DqaDlg Dialog Remote Control Demonstration

DqaDlg is a small program that allows you to experiment with Daqarta's remote control features, without having any separate batch file or custom control program. It opens a dialog where you can enter Daqarta macro commands into an edit window, then hit a 'Run' button to send them to Daqarta. A status line at the bottom shows the response or error code from Daqarta, along with a corresponding text message.

Any macro command or set of commands (up to 1024 bytes total) that would be valid from within Daqarta may be given via the edit window in DqaDlg, including macros that invoke user-defined macros from the Macro Dialog list.

You can run the same edit window commands over and over by repeatedly hitting 'Run'. Hitting 'Clear' erases the edit window.

There is also a 'Cancel' button to cancel a running macro. It has exactly the same effect as hitting the Cancel button in Daqarta's Macro Dialog. DqaDlg will promptly show a "16 = Macro cancelled" response from Daqarta, after which you can proceed with new commands. Note that this only cancels the macro, so it doesn't proceed to the next step... it does not, for example, cancel an average that the macro may have started.

DqaDlg can also report values of fixed-point Var0-Z Macro Variables. For example, if the current value of VarA is 0x1234, then the macro command 'VarA=>>' would cause DqaDlg to show VarA = 00001234h below the status line. If there is a fractional part, you can use VarA=>* to send that; it will be shown as varA (lower case 'var').

To report floating-point A-Z values, use A=>> for the integer and A=>* for the fraction. (The float is converted to a fixed-point automatically here.) These will be shown as intA and frcA, respectively.

Similarly, a macro that uses WaitAvg=>> will show "Done" and the total Frames count (in hexadecimal) when the average completes.

DqaDlg.EXE is provided in the Documents - Daqarta - Utility folder, along with source code in assembly language. You can use this code as a basis for a custom program in your chosen programming language.

You may find it convenient to run DqaDlg from its own desktop shortcut icon. The Daqarta installer doesn't create this, but it's easy enough to do manually. Right-click anywhere on the desktop and select New - Shortcut. When the wizard pops up and requests the location of the program, click on Browse and navigate to the above location, then select DqaDlg.EXE. You can change the default Windows icon after creation by right-clicking it and selecting Properties - Shortcut - Change Icon.

Even if you don't really need remote control as such, you may want to keep DqaDlg active throughout a Daqarta session. It's handy for developing new macros... even faster than the Instant Macro option. When you get the macro working the way you want, open the Daqarta Macro Dialog, click New, and use standard Windows copy-and-paste to transfer the macro to the Macro Definition.

This is particularly useful for working out things like LogTxt formats for custom reports or data loggers. Since each LogTxt command opens and closes the log file, you can immediately open it in a text editor and see the results... there is no contention for file access. Then you can tweak the LogTxt line in the DqaDlg edit window and run it again, then re-open the file to see the change.

But DqaDlg really shines when you are working out details of macros that will later be embedded in your own custom remote control program. You can tinker until you get things "just right", without having to recompile for each test.

See also Remote Control, DqaCmd Command-Line Remote Control, Custom Remote Control, Macro Overview