Docklight V2.

0 User
Manual 02/2013
Copyright 2013 Flachmann und Heggelbacher GbR
 I Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

Table of Contents

1 Copyright 1
2 Introduction 2
2.1 Docklight
...................................................................................................................................
- Overview 2
2.2 Typical
...................................................................................................................................
Applications 2
2.3 System
...................................................................................................................................
Requirements 3

3 User Interface 5
3.1 Main
...................................................................................................................................
Window 5
3.2 Clipboard
...................................................................................................................................
- Cut, Copy & Paste 5
3.3 Notepad
................................................................................................................................... 6

4 Features and Functions 7

4.1 How...................................................................................................................................
Serial Data Is Processed and Displayed 7
4.2 Editing
...................................................................................................................................
and Managing Sequences 7

5 Working with Docklight 9

5.1 Testing
...................................................................................................................................
a Serial Device or a Protocol Implementation 9
5.2 Simulating
...................................................................................................................................
a Serial Device 10
5.3 Monitoring
...................................................................................................................................
Serial Communications Between Two Devices 12
5.4 Catching
...................................................................................................................................
a Specific Sequence and Taking a Snapshot of the Communication 14
5.5 Logging
...................................................................................................................................
and Analyzing a Test 14
5.6 Checking
...................................................................................................................................
for Sequences With Random Characters (Receive Sequence Wildcards) 15
5.7 Saving
...................................................................................................................................
and Loading Your Project Data 17

6 Working with Docklight

(Advanced Features) 18
6.1 Sending
...................................................................................................................................
Commands With Parameters (Send Sequence Wildcards) 18
6.2 How
...................................................................................................................................
to Increase the Processing Speed and Avoid "Input Buffer Overflow" Messages 19
6.3 How
...................................................................................................................................
to Obtain Best Timing Accuracy 20

7 Examples and Tutorials 21

7.1 Testing
...................................................................................................................................
a Modem - Sample Project: ModemDiagnostics.ptp 21
7.2 Reacting
...................................................................................................................................
to a Receive Sequence - Sample Project: PingPong.ptp 22

8 Reference 24
8.1 Menu
...................................................................................................................................
and Toolbar 24
8.2 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Edit Send Sequence 25
8.3 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Edit Receive Sequence 26
8.4 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Create Log File(s) 27

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 Contents II

8.5 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Find Sequence 27
8.6 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Send Sequence Parameter 28
8.7 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Project Settings - Communication 28
8.8 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Project Settings - Flow Control 29
8.9 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Project Settings - Communication Filter 30
8.10 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Options 30
8.11 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Customize HTML Output 32
8.12 Dialog:
...................................................................................................................................
Expert Options 33
8.13 Keyboard
...................................................................................................................................
Console 34

9 Support 35
9.1 Web
...................................................................................................................................
Support and Troubleshooting 35
9.2 E-Mail
...................................................................................................................................
Support 35

10 Appendix 36
10.1 ASCII
...................................................................................................................................
Character Set Tables 36
10.2 Hot...................................................................................................................................
Keys 38
10.3 RS232
...................................................................................................................................
Connectors / Pinout 40
10.4 Standard
...................................................................................................................................
RS232 Cables 42
10.5 Docklight
...................................................................................................................................
Monitoring Cable RS232 SUB D9 43
10.6 Docklight
...................................................................................................................................
Tap 44

11 Glossary / Terms Used 46

11.1 Action
................................................................................................................................... 46
11.2 Break
................................................................................................................................... 46
11.3 Character
................................................................................................................................... 46
11.4 CRC
................................................................................................................................... 46
11.5 DCE
................................................................................................................................... 47
11.6 DTE
................................................................................................................................... 47
11.7 Flow
...................................................................................................................................
Control 47
11.8 LIN................................................................................................................................... 47
11.9 MODBUS
................................................................................................................................... 47
11.10 Receive
...................................................................................................................................
Sequence 48
11.11 RS232
................................................................................................................................... 48
11.12 RS422
................................................................................................................................... 48
11.13 RS485
................................................................................................................................... 49
11.14 Send
...................................................................................................................................
Sequence 49
11.15 Sequence
................................................................................................................................... 49
11.16 Sequence
...................................................................................................................................
Index 49
11.17 Serial
...................................................................................................................................
Device Server 50
11.18 Snapshot
................................................................................................................................... 50
11.19 Trigger
................................................................................................................................... 50
11.20 UART
................................................................................................................................... 50

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11.21 Virtual
...................................................................................................................................
Null Modem 50
11.22 Wildcard
................................................................................................................................... 51

Copyright 2013 Flachmann und Heggelbacher GbR

 Copyright 1

1 Copyright
Copyright 2013 Flachmann und Heggelbacher GbR

All rights reserved. No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic,
electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and
retrieval systems - without the written permission of the publisher.

Trademarks

Products that are referred to in this document may be either trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of the respective owners. The publisher and the author make no claim to these
trademarks.

Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in
the United States and/or other countries.

Disclaimer

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, the publisher and the
author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of
information contained in this document or from the use of programs and source code that may
accompany it. In no event shall the publisher and the author be liable for any loss of profit or any
other commercial damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this
document.

Contact

E-Mail Support: docklight@fuh-edv.de

Flachmann & Heggelbacher

Waldkirchbogen 27
D-82061 Neuried
Germany
http://www.fuh-edv.de

Copyright 2013 Flachmann und Heggelbacher GbR

 2 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

2 Introduction
2.1 Docklight - Overview
Docklight is a testing, analysis and simulation tool for serial communication protocols (RS232,
RS485/422 and others). It allows you to monitor communications between two serial devices or to
test the serial communication of a single device. Docklight is easy to use and works on almost any
standard PC running Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Docklight's key functions include

simulating serial protocols - Docklight can send out user-defined sequences according to the
protocol used and it can react to incoming sequences. This makes it possible to simulate the
behavior of a serial communication device, which is particularly useful for generating test
conditions that are hard to reproduce with the original device (e.g. problem conditions).
logging RS232 data - All serial communication data can be logged using two different file
formats. Use plain text format for fast logging and storing huge amounts of data. An HTML file
format, with styled text, lets you easily distinguish between incoming and outgoing data or
additional information. Docklight can also log any binary data stream including ASCII 0 <NUL>
bytes and other control characters.
detecting specific data sequences - In many test cases you will need to check for a specific
sequence within the RS232 data that indicates a problem condition. Docklight manages a list of
such data sequences for you and is able to perform user-defined actions after detecting a
sequence, e.g. taking a snapshot of all communication data before and after the error message
was received.
responding to incoming data - Docklight lets you specify user-defined answers to the different
communication sequences received. This allows you to build a basic simulator for your serial
device within a few minutes. It can also help you to trace a certain error by sending out a
diagnostics command after receiving the error message.

Docklight will work with the COM communication ports provided by your operating system.
Physically, these ports will be RS232 SUB D9 interfaces in many cases. However, it is also
possible to use Docklight for other communication standards such as RS485 and RS422, which
have a different electrical design to RS232 but follow the RS232 communication mechanism.
Docklight has also been successfully tested with many popular USB-to-Serial converters, virtual null
modem software drivers, or Embedded Development tools that appear as a virtual COM port in
Windows.

For RS232 full-duplex monitoring applications, we recommend our Docklight Tap USB accessory, or
our Docklight Monitoring Cable.

This manual only refers to RS232 serial connections in detail, since this is the basis for other serial
connections mentioned above.

TIP: For getting started, have a look at the Docklight sample projects, which demonstrate some of
the basic Docklight functions.

2.2 Typical Applications

Docklight is the ideal tool to support your development and testing process for serial communication
devices. Docklight may be used to

Test the functionality or the protocol implementation of a serial device.

You may define control sequences recognized by your device, send them, log and analyze the
responses and test the device reaction.

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 Introduction 3

Simulate a serial device.

Although rare, the possibility of a hardware fault must be considered in most systems. Imagine
you have a device that sends an error message in the case of a hardware fault. A second device
should receive this error message and perform some kind of reaction. Using Docklight you can
easily simulate the error message to be sent and test the second device's reaction.

Monitor the communication between two devices.

Insert Docklight into the communication link between two serial devices. Monitor and log the serial
communication in both directions. Detect faulty communication sequences or special error
conditions within the monitored communication. Take a snapshot of the communication when
such an error condition has occurred.

2.3 System Requirements

Operating system
Windows 8, Windows 8 x64, Windows 7, Windows 7 x64, Windows Vista, Windows Vista x64 or
Windows XP.

Additional requirements
For RS232 testing or simulation: Minimum one COM port available. Two COM ports for monitoring
communication between two serial devices.
For low-latency monitoring using Docklight Tap: One USB port

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4 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

Additional cables or software drivers may be required for connecting the equipment to be tested. See
the sections on Docklight Tap, Docklight Monitoring Cable RS232 SUB D9, Standard RS232 Cables
and virtual null modem drivers.

Copyright 2013 Flachmann und Heggelbacher GbR

 User Interface 5

3 User Interface
3.1 Main Window
The main window of Docklight is divided into four sections:

1. Toolbar and Status

All main Docklight functions may be selected from the Toolbar. Additional information about the
communication status and the current settings is shown in the status line below it.

2. Send Sequences
Define, edit and manage your Send Sequences here. Using the arrow symbol, the selected
sequence can be sent out immediately. Double click on the blank field at the end of a list to create a
new sequence. The sequence list can be reordered by dragging a sequence to a new position with
the left mouse button pressed. A context menu (right mouse button) is available to cut, copy or
paste entire Send Sequences to/from the Clipboard. See Editing and Managing Sequences and
Dialog: Edit Send Sequence for more information.

3. Receive Sequences
Define, edit and manage your Receive Sequences here. Double click on the blank field at the end of
a list to create a new sequence. The Receive Sequence list supports the same reordering and
clipboard operations as the Send Sequence list. You can also copy a Send Sequence to the
clipboard and paste it into the Receive Sequence list. See Editing and Managing Sequences and
Dialog: Edit Receive Sequence for more information.

4. Communication Window
Displays the outgoing and incoming communication on the serial port. Various display options are
available for communication data, including ASCII / HEX / Decimal / Binary display, time stamps and
highlighting (see Options). If serial communication is stopped, all data from the communications
window may be copied to the clipboard or printed. You may also search for specific sequences
using the Find Sequence function. See How Serial Data is Processed and Displayed for more
information.

3.2 Clipboard - Cut, Copy & Paste

Docklight supports the Windows clipboard and its Cut, Copy and Paste operations. Clipboard
operations are available in the
Main Window - Send Sequences
Main Window - Receive Sequences

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 6 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

Main Window - Communication

Main Window - Script Editor (Docklight Scripting only)
Dialog: Edit Send Sequence
Dialog: Edit Receive Sequence
Dialog: Find Sequence
Dialog: Send Sequence Parameter
Notepad
Keyboard Console

You can cut a serial data sequence from the communication window and create a new Send or
Receive Sequence by simply pasting it into the appropriate list. Or edit a Send Sequence, copy a
part of this sequence to the clipboard and create a new Receive Sequence out of it by pasting it into
the Receive Sequence window.

