Below are instructions for downloading the USGS spectral library files so you can easily bring up plots of spectra with any internet browser (like netscape) on your office/home pc, laptop, or macintosh or other unix machine.

You can preview how it will look by going to the web page:

http://speclab.cr.usgs.gov/spectral.lib04/spectral-lib.desc+plots.html

The html files will be updated as new spectral libraries are released and will cover the 0.2 to 150 micron range. You will be able to click on one of 3 spectral ranges to get a plot (0.2-3, 1.5-6, and 5-150 microns).

On your local machine:

mkdir splib              # make a directory to put the library
cd splib                 # cd to that directory
mkdir DESCRIPT           # make a directory for the description files
mkdir PLOTS.lib04a       # make a directory for the for the plots
mkdir ASCII.FILES        # make a directory for the for the spectral data

Now, ftp to speclab and do the following:

ftp speclab.cr.usgs.gov  # start ftp
anonymous                # login anonymous
your_name@your_machine   # password
cd pub/spectral.library  # where the spectral library is located
binary                   # transfer in binary mode
prompt                   # don't ask for each file, just get them all
mget *.html *.gif        # get the html and icon files
cd DESCRIPT              # where sample descriptions are
lcd DESCRIPT             # put descriptions in a local directory
mget *.html              # get all description files
cd ..                    # cd back to main level
cd PLOTS.lib04a          # cd to where plots are
lcd ..                   # local cd to main level
lcd PLOTS.lib04a         # Local directory now splib/PLOTS.lib04a
mget *.gif               # plots of all spectra
mget *.obj               # tgif obj files for all spectra
cd ..                    # cd back to main level
cd ASCII.FILES           # cd to where ascii data are
lcd ..                   # local cd back to main level
lcd ASCII.FILES          # put ascii spectral, data here
mget *.spc               # ascii data for all spectra
bye                      # you are all done

Now, start your browser (like netscape), and open the file splib/spectral-lib.desc+plots.html

On a PC, it might be something like: C:\splib\spectral-lib.desc+plots.html

(You could rename spectral-lib.desc+plots.html to something like s.html so you don't have to type as much.)

The tgif *.obj files can be edited with additional information (even spectra from multiple plots stacked on top of each other to create new plots). Tgif can putput postscript so you can make publucation quality plots. Tgif is available on the net; it is a drawing program similar to (but different than) adobe illustrator.

U.S. Geological Survey, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior
This page URL= http://speclab.cr.usgs.gov/spectral.lib04/localview.html
This page is maintained by: Dr. Roger N. Clark rclark @speclab.cr.usgs.gov
Last modified August 23, 1999.