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Transferring data

Importing into Excel

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Importing into Excel

IMPORTING BLACK LAB DATA INTO EXCEL
OR
ANOTHER ANALYSIS PROGRAM

Microsoft EXCEL is used frequently to display, graph, and analyze data. Therefore, the ability to quickly get Black Lab data into EXCEL (or any other analysis package) is important. The process to load Black Lab data is similar so the following explanation applies to both.

The Standard and Trigger testing modes store data in a compact binary file format with a .DAT extension. Binary files are not suitable for importation into other analysis packages including EXCEL . Therefore it is necessary to convert the .DAT files into a file type with a .CSV extension. The .CSV file is an ASCII readable text file that EXCEL and other programs understand and can load easily.

If data has been taken using the desktop program, a utility is available to convert the .DAT file to a .CSV file.

If data has been taken using the Pocket PC, the most efficient way to get the data into a spreadsheet would be to transfer the .DAT file to the desktop and then use the desktop utility to convert the binary data into the .CSV file. While the Pocket PC program also has a conversion utility, it maybe best to transfer the data to the desktop for faster processing.

The Black Lab utility that converts the data for transfer to an EXCEL spread sheet will convert the data points and store them in the .CSV file. Additional testing related information will be added to this file automatically. This is illustrated in the example shown below.

Most third party software programs that provide sophisticated analysis and display capabilities easily import data in the .CSV (ASCII) file format.

Example Spreadsheet

The example EXCEL spreadsheet shown below will describe how the data is stored in a Black Lab .CSV exported data file.

To see a larger picture of the spreadsheet click here-> Larger View

The spreadsheet area colored red (4 rows at the top) contain the label, sensor, channel number, sample rate, gain, and units for all active channels. Digital input information is also displayed in the area colored red.

The spreadsheet area colored orange (2 columns to the right) contain all the Project, data file name, test description, date/time, and parameter information.

The spreadsheet area colored yellow (left most column) holds the sample interval (in seconds) or reading number (depending on acquisition mode chosen).

The area colored green (middle columns) contain the analog channel data in volts or engineering units.

The area colored light blue (columns right of the analog channel data) contain the digital input data as ON or OFF states.