This archive contains answers to questions sent to Unidata support through mid-2025. Note that the archive is no longer being updated. We provide the archive for reference; many of the answers presented here remain technically correct, even if somewhat outdated. For the most up-to-date information on the use of NSF Unidata software and data services, please consult the Software Documentation first.
Hi Kun, re: > Thank you very much for your answer. No worries. I apologize for taking so long to get back to you. I am leaving on travel on Tuesday, and there is much too much to do before then... > Now, I have another question: I type the line below at the McIDAS-X 2006f > command window, but the tip is: AXFORM: Invalid area number specified=. > Why? > > AXFORM met5_8_2000_153_0000 FTYPE=ASC NAV=YES AXFORM is an old, non-ADDE McIDAS application. Because of this, it expects that images will be in files with a rigid naming convention: AREAnnnn <- 'nnnn' is a 4-digit number that can range from 0001 to 9999 The online HELP for AXFORM indicates that the program will need the AREA file number to be input by the user: HELP AXFORM AXFORM - Generates multiple files from an area AXFORM sarea file <keywords> Parameters: sarea | digital area number file | output file; maximum of 100 characters; specify as a file name or a fully qualified path (directory and file name); do not include an extension with the file name; see the Remarks ... So, you will need to either rename your data file(s), or create a link to them using a link name that conforms to the AREAnnnn convention. Note: AREA files numbered in the range of 0060 - 1500 are routinely used for images broadcast in the Unidata-Wisconsin IDD datastream, and the topography images distributed with Unidata McIDAS are in the 90nn range. For this reason I suggest that you use the a number in the range of 2000 - 8999. > this data was collected by a former student of my boss. It is Meteosat-5 > IR brightness data and cover the area of 72.5�E to 87.3�E and 20.1�N to > 34.9�N. I checked the Sensor Source Numbers listed at the McIDAS websit, > and find that Meteosat-5 corresponds to number 56. > Is 56 the AREA NUMBER for it? No. If you create the symbolic link to your file using a name that satisfies the old AREA file naming convention, then the AREA number will be the 4-digit number I mentioned above. For instance, try the following: cd <directory where your image(s) is(are)> ln -s met5_8_2000_153_0000 AREA2000 Next, create a McIDAS file REDIRECTion that tells McIDAS how to find the file AREA2000: REDIRECT ADD AREA2000 "<directory where your images are> Finally, run the AXFORM command: AXFORM 2000 153_0000 FTYPE=ASC NAV=YES > In addition, if you don't mind, I would like to know if the procedure to > generate multiple files from .area data is like this: > > 1) Transfer all .area data sets which I want to process to the directory of > /McIDAS2006/data I have no idea what your /McIDAS2006/data directory is, so I would rather not on it. To better understand things, I think I should give a brief explanation of how McIDAS locates data and ancillary data files: McIDAS uses two facilities to locate data and ancillary data files: - file REDIRECTions (setup using the McIDAS command REDIRECT) - directories specified in MCPATH File REDIRECTions are a pair of information that specifies where files whose names match a regular experssion will be looked for and read/written. For instance, here are some REDIRECTion examples AREA2000 /McIDAS2006/data AREA2* /McIDAS2006/data etc. The namespace of the files that will be affected is completely specified in the first example: AREA file AREA2000 will be read/written only in the /McIDAS2006/data directory. The second example specifies that any file shows name matches the regular expression AREA2* (e.g., AREA2000, AREA2001, ..., AREA2999) will be read/written in the directory /McIDAS2006/data. MCPATH, on the other hand, is a colon-separated lists of directories that McIDAS will search through when trying to read or write a data file. Every user's Unix/Linux environment is configured with a MCPATH definition before s/he runs McIDAS. For users that are not 'mcidas', the MCPATH is most typically: MCPATH=/home/user/mcidas/data:/home/mcidas/data:/home/mcidas/help The user 'mcidas' MCPATH is most typically: MCPATH=/home/mcidas/workdata:/home/mcidas/data:/home/mcidas/help > 2) Use command AXFORM to perform the generation My suggestion is to leave your data files where they are; create symbolic links to them (one at a time); and run AXFORM using the link name. You would do this after creating a file REDIRECTion for the link name. > Thanks again. No worries. Again I apologize for not having enough time to respond to your inquiry sooner. Cheers, Tom **************************************************************************** Unidata User Support UCAR Unidata Program (303) 497-8642 P.O. Box 3000 address@hidden Boulder, CO 80307 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unidata HomePage http://www.unidata.ucar.edu **************************************************************************** Ticket Details =================== Ticket ID: MOR-174854 Department: Support McIDAS Priority: Normal Status: Closed