1
The Master Page
2
The Export Margin Offsets Dialog Box
3
Fit Page to Layer and Layer to Page
4
Copying and Pasting Graphs to Other Applications
4.1
Copy Graph as Image
4.2
Copy Graph as Editable OLE Graph Object
5
Organizing Your Graphs for Presentation or Export
6
The Layout Page
6.1
Merge Graphs to Layout
7
Exporting Graphs and Layout Pages to an Image File
7.1
File: Export Graph
7.2
File: Export Graphs (Advanced)
7.2.1
Saving Export Settings to a Theme
8
Exporting Browser Graphs to Video
9
Exporting Images to a Raster or Video File
10
Exporting Matrices
10.1
Export Matrix as ASCII
10.2
Export Matrix as NetCDF
10.3
Export Matrix as Image
10.4
Export Matrix as Video
11
Exporting Worksheets
11.1
As ASCII, NI TDM (TDM, TDMS), and Sound (WAV)
11.2
As Excel
11.3
As SQLite
11.4
As Multipage PDF File
11.5
As Image File
11.6
As PDF File
12
Send Graphs to PowerPoint
13
Slide Show of Graphs
14
Creating Movies
15
Notes Windows for Reporting
15.1
Notes Window Syntax
15.2
Rich Text
15.2.1
Adding Content to Your Notes
15.2.2
Text Styles Manager
15.2.3
Adding Rich Text Content to Layout or Graph
15.2.4
Print or Export to PDF
15.3
HTML and Markdown
15.3.1
Adding Content to Your HTML Report
15.3.2
Using Your HTML Report
The
Master Page
feature is used to add one or more common objects to
exported
or
printed
graphs. Use the master page to add a set of properties and objects -- a custom background, a company logo, text labels, images, etc. -- to selected graph windows in your project.
To make use of this feature, you must first create your Master Page. The Master Page should contain only the properties and objects that you want to display on your selected graph windows:
-
From the menu, choose
File: New: Master Page
. If you are not in the project root folder when selecting this menu item, you will be asked to switch to the project root folder.
-
Customize the Master Template. Note that the comments that show beneath the
Save Master Template
button are "hidden" and will not be applied to your graph windows.
-
Click the
Save Master Template
button. When you save, the
Master Template
will be saved to the
User Files Folder
as "name of active window".otpu (e.g. "C:\Users\
YourName
\Documents\OriginLab\User Files\Master.otpu").
Things to know about the Master Page:
-
Master items will only show in graphs pages of the same dimensions as the template.
Apply Dimension to All Graphs
applies Master Template page dimensions to all graphs of the
same aspect ratio
.
-
If you create a graph and modify page size, then choose
File: New: Master Page
and load a Master Template into the workspace, the Master Template will be loaded with the page dimensions of your modified graph page.
-
The
Rotate
button swaps the Master Template page dimensions (toggles orientation between landscape and portrait).
-
When you click
Apply Dimension to All Graphs
you are prompted to apply dimensions only to graphs of the same aspect ratio, or to all graphs of the same orientation (portrait or landscape).
-
Master Page items on a graph with portrait orientation will not show on a graph with landscape orientation and
vice versa
.
-
When NOT using Master Items,
Edit: Copy Page
(CTRL + J) will place
an OLE-editable Origin graph object
on the Clipboard. When using Master Items,
Edit: Copy Page
will place an
image
on the Clipboard; the
Copy Graph as Image
dialog will open asking you to accept or adjust image settings before clicking
Copy
.
-
If a graph uses Master Items,
Send Graphs to PowerPoint
does not
support
Insert Graphs as Embedded Object
. Instead, use
Insert Graphs as Picture
which
does
support Master Items.
-
There is a mechanism for selectively excluding Master Items in your exported or printed page.
Any object
that you do not want to appear in the exported or printed page should begin with "NoExport" (e.g. open an arrow object's
Properties
dialog and on the
Programming
tab, rename "Arrow" to "NoExport_Arrow").
-
When you customize and save your Master Page to the
User Files Folder
, the next time you choose
File: New: Master Page
, you load your customized template.
-
If you don't want to show Master Items in the workspace, click
View: Show: Master Items
and remove the check mark. The exported graph will still contain the Master Items (they just won't show in the workspace).
