Plotter

For those who work with various spectra, they can be difficult to compare directly without specialist equipment. Plotter is an application that allows user to compare different wavelengths by plotting them on a graph automatically for study, assuming they are stored correctly in the ASCII format.

The main feature of Plotter is its ability to display wavelength spectra on a graph by converting them from the ASCII format, once they are on the graph, the program presents them well. Each wavelength can be represented by a different color, entirely customizable, with a useful zoom in feature.

Users can zoom in on an area and dragging a box over the area of interest, the graph automatically adjusts the scale for that area to fit the entire graph. To zoom out, simply draw a box in the opposite direction. At first it seems odd, but once users get the hang of the system they will find how quick and intuitive it is to operate. The changing of the axis scale makes the interactive zoom far superior to a regular enlarging option.

Plotter is not just limited to creating interactive graphs, it can perform basic functions with the data once it is inputted into the system. That being said, the biggest weakness of the software is its reliance on the ASCII format which several users will not be familiar with.

There are options to perform basic calculus functions on the data, but the wavelengths themselves can be changed via several other settings. The spectra can be normalized, have their length adjusted, different axis transformation options edited, the resolution can be adjusted to smooth out wavelength irregularities. The fit of the spectra on the graph and the zoom in scale can be adjusted, as well as different spectroscopy options that allow various conditions to be applied to the wavelengths.

Plotter is a useful tool for those who work with spectra and removes some of the labor intensive work required to convert them into workable formats. It offers a host of helpful options and settings, but the biggest problem by far is the lack of format capability, which holds the software back.