Loading Data
Opening a folder
Click Open folder in the toolbar, or drag and drop a folder directly onto the main window. The viewer loads all recognised files into the thumbnail grid and automatically detects associated spectroscopy files.
A Recent folders drop-down on the Open folder button remembers up to 30 previously used paths. Use Clear recent folders at the bottom of that menu to reset it.
Note
Opening a new folder always starts from a clean workspace: any open pop-outs and tool windows are closed first.
Tip
SXM Viewer remembers the last folder you had open and reloads it automatically on startup (as long as that folder still contains data), so on relaunch you may already see your previous session's folder rather than an empty workspace.
Opening individual files
You can drag and drop one or more individual files onto the main window. Dropped files are appended to the current thumbnail list rather than replacing it, so you can curate a set of images from different folders.
Tip
Dropping a folder replaces the current session; dropping individual files extends it.
A Clear thumbnails button in the thumbnails toolbar wipes the current list so you can start fresh.
Supported file formats
| Format | Extension | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Omicron / Anfatec | .txt header + binary channel files |
Native format; full header and multi-channel support |
| Nanonis | .sxm |
Converted on load into an Omicron-style header/channel cache (see below); full multi-channel support |
.xyz files are handled two different ways depending on context: they can be imported as a 2D or 3D molecule-model overlay to place on top of a scan (see Molecule Overlays), and a scan's own channel data can be exported as an XYZ point cloud (see CSV & Data Export) - there is no XYZ import path for scan/image data itself.
See Supported File Formats for full details.
Note
The first time a Nanonis folder is loaded, SXM Viewer converts each .sxm scan into a cached header/channel representation stored in a .sxmviewer_nanonis/ folder next to the data. This folder is safe to delete (it will be rebuilt), and speeds up subsequent loads of the same folder.
Constant-height frame detection
When loading a folder, the viewer automatically detects constant-height (CH) and constant-current (CC) frames and tags each file accordingly. The dz offset is preserved per file so you can distinguish CH frames at a glance in the thumbnail grid.
Sessions and collections
If you want to return to a curated workspace later, use Sessions (folder-oriented) or Collections (cross-folder curated sets).