fdelcol HEADAS help file

NAME

fdelcol -- Delete a specified column in a FITS table

USAGE

        fdelcol infile[ext#] colname confirm proceed

DESCRIPTION

This task deletes a column in a FITS table. Since the input FITS file is modified by this utility, the user is given an opportunity to confirm before deleting the column.

PARAMETERS

infile [file name]

The file name and number or name of the extension containing the specified column to be deleted. The extension number or name has to be specified explicitly.

colname [string]

Name of the column to be deleted.

(confirm = yes) [boolean]

If set to YES, the following information (keyword values) about the extension containing the specified column will be printed; EXTENSION, EXTNAME and Column Name.

proceed = yes [boolean]

At this point the user may proceed or quit without modifying the input FITS file. If the 'PROCEED' parameter is set to NO, then the program exits without modifying the input file.

If 'CONFIRM' is set to NO and 'PROCEED' is set to YES, the utility simply deletes the column without any warnings. (suitable for a script)

EXAMPLES

1. Delete the column COL1 in the second extension of the file test.fits, without querying for confirmation.

                  ft> fdelcol test.fits+2 COL1 N Y

BUGS

For the safety, the user has to specify the extension name or number explicitly in input file name. If the user does not give an extension number or name, the program will generate an error message and exit.