DCF Editor

DCF editor - Manual

1. Introduction

The DCF-Editor tool is designed to make working with EDS and DCF files easier. It simplifies tasks like comparing data, spotting mismatches, creating new DCFs, and filtering objects for easier manipulation. This guide will walk you through how to use the tool effectively.

Installation link: Install DCF-Editor

2. Why Use DCF-Editor

When working with large EDS (Electronic Data Sheets) and DCF (Device Configuration Files) files, the following issues arise:

The DCF-Editor solves these problems by helping users:

  1. Spot mismatches between EDS and DCFs.
  2. Create new DCFs by merging multiple DCFs or copying values from EDS.
  3. View only relevant objects by filtering unnecessary information.

3. What the DCF-Editor Can Do

Key Functions:

4. How to Use DCF-Editor

4.1 Overview

The tool consists of the following five components:

  1. Menu Bar
    Provides access to various commands and features through dropdown menus.

  2. Quick Access Toolbar
    A toolbar that offers quick access to frequently used functions.

  3. Search Bar
    Allows users to quickly search for specific object within the tool.

  4. Data Grid
    Displays the data in a tabular format, where users can view, edit, and interact with the data.

  5. Status Bar
    Located at the bottom of the window, it shows the current status of the tool, including information about selected items or operations in progress.

Tool overviewPicture 1: Tool overview

4.2. Opening Files

You can open files using the Menu Bar or simply drag and drop the file from File Explorer into the tool.

4.2.1. Using the Menu bar

Open EDSPicture 2: Open EDS

Open DCF 1Picture 3: Open DCF 1

Open DCF 2Picture 4: Open DCF 2

4.2.2. Using the Drag and drop version

You can drag and drop a .dcf file directly into the tool, which will open a popup window. You can choose whether to load it only as EDS or as both EDS and DCF. This will load the .dcf file into DCF1.

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Picture 5: Drag and drop popup window

4.3. Clear Workspace

If you want to clear the workspace, simply click on Clear Workspace in the Quick Access Toolbar. A confirmation prompt will appear to double-check if you really want to proceed.

image.pngPicture 6: Conformation prompt

4.4. Creating and Applying Filters

4.2.1. Create Filters:

You can create filters to narrow down your view to objects of interest. These filters can be saved for later use.

To create a filter, click Filters on the Menu bar or New Filter on the Quick Access Toolbar. A new window will appear where you can select the property to use for the filter.

Create FilterPicture 7: Create Filter

Filter Types:

Additionally, there is an option to invert the filter results.


You can also right-click within the column containing the data you want to filter and use the template to quickly create the filter.

Right_Click_Create_Filter.pngPicture 8: Right click to create filter

Once the filter is created, it appears next to the Search Bar. If the color is green, that indicates the filter is active. Clicking on the filter's text allows you to easily disable it, causing the green colour to disappear. You can add additional filters, which will be stacked on the same line. Each filter can be enabled or disabled as you please. There is also an edit and a delete button for each filter. Additionally if you have multiple filters you can enable them all with the button Filters On or disable them with the button Filters Off (Quick Access Toolbar).

Filter created and activePicture 9: Filter created and active

With using the filter functionality you can easily filter objects by name, differences between DCFs, access level, and more.

4.2.2. Saving Created Filters

When you have configured your desired filters you can save them to a file for future use. Click on Filters and Save to file.
Once you need the predefined filter you can easily import them with the Open button.

Only active filters will be saved!

Save_filters.pngPicture 10: Save active filters

4.2.3. Comparing Values

When one or more DCF files are loaded, you can check whether the value of an object differs from the default value in the EDS. Any changes are highlighted in red in the DCF column.

image.pngPicture 11: DCF1 and DC2 object value differs from EDS default

4.2.4. Setting Result Values

You can create a new DCF using the loaded DCF files as templates. This is reflected in the Result DCF column. There are multiple ways to do this:

The selected value becomes visible in the Result column and is highlighted in green, as shown in the image below.

image.pngPicture 12: The value in the Result DCF column is highlighted in green

4.2.5. Exporting Results

5. Advanced Features

6. Colour Indicators

Current Colour Indicators

You can also clear the green highlights in the Result DCF after confirming the values are correct and want to focus only on new changes. To do this, click on "Action History" and select "Reset All."

image.pngPicture 13: Clearing the green colour indicator.

Example:

image.pngPicture 14: Before resetting

image.pngPicture 15: After resetting

image.pngPicture 16: Copying new values, which are highlighted

7. Selecting Cells and Copying Values

To select and copy values:

8. Set Objects by Access level

There are two ways to display objects based on the Access level:

Acces_level.png
Picture 17: Access level

9. Additional Information and Help

image.pngPicture 18: Settings pop up window

10. Filter Examples

10.1. Has value

This filter allows you to match all properties that have any value assigned.

