Writing data to an XLS file without Excel with help of "Local database" plug-in

Task:

I have a piece of equipment that transmits serial data to a terminal program. Can the data be sent directly to Excel?

Requirements:

• Advanced Serial Excel export (ASDL) Professional or a trial version;
• ASCII data parser and query plug-in for the Excel export;
• DDE server plug-in for Advanced Serial Excel export (optional);
• Local database plug-in for Advanced Serial Excel export.

It is assumed that:

You've prepared parser items for export.

For this tutorial all items were prepared in the previous part.

Also you may read other examples:

• Parsing data from barcode scanner and writing to a log file with a date/time stamp (data at fixed positions, no data packet signatures);
• Processing data from barcode scanner (data at fixed positions, data packets with the end signature);
• Parsing data with help of regular expressions (complex data format, regular expressions, data filter);
• Receiving and parsing data from aircraft engine monitor (usage example, custom data parser);
• Processing data from the lab equipment (simple data format, regular expressions);
• Receiving and parsing data from Garmin Geko301 GPS receiver (simple data format, data at fixed positions, data packets with both signatures);
• Parsing data from the filling machine (simple data format, delimited data, data packets with the end signature, data filter);
• Parsing and processing data from PBX (simple data format, data at fixed positions, data packets with the end signature, data filter);
• Logging and parsing data from an intellectual pressure measuring device (sending requests to the device, simple data format, data at fixed positions, data packets with the end signature, data filter);
• Serial data acquisition in the Checkweigher Management Information System (complex data format, regular expressions, filtering data);
• Serial port data aggregation. Combine a data of two different com-ports (simple data format, data at fixed positions, data packets with the end signature, data filter);
• Weight data logger. Parsing weight data from scales (simple data format, data at fixed positions, data packets with the end signature, data filter).
• Send data to a port from a file (data requests, send data by a schedule).

Solution:

All parser items are now ready for export to an Excel spreadsheet. Please, open the configuration window of the "Local database" plug-in (fig.1).

Fig.1. Excel export. Selecting a database.

Just select a database type at the field #1, input a path, where new files will be being created in the field #2 and specify a file name prefix in the field #3.

It's all other options are optional. On the second page "Data formats" you can specify a representation of your data. Because all our variables have the "string" data type, therefore it is unnecessary in our case to change format settings. On the next page "Columns order" you can specify, how variables will be exported to a spreadsheet. If you will not specify a columns order, then the program will write all variables in the following order: internal variables (FULL_DATA_PACKET, DATA_PACKET and DATE_TIME_STAMP), parser variables, in the order, as you've specified in the parser configuration.