Catman Enterprise MD Client 7.1 System Documentation Part III

Operating Manual English

catman® Enterprise MD Client 7.1 System Documentation Part III Hottinger Baldwin Messtechnik GmbH Im Tiefen See 45 64239 Darmstadt Tel. +49 6151 803-0 Fax +49 6151 803-9100 [email protected] www.hbm.com

Mat.: 7-2002.0901 DVS: A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public 04.2018

Microsoft®, MS-DOS®, Windows®, FoxPro®, JScript®, Visual Basic®, Visual C++®, Outlook®, Windows Media®, DirectX®, Direct3D® and ActiveX® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Intel®, Intel Pentium® are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or to their products. HOTTINGER BALDWIN MESSTECHNIK GMBH disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names others than its own.

2 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Table of Contents

Table of Contents Page

A Getting Started ...... A-7 1 Introduction ...... A-8 1.1 What does this documentation contain? ...... A-8 1.2 Notes on the documentation ...... A-8 1.3 Basic layout of this documentation ...... A-9 2 What does the MD Client do?...... A-11 3 Operating requirements ...... A-13 4 Software installation ...... A-15 5 Licensing...... A-16 6 Upgrading MD Client ...... A-17 7 Technical support ...... A-18

B MD Client Setup...... B-19 1 Introduction ...... B-20 2 Administration and access rights ...... B-21 2.1 Access rights for connecting to a data server ...... B-21 2.2 User administration in MD Client ...... B-21 3 Active channel number and storage size ...... B-24 3.1 Number of channels, channel layout ...... B-25 3.2 How to calculate the necessary storage size ...... B-26 3.3 Delete database, Auto-recover database on start ...... B-26 3.4 Circular buffer mode ...... B-26 3.5 Optimizing the speed...... B-27 4 Project settings ...... B-28 5 Connecting to a data server ...... B-30 6 Pre-select channels ...... B-31 7 Defining computations ...... B-34 7.1 Online computation (Algebra) ...... B-34 7.2 Strain gage rosette computation ...... B-35

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public 3 Table of Contents

C Defining Visualization (Panels)...... C-41 1 Introduction ...... C-42 2 Creating panels interactively ...... C-44 3 Available visualization objects ...... C-45 3.1 Real-time displays ...... C-45 3.2 Post-process displays...... C-52 3.3 Label (text or image)...... C-52 3.4 Browser ...... C-53 3.5 VBScript command button ...... C-53 4 Configuration of visualization objects ...... C-54 4.1 Channel selector window ...... C-55 4.2 Analog indicator ...... C-56 4.3 Bar indicator ...... C-56 4.4 Browser ...... C-57 4.5 Channel row graph ...... C-57 4.6 Client database viewer ...... C-59 4.7 Digital indicator ...... C-59 4.8 Label (text or image)...... C-60 4.9 LED...... C-60 4.10 Post-process graph ...... C-61 4.11 Real-time bar graph ...... C-62 4.12 Real-time graph ...... C-63 4.13 Spreadsheet ...... C-64 4.14 VBScript command button ...... C-64 5 Creating multiple panels (using panel layouts) ...... C-65 5.1 Create panel(s) from layout description (CSV) file ...... C-65 5.2 Create panel(s) from panel layout ...... C-68 6 Panel options ...... C-71

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D Data Acquisition ...... D-73 1 Introduction ...... D-74 2 DAQ settings...... D-75 3 Data storage settings (local database storage) ...... D-77 4 Limit checking ...... D-78 4.1 Prediction line trigger...... D-80 4.2 User defined prediction line ...... D-81 5 Performing the data acquisition ...... D-82 6 Data handling, Database editor ...... D-83 6.1 Data export ...... D-84 6.2 Data import, Data Explorer ...... D-89

E General Tools and Options...... E-93 1 Searching for channels (search facility) ...... E-94 2 Using VBScript ...... E-95 2.1 The built-in VBScript editor ...... E-96 2.2 Example (VBScript) ...... E-97 2.3 General VBScripts (second toolbar) ...... E-98 3 MD Client options ...... E-101 4 Troubleshooting tips ...... E-102

F Index ...... F-103

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public 5 Table of Contents

6 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Getting Started

A Getting Started

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public A-7 Introduction

1 Introduction

This documentation describes the client part of catman Enterprise, in the following referred to as MD Client. When installing catman Enterprise to work as a client, the programs catman and MD Client are copied to the computer. The server part of catman Enterprise is described in Part II of this documentation: Operating Manual MD Server. The hardware necessary for working with the MD Server is described in Part I (Operating Manual System Documentation).

1.1 What does this documentation contain? This documentation describes how to install and operate the software MD Client.

1.2 Notes on the documentation This documentation is only part of the catman Enterprise documentation. A list of all documents concerning catman Enterprise can be found in Part I (Oper- ating Manual System Documentation), in Chapter B, Section 3, List of Oper- ating Manuals.

1.2.1 Prerequisites In the following we assume that you: • are familiar with your Windows® operating system • know how to use online Help files

1.2.2 Typographical conventions

 Unless specified otherwise, all references point to chapters in the same part of a documentation. For the sake of clear, unambiguous labeling and better legibility, we use the following conventions in this manual:

A-8 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Introduction

We have flagged important paragraphs with this caution symbol.

 This symbol points to a significant detail or specific characteristic.

This symbol marks a tip or an interesting feature.

This marking is used to highlight individual terms in the text. Your input, all push buttons, control boxes, the names of input fields etc. are also marked. The menus, commands, dialog fields and boxes as well as register tabs used in the program are likewise marked. Window or dialog titles start with a capital letter.

: This type of bracket is used to mark a parameter, in this case the user name, which is inserted or has to be filled in instead.

This symbol means more information is available in the online Help.

We hope that these markings will allow you to quickly identify the topics or menus referred to and enable you to find your way round the program.

1.3 Basic layout of this documentation

This chapter contains: • The conventions used in this documentation • Introduction into the software MD Client • The list of operating requirements • A guide through the installation procedure

Chapter B, MD Client Setup, contains: • A description of the administration and user access rights settings • How to prepare the program for data acquisition • How to set up the required storage space • Necessary settings for starting a data acquisition project

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public A-9 Introduction

Chapter C, Defining Visualization (Panels), contains: • Description of how to create visualization objects • Information on how to configure the visualization objects and how to display data

Chapter D, Data Acquisition, contains: • A description of the DAQ (data acquisition) and limit checking settings • Information on storage and export settings • How to perform a data acquisition • Which options are available during and after the test run

Chapter E, General Tools and Options, contains: • Information on how to search for channels • Introduction to the VBScript options • General options for MD Client • Troubleshooting tips

Chapter F contains the Index.

A-10 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise What does the MD Client do?

2 What does the MD Client do?

The MD Client software works in combination with software MD Server running on a different PC. The MD Server can provide data which is measured by one or more MGCplus or QuantumX/SomatXR signal conditioning devices, i.e. it can work as remote data server. Any MD Client may then access all or part of this data provided the proper access rights are defined in Windows. The MD Client is used to further process and visualize the data measured by the MD Server. The MD Server/MD Client software is basically an extension to the catman® software. Therefore also catman® Professional is installed and may be used as data server or client. However, catman® lacks many of the features of MD Server or MD Client.

General operating procedure 1. Make sure that proper access rights are assigned in Windows so that the data server (MD Server) and the necessary folders are visible on the network for the client and accessible for the user in question. 2. Check that the server is initialized and acquiring data, otherwise no data will be available in MD Client. 3. Start the program MD Client (use Admin as user name and hbm as password when starting for the first time). 4. Specify the project settings: data server address. If the port has been changed on MD Server, specify the new setting here as well (default is 2004). 5. Connect to the data server. 6. Define a channel selection for later display or storage (Channel pre-selection). 7. Create the visualization (panel objects) and define which channels to show with the Channel selector window (use in the toolbar). 8. Define DAQ (data acquisition) settings.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public A-11 What does the MD Client do?

9. If required, set limit checking conditions. 10. Switch to DAQ mode and start the acquisition.

During the acquisition you may start and stop the storage of data or assign new channels to the visualization objects. You can also change limit checking settings, export stored data, etc. provided you have the proper access rights. If the acquisition is stopped, you may define new visualization objects or change the project settings.

 The MD Explorer program may be used on client PCs as well. The MD Explorer is used to extract data from several tests of a project, show it in a graph or spreadsheet or export it into other formats. You may extract single channels only or use sets of data like all strain survey data.

A-12 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Operating requirements

3 Operating requirements

 How to obtain the required license(s) is described in Part I, Chapter A, Section 3, Licensing. In order to operate MD Client software, you need a PC with the following requirements: • Intel Pentium 1 GHz or equivalent processor (minimum) • Windows Vista®, Windows® 7 or higher as operating system • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 8.0 or higher • 1 GB or more main memory (RAM) • Graphics card with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixel (minimum) • 500 MB free space on your hard disk (minimum) • Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse • Default printer configured If your system does not yet have a printer configured, please define a printer type, even if it is not connected or not available for printing. The software derives the size of the output window from the paper size of the default printer and will not start if no printer is installed. • 100 Mbit Ethernet (or faster) interface

The following fonts must be available on the PC: Arial, Courier, MS Sans Serif, Small Fonts, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Ver- dana and Wingdings. Usually these fonts are installed with the Windows® operating system.

All power and screen savers must be deactivated. Please check the system settings for power management concerning hard disk, graphics card, monitor and network card.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public A-13 Operating requirements

If automatic system backups are made while a data acquisition is running, make sure that all files which are accessed during the measurement are still accessible during the backup process. This includes the internal (catman) database file, see Active channel number and storage size.

Notes • We recommend you use a decimal point (e.g. 0.01), not a comma. Please change your Windows system setting (Country settings -> Num- bers/Currency) accordingly. • Standard user access rights are sufficient for working with MD Client.

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4 Software installation

You must have Administrator rights for installing the software.

The installation is configured for all users of the PC. Even so, a separate set of defaults is subsequently created for each user. This means for example that the size of the internal database can be defined separately for each user.

