Support FAQ

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Why is my VTS Internet Client not failing over to the backup VTS Internet Server?

To get proper VIC failover between a primary and a backup the server list on both computers has to be set up in the same order and must include:

• The computer name of the primary server (checked as ‘Local’)
• The IP address of the primary server (checked as ‘Local’)
• The computer name of the backup server
• The IP address of the backup server

The VIC works by starting with the first address in the list and trying it. If there is no response, it moves to the next. So, both lists need to be the same.

From outside your firewall
If your VTS Internet Client is accessing the VTS Internet Server from outside your firewall, the server lists on both computers should also include the following:

• The external IP address provided by your Internet service provider
• Your registered domain name
• The IP addresses of the gateway/router devices you will be using

As before, the order of the server list s on both computers must be identical.

If both servers fail
Failover only works if both computers were originally running.  So, if the primary fails, the VIC will find the backup based on the primary server list. If both computers go offline and the backup starts without the primary, there is no server list available to direct the VIC to the backup.  Therefore failover will not occur.

In this case the user will need to access the URL of the back up server manually in Internet Explorer.  It is recommended that a ‘Favorite’ be created for this purpose.

How do I select the right voice modem for VTS Alarm Dialer applications

When it comes to voice modems that are capable of handling text-to-speech, as are required by the VTS Alarm Dialer software, there are an abundance of choices.

Trihedral has created a how-to guide walk you through this process called Finding the Right Voice Modem for VTS Alarm Dialer Applications.

How do I perform a crash dump on VTS?

Crash dumping, also known as "post-mortem" dumping, takes a snapshot of a running process and saves it to the harddrive. This file can provide information about the state of the process at the time the crash dump was taken.

There are two methods of creating a crash dump:

• Windows can be configured (and often is) to generate a port-mortem dump in the event of abnormal termination of a process (e.g. VTS.exe), usually due to an internal fault.
• You can also generate the same file as a port-mortem dump with a utility that halts the process, takes a snapshot of it to a disk file, and then allows the process to resume.

The latter technique can not really be called "post-mortem", as the process is still running; therefore, this document will refer to "crash dump" as a generic term, and "post-mortem" as a specific term meaning the result of abnormal process termination.

When to Use Crash Dumping

Crash dumping can be used to take a snapshot of a system exhibiting a problem that either cannot be investigated by any other means (for example, if the VTS system is unable to run the VTS debugger), or needs to be investigated away from the running system.

Set Up

To set up Windows to automatically do a crash dump, some changes must be made to the normal Windows setup.

1. First, Click on Start then click Run
2. In the box, type drwtsn32
3. Click OK
   The dump files generated here:
   C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson
4. Make sure the Crash dump type is set to 'Full' (see below) 
5. Click OK and close this window
6. Next, click Start and find the My Computer icon
7. Right click on it and select Properties
8. Click on the Advanced tab at the top
9. Now, click the Error Reporting button near the bottom
10. Click on the Choose Programs button
11. Click the Add button and type in vts.exe
12. Click OK and close all the open windows

In the rare event that VTS crashes, Windows should now create two files for us:

• .dmp file
• .log file

These will be located located here:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson

Zip the two files and transfer them to the Trihedral ftp site. The easiest way to accomplish this is inside the Windows File Explorer.

1. Go to the directory above.
2. Holding down the CTRL key, click on each file so they are both highlighted.
3. Now, point at one of he files and do a right-click.
4. On the menu, go to the Send TO item and click Compressed (Zipped) folder.  It should create a new “zipped” file in that same folder. Be a bit patient. It might take a minute or so.
5. If  the VTS server is on the internet, right click on the new file and click copy.
6. In the Address bar at the top, type ftp://ftp.trihedral.com/incoming/. This will take you to Trihedral’s ftp site. Again, be patient. This may take a few minutes to complete loading.
7. When it does, point anywhere in the right hand window and right click.
8. Do not highlight any file or folder.
9. Click paste and wait for the file to transfer.
10. When it is complete, call or email Trihedral tech support to let us know it is done.

Question asked by: Blair Sooley

How do I attach multiple loggers to the same tag, each with a different log rate and maximum number of records?

While only one logger may be attached to a single tag, it is possible to accomplish the same end by using the function tag type.

For each additional logger that is required, create a function tag and set "=" as its Opcode and the original tag as the P1 parameter.

Now create a logger with the desired log rate and attach it to the function tag.

How can I make VTS read .MDB files created by Access 2000?

Versions 5.00 and earlier of VTS shipped with ODBC 3.5, which can recognize Access 97 databases, but not Access 2000 databases.

