Graphics User Interface: Introduction And General Use

The ``Graphical User Interface'' (GUI) is designed to make easily accessible the most used functionality which is available within FIT2D. To achieve this, functionality has been arranged into different ``interfaces'' for different scientific or technical areas. Figure 2, Page  shows the menu for the present choice of ``scientific interfaces''. (Further interfaces are likely to be added in future versions.) It should be emphasized that data can be moved from one interface to another without restriction e.g. 2-D Powder diffraction data could be input in the IMAGE PROCESSING (GENERAL) menu, and manipulated, then Debye-Scherrer rings could be integrated within the POWDER DIFFRACTION (2-D) menu.

By clicking on the different ``buttons'' the user enters the different ``interfaces''. The buttons are:

? The question mark in this menu, and other menus gives a brief description of each of the available choices.

HELP The ``HELP'' button enters the ``context'' related help associated with the menu. In this case there is information describing the different available interfaces. Clicking on ``HELP'' enters a ``pager'' which allows the user to scroll down and up the help information.

FILE SERIES Is an interface for performing operations on a whole series of files, or images as single commands. This is a newly available interface and much functionality is yet to be added.

IMAGE PROCESSING (GENERAL) Is an interface for general purpose image processing and display operations on data input from a file.

KEYBOARD INTERFACE This enters the ``keyboard'' command-line interface to FIT2D. Certain functionality is presently only available from this interface.

MACROS / LOG FILE Commands to create and run macros, and to open and close log records of the data analysis session.

MFIT (MULTIPLE 1-D FITTING) This interface allows 1-D ``peak'' functions such as Gaussian, Lorentzian, and Voigt functions to be fitted to data along with other functions such as a polynomial ``background'' function, and exponential decay or trigonometric functions. The fit model may be fitted repeatedly to a whole series of 1-D datasets. (This provides the same functionality as was previously available through the program MFIT [7].)

ON-LINE CRYSTALLOGRAPHY This interface allows on-line display and examination of crystallographic data, with the option of automatic updating of new image data as they are obtained. Simple statistics to evaluate data quality are produced.

POWDER DIFFRACTION (2-D) This interface specialises in the integration of Debye-Scherrer rings from 2-D detectors, to 1-D ``2-theta'' scans, and to other scans. This is useful for standard powder refinement, but is also useful for texture analysis and other types of integrations and ``scans''.

SAXS/GISAXS This interface is similar to the POWDER DIFFRACTION (2-D) interface, but is under development for specialised support of Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and Grazing Incidence SAXS (GISAXS). The interface should also be useful for other types of small angle scattering.

TEST This interface is for test purposes, and is used to generate test data. (Perhaps it will evolve into a data simulation interface.)

EXIT FIT2D Allows FIT2D to be exited, after confirmation.

Most of the interfaces contain common sub-menus for generally important and useful functionality such as inputting, displaying, and outputting data, as well as specialist commands particular to the interface. First the general commands and sub-menus will be described.