TIP: Try the right mouse button to display a context menu for Cut, Copy and Paste operations.

3.3 Notepad
The Docklight Notepad is a separate window for writing down additional notes concerning your
Docklight project (how to use the Send / Receive Sequences, notes on additional test equipment,
etc.). The notepad window can be shown using the F12 key or the menu Tools > Show Notepad.
The notepad is a simple text box that does not offer formatting menus or toolbars, but you can paste
formatted text from the Windowsclipboard.

The notepad contents are stored along with all other Docklight project settings (see saving and
loading your project data). When opening a Docklight project file, the notepad is displayed
automatically, if project notes are available.

NOTE: Closing the notepad window does not delete your notes. They will be still available when you
press F12 again. To remove all notes, empty the text box using Ctrl+A (Select All) and the DEL
key.

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 Features and Functions 7

4 Features and Functions

4.1 How Serial Data Is Processed and Displayed
Docklight handles all serial data in an 8 bit-oriented way. Every sequence of serial data consists of
one or more 8 bit characters. Docklight allows you to
display the serial data in either ASCII, HEX, Decimal or Binary format
copy serial data to the clipboard and paste it into a standard text file or a formatted Microsoft®
Word document, or create a Send / Receive Sequence using the data.
print out serial data, user comments and other information

Docklight's communication window shows the current communication on the selected serial port(s).
Docklight distinguishes between two communication channels (channel 1 and channel 2), which
represent the incoming and outgoing data in Send/Receive Mode or the two communication
channels being observed in Monitoring Mode. Channel 1 and channel 2 data are displayed using
different colors or fonts, and the communication data may be printed or stored as a log file in plain
text or HTML format.

Besides the serial data, Docklight inserts date/time stamps into the communication display. By
default, a date/time stamp is inserted every time the data flow direction switches between channel 1
and channel 2, or before a new Send Sequence is transmitted. There are several options available for
inserting additional time stamps. This is especially useful when monitoring a half-duplex line with
only one communication channel. See Options --> Date/Time Stamps

Docklight is able to process serial data streams containing any ASCII code 0 - 255 decimal. Since
there are non-printing control characters (ASCII code < 32) and different encodings for ASCII code >
127, not all of these characters can be displayed in the ASCII text window. Nonetheless, all
characters will be processed properly by Docklight and can be displayed in HEX, Decimal or Binary
format. Docklight will process the serial data on any language version of the Windows operating
system in the same way, although the ASCII display might be different. For control characters
(ASCII code < 32), an additional display option is available to display their text equivalent in the
communication window. See Options dialog and Appendix, ASCII Character Set Tables.

Docklight allows you to suppress all original serial data, if you are running a test where you do not
need to see the actual data, but only the additional evaluations generated using Receive Sequences.
See the Project Settings for Communication Filter.

4.2 Editing and Managing Sequences

A Docklight project mainly consists of user-defined sequences. These may be either Send
Sequences, which may be transmitted by Docklight itself, or Receive Sequences, which are used to
detect a special message within the incoming serial data.

Sequences are defined using the Edit Send Sequence or Edit Receive Sequence dialog window.
This dialog window is opened
1. by choosing Edit from the context menu available using the right mouse button.
2. by double-clicking on an existing sequence or pressing Ctrl + E with the Send Sequence or
Receive Sequence list selected.
3. when creating a new sequence by double-clicking on the blank field at the end of a list (or
pressing Ctrl + E).
4. when pasting a new sequence into the sequence list.

Docklight supports the use of wildcards (e.g. wildcard "?" as a placeholder for one arbitrary
character) within Receive Sequences and Send Sequences. See the sections sending commands

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8 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

with parameters and checking for sequences with random characters for details and examples.

Copyright 2013 Flachmann und Heggelbacher GbR

 Working with Docklight 9

5 Working with Docklight

5.1 Testing a Serial Device or a Protocol Implementation

Preconditions

You need the specification of the protocol to test, e.g. in written form.
The serial device to test should be connected to one of the PC's COM ports. See section
Standard RS232 Cables for details on how to connect two serial devices.
The serial device must be ready to operate.

Performing the test

A) Creating a new project

Create a new Docklight project by selecting the menu File > New Project

B) Setting the Communication Options

1. Choose the menu Tools > Project Settings...
2. Choose communication mode Send/Receive
3. At Send/Receive on comm. channel, set the COM Port where your serial device is
connected.
4. Set the baud rate and all other COM Port Settings required.
5. Confirm the settings and close the dialog by clicking the OK button.

C) Defining the Send Sequences to be used

You will probably test your serial device by sending specific sequences, according to the protocol
used by the device, and observe the device's reaction. Perform the following steps to create your list
of sequences:

1. Double click on the last line of the Send Sequences table. The Edit Send Sequence dialog is
displayed (see also Editing and Managing Sequences).
2. Enter a Name for the sequence. The sequence name should be unique for every Send
Sequence defined.
3. Enter the Sequence itself. You may enter the sequence either in ASCII, HEX, Decimal or
Binary format. Switching between the different formats is possible at any time using the Edit
Mode radio buttons.
4. After clicking the OK button the new sequence will be added to the Send Sequence lists.

Repeat steps 1 - 4 to define the other Send Sequences needed to perform your test.

D) Defining the Receive Sequences used

If you want Docklight to react when receiving specific sequences, you have to define a list of Receive

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 10 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

Sequences.

1. Double click on the last line of the Receive Sequences table. The dialog Edit Receive Sequence
is displayed. The dialog consist of three parts: Name field, Sequence field, and Action field.
2. Edit the Name and Sequence fields.
3. Specify an Action to perform after the sequence has been received by Docklight. There are four
types of actions available:
Answer - After receiving the sequence, transmit one of the Send Sequences.
Comment - After receiving the sequence, insert a user-defined comment into the
communication window (and log file, if available).
Trigger - This is an advanced feature described in Catching a specific sequence...
Stop - After receiving the sequence, Docklight stops communications.
4. Click the OK button to add the new sequence to the list.

Repeat steps 1 - 4 to define the other Receive Sequences you need to perform your test.

E) Storing the project

Before running the actual test, it is recommended that the communication settings and sequences
defined be stored. This is done using the menu File > Save Project.

F) Running the test

Start Docklight by choosing Run > Start Communication.

Docklight will open a serial connection according to the parameters specified. It will then display all
incoming and outgoing communication in the communication window. Use the Send button
to send one of the defined sequences to the serial device. The on-screen display of all data transfer
allows you to check the device's behavior. All protocol information can be logged in a text file for
further analysis. Please see section Logging and analyzing a test.

TIP: Using the notepad window (F12 key / menu Tools > Show Notepad), you can easily take
additional notes, or copy & paste parts of the communication log for further documentation.

5.2 Simulating a Serial Device

Preconditions

You need the specification of the behavior of the serial device you want to simulate, e.g. what kind
of information is sent back after receiving a certain command.
A second device is connected to a PC COM port, which will communicate with your simulator.

This second device and its behavior is the actual object of interest. An example could be a device
that periodically checks the status of an UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) using a serial

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 Working with Docklight 11

communication protocol. You could use Docklight to simulate basic UPS behavior and certain UPS
problem cases. This is very useful when testing the other device, because it can be quite difficult to
reproduce an alarm condition (like a bad battery) at the real UPS.

NOTE: The second device may also be a second software application. It is possible to run both
Docklight and the software application on the same PC. Simply use a different COM port for each of
the two applications and connect the two COM ports using a RS232 null modem cable. You can
also use a virtual null modem for this purpose.

Performing the test

A) Creating a new project

Create a new Docklight project by selecting the menu File > New Project

B) Setting the Communication Options

1. Choose the menu Tools > Project Settings...
2. Choose communication mode Send/Receive
3. At Send/Receive on comm. channel, set the COM Port where your serial device is
connected.
4. Set the baud rate and all other COM Port Settings required.
5. Confirm the settings and close the dialog by clicking the OK button.

C) Defining the Send Sequences used

Define all the responses of your simulator. Think of responses when the simulated device is in
normal conditions, as well as responses when in fault condition. In the UPS example mentioned
above, a battery failure would be such a problem case that is hard to reproduce with the original
equipment. To test how other equipment reacts to a battery failure, define the appropriate response
sequence your UPS would send in this case.

NOTE: See Testing a serial device... to learn how to define Send Sequences.

D) Defining the Receive Sequences used

In most cases, your simulated device will not send unrequested data, but will be polled from the
other device. The other device will use a set of predefined command sequences to request different
types of information. Define the command sequences that must be interpreted by your simulator
here.

For every command sequence defined, specify Answer as an action. Choose one of the sequences
defined in C). If you want to use two or more alternative response sequences, make several copies of
the same Receive Sequence, give them a different name (e.g. "status cmd - answer ok", "status
cmd - answer battery failure", "status cmd - answer mains failure") and assign different Send
Sequences as an action. In the example, you would have three elements in the Receive Sequences
list that would respond to the same command with three different answers. During the test you may
decide which answer should be sent by checking or unchecking the list elements using the Active
column.

E) Storing the project

Before running the actual test, it is recommended that the communication settings and sequences
defined be stored. This is done using the menu File > Save Project.

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 12 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

F) Running the test

Start Docklight by choosing Run > Start Communication.

Docklight will now respond to all commands received from the connected serial device.
The on-screen data transfer display allows you to monitor the communications flow. All protocol
information can be logged to a text file for further analysis. See section Logging and analyzing a
test.

TIP: Using the notepad window (F12 key / menu Tools > Show Notepad), you can easily take
additional notes, or copy & paste parts of the communication log for further documentation.

5.3 Monitoring Serial Communications Between Two Devices

Preconditions

A Docklight Monitoring Cable or a Docklight Tap is required to tap the RS232 TX signals of both
serial devices and feed them into Docklight, while not interfering with the communications between
the devices.
For a Docklight Monitoring Cable setup, two COM ports must be available on your PC for
monitoring. Each port will receive the data from one of the serial devices being monitored.
For a Docklight Tap setup, please make sure you have installed up-to-date USB drivers (FTDI
drivers), as available on our Docklight Download page.
Device 1 and Device 2 must be ready to operate.

Performing the test

A) Creating a new project

Create a new Docklight project by selecting the menu File > New Project

B) Setting the Communication Options

1. Choose the menu Tools > Project Settings...

2. Choose communication mode Monitoring

Alternative 1 - Using Docklight Monitoring Cable

3. At Receive Channel 1, set the COM Port where the monitoring signal from serial device 1 is
received. At Receive Channel 2, set the COM port for the second device.

