Spectragryph
- optical spectroscopy software -

Spectragryph explained. All functions. All tricks. (under development...)

Some general remarks: the Spectragryph user interface (UI) is organized much like the Microsoft Office ribbon design, which was first introduced with Office 2007. Nearly all functions are available through icon-buttons and organized in multiple thematic ribbons, which are further subdivided in thematic sub-areas and sometimes have option arrows for fine-tuning the settings. The button image style is basically flat and a mixture of Office 2013/2016-like buttons and Win10-like icons. Anyone using current MS Office products will feel at home immediately. As a reminiscence to the old menu-style, each ribbon has a "Menu"-button on the left side, that allows access to the same functions but organized into a old-style drop down menu. For menu-style die-hards, it is even possible to switch to a menu-only UI, by activating the "Old style menu" option from the "App style" area within the "Plot/View" ribbon. From the same area, it is possible to switch between some varying coloring and surface schemes, ranging from Office 2010 to Office 2019. I personally recommend to stay with Office2016 and play with the "Color" setting...

All buttons show explanatory hints on hovering with the mouse. Active buttons look different from inactive ones, while their color depends on the coloring scheme. The display of imported data and spectra is organized in various types of views, arranged in tabs (like Excel or a web browser). Each view type brings its individual series of buttons, which may double buttons from some ribbon above. A series of quick access buttons is always visible and usable at the top. Many functions have associated short keys, which may be used from the keyboard anytime. From the "File" section, the file and data import/export functions are available, as well as printing, permanent setting of options, recalling recent files and folders, information on the software and some more. Even more than its predecessor Spekwin32, Spectragryph is Ninja software. Which means it will immediately do what you want and not ask any "Do you really want to..." questions. Learn to use it!

And now, just click below on your area of interest and learn more!

Quick access buttons The row of quick access buttons give combined access to some of the most used functions from the "File" area and the "Plot/Views" and "Spectra" ribbons. They can individually be shown/hidden from the right drop down menu. The location may be switched to beneath the ribbon bands. Below the quick access buttons there is the ribbon band area, providing most Spectragryph functions in form of buttons. There are a number of ribbons with thematicall grouped functions buttons. Just click on each ribbon's name for descriptions.

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Spectrum plot area Topmost there is the tab indicator showing the tab name and type. Tabs can be moved around to change their order. Tab names can be changed by doubleclicking and entering a text. Tabs can be closed by clicking their Close symbol or with CTRL+W. Tabs can be undocked from the main window by dragging the tab indicator away. Not all functions are available for undocked plot tabs. For bringing them back, grab the tab indicator and move it back into the main window's row of tab indicators. Next comes a button row, giving quick access to often used functions for spectral plots. The ( i ) button explains all keyboard/mouse options for zooming in/out, scrollling and panning around the plot. With the three buttons for zoom direction, you can define the active axes for zooming and scrolling. The "Zoom History" button allows to zoom out step-wise in the order of the previous zooming-in steps. All other buttons are also part of the "Plot/Views" ribbon and are explained there. The legend box can be moved around with the left mouse. Clicking on a legend entry will highlight the associated spectrum trace. Clicking onto a spectrum will highlight the associated legend entry. Clicking onto a spectrum trace with CTRL + LeftMouse will permanently remove it! Double-clicking onto an axis name will bring up a window for entering a custom axis title. These can be shown/ hidden by activating the "Custom Titles" button from the "Plot/Views" ribbon. The current mouse tip position is always shown as x value/ y value pair in the lower status bar.

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Status bar The left part of the status bar always shows the number of spectra loaded in the current spectra view. In the middle there is a live display of the current mouse tip position, with values given in the axis types of current spectrum plot.Between those two fixed positions, the room is used for intermittent information, like current number of read spectra while opening many spectra at once and the like.Additionally, there is a display of memory usage and the time consumed by certain processing functions.

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