VStar Plug-in Library

One of the features of VStar is that it is set up so that you, the user, can think up new and interesting new ways to use the basic program. You can do this by creating your own plug-in or by using ones that others have created to extend the power of VStar. If you are interested in creating your own, please read the documentation on how to do this. If you would like to see some plug-ins that others have created, you have come to the right place.

This page contains a list of VStar plug-ins which we feel might be of use to you. If you are looking for general information about VStar or would like to find out how to get it, please go to the the VStar overview and download page.

How to Use VStar Plug-ins

1. Create a folder called vstar_plugins. This folder must be located in your home directory which varies depending on your operating system:
   • Windows Vista and 7: C:\Users\<username>
   • Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>
   • Mac OS X: /Users/<username>
   • Linux, or Unix: /home/<username>
2. Select a plug-in from the list below and download it to your computer.
3. Place the .jar file into the folder you created in Step 1.
4. If there is an extra .jar library file needed (such as in the case of the SuperWASP and Kepler source plug-ins), this file must be put in a folder called vstar_plugin_libs in your home directory.

If you have placed the plug-in correctly, you should be able to see it listed in the appropriate menu next time you run VStar. Just which menu will show the plug-in depends on the plug-in type:

• Observation source - will appear in the File menu
• Observation tool - will appear in the Tool menu
• General tool - will appear in the Tool menu
• Custom filter - will appear in the View => Custom Filters sub-menu
• Period analysis - will appear in the Analysis => Period Search sub-menu

Available Plug-ins

Observation Source:

• AAVSO upload file format
  
• Kepler data
  
• SuperWASP data
  

Observation Tool:

• Observation counter
  

General Tool:

• JD to calendar date
  
• Mean time between selections
  

Custom Filter:

• Observer list

Name: AAVSOUploadFileFormatObservationSource.jar (10K)
Type: Observation Source
Description: This plugin will allow you to open files that are either in the "AAVSO Extended File Format" or "AAVSO Visual File Format". It is hoped that this will be useful to anyone wishing to view, analyze, or check their own data files. It is also the same format as that exported from VPHOT. Please note that this plugin currently only accepts files with a date format of the JD type (not EXCEL or HJD).
Author: David Benn working with Ken Mogul and Alan Plummer
Date of last revision: 11 April 2011


 

Name: KeplerFITSObservationSource.jar (8K)
Type: Observation Source
Description: This plugin will allow you to import FITS file format (Version 2.0) data from the NASA Kepler mission into VStar.
Sample Data: kplr007198959-2009166043257_llc.fits (168K) - Click here to get the form for downloading Kepler data.
Notes: To use this plug-in you must also download tamfits.jar (131K) and place it in your vstar_plugin_libs folder in your home directory. The code was developed using the Topcat FITS library.
Author: David Benn working with Doug Welch
Date of last revision: 10 November 2010

Name: SuperWASPFITSObservationSource.jar (9K)
Type: Observation Source
Description: This plugin will allow you to import FITS file format data from the SuperWASP program into VStar.
Sample Data: 1SWASP+J235014.28%2B512358.8.fits (233K), 1SWASP+J185717.70-380829.6.fits (119K)
Notes: To use this plug-in you must also download tamfits.jar (168K) and place it in your vstar_plugin_libs folder in your home directory. The code was developed using the Topcat FITS library.
Author: David Benn working with Doug Welch
Date of last revision: 10 November 2010

Name: ObservationCounter.jar (3K)
Type: Observation Tool
Description: This plugin will count and display the number of observations in the plot.
Author: David Benn
Date of last revision: 10 November 2010

Name:  JDToDateTool.jar (4K)
Type: General Tool
Description: This plugin will give you the calendar date for any JD you type in.
Author: David Benn
Date of last revision: 10 November 2010

Name: MeanTimeBetweenSelectionTool.jar (12K)
Type: General Tool
Description: This plugin will record the mean JD and magnitude between selections you make on the plot.
Author: David Benn (as requested by Mike Simonsen)
Date of last revision: 22 March 2011

Name: ObserverListFilter.jar (2K)
Type: Custom Filter
Description: A filter tool plugin that will allow the user to enter a group of observer codes so that they can be highlighted. Ideal for showing the contributed observations from a paticular club or group of people.
Author: Sara Beck (by slightly modifying the CustomFilterTest.jar plugin by David Benn)
Date of last revision: 21 February 2011
Source code: ObserverListFilter.java

Additional Resources

• If you would like to write your own plug-in, please read the VStar Plugin Development documentation.
• To download a .zip file containing all of the shared plug-ins, go to: http://sourceforge.net/projects/vstar/files/ and look for the file called vstar-plugins.zip
• View the source code for the plug-ins created by David Benn.