QuickNXS Output File Format
When QuickNXS reduces a dataset, it creates a plain text file containing all relevant configuration settings, file paths, and reduction metadata. This file serves both as a record of the reduction and as a reproducible input for future analyses.
The format is human-readable and structured in sections, each beginning with a header
like # [Section Name]. All lines starting with # are treated as comments.
File Overview
The output file consists of several parts:
Header Metadata – General information about the reduction environment
[Global Options] – All global configuration parameters used in the reduction
[Direct Beam Runs] – Per-Run configuration information for each direct beam normalization file
[Data Runs] – Per-Run configuration information for each reduced data file
Example
# Datafile created by QuickNXS 4.13.0 # Datafile created using mr_reduction 2.13.0 # Datafile created using Mantid 6.13.1 # Date: 2025-10-29 11:30:42 # Type: Specular # Input file indices: 42112,42113 # Extracted states: +- # # # [Data Runs] # DB_ID bg_pos bck_roi bg_width r_Qsteps r_final_rebin P0 PN direct_angle_offset_overwrite direct_beam dpix fan y_pos low_res_roi y_width match_direct_beam metadata_roi_bck metadata_roi_peak number x_pos peak_roi x_width scale_err scale set_direct_angle_offset set_direct_pixel subtract_background tof_bin_type bin_width tof_range tth use_dangle File # 0 27.5 [17, 38] 21.0 -0.02 0 1 1 0.0 None 194.0 False 167.0 [127, 207] 80.0 True [17, 38] [163, 184] 42112 173.5 [163, 184] 21.0 0.0 1.0 False False True 0 400 [11413.560217325685, 45388.809236341694] 0.137407 False /home/ge2/dev/ornl/quicknxs/tests/data/quicknxs-data/REF_M_42112.nxs.h5 # 0 27.5 [17, 38] 21.0 -0.02 1 1 1 0.0 None 194.0 False 167.0 [127, 207] 80.0 True [17, 38] [132, 152] 42113 142.0 [132, 152] 20.0 0.0 1.0 False False True 0 400 [11413.560217325685, 45388.809236341694] 0.379784 False /home/ge2/dev/ornl/quicknxs/tests/data/quicknxs-data/REF_M_42113.nxs.h5 # # [Peak 1 Runs] # DB_ID bg_pos bck_roi bg_width r_Qsteps r_final_rebin P0 PN direct_angle_offset_overwrite direct_beam dpix fan y_pos low_res_roi y_width match_direct_beam metadata_roi_bck metadata_roi_peak number x_pos peak_roi x_width scale_err scale set_direct_angle_offset set_direct_pixel subtract_background tof_bin_type bin_width tof_range tth use_dangle File # 0 27.5 [17, 38] 21.0 -0.02 0 1 1 0.0 None 194.0 False 167.0 [127, 207] 80.0 True [17, 38] [163, 184] 42112 173.5 [163, 184] 21.0 0.0 1.0 False False True 0 400 [11413.560217325685, 45388.809236341694] 0.137407 False /home/ge2/dev/ornl/quicknxs/tests/data/quicknxs-data/REF_M_42112.nxs.h5 # 0 27.5 [17, 38] 21.0 -0.02 1 1 1 0.0 None 194.0 False 167.0 [127, 207] 80.0 True [17, 38] [132, 152] 42113 142.0 [132, 152] 20.0 0.0 1.0 False False True 0 400 [11413.560217325685, 45388.809236341694] 0.379784 False /home/ge2/dev/ornl/quicknxs/tests/data/quicknxs-data/REF_M_42113.nxs.h5 # # [Global Options] # name value # sample_size 10.0 # binning_type_global Const Q # binning_q_step_global -0.02 # normalize_to_unity True # total_reflectivity_q_cutoff 0.01 # global_stitching False # polynomial_stitching False # polynomial_stitching_degree 3 # polynomial_stitching_points 3 # apply_deadtime False # paralyzable_deadtime True # deadtime_value 4.2 # deadtime_tof_step 100 # lock_direct_beam_y False # use_roi True # update_peak_range False # use_peak_finder False # use_low_res_finder False # use_tight_bck False # bck_offset 5 # use_metadata_bck_roi True # # [Data] # Qz [1/A] R [a.u.] dR [a.u.] dQz [1/A] theta [rad] 6.434952e-03 4.801586e-03 1.669906e-03 4.982947e-04 4.322784e-03 6.492907e-03 4.321428e-03 1.599385e-03 5.027875e-04 4.322784e-03 6.551915e-03 5.761904e-03 1.663318e-03 5.073621e-04 4.322784e-03 6.612006e-03 8.162697e-03 2.098202e-03 5.120207e-04 4.322784e-03 6.673209e-03 9.123014e-03 2.205347e-03 5.167658e-04 4.322784e-03
Section Details
Global Metadata
The header lines provide metadata about the reduction process:
QuickNXS / Mantid versions: Tools used to produce the file
Date: Timestamp of when the file was created
Type: Reduction mode (e.g., Specular, GISANS) but always Specular for now
Input file indices: List of reduced run numbers
Extracted states: Polarization cross-sections used
[Global Options]
This section contains all configuration values used for the reduction. These are grouped from the QuickNXS settings panel and internal options.
Key notes:
Boolean values appear as
TrueorFalseFloating-point numbers use general numeric formatting
Lists (e.g., for Q values or ranges) are shown in square brackets:
[0.05, 0.07]The list of parameters may grow or shrink depending on whether the reduction includes GISANS or Off-specular options
[Direct Beam Runs]
Each row in this section represents a direct beam (normalization) file used in the reduction.
Common fields:
DB_ID: A sequential ID assigned during reductionP0,PN: Number of points trimmed from the beginning/endx_pos,x_width: Horizontal peak region center and widthy_pos,y_width: Vertical peak region center and widthbg_pos,bg_width: Background region center and widthdpix: Direct pixel positiontth: Two-theta angle (if available)number: Run numberslice: Slice index for multiple slices per run (defaults to 0)File: Full file path to the NeXus file
[Data Runs]
This section mirrors the format of the direct beam section, but for each reflectivity or GISANS data file. Additional fields include:
scale: Normalization scaling factor (applied to this file)scale_err: Uncertainty in the scalingnumber: Run numberslice: Slice index for multiple slices per run (defaults to 0)File: Full file path to the NeXus file
Column Formatting
Each section uses aligned, fixed-width columns
Values are aligned to the column headers for readability
The final column is always
File, which may contain long absolute paths
Slice Column in the UI
The Slice column also appears in the reduction table in the main QuickNXS interface,
positioned immediately after the Run No. column. This column is not editable from the UI
and displays the slice index associated with each data run. Currently, all runs have a slice
value of 0 (default), but this column supports future functionality for handling multiple
slices per run.
Note
The Slice column does not appear in the normalization (direct beam) table, as multiple
slices are not supported for direct beam runs.
Reusing the File
This file can be reused to re-import reduced data for further analysis.
The file is designed to be both:
Human-readable: For logging, sharing, or reviewing
Machine-readable: For round-trip parsing by QuickNXS
To reload the file use the “Load Reduced File” option in the GUI. QuickNXS will automatically reconstruct all configuration values, run links, and references.