Details on Patch V2.1.0.1 to V2.1.0.2 of PTS Toolkit 2000
---------------------------------------------------------

This patch updates

PTS Editor
PTS Terminal
PTS 'Scope
Q-Drive Setup
Operators Panel Editor
Motion Generator

With the following changes:

PTS Editor
==========
Bug: If you use the "download line by line" option in the editor
with multiple PTS programs open in the editor and the terminal
window partially hidden behind the editor, and then at some point
click in the terminal and then click back on the editor window -
somewhere in the text of the PTS file (rather than the title bar,
menu or the download dialog) the file disappears!
The workaround for this is use to switch between
windows. This is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Bug: Possible to get MS indicated as a PTS syntax error on the
screen - even though it isn't...
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Bug: Context menu button on keyboard doesn't work with Editor.
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Bug: AO, LS, SD and SS commands missing from PTS Reference help
file index. (V2.1.0.1)
These commands are added to the reference help file at V2.1.0.2.

Bug: Editor seems slow to start and open files compared to
some other programs.
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Bug: Download sequence number can sometimes only download ESxx
(where xx is the sequence number) and not the whole sequence.
This happens when ESxx is found in a comment after (below) the
cursor but before the sequence itself is found.
Workaround is not to have ESxx in a comment. This is fixed at
V2.1.0.2.

Bug: When downloading "line by line" a blank line is just a
blank line - it should say "" to re-assure you
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Bug: Using the wheel mouse in an empty document, is enabling the
vertical scroll bar.
The enabling of the scrollbar does not cause any operational
problems with the Editor. The issue is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Bug: It's possible for + arrow key not to select text.
How this happens: Move the cursor using the arrow keys. Press
and then the right arrow key - select works fine. Then
press left arrow key twice, select stops working. Once this has
started happening if you move the cursor (without the shift
button pressed) it starts working again properly. (V2.1.0.1)
This has been fixed at V2.1.0.2

Bug: If you delete a single line of text by selecting the whole
line and pressing the delete key the editor doesn't recalculate
the document size (so the horizontal scroll bar doesn't refresh
as it may need to).
V2.1.0.2 fixes this and the document size is properly updated,
and the scroll bar refreshed.
This issue did not affect the working of the Editor.

Bug: You can insert a PTS program file into other applications,
e.g. PowerPoint. Clicking on this item then automatically start
PTS Editor. However the download option is grayed out - which
is annoying.
This has been fixed in V2.1.0.2. Download now works from
inserted file (actually now works if file has no name, has not
been edited yet has contents).

Bug: Particular printer drivers have caused the Editor to run
slowly and eventually crash when the printer was disconnected
from the computer (e.g. a laptop on site!). (V2.1.0.1)
This is entirely due to the printer driver software but can
easily be avoided by using a different default printer
(particularly avoid inkjets with status feedback). At V2.1.0.2
the method of obtaining printer margins has been reworked to
try and avoid this issue.

Wish: Can we have "tooltips" which give one line help for each PTS
command (a bit like typing AS? or similar on PTS Terminal) - and
they work as you hover the mouse over the command text in your
PTS file?
This has been added for V2.1.0.2. It can be turned off from
the view menu.

Wish: Please make the download operation quicker. The present
system gives too many dialog boxes and takes too long when on site.
At V2.1.0.2 created a sub-menu (off the file menu) that gives
quicker access to download options. And as these have accelerator
keys attached this means a key press to start download. You can
still use the button on the toolbar to choose what to download.


PTS Terminal
============

Bug: Sometimes the download of an Operators Panel file can miss
the last line off. Believe this only happens on a serial port
(and not through a modem).
The reason is that there is no blank line at the end of the file
and the file is a certain length (a specific ratio of the serial
download chunk size). Workaround - add a blank line (press the
return or enter key) at the end of the text file (use Notepad to
edit the operator panel file). This is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Bug: Using the PTS communications conduit with other programs
(e.g. Excel) can sometimes report "Programming error, multiple
CTAPIport class instances".
This message has been removed at V2.1.0.2. Instead the potential
error is trapped and reported when it happens (which is very
unlikely as the error conditions are extremely rare).

