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Abstract
The IEEE 519-2014 harmonic standard calls for several advanced data analysis procedures. Some of these, especially when combining with data from other devices, may be performed in Excel or Matlab. In other cases, recorded ProVision data extraction may be needed for an advanced analysis involving multiple data sets or data sources. For these needs, Power Monitors has had a tool for many years that extracts data from a ProVision recording and exports it as a CSV file. The bulk CSV export tool has been updated, renamed, and now is included in the ProVision installer. This paper will give an introduction to the tool, list the update changes, and give examples how to use the tool.
ProVision CSV Exporter
ProVision recordings can contain large amounts of data. While ProVision makes it easy to visualize data, sometimes it’s necessary to export this data into a standard format for combining with other sources or importing into other tools. This CSV data can then be imported so it can be analyzed or stored in other tools.
Data can be exported by creating a custom graph/report template, generating the report, and exporting it. While this method is fine for ad hoc exports or small data sets, it can quickly become tedious with large dataset and this process in not able to be automated.
CSV (Comma-separated values) files are a common way to exchange data and many applications can import them. The ProVision CSV Exporter can be used to extract data from recording with a custom template and save this data to CSV files without the need to run ProVision. For an example, see Figure 1.
Figure 1. ProVision CSV Exporter GUI
To export data with the ProVision CSV Exporter, a few selections have to be made.
The user needs to select a ProVision recording file (.xsb), an exported custom
graph/report template file (.evm), and an output directory. Note that when the exported custom graph/report template file (.evm) is loaded, it is automatically parsed by the export tool and the available templates are displayed for selection. At least one of these templates must be selected for export.
To generate the export(s) from the GUI (Figure 2) the user makes the selections and presses the “Generate CSV File” button. This automatically extracts the data for each selected template and saves it to a file. The filename is a combination of both the selected recording name and the selected template name, and it will have a CSV extension.
Figure 2. ProVision CSV Exporter GUI with sample selections
New Features and a New Name
The ProVision CSV Exporter has a new name. It is now called ProVision CSV Exporter. The original name was XSB_CSV.
The ProVision installer now installs the ProVision CSV Exporter along with ProVision. There is no longer a need for a separate installer just for this tool. The ProVision installer adds a shortcut for the ProVision CSV Exporter to the start menu. See Figure 3 for an example. This menu is under the start button → all Programs → ProVision.
Figure 3. Windows Start Menu including the new ProVision CSV Exporter tool entry
This tool has been updated to support running it from the command line. Running the ProVision CSV Exporter from the command line allows automating the export process. When running the ProVision CSV Exporter from the command line, the same information is required as in the GUI.
The following command line options are available:
-h This option displays the available options and exits.
-r recording Gives the recording to extract data from. This option can be used multiple times to extract the data from multiple recordings.
-e evm file This is the path to the EVM file to use. All templates in the EVM file are extracted.
-c This indicates to extract as a CSV file.
-o dir This is the output directory. All exported files are placed in this directory. If this option is not given then the csv files are placed in the same directory as the recording.
The following is an example command line:
ProVisionCSVExporter -r C:\recording\Revolution_61147_12-16-2015.xsb -e “C:\ProgramData\Power Monitors, Inc \ProVision\Common\Export Templates\harmonics.evm” -o C:\csv -c
Figure 4 shows this command in a Windows command prompt. This will export the passed in recording using every template in the passed in evm file and place the resulting CSV files in the output directory given. Figure 5 shows the output in Windows explorer from Figure 4.
Figure 4. Command prompt showing the ProVision CSV Exporter tool running
Figure 5. Directory showing created files from the ProVision CSV Exporter tool run in Figure 4
Generating EVM Custom Templates
A default set of EVM files are included with the ProVision CSV Exporter when it is installed with ProVision. While the default set covers most common export needs, any saved ProVision custom graph/report template can be saved as a evm file and used with the ProVision CSV Exporter.
In ProVision, under the Graphs and Reports node in the Explorer Tree, select the templates to include. Multiple templates can be selected by holding down the Control key while clicking them with the mouse. It is recommended that each template have a specific name and title so it can be easily differentiated from the others when used in the utility. Right-click the selected templates and, from the resultant context menu, choose the “Send by E-mail” option. In the dialogue box that appears, choose the option for “Save to an object you could send later”.
Then, enter a path and filename. This creates a zip archive containing the generated EVM file. This EVM file can be extracted from the archive and used by the utility. ProVision can be used to create, modify, and export templates and the ProVision CSV Exporter can export data from the templates.
Conclusion
ProVision recordings can contain huge amounts of data. Sometimes this data is needed for analysis outside of ProVision, and a means is needed to export this data. The ProVision CSV Exporter can be used to do this export. The new command line options can be used to automate the data export. A default set of export templates is provided with the ProVision CSV Exporter.
David Horning
Software Developer
dhorning@powermonitors.com
https://www.powermonitors.com
(800) 296-4120
