A major advantage of an oscilloscope based on a Windows operating system is that it simplifies report generation. Instead of having to move oscilloscope screen images and waveform data from the scope to an external PC it is possible to run your word processor and spreadsheet on the oscilloscope.

The test report shown in Figure 1 was written using a word processor (WordPad) running on a WaveSurfer oscilloscope. The oscilloscope hardcopy set up allows the screen image to be transferred to the word processor via the Windows clipboard. The user can change the active program between the scope and the word processor using the conventional Windows Alt-Tab key sequence.

Figure 1:

Example of a screen image transferred to a word processor, running on the WaveSurfer, using the Windows clipboard.

Trace data can be stored in ASCII format using the "Save Waveform" function under the "File" pulldown in the oscilloscope and then be imported to the spreadsheet.

A more direct method to transfer waveform data is to use ActiveDSO, an ActiveX component distributed by LeCroy. ActiveDSO, shown in Figure 2, automatically transfers waveform date directly into the spread sheet.

Figure 2:

Transferring data directly from the WaveSurfer to an Excel spreadsheet using Active DSO, an ActiveX component

Note that the WaveSurfer's 250 ksample acquisition memory exceeds Excels 64k entry capacity. This limitation can be overcome by either using a shorter capture time or by transferring only selected portions of the waveform using the zoom function.