Convert LVM to XLS

LabVIEW exports measurements as .lvm, but older Excel installations and legacy reporting systems may require the binary .xls workbook format. Converting the data makes readings available for spreadsheet editing, charts, and systems that reject .xlsx or text files.

What the LVM format is

.lvm is the LabVIEW Measurement File format created by National Instruments LabVIEW, commonly with the Write To Measurement File Express VI. It is human-readable text containing measurement metadata, channel names, units, timestamps, and sampled values.

An LVM normally has a metadata header followed by tab-delimited data. It can also contain comments, multiple measurement segments, and separate headers between segments. It is used with LabVIEW-based data-acquisition systems, test equipment, and engineering instruments. An LVM is not simply a renamed CSV file, so changing .lvm to .csv does not perform a conversion.

What the XLS format is

.xls is the legacy Microsoft Excel 97–2003 workbook format. Unlike LVM, it is a structured binary workbook that can contain worksheets, formatting, formulas, charts, and multiple tables.

XLS remains useful for older Excel versions and reporting applications that explicitly require it. Each worksheet is limited to 65,536 rows and 256 columns; larger measurements should use .xlsx, CSV, or a database instead.

Convert with Microsoft Excel

1. Copy the original .lvm file before editing or importing it.
2. In Excel, select Data → From Text/CSV. If the file is hidden, change the file filter to All files and select the LVM.
3. In the import preview, choose the file's encoding, usually UTF-8 or Windows-1252, and set the delimiter to Tab. Confirm that each channel appears in the intended column.
4. Handle the LabVIEW header, comments, and segment markers separately from the measurement table. Preserve channel names, units, timestamps, and run metadata on a separate worksheet if they are needed for traceability.
5. Load the data, then select File → Save As and choose Excel 97–2003 Workbook (*.xls). Accept Excel's compatibility warning.

Older Excel versions may use Data → Get External Data → From Text instead of From Text/CSV. If the LVM contains multiple segments, import each rectangular data block into its own worksheet rather than combining rows with incompatible headers.

Convert with LibreOffice Calc

1. Open the LVM in LibreOffice Calc. If it is not shown in the file picker, select all file types.
2. In the text-import dialog, choose the correct encoding, select Separated by and enable Tab. Verify the decimal separator and preview several rows.
3. Keep or remove metadata rows deliberately; do not discard units or channel labels without recording them elsewhere.
4. Select File → Save As, choose Excel 97–2003 (.xls), and accept the format warning.

LibreOffice is a free desktop option. For repeatable processing, a script or LabVIEW routine can parse the LVM header and write clean CSV or TSV data, but a tab-delimited output file is not an XLS workbook; creating native XLS requires spreadsheet software or a library that writes the legacy Excel format.

Use an online converter only after preparing the data

General online converters often do not parse LabVIEW headers or multiple LVM segments. If the service does not explicitly list LVM support, first convert the measurement portion locally to CSV or TSV, then use a reputable service such as CloudConvert or Zamzar to convert that text file to .xls. Do not upload confidential test data unless the provider's retention, deletion, and processing terms meet the project's requirements.

Check the converted workbook

Compare representative rows with the original LVM after conversion. Confirm that the delimiter, encoding, decimal separator, channel order, units, and timestamps were interpreted correctly.

Excel can automatically change long identifiers, scientific-notation values, and timestamp strings. Set affected columns to Text or the required date/time type during import. Verify that no rows or columns were lost through the XLS worksheet limits and that segment boundaries remain identifiable.