Troi Serial Plug-in™ 3.2

Troi Serial Plug-in is copyright 1999-2012 of Troi Automatisering. All rights reserved (March 27th, 2012).
 
Thank you for your interest in the Troi Serial Plug-in. This FileMaker^® Pro plug-in adds functions to access the serial ports with FileMaker Pro 7 through 11.

This cross-platform plug-in is compatible with FileMaker Pro 7 through FileMaker Pro 11 and adds extra functions, like reading and writing from a serial port. Create powerful database systems by using this plug-in!

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

INSTALLING A (TROI) PLUG-IN FOR THE FIRST TIME.

• For Macintosh: put the file "Troi_Serial.fmplugin" from the folder "Mac OS Plug-in" into the "Extensions" folder in the FileMaker Pro 11 folder (or the FileMaker Pro 10 or 9 folder). If you have installed previous versions of this plug-in, you must remove them.
• For Windows: put the file "Troi_Serial_Plugin.fmx" from the directory "Windows Plug-in" into the "Extensions" subdirectory in the FileMaker Pro 11 directory (or FileMaker Pro 10 or 9 directory). If you have installed previous versions of this plug-in, you must remove them.

You may want to install other plug-ins before proceeding. Then (re)start FileMaker Pro. Troi Serial Plug-in will display a dialog box, indicating that it is loading and showing the registration status. You can now open the file "All Serial Examples.fp7 " to see how to use the plug-in's functions
There is also a function overview file: Overview.fp7.

What Troi Serial Plug-in can do for you

This plug-in can read and write to any serial port that is available on your computer.

Notes and known issues

NOTE 1 Version 3.x and later uses the plug-in syntax (API) introduced with FileMaker Pro 7, which is using the FunctionName(parameter1 ; parameter2) format. This means that Unicode is supported and more.

See our web site for Troi Serial Plug-in 2.6 which is using the 'classic' plug-in API which is using the older External( "functionName" , "parameter") format. The 2.6 version also runs on FileMaker 6 and 5.x.

NOTE 2 Troi Serial Plug-in does not supply functions to access the USB bus. However it will work with some USB to serial port adaptors, like for example those of Keyspan (now owned by Trip-Lite).

Known issue The Serial_TextToAsciiValue function incorrectly returns 32 in this call:
Serial_TextToAsciiValue( "-Encoding=ASCII_Windows" ; this::Ascii Text ; )
where the text contains the ASCII character 143 or 144.

Recommended reading

Please read the FileMaker 6 Conversion Note, which explains how to convert from FileMaker Pro 6 to later databases.

Who wrote it?

Troi Serial Plug-in was designed and implemented by Peter Baanen of Troi Automatisering. You can visit the Troi web site at: http://www.troi.com/ for additional information.

Troi may also be reached by postal mail at:

Troi Automatisering
Boliviastraat 11
2408 MX Alphen aan den Rijn
The Netherlands

Email: info@troi.com

Note that due to spam we have to filter incoming email. It might happen that non-spam email is filtered out too. If you have sent an email and you don't get an answer, try to send another email, slightly differently formulated and include the word "FileMaker" in the body text.

Where can I get the latest version and more information?

The latest versions of our software are available for downloading at our web site:
http://www.troi.com/
You can also download the OSErrrs database, which lists all Operating System error codes for Macintosh and Windows, some of which the plug-in may return. The web site is also your source for late breaking information, company information, FileMaker tips and more.

System requirements

System requirements Mac

Mac OS X 10.4.5 or higher, Mac OS X 10.5.7 or higher (Leopard), Mac OS X 10.6.x (Snow Leopard), Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)

System requirements Windows

Windows XP (Service Pack 2) on Intel-compatible computer, Pentium III 500MHz or higher
Windows Vista on Intel-compatible computer, Pentium III 800MHz or higher
Windows 7 on Intel-compatible computer 1 GHz or faster

FileMaker requirements

FileMaker Pro 7 or FileMaker Developer 7*.
FileMaker Pro 8 or FileMaker Pro Advanced 8.
FileMaker Pro 8.5 or FileMaker Pro Advanced 8.5.
FileMaker Pro 9 or FileMaker Pro Advanced 9 or higher.
FileMaker Pro 10 or FileMaker Pro Advanced 10 or higher.
FileMaker Pro 11 or FileMaker Pro Advanced 11 or higher.

* NOTE Troi Serial Plug-in will probably run fine with FileMaker 7, but we have not tested this and we no longer provide support for FileMaker 7.

Troi Serial Plug-in version 3.x does NOT run on versions prior to FileMaker Pro 7. If you need to run on versions prior to FileMaker Pro 7: see our web site for the Troi Serial Plug-in 2.6, which runs on FileMaker 6, 5.x and 4.x.

Also note that Troi Serial Plug-in, with older FileMaker versions, will probably run on older operating systems for example Mac OS X 10.3.9 or Windows 2000, however we do not support this.

Troi Serial Plug-in is a commercial product

You can try-before-you-buy. This means that you are free and invited to test the plug-in 30 days before you pay. You may also make copies of the original and complete package (including this Read Me file) and distribute it to customers, friends etc. However, you may not distribute a modified or licensed version.

Use Troi Serial Plug-in at your own risk

Although Troi Serial Plug-in was tested carefully, we can not be responsible for any damages resulting from using this software. Also please try it out on a test database. Your system may be using an extension (unknown to us) that interferes with the proper functioning of Troi Serial Plug-in.

We like to hear feedback on the benefits and shortcomings of the plug-in. Please include the platform and operating system in your suggestions and comments.

What are the costs?

Troi Serial Plug-in is more expensive than our other plug-ins, as it is a very specialized plug-in, with a limited customer base. We currently only sell a cross-platform developer license which allows you to deploy it with your solution, both on Mac OS X as on Windows:

Please note that if you still develop in FileMaker Pro 6: the registration won't work in the classic Troi Serial Plug-in 2.5 (for FileMaker 6). However, with your purchase of a new license, we can provide a free license for the 2.5 version. Please request this by email.

The plug-in uses a new 3.x version of the registration. This registration also works with the classic 2.6 plug-in.

Upgrades from previous versions

We currently don't have an upgrade option for single licenses. We only have an upgrade option for developer licenses. Please contact us if you have any questions about this.

How to pay?

Paying for a license is easy. We have several ways to pay. More information on this can be found on the order page on our web site: http://www.troi.com/software/order.html. You can pay online via credit card or via Kagi, who also accept checks and cash.

Protection and unlocking the application

Troi Serial Plug-in has a protection scheme. After you pay Troi Automatisering will tell you how to indicate to Troi Serial Plug-in that you have paid the license fee.

If you do not have an e-mail address, please enter your complete postal address and remember, we do not know what country you live in so please enter that into the postal address also.

After you've supplied the payment data the following is changed:

• the not registered warning is replaced by your name.
• the flash screen that shows at the first time the plug-in is used is removed. Of course also the delay (which is longer after 30 days of use) will be removed.

Bug reports and Wish list

If you find a bug, please report this by e-mail: info@troi.com. If you have any comments or other functions that you think need to be added, please notify us! We have a lot of ideas for this plug-in, so be sure to check our web site for new plug-ins and improved versions.

And please pay for software you keep using, so that the wish list becomes reality.

Versions

You can find what has been changed in this and previous version of Troi Serial Plug-in in the separate file: Release_notes.htm.

Thanks for supporting our software!

Peter Baanen