# Draco ODS File Format Summary

Description | Data | Analyses | Plots | Text Windows | See Also

## Description

By default Draco stores all worksheets in an SQLite-compatible database file. The alternative native Draco format extends the standard OpenDocument Spreadsheet to store further regression, analysis, textual, and plotting information. The OpenOffice format is, in reality, a specialized ZIP file containing a defined set of directories and XML files which store data, styles, and images. Draco implements these standard files and directories nominally, but adds Draco-specific XML and data files to the ZIP file as well. For this reason, Draco can easily export OpenOffice spreadsheets by simply neglecting to generate the Draco-specific extensions.

## Data

Nominally, data is stored in content.xml within the OpenOffice file. Draco generates standard OpenOffice-compliant cntent.xml files, although Draco dates are handled somewhat differently. Dates are stored as a combination of strings and values within the file, and a base date and type attributes are assigned to each date column. The Draco date format is not compatible with OpenOffice.
Draco does feature an extension, referred to as Quicksave, that stores all numeric data in a simpler CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file within the OpenOffice file. The quicksave option allows far more data to be saved and loaded quicker while consuming considerably less memory. Draco defaults to the Quicksave format alone for data sets exceeding 250 rows. When Quicksave is used, the content.xml file will not contain any of the numeric data from the project.

## Analyses

Draco analyses, including basic analyses and regressions, are stored in an XML file named analysis.xml within the OpenOffice file. This custom XML file stores all necessary information to nominally reconstruct analyses and their associated windows. Draco only saves analyses that were successfully completed; failed or incomplete regressions and analyses will not be saved to the file.
Regression data saved to the analysis.xml file include the following:

- Regression Type (LS, TSLS, NonLinear, etc.)
- Independent Variable
- Dependent Variable
- Instumental Variables (if applicable)
- Fitting Equation (if applicable)
- Resulting Parameter Names and Values
- Results Text
- Covariance Matrix

The data saved from generic analyses (ANOVA, etc.) varies widely between analysis types.

## Plots

Draco saves all plots in a customized plots.xml file. Although OpenOffice does support saving charts, the XML formatting involved becomes highly problematic for scatter data without common X-axis points. Therefore, for reliability and simplicity, Draco uses a customized, flexible XML format for saving plots.
Because Draco plots are not dynamic, each plot stores all the data points currently appearing the in chart explicitly instead of refering to the original data model. Ohter attributes, including axis labels, legend formatting, and scaling information, are also stored.

## Text Windows

All text windows in Draco are saved into texts.xml file within the OpenOffice container. This file contains a simplisitc format which simply saves the text and a minimal set of dialog properties.

## See Also

Draco SQL File Format Quicksave Feature

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