NOTE: In Docklight Monitoring Mode, all received data from one COM port is re-sent on the TX
channel of the opposite COM port ("Data Forwarding"). This does not have any effect for
Docklight Monitoring Cable setups, since the TX signal is not connected. But it can be useful for

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 Working with Docklight 13

special applications where you need to route the serial data traffic through Docklight using
standard RS232 cabling. If you require a pure passive monitoring behavior where no TX data
appears, you can disable the "Data Forwarding" using the menu Tools > Expert Options...

Alternative 2 - Using Docklight Tap

3. At Receive Channel 1, open the dropdown list, scroll down to the -- USB Taps -- section and
choose the first Tap port, e.g. TAP0. At Receive Channel 2, the second tap port (e.g. TAP1)
is selected automatically.

4. Set the baud rate and all other communication parameters for the protocol being used

NOTE: Make sure your PC's serial interfaces port works properly at the baud rate and for the
communication settings used by Device 1 and Device 2. If Device 1 and 2 use a high speed
data transfer protocol, the PC's serial interfaces and the Docklight software itself might be too
slow to receive all data properly.

5. Confirm the settings and close the dialog by clicking the OK button.

C) Defining the Receive Sequences used

Define Receive Sequences, which should be marked in the test protocol or trigger an action within
Docklight. Docklight checks for Receive Sequence on both monitoring channels, i.e. it does not
matter whether the sequences come from serial device 1 or serial device 2.

NOTE: Since a special monitoring cable is used for this test, all communication between serial
device 1 and serial device 2 will remain unbiased and no additional delays will be introduced by
Docklight itself. This is particularly important when using Docklight for tracking down timing
problems. This means, however, that there is no way to influence the serial communication between
the two devices. While communication mode Monitoring is selected, it is not possible to use Send
Sequences.

D) Storing the project

Before running the actual test, it is recommended to store the communication settings and
sequences defined. This is done using the menu File > Save Project.

E) Running the test

Start Docklight by choosing Run > Start Communication, then activate the serial devices 1
and 2 and perform a test run. Docklight will display all communication between serial device 1 and
serial device 2. Docklight uses different colors and font types to make it easy to distinguish between
data transmitted by device 1 or device 2. The colors and font types can be chosen in the Display tab
of the Tools > Options... dialog.

TIP: The Snapshot Function allows you to locate a rare sequence or error condition in a
communication protocol with a large amount of data.

TIP: See the sections How to Increase the Processing Speed... and How to Obtain Best Timing
Accuracy to learn how to adjust Docklight for applications with high amounts of data, or increased
timing accuracy requirements.

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 14 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

5.4 Catching a Specific Sequence and Taking a Snapshot of the

Communication
When monitoring serial communications between two devices, you might want to test for a rare error
and the interesting parts would be just the serial communication before and after this event. You
could look for this situation by logging the test and searching the log files for the characteristic error
sequence. This could mean storing and analyzing several MB of data when you are actually just
looking for a few bytes though, if they appeared at all. As an alternative, you can use the Snapshot
feature as described below.

Preconditions

Docklight is ready to run a test as described in the previous use cases, e.g. monitoring serial
communications between two devices.

Taking a snapshot

A) Defining a trigger for the snapshot

1. Define the sequence that appears in your error situation as a Receive Sequence.
2. Check the Trigger tab in the "action" part of the Receive Sequence dialog: The trigger option
must be enabled if this is the sequence that you want to track down.

NOTE: Do not forget to disable the trigger option for all other Receive Sequences that should be
ignored in your test so that they do not trigger the snapshot.

B) Creating a snapshot
Click on the Snapshot button of the toolbar. Docklight will start communications, but will not
display anything in the communication window. If the trigger sequence is detected, Docklight will
display communication data before and after the trigger event. Further data is processed, until the
trigger sequence is located roughly in the middle of the communication window. Docklight will then
stop communication and position the cursor at the trigger sequence.

5.5 Logging and Analyzing a Test

Preconditions

Docklight is ready to run a test as described in the previous use cases, e.g.
Testing a serial device or a protocol implementation

Logging the test

Click on the Start Logging button on the main toolbar.

A dialog window will open for choosing log file settings.

For each representation (ASCII, HEX, ...), a separate log file may be created. Choose at least one
representation. Log files will have a ".txt" or ".htm" file extension. Docklight additionally adds the
representation type to the file name to distinguish the different log files. E.g. if the user specifies
"Test1" as the base log file name, the plain text ASCII file will be named "Test1_asc.txt", whereas
an HTML HEX log file will be named "Test1_hex.htm".

Confirm your log file settings and start logging by clicking the OK button.

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 Working with Docklight 15

To stop logging and close the log file(s), click the Stop Logging button on the main toolbar.
Unless the log file(s) have been closed, it is not possible to view their entire contents.

5.6 Checking for Sequences With Random Characters (Receive

Sequence Wildcards)
Many serial devices support a set of commands to transmit measurement data and other related
information. In common text-based protocols the response from the serial device consists of a fixed
part (e.g. "temperature="), and a variable part, which is the actual value (e.g "65F"). To detect all
these responses correctly in the serial data stream, you can define Receive Sequences containing
wildcards.

Take, for example, the following situation: A serial device measures the temperature and periodically
sends the actual reading. Docklight shows the following output:
07/30/2012 10:20:08.022 [RX] - temperature=82F<CR>
07/30/2012 10:22:10.558 [RX] - temperature=85F<CR>
07/30/2012 10:24:12.087 [RX] - temperature=93F<CR>
07/30/2012 10:26:14.891 [RX] - temperature=102F<CR>
...

Defining an individual Receive Sequence for every temperature value possible would not be a
practical option. Instead you would define one Receive Sequence using wildcards. For example:
t|e|m|p|e|r|a|t|u|r|e|=|?|#|#|F|r
("r" is the terminating <CR> Carriage Return character)

This ReceiveSequence would trigger on any of the temperature strings listed above. It allows a 1-3
digit value for the temperature (i.e. from "0" to "999"). The following step-by-step example describes
how to define the above sequence. See also the additional remarks at the end of this section for
some extra information on '#' wildcards.

Preconditions

Docklight is ready to run a test as described in the previous use cases, e.g. testing a serial device
or a protocol implementation.
The serial device (the temperature device in our example) is operating.

Using Receive Sequences with wildcards

A) Preparing the project

Create a new Docklight project and set up all communication parameters.

B) Defining the Receive Sequences used

1. Create a new Receive Sequence. Enter a Name for the sequence.
2. Enter the fixed part of your expected answer in the Sequence section. For our example you
would enter the following sequence in ASCII mode:
t|e|m|p|e|r|a|t|u|r|e|=
3. Open the popup / context menu using the right mouse button, and choose Wildcard
'?' (matches one character) to insert the first wildcard at the cursor position. Add two '#'
wildcards using the popup menu Wildcard '#' (matches zero or one character). The
sequence now looks like this:
t|e|m|p|e|r|a|t|u|r|e|=|?|#|#
4. Enter the fixed tail of our temperature string, which is a letter 'F' and the terminating <CR>
character. You can use the default control character shortcut Ctrl+Enter to enter the <CR> /
ASCII code 13. The sequence is now:

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16 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

t|e|m|p|e|r|a|t|u|r|e|=|?|#|#|F|r
5. Specify an Action to perform after a temperature reading has been detected.
6. Click OK to add the new sequence to the Receive Sequence list.

NOTE: To distinguish the wildcards '?' and '#' from the regular question mark or number sign
characters (decimal code 63 / 35), the wildcards are shown on a different background color within
the sequence editor.

C) Running the test

Start Docklight by choosing Run > Start Communication.

Docklight will now detect any temperature reading and perform the specified action.

Receive Sequence comment macros

Macro keywords can be used in the Edit Receive Sequence > 3 - Action > Comment text box, to
create Docklight comment texts with dynamic data, e.g. the actual data received.

Comment Macro Description

%_L Insert a line break

%_T Insert the time stamp for the data received

%_C Insert the Docklight channel no. / data direction (1 or 2) for the data
received

%_A Insert the actual data that triggered this Receive Sequence. Use ASCII
representation

%_H Same as %_A, but in HEX representation

%_D Same as %_A, but in Decimal representation

%_B Same as %_A, but in Binary representation

%_A(1,4) Extended syntax:

Insert only the first 4 characters of this Receive Sequence (start with
Character No. 1, sequence length = 4)

%_H(3,-1) Extended Syntax:

Insert everything from the third character until the end of the sequence
(length = -1). Use HEX representation.

Example:
For a Receive Sequence as described above ( t | e | m | p | e | r | a | t | u | r | e | = | ? | # | # | F | r ),
you could define the following comment text:

New Temp = %_L %_A(13, -3) °F

Docklight output could then look like this:

10/30/2012 10:20:08.022 [RX] - temperature=82F<CR>

New Temp =

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 Working with Docklight 17

82 °F
10/30/2012 10:22:10.558 [RX] - temperature=85F<CR>
New Temp =
85 °F
10/30/2012 10:24:12.087 [RX] - temperature=93F<CR>
New Temp =
93 °F

Additional notes on '#' wildcards

1. '#' wildcards at the end of a Receive Sequence have no effect. The Receive Sequence
"HelloWorld###" will behave like a Receive Sequence "HelloWorld".

2. A "match inside a match" is not returned: If a Receive Sequence "Hello#######World" is defined,

and the incoming data is "Hello1Hello2World", the Receive Sequence detected is
"Hello1Hello2World", not "HelloWorld"

5.7 Saving and Loading Your Project Data

All project data may be saved in a Docklight project file using the menu File > Save Project or
File > Save Project As...

The project data includes

Send Sequences defined
Receive Sequences defined
additional Project Settings: communication mode, COM ports used, COM port settings (baud rate,
parity, ...)
the Notepad contents

It is recommended to save your current project before starting a test run. Please note the difference
between storing the project settings as described here and logging the communication during a test
(see section logging and analyzing a test). Test run results are stored separately from Projects.

Loading a project is done using the File > Open Project... menu.

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6 Working with Docklight (Advanced Features)

6.1 Sending Commands With Parameters (Send Sequence
Wildcards)
When testing a serial device, the device will most likely support a number of commands that include
a parameter.

Example: A digital camera supports a command to set the exposure time. For setting the exposure
time to 25 milliseconds, you need to send the following sequence:
e | x | p | | 0 | 2 | 5 | r ("r" is a terminating <CR> Carriage Return character)

To avoid defining a new Send Sequence for every exposure time you want to try, you can use a
Send Sequence with wildcards instead:
e|x|p| |?|?|?|r

The following step-by-step example describes how to define an exposure time command with a
parameter and use a different exposure value each time the sequence is sent.

