Changes implemented in Release 3.0 of the DSData Server

What's New in Version 3.0c (Build 80), October 8, 2002

  • Added ValidDataTimeout setting in [DSData] group in DS300.INI file.  This is only configurable via the .INI file and its purpose is for client timeout on one-time reads.  It is specified in milliseconds.  The default value is 60 seconds, or 60000.  This does not affect DDE hot links, but does affect one time OPC or DDE Synchronous Reads.

  • Comm Server:  Fixed some lockup issues (deadly embrace) with Communication Server.

  • Comm Server:  Added extra serial port debugging features that are ALWAYS enabled - no need to add Dump=1 to DS300.INI unless this dump does not reveal the problem.

  • Comm Server:  COM3 and COM4 are now disabled by default in DS300.INI.

  • Comm Server:  To disable auto-sensing of Comm Links during Comm Server startup, remove the semi-colon character ' ; ' from the ;AutoSense=0 line in the DS300.INI file in your Windows directory:
    [Comm Server]
    AutoSense=0

  • Comm Server:  To enable the serial port debug dump, remove the semi-colon character ' ; ' from the ;Dump=1 line in the DS300.INI file in your Windows directory:
    [devasync.dll]
    Dump=1

  • Added GX/GY/VGX/VGY support to 05.

  • Replaced the "250" PLC string with "250(-1)" since CPU may be a 250 OR a 250-1, but since they both report the same PLC type, DSData cannot distinguish between the two, so we put the "-1" in parentheses.

  • Installation:  Now deletes the redundant DS300.INI file from the DirectSOFT32 install directory.

  • Installation:  Now correctly registers the custom uninstall DLL (UnDSData.DLL) in the Registry on all supported versions of Windows.  Previously, using the 'Add/Remove Programs' utility on Windows 2000/XP to uninstall DSData did not do a complete uninstall.  (The Uninstall shortcut under the Start Menu has always been reliable.)

What's New in Version 3.0c (Build 71), July 16, 2001

  • More fixes for USB-to-Serial convertors, specifically when used with Windows 2000.

  • DSLaunch: Now correctly updates glyph on new Communication Link.

  • Now uses HEI32_3.DLL.

What's New in Version 3.0c (Build 62), March 13, 2001

  • Now supports USB ports that do not support timeouts at the comm device level. Should now work with most USB to SERIAL CONVERTERS.

  •  Now displays a dialog if asynchronous dump is enabled.

  • Now displays a message box to warn when system resources are getting low.

  • Fixed problem with Think-N-Do™ not finding DSData when multiple OPC servers are present, we think! (Supposedly for OPC Release 1.x servers.)

What's New in Version 3.0c (Build 58), October 24, 2000

  • Fixed client-side "one-shots" problem.

What's New in Version 3.0c (Build 54), September 01, 2000

  • During installation, if the Product Key field is left empty, setup now asks if the User wishes to install the Demo Version.  

  • Added ability to make DSData run on the System Tray.  When displayed on the System Tray, the icon status reports DSData Server status for idle, active, and error topic states, along with fly-by-text for reporting the number of active/error topics.

  • Combined Writes now work properly.

  • DSData writes to V0, Y0, C0, CT0, actually any type with an ID of 0, now work correctly.

  • Added Options dialog to DSData's View menu.  Moved the View->Always On Top option from the View menu into this new dialog.

  • DSData Item update display is cleaner.

  • Help:  Documented the new System Tray Icons and new View Options Dialog in the DSData Help System.

  • When verifying a Modem connection in the Link Configuration dialog, we now display a message box to confirm that the connection was successful.

  • Changed max range for the Timeout setting in Ethernet Advanced Settings dialog from 1000ms to 60000ms to better support connections across the Internet.

  • Added support for UDP Port number for future IP services (on WinPLC), and for gateway access of ECOMs whose IP address 7070 port number is mapped via the Gateways IP and a unique port number.

  • Fixed Ethernet Modem problem: Basically, GetComStat is reporting there are 3 characters in the INPUT buffer, but when we try to read them via ::ReadFile, it behaves as if the I/O is not complete.  Eventually, if we call ::GetOverlappedResult with a wait flag set to TRUE, it completes correctly.  So, adding the following entry to the DS300.INI file in your Windows directory will set the wait flag to TRUE if it failed on FALSE:
        [devasync]
        WaitForRead=1

What's New in Version 3.0c (Build 52), May 25, 2000

  • Enhanced Communications Debug: Now logs Device-Level events to DBWin32 window.

  • TAPI Modems: Now properly displays message strings in modem status dialog.

  • Now preserves [Comm Server] settings in DS300.INI file.

What is New in Version 3.0 (Build 51), May 4, 2000

  • Added support for OPC's Get Server Status

  • Modified DSData startup code to ensure that only a single instance will run.

  • DSLaunch now displays consistent Description and Version information for the DSP, DSData, and Version applications.

What is New in Version 3.0 (Build 50), April 6 2000

  • DSData now correctly supports edit of an active Topic that has an associated Documentation Database.

  • DSLaunch window now shows Link status (via color) and device type (via glyphs) in the left tree view.

  • TAPI Modems -- Fixed Comm Server lockup when remote modem was shutdown during connection.

  • TAPI Modems -- No longer truncates telephone numbers from ini file that contain commas - default phone number will now retain all info, including pause comma characters.

  • New TAPI 1.4 Modem support (recommend you install 2nd modem of same type just for use with DirectSOFT32 products)

  • Added event support to the Comm Server for better CPU utilization. No longer reports 100% CPU Usage. 

  • Can edit the DS300.ini file to disable auto-sensing of existing Comm Links during DirectSOFT32 Comm Server startup:
        [Comm Server]
        AutoSense=0

  • Supports all PLCs supported in 16-bit -- including DL05 -- plus TJ-435-AS and PZ-3 for Koyo.