Using the Interactive Return Table

• Sorting and Filtering columns
• Table Layout
• RA, Dec, and Observation Time Filtering and Sorting
• Filtering Examples

Sorting and Filtering columns

Sort: Click in the Column header area to sort the column, click again to reverse sort

Filter: Use the Textbox below the Headers to filter by String, or Values. Press the ENTER or RETURN key after entering your filter string in the textbox to submit the filter. Examples: Greater than: ">10.0", Less than or equal: "<= 7.5", Not equal: "!=HIRES" or "!=3", Range: "between 4 and 6"

Help: Click on the icon for a description of the column contents

Table Layout

The return pages are returned as an interactive return table where users can filter and sort the returned data and make selections based on the filters selected. The interactive features are:

• If both Science and Calibration Files are returned, they appear as separate tabs. If only a single file type is returned, then only a Science or Calibration tab is shown.
• Clicking the header link will show the column help
• Clicking in the header area outside of the help link will sort the column
• Enter text in the box below the column headings or a range (Frame Number or Exposure Time) to filter the data. Press the ENTER or RETURN key after entering your filter string in the textbox to submit the filter. Note that this filtering only works on the data in the Active tab. Some examples:
• Text string match where you can enter a full or partial string: HIRES or NS.2009
• Text string match with wildcard ('%'): N%2
• Range of greater than: >80 or >= 80
• Range of less than: < 7.5 or <= 7.5
• Range of two values: between 4 and 6
• Not equal for a string: !=HIRES
• Not equal for a number: != 20 or <>20
• The WAVEBLUE and WAVERED columns are text strings so only text matching filters are permitted. However, because a period ('.') is a special character in our database, users must use a wildcard character ('%') to filter on values with a period. For example, to filter on rows with WAVEBLUE = 1.95 microns, enter '1%9' in the filter box for that column.
• The Select and De-select functions work on what is currently filtered. If there are no filters, a Select or De-select will operate on all the data. If there are filters selected, then the Select or De-Select will operate only what is already filtered.
• The Reset Filters will clear out any filters that have been set, but will not change any KOAID selections
• The Select, De-Select, and Reset buttons above the table will operate on all the returned data. The Select, De-Select, and Reset buttons in the lower right of the tab will operate only on the data in that tab.

RA, Dec, and Observation Time Filtering and Sorting

The interpretation of the filter text and how it interacts with a column depends on the data type of the column. Entering a number ('2', for example) in a column that is a string will search for that number anywhere in the string. If '2' is entered in a column with float values, then the filtering finds all cases where the column value is equal to 2. For the most part, this filtering behavior is fine. It can be a problem, however, for columns such as RA, Dec, and Observation Time, which are displayed as strings, but are often converted and used as decimal floats. Therefore, we have implemented special filtering rules for those columns.

Numerical Matching and Range Filtering

Although the RA, Dec, and Observation Time are displayed as sexagesimal strings, they are, in fact, numbers. Therefore, it is possible to perform range filtering on these columns. As discussed above, range filtering on numerical fields uses =, >, >=, <, <=, !=, <>, and BETWEEN val1 AND val2. The interactive table allows for entering RA, Dec, or Observation Time in either a decimal notation or a sexagesimal format. Because there can often be an ambiguity in the entry (eg., is the number in hours or degrees?), we have implemented several rules regarding the interpretation of the input.

• Assumed input units are the same as those used in the table. For RA and Observation Time, these are hours, minutes, seconds. For Declination, the units are degrees, arc minutes, arc seconds
• Only the following non-numeric characters are allowed in the input box: 'd', '-', '+', and ':'
• A 'd' at the end of the string is interpreted as decimal degrees input (RA column only). A 'd' is not be allowed in the UT column.
• A 'd' and ':' are not allowed in the same input string
• Either '-' or '+' is allowed AT THE START the declination string. They are not permitted anywhere else
• Neither '-' nor '+' are allowed in the RA or UT strings
• In strings that have only one ':' or none, it is assumed that the most significant parts of the sexagesimal string are being given and that the least significant numbers are zero
• RA and UT must be between 0 and 24 hours (0d to 360d for RA)
• Declination must be between -90 and +90 degrees
• Range filtering is done with the usual BETWEEN val1 AND val2 syntax
• For RA and UT, if val1 > val2, then the meaning of the filtering is assumed to be WHERE (RA > val1) OR (RA < val2)
• For Dec, BETWEEN val1 AND val2 produces the same results as BETWEEN val2 AND val1
• The inputs for val1 and val2 must follow one the input conventions described above. Also, it is possible to mix conventions so input such as 'BETWEEN 120.5d AND 15:34:00' is allowed.
• Entering a number with no comparison operator performs an implicit range check by fixing the input and checking the less significant parts of the sexagesimal string. For example, entering '9:30' preforms the check 'between 9:30:00 and 9:30:59.999'.

Filtering Examples

Below are some examples of user inputs and how those inputs are interpreted in the RA, Dec, and Obs Time columns.