Simulink "Edit" Dashboard block - but for strings?

Hey folks,

I am using Simulink to develop a data collection and (very low rate) control system for a piece of experimental apparatus. As part of our experiments, I would like to be able to record timestamped text notes about the experiment ("2024-01-18 11:03:23: released magic smoke", that sort of thing)

I already have a fairly sophisticated dashboard developed for my control system. I would love to have a Dashboard "Edit" block that I can type text into, and - when I hit a trigger button - have that text saved into my larger output file. However, it appears that the Edit block can only be used with scalar signals.

Has anyone developed a Simulink block that can do what I'm describing? Or, alternatively, is there a different approach that I could take to do this?

Answer 1

[Benjamin Thompson]

If you are not really trying to "link" the dashboard block to other blocks, then maybe the "String Constant" source block would work? The value of this block is tunable during runtime. Then use a MATLAB Function block to look for a change to the string and display it how you like.

[Julian]

@Benjamin Thompson - thanks for your thoughts here. That's not a bad idea - I could have the user just write into the String Constant block, and then whenever they update it, have a callback run that saves it to file. I'll do that for now, and will figure out a more elegant way to do this when I re-architect the system to separate the "control" functions from data collection, experiment operation, etc. (related question: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/2072026-best-practices-for-stream-save-simulation-data-to-file-while-model-is-running).

If anyone else has other suggestions for how to do this, let me know!

[Benjamin Thompson]

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