Preconditions

Docklight is ready to run a test as described in testing a serial device or a protocol

implementation.

Performing the test using commands with parameters

A) Preparing the project

Create a new Docklight project and set up all communication parameters.

B) Defining the commands used

1. Create a new Send Sequence. Enter a Name for the sequence.
2. Enter the fixed part of your command in the Sequence section. For our example you would
enter the following sequence in ASCII mode:
e|x|p| |
3. Now open the context menu using the right mouse button, and choose Wildcard
'?' (matches one character) to insert one wildcard at the cursor position. In our example we
would have to repeat this until there are three '?' wildcards for our three-digit exposure time. The
sequence now looks like this:
e|x|p| |?|?|?
4. Now add the terminating <CR> character, using the default control character shortcut
Ctrl+Enter. The example sequence now is
e|x|p| |?|?|?|r
5. Click OK to add the new sequence to the Send Sequence list.

Repeat steps 1 - 5 to define other commands needed to perform your test.

NOTE: To distinguish a '?' wildcard from a question mark ASCII character (decimal code 63), the
wildcard is shown on a different background color within the sequence editor.

C) Sending a command to the serial device

1. Use the Send button to open the serial communication port and send one command to

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 Working with Docklight (Advanced Features) 19

the serial device.

2. The communication pauses and the Send Sequence Parameter dialog pops up, allowing you to
enter the parameter value. In our example, an exposure time, e.g. "025".
3. Confirm by pressing Enter. The sequence is now sent to the serial device.

It is possible to define commands with several parameters, using several wildcard areas within one
sequence. The Send Sequence Parameter dialog will then appear several times before sending out a
sequence.

NOTE: If you are using Wildcard '?', you must provide exactly one character for each '?' when
sending the sequence. For variable-length parameters use Wildcard '#' (matches zero or one
character).

NOTE: You cannot use a Send Sequence with wildcards as an automatic answer for a Receive
Sequence (see Action).

6.2 How to Increase the Processing Speed and Avoid "Input Buffer
Overflow" Messages
When monitoring serial communications between two devices, Docklight cannot control the amount
of incoming data. Since Docklight applies a number of formatting and conversion rules on the serial
data, only a limited number of bytes per seconds can be processed. There are numerous factors
that determine the processing speed, e.g. the PC and COM devices used, the Display Settings, and
the Receive Sequence Actions defined. It is therefore not possible to specify any typical data rates.

If Docklight cannot keep up with the incoming data, it adds the following comment to the
communication data display:

DOCKLIGHT reports: Input buffer overflow on COM1

TIP: Search for this message using the Find Sequence in Communication Window... (Ctrl +
F) function.

Docklight will also react slowly to any user input, including a Stop communication command.

If you are experiencing the above behavior, Docklight offers you several ways to increase the data
throughput.

1. Simplify the display output:

- Deactivate all unneeded Display Modes in the Options... dialog
- Use Plain Text Mode instead of "Formatted Text Output"
- If you are using ASCII mode, disable the Control Characters Description option

2. Log the communication data to a plain text file instead of using the communication window(s):
- Use the "plain text" Log File Format
- Create only a log file for the Representation (ASCII / HEX / Decimal / Binary) you actually need
- Disable the communication windows while logging, using the High Speed Logging option

3. Use the Communication Filter from the Project Settings... dialog, and disable the original
serial data for one or both communication directions. This is especially useful if you actually
know what you are looking for and can define one or several Receive Sequences for this pieces
of data. These Receive Sequences can print a comment each time the sequence appears in the
data stream so you still know what has happened, even if the original serial data is not
displayed by Docklight.

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 20 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

6.3 How to Obtain Best Timing Accuracy

Many RS232 monitoring applications – including Docklight – can only provide limited accuracy when
it comes to time tagging the serial data. As a result, data from the two different communication
directions can be displayed in chronologically incorrect order, or several telegrams from one
communication direction can appear as one chunk of data.

This behavior is not caused by poor programming, but is rather characteristic for a PC/Windows
system, and the various hardware and software layers involved. Unspecified delays and timing
inaccuracies can be introduced by:
The COM device’s chipset, e.g. the internal FIFO (First-In-First-Out) data buffer.
The USB bus transfer (for USB to Serial converters).
The serial device driver for Windows.
The task/process scheduling in a multitasking operating system like Windows.
The accuracy of the date/time provider.

Docklight comes with a very accurate date/time provider with milliseconds granularity, but it still
needs to accept the restrictions from the hardware and software environment around it.

Here is what you can do to minimize additional delays and inaccuracies and achieve a typical time
tagging accuracy of 5 milliseconds or better:

1. Get our Docklight Tap for lowest USB-related latency times. Or use on-board RS232 ports, if
still available on your PC.

2. Choose External / High Priority Process Mode in the Tools > Expert Options... dialog.

3. When monitoring high amounts of data, use the recommendations from the previous section
How to Increase the Processing Speed... to avoid input buffer overflows and that the computer
become irresponsive because of high CPU usage.

NOTE: The Expert Options... recommended above will change the overall system balance and must
be used with care. Best results can be achieved only when logged in as an Administrator. Please
make sure you understood the remarks and warning in the documentation.

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 Examples and Tutorials 21

7 Examples and Tutorials

This chapter describes two sample projects that demonstrate some of Docklight's basic functions.
The corresponding Docklight project files (.ptp files) can be found in the \Samples folder within the
Docklight installation directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\FuH\Docklight V2.0\Samples).

NOTE: If you are logged on with a restricted user account, you will not have permission to make any
changes in the program files directory. In this case, saving a project file or any other data into
the \Samples folder will produce an error.

NOTE: For additional sample projects and Application Notes, see our online resources at
www.docklight.de/examples_en.htm

7.1 Testing a Modem - Sample Project: ModemDiagnostics.ptp

The Docklight project ModemDiagnostics.ptp can be used to perform a modem check. A set of
modem diagnostic commands are defined in the Send Sequences list.

This is a simple example for Testing a serial device or a protocol implementation. The sample project
uses the communication settings listed below. This should work for most standard modems.

Communication Mode Send/Receive

COM Port Settings 9600 Baud, No parity, 8 Data Bits, 1 Stop Bit

Getting started

Use the Windows Device Manager to find out which COM Port is a modem device. This demo
project may be used with any AT-compatible modem available on your PC, e.g. a built-in notebook
modem, or a GSM or Bluetooth modem driver than can be accessed through a virtual COM port.

TIP: For a simple test without specialized hardware, add your mobile phone as Bluetooth Device
on your Windows PC. Then find your phone in the Windows Devices and Printers list. Right-click
on it, choose Properties and go to the Hardware tab. In the Device Functions list it should
mention the modem related COM Ports.

Go to the Project Settings... dialog and make sure you have selected the same COM Port
for Send/Receive on comm. channel.
Press the Start Communication button in the toolbar.
Try sending any of the predefined modem commands by pressing the Send button

You should now receive a response from your modem, e.g. "OK" if your command was accepted, a
model identification number, etc. The response will vary with the modem model.

After sending several sequences, the Docklight communication window could look like this:

07.02.2013 18:17:54.083 [TX] - ATQ0V1E0<CR><LF>

07.02.2013 18:17:54.107 [RX] - ATQ0V1E0<CR><LF>

<CR><LF>
OK<CR><LF>

07.02.2013 18:18:00.511 [TX] - ATI2<CR><LF>

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 22 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

07.02.2013 18:18:00.747 [RX] - <CR><LF>

V 11.10<CR><LF>
13-05-11<CR><LF>
RM-721<CR><LF>
(c) Nokia <CR><LF>
<CR><LF>
OK<CR><LF>

07.02.2013 18:18:01.393 [TX] - ATI3<CR><LF>

07.02.2013 18:18:01.421 [RX] - <CR><LF>

Nokia C2-01<CR><LF>
<CR><LF>
OK<CR><LF>
...

Further Information

The Send Sequences list includes the following standard AT modem commands:

Send Sequence Description / Modem Response

ATQ0V1E0 Initializes the query.
AT+GMM Model identification (ITU V.250 recommendation is not
supported by all modems).
AT+FCLASS=? Fax classes supported by the modem, if any.
AT#CLS=? Shows whether the modem supports the Rockwell voice
command set.
ATI<n> Displays manufacturer's information for <n> = 1 through 7.
This provides information such as the port speed, the result
of a checksum test, and the model information. Check the
manufacturer's documentation for the expected results.

The \Samples folder also contains a log file ModemDiagnostics_Logfile_asc.txt. It shows a test
run where the above Send Sequences were sent to a real modem.

7.2 Reacting to a Receive Sequence - Sample Project:

PingPong.ptp
The Docklight project PingPong.ptp is a simple example for how to define and use Receive
Sequences.

Getting started

Go to the Project Settings... dialog and choose a COM port.

Apply a simple loopback to this COM port: Connect Pin 2 (RX) with Pin 3 (TX). See RS232 SUB
D9 Pinout.
Now press the Send button for either of the two Send Sequences. Communication is
started and the Send Sequence is transmitted. It will of course be instantly received on the COM
port's RX line.

Docklight will detect the incoming data as being one of the defined Receive Sequences. It will then
perform the action predefined for this event, which is sending out another sequence. As a result,

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 Examples and Tutorials 23

Docklight will send out alternating Send Sequences - "Ping" and "Pong".

Use the Stop communication button to end the demo.

The Docklight communication display should look similar to this:

3/8/2009 16:25:44.201 [TX] - ----o Ping

3/8/2009 16:25:44.216 [RX] - ----o Ping "Ping" received
3/8/2009 16:25:44.218 [TX] - o---- Pong
3/8/2009 16:25:44.233 [RX] - o---- Pong "Pong" received
3/8/2009 16:25:44.236 [TX] - ----o Ping
3/8/2009 16:25:44.251 [RX] - ----o Ping "Ping" received
3/8/2009 16:25:44.254 [TX] - o---- Pong
3/8/2009 16:25:44.268 [RX] - o---- Pong "Pong" received
3/8/2009 16:25:44.271 [TX] - ----o Ping
3/8/2009 16:25:44.286 [RX] - ----o Ping "Ping" received
3/8/2009 16:25:44.289 [TX] - o---- Pong
3/8/2009 16:25:44.303 [RX] - o---- Pong "Pong" received
3/8/2009 16:25:44.307 [TX] - ----o Ping
3/8/2009 16:25:44.322 [RX] - ----o Ping "Ping" received
3/8/2009 16:25:44.324 [TX] - o---- Pong
...

See also the corresponding log files in the \Samples folder (PingPong_Logfile_asc.htm and
PingPong_Logfile_hex.htm).

