Project Configuration¶
SAXS projects are file-backed. The application stores enough metadata in the project directory to let you reopen a project and continue without rebuilding everything from scratch each time.
The project directory is also where the main SAXS UI meets the supporting applications: cluster folders, component metadata, saved PDF calculations, and fit artifacts all end up tied back to the same project state.
What a project captures¶
From the current project-manager and Prefit workflow code, a SAXS project can persist:
- the selected experimental dataset
- the cluster directory used to build components
- the active model template
- prior-weight metadata
- SAXS component maps
- saved Prefit state
- saved DREAM settings and run artifacts
- cluster geometry metadata when the active template needs it
Why this matters¶
Several behaviors in the UI depend on previously computed project state:
- Prefit can reuse saved cluster-geometry metadata without recomputing it every session.
- Deprecated templates can still be resolved when an older project names them, even though they are hidden by default in new template pickers.
- DREAM runtime bundles can be rebuilt from the current saved Prefit workflow state.
Template-aware behavior¶
Template selection is part of project configuration, not just a UI preference. That means the active template can affect:
- which extra runtime inputs are required
- whether cluster geometry metadata is mandatory
- which shape approximations are allowed
- which geometry-derived parameters are generated
Practical guidance¶
- Keep one project directory per modeling attempt or dataset family.
- If you significantly change cluster folders, regenerate the component and geometry metadata instead of assuming older saved state is still valid.
- When comparing templates, treat the saved Prefit state as template-specific.