Volume list file

Volume list files are text files with extension .vll. They are used as an easy interface to describe sets of tomograms and attached models.

Syntax

A volume list file just lists tomogram files, letting the user attach under each line representing a tomogram some information about it. A comment is represented by a # symbol. A text file as:

myTomogram1.mrc
myTomogram2.mrc
myTomogram3.mrc
# tomogram 4 was awful!, we exclude it!
myTomogram5.mrc

is already a perfectly formatted volume list file that can be used for instance to create a catalogue

Advanced syntax

Depending on the final use of the volumen file (possibly creating a catalogue from anew or cropping particles), there are several special characters that introduce different operations:

1. # Comment
2. * Parameter assignation (ftype,ytilt, etc)

   * label = testCatalogue_2

   • index = 2

   * ftype = 1

   * xtilt = -60 60

   * ytilt = -60 60

   * ztilt = -60 60

   * apix = 1.20

   * defocus = 2.40

3. > Crop particles from this source
4. ! Import models from this source

Cropping particles

Manually

Volume list files are useful to extract particles from multiple tomograms into the same data folder. This can be achieved from the command line with the order:

dtcrop <vll file> reorder sidelength datafolder

Here, myList.vll is a file text that lists tomogram files. Below each tomogram, one can insert one or several files models or tables preceded with the symbol >. For instance, if we write the file example.vll as

myTomogram1.mrc
> myTable1.tbl

myTomogram2.mrc
> myModel_imported.omd
> myTable2.tbl
# we can mix models and tables

myTomogram5.mrc
# a volume may have no sources

and use it as first argument of dtcrop, as in:

dtcrop example.vll reorder 64 mydata;

Dynamo will use myTable1.tbl to crop particles (with a sidelength of 64) from myTomogram1.mrc. For the next volume myTomogram2.mrcIt will generate internally a table out of model myModel_imported.omd and use those positions and angles together with the ones in myTable2.tbl. The particles will land in a data folder called mydata, which will include a single cropping table that will represent positions and angles merged from myTable1.tbl, myModel_imported.omd and myTable2.tbl.

Through the catalogue

Volume list files are automatically generated when extracting particles using the catalogue.

Creating catalogues

You can create a catalogue from anew with

dcm -create newCatalogue -fromvll somelist.vll

here, somelist.vll can contain just tomogram names or also attributes of each tomogram.