reading ".sc" file format from bio-rad geldoc

[Michael Weber-4]

Dear list,

I received a couple of files which where acquired with an older Bio-Rad
GelDoc system. The files are stored as ".sc" files - and I failed to
open them with any plugin/program. That's why I would like to ask you if
anybody has an idea how files of this format could be opened.
Unfortunately, I don't have direct access to the machine and no further
information.

If there's interest, I could also provide you with a test file.

Thanks a lot in advance.

cheers,
Michael

[Albert Cardona]

Michael,

Best would be you find in google or in whoever took over the Biorad
company some documentation on the file format. The most crucial data is
the header offset; from there and with some try and error you can figure
out the rest (mainly, the width and height, the distance between slices
if any, and the number of slices). The Import-> Raw.. will be what you
need, which you can then record in a macro or easily implement and graft
into the HandleExtraFileTypes.java plugin for best convenience.

Short of that, you can start with reasonable assumptions:
- the header is a power of 2, such as 256, 512, 768 ...
- the width and height are 256x256 (if very old confocal) or 512x512
(standard for many years)
- the distance between slices is zero (but that will become self-evident
in that the first slice will show nicely and subsequent slices will be
shifted)
- 8-bit image
- The number of slices you can leave at 1, and then divide the length of
the file minus the header by the size of one slice to figure it out;
then, inspect the header for that number (with a byte-editor or by a
try-and-error java loop with some bit-shifting).

Albert