v0.5.2

Binary release October 19, 2020

Bug Fixes:

• Fix bug when inserting Splitters into the signal chain; saving the recovery config no longer changes the Splitter’s internal state
• Disable updating of recovery config when loading signal chains
• Add 2 s waiting period for shutting down the Record Thread, to give Record Engines time to close files properly
• Restore event and spike writing to Open Ephys data format
• Temporarily disable connections between MessageCenter and Record Nodes; this prevents text events from being written to disk, which was causing crashes for some data formats. This connection will be restored in an upcoming patch release.

Warning: This version of the GUI may not load configurations from older versions of the GUI.

v0.5.1

Binary release September 30, 2020

Bug Fixes:

• Make GraphNode width dynamic to fit plugin name
• Change plugin and shared directory location for Plugin Installer depending on GUI build type
  • If GUI is built from source:
    • Plugin Installer plugins and shared dependencies will be installed at executable-level plugins and shared directory respectively
    • lastConfig, recoveryConfig and windowState XML files will be saved at the same level as executable
  • If GUI is installed using installers/zip:
    • Same as in v0.5.0
  • This change fixes the bug with NIDAQ devices not being detected by the NIDAQ plugin in v0.5.0 (open-ephys-plugins/nidaq-plugin#5)

Note [Windows ZIP users only]: Before upgrading from v0.5.0 to v0.5.1 using ZIP binaries, make sure you delete everything inside C:\ProgramData\Open Ephys. You'll have to re-download the plugins you installed using Plugin Installer after upgrading.

v0.5.0

Binary release September 16, 2020

New Features / Enhancements:

Plugin Installer

• The GUI now includes a built-in Plugin Installer for browsing, installing, and upgrading plugins. This will make it possible to distribute user-contributed plugins without needing to compile them from source. The Installer automatically detects available plugins, and it only takes a single click to install plugin binaries that are compatible with your operating system and GUI version. The Plugin Installer can be accessed via the “File” menu, or by pressing Ctrl/Cmd-P
• On Windows, installed plugins are stored in C:\ProgramData\Open Ephys
• On Mac, installed plugins are stored in ~/Library/Application Support/open-ephys
• On Linux, installed plugins are stored in ~/.open-ephys

Record Node

• Rather than sending all data through a centralized processor for disk writing, the GUI’s Record Node now behaves like a plugin
• The locations in the signal chain at which data is being recorded is now more explicit (and the GUI will warn you if no Record Node has been inserted)
• The Record Node includes a much larger, richer interface for channel selection and recording configuration
• Adding multiple record nodes makes it possible to distribute recording across several disks, or even record to multiple data formats simultaneously
• The Record Node only receives connections from processors that are actively recording, reducing CPU load
• Subprocessors connected to the same physical digital input line will automatically synchronize their timestamps (Binary format only)

LFP Viewer

• LFP Viewer can now be run in “triggered” mode, using a TTL input channel to determine when the display is refreshed.
  • Daniel Wagenaar (@wagenadl ) PR #344

GraphViewer

• Simplified algorithm for GraphViewer layout
• Improved aesthetics of GraphViewer

Recovery configs

• The GUI will auto-save a new configuration whenever the signal chain is updated; if a crash occurs, the latest state can be easily recovered

Pass-through sinks

• It is no longer a requirement that Sinks terminate a signal chain. Sinks can now be placed in the middle of a signal chain, and data will pass through unaffected. This will alleviate the need to use Splitters in many cases.

Improved Merger behavior

• A merger can only be connected to processors at the end of a signal chain, and which are not downstream of itself, in order to prevent loops
• Right-clicking on the Merger editor title bar now brings up a menu for configuring either input source
• Disabling event merging is no longer allowed, as this prevents buffer size messages from being transmitted

Performance enhancements

• Acquisition starts much faster when using multiple Neuropixels probes

Platform-specific installers

• GitHub actions automatically generates installers for macOS, Windows, and Ubuntu
• The GUI binaries can also be downloaded as a .zip file

New documentation site

• Available at https://open-ephys.github.io/gui-docs

v0.4.6

Binary release March 11, 2020

This is the first release featuring automatic deployment. Pre-compiled binaries are now hosted on Bintray: https://dl.bintray.com/open-ephys-gui/Release/

Updates to the GUI include:

• LFP Viewer now allows switching between sub-processors while acquisition is active
• Neuropixels PXI, Neuropixels 3a, Probe Viewer, and Stream Muxer plugins are included by default on Windows (i.e., there is no longer a separate Neuropixels version of the GUI)
• File Reader re-starts from the beginning of the file when starting acquisition
• Bug fixes and performance enhancements

v0.4.4

Binary release September 23, 2018
Major update, recommended for all users

• Updated FrontPanel DLL that should provide better performance for our acquisition board on Linux
• Support for Intan's Recording Controller
• An improved PulsePal plugin that supports configuration from the software
• Stability and performance fixes

v0.4.0

Binary release February 04, 2016
Major update, recommended for all users

• New plugin-based architecture
• Improved command set to control GUI from NetworkEvents
• Added programable sample clock output to FPGA
• Various bugfixes and code cleanup