https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/ Recent content in Posts on iolite notes Hugo -- gohugo.io en support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) ©{year}, All Rights Reserved Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +1000 https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/tes_combined/ Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/tes_combined/ There was a question on the forum recently about the differences between trace element calibration approaches. This Note aims to show that each approach is actually just a variation of the same approach with specific assumptions. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/splineexplanation/ Tue, 26 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/splineexplanation/ One of iolite’s key capabilities is its ability to model processes occurring with a measurement session as time series. This is achieved via a series of interpolation methods, collectively referred to here as “splines” although they range from a simple mean of the observed data through to variably smoothed cubic splines. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/isospike/ Mon, 24 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +1100 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/isospike/ iolite has always supported time-resolved data processing from a variety of instruments, including TIMS and solution ICP-MS. Its implementation of the double-spike inversion, which is an approach that calculates mass bias, mixture proportions, etc, sets it apart from most solution mass spectrometry software. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/comparingessentialstov4/ Mon, 11 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/comparingessentialstov4/ iolite Essentials has just been released, and represents a great new tool for labs with fewer processing requirements. iolite v4 remains our flagship application, and will continue to lead the way in time-resolved data processing. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/v4.10.0/ Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:00:00 +1100 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/v4.10.0/ iolite v4.10.0 has just been released! Below is a quick summary of changes, but in particular, these new features may be of interest. Big speed improvements for LIBS datasets Joe has spent quite a bit of time with the AV2 team coming up with an improved LIBS dataset format. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/v4.9.0/ Wed, 24 Jan 2024 16:00:00 +1100 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/v4.9.0/ iolite v4.9.0 has just been released! It has been a little while since we put out a release so there are quite a few new features and bug fixes included. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/excessuncertexplorer/ Mon, 18 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/excessuncertexplorer/ The main error propagation algorithm in iolite was first published by Paton et al. (2010). Its purpose is to estimate the additional uncertainty to be added to the internal uncertainty calculated by iolite and is most often used in U-Pb studies. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/srisotopesexplainer/ Sun, 02 Oct 2022 18:20:04 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/srisotopesexplainer/ NOTE: The following is a guest post by Graham Hagen-Peter (even though I -Bence- am listed as the author, it is Graham’s work; I am just posting it here). https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/downloadingfromgithub/ Wed, 28 Sep 2022 13:28:59 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/downloadingfromgithub/ The iolite GitHub repository contains many examples of additional modules for iolite written in python. It’s not always obvious how to download and use these files, so here’s a quick rundown of the process. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/nullfilter/ Tue, 28 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/nullfilter/ Sometimes when imaging we purposely leave space between spots to save time or maybe there is a gap in your image from an instrument glitch. In either case, the cell space image will contain regions of null data, and often we would like to replace those missing parts to make a better looking image. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/refiner/ Wed, 15 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/refiner/ Laser logs and mass spec sample metadata speed up the process of creating selections in iolite considerably. However, sometimes we want to further refine those selections for a variety of reasons. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/nurunfiles/ Tue, 24 Aug 2021 15:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/nurunfiles/ To import mass spec data into iolite, a few key pieces of information are required. The most basic of these are the time the data were collected and what masses were measured. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/selectionchecker/ Thu, 19 Aug 2021 15:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/selectionchecker/ iolite v4 now comes with a tool that helps you identify issues with your selections. Sometimes, errant selections can cause a DRS not to run properly, or result in many error messages. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/igorcolors/ Tue, 22 Jun 2021 15:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/igorcolors/ Missing the color tables of iolite 3/Igor Pro in iolite 4? Read on to find out how you can transfer those color tables from Igor Pro to iolite 4! https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/clippingmask/ Wed, 16 Jun 2021 15:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/clippingmask/ When acquiring images, it is fairly common that more than just the target is ablated and analyzed. For example, maybe you want to be sure that you get the material boundaries or perhaps you are not exactly sure where the boundaries are, so you setup your sequence to cover a broader area. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/v4.4.x/ Tue, 08 Jun 2021 20:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/v4.4.x/ The 4.4.x series of iolite updates started with a doozy – our new local database plugin – and continued with a myriad of smaller features and bug fixes. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/updateresources/ Tue, 08 Jun 2021 15:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/updateresources/ You may have noticed a dialog that looks as below when you run iolite for the first time after updating. The reason you are seeing this dialog is that a variety of files are included with iolite but live outside the iolite folder and may be modified by users. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/imagelog/ Fri, 04 Jun 2021 15:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/imagelog/ One handy feature that was slipped into iolite a while ago without much publicity is the ability to visualize “ImageLog” images in the time series view. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/oldagilenttimestamps/ Thu, 03 Jun 2021 15:00:00 +1000 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/oldagilenttimestamps/ An important part of iolite is the time ordering of data. This allows iolite to accurately model time-dependent phenomena such as sensitivity drift, mass fractionation and baseline variation. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/dbwebinar/ Wed, 21 Apr 2021 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/dbwebinar/ The recording of the Database Webinar can be found here. Click here to discuss. