Backspace key now sends backspace (0x08) and
delete sends del (0x7F)
Colorised Hex modes;LineFeedIsNewLine;Able to
append captures from commandline; Improved font
dialog;
Who Uses
it? / What For? Hell its free, drop us a
line saying what your company does with Realterm!
lots more web page below...
Realterm is a terminal program
specially designed for capturing, controlling and debugging
binary and other difficult data streams. It is far better for
debugging comms than Hyperterminal. It has no support for dialing
modems, BBS etc - that is what hyperterminal does.
If you don't want the control panel visible, or you want a
bigger screen, then you can Hide Controls either from
the popup menu, or the commandline or
activeX interfaces. This is
ideal for making a shortcut that sets up Realterm for your field
staff or users, then hides all the controls, to make it less
confusing.
Show / Hiding Everything
The popup menu (and ActiveX and Commandline) have a Show
option that will completely hide Realterm. Unlike minimising, it
disappears from the taskbar. Only the Tray Icon is left.
This is ideal where Realterm is being used by another program
to work in the background, eg capturing data to a file, echoing a
port to a remote machine.
If you want it to be totally hidden the activeX interface lets
you hide even the Tray Icon. This is ideal if (like us) you have
16 Realterms running in the background at once, all the time.
Setting Rows and Columns
To force the number of columns across the terminal
window, set Bytes and check
"Single"
You can set the display rows from
the commandline to launch it
the size you want.
Binary data is arranged in frames. These frames are either
Fixed size N byte frames
variable length, delimited by a byte sequence
(of course Text is arranged as lines ending with LF or CR)
Fixed size frames are self evident. You will notice
that the terminal resizes to always have a whole number
of frames across, unless "Single" is checked.
Unfortunately
frames will randomly begin somewhere on the line. GULP
swallows a character each time it is pressed. Press it
until the frames correctly start at the beginning of a
line.
Delimited frames start a new line when they detect
the sync sequence. A sync sequence can be any number of
bytes long
Here sync is detected when 2 bytes match
0xA55A, or more accurately, when 0xA55A XOR 0x0000 AND
0xFFFF > 0. ["SyncIs" should be set to
"Number"]. If you are syncing off ASCII chars,
then select "Synch is: ASCII" and put the chars
in the top editbox.
You can have as many bytes as you want in the sync
word.
The XOR term allows you to invert some or all data
bits. ($00 is normal $FF is inverted). If you don't
need the XOR and AND fields, just leave them empty to get
the defaults.
The AND term lets you ignore some of the bits. For
example you could use this to use bit 7 as a sync bit, by
setting the AND term to $80 $80. (Note hex numbers are
preceded by $)
Errata: Presently the
XOR and AND fields are mislabelled (swapped). The middle
field is AND, the bottom is XOR
Baudrates depend on the exact hardware port. Realterm accepts
anything. Some ports complain about invalid baud rates, others
just ignore them, some coerce to the nearest rate.
Most PC ports accept non-standard values that the chips
divider is capable of generating.
Realterm can connect to both SERIAL ports (real uarts, as well
as USB, and network virtual uarts) or TCP/Telnet ports.
Windows Serial Port# eg "2"
ip_address:port eg 192.168.20.1:23
port can be a number or service name eg
"telnet"
server:port eg "server:telnet" or
"server:9876"
USB serial ports appear at some port number. Look under
"my_cmputer->properties->hardware->ports" to
find where they are.
RS485
Enables hardware direction control by the RTS line.
Note that some specialist serial cards and USB-Serial adaptors
can handle this in hardware, and don't require this to be set.
V1.99 seems to have a problem with non-displayable chars. Use
V1.14 to see "non-printing" chars, or use
"Hex+ASCII" format
Our Hex fonts are included. Go to the windows font installer
in Control Panel to install it.
The hex font contains all 8 bit values. The non-ascii values
<32 are shown as either HEX or CONTROL chars. (There are 3
different fonts in the .FNT file)
This is very useful for seeing control codes, invalid hidden
codes and errors, in serial comms. It's equally useful in a
programmers editor.