Put the CD in the CD-ROM drive of the server PC. In standard configuration, Windows automatically opens the CD. If you have deactivated this self-starting Windows function, look for file SETUP.EXE in the main folder of the CD and double-click on its icon to get to the opening screen.

 We recommend that you close all open programs. You can cancel the installation at any point. Choose in the following screen the program you would like to install, here catman Enterprise.

 The MD License manger is necessary for managing and distributing all licenses. We recommend you install this program on a separate PC. It is not necessary to install the MD License manager on the same PC as MD Server or MD Client. The MD License client is always installed if a program requiring a license is installed. The installation is made into the default programs folder into subfolder HBM.

Click on Next in the following screen, read through the license agreements and select in the following screen the folder in which you want the program to be installed: either confirm the suggested target folder or click on Browse and choose which one you want. If necessary, SETUP.EXE creates the folder you have specified and then copies all the files to it. Now choose which part of catman Enterprise shall be installed, here MD Client. Click on Next and follow the instructions of the installation program. Quit the installation program after having installed all required components.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public A-15 Licensing

5 Licensing

 Refer also to https://www.hbm.com/terms/software for our software licensing conditions (EULA). Licensing takes place using the MD License manager and the MD License client. The MD License manager is used to manage the existing licenses, the MD License client is required to run MD Client.

The MD License client is automatically installed together with MD Client. See Part I, Chapter A, Section 3, Licensing, for information on how to distribute the necessary licenses.

A-16 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Upgrading MD Client

6 Upgrading MD Client

 We recommend that any older catman Enterprise version, e.g. 5.0, is first uninstalled before you install the new version. This is not necessary with an update to a new release of the same version.

Before uninstalling, transfer your licenses from an MD License client back to the MD License manager, because the MD License client is also uninstalled during the uninstallation (Export license).

If you want to retain the settings of your old version as far as possible, you must however, before the uninstallation, copy various files to a (temporary) folder and move them back to the (new) catman Enterprise folders after the installation. If necessary, these actions must be carried out for each Windows user, because the settings are managed related to the user.

Procedure 1. Remove and export your licenses to the MD License manager. 2. In the folder for the user logged-in under Windows, find the HBM folder, e.g. “C:\Users\\HBM”. 3. Copy the content to a temporary folder of your choice. 4. Proceed in the same way with all the other PC users (administrator rights required). 5. Uninstall all components of catman Enterprise. 6. Install the new version and execute a reboot of Windows. 7. Activate your licenses again. 8. Copy the content from the temporary folder into the HBM folder in the Doc- uments folder for the respective user, e.g. “C:\Users\\Docu- ments\HBM”. The folder path was changed with Version 5 of catman Enter- prise. 9. Start the MD Client.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public A-17 Technical support

7 Technical support

Should your installation not run perfectly or if you have a problem with catman Enterprise, please contact our Technical support in Darmstadt or your local representative.

Email support [email protected]

Telephone support Telephone support is available on workdays from 9:00 to 17:00 hours Central European Time. +49 6151 803-0

 Extended support is available through a service contract.

Fax support +49 6151 803-9100

HBM in the Internet http://www.hbm.com

A-18 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise MD Client Setup

B MD Client Setup

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-19 Introduction

1 Introduction

Before starting the data acquisition on the MD Client some basic settings have to be made: 1. The user access has to be defined for both data server and client PCs in Windows. (Besides MD Server also catman Professional may be used as a data server. However, catman lacks many of the features of MD Server.) See Administration and access rights 2. The internal database, i.e. the storage space available for data, has to be set in MD Client. See Active channel number and storage size 3. The settings for the measurement project have to be stated, so that the MD Client knows how to find the data server and where the files necessary for setup, limit checking, visualization or VBScript functions are located. See Project settings 4. A connection must be established between MD Client and the data server. 5. The channels which will be shown later must be pre-selected. This reduces the number of channels visible in the Channel selector window (available for later display) to the channels important for this client. See Pre-select channels 6. If required, additional computations may be defined. These computations are evaluated on the client only.

If a project is defined once, this series of actions is reduced to loading the project (file) and connecting to the data server. The next time you start the MD Client, data acquisition is just two mouse clicks ahead. See also Export/import project

After having designed a layout, modify this layout for additional panels or distribute this layout including your channel pre-selection to other MD Clients with CSV files which can be edited in Excel. See Create from layout description (CSV) file

B-20 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Administration and access rights

2 Administration and access rights

 Please observe the recommendations in Operating requirements on installed fonts, power management settings and backup programs. See also Licensing

The administration comprises two different tasks: 1. The Windows operating system administration with regard to the data server allowing the clients to access the files necessary for operation. 2. The user administration in MD Client restricting user access to certain program parts or settings.

Of course the client PC must be able to connect to the data server via a network, i.e. either it must be on the same Ethernet segment or an appropriate connection via router etc. must have been established.

2.1 Access rights for connecting to a data server As soon as a valid client connects, the PC running the data server transfers the current MC Setup database via TCP/IP. The client stores this copy as a temporary file which is changed as soon as the server sends a new database due to changes.

 If channel descriptor files are used, all users should have read access to the folder in which the files reside.

2.2 User administration in MD Client

 When starting MD Client for the first time, use the user name Admin with password hbm (password input is case sensitive). We recommend that you change this access setting once you start to work with this program by creating a new user with administration access rights.

The user administration is called from the File -> User administration menu.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-21 Administration and access rights

How to proceed 1. Specify the user name, that is the name under which the user logs on. This name has no connection to user names used by the Windows operating system. 2. Type in a password. The password may not be changed later. You can only change it by deleting the user and creating a new user with the same name. 3. Define which parts of the software should be accessed. 4. Establish the new user with Add user. 5. Create as many new users as necessary.

Password restrictions The password input is case sensitive. There is no minimum length for the password and no checks are made whether the password chosen is appropriate. Please observe the standard rules for choosing passwords, e.g. no names of relatives, no birthday dates, etc.

 It is recommended that you use a combination of at least eight letters and digits which form no complete or meaningful word, e.g. pa?p12el.

For strong passwords see also http://www.microsoft.com/protect/your- self/password/create.mspx

Possible access settings

Permission to change the project settings, e.g. delete a panel file from the proj- Allow project modification ect. A panel file can be added, if designing panel files is allowed.

Permission to change the list of channels which is shown in the Channel Allow pre-selection edit selector window (used for configuring the visualization objects).

Allow limit checking edit Permission to change the limit trip settings.

Allow DAQ settings edit Permission to change the DAQ settings.

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Permission to change values (data) contained in the MD Client (catman) inter- Allow internal database edit nal database.

Permission to export values (data) from the MD Client (catman internal) data- Allow database export base.

Allow panel design Permission to create and design new panel layouts.

Allow loading panel files Permission to load files with panel layouts.

Allow data source changes in Permission to change the data sources (which channel(s) to display) of visual- DAQ mode ization objects during data acquisition mode.

Allow VBScript execution Permission to execute pre-defined VBScripts (specified in the project settings).

Allow VBScript edit Permission to create and edit VBScripts.

Permission to change any of the above settings for other users and create new Allow user administration users.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-23 Active channel number and storage size

3 Active channel number and storage size

At least a temporary buffer must exist for every channel to be measured. This has to be done with menu Database -> Configure. The following dialog is used to define the database file for temporary data storage. You may export data to a file during or after the measurement.

 MD Client creates a different database for every user logged on to Windows by default. Therefore the settings are not stored according to the MD Client user names but according to their Windows log-in names. Users having the same Windows log-in name must use the same database settings. However, users may choose to share the same database file by creating the file in a folder which is accessible for all users.

In the section to the left of the database configuration dialog you can choose the drive and a folder where the database is to be created. The drives A: or B: are not allowed.

 Do not use a network drive, as access to the data will be very slow. The file name does not need to be stated. The database is always created with the file name DB_000.$_$.

We recommend you use a defragmentation tool for the hard disk in question before creating database files which are larger than 100 MB. It is also recommended not to delete the database file on program end, i.e. use a permanent database file for all tests. As this storage space is created as a file on the hard disk, we recommend using a fast hard disk.

The database layout is defined in the right-hand section of the dialog: Number of channels, maximum depth, format and byte width for each channel. Each channel can be edited individually: Mark the channel(s), enter the desired values and click on Selected channels or use All channels. In the left section you can see, in the numerical display and in the pie chart, the disk space avail-

B-24 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Active channel number and storage size

able on the hard disk as well as the free space and the space needed by the currently set configuration.

3.1 Number of channels, channel layout With Maximum number of channels you define the required number of input, output and computation channels. The maximum number of channels which you can enter here is 20,000. Any channel depth can be chosen as long as there is enough storage capacity on the hard disk.

Close the entry with in order to activate the setting immediately.

Auto-size: We recommend not to use this setting for MD Client as it tends to be much slower than with a fixed database layout. Additionally, only up to 600 channels may be used in this case. With this setting a dynamic database is created, which increases in size as long as there is space available on the hard disk.

 As this type of database is managed by the operating system, data is not secure if there is a system crash. The Maximum length option serves to define the maximum number of measured values for each channel. This data depth is only restricted by the space which is available on the hard disk for the database file. If you do not want to mark and set up the channels individually, click on All channels.

 We recommend to use the same length for all channels. Otherwise make sure that a smaller size does not fill up earlier than the other channels. If a database channel is filled with data, all further values will be lost, e.g. the storage of data is stopped.

Individual channel formats The data storage format and the Number of bytes per value (record) in the database can be selected. Apart from Double and Float, there is also Text available, but this setting is for catman Professional purposes only. We recommend not to use Text for MD Client.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-25 Active channel number and storage size

In format Double (default) 8 bytes are used for a measured value (double precision), in format Float 4 bytes (single precision).

3.2 How to calculate the necessary storage size 1. Take the number of MD Server channels you want to store. The maximum number of channels available is the number of channels defined in the pre-selection list. 2. Add the number of computations you want to make. This is the number of channels you need. 3. Set the appropriate number of values you would like to store as Maximum (channel) length.

Example There are 1,305 active channels on the data server, you wish to save 265 of them and define 210 computations. The total number of values to be stored is 50,000. This means that there will be a total of 475 channels and the file size will be 181 MB.

