We begin this discussion with a look at the various components -- the folder structure and the contained "objects" -- that comprise the Origin project file.
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Organizing your Origin Project Data with Project Explorer
Project Explorer is a tool to aid you in organizing the windows in your Origin project file. Since the typical Origin project file contains dozens of workbooks, graphs, matrices, notes windows etc., it is frequently useful to create a folder structure that helps you keep track of your data (by date, by window type, by experiment).
Once you have created a folder structure, you can use Project Explorer to filter the display of windows in the Origin workspace, restricting the windows viewed to only those in the active folder, if necessary. Additionally, you can use Project Explorer to find windows within your project file or to split or combine Origin project files.
For more information, see Using Project Explorer to Manage Your Windows in the Origin Help file.
Workbooks, Worksheets and Columns
The Origin workbook typically serves as a container for your experimental data and your analysis results. Each Origin workbook is composed of one or more Origin worksheets. Each worksheet, in turn, is composed (usually) of one or more worksheet columns or datasets. These datasets may be operated on in full, or in part, from the user-interface or from the command line in the Origin Command Window.
There is no hard limit to the number of workbooks in a project file (the limit will be determined by your system resources). The maximum number of sheets in a workbook is 121. The maximum number of columns in a worksheet is limited to 65,536 but in practical terms is likely to be limited by your available system resources. The maximum number of rows in the worksheet is 2 billion (but, again, may be constrained by available system resources).
In addition to data and analysis results, the workbook/worksheet/column can store metadata (data format and type, header information, import data files, etc), Origin import filter files, data format and display characteristics, text and drawing objects, and LabTalk scripts.
For more information, see these topics in the Origin Help file:
The graph window is a container for graphical depictions of your experimental data and your analysis results. Graph windows may contain a single plot in a single graph layer or they may contain multiple plots in multiple graph layers.
The graph layer is the fundamental unit of the Origin graph. The layer is comprised of a set of axis scale values, one or more data plots, and any included text labels, drawing objects, graph legends/color scales, button objects, etc. Graph layers can be created, sized, and moved independently of one another, allowing you a great deal of latitude in charting your data. A graph page can contain up to 121 layers and a project file can contain any number of graph windows (limited only by system resources).
It should be noted that the plots in the graph window are not mere static depictions of your worksheet, workbook, or matrix data. Changes to tabular data are immediately reflected in graphical depictions of that data and data plots, themselves, may be operated on directly when it is appropriate to do so. Fast Fourier Transforms, data masking, base line detection and subtraction and linear and nonlinear curve fitting are just a few of the operations that are typically performed on graphical data. These operations are performed either through the user-interface or at the command line in the Origin Command Window.
For more information, see these topics in the Origin Help file:
The Origin matrix window is a container for one or more Origin matrices. Each matrix window contains one or more matrix sheets (up to 121 maximum), and each matrix sheet can contain one or more matrix objects (up to 65,536).
The matrix object itself, is a vector of Z values. These Z values are related to one another in the X and Y dimensions by their relative row and column positions in the matrix. Matrices are a precursor to constructing Origin's 3D graph types such as contour graphs and color-mapped surfaces, and since they are used in depiction and manipulation of 3D data, they are used by Origin in image processing and analysis.
For more information, see these topics in the Origin Help file:
The Notes window is a container for textual information. Use it for recording experimental procedures, instructions to colleagues or students, notes on your numerical methods, etc. As with most other Origin child window types, the contents of the Notes window can be saved to an external text file, if so desired.
For more information, see Notes Windows in the Origin Help file.
The Layout page is a container for your graph and workbook data. Since the Layout allows you to insert any graph or workbook data contained in the project and annotate this inserted data using Origin's text and drawing objects, its primary application is in presenting results. The layout page can be printed or exported as an image via the Clipboard or using a standard image file format such as PDF or EPS.
For more information, see these topics in the Origin Help file:
When working with Microsoft Excel files in Origin, you can opt to save Excel files externally or internally with the project file. Both offer certain advantages, depending upon your needs. If you are sharing Excel data with others at your site (who may or may not be Origin users), it is clearly advantageous to maintain a single, external Excel file. This minimizes the size of your Origin project file and ensures that only one copy of the Excel data file exists. In such instances, links can be maintained between the Excel file and the Origin project file so that updates to the external Excel file are reflected in the Origin project file.
In some instances, you may decide to save the Excel file internal to the Origin project file. Saving an XLS file internally increases the Origin project file size and it severs any links between the project file and an external Excel file, but it does maximize data portability and ensures ultimate control over your Excel data.
For more information, see these topics in the Origin Help file:
The Origin project file also provides a means to store your analysis results. In general, any transformation or analysis operation that you perform during the Origin session -- smoothing, ANOVA, curve fitting, etc. -- is reported to the Results Log. This information is saved and remains with the project file unless you delete it.
For more information, see Analysis Results: The Results Log in the Origin Help file.
The variables concept has been expanded upon in Origin 8 and it is now possible to define three classes of LabTalk variables: Project, Session, and Local variables. Technically, all three types can travel with a project file (because scripts can be associated with worksheets as, for instance, in the Set Column Values dialog box), but due to scope considerations only Project variables are certain to be defined when the project is opened.
As an example, consider that typing any one of the following at the command line in the Command Window, creates a Project variable:
a = 3.5; //creates a variable of type = double
temp = {1,2,3,4,5}; //creates a variable of type = dataset
a$ = "hello"; //creates a variable of type = string
You can list Project variables by typing ed at the Command Window prompt. This opens the LabTalk Variables window. Variables will be listed by "Name," "Value," "Type," etc.
For more information, see these topics in the Origin Help file:
When you import data files using Origin's Import Wizard, you have the option of saving your import settings as a filter. This filter can be recalled to import the same or similar files in the future, saving you the trouble of having to recreate data handling instructions each time you import. You can opt to save these filters with a workbook and matrix book window or you can save them to a separate file. When saved in a workbook or matrix book, the import filter becomes part of the Origin project file.
For more information, see these topics in the Origin Help file:
Certain information in the Origin project file is not analytical data, but rather is information that is descriptive of your analytical data. This type of information is most easily recognized in the workbook, where such things as dataset name, import file name, import variables, comments, etc. are stored in the workbook along with data that is stored in the worksheet columns.
This type of information is accessible through the user-interface, at the command line or programmatically using LabTalk and Origin C.
For more information, see these topics in the Origin Help file:
The Origin project file is also capable of storing any third-party file type. Such files might include supporting raw data files or they might be image files, Word documents or PDF files. Any file can be attached to the project in the Code Builder Workspace and retrieved by you or another Origin user at a later time.
For more information, see Attaching Files to the Origin Project in the Origin Help file.