Further Information

This demo project can also be run in three alternative configurations:

1. Run two Docklight applications on the same PC using different COM ports. The two COM ports
are connected using a simple null modem cable.
2. Instead of two RS232 COM ports and a null modem cable you can use a virtual null modem.
3. Use two PCs and run Docklight on each PC. Connect the two PCs using a simple null modem
cable.

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 24 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

8 Reference
8.1 Menu and Toolbar
File Menu

New Project
Close the current Docklight project and create a new one.

Open Project ...

Close the current Docklight project and open another project.

Import Sequence List ...

Import all Send Sequences and Receive Sequences from a second Docklight project.

Save Project / Save Project As ...

Save the current Docklight project.

Print Project ...

Print the project data, i.e. the list of defined Send Sequences and Receive Sequences. The
sequences are printed in the same representation (ASCII, HEX, Decimal or Binary) that is used in
the Docklight main window. The representation may be chosen using the Options dialog window.

Print Communication ...

Print the contents of the communication window. The communication data is printed in the same
representation that is currently visible in the communication window.

Exit
Quit Docklight.

Edit Menu

Edit Send Sequence List ...

Edit the Send Sequences list, i.e. add new sequences or delete existing ones.

Edit Receive Sequence List ...

Edit the Receive Sequences list, i.e. add new sequences or delete existing ones.

Swap Send and Receive Sequence Lists

Convert all Send Sequences into Receive Sequences and vice versa.

Find Sequence in Communication Window...

Find a specific sequence within the data displayed in the communication window. See the Find
Sequence function.

Clear Communication Window

Delete the contents of the communications window. This applies to all four representations (ASCII,
HEX, Decimal, Binary) of the communication window.

Run Menu

Start communication
Open the communication ports and enable serial data transfer.

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 Reference 25

Stop communication
Stop serial data transfer and close the communication ports.

Tools Menu

Start Communication Logging ...

Create new log file(s) and start logging the incoming/outgoing serial data. See logging and analyzing
a test.

Stop Communication Logging

Stop logging and close the currently open log file(s).

Start Snapshot Mode

Wait for a trigger sequence and take a snapshot. See Catching a specific sequence...

Stop Snapshot Mode

Abort a snapshot and reenable the communication window display.

Keyboard Console On
Enable the keyboard console to send keyboard input directly.

Keyboard Console Off

Disable the keyboard console.

Show Notepad
Show the notepad window.

Project Settings...
Select the current project settings (communication settings, flow control settings, communication
filter...).

Options...
Select general settings (e.g. display).

Expert Options...
Select expert program options intended for advanced users and specific applications (e.g. high
monitoring accuracy).

8.2 Dialog: Edit Send Sequence

This dialog is used to define new Send Sequences and edit existing ones (See also Editing and
Managing Sequences).

Index
The index of the sequence displayed below. The first sequence has index 0 (zero).

1 - Name
Unique name for this sequence (e.g. "Set modem speaker volume"). This name is for referencing the
sequence. It is not the data that will be sent out through the serial port. See "2 - Sequence" below.

2 - Sequence
The character sequence that will be transmitted through the serial port.

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 26 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

3 - Additional Settings
Check the "Send periodically..." option to define a sequence that is sent periodically. A time interval
between 0.01 seconds and 9999 seconds can be specified.

NOTE: The Windows reference time used for this purpose has only limited precision. Time intervals
< 0.03 seconds will usually not be accurate.

Wildcards
Wildcards can be used to introduce parameters into a Send Sequence that you wish to insert
manually each time the sequence is sent. See section Sending commands with parameters for
details and examples.

Control Character Shortcuts

Using keyboard shortcuts is a great help when editing a sequence that contains both printing
characters (letters A-z, digits 0-9, ...) and non-printing control characters (ASCII code 0 to 31).
Predefined shortcuts are:
Ctrl+Enter for carriage return / <CR> / decimal code 13
Ctrl+Shift+Enter for line feed / <LF> / decimal code 10

Use Options... --> Control Character Shortcuts to define other shortcuts you find useful.

8.3 Dialog: Edit Receive Sequence

This dialog is used to define new Receive Sequences and edit existing ones (See also Editing and
Managing Sequences).

Index
The index of the sequence displayed below. The first sequence has index 0 (zero).

1 - Name
Unique name for this sequence (e.g. "Ping received"). This name is for referencing the sequence. It
is not the sequence received through the serial port. See "2 - Sequence" below.

2 - Sequence
The character sequence which should be detected by Docklight within the incoming serial data.

3 - Action
The action(s) performed when Docklight detects the sequence defined above.

You may choose from the following actions:

Answer - After receiving the sequence, transmit one of the Send Sequences. Only Send
Sequences that do not contain wildcards can be used as an automatic answer.
Comment - After receiving the sequence, insert a user-defined comment into the communication
window (and log file, if available). Various comment macros are available for creating dynamic
comment texts.
Trigger - Trigger a snapshot when the sequence is detected. This is an advanced feature
described in the section Catching a specific sequence...
Stop - Stop communications and end the test run.

Wildcards
Wildcards can be used to test for sequences that have a variable part with changing values (e.g.
measurement or status values). See section Checking for sequences with random characters for
details and examples.

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 Reference 27

Control Character Shortcuts

Using keyboard shortcuts is a great help when editing a sequence that contains both printing
characters (letters A-z, digits 0-9, ...) and non-printing control characters (ASCII code 0 to 31).
Predefined shortcuts are:
Ctrl+Enter for carriage return / <CR> / decimal code 13
Ctrl+Shift+Enter for line feed / <LF> / decimal code 10

Use Options... --> Control Character Shortcuts to define other shortcuts you find useful.

8.4 Dialog: Create Log File(s)

Menu Tools > Start Communication Logging ...

Log file format

The available log formats are plain text (.txt) files or HTML files for web browsers (.htm). Plain text
files are a good choice if you expect your log files to become very large. HTML log files are more
comfortable to analyze, because they include all the visual formatting of the communication windows
(colors, bold characters, italic characters). However, the file will be larger than a plain text file and
some browsers may process large HTML files quite slowly. If you have specific requirements on the
output format, you can customize the HTML output.

Log file directory and base name

Choose the directory and base file name for the log file(s) here. The actual file path used for the
individual log file representations are displayed in the text boxes within the "Log file representation"
frame.

Overwrite / append mode

Choose "append new data" if you do not want Docklight to overwrite existing log file(s). Docklight will
then insert a "start logging / stop logging" message when opening / closing the log files. This is so
that when in 'append mode' it is still possible to see when an individual log file session started or
ended.

Representation
A separate log file may be created for each data representation (ASCII, HEX, ...). Choose at least
one representation. The log files will have a ".txt" or ".htm" file extension. Docklight additionally adds
the representation type to the file name to distinguish the different log files. E.g. if the user specifies
"Test1" as the base log file name, the plain text ASCII log file will be named "Test1_asc.txt",
whereas the plain text HEX log file will be named "Test1_hex.txt".

High speed logging

If you are monitoring a high speed communication link or if you are running Docklight on a slow
computer, Docklight may not be able to catch all the transmitted data or may even freeze (no
response to any user input). In this case, try disabling the communication window output while
logging the data to a file. Docklight will run much faster, since the display formatting uses
considerable CPU time.

8.5 Dialog: Find Sequence

Menu Edit > Find Sequence in Communication Window...

The Find Sequence function searches the contents of the communication window. The search is
performed in the communication window tab that is currently selected (ASCII, HEX, Decimal or

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 28 Docklight V2.0 User Manual 02/2013

Binary). You may, however, define your search string in any other representation.

Searching the communication windows is only possible if the communication is stopped.

You can search for anything that is already defined as a Send Sequence or a Receive Sequence, or
you may define a custom search sequence.

NOTE: If you are looking for a sequence within the ASCII communication window, please remember
the following limitations:
The Find Sequence function is not able to locate sequences containing non-printing control
characters (ASCII decimal code < 32) or other special characters (decimal code > 127). This is
due to the nature of the ASCII display. Search using the HEX or Decimal communication window
tab instead.
In ASCII mode, the Find Sequence function will treat date/time stamps and any other comments
in the same way as regular communication data. In HEX / Decimal / Binary mode, all additional
information is ignored as long as it does not look like a character byte value.

8.6 Dialog: Send Sequence Parameter

Type in one or several value(s) for a Send Sequence with wildcards here. As with the Edit Send/
Receive Sequence dialog, you may use control character shortcuts or clipboard functions.
Parameter No.
A Send Sequence can contain any number of wildcards. Each set of consecutive wildcards is
considered a separate parameter. The value for each parameter is entered separately.

Minimum Characters Required

For each '?' wildcard exactly one character is required. Therefore, the minimum number of characters
required is equal to the number of '?' wildcards within one parameter.

NOTE: While the Send Sequence Parameter dialog is shown, all serial communication is paused.
Docklight does not receive any data and does not send any (periodical) Send Sequences.

8.7 Dialog: Project Settings - Communication

Menu Tools > Project Settings... | Communication

Communication Mode

Send/Receive
Docklight acts both as transmitter and receiver of serial data. This mode is used when Testing the
functionality or the protocol implementation of a serial device or simulating a serial device.
Naming conventions: The received data (RX) will be displayed and processed as "Channel 1", the
transmitted data (TX) will be displayed as "Channel 2".

Monitoring
Docklight receives serial data on two different communication channels. This mode is used, for
example, when Monitoring the communication between two devices.
Naming conventions: The serial data from device 1 is "Channel 1", the data from device 2 is "Channel
2".

Communication Channels - Serial COM ports or Docklight TAP ports

Choose one (or in Monitoring Mode: two) COM ports from the dropdown list. The dropdown list
shows all COM ports available on your PC via the Windows operating system. You can also type in

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any COM port from COM1 to COM256 manually.

For Docklight Tap monitoring applications, open the dropdown list and choose the TAP port (e.g.
TAP0 for Channel 1, and TAP1 for Channel 2) from the 'USB Tap' section below the COM ports. The
TAP connections are only available if Communication Mode is set to 'Monitoring', the Docklight Tap
is plugged in and the Docklight Tap USB device drivers are installed properly.

COM Port Settings

Baud Rate
Choose a standard baud rate from the dropdown list, or use a non-standard baud rate by typing any
integer number between 110 and 9999999.

NOTE: Non-standard baud rates may not work correctly on all COM ports, dependant on the
capabilities of your COM port's hardware UART chip. You will receive no warning, if any non-standard
rate cannot be applied.

NOTE: Although Docklight's Project Settings allow you to specify baud rates up to 9 MBaud, this
does not mean Docklight is able to handle this level of throughput continuously. The average data
throughput depends very much on your PC's performance and the Docklight display settings. See
also How to Increase the Processing Speed.

NOTE: There are many COM ports drivers and applications that do not use actual RS232/422 or 485
transmission, and do not require any of the RS232 communication parameters. In some cases such
COM port drivers even return an error when trying to set the RS232 parameters, so Docklight would
fail to open the COM channel. Use the Baud Rate setting None for these applications.

