Export and File Operations

Export and File Operations

The application provides several ways to get data out of a capture session.

Export Formats at a Glance

Format		Extension		How to Access		Contents
Full capture		.active		File > Save Capture		All data + all settings + attached Custom Decoder scripts + trigger configuration
Partial capture		.active		File > Save Between Cursors		Data in X1-X2 range + all settings
Configuration only		.active		File > Save Configuration		Settings only, no data, no decoder script bodies
CSV (file)		.csv		File > Export Data Between Cursors		Decoded events between X1 and X2
AI Snapshot (file)		.aft		File > Export AI Snapshot Between Cursors		All channels in selected range, structured for AI
CSV (clipboard)		text		Right-click drag → Copy Data		Decoded events in selected range
AI Snapshot (clipboard)		.aft text		Right-click drag → Copy AI Snapshot		All channels in selected range, structured for AI
Screenshot		image		Automation API SaveScreenshot		Full application window
Custom Decoder script		.py		Decoder Editor → Export		Single decoder source file (for sharing with the picker)

Full Capture File (.active)

The .active file stores everything needed to restore your session exactly. Give this file to a colleague and they can open it on their machine and see exactly what you saw, including all waveform data, channel names, notes, decoder settings, attached Custom Decoder scripts, and trigger configuration.

Contents:

• All captured waveform data for every channel (logic, analog, Active Debug Port, PacketPresenter decoded output, Custom Decoder annotations)
• Channel names, colors, and visibility settings
• Decoder mode settings for each device port
• Baud rate and protocol-specific decoder settings
• PacketPresenter definitions (the complete .pp script text for each port)
• Attached Custom Decoder scripts - the full .py text, current parameter values, and enabled flag for every port that has a Custom Decoder
• Buffer & Trigger settings - mode, source, condition, thresholds, pre- and post-trigger configuration, recorded trigger positions
• Analog calibration settings (Active-Pro and Active-Pro Ultra)
• Notes (rich text HTML)
• Analysis Context text

The Analysis Context travels with the capture file, so if you've written a debugging briefing in the Notes tab, it will be included in any AI Snapshot exported from that file, on any machine, by any engineer who opens it. Custom Decoder scripts also travel with the file, so opening the capture re-runs the same decoder that produced the original annotations even if the bundled decoder file on disk has changed since.

Saving

File > Save Capture: Saves the entire current capture. A save dialog appears if the file has not been saved before. Saving large buffer sizes can take a while; a progress indicator is displayed at the bottom of the application.

File > Save Between Cursors: Saves only the data between X1 and X2 to a new .active file. Place both cursors before using this. Useful for extracting a specific event from a long session into a small, shareable file.

Opening

File > Open Capture: Opens a .active file and fully restores the session. Opening files with large buffer sizes can take a while to decompress and display. Any attached Custom Decoders re-run automatically.

File > Recent Files: Lists the last 5 files you opened or saved. Click any entry to open it immediately.

CSV Export

The CSV export writes decoded event data as comma-separated text, one row per event. This format opens directly in Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets, or any text editor, and is useful for sorting, filtering, or further analysis.

Exporting to a File

1. Place the X1 cursor at the start of the range you want (double-click on the waveform, or press 1).
2. Place the X2 cursor at the end of the range (right double-click, or press 2).
3. Go to File > Export Data Between Cursors.
4. A save dialog appears. Choose a folder and filename, then click Save.

If no range is selected (X1 and X2 are in the same position, or neither has been placed), the application shows a warning: "No data is selected. Place the cursors to select what data to export."

Copying CSV to the Clipboard

To get the data directly to the clipboard without saving a file:

1. Right-click and drag across the waveform to select a range.
2. Release the mouse button.
3. Select Copy Data (Ctrl+Shift+C) from the context menu.

Paste into a spreadsheet or text editor with Ctrl+V.

You can do the same right-click drag in the List tab to select a range of rows there.

Hiding Channels to Control Export Contents

Only enabled (visible) channels are included in AI Snapshots and CSV exports. This is the mechanism you use to control exactly what goes into an export.

Practical use case: You captured 12 active channels but your bug is in the interaction between two of them. Hide the other 10 in the name column, then export or take a snapshot. The output contains only the two relevant channels, making it smaller, faster to analyze, and clearer when shared. For AI Snapshots specifically, fewer channels also means a smaller token count, which leaves more of the AI's context window available for analysis.

To hide a channel: click the enable/disable control on the left side of the channel's name column row. The channel disappears from the waveform display and is excluded from all exports. To show it again, click the same control.

To hide an entire group at once: collapse the group by clicking the group header row. All channels in the collapsed group are excluded from exports.

AI Snapshot

The AI Snapshot produces a structured .aft text block containing all channel data for the selected time range, designed specifically for analysis by AI assistants. It combines Active Debug Port output, logic transitions, protocol decodes, Custom Decoder annotations, and analog measurements into a single chronological record that an AI can read and reason about.

To copy to clipboard (paste into an AI chat): right-click drag to select a range, then choose Copy AI Snapshot from the context menu.

To save to a file: place X1 and X2 cursors, then use File > Export AI Snapshot Between Cursors. A file dialog appears; save with a .aft extension. Saving to a file is useful for logging snapshots during automated test runs, attaching them to bug reports, or feeding them to an AI assistant that accepts file uploads.

See AI Snapshot for full documentation of the .aft format and the Analysis Context field.

Configuration Files

Available on: Active-Pro · Active-Pro Ultra (menu items hidden on Active Debugger)

Configuration files store your settings without any captured data.

File > Save Configuration: Writes the current settings to a .active file. Same extension as a full capture, but contains no waveform data.

File > Open Configuration: Loads settings from a configuration file and applies them without affecting captured data.

A configuration file does not store the full body of attached Custom Decoder scripts, only the filename. To share a complete project with a colleague, save both the configuration file and the underlying .py decoder files (or share a .active capture, which embeds the script bodies).

See Capture for the complete list of what configuration files contain.

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Screenshots

The Automation API provides a SaveScreenshot command that saves the application window to an image file. See Automation API for details.

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Exporting a Custom Decoder Script

To share a single Custom Decoder with a colleague (independent of any specific capture):

1. Open the Decoder Editor for a port that has the decoder loaded (click the pencil icon next to the port's Bus Decoder dropdown).
2. Click Export at the bottom of the editor.
3. Choose a folder and filename, defaults to the decoder folder.

The result is a single self-contained .py file your colleague can drop into their own decoder folder. See Custom Decoders for the full reference.