# Sending Timestamps to the PLC

To configure the data for the vision system to send to the PLC:

1. Open In-Sight Spreadsheet if it is not already running.

2. Type FormatOutputBuffer into the spreadsheet cell, or find the tool from the tool palette under the Input/Output category.

3. In the dialog that opens, configure the data. Use the 64 bit integer Data Type, which has a "uq" format specifier that signifies an unsigned, quad precision integer value. With this configuration, the vision system sends a timestamp to a PLC with the quad precision integer values.

Note:

In the above example:

- Cell E10 contains a GetTimeValue function, referencing the output of a GetExposureTimestamp function.

- Cell E9 contains a GetTimeValue function that is referencing a Now function.

- Cells 25-28 contain Vision Tool data.