
Catalog Info files
------------------ 

Besides the Description header field (which shows at the top of
the database options window where you set more or less objects,
label stuff, etc.), you can create a text file and put it into
Sky Data\Text Descriptions. It must have the same name as the
database, and a .txt extension. It can be in ANSI or Unicode
Big-endian format. If such a file exists, the (i) icon will
appear next to the database in the Options tab. Clicking it will
display the contents of the text description file!

This also goes for Kind names. If a database FOO has kinds of Bar
and Bas underneath it, add a BAR.txt and BAZ.txt file to get
info icons for each Kind!. Obviously, there is a potential for
clashes between Different databases with kinds that have the same
kind name!

Object Info Files
-----------------

To have a Description section in the Info pane, you need to
create a text file for that kind-number in the Sky Data\Text
Descriptions folder. In other words, if your catalog has objects
assigned to Kind of 34, Description info will come from a file
called 34.txt in the Text Descriptions subfolder. Save these in
ANSI or Unicode Big Endian format.

Leave a space at  the beginning of these files, Starry Night will
insert the object name at the beginnning of the text, and you
want a space to follow the name.

Note that Starry Night comes with n.txt files for 0-9 and 41-42.
0-8 are for deep space objects, 9 is for pulsars, etc. If you use
these Kinds in your database, youer description will be forced to
be these!

To get descriptions on other kinds in the descriptions pane,
assign them to unused Kind numbers and create your own x.txt file.


  Bob Denny  21-May-05