-
If you want to remove Master Items from a graph in both the workspace
and
exported images, click
Format: Page...
,
Display
tab and clear the
Use Master Items
check box.
You could use the Text tool to add project and system information to your Master Template as static text objects, but since the idea is to build a template for re-use, consider "soft-coding" information in your text labels. To learn more, see these topics:
By default, the margins of your copied or exported graph are determined by
the
Margin Control
in
Copy Page Settings
group of
Preferences: Options
(Copy actions) or the
Export Settings
branch of
Export Graphs
(Export actions). You can interactively modify the default margins using
the
Export Margin Offsets Dialog Box
.
-
Click on the graph window (to activate) and choose
Edit: Set Export Margins
. This opens the
Export Margin Offsets
dialog.
-
Drag the blue selection handles that appear at the page margins; or enter values into the dialog edit boxes and click
Apply
.
There are two small dialog boxes that are also helpful for removing white space or placing a margin around your graph before exporting:
-
Fit Page to Layers
: Choose
Graph: Fit Page to Layers
to open the
pfit2l
dialog box.
-
Fit Layers to Page
: Choose
Graph: Fit Layers to Page
to open the
gfitp
dialog box.
Both dialogs can be used to remove white space. Both can perform resizing, with or without changing graph aspect ratio. You can
view the documentation for both
to decide which might work best for you but basically it boils down to whether you need to keep a particular page size. If so, you'll likely want
Fit Layers to Page
; if not, either one may work for you.
Graphs, Copy/Paste or Embedding
Copy/Paste Graphs
Embed Graphs, 3rd Party Applications
There are two ways you can include Origin graphs in another application's files (e.g. Microsoft Word .docx files):
-
As an
image
-
As an
editable OLE graph object
Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)
When you paste as an
image
, you are pasting a static object. In MS Word, for instance, you may be able to modify the image using Word's picture-editing tools, but you cannot make edits to the graph in Origin and have it update the graph in Word (short of deleting the existing image and replacing it with a new one).
By contrast, when you paste an
editable OLE graph object
you can later double-click on the object in the host application to launch a new instance of Origin. The graph and any associated data sheets will be available for editing. After editing, use Origin's
File: Exit and Return to...
menu item to update the embedded object, close Origin and return to the host application.
-
Click on your Origin graph to activate it, then ...
-
Choose
Edit: Copy Graph as Image
(CTRL+ALT+J). Alternately, click on the graph window near the page margin and click the
Copy Graph as Image
button on the
Mini Toolbar
.
-
In your host application choose
Paste
or press CTRL+V.
When copying the graph as an image (CTRL+ALT+J), you have a choice of image formats (PNG, EMF, DIB, HTML, JPG). Additionally, you can make quick size adjustments and specify background transparency (PNG). The
Copy Graph as Image
(copyimg) dialog includes a
Dialog Theme
control which allows repeating
<Last used>
settings, saving current settings as default
Save as <default>
or saving settings to a named Theme (
Save As...
).
There is a
Copy
control on the
Preferences: Options: Page
tab that lets you assign the CTRL+C hotkey combination to either
Copy Graph as Image <last used>
or
Copy Page (CTRL+J)
(i.e. "editable OLE graph object"). This allows you to bypass the
Copy Graph as Image
dialog and speed up placing a standardized image on the Clipboard using CTRL+C.
-
Choose
Edit: Copy Page
(CTRL+J).
-
In your host application choose
Paste
or press CTRL+V.
Note:
For more information, please refer to the:
Help: Origin: Origin Help > Exporting and Publishing Graphs >
Pasting or Embedding Graphs in Other Applications
If your Origin project file contains a large number of graphs that you plan to export or use in an Origin slide show, you can make things easier by adding shortcuts to your graphs to a Project Explorer
Favorites
folder and arranging them there:
If you are preparing a manuscript for publication, you may want to see
FAQ-441 How do I export graphs with exact size and resolution as specified by publishers?
A layout page, as the name implies, is a window useful for laying out different elements for publication or export. Use it to assemble graphs, result tables, text objects, etc. onto a single panel.
