Guide to Uploading Files

The web server lets you upload your modeling results. Once uploaded, you and other modelers can view the data in various ways. You can also make you results visible in the public area of the web site.

 

Logging in and Selecting a Benchmark

You must be a registered user to upload files. Click Login to Upload Files and enter your username and password.

After logging in, you will see a list of benchmarks. Find the benchmark you want, and click Select.

You will then see a list of files that you can upload. This is the main screen for uploading files.

 

Navigating the Site

You navigate through the site by clicking buttons on the web pages. Avoid using your browser’s Back or Forward buttons. If you use the Back or Forward buttons, you may get error messages from your browser.

 

Uploading a File

To upload a file, do the following:

  1. Find the file you want to upload, and click Select. The web site displays a page for you to upload the file.
     
  2. Select the file on your computer that contains the modeling data. The exact method you use to select the file varies depending on which operating system and web browser you are using.
     
  3. Click on Click Once to Upload. The file you selected is uploaded to the web site.

When you upload a file, the web site immediately checks it to see that it is correctly formatted. There are three possible results:

After uploading a file, the file list shows the date and time that you uploaded the file (probably in Greenwich mean time). Also, additional functions become available that let you graph, view, or delete the uploaded file.

Remember that any file you upload will be visible to anyone who has access to the web site. Also, remember that the largest file you can upload is about 10 MB.

If you have previously uploaded a file, the new file replaces the old file.

 

Uploading Multiple Versions

You can upload several sets of results. For example, you might run a benchmark at several different element sizes or node spacings. Each set of results is called a version. The first version is identified by your user name, and subsequent versions are identified by names like yourname.2 and yourname.3 and so on.

Click Change Version to create multiple versions, and to select the version for which you are uploading files.

When you click Change Version the web site displays a list of versions. Each version has a name, a description, and a visibility. The visibility can be public if the version is visible in the public area of the web site, or restricted if the version is not visible in the public area.

If you are going to create multiple versions, you should start by changing the description of the first version. Click Modify, and the web site displays a page where you can change the visibility and the description. For example, if your versions are going to differ by having different element sizes, you could use a description that consists of your name and the element size, like this:

Adam Modeler - 100 m

Click Save to save the modified description.

To create an additional version, click New Version. Then you can enter a description for the new version, and also specify its visibility. We recommend using descriptions that explain how your versions differ from each other. The web site automatically assigns a name for the new version, which is something like yourname.2 or yourname.3 and so on. Click Save to finish creating the new version.

You may create additional versions as needed. Try to limit yourself to a maximum of three or four versions. You don’t need to create all your versions at once. You can start with one or two versions, upload their files, then create more versions later.

To begin uploading files, press Select next to one of the versions. You can then upload files for that version. The version is displayed at the top of the page, to remind you which version you are using. When you are done uploading files for that version, you can press Change Version to select another version.

 

Graphing a File

To graph a file, find the file you want and click Graph.

For a time-series file, the web site displays graphs of all the data fields in the file. For a rupture-front contour plot file, the web site displays the contour plot.

At the bottom of each graph page, there is a box you can use to adjust graphing preferences. For a time-series file, you can also apply a low-pass filter to remove high-frequency noise and oscillations. For further information refer to Graphing Preferences and Filtering.

Graphing a file is a good way to check that the server is interpreting your data as you intended.

 

Viewing a File

To view the text of a file, find the file you want and click View.

 

Deleting a File

To delete a file from the server, find the file you want and click Delete. The server displays a page asking you to confirm the deletion.

 

Adjusting Data Visibility

At the bottom of the page there is a box that shows the visibility of your data. The visibility can be public if your data is visible in the public area of the web site, or restricted if your data is not visible in the public area.

Click Edit to change the visibility of your data. You can then select the desired visibility, and click Save to save it.

Note that this visibility is the same visibility that appears on the version list page.

 

Time-Series File Format

The time-series file is a text file, which contains the value of several data fields at each time step. The file consists of three sections:

  1. File Header -- A series of lines, each beginning with the # symbol, that give the following information:
     
  2. Field List -- A single line, which gives the names of the data fields, in column order. The names are separated by spaces. The web site examines this line to check that the file contains the expected data fields.
     
  3. Time History -- A series of lines. Each line contains a series of numbers, which give the data values for a single time step. The lines must appear in order of increasing time.
     
    C/C++ users: For all data fields except the time, we recommend using 14.6E or 14.6e floating-point format. For the time field, we recommend using 20.12E or 20.12e format (but see the note below).
     
    Fortran users: For all data fields except the time, we recommend using E15.7 floating-point format. For the time field, we recommend using E21.13 format (but see the note below).
     
    The web site accepts most common numeric formats. If the web site cannot understand your file, you will see an error message when you attempt to upload the file.

Note: We recommend higher precision for the time field so the web site can tell that your time steps are all equal. (If the web site thinks your time steps are not all equal, it will refuse to apply digital filters to your data.) If you use a "simple" time step value like 0.01 seconds or 0.005 seconds, then there is no need for higher precision, and you can write the time using the same precision as all the other data fields. When you upload a file, the web site will warn you if it thinks your time steps are not all equal.

The data fields vary from one benchmark to another. Refer to the benchmark description to find out the number, names, contents, units, and sign convention of the data fields.

Here is an example of a time-series file.

 

Contour Plot File Format

The contour plot file is a text file, which contains a list of nodes on the fault surface, and the time at which each node ruptures. The file consists of three sections:

  1. File Header -- A series of lines, each beginning with the # symbol, that give the following information:
     
  2. Field List -- A single line, which gives the names of the data fields, in column order. The names are separated by spaces. The web site examines this line to check that the file contains the expected data fields.
     
  3. Time History -- A series of lines. Each line contains three numbers, which give the (j, k) coordinates of a node on the fault surface, and the time t at which it that node ruptures.
     
    C/C++ users: We recommend using 14.6E or 14.6e floating-point format.
     
    Fortran users: We recommend using E15.7 floating-point format.
     
    If a node never ruptures, the time should be given as 1.0E+09.
     
    Nodes may be listed in any order. The nodes do not have to form a rectangular grid, or form any other regular pattern. They do not have to be listed in order of rupture time.

A contour plot file always has three data fields called j, k, and t. Therefore the field list must be:

j  k  t

The coordinate j is distance along-strike, in meters. Positive means a location to the right of the hypocenter.

The coordinate k is distance down-dip, in meters. Zero is the earth's surface, and positive values are underground.

The time t is the time, in seconds, at which the node ruptures. This is the time at which the slip rate first changes to a value greater than 0.001 meter/second.

Note:  When you upload a file, the server constructs the Delaunay triangulation of your nodes. Then, it uses the Delaunay triangulation to interpolate the rupture times over the entire fault surface. Finally, it uses the interpolated rupture times to draw a series of contour curves.

Note: The maximum size of file that can be uploaded is about 10 MB. For 3D benchmarks, if you use a small element size, it is possible to have so many nodes on the fault surface that the file size would exceed 10 MB. If this happens, you must reduce the size of the file in one of two ways: (a) include only a subset of the nodes; or (b) interpolate the rupture times onto a lower-resolution grid, and use the interpolated values to generate the file.

Here is an example of a contour plot file.