Hudson Robotics SoftLinx 5.0 - Manual (Page 20)

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Refresh Command List - Obtains the list of commands from the interface, and adds them to the toolbox.
Initialize Instrument - Refreshes the interface's connection to the instrument.
Instrument Setup - Opens the Setup for that interface.
Instrument Status - Opens the Status window for that interface, if available.
View Interface Code - Opens the VBA editor for the selected interface.
Protocol Steps:
Protocol steps are specific actions which will be executed in protocols. Protocol steps come in two types:
Action steps and Composite steps.
Action steps perform various tasks within the protocol. In SoftLinx, the action steps include Timed Delays,
Running Programs from Command Prompt, Running VBA Scripts, Sending E-mails, Modifying Variables,
and Terminating the Protocol.
Composite steps house a set of action steps within itself, and will perform those sequences of steps in a
specified manner. In SoftLinx, composite steps include Loop Process, Conditional Process, Parallel
Processes, and Regions. The composite steps do not execute their own code, but only execute the actions
within them in a defined manner.
All steps have an activate and an expand button. The Activate button can be toggled to activate or
deactivate steps, and will define whether or not a step will run. The expand button can be clicked to show
additional details for that specific step. For composite steps, the expand button can be used to show all of
the child steps within it, or compress the step.
In addition, the labels of composite steps can be edited by placing the mouse over the label and clicking it.
To utilize the steps, users can simply drag and drop items from the toolbox onto the protocol. Users can
drag steps onto visible arrows between steps. If a step can be placed, a drop target will be shown.
Upon dropping the step, the user will be presented with options to modify that step, if applicable. Users
may also double click the step on the protocol, or right click it to access those options.
Each protocol step type has its own options associated with it. See each step's help entry for details.