Editing functional data

Functional attributes (GRANTA MI Float Functional attribute type) store numerical data as a set of points that describe how the value varies dependent on one or more parameters.

To edit numeric functional data points, display options, and parameters, click Edit this data near the attribute name on the datasheet. (In a version-controlled table, this option is only available on unreleased records.) Different options are available when editing functional data derived from an equation ("Equations and Logic data"); see Editing equation-based functional data.

Series functional data and grid functional data

Functional data points my be stored as a series or grid.  

To edit functional data

  1. Ensure that the system is in Edit Mode.
  2. Open the datasheet of interest and click Edit this data on the left of the attribute name.
  3. On the Data Points tab:
    1. Edit the data points in Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet application and paste them into the data field on the Data Points tab; see Editing data points below.
    2. Optionally, select This graph is estimated to flag the graph data as estimated, for example, where it was not possible to obtain the data from authoritative sources.
    3. Not applicable: Select this check box if this attribute is not relevant for this record. Note that selecting Not Applicable will result in all existing data defined for this attribute being deleted when you click Save.
    4. if the data has any associated metadata, you can edit it here. See Editing text data to find out about different text formatting options.
  4. Click on the Display Options tab to change the appearance of the data graph; see Display options below.
  5. Click on the Parameters tab to specify the interpolation type, scale type and default value for each of the parameters used to evaluate the data; see Display options below.
  6. (Optional) You may be able to add metadata, such as statistical information or notes about the source of the data.
  7. (Optional) You can add information about any changes that you make on the Notes tab.
  8. Click Save to save all your changes.

Editing data points

To edit the data points for numeric functional attributes, on the Data tab, click on Data Points. Data points should be edited in Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet application and pasted into the data field in MI:Viewer.  For series data, individual series are separated by a blank line.

Column headings must be included, and  the units should be included in the headings, where appropriate. For example:

Data value column(s)

For data points with a single value (i.e. not range data), the first column contains the data value.

If the data is for a range attribute, the first two columns will contain the minimum and maximum values, and the column headings must be Low (Units) and High (Units). Click to show an example If a low or high value is omitted, then it assumed that the point's low = high.

Null points may be inserted into gridded data by omitting the value (or both low and high values for range data). Null points are not allowed in series data.

Estimated flag or Quality rating column

The column after the data value(s) contains the estimated setting or data quality rating for each data point. An asterisk * in this column for a data point indicates that the data point value is estimated.

The column heading is either Estimate (*) or Quality Rating followed by the name of the quality rating system in parentheses. For example: Quality Rating (Test Data Quality system).

Parameter columns

Subsequent columns are parameter values. The column heading must be the parameter name followed by the units in parentheses, where appropriate; in the example shown above, the parameter column heading is Temperature (°F).

The parameter columns may be in any order. Only the parameters for which there is data need to be present.

Float functional data should be sorted so that the values for the x-axis parameter are in ascending or descending order. Blank parameter columns will be ignored.

Line Type column (series data only)

The right-most column contains the line type for series data. The column heading must be Line Type. Valid values are for a data point are lines, markers, or both. The setting must be the same for a single series (even though a setting is given for each point), but can vary between series. For example, a series with parameter Data type = Test Data may be set to Marker, while a series with Data type = Curve may be set to  Lines.

Examples

Data points for a numeric functional attribute Tensile Strength:

Data points for a range functional attribute Tensile Strength with Temperature:

Editing display options

To edit the display options for functional attributes, on the Data tab, click on Display Options.

For series data, you can choose to display the data as a table or a graph. For graph display, you can then specify the type of scale used on the graph y-axis (logarithmic or not).

For grid data, you can:

Editing parameters

To edit the parameters used to evaluate functional attributes, on the Data tab, click on Parameters.  For each parameter, you can specify the

The 'Automatic/Default' setting means that the default setting from the attribute definition is used. These settings apply to the data for this attribute in this record only.