View source for LabPlot/GettingStarted/YourFirstDataImportVisualisation

Import of the data and its visualization can be achieved with a couple of mouse clicks in LabPlot:

== Create a new project ==
Create a new project by selecting "File/New" from the main menu:
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started New Project.png|500px|thumb|center]]
Here and in the similar steps below, the action can also be triggered alternatively from the corresponding icon in the toolbar or from the context menu, if available.

After the new project is 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 still empty and we're going to add some more content to it now.

== Create a new spreadsheet ==
The data is organized and stored in LabPlot in [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/DataContainers|Data Containers]]. For the data we want to import and visualize in this example we're dealing with the data organized in columns (one column per variable) in the original source file. [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/DataContainers/Spreadsheet|Spreadsheet]] is the appropriate data container to import such data into. To create a new spreadsheet, select from the context menu in the project explorer "Add New/Spreadsheet":
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started New Spreadsheet.png|500px|thumb|center]]

You'll get a new spreadsheet created with its default settings:
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started New Spreadsheet Created.png|500px|thumb|center]]
We're prepared now 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:
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Import From File.png|500px|thumb|center]]

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.:
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Import Dialog.png|250px|thumb|center]]

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 Preview.png|250px|thumb|center]]

Click on the Ok-button to import the data into the spreadsheet. After the import you'll see your data in the spreadsheet:
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started After Import.png|500px|thumb|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:
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Plot Data.png|500px|thumb|center]]
The "Plot Spreadsheet Data" Dialog will appear:
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Plot Data Dialog.png|250px|thumb|center]]

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 [[Special:myLanguage/LabPlot/Worksheet|Worksheet]]:
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Worksheet.png|500px|thumb|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.

== Export results ==

To export the produced plot, click on the Export button and specify the location of the file and its format:
[[File:LabPlot Getting Started Export Dialog.png|250px|thumb|center]]