Using a File Selection Dialog Box

File Selection dialog boxes are used to change directories and select files. Usually, a file selection dialog box is used to open a file, restore a saved VDA Tool, or save a VDA Tool.

To dismiss a file selection dialog box without opening or accessing the file in any way, click the Cancel button.

To move to another level in the directory structure, use one of the following two techniques:

Filter—Click MB1 inside the Filter text field, and type the new pathname, followed by a <Return> to let PV‑WAVE know that you have entered the complete pathname. Or, after typing the pathname, you can move the pointer to the Apply button at the bottom of the dialog box and press MB1.

Directories—Highlight a directory name in the Directories list box by clicking on it with MB1; then press <Return> or click MB1 on the Filter button to let PV‑WAVE know that you are satisfied with your selection. You can also double click a directory name in the directory list box to switch to that directory immediately.

Environment variables, such as $HOME, $VIZ, or $DATA, can be entered into the Filter text field, if you wish. Environment variables are symbolic equivalences that have been assigned at the operating system level. Many people use them as a shorthand notation for pathnames to directories in which they frequently work. For example, $VIZ might represent the subdirectory where you store the visual data analysis results from PV‑WAVE.

PV‑WAVE also recognizes the tilde (~) as the first character in a directory path specification. This allows you to use an environment variable that points to the home directory for a certain individual or group within your organization.

Once you have moved to the desired directory, select the file using one of the following two methods:

Files—Highlight the file’s name in the Files list box by clicking on it with MB1; then press <Return> to let PV‑WAVE know that you are satisfied with your selection. You can also double click a name in the filename list box to open that file immediately.

note

You can use the Filter text field to limit the number and type of filenames that are displayed in the filename list box. You can use whatever wild card characters and regular expressions that are supported by the operating system in the Filter list box. For example, on most systems, the * (asterisk) matches zero or more characters. You could enter *.dat in the Filter list box to match all files that end in .dat.

Enter file name—Click MB1 inside the Enter file name field and type the new filename, followed by a <Return> to let PV‑WAVE know that you have entered the complete filename. The filename you type can include a pathname, as well. Or, after typing the filename, you can move the pointer to the OK or Filter button at the bottom of the dialog box and press MB1; activating this button is equivalent to pressing <Return>.