Archive OPC Data in CSV is a lightweight, no-nonsense tool built for engineers who need to reliably log industrial data—without the baggage of a full-blown historian. It captures data from OPC UA, OPC DA, MQTT, and Modbus sources and stores it directly in CSV format for easy access and analysis.
Designed to run as a Windows service with no installation required, Archive OPC Data in CSV offers flexible, event-driven archiving, bulk configuration, and seamless Excel integration. Whether you’re troubleshooting, trending, or reporting, it keeps things simple, efficient, and engineer-friendly.
Specifications
Runs as a Windows Service
Automatically starts with Windows and continues archiving in the background without requiring user login, ensuring continuous, unattended operation.
No Installation Required
The application runs without modifying the registry or needing admin privileges, simplifying deployment and reducing IT involvement.
Direct CSV Output
It stores data directly in CSV files, making it easy to access, analyze, and share using standard tools like Microsoft Excel—no proprietary formats are involved.
Event-Driven Data Capture
Only logs data when values change or a trigger occurs, reducing storage use and focusing on meaningful data points.
Bulk Configuration Support
Easily configure thousands of data points using drag-and-drop or CSV import, saving hours of manual setup.
Universal Protocol Compatibility
Captures data from OPC UA, OPC DA, MQTT, and Modbus, giving you the flexibility to integrate with virtually any industrial system.
Store-and-Forward Buffering
Prevents data loss by buffering locally during connection issues and forwarding data once the connection is restored.
Excel Add-In for Real-Time Data
Pulls real-time and historical data directly into Excel, streamlining analysis and reporting without additional exports.
Customizable File and Timestamp Formats
Lets you define how files are named and how timestamps are formatted, helping with organization and compliance with internal standards.
Free to Download and Use
No licensing fees or time-limited trials—just a full-featured, production-ready tool you can use immediately.
Bulk configuration
OPC Expert’s drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to add a few items at a time. But when users must configure OPC Expert to capture thousands of items, OPC Experts enables them to import CSV files for bulk configuration. This enables integrators to combine the power of Excel’s efficient editing features to create CSV files. OPC Expert reads these files and automatically sets up communication.
OPC Expert CSV File Location
OPC Expert saves archived CSV files within the OPC Expert download folder:
- Quickly access the folder with keyboard shortcut CTRL + HOME
- OPC Expert Archive Server creates a new file every 5 MB
- OPC Expert’s CSV files are easy to read in plain text
Run as a Windows Service
Run OPC Expert Archive Server as a Windows service. Users can set OPC Expert to run as a Windows service. OPC Expert supports operation as any user account including System. Doing this enables OPC Expert Archive Server to
- Start automatically with Windows
- Run without requiring a user logon
- Separate front-end GUI from back-end archiving
- Enable Windows to manage runtime functions like start, stop, restart, etc.
Change Item Update Rate
By default, OPC Expert only stores data on data change. By changing item update rates, users can specify how often OPC Expert archives data. This enables OPC Expert to:
- Reduce file size when data does not change often
- Improve accuracy of data capture (more updates per second)
- Users can change default option to store data regardless of change, or even store data based on events (related video)
Trend Archived Data
With one click of the mouse button, you will start visually trending your real-time OPC data. Trend OPC DA and UA data from OPC Expert’s archive server:
- Simply drag and drop items to subscribe
- Right click the data and click trend
- Zoom in and out, and scroll backwards to view historical data
Archive Batch Data
OPC Expert can archive data based on user-defined events. Users may need to archive batch data as may be the case in injection molding machines, testing apparatuses, pharmaceutical ingredient production, etc. The unique aspect of this activity is OPC Expert should only archive data when a “batch complete” event occurs. Click Archive batch data for details.
Excel-Friendly Flle Format
OPC Expert enables users to archive data in files users can easily open in Excel. These files can include all data in a tabular format Excel users can understand without prior instruction. For example, item data can be in individual columns, or each item can even have its own table. The GUI makes the file format easy to create.
