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What Are TDMS Files and How Can I Use Them in My LabVIEW Program?

Updated Apr 10, 2025

Reported In

Software

LabVIEW

Issue Details

I have seen technical data management streaming (TDMS) files described as a high performance file type for storing and accessing binary data within LabVIEW. What are these files and how can I use them in my LabVIEW program?

Solution

The TDMS file type is designed by NI to store measurement data. This proprietary file type offers the following features:

File Format Internal Structure : hierarchically organized by file, group, and channel allowing data to be easily organized and interpreted
Supported by all NI software development platforms , meaning that any NI software will easily be able to work with this filetype
High-speed-streaming-capable: specifically designed for high-throughput applications resulting in the best possible write speeds of any file format

TDMS files can easily be incorporated into your code using the reading from and writing to TDMS files tutorial.

TDMS files can also be read and modified using Microsoft Excel .

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