added possibility to specify a format in the generic interface
added possibility to specify a format in the generic interface

joshua-cogliati-inl/raven,joshua-cogliati-inl/raven,joshua-cogliati-inl/raven,idaholab/raven,joshua-cogliati-inl/raven,idaholab/raven,idaholab/raven,idaholab/raven,joshua-cogliati-inl/raven,joshua-cogliati-inl/raven,idaholab/raven,idaholab/raven,idaholab/raven,joshua-cogliati-inl/raven