[IDV #AZG-423938]: IDV2.7 "No gridded data found..."

Hi Eric-

> Full Name: Eric Meyers
> Email Address: address@hidden
> Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
> Package Version: 2.7 build date:2009-06-25 07:08 UTC
> Operating System: Windows XP
> Hardware: Java: home: C:\Program Files\Java\jre6 version: 1.6.0_14 j3d:1.5.2 
> fcs (build4)
> Description of problem: Although the file named "Meyers_wrfout_d01" (in 
> Unidata's RAMADDA Data Repository - RAMADDA -> Unidata -> Software -> IDV) 
> loads using IDV2.4b2,"

Yes, we found this problem after we made the release. :-)  I sent out a message 
to address@hidden last week about this.  Here is the message with a temporary 
fix:


A last minute bug was introduced in IDV 2.7 that shows up when trying to read 
WRF ARW netCDF files.  Unfortunately, this was not caught by our tests before 
the release.  Also, unfortunately, this comes on the heels of us giving an IDV 
tutorial at the WRF User's Workshop.   If you are not using the IDV to view WRF 
output, you can ignore this message.

The symptom is that IDV 2.7 will indicate that it can't find any grids in the 
WRF output files.  Versions up to 2.7beta 3 did not have this problem.  This is 
only with the raw netCDF output, not the post processed files.

For now, we have a fix in the form of a plugin that will allow this to work 
again.  To apply the fix:

- Start the IDV
- Open the Plugin Manager (Tools->Plugin Manager menu)
- Expand the Bug Fixes category.  Install the "WRF ARW fix for IDV 2.7" plugin 
by clicking the + icon.
- Close the Plugin Manager and restart the IDV
- Try loading in your WRF data again.

Caveats on the plugin:

- it will look for files named wrfout_d01_.* in the I'm Feeling Lucky
mode of the data choosers.
- if your files are named something different, set the Data Source Type
to be "WRF ARW netCDF files"

The current nightly build has the fix in it.  If you use that, you do not need 
the plugin.

For those of you who use the IDV to view WRF output, note that we recommend you 
use one of the postprocessing tools to convert to another format that the IDV 
supports (GRIB, GEMPAK, Vis5D).   These tools destagger the grids and create 
the standard meteorological variables.

See the FAQ item at:

http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/idv/docs/userguide/Faq.html#wrf

The postprocessed files also don't have the problem described above.

I will probably make a 2.7u1 release later this week that will fix
this problem.  Sorry for this wrinkle.

Don Murray

> IDV2.7 (Web Start version from 06 July 2009) fails to upload this file.  Here 
> are the steps to reproduction:
> 
> "Data" -> "Choose Data" -> "From the File System"
> select file named "Meyers_wrfout_d01" (I've uploaded this file to Unidata's 
> RAMADDA Data Repository for your access)
> when prompted, choose, for example, "Grid files (netCDF/GRIB/OPeNDAP/GEMPAK)" 
> from the drop-down menu"
> window appears stating "No gridded data found for: 
> "C:/[...]/Meyers_wrfout_d01"..."
> 
> 


Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: AZG-423938
Department: Support IDV
Priority: Normal
Status: Open