Changing Decimal Symbol

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Hello,
I'm using Igor to create a set of graphs and tables. I need to create them in both English and French but this requires that the number formatting be different between the two sets of figures. One set would use a dot as the decimal symbol while the other set needs to use a comma. I know ModifyGraph has the useComma parameter to do this. Is there a similar function that would work for tables? The only thing I've found is the option in Miscellaneous settings to change the decimal symbol but that changes all the tables when I only want the change made in a specific one. If this is the only way to change the decimal symbol in tables, is there some way to change the Miscellaneous settings from a procedure or the command line?
Thank you!
Andrea
There is no setting for tables analogous to ModifyGraph useComma.

The only way to change tables is through the Decimal Symbol setting in the Miscellaneous Settings dialog. There is no programmatic way to change this.

If you set Decimal Symbol to Per System Setting, you may be able to then change the system setting through a script.

October 28, 2016 at 12:48 pm - Permalink

I guess, if it is only for display purposes you could also create a separate text wave where the very same data will be saved as string. Then you could exchange dots and commas all you want via parsing.

October 30, 2016 at 06:10 pm - Permalink

Thanks for your help! I think I'm going to go the post processing approach and use a batch script to replace all the decimals with commas after exporting it to a text file from Igor.

October 31, 2016 at 09:30 am - Permalink

Quote:
I think I'm going to go the post processing approach and use a batch script to replace all the decimals with commas after exporting it to a text file from Igor.


If you are exporting using the Save operation, you can use the /DSYM flag to control the decimal symbol.

October 31, 2016 at 09:51 am - Permalink

Thanks! I hadn't realized that was an option. I had been using SaveTableCopy before.

I'm still having problems using Save though in that I open the table in Igor and change some of the formatting for the numbers (number of decimal places displayed, etc) then export the table. In Save I want to use the /F flag to copy the formatting from that data table into the exported file but this seems to overwrite the decimal symbol I've chosen with DSYM. The table in Igor shows points so the output file uses points instead of using comma as I've specified in the DSYM flag. Is there a way around this?

November 1, 2016 at 06:36 am - Permalink

SaveTableCopy exports exactly what you see in the table and there is no way to change that.

To see if there is a way to accomplish what you want to do, I need to know precisely what it is you want to do. So...

Please attach an Igor experiment containing the table containing the waves you want to export. You can create the experiment by using File->Save Table Copy and choosing Packed Experiment as the export format.

I presume that, to see what you are trying to export, all I need to do is to change the table decimal symbol using the Miscellaneous Settings dialog. If there is more to it than that, please let me know.

Also, to get the bigger picture, I'd like to know what is the purpose of exporting the data.

November 1, 2016 at 08:34 am - Permalink

I've switched from SaveTableCopy to using Save now so I can use the DSYM flag.

Attached are the two data tables.

I work for a government agency in Canada so the intent is to release our data weekly in the form of several graphs and a data table. We're required to distribute everything in both official languages so the graphs and data tables must be in both English and French. Yes, all that needs to be changed is the decimal symbol.

Please let me know if you need anything else. Thanks!
DataTable_FR.pxp (80.99 KB) DataTable.pxp (81.15 KB)

November 1, 2016 at 10:54 am - Permalink

I think it will work for you to write the file using dot for the decimal separator and then modify the file to change all dots to comma.

To do this, you need a ChangeAllDotsToCommaInFile function. Call it after writing the French version of your file.

I have posted such a function at http://www.igorexchange.com/node/7398.

November 1, 2016 at 11:20 am - Permalink