What is an IDV Bundle (xidv) file?
An "IDV bundle file" or "xidv" file is an XML file of information to
recreate the complete display and state of the IDV, including
connecting to data sources, downloading the data,
making the display, and setting the map projection, point of view, zoom, color tables, etc. in one step.
A single bundle file may contain many different data sources and data types
in one display. The IDV also allows you to
attach notes to bundles files that users see on screen.
Bundle files do not contain the data shown in the
display, rather they have
information about where to find the data.
IDV bundles files have two very powerful uses:
they let you save the display of data and entire state of the IDV for future use, such as
what you see when you start the IDV, and for archiving observations, or for holding work in progress. You can save as many different bundle files as you need, whenever you like.
Bundle files let you share an IDV display (including connection to data) with others so that they can see your work. You can use bundle files
to collaborate with colleagues or for classroom exercise or lab materials.
Bundle files are not large and can easily be sent by email or offered on a web site.
The creator of a bundle file often wants to show a particular feature of data in a display
designed for that purpose.
You can make a bundle file any time you are running the IDV. Use the File -> Save options. The "Default Bundle file" is read everytime you start the IDV. This allows you to begin with your own choice of map, progjection, point of view, and data sets automatically in use. You can save bundles as favorites to provide set-ups for different kinds of data. Bundle files are plain text XML files, and can, in principle, be edited by the user. This is not generally recommended, although in rare cases it may be a useful recourse for a skilled IDV user.
On online report can have bundle files so that readers can explore the data in their own IDV.
Generally bundle files point to data available online so that others can see the data. Bundle files that point to local files of data will only work for those with access to that disk, which may be fine for some uses.
Bundle files end with the filename extension .xidv; that is how the IDV recognizes them.
Example of use of bundles files.
A NetCDF data file with earthquake locations and magnitudes, "eq_locations_mags_5000_eq.nc," is located at the URL
http://geon.unavco.org/unavco/NETCDF/eq_locations_mags_5000_eq.nc.
You can read and display this file with the IDV using three different ways.
1. You can use your browser to save the file to
disk. Use the right button press and choose "Save Link as" or "Save Link Target as" in the menu that pops up.
Then, in the IDV, use the Data->New Data Source->From the File System menu choice to select files on disk.
Then use the IDV controls to set map projection, color tables, "station model," etc.
2. You can access this data
using the complete URL and the IDV's
Data->New Data Source->From a Web Server menu choice.
Note that the data file is not copied to your disk; the data is read directly from the UNAVCO web server by the IDV.
Note that these two methods only connect to the data; how the display looks is up to you.
3. Using an "IDV bundle file" or "xidv" file makes using the IDV even simpler.
A GEON IDV bundle file for a display of this data is online at
http://geon.unavco.org/unavco/XIDV/eq_locations.xidv .
Read the bundle file by Data->New Data Source->From a Web Server or
File -> New Data Source -> From a Web Server.
Copy and paste this URL
into the window and click on Add Source.
(You can also save the bundle file onto your disk, and then use File -> Open in the IDV.)
The earthquake data is automatically read in from the UNAVCO GEON web server, and the exact
same display is created as made by the author of the bundle file.
unavco.org).