Data Bits and Stop Bits

Specify the number of data bits and stop bits here. As with the baud rate, some of the available
settings may not be supported by the COM port device(s) on your PC.

Parity
All common parity check options are available here. (The settings 'Mark' and 'Space' will probably
not be used in practical applications. 'Mark' specifies that the parity bit always is 1, 'Space' that the
parity bit is always 0, regardless of the character transmitted.)

Parity Error Character

This is the character that replaces an invalid character in the data stream whenever a parity error
occurs. You should specify an ASCII character (printing or non-printing) that does not usually appear
within your serial data stream. Characters may be defined by entering the character itself or entering
its decimal ASCII code (please enter at least two digits).

NOTE: Choose "(ignore)" for the Parity Error Character if you need to transmit/receive the parity bit
but Docklight should preserve all incoming characters, even when the parity bit is wrong. This is
useful for applications where a 9th bit is used for addressing purposes and not for error checking.

8.8 Dialog: Project Settings - Flow Control

Menu Tools > Project Settings... | Flow Control

Used to specify additional hardware or software flow control settings for serial communications in
Docklight Send/Receive Mode.

Flow Control Support

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Off
No hardware or software flow control mechanism is used. RTS and DTR are enabled when the COM
port is opened.

Manual
Use this mode to control the RTS and DTR signals manually and display the current state of the
CTS, DSR, DCD and RI lines. If flow control is set to "Manual", an additional status element is
displayed in the Docklight main window. You may toggle the RTS and DTR lines by double clicking
on the corresponding indicator.

NOTE: Flow control signals are not treated as communication data and will not be displayed in the
communication window or logged to a file.

Hardware Handshaking, Software Handshaking

Support for RTS/CTS hardware flow control and XON/XOFF software flow control. These are expert
settings rarely required for recent communication applications.

RS485 Transceiver Control

Some RS232-to-RS485 converters require manual RTS control, i.e. the RS232 device (PC) tells the
converter when it should enable its RS485 driver for transmission. If you choose "RS485 Transceiver
Control", the COM port sets RTS to High before transmitting the first character of a Send Sequence,
and resets it to Low after the last character has been transmitted.

NOTE: Many USB-to-Serial converters or virtual COM port drivers do not implement the Windows
RTS_CONTROL_TOGGLE mode properly. If you experience problems with RS485 Transceiver
Control, try using a PC with an on-board COM interface or a standard PCI COM card.

8.9 Dialog: Project Settings - Communication Filter

Menu Tools > Project Settings... | Communication Filter

Use the Contents Filter option if you do not need to see the original communication data on the
serial line and only require the additional comments inserted by a Receive Sequence. This is useful
for applications with high data throughput, where most of the data is irrelevant for testing and you
only need to watch for very specific events. These events (and related display output) can be defined
using Receive Sequences.

8.10 Dialog: Options

Menu Tools > Options...

Display

Formatted Text Output (Rich Text Format)

used for setting the appearance of the Docklight communication window. The two different serial data
streams, "Channel 1" and "Channel 2", may be displayed using different colors and styles. The
standard setting uses different colors for the two channels, but using different font styles (e.g. Italics
for "Channel 2") is also possible. You may also choose the overall font size here.

NOTE: If you change the font size, the communication window contents will be deleted. For all other
changes, Docklight will try to preserve the display contents.

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Plain Text Output (faster display, but no colors & fonts)

The formatted text output is similar to a word processor and consumes a considerable amount of
CPU time. It also requires frequent memory allocation and deallocation which might decrease your
PC performance. So if you are monitoring a high-speed communication link, but still want to keep an
eye on the serial data transferred, try using the "Plain Text Output" format.

Control Characters (ASCII 0 - 31)

For communication data containing both printing ASCII text as well as non-printing control
characters, it is sometimes helpful to see the names of the occurring control characters in the ASCII
mode display window. Docklight provides an optional display settings to allow this. You can also
suppress the control characters (except CR and LF) for cases when this would clutter your display.

Display Modes

Communication Window Modes

By default, Docklight will display four representations of the serial data streams: ASCII, HEX,
Decimal and Binary. You may deactivate some of these modes to increase Docklight's overall
performance. For example, the Binary representation of the data is rarely required. Disabling Binary
mode for the communication window will considerably increase processing speed. Even when turned
off for the communication window, logging in all formats is still possible.

See also the Plain Text Output option above.

Date/Time Stamps

Adding a Date/Time Stamp

Docklight adds a date/time stamp to all data that is transmitted or received. You may choose to
insert this date/time stamp into the communication window and the log file whenever the data flow
direction changes between Channel 1 and Channel 2.

For applications where the data flow direction does not change very often, you may want to have
additional date/time stamps at regular time intervals. For this, activate the Clock - additional date/
time stamp... option then and choose a time interval.

On a half duplex line (e.g. 2 wire RS485), changes in data direction are difficult to detect. Still, in
most applications there will be a pause on the communication bus before a new device starts
sending. Use the Pause detection... option to introduce additional time stamps and make the
pauses visible in your communication log.

Date/Time Format
Docklight offers time stamps with a resolution of up to 1/1000 seconds (1 millisecond). For
compatibility to earlier Docklight versions (V1.8 and smaller), 1/100 seconds is available, too.

NOTE: The resulting time tagging accuracy can be considerably different, e.g. 10-20 milliseconds
only. The actual accuracy depends on your serial communications equipment, your PC
configuration, the Docklight Display Settings (see above) and the Docklight Expert Options. See the
section How to Obtain Best Timing Accuracy for details.

Control Characters Shortcuts

Here you can define your own keyboard shortcuts for ASCII Control Characters (ASCII code < 32), or
for any character code > 126. Keyboard shortcuts can be used within the following Docklight dialogs
and functions

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Dialog: Edit Send Sequence

Dialog: Edit Receive Sequence
Dialog: Find Sequence
Dialog: Send Sequence Parameter
Keyboard Console

For each character from decimal code 0 to 31 and from 127 to 255, you can define a keyboard
combination to insert this character into a sequence (Shortcut). You may also define a letter which
is used to display this control character when editing a sequence in ASCII mode (Editor).

Double click to change the value of a Shortcut or Editor field.

Predefined shortcuts are:

Ctrl+Enter for carriage return / <CR> / decimal code 13
Ctrl+Shift+Enter for line feed / <LF> / decimal code 10

8.11 Dialog: Customize HTML Output

This dialog allows you to change the appearance of the HTML log files, by modifying the HTML
template code that Docklight uses when generating the HTML log file data.

You need some basic understanding of HTML documents and CSS style attributes. We
recommend http://www.htmldog.com (English) or http://www.selfhtml.org (German and French) for a
quick overview on these topics.

HTML Header Template

The HTML document header. Here you can change the font applied to the log file data, using the
following CSS style attributes:

CSS Style Attribute Description and Example

font-family Defines one or several fonts (or: font categories) that the HTML
browser should use to print a text. If the browser does not support the
first font, it will try the second one, a.s.o. The last font usually defines
a generic font category that every browser supports. Examples:
font-family:'Courier New', Courier, monospace
font-family:'Times New Roman', Times, serif
font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif
font-size Specifies the font size. Both, absolute and relative sizes are
possible. Examples for absolute font sizes:
font-size:12pt
font-size:xx-small
font-size:x-small
font-size:small
font-size:medium
font-size:large
font-size:x-large
font-size:xx-large
Examples for relative font sizes (relative to the parent HTML element)
font-size:smaller
font-size:larger
font-size:90%

NOTE: Use the semicolon (";") as a separator between two different CSS style attributes, e.g.

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font-family:sans-serif; font-size:small

NOTE: Docklight will insert additional <u> (underline), <i> (italic) and <b> (bold) HTML tags, if such
formatting options are activated in the Display Settings. You do not have to use the font-style or
font-weight attribute to create these effects.

HTML Footer Template

Adds additional footer text and closes the HTML document.

Data Element Template

For every new piece of log file information (channel 1 data, channel 2 data, or a comment text), a
new <span> tag with different text color is added to the HTML log file.

The template code for the header, footer and data parts contains Docklight-specific wildcards which
must not be deleted:

Wildcard Description
%BACKCOLOR% The background color, as selected in the Display Settings
%HEADERMSG% Header text at the start of the log file
%FOOTERMSG% Footer text at the end of the log file
%DATA% a chunk of the log file data: channel 1 data, channel 2 data, or a
comment text
%TEXTCOLOR% The text color to apply for %DATA%, as selected in the Display
Settings

When generating a log file, Docklight replaces the wildcards with the current display settings and the
actual communication data.

8.12 Dialog: Expert Options

Menu Tools > Expert Options...

Expert Options are additional settings for specialized applications with additional requirements (e.g.
high time tagging accuracy).

Performance

Communication Driver Mode

Use External / High Priority Process mode to work around a common problem for any Windows
user mode application: unspecified delays and timing inaccuracies can be introduced by the
Windows task/process scheduling, especially if you are running other applications besides
Docklight. External / High Priority Process mode is recommended for high accuracy / low latency
monitoring using the Docklight Tap.

In External / High Priority Process mode, the data collection in Docklight becomes a separate
Windows process with realtime priority class. It will be executed with higher priority than any other
user application or additional application software like Antivirus. For best results you need to be
logged in as an Administrator. Otherwise the data collection process will run with the maximum
permitted priority, but not "realtime class".

NOTE: External / High Priority Process mode must be used with care, especially when you intend
to monitor a high-speed data connection with large amounts of data. The PC might become

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irresponsive to user input. To resolve such a situation, simply "pull the plug": First disconnect the
data connections or the monitoring cable to bring down the CPU load and restore the
responsiveness. Then choose Stop communication in Docklight.

NOTE: See the section How to Obtain Best Timing Accuracy for some background information on
timing accuracy.

Docklight Monitoring Mode

When Monitoring Serial Communications Between Two Devices, all received data from one COM
port is re-sent on the TX channel of the opposite COM port by default ("Data Forwarding"). This is
intended for special applications that require routing the serial data traffic through Docklight using
standard RS232 cabling.

Use the No Data Forwarding Expert Option for applications with two serial COM ports where you
need to avoid that any TX data is sent. This can be used to improve performance when using a
Docklight Monitoring Cable, or to work around problems caused with instable serial device drivers.

For Docklight Tap applications (e.g. using Communication Channel TAP0 / TAP1), the 'Data
Forwarding' setting has no effect. The Docklight Tap is accessed in read-only mode always, and no
data is forwarded.

8.13 Keyboard Console

The Keyboard Console tool allows you to send keyboard input directly to the serial port. It can be
activated using the menu Tools > Keyboard Console On. The keyboard console is only
available for communication mode Send/Receive.

