WinWedge Tricks - Setting Up Hot Keys and Hot Key Actions

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The Software Wedge allows you to define up to 50 hot keys that can be used to control several serial I/O functions and also to control the operation of the Wedge.

When you select "Hot Keys and Hot Key Actions" from the Define menu the following dialog box appears. Each hot key that you can define has a number from one to fifty and you can select a particular hot key by choosing its hot key number from the list box with the caption "Hot Key" in the upper left corner of the dialog box.

Selecting Hot Key Actions

You define a hot key by first selecting a Hot Key Action from the list of available actions and then you specify the keystroke that will be used to invoke each desired action. The Software Wedge supports the following 13 hot key actions:

1. Transmit String Transmits a character string out the serial port.

When you select "Transmit String", a text input box will appear in the bottom of the dialog box with the caption "Output String". This is where you enter the character string that you want transmitted out the serial port when the hot key is pressed. When editing the output string, a button with the caption "ASCII Chart..." will also appear in the dialog box so that you can choose control codes (or ASCII characters that cannot be typed on your keyboard) that you want to place in the output string.

2. Issue BREAK Signal Issues a serial BREAK signal

3. Toggle DTR for 100ms Toggles the serial port DTR line for 100ms

4. Enable Timer Enables timer controlled outputs

5. Disable Timer Disables timer controlled outputs

6. Raise DTR Raises the serial port DTR line

7. Lower DTR Lowers the serial port DTR line

8. Raise RTS Raises the serial port RTS line

9. Lower RTS Lowers the serial port RTS line

10. Reset WinWedge Resets the Wedge. When you perform a reset, the serial input buffer is flushed and the Wedge is reset to the state it was in when first activated.

11. Suspend WinWedge Suspends the Wedge. While suspended, the Wedge continues to collect serial data and store it to a serial input buffer however the data will not be transferred to another program or to a disk file until you resume the Wedge.

12. Resume WinWedge Resumes the Wedge if it is currently suspended

13. Resume for 1 Data Record Resumes the Wedge for a single data record only

If the Wedge is suspended and you resume it for one data record, the next data record available in the serial receive buffer will be processed after which the Wedge will automatically suspend itself again. The Resume for 1 Data Record action thus allows a greater degree of control over where and when data is entered into an application because it lets you accept data specifically when you are ready to receive it.

Selecting Hot Key Keystrokes

To select a hot key keystroke that will invoke a particular hot key action, place the cursor in the text box labeled "Hot Key Keystroke" and then press the key or key combination that you want to use. A description of the keystroke will appear in the text box after you press the keystroke. When the cursor is in the "Hot Key Keystroke" text box, a button will also appear with the caption "Keystroke List...". Clicking this button pops open a list box so that you can choose your hot key keystroke from the list.

Notes: Hot keys defined in the Wedge are system wide hot keys and thus are always detected by the Wedge no matter what application has the input focus. All hot key keystrokes are also discarded after they are detected by the Wedge and thus are not passed through to the application you are working in when you press the hot key. You may also define multiple hot key actions for the same hot key keystroke. If you do this, all actions assigned to the common hot key keystroke will be invoked when you press the hot key. In this situation hot key actions with lower hot key numbers will be invoked before those with higher numbers.

Tech Tip: When using the Wedge in "Send Keystrokes" mode, it is possible for the Wedge to send itself hot key keystrokes. This interesting side effect could be taken advantage of to cause the Wedge to suspend or reset itself if a certain character is received. (Use the Pre-Transfer Character Translation Table to translate the character to a hot key keystroke whose action is to suspend or reset the Wedge). You could also continuously poll an instrument by having the Wedge issue a "Field Postamble Keystroke Macro" that contains a hot key that invokes the "Transmit String" action.