Adding User-selected Files to Your VDF | Optimizing Your Distribution

VDF Setup Considerations

When creating the VDF, you should consider to include only what is needed by your audience:

What is an acceptable amount of time to wait for a VDF to open?

Start creating VDFs to get a benchmark. Take advantage of the "Size of File Selected" option. On an average PC, it takes about three minutes to save or open a one (1) GB VDF. Also consider client internet connection speed when saving VDFs to an STK Data Federate Server.

Why exclude large file(s) from the VDF? (typically globe content)
  • Not all files compress. Big VDFs take longer to load. The VDF is similar to a .zip file in that the contents you select are bundled and compressed. But all files do not compress equally. The file size of an already heavily compressed file will be translated directly to the VDF file size. Examples of heavily compressed files are the STK terrain and imagery formats like .pdttx, .pdtt, and jpeg2000.
  • More than one VDF may depend on the same large file(s). If you have more than one VDF which uses the same image/terrain file consider using the VDF Overview to reference dependencies which must be obtained separately by the recipient.
  • Recipients may have the large file(s) already. Recipients of a VDF may already have the large files (STK Terrain, Imagery and Maps or Datadisc) in a network location or a location with more available disk space which is different from where the VDF will be saved. See Edit Preferences - File Find for setting the search path used by STK to locate imagery / terrain / models.
  • Clients may have internet access allowing them to use Microsoft Bing™ maps or access Esri's ArcGIS.com.
What are the alternatives to excluding large files from a VDF?
  • Streaming BING, REST, or WMS Imagery sources
  • Let STK re-create some of the data when the VDF is opened
    • Delete az-el mask (.aem) files from the scenario folder prior to saving the VDF
    • Delete .cva files from the scenario folder and have the recipient Compute Access.
    • Under Edit Preferences - Save Load Preferences, clear Save for
      • Vehicle Ephemeris
      • Accesses
      • Sensor Targeted pointing times
    • Use the same .pdtt file for both Globe Manager and Scenario - Basic - Terrain.
    • Use the Imagery and Terrain Converter to crop both imagery and terrain for only the required area

When creating a VDF for use exclusively by STK Viewer, you should not include the 2D Graphics window or any Custom User Data.

Adding User-selected Files to Your VDF

In addition to STK specific content, you can add your own non-STK files to your VDF. These may include data files, reports, presentations, HTML pages, scripts, spreadsheets, and other files beneficial to the audience.

You can also manually add files that are not automatically included by the authoring process. For various reasons, there are file types and datasets that do not normally get included in the VDF. The data files can be large, indirectly associated, or exhibit a complex nature. Some datasets that are not automatically included are:

  • File based Terrain Sources on the Scenario Properties - Basic Terrain page
  • STK Celestial Imagery
  • STK High Resolution Maps
  • TLE Files
  • Map details
  • Space weather files
  • Planetary Spice files
  • Plugin Scripts
  • Core astrodynamic files pertaining to celestial body properties (other than Earth orientation parameters). These files are already part of STK products.

For datasets that are large, it is best not to copy them to the VDF. Instead use a network-based solution (see Distributing VDFs within organizations). For smaller datasets, such as Astrogator files and plugin scripts, you can add them individually from the Authoring a VDF window, or if they already exist in your scenario folder, you can add them quickly by selecting Copy scenario folder contents.

The following datasets are always linked; that is, content cannot be copied to the VDF. You will need to ensure the user has connectivity to the same datasets called by your scenario.

For Enterprise GIS databases referenced in an Esri map document (*.mxd), the map document and local geodatabases can be linked or included. In most cases, the *.mxd file should be saved in ArcGIS with relative data paths.

Optimizing Your Distribution

Distributing VDFs within organizations

You can minimize the size of a VDF by pointing to data rather than copying it. Like a scenario, VDFs maintain network links.

Many users already employ network resources for sharing data among STK scenarios, such as with an SDF server. These can include terrain, imagery, geospatial vector data, 3D models and textures, cloud files, and more. When your scenario points to these datasets on the network, you can have the VDF do the same. In the Authoring a VDF window, do not select Copy... for datasets that are already referenced to the network. The VDF will preserve the network paths and the data will not copy. You can send this VDF to users on the same network and have them see the full content.

Distributing VDFs to Non-connected Users

When authoring for users without network or internet access, you must selectively choose what data to copy in the VDF. You have the option of not copying large datasets—such as globes, 3D models, markers—and rely on default ones that will activate on the receiving end. For other potentially large datasets, such as analytical terrain, you can make a smaller dataset or simply not include it. These tradeoffs are part of the authoring process. The VDF will display whatever content it finds in the file, and may prompt you in the case of globes. Lacking a network you can send a custom globe to the user and have STK Viewer prompt for its location.