Data Finder queries can only be done on properties?

[jsmalley]

Is it not possible to search for specific channel values to find data sets that I want to load? I can't seem to formulate a query to do it.

It seems like only properties can be searched.

For ex, I have data logs of software program crashes, which store things like CreatorID of software, timestamps, CrashStrings, etc.   I want to search on those files and narrow down the possible files to load based on info in the channels.

I don't have to make all the data a property to search for it do I?

[Brad_Turpin]

Hi jsmalley,

The DataFinder only searches on named scalar properties stored at the File, Group, and Channel levels.  The DataFinder does not index the data values attached to each Channel, so these are not in the data base and therefore can not be part of the search expression.  The advantage of this approach is that if you don't want to search on your data values, then you're not cluttering up your data base with zillions of measurement values that just make all the queries run slowly.

If you do want to search on measurement values, there are ways of coaxing the DataFinder into indexing the measurement values, through what is called a "Post-Processing DataPlugin", which is available in DIAdem 10.2 and later versions.  This approach is not obvious, and it tends to cause the data index to baloon very quickly to large disk footprints, but it can be the right approach for specific cases if it is employed correctly.

Why don't you give me a call or an email, and we can talk about exactly which data values you want to search on in your data sets.  I would be happy to help you construct a "Post-Processing DataPlugin" based on the outcome of that discussion.

Brad Turpin
DIAdem Product Support Engineer
National Instuments
brad.turpin@ni.com