(Note that you won't see them in ANSI mode, as the control
codes will be processed)
You can now get just the fonts from the downloads page. If
you can convert these fonts for use with Linux or another OS,
please do!
Incoming data can be captured to file. The capture can
automatically stop after a certain time or number of chars.
Realterm can be hidden, and capture controlled from the tray icon, popupmenu, and automation
interfaces. Combine capture with filesend to make simple datalogging applications
Capture can be fully controlled through the ActiveX interface.
Well behaved applications can read and process the files whilst
RealTerm is writing them. (beware: Microsoft apps often try to
lock the file, eg excel, notepad, word.)
This provides a very easy way to (say) collect serial data,
and graph it live using Matlab.
It can either capture "direct" or via the terminal
window. When you use DIRECT capture, the terminal window is
turned off, and the echo port operation will cease. This means
less processor load, screen draws etc. This is best for embedded
type uses.
If you want to capture what you are seeing in the terminal,
don't use Direct Capture.
RealTerm can also write LOG and TRACE files to help debugging
difficult serial problems. For more information see
Turbopower.com
Char Count and CPS (chars per sec) are displayed during capture.
Often you want to send special chars strings or strings
repeatedly, or send them quickly.
Both ascii and binary strings can be sent. Sent chars aren't
echoed to the terminal.
(V2) If half-duplex is set, then sent strings will be shown on
the terminal. This also applies to strings/chars sent via the
ActiveX interface.
When Sending ASCII, you can optionally end the line with CR
and/or LF. You can also strip spaces from sent data. This is
useful for the I2CChip adaptor. While it ignores spaces, they
take time, and buffer space, and won't be used in the final
application. (but they make it much easier to read!)
Sending ASCII with special/non-printable values
When you press "SendASCII" any valid
backslash sequences are converted to special values in the style
of Python.
If Literal is checked, then the string is sent raw. Note that the special chars must be lower case
\n
LF (0x0A)
\r
CR
\a
BEL
\b
BS
\f
FF
\v
VT
\t
HT
\xXX
hex value
\NNN
decimal (NOT octal like python)
\\
\ (backslash)
Sending Non-printable binary chars
You can do this in several ways.
In the terminal window you can send most control chars by
holding the control key down eg ctrl+m = CR. (You cannot send 0x00 or 0x03 this way)
You can send special chars NUL (0x00) and ^C (0x03) using
the buttons
You can enter a string of hex or decimal numbers in the
Send comboboxes eg "51 0x31 $32" and press
"Send Numbers".
To send a series of binary numbers use the unmarked edit
box. Type in numeric values here, separated by spaces.
When you hit SPACE, each char will be sent. Chars can be
decimal, or hex eg "13" "$1A" or
"0x1A". Just keep typing out numbers.
Modbus CRC16
Modbus binary packets end with a 16bit CRC. This can be
appended to each string sent.
You can dump a file directly to the port. This has no
"protocol" and just sends everything. (versions before
1.14 swallowed ^Z / 0x1A).
Padding File Dump with Delays
Two delay settings are provided to add delays after each char,
and at the end of each line. (EOL is denoted by CR at present).
This affects file dump, but not sending char sequences above.
Sending Repeatedly
You can set the number of repeats, and the delay after
sending.
These are particularly useful from the commandline for data
logging, when combined with capture.
For example you can make a simple, one line file that commands
a multimeter to read a voltage. Set repeats to 0, so it will loop
for ever, and delay to 1000ms, and Capture. Now the data will be
read to file every 1 second.
This will send "commands.txt" endlessly, with a
10sec pause between sends, and capture the replies to
"results.txt". This is all you need to do to turn (say)
and RS232 multimeter into a datalogger.
The main port can be passed through or echoed to the Echo
Port. This is partcularly useful when the echoport is a TCP port.
