Manual 1.0.58Download PDF

Chapter 2The First Five Minutes

This chapter walks you through the steps from downloading LOGADEC to displaying a graph of the sample data.

1DownloadSave the zip 2ExtractRight-click → Extract All 3Open the HTMLin Chrome / Edge 4Load a fileCSV/Excel → Import 5Show seriesCheck boxes / Series tab
Figure 2-1The steps to your first graph

2.1Download and extract

  1. On https://logadec.com, click [Download free edition]. On the download page, read the End User License Agreement, agree to it, and then save the zip file (named like LOGADEC-1.0.33.zip; the numbers indicate the version).
  2. Right-click the saved zip file and choose [Extract All] (on Windows).
  3. You are ready when the extracted folder contains the following files.
File Contents
logadec_1_0_33.html (the numbers indicate the version) The LOGADEC application. Open this file
EULA.md The End User License Agreement
README.txt A short description of how to start
THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md, licenses/ Notices and full license texts for the third-party software included in LOGADEC

2.2Open LOGADEC

Double-click logadec_1_0_33.html (the numbers indicate the version) in the extracted folder. Your browser opens and shows the LOGADEC screen.

The screen right after startup
Figure 2-2The screen right after startup
  1. 1CSV/Excel: Selects a file to load
  2. 2Demo: Creates demo data for practice (click Generate to create it)

2.3Load a file

  1. Click CSV/Excel at the top left of the screen and select the file to load. You can also drag and drop the file onto the graph. For practice, use the sample data sample_endurance_run_en.csv.
  2. The import screen opens. LOGADEC examines the contents of the file and automatically detects the header row, the unit row, where the data starts, and which column to use as the X axis.
  3. If the detected result matches the preview and looks correct, click Import.
The import screen
Figure 2-3The import screen
  1. 1Import preview: The beginning of the file. Colors indicate the X-axis column, the data columns, the header row, the unit row, and where the data starts
  2. 2Columns to show: Selects the columns to load. Click to toggle selection; Shift + click selects a range
  3. 3Advanced: The results of automatic detection. If anything is wrong, open this and correct it
  4. 4Data source name: The name given to the loaded data. It appears after each series name
  5. 5Import: Loads the data with these settings

2.4Display series

Right after loading, nothing is shown on the graph. The loaded series are listed in the sidebar on the right side of the screen. Check the series you want to display.

Right after loading (no series displayed yet)
Figure 2-4Right after loading (no series displayed yet)
  1. 1The list of loaded series. Checked series are shown on the graph
  2. 2Select all: Displays all series in the list

When you click Select all, all series are overlaid on one graph. A vertical axis is provided for each Y range (series with the same range share one axis), and colors show which axis belongs to which series.

All series displayed (Overlay view)
Figure 2-5All series displayed (Overlay view)

2.5Make the graph easier to read

Split items into separate tiers

With many series, an overlaid display becomes hard to read. Click Stacked at the top of the screen to give each series its own tier, aligned on the same time axis.

Items in separate tiers (Stacked)
Figure 2-6Items in separate tiers (Stacked)
  1. 1Overlay: Overlays the series on one graph
  2. 2Stacked: Shows each series in its own tier

Zoom and pan

You can zoom and move the graph with the mouse alone.

Action Effect
Wheel Zooms X in or out around the mouse position
Drag Moves in the X direction
Click the number at the left or right end of the X axis Enter the X range as numbers
Click a tick number on the Y axis Enter the Y range as numbers

Other operations, such as Y zoom, are described in Chapter 5.

The next figure shows the sample data zoomed in to 360–420 seconds. You can see that vibration and current rise between 380 and 400 seconds.

View zoomed in to 360–420 seconds
Figure 2-7View zoomed in to 360–420 seconds

2.6Try it with demo data

Even without your own data, you can create practice data: click Demo, choose Type and Series in the pane bar that appears, and click Generate (the created series are not displayed at first). You can work with demo data just like loaded data.

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