NAME

r.out.ascii - Converts a raster map layer into an ASCII text file.
(GRASS Raster Data Export Program)

SYNOPSIS

r.out.ascii
r.out.ascii help
r.out.ascii [-hi] map=name [digits=value] [dp=value] [null=string]

DESCRIPTION

r.out.ascii converts a user-specified raster map layer (map=name) into an ASCII text file suitable for export to other computer systems. The digits=value option (where value is a number of the user's choice) can be used to request that numbers in the ouput be equally-spaced (i.e., columnar output). Each category value in the ASCII map layer will then take up value number of spaces. However, to use this, the user should know the maximum number of digits that will occur in the output file, and add one to this number (to leave a space between each column). The user can find the maximum number of digits occurring in the output file by running r.out.ascii without the digits=value option.

The GRASS program r.in.ascii can be used to perform the reverse function, converting an ASCII file in suitable format to GRASS raster file format.

OPTIONS

Flags:

-h
Suppress printing of header information.
-i
Output integer category values, nit cell values.

Parameters:

map=name
Name of an existing raster map layer.
digits=value
The minimum number of digits (per cell) to be printed.
dp=value
Number of decimal places.
null=string
Character string to represent no data cell.
r.out.ascii can be run either non-interactively or interactively. The program will be run non-interactively if the user specifies the name of a raster map layer and (optionally) a value for digits, using the form
r.out.ascii map=name [digits=value]
where name is the name of a raster map layer to be converted to ASCII format, and value is the minimum number of digits (per cell) to be printed to output. The user can also the -h option to suppress the output of file header information.

Alternately, the user can simply type r.out.ascii on the command line, without program arguments. In this case, the user will be prompted for parameter values using the standard GRASS parser interface.

NOTES

The output from r.out.ascii may be placed into a file by using the UNIX redirection mechanism; e.g.:
r.out.ascii map=soils > out.file
The output file out.file can then be printed or copied onto a magnetic tape or floppy disk for export purposes.

SEE ALSO

r.in.ascii, parser

AUTHOR

Michael Shapiro, U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory