LabPlot/GettingStarted/YourFirstDataImportVisualisation: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 19:43, 8 January 2022

Import and visualization of data with LabPlot can be done in 5 easy steps

Create a new project

The first step is to create a new project by selecting "File/New" from the main menu, if it is not created already:

This and many other common actions can be invoked from the main menu, a context menu, a toolbar button, or even via a keyboard shortcut.

After the new project is created, you'll see Project Explorer on the left, showing the structure of the project, and also Properties Explorer on the right, showing the properties of the object currently selected in the project explorer.

The project is still empty and we're now going to add some content to it.

Create a new spreadsheet

The data in LabPlot is organized and stored in Data Containers. In this particular example, we're dealing with data organized in columns (one column per variable), so Spreadsheet is the appropriate data container to import such data into.

To create a new spreadsheet, choose "Add New/Spreadsheet" from the context menu in the Project Explorer.

A new spreadsheet will be created with the default settings.

Now we are ready to import the data into this new spreadsheet.

Import data

To import the data from a file, choose "Import/Import From File" from the main menu.

In the "Import Data" dialog box that will appear, specify the location of the file to be imported and other relevant settings (e.g. the separating characters).

Navigate to the "Preview" tab in this dialog box to check whether the structure of the data will be properly read with the current settings.

Click the "OK" button to import the data into the spreadsheet. After the import, you'll see it in the spreadsheet.

Visualize data

The imported data contains signals from multiple sensors that were placed on a multicopter. We want to visualize the acceleration in the x-direction. For this we select the column containing the data we want to plot and choose "Plot Data/xy-curve" from the context menu of this column.

The "Plot Spreadsheet Data" dialog box will appear.

LabPlot automatically assigned the "Time" column to the X-axis. We keep all the other settings as shown below in order to visualize the data in a new plot on a new Worksheet.

Once the plot is created, you can change its appearance by clicking on the plot or on one of its identifiable parts and then modifying their properties in the Properties Explorer.

Export results

To export the plot as an image, choose "Export" from the main menu and specify the location of the output file and other relevant settings:

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Import of the data and its visualization can be achieved with a couple of mouse clicks in LabPlot:
+Import and visualization of data with LabPlot can be done in 5 easy steps
+{{#ev:youtube|Ngf1g3S5C0A|800|center}}
 == Create a new project ==
-After the start of LabPlot, create a new project by selecting "File/New" from the main menu or alternatively by clicking on the corresponding icon in the toolbar:
+The first step is to create a new project by selecting "File/New" from the main menu, if it is not created already:
-After the new project was created, you'll see [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/Interface/ProjectExplorer|Project Explorer]] showing the structure of the project as well as [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/Interface/PropertiesExplorer|Properties Explorer]] showing the properties of the currently selected object in the project explorer. The project is empty yet and we're going to add some more content to it now.
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started New Project.png|800px|frameless|center]]
+This and many other common actions can be invoked from the main menu, a context menu, a toolbar button, or even via a keyboard shortcut.
+After the new project is created, you'll see [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/Interface/ProjectExplorer|Project Explorer]] on the left, showing the structure of the project, and also [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/Interface/PropertiesExplorer|Properties Explorer]] on the right, showing the properties of the object currently selected in the project explorer.
+The project is still empty and we're now going to add some content to it.
 == Create a new spreadsheet ==
-The data is organized and stored in LabPlot in the data containers Spreadsheet and Matrix. For the data we want to import and visualize in this example we're dealing with the data organized in columns (one variable per column) in the original source file. The spreadsheet is the appropriate data container to import such data into. To create a new spreadsheet, select from the content menu in the project explorer "Add New/Spreadsheet" (or alternatively from the corresponding items in the main menu or in the toolbar):
+The data in LabPlot is organized and stored in [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/DataContainers|Data Containers]]. In this particular example, we're dealing with data organized in columns (one column per variable), so [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/DataContainers/Spreadsheet|Spreadsheet]] is the appropriate data container to import such data into.
-You'll get a new spreadsheet created with its default settings:
+To create a new spreadsheet, choose "Add New/Spreadsheet" from the context menu in the Project Explorer.
-We're prepared now to import the data into this new spreadsheet.
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started New Spreadsheet.png|800px|frameless|center]]
+A new spreadsheet will be created with the default settings.
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started New Spreadsheet Created.png|800px|frameless|center]]
+Now we are ready to import the data into this new spreadsheet.
 == Import data ==
-To import the data from an external file select "Import from File" in the main menu:
-In the "Import File" Dialog, specify the location of the file to be imported and the settings for the import like the separating character, etc.:
+To import the data from a file, choose "Import/Import From File" from the main menu.
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Import From File.png|800px|frameless|center]]
+In the "Import Data" dialog box that will appear, specify the location of the file to be imported and other relevant settings (e.g. the separating characters).
-Navigate to the "Preview" tab in this dialog to check whether the structure of the data will be properly read with the current settings:
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Import Dialog.png|500px|frameless|center]]
-Click on the Ok-button to import the data into the spreadsheet. After the import you'll see your data in the spreadsheet:
+Navigate to the "Preview" tab in this dialog box to check whether the structure of the data will be properly read with the current settings.
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Import Dialog Preview.png|500px|frameless|center]]
+Click the "OK" button to import the data into the spreadsheet. After the import, you'll see it in the spreadsheet.
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started After Import.png|800px|frameless|center]]
 == Visualize data ==
-The imported data contains signals from multiple sensors that were placed on a multicopter. We want to visualize the acceleration in the x-direction. For this we select the column containing this data and select "Plot Data/xy-curve" from the context menu of this column:
-The "Plot Data" Dialog will appear:
+The imported data contains signals from multiple sensors that were placed on a multicopter. We want to visualize the acceleration in the x-direction. For this we select the column containing the data we want to plot and choose "Plot Data/xy-curve" from the context menu of this column.
-LabPlot automatically recognized the column "Time" that will be used for x. We keep all the other setting as shown on this screenshot to visualize the data in a new plot on a new worksheet:
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Plot Data.png|800px|frameless|center]]
-Once the plot is created you can modify its appearance by clicking on the plot or one of its children and modifying the properties in the properties explorer.
+The "Plot Spreadsheet Data" dialog box will appear.
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Plot Data Dialog.png|400px|frameless|center]]
+LabPlot automatically assigned the "Time" column to the X-axis. We keep all the other settings as shown below in order to visualize the data in a new plot on a new [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/Worksheet|Worksheet]].
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Worksheet.png|800px|frameless|center]]
+Once the plot is created, you can change its appearance by clicking on the plot or on one of its identifiable parts and then modifying their properties in the Properties Explorer.
 == Export results ==
-To export the produced plot, click on the Export button and specify the location of the file and its format:
+To export the plot as an image, choose "Export" from the main menu and specify the location of the output file and other relevant settings:
+[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Export Dialog.png|400px|frameless|center]]