EXPO2013, the heir of EXPO2009, has been enriched by a variety of new algorithms and graphical tools aiming at strengthening the individual steps of the powder structure solution pathway. Particular attention has been addressed to the procedures devoted to improving structural models provided by direct methods in ab initio approaches. In addition, a new procedure has been implemented, working in direct space, which may be chosen by the user as an alternative to the traditional simulated annealing algorithm.

SIR2014 is the latest program of the SIR suite for crystal structure solution of small, medium and large structures. A variety of phasing algorithms have been implemented, both ab initio (standard or modern direct methods, Patterson techniques, Vive la Différence) and non-ab initio (simulated annealing, molecular replacement). The program contains tools for crystal structure refinement and for the study of three-dimensional electron-density maps via suitable viewers.

The program EXPO2009 is the evolution of EXPO2004 [Altomare, Caliandro, Camalli, Cuocci, Giacovazzo, Moliterni & Rizzi (2004). J. Appl. Cryst. 37, 1025–1028]. EXPO2009 performs all the steps of ab initio structure solution by powder data: indexing, space‐group determination, estimation of the reflection integrated intensities, structure solution by direct/Patterson methods and/or by a direct‐space/hybrid approach, and model refinement by the Rietveld technique. New procedures have been introduced in EXPO2009 for enhancing the structure solution process, particularly in the case of low‐resolution data and/or organic compounds, when traditional approaches like direct methods may fail. The EXPO2009 graphical interface has been optimized and made very user friendly.

QUALX2.0 is the new version of QUALX, a computer program for qualitative phase analysis by powder diffraction data. The previous version of QUALX was able to carry out phase identification by querying the PDF‐2 commercial database. The main novelty of QUALX2.0 is the possibility of querying also a freely available database, POW_COD. POW_COD has been built up by starting from the structure information contained in the Crystallography Open Database (COD). The latter is a growing collection of diffraction data, freely downloadable from the web, corresponding to inorganic, metal–organic, organic and mineral structures. QUALX2.0 retains the main capabilities of the previous version: (a) automatically estimating and subtracting the background; (b) locating the experimental diffraction peaks; (c) searching the database for single‐phase pattern(s) best matching to the experimental powder diffraction data; (d) taking into account suitable restraints in the search; (e) performing a semi‐quantitative analysis; (f) enabling the change of default choices and strategies via a user‐friendly graphic interface. The advances of QUALX2.0 with respect to QUALX include (i) a wider variety of types of importable ASCII file containing the experimental diffraction pattern and (ii) new search–match options. The program, written in Fortran and C++, runs on PCs under the Windows operating system. The POW_COD database is exported in SQLite3 format.

EXPO2004 is the updated version of the EXPO program [Altomare et al. (1999). J. Appl. Cryst. 32, 339–340]. The traditional steps of the ab initio powder solution process are performed automatically: indexing, space‐group determination, decomposition of the pattern for extracting the observed structure‐factor moduli, structure solution by direct methods, model refinement by Rietveld technique. Special strategies may be applied to improve both the estimates of the extracted structure‐factor moduli and the quality of the structure model. In addition, the use of special procedures exploiting available supplementary information on molecular geometry can be successfully adopted. The graphical interface has also been improved.

Powder pattern indexing can still be a challenge, despite the great recent advances in theoretical approaches, computer speed and experimental devices. More plausible unit cells, belonging to different crystal systems, are frequently found by the indexing programs, and recognition of the correct one may not be trivial. The task is, however, of extreme importance: in case of failure a lot of effort and computing time may be wasted. The classical figures of merit for estimating the unit‐cell reliability {i.e.M20 [de Wolff (1968). J. Appl. Cryst.1, 108–113] and FN [Smith & Snyder (1979). J. Appl. Cryst.12, 60–65]} sometimes fail. For this reason, a new figure of merit has been introduced in N‐TREOR09, the updated version of the indexing package N‐TREOR [Altomare, Giacovazzo, Guagliardi, Moliterni, Rizzi & Werner (2000). J. Appl. Cryst. 33, 1180–1186], combining the information supplied by M20 with additional parameters such as the number of unindexed lines, the degree of overlap in the pattern (the so‐called number of statistically independent observations), the symmetry deriving from the automatic evaluation of the extinction group, and the agreement between the calculated and observed profiles. The use of the new parameters requires a dramatic modification of the procedures used worldwide: in the approach presented here, extinction symbol and unit‐cell determination are simultaneously estimated. N‐TREOR09 benefits also from an improved indexing procedure in the triclinic system and has been integrated into EXPO2009, the updated version of EXPO2004 [Altomare, Caliandro, Camalli, Cuocci, Giacovazzo, Moliterni & Rizzi (2004). J. Appl. Cryst. 37, 1025–1028]. The application of the new procedure to a large set of test structures is described.

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Experimental powder diffraction diagrams, once indexed and decomposed into single diffraction intensities, can be submitted to statistical analysis for the determination of space‐group symmetry. A new algorithm is illustrated, which is able to provide, on a quantitative basis, a probability value for each extinction symbol compatible with the previously established lattice symmetry. The algorithm has been implemented in EXPO2004 [Altomare, Caliandro, Camalli, Cuocci, Giacovazzo, Moliterni & Rizzi (2004). J. Appl. Cryst.37, 1025–1028] and has been successfully tested using a large set of experimental data.