Typically, you start by creating a blank panel:
-
Click the
New Layout
button on the Standard toolbar.
-
Right-click on the blank layout to paste Clipboard content, add text, insert images from files, add graphs, tables, etc.
-
When inserting an image from file, right-click in the area where you want to insert. When adding graphs or worksheets, pick a window in the Browser and drag out an area on the layout with your mouse. Note that added objects can be moved or resized by dragging with your mouse.
-
Note that selected elements on the layout page can be aligned using
Object Edit
toolbar buttons.
Exporting of layout pages to .SVG files is supported. When adding graphs to the layout, choose
Add Graph
from the layout shortcut menu and elements of your SVG file (e.g. text) will be editable in applications such as Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator.
For more on the layout page, see
Using the Layout Page Window
in the Origin Help file.
As an alternative to manually creating layouts, Origin offers a tool that will merge select graphs into a single layout page of equal spacing. In this case, merged graphs are images and, therefore, not editable using the procedure described in step #3 of the previous section. However, if further graph edits are not needed, you can use this method to quickly produce a nice-looking layout.
In addition to
Merge Graphs to Layout
, Origin includes "merge graphs" utilities in several other dialogs:
Merge Graph Windows
,
Arrange Layers
and
Layer Management
.
To merge graph images into a single layout:
-
With a graph window active, click
Graph: Merge Graph to Layout: Open Dialog
.
-
Use the
Selection
drop-down to specify how to select graphs. To choose individual graphs, choose
Specified
and use the browse button beside
Graphs
to open the Graph Browser and pick graphs.
Use the
Fit Page to Objects
menu command (
Format: Fit Page to Objects
) to apply a uniform margin to the active Layout page. This works the same as the aforementioned
Fit Page to Layers
does for graph windows.
Graphs, Exporting
Exporting Graphs/Layout Pages
Layout Pages, Exporting
Origin 2021b added a simplified graph export routine to complement the existing graph export routine:
-
File: Export Graph
: If you simply want to export one or two graphs to one of several common image format (PNG, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, EMF) and need only minimal control of image size, this routine is quick and easy.
-
File: Export Graphs (Advanced)
: If you want to batch export graphs (e.g.
All in Active Folder
,
All in Project
, etc.), or export to vector types such as PDF or EPS, use this routine. The dialog supports outputting to a specified path, auto naming, application of Speed Mode settings to exported graphs, plus margin control, image size and other filetype-specific settings.
Beginning with
Origin 2023
, the following export dialogs will add a date-time stamped clickable link to the Messages Log. Click the link to open the file using an internal Origin viewer (see below):
In addition, two system variables are added to manage Messages Log output for images:
-
@VID
is added to select image viewer (raster, EMF): 1 = use Origin viewer (default); 0 = use system default application.
-
@MSG
is added to control what is output to the Messages Log: 0 = output both file and and link (default); 1 = output link only; -1 = disable message output.
To open file location in Windows Explorer (
without opening the file
)
:
-
Right-click on a link and choose
Open File Location
; or press Ctrl while clicking on the link.
File: Export Graph
(X-Function =
expG2img
) is a simplified routine for exporting the active graph page to one of the following formats: PNG, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, or EMF. It does not offer the level of control or flexibility as
File: Export Graphs (Advanced)
(next section) but it works well for simple export of individual graph pages.
To export a graph or layout page to raster image using the simplified expG2img dialog:
-
When a graph window is active, choose
File: Export Graph
.
-
For
EMF
images, set a size factor relative to the
Image Size
reported at the bottom of the dialog. For raster formats, choose an output
DPI
setting. Alternately, clear the
Auto
check box and specify a
Width in Pixels
. Clicking
Preview
opens the graph-to-export in an internal viewer.
File: Export Graphs (Advanced)
(X-Function =
expGraph
) is Origin's primary tool for exporting graphs and layout pages. It supports raster or vector output, flexible multi-page export (e.g.
All in Active Folder
), DPI and
Speed Mode
control and more.
To export a graph or a layout page as an image file:
-
Select the menu
File:Export Graphs (Advanced)
.
The
expGraph
routine exports graphs to one of 15 file formats:
As is the case with many other Origin dialog boxes, you can save your graph export settings as a
Dialog Theme
for repeat use.
