What is stored in each of the FEKO files?

Question

FEKO projects consist of a number of files, including *.cfx, *.cfm, *.bof and *.out files. What is stored in each of these files? Which of these files are critical for reproduction of a result if I want to send the model to someone?

JIF · Answer

The list of files, their descriptions and use is available in the manual, but is repeated here for easy reference.

The following table defines the data contents of each of the FEKO file types. The columns have the following meaning:

*  		Extension lists the extension of the file that will be present in a FEKO simulation directory. 	
 	*  		Content describes what information is stored in this file. 	
 	*  		Required is a YES/NO boolean indicator, specifying whether this file has to be present if you want to send the minimum number of files to someone and want them to be able to reproduce your results.

Extension 			 			 				Content 			 			 				Required 			 		 				*.cfx 			 			 				CADFEKO model file that stores geometry, solution specifications. 			 			 				Yes, when using CADFEKO. 			 		 				*.cfm 			 			 				CADFEKO mesh file that is imported by the numerical engine when it runs the simulation. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.cfs 			 			 				CADFEKO session file that stores the state of the CADFEKO view that the user last used to open the same view when the model is opened again. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.pre 			 			 				Text-based instructions to the FEKO numerical engine. Advanced users may edit these settings, but in typical use CADFEKO will set up this file. 			 			 				No, when this file was generated by CADFEKO.
 				Yes, if this file has been edited or created by the user. 			 		 				*.pfs 			 			 				POSTFEKO session file that allows the user to save POSTFEKO sessions with views, image rotation and data representation parameters for later recall. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.bof 			 			 				FEKO results file in binary format. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.out 			 			 				Text-based output file. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.fek 			 			 				All mesh and and solution instructions are formatted into a single FEK file that is readable by die solution engine. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.afo 			 			 				Continuous frequency results created by ADAPTFEKO (continuous frequency) 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.cgm 			 			 				Contains the size of the residue that results from the iterative algorithm which solves the matrix equation and the number of iterations. This file is only generated when specifically requested. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.dbg 			 			 				When using the UTD, it is possible to request an optional output file containing a large amount of additional data (and may therefore be very large), see the UT card. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.efe 			 			 				File containing the electric field strengths. Contains both the position and the complex components of the electric field strength vectors. This file is only generated when specifically requested. 			 			 				No, unless used in equivalent source definition 			 		 				*.fek 			 			 				Output file from PREFEKO -- serves as the input file for FEKO. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.ffe 			 			 				File containing the far field data. This file is only generated when specifically requested. 			 			 				No, unless used in equivalent source definition 			 		 				*.gfe 			 			 				Interpolation table of the electric field strengths for the Green's function of a layered sphere. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.gfh 			 			 				Interpolation table of the magnetic field strengths for the Green's function of a layered sphere. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.hfe 			 			 				File containing the magnetic field strengths. Contains both the position and the complex components of the magnetic field strength vectors. 			 			 				No, unless used in equivalent source definition 			 		 				*.inc 			 			 				Include file for PREFEKO. 			 			 				No 			 		 				  			 			 				  			 			 				No 			 		 				*.log 			 			 				Log file created by OPTFEKO. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.lud 			 			 				File in which the elements of the LU-decomposed MoM matrix are stored. This file is only generated when specifically requested. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.mat 			 			 				File in which the matrix elements of the linear equation system, are stored. This file is only generated when specifically requested. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.opt 			 			 				Input file for the program OPTFEKO. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.ofc 			 			 				Paging files for the array elements used with sequential and parallel out-of-core solution.  			 			 				No 			 		 				*.os 			 			 				File containing the surface currents and the currents in the segments. The data includes the physical position and the complex components of the current density vectors. This file is only generated when specifically requested. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.pcr 			 			 				Exported ILU preconditioner for the FEM. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.pfg 			 			 				POSTFEKO graph file. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.pfs 			 			 				POSTFEKO session file. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.ray 			 			 				When using UTD or RL-GO an optional ray file can be requested. This file is not required when visualising rays in POSTFEKO. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.rhs 			 			 				File containing the right hand side vector in the system of linear equations. 			 			 				No 			 		 				  			 			 				  			 			 				  			 		 				*.sha 			 			 				File storing shadowing information for the PO. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.snp 			 			 				Touchstone format S-parameter file. The n refers to the number of ports. This file is only generated when specifically requested. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.sph 			 			 				Spherical wave expansion (SWE) as used by the reflector antenna code GRASP from TICRA. This file is only generated when specifically requested. 			 			 				No, unless used in equivalent source definition 			 		 				*.str 			 			 				File in which the solution vector of the linear equations are stored. This file can be re-used to compute more output parameters (such as far fields and nearfields) while not having to rerun the entire simulation.  			 			 				No 			 		 				*.vis 			 			 				When multiple reflections are used with the PO formulation FEKO determines which basis functions have line of sight visibility. Since this calculation may require significant run time, this information can be saved to a *.vis file for re-use. 			 			 				No 			 		 				*.x_t 			 			 				Parasolid model file. 			 			 				No