4. Append Bins

The Append Bins tool is used to add metadata from one bin to the end of another. 

For example, you have Bin A, Bin B and Bin C. The tool will add the data from Bin B to Bin A, then from Bin C to Bin A. The metadata is always added at the end of Bin A. If you wish to Merge two or more Bin files, then use the Merge Bins tool.

To append bins, click the Append Bins icon: in the toolbar to the left of the workspace. The following pane will open:

If a bin or multiple bins have already been opened, they will appear in the Append Bins pane. These opened bins can be removed from the Append Bins pane by clicking the – sign to the right of the Bin name.

4.1 Add Existing Bins

If you wish to open and add other existing Bins, click Add Existing Bins:

Located beneath the main pane. A new pane will pop up, containing the names of all bins that have been opened in the project. 

Untick the checkbox to remove an opened Bin or check it to add a Bin to the Append Bins pane. Click Select and Altera will take you back to the Append Bins pane. You will notice that the Bins you elected are now shown in the pane. The deselected ones are not.

4.2 Add From File

If you wish to add a Bin from a file, click Add From File: A window will appear. Navigate to the folder that holds the *.ALE file to be imported. Double click the *.ALE file you wish to open and click the Open button (or double click it). Your file will open and appear in the Append Bins pane.

Please note that the icon will be different from the icons of files opened previously. This new icon is grey instead of blue, denoting it has been opened externally.

When ready to proceed, click the dropdown menu named ID Field(s). This will create an Identification Field in the Appended Bin. The options are:

  • Name Tape
  • Tracks Start
  • Tape Start End
  • Name
  • Start (Default)
  • End

Select the relevant option from the dropdown and click the Continue button: 

A dialog box may appear, asking if you wish to add or ignore any new Columns:

If you wish to ignore or add all columns, tick the checkbox marked Apply to All. Click Ignore to ignore all additional columns, or Add to add the additional columns to the Appended Bin file.

You will be taken back to the main workspace, and a new Bin will be created, containing all of the appended metadata. The name of the Bin will reflect the names of the Bins that were Appended.

When Appending metadata, you may find there are conflicts between the Bins being Appended. If this is the case, Altera will notify you by showing the following screen:

If you wish to ignore any conflicts, click the Done button, and Altera will display the Appended bins in the workspace.

The appended bins will have a name that will reflect the names of the appended bins, using the original names, but placing them together and separating them with a hyphen (-). For example;

Bin_A_001 + Bin_B_002 = Bin_A_001-Bin_B_002

Note: If there is a header mismatch, a notification will appear advising where the mismatch has occurred: 

You can now continue working on the appended file in the Altera workspace.