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5 | <title>Starting and Running Gmaj</title> |
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10 | <body> |
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11 | <p class=vvlarge> |
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12 | <h2>Starting and Running Gmaj</h2> |
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13 | <p class=vvlarge> |
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14 | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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15 | <p class=small> |
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16 | <ul class=notop> |
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17 | <li><a href="#intro">Introduction</a> |
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18 | <li><a href="#start">Starting Gmaj</a> |
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19 | <li><a href="#memory">Memory Allocation</a> |
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20 | <li><a href="#windows">Multi-Pip and Dotplot Windows</a> |
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21 | <li><a href="#state">The Zoom and the Mark</a> |
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22 | <li><a href="#layout">Window Layout</a> |
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23 | <li><a href="#mouse">Mouse Controls</a> |
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24 | <li><a href="#menu">Menus and Widgets</a> |
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25 | <li><a href="#copy">Copying and Printing</a> |
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26 | <li><a href="#notes">Footnotes</a> |
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27 | </ul> |
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28 | <p class=vlarge> |
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29 | |
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30 | <p class=hdr> |
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31 | <h3><a name="intro">Introduction</a></h3> |
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32 | <p> |
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33 | Gmaj can be run in two different modes: as an applet over the |
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34 | world-wide web (for viewing data delivered from a server), or as |
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35 | a stand-alone application (for viewing data stored on your own |
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36 | computer). These modes are mostly similar but have a few minor |
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37 | differences, as noted below. |
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38 | <p> |
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39 | |
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40 | <p class=hdr> |
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41 | <h3><a name="start">Starting Gmaj</a></h3> |
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42 | <p> |
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43 | If you are using Gmaj in applet mode, it will be started for you |
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44 | when you visit the applicable web page or submit a query to the |
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45 | server. If the Gmaj window does not appear automatically, just |
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46 | click on the labeled button to view the indicated data. Then |
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47 | skip the rest of this section. |
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48 | <p> |
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49 | If you are using Gmaj in stand-alone mode, you need to start it |
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50 | yourself. The Java runtime environment does not have its own |
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51 | GUI, so you generally need to run Gmaj from a command line (e.g., |
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52 | in the Command Prompt window on Windows XP). The basic command |
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53 | to type in looks like this: |
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54 | <pre> |
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55 | [path1]java -jar [path2]gmaj.jar |
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56 | </pre> |
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57 | where <code>[path1]</code> is the location of your |
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58 | <code>java</code> program file (perhaps |
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59 | <code>c:\windows\system32\</code> on WinXP, or |
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60 | <code>/usr/bin/java/</code> on a Unix system), and |
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61 | <code>[path2]</code> is the location where the |
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62 | <code>gmaj.jar</code> file was installed. Note that you can |
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63 | leave off <code>[path1]</code> if you have set up your system |
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64 | command path to include the location of the <code>java</code> |
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65 | program. Depending on how your system is set up, it may also be |
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66 | possible to run the jar file directly by just typing its name or |
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67 | double-clicking on it. |
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68 | <p> |
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69 | Since you haven't yet specified any data to display, Gmaj will |
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70 | begin by presenting a dialog box to prompt you for the name of |
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71 | your input file (see <a href="gmaj_input.html" |
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72 | >Input Files for Gmaj</a>). If the file is located in the |
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73 | current directory you can just type its name, otherwise you'll |
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74 | need to supply a complete path. When you click the OK button, |
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75 | a window will appear displaying the loaded data. |
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76 | <p> |
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77 | As an alternative to using the dialog box, you can specify the |
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78 | input file (plus additional parameters) on the command line. |
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79 | As of this writing, the command syntax is: |
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80 | <pre> |
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81 | [path1]java -jar [path2]gmaj.jar |
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82 | [-version] [-help] [-debug] [-urlpause <millisec>] |
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83 | [-initzoom <refseqname> <start> <end>] |
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84 | [-bundle <zipfile>] [<paramfile>|<alignfile>] |
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85 | </pre> |
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86 | <p> |
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87 | This has been wrapped here for easier readability, but should be |
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88 | typed all on one line. Arguments shown in square brackets |
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89 | <code>[]</code> are optional, while a vertical bar <code>|</code> |
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90 | indicates a choice between alternatives. Angle brackets |
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91 | <code><></code> signify meta-syntactic variables that |
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92 | should be replaced with your names or numbers. Don't type any |
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93 | of the brackets or the bar. |
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94 | <p> |
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95 | These parameters do the following: |
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96 | <dl> |
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97 | <dt> <code>-version</code>: |
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98 | <dd> Prints a message with information about Gmaj, including |
