YSI Data Scout Advanced - Manual (Page 82)

YSI Incorporated Data Scout Advanced 78
6 . 0 P R O C E S S I N G L E V E L S C O U T D A T A F I L E S ( D S P L A Y )
6.1 THE PLAYBACK FUNCTION
This chapter details the Playback function. It is used for viewing, editing, converting, and creating final presentation reports and
graphic plots from any data file that was generated by Data Scout Advanced. Such files are normally stored in the default path
C:\YSI\DSAdv\Dat.
Although this Playback function can be activated from the Run window’s File menu, it is a separate application which allows it to be
activated independently by the program name DSPlay (DSPlay.exe). This program is installed in the same path Data Scout Advanced
is installed (normally C:\YSI\DSAdv).
All Data Scout Advanced data files are recorded in a human-readable text format and can be viewed directly by any text editor. DSPlay
mainly provides extensive plotting capabilities for viewing file data. It has powerful data conversion features as well. Any of the Data
Scout Advanced data file types (.txt, .atd, or .csv) may be selected as the “current file” from DSPlay’s own File | Open menu item. The
file is then displayed according to the current Display Mode selected from its Display menu.
There are three Display Mode choices for viewing a file:
1) As text in a simple scrollable text box below the menu/status bar.
2) As a plot in a graphic picture box below the menu/status bar.
3) As text in a separate window belonging to a “favorite” text editor.
6.1.1 PLAYBACK DISPLAY MODES AND DATA FILE FORMATS
The first display mode is only useful for displaying “short” text files not exceeding 65400 characters (or the first part of longer files).
File size is not limited for the other two modes.
Plotting functions of the second display mode allow the user to utilize “automatically-determined” plotting scales (based on max/min
data noted during a pre-scan of the data file). The user can manually override automatic scales to “zoom” in or out on the data of each
measurement. Individual measurements and transducers can also be hidden on the plot when you only want to highlight one or more
particular graphs.
The third display mode allows the original text report file to be viewed, edited, saved, printed, renamed, copied, moved, or deleted.
Your favorite text editor may be used, though the Window
®
text editors (NotePad and WordPad) are used when one is not specified.
However, since DSPlay is a separate application from Data Scout Advanced, its text editor must be configured separately (see Display |
Options while the text editor is selected as the current Display Mode).
Since there are three (3) file extensions (.txt, .atd, and .csv) of data files, you might not expect that there are actually four (4) unique
data formats. However, there is a .csv version of the AutoLog data files and of the Record data files. DSPlay must use Data Scout
Advanced data file naming conventions to fully distinguish the two .csv types. AutoLog files (with .atd and .csv extensions) have file
names that begin with the model-serial number (e.g., SV2-12345) of a single transducer that contributes data to the file. Record files
(with .txt and .csv extensions) have varying file names, but generally they begin with a descriptive word (e.g., LoadTest9) the user
defines at the time of recording. These record data files may have data contributed from 1-16 separate transducers. If you alter file
name conventions (not recommended) then the first few header line must be read to distinguish the two types of .csv files uniquely.
Thus, do not alter the header lines of these files if you expect DSPlay to recognize all their contents appropriately.
Each of the two major file types (AutoLog and Record) may occasionally need conversion into other formats. All four data file types
may also occasionally need conversion of selected pressure and temperature data converted to other units. Additionally, any of these
files may contain data from an absolute Level Scout(s) that must be compensated by a single BaroScout absolute transducer, whose
data are located in the same file or in a different file with a compatible date/time range. The DSPlay features for doing these “utility”
conversion and compensation tasks are described in section 6.2.