Import Text Data

The Data Editor's Text import tool reads text files into a single datasheet of your choice. For example, a file containing rows and columns of quantitative values could be imported into a P-Data datasheet.

! This importer assumes that the LogPlot datasheet has the necessary columns all set up for import. See Inserting, Deleting, and Renaming Columns for information about how to customize the datasheet for import.

How to…

Import the text data

1. Open the existing data file or data template into which the text data are to be imported.
   
2. Click on the tab for the datasheet into which you wish to import the data. (You can insert a new datasheet if necessary.)
   
3. Select the Data Editor's File menu, and choose the Import command.
   
4. From the pop-up menu, select the Text command.
   
5. Enter the requested information:
   • File to import: Click on the open-file button to the right of the prompt to select the name of the Text file whose contents are to be imported.
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   • View File: Use this button to view the contents of the file, to verify that this is the text data you wish to import and to see the data layout.
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   • Skip lines: Enter here the number of initial lines that are to be omitted from the import; choose 0 if none is to be ignored.
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   • Delimiter: Specify here the column delimiter used in the imported file.
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   • Import to: This determines the datasheet into which the data is to be imported. The default will be the current (front-most) datasheet, but you may click on the arrows to advance through the list of sheets. The selected datasheet will be brought to the foreground of the Editor. The tabs will be listed by their names. If necessary you can move the import window to the side as you scroll through the tab names to see which tab is on top.
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   • Starting at Row: Enter the row number in the specified datasheet at which the imported data listing should start. Note that the imported data will always start in the first column, though you can manually select the import column order.
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6. Click Next to advance to the next screen, where you can assign specific text file columns to specific columns in the selected datasheet.

   The first column, labeled Fields, corresponds to the column headings in the text file. The second column, labeled LP Column, corresponds to the columns in the active datasheet.

7. Identify the first field you wish to import by clicking in the LP Column cell for that field and identifying the column in the datasheet where the data is to be imported. Repeat for additional fields. Any text file columns you don't want to bring into LogPlot can be left blank (unmapped).

   

8. Click Finish to proceed with the import.
   

LogPlot will read the selected columns in the text file and list them in the requested columns in the datasheet.

Back to Importing Data

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