At any time when viewing live ShapeArray (SAA) data in the SAARecorder application, or when playing back a recorded raw data file, the Cartesian XYZ locations for all of an SAA's joints can also be captured by clicking on the Save text snapshot of SAA data menu item.


In SAASuite 3.0 or higher, the SAARecorder application is launched by clicking the Manual Data Collection button.

Figure 1: Launch SAARecorder from SAASuite by clicking the Manual Data Collection button



Step 1 - Select Snapshot Option and File Location


In SAARecorder, click on the File menu and select the Save text snapshot of SAA data menu item.



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Figure 2: The File menu in SAARecorder



In the Save Snapshot of... dialog, select an appropriate option.


  • Current Live Data  - Saves a snapshot of the data you are currently running in SAARecorder. This could be live data or a replay of an existing .rsa file.
  • Select Raw Data Files - This will open the Select one of more raw data files window, where you select one or more .rsa files and click the Open button to continue.




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Figure 3: Choosing the source of the snapshot data



In the Export Array Path as Text dialog, choose a location and name for your output file and click the Save button.



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Figure 4: Choosing a file name for the output file



Step 2 - Choose Position Format



In the Choose Position Format For window, configure the following output options appropriately and click the OK button to continue.


  • Select Data to Save Button - Choose which columns are to appear in the output text data file. For details about this refer to step 3 in the Exporting Raw Data to a Text File guide. 
  • Base Reference Text File - A base reference text file is optional. It is used for tracking relative displacements instead of actual displacements. Leave this field blank if no reference text file is used. 
  • View Created Text File - This allows you to immediately view output text data in a text editor once the OK button is clicked.
  • Create Graphical Report - View a graphical report of the output Cartesian data 
  • Create Scan Report (.DOC and .PDF file formats) - Once the OK button is clicked, the SAAScanReport application opens. See the Generate Scan Reports from Text Snapshot(s) section in the SAARecorder manual. 
  • Create Scan Report - See the File | Generate Scan Reports from Current Data section of the SAARecorder manual.




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Figure 5: Configuring output options



Step 3 - Review the XYZ Summary Graph



Review the XYZ Summary graph. This window displays the saved file location. Close the window by clicking the X button in the top-right corner when done. 


  • XZ Graph Options - Change graph limits and other graph settings for the XZ data graph 
  • YZ Graph Options - Change graph limits and other graph settings for the YZ data graph 
  • Save Polyfit Data - Save polynomial fit data to a text file 
  • Capture Window - Save a screen capture of this window to a bitmap (.bmp) or portable network graphic (.png) file 
  • Print Window - Send a screen capture of this window to a local printer 




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Figure 6: The XYZ Summary window




Anatomy of a Text Snapshot File


The text snapshot file produced will contain various information depending on the settings configured and whether the file was generated from live data or a previously recorded raw data (.RSA) file. The text files produced will contain the following information.

  • SAARecorder Version: The version of SAARecorder that was used to produce the text snapshot.
  • Array Name: A unique identifier that identifies the ShapeArray from which the snapshot was taken. The array name will match thename of the calibration file and typically consists of the type of array, the serial number of the array, the number of segment, and the length of the segments. (e.g. SAAScan_99999_60_500)
  • Reference Filename: If a base reference file was specified to measure displacement, the path and file name will be listed.
  • XYZ data generated from: This will indicate whether the text snapshot was generated from live data or from a previously recorded raw data file.
  • Current Date (YYYY-MM-DD):  The date when the text snapshot was created. This field is only present if the snapshot is generated from live data.
  • Current Time (HH:MM:SS.sss): The time when the text snapshot was created. This field is only present if the snapshot is generated from live data.
  • Raw Data Filename: The path and file name of the previously recorded raw data file used to generate the text snapshot. This field is only present if the snapshot is generated from a previously recorded raw data (.RSA) file.
  • Raw Data recorded with SAARecorder Version: The version of SAARecorder that was used to record the raw data file. This field is only present if the snapshot is generated from a previously recorded raw data (.RSA) file.
  • Raw data file created on (YYYY-MM-DD): The date when the raw data file was recorded. This field is only present if the snapshot is generated from a previously recorded raw data (.RSA) file.
  • Raw data file creation time (HH:MM:SS.sss): The time when the raw data file was recorded. This field is only present if the snapshot is generated from a previously recorded raw data (.RSA) file.
  • Raw data file last modified on (YYYY-MM-DD): The date when the settings were last changed in the raw data file. This field is only present if the snapshot is generated from a previously recorded raw data (.RSA) file.
  • Raw data file last modification time (HH:MM:SS.sss): The time when the settings were last changed in the raw data file. This field is only present if the snapshot is generated from a previously recorded raw data (.RSA) file.
  • Raw data playback time (# of seconds from start of recording): The point in time within the data recorded in the raw data file used to generate the text snapshot. This field is only present if the snapshot is generated from a previously recorded raw data (.RSA) file.
  • Number of Vertices: The number of vertices for which data is produced in the text snapshot.
  • Output data is expressed at each vertex (or physical joint of the SAA), starting with vertex 0: This is reminder text describing the rows of output.
  • Reference =: The reference end selected for the ShapeArray. The reference end represents the origin in the Cartesian data. This can be set to the near (cable) end of the ShapeArray or the far (tip) end.
  • Array Azimuth Angle =: The azimuth offset configured in the site properties in degrees. 
  • Location Name: The location name configured in the site properties.
  • Calculation Mode: The modeling mode configured when the text snapshot was created. This can be 3D, 2D, or 2D Convergence.
  • In-Array Averaging set to #### samples: The Averaging-in-Array (AIA) level that was specified when the raw data was recorded or, in the case of live data, that is currently configured.
  • The following array sections for {array_name} (relative to the near end) were turned off: A listing of the segments that were disabled when the text snapshot was created. Segments are numbered starting from 1 at the near (cable) end.


Immediately after the above listed options, a header for the data selected for inclusion in the text snapshot will be presented followed by the rows of comma delimited values. Columns of data for the following can be included.

  • Vertex #: The vertex number
  • X(units): The Cartesian X coordinate expressed in millimetres or inches depending on the units configured in SAARecorder.
  • Y(units): The Cartesian Y coordinate expressed in millimetres or inches depending on the units configured in SAARecorder.
  • Z(units): The Cartesian Z coordinate expressed in millimetres or inches depending on the units configured in SAARecorder.
  • AccX(g): The X axis acceleration expressed in g.
  • AccY(g): The Y axis acceleration expressed in g.
  • AccZ(g): The Z axis acceleration expressed in g.
  • TiltX(deg): The tilt in degrees in the X-axis
  • TiltZ(deg): The tilt in degrees in the Y-axis
  • Temperature(units): If the segment has a temperature sensor (model 3 SAAF and newer ShapeArrays), the temperature will be presented in Celsius or Fahrenheit depending on the units configured in SAARecorder.