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99 | version, author, etc.; then exits. |
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100 | <dt> <code>-help</code>: |
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101 | <dd> Prints a brief help message with up-to-date syntax; then |
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102 | exits. |
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103 | <dt> <code>-debug</code>: |
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104 | <dd> Instructs Gmaj to print extra warning messages in |
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105 | your terminal window if certain problems occur. Normally |
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106 | you won't need this, as it is mainly for development |
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107 | purposes. |
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108 | <dt> <code>-urlpause</code>: |
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109 | <dd> Specifies how many milliseconds the program should pause |
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110 | before retrieving each file from a URL, in order to avoid |
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111 | overloading the server. |
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112 | <dt> <code>-initzoom</code>: |
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113 | <dd> Specifies an initial zoom setting to be applied when the |
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114 | window opens. You will still be able to invoke the Unzoom |
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115 | or Set Zoom features interactively to see the entire |
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116 | sequence range. The <code><refseqname></code> must |
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117 | match one of the sequence names from the alignment file(s), |
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118 | and the endpoints must include the offset (if any) for that |
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119 | sequence from the parameters file. To specify the reference |
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120 | sequence without a zoom region, use <code>-1</code> for both |
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121 | endpoints. |
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122 | <dt> <code>-bundle</code>: |
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123 | <dd> Specifies the name of a <code>.zip</code> or |
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124 | <code>.jar</code> file containing some or all of the data |
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125 | files. This option is mostly used with Gmaj's applet mode |
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126 | to streamline the data download, but it is also supported |
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127 | in stand-alone mode. It is described in |
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128 | <a href="gmaj_input.html">Input Files for Gmaj</a>. |
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129 | <dt> <code><paramfile></code>: |
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130 | <dd> This is the meta-data parameters file that lists the names |
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131 | of all the data files, plus a few related parameters such as |
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132 | display offsets and any intrinsic reference sequence. For |
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133 | more information about the contents and format of this file, |
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134 | please see <a href="gmaj_input.html">Input Files for Gmaj</a> |
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135 | and <code><a href="sample.gmaj">sample.gmaj</a></code>. |
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136 | <dt> <code><alignfile></code>: |
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137 | <dd> If you don't want to use any annotations or other |
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138 | data-related options, you can specify a single alignment |
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139 | file directly, instead of creating a parameters file. |
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140 | This must be in MAF format; see <a href="gmaj_input.html" |
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141 | >Input Files for Gmaj</a> for more details. |
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142 | </dl> |
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143 | <p> |
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144 | |
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145 | <p class=hdr> |
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146 | <h3><a name="memory">Memory Allocation</a></h3> |
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147 | <p> |
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148 | If the dataset you want to view is large, Gmaj may run out of |
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149 | memory, in which case Java will report an |
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150 | <code>OutOfMemoryError</code>. This message will appear in the |
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151 | command window where you started Gmaj (for stand-alone mode) or |
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152 | in the Java Console window of your web browser (for applet mode). |
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153 | If the Java Console window does not appear when you run the Gmaj |
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154 | applet, open the Java Plug-in Control Panel on your computer and |
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155 | click the setting for Show Console so you can see this and other |
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156 | Java messages. |
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157 | <p> |
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158 | The <code>OutOfMemoryError</code> is not uncommon, because the |
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159 | default amount of memory that Java allocates is rather small. |
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160 | You can give it more memory using the <code>-Xmx</code> switch |
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161 | (at least with Sun's Java; this option may not be supported by |
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162 | all vendors). For example, when using stand-alone mode the |
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163 | command line |
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164 | <pre> |
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165 | [path1]java -Xmx1024m -jar [path2]gmaj.jar |
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166 | </pre> |
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167 | runs Gmaj with a heap memory allowance of ~1 gigabyte. For the |
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168 | applet, you can do this by opening the Java Plug-in Control Panel |
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169 | on your computer and entering <code>-Xmx1024m</code> in the Java |
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170 | Runtime Parameters box (this will affect all applets you run via |
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171 | the Java Plug-in, not just Gmaj). |
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172 | <p> |
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173 | |
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174 | <p class=hdr> |
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175 | <h3><a name="windows">Multi-Pip and Dotplot Windows</a></h3> |
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176 | <p> |
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177 | Gmaj has two kinds of windows. The main one displays a number |
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178 | of pips (percent identity plots) showing the pairwise alignments, |
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179 | projected from the multiple alignments, of a particular reference |
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180 | sequence against each of the other sequences. A pip is similar |
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181 | to a dotplot, with the horizontal <code>x</code>-axis |
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182 | representing positions in the reference sequence, but the |
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183 | vertical <code>y</code>-axis represents the percentage of |
