OpticalFit Manual 18.06	Table of contents	Loading and saving spectra	Next page »

Loading and saving spectra

Loading a spectrum file

To load a spectrum file, select the ‘File→Load’ menu option. This will open a file-opening window, in which you may select the spectrum file to open. Note that users may open several spectra simultaneously by holding the SHIFT or CTRL key when selecting files (see Loading multiple spectra, below).

The list of formats currently supported by OpticalFit is provided on the file formats page.

If OpticalFit reports errors when attempting to load a spectrum file, please open the spectrum file in a text editor (e.g. notepad) and check that the file conforms to the format requirements listed on the file formats page. Most often, problems with spectrum files can be easily resolved by tweaking the text formatting.

Please note that whilst OpticalFit is primarily intended for luminescence spectrum processing, it is not restricted to only loading luminescence spectrum data. Any series data that can be stored in a supported file format may be loaded, including other spectroscopies (e.g. EDS), as well as series data such as line/depth profiles, etc.

Loading multiple spectra

OpticalFit allows users to open multiple spectrum files at the same time to compare of different measurements. To open multiple spectra, select the ‘File→Load’ menu option, and then in the file open window, select multiple spectra files by holding the SHIFT or CTRL key when selecting files. Note that the ‘File→Load’ menu option will close any spectra that are currently opened. To load additional spectra without closing the currently displayed spectrum, please use the ‘File→Compare...’ menu option (shown below).

The ‘compare spectrum’ menu option.

To selectively close some of the opened spectra, first left-click on the name of the spectrum in the spectrum legend (shown below), and then select the ‘Remove’ menu item.

The ‘remove spectrum’ legend context menu option.

Alternatively, spectra can be removed using the ‘Spectrum options’ window, which is opened by selecting the ‘Spectrum→Spectrum options...’ menu item. In the ‘Spectrum options’ window (shown below), left-click on the spectrum in the window list, and press the ‘clear’ button to remove the desired spectrum.

Removing a spectrum using the ‘clear’ button in the ‘Spectrum options’ window.

Saving a spectrum file

To save the current spectrum, select the 'File→Save' menu option. This will open a file saving window, in which you may select the name of the file to be saved.

To view the list of file formats supported by OpticalFit, please consult the file formats page. Please also note that different file formats will store differing amounts of data in the saved file:

The OpticalFit document (.ofd) format will save the spectra and metadata (e.g. acquisition time, beam conditions, etc.), as well as the peak table. If multiple spectra are loaded in OpticalFit, all will be saved in the ODF file.
The EMSA/MAS file format will save the spectrum and metadata, but will not store the peak table. If multiple spectra are loaded in OpticalFit, only the first spectrum will be saved.
The CSV, and TAB/TXT file formats will save only the spectrum data, and will save neither spectrum metadata nor the peak table. If multiple spectra are loaded in OpticalFit, only the first spectrum will be saved.

Please also note that unit translations and scaling are handled differently between the different formats. Please refer to the data preservation section of the file formats page for more information.

If multiple spectra are loaded, the EMSA, CSV and TAB/TXT formats will only save the first spectrum. To export other spectra that are loaded in OpticalFit, please see the exporting a spectrum file section, below.

Exporting a spectrum file

If only one spectrum is loaded in OpticalFit, you may save the spectrum as a new file using the ‘File→Save as...’ menu option. If multiple spectra are loaded, you may export a spectrum individually by left-clicking on the spectrum legend item (as shown below), and then selecting the ‘Export to file’ context menu item. This option will open a file-saving window, with which you may save the spectrum or peak profile as an EMSA/MAS text file (*.emsa, *.mas), comma separated value file (*.csv), or tab delimited text file (*.txt, *.tab).

The 'export to file' menu option.

Alternatively, individual spectra may also be exported using the ‘Save’ button in the ‘Spectrum options’ window, which may be opened using the ‘Spectrum→Spectrum options...’ menu item.

The spectrum files produced by these export option only include the selected spectrum, and will not include other data from within the current document, such as other spectra or peak table information.

To export a selected range of the spectrum, please see the exporting selected regions section.