For an overview of serialization software available, open your (AH700) Help file and navigate to Topic Device Serialization Overview.
Serial2.exe and a .CSV file support up to eight serial data fields per device for RAM serialization. Only one serial data field per device is supported for label serialization. A single serial data entry can be used for either RAM, label, or both. CSV is a Comma Separated Values file.
The .CSV serial data file consists of a separate line entry for each serial number or group of serial numbers per device. Each line entry consists of five variables separated by commas on a single line. Each line should end with a new line character.
Blank lines can be used in the file to help separate serial number groups and make the file more readable. No headers or comments are allowed in the file. A line must either be blank or a properly formatted serial number entry. Spaces can be used within variables to allow for alignment of the commas and readability.
When using multiple serial numbers per device and the checksum calculation flag (-s), the checksum is calculated for all serial numbers used in the device. The serial number calculation is done in hexadecimal. Serial Number 0010 plus Serial Number 0010 = 20 in hex (32 in decimal), and will add the value 20 hex to the TaskLink base checksum. This feature is not recommended if one of the serial data fields is being used as a checksum compensation value.
The format of each line in the .CSV file is composed of the following variables:
Index: A decimal number from 1 to 4294967295. Must be a decimal number and not hexadecimal. Must be in consecutive order.
Serial Data: A hexadecimal numbers limited to 20 bytes (40 ASCII characters for RAM data and 20 ASCII characters for label only data). If the serial data field is shorter than the length specified, then the serial data is left padded with zeros. Remember label data is truly limited by the parameters set up in TaskLink, such as font size, label size, number of percent signs, etc…
Address: A hexadecimal number from 0 to FFFFFFFF. The address parameter is not used when the type field is set to label only.
Data Length: A decimal number representing the length of the serial data in bytes. There are two ASCII characters per byte for RAM serialization. There is one ASCII character per byte, for label only serialization. Must be a decimal number and not hexadecimal. The data length field is not used when the type field is set to label only. If the serial data field is shorter than the length specified, then the serial data is left padded with zeros.
Type: "R" indicates the data is for use in RAM serialization, "L" indicates the data is for use only on a label, "B" indicates the data is used in both locations. A type field must be specified.
Example 1 is a file that contains one serial number per device. The serial number is for use in RAM and label serialization (this will be programming-system dependent). Both the label data and the RAM data are the same. The serial number is programmed at address 7FFFF. The length of the serial number is 2 bytes (4 ASCII characters). 4 ASCII characters will be printed on the label in place of the 4 percent signs %%%%.
1, 0001, 7FFFF, 2, B
2, 0002, 7FFFF, 2, B
3, 0003, 7FFFF, 2, B
4, 0004, 7FFFF, 2, B
Example 2 is a file that contains two serial numbers per device and separate label data. The first serial number is a 6 byte (12 ASCII Characters) Ethernet number programmed at address 70000. The second serial number is a 2 byte date code programmed at address 7FFFF. The label text is the last 3 bytes of the Ethernet number.
1, AABBCC112233, 70000, 6, R
1, 0697, 7FFFF, 2, R
1, 112233, , , L
(Blank Line)
2, AABBCC112234, 70000, 6, R
2, 0697, 7FFFF, 2, R
2, 112234, , , L
(Blank Line)
3, AABBCC112235, 70000, 6, R
3, 0697, 7FFFF, 2, R
3, 112235, , , L
(Blank Line)
4, AABBCC112236, 70000, 6, R
4, 0697, 7FFFF, 2, R
4, 112236, , , L
There are two sets of rules Serial2.exe uses to validate the .CSV.
The first set of rules apply to each line of the file. If the file violates any of the following conditions, the error message "Invalid line format in line, xxx" will be displayed.
All five fields must be present and separated by a comma.
There must be a valid index field.
There must be a valid serial data field.
There must be a valid address field, if the serial data is used for RAM serialization.
The address field can be left empty if the serial data is used for label only.
There must be a valid length field, if the serial data is used for RAM serialization.
The length field can be left empty if the serial data is used for label only.
There must be a valid type field. The field must be a "B", a "R" or a "L".
The second set of rules will apply for gang programmers, where the Serial2.exe may read more than one serial index at a time. If the file violates any of the following conditions, the error message "Serial data is not uniform" will be displayed.
If one device contains label information then all devices must contain label information.
The number of serial data fields per device must be the same for each serial index requested.
The length of the serial data fields must be the same for each corresponding serial data field in each serial index. (Serial data field 1 for index 1 must be the same length as serial data field 1 for index 2. Serial data field 2 for index 1 must be the same length as the serial data field 2 for index 2, etc.)
The address for the serial data fields must be the same for each corresponding serial data field in each index.
|
Valid |
Invalid |
|---|---|
|
1, AABBCC112233, 70000, 6, R 1, 0697, 7FFFF, 2, R 2, AABBCC112234, 70000, 6, R 2, 0697, 7FFFF, 2, R |
1, AABBCC112233, 70000, 6, R 1, 0697, 7FFFF, 2, R 2, 112234, 70000, 3, R 2, 0697, 7FFFF, 2, R |
Increment value: It is the customer’s responsibility to increment or decrement each serial number in the .CSV file. TaskLink and Serial2.exe will not increment or decrement any data fields.
Label text format: To have the label text in a different format than the RAM data, it is the customer’s responsibility to create two entries in the .CSV file and specify each separately.
Byte order: TaskLink and Serial2.exe will place the characters in RAM exactly as they are read from the file.
Compensation: To have serial number compensation, it is the customer’s responsibility to create two entries in the .CSV file. Treat the compensation data just like a second serial number. It is the customer’s responsibility to calculate the compensation value placed in the .CSV file.
Ethernet serial numbers: The serial data fields are long enough to hold complete Ethernet addresses. There is no need to do anything special.
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