.. Perun PowerDesk Documentation
   file: project_explorer.rst
   Copyright (c) 2016
   Perun Technologies

.. _projectExplorer:

Project Explorer
================

Each ``PowerDesk`` project posesses two fundamental building blocks: *devices* and *workspace*. **Project Explorer** is a component enabling a user to easily and efficiently interact with these items. To change device state, start and stop real-time data acquisition sessions, interact with device memmory, or perform computation and processing of the received data.

.. figure:: _static/images/project_explorer.png
  :figwidth: 70%
  :align: center

Any device connected to ``PowerDesk`` by means of an ``FTDI`` chip can appear under **Devices** item of the **Project Explorer**. By right clicking on any individual device, the user can alter the device state or manage real-time data ascuisitin sessions.

Each device posseses several analaogue data channels. Each of these channels behaves like a **Dynamic Systems Toolkit** signal. Right clicking on any channel, it is possible to schedule operations on the underlying data, including computation of spectra, scaling, adding offsets, multiplying several channels, etc.

Below the **Devices** item, there is another important item labeled **Signals and Spectra**, which shows current content of the **DST Workspace**. It holds different signals and spectra obtained by processing device channels, evaluation of custom expressions, and similar.