3.3 Delete database, Auto-recover database on start When starting, MD Client checks whether a database file is present although Delete database upon program end has been marked. If yes, MD Client asks whether this database is to be restored except if Auto-recover database upon program start is active.

 We recommend to use a permanent database file. Therefore delete the check- mark at Delete database upon program end and leave Auto-recover database upon program start activated.

3.4 Circular buffer mode When you operate the database in the circular buffer mode, first as usual, a fixed size is used (maximum length). Once the database has been filled with values, the new measurements overwrite the oldest ones. As a result there will

B-26 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Active channel number and storage size

be, for example, only the last 100,000 values (per channel) available for storage or export, if a database size of 100,000 values is used.

3.5 Optimizing the speed

Keep database in RAM With sufficient free RAM catman uses part of it (400 MB maximum) to be able to process the data quicker and to keep the hard disk loading low (default setting). Even when the computer, for example, is suddenly switched off by a power failure, this data is however normally still written to the hard disk. If though the operating system crashes, for example because a driver problem occurs, the data is lost. Therefore, with Keep database in RAM you can decide whether you want to use this method (database type memory mapped) or deactivate the setting (asynchronous operation). In the latter case a buffer memory is used, the size of which depends on the Cache size (see below).

Cache size

 The cache size is only relevant when you are not keeping the database in RAM nor operating it in the circular buffer mode. In the other operating modes (memory mapped) the setting is not used. The presetting of 32 kB (per channel) for the size of the cache is sufficient for all normal application cases. You can use higher settings if you are working with many channels and high sample rates. With a size of 32 kB 4096 values are buffered in memory (8 bytes per measurement). This is the maximum number of values which can be lost during a system crash.

A corresponding amount of memory (RAM) is required, otherwise the trans- mission of the measured values will be slowed down.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-27 Project settings

4 Project settings

The operating procedure for the MD Client corresponds to the arrangement of the icons on the toolbar which is displayed after program start. Just proceed from left to right.

In the project settings (File menu or ) the data server IP address (or name) and the Server listen port must be entered. The same port number must be set for the Server listen port here and in software MD Server for the Port for Client-Server connection. Default is 2004, however, due to firewall settings or system restrictions (ask your system administrator) other ports may be used as well.

 Connecting to the server works only, if MD Server is already initialized. Please observe the access rights in User administration in MD Client. The MC Setup database file is then transferred automatically.

The folder used for storing the project file is also the default folder for all other files concerning this project. You may however denote a specific Data path. In this case all measurement data is stored into this path, all other files are stored into the project path. Additionally you may specify a channel pre-selection file, a limit checking settings file, panel layout files or a VBScript file. Use and to sort your panels. The list is displayed in the order shown here in a drop down list box on the top toolbar of MD Client.

 When a project is saved, all file types are added automatically, if settings have been made since program start. If the files are not already saved, also this will be done automatically; the file name will be compiled from the project name together with the date and current time.

B-28 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Project settings

Export/import project When a project is saved, all files which belong to the project are stored as links in the project file. However, if you want to move the project to another PC, this is inconvenient. Therefore the menu items Export current project and Import MD Client project (File menu) provide an easy way to copy all those files to a single folder which can then be copied to another PC. All paths in the project file are matched to the new folder, just import the project file contained in this new folder.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-29 Connecting to a data server

5 Connecting to a data server

The data server must have been initialized already. Otherwise no connection can be made. Without a connection, you have only limited access to data server settings.

If a valid IP address (or name) is specified in the project settings, click on . As soon as the connection is established, the icon changes to and Con- nected together with the symbol appears in the status fields on the lower right-hand side. If no connection can be established, check whether the data server is visible on the client PC network. The connection is only possible as long as the data server software is running and after initialization of the data acquisition on the server. It is not necessary that the data acquisition is running, a connection can also be made in paused state.

 After the connection the file path of the MC Setup database (copy for this PC) is displayed in the status line at the bottom of the MD Client window. Addition- ally a check is made whether the database on the server has been changed. In this case the new database will be copied to the MD Client PC. This enables you to work offline with MD Client, if a connection has been made once, e.g. for preparing the client PC for further tests.

B-30 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Pre-select channels

6 Pre-select channels

As a standard MD Server acquires hundreds if not thousands of channels. Not all of these channels are important for a certain client so the monitoring process is usually narrowed to specific channels. The list of those channels which might be of interest is called Channel pre-selection. Only the channels on this pre-selection list are available later for display or storage. Time channels are always included automatically.

The dialog is only available after a server connection is established and if access is authorized for the (Windows) user logged in.

When loading a panel layout description (CSV) file also a channel pre-selection is created for all channels defined for display in graphs. This enables you to load a CSV file into another MD Client which will configure all panels and create the proper channel pre-selection automatically, see Create from layout description (CSV) file.

Click on or use menu File -> Channel pre-selection to open the dialog. The system hardware, i.e. available devices and channels, all computations defined on the server and the Function groups are displayed in the top section on the left of the window. As soon as you click on one item containing channels, e.g. on time channels, these channels are displayed on the lower left side.

If Function groups have been defined on the server, these are shown here as well. It is very convenient, if channels are grouped according to their relevance for client PCs. In that case just click on the corresponding function group to display the channels.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-31 Pre-select channels

 After changing the pre-selection all values from all channels stored so far will be deleted. You are therefore asked whether you would like to export all data beforehand. You don’t need to select time channels. The necessary time channels will be added to your selection automatically.

How to pre-select channels 1. On the right side mark either a free channel or—if you want to insert channels between existing ones—mark the channel which should be displayed after the inserted channels. 2. Click on a device or channel group in the upper left side. 3. Then mark the channels in the bottom left-hand side which you would like to use later. You can either click and drag the mouse over the first column (numbering column) or hold the or key down while clicking on a channel name to add channels to the selection. 4. Right-click on one of the marked channels and choose Add to pre-selection or click on in the toolbar. You may also drag and drop single channels. In this case, a dotted red line indicates where the channel will be inserted.

Although snapshot time stamps can be selected, it is not recommended that you use these channels as pre-selection. These channels are used internally by the program: as soon as snapshot data is stored or displayed, the relevant time data must be available. This happens, for example, if in the DAQ settings Store when server broadcasts a snapshot is activated (see DAQ settings).

 Consider arranging channels in such a way that the Multiply panel/assign channels function gives you best results, if you want to assign many channels to graphs automatically.

If you want to find certain channels try the search feature described in The search facility. The results are displayed on the bottom left-hand side of the dialog. The last search can also be seen under Search results (upper left side).

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Press to display channel information such as sensor type, unit, excitation voltage and filter setting for the channel selected on the right-hand side. The context menu allows you also to display a channel descriptor file, if such a file is available on the server and access is permitted to the folder where this file resides.

Use Tools -> Clean-up pre-selection to reorganize and clean the pre-selection file, if you have changed, added, deleted or rearranged many channels. This will reduce the file size and speed up the display of the pre-selection list. Additionally all missing channels and computations no longer valid (missing source channels) will be deleted. A log file can be displayed after the clean-up.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-33 Defining computations

7 Defining computations

 QuantumX/SomatXR On-Board computations cannot be used in catman Enterprise.

You may use channels which are results from computations on MD Server or define your own computations in MD Client.

 Computations are created before (above) the channel selected in the list on the right-hand side. Right-click on the right-hand side in the Channel pre-selection window and choose from the context menu Add computation channel. Then select the required computation tab.

7.1 Online computation (Algebra) This computation type shows you a pocket calculator you may use to define your formula. It is however also possible to type in an equation.

How to proceed 1. Specify name and unit for the new channel. 2. Drag the required channels from the Argument channels list to the Edit computation field or click on the lower left on the numeric keyboard or the functions on the lower right.

 Please use brackets to specify the processing sequence when using computations with mixed plus/minus and multiply/divide opera- tors. Some special functions are available from the drop-down box. 3. Click on Add to create the computation.

You may then define another computation or close the dialog with Close.

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7.2 Strain gage rosette computation This computation may be used when having strain gage rosettes. It enables you to calculate the principle strains and stresses together with the orientation angle of the main principle strain or stress. Also the equivalent stress according to von Mises may be calculated or the transverse sensitivity may be stated.

How to proceed 1. Either use the default setting for the base name (From strain channels) which will be used for these computations or specify one. As default the channel name for grid a of a rosette is used as base name together with a combination of two or three letters or two letters plus a digit to indicate the type of computation (see table below). If you specify a name to be used, to each name first a number (rosette number) and then the above mentioned identification is appended. 2. Select the channels where the rosette grids are measured. 3. Specify the type of rosette: 0/45/90° grid angle or 0/60/120° grid angle. If the orientation angle of the principle stress is already known, a 0/90° rosette with two grids only may be used as well. In this case no orientation angle may be computed. 4. Mark the computations the program shall make. Keep in mind that some computations only make sense if a certain rosette type is used (see previous step). 5. Type in the Young’s modulus (modulus of elasticity) and the Poisson’s ratio for the material used in the test. 6. If required, specify the transverse sensitivity of the grids. 7. Click on Add to create the computation.

You may then define another computation or close the dialog with Close.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-35 Defining computations

7.2.1 Available formulae and abbreviations used for strain gage rosette computations

Abbreviation Computation

AG Orientation angle

ES Equivalent stress according to von Mises

SN1 Principle strain 1: strain in the direction of principle nominal stress 1

SN2 Principle strain 2: strain in the direction of principle nominal stress 2

Shear strain: strain under 45° to grid a. The angle is evaluated in mathematical SNA positive direction (counter-clockwise)

SNX Strain X: strain in the direction of the grid a

Strain Y: strain under 90° to grid a. The angle is evaluated in mathematical pos- SNY itive direction (counter-clockwise)

SS1 Principle nominal stress 1

SS2 Principle nominal stress 2

SSH Shear stress

SSX Stress X: stress in the direction of the grid a

Stress Y: stress under 90° to grid a. The angle is evaluated in mathematical SSY positive direction (counter-clockwise)

It is very important that the order of the grids a-b-c is counter-clockwise (math- ematically positive) at the stated grid angles. The formulae used are based on this condition and would otherwise result in false values. With HBM strain gage rosettes the grids are labeled with a, b and c and can be used directly. If rosettes from other manufacturers are used, check the measuring grid arrangement and labeling.

