instruNet World+ (iW+) is a reasonably priced yet powerful and easy to use data acquisition software program for Windows 95-XP (not Macintosh). It enables one to digitize, plot, control, analyze, and save to disk A/D, D/A, and digital I/O data from instruNet hardware. Additionally, it enables one to define their own instrument front panel with buttons, popup menus, edit fields, dynamic text, text editor regions, and waveform graphs; as illustrated below.
iW+ is programmed with a simple script language that can define tasks such as control loops. For example, one can type "Dac1 = OnOff (Ain1, 3)" to define D/A #1 as a function of A/D #1. For a list of script commands, click
here.
iW+ software adds valuable features to the FREE instruNet World (not +) software which is included with instruNet hardware. For a list of features in iW+ that are not in instruNet World (not +) click here; and for a list of features in both, click here. For general information on iW+, click here; and for information on how to order iW+, click here.
Below is a list of features available in iW+ that are not available in the free instruNet World (not +) software. For a list of features available in both products, click
here.
Define an analog or digital output channel mathematically (e.g. sine wave, square wave, pulse train, etc) that updates in realtime (e.g. every 100ms). For details, click
here. For details on maximum I/O rates, click here.
Define an analog or digital output channel as a realtime function of analog and/or digital input channels (e.g. PID control, on/off control, etc). For details, click
here.
Create buttons, popup menus, edit fields, dynamic text fields, text edit regions, and pages to build a custom application program; as illustrated below.
iW+ is programmed with a simple BASIC-like script language that provides many feedback/control, waveform generation, math, file, hardware, and user interface functions as summarized below. For a description of each function, click
here.
For a summary of the iW+ script programming language, click
here.
add, subtract, multiply, divide, Modulo, cos, sin, tan, acos, atan, atan2, cosh, sinh, tanh, bAnd, bOr, bEor, shift left, shift right, 1's complement, getbit, setbit, clearbit, And, Or, Not, <, >, <=, >=, ==, !=, absolute value, e'th power, natural log, log10, reciprocal, square, square root, x to y'th power, integer, round down, round up, fractional part, minimum, maximum, average, string length, string compare, string search, string to ascii, Sinewave, TriangleWave, SquareWave, PID, PIDL, OnOff, Limit, Alarm, For Next, Goto, If/Elseif/Endif, If...then, Loop, Synchronize, While, Close, Create, Flush, Open, SetMasterDir, SetPointer, SetSize, Write, Read, Debug, End, Execute, Calibrate Hardware, Calibrate Gages, Calibrate Bridges, Calibrate VDividers, Calibrate Vinit, Calibrate Init, Read Channel, Digitize, SetChannel, SetChannelBit, SetField, SetTrigger, Table, Append, Copy, Clear, Define, Delete, Alert, Beep, Delay, Erase, Print, Question, NewPage, NewButton, Press, Select, Show/Hide page, Show/Hide button, CtoF, FtoC, CtoK, FtoK, KtoF
iW+ includes the Digitize Direct To Excel program, which populates an Excel (Version >= 8.0, Office >= 97) spreadsheet, shown below, while digitizing. For details, click here.
Front panel popup menus allow the selection of one of several choices in a list, as illustrated to the right. One line of script code reads or sets the position of the popup (i.e. 1 refers to the upper-most item, 2 the one below it, etc). The position, label, and list options are easily set, as described
here.
Front panel edit fields allow one to select, view and edit segments of text; as shown to the right. One line of script code reads or sets the text in the same way one would read or write to a string variable. The position, label, and initial text are easily set, as described
here.
Front panel dynamic text fields allow one to view non-editable segments of text, as shown to the right. One line of script code sets the text in the same way one would write to a string variable. The position, label, and initial text are easily set, as described
here.
One can easily create buttons that execute script code when pressed (e.g. "Button 1" shown on the right). The position, label, and script text are easily set, as described
here.
In iW+, a "page" is similar to a "sheet" in Microsoft Excel. One clicks on a tab at the bottom of the window (note the tabs in the illustrations to the right) to show a different set of front panel items (e.g. popup menus, text editor, edit fields, etc). For example, in a simple case, one might create a page called "Help" that when selected, displays documentation on how to use the instrument. The above illustration shows 2 user defined pages, labeled "Page 1" and "Page 2", where Page 1 is currently selected and contains a text editor region that shows the text "One can type …". For details on user defined pages, click
here.
iW+ provides a menu command called "Save Waveforms To Excel" that saves all waves into one large text file that can be loaded by Microsoft Excel, post-acquisition, where each wave is given its own column. For details, click
here.
Print text and waveforms directly to a printer. For details, click
here.
Display waveforms relative to the Date and Time of Day. For example, in the above picture, the first grid corresponds to June 11, 2003, 6:12pm + 31 seconds. Without PLUS, waves are always displayed relative to the start of digitization. For details, click
here.
A front panel popup menu adjusts the displayed horizontal scale (i.e. time per plotted horizontal division) while digitizing. In the non-PLUS verison if iW, this is set automatically, or via the Record Setup dialog.
Copy the Setup of One Channel to Many Channels
Setting up many channels manually can be somewhat laborious. iW+ automates this with a command that copies the setup of one channel (e.g. to a thermocouple, strain gage, etc) to multiple other channels. For details, click
here.
Examine Waveform Values with a Cursor
Use the mouse to move a waveform cursor while numerically viewing the time and waveform value at that cursor position, as illustrated to the right.
Digitize in Background while Working in other Programs
Digitize and implement feedback/control loops in instruNet World while working in other application programs (requires Windows 2K/Xp). For example, one can type in a Microsoft Word window while iW+ digitizes and controls outputs. Also, one can minimize the iW+ window (i.e. click on window title bar upper right corner "_" icon to place minimized iW+ window on desktop application bar) while it operates in the background.
instruNet World (not +) software is available Free of charge and included on the instruNet CD with each i2x0 controller card (and at
www.instrunet.com/d). The "PLUS" version (referred to as "instruNet World+" or "iW+"), with more features, is available at an additional charge under the following product numbers:
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Since the PLUS software is included inside the instruNet World (not +) software, one only needs to register the iW+ license code, described below, to enable the PLUS software after installing the instruNet World (not +) software (i.e. after running the instruNet CD).
Licenses are issued for each individual controller card and are keyed to the controller's serial number. Subsequently, the PLUS features are only enabled in the following cases:
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One can load an iW+ setup file (.prf) into instruNet World (not +), yet the advanced iW+ features will not operate unless the iW+ license is installed -- one can only view and delete the advanced iW+ features within instruNet World (not +).
To install an iW+ license on your computer and enable its powerful features on Windows 98/Me/Nt/2k/Xp/> computers (iW+ is not supported on Macintosh):
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To get started, we recommend the following steps:
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