Lab .5(c) How to Read From a Spreadsheet in LabVIEW

LabVIEW is a graphical programming application distributed by National Instruments. The program is used for designing components and systems in the science and engineering fields. LabVIEW offers compatible versions for all operating systems.LabVIEW provides the user with the ability to perform data visualization and analysis using datasets. To read data from a spreadsheet in LabVIEW, use the "Read From Spreadsheet File" VI. Convert the spreadsheet to Comma Separated Value (CSV) format and import the data into LabVIEW.

Instructions

1. Open the spreadsheet in its native application. For example, if the spreadsheet is a Microsoft Excel file, open the dataset in Microsoft Excel.

2. Click the "File" option from the top navigation bar, or click the Microsoft Office button in Excel 2007, then click "Save As."

3. Click "Other Formats," then click the "Save as Type" drop-down box. Select the "CSV Comma Delimited (.csv)" file type, and click "Save." The dataset saves in the CSV format.

4. Click the "Functions" option in LabVIEW to open the "Functions" interface.

5. Click the "File I/O" icon, then click "Read From Spreadsheet File.vi" from the File I/O options.

6. Right-click on the "Delimiter Input" option located at the bottom of the window.

7. Click "Create," and click "Constant."

8. Type a comma (",") in the "String Constant" field. A file navigation window opens.

9. Navigate to the spreadsheet file saved in CSV format. Click on the file, and click "Open." The dataset loads into LabVIEW.