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Formula: SG rosette, angle The following applies to 0°/45°/90° rosettes: 1 2 –  –   = --- atan ------B A C 2 A – C The following applies for 0°/60°/120° rosettes: 1 3 –   = --- atan ------B C 2 2A – B – C

 The Arcustangens is calculated so that the angle is output in the correct quad- rants I to IV.

Formula: SG rosette, reference stress according to von Mises The following applies to 0°/45°/90° and 0°/60°/120° rosettes: 2 2  = 1 + 2 – 12

Formula: SG rosette, principle strain 1 The following applies to 0°/45°/90° rosettes:

A + C 1 2 2 1 = ------+ ------A – B + C – B 2 2 The following applies for 0°/60°/120° rosettes: 2 A ++B C 1 2A – B – C 2 1 = ------+ ------+ B – C 3 3 3

Formula: SG rosette, principle strain 2 The following applies to 0°/45°/90° rosettes:

A + C 1 2 2 2 = ------– ------A – B + C – B 2 2

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-37 Defining computations

The following applies for 0°/60°/120° rosettes: 2 A ++B C 1 2A – B – C 2 2 = ------– ------+ B – C 3 3 3

Formula: SG rosette, shear strain The following applies to 0°/45°/90° rosettes:

 = 2B – A – C The following applies for 0°/60°/120° rosettes: 2  = ------B – C 3

Formula: SG rosette, strain X The following applies to 0°/45°/90° and 0°/60°/120° rosettes:

x = A

Formula: SG rosette, strain Y The following applies to 0°/45°/90° rosettes:

 y = C The following applies for 0°/60°/120° rosettes: 2   = --- +  – -----A y 3B C 2

Formula: SG rosette, principal nominal stress 1 The following applies to 0°/45°/90° rosettes: E E 2 2 1 = ------A + C + ------A – B + C – B 21–  21+  The following applies for 0°/60°/120° rosettes: E   ++  E 2 –  –  2 1 2  = ------A B C + ------------A B C + --- +  1 31 –  1 +  3 3 B C

B-38 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Defining computations

Formula: SG rosette, principal nominal stress 2 The following applies to 0°/45°/90° rosettes: E E 2 2 2 = ------A + C – ------A – B + C – B 21–  21+  The following applies for 0°/60°/120° rosettes: E   ++  E 2 –  –  2 1 2  = ------A B C – ------------A B C + --- +  2 31 –  1 +  3 3 B C

Formula: SG rosette, shear stress The following applies to 0°/45°/90° and 0°/60°/120° rosettes:  –   = ------1 2- sin2 xy 2

Formula: SG rosette, stress X The following applies to 0°/45°/90° rosettes: E x = ------A + C 1 – 2 The following applies for 0°/60°/120° rosettes: E 2   = ------ + --- +  – -----A x 2A B C 1 –  3 2

Formula: SG rosette, stress Y The following applies to 0°/45°/90° rosettes: E  y = ------C + A 1 – 2 The following applies for 0°/60°/120° rosettes: E 2   = --------- +  – -----A +  y 2B C A 1 –  3 2

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public B-39 Defining computations

B-40 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Defining Visualization (Panels)

C Defining Visualization (Panels)

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public C-41 Introduction

1 Introduction

New panels for visualization may only be designed, if proper user access rights are defined, see User administration in MD Client.

This visualization is used to monitor channels during a measurement or view the results of a measurement in e.g. a Post-process graph. You may define as many different pages (panels) as necessary. However only one panel may be visible at any one time. The panels are browsed through with and , but you can also select a specific panel from the drop-down list. Use and in the Project settings to sort your panels as required. In Real-time and Post-process graphs all values stored in the internal database are displayed immediately after changing the panel.

You can create panels by 1. Designing your panels interactively. You may use all available objects and assign channels directly. 2. Creating a layout description file in Excel. Create a (single) panel layout and assign dummy channels to the graphs. Then save this panel layout as panel layout description (CSV file). In the next step edit this file in MS Excel (copy/multiply the required lines to create more panels) and assign the required channels to the available graphs. Channels may be assigned to real-time and post process graphs only. However, all other objects are copied/multiplied as well. Then let MD Client create all panels and graph/channel assignments defined in this file. The file may combine several panel layouts for several panels each. This procedure is also recommended, if you want to duplicate panel layouts for several MD clients or if you want to modify a panel layout on several clients together.

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3. Create multiple panels using a panel layout. Create a (single) panel layout and assign dummy channels to the graphs. Then multiply this layout according to the number of panels required to display the selected channels. Newly created display panels are appended to the already existing ones. If you need several different layouts, perform the whole procedure several times each time creating a different layout series.

 Panel files are saved automatically by the MD Client. New panels or panels inserted from file are always included into the project file. If you want to remove a panel from the project, use menu Panels -> Remove panel or (access rights to change a project are required, see User administration in MD Client). Removing a file from a project does not delete the file itself.

When starting the program, the project name is the default panel name. If you wish to change that name, save this panel (after configuration) under a different name, import it and remove the original panel.

Background picture or text for a Panel

See also Background picture in a graph You can assign a background picture or text for the whole panel with the panel context menu (click anywhere on a blank area in the panel). Formats BMP (bitmap) and GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) are possible. The menu allows also for stretching (scales to the panel size) or deleting the picture.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public C-43 Creating panels interactively

2 Creating panels interactively

Procedure 1. Click on one of the icons in the icon bar on top representing a display object or use menus Panels -> Real-time displays/Post-process displays, see Available visualization objects. 2. Drag the object to the required location on your screen. Do not click on the top toolbar to move a graph or the Client database viewer. Use any point inside the object instead. 3. Position the cursor over the lower right corner (the cursor icon changes) to resize the object. 4. Assign one or more channels (only graphs and the Spreadsheet can display more than one channel) using the Channel selector. The Channel selector may be called up using or the context menu of an object. 5. Create more panels as required using .

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3 Available visualization objects

There are different object types available: 1. Real-time displays, e.g. Digital indicator, Bar indicator, Analog indicator, LED, Spreadsheet, Real-time graph or Real-time bar graph or Real-time channel row graph 2. Post-process displays: Post-process graph and Client database viewer 3. Objects for texts, images and HTML pages: Label and Browser 4. VBScript command button for starting VBScript actions

3.1 Real-time displays These objects display data in real time, i.e. as soon as they are read in from the server. The individual objects are • Digital indicator • Bar indicator • Analog indicator • LED • Real-time graph • Real-time bar graph • Real-time channel row graph • Spreadsheet

Except with the Real-time graphs and the Spreadsheet, each object may display one channel only. As soon as you assign a new channel from the Channel selector window, the old channel assignment is deleted.

The LED may use more than just two different colors.

The graph objects allow various export formats and destinations: to clipboard, file or printer and in Windows metafile format (*.WMF), as bitmap (*.BMP) or

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public C-45 Available visualization objects

JPEG (*.JPG). In this dialog it is even possible to export Data only which results in a table with all values currently displayed. With Export channel data from the context menu it is possible to save one or all of the channels shown to file.

 Exporting data to file via context menu Export channel data is only possible with appropriate access rights, see User administration in MD Client.

3.1.1 Digital indicator As a rule the Digital indicator displays minimum (lower left, in blue) and maximum (lower right, in red) values. Use Hide statistics from the context menu to suppress this display. Context menu item Alarm allows you to specify certain value ranges which are then used to change the background color (alarm checking must be enabled). It might be necessary to change the background and foreground color of the display to have a good contrast with all alarm colors. When Use source channel limits is checked, the values from the limit checking (DAQ -> Limit checking) are used. In this case only the colors may be changed in this dialog.

Notes • If you want to display absolute time values, drag Time stamps absolute or NTP time channel (Channel selector window) to the object. Then apply the proper format setting via the Format output context menu. • Values for the Min./Max. pointer display are retrieved from the values this object receives. As a maximum of one value per read block (read cycle) is provided for this object these values are not identical with the minimum or maximum of the acquired values. Hence this indication is only recommended for low sample rates up to 10 Hz.

3.1.2 Bar indicator Besides several different appearances with horizontal or vertical bar, tank or thermometer it is also possible to use an inverted and/or a logarithmic scale. Axis labels may be displayed left, right or on both sides.

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Notes • With logarithmic scale a proper Min value has to be used, e.g. 0.0001. • Values for the Min./Max. pointer display are retrieved from the values this object receives. As a maximum of one value per read block (read cycle) is provided for this object these values are not identical with the minimum or maximum of the acquired values. Hence this indication is only recommended for low sample rates up to 10 Hz.

3.1.3 Analog indicator With the Analog indicator several different appearances are available, e.g. dial, knob, horizontal or vertical gage display with a 90° wide pointer scale. It is also possible to use an inverted and/or a logarithmic scale.

3.1.4 LED The channel name of the data source is displayed as default, but you may change this any time. Just type in a new name. Use Configure status change from the context menu to set the colors. The Default color is used as OFF color.

 Click on the LED symbol, not on the text field, to call up the context menu.

If Bit test is enabled in the Configure dialog you may assign Default color and ON color to display status information: if the bit specified is set (1), the ON color is displayed, otherwise (0) the Default color.

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3.1.5 Real-time graph

See also Using panel layouts, Panel options If an y(x) graph is required instead of an y(t) graph drag the required channel directly to the x-axis. Drag a time channel to the x-axis to get a y(t) graph again. Use the context menu to clear the x-axis channel from the graph: Use index for x-axis.

 If a Reference x channel (see MC Setup column description) is defined, this is used as default for the x-axis in y(x) graphs. Clicking on a plot legend1) (left-hand mouse key) leads to a popup menu which lets you configure or delete the plot, delete all plots or show channel information.

Control plots (Configure dialog of a graph, Control plot tab) allow reference curves or limits to be displayed. Just specify x and y coordinates (64 max.), a straight line is drawn between these points. Up to 8 control plots are possible.