Once you have determined your export settings:
Since Origin 2021,
expGraph
dialog box settings are saved to the graph automatically on export.
-
To save current settings
withtout
exporting, choose
Save to <Graph>
.
-
To restore saved settings after you've modified them in the export dialog, choose
<Graph>
Help: Origin: Origin Help > Exporting and Publishing Graphs >
Exporting Your Graph or Layout Page to an Image File
You can export multiple graphs, such as all graphs in a folder or all graphs in a project file, to a single, multi-page PDF file. Choose
File: Export Graphs
and open the Export Graphs dialog box. Set
Image Type
to
Portable Document Format (*.pdf)
and
Select Graph(s)
to one of the following options and you will see a checkbox for
Export as multi-page PDF file
.
To export a Browser Graph as a video (GIF, TIFF, AVI):
-
Activate the
Browser Graph
. Before going further, confirm that the graph is in
Page View
(click just below the window title bar and when the Mini Toolbar appears, verify that there is NOT a red check mark beside the
Window View
button. If there is, clear it).
-
In the panel to the left, click the menu button
and choose
Flip Through
.
-
Click the
Export
button and set
File Type
=
GIF
,
TIFF
or
AVI
.
-
Modify other settings as needed and click
OK
. Unless it has been turned off, export will dump a clickable link to the Messages Log. Click the link to run the video in the supporting application.
Using
File: Export Image
(X-Function =
cvExport
)
Image window
you can export images to one of several raster formats: BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIF.
To export an (image window) image using cvExport:
-
With the image window active, choose
File: Export Image
.
-
Choose from the list of raster images; or save as a video file (*.avi).
After exporting, a
clickable link
will be generated in the
Messages Log
.
This will create an ASCII file of the data contained in the active matrix object.
-
With the matrix active, choose
File: Export: ASCII
.
This will export all objects in the active matrix to a .nc file:
-
With the matrix active, choose
File: Export: NetCDF
.
-
For
Base year for sampling across years
, note that when the matrix data are averaged across years, the time variable is not exported with the NetCDF file. Use this to specify how to indicate time:
Use ending year as time variable
For more information on Exporting NetCDF data, see
the Origin Help file
.
Matrix images can be exported using
File: Export: Image
(X-Function =
expImage
).
To export a matrix image to raster file including as Grayscale GeoTIFF:
-
With the matrix active, choose File: Export: Image.
-
Verify that the
File Type
is correct. For GeoTIFF data, the TIF/TIFF format should be pre-selected but to export as grayscale GeoTIFF, check the
Export as Grayscale GeoTIFF
box.
After exporting, a
clickable link of exported file path
will be generated in the
Messages Log
.
Matrices containing multiple matrix objects can be exported to GIF, TIF and AVI (X-Function =
expm2video
).
To export a series of matrix objects as a video file:
-
With the matrix active, choose
File: Export: Video
.
Worksheets, Exporting
Exporting Worksheets
After exporting worksheet data to ASCII or Excel, a
clickable link of exported file path
will be generated in the
Messages Log
.
With a worksheet active, the
File: Export
menu item provides the following options:
These apply only to sheets containing data columns, and are not available for
analysis report sheets
(see other options, below). The exported file will contain only data from the worksheet columns. Floating or embedded graphs placed in the worksheet will be ignored.
Export books of worksheet columns with text and numeric data to an MS Excel file (XLS, XSLX, XSLM). Note that
analysis report sheets
with their hierarchical tables, and things such as embedded graphs and images, are not exported to the Excel file. Analysis results that are output to regular Origin worksheets
are
exported.
-
With the worksheet active, choose
File: Export: Excel
.
-
In the dialog that opens, set
Export Sheets
to
Whole Book
or
Active Sheet Only
.
-
Optionally, check the
Export Cell Formats
box to export numeric and style formats (decimal digits, font, background color, etc.).
For information on copying analysis report sheets and pasting to MS Office applications, see
FAQ-815 How do I copy report sheet tables and paste them into Word, Excel or PowerPoint?
