Monthly log files: Difference between revisions

680 bytes added ,  18:24, 4 June 2015
→‎Manipulation outside Cumulus: added illustration and changed accompanying text
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'''Tips''' -- take a copy of the original log file before you work on it outside Cumulus (perhaps give the ''not to be touched copy''  a filename of "<Month><Year>log.csv").  
'''Tips''' -- take a copy of the original log file before you work on it outside Cumulus (perhaps give the ''not to be touched copy''  a filename of "<Month><Year>log.csv").  
   
   
Edit the original file using an editor that treats all fields as text [either any text editor, a Comma Separated Value editor, or a spreadsheet program that can be instructed ''not'' to recognise special field (like date) types].  
Edit the original file using an editor that treats all fields as text [use either any text editor, a Comma Separated Value editor, or a spreadsheet program that can be instructed ''not'' to recognise special field (like date and time) types]. [[File:Open office (editing cumulus log files).png | left]] If you wish to use "Calc" in 'Apache Open Office', "Libre Office", or similar, select the field separator you use (in this illustration comma is selected, but your file might use semi-colons between fields, don't select commas if your real numbers use comma between integer and decimal parts) and leave "Detect Special Numbers" unselected (as normal default for this software). Best not to use 'Microsoft Excel' as that normally has opposite default, and may change without any warning the format of all dates so Cumulus can no longer recognise the first two fields:


'''Important Rules'''
'''Important Rules'''
*Each line must contain the fields in correct sequence (since new versions/builds can add to number of fields, Cumulus will accept lines of various lengths without the more recent fields at the end).
*Each line must contain the fields in correct sequence (since new versions/builds can add to number of fields, Cumulus will accept different months having various row lengths i.e. older ones without the more recent fields at the end).
* The date format uses two digits for the year and should be treated as text. For software (e.g. Excel) with default of recognising formats, ensure that such recognition is turned off, as it is likely to change the dates to either a number representing days since e.g. 31 Dec 1899, or to have four figure years, and then Cumulus will no longer be able to use the log file. (Also the month must be the middle figure, USA convention cannot apply within logfiles).
* The date format uses two digits for the year and should be treated as text. For software (e.g. Excel) with default of recognising formats, ensure that such recognition is turned off, as it is likely to change the dates to either a number representing days since e.g. 31 Dec 1899, or to have four figure years, and then Cumulus will no longer be able to use the log file. (Also the month must be the middle figure, USA convention cannot apply within ''Log_Files'').
* Times in these files are in the form ''hh:mm'' using the 24 hour clock and local time (system time). See [[FAQ#How_does_Cumulus_handle_Daylight_Saving_Time.3F]].
* Times in these files are in the form ''hh:mm'' using the 24 hour clock and local time (system time). See [[FAQ#How_does_Cumulus_handle_Daylight_Saving_Time.3F]].
*See [[#List_of_fields_in_the_file]] to identify if the value you enter for a particular field is an integer (like bearings and humidity values) or a real number (like pressure and rainfall values) in format x.y using your system decimal notation for the decimal point. Fields that accept real number format will also accept integers, but fields expecting integers will not accept decimal points.
*See [[#List_of_fields_in_the_file]] to identify if the value you enter for a particular field is an integer (like bearings and humidity values) or a real number (like pressure and rainfall values) in format x.y using your system decimal notation for the decimal point. Fields that accept real number format will also accept integers, but fields expecting integers will not accept decimal points.
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