National Instruments NI-488.2 GPIB Spy Configuration Options

Chapter 6 GPIB Spy

GPIB Spy Configuration Options

You can choose for GPIB Spy to highlight certain calls based on bits set in ibsta. If

you want to modify this option then select the Calls to Highlight menu item from the

Configure menu. Use the dialog box to select which ibsta bits should cause a

recorded call to be highlighted in the main GPIB Spy window. The default configuration

of GPIB Spy is to highlight NI-488 and NI-488.2 calls which return with the ERR bit set

in ibsta.

You can configure GPIB Spy to suspend the execution of an application when one of the

selected trap bits is set in ibsta for the NI-488 or NI-488.2 call that is completing. If

you want to modify this option, select the Calls to Trap On menu item from the

Configure menu. When a call causes a trap to occur, a dialog box pops up and gives a

brief description of the trapped call. A dialog box causes all Windows applications

currently running to be suspended until you click on the OK button. By default, GPIB

Spy does not trap on any calls.

When GPIB Spy records a call such as ibrd, ibwrt, or Send , that includes a buffer of

data, the Call Details window shows you the contents of the buffer. The default

configuration of GPIB Spy is to store each I/O buffer in a brief format. If you want to

modify this option then select the Buffer History menu item from the Configure menu.

The buffer history has three settings: brief, full, and none . These settings determine how

much of the buffer to save for the NI-488 or NI-488.2 call being recorded. Once a call is

recorded, you cannot modify its buffer history. The brief buffer setting saves up to

64 bytes of buffer information. If the buffer is longer than 64 bytes, only the first

32 bytes and last 32 bytes of the buffer are saved. The none buffer setting saves no

buffer information. The full buffer setting saves the entire I/O buffer. Note that the full

buffer setting is likely to degrade the performance of your application and the whole

windows system, especially if the application is transferring large GPIB buffers.

You can use this option to configure the highlight color which is used to highlight

information in the GPIB Spy windows. To change the highlight color, select the Set

Highlight Color menu item from the Configure menu. This causes the standard

Windows color selection dialog box to pop up. Choose a new color and click on OK.

The default highlight color is red.