Symetrix SymVue Automation Documentation
An example using Symetrix SymVue to control third-party applications.
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/* SYMETRIX SYMVUE THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE AUTOMATION EXAMPLE v1.0.0 Website: http://sourceforge.net/projects/symvue-autoit/ Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp_YY7tIiCs Audience: Control system designers & programmers. Difficulty: Advanced (Intermediate if you have prior programming experience.) This example script shows how it is possible for Symetrix SymVue to control third-party applications. In this example we'll have SymVue manage a few lighting presets in Daslight, a third-party lighting control application. A link to the free Daslight software is provided at the end of this comment section if you wish to see this example in action on your computer. The quality of code provided is of that which you would expect to find running on a commissioned system. Although this complicates the example, it shows how to provide error handling and other checks that make the script robust and transparent to the operator of the system. These sections of the script are commented to help you understand what they are for. Keep in mind that how you handle errors depends on the type of end-user that will use your system, so always think before you copy-paste. PREREQUISITES: - Intermediate to advanced experience with the Windows operating system. - Intermediate experience with Symetrix SymNet Composer, including creating and exporting SymVue control screens. - Prior programming or scripting experience is helpful, but not mandatory. If you are new to scripting, the important thing to remember is to be patient. It is normal for it to take days or weeks to learn how a script like this works and understand enough to be able to create your own. Read the documentation, do the tutorials provided by AutoIt, use a search engine, and feel free to experiment. - Read the manual. The AutoIt function and macro references explain how each scripting command works. They have also provided tutorials on how to use the scripting language. Links are provided at the end of this comment section. - When in doubt, GOOGLE IT! Chances are that other people have run into the same problem you're facing. Search engines will be able to point you to the AutoIt documentation, as well as to forum posts from people who have provided solutions to various scripting problems. SOFTWARE TO INSTALL: - Symetrix SymNet Composer http://www.symetrix.co/resources/downloads/ - Daslight DVC2 http://www.daslight.com/en/download.htm - AutoIt http://www.autoitscript.com/site/autoit/downloads/ During installation, it is recommended to select the option to edit .au3 scripts by default (not run them). * You can open this file in the scripting editor once AutoIt is installed. * DEMONSTRATION: If you encounter problems, known issues are listed below. Make sure you have installed the software listed above. Before we begin, launch Daslight. In the menu bar, make sure that Options -> Disable the moving fader is NOT checked. If it is, you won't be able to watch the faders move. Also in the menu, make sure Windows -> Live is activated. This will disable the Scene and Editor tabs so that only the Live view shows. Go ahead and close Daslight. Launch "SymVue Control Panel.svx" located in the example folder. The audio section is just for decoration. If you click on one of the lighting presets on the right, Daslight will launch if it is not already running. Your scene will activate in Daslight, the faders will move to the respective preset, and SymVue will be returned to focus. There is a setting in the configurable options below to allow the lighting changes to happen in the background, like how you would probably want them to on a real system. If you're feeling brave, create a new Daslight project, mess up the faders, and then click one of the SymVue lighting presets. Now that you see how the project behaves, it should be easier to understand what is happening in each part of the script below. This file is included into the "Recall Scene [Name].au3" child scripts, which are compiled to executables (.exe) in the Tools -> Build (F7) menu, and linked to the lighting buttons in SymVue. Messages from the scripts can be viewed by running the scripts in the SciTE editor by clicking Tools -> Go (F5). KNOWN ISSUES: Problem: The lighting buttons in SymVue don't do anything when clicked. Solution: Try running one of the recall preset executables (Recall Scene Presenter.exe) by double clicking it. If that works, relink the command buttons in SymVue to the recall preset executables on your computer. For some reason certain computers don't like relative paths in SymVue. FILES: Lighting Automation.au3 - This file. The script that handles application automation. Lighting.dvc - Daslight project file. Recall Scene House Lights.au3 - Child script that recalls the "House Lights" preset. Recall Scene House Lights.exe - Executable used by SymVue to recall the "House Lights" preset. Recall Scene Presenter.au3 - Child script that recalls the "Presenter" preset. Recall Scene Presenter.exe - Executable used by SymVue to recall the "Presenter" preset. Recall Scene Video.au3 - Child script that recalls the "Video" preset. Recall Scene Video.exe - Executable used by SymVue to recall the "Video" preset. SymVue Control Panel.svx - The standalone SymVue control panel that the operator of a system would have access to. SymVue Project.symx - The SymNet Composer project used to create the SymVue control panel. THIS SCRIPT WAS TESTED ON THE FOLLOWING PLATFORMS: Windows XP Professional SP3 (32-bit) Windows XP Professional x64 SP2 (64-bit) Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) ---------- LINKS ---------- Symetrix SymNet Composer download: http://www.symetrix.co/resources/downloads/ Daslight DVC2 download: http://www.daslight.com/en/download.htm AutoIt function reference: http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/docs/functions.htm AutoIt macro reference: http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/docs/macros.htm AutoIt tutorials: http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/docs/ Article: Are my AutoIt EXEs really infected? Some virus scanners trigger a false positive. If you don't want to download the .exe files, you can build them yourself by opening the .au3 files in the SciTE editor and pressing F7. http://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/34658-are-my-autoit-exes-really-infected/ */
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