The Documentation Portal for LCLS Analysis Tools

Recommended Next Topics

Foreword

This site presents a complete documentation for the data analysis tools and methods which are presently supported at LCLS. If this is the first time you're visiting this page then we advise that you read the rest of this page to learn how to get most (and do it quicker) out of the information which we've prepared for you here.

The first tip is on how to find the information you need. This is what we suggest:

note the document tree on the left side bar of the Portal. The tree is designed to help you find your way to the right document. If you won't see the tree then it's most likely turned off. That' easy to fix - just look on the top-right side of this page and notice a little icon (left to the 'Search' box) which will toggle the visibility of the side bar.
most pages in this site list topics to review next, as well as additional related topics
feel free to use search on the sidebar just above the tree. Please do so only if you know what you're looking for. In other cases a better approach would be to use the tree structure to get yourself familiar with the general structure of the documentation. This may make your search more efficient.
some pages on this site will redirect you (if needed) to other Confluence 'spaces' (sites). Note that the 'Search' will not propagate to those other spaces
for those who're impatient enough to "get the right answer" quicker we have also prepared the usual HOWTO which is found in the very end of the document tree. If you think there is something important missing on the HOWTO list then let us know please. You may contact us as explained at the bottom of this page.

Steps to follow to begin using our software

get yourself a computer account at PCDS (external link to the main PCDS space)
configure your environment as explained here (the link to the account configuration)
learn which computing and storage resources are available for LCLS users (external link)
know where the data of your experiment are located and (use Web Portal to locate the experiment, go to the 'Files' section)
you may also need to look through our Data Policies (external link). Note that data files of older experiments may not be available on disk and you may need to order then to be restored from tape before you can do your analysis.
read an overview of the analysis tools to decided which one would work bets for you

Where to look for help with the Analysis tools

We advise sending your questions to our "hot line" e-mail: pcds-help@slac.stanford.edu. One of our experts will contact you.

In case if you run into some problem with our software then it would be helpful if you provided the following information:

on which machine you're seeing the problem
which software are you using
which data (files, etc.) you're trying to read, or where you're writing your results (intermediate files, etc.)

How to contact us for comments, suggestions on this documentation

We try do our best in keeping documents on this Portal complete and current. If you notice any errors, or if you think we should add something to the Portal then you have two options:

contact us by sending a message to: pcds-help@slac.stanford.edu
or leave a comment right at the page which you think needs to be corrected or improved