Converting 5.1 code to 8.5

[Pellette]

I forgot to mention that in Keithley_DataFile.llb there is a DataLog_to_spreadsheet.vi that appears to have been written for what I am trying to do. I am unsure how it works though because I am not the author.

[Dennis_Knutson]

I know that's there. That's being called by Keithley_Datafile_migrated. It's the VI that is creating the text file and it's the VI that I ran with some dummy data and it created a file that Excel can import. You just have to set the front panel control 'Save Record to File' to be true. Keithley_Datafile_migrated does not read in external data files. It controls a Keithley and creates datafiles from the measurements.

[Pellette]

So how do I use that VI with the old data? I have 6,522 record numbers with corresponding data that was saved using Keithley_Datafile. These are all old runs so I don't think I need to create any new files. I don't know how to set the 'Save Record to File' control to be true.

[Dennis_Knutson]

You shouldn't need to use any LabVIEW program to view files that were created with the Keithley program. The program created .txt files that you should be able to open directly with Excel. I guess there seems to be quite a bit of confusion in this thread. I though you wanted the Keithley program converted to 8.5 so that you could run it and create new files. If you have old files that do not have a .txt extension or cannot be opened with Excel, then you should post one of those files. Maybe they were created with something else but it's possible that someone can look at them and suggest how they can be opened.

[Pellette]

I tried to post the file that I used when I changed the log file binding (the one that allows me to view the old data in Keithley_DataFile.vi), but it's something like 26MB and it wouldn't attach. 

[Pellette]

The data was saved from the Keithley_DataFile.vi on a computer running Windows '95 and LabView 5.1.  I had the VI converted and can open the old data now on a new computer running XP and LabView 8.5, but I'm still having trouble getting that old data into Excel.  When I try to convert to notepad and then open with Excel the file looks like a bunch of rows of wingdings font and there are apparently to many rows for Excel to open the file properly.  Is this possibly just a problem of the old data file being too old? It was somehow able to open with the new LabView running the converted VI.  I'm not at the right computer at the moment, but could it be that the old data file somehow needs to be converted to open with our more modern version of Excel?

[Matthew_Kelton]

If you are seeing binary characters, then someone may have already convertedt it into an Excel file and saved it back to the .txt extension.  Try changing the extenstion to .xls and open in Excel.

[Dennis_Knutson]

I don't understand at all how you can be opening the data files with the LabVIEW program. It has no function to read any type of external files. Please explain how you are opening these files and what the files are. The old program could only create text files.

[Pellette]

The original VI was created to record data for photovoltaic devices. The user would turn on a current source which would shine a light on the PV. A multimeter then recorded the resulting current and voltage and the VI calculated the device's fill factor, efficiency, etc.  What happened before was that Keithley_DataFile.vi was converted for me and I then tried to look up the data. It was not available under the data log option, so I changed the log file binding to Keithley_DataFile_data which I guessed contained all the previously recorded runs.  I then saved the VI with the changed log file binding as Keithley_DataFile_migrated.vi (it was previously Keithley_DataFile_migrated).  That is how I am now able to use "Operate" --> "Data Logging" --> "Retrieve" to now look at the old data in the Keithley_DataFile_migrated.vi front panel. 

[Pellette]

The log file I opened was called Keithley_DataFile_data. It doesn't have a .txt or .xls suffix. This is all old data that was originally output by Keithley_DataFile.vi and is not being opened from an .txt or .xls file.