If Check prediction line is activated in the Limit checking dialog, you may display the prediction line with the Configure plot context menu (left-hand mouse key) of the plot legend1). Also the display of the tolerance band around your prediction line may be activated here. The tolerance band itself is defined in the Limit checking dialog. See also Prediction line trigger for an explanation of the operation principle. 1) The plot legend (curve legend) displays the color, style and name of a curve. It is located at the top edge of a graph: .

Notes • Use the Panel options menu to pre-define plot colors. • Use History buffer size in the configuration dialog, General tab, to specify how many values are visible. The maximum number of data shown is 32,000 per channel.

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• We recommend caution when using autoscaling for the y-axis with the Real-time graph since this might be time-consuming when redrawing the graph. Use a fixed scaling instead. • If you want to display absolute time values, drag the Time stamps absolute or NTP time channel (Channel selector window) to the x-axis. Then open the Configure dialog via the context menu and activate Date/time for the x axis on the Axes tab. • With it is possible to freeze the graph temporarily, e.g. the display is paused.

• You may expand the graph temporarily to full screen with . Press to return to the normal screen display. • Exporting data to file via context menu Export channel data or with is only possible with appropriate access rights, see User administration in MD Client.

• deletes all plots of a graph.

3.1.6 Real-time bar graph Each column displays another channel, just drag a channel into the graph. New channels are always appended as a new bar on the right-hand side. The scale is automatically set to the maximum of all Max. prediction values if these values are available. Control plots (Configure dialog, Control plot tab) allow limits to be displayed. Just specify x and y coordinates (64 max.), a straight line is drawn between these points. Here the x coordinate refers to the bar graph number. If you, for example, specify x1 = 0 and x2 = 3.5 with 6 bars displayed, a line is drawn on the stated y coordinates from the left side of the graph to the middle between the third and the fourth bar. Up to 8 control plots are possible.

Notes • Click on a bar legend at the x-axis if you want to change the text displayed. As default the channel name is used.

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• With it is possible to freeze the graph temporarily, i.e. the display is paused. • Exporting data to file via context menu Export channel data or with is only possible with appropriate access rights, see User administration in MD Client.

• deletes all plots of a graph.

3.1.7 Channel row graph This graph is similar to a Real-time bar graph but enables you to display channel values on the y-axis at certain x-axis positions. For each channel to be displayed in a plot, an x position must be specified. All y values of a plot are then connected by a line.

How to proceed 1. Open the list with the plot channels with in the graph toolbar. The first plot (PLOT_1) is displayed, however no channel is assigned so far. 2. Open the Channel selector window from the context menu or with in the toolbar. 3. Drag the required channel(s) to the plot list. Drag&drop on the graph itself like with the other graphs does not work in this case. Use the context menu in the list to delete selected channels. 4. If required, modify the text to display (x-axis label) in the x Data label column. The default x-axis label is the channel name. The labels are displayed in separate lines, if the x-axis values of channels are identical. 5. Assign in the x Value column where the current value of each channel shall be displayed in the graph.

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6. Use the Add button to create more plots. 7. Close the channel list to display the data (click again).

Use and to display the previous or next plot in the list, if available. You may assign each plot a different color and use the legend context menu as usual.

Use Rotate x channel labels from the context menu or to turn the x-axis labels clockwise by 90°, if the texts overlap.

Control plots (Configure dialog, Control plot tab) allow reference curves or limits to be displayed. Just specify x and y coordinates (64 max.), a straight line is drawn between these points. Up to 8 control plots are possible. If Check prediction line is activated in the Limit checking dialog, you may display the prediction line with the Configure plot context menu of the plot leg- end1). Also the display of the tolerance band around your prediction line may be activated here. The tolerance band itself is defined in the Limit checking dialog. See also Prediction line trigger for an explanation of the operation principle.

Notes • Clicking on a plot legend1) (left-hand mouse key) leads to a popup menu which lets you configure or delete the plot, delete all plots or show channel information. • As long as the channel list for a plot is displayed, the graph size is restricted in width. The original width is used again, if this list is hidden (click again). 1) The plot legend (curve legend) displays the color, style and name of a curve. It is located at the top edge of a graph: .

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3.1.8 Spreadsheet The Spreadsheet displays the real-time data of a channel (one channel per row). Just drag the required channel(s) to a row. You may select several channels as usual with and/or keys.

 Values for the min/max display are retrieved from the values this object receives. As a maximum of one value per read block (read cycle) is provided for this object these values are not identical with the minimum or maximum of the acquired values. Hence this indication is only recommended for low sample rates up to 10 Hz.

3.2 Post-process displays

The Post-process graph displays the data stored in the internal (catman) database. For details about the database, see Active channel number and storage size. A post-process graph shows all stored data; it is however possible to specify how often an update occurs when working with high data transfer refresh rates. The Client database viewer allows you to see the values stored in the internal (catman) database in a spreadsheet similar to Excel. For details about the database, see Active channel number and storage size. Up to 50,000 values per channel may be shown in this object together with channel unit, minimum and maximum.

3.3 Label (text or image)

See also Configuration This object is used to display headings or comments and images, e.g. com- pany logos.

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3.4 Browser

See also Configuration The Browser object is used to display HTML pages. The object may only be created via Panels -> Text -> Browser.

3.5 VBScript command button

See also Configuration This object shows a button which triggers the connected VBScript (Configure menu). See Using VBScript for details concerning VBScript.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public C-53 Configuration of visualization objects

4 Configuration of visualization objects

With the visualization objects you may: • Move and re-size an object

 Do not click on the top toolbar to move a graph or the Client database viewer. Use any point inside the object instead. • Duplicate objects horizontally or vertically, even fully configured (the next channel in the pre-selection list is used in this case) • Decide which colors shall be used for graphs or the display of values • Change the scaling • Set the format for axis numbering, e.g. 0.000 will display three post decimal places • Configure the appearance of a Bar indicator or an Analog indicator • Display or hide statistics or change the data format in the Digital indicator

It is not possible to make objects transparent. Therefore we recommend you do not superimpose objects as those in the background will be hidden.

Use the context menu or (graph objects toolbar only) to configure each object. Depending on the possible settings this context menu contains the appropriate items. After selecting an entry, the necessary dialog window is opened. Just specify the settings you require. The configuration may be called up before, after or even during a running data acquisition, if proper access rights are defined (see User administration in MD Client).

Use menu Panels -> Show panel navigator to access objects outside the current screen area (Center object on screen) or to position objects accurately (type in a new position and click on Change). The numbers displayed are TWIPS1) and refer to the left upper corner of an object. All objects on the current panel are shown, sorted by object types.

C-54 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise Configuration of visualization objects

For all objects one setting is important: which channel(s) shall be displayed. If the Channel selector window is not yet visible, use the context menu item Channel selector from any object or in the toolbar to call this window and drag a channel to the object. All other settings are optional.

 Object names (Name) are only important if VBScript is used. In this case objects are referred to by their names. Use in the graph toolbar to delete all plots from a graph.

Zooming in a graph Use , or to zoom into a graph (horizontal, vertical or rectangle zoom). Click with the left-hand mouse key inside the graph and drag to indicate the zoom section. Click on the symbol again to return to the original state.

Background picture in a graph All graph objects support a background picture in bitmap (*.BMP) format. Click

on in the configuration dialog to select a picture. The picture is automati-

cally scaled to the graph size. Use either or delete the file name (blank field) to remove the picture. See also Background picture (Panel)

Control plots Control plots (Configure dialog, Control plot tab) allow reference curves or limits to be displayed. Just specify coordinates, a straight line is drawn between these points. Up to 8 control plots are possible.

4.1 Channel selector window The Channel selector window shows all channels from your pre-selection. Use the Shift key ( ) to select consecutive channels and drag the channels (still holding the Shift key) to graphs or tables. Objects capable of showing only a single channel will not change if several channels are dropped.

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public C-55 Configuration of visualization objects

How to search Either type in the search criteria or choose from a previous phrase in the drop- down field. Use ? as wild card for a single character, e.g. ???A1 for a sensor name A1 which is coded into the fourth and fifth character. Use * as wild card for several characters. If you don't specify any wild card character, an exact match is searched. ???A1* finds all occurrences where A1 is in the fourth and fifth position and has no or several trailing characters.

Click on to start the search. Use to show all pre-selected channels again.

shows you the panel displaying the marked channel.

4.2 Analog indicator With the Analog indicator several different appearances are available, e.g. dial, knob, horizontal or vertical gauge display with a 90° wide pointer scale. It is also possible to use an inverted and/or a logarithmic scale.

4.3 Bar indicator Besides several different appearances with horizontal or vertical bar, tank or thermometer it is also possible to use an inverted and/or a logarithmic scale. Axis labels may be displayed left, right or on both sides.

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4.4 Browser

 The object may only be created via Panels -> Text -> Browser. Type any URL into the drop-down list box at the bottom of the object.

4.5 Channel row graph This graph is similar to a Real-time bar graph but enables you to display channel values on the y-axis at certain x-axis positions. For each channel to be displayed in a plot, an x position must be specified. All y values of a plot are then connected by a line.

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5. Assign in the x Value column where the current value of each channel shall be displayed in the graph. 6. Use the Add button to create more plots. 7. Close the channel list to display the data (click again).

Use and to display the previous or next plot in the list, if available. You may assign each plot a different color and use the legend context menu as usual.

Use Rotate x channel labels from the context menu or to turn the x-axis labels clockwise by 90°, if the texts overlap.

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4.6 Client database viewer With this object it is possible to display up to 50,000 values per channel in a spreadsheet similar to Excel. You may also display the first channels all the time, even when scrolling through the columns: use Frozen columns in the Configure dialog. The columns starting from the left-hand side up to the number specified are frozen in this case.

You may specify that the object is not updated during every storage cycle but with a lower speed or manually instead, if CPU load is critical at high data acquisition speeds: Configure context menu, Update frame. is necessary, if Update: Manually is selected here.

 Only values available in the internal (catman) database may be displayed, see Active channel number and storage size.

This object enables you to export certain channels during the measurement: mark the channel in question and use context menu Export channel data (access rights to export data are required, see User administration in MD Client).

