On opening the data browser it will start to scan the selected project folder for supported measurement files. If a cache file (spectrafox.sfc) could be found in the folder this file will be loaded, which speeds up the display of the list, but keeps no track of file changes in the folder. If you are missing some files, click on the reload button in the menu bar , and SpectraFox will rescan the whole directory.

The data browser is devided into three parts:

1. The measurement data list, which contains the details of all discovered files (A),
2. the spectroscopy preview (B), and
3. the topography preview (C).

The list contains a row for each measurement file:

One-dimensional data, such as spectroscopy data is displayed with a light gray background. Two-dimensional data, such as topography images are marked in dark gray.

Each entry shows as small preview image of the data columns and channels, that are selected for the preview in the settings-menu:

In this menu you can select the three most preferred data columns you would like to use see in the preview images. If the 1st choice is not found in the data file, SpectraFox will search for the 2nd choice, and so on.

The general properties of the data are shown to the right of the preview image. It shows the measurement dimensions, the comment entered by the user during the measurement, the available data columns and channels, and a box with quick access tools. The latter two can be hidden, if the window width is too low.

The data browser allows to search and filter the list for specific entries. For this open the filter menu:

For the filter and search patterns you can use * as a placeholder for arbitrary text. For a quicker access SpectraFox stores the last used patterns.

The sorting of the list is by default given by the file date. It can be changed via the sorting menu:

If you select a single one-dimensional data file, such as spectroscopy data, the data will be loaded to the spectroscopy preview on the right hand side of the window. If a topography image at was selected, the record location of the spectrum will be marked by an "x" in color plot in the topography preview.

A double-click on the preview image or the filename of a list entry will open the spectroscopy data viewer, which shows more measurement information stored in the file, and allows direct access to the underlying data.

If you right-click on the entry, a context menu for this file will open:

From this menu you can launch all actions dedicated to the selected file, such as data export, or other data treatment procedures.

If you select multiple files, and you want to apply actions to them simultaneously, you have to click on the "spectroscopy data tools" menu button on top of the file list:

Here, all procedures that apply to multiple files are listed. E.g. you can plot multiple spectra in the spectroscopy preview by clicking on "plot selected files together". However most of the data treatment procedures require that you set them up first with a single file, before you can apply them to multiple files. In this case they are grayed out, until you perform the action once to a single file.

If you select a single topography image it will be plotted as a color scale plot in the topography preview. On selection of multiple topography images SpectraFox will combine them to a single image.

A double-click on the preview image or the filename of an entry will open the file in a separate topography data viewer window.

This window is as well accessible via a right-click that opens the context menu. SpectraFox's topography data capabilities are limited to visualization features, rather than data manipulation features. This will be a focus of attention for the next development steps.

This preview area plots the selected spectroscopy data files. If you select multiple files they can be plotted together on top of each other or stacked by a given offset. Just open the menu on top of the list for this, and select "show together in the preview plot".

The plotted columns can be changed by opening the side-bar by hovering with the mouse over the button "data" in the lower right corner of the plot. The plot style can be changed by hovering over the button "style" in the lower left corner of the plot.

Further details and functionalities are explained in the section of the spectroscopy data viewer.

This preview area plot selected topography images. If multiple images are selected it combines them into a single image, considering the different record locations of the individual images. For each selected spectrum that is recorded in the area of the plotted image a "x" is drawed at the record location.

You can select the plotted channels by opening the side-bar by hovering over the "channel"-button on the top left corner of the preview image. The plot range can be changed by hovering over the "plot setup"-button on the top right corner of the image. Next to this button you also find access to tools, such as a line-profile extraction tool.

Further details and functionalities are explained in the section of the topography data viewer.