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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> FAQ - SpecView Runtime |
  
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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> FAQ - SpecView Runtime |
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Can I monitor SpecView remotely?
- Yes, use SpecView Networking
How do I view previous Event Logs?
- Use the Convert Log File menu command from the Logging menu
- Create a Report Format which has Include Event Log checked.
- This will create a .CSE file, which can be viewed using Excel.
How can I restore the Historical Replay Control Panel window to its original size?
- Use File->Preferences Settings 'Reset Historical Replay Window Position'
Why am I getting steps or gaps on my Trend Chart rather than a smooth curve?
- This could be because SpecView is busy trying to read non-existent instruments, or getting repeated comms failures. Maybe increasing the Comms Back Off Multiplier to 1000 may help.
- Alternatively the PC could be busy, so check the loading on the PC.
- Gaps can be caused by the PC's Power Save function.
I am getting empty logfiles, what could be the reason for this?
- Use the Show Logging in Variables List menu command on the Setup->Database sub-menu.
- Then, using the Variables List, check that the required variables are set as logged.
- Or maybe the logging rate needs adjusting from Preferences Logging
How can performance be improved - so that the rate that instrument variables are updated is increased?
How can I make the color of things on a GDW change according to a value?
A variable's color can be made to change according to its own value or another variable's value, for example, a text string's color 'Warning: Overheating' could appear in red when a temperature reading is above a certain value. Then set to white (which would make it disappear) otherwise.
In this example, select the text string, then choose Color Dynamics from the Edit menu.
How can I modify one of SpecView's Demo Projects so that it will work with my instruments?
It is likely that the problem is caused by the instrument address(es) being incorrectly set.
In Edit Mode click the 'Variables List' tool then select the instrument's name and click the Properties button. The address field will show the address that SpecView is using. Either alter the address in SpecView or change the instrument's address according to the instrument manufacturer's instructions.
When I run a program using SpecView: Run External Program the program's window is minimized.
- It is possible to change this in the SETTINGS.INI file in the Project's folder:
[Settings]
RunExtProgDispMode=M
Where the choices are:
M - means start Minimized, which is the default
F - means start using Full screen
N - means start in a Normal window
This setting will affect all programs run by SpecView from that Project.
The reason that the default setting is Minimized is because this command was originally added in order to run programs to, for example, play a sound file, where it would be innapropriate to display the program's window.
How can I send email from within SpecView?
It is possible to setup SpecView's Strategy Controller to send email(s) when a certain condition occurs, such as an alarm. There are 2 ways to do this:
1. Using SpecView: Run External Program:
There are programs available, but we don't currently know of any specific examples, which have a command line interface so that the email address & the file containing the message to send can be specified on the command line.
2. Using SVEmail:
SVEmail was written by us to send an email via a MAPI compatible email program.
However, due to the recent tightening of security on the use of MAPI to send emails because of the problems caused by automated spamming, this will only work on older versions of Microsoft Outlook (such as Outlook 2000). We are not aware of which other email programs it will work with, although there are a great many email programs available so it should be possible. The best thing to do is to try it out, please contact your SpecView distributor to request SVEmail free of charge.
How can I improve the speed that SpecView starts up?
When SpecView starts up it loads all the Instrument Definition Files (IDF) in the installation folder (usually C:\SV3\), which takes some time. To improve the speed of startup it is OK to move the Instrument Definition Files (IDF) that are not being used into another folder. It is best not to delete them in case they are needed in the future, so we recommend creating a folder, such as C:\SV3\IDF and moving the IDF files that are not being used into there.
NOTE: To see which IDF files are still being loaded, go into Edit mode, click the Variables List [V] tool and click 'Show New' this lists all the Instrument types which have been read from the IDF files during startup.
Can I run SpecView from the Windows Startup Group?
If SpecView is put into the Startup Group, then often it will start before other parts of the system are ready. To resolve this, use a delay program, such as:
http://www.rjlsoftware.com/software/utility/delayexec/
to delay the startup a bit.
Why am I not seeing all the Instrument Parameters I expect to see in the Parameter List?
- To display the full list use the Options Menu and select the Short List menu command. All the parameters will appear. Choose this menu item again to toggle back to the short list mode. To include/exclude parameters from the Short List use the Variable Properties box.
The Trend Chart doesn't appear to be updating, why might this be?
Firstly determine the resolution of a Trend Chart as SpecView will draw one pixel on the Trend Chart pen line according to the time span of the chart & the width of the chart in pixels. Therefore if the time span of the chart is 28 days & the chart is 1000 pixels wide then one pixel will be drawn and every 40 minutes. This also applies to the rate at which the values shown along the top of the chart will be updated.
To ensure the current values can be seen put the values out onto the screen from the Variables List.
If the values still aren't updating as expected then put the variables: SpecView.CommsErrors, SpecView.GoodComms, SpecView.CommsErrorCode, SpecView.CommsErrorItem & Specview.CommsErrorDescription onto the screen to check instrument communications.