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© National Instruments Corporation 6-1 NI-488.2 User Manual for Windows
6
Interactive Control Utility
This chapter introduces you to the Interactive Control utility, which lets
you communicate with GPIB devices interactively.
Overview
With the Interactive Control utility, you communicate with the GPIB
devices through functions you interactively type in at the keyboard. For
specific information about communicating with your particular device,
refer to the documentation that came with the device. You can use the
Interactive Control utility to practice communication with the instrument,
troubleshoot problems, and develop your application.
The Interactive Control utility helps you to learn about your instrument and
to troubleshoot problems by displaying the following information on your
screen after you enter a command:
• Results of the status word (
ibsta
) in hexadecimal notation.
• Mnemonic constant of each bit set in
ibsta.
• Mnemonic value of the error variable (
iberr
) if an error exists
(the ERR bit is set in
ibsta
).
• Count value for each read, write, or command function.
• Data received from your instrument.
Getting Started with Interactive Control
This section shows you how to use the Interactive Control utility to test a
sequence of NI-488.2 calls.
To start the Interactive Control utility, complete the following steps:
1. Select Start»Programs»National Instruments NI-488.2»Explore
GPIB to start Measurement & Automation Explorer.
2. Expand the Devices and Interfaces directory by clicking on the + next
to the folder.