FAQ Category: thaTEC:Core

Issues related to thaTEC:Core: Download and installation of software modules or updating software modules

Add/update modules without internet connection (offline updates)

If you are using a PC without an internet connection in your lab, you can still conventiently add and update all our software modules using a second PC with an active internet connection. To do so, just follow the description below.

Prerequisite:

thaTEC:Core must be installed on both PCs. For this, download our (offline) installer from the Download section of our homepage.

Step 1: Download/Update module database

Using the PC with an active internet connection, select Modules => Download modules to local folder from thaTEC:Core’s menu bar and select the target folder (e.g. a USB stick).

Reduce download time: Before starting the download, thaTEC:Core will check all files that are already present in the selected folder and compare them to the files on our server. Thus, by always selecting the same folder for the downloads, the download time can drastically be reduced since only updated files are being loaded!

Step 2: Update settings

After the download has finished, transfer the downloaded files to the PC without internet connection (i.e. connect the USB stick to the PC). To use the offline database, you need to adjust the according settings. For this, select Modules => Update settings from the menu bar:

Subsequently, selet Offline from directory as update method and select the according folder where the downloaded database are located (i.e. the USB stick) and apply the settings:

From here, you can update and add new devices from our database identical to the case with an active internet connection.

Renaming/Duplicating modules in thaTEC:Core

When renaming or duplicating modules in thaTEC:Core, in some cases a warning or an error message will occur since renaming/duplicating this module might lead to malfunction in an automated measurement using thaTEC:OS.

Potential errors caused by renameing/duplicating:

When using the modules with thaTEC:OS, the names as displayed in the device tree at the left side of the user interface must be unique. Usually, this name corresponds to the folder name in the module folder since this ensures unique names as displayed below:

However, in older versions of some device modules or in the case of a self-programmed module, the module name might be hard-coded, leading to identical names of different modules when connected to thaTEC:OS and, hence, to malfunction.

Thus, when a warning message in thaTEC:Core appears, in particular when duplicating a module, it must be ensured that the module name on connecting to thaTEC:OS is also adjusted! In these cases, it is strongly recommended to open the module, connect it to thaTEC:OS and check if the name has been adjusted. If not, you might need to update to a later version of the device module or change your own sourcecode accordingly.

Open a remote support session

Developing software modules for your hardware usually requires a debugging process. If the according PC is connected to the internet, the easiest way to debug the software is to schedule a remote support session with us so we can directly access your PC and debug the software modules.

Please note that no additional software needs to be installed!

To open a remote support session select Support => Open remote support session from thaTEC:Core’s menu bar:

The module might take some time to start. However, if any error message occurs or nothing happens, please update the support database as described here.

After the startup of the remote support module, the following window will appear, waiting for our remote access:

After connecting to your PC, you will need to grant access to your PC via the following window which will appear and will remain during the whole session allowing, e.g., to write text messages and stay in touch during the remote session:

Important note: During the remote support session, we will only have control over your mouse and keyboard as long as you are not using it. Thus, please do not use the accoring PC for other tasks during a remote support session!

Update the support database

Via thaTEC:Core, it is possible to directly access the manuals for several software modules, open remote support sessions or perform other quick checks for your system if any errors occur.

With recent thaTEC:Core versions, all support functionalities are automatically kept up to date if the PC has an active internet connection. Also, when performing offline updates, the support database will be automatically updated.

In order to perform a manual update or to update the support database in older versions of thaTEC:Core, please perform the following steps:

  • Check for updates via the menu bar => Modules => Check for updates
  • Select Help => Update documentation from the menu bar

If this option is greyed out, there are no updates for the support database available. When performing offline updates, please ensure that your offline database is up to date!

Update from a stable to a newer beta version

Before releasing new features for a certain module, usually, there will be a beta version to find potential bugs before releasing a stable version.

To update to a new beta version, e.g. for debugging the software, open thaTEC:Core and make sure that the update database of thaTEC:Core is up-to-date by checking for updates via the menu bar “Modules” => “Check for updates” or by pressing Ctrl+U.

Afterwards, right-click on the module you want to update and select “Update” => “Update to newer beta version”

How can I see the changes if an update for a software module is available?

It is possible to open the current changelog of the module before installing the update. For this, just right click on the respective module and select “Update” => “Open updated changelog”

Issues updating thaTEC:Core

In the latest versions, we changed the self-update procedure of thaTEC:Core. Thus, if you are using an older version (before 2019-08-06), the update is not always performed correctly and it might  still be indicated that a new update is available. In this case, please download the Core_updater module from the module library and run this module to manually perform the update.