Help Topics

What's new in MBTools

2011-01-07: Release 20.

MBProbe

No changes.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

SBProbe

No changes.

SBusServer

No changes.

SBPoll

No changes.

TMBClient

This is a new MS Windows specific Modbus/TCP client monitoring program. This is the first release for this program.

2010-07-24: Release 19.

MBProbe

Fixed minor bug which could make it difficult to set the unit ID to 0.
Fixed minor bug in link to the Read web page.
Updated CSS to new project style.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

SBProbe

Fixed minor bug which could make it difficult to set the unit ID to 0.
Fixed minor bug in link to the Read web page.
Updated CSS to new project style.

SBusServer

No changes.

SBPoll

No changes.

2010-05-21: Release 18.

HMIServer

HMIServer is no longer bundled with MBTools and is now released in a separate package. See the HMIServer package for HMIServer.

MBProbe

No changes.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

SBProbe

NEW. This is the first release for SBProbe. SBProbe provides the same functionality as MBProbe, but supports SAIA Ether SBus instead of Modbus/TCP.

SBusServer

NEW. This is the first release for SBusServer. SBusServer provides the same functionality as MBAsyncServer, but supports SAIA Ether SBus instead of Modbus/TCP.

SBPoll

NEW. This is the first release for SBPoll. SBPoll provides the same functionality as MBPoll, but supports SAIA Ether SBus instead of Modbus/TCP.

2010-02-10: Release 17.

The documentation for building HMI systems has now been integrated directly into the main on-line help system. The PDF versions are no longer distributed.
Button masks have been added to the HMI system. These allow (in conjunction with a new function in the HMI Client Display Library) push buttons (and other inputs such as selector switches) to be enabled or disabled according to the value in the data table.
All HMI SVG clip-art (widgets, SVG objects) have been updated to give each individual file its own gradient definition where this is required. This means that SVG templates no longer have to define any required colour gradients. These will be automatically imported with the geometry. Duplicate definitions will be automatically merged by Inkscape.
The provided HMI SVG templates have been updated to remove the common colour gradient definitions (see the previous point).
As a result of the colour gradient change, file managers in operating systems that know how to handle SVG files will now show the correct colour of each piece of SVG art as part of the file icon.
The pump rotors have been rotated 90 degrees so that the rotor colour is visible in the file manager. This does not affect their use or operation.
The initial data for strip chart lines has been modified to make positioning easier when designing a strip chart. This does not affect their use or operation.
The HMI Client Protocol Library has been changed so that run time errors caused by incorrect parameters are ignored and the scan is not aborted.
Minor corrections have been made to CSS files to remove warnings.
The HMI demo has been updated to reflect the new features.
The on-line help system has been modified to allow additional nested file directories. This should not have any effect on the operation of the system.

2010-01-16: Release 16.

Minor Bug Fix in HMIServer!

IMPORT!: A problem was fixed in configuration file parsing which was affecting users attempting to implement support for protocols other than Modbus. The standard ConfigParser library was forcing all option names to lower case (e.g. "Example" to "example"). This has been fixed to preserve the orignal case.
This affects the configuration file "mbhmi.config".
Check your configuration file to ensure you are using the correct (lower) case for the standard options in your configuration. All standard options for HMIServer are already supposed to be in lower case. The option is the parameter on the left side of the equal sign. For example, with "addrtype=coil", "addrtype" is the option name and it must be in lower case. Parameters to the right of the equal sign are not affected.
If your configurations followed the examples in the documentation and used lower case for all options on the left side of the equal signs, you should not be affected by this change.
A future version of HMIServer will be adding form based editing for configurations and will likely depend on this change.

