Every ChromIQ project lives in its own folder (inside ~/ChromIQ, or your custom output folder from Settings), named after the profile. Everything you would print, install or keep sits right at the top of each run folder; the paperwork is grouped into a few folders whose names already tell you whether you care about them. Below: first the three files that matter, then what each folder means, then every file in detail. “Kyocera-Normal-Paper” stands for your profile's name.

=== FILES RELATING TO FEATURES ===

  • Create Chart
      Input Files:  Your settings (or a loaded patch set / preset)
      Output Files: Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti1, Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti2, Kyocera-Normal-Paper.channels.json, Kyocera-Normal-Paper.strips.json, Kyocera-Normal-Paper_01.tif …; optional Kyocera-Normal-Paper.pdf; the exports/ sidecars
  • Print Chart
      Input Files:  Kyocera-Normal-Paper_01.tif … (the chart pages)
      Output Files: Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ps (only on the PostScript print path)
  • Measure
      Input Files:  Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti2 (+ Kyocera-Normal-Paper.strips.json / .channels.json for the preview)
      Output Files: Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti3; reads/readN.ti3 when averaging; reports/report_*.json when a measurement report is saved
  • Build Profile
      Input Files:  Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti3
      Output Files: Kyocera-Normal-Paper.icc; merged.ti3 / merged.icc and calibrated.icc when refinement / calibration are used
  • Check & Refine
      Input Files:  Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti3 and Kyocera-Normal-Paper.icc
      Output Files: reports/Quality_Check_N_Kyocera-Normal-Paper.txt, reports/Refine_Strips_Kyocera-Normal-Paper.txt
  • Create scanner or camera target
      Input Files:  A measurement of the chart (Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti3 or a reference .cie/i1Profiler file)
      Output Files: Kyocera-Normal-Paper.cht (recognition template) + Kyocera-Normal-Paper.cie (reference values)
  • Build profile with scanner or camera
      Input Files:  Your scan/photo image(s) + the chart's Kyocera-Normal-Paper.cht and Kyocera-Normal-Paper.cie
      Output Files: The scanner/camera ICC profile; cache/ working copies + a -diag.tif
  • Verify a profile (Tools)
      Input Files:  Kyocera-Normal-Paper.icc and Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti3
      Output Files: reports/Verify_Profile_N_Kyocera-Normal-Paper.txt; a 3D difference map (*.x3d.html)
  • Verify against reference (Tools)
      Input Files:  A profile / measurement and a reference
      Output Files: reports/Verify_Reference_N_Kyocera-Normal-Paper.txt
  • i1Profiler export (Tools)
      Input Files:  Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti1 / Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti2
      Output Files: exports/Kyocera-Normal-Paper-i1profiler.txt and .pxf

=== ALL FILE TYPES AND THEIR USE ===

WHAT THE FOLDERS MEAN

  • runs/run1, run2 …
      One folder per profile build; the newest is current. Old runs are your history — delete a whole runN if not needed.
  • runs/runN/reports/
      Things ChromIQ tells you about your work: quality-check reports, the re-measure list, dated measurement reports.
  • runs/runN/exports/
      Files made for use in other programs — the i1Profiler patch set and the plain colour list.
  • runs/runN/cache/
      Temporary working files from the tools. Always safe to delete — ChromIQ can recreate everything in here.
  • runs/runN/reads/
      Your individual readings when you measure a chart more than once to average.
  • cal/
      The optional printer-calibration target and its curves, shared by every run of this project.
  • exports/
      Files made for other programs from the Tools menu (project-wide, not tied to one run).

THE THREE FILES THAT MATTER

  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper_01.tif, Kyocera-Normal-Paper_02.tif …  [runs/runN]
      The printable chart pages. Print these.
      Created by: Create Chart
  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti3  [runs/runN]
      Your measurements — the file the profile is built from. Keep it; any profile can be rebuilt later.
      Created by: Measure tab (on completion)
  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper.icc  [runs/runN]
      Your finished ICC profile — the file you install or share.
      Created by: Build Profile tab

THE WORKING FILES OF A CHART (RUN FOLDER, TOP LEVEL)

  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti1  [runs/runN]
      The list of patch colours (the recipe, before it's laid out on paper).
      Created by: Create Chart (targen / generators)
  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti2  [runs/runN]
      The laid-out chart: which colour sits where. Measuring needs it.
      Created by: Create Chart
  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper.channels.json  [runs/runN]
      Records the ink channels and (for engine charts) the exact layout + recipe, so reopening restores everything.
      Created by: Create Chart
  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper.strips.json  [runs/runN]
      Exact per-strip and per-patch pixel positions, used by the Measure preview (arrow, click-to-jump, split patches).
      Created by: Create Chart (engine)
  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper.pdf  [runs/runN]
      The chart as a vector PDF — only when “Also export PDF” is ticked.
      Created by: Create Chart
  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ps  [runs/runN]
      A PostScript copy for printing (bypasses colour management).
      Created by: Print Chart
  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper.cht / .cie  [runs/runN]
      The recognition template + reference values for reading a scanned or photographed chart. They stay next to the chart so the scanner tool finds them.
      Created by: Create scanner/camera target

