Re: Looking for IDL code to read Excel spreadsheet

[Med Bennett <mbennett(at)indra.com>]

I use data from Excel all the time, but I always export them to a .CSV (commas
separate values) format first.  Then they can be read into IDL easily.
Alternatively, you could study one of the files with a hex editor to figure out
where the data that you want actually starts and how the files are structured, and
then use binary reads.  Good luck -

John McFee wrote:

> I have a large number of Excel spreat sheets. They are in a very simple format.
> There is a 1-line four column header, followed by four columns of numbers, eg:
>
> Time       Concentration    Time2      Response
> 14:48:20   19.29            14:42:01   1.5
> 14:48:25   5.34             14:42:06   0.7
> ...etc.
>
> I want to read in the numbers for processing in IDL. I could, within Excel,
> export the data to an ascii file, but there are a LOT of files to do. Is there
> an IDL routine that will read a simple Excel spreadsheet like this? (To make
> matters worse, I run IDL on a Sun Sparcstation.)
>
> I apologize if this has been covered in the newsgroup and I've missed it, but I
> have looked in various FAQs and through the various IDL libraries and archives
> on the Web and have found nothing so far.
>
> Thanks
>
> John McFee
>
> --
> Dr. John E. McFee
> Defence Research Establishment Suffield
> Box 4000, Medicine Hat, AB Canada T1A 8K6
> (403) 544-4739 (voice)    544-4704 (fax)
> e-mail: John.McFee@dres.dnd.ca
> --
> ____________
> Dr. John E. McFee                         | John.McFee@dres.dnd.ca
> Head Threat Detection Group               | www.dres.dnd.ca, www.ccmat.gc.ca
> Defence Research Establishment Suffield   | PH: 403-544-4739