Adding reference lines (or other user functions) based on user specified formulas are easier to insert within graphs. Exporting graphs and plots to Microsoft Word ® was also added to Origin. Newer features in Origin include easily distributing graphs for balanced multi-panel figures as well as exporting a specific graphing region rather than splitting existing multi-panel figures into single panel graphs.
The example images with graph samples is one of the most useful features as it allows you not only to see different ways of representing data, but also how to structure the data in Origin to generate the plot. The addition of Origin Central, included since Origin 2017 and improved further in Origin 2018, provides some very nice features including sortable graph samples with example images, recently accessed or created projects, books, or graphs, and a learning center to provide both tutorials and videos on various aspects of Origin.
While statistical functions, batch data processing, and fitting functions are generally intuitive, the quality, diversity, and ease of plotting publication quality figures in Origin matches or surpasses other data analysis and graphing software packages.
Although coming from different backgrounds, Origin has helped our different research groups better collaborate and share research tools and user developed content with one another using a common software platform. The powerful visual representation tools with accompanying descriptive statistical parameters help aid in hypothesis testing, model development and verification, and data analysis. Our research groups use a variety of the many features that Origin offers including linear and non-linear curve fitting, model validation, dataset comparison tools, and multi-dimensional data analysis. Origin is a powerful and full-featured data analysis software. Now research is not hindered by different characters between user’s projects. Font type Segoe UI Symbol and Lucida Sans Unicode seems to work well for nearly every Unicode character used.
Simply enter the four-character code and press the Alt and X keys simultaneously to transform the sequence into a Unicode character. In our testing, the majority (but not all) of the four-character combinations worked and this may have been font library issues rather than Unicode/Origin issues. Origin now supports Unicode characters which enables users to select from a wide array of characters, and these can be used in worksheets, legends, and other fields. Not all of the functionality from Excel ® is present, and the structure and syntax is slightly different, but we believe this feature is a significant and important change to Origin and will make it even more useful as a graphing and data analysis package. While still in the initial stages and not yet as full-featured as Microsoft Excel ®, this may change how you utilize Origin and give it a more familiar feel for spreadsheet users. Dragging alters the referenced cells unless specified as an absolute reference, just as in other spreadsheet applications. One significant feature OriginLab added with the newest version is the addition of user input formulas in cells within worksheets, similar to other spreadsheet applications. This new feature should help users more easily sort and search their catalog of Origin project files, especially for automated batches.
Along with this upgrade Origin now uses .opju files (as well as the previous .opj filetypes for backward compatibility) which load more rapidly, are smaller in size, and enable some useful features within Microsoft Windows ® like representing project files in File Explorer with icon previews based on the active graphs, similar to viewing other photographs or images. Thus when upgrading to future (≥ 2018) versions (using default settings), all of your custom files should be automatically carried over without having to manually copy them over. OriginLab has made migrating between versions easier by moving the user files storage location outside of each Origin version’s root folder structure.
OriginLab’s latest update to their plotting and scientific software Origin and OriginPro 2018 (hereafter collectively referred to as “Origin”) provides some welcome updates for ease of processing data and usability as well as some new features which may change the way you use Origin.