Export panel view plus 7 hmi tag database

[Mikemator]

Hi.

When exporting an hmi tag data base to .csv, there are two steps that excel comes up with in choosing the correct format, does anybody know the correct delimeter etc to use is,I dont want to corrupt the db,thanks.

 

[KuulKuum]

CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv)
If you modify the tag database in Excel be sure to "Save As" with the delimited format above.
When you finalize and need to close the Excel app, when asked to save your changes select "Don't Save"

 

[joseph_e2]

Excel's import dialog has multiple steps. After you select the delimiter (or multiple delimiters), you can see a preview of how it will look before actually opening it. Of course, you would want to be working with a copy.


I like to open the original in Notepad++ to see how it's arranged and then open my edited file next to it to verify it's the same format. For example, the C-More HMIs have a leading single quote in some cells that Excel doesn't handle consistently. You have to do a find & replace. There's a similar issue with Red Lion's Crimson software but I don't remember the details since we couldn't get them when we needed them so I haven't done a lot with them in the last couple of years.

 

[Mikemator]

Excel's import dialog has multiple steps. After you select the delimiter (or multiple delimiters), you can see a preview of how it will look before actually opening it. Of course, you would want to be working with a copy.


I like to open the original in Notepad++ to see how it's arranged and then open my edited file next to it to verify it's the same format. For example, the C-More HMIs have a leading single quote in some cells that Excel doesn't handle consistently. You have to do a find & replace. There's a similar issue with Red Lion's Crimson software but I don't remember the details since we couldn't get them when we needed them so I haven't done a lot with them in the last couple of years.

Hi Joseph, thanks for the reply,you too KuulKuum, does it matter what choice of delimeter one chooses,also if you widen the columns to see the data in them do you have to put them back to the same width again before saving?

Thanks in advance.

 

[joseph_e2]

When importing into Excel, you have to select the same delimiters as the exporting application used. In other words, if View Studio uses commas, you have to set Excel to use commas as well.


When you save the file back into csv format, formatting is stripped away, including column width, color, etc. It's always good to double check with a simple text editor before and after. Notepad in Windows is good for that. I use Notepad++ as well. A csv file is a plain text file, so you need a plain text editor to make sure Excel didn't add (or remove) characters. For example, a leading single quote tells Excel something (leave the rest of the text in the cell as-is instead of applying a number or date format to it) and it sometimes inserts an extra one or removes a necessary one.

 

[Mikemator]

When importing into Excel, you have to select the same delimiters as the exporting application used. In other words, if View Studio uses commas, you have to set Excel to use commas as well.


When you save the file back into csv format, formatting is stripped away, including column width, color, etc. It's always good to double check with a simple text editor before and after. Notepad in Windows is good for that. I use Notepad++ as well. A csv file is a plain text file, so you need a plain text editor to make sure Excel didn't add (or remove) characters. For example, a leading single quote tells Excel something (leave the rest of the text in the cell as-is instead of applying a number or date format to it) and it sometimes inserts an extra one or removes a necessary one.

Awesome thank you, that explains a lot!