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Introduction to the Spin User Interface

Spin has several main displays. The first is a top level window from which all the main options are selected and which receives textual results. Most analytical functions which operate on single sequences add their graphical results to a "SPIN Sequence Plot" that is associated with the sequence being analysed. (An exception is the restriction enzyme search which produces its own separate window.) Most functions which compare pairs of sequences add their results to a "SPIN Sequence Comparison Plot". The SPIN Sequence Plot and the SPIN Sequence Comparison Plot each have associated sequence display windows: the Sequence Display and the Sequence Comparison Display. These allow the text of the sequences to be viewed and use cursors to show the corresponding positions in the graphical displays.

Spin is best operated using a three button mouse, but alternative keybindings are available. Full details of the user interface are described elsewhere, and here we give an introduction based around a series of screenshots.

The main window (shown below) contains an Output Window for textual results, an Error window for error messages, and a series of menus arranged along the top. The contents of the two text windows can be searched, edited and saved. Each set of results is preceded by a header containing the time and date when it was generated.

[picture]
(Click for full size image)

As can be seen the main menu bar contains File, View, Options, Sequences, Statistics, Translation, Comparison, Search and Emboss menus. In general most functions add their graphical results to a "SPIN Sequence Plot", but those obtained from the Comparison menu add their results to a "SPIN Sequence Comparison Plot".


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This page is maintained by staden-package. Last generated on 22 October 2002.
URL: http://www.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/pubseq/manual/mini_unix_27.html