added --force check to #1126

[SensibleSalmon]

see #1126 (comment)

• Is it mergeable?
• Did it pass the tests?
• If it introduces new functionality in scripts/ is it tested?
  Check for code coverage with make clean diff-cover
• Is it well formatted? Look at make pep8, make diff_pylint_report,
  make cppcheck, and make doc output. Use make format and manual
  fixing as needed.
• Did it change the command-line interface? Only additions are allowed
  without a major version increment. Changing file formats also requires a
  major version number increment.
• Is it documented in the ChangeLog?
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changelog#Format
• Was a spellchecker run on the source code and documentation after
  changes were made?
• Is the Copyright year up to date?

@mr-c @luizirber Merge, please?

[mr-c]

Thanks!