This option exports the active worksheet(s) as an SQLite file. Specify a file extension of .
sqlite
, .
sqlite3
or .
db
(note that file structure is identical). Options to skip hidden columns or rows. Limited to export of data in worksheet columns.
This option is available only on sheets with data columns, and not for
analysis report sheets
. Use the
View: Page Break Preview Lines
menu item to view the vertical and horizontal page break lines that determine which columns and rows will be included in each page of the export. Floating or embedded graphs placed in the worksheet will be included in the exported image.
This option is available on both data and
analysis report sheets
:
-
With the worksheet active, choose
File: Export: As Image File
.
-
In the dialog that opens,
-
-
Image file formats including PDF and SVG are supported.
-
Floating or embedded graphs placed in the worksheet will be included in the exported image.
-
Set
Export Area
to
Visible
,
Whole
or
Selection
. Note that empty rows no longer exported when
Export Area
=
Whole
.
-
Border is added to exported worksheet by default. Change border width or remove border, set the
Frame Thickness
drop-down.
This option is available for both data and
analysis report sheets
. In the dialog that opens, you can opt for exporting the entire sheet, the visible area, or a selection. Floating or embedded graphs are included in the exported PDF.
When creating a custom report from a worksheet that combines data, numeric results and graphs, the best option is to export the entire sheet as a PDF file, or export the sheet as a multi-page PDF file.
Graphs, Send to PowerPoint
PowerPoint, Exporting to
You can send a group of Origin graphs to MS PowerPoint as pictures or as embedded objects (see limitations of embedded objects and
Master Items
, explained
above
). Graphs inserted as embedded objects can be further edited in your Origin software. Double-click on the graph in PowerPoint to open the graph in an OLE instance of Origin.
To Send Graphs to PowerPoint:
-
Click the
Send Graphs to PowerPoint
button
on the Standard toolbar.
or...
-
Click the
Send Graphs to PowerPoint
icon
in the
Apps Gallery
, docked to the right-side or your Origin workspace (if you do not see the Apps Gallery, click
View: Apps
or press ALT + 9).
or...
-
Right-click in the lower-pane of
Project Explorer
and choose
Send Graphs to PowerPoint
.
Tutorial: Send Graphs to PowerPoint
-
Run Origin and open the sample file
<Origin EXE Folder>
\Samples\Graphing\Column and Bar.opju.
-
Click the
Send Graphs to PowerPoint
button
on the Standard toolbar.
-
Click the
Select Graphs
button and choose
Specified
.
-
Select all except
Graph5B
in the left panel and move them to the right panel by clicking the
in the middle of the dialog box. Click
OK
. A scrollable list of graphs is added to the left panel in the App.
-
Set
Insert Graph as
=
Picture
.
-
Set the
Slide Margin
top dimension as
8%
and leave the others as
0
.
-
Set
Title Line
=
Top of Slide
, and
Title
=
Window Long Name
.
-
Set
Starting Slide Index
=
3
and
Slide Mode
=
Start New
.
-
Use the browse button beside
Load File/Template (optional)
to load the file
<Origin EXE Folder>
\Samples\Import and Export\Column_Plots_in_Sample_OPJ.pptx.
-
Specify a
Save File as (optional)
output path for the resulting PPTX file.
There is also a
Send Graphs to Word
App
that is pre-installed with your Origin software. This App is particularly useful for
batch export of graphs to a book-marked MS Word document
.
Graphs, Slide Show
Slide Show of Graphs
Origin has a built-in slideshow utility for viewing or presenting your graphs while running Origin. The slide show can be started in two ways:
-
Right-click on any folder in
Project Explorer
and select
Slide Show of Graphs...
A dialog box opens offering options to set slide order, slide cycle time, whether to include graphs in sub folders, etc. The dialog also lists shortcut keys for use during the slide show (e.g.
G
= go to the actual graph window of the currently displayed slide).
Tutorial: Slide Show of Graphs
-
Use the
File: Open Sample Projects: 2D and Contour Graphs
menu to open the sample project.
-
Click on the
Slide Show of Graphs
button in the
Standard Toolbar
.
-
Accept default settings in the dialog that opens, and press
OK
to start the slide show.
-
You can use the up/down arrow keys or the mouse wheel to flip thru the slides.
