Load analog in settings

Hi,

I know it is possible to load math channels and displays from file which is nice, but I cannot seem to find a way to import settings for the analog in, e.g. sensor, description or name of channel. N.B. I do not want to store this in the sensor and then just set the sensor every time as the sensor can be used in multiple places and the numbers of sensors in a setup file can be large.

In my case I work with a generic setup file for all measurement locations which all will use different sensors and different naming conventions for the analog in channels. To avoid storing tens or hundreds of setups I'd like to import these settings from e.g. a dxd or dxz file from the same location before measurement starts. Is it possible?

Regards,

Benjamin

I've been begging for this feature (or a similar feature) since day one.

Similar to you, if I understand your scenario, I need a way to calibrate and scale a transducer on one machine, then hand off the physical transducer and scaling info to another user/system (sometimes in a different region). Currently there is no EASY way to export/import just the transducer info without copying the entire sensor database over to the other machine, which... wait for it... overwrites their existing database.

I work with other systems which handle sensor info as standalone files. You save the sensor as a "sensor file" from there you can USB, network-transfer, or email the file to another user. They copy it to their local machine's sensor folder which is selectively read in by the system. See screenshot of said-system's example sensor file.

Application example: We design and build our own load cells for specific test applications. I calibrate them just as one would in a Metrology lab. I have no clean (ISO-traceable) way of handing off this scaled sensor data to the other groups; excitation, range, sensitivity, description, bridge configuration, etc (TEDs is not a solution for us).

This is an area I believe needs improvement. Part of what makes Dewesoft great is the software business-model. It encourages distribution of the software to anyone in the facility. But it's not always easy to share information between systems.

Sorry for the rant.

Thanks for the addition.

My workaround on that have been to work with a master sensor database which is being sent around during calibration... We are just in the beginning of forming our measurement setup and this is so far only for internal use so no need for real traceability etc. But I agree that it would be nice with a proper database tool for sensors including historic calibration data and easy combination of databases etc.

Just found a relatively simple workaround for now for the analog in settings. I will create setup files for the most commonly used scenarios and then store them as xml with only the section of analog in settings saved in a text file. In this way i can change my used setup (stored as xml as well) in a text editor before opening by manually copying and replacing the text segment in the correct position.

This is likely not failsafe and I will evaluate it but it would be nice with a proper functionality in Dewesoft doing this.

Benjamin

Dear Benjamin and Lemmy,

there is another workaround we would recommend you for copying the information and settings of the sensor.

First, you will have to enable the DSGrid: Allow paste values and restart Dewesoft.

Then you will be able to simply copy-paste the channels from one setup file to another, as shown in the GIF below:

I hope it is useful for your projects.

Best regard.

Rok

Hi, that does the trick, except it doesn't copy the Sensor S/N column and hence all my traceability is lost. If it would have copied that column too (which my pure copy-paste the Analog In element of the xml file does) it would have worked ok. All columns to the right are changed but there is no record of which sensor that sensitivity comes from which is problematic.

Benjamin

@Rok Kmetič

Neat feature but this seems buggy at best. When pasting to a new setup file, some/not all fields carry over properly. Other fields get filled in with arbitrary values.

Even in your screen capture GIF not all of your values in the Range column carried over properly.

I created a screenshot image showing just how much of a mashup the paste function is on my end.

I wouldn't dare use this as a reliable way to transfer sensor information.

Also, what exactly differentiates copy "visible" rows from copy "all" rows?

Visible I would expect to copy only user-selected rows but that's not the case. If you paste to a setup file that already has sensor info you will overwrite anything in its path.

EDIT:

Out of curiosity, I pasted the clipboard to an Excel file and it appears to paste all the right values. Its the Copying to a new setup file where things get weird.

What's on the clipboard...

vs. what gets pasted:

The amplifiers and sensors can not be copied, because as you figured out this only copies and pastes the text. The paste function cannot change the amplifier and select the sensor.

@Benjamin in your first post you have asked: 'd like to import these settings from e.g. a dxd or dxz file from the same location before measurement starts. Is it possible?

Did you try using the ''Use for measure'' function?

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Or it is also possible to manipulate the channel information within an XML file. Please see the video for the workaround.
Steps that were taken:

1. Copy the desired channel
2. open the Notepad and paste the information into it
3. change the name and save it as an XML
4. open the new XML file in Excell and change the sensors name for example
5. save it as XML
6. check with Notepad++ if the change was successful
7. select all the data and copy it
8. ''paste special'' the new information in a channel

I hope this is useful for you.

Best Regards.

Rok

Hello Rok,

Thanks for your reply. I don't think the copy paste method is feasible but would be if implemented as a feature where all channels could be copied with a command and this could be done in e.g. the sequencer or alternatively in the setups or even a python code.

I do think that the "Use for measure" could be useful though! I had not seen it before and will take a closer look during summer. It could at least be of some help.

BR,

Benjamin

Hi again,

I'm still, three years later, struggling with this. We are forced to having soo many multiples of all our setup files that are used in different test sites (doing the same thing, but at different locations and with different sensors, some stationary some portable). TEDS on all sensors would of course be a neat way to solve this. But that investment is not something I can easily justify.

Use for measure doesn't work in our case, it has to be possible to automate. Also, it didn't maintain the sensor S/Ns for non-TEDS sensors.

Currently, everything is being run from a big sequencer file, loading the correct setups for the user depending on their location and type of measurement. The only thing I really need is to be able to select a sensor from the sensor db to a loaded setup file in the sequencer, or apply actions to a loaded setup file based on a reference file, where the analog sensors IDs (not settings, those still have to be read from the updated sensor db, else new reference files would have to be created every time some update is made to the sensor database) from the reference file are applied to the loaded base setup file.

Otherwise, as written in another recent post, I would have to create new setup files for all locations as soon as I implement something new in the dxs.

BR

Dear Benjamin,

I have tested the Copy & Paste special in 2026.2 and can confirm that it now works even with the sensors serial number.

Please see the attached video.

The same channel information can be copied into a new setup.

Can you explain the workflow with the sequencer?

Is it required that the sequencer copy-pastes the channel data?

BR, Rok