Automatically search for calibration files for Neuropixels probes

[bparks13]

Instead of requiring the user to manually select the calibration files for each new probe, this PR adds a UI element to both Neuropixels 1.0 and 2.0 probe settings tabs that can automatically scan a folder for probe calibration files. The file has to be chosen by the user, but it can exist at an arbitrary location.

• Fixes Automated calibration file detection #134

Any time one of the following conditions is true, the automatic scan will occur, and will attempt to find one and only one calibration file matching the given serial number:

• A new folder is chosen, and the probe serial number exists
• When a new probe serial number is found, and the folder already exists
• When the checkbox to automatically search through the folder is checked, if the folder is selected and a serial number exists

Folder paths and toggle state are saved in the XML. All UI elements are disabled during acquisition.

This PR also adds a couple small commits related to optimizing the loading of the XML file (1307ab1) and only calling an alert window asynchronously to avoid conflicts with the message thread (615f6d8) that came up during testing.

[bparks13]

Neuropixels 2.0:

Neuropixels 1.0:

View of the checkbox toggled off:

[cjsha]

Without looking much at the code that implements these changes, here are my comments on the UI:

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The above error message indicates that I should be able to see all the found calibration files in the log files. However, when I selected a folder that contains a non-matching calibration file, it doesn't show up in the logs.

[2025-07-29T17:24:51.925][open-ephys][action] Button '...' clicked
[2025-07-29T17:25:00.641][onix-source][debug] Expected to find 1 file matching '19051024281_gainCalValues.csv', but found 0 instead. Check logs for all files discovered.
[2025-07-29T17:25:00.652][onix-source][debug] Expected to find 1 file matching '19051024281_ADCCalibration.csv', but found 0 instead. Check logs for all files discovered.
[2025-07-29T17:25:03.480][open-ephys][action] Button 'OK' clicked
[2025-07-29T17:25:07.160][open-ephys][action] Button 'OK' clicked

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I propose that the calibration file is checked for validity when the acquisition button is pressed and the probe is enabled instead of whenever disable/enable is pressed.

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When I set the Calibration folder to a folder which doesn't contain any calibration files, I can start acquisition without any issue. Is it because it falls back onto the manually set ADC and Gain calibration files? Or should there be some kind of error here? This behavior is kinda confusing to me.

I propose that the "ADC Calibration File" & "Gain Calibration File" fields grey out when the "Search for calibration files automatically" checkbox is checked. Also, it seems searchDirectoryForCalibrationFile checks all directories recursively. I'm guessing that's what the other plugins do, but I have mixed feelings about that. Anyway, that makes more sense of why the error message is "Wrong Number of Calibration Files". I was thinking there can only be 1 or 0 files that have matching names, but that isn't necessarily the case when you're searching through multiple folders.

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When I press enable/disable, I get four error prompts when I would expect two:

I think I did something to make the behavior happen because it seems like it doesn't happen all the time. With that said, once I started getting four error prompts, I thereafter got those four error prompts every time. Maybe that's what happens if I set the calibration files and then changed the directory name.

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This tooltip:

My beef in particular the original wording is that it's not just for gain calibration files, it's also for adc calibration folders. But I also wonder if something like this is more clear:
"Open a file dialog to choose a folder that contains your calibration files. The calibration file(s) that matches your probe will automatically be selected if it exists in this folder."

[cjsha]

I left my review in an extended comment in this PR

[bparks13]

@cjsha

The above error message indicates that I should be able to see all the found calibration files in the log files. However, when I selected a folder that contains a non-matching calibration file, it doesn't show up in the logs.

Good point, I will modify the language so that it only says the extra files are in the logs if there are more than 1 found.

When I set the Calibration folder to a folder which doesn't contain any calibration files, I can start acquisition without any issue. Is it because it falls back onto the manually set ADC and Gain calibration files?

That is correct, whatever files are listed in the ADC/Gain calibration text boxes are the currently selected ones, and if no files are found automatically then the previously selected files are not removed. @jonnew What should we do in this instance?

A side note, acquisition cannot start if the probe serial number found on the hardware does not match the serial number embedded in the calibration file, so there is a check already in place if the files are expected to change but do not, say for example if a different headstage was plugged in with a different probe.

When I press enable/disable, I get four error prompts when I would expect two:

This was an error on my part, the method got called twice when the device was toggled.

My beef in particular the original wording is that it's not just for gain calibration files, it's also for adc calibration folders.

I agree, this is a good change to make it more general.

I propose that the "ADC Calibration File" & "Gain Calibration File" fields grey out when the "Search for calibration files automatically" checkbox is checked.

I also agree with this, the check box grays out the folder if it is not checked, so the inverse should be true for manual selection.

Regarding the other part of this comment, where it searches recursively, this is the behavior of the other Neuropixels plugins. I believe it makes sense to have a single parent folder selected that contains all calibration files so that the user only has to hit Connect and it will automatically find the correct file even if multiple probes are connected throughout the day. Of course, the user has the ability to select whichever folder they want.

I propose that the calibration file is checked for validity when the acquisition button is pressed and the probe is enabled instead of whenever disable/enable is pressed.

I think it would be more appropriate to only search if the device is enabled; this would apply to all other triggers, so if a probe is connected but it is disabled then no search occurs, or if a new folder is selected then nothing would happen. Then, if the correct folder is selected, and the user toggles the device On, then it will immediately search for the correct calibration file(s).

@jonnew Do you agree with this implementation?

Addressed comments