Hi everyone! Thank you all for your feedback. I’ll be getting to fixing these issues after the holidays. Thanks for your patience!
Search/edit/delete functions
I’m not sure if the code for these operations is supposed to be fully functional yet, but I will offer some comments.
- On at least a quarterly basis I want to see what all my PEP observers have done. In the old WebObs, I simply leave the target field empty while specifying observation type of PEP to do this. The new tool requires at least one target. This seems unnecessary to formulate a legal SQL request.
- If I want to see data from multiple passbands I am obligated to choose them one-by-one from a drop down menu. To see BVRI records I must cycle through the menu four times. It would be far preferable to simply enter a list of passbands.
- The list of observations displayed does not indicate the passband.
- The list does give an unidentified number in the first column. I presume this is some kind of database internal identifier. I don’t think this serves any purpose for the comon user.
- The list also gives (in the last column) an unidentified “type” number that I presume indicates visual vs. CCD vs. PEP, etc. Please use a mnemonic rather than a number.
- The list comes up sorted by observer ID in ascending alphabetical order. I can see how this ordering could be useful, but I think it more likely that people will want the data sorted, by defaut, chronologically and probably in reverse order (the most recent observations often being of greatest interest).
- If the data are, in fact, sorted first by observer ID, they are sorted secondarily by what I presume is the database identifier. It should be by date.
- The uncertainty (a useful diagnostic) is not displayed.
- There is no way to see the “notes” field.
- It would be helpful for the observer list to accomodate observers to omit, say by using the “~” prefix (eg: ~CTOA). This is helpful when the observer list is otherwise a wildcard but one or more observers have submitted a large quantity of data. In this case, the set of search result “pages” can become very large and it’s a headache to navigate within the set.
- The data export format is incompatible with VStar.
- The exported data are different from the search data (eg: different start date).
- The lines of exported data begin with what I presume is the database record identifier, which is not useful. I cannot verify this exactly because the exported data do not correspond to the displayed search data.
- The zip file apparently does not provide time-of-creation information. At least on Linux, when the file is unzipped it has only a creation date, not a time. In a time-ordered list of files (via “ls -t”) such a file will appear out-of-sequence with other files that are created afterwards.
- If the data are exported with the “comments” and “comparison” information the final field (for the chart) is empty, at least for PEP data. Also, the “comment” field (as opposed to comment code) is entirely absent. This field often contains important metadata and should always, in my opinion, be part of the export.
- The “legend” line at the beginning of the export file begins with “#,name”,auid,hd". The empty field between the pound sig and the first comma is presumably for the database record ID.
- The exported records are missing the Transformed flag and Airmass value - important information. There needs to be a review of whether other missing fields (as are now present through the data download tool) should be included.
I have only rarely used the “edit” function of old WebObs - I can live without it but perhaps other people can weigh in.
The “delete” function must be added, and it must be possible to perform mass deletions without individually marking each to-be-deleted record or cycling through every page of search results.
I will point out that when on the search page every time I push the “search” button or click on one of the column headers the page is redrawn such that I am repositioned back to the top of the page, not to the new search list.
Finally, I am not clear if the export function is intended to replace the Data Download tool now on the website.
Tom
I can guess why code needs rewriting. Could it begin by just providing every bit of the same functionality as the old WEBOBS? Then you can build on that.
Will LCG suffer the same rewrite? If it does, can it include a phase plot after the basic functionality is provided? I like VSTAR a lot and I use it extensively to check for stray datapoints that are hard to find when staring at long lists of BVI data. I wish it could display my data separately for each filter.
Couple of comments with the new data submission.
- For single observations there no space to enter airmass.
- I seem to have an issue with entering via multiple observations. Once the file is selected and uploaded the next screen
goes to search for observations. It doesn’t go back to the multiple observations data entry screen.
Thanks
Peter
Still not having any luck with entering single visual observations using the new tool. When entering the date the comment under the text box seems to recognize and understand the format I’m using (2025-01-08 10:17:25) but still says the date cannot be in the future which it clearly is not. I get the same result when I enter the time as a Julian Date.
Also, the box doesn’t make it clear that the time should be UT.
Richard
@Richard_Wagner Hi Richard, we should have those fixes for the data submit application out tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.
I am trying to upload an observation file created by VPHOT and the new system responses with:
No file chosen
Row 1: (Magnitude) Ensure this value is a multiple of step size 0.01
Row 2: dito
So, I uploaded i using Webops with no problem.
It would be useful if this feedback system allowed attachments.
Thanks,
SIQ
I have tried the new tool just now (20h13 UT, Jan. 9, 2025). It seems better to work. It showed previous submissions (of myself) but said there are 0 observations for R Mon (The target I submit) in the past 4 weeks although I have submitted data nearly nightly. Here is a screen shot:
Also after submission the tool does not show back the submission page but6 the Search page, which is not what should be as otherwise more clicks are needed to be able to submit other data. I will try also to submit a bunch of different targets in one file like I normally do (I observe about 40 stars nightly and copy the AAVSO files into one file, which I submit via the old tool without problems). That helps a lot to reduce time to upload the data for me.
Josch Hambsch (HMB)
A submission of two stars in one file did not go through as one of the star labels was more than 20 characters. The star in questions was a HADS (High Amplitude Delta Scuti) named ASAS J012349-3643.7 (which actually is 19 chars). But the error message told me its 22 chars, hence more than the max of 20 chars.
Shorter star names where Ok to submit two stars in one file, but the issue not to return to the submission page like in the old application is still an issue.
Josch
Three stars in a file with short names did also not work. Again the issue with more than 20 chars (see screen shot).
The stars in question did not have large names (Screenshot)
So still some issues to be solved…
Josch
Hi everyone! Some additional fixes for the data applications will be released tomorrow, including better handling of file edge cases, performance improvements, and some other minor issues. Thanks for everyone’s continued feedback!
New tool is rejecting my data for niu Aur (star “not found in VSX”). Old WebObs accepts it.
Now it worked to submit new data for a single star with multi band photometry. However the total amount of submission in the last 4 weeks is still not correctly calculated and it does not get back to the submission page. One needs to additionally click on the sidebar to get to the Photometry tool submission again.
Have not yet tried a series of several stars to be submitted with the new tool. Maybe tomorrow if weather stays cooperative.
Josch (HMB)