ASCII Data Import Wizard - Step 3 of 3

Use this wizard dialog to specify the import parameters for the ASCII data file:

    In the Channel Type section, specify whether each channel contains data or line information.
    The Parameters section displays the fields that define a channel (name, data type and format, string size, etc.). To edit the parameter fields of a channel, select/highlight the corresponding column in the preview window.

    The message below the preview window indicates how many channels remain unspecified. Each channel must have a name to continue the import process.

    Once all the channels are defined, click the Finish button to return to the Import ASCII dialog.

Data Import Wizard - Step 3 of 3

Channel type

Not imported

Select the Not Imported radio button if you do not want the selected (highlighted) channel in the bottom preview window to be imported.

Data

Select the Data radio button if you want the selected (highlighted) channel in the preview window to be imported as Data.

Line

Select the Line radio button if you want the selected (highlighted) channel in the preview window to be imported as Line data.

Fiducial

Select the Fiducial radio button if you want to assign the fiducials during import. Then, select (highlight) the channel in the preview window to be imported as the fiducial channel.

Array

Select the Array radio button if the data selected (highlighted) in the preview window should be imported as array data.

Array direction

Define whether the array direction is along the rows or columns in the ASCII File. Array direction will be inactive unless the Array radio button is selected.

Size

Specify the number of elements that will be pulled from the import file into the array (e.g. 256). Size will be inactive unless the Array radio button is selected.

Parameters

Channel name

Specify the "Channel name". The default is the name from the "Data Heading Row" from Data Import Wizard - Step 1 of 3.

Label

Specify the "Label". The default is the name from the "Data Heading Row" from Data Import Wizard - Step 1 of 3.

Data type

Specify the "Data Type". The "intelligent" default is determined from the "Channel Type".

*Note: When "String" is selected as the Data Type, the following Data Format parameter is changed to "String Size".

Data format

 

String size

Specify the "Data Format". The "intelligent" default is determined from the "Channel Type" and the "Data Type".

When the Data Type is selected as a "String" this parameter is changed to String Size. You can specify the String Size from 1 to 128 characters in length.

Dummy

Specify the alpha and/or numeric characters to be used as the dummy. The default is (*).

preview window

Channel parameters

The channels (columns) in the import file are displayed in this window.

Select (highlight) each channel to specify the "Channel Type" and "Parameters" for each.

[Finish]

Click the Finish button to import the data.

Application Notes

Numerous date and time formats are supported. To properly import them, define their datatype as Float or double, and then select the correct display format.

In the case of an import that is based on the ISO 8601 format (http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime), the date and time are given in a single string, and are separated by the character “T”. The data that is outputted is a single "Date-Time" channel of type double. By default, this is shown as the date, but the time is embedded in the double values. You can use a math expression to extract the time. If the input string contains a TZD ("Time Zone Designator"), then the values are converted to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), or GMT. You can use the math expression below to extract the "UTC_Time" data from the imported "DateTime" channel.

Year = Floor(DateTime);
DaysInYear = Year % 400 == 0 ? 366.0 : (Year % 100 == 0 ? 365.0 : (Year % 4 == 0 ? 366.0 : 365.0));
Days = DaysInYear*(DateTime-Floor(DateTime));
Time_UTC = (Days - Floor(Days))*24;

See Also: