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Axium Keypad Manager

 

OVERVIEW

The Axium Keypad Manager is a Windows program that easily and quickly configures AX-KPC 
2.8 touch panels and AX-KPB keypads. Touch Panels are configured using a powerful page 
designer with predefined and user galleries of images and sounds. A public database of 
predefined commands as well as a user database is available for storing learnt commands. 
Command databases are presented using a tree view to group commands to models and 
models to makes. This provides an efficient method for finding the required commands for 
programming the keys of AX-KPB keypads and the virtual keys displayed by the touch panels. 
Infra-Red commands using the HEX format may be pasted directly either to keys or the 
database tree.

Keypads and touch panels are connected via USB to a PC for programming or downloading of 
their configurations. Such configurations can be saved and later reused for programming 
more keypads and touch panels.

MAIN WINDOW

Image 1 - The main window

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Summary of Contents for Keypad Manager 3.0

Page 1: ...abases are presented using a tree view to group commands to models and models to makes This provides an efficient method for finding the required commands for programming the keys of AX KPB keypads and the virtual keys displayed by the touch panels Infra Red commands using the HEX format may be pasted directly either to keys or the database tree Keypads and touch panels are connected via USB to a ...

Page 2: ...s a saved keypad or touch panel configuration This can be a configuration downloaded from a keypad or touch panel or it can be one that has been designed in the Axium Keypad Manager using the available commands images and other objects Save Saves the current configuration Configurations are also autosaved see Autosave Save As Saves the current configuration under a different name or path New desig...

Page 3: ...on application data folder which on Windows XP is typically C Documents and Settings All Users Application Data Export database Exports all open IR command databases as HEX commands to a CSV file Specific branches of a database e g specific makes or models can be exported using the database s context menu or the Edit menu rather than using this command Exit Closes Axium Keypad Manager 3 ...

Page 4: ...s been cut or copied and another object is selected that can accept the copied cut object For example if a command has been cut from a key in one of the designers it can be pasted to a model in the user database or to another key in the designer Add For adding new makes models or commands to the user database The New Commands command creates a specific number of new commands and numbers them from ...

Page 5: ...eful for verifying the Axium protocol RS 232 command string The Hex Code tab displays a hex code representation of the IR command The hex code may be copied to and from the clipboard and other applications Only commands in a user database can be edited Image 4 The Edit window for infra red commands View Opens the edit window with the waveform tab selected This provides a graphical representation o...

Page 6: ...eady for the next hex code to be copied If the paste names option in the auto paste window is selected the command names can be copied along with the hex codes Export Exports the selected make model or command as HEX commands to a CSV file Class sub menu There are a number of very common functions that often appear on various equipment There are many examples of this such as Play Pause and Stop ar...

Page 7: ...loads the current configuration to a connected AX KPB keypad or AX KPC 2 8 touch panel Any existing configuration will be erased This command can also be understood as programming the keypad or touch panel Note that the term upload is synonymous with sending data from the PC s perspective Verify Configuration KPC only Compares the configuration in the connected AX KPC 2 8 to the current configurat...

Page 8: ...same symbols shown in the menus Docked windows various windows in AKM may be docked so that are large flat workarea can be set up rather than have many overlapping windows Docking can be prevented by holding down the Ctrl key while dragging the window to another position To undock a docked window double click its caption Autosave keypad configurations are saved automatically into the temporary My ...

Page 9: ... a backup configuration it should first be moved out of the autosave folder as this folder is only temporary and will be deleted when AKM is closed again Once the file has been moved it can be opened using File Open 9 ...

Page 10: ... detail window displays the command make and model If the PC clipboard has a Hex code copied to it then it may be pasted directly to a key by right clicking the key and selecting Hex code Paste new Loading a key with a Sequential macro For sequential macro s simply drag and drop commands in the correct order onto the same key up to 32 commands When just two commands have been dropped onto a key th...

Page 11: ... area in the key details The long press duration may be adjusted between 0 2 and 1 7 seconds using the slider Some brands of equipment require repeats of the command before they correctly operate this can be adjusted using the repeat adjustment The short press or long press functions may also be sequential or alternating macros Simply drop further commands into either the short or long press tabs ...

Page 12: ...tom left of the main window There is more than sufficient memory with commands on all keys in all banks only 51 of memory is used Adding a command to the user database When adding a Learnt command to the user database a new make and model must first be created in the database using the Add function in the Edit menu After downloading the AX KPB s configuration drag and drop the learnt command s fro...

Page 13: ... select Hex code and copy Naming Source select keys To aid installation the Source select keys may be named The Source Keys must first be programmed with IR commands before labels are saved Move the cursor over the Source select key and right click the mouse a context menu pops up with the label option Select Label then enter the text and push Enter to save to the keypad configuration 13 ...

Page 14: ...e macro designer see Macro Designer for more information Devices Devices are abstract entities associated with a device or a group of devices connected or coupled with a specific port on an AX R4 router Devices have a port property and a list of infra red and or RS 232 commands assigned to them If these commands are transmitted by anything such as a button they will be transmitted on the device s ...

Page 15: ... overridden in the controls themselves Setting a zone in the page is a quick way to make all buttons in the page have a zone so if a button must not be zoned e g for displaying the Ampon state the page s zone should be left undefined and the buttons should be individually zoned Home page decides which of the pages is the home page which is the first page displayed by the touch panel when started B...

Page 16: ...sary the following built in classes are available under Axium o Standby is for switching on and off equipment If a zone is selected in the button or page commands to control Axium series equipment are transmitted when the button is pressed and the button becomes active when the zone is switched on If the zone is not defined the button is active when the ampon input is high In this case an appropri...

Page 17: ...d gallery into the field or directly onto the button in the designer A context menu is displayed when the field is clicked with the right mouse button providing editing functions and sound playback Actions define commands that are executed for a variety of press and release events Commands can be dragged dropped or copied into one of the action fields or dropped directly onto the button in the des...

Page 18: ...enhancing the user s experience If not defined the Unpressed image is displayed The Overlay image is drawn over the top of the main button image Similar looking buttons with only minor differences are composed using overlays This makes it unnecessary to create many different button images and unnecessarily waste memory For example an array of buttons for source selection could be created which all...

Page 19: ...on for pasting into a page or into an image gallery Pasting the button into the same page will duplicate it Paste assigns the copied object to the button This can be any object that is relevant for a button i e sound command macro page or image If the purpose of the object is unclear such as what the exact purpose of an image is another context menu is displayed for selecting which component to se...

Page 20: ...ext menu that appears select Overlay image Using the Button Image Components window drag the image from the image gallery and drop it onto the Overlay item in the window The overlay position can then be adjusted in the button properties If the image does not fit into the button a larger button will need to be used If the Overlay active item is selected for any of the above functions the label or i...

Page 21: ...ests groups based on the device s functions and the functions found in the grouped buttons Some examples where grouping is useful Image 9 Examples of groups Groups do not have any properties of their own In order to access the components themselves they must be ungrouped using the Ungroup items command in the context menu Volume Controls Volume controls are interactive image elements used with Axi...

Page 22: ... applet However the zone property can just be left set to page if the page has a zone setting A zone may be explicitly set in the volume control in order to control multiple zones within a single page Global is used for making the volume control appear in every page in the configuration This is useful if all the pages have some volume controls in common The individual instances of the volume contr...

Page 23: ...e in the context menu will create the necessary image of digits A window is displayed containing the required text i e 0123456789 where the desired font style and its colour can be selected See Text Based Images for more information Creating new volume controls As with buttons volume controls not found in the image galleries can freely be created by the user The first step is to create or find sui...

Page 24: ... may exist for further text colours sound effects etc Applet specific button classes also exist This allows buttons to control an applet and to display feedback based on data known to the applet The applet specific classes are found in the button class selection under Applets The selected class will only work if the corresponding applet is used in the same page Some applets will use volume control...