After activating the keyboard console, click in the communication window and type some
characters.
Docklight will transmit the characters directly through the selected serial port. The communication
window will display the characters the same way it does a Send Sequence.

NOTE: The Keyboard Console tool supports pasting and transmitting a character sequence from the
clipboard, using Ctrl + V. This is similar to pasting clipboard data inside the Edit Send Sequence
Dialog. Clipboard contents that exceeds the maximum sequence size of 1024 characters gets
truncated.

NOTE: The keyboard console is not a full-featured terminal and does not support specific terminal
standards, such as VT 100. The Enter key is transmitted as <CR> (ASCII 13) plus <LF> (ASCII 10),
as per the Windows standard text file format. Use control character shortcuts to send other ASCII
control characters.

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9 Support
9.1 Web Support and Troubleshooting
For up-to-date FAQs and troubleshooting information, see our online support pages available at

http://www.docklight.de/support_en.htm

9.2 E-Mail Support

We provide individual e-mail support to our registered customers. Please include your Docklight
license key number in your request. We will contact you as soon as possible to find a solution to
your problem. Send your support request to

docklight@fuh-edv.de

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10 Appendix
10.1 ASCII Character Set Tables

Control Characters

Dec Hex ASCII Char. Meaning

=========================================================
0 00 NUL Null
1 01 SOH Start of heading
2 02 STX Start of text
3 03 ETX Break/end of text
4 04 EOT End of transmission
5 05 ENQ Enquiry
6 06 ACK Positive acknowledgment
7 07 BEL Bell
8 08 BS Backspace
9 09 HT Horizontal tab
10 0A LF Line feed
11 0B VT Vertical tab
12 0C FF Form feed
13 0D CR Carriage return
14 0E SO Shift out
15 0F SI Shift in/XON (resume output)
16 10 DLE Data link escape
17 11 DC1 XON - Device control character 1
18 12 DC2 Device control character 2
19 13 DC3 XOFF - Device control character 3
20 14 DC4 Device control character 4
21 15 NAK Negative Acknowledgment
22 16 SYN Synchronous idle
23 17 ETB End of transmission block
24 18 CAN Cancel
25 19 EM End of medium
26 1A SUB substitute/end of file
27 1B ESC Escape
28 1C FS File separator
29 1D GS Group separator
30 1E RS Record separator
31 1F US Unit separator

Printing Characters

Dec Hex ASCII Char. Meaning

====================================
32 20 Space
33 21 ! !
34 22 " "
35 23 # #
36 24 $ $
37 25 % %
38 26 & &
39 27 ' '
40 28 ( (

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41 29 ) )
42 2A * *
43 2B + +
44 2C , ,
45 2D - -
46 2E . .
47 2F / /
48 30 0 Zero
49 31 1 One
50 32 2 Two
51 33 3 Three
52 34 4 Four
53 35 5 Five
54 36 6 Six
55 37 7 Seven
56 38 8 Eight
57 39 9 Nine
58 3A : :
59 3B ; ;
60 3C < <
61 3D = =
62 3E > >
63 3F ? ?
64 40 @ @
65 41 A A
66 42 B B
67 43 C C
68 44 D D
69 45 E E
70 46 F F
71 47 G G
72 48 H H
73 49 I I
74 4A J J
75 4B K K
76 4C L L
77 4D M M
78 4E N N
79 4F O O
80 50 P P
81 51 Q Q
82 52 R R
83 53 S S
84 54 T T
85 55 U U
86 56 V V
87 57 W W
88 58 X X
89 59 Y Y
90 5A Z Z
91 5B [ [
92 5C \ \
93 5D ] ]
94 5E ^ ^
95 5F _ _
96 60 ` `

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97 61 a a
98 62 b b
99 63 c c
100 64 d d
101 65 e e
102 66 f f
103 67 g g
104 68 h h
105 69 i i
106 6A j j
107 6B k k
108 6C l l
109 6D m m
110 6E n n
111 6F o o
112 70 p p
113 71 q q
114 72 r r
115 73 s s
116 74 t t
117 75 u u
118 76 v v
119 77 w w
120 78 x x
121 79 y y
122 7A z z
123 7B { {
124 7C | |
125 7D } }
126 7E ~ Tilde
127 7F DEL Delete

10.2 Hot Keys

General Hot Keys

Applies to
Communication window (ASCII, HEX, Decimal, Binary)
Edit Send Sequence dialog / Edit Receive Sequence dialog
Docklight Notepad

Function Hot Key

Context-specific help F1
Cut Ctrl+X
Copy Ctrl+C
Paste Ctrl+V
Delete Del
Select all Ctrl+A

Context-specific Hot Keys

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Docklight menu

Menu Function Hot Key

File New Project Ctrl+N
File Open Project Ctrl+O
File Save Project Ctrl+S
Edit Find Sequence in Comm.Window Ctrl+F
Run Start Communication F5
Run Stop Communication F6
Tools Keyboard Console On Ctrl+F5
Tools Keyboard Console Off Ctrl+F6
Tools Show / Hide Docklight Notepad F12

Communication Window

Function Hot Key

Find a Sequence Ctrl+F
Clear All Communication Windows Ctrl+W
Toggle Between ASCII, HEX, Decimal and Binary Ctrl+Tab
Representation

Send Sequences / Receive Sequences List

Function Hot Key

Delete This Sequence Del
Edit This Sequence Ctrl+E
Send This Sequence Space
- Send Sequences List only -

Edit Send Sequence Dialog / Edit Receive Sequence Dialog

Function Hot Key

Cancel Esc
Wildcard '?' (matches one character) F7
Wildcard '#' (matches one or zero characters) F8

Notepad Window

Function Hot Key

Default Font Ctrl+D

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10.3 RS232 Connectors / Pinout

The most common connectors for RS232 communication are

9-pole SUB D9 (EIA/TIA 574 standard). Introduced by IBM and widely used. See below.
25-pole SUB D25 (RS232-C). This is the original connector introduced for the RS232 standard. It
provides a secondary communication channel.
8-pole RJ45 (RS232-D, according to EIA/TIA-561 standard).

RS232 SUB D9 Pinout

View: Looking into the male connector.

Pinout: From a DTE perspective (the DTE transmits data on the TX Transmit Data line, while the
DCE receives data on this line)

Pin No. Signal Name Description DTE in/out

1 DCD Data Carrier Detect Input
2 RX Receive Data Input
3 TX Transmit Data Output
4 DTR Data Terminal Ready Output
5 SGND Signal Ground -
6 DSR Data Set Ready Input
7 RTS Request To Send Output
8 CTS Clear To Send Input
9 RI Ring Indicator Input

RS232 SUB D25 Pinout

View: DTE perspective, looking into the male connector

Pin No. Signal Name Description

1 - Protective/Shielding Ground
2 TX Transmit Data
3 RX Receive Data
4 RTS Request To Send
5 CTS Clear To Send
6 DSR Data Set Ready

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7 SGND Signal Ground

8 DCD Data Carrier Detect
9 - Reserved
10 - Reserved
11 - Unassigned
12 SDCD Secondary Data Carrier Detect
13 SCTS Secondary Clear To Send
14 STx Secondary Transmit Data
15 TxCLK Transmit Clock
16 SRx Secondary Receive Data
17 RxCLK Receive Clock
18 LL Local Loopback
19 SRTS Secondary Request To Send
20 DTR Data Terminal Ready
21 RL/SQ Remote Loopback / Signal Qualify
Detector
22 RI Ring Indicator
23 CH/CI Signal Rate Selector
24 ACLK Auxiliary Clock
25 - Unassigned

RS232-D, RJ45 pinout

Pin No. Signal Name Description

1 DSR / RI Data Set Ready / Ring Indicator
2 DCD Data Carrier Detect
3 DTR Data Terminal Ready
4 SGND Signal Ground
5 RX Receive Data
6 TX Transmit Data
7 CTS Clear To Send
8 RTS Request To Send

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10.4 Standard RS232 Cables

RS232 Connections

When connecting two serial devices, different cable types must be used, depending on the
characteristics of the serial device and the type of communication used.

Overview of RS232 SUB D9 interconnections

serial device 1 serial device 2 flow control recommended cable

(handshaking)
DTE (Data DTE no handshake simple null modem cable
Terminal signals
Equipment)
DTE DTE DTE/DCE null modem cable with partial
compatible handshaking
hardware flow
control
DTE DCE (Data no handshake simple straight cable
Communications signals
Equipment)
DTE DCE hardware flow full straight cable
control
DCE DCE no handshake simple null modem cable, but
signals with SUB D9 male connectors on
both ends
DCE DCE hardware flow null modem cable with partial
control handshaking but with SUB D9
male connectors on both ends

SUB D9 Simple Straight Cable

Area of Application: DTE-DCE Communication where no additional handshake signals are used.

SUB D9 Full Straight Cable

Area of Application: DTE-DCE Communication with hardware flow control using additional handshake
signals.

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SUB D9 Simple Null Modem Cable without Handshaking

Area of Application: DTE-DTE Communication where no additional handshake signals are used.

SUB D9 Null Modem Cable with Partial Handshaking

Area of Application: DTE-DTE Communication with DTE/DCE compatible hardware flow control.
Works also when no handshake signals are used.

10.5 Docklight Monitoring Cable RS232 SUB D9

Docklight Monitoring Mode requires a full-duplex monitoring cable that feeds the two data directions
into two separate COM ports.

Area of application: Monitoring serial communications between two devices

We offer a custom RS232 cable that is designed for the use with Docklight Monitoring Mode,
according to the cable specification below. Visit our product overview pages for the Docklight
Monitoring Cable, a professional and rugged cable solution for industrial applications.

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10.6 Docklight Tap

Docklight Tap is a full-duplex RS232 communications monitoring solution for the USB port.

Area of Application: Monitoring serial communications between two devices

Docklight has built-in support for the Docklight Tap. It recognizes the dual port USB serial converter
and offers high-speed, low-latency access to the monitoring data. Use Docklight Monitoring Mode
and Receive Channel settings TAP0 / TAP1. See the Docklight Project Settings and How to Obtain
Best Timing Accuracy for details.

Please also see our product overview pages for more information about the Docklight Tap.

Copyright 2013 Flachmann und Heggelbacher GbR

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11 Glossary / Terms Used

11.1 Action
For a Receive Sequence, the user may define an action that is performed after receiving the
specified sequence. Possible actions are
Sending a Send Sequence
Only Send Sequences without any wildcards can be used
Inserting a comment
A user-defined text or an additional date/time stamp is added to the communication data window
and log file
Triggering a Snapshot
Stopping communication

11.2 Break
A break state on an RS232 connection is characterized by the TX line going to Space (logical 0) for
a longer period than the maximum character frame length including start and stop bits. Some
application protocols, e.g. LIN, use this for synchronization purposes.

