2.6. Saving & re-opening plots

2.6.1. Save

Now that all of this work has been invested in the plot, it's worth saving it.

You may (or my not) remember what the Replay file format used to load data into Debrief looked like. Whilst it is compact and easy to use, unfortunately the Replay file format does not allow us to store all of the formatting we have applied to the Debrief plot, nor the coordinates of what you are currently viewing, nor how you have arranged to store your data in layers. This problem is overcome by the use of the Debrief Plot-File format, an application defined using XML. Have a quick read about XML in the Reference Guide or Glossary if you're not aware of it and are sufficiently interested, otherwise, here's an overview:

• Debrief stores plots using XML

• XML stands for eXstensible Markup Language, which allows structured data to be stored in text format, and is a world-wide standard promoted by http://www.w3c.org.

• XML files can be edited outside Debrief, allowing you to cut and paste between plot-files to build up a new Plot-File, all in a text editor

To save your work as an XML file, click on the Save Plot button:

A file dialog will open (see below), allowing you to save the current session as a Debrief Plot-File (xml). Name your new file (tutorial.xml would seem a good name), select a sensible location, and press Save.

Save-as functionality is provided through the Save As button, next to the Save Plot button described above.

2.6.2. Close

Now you can close the session, using the Close Session button:

The session will close. Where it can, Debrief recognizes if anything has changed since the last save, and it will prompt you to save your plot before it lets you close.

2.6.3. Open Existing Plot

You should now be looking at an "empty" Debrief application, without any Sessions visible.

You open an existing plot using the Open Plot control:

This will open the File Dialog you saw earlier. Navigate to your saved plot and select "Open". The plot will re-open with the same view on the data as when the file was saved.

2.6.4. Drag & Drop (new plot)

Now that we've mastered that, close this session and experiment with the drag and drop functionality within Debrief. Re-arrange the windows on your desktop so that you have Debrief and Windows Explorer visible.

Now drag a Debrief XML or REP file from Explorer onto the grey area to the right of the application toolbar (near the top of the Debrief window). A round cursor containing a plus symbol will be displayed beneath the mouse, showing that this is a legitimate "drop" point for that type of file. Drop the file into the grey area, and after a few seconds the plot will open.

You have now dragged a file into Debrief, creating a new session. If you drag more than one file on to the Application toolbar, each one will open into a new session.

2.6.5. Drag & Drop (add)

With a session already open, you are able to drag a Debrief XML or REP file into it's chart, adding the content to the existing session. Dragging multiple files onto the plot area adds them all to the existing session. So a quick way to create a plot containing a number of files is to click on New Session , then drag the files onto the plot.