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184 | matching nucleotides in each gap-free segment of the pairwise |
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185 | alignment, instead of its position in the second sequence. The |
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186 | window you see first when Gmaj opens is usually of this type, and |
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187 | if the alignments are reference-independent, you can open more of |
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188 | these with other sequences as the reference. |
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189 | <p> |
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190 | The second type of window focuses exclusively on a particular |
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191 | pair of sequences, and displays one pip together with its |
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192 | corresponding dotplot representation (similar to Gmaj's |
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193 | predecessor, <a href="http://globin.bx.psu.edu/dist/laj/" |
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194 | >Laj</a>). These windows are opened upon request, by clicking |
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195 | on a button in the header for a particular pip in the multi-pip |
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196 | window. Conceptually the dotplot windows are like children of |
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197 | their parent multi-pip window: they have the same reference |
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198 | sequence, and if you close a dotplot only that one window closes, |
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199 | but if you close the parent all of its children close too. |
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200 | <p> |
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201 | For the special case where the alignment files have only two |
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202 | sequences, the main window is redundant so Gmaj automatically |
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203 | hides it and shows the dotplot window directly. |
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204 | <p> |
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205 | |
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206 | <p class=hdr> |
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207 | <h3><a name="state">The Zoom and the Mark</a></h3> |
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208 | <p> |
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209 | Gmaj has two main elements of user state that reflect the user's |
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210 | interactive manipulation of the display. The first is the zoom |
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211 | region, i.e. the portion of the reference and secondary sequences |
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212 | that is currently displayed; this is one-dimensional for |
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213 | multi-pip windows and two-dimensional for dotplots. As the zoom |
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214 | is changed, the previous regions are remembered in a history |
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215 | list, so you can go back and forward through it similar to a web |
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216 | browser. Each Gmaj window has its own separate zoom and history; |
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217 | when opening a new window the current zoom region is translated |
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218 | initially, but then they are independent. As a convenience, |
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219 | each new window begins with several zoom regions already in the |
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220 | history: the fully unzoomed sequence length(s), as specified in |
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221 | the MAF files; the aligning portion of the applicable sequence(s); |
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222 | and an approximate translation of the previous window's current |
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223 | zoom (or in the case of the very first window, the initial zoom |
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224 | specified in the command-line or applet parameters, if any). |
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225 | The boundaries of the current region are displayed in a status |
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226 | indicator in the upper right corner of the window, below the |
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227 | menu bar. |
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228 | <p> |
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229 | The second state element is called the "mark", and it represents |
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230 | a particular selected point in a particular pairwise pip+dotplot |
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231 | and a particular MAF block. It is typically selected by clicking |
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232 | in a pip, dotplot, or text alignment, and is drawn as a small |
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233 | <a href="#red">red</a> circle in the plots, and also as a red |
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234 | highlight in the text alignment. Unlike the zoom regions, the |
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235 | mark is shared among several windows: there is at most one mark |
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236 | for each reference sequence, and it appears in both the multi-pip |
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237 | window for that sequence and the dotplot corresponding to |
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238 | whichever pip the mark is currently in (the other dotplots, with |
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239 | different secondary sequences, will show some indirect information |
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240 | about the mark, but not the mark itself). Thus, moving the mark |
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241 | in a dotplot window will also move it in the parent multi-pip and |
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242 | vice-versa, but the mark for a different reference sequence is |
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243 | independent. Information about the current mark and plot block |
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244 | is displayed in one of the status indicators below the menu bar. |
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245 | <p> |
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246 | |
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247 | <p class=hdr> |
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248 | <h3><a name="layout">Window Layout</a></h3> |
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249 | <p> |
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250 | Each Gmaj window is divided into several sections. Across the |
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251 | top you will see a menu bar (including text boxes for setting |
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252 | display thresholds), and below that two lines containing |
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253 | status indicators with information about the position of the |
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254 | mouse pointer, the boundaries of the currently displayed zoom |
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255 | region, and the location of the mark (<a href="#red">red</a> |
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256 | circle), along with buttons for sliding the zoom region and |
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257 | selecting alternative blocks at the marked position. Several |
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258 | of the dividers between these items are <a href="#dividers" |
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259 | >draggable</a>, so you can adjust the relative space they |
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260 | occupy. Below these is a row of category checkboxes, which by |
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261 | default will only appear when there is more than one alignment |
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262 | file or if you have used the tagging feature. The menus, |
