Why Is Target Name "Unknown"

Manning · January 22, 2018, 4:26am

When I import a target list from Astroplanner, the target list names are for example:
Unknown (M43)
Unknown (M78)
Why does the Sequencer give the names as “Unknown”? Is that the way it is supposed to work? So, when the image file is created, it will be named “Unknown (M43)”? That doesn’t make sense to me. Am I missing something? It looks like I would have to edit the names of the targets in the Target List. Is that what I am supposed to do?
Thanks,
Manning

Chris · January 22, 2018, 9:03am

I think that the target name you get is what Astroplanner specifies. At least that’s what I see with an application of my own which exports an XML file that SGP can import as an Astroplanner file.

It should be easy to tell, looking at the target name in Astroplanner may help.
Or you could read the xml file that Astroplanner exports.

Manning · January 22, 2018, 5:48pm

Thanks, Chris, but I have looked and “Unknown” is nowhere in the Astroplanner generated XML file. Perhaps it will help if you see the actual XML file. Here is an example file from which SGP creates an “Unknown” target name as described in my preceding message. Hopefully, the XML will come through on this email.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> M43 5.592039 -5.2675 M78 5.779167 0.08

SGP creates Target Names of the form “Unknown (…)”, and it does it consistently – with this file, with other Astroplanner created XML files, and whether or not the sequence contains the default “Target 1”.

So, again, my question is why is SGP creating target names “Unknown (M43)” and “Unknown (M78)” from Astroplanner generated XML files?

Manning

Chris · January 22, 2018, 6:14pm

That’s not an XML file. Putting an XML tag at the beginning doesn’t make it XML.

A search here will show a discussion about integrating Astroplanner, complete with examples of the XML file format.

This is more what they should look like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<root>
 <object>
   <ID>HAT-P-25</ID>
   <name>HAT-P-25</name>
   <ra>3.22916666666667</ra>
   <dec>25.1975</dec>
  </object>
 </root>

Manning · January 22, 2018, 6:51pm

Clearly, the Astroplanner generated XML file I included in my message did NOT come through correctly. In fact, the XML I tried to send IS of the form you showed.
I just now repeated the steps specified in the SGP user manual exactly and the result is the same, viz. the target list target names are “Unknown (…)”.

Jared · January 22, 2018, 6:56pm

If you can attach the XML and let us know what version of AstroPlanner it came from we can take a look. Maybe they changed the format of their XML?

Thanks,
Jared

Manning · January 22, 2018, 9:50pm

Jared,
Thank you for looking into this. I am using Astroplanner Version 2.2. I realize this version was released 2015/4/3, but according to their Web site this is the current release.
OK, I am trying to upload the XML file, but I am no expert in this, so hopefully it will do so successfully. It would not allow me to upload the file as XML. I got a message saying it was not one of the approved file types. Therefore, I saved it from Notepad as a dot txt file. When I click on the link in this message, the text is that of the original XML file but the formatting is not pretty. If there is a better way to do this, please tell me and I will try that.
Thank you again for your help.
Manning
2018-01-22_xml.txt (270 Bytes)

Chris · January 22, 2018, 10:27pm

The difference between the XML files that work and those that don’t is that the ones that work have a name field as well as an ID field. Maybe this has changed.

iosif · January 23, 2018, 5:00pm

I have tested target import, and work ok, and alsoo the name of target.
I have used Astroplaner ver 2.3a15, and exported data of comet C/2017 T1 Heinze, with format xml.
Imported target to SGPro 3.0.0.5 and loaded all data for this Comet.
You have 3 image.

Manning · January 23, 2018, 6:43pm

Thank you very much, iosif, for performing this test. And, thank you for including the screen captures. These are very helpful. You are using a beta version (2.3a15) of Astroplanner and also a beta version of SGP. I am using the latest currently released version of Astroplanner (2.2) and the latest currently released version of SGP (2.6.0.25). So, we have two differences in software versions between us.

Also, you have included fields in your XML export that I did not. Would it be possible for you to run another test and in the Field Definitions pane of the Generic Text Export window click on Clear All and then add only Object: ID, Object: RA, and Object: Dec?

Then, please upload a screen capture of the XML, and also of the results of the import into SGP. Being able to see the complete relevant XML file may give a clue about why the released versions Astroplanner and SGP do not work properly together regarding export and import of target lists. If the XML file is no different from that generated by Astroplanner 2.2, then the XML is not the problem and we will know the released version (2.2) of Astroplanner is not it either. That is why seeing the XML will be very helpful. And, if you limit the export to just the three fields: ID, RA, and Dec, not only will it be easier to see what is being imported, it will also eliminate any possible side effects of importing other fields.

Thank you for your help.

Manning