This allows a real serial port to be aliased across the network.
(the echo port can be a real comm port too)
Lets say the remote (unattended) machine (192.168.0.99) has a
datalogger connected to COM1. It runs Realterm at startup with a
command line like this:
ie realterm connects to the datalogger on COM1 at 9600 bd, and
presents a telnet server on port 9876 (or any other suitable
number).
On the local (attended) machine run a copy of Realterm like
this:
realterm -port=192.168.0.99:9876
This makes a telnet connection to the remote machine. Now you
can sit at your desk, and control and monitor the remote serial
device.
Note that as Realterm has a full ActiveX interface, you can
use Windows remote DCOM to start,stop and control the remote
Realterm, as well as the local copy.
When there is a connection, chars are echoed. When the
connection is broken, or the buffers are full for some reason, it
simply stops attempting to echo chars. When the connection is
broken, the server end just waits for another connection. At the
client end, the port need to be manully restarted.
If you are using the activeX interface you can check the open
property to see if the link is up, and use it to re-establish a
dropped link.
The Monitor checkbox
lets the terminal window display both sides of the conversation
(ie both the data received through the ain port, and the echo
port)
Signalling Winsock Connection state to Comport
When a telnet/winsock connection is being echoed to a physical
comport, we can use one of the comports handshake output lines
(DTR,RTS) to signal a remote system whether winsock is connected.
You must make sure that this doesn't interfere with the operation
of the handshake lines. (ie use DTR for signalling if you are
using RTS/CTS handshaking for flow control)
Sometimes you just want to watch or spy on a conversation on a
serial cable. Normally the terminal screen only shows you the RXD
half of the conversation. You could just run a second copy of
Realterm, but wouldn't it be nice to see the RXD and TXD data
interleaved in the same terminal window?
The Echo port can be used to give you a second reciever. The
data is put into the terminal screen, in a different color. Now
you can see both sides of the conversation.
The interleaving on screen, only shows you when the data
arrived at Realterms handlers. The indeterminate delays in
Windows mean that you can't rely on the sequence being exactly as
it happened. Obviously with slow data, or decent gaps between
send and receive, it will work better than with very fast data
streams.
Special Monitor Cable
You need a special adaptor with 2 plugs for the PC's 2 serial
ports. Only connect RXD and GND on those plugs at the PC end.
Monitor and Echoing
You can select both Echo and Monitor.
Now Realterm echos as normal, but the terminal window displays
the data from both directions.
Realterm doesn't save its settings. Instead it is set up from
either the command line, for basic setups, or using its extensive
ActiveX interface. It is also possible to send commands to a running
instance of Realterm from the commandline.
These examples show the command-line params you can use.
Generally they set the corresponding widgets. For radiobuttons
and checkboxes, a number selects the state. For booleans (eg
visible) use either 1 or 0. (n.b. No "/" or
"-" before parameters) Errata: Quoted strings are
not working properly, and may not work if you need spaces in
parameters and filenames
Set the baud rate. Non standard baudrates are fine
PORT
sets the port
DATA
7E1
Sets DataBits,Parity,StopBits. eg DATA=7E1 DataBits
is 8-5, Parity is None,Even,Odd,Mark,Space, StopBits 1-2
FRAMESIZE
terminal frame size
CAPFILE
name of the capture file to use
CAPCOUNT
Length of capture in bytes (either CAPCOUNT or
CAPSECS)
CAPSECS
Time of capture in SECS
CAPTURE
0/1/2
filename
Capture starts immediately. Stops at count OR secs.
Can use CAPTURE=filename
Capture=0 is off; Capture=1 is
ON; Capture=2 is APPEND
CAPQUIT
Capture (as above), but program quits when capture
ends. If you manually stop capture, then Autoquit is
cancelled. Can use CAPQUIT=filename
VISIBLE
0/1
starts hidden, only tray-icon is visible
DISPLAY
#
sets the display format (ascii, hex,int etc). eg
DISPLAY=5
BIGEND
set big-endian checkbox
FLOW
0,1,2
sets hardware flow control mode
RTS
1/0
sets RTS pin
DTR
1/0
sets DTR pin
CLOSED
1/0
Starts with port closed (default is open)
TAB
Selects the opening tabsheet by name
ECHO
Sets the echo port, and enables echoing
EBAUD
n
Set the baud rate for echo port.
