GEFhandelingen

GEFhandelingen

GEFhandelingen is a tool which enables the user to perform various tasks on GEF files. Some of these tasks do change the contents of a GEF file. When saving data you should prevent to overwrite your original data. Basically GEFhandelingen allows you:

1. To check the validity of a GEF file, detect possible errors
2. To convert a file into an ASCII or binary version of the file
3. To export a GEF file into a DIF file, which can be easily imported into a spreasheet
4. Delete columns and or scans in a GEF file

Installation

The first step for installation is to obtain the program. It can be downloaded by pressing the right mouse key on 'get it now'. Installation is straight forward, more or less non-existent: create a subdirectory on any disk you like and copy the file you just have downloaded into this directory. That's all. Optionally you can create a shortcut on your desktop. If you are not familiar with this technique, ask your administrator how to do it, or let him do it.

Usage

Run the program from the command line or double click it. A window will pop up:

Button "Stoppen" will stop the program immediately, without perfoming any action. Button "Wat is dit?" is a rudimentary help.

A) Checking the validity of a GEF file

1. Load a file, by pressing "Naam invoerbestand" in the group "Bewerken". A file dialog will popup, which allows you to browse for the file you want to check.
2. Click on one of the radio buttons in the group "Testen".
• If you want to check the validity of a general GEF file, push the "GEF" radio button
• If you want to check whether the file complies with the rules for a CPT file, according to GEF-CPT-Report, click radio button "CPT"
• If you want to check whether the file complies with the rules for a BORE file, according to GEF-BORE-Report, click radio button "Boren"
3. Click on "Uitvoeren" in the "Bewerken" group.
4. A window will popup, "Fouten in de GEF", which lists the errors, if any.

B) Conversion of GEF files from binary to ASCII

Usually GEF files are written in the ASCII flavour. For short files this is most obvious choice. However, when dealing with huge amounts of data, considerable time is lost by the conversion of ASCII data into numbers which your PC understands. Therefore measurements involving a lot of data, are stored as binary GEF files. Binary files can not be read by the human eye, nor is it approriate to edit a file in this state: data will be damaged. So GEFhandelingen allows you to convert files from binary to ASCII and vise versa.

1. Load a file, by pressing "Naam invoerbestand". A file dialog will popup, which allows you to browse for the file you want to check.
2. Click on the ASCII radio button in the group "Uitvoer"
3. To choose the name of an output file, click "Naam uitvoerbestand" in the group "Bewerken". A file dialog will popup allowing you to choose the name and subdirectory of the file you want to save. NOTE: never use the same name as your input file.
4. Click on "Uitvoeren" in the "Bewerken" group.

The procedure to convert an ASCII flavoured GEF file into a binary GEF file is similar: choose the Binary radio button in the group "Uitvoer".

C) Conversion of a GEF file into a DIF file

DIF is an abreviation of Data Interchange Format. It is a very simple yet organised version of a table, which can be imported into a spreadsheet, without the need to define the correct separators, columns etc. 

1. Load a file, by pressing "Naam invoerbestand". A file dialog will popup, which allows you to browse for the file you want to check.
2. Click on the "Alleen kolommen" radio button in the group "Uitvoer". This will provide you with the data only of the GEF file. Additionally a simple header is added.
3. To choose the name of an output file, click "Naam uitvoerbestand" in the group "Bewerken". A file dialog will popup allowing you to choose the name and subdirectory of the file you want to save. NOTE: never use the same name as your input file.
4. Click on "Uitvoeren" in the "Bewerken" group.

If you are interested in the entire contents of the file, choose the radio button "Met header" in stead of "Alleen kolommen".

D) Delete columns or scans

A GEF file is organised into columns and scans. A column is usually related to a transducer which determines the actual value of a quantity, e.g. the pore pressure. A scan is related to a particular moment in time, location (depth) or any other quantity, which can be easily controlled during an experiment, e.g. the load on a sample. Deleting one or more columns of deleting scans reduces the size of your file, however information is irreversibly lost.

1. Load a file, by pressing "Naam invoerbestand" in the group "Bewerken". A file dialog will popup, which allows you to browse for the file you want to check.
2. Choose the type of output you need, in group "Uitvoer". E.g. press radio button Binair.
3. Press the button "Wissen kolommen/scans" in the group "Uitvoer". A window will popup.
4. Choose the columns you want to delete (if any) in the listbox "Kolommen die je wilt wissen". If you don't want to to delete columns, don't click this listbox.
5. If you want to delete scans, mark the checkbox "Ja ik wil wissen" in the group "Scans wissen". If it is not checked, no scans will be deleted. Fill in the edit boxes "1e scan" and "Laatste scan" with the range of scans you want to delete. Close this window by OK, if you are sure to delete these columns or scans. By pressing Cancel, nothing will be lost.
6. Choose the name of the resulting file, by pressing button "Naam Uitvoerbestand" in the group "Bewerken". Never choose the same name as your input file, since it will be overwritten, possibly with faulty information.
7. Press button "Uitvoeren" in the group "Bewerken".

In the figure above only columns 1 and 11 are kept. Scans 1459-1469 are to be deleted.