A pipeline is a sequential set of image analysis modules. The best way to learn how to use CellProfiler is to load an example pipeline from the CellProfiler website's Examples page and try it out, then adapt it for your own images. You can also build a pipeline from scratch. Click the Help button in the main window to get help for a specific module.
Constructing a pipeline involves placing individual modules into a pipeline. The list of modules in the pipeline is shown in the pipeline panel (located on the left-hand side of the CellProfiler window).
Place analysis modules in a new pipeline.
Choose image analysis modules to add to your pipeline by clicking the Add button (located underneath the pipeline panel) or right-clicking in the pipeline panel itself and selecting a module from the pop-up box that appears.
You can learn more about each module by clicking Module Help in the "Add modules" window or the ? button after the module has been placed and selected in the pipeline. Modules are added to the end of the pipeline or after the currently selected module, but you can adjust their order in the main window by dragging and dropping them, or by selecting a module (or modules, using the Shift key) and using the Move Module Up and Move Module Down buttons. The Remove Module button will delete the selected module(s) from the pipeline.
Most pipelines depend on one major step: identifying the objects. In CellProfiler, the objects you identify are called primary, secondary, or tertiary:
Adjust the settings in each module.
In the CellProfiler main window, click a module in the pipeline to see its
settings in the settings panel. To learn more about the settings for each
module, select the module in the pipeline and click the Help button to the
right of each setting, or at the bottom of the pipeline panel
for the help for all the settings for that module.
If there is an error with the settings (e.g., a setting refers to an image that doesn't exist yet), a icon will appear next to the module name. If there is a warning (e.g., a special notification attached to a choice of setting), a icon will appear. Errors will cause the pipeline to fail upon running, whereas a warning will not. Once the errors/warnings have been resolved, a icon will appear indicating that the module is ready to run.
Set your Default Input Folder, Default Output Folder and output filename.
For more help, click their nearby Help buttons in the main window.
Click Analyze images to start processing.
All of the images in your selected folder(s) will be analyzed using the modules
and settings you have specified. A status window will appear which has the following:
ode to preview results.
You can optimize your pipeline by selecting the Test option from
the main menu. Test mode allows you to run the pipeline on a selected
image, preview the results, and adjust the module settings on the fly. See
Help > Testing Your Pipeline for more details.
Save your project (which includes your pipeline) via File > Save Project.
Saving images in your pipeline: Due to the typically high number of intermediate images produced during processing, images produced during processing are not saved to the hard drive unless you specifically request it, using a SaveImages module.
Saving data in your pipeline: You can include an Export module to automatically export data in a format you prefer. See Help > Using Your Output for more details.