The log window enables the user to monitor all the actions performed by BrainVISA. It shows information about the configuration, the processes that have been run during and their parameters, the errors that occured during the session.
The information displayed in this window is stored in a file which you should therefore keep if you wish to submit an execution error to the BrainVISA support. In many cases, if this file is not available, the information submitted is not specific enough to enable the error to be understood or reproduced.
The log window can be accessed via the BrainVISA -> Show Log menu. If you open it just after starting the session (i.e. before running a process) you can see the list of read processes, and check if they were loaded successfully. If a dependency of a process is not installed on your workstation, the process cannot be loaded and a warning is displayed in the log window. Here is an example of the log interface:
Table 3.2. Description of BrainVISA log user interface
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 | This icon represents a BrainVISA process run. |
 | Icon in the log interface, denoting communication with Anatomist. |
 | Icon in the log file, representing a warning. When BrainVISA is loaded, all the processes are analyzed to make sure that all the external programs required to run them are available. If not, the process is not loaded, and a warning is displayed in the log interface. For example, if you wish to use a process that requires Matlab, and Matlab is not installed on your system or your object program path is not properly configured, a warning will be displayed. |
 | This icon represents a system command call. |
 | This icon represents an error. |
You can see this windows at any time. In the example below, we can see the list of processes run, and the associated parameter
values and output. Here, we are looking at the Import T1 MRI process, but we can also see that the Anatomist Show Volume process has been run, and view the communication between BrainVISA and Anatomist via .
The log file is re-edited each time a new session is opened. So, if you want to save it, you must do so before opening a new session, otherwise the data will be lost.
To save the log file, follow the instructions below:
Exit BrainVISA (and don't start it up again until you have saved the log file).
In Linux, go to the following folder:
/home/user/.brainvisa
In Windows, go to the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\user\.brainvisa\
Save the brainvisa.log file of this folder.
NOTE 1: If you started up BrainVISA with a specific toto profile (and there is therefore a specific options-toto.py configuration file), you should save the brainvisa-toto.log file.
NOTE 2: you musn't save it during a BrainVISA session otherwise log file won't be readable.
NOTE 3: you may have several log files with numbers (eg. brainvisa2.log). It can occur when several instances of BrainVISA have been running at the same time or if a BrainVISA session didn't terminate correctly. To know which log file is associated to the current session, you can have a look at the console messages at BrainVISA starting, it says the name of the log file. The log interface also displays the name of the log file in the title of the window.