File naming convention.

Keeping track of files and plotting results requires a consistent naming convention for files.
I recommend using an Excel spreadsheet to easily convert and plot results from ImageJ.

Therefore, use Excel to help convert dates and time into a time stamp for the files and use this same time stamp for plots.

Conversion of date and time

Here is the section from my spread sheet:

I am using column A to help me when I do a large number of images using ImageJ. ImageJ doesn't know the name of the file being processed and simply gives it a data run number. 

Date and time values for each seismograph are entered in columns B-F. Notice that column F uses time in a decimal format, further, it is 24 hour time. So 2:45 pm converts to 14.75.

All the calculations and conversions are being done in column G. The excel formula I created changes the date into a number representing the day, and then adds on the fraction of the day for the time. 

That formula by the way is: =VALUE(DATEVALUE(D5 & "/" & C5 & "/" & E5))+(F5/24)

For my data runs I have decided to use HST time. You can use universal time if you like, or simply subtract or add a few hours to convert from this formula. 

When reading figures from each seismograph, the standard I elected to use is to simply use the date and time in the first line. This does introduce a slight amount of error since the printout doesn't begin exactly on that time. You can decide to reduce that error if you like by using a more exact decimal time. Since I am running with data 6 hours at a time, the few minutes are not that signficant. Further, the file itself still displays the exact time if a detailed examination is required.

File naming convention:

I elected to begin file names with the standard already set by USGS. A typical file name looks like:

ERZ1-6h.png

The first four digits are the name of the seismograph. The dash is followed by the number of hours for the graph. In the above example ERZ1 represents the name of the seismograph and it is a 6 hour record.

The time signature for the file name is added using the File Rename function. The time signature from the Excel spreadsheet is then cut and pasted in to arrive at a final file name like this one:

ERZ1-6h 43242.27.png

Notice the space between the h and the time stamp. This convention is adequate to differentiate files for the next 1,300 years and accurate enough to use every 15 minutes without duplication of a file name.