There are several methods of getting data from sensors and instruments straight into Microsoft's Excel as it's recorded, and at Adept Scientific we have a selection, depending on your requirements.
DAS-Wizard, for example, is an add-in for Excel which enables the spreadsheet to be used as a front end to start and stop the data acquisition. DAS-Wizard puts a new tool on the menu bar which brings up an elegant dialogue box with just four tabs: one to set up the board, another to set up the worksheet, a third to set up and control the data scan, and a fourth to set up internal and external triggers. In fact, setting up the software is even easier than setting up the board in the first place.

An alternative comes from IOtech, which provides the excellent free DaqView with many of its data acquisition boards. This too enables you to easily set up all your hardware, acquisition, and display parameters, without programming, via a simple spreadsheet-style screen. The DaqViewXL product migrates these features to Excel, providing a menu and toolbar that contains all the data acquisition controls. Setting up a data acquisition system is achieved through a click on the ‘Configure’ button in the Excel toolbar and defining input and output channels on an easy-to-use grid.

Finally, a favourite with many customers at Adept Scientific is SoftwareWedge, which inputs serial data directly into any PC application, including Excel of course. The Windows version, WinWedge, captures serial data, tailors it to your needs, then transfers the data either by sending keystrokes to the application’s window or by passing the data through DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) conversations. There is even a version available for Windows CE devices.