4.7 Digital indicator As a rule the Digital indicator displays minimum (lower left, in blue) and maximum (lower right, in red) values. Use Hide statistics from the context menu to suppress this display. Context menu item Alarm allows you to specify certain value ranges which are then used to change the background color (alarm checking must be enabled). It might be necessary to change the background and foreground color of the display to have a good contrast with all alarm colors. When Use source channel limits is checked, the values from the limit checking (DAQ -> Limit checking) are used. In this case only the colors may be changed in this dialog.

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4.8 Label (text or image) If you specify a picture file, make sure the file is available when opening a panel layout with this object. The following file formats are supported: bitmap (BMP), Windows Metafile Format (WMF), Icon file format (ICO), Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) and JPEG (JPG).

4.9 LED The channel name of the data source is displayed as default, but you may change this any time. Just type in a new name. Use Configure status change from the context menu to set the colors. The Default color is used as OFF color.

 Click on the LED symbol, not on the text field, to call up the context menu.

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4.10 Post-process graph

If Check prediction line is activated in the Limit checking dialog, you may display the prediction line with the Configure plot context menu of the plot leg- end1). Also the display of the tolerance band around your prediction line may be activated here. The tolerance band itself is defined in the Limit checking dialog. See also Prediction line trigger for an explanation of the operation principle. 1) The plot legend (curve legend) displays the color, style and name of a curve. It is located at the top edge of a graph: .

Notes • Use the Panel options menu to pre-define plot colors. • If CPU load is critical at high data acquisition speeds, you may specify that a Post-process graph is not updated during every scan cycle (Data transfer refresh rate) but with a lower speed instead: Configure context menu, General tab, Update after n storage cycles.

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• If you want to display absolute time values, drag Time stamps absolute or NTP time channel (Channel selector window) to the x-axis. Then open the Configure dialog via the context menu and activate Date/time for the x axis on the Axes tab.

• deletes all plots of a graph.

4.11 Real-time bar graph Each column displays another channel, just drag a channel into the graph. New channels are always appended as a new bar on the right-hand side. The scale is automatically set to the maximum of all Max. prediction values if these values are available. Control plots (Configure dialog, Control plot tab) allow limits to be displayed. Just specify x and y coordinates (64 max.), a straight line is drawn between these points. Here the x coordinate refers to the bar graph number. If you, for example, specify x1 = 0 and x2 = 3.5 with 6 bars displayed, a line is drawn on the stated y coordinates from the left side of the graph to the middle between the third and the fourth bar. Up to 8 control plots are possible.

Notes • Click on a bar legend at the x-axis if you want to change the text displayed. As default the channel name is used. • With it is possible to freeze the graph temporarily, i.e. the display is paused. • Exporting data to file via context menu Export channel data or with is only possible with appropriate access rights, see User administration in MD Client.

• deletes all plots of a graph.

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4.12 Real-time graph

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• deletes all plots of a graph.

4.13 Spreadsheet The Spreadsheet displays the real-time data of a channel (one channel per row). Just drag the required channel(s) to a row. You may select several channels as usual with and/or keys.

4.14 VBScript command button

 You must have appropriate access rights to use command buttons, see User administration in MD Client. A VBScript must be loaded in order to assign a VBScript procedure to a button. Please read Using VBScript for details.

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5 Creating multiple panels (using panel layouts)

Creating panels can be quite time consuming. Therefore MD Client provides two options for automating this process: 1. Using a layout description file Create a (single) panel layout and assign dummy channels to the graphs. Then save this panel layout as panel layout description which is a CSV file. In the next step edit this file in MS Excel (copy/multiply the required lines to create more panels and assign the required channels to the available graphs. Then let MD Client create all panels and graph/channel assignments defined in this file. The file may combine several panel layouts for several panels each. 2. Using a panel layout Create a (single) panel layout and assign dummy channels to the graphs. Then multiply this layout according to the number of panels required to display the selected channels. Newly created display panels are appended to the already existing ones. If you need several different layouts, perform the whole procedure several times each time creating a different layout series.

 In both cases channels are assigned to real-time and post process graphs only. However, all other objects are copied/multiplied as well.

5.1 Create panel(s) from layout description (CSV) file

See also Panel options for specifying the colors which are assigned automatically to the plots, User defined prediction line Use a panel layout if you want to create multiple panels with several graphs and if you want to control, how the individual channels are assigned to the graphs. The first part of the procedure is identical to creating a panel layout, however, no placeholder (dummy) channels are used and there is an additional step to perform: editing a CSV file (comma-separated values) which specifies how many panels with how many graphs and which channel assignments are to be created.

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When loading a CSV file also a channel pre-selection is created for all channels defined for display in graphs. This enables you to load a CSV file into another MD Client which will configure all panels and create the proper channel pre-selection.

How to proceed 1. Open a new layout page with Panels -> New panel layout. When creating a new panel layout, a name has to be stated. This name is used as file name and the file is stored to the Panels sub-folder of the project folder. 2. Create your visualization objects as usual. Channels are assigned to real-time and post process graphs only. How- ever, all other objects are multiplied as well. The visualization is created on one panel only. If you need several different layouts, perform the whole procedure until step 5 several times each time creating a different panel layout file. 3. Use Add plot from the context menu to assign channels to your graphs. These channels act as placeholders for the channels to be assigned in the next step. You may however also assign certain channels using the Chan- nel selector window. These channels are not changed later when assigning channels to graphs automatically. 4. Configure your graphs as usual (color, scaling etc.). 5. Use Panels -> Save panel layout description to create a CSV file. 6. Open the CSV file, e.g. with Excel. However, a plain text editor may also be used. 7. In the CSV file, the following information is essential: Channel name, Panel layout file, New panel name, Panel object name, Plot no. and Chart title. Fill in or copy the required information into the corresponding columns. The column titles may not be changed, however, unnecessary columns may be deleted. The first column must be the Channel name column, the sequence of the other columns is not important.

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Do not change the Panel object name, this is the internal object name of the graph in the related panel layout file. Columns Panel layout file and New panel name may contain a full path specification, a relative path or a file name only. If no full path is given, the base path must be specified in the import dialog in step 9. You may change the Chart title which is the panel title available later in MD Client and you may create more plots per graph (up to 32 plots are possible, i.e. number 1 to 32 are allowed in the Plot no. column). Optionally you may specify a X channel name, a Formula (only columns Channel name and Formula are required) or a user defined prediction line. Formulas are written as they appear in the formula editor, see Online computation (Algebra). If you want to specify a unit for the computation, append the unit with @, e.g. [channel1]+[channel2]@μm/m.

 You may open several CSV files and copy/merge the required rows until all channels to be created are defined as a row in the CSV file. 8. Save the edited CSV file. You may change the name if the original file shall be retained. 9. Go to MD Client and use Panels -> Create panels from layout description file to create the panels, graphs and plots as specified. A dialog is displayed in which you specify the CSV file. If no paths or only relative paths are given in the CSV file (columns Panel layout file and New panel name), select the required paths in the dialog. If a full path (absolute path) is specified in the CSV file, any path chosen in the dialog is ignored.

 Activate Remove all panels from project before start creating new panels to remove all old or empty panels. Then click on Start to open and process the file. Channels not existing so far are created in the Channel pre-selection. Al- ready existing panels are retained, only new panels are created. You may therefore also import several CSV files. All new panels are created with the file names and relative or absolute paths specified in the CSV file.

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After the process, an error log may be displayed, if errors occurred.

 Channel assignment is made for graphs only, e.g. digital indicators cannot be assigned. However, other objects are also created if a panel layout file contains these objects. 10. We recommend you open the Channel pre-selection window and use Tools -> Clean-up pre-selection to reorganize and clean the pre-selection file after creating new panels and channels. Additionally all missing channels and computations no longer valid (missing source channels) will be deleted. A log file can be displayed after this clean-up.

5.2 Create panel(s) from panel layout

See also Panel options for specifying the colors which are assigned automatically to the plots Use a panel layout if you want to create multiple panels with several graphs in the same design or if you want to assign many channels to several graphs on subsequent panels having the same design. If you want to control how the individual channels are assigned to the graphs, use a layout description file.

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4. Use Add plot from the context menu to assign channels to your graphs. These channels act as placeholders (dummy channels) for the channels to be assigned in the next step. You may however also assign certain channels using the Channel selector window. These channels are not changed later when assigning channels to graphs automatically. 5. Configure your graphs as usual (color, scaling etc.). 6. Use Panels -> Multiply panel/assign channels to graphs to assign the required channels to the graphs. A dialog is displayed in which you specify the first and the last channel to be assigned (drag from the Channel selector window) and a panel base name. Depending on the number of channels between this first and last channel, on the number of plots per graph and on the graphs per panel the appropriate number of panels is created and the channels are assigned. The channels are used in the sequence they appear in the Channel selector window. The panels are named with the base name, an underscore and a three digit number is appended. Already existing panels are retained, only new panels are created. Chan- nel assignment is made for graphs only, e.g. digital indicators are not assigned.

 Arrange the channels in the Channel pre-selection window so that all required channels form a continuous range with the appropriate channel sequence, see Pre-select channels. Otherwise consider to use a layout description file. 7. Use Exit panel layout mode from the Panels menu to be able to use the newly created pages.

You may also use an existing panel as layout template: Panels -> Import layout from panel file. It may however be necessary to delete the original channel assignment with or the plot legend1) context menu Delete all plots and use the Add plot context menu before multiplying/assigning channels.

1) The plot legend (curve legend) displays the color, style and name of a curve. It is located at the top edge of a graph: .

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 Copying a fully configured graph in panel layout mode will also copy all (dummy) channel assignments. This is in contrast to standard editing mode: here only the graph will be copied, not the channel assignment.

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6 Panel options

Plot color default setting allows you to pre-define the colors used for the plots of a graph. Each time you assign a new channel, the next color from the dialog is used. In every graph the color scheme starts with the first color from the dialog. The settings applies for all users of MD Client. If you delete plots from the graph, all colors of the currently assigned channels are retained, however, the next plot gets the plot color which is assigned to the corresponding Plot No. where the number depends on the number of plots in the graph. Example: If you assigned 10 plots and then delete plots 3 and 4, there are only 8 plots left. Therefore the next two plots get the color for Plot No. 9 and Plot No. 10 (which are already used).

