Have data in Simcenter Testlab (formerly called LMS Test.Lab) that you want to export to Excel? Have data in Excel that you want to import to Simcenter Testlab? Luckily, it’s easy!
There are multiple options available in both Simcenter Testlab and Simcenter Testlab Neo: 1. Display Export to Excel 2. Excel Data in Testlab 3. Data Block Editor 4. Simcenter Testlab Neo and Excel
To export data to Excel, right click on a curve in a display, select “Copy Values” and then select “All” (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Copy the values directly from the plot.
Open Excel and paste the data. The first few dozen rows (Figure 2) that are pasted contain header information: details like timestamps, weighting, and datatype etc. This is to preserve information about the data even if it is moved into Excel.
Figure 2: Paste the data into Excel. The first lines are header information (engineering unit, function class, etc).
Below the header is the numerical data as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: In the Excel sheet, below the header information, is the numerical data.
It is also possible to copy multiple curves from a display. Select multiple curves (hold control key and click on curves), then right click, “Copy Values”, and select “All” as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Copy multiple curves from a display.
To copy just a subset of the data instead of the entire curve, zoom in on a narrower frequency range, right click, “Copy Values”, and select “Between X Limits” as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Copy range of values instead of the whole curve.
Data in the legend calculated by a double X cursor can also be copied into Excel as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Copy values from a cursor legend.
Save the Excel file. It is possible to browse to the data in the Excel file from Simcenter Testlab as described in the next section.
Export to Excel from a display works the same in both Simcenter Testlab "Classic" and Simcenter Testlab Neo.
2. Excel Data in Testlab
Simcenter Testlab can read data directly from Excel. This works the same in both Simcenter Testlab "Classic" and Simcenter Testlab Neo.
To read data into Simcenter Testlab from Excel, the Excel file must have a specific header. The easiest way to get a header is to export some existing data from Testlab into Excel.
Browse to the data in the navigator tree on the left side of the Navigator workbook. Select the Excel file saved in the previous section and the data block should populate in the middle pane. Drag the data block to the display to plot it (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Browse to the Excel file (and sheet) to view in Simcenter Testlab.
It is important that the Excel data you are importing has a header. The header has critical information about amplitude format, weighting, and more. Without the proper header information, the Excel data will not import into Testlab.
The export covered in the first section of the article makes a header. By exporting a similar block of data to what will be imported, it ensures the header is good. The numerical values in the file can then be edited while keeping the Excel header information the same. A sample excel file with two examples of importing time data is attached to this article (you may need to login to the site to see it). It has the following reduced header showing that either sample frequency or X axis increment can be used:
Curve 1
Curve 2
Function\Point id
Point1
Function\Point id
Point2
Function\Point direction
+X
Function\Point direction
+X
Function\Function class
Time
Function\Function class
Time
Function\Sample frequency
10
Function\X axis increment
0.100000000000
s
g
s
g
Linear
Real
Linear
Real
-10.0000
-0.2809
-10.0000
0.2599
-9.9000
0.2222
-9.9000
0.0084
NOTE: Simcenter Testlab Version 18 and higher has Excel Data driver functionality integrated into the software by default. Previous versions require turning on the "Excel Data Driver" in the "Add-in" list of Simcenter Testlab.
Attached to this article is an example Excel file with headers for most popular data types.
An alternative to import data from Excel into Simcenter Testlab is the Data Block Editor. The Data Block Editor is described in the next section.
3. Data Block Editor
The Data Bock Editor is another option to import data from Excel into Simcenter Testlab. It is available in Simcenter Testlab "Classic". It is not a feature of Simcenter Testlab Neo.
Data Block Editor can be turned on using "Tools -> Add-ins" from main Testlab menu. No additional tokens are necessary. This is shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8: Tools -> Add-ins -> Data Block Editor.
Go to the Data Block Editor workbook (Figure 9). Here, the user can set the appropriate information necessary when importing to Testlab from Excel.
Figure 9: Data Block Editor Workbook.
In the Data Block Editor, it is possible to set the function type, format, amplitude scaling, x-axis increment information, Point ID, point direction, y axis unit, and weighting. This is done in the upper left of the menu.
After setting these parameters the user can simply paste their data into the table on the right side of the screen and the picture filling the bottom half of the screen will populate with data.
To save this to your project, select “Add to Workspace” and then “Save workspace in active project” (both buttons on the right side of workbook).
Select the folder in which to save the data (or create a new folder) and select “OK” (Figure 10).
Figure 10: Saving the imported data to the project.
The data will be saved into the project in the specified folder as shown in Figure 11.
Figure 11: The data was saved into the project and can be plotted / processed as necessary.
The Data Block Editor can only be used to import one block of data at a time.
Figure 12: The "Report to Excel" method can be the end result of any process.
The "Report to Excel" method can be incorporated into any process. By incorporating it, multiple data sets can be automatically processed and results sent to Excel automatically.