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263 | threshold boxes, buttons, and checkboxes are discussed |
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264 | individually in the <a href="#menu">Menus and Widgets</a> |
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265 | section of this document. |
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266 | <p> |
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267 | <i>Ruler:</i><br> |
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268 | The first graphical panel is a horizontal ruler that displays |
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269 | tick marks corresponding to positions in the currently selected |
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270 | reference sequence. These are intended to give you an immediate |
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271 | general feel for the location and scale of the region being |
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272 | displayed. Precise locations can be determined via the position |
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273 | indicator, which displays the exact coordinate of the mouse |
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274 | pointer. |
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275 | <p> |
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276 | <i>Reconstruction scores:</i><br> |
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277 | For ancestral reconstruction alignments, the MAF files may |
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278 | contain scores indicating the confidence that 1) a particular |
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279 | inferred ancestral nucleotide is correct, and that 2) it was |
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280 | present at all. The next two panels display bar graphs of these |
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281 | scores when the ancestral sequence is the reference. The scores |
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282 | are binned according to the current zoom region and panel width, |
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283 | and the mean score for each bin is graphed on a scale of 0 - 1 |
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284 | (note that the scores are transformed via simple linear scaling, |
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285 | and should not be interpreted as probabilities). For this to |
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286 | work, the parameters file must specify which organism the scores |
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287 | apply to. Otherwise, or if there are no scores in the file, or |
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288 | if a different sequence is currently the reference, these panels |
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289 | will not appear. The position indicator displays the horizontal |
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290 | coordinate and vertical score position of the mouse pointer, |
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291 | along with the score for the bar at that location (if any). |
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292 | <p> |
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293 | <i>Linkbars:</i><br> |
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294 | Next is a panel that can display links to additional information |
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295 | about various regions in the current reference sequence. Each |
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296 | annotation is represented by a color-coded bar spanning the |
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297 | region's position in the sequence. (The bars' vertical positions |
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298 | are not meaningful; they are only placed in rows for convenience, |
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299 | to keep them from overlapping.) Pointing to a particular bar |
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300 | will cause the position indicator to display the <code>x</code> |
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301 | coordinate of the pointer, and also the type and description of |
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302 | that bar's annotation; otherwise only the <code>x</code> |
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303 | coordinate will be shown. In applet mode, clicking on a bar will |
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304 | open a separate browser window to visit the corresponding web |
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305 | site. In stand-alone mode Gmaj is not working within a web |
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306 | browser, so instead it displays the URL for you to visit manually |
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307 | via copy-and-paste. If no links file is provided for the current |
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308 | sequence, this panel will not appear. |
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309 | <p> |
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310 | <i>Sequence features:</i><br> |
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311 | The next two panels contain schematic diagrams of the known |
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312 | exons and interspersed repeats in the current reference sequence, |
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313 | respectively (if these files are provided). Any additional |
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314 | features such as CpG islands are included with the repeats (which |
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315 | is why the label says "repeats+"). The diagram for repeats uses |
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316 | the same symbols as <a href="http://pipmaker.bx.psu.edu/pipmaker/" |
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317 | >PipMaker</a> to indicate the various repeat categories (Alu, MIR, |
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318 | etc.), but only if either the PipMaker category or the |
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319 | <a href="http://www.repeatmasker.org/">RepeatMasker</a> name and |
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320 | class/family are available. For example, BED and GTF repeat |
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321 | files from the <a href="http://genome.ucsc.edu/cgi-bin/hgTables" |
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322 | >UCSC Table Browser</a> include the RepeatMasker name but not the |
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323 | class/family, so Gmaj cannot determine the PipMaker category and |
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324 | draws all of them as "Other". As usual, the position indicator |
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325 | displays the <code>x</code> coordinate of the mouse pointer, and |
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326 | also identifies any features at that position. |
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327 | <p> |
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328 | <i>Plots:</i><br> |
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329 | The following panels display the alignment plots according to the |
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330 | window type: either a scrollable stack of <a href="#windows" |
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331 | >pips</a> (for the reference sequence against each of the others) |
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332 | or a single pip and its corresponding dotplot. For pips, only |
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333 | the top half of each plot is shown, since segments matching less |
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334 | than 50% are usually not very interesting. Plot segments from |
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335 | the primary alignment file are drawn with thin black lines, while |
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336 | those from subsequent files are drawn with thicker brown lines. |
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337 | Tagged blocks are green, and the marked block is red (or orange |
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338 | if it is also tagged), though these may <a href="#red">vary</a> |
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339 | on colored backgrounds. When plot segments overlap, the marked |