Example of a filter:

image.pngPicture 19: Filter "Has value"

Note:
This filter may not work for all properties.
To check if a property has no value, use the Invert Filter checkbox.
Tip
:
If you need to search for a specific value, use the REGEX Filter instead.
Technical Note:
This is a shortcut for a REGEX filter.
The equivalent filter is: DCF1 REGEX .

10.2. Is Equal to Property

This filter matches all cases where a property has the same value as another property.

Example of a filter:

  • DCF1 Parameter Value == DCF2 Parameter Value
    Shows all values if they are equal in DCF1 and DCF2

     

image.pngPicture 20: DCF1 Parameter value == DCF2 Parameter value

Note:
The user interface may have fewer options for the second property, so sometimes you'll need to reverse the order. For example, use ValueMinimum == DefaultValue instead of DefaultValue == ValueMinimum.
This filter may not work for all properties or combinations (e.g., Id == DCF2).

Tip:
- To see if a property has any value, use the IS SET filter (or REGEX).
- To check if values differ, use the Invert Filter checkbox.
- To filter for a specific value, use the IS filter.

10.3. Is Equal to any of values

This filter checks if a property has any of the values provided, with values separated by commas.

Example of filter:

  • DCF1 == 128

image.png
Picture 21: DCF1 Parameter vaule == 128

  • ReadLevel == 2,4
    This will show all objects where ReadLevel is 2 or 4.
  • DefaultValue == 0,100,1000
    This will display objects where DefaultValue is 0, 100, or 1000.
  • DCF1 == error,Error
    This will show objects where DCF1 is either "error" or "Error".

Note:
To check if a property has any value, use the REGEX filter instead.
For numbers and larger ranges, use the BETWEEN filter.
For advanced text searches, Regex is a better option.

10.4. Is Between numbers

This filter type allows you to filter numeric values within a range.

Example of filter:

image.pngPicture 22: Filter is between numbers

The format follows:
min ≤ X ≤ max
Where "min" and "max" define the range, and X is the value being checked.

Filter Type: "Is BETWEEN numbers"
Operator: ≤ (less than or equal to)

Details:

Important Note:
This filter may work on other values but not always as expected. For example, it could match both True and False for the property IsReadOnly.

10.5. Matches Regular Expressions

This filter checks whether a property's value matches a case-insensitive regular expression (regex).

Example 1:

image.pngPicture 23: Regex Example 1

Example 2:

image.pngPicture 24: Regex Example 2

Note:
Regex is a powerful tool but can be difficult to master.
There are many ready-to-use regex examples available online (see Chapter: 4.4. Creating and Applying Filters).

11. Common Errors

When loading files, users may encounter validation errors that need to be addressed before proceeding. Below is an example of a typical error dialog and its explanation:

image.pngPicture 25: Validation Error Example

Error Details:

Actions:

12. Tool Updates and Future Improvements

Revision Notes V1.13.0 - 04.09.2024

New Access Levels Support

This version introduces support for new access levels, compatible with emDRIVE inverter firmware V1.15.x and above. (Access Levels)

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Enhanced Access Level Display

Access levels are now displayed with user-friendly names, replacing the previous numerical format for easier understanding.

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Revision Notes V1.12.1 - 28.05.2024

Search by Index Improvement

The search functionality now supports entering only the start of an index. All indexes that begin with the entered value will be displayed.

image.png

Invert Filters button

The "Invert Filters" button has been moved to the right side of the toolbar. Its appearance now changes when enabled.

image.png  Inverterd Filters

Separate All Filter ON/OFF Buttons

The "All Filter ON/OFF" function has been split into two distinct buttons, allowing for separate enabling and disabling of all filters.

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Clear Workspace Feature

A new toolbar button has been added to clear the workspace. This action removes EDS and DCF files, resets all values and removes all filters.

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EDS Edit mode

The EDS Edit mode, which can be enabled via settings, is now split into two modes:

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EDS Edit history

When changes are made to EDS values, the modified values are highlighted in green to indicate that an update has occurred.

image.png

Confirm Clear Result Values

When selecting "Result" -> "Clear values", an additional confirmation window will appear before clearing all values.

image.png   image.png

HEX Value Representation

HEX columns for values have been removed. Instead, hovering over a value will display a tooltip showing the HEX representation of the value.

image.png

Access Level Update

The current access level has been moved to the right side of the toolbar. The Access Level menu is now used solely for changing the current level.

image.png

Result Value Validation

Values entered in the "Result DCF" columns are now validated against the object's type, minimum, and maximum values. Invalid entries are highlighted in red.

image.png

Hovering over an erroneous cell will display a tooltip describing the issue.

image.png

The status bar at the bottom of the screen will also indicate if errors are present.

image.png

Saving results to DCF will be disabled if errors exist.

image.png

However, in developer mode, you can enable saving with errors by selecting the "Enable DCF export with errors" option in settings.

image.png

Loading DCF Without EDS

If a DCF is loaded before an EDS file, a new dialog will appear, allowing you to choose whether to load the DCF as an "EDS-only" file (without values) or as both "EDS" and "DCF" with values in DCF1.

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