Igor Pro

What do you like best?

Igor Pro allows efficient analysis of large multidimensional data sets. Contrary to other analysis software, Igor allows direct visualization of large datasets (1D, 2D, and 3D). Plotting tools and procedures offer a wide variety of ways to plot and visualize complex data.

The possibility to write your own procedures allows wide customization of the software as well as a great platform (maybe not as good as Matlab or Python, but for sure way more user friendly) to perform calculations, fitting procedures and data processing.

Help tool and Wavemetrics forum are handy and clear.

What do you dislike?

When you upgrade from an old to a newer version, you may be required to change a few code lines of your own procedures.

I noticed that Igor 7 has a tendency to crash when dealing with very large data sets (Igor 8 is more stable), therefore I recommend saving your file regularly.

I must admit that the concept of "wave" may not be intuitive for beginners, however, it is a shallow learning curve: just after a few days, you should be able to deal with multidimensional waves and write basic procedures.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I analyze equilibrium and time-resolved ARPES and x-ray scattering data. The analysis of ARPES data requires direct and easy visualization of the multidimensional data, and Igor Pro is for sure the best software for this purpose. In addition, I perform basic calculations (tight-binding, spectral functions, RPA susceptibility, etc...)