Saving your Output:

Association Software writes four output files during each iteration. These files are Assoc1.csv, Percent.csv, Similar.csv, and Herds.csv. These files will be automatically overwritten during your next iteration of the association routine (an iteration is initiated each time you click the Do It! button).

To eliminate the chance of losing the results of an iteration, remember to save the output file with a new name.

To save your output, click Save As from the File menu and supply a new name for the output files (do not include any extensions). Your new files will be saved with descriptive extensions. For instance, if you want the output files to be named ElkHerd, then the four output files will be saved as ElkHerd.asc (Assoc1.txt), Elkherd.pct (Percent.txt), Elkherd.sim (Similar.txt), and Elkherd.hrd (Herd.txt).You can also manually rename the files using Windows Explorer if you prefer.

The four output files each contain critical information. The first is Assoc1.csv. This file contains the raw summary matrix detailing the frequency of spatial association for each pair of individuals. The second file, Percent.csv, contains a matrix with percent spatial association (a conversion of Assoc1.csv). Essentially, the first two files contain the same information...the incidence of spatial association observed between pairs of individuals. The only difference is that one (Assoc1.csv) is expressed as frequency and the other (Percent.csv) is expressed as percent. The third file produced is called Similar.csv and it contains a matrix with boolean or binary indicators. In other words, the spatial and temporal association for each pair of individuals is indicated with a 1 (yes) or 0 (no) based upon the thresholds you have set. The fourth and final output file generated during each iteration is named Herds.csv. This file lists all individuals and the herd assignment for each individual. This file also identifies the template individual (i.e., the "herd cow") used to designate herd assignments. The last field identifies how similar the pattern of association was between individuals and the template individual.

Note: a template individual is an individual demonstrating the largest number of associations in the herd or group.