Importing Data

ABR data files consist of two parts - a .bin file and a .json file. Every piece of Key Data will have both these files, and they will be organized in folders according to their data path. For example, for the Gulf of Mexico dataset, we might have the following folder structure:

media/
    datasets/
        E3SM/ --> "Organization"
            GulfOfMexico/ --> "Dataset"
                KeyData/ --> "KeyData - required"
                    Bathymetry.bin --> binary file where data are stored
                    Bathymetry.json --> header file describing the binary
                    ChlorophyllPoints.bin
                    ChlorophyllPoints.json
                    Terrain.bin
                    Terrain.json

There are two main options for importing data to ABR:

  1. Downloading an existing dataset from the IVLab's ABR Data Archive
  2. Import Data from ParaView

Option 1: Download data from ABR Data Archive

We've curated a set of publicly available data for you to check out on the ABR Data Archive. To download these into your project, you first need to find where your The Media Folder is. If you're using the ABR Design Interface, you'll need to look in the ABRComponents folder. Otherwise, check out your Persistent Data Path, or whatever other media folder you may have created and set in ABRConfig.

Once you've located this folder, download the dataset you want from the archive and unzip it into the datasets folder within the media folder. Be mindful that the directory structure should look exactly like described at the top of this page.

Option 2: Import data from ParaView

ParaView is a popular, open-source data analysis and visualization toolkit developed by KitWare.

Step 1: Download and install the required components

  1. Download ParaView. We've tested the ABR-to-ParaView connector with ParaView version 5.9.
  2. Follow the EasyParaViewToABR directions below:

Easy ParaView to ABR data converter

This ParaView plugin enables direct conversion between ParaView data and ABR data.

Note

This plugin assumes you're using at least ParaView 5.8.

Installation

  1. Copy the <./EasyParaViewToABR> folder to your user folder.
    • For example, on Windows: C:/Users/bridger/EasyParaViewToABR
    • For example, on Mac: /Users/bridger/EasyParaViewToABR
    • For example, on Linux: /home/bridger/EasyParaViewToABR
  2. Open ParaView.
  3. Go to Tools > Manage Plugins
  4. Click Load New...
  5. Select the EasyParaViewToABR.py file in the folder you just downloaded
  6. Twirl down the newly created EasyParaViewToABR menu item and check the "AutoLoad" box - this will tell ParaView to load the plugin every time ParaView opens.

Usage

Use the following steps to get started with ABR.

  1. Make sure the ABR Server is running
  2. In the ParaView pipeline browser, select the data you would like to transfer to ABR.
  3. Make sure your data are in the correct format. Look at the "Information" tab in ParaView to see the data's "Type". ABR will accept any of the following - if it's not in one of these formats you may need to convert (see Converting data to ABR-acceptable format)
    • Polygonal mesh
    • Unstructured grid
    • Uniform rectiliear grid
  4. Once your data are in the right format, add a new EasyParaViewToABR filter by going to Filters > Alphabetical, or typing Ctrl + Space and seraching "EasyParaViewToABR"
  5. Input the required information in the Properties window (see Example below).
    • Dataset: higher-level dataset this Key Data is a part of
    • Key Data Name: descriptive name for the key data you are sending to ABR
    • Organization: descriptive name for the organization that owns the data
    • Host: IP address and port of ABR Server (leave unchanged unless you are running the ABR Server and ParaView on different computers)
  6. Click the green 'Apply' button to send your data to ABR!
    • in the ABR Server logs, you should see messages like "Imported JSON header to path....". These are where your ABR data files are located on your computer (in the @media-folder.md).
Tip

If something isn't working correctly, be sure to check out the ParaView logs and ABR server logs. ParaView logs can be accessed by going to View > Output Messages, and ABR server logs can be seen in the terminal that you launched the ABR Server from.

Converting data to ABR-acceptable format

If you have VOLUME data, make sure it's a Uniform Rectilinear Grid by adding a 'Resample to Image' filter.

If you have SURFACE data, make sure it's either a Polygonal Mesh or an Unstructured Grid by adding an 'Extract Surface' or 'Append Datasets' filter, respectively. Additionally, make sure that your surface is made up of triangles by performing a 'Triangulate' filter.

If you have LINE data, make sure it's an Unstructured Grid by using the 'Append Datasets' filter.

If you have POINTS data, make sure it's an Unstructured Grid by using the 'Append Datasets' filter.