PDS_VERSION_ID     = PDS3
RECORD_TYPE        = STREAM
OBJECT             = TEXT
  PUBLICATION_DATE = 2004-08-04
  NOTE             = "Description of software provided with the
    MER EDR archive volumes"
END_OBJECT         = TEXT
END


APXS2ASC is a tool to extract MER APXS data from a binary EDR file and
output the results as ASCII.  It is written in IDL and consists of two
source files: APXS_data_parse_input.pro and apxs2asc.pro.  This tool
was developed at Washington University for the MER Project and will be
included with the APXS EDR archive volume.

Compiling the tool (instructions for PC/Windows)
Open the two source files in IDL.  Use the "compile all" option
under the "run" menu to compile the program.  Note compiling the
two source files separately may cause an error at runtime.

Running the tool (instructions for PC/Windows)
1.  In the command input window, type 'apxs2asc' and hit enter.
A window titled 'APXS DATA PARSE' should appear.  This is where
input for the tool will be entered.

2.  Enter the following information into the 'APXS DATA PARSE'
window.

a) Fill in the file name of a binary EDR APXS file.  The 'Select
Input File' button can be used to bring up a Windows file dialog
box to enter the file name.

b) Select the 'swap byte order' check box if the bytes should be
swapped during procession.

c)  Select the data type to extract from the input file by
choosing one of the radio buttons (X-ray, Alpha-1, Alpha-2, WEB
Temperature, Sensor Temperature, or Engineering).

d) Fill in the file name for the ASCII output file.  The 'Select
Output File' button can be used to bring up a Windows file dialog
box to enter the file name.

e) Select the 'Execute' button when all fields are filled to run
the tool.  Choosing the 'Cancel' button will exit the tool
without generating any output file.

Format of Output Files
The X-ray, Alpha-1, and Alpha-2 files have similar formats.  The
first line in the file lists the data type (x-ray, etc.) and the
input file name.  The remainder of the file is a table consisting
of the channel number in column 1 followed by columns for the
twelve measurements from the binary file.  See the APXS EDR SIS
for channel descriptions.

The WEB and Sensor temperature files have similar formats.  The
first line in the file lists the temperature type and the input
file name.  The remainder of the file is a table consisting of
the row number in column 1 followed by columns for the twelve
temperature measurements from the binary file.  See the APXS EDR
SIS for more information about the APXS temperature data.

The final file type is for the engineering data extracted from
the last 2 Kbyte block of the APXS binary file.  The file in the
file contains the input file name.  See the APXS EDR SIS for more
information about the APXS engineering data block.