New Features in HMIServer:

This is a major new release which has completely revised how HMI client web pages are developed to make it simpler and faster.
It is now possible to develop the SVG portion of the HMI using the Inkscape drawing editor.
The SVG control objects for the HMI have been repackaged into individual files allow drag and drop SVG web page development. More than 500 SVG clip art files are provided.
Inkscape can also be used to draw completely custom graphic designs which can then be animated using the standard library.
Standard template web pages are now provided which can be used as is with minimal change to act as containers for the SVG. This eliminates the need to develop your own customised web page.
The standard web pages can still be customised for colour and other similar factors by changing just a few options in a style sheet.
Application configuration (other than making the SVG drawing) has been moved to separate configuration files outside of the web page, making configuration much easier.
New protocol library features make monitoring communications time outs and signaling the presence of alarms much easier.
Extensive step by step documentation is provided detailing how to develop an HMI web page using Inkscape with the new templates.
Documentation for HMI editing in this release is in PDF files accompanying the package. An upcoming release will provide a new program which will improve the process still further and all documentation related to creating HMI web pages will be moved to the on line help version of that program.

MBProbe

No changes.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

2009-12-16: Release 15.

HMIServerMBS - NEW!

This is a new version of HMIServer which supports Modbus/TCP server.
Other than acting as a Modbus/TCP server rather than a client, the other features are the same as the existing version of HMIServer.

HMIServerMBC

This is simply the existing Modbus/TCP client version of HMIServer with a minor change to the name.
The package and directory names have been changed to reflect that there is now more than one version of HMIServer.
The documentation has been updated to allow for common documentation to be shared with other versions of HMIServer.

MBProbe

A minor change has been made to a library import to make MBProbe backwards compatible with Python 2.5. This was done to allow MBProbe to work with Debian Stable 5.0.
An auto re-connect feature has been added to allow the program to automatically reconnect to the field device if the connection has been closed since the previous poll.
A new start parameter has been added to support auto re-connect.
A new communications menu parameter has been added to support auto re-connect.
The documentation has been updated.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

2009-10-27: Release 14.

This release concentrates on HMI improvements. This includes the improvements which were previously released with HMIServer, as well as many new improvements. MBLogic and HMIServer are being released simultaneously with the same HMI features.
The demo web pages have been upgraded with improved artwork and new features.
The documentation has been updated to show new artwork and additional HMI library functions.
The HMI demo web pages include a "help" section to explain the details of each demo.
New HMI graphics samples have been added for things such as selector switches and 7 segment LED displays. This includes changes to the standard Javscript libraries.
Push buttons, pilot lights, numeric displays, etc. have all been upgraded with improved artwork.
The HMI SVG now uses "xlink" statements to allow references to SVG "libraries" (which are still part of the web page). This avoids the need to cut and paste SVG XML for each instance. Instead, a simple reference to the library is used. This makes creating HMI web pages easier.

2009-09-25: Release 13.

There are no new features in this release. This is a bug fix release only.
This release fixes a bug in the Modbus/TCP server involving an incorrect message length calculation which may have affected some users when used in combination with some functions on some clients.
If you have not experiencing any problems, there is no need to upgrade.
Thanks to Brandon McLean for finding this problem and providing the information necessary to solve it.

2009-09-23: Release 12.

HMIServer

HMIServer now uses the standard Python JSON library if it is present. (This was added to the standard Python library in version 2.6). It falls back on the old bundled library if the standard one is not present. The installation instructions no longer refer to installing SimpleJSON.
The demo HMI web pages now automatically detect the address and port they were loaded from (by using a standard Javascript feature). This simplifies writing web clients and eliminates the need to hard code this configuration. This is described in the documentation. Existing user created web pages should not be affected by this change.
The standard HMI Javascript libraries have been moved out of the "hmipages" directory and into their own directory called "hmilib". If you are upgrading an existing application, be sure to not copy the old Javascript libraries with your web pages. These files are: "json2.js", "libhmiclient.js", "libmbevents.js", "libmbhmi.js" Don't copy these files from your old version to the new one. If the old libraries are present in the "hmipages" directory, the new version will continue use the old libraries. You HMI web pages will continue to work, but you won't be able to take advantage of new features. In addition, future versions may not be compatible with old libraries.
The demo web pages have been upgraded with improved artwork and new features. A new demo web page has been added to show different page layouts. These may be used as user application templates.
The documentation has been updated to show new artwork and additional HMI library functions.
A new documenation section has been added explaining the features of the demo web pages.