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340 | and tagged ones are drawn "on top" so they won't be obscured, |
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341 | followed by other blocks from the primary alignment file and then |
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342 | the remaining files. Plots that are completely empty (i.e. if |
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343 | that pair of sequences never occurs together in any of the |
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344 | alignment blocks) will be painted gray. An additional feature of |
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345 | these panels is that colored backgrounds, or "underlays", can be |
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346 | used to highlight regions of interest (if files with this |
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347 | information are provided); dotplots can display these for both |
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348 | the reference and secondary sequences. Vertical blue bars at the |
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349 | edges of the plots represent the boundaries of the current zoom |
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350 | region, whose endpoints are displayed in the zoom indicator. For |
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351 | a pip, the position indicator displays the horizontal coordinate |
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352 | and vertical percentage position of the mouse pointer, along with |
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353 | a list of <a href="#numbering">block numbers</a> <a href="#cover" |
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354 | >covering</a> that location. For a dotplot, it displays the |
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355 | horizontal and vertical coordinates in the reference and secondary |
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356 | sequences, respectively. It will also display labels for the |
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357 | colored regions in both types of plots, if these are included in |
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358 | the underlay files. |
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359 | <p> |
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360 | <i>Text view:</i><br> |
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361 | The bottom panel displays a nucleotide-level view of a single |
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362 | selected alignment block: the one containing the mark |
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363 | (<a href="#red">red</a> circle). Initially it is empty, since |
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364 | you haven't set the mark yet. The top row of this display shows |
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365 | the current reference sequence, while the rows for the other |
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366 | sequences show a dot (<code>.</code>) wherever they match the |
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367 | reference sequence, and only explicitly list the nucleotides that |
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368 | don't match. (This matching is case-insensitive to deal with |
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369 | soft masking, but non-nucleotide characters such as |
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370 | <code>X</code> or <code>N</code> never match anything, even |
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371 | themselves.) All of the sequences will likely have had gaps |
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372 | (<code>-</code>) inserted by the alignment program. Note that |
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373 | most of the blocks will be much too long to fit across this |
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374 | window, so a scrollbar is provided; the relative size of the |
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375 | scrollbar's slider indicates what fraction of the alignment is |
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376 | shown in the window. Colored "highlights" (analogous to the plot |
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377 | underlays) can also be specified for each sequence; otherwise |
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378 | Gmaj will provide default highlights based on the exons files |
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379 | (if any). Whenever the mouse pointer is in this bottom panel, |
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380 | the position indicator displays its location in the format |
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381 | <code>n(x)</code>, where <code>n</code> is the column position |
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382 | in this aligned block (starting with 0), and <code>x</code> is |
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383 | the sequence position in the individual row (i.e., in that entire |
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384 | chromosome or contig, starting with 1). Note that <code>x</code> |
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385 | does not include the gaps, but <code>n</code> does. Labels for |
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386 | any highlights at that position are also displayed. |
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387 | <p> |
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388 | With the exception of the text view, all of these data panels use |
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389 | the same horizontal coordinate scale (i.e., position in the |
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390 | current reference sequence), and they are always kept vertically |
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391 | aligned so they can be compared easily. Note that in the |
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392 | multi-pip window the partition between the graphical panels and |
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393 | the text view is <a href="#dividers">draggable</a>, so you can |
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394 | adjust the relative amount of space they occupy. Also, individual |
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395 | panels can be hidden if desired, using the Options - Show dialog |
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396 | (see <a href="#menu">Menus and Widgets</a>). |
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397 | <p> |
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398 | <!-- |
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399 | <i>Dotplot:</i><br> |
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400 | The large middle panel displays a dotplot view of the alignments, |
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401 | with the reference sequence along the horizontal |
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402 | <code>x</code>-axis and the secondary sequence along the vertical |
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403 | <code>y</code>-axis. If the second sequence contains multiple |
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404 | contigs, they will appear as separate horizontal bands across the |
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405 | plot, each with its own <code>y</code>-axis coordinate system. |
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406 | Whenever the mouse pointer is in this panel, the position |
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407 | indicator displays its location in the format <code>x,y</code>, |
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408 | where <code>x</code> is the position in the horizontal sequence |
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409 | and <code>y</code> is the position in the vertical sequence. If |
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410 | there are multiple contigs, then the contig name will be |
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411 | displayed as well (actually only the first word is displayed, to |
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412 | prevent long names from crowding out the other information). |
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413 | <p> |
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414 | --> |
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415 | |
---|
416 | <p class=hdr> |
---|
417 | <h3><a name="mouse">Mouse Controls</a></h3> |
---|
418 | <p> |
---|
419 | As discussed in more detail <a href="#layout">above</a>, |
---|
420 | pointing with the mouse in the plots or other panels causes the |
