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6.4: File Handling Tools

  • Page ID
    7682
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    Because UCINET data files are stored in a somewhat unusual dual-file format, it is usually most convenient to do basic file-handling tasks within UCINET. The program has basic file handling tools within it. If you use file handling commands outside UCINET (e.g. using Windows), you need to remember to deal with both files for each data set.

    File utilities:

    File>Copy UCINET Dataset

    File>Rename UCINET Dataset

    File>Delete UCINET Dataset

    These commands do exactly what usual operating system commands do, but manage both component files with a single command.

    Viewing the contents of files:

    Data>Browse is a tool for examining parts of a dataset. You select the dataset, and specify which rows, columns, and labels you would like to see. This can be very useful if the dataset you're working with is a large one, and your interest is in examining only a portion of it.

    Data>Display also allows you to modify how you see a data file. You may set field width, numbers of decimals to display, whether to show zeros or not; in addition, you can select which rows and/or columns to display (the row and column numbers are specified as comma delimited lists, and can use "AND" and "OR"). If the data have been grouped into "blocks", and the block memberships have been stored as UCINET datasets, these may be used to present the data with members of blocks adjacent to one another.

    Data>Describe provides basic information about a file (number of rows, columns, matrices). It also shows labels, and allows you to import row and column labels from an external text file (just prepare an ASCII text file with the labels in rows, or comma delimited). You can also use this little utility to add a longer descriptive title to a UCINET dataset. This is often a good idea if you are working with a number of related datasets with similar names.


    This page titled 6.4: File Handling Tools is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Robert Hanneman & Mark Riddle.

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