Controlling Devices from the Control Panel
Opening a Control Panel

To directly send commands to an instrument with Chromeleon (e.g., during method development), open a Control Panel, either manually or automatically.

To open a control panel manually

Chromeleon is shipped with a large number of default control panels that provide all standard functions required for operation. The default panels are usually stored in the Dionex Templates > Panels directory of the local Datasource.

• Select Open on the File menu. In the Open dialog box, select Control Panel from the Object of type drop-down list and navigate to the folder that contains the control panels. All panels available in the selected folder are listed. Type the panel name in the Name field. Or else, click the name in the list. In this case, the panel name is automatically written into the Name field. Click Open to open the panel.

• Alternatively, you can select the panel directly from the Browser. Double-click the panel name to open the panel.

Each control panel is connected to a Timebase. When you open a control panel, Chromeleon automatically connects to the timebase saved last. When installing the software, Dionex Service usually specifies the timebase to which Chromeleon connects automatically. Of course, you can connect the control panel to any other timebase whenever you want (see Controlling Devices  Connecting a Control Panel to a Chromatography Device).

 Tip: 

To change the automatic timebase assignment for a control panel:

Select Properties on the Edit menu. On the Timebase tab page, delete the entry in the Timebase field and click OK. When you open the control panel again, no timebase will be assigned. Return to the Timebase tab page, and select a timebase. Click OK to save the new assignment.

To open a control panel automatically

When started, Chromeleon opens the most recently used Workspace. If the workspace contains a control panel, the corresponding control panel is opened as well.

If you cannot open a workspace, for example, because you have not yet created such a view, open the control panel manually.

 Tip: 

Instead of opening a single control panel, you can open a panel tabset, which provides (on one window) a group of control panels for controlling and monitoring a timebase (see How to …: Controlling Devices from the Panel Tabset).