11.3 Character
A character is the basic unit of information processed by Docklight. Docklight always uses 8 bit
characters. Nevertheless, the communication settings also allow data transmission with 7 bits or
less. In this case, only a subset of the 256 possible 8 bit characters will be used but the characters
will still be stored and processed using an 8 bit format.

11.4 CRC
Cyclic Redundancy Code. A CRC is a method to detect whether a received sequence/message has
been corrupted, e.g. by transmission errors. This is done by constructing an additional checksum
value that is a function of the message data, and then appending this value to the original message.
The receiver calculates the checksum from the received data and compares it to the transmitted
CRC value to see if the message is unmodified. CRCs are commonly used because they allow the
detection of typical transmission errors (bit errors, burst errors) with a very high accuracy.

CRC algorithms are based on polynomial arithmetic, and come in many different versions. Common
algorithms are CRC-CCITT, CRC-16 and CRC-32. An example of an application protocol that uses a
CRC is MODBUS over Serial Line.

A very popular article about CRCs is "Easier said than done (Michael Barr) - A guide to CRC
calculation": http://www.netrino.com/Connecting/2000-01/

Docklight Scripting's CRC functionality (DL.CalcChecksum) was inspired by the above article and
the proposed Boost CRC library:
http://www.boost.org/libs/crc/index.html

Last not least, if you are truly fascinated by CRC alchemy, you will, sooner or later, run into the
following article:
"A Painless Guide to CRC Error Detection Algorithms" by Ross N. Williams
http://www.ross.net/crc/

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 Glossary / Terms Used 47

11.5 DCE
Data Communications Equipment. The terms DCE and DTE refer to the serial devices on each side
of an RS232 link. A modem is a typical example of a DCE device. DCE are normally equipped with
a female SUB D9 or SUB D25 connector. See also DTE.

11.6 DTE
Data Terminal Equipment. The terms DCE and DTE refer to the serial devices on each side of an
RS232 link. A PC or a terminal are examples of a typical DTE device. DTE are commonly equipped
with a male SUB D9 or SUB D25 connector. All pinout specifications are written from a DTE
perspective. See also DCE.

11.7 Flow Control

Flow control provides a mechanism for suspending transmission while one device is busy or for
some reason cannot further communicate. The DTE and DCE must agree on the flow control
mechanism used for a communication session. There are two types of flow control: hardware and
software.

Hardware Flow Control

Uses voltage signals on the RS232 status lines RTS / DTR (set by DTE) and CTS / DSR (set by
DCE) to control the transmission and reception of data. See also RS232 pinout.

Software Flow Control

Uses dedicated ASCII control characters (XON / XOFF) to control data transmission. Software flow
control requires text-based communication data or other data that does not contain any XON or
XOFF characters.

11.8 LIN
Local Interconnect Network. A low cost serial communication bus targeted at distributed electronic
systems in vehicles, especially simple components like door motors, steering wheel controls,
climate sensors, etc. See also http://www.lin-subbus.org

11.9 MODBUS
MODBUS is an application layer messaging protocol that provides client/server communications
between devices connected on different types of buses or networks. It is commonly used as
"MODBUS over Serial Line" in RS422/485 networks, but can be implemented using TCP over
Ethernet as well ("MODBUS TCP").

Two different serial transmission modes for MODBUS are defined: "RTU mode" for 8 bit binary
transmissions, and "ASCII mode". "RTU mode" is the default mode that must be implemented by all
devices.

See http://www.modbus.org for a complete specification of the MODBUS protocol.

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11.10 Receive Sequence

A Receive Sequence is a sequence that can be detected by Docklight within the incoming serial
data. A Receive Sequence is specified by
1. an unique name (e.g. "Modem Answer OK"),
2. a character sequence (e.g. "6F 6B 13 10" in HEX format),
3. an action that is triggered when Docklight receives the defined sequence.

11.11 RS232
The RS232 standard is defined by the EIA/TIA (Electronic Industries Alliance / Telecommunications
Industry Associations). The standard defines an asynchronous serial data transfer mechanism, as
well as the physical and electrical characteristics of the interface.

RS232 uses serial bit streams transmitted at a predefined baud rate. The information is separated
into characters of 5 to 8 bits lengths. Additional start and stop bits are used for synchronization, and
a parity bit may be included to provide a simple error detection mechanism.

The electrical interface includes unbalanced line drivers, i.e. all signals are represented by a voltage
with reference to a common signal ground. RS232 defines two states for the data signals: mark
state (or logical 1) and space state (or logical 0). The range of voltages for representing these states
is specified as follows:

Signal State Transmitter Voltage Receiver Voltage

Range Range
Mark (logical 1) -15V to -5V -25V to -3V
Space (logical 0) +5V to +15V +3V to +25V
Undefined -5V to +5V -3V to +3V

The physical characteristics of the RS232 standard are described in the section RS232 Connectors /
Pinout

11.12 RS422
An RS422 communication link is a four-wire link with balanced line drivers. In a balanced differential
system, one signal is transmitted using two wires (A and B). The signal state is represented by the
voltage across the two wires. Although a common signal ground connection is necessary, it is not
used to determine the signal state at the receiver. This results in a high immunity against EMI
(electromagnetic interference) and allows cable lengths of over 1000m, depending on the cable type
and baud rate.

The EIA Standard RS422-A "Electrical characteristics of balanced voltage digital interface circuits"
defines the characteristics of an RS422 interface.

Transmitter and receiver characteristics according to RS422-A are:

Signal State Transmitter Differential Receiver Differential

Voltage VAB Voltage VAB
Mark (or logical 1) -6V to -2V -6V to -200mV
Space (or logical 0) +2V to +6V +200mV to 6V
Undefined -2V to +2V -200mV to +200mV

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 Glossary / Terms Used 49

Permitted Common Mode Voltage Vcm (mean voltage of A and B terminals with reference to signal
ground): -7V to +7V

11.13 RS485
The RS485 standard defines a balanced two-wire transmission line, which may be shared as a bus
line by up to 32 driver/receiver pairs. Many characteristics of the transmitters and receivers are the
same as RS422. The main differences between RS422 and RS485 are
Two-wire (half duplex) transmission instead of four-wire transmission
Balanced line drivers with tristate capability. The RS485 line driver has an additional "enable"
signal which is used to connect and disconnect the driver to its output terminal. The term "tristate"
refers to the three different states possible at the output terminal: mark (logical 1), space (logical
0) or "disconnected"
Extended Common Mode Voltage (Vcm) range from -7V to +12V.

The EIA Standard RS485 "Standard for electrical characteristics of generators and receivers for use
in balanced digital multipoint systems" defines the characteristics of an RS485 system.

11.14 Send Sequence

A Send Sequence is a sequence that can be sent by Docklight. A Send Sequence is specified by
1. an unique name (e.g. "Set modem speaker volume"),
2. a character sequence (e.g. "41 54 4C 0D 0A" in HEX format).

There are two ways to make Docklight send a sequence:

Sending a sequence can be triggered manually by pressing the send button in the Send
Sequences list
(see Main Window).
Sending a sequence may be one possible reaction when Docklight detects a specific Receive
Sequence within the incoming data (see Action).

11.15 Sequence
A sequence consists of one or more 8 bit characters. A sequence can be any part of the serial
communications you are analyzing. It can consist of printable ASCII characters, but may also
include every non-printable character between 0 and 255 decimal.
Example:
ATL2 (ASCII format)
41 54 4C 0D 0A (HEX format)
This sequence is a modem command to set the speaker volume on AT compatible modems. It
includes a Carriage Return (0D) and a Line Feed (0A) character at the end of the line.

The maximum sequence size in Docklight is 1024 characters.

11.16 Sequence Index

The Sequence Index is the element number of a Send Sequence within the Send Sequence List, or
of a Receive Sequence within the Receive Sequence List. The Sequence Index is displayed in the
upper left corner of the Edit Send Sequence or Edit Receive Sequence dialog.

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11.17 Serial Device Server

A Serial Device Server is a network device that offers one or more serial COM ports (RS232,
RS422/485) and transmits/receives the serial data over an Ethernet network. Serial Device Servers
are a common way for upgrading existing devices that are controlled via serial port and make them
"network-enabled".

11.18 Snapshot
Creating a snapshot in Docklight means generating a display of the serial communication shortly
before and after a Trigger sequence has been detected. This is useful when testing for a rare error
which is characterized by a specific sequence. See Catching a specific sequence and taking a
snapshot... for more information.

11.19 Trigger
A Trigger is a Receive Sequence with the "Trigger" option enabled (see Dialog: Edit Receive
Sequence). When the Snapshot function is enabled, Docklight will not produce any output until a
trigger sequence has been detected in the serial communication data. See Catching a specific
sequence and taking a snapshot... for more information.

11.20 UART
Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter. The UART is the hardware component that performs
the main serial communications tasks:
- converting characters into a serial bit stream
- adding start / stop / parity bits, and checking for parity errors on the receiver side
- all tasks related to timing, baud rates and synchronization

Common UARTs are compatible with the 16550A UART. They include a 16 byte buffer for incoming
data (RX FiFo), and a 16 byte buffer for outgoing data (TX FiFo). Usually these buffers can be
disabled/enabled using the Windows Device Manager and opening the property page for the
appropriate COM port (e.g. COM1).

11.21 Virtual Null Modem

A virtual null modem is a PC software driver which emulates two serial COM ports that are
connected by a null modem cable. If one PC application sends data on one virtual COM port, a
second PC application can receive this data on the second virtual COM port and vice versa.

By using a virtual null modem driver on your PC you can easily debug and simulate serial data
connections without the use of real RS232 ports and cables.

Virtual COM connections do not give you the same timing as real RS232 connections and usually
do not emulate the actual bit-by-bit transmission using a predefined baud rate. Any data packet sent
on the first COM port will appear in the second COM port's receive buffer almost immediately. For
most debugging and simulation purposes this limitation can be easily tolerated. Some virtual null
modem drivers offer an additional baud rate emulation mode, where the data transfer is delayed to
emulate a real RS232 connection and its limited transmission rate.

For an Open Source Windows software that has been successfully tested with Docklight, see
http://com0com.sourceforge.net/

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11.22 Wildcard
A wildcard is a special character that serves as a placeholder within a sequence. It may be used for
Receive Sequences when parts of the received data are unspecified, e.g. measurement readings
reported by a serial device. Wildcards can also be used to support parameters in a Send Sequence.

Two types of wildcards are available in Docklight:

Wildcard '?' : Matches exactly one arbitrary character (any ASCII code between 0 and 255)
Wildcard '#' : Matches zero or one character. This is useful for supporting variable length command
arguments (e.g. a status word) in Send / Receive Sequences. See Checking for sequences with
random characters or Sending commands with parameters for examples and additional information.

Copyright 2013 Flachmann und Heggelbacher GbR