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Graphical User Interfaces (GUI)

All functionality of the Cow Suite is readily accessed via a corresponding GUI. This section will provide a brief overview of what expects you while using Cow Eyes, Cow Picker or the Micrograph Quality Checker (MQC).


The basic sections of the Cow's graphical user interface (GUI) are the following:

Workspace: To open a new project, click on the + symbol (“New Project”) at the top-left corner of the GUI. Name your project and specify the filepath where you would like to store it. Open a new workspace (this is where the logics will be stored; see Logics Panel) by clicking the + symbol in the top-middle portion of the screen. To zoom, simply click on the white area in the middle of the screen and use the zoom bar that appears in the top-right portion of the screen.

Logics Panel: Specific functions in the Cow are arranged in logics, which are the basic units of the image processing workflow. Logics are arranged in logics groups according to their function on the left-hand side of the GUI. Logics are dragged and dropped into the Workspace for visual programming. The Logics Panel can be easily navigated with the search bar at the top of the Panel. Note: For an in-depth explanation of a particular logic, please see the Logics

Quick Access: When working with multiple tabs in the Cow, you can copy-and-paste logics from the History window and store them in the Quick Access window. Just go to the History box, then click and drag the desired logic into the Container above. If the logic has already been run, then it will retain the information it has processed when stored in the container.

History: To easily keep track of your workflow, every logic you use is logged in the box on the left-hand side of the GUI. This log can be easily navigated using the search bar immediately above it.

Properties: When a logic has been placed in the workspace, it often needs to be adjusted according to your preferences using the Properties window. To access this window, click on the logic in your workspace. The Properties window appears at the top-right corner of the GUI.

Control Panel: The Control Panel appears directly under the Properties Window when you are working with logics that offer interactive viewers (e.g. those used for 3D reconstructions).