Release from Data File
Use a Release from Data File node to specify the initial ray position, direction, and values of auxiliary dependent variables using data from a text file.
See Release for information on the following sections: Release Times, Initial Ray Frequency, Initial Phase, Initial Intensity, Initial Radii of Curvature, Total Source Power, and Initial Polarization.
Formatting Guidelines for Files Containing Ray Data
The imported data file should be a text file (*.txt) arranged in a spreadsheet format; that is, each row corresponds to a distinct ray and should have the same number of columns as all other rows. Columns can be separated by spaces, tabs, or a combination of the two. Begin a line with the percent (“%”) character to include comments or empty lines in the data file.
For example, a data file containing the following text would release rays at the positions (0.1, 0.2, 0.6) and (0.2, 0.4, 0.8) in a three-dimensional geometry:
% Ray release positions
% qx0 qy0 qz0
0.1 0.2 0.6
0.2 0.4 0.8
Initial Position
Browse your computer to select a text file, then click Import to import the data. To remove the imported data, click Discard. Enter the Index of first column containing position data i to indicate which column represents the first coordinate of the ray position vectors. The default value, 0, indicates the first column.
Ray Direction Vector
Select an option from the Ray direction vector list — Expression (the default), From file, Spherical, Hemispherical, Conical, or Lambertian (3D only).
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For From file, enter the Index of first column containing velocity data i. The default is 3. The columns are zero-indexed; that is, an index of 0 corresponds to the first column.
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For all other settings, the settings are the same as for the Release node.
Initial Value of Auxiliary Dependent Variables
This section is available if an Auxiliary Dependent Variable has been added to the model.
For each of the active Auxiliary Dependent Variable nodes in the model, choose an option from the Distribution function list: From file, None (the default), Normal, Lognormal, Uniform, or List of Values.
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When From file is selected, enter the Index of column containing data. The default value is 3. The columns are zero-indexed; that is, an index of 0 corresponds to the first column.
For all other options, the settings are the same as for the Release node.