---|
421 | position indicator below the menu bar to display information |
---|
422 | about that location and/or data item. |
---|
423 | <p> |
---|
424 | You can select a particular alignment block by clicking on one |
---|
425 | of its segments in any of the plots (pips or dotplots) with the |
---|
426 | left mouse button. (You don't have to click exactly on it, |
---|
427 | because Gmaj will automatically jump to the nearest point if you |
---|
428 | miss; however proximity is measured in bases, not pixels, which |
---|
429 | can lead to non-intuitive results if the dotplot's zoom scale is |
---|
430 | highly skewed.) The spot will be marked with a small |
---|
431 | <a href="#red">red</a> circle, and the entire alignment block |
---|
432 | containing the mark will change color from black to |
---|
433 | <a href="#red">red</a> in all of the plots for that reference |
---|
434 | sequence (each block typically spans several gap-free segments). |
---|
435 | Also, the corresponding text view for that block will appear in |
---|
436 | the bottom panel with the marked position highlighted. Lastly, |
---|
437 | the mark indicator will be filled in with information about the |
---|
438 | marked block and position, and a row of buttons will appear next |
---|
439 | to it showing the <a href="#numbering">block numbers</a> |
---|
440 | <a href="#cover">covering</a> the marked location. These buttons |
---|
441 | allow convenient selection of a different block at the same |
---|
442 | position in the reference sequence, from the same or a different |
---|
443 | alignment file (see <a href="#menu">Menus and Widgets</a>). |
---|
444 | Note that there is only one mark at a time for each reference |
---|
445 | sequence, so the previous one, if any, will be unmarked. |
---|
446 | <p> |
---|
447 | In a similar fashion, clicking the left mouse button in the |
---|
448 | text view will move the mark (both the highlight and the |
---|
449 | <a href="#red">red</a> circle) to that position. However, gap |
---|
450 | positions cannot be selected in this manner because they do not |
---|
451 | correspond to plot segments; if you click in a gap, the nearest |
---|
452 | gap-free position is selected instead. Also, if you click on a |
---|
453 | position in the reference sequence (which has no corresponding |
---|
454 | pip), the mark will move to the new column but will remain in |
---|
455 | the same pip as before. |
---|
456 | <p> |
---|
457 | You can "zoom in" on a particular region by dragging out a |
---|
458 | rectangle with the left mouse button in any of the white panels |
---|
459 | (ruler, annotations, pip, or dotplot). All of these panels |
---|
460 | will always zoom together, to keep them lined up. This can be |
---|
461 | repeated until the maximum resolution is reached; after that |
---|
462 | Gmaj will display an error message. Additional zoom features |
---|
463 | are available via the Zoom menu and arrow buttons (see |
---|
464 | <a href="#menu">Menus and Widgets</a>). Note that selecting |
---|
465 | a new region will cause any entries in your zoom history that |
---|
466 | are forward of the current point to be discarded, similar to |
---|
467 | a web browser. If your rectangle is very tiny it will be |
---|
468 | treated as a click instead, to avoid unintended zooming. |
---|
469 | <p> |
---|
470 | Holding down the right mouse button over any of the white |
---|
471 | panels adds crosshairs at the mouse pointer's location, which |
---|
472 | is convenient for determining whether two regions really line |
---|
473 | up. If you have a one-button mouse, you can achieve the same |
---|
474 | effect by applying the <code>Shift</code> key when initially |
---|
475 | pressing the mouse button. |
---|
476 | <p> |
---|
477 | Note that these controls only work in the active window (usually |
---|
478 | indicated in the operating system by a differently colored title |
---|
479 | bar). If a window is not the active one, then your first click |
---|
480 | in it just activates the window; you will need to click again |
---|
481 | to set the mark, select a region, open a menu, etc. |
---|
482 | <p> |
---|
483 | |
---|
484 | <p class=hdr> |
---|
485 | <h3><a name="menu">Menus and Widgets</a></h3> |
---|
486 | <p> |
---|
487 | <dl> |
---|
488 | <dt>File - Open: |
---|
489 | <dd> |
---|
490 | Loads a new set of data files into Gmaj, replacing the currently |
---|
491 | displayed data. A dialog box is presented for you to specify the |
---|
492 | new input file. (See discussion under <a href="#start" |
---|
493 | >Starting Gmaj</a>, above.) This menu item does not appear in |
---|
494 | applet mode, because the user is unlikely to know the locations |
---|
495 | of other data files on the server; instead the webmaster should |
---|
496 | set up separate access for each dataset. |
---|
497 | <p> |
---|
498 | <dt>File - Export: |
---|
499 | <dd> |
---|
500 | Opens a dialog box that allows you to save alignment blocks in |
---|
501 | MAF format or as FastA sequence files. A variety of options are |
---|
502 | available re: which blocks to export, whether they should be |
---|
503 | clipped and/or cleaned up, whether to omit certain sequences, |
---|
504 | etc. Note that all-gap rows are always skipped, and so are |
---|
505 | blocks that have no rows left. When exporting in MAF format, |
---|
506 | if the alignment has a fixed, intrinsic reference sequence and |
---|
507 | that row is all gaps, the entire block will be skipped. When |
---|
508 | exporting FastA sequences, a separate file is created for each |
---|
509 | sequence name (i.e. species or contig), and there is an option |
---|
510 | to restore sequences that align in reverse complement to their |
---|
511 | original orientation (which will also swap the order of the |
---|
512 | endpoint coordinates in the FastA header). By default export is |
---|
513 | not available in applet mode, because security restrictions make |
---|
514 | it very awkward to save files on the client computer. However, |
---|
515 | the applet administrator can <a href="gmaj_install.html#page" |
---|
516 | >specify a URL</a> where the output can be sent instead (in this |
---|
517 | case only MAF format is supported). |
---|
518 | <p> |
---|
519 | <dt>File - Close: |
---|
520 | <dd> |
---|
521 | Closes the current window, and if it is a multi-pip window, all |
---|
522 | of its dotplot children are closed as well. When no windows are |
---|
523 | left, Gmaj will exit. |
---|
524 | <p> |
---|
525 | <dt>File - Exit: |
---|
526 | <dd> |
---|
527 | Exits from Gmaj. In stand-alone mode, also exits from Java. |
---|
528 | <p> |
---|
529 | <dt>Options: |
---|
530 | <dd> |
---|
531 | This menu controls some of the aesthetic aspects of Gmaj. You |
---|
532 | can choose between two sizes of fonts, which will also affect |
---|
533 | some other viewability settings, such as the thickness of the |
---|
534 | plot segments, the radius and thickness of the mark circle, the |
---|
535 | blackness of the ruler numbers, and the height of the pips. You |
---|
536 | can also choose to make the mark circle and the selected block's |
---|
537 | plot segments change color with the background instead of always |
---|
538 | being red (this makes them visible against red underlays, but is |
---|
539 | more complicated to explain in a figure legend and causes |
---|
540 | <a href="gmaj_bugs.html#xor">patchy rendering</a> when used with |
---|
541 | Large Fonts). Lastly, the Show item opens a dialog where you can |
---|
542 | choose which panels to display or hide, and whether the underlays |
---|
543 | should be painted on dotplots. The sequence selections here |
---|
544 | control which pips, dotplot windows, and text rows are displayed |
---|
545 | (except where that sequence is the reference). They can also |
---|
546 | serve to omit sequences from exports if desired; in this case |
---|
547 | they apply even to the reference sequence, but if the alignments |
---|
548 | have a fixed, intrinsic reference it will be grayed out to avoid |
---|
549 | exporting "orphaned" blocks. The choices on this menu affect all |
---|
550 | of the windows, not just the current one. |
---|
551 | <p> |
---|
552 | <dt>Reference: |
---|
553 | <dd> |
---|
554 | This menu allows you to select a different reference sequence |
---|
555 | (unless the parameters file indicates that the alignments have a |
---|
556 | fixed, intrinsic reference sequence). A new multi-pip window |
---|
557 | will open, showing the same data from the perspective of the |
---|
558 | sequence you chose. The mark (if any) will be copied to the new |
---|
559 | window as closely as possible, and the current zoom region will |
---|
560 | be translated to a roughly equivalent one showing the same blocks. |
---|
561 | Thereafter, the windows will operate independently. The text |
---|
562 | alignments will be rearranged to put the reference row at the top, |
