Fields

Macros : Field1-Field6

There are 6 Fields below 6 corresponding Labels beneath the Notes area. They are intended to hold the values of the indicated Label parameters that apply to the given trace. This allows you to keep relevant information together with trace data that is saved to a .DQA or .TXT file, or to Juxt Array memory.

For example, if the first Label is Freq, the first Field might hold the stimulus frequency in hertz that was used to obtain the trace response.

You can use CTRL+ALT+D to enter the current date, or CTRL+ALT+T to enter the current time. The Edit Date/Time Preferences menu allows you to specify the date or time format, and whether UTC time or local time will be used. (You can also enter date or time via macros... see the Macro Notes below.)

You can enter Field values manually, but the real utility of Fields is with Macros that allow them to be updated automatically when a macro changes the corresponding parameter. A macro can specify the value to appear in any Field, as in:

• Field1="123.456"

The specified value is just text, and could just as easily be a word or words, as in:

• Field2="Burst On"

These methods would typically be used when the macro is setting the indicated parameter to a specific value. For example, if it is setting Tone Frequency for Left Stream 0 to 1000 Hz, the macro might look like:

• L.0.ToneFreq=1000
• Field1=1000

But this won't work for a macro that simply increments the current value of a parameter. For example, the following adds the current frequency step size to the current frequency:

• L.0.ToneFreq=>1

Here you don't know what the final value will be when you actually run the macro, so you can't set a specific Field entry. Instead, you would use:

• L.0.Field1=?ToneFreq

This command tells Daqarta to update Field1 with the new ToneFreq value whenever it changes, whether by macro or manually. Unlike the specific-value method mentioned earlier, you only need to give this command once, and it will remain in effect until the end of the session. It can be superceded by assigning another control to this Field, or the assignment can be deactivated by Field1=? without a control name.

Note that this command, by itself, does not specifically update Field1 with the current value at the time the command is run. You must give the command prior to some action, manual or macro, that updates the value. If you want to update Field1 without changing ToneFreq, use L.0.ToneFreq=>0 to "scroll by 0 steps".

Also note the peculiar usage of L.0. in front of Field1 instead of in front of ToneFreq, the actual parameter being selected via the L.0. prefixes. These prefixes set the current channel and stream no matter what command they precede, but the Field1=? command expects to find a normal Daqarta internal command following it, without any prefixes. If it finds any other text, it assumes the entire text string following Field1=, including the ?, is simply text to be copied to Field1.

Though this ToneFreq example only requires channel and stream prefixes, other prefixes may be required for other commands such as Burst modulators, Timing modulators, or User Line controls. Any prefix that would be required if the command were used normally should be moved to the front of Field1.

Besides numerical value controls like ToneFreq, you can use automatic Field updates with most on/off toggle controls, as in L.0.Field2=?Burst. However, this will only enter the state into the chosen Field as ' 0' for Off or ' 1' for On... it will not show ' Burst On', for example.

Field commands can also use multi-item strings, including references to themselves to allow appending and prepending. So Field1=Field1+VarA will append the value of VarA to the existing field. If VarA holds a value of 23 and the existing Field1 is Test, then the new Field1 will become Test023. (See Macro Variables for other formatting options you could use with VarA.)

Fields can use many other string variables, including time, date, cursor readouts, Labels, other Fields, Macro Variables, Averager Total Frames Counter, or Frequency Counter, Sound Level Meter, or Voltmeter readouts.

Although it is not normally recommended, all of the above methods can also be applied to Labels. You might want to do this if you get into a situation where you need to record more than 6 parameter values for each trace. By using Labels as if they were Fields, you get the effect of 12 separate Fields. Note, however, that you will have to keep track of what each really means, since it won't have a separate Label to indicate that. You might consider putting that information in the Notes area.

One excellent use of Fields is with Juxt Arrays. The Label Field control allows you to select any of the 6 normal Fields to be used to label the trace. For example, if you are running a series of tests at different stimulus frequencies, you can set up a Field to report the frequency used for the current trace. Then when you are looking at an array of several traces, you can set Label Field to that Field number and each trace in the display will be labeled with its respective stimulus frequency. Better still, you can then select Juxt Array Sort and the traces will be shown in ascending or descending order.

Note: In 640x480 display mode the main window is too large to see Labels or Fields. Although unseen, you can still send data to these via macros. If you save a .DQA file, those Labels and Fields can be seen later on any system with a higher screen resolution.