ODBC is now part of MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components). The Microsoft documentation on MDAC strongly recommends that MDAC be installed in its entirety in order to use the latest ODBC drivers. Versions 5.01 and future versions of VTS ship with MDAC 2.1 SP2, which can make use of Access 2000 databases as well as previous database formats.

If you wish to get your current VTS installation to work with Access 2000 databases, you can do one of two things:

• Upgrade to the latest version of VTS (recommended)
• Install MDAC manually

Installing MDAC Manually:

1. First, shut down all programs.
   • Windows 95 users proceed to Step 2
   • Windows 98 users proceed to Step 3
   • Windows NT users go directly to Step 4
2. Windows 95 users only:
   • If you do not have DCOM installed on your machine, or are unsure if it is: Download DCOM95.EXE from:
     www.microsoft.com/com/dcom/dcom95/dcom1_3.asp
   • Run DCOM95 to install DCOM
   • Reboot your machine when the installation is finished
   • Reboot and proceed to Step 4
3. Windows 98 users ONLY:
   • DCOM is already installed on your machine. To install the latest version of DCOM: Download DCOM98.EXE from:
     www.microsoft.com/com/dcom/dcom98/dcom1_3.asp
   • Run DCOM98 to install the latest version of DCOM
   • Reboot your machine when the installation is finished
   • Proceed to Step 4
4. All users:
   • Download MDAC_TYP.EXE from:
     www.microsoft.com/data/download_21242023.htm
   • Run MDAC_TYP to install MDAC 2.1 SP2, which contains the most recent ODBC components.
   • When the installation is finished, you MUST reboot.

Your VTS installation should now be able to use Access 2000 databases.

Category: Database

How do you put a custom logo (instead of the standard VTS logo) in the upper left corner of a VTS application?

The logo in VTS may be specified in the Config.ini file:

1. Create the logo bitmap using any graphics package such as MSPaint, Corel, PaintShopPro, etc
2. The bitmap should not be more than 40 pixels high to fit in the Heading bar and may be any width up to 300 pixels
3. Place the bitmap file in the application directory
4. Open Config.ini in the root VTS directory
5. Add the line: DispMgrBitmap = YourLogoName.bmp

How do you display a custom logo (instead of the standard VTS logo) on the screen when VTS first starts up?

When VTS first starts, it displays an image file called Logo.bmp in the root directory of VTS.

1. Create your logo using any graphics package such as MSPaint, Corel or PaintShopPro
2. Save it as a bitmap(.bmp) file called Logo.bmp
3. Paste the new Logo.bmp into the root VTS directory and overwrite the original image

When drawing an object in VTS, how can I move or resize it one pixel at a time?

The object may be moved or resized pixel by pixel by using the arrow keys:

1. Select the object with the pick tool
2. To move it:
   1. Click it somewhere in the middle by holding down the left mouse button
   2. Position it near the desired position
   3. While holding down the left mouse button, use the arrow keys to move it pixel by pixel
3. To re-size it:
   1. Grab one of the re-sizing handles around the edge
   2. While holding down the left mouse button, use the arrow keys to change its size.

Note: VTS has a snap grid that makes lining up objects easy. The grid is controlled using the snap grid tool in the upper right hand side of the toolbar. It defaults to On with a 4 pixel square grid.

How do you add a custom bitmap library to your VTS application?

Once a library of custom bitmaps has been created, adding it to VTS is easy:

1. Inside the application (or OEM) directory, there is a Bitmaps directory
2. Inside this directory, create a new one - eg. \Appdir\Bitmaps\Custom
3. Copy the custom bitmap files into this directory
4. Copy one of the bitmap files into the Bitmaps directory and rename it to be the same as the sub directory - eg. Custom.bmp
5. This image will represent the new custom library in the bitmaps menu found in the toolbar

Can I put the Windows Close, Minimize, and Resize buttons on a VTS application?

Yes. 

1. Open the Config.ini file found in the root of the VTS directory
2. Add this line:  DispMgrFullScreen = 0

This will put controls in the upper right corner of the window and allow you to close the application without having to bring up the WAM or VAM.

This is very useful during development.

Category: Drawing Tags

Can I change the title of the VTS window?

 

Yes.

1. Open the Config.ini file found in the root directory of VTS
2. Add the following line: DisplayManagerTitle = My Custom Title

NOTE: This is only applicable when DispMgrFullScreen = 0

Category: Drawing Tags

Is it possible to see two or more VTS pages at the same time?

Yes. This is done using the "go to" buttons that may be placed along the bottom border.

