Xxy (GUI Interface)
Xxy is the user interface to xyd. Any number of instances (including none at all) of xxy may be running at the same time. All instances are permitted to issue commands. Users should communicate with each other, to insure that they do not issue conflicting commands.
The Main Xxy Window
This is the main interface to xxy and normally is the only window that needs to be running. The Tools menu is used to start other support windows.
For the most part, this window should be self-explanatory. The user may move the xy probe, either in absolute units, or relative to the current location, in encoder units or in scaled units (R.A., Dec). The user may also adjust the focus.
The user must make sure that the scale factors and rotator angle are correctly set. The current values can be read from the display. They can be set from the Rotator Angle Window and the Scale Factor Window, which are available from the Tools menu.
Note that the focus is not encoded, and the position is somewhat uncertain. Multiple small moves in one direction may not be the same as a single (apparently equivalent) larger move. When reversing direction, backlash is not removed.
The Xxy Rotator-Angle Window
The rotator angle window lets the user set the rotator angle, or read it from the TCS. The parameter affects all moves in user coordinates (R.A, Dec).
The scale factor and the rotator angle completely define the transformation from xy stage coordinates into user coordinates.
The Xxy Scale Factor Window
The scale factor window lets the user set the mapping from xy stage (encoder) coordinates into user coordinates. The scale factor affects all moves in user coordinates.
The scale factor and the rotator angle completely define the transformation from xy stage coordinates into user coordinates.
The Xxy Communications Window
The communications window is not used under normal circumstances. It is intended to recover from serious problems.
Disconnect will disconnect xxy from the daemon. When disconnected, xxy cannot perform any actions. You should disconnect and reconnect to the daemon whenever the daemon is started.
Connect will reconnect xxy to the daemon. It is normally not necessary to explicitly connect to the daemon.
Refresh will read current parameters from the daemon. It is normally not necessary to explicitly reread parameters. The only time that it should be necessary to read the parameters is if the debugging tools are used to disable automatic updates.
Disconnect Daemon from Galil will disconnect the daemon from the Galil hardware. You should disconnect and reconnect the daemon to the Galil hardware whenever the terminal server that is connected to the Galil hardware is rebooted. It is not necessary to disconnect the daemon from the hardware when the Galil is rebooted (but see the Monitor Hardware Boot button, below).
Connect Daemon to Galil will connect the daemon to the Galil hardware. It is not normally necessary to connect explicitly to the hardware.
Rehome Hardware will reboot the Galil controller and will monitor the status of the hardware as it reboots.
Monitor Hardware Boot will monitor the status of the hardware as it reboots. It does not reboot the hardware. If the hardware was rebooted, use this command to verify the initialization state.
Stop Monitoring will stop xxy from monitoring the status of the hardware as it reboots. Note that it does not stop the reboot, it just stops monitoring.
The Xxy Debugging Window
The debugging window provides a graphical interface to the commands that are described in the Tcl Commands section of this manual. It is intended only for advanced users.