Capture measurement data and screenshots from a layout or panel and optionally publish captured data to Measurement Data Services using InstrumentStudio.

You can capture measurement data from supported layouts and panels. You can also capture a screenshot without capturing measurement data.

By default, InstrumentStudio:

  • Saves screenshots as .png files.
  • Saves measurement data as .tdms files.
  • Does not publish captured data to Measurement Data Services.

To change data capture preferences, select File » Preferences » Capture data.

You can configure the following settings:

  • File name
  • File format
  • Destination directory
  • Measurement Data Services publishing

For more information on TDMS files, see What is a TDMS File?.

Capturing Data from a Layout

Use this option to capture all panels in the current layout.

  1. Locate the instrument header menu.
  2. Select the Capture data icon (An icon of a bar graph that captures data in InstrumentStudio.).

InstrumentStudio captures content according to the configured data capture preferences.

The captured screenshot contains the visible layout at the time of capture.

The captured measurement data contains measurement results and device information for devices in the layout.

Capturing Data from a Panel

Use this option to capture data from a single instrument panel.

  1. Open the instrument settings menu (A cogwheel icon for the instrument settings menu of InstrumentStudio.) for the panel.
  2. Select Capture data.

InstrumentStudio captures content according to the configured data capture preferences.

The captured screenshot contains the visible panel at the time of capture.

The captured measurement data contains measurement results and device information for the device represented by the panel.

Capturing a Screenshot Only

Use this option to capture an image file without saving measurement data.

  1. Locate the instrument header menu.
  2. Select the Capture screenshot icon (An icon of a digital camera that captures screenshots in InstrumentStudio.).

InstrumentStudio:

  • Copies the image to the clipboard
  • Does not create a data file

Using Captured Data

You can open TDMS files using NI software or supported third-party tools, including:

  • LabVIEW
  • LabWindows/CVI
  • DIAdem
  • VeriStand

CSV exports can contain one or more CSV files and associated metadata files, depending on the captured instruments and measurements.

CSV files contain:

  • Columns—Channel, device, and measurement type
  • Rows—Measurement results (for example, mean and range) and calculated statistics (for example, standard deviation)

    • Publishing Data to Measurement Data Services

    Introduced in InstrumentStudio 2026 Q3.

    You can configure InstrumentStudio to automatically publish captured data to Measurement Data Services (MDS).

    When publishing is enabled, InstrumentStudio saves captured data locally and publishes the data to Measurement Data Services.

    Measurement Data Services MDS provides a standardized data store for measurement data. You can query and retrieve stored data for downstream analysis in other tools. Measurement Data Services does not perform data analysis.

    To enable publishing:

    1. Select File » Preferences » Capture data.
    2. Enable data publishing in the Measurement Data Services section.

    When enabled, InstrumentStudio publishes captured data automatically after each capture.

    Before publishing data, InstrumentStudio prompts you to provide unit-under-test (UUT) information, including the product part number and serial number. InstrumentStudio associates this information with the published data.

    After you confirm the publishing operation, InstrumentStudio publishes the captured data to Measurement Data Services.

    Measurement Data Services components are installed with InstrumentStudio. No additional installation steps are required.

    When publishing is enabled, InstrumentStudio publishes:

    • Measurement data from the capture
    • Metadata about the layout, panel, and devices

    You can retrieve and use published data with:

    • NI Nigel AI
    • OData REST APIs
    • Measurement Data Services APIs for LabVIEW
    • Measurement Data Services APIs for Python
    • Measurement Data Services APIs for C#

    These tools enable you to:

    • Query measurement results
    • Retrieve data for analysis workflows
    • Integrate measurement data into automated systems

    Use Measurement Data Services when you need to:

    • Store measurement data centrally
    • Query and retrieve measurement data from the data store
    • Enable automated data processing or analysis workflows

    If you only need local files for manual inspection, you can continue to use captured data files without publishing.