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| If you are interested in
signing up for an FTIRsearch.com member account,
but you're not quite sure how it works, you can try the Search Demo first. The search demo
works exactly like the full service search. However, the
database of available spectra is substantially smaller than the
collections available in the account member's area.
Other than the smaller database, all the features of FTIRsearch.com Text Search
and Spectrum Search
are completely functional in the demo. |
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| To learn more about the
Search Demo, refer to the following topics: |
Demo Database
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| The demo database includes a subset
of spectra randomly selected from the full database collections in the account members
area (nearly 71,000 FTIR and 16,000 Raman) as follows: |
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Access the Demo
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| All you need to do is go to the Member's Login page, and type demo for the
Email Address (there's no password). This will access the FTIRsearch.com account member's
area, but it will only allow you to search the smaller demo database. When you log in
under a demo account, it will be filled automatically with a fixed number of
FTIRsearch.com credits. As you search the database, search
charges will be deducted from the demo account balance in the same manner as they
would be for account members. However, the member account management features are disabled
and you cannot "purchase" more credits while logged in to a demo account. |
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Text Search
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| Every spectrum in the FTIRsearch.com
database is identified with a Compound Name. Many of them also have other types of text
and number information such as CAS Number, Chemical Formula or a Trade Name associated
with them. Any or all of this information can be used to look up individual spectra in the
library database. |
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| The Text Search option can only retrieve
the first 50 spectra that match your search criteria. Therefore, FTIRsearch.com allows you
to refine your search parameters as many times as you like so that you can be sure to get
the spectra you want. |
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| Sometimes it can be hard to find the exact
compound you are looking for using a Text Search. This is especially true if you don't
know the name of the compound or any other information about the spectrum you want to
find. In fact, in many cases you will measure spectra in your lab and have no idea what
they are at all. This is where a Spectrum Search becomes
indispensable. |
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Spectrum Search
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| The most powerful feature of the
FTIRsearch.com search engine is its ability to compare spectra to the collections in its
database very quickly. The search engine is very efficient; it can compare a submitted
spectrum to all 71,000 FTIR spectra in the database in under 5 seconds (even less for the
16,000 Raman spectra). You can also choose to search only certain collections and get your
results back even faster. |
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| The FTIRsearch.com search
engine can accept almost any type of spectral data file. Before
searching the libraries, the submitted data file is automatically
translated into a common format using Thermo Scientific SmartConvert technology. To see if your instrument and software is supported, you can
browse the list of data file formats. If you
don't have any spectral data files of your own to try out the demo, there are some Example Data Files listed in both the Simple and Advanced
Spectral upload pages of the Demo Mode. Simply click on the file you wish to compare to
the demo database. The selected file will be uploaded and submitted to the FTIRsearch.com
search engine. |
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| When you use the Spectrum Search option,
every data point in your spectrum data file will be compared to the spectra in the
database and the top 25 matches will be retrieved. The matches are automatically sorted
from best to worst and are displayed with your submitted data for easy comparison. You can
use either the Simple Spectrum Search option (where all of the settings are preset), or
you can use the Advanced Spectrum Search options to "tune" your search. If you
are a new user or have never used spectral searching before, the Simple Spectrum Search
option will almost always give you the best possible match. You can always go back and try
other settings without using any extra credits. |
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Viewing the
Search Results
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FTIRsearch.com uses an interactive image to display the spectra from your
search right in your web browser.
The result page allows you to turn any spectrum in the list "on" or "off" and you
can display them either in an overlaid or stack plot.
You can also access all the textual and physical property information in the
database for each spectrum on a separate Details page.
If you use the Spectrum Search option to search a spectral data file against
the database, it will be displayed in the image along with all the selected
result spectra for easy comparison.
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