private void loadGroupData(String fileName) {

        // if the file does not exist,
        // create it and return.
        File f = new File(fileName);
        try {
            if(f.createNewFile()) {
                return;
            }
        }
        catch (java.io.IOException e) {
            System.err.println(e);
            return;
        }

        
        Scanner scanner = null;
        String[] tokens;
        GroupRecord tempRecord; //this is for the loop to add to the list of groups

        try{
             scanner = new Scanner(f);
             while(scanner.hasNextLine()) {

                 // split the line on commas:
                 tokens = scanner.nextLine().split(",");

                 // the 1st string is the groupName, the 2nd is the owner:
                 tempRecord = new GroupRecord(tokens[0], tokens[1]);

                 // add each member to a set of members:
                 for(int i = 2; i < tokens.length; i++) {
                     tempRecord.members.add(tokens[i]);
                 }

                 // add the record to our database:
                 groupData.put(tokens[0], tempRecord);
             }
             
        }
        catch (FileNotFoundException e) {System.err.println(e);}
        finally {
            scanner.close();
        }
    }