Output on Astro Live Stacker

Quick Start

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:38 +0000

Introduction

By the end of this chapter, you will have:

Configured the only required settings for a quick start with ALS’s default settings.
Started your first stacking session and obtained your first results.

In the shoes of the character…

Throughout this journey, you will embody a new ALS user:

Username: Your username is astrogeek
System used: You use ALS on a Linux system
Organization of subs: Your acquisition system saves the subs in the astroshots folder of your home directory, organized by target with subs in Light subfolders.

Concepts

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:39 +0000

Introduction

By the end of this chapter, the basic concepts of ALS will be familiar to you.

You will understand what ALS does and how it does it.

Stacking

Stacking is the process of combining multiple subs of the same target to generate a more detailed and contrasted image than a single sub.

The quality of the result increases as more subs are used.

Comparison of 8 stacking results
The number of stacked subs is indicated at the top left of each image

A successful session

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:39 +0000

📘 Introduction

This chapter is your roadmap for running a successful ALS session and monitoring its progress.

It wraps up the presentation of ALS main concepts before you dive into the user interface guide.

⚙️ Setup

Whether you’re shooting DSO live, preparing data for detailed post-processing, or diving into something more artistic, these steps will help you get the best out of ALS every time.

✔️ Choose Your Profile

EAA: For live imaging

main controls

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:39 +0000

Introduction

During this chapter, you will:

get familiar with ALS main controls
Deepen your knowledge on key features

Overview

The ALS control station is the Main Controls interface panel

Located on the left side of the ALS interface, it organizes the most used controls and displays into sections:

Session

Session controls and status
Stack

Stack controls and stack information
Image Server

Image server controls and status
Image Saver

Image saving tools

Output Tab

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:20:09 +0000

The settings governing ALS outputs are presented in the Output tab.

Overview

This tab is divided into 2 sections:

The Output tab in preferences

Save

Here are the output file format, output folders, and autosave function settings

Format

ALS saves the main output images in one of the following formats:

TIFF
PNG
JPEG

Main output file format preferences

Save

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 23:25:49 +0000

Overview

The Save module handles the saving on disk of all images generated by ALS.

Its configuration is managed via ALS preferences

Configuration

	Source	Data type	Required	Default value
work folder	Prefs: Output Tab	path to a folder	Yes	∅
web folder	Prefs: Output Tab	path to a folder	Yes	= work folder
file format	Prefs: Output Tab	choices: - TIFF - PNG - JPEG	Yes	JPEG

Control

The Save module is launched in the background at ALS startup

Quick Start

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:38 +0000

Introduction

By the end of this chapter, you will have:

Configured the only required settings for a quick start with ALS’s default settings.
Started your first stacking session and obtained your first results.

In the shoes of the character…

Throughout this journey, you will embody a new ALS user:

Username: Your username is astrogeek
System used: You use ALS on a Linux system
Organization of subs: Your acquisition system saves the subs in the astroshots folder of your home directory, organized by target with subs in Light subfolders.

Concepts

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:38 +0000

Introduction

By the end of this chapter, the basic concepts of ALS will be familiar to you.

You will understand what ALS does and how it does it.

Stacking

Stacking is the process of combining multiple subs of the same target to generate a more detailed and contrasted image than a single sub.

The quality of the result increases as more subs are used.

Comparison of 8 stacking results
The number of stacked subs is indicated at the top left of each image

A successful session

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:38 +0000

📘 Introduction

This chapter is your roadmap for running a successful ALS session and monitoring its progress.

It wraps up the presentation of ALS main concepts before you dive into the user interface guide.

⚙️ Setup

Whether you’re shooting DSO live, preparing data for detailed post-processing, or diving into something more artistic, these steps will help you get the best out of ALS every time.

✔️ Choose Your Profile

EAA: For live imaging

main controls

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:38 +0000

Introduction

During this chapter, you will:

get familiar with ALS main controls
Deepen your knowledge on key features

Overview

The ALS control station is the Main Controls interface panel

Located on the left side of the ALS interface, it organizes the most used controls and displays into sections:

Session

Session controls and status
Stack

Stack controls and stack information
Image Server

Image server controls and status
Image Saver

Image saving tools

Output Tab

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:20:09 +0000

The settings governing ALS outputs are presented in the Output tab.

Overview

This tab is divided into 2 sections:

The Output tab in preferences

Save

Here are the output file format, output folders, and autosave function settings.

Format

ALS saves the main output images in one of the following formats:

Save

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 23:25:49 +0000

Overview

The Save module handles the saving on disk of all images generated by ALS.

Its configuration is managed via ALS preferences

Configuration

	Source	Data type	Required	Default value
work folder	Prefs: Output Tab	path to a folder	Yes	∅
web folder	Prefs: Output Tab	path to a folder	Yes	= work folder
file format	Prefs: Output Tab	choices: - TIFF - PNG - JPEG	Yes	JPEG

Control

The Save module is launched in the background at ALS startup

Quick Start

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 14:43:39 +0000

Introduction

By the end of this chapter, you will have:

Configured the only required settings for a quick start
Started your first stacking session and obtained your first results.

Initial configuration

On the first start, ALS introduces the configuration steps required to get started:

ALS needs to know the paths of two critical folders:

The Scan folder: The folder where ALS monitors the arrival of new subs.
The Work folder: The folder where ALS saves the produced images.

ALS welcome screen with setup options

Concepts

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:39 +0000

Introduction

By the end of this chapter, the basic concepts of ALS will be familiar to you.

You will understand what ALS does and how it does it.

Stacking

Stacking is the process of combining multiple subs of the same target to generate a more detailed and contrasted image than a single sub.

The quality of the result increases as more subs are used.

Comparison of 8 stacking results
The number of stacked subs is indicated at the top left of each image

A successful session

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:39 +0000

📘 Introduction

This chapter is your roadmap for running a successful ALS session and monitoring its progress.

It wraps up the presentation of ALS main concepts before you dive into the user interface guide.

⚡ Startup

ALS can be launched either from its graphical interface or directly from the command line, depending on your workflow or automation needs.

Graphical launch:
Simply start ALS as any other application. You’ll land in the main window, ready to configure your session.

main controls

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:33:39 +0000

Introduction

During this chapter, you will:

get familiar with ALS main controls
Deepen your knowledge on key features

Overview

The ALS control station is the Main Controls interface panel

Located on the left side of the ALS interface, it organizes the most used controls and displays into sections:

Session

Session controls and status
Stack

Stack controls and stack information
Image Server

Image server controls and status
Image Saver

Image saving tools

Output Tab

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:20:09 +0000

The settings governing ALS outputs are presented in the Output tab.

Overview

This tab is divided into 2 sections:

The Output tab in preferences

Save

Here are the output file format, output folders, and autosave function settings.

Format

ALS saves the main output images in one of the following formats:

Save

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 23:25:50 +0000

Overview

The Save module handles the saving on disk of all images generated by ALS.

Its configuration is managed via ALS preferences

Configuration

	Source	Data type	Required	Default value
work folder	Prefs: Output Tab	path to a folder	Yes	∅
web folder	Prefs: Output Tab	path to a folder	Yes	= work folder
file format	Prefs: Output Tab	choices: - TIFF - PNG - JPEG	Yes	JPEG

Control

The Save module is launched in the background at ALS startup