![]() SPRING ConfigurationThis page presents information on how to correctly configure SPRING, besides peripherals like digitizing tables and plotters.
Database configurationThe system identifies that a folder of the
filesystem is a database by the files that are inside it; it suffices to point
to the directory immediately above the database. For example, for a database
named "Amazonia" which is at "C:\user\springdb\Amazonia" ( See how to configure the system to automatically load your database and project. Peripheral configurationDigitizing TableSPRING
Before starting the operation with the digitizer, it should be programmed through its micro switches or soft keys, whose description can be found in its manual. To check if the data format generated by the digitizer is supported by SPRING, the program "testemesa.exe" should be run.
The "testemesa" program has the aim of verifying the connection between the computer and the digitizer while determining the character sequence (data format) generated. Initially it is necessary to program the communication parameters between the serial port and the digitizer. That is done by the menu Settings, which shows a window called "TTY Settings" where the necessary parameters can be programmed. In the section of communications options ("COM Options") the serial communication port, the data rate ("Baud rate"), the number of data bits, the parity, the number of stop bits, and the data flow control, that should be kept as XON/XOFF. Usually the serial port that is available in most computers is COM2, since the mouse is connected to COM1. The information about the number of data bits and number of stop bits, and also the parity, should be provided by the digitizer's manual. The Control Options section should be active in order to present the errors, while in the section TTY Options only the New Line mode should be active. NOTE: In order for the data to be
visualized with greater ease, it is desirable that a larger font size be
selected in the dialog that is opened by pressing the button Font.
The dialog TTY Settings can then be closed by pressing the OK
button. Afterwards, the menu Action - Connect can be activated. If the physical connection between the digitizer and the serial port, and their parameters are correctly set, a sequence of characters appear on the screen, following a specific data format. Such sequence should be compared with the different data formats supported by SPRING, in order to determine which type should be configured in the "Environment Configuration" dialog, available via the menu Tools in the main menu bar of the SPRING window. The "testemesa.exe"
program can then be closed by the Action - Exit menu, or via the Close
button in the Title Bar (the X in the upper right hand corner).
After installing SPRING in your computer, the "testemesa.exe" application for Windows will be available in Start - All Programs - Spring.
o
The digitizer tests in a Linux environment are very simple, it suffices to type
the "cat" command from a terminal, for example: where tty is the device (serial port) where the digitizer is physically connected, it could be ttya, ttyb, tty1, ttyS1, ... depending on how your serial port is configured. After typing the "cat" command, Linux starts to read the coordinates the digitizer sends to the computer. At this moment it presents, line by line, the (x,y) position where the mouse sits on the digitizer, besides the value that corresponds to the mouse button being pressed. The character format presented on the window is different for each digitizer. See the table above. NOTE: in case the digitizer does not responds to the "cat" command, check the cable connections, the microswitch configuration of the digitizer and the serial tty port configuration. The configuration of the digitizer and tty devices should be the same.
Initially, the digitizer parameters such as the data format , number of data bits, number of stop bits, parity, and serial port should all be configured at the " Environment Configuration" window at the menu Tools of SPRING. Next, the digitizer should be calibrated through the "Digitizer Calibration..." option of the menu Tools of SPRING. Note that the key used for the extraction of calibration points on the digitizer could be any, with the sole exception of the key that generates the ASCII 0 (zero), if any. In this case, the program will keep on waiting another key to be pressed before moving ahead. After calibration the Digitizer Cursor button in the SPRING Toolbar is enabled. When pressing this button the control of SPRING is transferred to the digitizer cursor while the transfer of control back to the mouse can be done by the digitizer key that generates the ASCII character 4. Once the digitizer has been calibrated, the digitizing operation can be started by using one of the menus: Thematic - Vector Edition, DTM - Edit, or Cadastral - Edit, to open the "Edit"dialog and by pressing the digitizer cursor button in SPRING.
The majority of digitizers generates those characters when pressing the 1, 2,
and 4 keys. However, some of them generate ASCII character 4, signaling
the end of digitizer operations, when the "C" key is pressed. Thus, it is
convenient to note which characters are generated when pressing the digitizer
keys during the execution of the "testemesa.exe"
IMPORTANT : If some digitizer driver is installed, it should necessarily be removed so that SPRING can operate correctly.
SPRING expects that every data format generated by any digitizer be an ASCII character, so they should all be configured to comply with this format. The most common data format in
the market are:
The character sequence generated by these formats is described below.
The sequence of characters ASCII Counts (counts in millimeters) generated
by this format is the following: where:
The character sequence in metric units and high resolution (40 lpmm) generated
in this format is the following: where:
The character sequence in metric units and low resolution (10 lpmm) generated in
this format is the following: where:
The character sequence in metric units and high resolution (40 lpmm) generated
in this format is the following: where:
This format is the same as the GTCO Low Resolution ASCII with the exception of
the flag that identifies the cursor key being pressed and the lack of the
ASCII line feed (LF).
