Prerequisites: In order to create a test data set, you will need a set of "pure components". From these spectra the test generator creates virtual spectra, using linear combination. The coefficients for the linear combination are selected randomly, in such a way that the sum of coefficients stays 1. For a good test data matrix the creation of quite a large number (>15-20) of virtual spectra is recommended.

The first step is to create a data matrix, containing the "pure component" spectra. If you have no data matrix, use the method in the How to create a data matrix chapter to create a new data matrix. If this is your case, make your data matrix, save it and continue at the 2^nd step. Here we will use the file "tab85.dat" (included in the distribution) as a pure component data matrix.

1. Open your data set:

Read the input file: choose the "Open" option of the "File" menu.

Choose the ".dat" file to be opened, and press the "Open" button.

2. Invoke the test data generator:

Select the "Test data generator" option from the "Job control" menu.

A dialog box will appear:

Enter the filename of the data file to be created. Change the data directory if necessary, by using the "Select" button next to the "Test data matrix directory" field. Choose an apropriate number of virtual spectra. The test generator will create a data matrix with the specified number of columns (spectra). The name of each spectrum will be "GEN_x", where "x" is the ID number of the generated spectrum. If you want to work with the data set immediately, check the "Load it after creation" box. This will replace the data currently loaded.

If the data generation was completed successfully, and automatic loading was selected, a screen similar to the one below will appear:

At the bottom of the list, the coefficients of the linear combinations can be checked by double-clicking on the "Generated coefficients" item: