Modifying AutoScriptMicroscope

AutoScriptMicroscope (asyncroscopy/instruments/electron_microscope/auto_script.py) is the AutoScript vendor subclass of ElectronMicroscope. It owns the AutoScript connection and implements the _helper methods the base declares abstract.

Image helpers end via _persist; spectrum and STEM-data helpers via save_acquisition directly. _persist reads scan.output_format and dispatches: .h5 → save_acquisition (one HDF5 file, nested per detector), .tiff → AutoScript image.save() (one file per detector). Either path registers via the data proxy (asyncroscopy/data/data.py) and returns the Tiled key (.h5) or shared stem (.tiff) the command sends to the client. save_acquisition lives in asyncroscopy/data/data_writer.py; data_server comes from self._detector_proxies.get("data"). See data_integration.md.

If you’re editing this class, you’re usually doing one of these:

1. Adding or modifying an attribute Expose device state clients can read. The live-state reads (fov, defocus, camera_length, acceleration_voltage, beam_state) pull from self._microscope and must return nan/False when it is None (testing mode) — guard every such read. register_stage is the matching command: it pushes the live stage position onto the STAGE child device.

2. Updating an attribute read/write method (Control how a value is validated, stored, or synced with AutoScript.)

3. Implementing or changing a _helper Implement the base’s abstract _helper (or override an optional one). Image helpers must finish via _persist (honors output_format); spectrum and STEM-data helpers via save_acquisition. Examples already present: _acquire_scanned_image, _acquire_camera_image, _acquire_scanned_data_advanced, _acquire_spectrum.

4. Adding a new detector Add a device property for its address (on the base), register it in _connect_detector_proxies, and read it in the relevant helper.

   "newdet": self.newdet_device_address,

5. Adding or changing acquisition settings Extend what is read from the detector devices — dwell time, resolution, scan region, exposure — and pass it into the AutoScript *Settings object inside the helper. Pick the right dataset_name for save_acquisition (e.g. "image", "spectrum", "stem_data"); multi-detector results are stored under image/<DETECTOR>.