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The command syntax shows most commands (and some parameters) as a mixture of upper-
and lower-case letters. The upper-case letters indicate the abbreviated spelling for the
command. For shorter program lines, send the abbreviated form. For better program
readability, send the long form. For example, in the above syntax statement, VOLT and
VOLTAGE are both acceptable forms. You can use upper- or lower-case letters. Therefore,
VOLTAGE, volt, and Volt are all acceptable. Other forms, such as VOL and VOLTAG, will
generate an error.
Braces
(
{ }
) enclose the parameter choices for a given command string.
The braces are not sent with the command string. A
vertical bar
(
|
) separates multiple
parameter choices for a given command string.
Triangle brackets
(
< >
) indicate that you
must specify a value for the enclosed parameter. For example, the above syntax statement
shows the
range
parameter enclosed in triangle brackets. The brackets are not sent with the
command string. You must specify a value for the parameter (such as "VOLT:DC:RANG 10").
Some parameters are enclosed in
square brackets
(
[ ]
). The brackets indicate that the
parameter is optional and can be omitted. The brackets are not sent with the command string.
If you do not specify a value for an optional parameter, the multimeter chooses a default
value.
Using the
MIN
and
MAX
Parameters
You can substitute MINimum or MAXimum in place of a parameter for many commands. For
example, consider the following command:
VOLTage:DC:RANGe {<
range
>|MINimum|MAXimum}
Instead of selecting a specific voltage range, you can substitute MIN to set the range to its
minimum value or MAX to set the range to its maximum value.
Querying Parameter Settings
You can query the current value of most parameters by adding a question mark (?) to the
command. For example, the following command sets the sample count to 10 readings:
"SAMP:COUN 10"
You can query the sample count by executing:
"SAMP:COUN?"
You can also query the minimum or maximum count allowed as follows:
"SAMP:COUN? MIN"
"SAMP:COUN? MAX"
※
Note: If you send two query commands without reading the response from the first, and
then attempt to read the second response, you may receive some data from the first response
followed by the complete second response. To avoid this, do not send a query command
without reading the response. When you cannot avoid this situation, send a device clear before
sending the second query command.