MBProbe

No changes.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

2009-06-26: Release 11.

HMIServer

The changes from MBLogic have been backported into HMIServer for compatibility reasons. This involved breaking the extended data type support out into a separate module.
Improved on-line documentation. Added a web page on Modbus basics. Improved the page on configuration
Corrected comments.

MBProbe

This is the first release for this package. This provides an interactive Modbus/TCP client with a web based user interface for testing, troubleshooting and commissioning.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

2009-05-28: Release 10.

HMIServer

The alarm and event zone systems have been modified to separate the alarm zones and event zones. Existing web clients will need to be modified to maintain compatibility. This should be a simple change. This is a change in the Javascript libraries and not the server itself, so unmodified client web pages will still work with the new server provided the old Javascript libraries are used. See the documentation, or the new clients demos for details.
The configuration and HMI protocol handling code has been changed to make integration of new protocols easier. This should only affect developers adding new protocols.
HMIServer now supports extended multi-register data types such as 32 bit integers, single (4 byte) and double (8 byte) precision floating point, and strings. See the documentation for details.
New HMI widgets have been added. These include simple strip charts, numeric data entry keypad, numeric increment/decrement device, and text data display (for string data).
The demo client has been updated to use the new HMI widgets.
The configuration status display now shows a value of "None" for any values which do not apply to that data type. Previous versions showed numeric defaults.
The documentation has been greatly expanded (doubled in size).
The demo simulator has been updated to support the demostrations of the new HMI widgets. This is used for the demo only.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

2009-05-18: Release 9.

HMIServer

Fixed a bug in the date display for the HMI for the protocol time stamp. The conversion to UTC was incorrect. This would show in the demo web page when displaying errors on the "System Status" web page.
A new function has been added to the HMI Client Display Library. MB_NumericFloatDisplay provides the display of numeric values while allowing the number of decimal places to be specified. The demo web page has been modified to use this function when displaying the tank levels. Documentation has been added to the corresponding help web page.
The demo HMI configuration has been modified to show the use of scaling. The tank levels on the HMI demo web page have been used to display this feature. Scaling is an existing feature. This just adds a demonstration.
A sample has been added to the demo HMI web page showing how to create an illuminated push button using existing features. This is PB5.
A sample has been added to the demo HMI web page showing how to create an increment and decrement graphical object. This controls the pump speed. This is located next to the "Reverse" push button and is controlled by clicking on the up and down triangles.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

2009-05-09: Release 8.

HMIServer

HMIServer has a number of internal changes to make supporting new protocols easier. This should not affect users. The following details the code changes.
Removed redundant code for hexadecimal data type from HMIAddr. This type was obsolete and not supported.
Removed a redundant import from HMIAddr.
HMIAddr was modified to move all Modbus related features from this module, and to have all data table read and write functions operate on complete blocks of data (instead of each address one at a time). This allows other protocols to be supported (at a later date), and will eventually allow for more efficient Modbus communications.
ModbusClient was modified to support the above changes. The block read/ write functions now take place inside ModbusClient.
HMIConfig was modified to move all Modbus related features from this module. This will allow for the eventual support of other protocols.
A new module "HMIModbusConfig" was added. All Modbus related configuration operations are now deligated to this module.
Most Modbus references and names have been changed or removed from various modules to reflect that the system is no longer centred around Modbus.
The web documentation has been updated to remove most Modbus references. This included changing a menu label from "Modbus Data" to "Field Device Data".

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

2009-04-14: Release 7.

