I am trying to understand the format used for CAESAR II output files when saved as ASCII text format - ie .out files.

In particular can you advise the column field widths for each field used - for example take the "Restraint Summary" report:

The line that lists the node number and the support type - this appears to have:
Node - cols 1 to 8
Blank - cols 9 to 25
Sppt descr - cols 26 to 80?

The line that lists the actual results:
Load Case no. - cols 1 to 9
Load Case type - cols 10 to 15
Blank - cols 16 to 18
Fx - cols 19 to 27
Fy - cols 28 to 36
Fz - cols 37 to 45
Blank - cols 46 & 47
Mx - cols 48 to 56
My - cols 57 to 65
Mz - cols 66 to 74
Blank - cols 75 to 80

Are these correct? Do you have a publication that lists these definitions for each report?

How do the INP files relate to these?

For example are the "Column Oriented" INP files all for 132 column reports and the "Compressed" INP files for 80 column reports?

Is the selection of INP file just driven by the "132 column" switch?

I can't seem to see an INP file for the "Restraint Summary" report - is there one?

There is no published document of the formating used for the restraint summary report. However, here is the information you requested.

After the report title and load case definitions, there are three basic line types. These line types are:

Line 1: Node name/number and restraint types
Line 2: load case, stress/case type, 6 loads for each DOF (plus 3 displacements if 132 column report)
Line 3: summary, max load and case for each of the 6 DOF (only for 132 column report)

The exact format of these lines varies depending on whether the 80 or 132 column report is activated. Here are the formats for each version.

80 Column Report
Line 1: For restraints with a "node name defined"
2X, A10, 13X, A16
( 2 blanks, 10 char alpha, 13 blanks, 16 char alpha)

For restarints without a "node name defined"
2X, I6, 17X, A16
( 2 blanks, 6 digit integer, 17 blanks, 16 char alpha)


Line 2: 7X, I2, 3X, A3, 3X, 3F9.0, F11.0, 2F9.0
( 7 blanks, 2 digit integer, 3 blanks, 3 char alpha, 3 blanks,
3 9 digit floating point values, an 11 digit floating point
value, 2 9 digit floating point values)

Line 3: Not included in 80 column reports.

132 Column Report
Line 1: For restraints with a "node name defined"
2X, A10, 13X, A16 ( 2 blanks, 10 char alpha, 13 blanks, 16 char alpha)

For restraints without a "node name defined"
2X, I6, 17X, A16 ( 2 blanks, 6 digit integer, 17 blanks, 16 char alpha)


Line 2: 7X, I2, 3X, A3, 6F12.0, 2X, 3F12.4
( 7 blanks, 2 digit integer, 3 blanks, 3 char alpha, 6 12 digit
floating point values, 2 blanks, 3 12 digit floating point values)

Line 3: 12X, 'MAX.', 3X, 6( F8.0, '/', I2, 1X ), 3(F9.3, '/', I2 )
( 12 blanks, the string "Max.", 3 blanks,
6 sets of ( 8 digit floating point value, slash, 2 digit integer,
1 blank), 3 sets of ( 9 digit floating point value, slash,
2 digit integer)


The *.INP files are used only for the input echo, they have nothing to do with the output reports. The "compressed" formatted INP files contain all
of the information for a particular item, while the "column oriented" INP files only contain as much information as will fit across the page. Some of these INP files are therefore setup for 132 columns.

The selection of the INP file is not driven by any switch. For example, the input echo of restraints uses "support.inp", elements uses "element.inp", and so forth. To switch between the "compressed" and "columnar" reports, you run one of the two "batch" files provided in the \system directory: "col_inp.bat" or "cmp_inp.bat". NOTE: Make sure you don't run the same file twice, otherwise you'll loose the alternate formatting file.

May I suggest you take a look at the Data Export Wizard if you want to fool around with report formats? This is accessible through the Main Menu - Tools/External Interfaces. If you're good at Access you can build your own custom reports. I use it with Excel by exporting a .txt file and converting the text to columns. You not only get nice reports, you can use CAESAR II results as data for your own post processing.