== Qdec Project file format ==

When Qdec runs an analysis, it uses an input data table and subject data to create results that map onto an average subject. The Qdec Project file format (.qdec format) is an archive of all the data necessary to display those results and be portable so that it can be copied to another computer. Historically, to transfer Qdec results, the receiver must have their {{{SUBJECTS_DIR}}} set up properly, with the same average subject as the originator. This format makes those dependencies unnecessary.

A .qdec file is just a zip compressed archive containing specific parts of the average subject data, the Qdec-generated data, the data table, and some metadata. It has this format:

{{{
    qdec_project_archive/
                        $Subject/surf/{r,l}h.{curv,inflated,pial,white}
                                 label/{r,l}h.aparc.annot
                        $AnalysisName/*
                        $DataTable 
                        QdecProjectMetadata.txt
                        Version.txt
}}}

The {{{Version.txt}}} file simply contains a version number. The {{{QdecProjectMetadata.txt}}} contains key/value pairs that libqdecproject uses to initialize its classes. Version 1 contains the following keys:

 *Subject - the average subject name
 *Hemisphere - the hemisphere (lh or rh)
 *!AnalysisName - the analysis name (user-defined label)
 *!DataTable - the data table file name inside the archive
 *Measure - the measurement used
 *Smoothness - the smoothness value
 *!DiscreteFactor1 - factor names used in analysis
 *!DiscreteFactor2
 *!ContinuousFactor1
 *!ContinuousFactor2

The file is read with the {{{QdecProject::LoadProjectFile()}}} function. The .qdec file is expanded into a working directory ({{{/tmp}}} by default) and then a dummy !QdecGlmResults object is created with the parameters in the {{{QdecProjectMetadata.txt}}} file. This is passed to Qdec to load the analyzed data as it would normally. A file can be saved with the {{{QdecProject::SaveProjectFile()}}} function.

A sample file can be found at {{{~kteich/work/TestProject.qdec}}}.