HMIServer

HMIServer has been changed to support a new alarm format. "libmbevents.js" and "libhmiclient.js" have been changed to support the new alarm format.
The demo client web page and the documentation has been updated to support the new alarm format.
Active alarms are now a summary state rather than a continuous history. This results in a simpler and more understandable alarm display. Alarm history is still displayed for inactive alarms.
Alarms and events now have "zones". Zones allow a client to only request those alarms and events in which it is interested. The configuration file format has been changed to support this. Alarms and events require "zone" definitions.
The new alarm system is not compatible with the old server, Javascript libraries, or client web pages.
Fixed DST/GMT time format display bug in client and server.
The protocol identifier in the HTTP header was changed from 'cascadas' to 'Cascadas' to fix a Safari 4 related problem. Safari was 'helpfully' capitalising this. This is now capitalised by default to be consistent with other header strings.
Documentation was updated.

MBAsyncServer

MBAsyncServer has a new internal data table format. This has no direct effect on its operation.
There is a new start up option for MBAsyncServer. This allows the user to specify whether coils and discrete inputs are packed into registers or whether they are store separately (not packed into registers). The default is separate (not packed into registers). The packing feature had few applications, but caused a great deal of confusion.
Documentation was updated.

MBPoll

No changes.
Documentation was updated.

2009-03-15: Release 6.

HMIServer has been modified to support asynchronous client communications. The main changes were to libhmiclient.js, along with some minor changes to the demo web pages (hmidemo.xhtml, mindemo.xhtml).
"HMIClient" in libhmiclient.js now requires an additional parameter to select either synchronous or asynchronous communications.
"UpdateDisplay" is now called automatically by "SendRequest" and should not be called manually.
"CommsWatchDogTimeOut" has been added to enable detecting loss of communications.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

2009-03-04: Release 5.

HMIServer has been modified to sup
HMI Server has been added to MBTools. This is the first release for this package. It provides a web based HMI to any device equipped with a Modbus/TCP server. This package was developed from the old MB-HMIDevServer, which had no communications ability. HMIDevServer is now obsolete and replaced by this new package.

MBAsyncServer

No changes.

MBPoll

No changes.

2009-02-25: Release 4.

First combined release of MBAsyncServer and MBPoll in one package.
Changes consisted mainly of porting the protocol library changes from MBLogic into MBAsyncServer and MBPoll to keep all the projects in sync.
The MBAsyncServer and MBPoll packages are now released together to simplify distribution.

Older History

The following is the release history from each package from when they were released separately.

MBAsyncServer Release History:

2008-10-14: Release 3.

Imported changes from HMI server for ModbusDataStrLib, and changed ModbusTCPMsg to accomodate this. This mainly involved moving the data conversion functions Int2BinStr and BinStr2Int from ModbusTCPMsg to ModbusDataStrLib. This also fixed BinStr2Int. This function was not used by MBAsyncServer.
Upgraded license in ModbusDataStrLib and ModbusTCPMsg from GPLv2 to GPLv3 after discussion with Juan Miguel Taboada Godoy.
First release of version with MS-DOS new-line characters. This affects only how some editors would display the files.

2008-05-24: Release 2.

Minor changes.

2008-05-20: Release 1.

Initial release.

MBPoll Release History:

2008-10-14: Release 3.

Fixed bug in ModbusTCPSimpleClient which prevented the time-out parameter from working correctly.
Imported changes from HMI server for ModbusDataStrLib, and changed ModbusTCPMsg to accomodate this. This mainly involved moving the data conversion functions Int2BinStr and BinStr2Int from ModbusTCPMsg to ModbusDataStrLib. This also fixed BinStr2Int. This function was not used by MBPoll.
Upgraded license in ModbusDataStrLib and ModbusTCPMsg from GPLv2 to GPLv3 after discussion with Juan Miguel Taboada Godoy.
First release of version with MS-DOS new-line characters. This affects only how some editors would display the files.

2008-05-24: Release 2.

Minor changes.

2008-05-20: Release 1.

Initial release.