Quick Start

1. Download and unpack the zip archive ThermoChemTool.zip
2. A folder with the same name will be created
3. Find the executable file "ThermoChemTool.exe" inside

The program files are:

• ThermoChemTool.exe
• DataBasis.txt with data on (H, C, N, O, metal) - systems
• two empty data files TempData.txt and PrivData.txt for input of your own data
• 8 helpfiles  ......H.txt explaining the actions of the individual forms.

The program needs all these files at run time. They must be available in the same directory as the program file ThermoChemTool.exe. Thus, you only have to copy this one directory to your computer for installation and to remove it for uninstall. That is all.

When you click the ThermoChemTool.exe file you see the main form of the program with the menus Units, Get data, Show data, Plot, Calculate, Data input, File care. Click Get data and write the symbols of the chemical elements, occurring in the reaction equation into the boxes (O, Al) and push Make system name. You may read, for example, AL  O . The style of writing the system name is made by a routine in order to avoid errors. Next, a form shows up where you can choose the file where you expect to find data (DataBasis). Press Input to store and in the list box you find three reaction equations for AL O. The data sets of these three reactions have been found in the data file and copied to the work store of your present session. You can add more sets or delete some by the same procedures.

Forms
In all forms there is on top a white memo which tells you what you have to do. In the yellow areas are input elements for the change of parameters. Push buttons are grey. The [ESC] key closes the form too. The small [?] button opens a help window for the form.

Presentation
Now, we will have a look at the data. We open the form Show data in the main menu. At first you find the Unit form where you can change the temperature and energy units of presentation. We close it for the moment, but when you want to change units this can be done any time in all menus. Then we select one equation from the list box. The data can be presented in three kinds: as a data sheet, which can be copied for documentation, or as table of the functions stored in the data set as a function of T. The start point and end point of T and delta T can be chosen. Thus, you can get a function value for any T value by making  it Tmin or Tmax. The table can be saved also as text file and used as basis for a table in a manuscript typed by your program.

Plot
Now, we will have a look at the Plot menu. At first we have to select one or several reactions from the list box (the first and second) and select the function we want to plot (G or Lg Kp). The next form enables changes of plot parameters.  For the moment we accept the parameters proposed by the program and go on. Now, we see a plot with two curves. The fat lines represent the area of definition and the thin lines the extrapolation. We see that the  curve for the oxidation of solid Al is given by a fat line below the melting point. In the plot only scale numbers and units are written at the axes but no other text. The white area can be stored as bitmap and used as sketch for a figure in your manuscript when it is finished by the graphic program you use. The points of the curves can also be obtained as [T,F(T)] plot-point file for input in advanced plot programs. You can write comments in the text lines on the right side for the documentation of the plot files when printed as screen copy.

The menus Get data, Show data, and Plot are the menus that demonstrate best which kind of results can be obtained by the program and how they can be adapted to the taste of the user. If you play now a little bit with units and output parameters you may get an idea how easy it is to present data in a specific style.

Further Menus
In the menus Calculate and Data input similar routines are provided for data input into files. There, some definitions on standard states have to be considered which are explained in more detail in separate sections below.

Finally, in the program menu Filecare manipulations of data files and the data sets in data files are possible or personal files can be created,  deleted or renamed. It is very easy to handle these procedures under control of the program definitions.