Each .lvm file consists of a file header section, followed by the data arranged in segments. Each segment represents a call to the Write LabVIEW Measurement File Express VI. The header includes information about how the how the data should be parsed, such as the separator character used, as well as time format used.
Each segment can have each its own header section, which is useful if each segment comes from a different source, such as different channels. The Read LabVIEW Measurement File Express VI can read each segment individually from each .lvm file, or you can specify how much data to read from the file regardless of how the segments are divided. Each segment can contain a single reading, such as a temperature reading, or a large collection of data, such as the data that makes up a sine wave. Each header includes information about the data, such the time the data were acquired and the increment values for the x-axis of each segment.
Note: LVM 2.0 was introduced in LabVIEW 8.6. The only change is an additional field called Decimal_Separator, details of which can be found below
.lvm files are ASCII text files arranged in rows and columns. An end-of-line character, usually CR-LF, separates each row. A separator character, such as a tab, separates each column. The separator character also is defined in the header. Information within the file is in a tagged field format. Each piece of information is contained in a single row. The first column contains a tag that identifies the information. The second column contains the information. Each tag is unique and no tag is dependent upon information found in another tag. This facilitates easy line-by-line parsing of the file.
Note: To facilitate extending the .lvm file format while ensuring backwards compatibility, do not build parsers where information in one tag is dependent upon the information found in another tag.
Special tags divide the header information from the segment information. The ***End_of_Header*** tag indicates the end of either the file header or a segment header. A blank line can appear after the file header tag to make the file easier to read. However, a blank line cannot appear after the segment header because the first line after the segment header is assumed to be the column heading for the data. These column headings are arbitrary text. The fields in the header of the file determine the format of the headings and therefore, the order of the data columns. If, in the file header, X_Columns is No or One, a single label, such as X Value, appears in the first column of each segment. If X_Columns is Multi, x and y data labels alternate, with the x label appearing first. The data are in columns under the corresponding labels. For example, if you acquire a sine wave, a square wave, and a triangle wave, each segment consists of six columns with the following labels:
X_Value Sine X_Value Square X_Value Triangle
However, if No appears in the X_Columns, the first data column is empty. Each data column can have different numbers of data points.
After the last data column, a comment field appears. It contains an arbitrary text string that describes the data in the columns. To avoid conflicts with the separator and new line characters used to parse the file, use escape characters for this field. Refer to the Conventions section of this document for more information about using escape characters for this field.
The ***Start_Special*** tag indicates the start of a special segment of data and the ***End_Special*** tag indicates the end of the segment. Use these tags to indicate where segments of data begin and end that otherwise could not be processed on a line-by-line basis. For example, measurement data associated with a waveform can include special segments at any point, including the data section. Special blocks are the mechanism to add proprietary information to an .lvm file in such a way that a default reader can read the file. Most readers do not parse these tags. Simple readers are not required to parse special segments, but are required to ignore the segments correctly.
Data sections immediately follow segment headers. There can be multiple data sections after a single segment header, depending upon the format defined in the Multi_Headings header tag. The number of data points specified in the Samples section determines the number of data points in each segment.
In the following sections, each tag is defined by its identifier and possible values. The first line of a tag definition appears bold. If the tag is optional, the default value of the tag appears in the adjacent cell. A paragraph explaining the tag follows. The possible values of a tag are given as lists below the explanation. If necessary, each value is defined. For tags with numeric values, the values are specified as Integer, Float, or Number, depending on the numeric format required for the tag. For tags with string values, the values are specified as Text. The format of the text appears in the value explanation field. Use escape characters for arbitrary text strings so they do not include the file separator character. National Instruments recommends that you replace all tabs and commas and the new line in the text with a backslash followed by the ASCII character code in hexadecimal. For example, the string yes, no appears yes\2C no after you replace the comma. The following example shows a tag with a number value.
tag0 - required - A general number
This is an example of a tag that has set multiple values.
tag1 - optional, default Val1 - Only two possible values
The following sections list the tags in the order they appear in the .lvm file and defines each tag.
***End_of_Header*** - required - Indicates the end of the header.
Date - required - Date when the data collection started.
Description - optional : default <empty string> - Description of the data in the file.
LabVIEW Measurement - required - Identifies the file as a LabVIEW measurement file (.lvm). This tag always appears in column 0, row 0 (the first characters in the file).
Multi_Headings - optional : default No - Specifies whether each packet has a header.
Operator - optional - The default is an empty string.
Project - optional : default empty string - Name of the project associated with the data in the file.
Reader_Version - optional : default is same version as the Writer_Version - Version number of reader needed to parse the file correctly the file type. For example, a 1.0 version of a reader can parse the file until the file format changes so much that it is no longer backwards compatible. The Writer_Version supplies the actual file type version.
Separator - optional : default Tab - Character(s) used to separate each field in the file. You can use any character as a separator except the new line character. However, base-level readers usually use tabs or commas as delimiters. Escape other text fields in the file to prevent the separator character(s) from appearing as text rather than delimiters. To use the character(s) specified as a delimiter requires that you know what that character(s) is. To find out what the separator character(s) is, read the entire header block and search for the keyword Separator. The character(s) that follows the keyword is the separator. To parse the file faster, place this field in the header after the LabVIEW Measurement ID field. To read in the entire header block, read until you find the ***End_of_Header*** tag.