Rearrange all plot colors of a graph with the graph context menu Reset plot colors to default. This re-assigns the pre-defined colors to all plots of this graph.

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D Data Acquisition

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public D-73 Introduction

1 Introduction

The following topics in this section explain the settings for a data acquisition, how to start it and how you can access, export or import data: • data transfer speed • storage settings • limit checking • performing the data acquisition • handling the acquired data, the Database editor

The preparation for the data acquisition is covered in: • defining the measuring data source, i.e. which server PC and MC Setup database • setting up the visualization panels • connecting to the server PC

If this has already been done, you only need to load the project file which contains the relevant information together with the panel files and start the data acquisition.

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2 DAQ settings

See also Prediction line trigger

 User defined prediction lines can only be defined in CSV files and are created by opening such a layout description file. In contrast to a standard prediction line which is a straight line through zero, the user defined prediction line may consist of up to 32 value pairs. On the other hand these prediction lines are only displayed, there is no trigger action if values appear above or below these lines.

How to proceed 1. The value pairs have to be typed into a row with the graphic object where the user defined prediction line shall appear. Use one row per prediction line. Up to 32 user prediction lines are possible, you may however only define as many prediction lines as curves are defined for the graph. 2. Type in the value pairs in columns x1/y1 up to x32/y32. At least two pairs are required. The entries must use the same number for x and y and start with the first entry, e.g. enter values in x1, x2 and x3 as well as in y1, y2 and y3. You may then delete all other columns, in this example columns x4 to x32 and y4 to y32.

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5 Performing the data acquisition

You may only switch to DAQ mode, if a connection has been made to the server. Either use or menu DAQ -> Connect to server (see Connecting to a data server).

Switch to DAQ mode with . The toolbar on the top changes and shows the icons and information necessary for the data acquisition. When switching to DAQ mode, the (internal) database may be cleared (see Data storage settings) and the values from the last snapshots are fetched from the server and displayed. This may also be done manually with menu Data- base -> Fetch server snapshots. Use to go back to design mode. Start the data acquisition with . You may change the refresh rate (see DAQ settings) or the storage settings at any time, provided you have the proper access rights. You can also manually save actual values from all active channels by clicking on . Also with this function the proper access rights must be assigned.

 When switching to a different panel, the data from the internal database is always displayed in Real-time and Post-process graphs.

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6 Data handling, Database editor

Database editing and exporting data can only be done, if proper user access rights are defined, see User administration in MD Client.

The general data storage settings (which data to store) are defined in dialog DAQ settings. Some general settings have to be made from the Database menu in MD Client. If you want to access all data, search through or edit data, you have to use the Database editor.

The Database menu

Database configuration How to set the required storage size is described in Active channel number and storage size.

Delete all/oldest values Database -> Delete all values from the MD Client menu deletes all values from all channels stored so far. Database -> Delete oldest values from the MD Client menu allows to delete rows containing older data, i.e. starting with the first measurements stored to the database. You must specify the number of rows to delete in the subsequent dialog.

Fetch and view snapshots Snapshot data is normally read in when switching to DAQ mode (see Per- forming the data acquisition). However if the database was cleared manually, use menu item Database -> Fetch server snapshots to read-in again the snapshot data from the server.

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The database is always cleared when snapshot data is fetched.

The Database editor

The Database editor enables you to see all stored values in table form. It is also possible to import, export or change data via this editor. Use the Client database viewer to show specific channels from the database on a Panel.

Hide/show columns Hide marked columns with . shows all columns again. The commands are also available from the Edit menu.

Find values, channel information Using or Find in the Edit menu, you can search through individual channels for certain values. or menu Edit -> Show channel information shows the traceability data of the selected channel, i.e. all settings concerning the data acquisition like bridge type, excitation voltage, scaling or zero values.

Edit/delete/insert values If you want to change a value, just type in a new one. Edit -> Insert value inserts a new cell above the marked one. Edit -> Delete value in the deletes the marked cell and moves all lower rows up one row. Edit -> Delete selected channels deletes just the data from these channels, not the channels itself.

6.1 Data export Data export is possible from the Database editor and from the Database menu in MD Client. Specify path and file name, mark the channels to be exported and decide on the export format.

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 We recommend to use catman or ASCII + channel information as format, because here all traceability data is stored as well. The same applies to Micro- soft Excel, if Include channel information is activated in the Options dialog

().

The (binary) catman formats (*.BIN) Files in the catman format can only be read in again by catman itself. How- ever, the speed of the export is substantially higher than in other formats. In addition the channel information (acquisition parameters of a channel) are also saved and you can provide a comment for the file. This is then visible later in the catman Data Explorer without you having to load the file. The format catman (version 4.5) is only present for reasons of compatibility, because version 4.5 of catman Professional also runs on the (old) operating systems Windows 95/98/Millennium. If you want to exchange data with users who are still using catman 4.5, you must specify this format when saving. In all other cases use the catman format.

 You may choose to export less than 8 bytes per measured value in format catman. With number format 2 bytes integer for each channel minimum and maximum is determined and the values are scaled to the available range of numbers so that as less information as possible is lost. During import the number conversion is automatically reversed. This option enables you to reduce the amount of hard disk space required for data saved in format catman. A reduced resolution may be sufficient if, for example, strain gages or temperature channels are measured. Use either the Database editor to set the number format on a per channel basis or specify the number format for all channels in the export dialog.

ASCII and ASCII + channel information (*.ASC)

When exporting values in one of these formats, the currently set number formatting for each channel in the Database editor view is used. The default format is with three decimal places. For very small values, this could lead to a loss of data. Increase the number of post decimal places in this case. A time

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channel that contains absolute time values (serial date-time format) must have a date-time formatting. A change can only be carried out in the Database editor.

Example With a sample rate of 9600 measurements per second, then in the setting with three decimal places, the first five values for the time channel are saved with 0.000 because the value is less than 0.0005. From the sixth value there is then 0.001, etc. Either use more decimal places or one of the scientific formats with an exponent.

Data exported in this form is present as ASCII text file and can be read directly by numerous other programs. The data of a channel is located in a column with the columns being separated from one another by a freely selected ASCII separator, e.g. or semicolon. Each row is terminated by CRLF (Carriage Return/Linefeed, standard for DOS and Windows). The first rows of the file contain, if required (+ channel information), acquisition parameters (traceability data).

The traceability data (channel information) can only be restored from a file saved in format ASCII + channel information, if the parameter IDs have been saved additionally (appended).

 Please note that export in the ASCII format is slower than the binary export due to the formatting processes.

NI DIAdem (*.DAT) Files exported in this format can be directly read in by the data analysis software DIAdem® from National Instruments Engineering GmbH & Co KG. A header file and a data file are produced when exporting data in this format. The header file can be directly interpreted by DIAdem® and the data file is in the format REAL64.

 You may import files in this format into catman Professional again.

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Further information on DIAdem® can be found at www.ni.com.

nSoft (*.DAC, *.MDF) catman Enterprise supports the export of database channels for the evaluation and analysis package nSoft® from HBM nCode. Choose on the nSoft tab which channels to export. For this, catman Enterprise can produce two different nSoft® formats:

Time-series format (*.DAC) An equidistant measurement series is written to a file, i.e. one database channel produces one file. The file name is created with the name provided by you, the channel name (appended with an underscore) and the file extension DAC.

xy pairs format (*.MDF) Two channels are written to one file, one as the x-axis, e.g. displacement, and the other as the y-axis, e.g. force. The file extension is MDF. Further information on nSoft® and HBM nCode can be found at www.ncode.com.

EDAS Win (*.EDT) Files in this format can be directly processed by the data analysis software EdasWin® from MH - Gesellschaft für Hardware/Software mbH. Further information on EdasWin® can be found at www.mh-gmbh.de.

FlexPro (*.FPD) Files in this format can be directly processed by the data analysis software FlexPro®. Further information on FlexPro® can be found at www.weisang.com.

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CAEMAX Remus (*.RMS) Files in this format can be directly processed by the data analysis software CAEMAX Remus. Further information on CAEMAX can be found at www.caemax.de.

MTS RPC III (*.RSP) Files in this format can be processed directly from the data analysis software RPC® III from the MTS® Systems Corporation. As the format does not allow individual channel lengths, so-called groups each with 2048 values are always saved. If the channels to be exported do not contain a multiple of this value, the missing values will be filled with zeroes. You should therefore try to acquire or export a multiple of 2048 values. As integer values with 16 Bit must always be saved in this format, catman Enterprise uses the minimum and maximum of the respective channels and scales all values accordingly. Further information on MTS® Systems Corporation can be found at www.mts.com.

ASAM-ODS (*.ATF) ASAM e. V. (registered association) is a shortcut for Association for Standard- ization of Automation and Measuring Systems. ASAM-ODS (Open Data Ser- vice) defines a generic data model (for universal interpretation of data), inter- faces (for model management, data storage and data retrieval), and a data exchange syntax and format. Further information on ASAM-ODS and ASAM e. V. can be found at www.asam.net.

Vector MDF, TurboLab (*.MDF) MDF (Measurement Data Format) is a binary file format for measurement data which was developed in 1991 by Vector together with Robert Bosch GmbH. In the meantime, the MDF format is widely used for measurement data in the automotive industry. Further information on Vector Informatik GmbH can be found at www.vector.com.

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MS Excel (*.XLS, *.XLSX)

The export as XLS is restricted to 65,000 values, because Excel worksheets (MS Excel 97 to 2003) cannot have more than 65,536 rows. If more data is present in the channel, they are ignored and the import is terminated with an error message. For MS Excel 2007 and 2010 an additional condition is that

you must activate the option Use Office 2007 format ( in the Export dialog), if you are using the format Excel workbook (*.xlsx) as default setting in Excel. Alternatively you can set Excel 97-2003 workbook (*.xls) in MS Excel 2007 as the standard format for saving (which is restricted to 65,000 values).

Files in this format can be directly read by MS Excel. When exporting, you may

use several options, just click on . The channel information contains the traceability data. If these are transferred, it is useful to set the start row to values of 35 or higher, because not every channel might have the same amount of traceability information, e.g. the time channel has no scaling etc.

