import specific dataplugin channels

[JohnGrove]

Hi DIAdem Experts,

I have a task to generate a complete duty cycle from 250 separate .RSP files, and I found some very useful DIAdem resources that have got me nearly there:

I changed the script "Importing data channels which span multiple data files into DIAdem" http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/epd/p/id/3870 to import the .RSP files using the RPC_III plugin, and it works perfectly when I select only a few files.

However, when I select the whole 250 files, things start to get very very slow, which is not surprising, and exactly the problem as described here:

http://forums.ni.com/t5/DIAdem/I-would-like-to-get-only-specific-channels-from-several-csv/m-p/91163...

So I tried limiting the import to only the channels I actually need, using the "channelset" index of "[1]/[1,2,4] which also works perfectly on a few files, so that's very encouraging.

I have now kicked off the 250 file specific channel import, so hopefully that will complete sometime soon!

Moving on from there, I also have some similar data sets to import where the channel index is not consistent, but the channel name is consistent, so I wondered if it is possible to somehow specify channel names for "channelset" instead of the channel index?

Regards,

John.

[PHarris]

Hi John,

Unfortunately it still doesn't appear to be possible to load channels from a data file by name, but only by a specified index. Please see the help file for the DataFileLoadSel command. I believe this is likely to be due to the fact that the function would need to know the location and format of the metadata (e.g. channel name) in each of the various data file formats.

The thing I can suggest doing is to raise this as a suggestion in the DIAdem ideas exchange. This discussion forum is used to seek out popular ideas for incorporation within future releases. My apologies that I can not be of further support on this occasion.

All the best,

[JohnGrove]

Thanks Paul, that was more or less what I thought.

I guess in the meantime I can import the inconsistent files in batches and then stitch them together afterwards.

[DRock]

Hey John -

Which version of DIAdem are you using?  Using DIAdem 2011, I'm running a test with the stock example data set that ships with DIAdem.  The one line of script looks like this:

Call DataFileLoadSel("Example.tdm",,"*/Speed")

This works on my machine and loads only the Speed channel, even though as Paul correctly said, the help indicates that only channel indicies should be used.  There could be a few reasons for this, including but not limited to:

1. The functionality may have been added but not documented in the help.
2. The functionality may have been added in DIAdem 2012, which I have been beta-testing.
3. I may be going crazy.

Most of those are promising 

If you're using DIAdem 2011, would you mind running a test on your machine?  Simply open up a fresh instance of DIAdem and execute the line of code that I've pasted above.  If this works on your machine, then you ought to also give it a shot with your larger file set of *.RSP files.

Let us know either way?

[JohnGrove]

Hello Derrick,

I'm also using 2011, and I have now tried a few different entries for "ImportSelection" in
DataFileLoadSel(DataFilename, FileImportFilter, ImportSelection)
and the results were even better than expected, so thanks for the hint!

"[1]/[1,2,4]" was the original index and in my case loads LeftTorque, RightTorque, and Speed channels.

"*/Speed" did indeed load the Speed channel. I'm guessing that the * would load the speed channel from all groups, if there was more than one group.

"*/[LeftTorque,RightTorque,Speed]" correctly loaded the three channels named LeftTorque, RightTorque, and Speed.

"[1]/[LeftTorque,RightTorque,Speed]" also correctly loaded the three channels named LeftTorque, RightTorque, and Speed.

So, once you work out the correct syntax, importing channels by name works perfectly!

Regards,

John.

[DRock]

Great to hear, John!  Thanks for running a few tests for us!  

I'll ping R&D to see if they can document this in the help for the DataFileLoadSel() function.

[JohnGrove]

Hmm, an undocumented hidden feature?

Reminds me of REM's Green album with a song called "untitled hidden track" on the CD!

By the way, we were running an evaluation of DIAdem 2011, but now we worked out that it will perform all the functions we need, we actually ordered a licence. The support we receive on the NI forums contributed significantly to that decision.

[DRock]

We try our best to keep the documentation up-to-date with every release, but every once in a while some things slip through   

For future readers: I've been able to confirm that this feature was added and available as of DIAdem 2011 (and later).

I'm glad to hear you've made your purchase!  Don't forget that with your license comes access to our Standard Service Program (SSP), which means that you can also get access to technical support from our engineers via phone or email. However, a little known secret fact is that our engineers also monitor the forums to make sure that customers are followed up with appropriately as much as possible.  I'm glad to hear it helped in this case.

As you progress, you know where to find us if you need anything.