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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

General Tab

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:46:48 +0000

The most critical ALS settings are presented in the General tab.

Overview

This tab is divided into 3 sections:

The General tab in ALS preferences

Scanner

Scan Folder

ℹ️ This setting can only be modified when the session is stopped.

Defines the path of the folder monitored by ALS to detect subs recorded by your acquisition system.

Scanner

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

Overview

The Scanner module is the entry point for your subs in ALS.

It is responsible for:

Monitoring the appearance of subs in the scan folder
Loading the detected subs

ℹ️ Existing files are ignored

Files present in the scan folder before the Scanner module is started are not detected

ℹ️ Detection of subs is recursive

Subs are detected regardless of the level of subfolders where they appear within the scan folder

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

General Tab

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:46:48 +0000

The most critical ALS settings are presented in the General tab.

Overview

This tab is divided into 3 sections:

The General tab in ALS preferences

Scanner

Scan Folder

ℹ️ This setting can only be modified when the session is stopped.

Defines the path of the folder monitored by ALS to detect subs recorded by your acquisition system.

Scanner

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

Overview

The Scanner module is the entry point for your subs in ALS.

It is responsible for:

Monitoring the appearance of subs in the scan folder
Loading the detected subs

ℹ️ Existing files are ignored

Files present in the scan folder before the Scanner module is started are not detected

ℹ️ Detection of subs is recursive

Subs are detected regardless of the level of subfolders where they appear within the scan folder

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.

General Tab

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:46:48 +0000

The most critical ALS settings are presented in the General tab.

Overview

This tab is divided into 3 sections:

The General tab in ALS preferences

Scanner

Scan folder

ℹ️ This setting can only be modified when the session is stopped.

Defines the path of the folder monitored by ALS to detect subs recorded by your acquisition system.

Scanner

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:38:13 +0000

Overview

The Scanner module is the entry point for your subs in ALS.

It is responsible for:

Monitoring the appearance of subs in the scan folder
Loading the detected subs

ℹ️ Existing files are ignored

Files present in the scan folder before the Scanner module is started are not detected

ℹ️ Detection of subs is recursive

Subs are detected regardless of the level of subfolders where they appear within the scan folder

Stacker

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:57:08 +0000

Overview

The Stacker module handles the alignment and stacking of calibrated subs.

Configuration

	Source	Data type	Required	Default value
Alignment ON/OFF	Interface: Stacking controls	ON/OFF	∅	ON
Stacking mode	Interface: Stacking controls	choices: - mean - sum	YES	mean
Minimum matches	Interface: Stacking controls	integer	YES	25

Control

The Stack module is launched in the background at ALS startup

Source	Type	Response
sub(s) in queue	Event	trigger processing

Input

Data	Type
sub at queue front	Image
session alignment reference	Image

Behavior

flowchart LR
Start([START])
FirstSub{{First sub of the session?}}
SetAlignReference[Set sub as alignment reference]
CheckShape{{Sub same dimensions as previous result?}}
CheckAlign{{Alignment ON?}}
AlignImage[Align sub]
StackImage[Add sub to Stack]
ComputeStacking[Compute stacking]
PublishReference[Return alignment reference]
PublishResult[Return generated image]
End([END])

Start --> FirstSub
FirstSub -- YES --> SetAlignReference
SetAlignReference --> PublishReference
FirstSub -- NO --> CheckShape
CheckShape -- YES --> CheckAlign
CheckAlign -- YES --> AlignImage
AlignImage --> StackImage
CheckAlign -- NO --> StackImage
StackImage --> ComputeStacking
ComputeStacking --> PublishResult
CheckShape -- NO --> End
PublishReference --> End
PublishResult --> End

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Alignment

If alignment is ON