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/v4.3.15/ Tue, 26 Jan 2021 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/v4.3.15/ Happy new year and welcome to the first release notes highlights note! We get the feeling that new features or changes often go unnoticed in our release notes that are displayed when updating. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/ptwebinar/ Sat, 05 Dec 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/ptwebinar/ The recording of the Automation Webinar can be found here. Click here to discuss. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/logsamplesync/ Thu, 15 Oct 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/logsamplesync/ Laser logs can save a lot of time when setting up selections in iolite. Rather than painstakingly reviewing each bit of data and assigning it to a selection/group, the time stamps in a laser log and the analysis annotations can be matched up with mass spec data to automate this process. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/pbconcentrations/ Tue, 04 Aug 2020 10:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/pbconcentrations/ This note is to address some questions we’ve recently received about the Pb concentration calculation in iolite, and in particular why when measuring the Pb concentration in zircons you get very different concentrations for each of the Pb channels. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/masks/ Mon, 22 Jun 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/masks/ Masks have been part of iolite since the early days, but we still regularly get questions about them. In this note, we will take a look at what a mask is and why you might want to use one, the ways you can make one, and what it looks like when things go right (and wrong). https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/agenonlinearity/ Wed, 10 Jun 2020 10:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/agenonlinearity/ A common question we are asked about U-Pb geochronology in iolite is: “Why is the mean age calculated by iolite different to the age calculated from the mean ratio? https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/freestudentlicences/ Sun, 17 May 2020 10:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/freestudentlicences/ We recognise that everyone is going through a lot of adaptation at the moment, and many people do not have access to their labs or other department services. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/upbwebinar/ Wed, 13 May 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/upbwebinar/ The recording of the U-Pb webinar can be found here. Click here to discuss. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/converttooxide/ Fri, 08 May 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/converttooxide/ One question that came up recently was how to get the results in weight percent oxide rather than ppm. In this note, we’ll go through one way you can do that using iolite’s python functionality. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/replacingdata/ Fri, 08 May 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/replacingdata/ We recently had a question about replacing values below 0 with 0 so I thought I’d write a quick note to demonstrate one way you can do that using iolite’s python functionality. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/isoplotr/ Thu, 07 May 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/isoplotr/ With Kenneth Ludwig’s Isoplot becoming more and more difficult to use in modern Excel (let alone on a Mac), there is increasing interest in alternatives. One alternative is Pieter Vermeesch’s IsoplotR. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/weighteduca/ Thu, 07 May 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/weighteduca/ A recent publication by Cogné et al. used a modified iolite 2/3 data reduction scheme to calculate ‘weighted’ U/Ca as part of an apatite fission track dating protocol. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/covariance/ Mon, 04 May 2020 10:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/covariance/ Sometimes we want to examine the relationship between elements (channels) in our datasets to guide us in our data processing. For example, looking for elements whose concentrations correlate strongly can provide us with ideas about what to plot, or whether our data make sense. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/basicswebinar/ Thu, 09 Apr 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/basicswebinar/ The recording of the iolite basics webinar can be found on YouTube or directly from iolite. Click here to discuss. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/hdf/ Thu, 19 Mar 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/hdf/ In iolite 3, sessions were saved as Igor Pro “packed experiment” pxp files. This was convenient because iolite 3 was built on top of Igor Pro. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/splines1/ Tue, 10 Mar 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/splines1/ Curve fitting plays an import role in iolite’s data reduction pipeline. In order to get accurate results we must have an accurate representation of how our backgrounds and sensitivities are evolving with time. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/laserdata/ Wed, 04 Mar 2020 12:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/laserdata/ Using laser logs to help sort out what’s what in your data files is a significant time saver. Now, with iolite 4’s python API (see here and here for more info) you can do even more with your laser data! https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/installingpackages/ Tue, 03 Mar 2020 09:00:00 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/installingpackages/ iolite comes with many useful python packages, but we cannot anticipate everything our users might want to use python for in iolite. If your great idea depends on additional python packages that we do not include, here is a quick overview of one way you can install those packages. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/downsample/ Sun, 01 Mar 2020 13:11:12 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/downsample/ We recently had an email asking about exporting time series data that had been smoothed by averaging. It turns out this is something very easy to do with iolite 4’s built in python interpreter. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/pythonselections/ Sun, 01 Mar 2020 10:11:12 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/pythonselections/ A reminder about selections A selection in iolite is simply a named (and grouped) period of time. Data processing in iolite revolves around groups of these selections and groups of different types. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/pythonintro/ Thu, 20 Feb 2020 13:15:12 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/pythonintro/ If you are using iolite 4, you’ve probably noticed references to something called ‘python’ in the user interface. Python is a general purpose interpreted programming language widely for many things, but has become particularly popular among scientists for data processing and analysis. https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/welcome/ Wed, 05 Feb 2020 12:29:12 -0500 support@iolite-software.com (iolite team) https://notes.iolite.xyz/posts/welcome/ Welcome to iolite notes! We (Bence and Joe) will be adding examples, code snippets, how-tos, and other articles to this space to help our users get the most out of iolite 4.