FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

This section is intended to contain answers to the most common questions made by users. Please, look here  before contacting us to see if your question is already known. You might also want to check the Known Bugs page.

• What is the proper citation for CSpace ?

• How do I know what version of CSpace I have currently installed ?

• How do I know if I should update my current CSpace version ?

• I have loaded the sample data files that come with the program, but CSpace doesn't seem to recognize the numeric values in them.

Q. What is the proper citation for CSpace ?

A. Thanks you asked :-). The best way is by referencing the following paper (Get pdf file):

Torres-Roldán, R.L., García-Casco, A., García-Sánchez, P.A. (2000). CSpace: An integrated workplace for the graphical and algebraic analysis of phase assemblages on 32-bit Wintel platforms. Computers and Geosciences, 26, 779-793.

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Q. How do I know the version of CSpace that I have currently installed ?

A. The complete version of the program is displayed in the About CSpace dialog , which is invoked from the Help menu of the CSpaceData window. Version information consists of a series of four numbers separated by dots, as for example "1.0.1.26". The two first numbers correspond to those of the main version, and refer to major and minor release, respectively. The third number refers to the specific release (which can be 0 or 1 meaning internal or public release) and the fourth is the "build" (program re-assembly) number .

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Q. How do I know if I should update my current CSpace version ?

A. Check the version of your current installation (look here for instructions on how to do it), and compare it with the one given in the Description of downloadable files that is located in the Download page of this site. In general, you should update whenever your installed version is older than the current, particularly when there is a newer major or minor release. Major and minor releases should be expected to represent improvements in functionality or program design. You should ignore internal releases (i.e., the ones with 0 as the third number), unless you are or want to be involved in "beta testing" of such versions. Different "builds" of the same version should be expected to contain only bug fixes, so you might want to upgrade only if the fixes are important to you. A list of known bugs and bug fixes for each public release (starting from 1.0.1.26) will be available in the Known Bugs page of this site.

Please, note that version information is hierarchical, that is, you should compare version numbers from left to right, the newer version being the one that has a higher number at a given leftmost position. For example, version 1.0.1.34 would be newer than 1.0.1.24 and 1.1.1.4 would be newer than 1.0.1.48.

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Q. I have loaded the sample data files that come with the program, but CSpace doesn't seem do recognize the numeric values in them.

A. It seems likely that your system is configured to use a decimal separator that is different from the one being in the provided sample data files (a point). As a consequence, floating-point numeric values are not recognized as such within CSpace, but rather seen as character strings.

Explanation:
CSpace data files store numbers in human-readable decimal format. When floating-point values are written or read into/from a data file, CSpace will automatically use the decimal separator (usually a point or a comma) specified in your operating system configuration . You should not need to consider the decimal separator being used unless you need or want to use data files that were generated in another machine configured with a different decimal separator. This might generally apply to files generated by a foreign co-worker, for instance.

Solution/workaround:
You have two options: A) Edit the file(s) and change the decimal separator to match the one being used by your system. To change the decimal separator in an existing file just load it in any text editor that can do search and replace, then use this facility to replace the existing decimal separator with the current in your system. Be sure to re-save the file in raw text format. B) Change your system decimal separator appropriately. To change or inspect  the decimal separator being used by your system go to the Control Panel, then double-click the Regional Settings applet and select the Number page.

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