  Although superspace formalism has become the standard approach for the
analysis of structurally modulated crystals, it has remained during the last
thirty years almost unexplored as a practical tool to deal with magnetic
incommensurate structures. This situation has recently changed with the
development of new computer tools for magnetic phases based on this formalism.
In this context we show here that, as in the case of nonmagnetic incommensurate
systems, the concept of superspace symmetry provides a simple, efficient and
systematic way to characterize the symmetry and rationalize the structural and
physical properties of incommensurate magnetic materials. The method introduces
significant advantages over the most commonly employed method of representation
analysis for the description of the magnetic structure of a crystal. But, more
importantly, in contrast with that method, it consistently yields and
classifies all degrees of freedom of the system. The knowledge of the
superspace group of an incommensurate magnetic material allows to predict its
crystal tensor properties and to rationalize its phase diagram, previous to any
appeal to microscopic models or mechanisms. This is especially relevant when
the properties of incommensurate multiferroics are being studied. We present
first a summary of the superspace method under a very practical viewpoint
particularized to magnetic modulations. Its relation with the usual
representation analysis is then analyzed in detail, with the derivation of
important general rules for magnetic modulations with a single propagation
vector. The power and efficiency of the formalism is illustrated with various
selected examples, including some multiferroic materials.