Bug: When using an Ethernet connection it is possible to flood
PTS Terminal with error messages after a download (e.g. download a
map that is far too large for EM). You then need to press
Ctrl+Alt+Del and "End task" on PTS Terminal.
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2 - there is no workaround (apart from
downloading maps that aren't too big for PTS).

Bug: If MSFLXGRD.OCX is not installed properly (and this can happen
outside of the toolkits control) then the parameter grid window
doesn't work and causes the terminal to hang up.
Workaround is to re-install the toolkit as this will fix the OCX
in question. As of V2.1.0.2 or later error traps are added to
report this to the user without crashing the toolkit.

Bug: If you try and "upload" from a SERVOnet (mini)Machine Controller
with no axis modules connected the upload dialog complains
about 0 channels!
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Bug: Nasty crash if you try and download a file from the MRU
that doesn't exist.
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2. There is no workaround

Bug: Context menu button on keyboard doesn't work with Terminal.
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Wish: Having now used TK2K for quite a while, we have found it to be
powerful and easy to use, the only complaint being the danger of
accidentally downloading a file unintentionally while a machine
is running, by simply clicking File >>> filename from the menu bar
when in Terminal. No warning or option to cancel is given.
(File download from Editor gives several chances to abort).
At V2.1.0.2 when you choose a recently downloaded file from the
file menu terminal now asks how to download the file, giving you
chance to cancel the download.

Wish: Need to be able to control the download from PTS Terminal
to OS9 PTS more accurately: need ED, no CRC, no SY etc.
So as well as the 3 download options at present; need an advanced
system to select more accurately what's needed.
At V2.1.0.2 modified download considerably. Download now offers two
choices - to a PTS or plain text (e.g. Operators Panel file).
There is an advanced button which lets you control exactly how the
download works (ED mode, CRC checking, SY prompt etc.). As part of
this change the download process has been tightened up - and now by
using the advanced options you can watch downloads take place, if
you don't trust the system...

Wish: Can the terminal automatically assume the comms options
previously set as per old tollkit (or select this as an option)
too much time is wasted selecting the same options again and again...
V2.1.0.2 now has an option (in the options dialog) that does this.
Once this option is set the terminal automatically tries to connect
to the connection last used. If you don't want this connection
merely disconnect (may need to cancel PTS detection first...) and
then connect - at which point you will be offered the choice of your
defined connections. This change has also affected the previous system
of "autoconnect" - which no longer is available. You can still specify
connection as a command line switch.

Wish: Changing the current terminal settings, say from S/W to H/W
handshake, is longwinded and very obscure. Can we have something in
the Options menu?
The connection configuration dialog has been rationalised. This seems
to make things clearer without significantly modifying the current
methodology.
Once the port is connected it's properties can't be changed - so an
option in a menu wouldn't help, and it would (seem to) apply to all
connections, whilst editing the (single) connection settings seems clearer.

Bug: Flash V1 upgrade doesn't work well - slow and unreliable.
This is vastly improved at V2.1.0.2 so it is slightly faster than
flashprog.exe and gives improved messages. Faults that caused the
unreliability have also been fixed.


PTS Scope
=========

Bug: Toolbars appeared off screen after I changed resolution - they
should really check that they can be seen!
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2. The only workaround is to change to previous
screen resolution, reposition the toolbars so they can be seen on
lower resolutions, then change back to the new resolution.

Bug: If you draw the zoom box (use the mouse, press left button,
drag box over the trace, release left button) from bottom right to
top left the 'scope screen goes blank.
Workaround: Press P, then draw the same box from top left to bottom
right and it works correctly. This is fixed at V2.1.0.2.

Wish: Multiple levels of previous zoom - an undo system for zoom please
(rather than the one undo/previous provided at the moment). This could
also apply to changing the Y axis scales using the scales dialog.
This is added at V2.1.0.2.


