This page contains answers to common questions handled by our support staff, along with some tips and tricks that we have found useful and presented here as questions.

Note: In these answers we will follow a few shorthand conventions for describing user-interface procedures. Key combinations will be presented like this: Ctrl+Alt+Delete, which means that you should press and hold down the Control key, the Alt key, and the Delete key at the same time. Menu selections will be presented like this: File->Open, which means that you should open the File menu, and then make the Open selection.

What kind of interface cable do I need to run Brookside products?

How do I install and run Brookside products?

What is a hardware key, and how do I use it?

What if I have installed the hardware key, but the software still does not acknowledge it?

After I open a data file in the Viewer, there is a blank display. How can I look at the data?

Most of Brookside's products interface with the SECS port on the equipment. The computer running Brookside must be connected to the equipment via an RS-232 serial cable. In addition, this cable must either be a null modem cable, or have a null modem installed in-line. A null modem is a simple connector which swaps certain lines in the RS-232 cable as required in this type of serial communications. NOTE: If using Brookside's Passthru, you will be required to install additional cables based on your computer type and host interface.

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Most of Brookside's products are designed for simple installation and execution. The application files will be delivered on a CD. Simply copy the file(s) into any user-specified folder on the computer which will run Brookside, and then run the application program (if the software was delivered as a self-extracting archive, then double-click the archive to extract the files... then you may run the application). You must also create a data directory and configure Process Station to point to it.

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Brookside licenses its products differently based on purchase volume and customer requirements. One method is called a single-user license. With a single-user license, the customer is supplied with an encrypted hardware key which prohibits use of the software on any computer other than the computer which the key is installed on.

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After you have installed the hardware key (parallel port for PC, keyboard port for Macintosh), you must reset your computer in order for the software to acknowledge the installation.

On a PC, the port needs to be configured to be bi-directional in the system BIOS (most PC's default to this setting).

For NT, Windows 2000 and WinXP systems, you need to install special hardware key drivers and must be logged in as an administrator to run the hardware key installation program.

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The Viewer does not initially display any data information when the user first opens a data file. You must access the Edit->Settings dialog and configure the Viewer to graphically view the data. Additionally, you can select File->Save Current Chart Settings to save your display settings, then File->Set Default Chart Settings to specify the settings to use for different chart types. After saving your Default Chart Settings, the Viewer will automatically open and display similar data files with the default display settings.

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