8.1.5 How do I load a pedigree whose columns are tab-delimited?

The default column-delimiter used by PyPedal is a space (` '). You can change the delimiter by setting the sepchar option:

options['sepchar'] = '\t'

Commas are also commonly used as delimiters, and comma-separated value (CSV) files can be read by setting sepchar to ','. If you are using a configuration file, you must enclose any delimiter containing a backslash in double quotation marks (``''):

options['sepchar'] = "\t"

If you do not enclose the delimiter properly you will receive an error message such as:

[jcole@jcole2 examples]$ python new_ids.py
[INFO]: Logfile new_ids2.log instantiated.
[INFO]: Preprocessing new_ids2.ped
[INFO]: Opening pedigree file
[ERROR]: The record on line 2 of file new_ids2.ped does not have the same number
         of columns (1) as the pedigree format string (ASD) says that it should
         (3). Please check your pedigree file and the pedigree format string for
         errors.
[jcole@jcole2 examples]$

See About this document... for information on suggesting changes.