Q-Drive Setup
=============

Bug: Rather annoying - you don't see how many channels it searches for on
the PTS. So if PTS Terminal hasn't been updated when you've been moving
serial port leads about you can easily get confused (like not scan all the
channels and wonder why you can't select them...)
The workaround is to check that PTS Terminal is reporting the correct PTS
system in it's connected to dialog.
At V2.1.0.2 text has been added to the connection dialog in Q-Drive setup
to tell you how many channels have been checked.

Bug: Q-Drive set-up software V2.1.0. Configure PC. Via Toolkit. PC reports
old version for Q-Drive when it isn't
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2. The workaround is to rescan as the result is
random (though more likely to fail than succeed).

Bug: the shift angle detect is annoying when it finds a fault - doesn't
stop process, just waits for you to press cancel
At V2.1.0.2 this has been modified so that it stops the detection after
finding a fault.

Bug: When using this with an "analogue" drive the "reset drive alarms"
function also resets communications, which is irritating.
This is fixed at V2.1.0.2 where the last used serial port is remembered and
resetting drive alarms returns you to the status page, not the connection page.
N.B. on a "digital" Q-Drive (with PTS card fitted) the reset alarm function
forms part of the PTS command "PC".

Wish: Can we please have a method of using Q-Drive setup when not connected
to a Q-Drive; for training and support of customers.
V2.1.0.2 lets you load a previously saved .qdv file into Q-Drive setup,
thereby enabling all the pages. You can browse through these pages (and
therefore the information in the .qdv file). This allows for training/support
and also reviewing data saved from a Q-Drive.
NOTE: You need a .qdv file to use this feature - so keep one handy...

Wish: Can we load .qdv file from disk (like clicking on .pts loads into the editor)?
This is added at V2.1.0.2 - though the registration of .qdv is not added
automatically by patching TK2K - only by installing TK2K V2.1.0.2.
NOTE: This loads .qdv for viewing, not downloading to Q-Drive.

Wish: Support for motors with up to 32 poles is needed.
This has been added at V2.1.0.2. N.B. a question will be asked in the motor has
more than 6 pole pairs as this is very unusual and therefore normally a "typo".

Wish: Q-Drive setup always has to scan always ! if you know which channel you
want why can't you tell it
Still have to scan initially - but it then remembers then PTS channels
found, to save re-scans.

Wish: Can Q-Drive setup automatically assume the comms options & channel No-
previously (or select this as an option) too much time is wasted selecting the
same options again and again...
This has been modified at V2.1.0.2. Now the present 'connection' is remembered
and there is a box to select the channel number for SERVOnet systems -
on the connections page. This should make the software quicker and easier to use.
It does not address the issue of remembering connection between uses of the
application - but that is rather complicated as Q-Drive setup does not actually
know how it is connected when using PTS Terminal.


Operators Panel Editor
======================

Bug: If a file with bad checksums is loaded into the editor and then
saved the editor does not appear to regenerate the checksums.
If the checksum fails then the file is damaged in some way - therefore
it might cause problems (e.g. crash the editor). Try uploading the file
from the PTS again or contact Quin who can perform further checks on the
file. At V2.1.0.2 more error messages have been added to help identify
the problems in a corrupt file.

Bug: If you create multiple new entries in the setup menu of an Operators
Panel file using the editor they all have the same name. Selecting them is
difficult - you always get the first one in the list.
This is because they have the same name. Change the name of each new one as
you create it. In the panel you should not have to items with the same
name at the same level - as you can't tell them apart.
At V2.1.0.2 the current time is added to the name to identify them.


Motion Generator
================

Wish: Download from Motion generator to PTS via terminal, like you could in
V1.31 please.
This has been added for V2.1.0.2.

---------------------------------------------------------
V2.1.0.2 release notes.txt
Michael Dye
Quin Systems Ltd.
January 2001