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Visual Studio Code is a great editor for Docklight scripts

UPDATED 2023-03: We now included the Visual Studio Code preset described below in the free Docklight Scripting v2.4.11 update . This also fixes the CPU load problem that came up with v2.4.5. - The original post from January, with some improvements concerning the VS Code editor integration - Let's start this new year with a great tip for anyone who writes his/her own Docklight scripts to automate things. Docklight's built-in script editor is very basic by design and we never felt we should add the weight of a fully-fledged code editor to Docklight. Instead, Docklight Scripting offers you to integrate your favorite code editor via the menu Scripting > Customize / External Editor  . Now, for many years Notepad++ has been the Docklight default and my go-to solution for any script editing. But things changed last year once I tried Visual Studio Code - I was immediately won over. One of the many benefits of Visual Studio Code is its well-documented Command Line Interface. So her
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Docklight V2.4 free update and Windows 11

Docklight / Docklight Scripting V2.4 available We are pleased to announce our Docklight V2.4 and Docklight Scripting V2.4 updates. Here are the direct download links: Docklight Scripting V2.4 - Download Docklight V2.4 - Download As usual, this is a free update and part of our  lifetime license commitment that makes Docklight such a great one-time investment. The V2.4 updates address minor issues that our users and we noticed in the daily work with the V2.3 releases from 2020. The full changelog looks like this: Docklight / Docklight Scripting V2.4.5 (04/2022) Fixes and Improvements: - New Expert Option: Devices -> "Disable I/O error detection / hotplug feature for COM." Hotplug / auto-recovery was added in Docklight V2.3, but could produce I/O error events with some specific drivers even in normal operation. V2.4 has improvements, plus you can always disable hotplug completely (back to V2.2 behavior). - Improved COM port RX timing for devices using Microsoft's st

Is Docklight affected by the log4j vulnerability CVE-2021-44228 ?

The short and straightforward answer is: no.  Docklight is not affected. It is not built with with Java. What we use is a combination of  C libraries with direct Win32 API calls and "classic" Visual Basic 6. Or Qt / Qt5 libraries for "Docklight Pro Monitor".  You can find the full information at our related  log4j vulnerability  FAQ  . Some additional comments from my side:  Shoutout to the initiative from Korean company logpresso and their CVE-2021-44228-Scanner (log4j-scan on GitHub) . It's a great helper for checking your Windows PCs - it comes as a codesigned executable, it is constantly fine-tuned and improved, and the source code is easy to review. I could also confirm that the scanner actually detects vulnerabilities, because my son's an ardent player of Minecraft Java Edition. And, yes, log4j-scan detected and fixed vulnerabilities there. I highly recommend this tool for a dedicated PC scan! Best regards and wishing you a merry and exploit-free holi

RS232 / tty testing and simulation on Linux

( UPDATED 2022/02  - Use Docklight V2.4 and additional winetricks) Summary / TL;DR How to run Docklight on your Linux desktop without using VirtualBox/Windows ?  Use  WineHQ package and winetricks !  We successfully tested the access and use of serial ports (tty) and networking (TCP / UDP) functions, but display output is significantly slower than on VirtualBox .  For installation, use a 32-bit WINEPREFIX and  winetricks  corefonts consolas vb6run richtx32 comdlg32ocx comctl32ocx wsh57 . Experimental use only “Use at own risk” - The below description of Docklight installation and use on Linux desktop computers is for experimental use. It is currently not recommended in production environments. Limitations / Known issues -  For tty / serial ports, use Docklight V2.4 versions (e.g. the  Docklight Scripting V2.4 Preview ), not V2.3. Docklight Tap Pro and Docklight Tap 485 cannot be accessed.  In Docklight Scripting, some VBScript system commands like "InputBox" are not availab

Respirator maintenance, retrofit and development

In light of the current Corona / COVID-19 crisis, we have noticed some very interesting and potentially life-saving projects in respirator technology: https://hackernoon.com/the-open-source-ventilator-game-has-changed-ambovent-and-medtronic-covid-19-ventilators-open-source-s77l3y4s https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3806207,00.html https://github.com/AmboVent-1690-108/AmboVent Docklight has over the years found its applications in med tech environments, including the development & maintenance of such equipment. While we do not hold any specific knowledge about the protocols and data transfers involved, we assume there have been already in the past Docklight project files and scripts for such purposes, e.g. to assist in device testing and simulation of sensor data. What we did support more extensively, and where we also provided starting points and example scripts in the past, are data communications in medical laboratory equipment and testing facilities.

Creating self-explanatory device testing and configuration tools

Docklight V2.3 adds project doc support UPDATE 2020/01 - standard V2.3 release out now. Here are the download links for our V2.3 release versions : Download Docklight V2.3 Release Version Download Docklight Scripting V2.3 Release Version New  features include: Sequence and project documentation area RTF logging new Scripting commands for creating custom tools: DL.SetUserOutput / DL.SetWindowLayout / DL.GetKeyState Docklight makes device testing easier for your clients Quickly building small demo applications for clients is a task where Docklight really shines. It is a major reason for Docklight’s popularity among equipment manufacturers or integrators using RS232/RS485/TCP/UDP/HID-based communication interfaces. With Docklight or Docklight Scripting you can swiftly create an example project that shows typical protocol commands and the device responses in action. So along with the device manual and application protocol description, the customer gets a hands-on examp

Integrating Helios Preisser distance gauge – one hour and done

Docklight to the rescue when the pressure is on Recently we created a demo for the fullmo MovingCap position drives and a max GmbH linear axis . Such a toothed belt axis can feature excellent repeat accuracy, if designed and manufactured with great care. To showcase this, we had a Helios Preisser digital indicator with RS232 data interface at hand. Plus a small leaflet for documentation and close to zero time for the integration. Helios Preisser distance measurement using fullmo Kickdrive and Docklight DLL Ready for the show - rapid prototyping with Docklight and Kickdrive leaves you time to relax.  The measurement gauge integration into our demo took me about an hour: Around 20 minutes of manual testing using Docklight and a standard RS232/USB adapter, and another 40 minutes for coding the integration into the actual demo UI. Docklight takes care of all the tricky parts here. The resulting demo was a Kickdrive UI Panel application. Kickdrive allows creating