Usage

In the present version there are four ways to call the program (once installed in a directory accessible to the path)

• Click (or double click) on the icon of edfEdit
• Drag and drop an edf file to the icon of edfEdit
• Calling from the text interface the program (edfEdit)
• Calling from the text interface the program followed by the file that we want to edit (edfEdit edffile)

The usage of the program is (I hope) quite easy. At first, the global header and the header of the first signal (called signal 0) are shown. Do not forget that the signals are numbered beginning by 0. To navigate through other signals you can change the spinbox called signal.

If you maintain the cursor over any field, a tooltip appears, describing succinctly the specification of EDF(+) that applies to the field. Then you can change any field. To navigate through the header of the different signals included in the file you can use the spinbox whose label is signal:¨

Number of Signals and Samples/record have a gray background color indicating that they cannot be edited. Since these fields have a deep effect changing the relations between signals inside the data records, changing these fields would almost certainly produce the destruction of the file.

In this version you have a set of buttons:

• Open a new file. It can be used to open a new file as well as to create new directories, erase files and other similar tasks. Once you load the file, the header (the original header) is maintained until you load another file, even if you do some modifications or save the file
• Restore the original values. Sometimes you do some changes but you prefer to return to the original header (e.g., after saving a different file). This button allows the recovery of the header to the state when the file was loaded
• Exit without saving. This button exits without further warning.
• Save. This button saves the modified header on the original file. Since it only changes the header (data records are not modified) it is a very fast procedure. If you decide to cancel the changes, you can restore the original values and then save again but this procedure can only be used provided that a new file has not been loaded
• Save as... A file dialog appears to choose a file where the modified header together with the data records will be saved. Since it copies the whole file, it can be a slow process
• Check the header. A new dialog appears with some (quite primitive at the moment) checking of the modified header
• Edit patient/record in EDF+ mode. EDF+ specifies a set of rules to define subfields in patient and record. A dialog appears allowing the edition of the subfields
• about edfEdit a small piece of autopropaganda

In summary, this is the procedure:

• To see the header of a file
  • Open the file
  • When finished, leave the program clicking on Exit without saving
• To modify some fields
  • Open the file
  • Change the fields
  • Click on the button Save (Overwrite the file)
• To create a copy of the file with some modified fields (e.g., to make a recording anonymous)
  • Open the file
  • Change the fields
  • Click on the button Save as... and continue the usual procedure (the original file and the original header do not change)
• To recover the original header
  • Click on the button Restore the original values
• To create a new directory where some files will be saved
  • Click on Open a new file
  • Navigate until the father directory
  • Click on the icon showing a folder with a star
• To rename/delete a file/directory
  • Click on Open a new file
  • Select the file/directory
  • Click the right button of the mouse and select Rename/delete
• To check the header
  • Click on the button Check the header
  • You can continue modifying the header and whenever refresh is clicked a new report is created
• To recover the original file once you leave the program
  • Nothing to do: Do you see the importance of working on a copy of the file?

Perhaps you think that this small program is over-documented. I think so, but in Neurotraces we write tutorials ;-).