Gentec-EO MAESTRO - Manual (Page 58)

MAESTRO User’s Manual Revision 8.1 57
The user manual is integrated in the PC- MAESTRO’s interface. The Context Help window displays basic
information about the PC- MAESTRO’s functionalities when you move the cursor over each object and
button. You can display the Context Help window by selecting Help/Show Context Help in the menu bar
or by pressing the <Ctrl-H> keys.
If you try to install the same PC-MAESTRO version twice on your computer, you will have the following
warning:
Installation Summary:
No software will be installed or removed.
In such a case, please press enter and continue using the installed version of PC-MAESTRO.
When disconnecting a head on the MAESTRO while using PC-MAESTRO, the PC-MAESTRO might not
see the disconnection and might continue to try to read data. In such a case, please close and restart the
application.
3.4 Traditional Communication Settings
The traditional serial communication interface also allows you to operate the MAESTRO from a remote
location. We recommend using the specific serial data acquisition software PCMAESTRO, if no
automated acquisition is involved because it is much easier to use. In the case of automated
measurement controlled by other software, use the following commands to control the MAESTRO. They
are divided into two groups:

The control commands allow you to change the MAESTRO’s settings without using the
MAESTRO’s touch screen. Remote control commands do not yield any data, they only confirm that
the command has been executed.

The acquisition commands are used to obtain information on the current status of the MAESTRO.
They do not change the MAESTRO’s settings, they return the requested information.
3.4.1 Serial Command format
3.4.1.1 Serial Protocol Rules:
Commands are sent as text strings. The response will either be data or an empty string.
3.4.1.2 Text mode rules:
All text commands must begin with a trig character (*). You do not need to end with a line-feed, a
carriage-return, or both. Parameters must NOT be separated by any spaces. Characters do not have to
be capitals, mixed upper and lower case is ok. Replies to all text mode commands are also in text mode,
and end with a carriage-return and line-feed.
In case of an error, the reply string is in the following format:
Error X: reason [enter]
X is the error code, and reason is an explanation. See Error Codes at the end of this section.
Because all Text Mode replies end with a carriage return <CR> or line-feed <LF> (or both), a text reply
contains tabulations when many elements need to be separated in the string. This is useful when
exporting data to a spreadsheet.