The unique ID is used to keep relations integrity with imported results of analysis, when visualization capabilities of GIS packages are in demand. The grains are generated in form of adjacent polygons and each grain is labelled with a unique ID and a phase name. The desktop GIS packages which allow create topologically correct geometries are best candidates.
The manual or semi-automatic digitalizing of scanned or digital photographs could be done in any software which is capable to export ESRI Shapefiles. The quantitative textural analysis rely on detailed and precise description of grain sizes, grain shapes, grain boundaries as well as preferred orientations of grain and grain boundaries. Detailed descriptions of toolbox routines and methods of implementation of new techniques are given in PolyLX Reference Manual. We introduce a new open platform, object-oriented MATLABĀ® toolbox PolyLX providing several core routines for data exchange, visualization and analysis of microstructural data, which can be run on any platform supported by MATLABĀ®. This may help to better understand the mobility of grain boundaries and precipitations or removal of different mineral phases. This technique also allows systematic evaluation of degree of preferred orientations of grain boundaries in conjunction with their frequencies. Except acquirement of common statistical parameters, this technique can significantly improve understanding of processes of grain nucleation and grain growth, can bring insights on the role of surface energies or quantify duration of metamorphic and magmatic cooling events as long as appropriate thermodynamical data for studied mineral exist. The textural analysis is a powerful, but underused tool of petrostructural analysis.