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Posting Data[Company Logo Image]
 

 

 

 

WinDisp Posting Menu

Posting Data

WinDisp has the capability to post data using various methods to visually represent the data. The types of posting available are:

  • Marker - a marker whose radius is proportional to the data value is posted at each data point
  • Value - the data value is written as text at each data point
  • Sector- a sector of a circle whose radius is proportional to the data value is posted at each data point
  • Circle - a circle of fixed radius is plotted and each sector filled in proportion to the data value is plotted at each point
  • Bar - a bar graph for each data value is plotted at each data point
  • IP - an IP pseudosection is plotted for each selected data value
  • Pseudosection - a pseudosection with a log y axis scale is plotted for each selected data value
  • Profile - the data points are used to define a base profile and the data values are used to plot a profile relative to this baseline

In order to post data there are three types of information which need to be supplied:

  1. The file name and file format to be used to read data from the file
  2. The names which are to be assigned to data read from the file
  3. The format and controlling parameters for the posting style

Each of these aspects defining the data posting is accessed from a separate menu item under the Posting menu item.

Select Posting File

When this menu item is selected for the first time, the user is presented with a Select Data File dialogue box. Once a data file has been selected, the Data File Specification menu form is displayed:

At the bottom of the form there is a scrolling text box in which the first 64 lines of the selected file can be viewed. When a file has been selected for the first time, WinDisp will attempt to determine the file format and set the Data Type accordingly. If the Data Type is not appropriate for the selected data file, the user should select the preferred option. The currently supported data types are :

  • Delimited
  • Fixed Column
  • $$DATA$$

In addition to these choices for defining the data file structure, there are three further items which are available to modify how data is read from the file:

  • UNIX File - this item is provided for information only, each time WinDisp opens a file it automatically determines whether the file is in UNIX or DOS format and reads data from the file according to the file format
  • Data read Increment - This value is used when reading data from the file and represents the frequency with which lines are read from the file. A value of 1 indicates that all lines are read, a value of 2 indicates that every other line is read and so on.
  • Start Import at Line - This value specifies the line number at which data importation starts in the file. For the above sample this is set at 2 since line 1 is a header line and line 2 contains the data names and line 3 is where the data starts. In this case the data names are to be decoded so data importation starts at line 2 even though the actual data starts on line 3. Note that this option will not be visible if the file format is $$DATA$$.

Also provided on this menu is a Change Data File button which can be used to Select Data File dialogue box, so that a different data file can be selected. If a new file is selected, the Data file Specification form is updated to reflect the contents of the new data file and the done button is enabled. If the new data file has the same structure as the original file, clicking on done will leave the current definitions unchanged. However if the new file has a different structure, the user should proceed as outlined below.

Once the data file structure is specified for Delimited and Fixed Column data types, the user can check that the format is correctly defined by clicking the Check Format button. When this is done the menu is switched to the data interpretation form:

This form shows the first 64 lines of the data file decoded using the information supplied on the first Data file Specification menu. The columns of data displayed in this form are constructed using the first 64 lines as a template. If the structure is not correct, the columns can be redefined by clicking in the text box to add and remove column definition lines. (Note this option is only available for the Fixed Column data type). If the decoded structure is not acceptable, click on the Redefine Format button to return to the first menu and redefine the format there.

Also available on this form is a check box which when selected directs WinDisp to use the first line read from the file to define the names of the data columns read. If this option is selected, the names so defined can still be changed by the user on the Specify Data Names menu.

Once the format and data columns have been correctly defined, the current parameters can be accepted by clicking on the Done button. Clicking on the Cancel button will result in the parameters defined before the Select Posting File menu item being restored and all changes will be lost.

Specify Data Names

Clicking on this menu item brings up the Define Names for columnar data menu being displayed:

This form presents each of the data columns defined in the Data file Specification menu as a row in the table. Each column in this table provides information on the data item and a number of parameters which can be used to modify how the data is to be interpreted. The information columns are:

  • Column - this is the index number of the data item as it is read from the file
  • Data Name - this is the name assigned to the data column as read from the file. For $$DATA$$ files this is the usual data name supplied in the header. For other data types this is simply the same as the column number.
  • Sample - this column displays the data values read for each column of data using the current format. The data values from the first 64 lines of the file can be browsed using the Next / Previous buttons.

The user modifiable columns are:

  • User Name - This column initially displays the data name as read from the data file ie the names supplied in the header for $$DATA$$ files, the names read from the names line (if that option was selected), or simply the column number. Clicking on a User Name cell brings up a text edit box which the user can modify the supplied name to something more meaningful.
  • Null Value - This column initially contains a default null data value. If this value is not correct, click on the cell which is to be changed and enter the correct value. Only numeric null data values are currently accepted.
  • Data Type - This item allows the user to specify that a particular data column contains Real, Integer or Character data. Changing the data type will correspondingly change how WinDisp treats the data when it is posted.

Once all the required modifications have been made, clicking on the Done button will save the current definitions. Clicking on the Cancel button will result in any changes to this menu being discarded and the previous values being restored.

Edit Posting Specification

Once a data file has been selected and the data file format and data column names defined, clicking on the Edit Posting Specification menu item brings up the Select Posting Style Menu:

This menu displays samples of the available posting styles when the posting stlye is selected from the drop-down list. Each sample also includes a brief description of the available styles. Once the required posting style has been selected and the user selects OK, a menu presenting the required parameters for the selected posting style is displayed.

 

 

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Last modified: April 10, 2012