Microprobe Python

Control GUI and automation scripts for the scanning microprobe electrochemical measurement rig (motor stage, Watlow temperature controller, Aera mass flow controllers, BioLogic potentiostat). See WIN7_RUNNER_SETUP.md and WIN7_OLECOM_README.md for hardware/environment details this file doesn't repeat, and docs/architecture/README.md for a code-level map of the repository (what each module does and how the pieces fit together).

Starting the GUI

Production (Windows 7 instrument PC)

Double-click one of these in the project folder (or the desktop shortcut, Launch_Microprobe_GUI - Shortcut.lnk):

• Launch_Microprobe_GUI.bat — normal launch. Closes its window once the GUI exits.
• Launch_Microprobe_GUI_STAY_OPEN_WIN7.bat — same, but keeps the console window open after the GUI closes so you can read any error output. Use this one when debugging a launch failure.
• Launch_Microprobe_GUI.vbs — runs Launch_Microprobe_GUI.bat silently (no console window at all). Use once you trust the launch works cleanly.
• START_HERE_WIN7_RUNNER.bat — launches the GUI using the .venv_win7 virtual environment created by INSTALL_WIN7_RUNNER.bat (see first-time setup below). Prefer this if you set up that dedicated environment instead of relying on a system/Anaconda Python.

All four ultimately run python gui.py from the project folder; they only differ in how they locate a Python interpreter and whether they keep a console window open.

First-time setup on a fresh Windows 7 instrument PC

1. Install Python 3.8.10 (match 32-bit/64-bit to the BioLogic EC-Lab/EC-Lib stack on that machine).
2. Copy the whole Microprobe Python folder to the instrument PC.
3. Run INSTALL_WIN7_RUNNER.bat — creates .venv_win7 and installs requirements-win7-runner.txt (hardware acquisition packages only; kept deliberately light).
4. Edit config.py if COM ports or the BioLogic IP differ on this machine.
5. Run START_HERE_WIN7_RUNNER.bat.
6. If BioLogic OLE-COM reports a missing galvani/comtypes import, run INSTALL_OLECOM_DEPS_CURRENT_PY_WIN7.bat once, then relaunch the GUI. See WIN7_OLECOM_README.md for the full OLE-COM connection checklist (RUN_OLECOM_CHECK_STAY_OPEN_WIN7.bat, EC-Lab must be open first, etc.).
7. Optional: the "Image Monitor" tab (camera/electrode/probe vision features) needs requirements-win7-optional-vision.txt. The GUI starts fine without it — that tab just reports the feature unavailable. Install it only after the hardware runner already works. See IMAGE_MONITOR_GUIDE.md for how to use that tab once it's working.

Development machine (not the instrument PC)

pip install -r requirements.txt
python gui.py

This works even without the real hardware or EC-Lab connected — hardware tabs simply show as disconnected until you press Connect. Camera/vision dependencies (opencv-python, Pillow, and ezdxf for the DXF-layout workflow) are already included in requirements.txt here, unlike the intentionally minimal Win7 runner requirements above.

If the GUI won't launch

• Use the _STAY_OPEN_ batch file variant so the error message stays on screen instead of the window closing immediately.
• Confirm a Python interpreter is actually being found — the .bat files search .venv_win7, Anaconda (C:\anaconda), then PATH, then a handful of common install locations, in that order.
• See WIN7_RUNNER_SETUP.md for the hardware bring-up checklist to run once the GUI itself opens (Connect each device, verify a tiny motor move, Z contact search, MFC readback before enabling MFC writes).