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Load and Play Bag File

Step 1 of 2 in Get Started with ROS Bag Viewer App

Load ROS or ROS 2 Bag File

Load the ROS or ROS 2 bag file by opening it from the File tab in ROS Bag Viewer app toolstrip. The toolstrip also contains the list of supported visualizers under the Visualize tab, and allows you to choose the layout between Default and Grid.

Grid Layout of ROS Bag Viewer App

You can open multiple instances of the app to play multiple ROS or ROS 2 bag files simultaneously.

View Bag File Details

The details of bag file content are found on the left side under the app toolstrip.

  • The Topic List shows the available topics in the ROS or ROS 2 bag file.

    Topic List of ROS Bag Viewer App

  • The Source Details list the Name, Start time, End time, Duration and Message count of the bag file.

    Source Details of ROS Bag Viewer App

Create Visualizers and Play Bag File

Types of Viewer

ViewerViewer IconInterfaceDescription
Image ViewerImage Viewer Icon

Image viewer in ROS Bag Viewer App

  1. Load a ROS bag file containing sensor_msgs/Image or sensor_msgs/CompressedImage message type.

  2. Select Image Viewer from the toolstrip and choose the data source from the drop down to visualize the image.

  3. Use the top-right corner options to zoom in and out, and pan the image in all directions.

Point Cloud ViewerPoint cloud Viewer Icon

Point Cloud Viewer in ROS Bag Viewer App

  1. Load a ROS bag file containing sensor_msgs/PointCloud2 message type.

  2. Select Point Cloud Viewer from the toolstrip and choose the data source from the drop down to visualize the point cloud message.

  3. Use the top-right corner options to zoom in and out, pan, and rotate the message in 3D.

Laser Scan ViewerLaser Scan Viewer Icon

Laser Scan Viewer of the ROS Bag Viewer App

  1. Load a ROS bag file containing sensor_msgs/LaserScan message type.

  2. Select Laser Scan Viewer from the toolstrip and choose the data source from the drop down to visualize the laser scan message.

  3. Use the options on the top to zoom in and out, pan, and rotate the message 3D.

Odometry ViewerOdometry Viewer Icon

Odometry Viewer of the ROS Bag Viewer App

  1. Load a ROS bag file containing nav_msgs/Odometry message type.

  2. Select Odometry Viewer from the toolstrip and choose the data source from the drop down to visualize the odometry message.

  3. See the indicator to view the instantaneous location of the robot in the trajectory.

  4. Use the top-right corner options to zoom in and out, and pan in all directions.

XY Plot ViewerXY Plot Viewer Icon

XY Plot Viewer of ROS BAG Viewer App

  1. Load a ROS bag file containing geometry_msgs/Point or nav_msgs/Odometry message type.

  2. Select XY Plot Viewer from the toolstrip and choose the data source from the drop down to visualize how the numeric message field changes across the XY axes.

  3. See the indicator to view the instantaneous location of the robot across the XY axes.

  4. Use the top-right corner options to zoom in and out, and pan in all directions.

Time Plot ViewerTime Plot Icon

  1. Load a ROS bag file containing geometry_msgs/Point or nav_msgs/Odometry message type.

  2. Select Time Plot Viewer from the toolstrip and choose the data source from the drop down to visualize how the numeric message field changes with respect to time.

  3. See the indicator to view the instantaneous location of the robot.

  4. Use the top-right corner options to zoom in and out, and pan in all directions.

Message ViewerMessage viewer Icon

Message Viewer of the ROS Bag Viewer App

  1. Load a ROS bag file containing any message type.

  2. Select Message Viewer from the toolstrip and choose the data source from the drop down to visualize the raw message stored in the rosbag.

The ROS Bag Viewer app enables you to visualize messages in ROS and ROS 2 bag files. You can create multiple viewers within the app and visualize different ROS and ROS 2 messages simultaneously. For each viewer, you can filter the supported messages in the bag file and press the Play button ROS Bag Viewer Play Button from the Playback panel for visualization.

Playback panel of ROS Bag Viewer

You can choose to display the Elapsed Time or the Timestamp values associated with the bag file along the slider tick labels. You can visualize the messages by putting a specific numeric value or drag the slider to a particular value of the elapsed time or the time stamp. You can also take a snapshot and export the information for further use.

Add and Manage Bookmarks

During the bag file playback, you can add bookmarks at desired time points. To add a bookmark, follow these steps:

  1. Click Add in the Bookmark section of the app toolstrip. This opens the Add bookmark details dialog.

  2. Add the duration of the bookmark in seconds and specify a label. You can also tune the start time of the bookmark.

    Click OK. The app now adds a bookmark to the bag file starting from the start time for the specified duration.

You can always view all the bookmarks that you have added as a table by clicking Manage in the Bookmark section of the app toolstrip. Alternatively, you can also access the bookmark table by clicking the Bookmarks tab at the top-right edge of the app canvas. From the bookmark table, you can switch between different bookmarks, modify the bookmark parameters by double-clicking the entries, or delete bookmarks.

Save and Restore Session

If you close the app with a bag file loaded or load a different bag file, this automatically saves the current session. The app saves these visualization session elements and restores them when you open the same bag file next time:

  • All visualizers

  • Visualizer layout

  • Bookmarks

Get Started with ROS Bag Viewer App
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