where:
The character sequence in metric units and high resolution (40 lpmm) is the
following: where:
The character sequence format in metric units and low resolution (10 to 20 lpmm)
is the following: where:
The character sequence in metric units
and high resolution (40 lpmm) is the following: where:
D - Examples of digitizer configuration
Configuration of the microswitches:
- Data
format: MicroGrid ASCII High Resolution
- Data
format: SUMMASKETCH Low Resolution ASCII
Microswitch configuration:
- Data
Format: MicroGrid ASCII High Resolution
Microswitch configuration:
- Data
Format: SUMMASKETCH High Resolution ASCII Microswitch configuration:
- Data
Format: GTCO-MULTICAD
F-) Summagraphics IV emulating other formats
Obs: In the microswitch configuration below, positions 6,7, and 8 of switch C were configured for a digitizer size 44 x 60, for all the cases. For a digitizer of different size see the manual concerning how to configure positions 6, 7, and 8 of switch C. Programming of the Environment Configuration dialog of the Tools menu: - Data Bits: 7
Microswitch configuration:
Microswitch configuration:
Microswitch configuration:
Microswitch configuration:
Microswitch configuration:
F.6-) Summagraphics IV emulating the SUMMASKETCH High Resolution ASCII format Microswitch configuration:
- Baud Rate: 9600 IMPORTANT : Do not install the driver for Windows that comes with the digitizer.
This digitizer should be configured as Calcomp 2000 ASCII to emulate the SUMMASKETCH High Resolution ASCII format, following the microswitch configuration below". Microswitch configuration:
- Data format: SUMMASKETCH High Resolution ASCII Microswitch configuration:
(*) if it doesn't work try with: 6 OFF Environment Configuration dialog of the Tools menu: - Data format: Micro Grid ASCII Counts
I.1-) Numonics AccuGrid
This digitizer is configured in its many operation modes via softkeys. The emulation modes provided by this digitizer that are compatible with SPRING are the following:
All the modes above can be easily configured by pressing a singe key (softkey) to load a pre-configured mode. Look in the manual how to program the softkeys i order to obtain the desired emulation mode. These pre-configured modes
present the following parameters for the serial port: Environment Configuration dialog of the Tools menu: - Data format: Micro Grid ASCII low resolution - Data Bits: 7 - Stop Bits: 2 - Parity: even NOTE: The only exception is the
Calcomp Format 3 ASCII mode with only 1 stop bit.
· This digitizer emulates the
SUMMASKETCH Low Resolution ASCII format via the APP 3 softkey (Bit Pad II
ASCII). · This pre-configured mode presents the
following parameters for the serial port: Environment Configuration dialog of the Tools menu: - Data format: Micro
Grid ASCII low resolution ·
Environment Configuration dialog of the Tools menu: - Data format: SUMMASKETCH Low Resolution ASCII - Stop Bits: 2 - Parity: odd
The DOS files needed to configure the SUMMASKETCH III digitizer are the
following: These commands are available in the CD-ROM that accompanies the digitizer's manual and should be copied to a directory, like C:\, for example. The following commands should be run in a DOS window: - /Cza: this parameter configures the digitizer to generate ASCII characters and not binary characters (the default). Afterwards, run the following test command: A window will be presented. Press any key to proceed. A new window will be presented. In this case, press keys Alt + A (both at the same time). Such procedure allows a sequence of ASCII characters to be transmitted in the following format: XXXX,YYYY,0 where: If the digitizer mouse button 1, 2, 3, or 4 are pressed, the corresponding characters are presented on the screen. The command Ctrl + X (CTRL and X keys pressed at the same time) should be commanded in order to exit the MMTEST program. Note: The DOS window used to send these commands should be closed. Once these procedures are completed the digitizer is configured to work with SPRING. Environment Configuration dialog of the Tools menu: - Data format: SUMMASKETCH LoRes
- Stop Bits: 2 - Parity: even
Configuration for LINUXThe serial port configuration for Linux platforms can
be done via the devices ttyS0, ttyS1, ttyS2, or ttyS3 (COM1 to COM4
respectively) by following the procedures below:
# su root 2-) In the ".config.spring" file that belongs to the user add the command line below, or simply type it at the command prompt, before running SPRING: stty cs7 9600 parenb -parodd -cstopb < /dev/ttys1 Connection with the Mesa DIGICON digitizerWhen you wish to connect to a digitizer of the DIGICON brand you should observe the connection of the cable that was provided together with the digitizer, for in the case of a RISC workstation you should make a modification in the connector that is plugged into the computer. The figure below shows the pinout of the 25 pin connector. Note that the in connector which connects to the computer pins 6, 8, and 20 should be interconnected. HPGL/2 PlotterSPRING supports the HPGL standard, widely used by pen, inkjet, and electrostatic plotters, generating a file in the HPGL/2 format via the "Scarta" application.
To minimize the problems of differences between the
colors in SPRING and in the plotter you should choose the colors in your map
within the capability of your plotter. We recommend the following procedure
before beginning your project: the plotter should be configured to
automatically adjust the colors or "by software", as some plotter
brands like to say. PostScript plotters and printersIn the case of PostScript plotters, there is no need for any specific configuration. The " Scarta" will generate a file of that type, starting from a map built on the "Scarta" screen, which could then be sent directly to the output device.
Image presentation controlSPRING allows the control of the visualization mode, what allows the simulation of the "true color" (16 million colors) environment in 8-bit graphic adapters. Such control can be disabled by the user. The environment variable DITHERING allows the control of the visualization mode. Its default value is ON (simulation of the "true color" environment). This control should be always set to OFF, in the case of using 24-bit graphic adapters. IMPORTANT: The best video resolution in SPRING is 1024 x 768 or more, and the color depth is High Color (16 bits) or True Color (32 bits).
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