Metadata Extractor for .nxs Files

Overview

This Python script extracts essential metadata from DIAD tomography scan .nxs (NeXus) files and outputs the information into a structured, human-readable .txt file. The output is organized into clearly defined sections for easier interpretation.

Features

• Dynamic file selection through command-line or GUI file dialog.
• Human-readable date and time formatting.
• Duration displayed in hh mm ss format.
• Organized metadata output with clear section headers:
  • General Information
  • Instrument Parameters
  • Scanning Parameters
  • Reconstruction Info

Requirements

• Python 3.7 or higher
• Required Python packages:
  • h5py
  • tkinter
  • argparse
  • datetime
  • re

Install dependencies with:

pip install h5py

Usage

Command-Line Execution

Run the script from the command line by specifying the file path:

python metadata_extractor.py --file_path "C:\path\to\file.nxs"

GUI File Selection

Simply run the script without arguments to open a file dialog:

python metadata_extractor.py

Output

The script generates a .txt file in the same directory as the input .nxs file. The output will be structured as follows:

=== General Information ===
Beamline: k11
Experiment no.: mg12345-1
Scan no.: k11-45357
Start Time: Wednesday, July 31, 2024 at 11:52:39 PM

=== Instrument Parameters ===
X-ray beam type: Monochromatic
Nominal Energy (keV): 25
Propagation dist. (mm): 150.0

=== Scanning Parameters ===
PCO Exposure Time (s): 0.05
Duration: 02h 15m 42s
No. of flats: 10
No. of darks: 10
No. of projection: 500
Start angle: 0.0
Stop angle: 180.0
Angular step: 0.1

=== Reconstruction Info ===
savu PL: /path/to/savu/config.json

Notes

• Ensure .nxs files are accessible and not in use by another application.
• Compatible with Windows and cross-platform systems.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.