Using a Dataq 4718, Is it possible to measure/display the position of a linear motion table using the signal from a servomotor rotary encoder?

The motion table moves on a ballscrew attached to the servo motor.

I know the encoder could be used to display speed, but to show distance how would I be able to totalize the count and multiply it by a factor to get distance? Can the dataq tell the difference between forward and backward? The motion table will be moving forward and backward during operation.