I am trying to better understand the information content of a .ab1 file. I wanted to know what the four fields DATA.9 to DATA.12 mean. The R vignette for SangerseqR package explains them as 'Vectors containing signal intensities for each channel' whereas the Applied Biosystems document for .ab1 files calls them "Short Array holding analyzed color data".
Also, the ab1 files that I am currently using do not have the fields for amplitude of primary and secondary base signals P1AM.1 and P1AM.2, respectively (Checked it using R). So I was wondering how the chromatogram is built when I open it in a viewer (Geneious or Finch)