Overview

A Gamry Framework™ data file is a standard “tab-delimited” ASCII file. By convention it has a .DTA filename extension. You can use other filename extensions, but they are less convenient.

You can use Windows® Notepad to examine and modify Gamry Framework data files, but with some care. Microsoft® Excel® can also read these data files, and can be used to view or print them. However, editing and saving a file using Microsoft Excel may render the file unreadable by the Gamry Echem Analyst™.

The data file is a collection of data objects. Each data object starts on a new line and is identified by a type, a tag, and one or more values. The type is a text descriptor of the kind of object represented by this information. Any text at the beginning of a line is assumed to be a type identifier. The data objects can be of various types. The type, tag, and values of a data object are separated by the <TAB> character.

After each type identifier, there is a tag identifier. This is a unique name for a specific object. Setup parameter data objects may also have one or more values following the type and tag .

The first two lines of a Framework data file are generally two special and important data objects.

EXPLAIN

TAG TYPICALEXPERIMENT

The EXPLAIN type identifies this file as one output from an Explain™ script. Without this line, the Echem Analyst cannot read in a file.

The next line begins an object, uniquely identified as type TAG,which is used to specify which experiment created the data file. In this example, the tag is TYPICALEXPERIMENT. Echem Analyst uses this object to determine which Analysis script to use when this data file is opened. Data objects are generally more complicated. In the following example, the object is of type POTEN, and stores information about a potential. The tag or name of this object is VINIT.The information about the poten is contained in the three fields that follow the tag. The tab character is represented by <tab> so you do not confuse it with the space character.

VINIT<tab>POTEN<tab>-2.00000E-002<tab>T<tab>Initial &E (V)

One special type is a TABLE. A TABLE is output by a data curve. The TABLE type is followed by the number of data points. The table headings, units, and data values follow.

CURVE TABLE 33

Pt T Vf Im Vu Sig Ach IERange Over

s V vs. Ref. A V V V # bits**

0 1.99995 -1.98661E-002 -9.95748E-006 0.00000E+000 -2.00500E-002 1.22360E-004 7 ………….

1 3.9999 -1.96810E-002 -9.83248E-006 0.00000E+000 -1.98000E-002 1.22360E-004 7 ………….

2 5.99985 -1.94209E-002 -9.70748E-006 0.00000E+000 -1.95500E-002 1.22360E-004 7 ………….

Fields (tags , types , and values) within data objects are separated by the tab character. One exception is the separator between data points in a data curve, which is a carriage return.

Data objects can appear in any order in the file. The Gamry Echem Analyst locates objects within the file by means of their tags.