suggestion for Excel TDMS viewer

[jason_h]

I would like to have a single data file that contains all my test data. The tdms format in conjunction with excel is a good way to go. However, sometimes when I also have binary data to store, such as images, it crashes the viewer because it tries to load all the data into memory.

I would like to save all my binary data along with my spreadsheet data in the same file and be able to use excel, so I suggest that a special property should exist for each channel (excel column) and group (excel sheet) that can be set so the viewer doesn't load that particular group/channel. For example, a reserved property name such as "load_into_excel" with its corresponding value being "False" would cause that element not to be loaded.

I think this should be relatively easy to implement. In fact only the excel viewer program needs to be changed.

[Hillman]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for your post and I hope your well.

There is a free tool called TDM Excel Add-In for Microsoft Excel Download

http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/epd/p/id/2944

This may help.

The viewer - do you mean the above tool or the vi?

I would recommend looking at the tdms file writing examples - which include examples of writing to channels. The add-in is then good to load this into excel. 

If your code is crashing (rather than the viewer) then maybe your design pattern could be improved - how has this been coded?

Hope this helps,

[Ljubo]

Hi, James, 

Thank you very much for the information about TDM Excel Add-In. It works nice.

BTW, why I can't click and give you a cudos?

Best regards, 

Ljubo.

[Hillman]

Hi Ljubo,

Thanks for the reply.. it looks like you have?

Are you the same person as the poster? Only the original post can select mark a solution - is this what you meant?

Glad it helped!

[jason_h]

Hillman,

I think you may have misunderstood me. I have no problems writing and using TDMS files and loading them into excel. However, when I save a jpeg as a byte array into one of the TDMS channels, that Excel viewer program that you posted crashes because it tries load the byte array data into memory.

If there was a way for me to surpress loading in that data while being able to load the spreadsheet data also contained in the same TDMS file, that would solve my problem. What I'm saying is that if the program you posted looked at the properties of each channel/group and didn't load that particular channel/group if it had a certain property set, that would be a way around it.

[Hillman]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for your post and I hope your well.

Well, I think I understood before.

What do you mean by byte array? would it be possible to send me an example of the tdms file with the jpeg within then I could maybe have a play with it tomorrow. and even better an example which crashes the viewer...

The issue here could be that the jpeg file is a compressed format. It seems a little silly to suggest, but can you not save the jpeg to a different channel and then just not read that channel in?

Thanks,