Frequently Asked Questions
What is ActivATE™?
How do I first log on to the ActivATE™ Test Environment?
How are test programs developed?
What file format are ActivATE™ test programs?
What is XML?
What is VBScript?
Are there different levels of users?
How do I debug test programs?
How do I develop a driver?
Do I need Visual Studio® to run ActivATE™?
Do I need Visual Studio® to develop test programs?
Do I need Visual Studio® to develop or modify instrument drivers or plug-in modules?
What instrument drivers are available?
What language are instrument drivers written in?
Can I add my own custom modules?
Can I integrate with existing packages?
Can I use COM DLL’s in my test programs?
Can I develop drivers in other languages?
How do I configure the ActivATE™ environment for different drivers?
Why doesn’t my debugger work?
Can I develop test programs without hardware attached?
I was previously able to launch ActivATE™ without any problems, but now I am getting an exception error when I try to start the application. What do I do?
What prerequisites are required before installing the ActivATE™ software?
Can I get the source code for existing ActivATE™ drivers?
How do I register my copy of ActivATE™?
What licensing options are available?
How many test programs can I run simultaneously?
What kind of test data is produced and can I create my own custom data output?
Can I use Win32 DLLs with ActivATE™?
ActivATE™ is an ATE (Automatic Test Equipment) test software environment. Written
in the Microsoft .NET® framework, it is a simple but yet very powerful environment
for developing and executing test programs that can be used to test anything from
a simple resistor to a complex multi-process, multi-UUT test system.
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When the ActivATE™ login message box comes up, enter "admin" in the User ID field
and "racal" in the password field then hit the OK button. Other users can
be created through the test environment.
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Test programs are developed in the same environment as the execution environment
using Microsoft® VBScript. ActivATE™ strives for a common Microsoft Windows® operating
system look-and-feel. To create a new program, the user simply goes to File→New
and types in the name of the new program. Typically, the test engineer will want
to organize the test program into groups of tests. Using the familiar Windows Explorer®
tree view style, the test engineer creates the test flow with right-mouse-click
actions and dialog boxes. Groups and tests can be rearranged at any time using simple
drag-drop actions.
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ActivATE™ test programs consist of two files, a sequence file (.SEQ) and one or
more test program files (.TPF). Additionally, a globals file (.GTF) may be used
as a common file across similar test programs. The sequence file is an XML file
consisting of the test node names, properties, and test sequence. The sequence file
defines the structure of the test program. The test program file is a VBScript file
that contains the actual code that is executed when a test program is run. The globals
file is also a VBScript file that contains common variables, functions, and/or subroutines
that may be used by different test programs. One GTF file can be included in many
test programs so that the code does not need to be rewritten.
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XML stands for Extensible Markup Language and is mainly used as a way of describing
data. It is text-based, which means it is human readable and can easily be edited
in any text editor. XML is also platform-independent. ActivATE™ uses XML for all
of its configuration files, including the test program sequence file (.SEQ), the
driver configuration files, and the Station.config main application configuration
file. For a more detailed explanation of XML, please visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML.
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ActivATE™ uses Microsoft® VBScript as the language of choice for test program development.
VBScript is an Active Scripting language interpreted via the Microsoft Windows Script
Host®. The language is very similar to Microsoft®’s standard Visual Basic® programming
language (VBA®, Visual Baisc 6®) and is heavily used on Microsoft® platforms for
such things as running operating system scripts and embedding code into HTML web
pages. Further information can be found at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/scripting/default.htm
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Yes, there are 3 levels of users: Administrator, Engineer, and Operator. There is
one and only one Administrator. However, there can be an unlimited number of Operators
and Engineers with their own ID and Password. Engineers have full access to the
ActivATE™ environment, but Operators are blocked from certain features such as viewing
and modifying test program code.
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ActivATE™ integrates a high-level script debugger into the IDE using the Microsoft®
Script Debugger DLLs. When running in debug mode, the user can insert breakpoints,
pause code execution, examine variables, change values, and step into and out of
functions. In addition, the user has the option of using debug trace statements
to trace out code execution in real time.
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A driver wizard comes with the standard ActivATE™ installation. The driver wizard
runs under Visual Studio® 2003 and uses C# as the programming language. Note that
drivers may be developed in any language, but the driver wizard uses C# templates
(a Visual Studio® 2005 driver wizard will soon be available). Although use of the
driver wizard is not required, it is the preferred method of developing a driver
as it will pull together a set of base classes that give immediate functionality
to the module.
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No. Microsoft Visual Studio® is not required to run ActivATE™.
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No. Test programs are developed in the ActivATE™ Integrated Development Environment
(IDE) using VBScript.
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Yes. Plug-in modules and drivers are compiled DLL’s and are typically developed
using Microsoft Visual Studio®.
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We have a full suite of common instrument drivers for the Racal Instruments™ brand
instruments as well as for other non Racal Instruments ™ devices. See the software
download section for a current list of instrument drivers and modules.
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Instrument drivers and modules are typically built using C# .NET. However, any language
(C# .NET, VB .NET, C++ COM, VB6, etc) may be used.
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Yes, it is possible to add custom modules to the ActivATE™ environment. For example,
you may want to create custom forms that will be displayed to the user during the
test program, or you may want to encapsulate your business logic in a module that
is separate from the test program. Simply create your own .NET or COM assembly,
add it as a driver using the Station Config Tool, and make calls to the assembly’s
public APIs from the test program. Full IntelliSense® will be provided for you from
the test program editor.
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Any .NET or COM assembly may be integrated with the ActivATE™ environment. This
is useful for adding tools such as Microsoft Excel® or Math/Analysis packages. Simply
add the assembly to the ActivATE™ environment using the Station Config Tool.
