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Products :  Origin :  Collaboration and Connectivity :  Excel

 

Microsoft® Excel® Files in Origin
Excel 97-2003 (XLS)

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Feature List

Open Excel

Open Excel workbooks directly within the Origin workspace!

This great feature allows you to take full advantage of the combined power of Excel's spreadsheet capabilities and sophistication of Origin's data analysis and technical graphics features.

Please note the current version support for the Open Excel feature:

  • Excel 97-2007 workbooks (XLS, XLSX) are supported.
 

Drag and drop your Excel data directly into an Origin graph when you open your Excel workbook in Origin

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Excel workbook data can be opened directly in Origin and then plotted into a graph using drag and drop.


Import Excel

You can also import Excel workbook data into Origin so that it is placed into worksheets within an Origin workbook. Origin worksheets can be manipulated, graphed, and analyzed normally. Features of the Import Excel option:

  • Import the Excel cell formatting along with your Excel data.
  • Specify row locations in the excel file from which to draw the short name, long name, units, and comments into Origin's reserved header rows.
  • Specify column designations prior to import to make plotting quick and easy.

Please note the following version support for the Import Excel feature:

  • Excel 97-2007 workbooks (XLS, XLSX) are supported.
 

Import Excel data into Origin and specify long name, short name, units, and comments beforhand

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Origin's Import Excel routine lets you specify where to place metadata. For instance, here you see row 3 in the Excel file has been specified to go into the Long Name row in Origin's reserved header rows, while row 2 has been placed in Origin's Units row and row 1 has been placed in the Comments row. Although not shown here, you can also choose to carry over the formatting from the Excel workbook.

Plotting (from an Excel workbook directly opened in Origin)

If your Excel workbook is opened directly in Origin, you can switch between any Excel worksheet within the workbook to plot the exact data you need. Each time your Excel file is updated, your Origin graph immediately reflects the modifications!

A familiar Excel-style interface is provided to let you create professional publication-quality graphs in Origin. You simply select which data will serve as the X values, which data will serve as the Y values (Z error, and label values can also be defined), and click Plot. If you are more familiar with creating graphs in Origin, you can simply drag-and-drop your data onto an Origin graph!

Plot Excel Data in Origin using Select Data for Plotting

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Plotting Excel workbook data is easy with the Select Data for Plotting dialog. Assignments are made using familiar Excel syntax. You can also use the Plot Setup dialog for more plotting control.


Maintaining a Link to Your Excel Workbook

If you've used the Open Excel feature to open your Excel file directly in Origin, you can maintain a link to your Excel file, thereby ensuring the your project uses the most up-to-date data.

You can save the workbook internal to the Origin project (thereby automatically maintaining a link) or externally. When saved externally, a link to the original Excel file can be enabled so that the Origin project updates automatically when the Excel data changes.

Alternatively, you can copy Excel data from a workbook opened in Excel and Paste Link that data in Origin.

  • When pasting the data into Origin, formatting from the selection in your Excel worksheet will be pasted as well.
  • For more complicated data that has been copied from Excel, Origin includes the ability to use its Import Wizard on Clipboard data.

Re-import

If you've imported an Excel file into your Origin project and the data has changed since you did so, you can take advantage of Origin's Re-import feature. The Re-import feature instructs Origin to re-import the data without having to go through any of the steps you previously performed to get the data into Origin.

  

Cell formatting is carried over when copying Excel data and pasting it into Origin

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You can copy your data from Excel and paste it into Origin and your formatting will be carried over!

Enabling linking to Excel from Origin (DDE)

The properties of the Excel workbook allow you to maintain a link to the original Excel file.

Re-import offers many advantages:

  • Less chance for human error
  • Any plot associated with your data will update automatically.
  • Couple the Re-import feature with the ability to automatically recalculate the results of your analyses and you can create powerful Analysis Templates for your Excel data.

A note about date and time data

Origin supports importing Excel date and time data. Plotting date and time data from an Excel file opened directly in Origin is supported as well. Unlike Excel's date and time support which is limited to dates after either January 1, 1900 (on Windows), Origin's date and time support uses the Julian date system, allowing it to work with any date and time data. Origin also supports IRIG time data. See the Date and Time Data page for more.