A few choices in the export step determine whether your figures end up at the same quality as the rest of your manuscript. None of them are difficult; they just need to happen before you hit save.
This page covers single-experiment export from the plot toolbar. For multi-experiment figures (calibration curves, Tafel plots, multi-panel composites), see the Publication Workbench.
Pick the right format
The save icon in the plot toolbar opens a small menu with the options Studio offers:
- Save as .stfy. The native format. Carries the trace data, every parameter, the instrument model, the firmware version, and the timestamp. Use this whenever you might want to re-open the experiment in Studio later.
- Export as PDF. Vector output. The right choice for any figure that will appear in a manuscript: axes and traces stay crisp at every zoom level the typesetter applies.
- Export as PNG. Raster output. Use it for slide decks, posters, or anywhere the publisher asks for a raster image rather than vector.
- Export as Excel (.xlsx). The raw data plus a metadata sheet, for tables and supplementary material. Reviewers can reproduce the analysis from the file alone.
- Export as ASCII (.txt). Plain-text columns of the raw data, for loading into Python, MATLAB, Origin, or any tool that parses tabular text.
- Browse Autosaved. Opens the autosave folder so you can recover an experiment Studio recorded without you saving it by hand.
Lock axis ranges across figures
If you're comparing multiple experiments across separate figures (for example, the same redox couple in different electrolytes), set the X and Y axis ranges by hand before exporting each one so they share a common scale.
The X and Y unit pickers in the plot toolbar let you type the range you want. Apply the same range to every figure that should be visually comparable, then export each.
Record what you need for reproducibility
The XLS export carries the experiment metadata (parameters, instrument model, firmware version, timestamp) on a separate sheet. Including that file as supplementary material is the quickest way to make your runs reproducible.
The native .stfy file carries the same information and can be re-opened in Studio later; share it alongside the XLS if collaborators have Studio installed.