.

Once the Marccd program has been started open a new terminal window and enter the following command: sergui <>. This will open the sergui startup window shown below.

This screen is used to setup your directory paths for your data archival. All data at Ser-CAT is accessible in the /data directory on all data processing machines. The /data path is a symbolic link to the actual hardware device where your data is located. The name entered into the entry field of the User Identification GUI will be used to define your data path. If you entered staff into the entry field, your data paths would be:

raw data: /data/ID_staff.raw

compressed data: /data/ID_staff.gzip

The ID_ or BM_ prefix will be appended to your path to specify which beamline you are using. Your data will be archived to /data/####.raw and then compressed and copied over to /data/###.gzip. You can read more about the SER-CAT data flow and archival procedure here.

After you enter the appropriate information and hit okay, the sergui will open to the logbook page.

The logbook page will show the active short term archive directory, in this case /data/BM_staff.raw. You can create and change your archive path by pressing the Browse button which will display the following gui:

From this gui you can navigate through your data path or create new directories. To create a new directory, simply add a /new_directory into the entry field and enter a carriage return – NOTE: you can only create 1 new directory at a time. After you change/create the directory path, the logbook window will update to the new path.

If you go and look in your short term archive location you will see 2 files: sergui_log.html and archive. The archive file is an ASCII file which specifies the archive path for your data from the short to long term archive location. The sergui_log.html file is an html file that is a complete log of your activities through the sergui interface. The sergui_log.html file is a good source of information and documentation for your visit.

At this point you should have the Marccd program running in the left hand display and the sergui interface running in the center display. You are now ready to set the experimental energy and align the beam line.

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We welcome your questions and comments. Send e-mail to: SER-CATwebmaster@anl.gov