Curve Handler Basic Operation
This document
provides basic information on writing, reading and modifying curve files.
·
To write a curve to an instrument
·
To read a curve from an instrument
To connect to an instrument:
1. Start the Curve Handler application.
2. Select the appropriate instrument.
3.
Select
the radio button for the interface you will be using.
4.
If
you will be using a Serial interface, set the COM Port and Baud Rate as
directed,
and then click Connect:
5. If you will be using the GPIB interface,
set the Curve Handler’s GPIB Address
to match the GPIB Address of the instrument you are working with, and then
click Connect:
6. If you will be using IP address or
hostname, set the Curve Handler’s IP/Hostname
to match the IP/Hostname of the instrument you are working with, and then click
Connect:
To load a curve from a file:
1. Click the Open button.
2. The Open window will display only
the files with the correct extension for the instrument selected.
Choose the correct file type from the dropdown list.
There are two types of curve files:
§ .340 Curve File: legacy file format.
§ CURVE file: new file format that is
needed to load cubic spline curves.
Locate the file and then click Open.
3. The Curve Information, data points, and
graph will populate. Separate tabs are
available at the bottom of the screen for Standard Curves and User Curves.
Each tab loads a separate list of curves. (Standard Curves are read-only curves
that are supplied with the instrument. User Curves are writeable locations.)
To write the curve to an instrument:
1. Click the Write to New Location button, select the curve from the dropdown
list,
and then click OK.
If you choose a
location that already contains a curve, it will be overwritten
(a Warning window will appear, asking you to confirm).
Blank curve locations can be identified by the name “User Curve.”
2. The curve will be written to the
location selected and you will see a progress
indicator (at the bottom of the screen) until the write process is completed.
3. Once you write to a curve, it will be
highlighted in the list of curves to show that
it is the active curve. Changes to this curve can now be saved by clicking the Write button.
To build
a new curve:
1. Click the New Curve button.
2. Enter the Curve Name, Serial Number, and
Setpoint Limit in the fields provided,
and choose a Curve Format.
3. To save the curve to a file, refer to
the section titled To save a
curve to a file.
To write the curve to the instrument, refer to the section titled To write a curve to an instrument.
To read a curve from an instrument:
1. To modify an existing curve, open the
curve (open the curve from a file or
read a curve from an instrument) from the Standard Curves or User Curves tabs.
(Standard Curves are read-only curves that are supplied with the instrument.
User Curves are writeable locations.)
2. Once the graph has populated, change any
data by typing over any field.
Once all points have been entered, you can write the file to the instrument (if
you are connected) or to a file.
To save a curve to a file:
1. Click the Save or Save As button.
2. Name the file, and choose a file type
from the Save as type dropdown list.
There are two types of curve files:
§ .340 Curve File: legacy file format.
§ CURVE file: new file format that is
needed to load cubic spline curves.
3. Save the file to your selected location.