1. Add "go to" buttons to the pages you wish to view:
   1. Open a page using the Menu in the bottom left corner
   2. Click the "+" button in the bottom right corner to add the "go to" button for that page
2. While in one page, right click on the "go to" button of another page

This will place a re-sizeable window of the newly selected page on top of the first page.

As many pages as desired may be added.

Category: Viewing

I have created a custom library for my VTS application. Where can I find the library modules in the Debugger?

When the custom library was created, it was declared in Appmod.web.

Search for this name in the debugger under Root\Code\.

The custom library modules will show up under this module.

How do I get VTS to use the New WAM instead of the old version?

1. Open the Setup.ini file in the root VTS directory
2. Under the [OEM] section, add the line: NEWWAM = 1
3. Re-start VTS to make this change effective

Category: Troubleshooting

How can I make GUI objects move? The x and y parameters must be constants.

There is a magic formula that allows you to put variables in the scaling parameters of GUI objects. By changing the values of these variables, the object will appear to move or to re-size.

Guixxxxx(0, 1, 1, 0, { Left, Bottom, Top, Right } 1 - L, { Left Scaling } B, { Bottom Scaling } R, { Right Scaling } 1 - T, { Top Scaling } 1, { Overall Scaling } etc. ); where L, B, R, T are variables containing the values you would normally put in the first 4 parameters. By changing the values of L, B, R, and T, the object can be moved or re-sized. As an example, the following code will produce a guirectangle 30 pixels wide, whose top moves up and down between 0 and 100 pixels as Top goes from 500 to 400. The lower left corner is at x=200, y=500. GUIRectangle(0, 1, 1, 0, 1-200, 500, 230, 1-Top, 1 { Scaling }, 0, 0 { Movement }, 1, 0 { Visibility, scaling }, 0, 0, 0 { Selectability }, Brush(12, 0, 1), Pen(0, 1, 1));

Can I modify the GUIButton to have different actions?

Yes. The GUIButton defaults to a momentary action, but it can also have a latching action or act like radio buttons. The action is controlled by changing the last 3 parameters of the GUIButton call (Downvalue, Upvalue, Variable). Each configuration is explained below with an example:

1. Momentary Button (default). This button will cause MB to be 0 in its normal (up) position, and MB will be 1 while it is held down. When the mouse is released, it pops up again. { Momentary Button } GUIButton(800, 200, 900, 230 { Outline of the button }, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 { No scaling }, 0, 0 { No movement }, 1, 0 { Visible; reserved }, 64 + 4, 1, 0 { Left mouse button release }, 7, 15, 8, 0 { Colors }, 4, 0 { Number of sides; reserved }, "Start", "Starting" { Up and down labels }, \_DialogFont { Font }, 1 { Down Value }, 0 { Up Value }, MB { Variable });
2. Latching Button. This button will lock in the up or down position with each press. When it is up, LB is 0, when it is down, LB is 1. { Latching or Toggle Button } GUIButton(800, 250, 900, 280 { Outline of the button }, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 { No scaling }, 0, 0 { No movement }, 1, 0 { Visible; reserved }, 64 + 4, 1, 0 { Left mouse button release }, 7, 15, 8, 0 { Colors }, 4, 0 { Number of sides; reserved }, "Start", "Stop" { Up and down labels }, \_DialogFont { Font }, 1 { Down Value }, ! LB { Up Value }, LB { Variable });
3. Radio Buttons. One of these buttons will always be depressed and all the others will be up. The value of RB will correspond to the depressed button (eg. RB = = 2 when the third button is down) { Radio Buttons } GUIButton(800, 300, 900, 330 { Outline of the button }, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 { No scaling }, 0, 0 { No movement }, 1, 0 { Visible; reserved }, 64 + 4, 1, 0 { Left mouse button release }, 7, 15, 8, 0 { Colors }, 4, 0 { Number of sides; reserved }, "First", "First" { Up and down labels }, \_DialogFont { Font }, 0 { Down Value }, 0 { Up Value }, RB { Variable }); GUIButton(800, 340, 900, 370 { Outline of the button }, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 { No scaling }, 0, 0 { No movement }, 1, 0 { Visible; reserved }, 64 + 4, 1, 0 { Left mouse button release }, 7, 15, 8, 0 { Colors }, 4, 0 { Number of sides; reserved }, "Second", "Second" { Up and down labels }, \_DialogFont { Font }, 1 { Down Value }, 1 { Up Value }, RB { Variable }); GUIButton(800, 380, 900, 420 { Outline of the button }, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 { No scaling }, 0, 0 { No movement }, 1, 0 { Visible; reserved }, 64 + 4, 1, 0 { Left mouse button release }, 7, 15, 8, 0 { Colors }, 4, 0 { Number of sides; reserved }, "Third", "Third" { Up and down labels }, \_DialogFont { Font }, 2 { Down Value }, 2 { Up Value }, RB { Variable });

How do I limit VTS to run only one WAM or VAM?

