dtx_to_wif

Convert FiberWorks .dtx and WeavePoint .wpo weaving pattern files to WIF 1.1. You do not need a copy of FiberWorks or WeavePoint to use this software.

Conversion is done using a terminal. If you are not comfortable using a terminal, this may not be the right package for you.

This package can also be used by weaving-related software to read supported weaving pattern files.

Converting Files

First install the software. Pay careful attention to where the dtx_to_wif and wpo_to_wif executables are installed. The path will be long on Windows.

Run your terminal application.

Type the following on macOS or unix:

dtx_to_wif path1 path2 ...

If dtx_to_wif is not found, specify the path to it, as described in installing.

On Windows type:

<...path to dtx_to_wif...>\dtx_to_wif.exe path1 path2 ...

where <...path to dtx_to_wif...> is the path to the file, as shown when you installed dtx_to_wif.

The path arguments can files or directories. All files in a directory are converted, as well as all subdirectories, sub-sub-directories, etc.

Replace "dtx" with "wpo" to convert WeavePoint .wpo files.

Each new WIF file is written to the same directory as the original file with the same file name but a ".wif" extension. If a WIF file with that path already exists, the old file is left unchanged, with a warning. To overwrite existing files, run the command with option --overwrite.

If you run the command with option -h you will see all available options.

Reading Files Into Memory

dtx_to_wif can read .dtx, .wif, and .wpo pattern files into an instance of [dtx_to_wif.PatternData][dtx_to_wif.pattern_data.PatternData]. This is used by base_loom_server dobby loom control software. It could also be used by pattern visualization software and weaving design software.

To read a weaving pattern from a file, call [dtx_to_wif.read_pattern_file][dtx_to_wif.pattern_reader.read_pattern_file]. To read a weaving pattern from a string, call [dtx_to_wif.read_pattern_data][dtx_to_wif.pattern_reader.read_pattern_data].

To write [dtx_to_wif.PatternData][dtx_to_wif.pattern_data.PatternData] to a WIF file, call [dtx_to_wif.write_wif][dtx_to_wif.wif_writer.write_wif].

Terminal Applications

The standard terminal applications are Terminal for macOS, and cmd.exe for Windows. Other terminal applications are available, but the standard ones are fine.

Links

• PyPi
• Documentation
• Source Code
• Issue Tracker

Limitations

Known differences from the WIF files that FiberWorks writes:

• The date the dtx file was created is not written to the WIF file, since WIF has no standard location for this information. FiberWorks saves it as a comment in the [TEXT] section ("; Creation ...").
• The default colors and separations for warp and weft may not match. This is just an internal detail, as the resulting pattern is the same. (I have not figured out the algorithm FiberWorks uses to choose default colors and separations.)

The WeavePoint .wpo reader cannot read notes, thread thickness, nor thread separation. Due to this limitation I consider wpo_to_wif only marginally useful. However, is does allow base_loom_server to work with WeavePoint files.

License

This software is licensed under the MIT license. See license.txt for details.