On the Need for Users of the Powder Diffraction File to Update Regularly

The International Centre for Diffraction Data has an ongoing program to ensure the quality of data in the Powder Diffraction File (PDF) reflects current requirements of the powder diffraction community. Annual updates are made available, comprising of around 1800 new patterns and 200 replacement patterns, but current statistics indicate that only about 20% of users of the PDF take advantage of these updates. This paper reviews changes which have been inplemented in the editorial review process to continuously monitor and review pattern quality and gives examples of better data which have resulted from these changes.