The Terrain Module supports a variety of digitizers in ASCII mode. Each digitizer has a standard configuration. (see Standard ASCII Digitizer Settings for a list of supported digitizers and their switch settings).
The following steps should be followed to setup up a digitizer for operation with an ASCII Driver:
Locate the brand and model number for your digitizer in Standard ASCII Digitizer Settings and change the digitizer hardware switch settings as shown (your model of digitizer may not require any hardware setup, in this case proceed to step 2). Please note most digitziers should be powered off before changing the switches.
From the Digitizer Configuration Dialog choose the Assign New button to activate the Digitizer Drivers Dialog. Select the appropriate digitizer in the list box and press the Select button. Press OK, the "Current Driver" displayed in the Digitizer Configuration Dialog should now display your digitizer model.
Select the appropriate port (COM1:,COM2: etc.) in the Digitizer Configuration Dialog.
Determine the required port communications parameters settings for your digitizer in Standard ASCII Digitizer Settings . This includes: Baud Rate (bits per second), Parity, Stop Bits, Data Bits, Flow Control.
Press the Setup button (in the Digitizer Configuration Dialog) to access the Windows Control Panel. Changing the port settings depends on which version of Windows you are using as follows.
Select Ports and then Settings. Set the Baud Rate (bits per second), Parity, Stop Bits, Data Bits and Flow Control to match those determined above.
From the System Icon select the Device Manager Tab - Ports. Choose the appropriate port e.g. COM 1 then from Properties - Port Settings, set the communications parameters Baud Rate (bits per second), Parity, Stop Bits, Data Bits, Flow Control to match those determined above.
Press the Test button from the Digitizer Configuration Dialog. When you select this option the Digitizer Test Dialog box will be activated. This dialog box will display characters transmitted from the digitizer. Try pressing a key on the digitizer. If the parameters have been setup correctly a new character string should appear at the bottom of the dialog box whenever a key is pressed on the digitizer keypad.
If you don't see any characters appearing check the digitizers switch settings and parameters as described in STEPS 1 to 4.
If your digitizer is still not operating properly at this stage, here are some Common ASCII Digitizer Setup Problems
The digitizer transmits a 'packet' or string of ASCII characters whenever a key is pressed. Each packet contains a KEY field, an X coordinate field and a Y coordinate field. The Terrain module will extract these fields from the packet . Using the Test option (as described in STEP 5) check that the key pressed on the digitizer matches the value displayed in the Key field at the bottom of the Test Dialog.
The program is shipped with a standard set of digitizer key definitions. The key definitions depend on the type of digitizer and are defined in the Standard ASCII Digitizer Settings. It is useful to print out these key definitions and tape them to your tablet for reference. See also Digitizer Key Definitions for information on the key functions.
If you have successfully completed STEPS 1 to 7, your digitizer should now be ready to use. See sections Digitizing Areas and Lengths and Digitizing Profiles for information on digitizer operations.
If your digitizer is not working see Common ASCII Digitizer Setup Problems.