File Menu

Open Log...
Selecting Open Log... from the File menu will open the log file for the current batch if you have enabled "Create Log Files" in the Action Settings. Spike log files do not store as much information as Spike Batch files. The log file stores the display in the report field and the main settings. Opening a log file will not reload a stored configuration the way that opening a batch file does. Log files open in their own window and can be edited in that window using the text menu that will appear when the menu is visible. Log files may also be printed from the text window.

Open Batch...
Selecting Open Batch... from the File menu will reload a Spike Batch file from a previous Spike session and display the results in the report field, at the same time reconfiguring Spike so that all other settings and features of the program will function exactly as if you had just run the selected batch (provided that you haven't moved any of the movies). Contrast this to the "Open log..." menu item which does not reconfigure the program or load its data into the report field but rather, opens a log file in a text window. Use "Open Batch..." when you want to completely reload a batch session; use "Open Log..." when you need to compare a log with information that you're looking at in the report field.

Open Graph...
This will open a Graph file if you've saved one to disk. This is useful for comparing graphs of the same or similar movies that have been compressed with slightly different settings.

Open Other...
The Open Other menu option allows you to open any Spike-compatible file (but not Spike Batch Files) or text file. Files that may be opened via this menu option include Spike Logs, List of Spikes, or Spike Alert Lists.

Close
Selecting Close will close the frontmost window in Spike. The main Spike window can only be closed by quitting the program.

Close All
Selecting Close will close all open Spike windows except the main Spike window which can only be closed by quitting the program.

Save
The Save menu item is available when viewing a Spike Log, List of Spikes, or Spike Alert List or when viewing the Help window. Selecting Save while viewing the online help will save a copy of all the help texts to disk.

Save as...
The Save as... menu item is available when you are viewing a Spike Log, List of Spikes, or Spike Alert List and lets you save the contents of the text window under a new name.

Save Batch...
When you save a batch file, you are saving all the data associated with the file, including all the data that was retrieved or calculated from during the batch process. Further, a batch file contains the current configuration of the Settings window. When you use Open Batch..., you completely reload all settings and data associated with a previous batch.

Export Graph...
Use this to export a Graph (PICT) file of the current movie. The file will contain image of the graph and also the values for the various horizontal thresholds.

Page Setup...
Displays the standard Page Setup box, recalling any settings made the previous time you opened Page Setup.

Print
Selecting Print while the main window is the uppermost window will print the contents of the Report Field. Selecting print while viewing a Spike Log, List of Spikes, or Spike Alert List or anything displayed in the Text window will print that document. Selecting Print while viewing a Graph will print the graph (watch out: some graphics are long. Most are best printed in landscape (horizontal) mode. Selecting Print while viewing the Help screen will print the Help documentation.

Help
Select help to return to the Help window. You will usually be brought to the help topic about the last button or field you clicked on with the mouse or the last menu item you selected. While you are in the Help area

Quit
Selecting Quit to exit the program If you have not saved your batch file and you have selected the appropriate warnings settings in the Action Settings, you will be given the option to save the current batch.

Edit Menu

The options in the Edit menu are only available when you are viewing a Spike Log, List of Spikes, Spike Alert List, or other text file in Spike's Text window.

Text Menu

The Text menu is available when you are viewing a Spike Log, List of Spikes, Spike Alert List, or other text file in the Spikes text window.

Tools Menu

Because the Tool Menu command keys are customizable (by way of the Settings Window, General Pane) your Tools menu might have keyboard shortcuts next to some or all of the menu options.

Settings...
The "Settings..." menu item takes you to the "Settings" window where you can configure the batch processing defaults and other aspects of Spike. Selecting "Settings" from the "Tools' menu is equivalent to pressing the "Settings" button at the bottom of the main Spike window.

Analyze...
The Analyze menu item prompts you to select a folder of QuickTime movies for analysis. Note that nested folders are also included in the choice. Non-QuickTime files are ignored. Selecting "Check datarates" from the "Tools" menu is equivalent to pressing the "Analyze" button at the top of the main Spike window. Holding the optionKey down while selecting "Analyze" will let you select individual movie files instead of folders.

Play Movie
With a movie selected in the report field selecting this menu item will play the movie in a window. There are other ways to preview movies that are accessible from the "Details" portion of the screen. The movie playback window will originally be aligned with the lower right corner of your screen. Selecting "Play Movie" from the Tools menu is equivalent to pressing the "Play Movie" button at the bottom of the main Spike window.

Graph
The Graph menu item opens the graph window for the current movie. Selecting the graph menu item with the option key will open the graph window scrolled to the currently selected frame. selecting "Graph" from the Tools menu is equivalent to pressing the "Graph" button on the right ("Details") side of the main Spike window.

List Spikes
This menu option generates a list of spiking regions for the current movie and opens the window containing that list. Note that the generation of this list can take a bit of time on slower machines. The list is in the format:

Movie name
Full movie path
frame xxx to yyy (HH:MM:SS:FF to HH:MM:SS:FF) max = nnn

Text Window
Selecting this item will toggle the visibility of Spike's text window in which the latest Spike Log, List of Spikes, Spike Alert List will be displayed.

Internet Menu

Selecting items from the Internet Menu should bring you to the appropriate area of YAV.com if either of the following two conditions are met: 1) you are using the Internet Config extension, or 2) you aren't using Internet Config but NetScape is running in the background.

Spike HomePage
Selecting this item will take you to Spike's homepage if you are running the Internet Congif extension or Netscape is running in the background.

Online Documentation
Selecting this item will take you to online documentation for Spike if you are running the Internet Congif extension or Netscape is running in the background. If you have the latest version, the online documentation is the same as what you have available in this Help window.

Online Tutorial
Selecting this item will take you to an online tutorial for Spike if you are running the Internet Congif extension or Netscape is running in the background. To take the tutorial, you will need a single QuickTime Movie and a program to compress multiple versions of that movie, each with different settings (such as Terran's Movie Cleaner Pro or Apple's Movie Player).

Latest Version
Selecting this item will take you to a place where you can download the latest version of Spike (if you are running the Internet Congif extension or Netscape is running in the background).

Online Registration
Selecting this item will take you to the online registration area for Spike if you are running the Internet Congif extension or Netscape is running in the background.

www.yav.com
Selecting this item will take you to YAV's homepage (http://www.yav.com) if you are running the Internet Congif extension or Netscape is running in the background.