@Alexis42 wrote:
I want to know if is it possible to read the excel file while I'm editing it
I see that this topic already has a marked Solution, but I don't know if it specifically answered the question.
I haven't exactly tried to do what you describe, but, given what I have done, I'd say the answer is "Yes, it is possible to read an Excel file while you are editing it with LabVIEW".
Here's our situation:
We run a series of Behavioral Trials, where we might have 100-200 Trials, each with a set of 150 parameters (many of which are the same from trial to trial, but the Experimenter can pick and choose which to vary, depending on what he/she is testing). We use an Excel Workbook to hold the Experiment Protocol -- a Trials WorkSheet has a row for every Trial, with the columns representing the individual Runs (Column A is called Run Number, and contains "1", "2", "3", and so on).
Normally, the Experiment starts at Row 5 (the first four rows are Header information -- Run 1 is in Row 5) and increments to the next Row and Run Number as each Trial is completed. Several of the Columns (at the end of the row), however, hold output parameters from the Trial (like how many 1KHz data samples were saved during the Trial, and when the Trial began).
In addition, the Experimenter can stop the Experiment and set the next Trial Number to an "out-of-sequence" Trial (indeed, the Trials could be run, one-at-a-time, in the order 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 by manually choosing this order). All this time, the Excel file is open (it gets closed, and the data saved, at the conclusion of the Experiment).
The ability to write specific rows/columns and to read specific rows/columns in our paradigm (which I would characterize as "Writing to an Excel File while Reading from it") says, to me, that we would be able to "Read from an Excel File while Editing it".
In order to know if our solution has applicability to your problem, you need to post the VI you are using to interact with Excel, so I can judge if our methods are appropriate to your situation.
Bob Schor
