Logging Sensor Data to File

Keep your eyes where they should be... on the road! Unless you have a friend in the passenger seat, it will be pretty difficult and very dangerous to use the Sensor Grid while driving. ProScan allows you to log selected sensors to a text file so that you can review the data while you're not driving!

Instructions

1. Establish a connection with a vehicle.
2. Select the Sensor Grid tool from the tool selection combobox.
3. Put a checkmark beside each of the available sensors that you'd like to monitor. When checked, the sensor should immediately appear in the grid. It doesn't matter which units you have selected to monitor. The log file will always contain both English and Metric units.
4. Click the Record button to begin logging the selected sensors. You may click the Pause button at any time to temporarily halt the logging process, and clicking Record once again will resume logging.
5. When you are ready to save the logged data, click the Stop button.
6. A Save As Dialog will appear. Simply specify a name for the log file, and choose the file format to use. ProScan allows you to save a log as CSV (comma-separated values) or as XML (extensible markup language).

CSV Log File

If you saved your log as comma-separated values, each line of the text file represents a sensor reading. Each line will be in the following format:

Timestamp, Sensor_Name, English_Value, English_Units, Metric_Value, Metric_Units

You can simply open the log file in a text editor such as Notepad to review the data, or you can even import it into Excel for advanced manipulation.

XML Log File

XML is a simple, yet extremely powerful text format. Those who are familiar with XML will love ProScan's ability to generate logs in this format. The XML logs will make it a breeze to extract and process sensor data.

NOTE: The speed of most OBD-II connections is relatively slow. Therefore, you should keep in mind that the more sensors you select to monitor simultaneously, the slower the refresh rate will be. You can attempt to improve the refresh rate by specifying a shorter timeout value for the ELM microcontroller under ProScan Preferences.