Graphs, Animating
Animating Graphs
Movies, Animating Graphs
Video Builder
Origin provides a
Video Builder
tool, accessible from the
Open Video Builder
button
on the
Standard Toolbar
. This tool can be used to manually capture a series of graph windows, and write one frame at a time to a video (.AVI) file.
Videos can be created using LabTalk script or Origin C code, by programmatically computing or updating data and then writing out the graph as a frame in the video, at each step during the computation.
For specific examples of programmatically created movies, including Origin Projects and code, please visit
www.originlab.com/animation
.
Over time, Origin's Notes window has morphed from a plain-text window for jotting down your research notes, into a flexible medium for collating a variety of research-related materials.
Because the Notes window can contain
linked
objects -- graphs, images, worksheet cell values, etc. -- it can be useful to add a Notes window to an
Analysis Template™
for purposes of summarizing analysis results. Alternately, you can save your Notes window as a PDF by clicking
File: Print
and choosing a PDF driver.
Origin's Notes window supports four syntaxes:
Text
,
Origin Rich Text
(default),
HTML
, and
Markdown
.
-
To switch syntaxes, choose
Notes
:
Syntax
:
Text
.
-
Once you have selected
Text
, you can freely choose other syntaxes from the
Notes
menu.
With Rich Text, the Notes window has two modes -- raw text mode and
Render
mode. Toggle between these modes using
Notes: Render Mode
or shortcut key combination CTRL + M.
To add text to the Notes window, you need to be in raw text mode. To style added text, use the
Format
toolbar and/or apply
pre-defined paragraph styles
.
You can insert these objects to the Notes window by by right-clicking in the Notes window and choosing from the shortcut menu:
Graph/Image
Opens the
Graph/Image Browser
where you can pick project graphs and images. Note that you can
Show Embedded Graph
(see the first row of
this table
for a definition of "embedded graph") and Project Explorer "Favorites" folder shortcuts (
Include Shortcut Page
).
Worksheet Cell...
Opens the
interactive range selector
. Use this to pick a cell value in a worksheet or report sheet. Click
Done
to insert a linked cell value.
Info Variable...
Opens the
Insert Variables
dialog for inserting project variables stored on data import.
New Table
Opens the
New Table
dialog for configuring a basic table. Clicking
OK
closes the dialog and opens a basic workbook containing a single worksheet. Customize the worksheet, add data, etc., then use Notes window Render Mode to view the resulting table.
Symbol Map
Opens a
simplified
Symbol Map
with characters sorted by tab. Click
Advanced
to go to the
full Symbol Map
.
LaTeX Equation
Opens the
LaTeX Equation Editor App
(if you've not already installed this free App, you are prompted to do so). You can click the
Equation
button
to open a list of Origin's fitting functions (incl. your user-defined functions). Pick a function (or enter a function into the top box) and click
Preview
to see your equation rendered.
Opens a dialog box for entering
Text to display
and a
Link
. The link can be a URL or it can be
a link to such things
as a worksheet data range (e.g. range://[book1]sheet1!col(1)[100]). Additionally, you can run simple LabTalk commands using a "labtalk://" tag (e.g. labtalk://newsheet).
Image from File
Opens a dialog to browse for image files. Note that the inserted image is linked to an external file and is not saved with the project.
Image form Web
Opens a dialog to specify a
Image Link
for a web image (
hint
: In your browser, right-click on an image and
Copy Image Address
,
Copy Image Link
, etc).
-
Add your content using raw text mode.
-
When you are ready to view your content, turn on (place a check mark beside)
Notes: Render Mode
or press CTRL + M. Note that you can use the
Zoom
combo box
on the Standard toolbar to zoom in or out on the page (CTRL + mouse wheel also works).
In addition to styling text with the
Format
toolbar, you can apply a simple set of paragraph styles on a line-by-line basis. Manage styles with the
Text Styles Manager
dialog box.
-
With a worksheet active, choose
Tools: Text Styles Manager
.
-
Select a
Style to Modify
and
Apply
or
Close
.
Note that you can add styles by selecting
<new>
from the
Styles to Modify
drop-down list; or select a style and
Delete
.
To apply a paragraph style to Notes window text:
-
Open the cell note in a Notes window.