In the shortcut that starts VTS, make the target:

C:\VTS\VTS.EXE /C=1

How can I see what is going on with RPC (Remote Procedure Calls)?

There is a very useful RPC diagnostics tool that displays all the RPC messages, statistics, clients, servers etc.

This can be run by adding the following line to the Setup.ini file in the VTS directory under the [OEM] section:

RPCDiagnostics = 1

VTS must be restarted for this to take effect

You can also start RPC Diagnostics without stopping VTS:

• While your application is running, call up the debugger
• Go to the root VTS directory
• Find the RPCManager in the Code directory and go into it
• Click Global to ON
• Find RPCDiagnostics
• Set this variable to 1

RPCDiagnostics will now start.

How do I add "close" buttons to pop-up windows in VTS?

Put a GuiButton in the small VTS page with the following script:

If GuiButton(---);
[
    Slay(Caller(Rootwindow(Self())), 0);
]

How do I set up the Registry Configuration for S&S Technologies SD Card?

Summary: Under the Windows '95 and Windows NT Operating systems, changes to the "Registry" are required to permit VTS to communicate with the S&S Technologies SD Card.

Warning: These instructions assume you are comfortable with using the Regedit program and making changes to registry settings. Improper registry settings can cause many problems including making your machine unable to boot. We suggest backing-up your registry before making changes.

Background: These instructions require that a VTS install has been done. The initial installation (assuming "Registry changes" has been selected) will configure the registry for the WinRT driver with two devices WinRTDev0 and WinRTDev1.

We will configure a new device as detailed below. If the WinRTDev2 is already used in your registry, use the next available device name.

For Windows '95 Registry Changes

1. Open the Registry Editor
   Open the registry editor (execute the regedit program from the command prompt).
2. Enter New WinRT Device
   1. First open the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VXD key
   2. This should contain the keys WRTDEV0 and WRTDEV1
   3. We need to add a new key WRTDEV2 using "Edit\New" menu selection of the Registry Editor.
   4. To this new key add two values.
      • A Binary value called Start which must contain the value 0
      • A string value called StaticVXD which must contain the text *WRTdev2.
   5. Configure New WinRT Device:
      • A new key WinRTDev2 must also be added to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\WinRT key.
      • A Parameters key must be added to the WinRTDev2 key.
      • To this new key the following keys must be added:
        • Section0
        • Section1
      • The Section1 key is left empty.
      • The Section0 must be configured with the following values (all Dword type):
        • AllowConflict = 1
        • IOPortAddress= port address of SD board--220 hex in this example.
        • IOPortCount = 8 hex
        • Memory Address = address used in SDINST command line D0000 hex in this example ( you need to add the extra 0)
        • Memory Count = memory size from SDINST command line 32K or 8000 hex in this example.
   6. Restart Machine:

      Exit Registry Editor and restart machine.

      After the appropriate SDINST loader program has been loaded into the card, it should now be available for use by VTS programs.

   For Windows NT Registry Changes

   1. Open the Registry Editor

      Open the registry editor (execute the regedt32 program from the command prompt ).

   2. Configure New WinRT Device
      1. Open the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinRT key
      2. This should contain the keys ENUM, WinRTdev0 and WinRTdev1.
      3. Add two new keys WinRTdev2 and WinRTdev3, using "Edit\New" menu selection of the Registry Editor
      4. A Parameters key must be added to both the new WinRTDev2 and the WinRTdev3 key
      5. Then both Parameters keys need the following keys to be added:
         • Section0
         • Section1
      6. The Section1 keys are left empty.
      7. The Section0 of WinRTdev2 tree must be configured with the following values (all Dword type):
         • AllowConflict = 1
         • IOPortAddress= port address of SD board--220 hex in this example
         • IOPortCount = 8 hex
      8. The Section0 of WinRTdev3 tree must be configured with the following values (all Dword type):
         • AllowConflict = 1
         • Memory Address = address used in SDINST command line D0000 hex in this example ( you need to add the extra 0)
         • Memory Count = memory size from SDINST command line 32K or 8000 hex in this example

         Note : Problems have been encountered under NT when these entries (WinRTdev2 and WinRTdev3) are combined as a single registry entry.

   3. Restart Machine
      1. Exit Registry Editor and restart machine
      2. Check for Event Messages for possible resource conflict messages
      3. The new "devices" added should show up Windows NT Diagnostics Resources tab

      After the appropriate SDINST loader program has been loaded into the card, it should now be available for use by VTS programs.