EDATA
7E1
Sets Echoport DataBits,Parity,StopBits. (not working
properly yet)
HALF
Sets HALF Duplex
CAPTION
Sets window caption (can't accept spaces, use
underscores)
SENDFILE
Sends the file immediately. (capture started before
sending starts)
CONTROLS
1/0
Hide Controls and expand terminal window to full
screen
MONITOR
1/0
Monitor Echo port RX onto terminal
CHARDLY
#
Sets delay (in ms) after each character when sending
files and strings
LINEDLY
#
Sets delay (in ms) after each line when sending files
and strings
ROWS
#
Set number of rows in terminal window.
SENDDLY
#
set delay (in ms) after file is sent, until next send
begins. If Send Delay is set, SENDREP will be set to 0.
SENDREP
#
set number of times file will be sent. 0 sends for
ever. Should follow after SENDDLY
SENDQUIT
quit when sendfile ends.If you manually stop send,
then Autoquit is cancelled. Can use SENDQUIT=filename
FIRST
Sends commands to running (FIRST) instance of
Realterm or stops more than one instance running. Brings
FIRST instance of realterm to front, and quits. Should be
first param.
When you begin a line with the FIRST parameter, the parameters
will be sent to the existing (first) running instance, and the
second instance will terminate. This allows you to pass many of
the above parameters (not all will do anything), and some special
ones below. Note that ActiveX is a better way to do complicated
tasks.
The best idea is to create a special shortcut for each setup
you want to use, and set the params in its properties. If you
need other parameters added, contact us.
RealTerm is an out-of-process server. The active interface is
more extensive than the command line. Use a property browser (eg
from excel or delphi) to see what it can do. (must be registered
first run: REALTERM /REGSERVER)
You can launch Realterm from another application, eg matlab, excel, VB, delphi.
Alternatively use windows scripting, and write a simple .SCP file
to launch and control it. You could even launch it from a web
page to use as telnet client!
Why not the microsoft comms ocx?
It has many problems. The best thing about using RealTerm is
that you can see exactly what is happening when you want. Save
yourself time and headaches. If you don't want people to see
RealTerm, you can completely hide it.
Windows has one big problem for users of binary data. Strings
are null-terminated. ie they end with 0x00. Amazing as
it seems, you can't pass a string containing char 0 (0x00)
through the activeX interface.
Putstring can send any 8 bit chars except 0.
If you need to send char 0 to an application use the Putchar
function.
Don't rely on the defaults when using ActiveX (eg baud rate).
These may change with different revisions.
This is only a snapshot when this web page was written. Always
check your actual version, as new functions are always being
added. If you need other parameters added, contact
us.
The I2CChip Host adaptor
provides a USB/RS232 interface to 3 I2C buses. Realterm is an
easy way to use it. Using the ActiveX interface you can easily
send strings from excel or other apps. Using the Echo port
provides a way to make hardware devices that can be controlled
over the internet.
Common commands you want to send to play with the adaptor are
provided by the controls. Using this you can quickly try out an
I2C adaptor or 1-wire device.
Read a Dallas 1-Wire ID chip
Write to 4 Digit LED Display
Read/write I2C Bus chips
Read SMBus Alert register
Refer to the datasheet for the BL233 chip used,
where its commands are detailed.
Note that you can use it with SPI, Dallas 1-wire, and other
serial IC's, as well as I2C
Monitor
New Releases
Download
will bring up the
popup menu. 
when it is capturing.
The dot rotates as data bytes are actually being received.
Pin states can
be set manually. Set means data flow is enabled.
during capture.
