Importing Third Party Files

Origin imports many widely-used third party data formats, including pClamp, ETAS INCA MDF, and NetCDF. Most of Origin's third party file import is handled by the discrete X-Functions listed in the following table:

* Supports partial file import. See "Partial Importing of ASCII and Third-Party Files" in this chapter.

Import filters for all supported file types ship with Origin and those filters support the following import methods:

• Use the Import menu and choose a file type to open the associated dialog box. If you can't find the file type in the menu, click File, point to Import, and then click Customize... to open the Import Menu Customization dialog. Use this dialog to add the file type back to the Import menu.
• Drag-and-drop the files into Origin workspace. This method is discussed in detail in Drag-and-Drop Basics in the Origin Help file.
• Call the import X-Function from LabTalk script.

File Metadata

When you import a file, the file's date, name, and path are saved to the target workbook. Some third-party files contain additional metadata that is saved upon file import. For example, Origin will save time format information from an NI DIAdem .DAT file.

You can view the metadata associated with an imported file in the following ways:

• View the information in the Workbook Organizer. To open the Organizer, right-click the workbook title bar and click Show Organizer in the menu.
• View the information in the Insert Info Variables dialog box. Metadata associated with a given workbook may be inserted into a text object in that book, or into plots of workbook data, with a shortcut key combination. For more information see "Inserting Variables Extracted from Imported ASCII Files into Text Labels" in the "Graphing" Chapter under "Adding Text and Drawing Objects: Advanced Concepts."
• For basic information, enter the following script command in the Command Window:

page.info = <ENTER>

• For more complete information, enter the following script command in the Command Window:

impinfo <ENTER>

• View information in the Column Properties dialog box, User Tree tab. To open the Properties dialog box, double-click the column heading, then click the User Tree tab. Origin stores file information here but the tree can be edited by the user.

With some files (e.g., .WAV and Thermo .SPC/.CGM), parameters read from the file headers are added to the target worksheet for graphing or analysis purposes. For instance, the sampling interval of a .WAV file is written to the header row of the target worksheet. When you plot the imported data, the sampling interval is used to set the X axis increment.

Import Mode

For most supported third party files, you can set the import range using controls in the import dialog boxes. Import Mode options are:

• Replace Existing Data: The data that exists in the target window will be cleared on data import.
• Start New Rows: Append new rows, as needed.
• Start New Columns: Append new columns, as needed.
• Start New Sheets: Create a new sheet for each imported file.
• Start New Books: Create a new book for each imported file.

Secondary X-Function controls

When you import pCLAMP files, you can opt to open a special pCLAMP plotting panel on the left-side of the target workbook.

This is done by selecting Show Control Panel for Making Plots under the Import Options branch of the imppClamp dialog box. This panel provides controls for such things as plotting channels and episodes, or display of an auxiliary plot control panel on the graph window. The auxiliary panel's Pick Value Line (see the picture below) control allows you to drag a line on the graph to read plot values and save them to a workbook.

For more specific information on importing supported third party files, see the X-Function Help file (click Help, and then click X-Functions, or press F1 while the dialog box is open).

For direct access to the documentation from the Command Window, type the following at the command prompt:

help X-FunctionName

If you have a third party file that isn't currently supported, you may be able to develop your own import routine using the Origin Import Wizard (requires some Origin C coding ability). For more information, see "Programming File Import" later in this chapter.