5.2. Description Files and Naming Conventions

There are five different kinds of description files that need to be loaded for a project to be submitted to NGS. All files are created through the NGS software WinDesc. Please refer to Appendix A for step-by-step instructions for creating and checking description files using this software. The different file types include:

• .des - this is the native WinDesc file format

• .dsc - this is the ASCII version of the description file which is ultimately loaded into the NGS database

• .err - this is the error report that is generated when checking the description file. No errors can appear if the project is to be published by NGS.

• .dis - this is the “discrepancy” file which compares each mark’s new descriptive information with any information on that mark already present in the NGS database. This file highlights any potential changes to be made to the description in the database

• .nbr - this is the “neighbor” file which lists all marks already in the NGS database that may be found close to each particular user mark in the project. This ensures the correct mark has been identified.

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