-
With
Render Mode
off (CTRL + M, to toggle), click on a line of text then right-click, choose
Paragraph Styles
and choose a style from the popup menu.
-
To check results, press CTRL + M (
Render Mode
).
To see a list of built-in paragraph styles, open a fresh Notes window, then from the menu choose
Notes: Load Samples: Built-in Styles.txt
.
You can insert Rich Text content from a Notes window to a text object on a Layout or graph page.
To add the content of an existing Note (Layout or Graph):
-
Select the
Text
tool
, then click on the Layout/Graph and enter "
@@@Notes
N
" (i.e. the Notes window Short Name).
-
Click off the text object to insert Notes content.
To add content by creating a new Note (Layout only):
-
Right-click on the Layout and choose
Insert Notes Text
.
-
See
Adding Content to Your Notes
.
You can output Rich Text content to a physical printer; or print to PDF using a third-party driver such as Microsoft Print to PDF.
To create nice-looking output, you'll need to pay attention to these settings:
-
-
When width is uncontrolled (
note.width = 0
),
Notes Window Page Width
is approximately equal to
Paper Size
–
Margins
. This should produce a satisfactory printout to PDF or paper.
-
If you do specify
note.width
, do not exceed
Paper Size
–
Margins
or your text may be cut off.
You can also use
Notes
windows to create HTML or Markdown reports. Similar to Rich Text, you can build your HTML report using placeholders that link to report sheet elements such as metadata, statistical results or graphs. The resulting HTML report can be printed or exported; or it can be incorporated into your
Analysis Template
. If Markdown syntax is used, optional HTML syntax can be also included for advanced customization.
To use this feature, the user should have some basic familiarity with HTML or Markdown, and as with most things, the more proficient the user is, the easier it will be to create professional-looking output. However, the skill needed to generate a basic report can be easily mastered. See
this OriginLab blog post
for guidance.
The basic steps of creating reports using an Origin Notes window, are as follows:
-
Create your project to include graphing and analysis results.
-
Click the
New Notes
button
to add a Notes window.
-
From the menu, choose
Notes: Syntax
, then choose
HTML
or
Markdown
(
Hint
: You can toggle between text/view and markup modes by pressing
CTRL+M
and you can choose the default syntax by setting LabTalk System Variable
@NPS
).
-
You can write your code in the Notes window's markup mode or you can use a text editor such as Notepad++, then copy and paste it to your Notes window. If you have no experience with HTML or Markdown, you may want to load samples by activating your Notes window and clicking
Notes: Load Samples
(HTML = ".html", Markdown = ".md").
-
You will likely want to incorporate graphing and analysis results from the current project, into your report. The simplest way to do this is to insert "placeholders" for each Origin object that you intend to include in your report, into your code. These placeholders can be named using any string that makes sense to you and they should be enclosed in double-curly braces (e.g.
{{MyR-SquareValue}}
).
-
Right-click on the Notes window title bar and choose
Edit Placeholders
. Placeholders that you have incorporated into your code will be picked up and added to a
Placeholders
worksheet in the workbook. The sheet will list, in column A, all of the placeholders found in your code. A second column -- Column B -- is blank and is reserved for adding the associated Origin objects (i.e. the variables, analysis and graphing results, etc.) that you want to include in your report.
-
For each placeholder in column A, find the associated Origin object and copy it to the Clipboard (e.g. if it is a numeric quantity in a sheet resulting from some statistical analysis, select the cell quantity, right-click and choose
Copy
, or press CTRL+C on your keyboard).
-
Return to the
Placeholders
sheet, right-click in column B, beside the associated placeholder and choose
Paste-Link
. This associates your placeholder with the intended Origin object.
-
If you intend to include your HTML report in an Analysis Template, you can right-click on a workbook tab in your Analysis Template and choose
Add Notes as Sheet
. This inserts your Notes window into workbook and you can now choose
File: Save Workbook as Analysis Template
.
When a Notes window is active, you can click the
Notes
menu and load a sample HTML file into the Notes window.
As you fill in your Placeholders sheet, you should see your HTML report take shape in the Notes window. Once completed, you can do various things with your HTML report, including: