Generic Device Driver
Installing the Generic Device Driver

Description of the most important installation steps

To create a Generic Device Driver, follow the steps below:

  1. Select Generic Drivers on the Edit menu to open the Select definition file dialog box listing all Generic Device Drivers.

  2. Click New to define a new Generic Device Driver. The program then generates the basic structure of a Generic Device Driver.

  3. Driver Name: By default, the new Generic Device Driver is named New Generic Device. Click Edit… to open the Driver: New Generic Device dialog box. Use this dialog box to rename the driver based on the manufacturer and device names. The name identifies the new device driver in the installation environment. The name should be unique; it is used as the default name during driver installation.

    Create the name as described below:

    Manufacturer Name_Device Name

    For example, the Generic Device Driver for the Teledyne Isco Foxy Jr/R1 Fraction Collector is:

    Isco_FoxyJr(FoxyR1 Fraction Collector

     

     Tip:

    If you use an underscore ("_") to separate the manufacturer's name from the device name, the driver appears under the corresponding manufacturer in the Add device to timebase dialog box. If the manufacturer has already been on this list, make sure to use the same spelling.

  4. File Name: Also use the Driver: New Generic Device dialog box to determine the file name. After saving the configuration on the server, a file with this name is generated. The default file extension is GEN. (Do not enter this extension!) If a file with the same name already exists, the file extension of the older file is automatically changed to BAK and the new file is saved. The GEN files store the entire instrument-specific user input.

Afterward, the following steps are required:

  1. Create a new device (see  Basic Settings ("Definition file")).

  2. On the Device/Definition tab page, set the parameters for the serial communication format (see  Format Instructions for Serial Command Strings and  Format Instructions in Detail).

  3. Create all commands and properties (see  Entering Commands and Properties and  Defining Single Properties ("Property/Definition")).

  4. Create error messages (see  Functions, Commands, and Error Messages).

  5. Save the definition.

The installation of the newly created device driver is identical to conventional Chromeleon device drivers. To install the new driver, double-click its name. After the required values for the instrument have been set in the configuration dialog boxes, the instrument can be controlled as defined by the settings.

For an overview , refer to  The Generic Device Driver.