READ... Read Groups in from an Ascii Groups File
READ... Read groups in from an Ascii groups file
You can read in groups from any ascii groups file, including one not written from this model. The external data is converted to internal format and saved in the model's binary .grp file. (This is done for speed: reading and deconstructing an ascii groups file every time a group is used or edited would otherwise be very slow in a large model.) From D3PLOT 21.0, the .grp file stores the visual attributes of groups, if defined in the Ascii file.
The following rules apply:
Matching of external (file) and internal (model) data
- Matching of data between model and group file is via external labels.
- If an item exists in the model, but is not defined in the file, it will not be grouped.
- If an item exists in the file, but not in the model, it will be ignored - this is not an error.
Groups label and numbering policy
- Groups in an ascii file have unique labels <#i> <#j> ....
- They will be transferred to become the same internal group labels in the model's .grp file.
- If group <#n> already exists in the model's .grp file it is overwritten - unconditionally and with no warning.
Therefore you may read in any number of ascii group files, and the most recent definition of a group in such a file will be the current one.
Automatic reading of ascii groups files
Two types of default ascii groups files may optionally be read in automatically when a new model is opened:
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This may be defined in the "oa_pref" file (see
Appendix B) using the
d3plot*master_group_file: <
filename
>
option. This will be read in every time a new model is opened, and the definitions in it will be mapped onto that model's groups, creating or replacing groups as required. |
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If the " Read ASC file (Ascii groups file) " box on the model reading panel (see Open a Single Model ) is selected then the most recent file: d3plot_< nnn >.asc (eg d3plot_003.asc ) in the directory where the model is found will be read in, replacing or creating groups as above. Note "most recent" may not necessarily be the file with the highest < nnn > number - it will depend on the file's creation date. |
These two files are read in the order above, thus a definition in a "local" groups file can supersede one in the "master" one.
Reading of these files when a model is opened can be suppressed with the command line " -no_group " option, also with the " d3plot*read_asc_file: true |false " preference.