Decimal_Separator - required for version 2.0. - The default is the decimal separator of the system. Symbol used to separate the integral part of a number from the fractional part. A decimal separator usually is a dot or a comma.
Time - required - Time at which the start of a data series occurred.
HH:MM:SS.XXX - The format is the same, regardless of the system time configuration. The SS.XXX is the number of seconds since the last minute as a floating-point number. The number of digits in the fractional seconds is arbitrary and can be zero. If there are no fractional seconds, the decimal point is optional.
Writer_Version - required - Version number of the file type written by the software.
X_Columns - optional : default One - Specifies which x-values are saved.
Tags that do not depend upon the Channels tag should appear before the Channels tag. Typically, the Notes tag appears first, followed by the Test_* and UUT_* tags and any special blocks. The Channels tag follows, then any other tags used before the ***End_of_Header*** tag and the data.
***End_of_Header*** - required - Indicates the end of the header.
Channels - required - Number of channels in the packet. This field must occur before any fields that depend on it. For example, the Samples field has entries for each channel, so the reader must know the number of channels to properly parse it.
Date - required - Date the data set in the segment started. There are separate dates for each data set. The dates are placed in the same column as the y data of the data set.
Delta_X - required - The increment between points on the x-axis. The .lvm format assumes all data is equally spaced in the x-dimension. There is one value for each data set in the packet. The value appears in the same column as the y-values for the data.
Notes - optional : The default is an empty string - Comments the user adds to the segment header. A segment header does not necessarily exist for every packet. Use the Comment field at the far right of the data for specific notes about each segment.
Samples - required - Number of samples in each waveform in the packet.
Test_Name - optional : default <empty string> - Name of the test that acquired the segment of data.
Test_Numbers - optional : default empty string - Test numbers in the Test_Series that acquired the data in this segment.
Test_Series - optional : default <empty string> - Series of the test performed to get the data in this packet.
Time - required - Time of day when you started acquiring the data set in the segment. Each data set includes a different time. The times are placed in the same column as the y data of the data set.
UUT_M/N - optional : default empty string - Model number of the unit under test.
UUT_Name - optional : default empty string - Name or instrument class of the unit under test.
UUT_S/N - optional : default <empty string> - Serial number of the unit under test.
X0 - required - The initial value for the x-axis. Each data set in the packet has a single X0 value. The value appears in the same column as the y-values for the data.
X_Dimension - optional : default Time - Unit type of the x-axis. The actual data does not need to be in SI units. The X_Unit_Label field indicates the actual units of the data.
X_Unit_Label - optional : default SI units from X_Dimension - Labels for the units used in plotting the x data. The label appears in the same column as the y data to which it corresponds. You do not have to fill in all unit labels.
Y_Dimension - optional : default Electric_Potential - Unit type of the y-axis. The actual data does not need to be in SI units. The Y_Unit_Label field indicates the actual units of the data.
Y_Unit_Label - optional : default SI units from Y_Dimension - Labels for the units used in plotting the y data. The label appears in the same column as the y data to which it corresponds. You do not have to fill in all unit labels.
Special blocks start with the ***Start_Special*** tag and end with the ***End_Special*** tag. These tags indicate to the reader that it can ignore the blocks with no error. Use the special blocks to add proprietary data to the .lvm file. All data in a special block is encapsulated and base-level readers ignore the data within the tags.
Special blocks have only one common format specification. The first row after the start tag must have the identifier (ID) of the block in the first column. The identifier then determines the format of the block. The following are special blocks already defined. These are usually specific to an application.
Binary Data
ID: Binary_Data
Normal Location: Replaces data in a packet. Appears immediately after the packet column headers.
Designed For: Scope-SFP, any application that stores binary waveform files.
Intended Use: Use of the .lvm format as a documentation tool for binary files. Note that using this special block breaks most readers because it replaces the data in the packet. The binary file is a flat sequence of binary numbers representing a single channel. This special block describes the format of the data and the linear scaling parameters needed to reconstruct it.
Format: The first row contains only the ID. The remainder of the block follows standard .lvm format, with a tag-value sequence. The tags are as follows.
Segment Notes
ID: Packet_Notes
Normal Location: Segment Header
Designed For: any application
Intended Use: Notes field that is more flexible than the Comment field in individual segments.
Format: The first row contains only the ID. The rest of the data is completely arbitrary. Design the formatting for use in a spreadsheet. For example, to create channel specific notes, put the channel y data header in column 0 and the note in column 1 on each row.
Waveform Scalar Measure
ID: Wfm_Sclr_Meas
Normal Location: Segment Header
Designed For: Scope-SFP, soft front panel for NI-Scope devices
Intended Use: Recording scalar measurements taken on the waveforms in the packet
Format: The first row contains only the ID. The data is subdivided into blocks corresponding to the different data channels, each of which has measurement data. Each block starts with a row containing the y channel header for the data. The next row contains the header for the measurements. The header consists of a blank first column, then the following text strings in the succeeding columns - Value, Units, Hi_Lvl, Mid_Lvl, Lo_Lvl, Lvl_Units, Units_Method, and Other_Channel. The following list defines these strings.
Each line following the header in a measurement block corresponds to an individual measurement. The first column contains the measurement. Each succeeding column contains the values for the headers listed above. The following measurements have been defined.