Knowledge Base

Importing External Data Files

Time Information

1. Sample Rate - If the header contains a cell with the sample rate, select the Sample rate button in the Profile definition section. Drag the cell with the sample rate to the Sample rate box and select the appropriate unit (Hz or kHz) from the list.
2. Sample Interval - If the header contains a cell with the sample interval, select the Sample interval button in the Profile definition section. Drag the cell with the sample interval to the Sample interval box. Select the unit of time from the list.
3. Time Series - If the header does not contain information on sample rate, select the Time series button under Timing based on. Under Data sets in the File content section, select the column with time stamps and drag this to the Time series box. The column with time stamps now appears grayed.

The Select Time Format window opens. If the time matches one of the predefined formats, The Observer automatically selects one. Converted time shows the conversion of the text to time and Conversion is OK. You can also define your own format by typing an H for each number representing 'hour', an m for 'minute', an s for second and a f for each decimal of a second.

Under Import Time, select one of the options:

• Relative to Time Zero - Suppose the first row in the imported external data set has time 00:00:05. When the option Relative to time zero is selected, the time stamp of the first row of the imported data set will remain 00:00:05.
• Relative to the Time of the First Data Line - Suppose the data set you want to import starts at 14:28:00 and has samples every 5 seconds. With this option, the first row of the imported data will get the time stamp 00:00:00. The second row will have time stamp 00:00:05. The options under Import Time are grayed out when your time stamps contain the date the file was created. In this case the option Relative to time zero is used.

Select the option Allow timestamps to be non equidistant when the time stamps do not represent regular intervals. For example, 0, 490, 572, etc.

Data

Under Data definition in the Profile definition section there are two parts. The lilac part is labeled Header Data where you drag cells from the lilac Header section. The green part is labeled Raw data where you drag Data sets from the green cells in the Data sets section.

1. Drag the first column under Data Sets to the first empty cell in the Raw data - Data Set column. As a result, the letter of the original column appears in the cell and the column in the Data Sets section is grayed.
2. Locate the data set name, the unit and, optionally, other information in the header and drag those cells to the Header data cells in the same row. If you drag and drop the Start Date and/or Start Time, a window opens in which you can define the format. Accept the default format, or see the Time Information section for the procedure to change it.

Multiple Data Sets

1. Follow the procedure above to define the next dataset. Once two datasets are defined, the Validity Check button becomes active.
2. Click this button. The Observer XT now automatically fills the other rows in the Data definition field.
3. Check that the correct columns are selected.

How the Validity Check Is Applied

The Observer XT assumes that your header and data set info are ordered in a regular way in your external data file (e.g., left-right, with or without empty cells in between).

Example - your external data file contains four Data Sets in columns A, C, E and G. Columns B, D, F are empty. When you drag columns A and C to the first two rows in the Raw Data column and then click the Validity Check button, The Observer XT automatically assigns columns E and G to rows 3 and 4, taking into account the empty columns between Data Sets.

The distance between the columns should be the same. For example, dropping columns A and C and clicking Validity Check works — columns E, G, I, K etc. are automatically added to the other rows. Dropping columns A and B and clicking Validity Check also works. However, dropping A, B, and D and clicking Validity Check does not work, because there is an empty column between B and D, but not between A and B.

Save the Import Profile

When all the information is in the Import Profile Definition sheet, click the Save As button and give the profile a name.

Import a Text File with the New Import Profile

The newly created import profile is now in the Files of Type list.

1. Locate the external data file and select the filename.
2. Click Open.

Edit an Import Profile

1. Choose File > Import > External Data.
2. Click the Custom Import Profiles button, choose the profile and click the Edit button.
3. Browse to the external data file you want to base the profile on. Change the profile as needed. To change cells that were dragged and dropped, click the cell you dropped information into and press the Delete key on your keyboard.
4. When done, save the profile.