Variable Attributes Dialog Box (WzPreview)

This dialog box lets you create new import variables from within the WzPreview Tool, or to edit variables that have been previously associated with a field in the file.

Name—Enter a descriptive name that will help you remember the purpose of this variable. Initially, WzPreview suggests names like Float1, Integer1, and String1. If these are not the variable names you want to use, enter new ones.

note

When naming variables using the VDA Tools, be sure to only create valid variable names. A legal variable name has the following characteristics:

Each name must begin with a letter and may contain from one to 31 characters.

The second and following characters may be a letter, digit, the underscore character, or the dollar sign.

A variable name may not contain embedded spaces.

A variable may not have the same name as a function or reserved word. A list of reserved words may be found in the PV‑WAVE Programmer’s Guide.

A variable created with a name that violates these rules will behave in an undefined manner.

Dimensions—Enter the desired number of dimensions for the new variable in the text field. The WzPreview Tool is only able to create variables of dimension 0 (a scalar) or 1 (a vector).

OK—Define (or redefine) a variable with the name, type, and number of dimensions that you have specified, and dismiss the dialog box. (Later, when the file is read, the variable is actually created and filled with data.)

note	The asterisk (*) character can be entered as the last dimension for any PV‑WAVE import variable. This indicates that you do not know the exact length of the data, and PV‑WAVE is to choose the value of the last dimension based on the number of values in the file.