.. _responses-calibration_terms-calibration_data_file-freeform:

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freeform
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Selects free-form tabular file format for experiment data



**Topics**


file_formats


.. toctree::
   :hidden:
   :maxdepth: 1



**Specification**

- *Alias:* None

- *Arguments:* None

- *Default:* annotated format


**Description**


A freeform tabular file is whitespace-separated text file with no
leading header row and no leading columns. For experiment data files,
each row contains data for configuration variables, observatiions,
and/or observation errors, depending on context.

*Default Behavior*

By default, Dakota imports tabular experiment data files in annotated
format.  Specify ``freeform`` to instead select this format.

*Usage Tips*


- Prior to October 2011, calibration and surrogate data files were in free-form format. They now default to ``annotated`` format, though ``freeform`` remains an option.
- When importing tabular data, a warning will be generated if a specific number of data are expected, but extra is found and an error generated when there is insufficient data.



**Examples**


Import a free-form experimental data file containing raw experiment
data in a calibration study


.. code-block::

    responses
      ...
      scalar_data_file 'shock_experiment.dat'
        freeform


Example data file with two measured quantities, three experiments:

.. code-block::

     18.23  83.21
     34.14  93.24
     22.41  88.92




