SignalExpress Tips and Tricks

SignalExpress is a powerful, interactive software tool for design and test engineers performing benchtop measurements. There are more than 75 built-in measurement and analysis functions inside of SignalExpress for acquiring, comparing, automating, and storing measurements, and many of the features and capabilities of Signal Express can be easily overlooked. This document contains several useful tips and tricks to assist users in getting the most out of SignalExpress and also includes links to some other great resources on noteworthy SignalExpress topics.

• The 'always on' capability of virtual instruments in a benchtop measurement environment like SignalExpress allows users to interactively drag signals to the data viewer and insert steps into a project while the project is running. To experiment with this functionality, simply open up a blank project, press the 'Run' button, and build your project while it runs.
  
  
• The Execution Separator (-----------------/\/----------------) between two steps in SignalExpress indicates that the two steps will be executed in parallel (i.e. there is no data dependency between the steps).
  
  
• Generate signals defined with the NI Analog Waveform Editor in SignalExpress by using the 'NI FGEN Arbitrary Waveform Generator' step and by selecting the 'Waveform from file' option in the configuration dialog box.
  
  
• Use the 'Wait on previous step' option on the NI SCOPE step and NI-DAQmx Acquire steps to implement software synchronization between the two steps and improve the visibility of the signal of interest. The 'Auto Setup' button on the NI SCOPE step is also very useful!
  
  
• Use the built-in trigger options on the NI-DAQmx, NI-SCOPE, and NI-FGEN steps to quickly synchronize multiple devices. For example, using the NI-SCOPE Acquire step, select the 'Digital' trigger option from the 'Type' drop down menu of the 'Trigger' tab. Then select the appropriate source trigger, such as 'Dev 2 (PXI-5122)/Reference Trigger' from the 'Source' drop-down menu. See shipping example '6-3 Synchronized Digitizers' for more details (located in the Program Files\National Instruments\SignalExpress\Examples\6 - Instruments folder).
  
  
• Create and use DAQmx Global Channels directly from SignalExpress. To create a DAQmx Global Channel in SignalExpress, select 'Tools>>Create NI-DAQmx Global Channel' from the Express Workbench menu. Generate or acquire data using a DAQmx Global Channel in SignalExpress by enabling the 'Use Global Channel' option below the 'Device' information section of the DAQmx Generate or DAQmx Acquire Step Setup dialog boxes.
  
  
• In addition to dragging or saving signals to file, SignalExpress also provides the ability to export signals to a printer or to save them as an image file to be used in a report or email to a colleague. Right-click on any data view in SignalExpress and select 'Export>>Print Display' or 'Export>>Save Image' to view this convenient functionality.
  
  
• Display and configure multiple steps at once inside SignalExpress by selecting the "Lock to Step" option in the top right hand corner of a step configuration dialog. This temporarily locks the configuration dialog to a particular step so that you can then open a configuration dialog for another step and control the settings on both steps simultaneously while viewing the resulting changes to the signals in the data view window behind the configuration panels.
  
  
• You can expand the functionality of Signal Express by using the Control Design and/or System ID Assistants along side Signal Express in the Express Workbench framework. Signal Express, the Control Design Assistant, and System ID Assistant each install separately, but can be used together in a single project since they all share the Express Workbench environment. Each one provides a different set of functionality.

Related Links:
Determining the Phase Response of a Frequency Sweep in SignalExpress
Comparing Signals from Different Sources in SignalExpress
Third Party Instrument Control in Signal Express
VI Guidelines for User Defined Steps In SignalExpress
Is the LabVIEW Development System Required for VIs Called From SignalExpress?
IVI Instrument Steps in SignalExpress
Using NI-HSDIO Steps in SignalExpress 1.1
Online SignalExpress Demo

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