# General Information
The PhotosynQ Desktop Application allows you to build and test measurement Protocols and Macros, contribute to Projects and save small scale experiments to the Notebook. It requires a PhotosynQ account and an internet connection when signing in and synchronizing content with the PhotosynQ cloud.
# Internet connection
An internet connection is required when starting the app and to sign in and synchronize Projects, Protocols, Macros and Instrument information. Saving Protocols, Macros and measurements requires an internet connection as well. Measurements taken for a Project can be cached and uploaded later, so they can be collected in areas without an internet connection.
# Keyboard Shortcuts
| Windows / Linux | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+1 | ⌘1 | Show Project List |
| Ctrl+2 | ⌘2 | Show Notebook |
| Ctrl+3 | ⌘3 | Show Protocol List |
| Ctrl+4 | ⌘4 | Show Protocol Editor |
| Ctrl+5 | ⌘5 | Open Instrument Console |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | ⌘⇧L | Open Preferences - Measurement History |
| Ctrl+F | ⌘F | Search |
| Ctrl+S | ⌘S | Save - Protocol / Macro / Measurement |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | ⌘⇧S | Save As - Protocol / Macro / Measurement |
| Ctrl+Alt+S | ⌃⌘S | Synchronize Application with PhotosynQ |
| Ctrl+Comma | ⌘, | Open Preferences |
# Protocol & Macro Editor
| Windows / Linux | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+F | ⌘F | Search |
| Ctrl+H | ⌘⌥F | Replace |
| Ctrl+Space | ^Space | Show available Commands and Functions |
| Ctrl+Shift+R | ⌥⇧R | Manually run a Macro calculation |
| Ctrl++ | ⌘+ | Increase Font Size |
| Ctrl+- | ⌘- | Decrease Font Size |
| Ctrl+0 | ⌘0 | Reset Font Size |
Tip
More shortcuts for the Editors here (opens new window)
# Energy Saving
When your Computer goes to sleep after a certain time of inactivity to save energy, the app will try to prevent it during a measurement to save the data. This might happen during extremely long measuring Protocols. Should the computer go to sleep during a measurement, please go to your OS settings and deactivate the sleep setting or increase the time after the computer goes to sleep.
# Serial Connection
The Application uses serial communication to send and receive data from Instruments like the MultispeQ.
When using a micro-USB cable, make sure that the cable allows data transfer. Sometimes cables are only for charging devices. MacOS comes already with the required drives installed, so you can use the Instrument right away. If you are using Windows other than Windows 10 you have to install a serial driver, before you can use the Instrument.
When using Bluetooth make sure to pair the Instrument using the operating system's Bluetooth preferences. The code used for pairing the Instrument is 1234. After pairing, you will find the Instrument in the list of available Connections. Since the Bluetooth connection is a little bit slower than the cable connection, it might take a second or two longer to establish a connection. Using Bluetooth, you don't have to use the serial driver.
Windows Serial Installer: Download (opens new window)