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Yes, any COM object can be instantiated in a test program using the VBScript command
“CreateObject”. Or, if the user wishes to get full IntelliSense® for the object,
the COM module may be added to the ActivATE™ environment at design time via the
Station Config Tool. In this case, the user simply gives the object a name (much
like assigning a variable) and uses that name to reference the COM object from the
test program.
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Drivers can be developed in any language but it must be compiled as a COM or .NET
assembly. The standard ActivATE™ drivers follow a specific format that we recommend
all custom ActivATE™ drivers follow, but this format is certainly not necessary.
A driver wizard is available for ActivATE™ that helps facilitate driver development
in C# by providing the basic template and format of a standard ActivATE™ driver.
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The Station.config file is used to configure the drivers that are present within
the ActivATE™ environment. It is an XML file that must exist in the ActivATE™ runtime
directory. You may edit it directly in any text editor (such as the editor in ActivATE™
or Notepad), but the preferred method is to use the Station Config Tool. To launch
the Station Config Tool from ActivATE™, select “StationConfigTool” from the Tools
menu. Using this tool you can add drivers, remove drivers and modify existing drivers.
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The ActivATE™ software requires Microsoft Windows® Script 5.6 and The Script Debugger
for Windows® to run and debug test programs. These are separate installations available
from Microsoft® that should have been installed before ActivATE™ was installed.
If not, the debugger will not function properly. If you are experiencing problems
with the debugger, try the following steps to correct the situation:
- Open the ActivATE™ home directory. (The default directory is “C:\Program Files\Racal
Instruments\ActivATE .NET \”)
- Open the “Support” subdirectory.
- Double-click the “regsvr.reg” file. Select ‘Yes’ when prompted to add the information
to the registry.
- Go up one directory back to the home directory.
- Right-click on the “ActiveScriptHost.dll” file. Select “Unregister Com Server.”
Click on ‘Ok’ when prompted.
- Download and install
Windows Script 5.6
from Microsoft®.
- Download and install
Script Debugger for Windows
from Microsoft®.
- Go back to the ActivATE™ home directory.
- Right-click on the “ActiveScriptHost.dll” file. Select “Register Com Server.” Click
on ‘Ok’ when prompted.
- Re-launch the ActivATE™ software.
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ActivATE™ does not require actual physical hardware to be present in order to develop
and execute test programs. All standard ActivATE™ drivers support simulation so
the test engineer can develop test programs on a desktop environment. This allows
the developer to thoroughly test and debug the code logic before having to connect
to hardware and deal with instrument timeouts and errors.
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If you try to launch the ActivATE™ application and get an exception error before
the application even starts, you probably need to fix an entry in the registry.
Most likely something occurred to cause performance counters to be disabled on your
computer. To fix this, double click on the “PerfCntrs.reg” file that is included
in the Support folder in the ActivATE™ installation directory to re-enable performance
counters. You may also edit the registry manually by going to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PerfProc\Performance
and changing the value of “DisablePerformanceCounters” from 1 to 0.
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- The .NET Framework® v2 is required to run ActivATE™ v3. If it is not already installed, the ActivATE installation program will detect this and prompt the user to install it. The .NET Framework redistributable may also be downloaded from Microsoft®:
- The ActivATE™ software requires Windows® Script 5.6 to run the test programs and the Script
Debugger for Windows® to debug test programs. Almost all computers with a Windows
operating system (XP, Vista, 2000, NT) will already have the VBScript engine
installed. However, if necessary, download and install them from Microsoft®:
Note: Windows Script 5.6 should be installed before ActivATE™ to
ensure that the debugger functions properly. If not, see
Why doesn’t my debugger work?
for steps on correcting this issue.
- The majority of the ActivATE™ drivers use the VISA (Virtual Instrument Software
Architecture) standard for communicating with the hardware devices. The VISA runtime
must be installed on the target computer in order to use these drivers. If it is
not already installed, download and install the
VISA Run-time Engine Version 3.3.1
or later
from National Instruments®.
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Yes. Source code is available for most of the standard drivers written specifically
for the ActivATE™ environment. The source code includes the Microsoft Visual Studio
® project file(s) and may be modified, built, and distributed by the user as required.
Once source code is modified, we are no longer responsible for driver’s integrity.
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A full development version of ActivATE™ is available as a 90-day trial. Upon purchasing
a copy of ActivATE™, the software must be registered. If your computer has Internet
access, this can be done directly through the ActivATE™ environment. Simply select
“Register Product” from the Help menu within ActivATE™. Complete the information
in the product registration form, including the product key that was issued at the
time of purchase, and click Submit. If your computer does not have Internet access,
please call (800) 722-2528 to register your software over the phone.
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Licenses are available for development and runtime versions of ActivATE™ with individual
and site licensing options.
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ActivATE™ allows for a maximum of 32 test programs to be executed simultaneously.
A test program can be run through the IDE (with a full GUI) or as a background task
using the Test Program Manager. You are encouraged to use the Test Program Manager
instead of opening multiple test program GUI’s if you are running more than 4 or
5 programs to prevent performance hits.
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ActivATE™ logs test result data for each test node within the test program in PDF,
HTML, CSV, RTF, Text, Microsoft Word or CrystalReports format. Detailed measurement
data can be logged in a predefined CSV format. If additional data logging capabilities
are desired, any number of options is available to customize the data. Using VBScript,
the test program can send data directly to text files, Microsoft Excel or Microsoft
Access. For even greater flexibility, a custom module can be created that will plug
directly into ActivATE™ to handle communication with Access, SQL Server, Oracle
and many other databases.
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Yes, Win32 DLL’s can be used with ActivATE™. For most drivers, ActivATE™ will use
the VISA32.dll by using DLLImport statements.
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