 The entry for Data begin at row … is always evaluated, even if no channel information is transferred. If data is stored with Channels into rows, the corresponding number of columns is used. If more than 256 columns are necessary, the export routine creates the required number of worksheets and uses those for consecutive columns. Further information can be found at www.microsoft.com.

6.2 Data import, Data Explorer The Data Explorer is used for import (call up the Database editor, then use File -> Import data or ). Here you may view the creation date and comment for all files in a folder that contain measurement data. You can fold and unfold the entire file structure from the context menu: Show all test parameters/Display file comments ( ) and Fold tree structure ().

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You can use the context menu in the lower section of the Data Explorer to display several columns that contain information, e.g. the number of measured values (Sample count), the sample rate or the Sensor ID. The columns will remain in the display even if MD Client is restarted. The number in brackets behind the channel name is the channel the data has been exported from.

The following file formats are recognized as importable files and shown in the overview: • catman (*.BIN) • Binary for online import (*.BIN, also a catman format) • ASCII + channel information (*.ASC) • files created by the MGCplus in the *.ME* format • files which have been created by DIAdem in the *.DAT format (integer, R32, R48 and R64; only channel format, no block format).

 Use to open a file dialog, which can also search through a network.

Search function Use to search through the files in a folder (and its subfolders) according to different criteria, e.g. according to transducers used (Sensor IDs) or channel names. After searching through a folder, use Folder view or to display all the files in the folder again.

Use to sort the files according to date and file name. Use to sort in ascending or descending order.

6.2.1 Importing data Double-click on the file you require to import it. Alternatively, you can also mark the file and click on in the toolbar or click on Import data. If you only wish to import individual channels, click on the file and then use the context menu to mark the channels you require ( ).

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You can mark or unmark all channels with the context menu in the lower section of the Data Explorer.

The import always starts at channel one, consecutive imports are only possible if appending data.

The Data Explorer is closed after each import (default setting). Deactivate Close Explorer after import (Import options) if you want to import several files and append the data.

6.2.2 Options for import

 Most options settings ( ) are retained even with a restart of MD Client. Append data and Import with write protection are cleared after every import. Data can also be appended to data already present in the import channels: Append data. Deactivate in this case also Clear database before import. In the default setting the file name is appended to the channel name. Do not overwrite channel names uses the names currently present in the database. The option is recommended when you are appending data, because then the original channel name is retained. Additionally you have the possibility of saving the channels at their original position during export: Import to original position. The Import with write protection prevents the changing of values as long as the Editor window is not closed. However, the values from these channels can be deleted. The Data Explorer is closed after each import (default setting). Deactivate Close Explorer after import if you want to import several files. When importing in ASCII format, you can influence what data is read in by using further options, e.g. ignore top lines containing text information, or from Header evaluate channel name and/or unit.

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D-92 A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public catman® Enterprise General Tools and Options

E General Tools and Options

catman® Enterprise A00901_10_E00_01 HBM: public E-93 Searching for channels (search facility)

1 Searching for channels (search facility)

The search facility is implemented in several important, frequently used dia- logs: the Channel pre-selection, the Channel selector and the Limit

checking dialog. Icon (Show all channels) is used to display all channels again after a search has restricted the channels shown to those found in the search. Either type in the search criteria or choose from a previous phrase in the drop- down field. Use ? as wild card for a single character, e.g. ???A1 for a sensor name A1 which is coded into the fourth and fifth character. Use * as wild card for several characters. If you don't specify any wild card character, an exact match is searched. ???A1* finds all occurrences where A1 is in the fourth and fifth position and has no or several trailing characters.

Click on to start the search.

Notes • Text strings must be enclosed in single quotes. The search does not differ- entiate between upper or lower case letters. • A separate search database is created for each project starting with catman Enterprise 5.0.

How to find a panel object displaying a certain channel

Mark the required channel and click on . The panel containing a visualization object for the marked channel is shown. If more than one panel exists, a popup-dialog for the panels in question lets you choose which panel to display.

To enable this search, a database is working in the background. This database contains all panel objects which have ever been defined. It might therefore be necessary to clear that database after having deleted many objects, especially if you have the impression the search process takes a long time. Use menu Panels -> Compact search facility database to rebuild this database and include all currently loaded panels.

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2 Using VBScript

The VBScript engine has been changed in version 5.0 of catman Enterprise. However on loading an older VBScript project the code is converted. Please save the script under a different name after this conversion. We recommend you check the new code whether adjustments have to be made.

 These settings may only be changed, if proper user access rights are defined, see User administration in MD Client. The VBScript menu allows you to specify a VBScript with procedures and functions which are executed at certain events. You may either load a script or create a script with the VBScript editor. Only procedures or functions of a loaded script may be executed.

A thorough understanding of VBScript is essential when using this feature. Since VBScript is a programming language of Microsoft, please refer to Micro- soft literature for details about how to write a script, which general commands to use etc.

As soon as a script is loaded, you may define command buttons which will execute procedures from this script. These are defined with the Configure context menu. It is however not necessary to define buttons, it is also possible to define other starting conditions for procedures from within the VBScript editor.

If you specify a script in the project settings, this will be loaded automatically on start up. This saves you having to load the script manually.

 There is also the possibility to have command buttons on a second toolbar at the top of the window underneath the standard toolbar. This toolbar is then available with all panels as soon as the script is loaded. See General VBScripts (second toolbar)

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2.1 The built-in VBScript editor The VBScript editor provides you with an interface for editing. On the right- hand side the object library, a code building aid, is displayed. It has four cate- gories which contain the most important methods for access to the program: • catman base services • MD Client • File manager • GUI manager

In each category you will find several descriptions for certain actions. Double- click on one description to insert the corresponding script command into the code on the right-hand side of the window. If the command uses parameters you must specify those. Parameters are indicated by pointed brackets: . Replace the pointed brackets as well.

 Please observe that not all commands are accessible via one of these catego- ries. The MD Client VBScript Help explains all catman Enterprise commands and their parameters. Additionally the ActiveX reference lists and explains all catman Professional commands and parameters.

Basic procedure 1. Create a new function or subroutine via menu Procedures. A subroutine or function is also called a procedure. You may use more than one code module in a VBScript project, each module consisting of several functions or subroutines. 2. Insert the code necessary to perform a specific action. 3. If required, assign via Procedures -> Automatic procedure execution the execution time point, e.g. After DAQ start. Mark the subroutine (procedure) you wish to assign to a certain execution time point, next mark the execution time point, e.g. After DAQ start, then click on Assign.

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General rules • All variables are just defined with Dim (as variant), there is no type decla- ration necessary. • Global variables may be defined before the code section (before Sub xxx) with Public.

You may test the script with Execute -> Run script.

 Do not forget to save the script! If this script is necessary for the project, include the VBScript file into the project settings (File -> Project settings).

2.2 Example (VBScript) The following VBScript example compares the measured strain with the predicted strain and changes the color of a visualization object accordingly.

Procedure “ControlChannel” Public idxLoad Public idxStrain Sub ControlChannel() Dim BufStrain Dim BufLoad Dim UpperPrediction Dim LowerPrediction With catman.IO If idxFlag <> 1 then idxStrain = .GetChannelFromName("Strain") idxLoad = .GetChannelFromName("Load") idxFlag = 1 End If 'Read the most current value from strain and ref. x channel (load) BufStrain = .MVal(idxStrain,-1) BufLoad = .MVal(idxLoad,-1)

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'Calculate upper and lower prediction level UpperPrediction = 985 * BufLoad + 10 LowerPrediction = 985 * BufLoad - 10 'Compare measured and predicted strain and switch to certain channel if condition is true. Indicate status of limit trip level with back color of text label. If BufStrain > UpperPrediction then MDSClient.ShowPanel "UpperTrigger" GUIManager.SetBackColor "TriggerLabel", vbRed Else GUIManager.SetBackColor "TriggerLabel", vbGreen End If 'Compare measured and predicted strain and switch to certain channel if condition is true. Indicate status of limit trip level with back color of text label. If BufStrain < LowerPrediction then MDSClient.ShowPanel "LowerTrigger" GUIManager.SetBackColor "TriggerLabel", vbRed Else GUIManager.SetBackColor "TriggerLabel", vbGreen End If End With End Sub

Assign After DAQ scan as execution time point via Procedures -> Automatic procedure execution.

2.3 General VBScripts (second toolbar) Procedures which shall be available as soon as a project is loaded may also be accessed from a second toolbar at the top of the window (underneath the standard toolbar).

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Preparations First the file VBCUSTOM.INI has to be created in the installation folder of catman Enterprise (default: “C:\Programs\HBM\catmanEnterprise”). This file specifies which buttons to use with what script.

Creating VBCUSTOM.INI Use a plain text editor, e.g. MS Notepad, and create the file as text file. The first line must be [VBSCRIPT], the next line specifies how many buttons are defined. After that each button is defined with the procedure or function connected, the caption, image and a tooltip text. The images used must reside in a subfolder of the installation folder of catman Enterprise called BITMAPS, only icon files (*.ICO) are allowed. All functions and procedures must reside in one script which has to be loaded beforehand, e.g. when opening a project. In line FUNCTION_X you specify the corresponding function or procedure name.

Example [VBSCRIPT] FILECOUNT=2 FUNCTION_1 = MyFunctionNo1 CAPTION_1 = This is No 1 IMAGE_1 = FunctionNo1Picture.ico TOOLTIP_1 = Start MyFunction No 1 FUNCTION_2 = MyProcedureNo2 CAPTION_2 = This is No 2 IMAGE_2 = ProcedureNo2Picture.ico TOOLTIP_2 = Start Procedure No 2

VBScript for a custom toolbar The functions or procedures are written as usual. Then include the script into the Project settings. As an example, a script which starts the with a button is given.

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Example Sub StartMDExplorer Dim objWSH Set objWSH = CreateObject ("WScript.Shell") objWSH.RUN "RunMDExplorer.exe" set objWSH = Nothing End Sub

Save the script, include it into the MD Client project and state e.g. FUNC- TION_1 = StartMDExplorer in the VBCUSTOM.INI.

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3 MD Client options