cialog Reference

• Serial Interface Cable

The CIA-HF is connected to the COM port of the computer with a three-wire cable. The end which plugs into the CIA-HF is a 1/8" stereo plug. The other end of the cable is normally a 9 or 25 pin female D connector. The choice of 9 or 25 pins is made to match the size on the connector on the computer. The CIA-HF manual includes a description of the cable.

If you are using a female 9-pin Sub-D connector, the required connections are:

f you are using a female 25-pin Sub-D connector, the required connections are:

• Communication Retries on Notebook Computers

cialog opens and closes the COM port for each interaction with the CIA-HF. On some laptop or notebook computers, the COM port hardware is powered down when it is not is use. This is done to save power. When the port is powered up for the next exchange with the CIA-HF, the CIA-HF sees a signal transition which is mistaken for a data character. This data character is not going to be a valid command. Then, the CIA-HF responds with a negative acknowledgement reply, which causes cialog to believe that the first command it requested failed. Due to the retry mechanism built into cialog, the command will be retried, and it will work correctly on the second try.

So, on a notebook computer which turns off the COM port hardware when the port is closed, all cialog - CIA-HF sequences will begin with a retry of a failed command.

One solution would be to keep the COM port open so long as cialog is running. This would increase the power consumption on the notebook, which is not desirable. Since the retry takes a few seconds, the retry seems more desirable than the increased power consumption. If this is reported as a common problem, perhaps a control will be added which will program the COM port to stay open for the duration of the program.

• Shortcut and Accelerator Keys

Many of the cialog menu commands have associated shortcut and accelerator keys. Here is a table of the commands and their equivalent key strokes.

The Meaning column consists of menu levels separated by -> characters. File->Open Data means the Open Data command on the File popup menu.

• System Requirements

cialog runs on Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. It should run on Windows NT 4.0, but that platform has not been tested.

cialog  help and documentation, this set of pages, can be viewed with the HTML Help Viewer. This is the viewer that is standard on Windows 98 (and all more recent Windows operating systems) . The cialog  help information is fully integrated with the user manual.

Microsoft makes available the help viewer to all Windows users, such as users of Windows 95. If you surf the Microsoft web site you should be able to find the help viewer and download it. We do not supply a direct link here because the organization of their web site appears to be always changing.

cialog  is supplied in a self-extracting compressed archive that requires approximately 400 Kilobytes of disk space. After cialog  is installed, the files in the cialog  folder will require about 400 Kilobytes of disk space.

[Note: Windows, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other product and company names mentioned on this site may be the trademarks of their respective owners.]

• Installing/Uninstalling cialog

Once you have a copy of the self-extracting compressed archive installation file, you may execute it in order to install cialog.

The cialog Setup Wizard will check for sufficient resources, ask some configuration questions, and finally, install cialog.

After cialog has been installed, you may execute it through the Start menu. Unless you change the configuration during installation, the correct Start menu path will be: Start|Programs|cialog|cialog. The cialog name appears twice because the first name is the folder name, and the second name is the program name.

The folder will also include the cialog Uninstall program. This second program should be used to remove cialog completely from your system. Alternatively, the cialog  installation can be removed through the Windows Add/Remove Programs applet on the Control Panel.

Errors may occur during the installation. They will be reported in a message box, and the installation will be terminated. The most common error will occur when the download of the installation file is interrupted, and not allowed to complete. This could happen, for example, when an Internet connect is lost during download. If this is the error you receive, you should repeat the download step. If other errors occur that cannot be cleared up, please Email me at ordy@seed-solutions.com.

Although the downloading and installation procedures have been described in terms of Internet-centric steps, the Internet is not a required part of the process. So long as you can get a copy of the self-extracting compressed archive installation file, you can install cialog . That file could be placed on a floppy disk and taken to a computer not on the Internet, for example.

• The Windows Registry

cialog settings are stored within the Windows Registry. The settings will be saved each time they are changed, and restored each time the program is started. The settings are saved under HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Seed Solutions/cialog. You can certainly remove this information if you do not want it on your computer. In that case, removed settings will default to initial values the next time that cialog is started. The cialog Uninstall program will also clean up the registry.

Please note that cialog and/or the cialog Setup Wizard will make other entries in the registry. These entries enable the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel to understand how to remove cialog. In general, manual editing of the registry is not advised, since it may cause a program to fail if inconsistent entries are created.  If you want to make sure that all cialog-related entries are removed from the registry, please uninstall the program with the supplied uninstall program.

• Suggestions and Comments

Suggestions and comments can be emailed to me at: ordy@seed-solutions.com.

• License and Legal Notices

cialog was developed by, and is owned by Seed Solutions, Inc. Copyright ©, 2004 Seed Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. No warranty of any kind is made as to performance, or fitness of use in any application. Your use of this software is your agreement with these terms. You agree to hold Seed Solutions, Inc. free from responsibility for any damages that may or may not be associated with the installation or operation of the program.

This software may be redistributed in original form. No fee may be charged for redistribution without the prior and specific written consent of Seed Solutions. Inc. This software is licensed for personal and non-commercial use only, and is subject to the export laws and regulations as defined by the State Department of the United States of America, and other applicable regulatory agencies.

Last update:Friday, June 18, 2004 03:20:01 PM
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