Working with Scripts
The Pro Script module extends Mira's image processing capabilities using a scripting language. This module is available as an optional item for the Mira platform. Pro Script uses the Lua language to provide a complete script processing engine that can be used to extend Mira's image and data processing capabilities and to perform general types of computing tasks independent of images.
This topic describes how to work with scripts in Mira. Complete documentation on the Pro Script language, including classes, methods, and other features, is provided separately with the Pro Script module.
For viewing, creating, and modifying scripts, Mira provides the Script Editor. The Script Editor is a special kind of text editor that highlights the different language elements according to patterns and rules. The script editor uses several styles to display different types of syntax. This syntax highlighting makes the script more human-readable but it does not actually affect the script text itself.
When running a script, Mira loads the text directly from a file or from the Script Editor. This text is fed to the Lua engine, which compiles the text to byte code and executes it. The sections below describe how to create, open, save, and run scripts in Mira.
To create a new script, do one of the following. These actions open an empty Script Editor:
Execute the File > New command (Ctrl+N) and select Script Document as the new document type. Double click the document type or click [OK] to create the new script document.
Click the down-arrow on the 
button on the main toolbar, and select
[Script Manager]. In the Script
Manager dialog, click [New].
To open a script from a file, do one of the following. These actions load the existing script into a Script Editor:
Use the File > Open command (Ctrl+O) and choose Lua Script File (*.lua) from the File Types drop box. Select the script file and click [Open].
Click the down-arrow on the button on the main toolbar, and select
[Script Manager]. In the Script
Manager dialog, select a script and click the [Open] button.
Select a .lua file from the MRU (Most Recently Used) files list at the bottom of the File menu.
Drag a .lua file from Windows Explorer and drop it onto the Mira window.
Scripts are saved to text files with a lua file extension. You can choose to save scripts in the [Mira]\Scripts folder tree or anywhere in your file system. If you choose to save them outside the [Mira]\Scripts folder tree, then they will not be accessible from the Script Manager. To save a script, use one of the following methods:
To Same file: Use the File >
Save command (Ctrl+S) or the 
button.
To Different file: Use the File > Save As command.
For detailed instructions about the various ways to run a script, see Running Scripts. Here are some examples:
From the Script Editor window, click 
to run its script.
From the Script Manager, click [Run] to run the script.
With the target Image window or Plot window as
the top-most window, click to run
the script.