Page 25: ...his function Centre in page moves the group of selected elements so the group is centred horizontally in the middle of the page Vertical alignment functions Align top aligns the top edges of the selected elements with the last element selected Align centre aligns the centres of the selected elements with the last element selected Align bottom aligns the bottom edges of the selected elements with t...

Page 26: ... device If Remove unused buttons is checked the buttons in the groups that do not correspond to an available command will be removed The assistant can add the controls for the device to the selected page Alternatively it can create a new page for the controls and place a button on the selected page for accessing the new page Add Command Assistant This assistant is displayed when a single command i...

Page 27: ...up and down in the list and for deleting individual commands Below the list is a field where the user can enter comments about the macro to explain its purpose etc Below that is an area for editing properties which depend on the selected command Commands have the following properties which are useful in sequential macros Repeat defines the number of times an Infra red command is repeated before th...

Page 28: ...g a flag is used a dropdown list of all the flags is displayed The user can select an existing flag or select new flag to create a new one Up to 32 flags can be defined Names can be assigned to the flags by editing the default flag name The instructions for testing the state of flags always contain a then branch and an else branch The then branch is a sequence of commands that is executed when the...

Page 29: ...on is only available when a PNG image with an alpha channel is imported from disk or for text based images If this option is not selected for such images transparent or partially transparent pixels will be rendered on to the selected transparent colour The other image property that can be modified is its clipping region This is an advanced feature useful for creating non rectangular buttons see Cr...

Page 30: ...ed galleries alongside the predefined galleries Also see Current Images for information on the predefined current images gallery The Image Galleries are found under Library Browser on the left hand side of the main window When the Image Gallery tab is clicked one of the galleries is displayed Image 12 Image Gallery selection and management The dropdown list selects the gallery to be viewed This ef...

Page 31: ... that were using the deleted image to use the undeleted one Background Images Background images can easily be formatted for use on a touch panel without using an external graphics program The only requirement is that the original image is larger than the final size This is done by adding a large image such as a photo into an image gallery and then selecting Format background in the context menu No...

Page 32: ...lery or by selecting Add new sound from the context menu All imported sounds will be converted to 1 channel 8 bit PCM with a maximum sample rate of 22kHz As with images care should be taken not to import the same sound file more than once into Axium Keypad Manager The Sound Galleries are found under Library Browser on the left hand side of the main window When the Sounds tab is clicked one of the ...

Page 33: ...wing features are simulated Page navigation Zones for Axium series equipment are simulated in order to test behaviour and interaction of volume controls and buttons All button action types Macros including delays and control flow functions Problems caused by overlapping elements e g buttons Infra red and RS 232 commands are logged Sounds Not simulated Applets Dimming and the related on dim and on ...

Page 34: ...all the correct USB driver for the AX KPB keypad Should the PC encounter a setup problem follow the driver installation procedure When first connecting a USB port to a powered AX KPB keypad or AX KPC 2 8 touch panel Windows XP finds new hardware and the New Hardware Wizard is displayed Select No not this time then push Next 34 ...

Page 35: ...commended then push Next The wizard searches and finds the AX KPB driver select it and push Next The USB driver is installed for the attached USB port Push Finish to exit The procedure described above is the same for the AX KPC 2 8 touch panel 35 ...

Page 36: ...ayed Select Locate and install driver software The drivers should be located automatically If not the drivers are usually located in C Windows Inf In typical Windows Vista style the user must confirm that independent software can be trusted in order to continue Select Install this driver software anyway The driver is then installed and a confirmation should appear 36 ...

Page 37: ...The exact message displayed will depend on system configuration and the number of times the device has already been connected to different USB ports 37 ...

Page 38: ...Minimum System Requirements Windows XP or later 1 available USB 1 1 port 256 MB RAM 1024x768 pixel resolution monitor 16 bit colour quality PDF reader recommended 38 ...

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