SUMMARY

The PICKPREFS command is used to control the way that SAC manages and or loads picks from a variety of input data formats (e.g., CSS, GSE, SUDS etc...) into the time marker variables T0 to T9 (aka. Tn). When this option is OFF (the default), the picks loaded into the time markers correspond to the first picks that SAC finds in the input data. If this options is ON, SAC will use the preferences file described in the READCSS command.

Note: Because of the structured nature of the preferences file (which aligns specific phases with specific marker variables), and the free flowing nature of the interactions without the preferences, a change in the PICKPREFS in the middle of processing can change the picks in the datafiles. See the descrition below for details.

SYNTAX

PICKPREFS ON
PICKPREFS OFF
PICKPREFS

INPUT

ON:
instructs SAC to pass arrivals from the CSS buffer through the preferences file on its way to the SAC buffer. This is useful in macros that require specific arrivals to be in specific Tn header variables.

OFF:
instructs SAC to bypass the preferences file and load the first 10 picks it encounters for a given file. This is the default. It allows the user to be aware of picks s/he may not be aware of with the PICKPREFS ON.

If now option is provided on the commandline, PICKPREFS will toggle the use of preferences file ON or OFF.

ON:	instructs SAC to pass arrivals from the CSS buffer through the preferences file on its way to the SAC buffer. This is useful in macros that require specific arrivals to be in specific Tn header variables.
OFF:	instructs SAC to bypass the preferences file and load the first 10 picks it encounters for a given file. This is the default. It allows the user to be aware of picks s/he may not be aware of with the PICKPREFS ON. If now option is provided on the commandline, PICKPREFS will toggle the use of preferences file ON or OFF.

DEFAULT VALUES

PICKPREFS OFF

DESCRIPTION

Since version 0.58, sac2000 has had two different header buffers: one formatted according to the SAC file format, and one formatted according to the relational CSS 3.0 file format. Adding the CSS data buffer has made it easier to read relational formats such as CSS, GSE, and SUDS. Having two buffers has allowed the process management commands: COMMIT, ROLLBACK, and RECALLTRACE.

One drawback of having these two buffers is the complexity of moving arrivals from the dynamic CSS arrival table to the rather ridged T0 - T9 picks in the SAC format. This problem was solved in version 0.58 by setting in place a preferences file called csspickprefs. This file is in the aux directory and can be overridden by writing one of your own. For more information about how to use the csspickprefs file, use HELP READCSS. For details on how to override the default preferences file, use HELP PICKAUTHOR or HELP PICKPHASE.

The drawback of using the preferences file was that it would only accept phase names and/or author names listed in the preferences file or those entered at the command line with PICKPHASE or PICKAUTHOR. In other words, if a CSS data file from either a flat-file, or the Oracle database has a pP arrival, and pP is not specified in the preferences file, the user would never know that the pP is there. The pP pick will be read into the CSS data buffer in SAC, but it will not be transfered to the SAC data buffer, and will not participate in any of the SAC commands. It may be written out by the WRITECSS command, or it may get flushed out during a COMMIT command, and be lost entirely.

The solution we have worked out is to allow the user to bypass the preferences file. In version 0.59, the default is to read the first 10 available picks from the CSS buffer directly into the SAC buffer whenever data is transferred from the one to the other. By use of this new command, PICKPREFS, the user can tell SAC to use the preferences file. This is useful if the user has a macro which expects to find a specific phase in a specific Tn header variable.

Data is transfered from the CSS buffer to the SAC buffer on any READCSS, READGSE, or READSUDS command, as well as COMMIT, ROLLBACK, and RECALLTRACE. COMMIT, ROLLBACK, or RECALLTRACE get called by default by any of the following commands:

any command that writes data (WRITE, WRITECSS, WRITEGSE, etc.)

any command that reads data with the MORE option specified

the SORT command.

If the user alters PICKPREFS and or the preference settings while data is in the data buffers, the picks in the SAC buffer may be modified. Eg. if PICKPREFS is OFF (the default) when some SAC files are read with the READ command they may have some pP picks or some PKiKP picks which would be present in the Tn markers. If PICKPREFS is later turned OFF, for a READCSS, if pP and/or PKiKP aren't listed in the preferences file, then pP and PKiKP arrivals will not be read from the CSS files, and the pP and PKiKP picks in the existing data will be removed from the Tn markers.

SEE COMMANDS

READCSS, READDB, PICKAUTHOR, PICKPHASE, COMMIT, ROLLBACK, RECALLTRACE