REPORTS/ — THINGS CHROMIQ TELLS YOU

  • Quality_Check_1_Kyocera-Normal-Paper.txt  [runs/runN/reports]
      A readable quality report — grade, explanation, worst strips, full output. Numbered so checks don't overwrite each other.
      Created by: Check & Refine
  • Refine_Strips_Kyocera-Normal-Paper.txt  [runs/runN/reports]
      The list of strips to re-measure after a check; the guided refinement reads it back.
      Created by: Check & Refine
  • Verify_Profile_1_Kyocera-Normal-Paper.txt  [runs/runN/reports]
      A readable report from “Verify a profile” — verdict, scores, full output. Numbered so repeated checks keep a history.
      Created by: Verify a profile (Tools)
  • Verify_Reference_1_Kyocera-Normal-Paper.txt  [runs/runN/reports]
      A readable report from “Verify against reference” — result summary and full output.
      Created by: Verify against reference (Tools)
  • report_*.json  [runs/runN/reports]
      Dated measurement reports (accuracy & drift), saved automatically after each measurement (Settings → Reports). The Measurement Report tool reads these back — it builds its figures from the run's .ti3, needs the chart's .ti2 beside it for the ΔE, and reads the instrument name from the .ti3 — and plots how the printer drifts over time.
      Created by: Measure tab
  • measurement_report_*.pdf  [runs/runN/reports  ·  reports/ (project)]
      A printable PDF of a measurement report, written when you press “Save report as PDF”. An all-runs report belongs to the whole printer, so it goes in a reports folder next to runs/; a single-run report goes in that run's own reports folder.
      Created by: Measurement Report tool

EXPORTS/ — FILES FOR OTHER PROGRAMS

  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper-colours.txt  [runs/runN/exports]
      The chart's colours as a plain hex list (RGB charts). Can be pasted back into the New-chart dialog.
      Created by: Create Chart (best-effort)
  • Kyocera-Normal-Paper-i1profiler.txt / .pxf  [runs/runN/exports]
      The patch set in i1Profiler's formats, for measuring with an i1iSis in i1Profiler.
      Created by: Create Chart (best-effort)

CACHE/ — TEMPORARY TOOL FILES (ALWAYS SAFE TO DELETE)

  • *-patchbox.cht, *-sample.cht  [runs/runN/cache]
      Prepared working copies of the recognition template the scanner tool reads instead of your original.
      Created by: Scanner/camera profiling
  • *-diag.tif  [runs/runN/cache]
      A diagnostic image showing where the tool found each patch — handy if recognition went wrong.
      Created by: Scanner/camera profiling

MEASURING, REFINING AND VERIFICATION

  • reads/read1.ti3, read2.ti3 …  [runs/runN/reads]
      Individual readings when you use “Read again & average”; averaged back into Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti3 when you finish.
      Created by: Measure tab
  • preconditioning.ti3 / .icc  [runs/runN]
      Copies of a previous run's measurement + profile, used to aim the next chart better.
      Created by: Refine
  • merged.ti3 / merged.icc  [runs/runN]
      The build-time merge of your new measurement with the pre-conditioning one. The installed profile still gets the clean Kyocera-Normal-Paper.icc name.
      Created by: Build Profile (refinement)
  • calibrated.icc  [runs/runN]
      Your profile with calibration curves baked in (applycal), when the calibration workflow is on.
      Created by: Build Profile
  • *.x3d.html + x3dom.css / x3dom.js  [runs/runN]
      The 3D difference map from a profile verification, next to the measurement it belongs to (the three files reference each other).
      Created by: Verify profile (Tools)

PROJECT-LEVEL FILES AND FOLDERS

  • project.json  [(project root)]
      ChromIQ's manifest: current run + run history. Please don't edit.
      Created by: Created on first use
  • meta.json  [runs/runN]
      Remembers the run's settings so reopening restores them.
      Created by: Each run
  • cal/Kyocera-Normal-Paper-cal.*  [cal]
      The calibration chart, its measurement (-cal.ti3) and curves (-cal.cal); the chart's own exports live in cal/exports.
      Created by: Calibration workflow
  • exports/Kyocera-Normal-Paper-i1profiler.*  [exports]
      i1Profiler exports made from the Tools menu.
      Created by: Tools menu
  • Where are my files.txt  [(project root)]
      This guide as a text file, updated when the folder layout changes. Edit or delete freely.
      Created by: Created on first use
  • scanner-test-targets/  [(output folder)]
      Next to your projects: every standard scanner target's layout file (.cht), yours to inspect or tweak — ChromIQ prefers the files here over its built-in copies, puts missing ones back, and never overwrites your edits. Demo scans land here too.
      Created by: Scanner/camera profiling

Safe to tidy: everything inside a cache folder is always safe to delete — ChromIQ can recreate all of it. The reports folders are safe to delete too, if you don't need the history of your quality checks. Your measurements (Kyocera-Normal-Paper.ti3, reads/, cal/Kyocera-Normal-Paper-cal.ti3) are real ink on real paper — keep those; any profile can be rebuilt from them later. The quickest big tidy-up is deleting whole runN folders you no longer need.