---|
563 | but the rows are always shown in their MAF orientation. Thus if |
---|
564 | the reference row is on the '-' strand, its coordinates will |
---|
565 | <i>decrease</i> from left to right in the text panel. You can |
---|
566 | have one multi-pip window for each sequence in the data; if you |
---|
567 | already have one for the newly-chosen reference sequence, it will |
---|
568 | just be brought to the front unchanged. |
---|
569 | <p> |
---|
570 | <dt>Zoom - Back: |
---|
571 | <dd> |
---|
572 | Moves backward in your zoom history for this window, returning |
---|
573 | to previous regions. Does not affect the mark. |
---|
574 | <p> |
---|
575 | <dt>Zoom - Forward: |
---|
576 | <dd> |
---|
577 | Moves forward in your zoom history for this window. Does not |
---|
578 | affect the mark. |
---|
579 | <p> |
---|
580 | <dt>Zoom - Unzoom: |
---|
581 | <dd> |
---|
582 | Sets the zoom region for this window to the widest, unzoomed |
---|
583 | view, i.e., the full length of this entire reference sequence |
---|
584 | (and also this secondary sequence, for a dotplot) as specified in |
---|
585 | the MAF files. Has the same effect as entering the "valid range" |
---|
586 | endpoints in Set Zoom. Does not affect the mark. |
---|
587 | <p> |
---|
588 | <dt>Zoom - Set Zoom: |
---|
589 | <dd> |
---|
590 | Presents a dialog box that allows you to enter arbitrary zoom |
---|
591 | endpoints (within the valid ranges for the applicable sequences). |
---|
592 | Any left empty will be interpreted to mean "leave unchanged". |
---|
593 | The new region, if different from the current one, is added to |
---|
594 | your zoom history for this window. Any regions forward of the |
---|
595 | current point in your history are discarded (similar to a web |
---|
596 | browser). Does not affect the mark. |
---|
597 | <p> |
---|
598 | <dt>Tags - Tag/Untag Block: |
---|
599 | <dd> |
---|
600 | The tagging feature allows you to build an arbitrary subset of |
---|
601 | the alignment blocks for differential viewing or export (see |
---|
602 | <a href="#category">Category Checkboxes</a>). There is only one |
---|
603 | tagged subset in each invocation of Gmaj, and it pertains to |
---|
604 | all windows. This menu item toggles the status of the currently |
---|
605 | marked block (the one containing the <a href="#red">red</a> |
---|
606 | circle), tagging it if it's not already in the set, and removing |
---|
607 | the tag if it is. |
---|
608 | <p> |
---|
609 | <dt>Tags - Clear All Tags: |
---|
610 | <dd> |
---|
611 | Empties the tagged subset by removing the tags from all blocks. |
---|
612 | Also hides the category checkboxes if they are no longer useful. |
---|
613 | <p> |
---|
614 | <dt>Help - About: |
---|
615 | <dd> |
---|
616 | Displays a message window with information about Gmaj, including |
---|
617 | version, author, etc. Also reports the version of Java you are |
---|
618 | currently using. |
---|
619 | <p> |
---|
620 | <dt>Help - Manual: |
---|
621 | <dd> |
---|
622 | In applet mode, opens a new browser window to view this help |
---|
623 | page. In stand-alone mode Gmaj is not working within a web |
---|
624 | browser, so instead it displays the URL for you to visit manually |
---|
625 | via copy-and-paste. |
---|
626 | <p> |
---|
627 | <dt>Help - Keys: |
---|
628 | <dd> |
---|
629 | Displays a message window listing Gmaj's keyboard shortcuts. No |
---|
630 | <code>Alt</code> key is needed. The shortcuts will not work if |
---|
631 | the keyboard focus is in a text area (threshold boxes, status |
---|
632 | indicators, text alignment, panel headers, etc., as indicated by |
---|
633 | a purple border or highlight); in this case press <code>Esc</code> |
---|
634 | first to cancel any text operation and restore the focus to the |
---|
635 | active window's menu bar. <code>Esc</code> will also cancel |
---|
636 | dialog and message boxes. |
---|
637 | <p> |
---|
638 | <dt>Help - Sequence Summary: |
---|
639 | <dd> |
---|
640 | Displays the aligning extents for all sequences (i.e., the |
---|
641 | smallest range in each sequence that includes all of its aligning |
---|
642 | regions). This is useful when fetching annotations from the UCSC |
---|
643 | Table Browser or other databases, or for identifying the relevant |
---|
644 | parts of already-in-hand annotation files so they can be trimmed |
---|
645 | down to size. |
---|
646 | <p> |
---|
647 | <dt>% Identity Box: |
---|
648 | <dd> |
---|
649 | Allows you to set a threshold for filtering the displayed |
---|
650 | alignments by the percent identity of the plot blocks (which are |
---|
651 | pairwise projections of the MAF blocks). The percent identity |
---|
652 | of each plot block is computed as the length-weighted average |
---|
653 | percent identity of its gap-free segments, with no penalty for |
---|
654 | gaps. A plot block below the threshold is not drawn or clickable |
---|
655 | in the plots, and the row for its secondary sequence is omitted |
---|
656 | in the text alignment panel; additionally it is excluded from |
---|
657 | the position indicator's block list and from the row of block |
---|
658 | buttons for the mark. However, these plot blocks are only hidden |
---|
659 | and still exist otherwise (e.g., for export). Setting the |
---|
660 | threshold will not move the mark, even if the marked position |
---|
661 | becomes hidden. The same threshold applies across all windows, |
---|
662 | and keyboard shortcuts make it easy to adjust it up and down. |
---|
663 | Also, the percent identity of the current plot block is shown in |
---|
664 | the mark indicator when applicable (the current plot block is |
---|
665 | either the marked one, or if a dotplot has a different secondary |
---|
666 | sequence, the corresponding projection from the same MAF block). |
---|
667 | <p> |
---|
668 | <dt>Underlays Box: |
---|
669 | <dd> |
---|
670 | Allows you to set a threshold for filtering the displayed |
---|
671 | underlays and highlights based on the optional score values you |
---|
672 | have assigned in the annotation files. The GFF, GTF, and BED |
---|
673 | formats already include a score field, and the PipMaker-style |
---|
674 | underlay format has been extended to include one as well (see |
---|
675 | <a href="gmaj_input.html">Input Files for Gmaj</a>). Some of |
---|
676 | these formats allow floating-point score values, but they will |
---|
677 | be rounded off to integers for comparison with the threshold. |
---|
678 | Missing scores are treated as the maximum possible value, so |
---|
679 | they will never be filtered out; however note that <code>0</code> |
---|
680 | (which is sometimes used to mean "no score") will not be changed, |
---|
681 | since Gmaj cannot distinguish this from a score that is really |
---|
682 | zero. As with the % Identity box, the same threshold applies |
---|
683 | across all windows, and keyboard shortcuts make it easy to adjust |
---|
684 | it up and down. Also, pointing to a particular underlay or |
---|
685 | highlight will show that annotation's score in the position |
---|
686 | indicator. |
---|
687 | <p> |
---|
688 | <dt>Arrow Buttons: |
---|
689 | <dd> |
---|
690 | These buttons are located to the right of the zoom indicator. |
---|
691 | Clicking on one of them will move the zoom region in the |
---|
692 | indicated direction by half of its width or height. The new |
---|
693 | region is added to your zoom history like any other zoom |
---|
694 | selection, so the Zoom - Back command will return to where you |
---|
695 | were as usual. |
---|
696 | <p> |
---|
697 | <dt>Block Buttons: |
---|
698 | <dd> |
---|
699 | When a mark is set (e.g. by clicking in a pip or dotplot), a row |
---|
700 | of buttons will appear to the right of the mark indicator showing |
---|
701 | the <a href="#numbering">block numbers</a> <a href="#cover" |
---|
702 | >covering</a> the marked position in the pip. (If there is not |
---|
703 | enough room for all of the buttons, a scrollbar will appear; |
---|
704 | also the partition between this panel and the mark indicator is |
---|
705 | <a href="#dividers">draggable</a>.) Clicking on one of the |
---|
706 | buttons causes the mark to move to that block (in the same pip), |
---|
707 | and the segment colors, text alignment, and mark indicator will |
---|
708 | be updated accordingly in all applicable windows. The new marked |
---|
709 | position (<a href="#red">red</a> circle) will be as close as |
---|
710 | possible to the same coordinate in the reference sequence, but |
---|
711 | it may have to move slightly to avoid gaps. This makes it |
---|
712 | theoretically possible, though rare, that the resulting block |
---|
713 | list (and therefore the row of buttons) may change. |
---|
714 | <p> |
---|
715 | <a name="category"></a> |
---|
716 | <dt>Category Checkboxes: |
---|
717 | <dd> |
---|
718 | These controls are located in a separate panel below the mark |
---|
