NoteA Phonology Assistant (PA) project consists of several files all stored in the same folder.
The name of the primary file in a project has a pap extension (short for Phonology Assistant Project). To open a project in PA, you select the pap file in the Open Project dialog box.
The files in a PA project store all the settings and information related to a project, but not the language data. PA does not own the language data for a project nor does it maintain a copy of, or provide capabilities for editing, the language data. The program responsible for editing the language data PA reads for a project depends on the type of data source from which the language data is read.
PA projects are given a name in the New Project Settings dialog box when they are created. It is typical to name a project after the language whose data will be read when PA opens the project. All files created for a project are named using the project name as a prefix.
The following table lists the files that make up a PA project. The projname prefix in each file name represents the project name and will be different for each project.
File name |
Description |
|---|---|
projname.pap |
Stores the project settings, including information about each data source; also stores other miscellaneous settings, including most of those specified in the Options dialog box. |
projname.FieldInfo.xml |
Stores information about each field in a project (for example, fonts), including custom fields defined in the Custom Fields dialog box. |
projname.SearchQueries.xml |
Stores the search pattern categories and saved search patterns for a project. |
projname.ConsonantChart.xml |
Stores the layout of the consonant chart for a project, including customizations made by the user. |
projname.VowelChart.xml |
Stores the layout of the vowel chart for a project, including customizations made by the user. |
projname.DistributionCharts.xml |
Stores the saved distribution charts for a project. |
projname.AmbiguousSequences.xml |
Stores the ambiguous sequences for a project. |
projname.ExperimentalTranscriptions.xml |
Stores the experimental transcriptions for a project. |
projname.PhoneFeatureOverrides.xml |
Stores the descriptive features and distinctive features for phones in a project when they have been overridden by the user. |
projname.SearchClasses.xml |
Stores the classes for a project |
NoteIt is possible for a project not to have all the files listed in the preceding table. For example, PA does not create a PhoneFeatureOverrides.xml file until a feature is overridden for at least one phone in a project.
With the exception of the pap file, as needed, all other project files will automatically be recreated if they are deleted. However, if that happens, all user customizations will be lost.