CANvas

Feature Intro

CANvas lets you load raw CLX000 log files, decode the data to physical values and export it.

Note: We no longer support CANvas for more recent CLX000 firmware updates. We instead recommend modifying the Configuration File as per the CLX000 Docs and to process data using SavvyCAN or the log file converters.

Installation

Download & unzip, then open via the CANvas.exe[1]:

Windows

Converting raw CAN data to physical values

To decode raw CAN data, you need a database with the conversion rules - see our CAN bus intro.

CANvas supports basic DBC files for loading your decoding rules[2].

Below are the steps to convert log files via DBC files:

  1. Open CANvas and go to ‘Convert data’, click ‘DBC’ and load your DBC file[3]
  2. Next, load your log file(s) and then select the ‘Scaled engineering values’ output
  3. Click the ‘Output’ tab and the green button to start the conversion
  4. The converted data can be loaded in 3rd party tools (e.g. Excel, scripts) for plots/analysis

Note

You can modify settings related to the output, e.g. file merging, downsampling or timestamps

Converting raw log files to other formats

To convert your log files to other formats (ASC or TRC), load the log files and select the ‘Vector CANalyzer’ or ‘PEAK’ output options[4].

Troubleshooting

If CANvas returns only empty lines, it typically reflects that there is not a match between your log file data and the conversion rule database. Review your raw log file to see if the CAN IDs match your database entries.

[1]CANvas is Windows-only. For Linux you can consider using SavvyCAN - or process the log files directly in e.g. scripts
[2]You can in principle create a decoding database directly in CANvas using the GUI editor. However, we strongly recommend that you use the DBC file format if possible when creating a new database. The DBC format is also supported in SavvyCAN, the CANedge software tools and most other CAN software available. Various free DBC editors exist, including one in SavvyCAN. See our DBC intro for details. Note that some DBC syntax features are not supported by CANvas, e.g. multiplexed messages and transport protocol decoding. The CANedge software tools have more extensive DBC support
[3]If loading a J1939 DBC, make sure to select the J1939 matching criteria. For OBD2 decoding, note that you should use the built-in OBD2 database instead of loading a DBC file
[4]Note that you can also save to Vector ASC or PEAK TRC via SavvyCAN, though SavvyCAN does not have a feature for converting a batch of log files