I finally snapped and started building a universal scientific plotter because I’m tired of "vendor software hell." Am I the only one?
Hi everyone,
I’m reaching a breaking point with lab software. Last week, I had to work with data coming from four different instruments. I had .dat, .fid, .sca, and .xlsx files all over my desktop. To just look at the graphs, I had to open four different, clunky, and often outdated programs.
Why is it 2026 and we still don't have a "Swiss Army Knife" for scientific data?
I got so frustrated that I decided to build my own tool. My goal is simple: One web-based place where you drag and drop ANY scientific file, and it instantly gives you a clean, interactive plot. No installing 5GB vendor suites, no license keys, just "file -> graph."
I want to keep this FREE and accessible for everyone in the community. Think of it as a "convert anything to a publication-ready plot" tool.
Here is what my prototype can handle so far (by sheer force of Python and stubbornness):
- The "Messy Text" Problem: It has a smart parser that auto-detects delimiters (tabs, pipes, semicolons) and skips those 50 lines of metadata "headers" instruments love to add.
- Spectroscopy & Resonance: I’ve integrated nmrglue and custom parsers for .fid (Bruker/Varian), .jdx, and .spc (Thermo). It even handles Bruker NMR folders.
- Specific Modes: I’m adding "modes" because a CV curve shouldn't be treated like a simple XY plot. Currently working on:
- Default: Quick XY plotting.
- NMR/EPR: With FFT and baseline correction.
- CV/CVA: Specialized for Cyclic Voltammetry.
- Stats: Fast histograms and distribution checks.
I’m doing this to save my own sanity, but I want to make it work for you too.
- Does this "multi-format hell" resonate with you, or have you found a better way to cope?
- What are the most "annoying" or proprietary formats you have to deal with daily? I’ll try to add them to my parser list next.
- Are there any "five-minute tasks" (like calibration curves or peak picking) that you wish were automated the moment you upload a file?
I’ve attached some screenshots below showing several different types of data opened simultaneously to give you a feel for the workflow.