719 | indicator, and allow you to show or hide several groups of |
---|
720 | alignment blocks en masse. There is one checkbox for each of |
---|
721 | the alignment files in the input, and an extra one for the tagged |
---|
722 | blocks (whose label shows how many blocks are tagged); the colors |
---|
723 | of the labels correspond to the plot segments they control. The |
---|
724 | tagged blocks are considered to be withdrawn from their files |
---|
725 | for this purpose, so all of the categories are disjoint. |
---|
726 | These settings apply across all windows, and as with the |
---|
727 | % identity threshold, hidden blocks are omitted from the plots |
---|
728 | and certain lists, but still exist otherwise. |
---|
729 | <!-- |
---|
730 | in Gmaj's parlance they define the term <i>visible block</i>: |
---|
731 | a block is "visible" if it is not hidden by these checkboxes, |
---|
732 | even if it is not actually showing on the screen for some other |
---|
733 | reason (e.g. not in zoom region, below % identity threshold, |
---|
734 | in bottom half of pip, etc.). |
---|
735 | --> |
---|
736 | By default this panel only appears when it is |
---|
737 | relevant (i.e. if there is more than one alignment file, or you |
---|
738 | have used the tagging feature), but you can also show or hide it |
---|
739 | temporarily from the Options - Show dialog. |
---|
740 | <p> |
---|
741 | <dt>Dotplot Buttons: |
---|
742 | <dd> |
---|
743 | These buttons are located to the right of each pip's sequence |
---|
744 | label in the multi-pip window. Clicking on one of them will |
---|
745 | open a dotplot window for that pair of reference and secondary |
---|
746 | sequences. The zoom region will initially be translated from the |
---|
747 | current one to show the same blocks, and will thereafter operate |
---|
748 | independently. The mark, however, is shared between the |
---|
749 | multi-pip window and all of its dotplots (see <a href="#state" |
---|
750 | >The Zoom and the Mark</a>). If you already have a window for |
---|
751 | that dotplot, it will just be brought to the front unchanged. |
---|
752 | <p> |
---|
753 | <a name="dividers"></a> |
---|
754 | <dt>Draggable Dividers: |
---|
755 | <dd> |
---|
756 | Several of the panel dividers can be moved by dragging them with |
---|
757 | the mouse to adjust the amount of space allocated to the items |
---|
758 | on each side. These include the vertical bars separating the |
---|
759 | left and right sides of the status indicator panels, and the |
---|
760 | horizontal bar separating the pips from the text alignment in a |
---|
761 | multi-pip window. On most platforms Java draws these dividers |
---|
762 | with a pattern of little bumps to suggest a grip. In Gmaj |
---|
763 | they also have a sticky feature that remembers if you moved |
---|
764 | them manually and keeps them at that position (until they are |
---|
765 | rebuilt due to a font change, etc.). In sticky mode the divider |
---|
766 | appears pushed in, like a button; if you want to return to the |
---|
767 | default floating mode (where the divider is repositioned |
---|
768 | automatically as the panel content changes), just click on the |
---|
769 | pushed-in divider to release it. |
---|
770 | </dl> |
---|
771 | <p> |
---|
772 | |
---|
773 | <p class=hdr> |
---|
774 | <h3><a name="copy">Copying and Printing</a></h3> |
---|
775 | <p> |
---|
776 | Gmaj supports copy/paste via the system clipboard from most of |
---|
777 | its text panels and dialog boxes, using mouse selection followed |
---|
778 | by the standard keystrokes |
---|
779 | (<code>Ctrl-C</code>/<code>Ctrl-V</code> on Windows and Linux, |
---|
780 | <code>Cmd-C</code>/<code>Cmd-V</code> on Mac). Some labels are |
---|
781 | not copyable, but their values generally are. (Exception: with |
---|
782 | some versions of Java, all dialog text may be uncopyable in |
---|
783 | applet mode due to a <a href="gmaj_bugs.html#dialogcopy">bug</a>.) |
---|
784 | <p> |
---|
785 | In Gmaj's multi-pip and dotplot windows the text alignment, panel |
---|
786 | headers, and status indicators are copyable. Clicking in any of |
---|
787 | these components (e.g. to sweep out a selection with the mouse) |
---|
788 | will transfer the keyboard focus to that component, as indicated |
---|
789 | by purple lines around it. This is necessary for the Copy |
---|
790 | keystroke to work; however it means that Gmaj's other keyboard |
---|
791 | shortcuts will be disabled until the focus is restored, either by |
---|
792 | clicking somewhere else or by pressing the <code>Esc</code> key. |
---|
793 | Note that the mouse selection in the text alignment is |
---|
794 | rectangular (unlike the usual line-wrapped stream), and all of |
---|
795 | these components can be scrolled if necessary by dragging the |
---|
796 | mouse just outside their borders. |
---|
797 | <p> |
---|
798 | Gmaj does not currently have its own print capability. The |
---|
799 | recommended way to record a particular Gmaj view is to use your |
---|
800 | operating system's "screenshot", "print screen", or "grab" |
---|
801 | facility to save an image of the window to a file, then adjust |
---|
802 | it as needed using image-editing software. (Be careful with |
---|
803 | rescaling and format conversions, as these may degrade the |
---|
804 | image.) |
---|
805 | <p> |
---|
806 | To prevent the position indicator from changing when you move the |
---|
807 | mouse, hold down the <code>Ctrl</code> key. This is useful both |
---|
808 | for copying the position indicator's contents and for taking |
---|
809 | screenshots. |
---|
810 | <p> |
---|
811 | |
---|
812 | <!-- <hr align=left noshade size=1 width="20%" color=black> --> |
---|
813 | <p class=hdr> |
---|
814 | <h3><a name="notes">Footnotes</a></h3> |
---|
815 | <p> |
---|
816 | <a name="red"></a> |
---|
817 | [1] |
---|
818 | By default the circular mark and the selected block's plot |
---|
819 | segments are always red (or orange), regardless of the background |
---|
820 | color behind them, and similarly tagged blocks are always green. |
---|
821 | A setting on the Options menu can make these colors vary with |
---|
822 | the background (so they are not invisible against like-colored |
---|
823 | underlays), however this causes <a href="gmaj_bugs.html#xor" |
---|
824 | >patchy rendering</a> when used with Large Fonts. These special |
---|
825 | blocks are drawn last, so they will not be obscured by ordinary |
---|
826 | ones. |
---|
827 | <p> |
---|
828 | <a name="numbering"></a> |
---|
829 | [2] |
---|
830 | Blocks in the MAF files are numbered consecutively, starting |
---|
831 | with 0. MAF files are also numbered starting with 0, in the |
---|
832 | order they are listed in the parameters file. If there are |
---|
833 | several MAF files, they are catenated into one big list of |
---|
834 | blocks, and the block numbers for the second file continue where |
---|
835 | the first left off. However, Gmaj also records the relative |
---|
836 | block numbers within each file, and displays this information |
---|
837 | in the mark indicator and certain error messages in the form |
---|
838 | <code>maf#.block#</code>. |
---|
839 | <p> |
---|
840 | <a name="cover"></a> |
---|
841 | [3] |
---|
842 | An alignment block is considered to cover a plot position if it |
---|
843 | contains rows for both of the plot's sequences and the position |
---|
844 | falls within the endpoints of the <b>reference</b> sequence's |
---|
845 | row (not necessarily the row for the other sequence, as this is |
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846 | a pip-oriented computation); there are no "holes" due to gaps. |
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847 | In order to appear in the row of block buttons for the mark or in |
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848 | the position indicator's block list for pips, a block must also |
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849 | be in a visible category (according to the <a href="#category" |
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850 | >category checkboxes</a>) and meet the % identity threshold (in |
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851 | the applicable plot). |
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852 | <p> |
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853 | |
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854 | <p class=vvlarge> |
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855 | <hr> |
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856 | <i>Cathy Riemer, June 2008</i> |
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857 | |
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858 | <p class=scrollspace> |
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859 | </body> |
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860 | </html> |
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