Memory Manager and Saving a Project.

[Glennlee]

Hi everyone.

Let me start by saying that the DoMore is my processor of choice.  If I HAD a choice, I would do nothing BUT DoMore projects.  Host got it right, right from the beginning.

I have offered many suggestions over the years, and many of them were implements.  I now have another one.

PLEASE!  Rather than having a Memory Manager section, include the following check-boxes in the very irritating prompts you all so seem to enjoy sprinkling throughout your software:

When up-loading FROM the DoMore PLEASE add the following options to any prompt-box already pop-up asking if you REALLY want to do this:

: Program?
: CPU Configuation? (Serial port configuration, Modbus setups, time-checking and second Ethernet master etc)
: IP Address configuraton
: (most importantly to me) System memory (Not program memory)
: Module configuration ESPECIALLY if the configuration is on MANUAL! (manual changes to memory-ranges and so on)

Do the same for Down-Loads.  If I am down-loading a project into a new processor (duplication) then please give us a one-stop place to also transfer the setups NOT normally included in a project transfer.  This saves time in running down a check-list of things also needing to be done to the DoMore that are NOT included in a normal Project-Transfer.

These selections should be tied to the project file so that they are memorized.  Default to ONLY the program option for a new project and allow us to make the choices when we do our first transfer.

I forgot about the Memory Manager when I moved to version 1.3 and spent a VERY frustrating hour trying to copy the project between processors, thinking that the PROJECT actually contained the ENTIRE memory-image of the source CPU.  I subjected an innocent Automation Direct Tech-Support guy to an ear-twisting, sprinkled with choice selections of profanity (not aimed at him: he was entirely innocent) as my frustration grew and my customer grew impatient. The tech guy desperately tried to help me solve the issue.  My frustration probably caused him to miss the Memory-Manager option for the first several minutes of our conversation.

Please note that the Tech Support Guy ALSO had forgotten about the Memory Manager option.  Maybe most other programmers don't need it or have better memories than I do and automatically remember tiny details buried in a menu somewhere.

While I am on my soap-box, I want to bring up one of my favorite pet-peeves: the plethora of prompt pop-ups whenever I try to do something like disconnecting from the CPU, using a data-view to change a value for the first time,  writing to the CPU while on-line and the like.  PLEASE offer an option-box in the TOOLS/OPTIONS menu to TURN THE DAMNED PROMPT-MESSAGES OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a big boy now.  I don't need "Mother DoMore" asking me if i REALLY want to preform such and such function.  If I make a mistake and click on something by mistake, then OH WELL!, I had the choice of using the prompts to prevent such a mistake on my part!

There!  I've said my piece.

Regardless of whether anyone actually takes action on this angry letter, I STILL LOVE the DoMore and will endure the little irritations the development software has.

[BobO]

We hear you.

A couple of points...they won't change or satisfy your request...but might help you better understand some of the disconnects you perceive.
1) The program, system configuration (everything under the config dialog), and documentation all must travel together. They are so interconnected that they cannot be uploaded or downloaded independently.
2) The memory image manager was a bit of a hack. We knew that folks needed to be able to stash their retentive memory contents, but we didn't want to read or write the entire 256K image register. We will look at ways to better integrate that. We also wanted to let them be more specific about the contents of it, choosing only the parts that they really cared about...a performance consideration.
3) The IP config is completely independent of Do-more. You aren't actually configuring Do-more, you are configuring the built-in ECOM100. I completely understand that is irrelevant from the users perspective, but it is relevant from a system design perspective.
4) For cloning a CPU, please look at DMLoader. That is precisely what it was designed to do.

You are not the first to complain about the 'prompt-y-ness' of Do-more and DirectSoft. We need to do something to make it cleaner for experienced users. We can and should do better.

[Controls Guy]

2) The memory image manager was a bit of a hack. We knew that folks needed to be able to stash their retentive memory contents, but we didn't want to read or write the entire 256K image register. We will look at ways to better integrate that.

Agreed.  It does still feel a little tacked-on, but please don't forget that it's about 10²⁶⁰ times better than what we had with DirectSoft, which was essentially nothing.  The 20-register at a time memory editor or whip up a data view (assuming you even knew what the memory contents were supposed to be).

We also wanted to let them be more specific about the contents of it, choosing only the parts that they really cared about...a performance consideration.

To me the main  benefit of doing it this way is not performance but selectivity.  It's merely annoying if it takes too long to download, but potentially show-stopping if I want to download D's and N's but not V's or R's and have no way to do that.

[BobO]

Agreed.  It does still feel a little tacked-on, but please don't forget that it's about 10²⁶⁰ times better than what we had with DirectSoft, which was essentially nothing.  The 20-register at a time memory editor or whip up a data view (assuming you even knew what the memory contents were supposed to be).

You're gonna like the new memory view. Works for live memory and as an editor/viewer for the memory image manager's content.

[Controls Guy]

You're gonna like the new memory view. Works for live memory and as an editor/viewer for the memory image manager's content.

Oh, yeah!  Waiting with baited keyboard!   

That's a v1.4 thing, yes?

[BobO]

In looking through DMLoader's image generation, there are only three distinct pieces:
1) Program/SysConfig/Docs
2) Retentive memory
3) Password config

We chose to exclude the IP Config from DMLoader image, but included the IP Config setup dialog in DMLoader itself, since network addresses are often unique. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but I wasn't fond of assuming.

So in light of that list, the big issue is clearly retentive memory. What we are going to do is to add a new auto mode to Memory Image Manager, that will generate an image on upload from the controller and include the image on download. We are also envisioning adding some options to the download confirmation that would show you what we are about to write and allow you to select what is going to be written.

One other tidbit about why the Memory Image Manager even exists: Do-more memory configs are complex and infinitely reconfigurable. For something like a DL250, reading the image register is pretty straightforward and not subject to discussion. Do-more's image register can be ridiculous, and previous copies of that data can be wildly wrong. I realize that in practice that isn't often the case, but we can't deal with typical cases, we have to design for the extremes. By allowing you very granular control of retentive contents, we make it possible for you to store a few important parts without your world being subject to whipsaws when the mem config changes.

Can we do better? Definitely, and we're already on it.

One other question for anyone willing to answer: Which prompts annoy you the worst? There are some I refuse to remove due to safety concerns...download confirmation is a good example. There are others I refuse to remove due to not wanting you to throw crap at me when you lose 3 hours of work because you accidentally hit the wrong button. Others could easily be pared back (optionally), and we would like to make as many of those go away as possible. So sound off!!

[BobO]

You're gonna like the new memory view. Works for live memory and as an editor/viewer for the memory image manager's content.

Oh, yeah!  Waiting with baited keyboard!   

That's a v1.4 thing, yes?

It is.

[franji1]

I have offered many suggestions over the years, and many of them were implements.  I now have another one.

The latest version (1.4) addresses many of these issues.

If you have not yet downloaded it and tried it out, click here to jump to the announcement page