Data Import

For a full step-by-step flow, see GUI Walkthrough — Importing Data and GUI Walkthrough — Choosing Axis Roles.

Supported formats

  • .csv, .txt, .dat, .tsv

  • .xls, .xlsx

  • Malvern Panalytical .xrdml XRD scans

  • nanoindentation files through the built-in nanoindentation loader

  • Rigaku .ras XRD scans and JCAMP-DX .jdx/.dx spectra through bundled loader plugins (also picked by Auto Loader)

  • TA Instruments TGA/DSC text exports through the TA Instruments TGA/DSC Loader plugin (choose it in Data Loader)

  • any format a loader plugin declares in FILE_EXTENSIONS

  • DataFrames through the backend API

Instrument exports

Text exports often put metadata above the data. When a plain read does not give at least two numeric columns, PhysPlot finds the numeric table itself:

  • It skips header blocks such as Malvern Panalytical XRD [Measurement conditions] sections and EDAX EDS Path :/KV : lines. The skipped lines are kept in the dataset metadata as header_lines.

  • It detects comma, tab, semicolon or whitespace separators, so tab-separated files saved as .csv load correctly. Quoted values such as "7.74" are numbers.

  • It turns spectra stored as rows, such as PHI XPS energy and count rows, into columns.

Binary files (for example raw scans in a vendor’s binary format), empty files and damaged workbooks are reported by name instead of with a parser traceback.

Sequences recorded on a file loaded through a loader plugin, such as .ras, reuse that plugin for Run Sequence bulk runs, physplot run-workflow and an exported Sequence.py’s run(). Bulk runs then process the files in the folder that have the same extension.

Loader selection

PhysPlot uses built-in and plugin-based file loaders. Choose the active loader from Simple Mode’s Data Importer panel before clicking Import Data.

Loader plugins are auto-discovered at startup from the config/data_importers/ folder. Built-in loaders are:

  • Auto Loader

  • CSV Loader

  • TXT Loader

  • Excel Loader

  • Nanoindentation Loader

  • XRDML Loader (Panalytical XRD)

  • DataFrame Loader

XRDML files

Auto Loader reads .xrdml files directly (schema 1.5 and 1.7 tested). The table has the scanned axis (2Theta, or Omega for rocking curves) and Intensity, which are suggested as X and Y. For repeated scans (“reps”), Intensity is the sum of the scans’ raw counts, the same values the instrument software writes to CSV. Intensity 1 … Intensity N hold the individual scans. Attenuation factors are not applied, matching that export.

Wavelengths (kAlpha1, kAlpha2, ratio), anode, tube voltage and current, sample name, step size, counting time, attenuation factors and start time are stored in the dataset metadata under xrdml.

Import steps

  1. Select a loader, or keep Auto Loader for common tabular files.

  2. Click Import Data.

  3. Select a supported file.

  4. PhysPlot loads values into the table and updates the column-role dropdowns.

Column assignment

Use the dropdown at row 0 for each column and choose one of:

  • Ignore

  • X

  • Y

  • X Error

  • Y Error

  • Group

  • Label

Data import and axis assignment