Serial Input plugin preferences

Serial input plugin preferences control certain functions of the PlanetPress Serial Capture service, which in turn has a direct impact on all Serial input tasks performed by Connect Workflow on a given computer.

Preferences

• Serial settings group
  • Serial port: Select the port of the computer where the Serial input is connected to (COM1 through COM8).
  • Baud rate: Select the baud rate of the Serial input. The baud rate is the number of bits transferred per second. The transferred bits include the start bit, the data bits, the parity bit (if defined), and the stop bits.
  • Data bits: Select the number of data bits defining the incoming data file on this serial port. The data bits transferred through a serial port represent the data content. This excludes the start, parity, and stop bits: these are bits defining the beginning and end of each unit of transferred data, as well as error detection provided by the parity bit. The majority of serial ports use between five and eight data bits. Binary data is typically transmitted as eight bits. Text-based data is transmitted as seven bits or eight bits. If the data is based on the ASCII character set, a minimum of seven bits is required. If an eighth bit is used, it must have a value of 0. If the data is based on the extended ASCII character set, eight bits must be used.
  • Parity: Select the type of parity used for error detection. The parity transfers through the serial connection as a single bit. It is used to verify that each set of data bits transfers correctly. It is then stripped away before the data file passes through the rest of the Connect Workflow process. Select None to ignore all parity bits; no error detection occurs.
  • Stop bits: Since most serial ports operate asynchronously, the transmitted byte must be identified by start and stop bits. The start bit indicates when the data byte is about to begin and the stop bit(s) indicates when the data byte was transferred. The start bit is always 0 to mark the beginning of the byte, but the stop bit can be a single 1, or two bits each with a value of 1.
  • Time-out: Set the time in seconds the Connect Workflow process waits for the transfer of bytes in the data file before ending the transfer of this file. On a time-out, partially received data files are not passed to the rest of the process; the Serial input resets, ready to receive further data files.
• Job delimiters: Enter the strings that tell Connect Workflow the data file being retrieved through the Serial input is complete. Each line in the Job delimiters text box is a different delimiter. You can enter as many delimiters as you want, one per line. The three default delimiters that appear are three of the most commonly recognized end of a file delimiters.
• Log (verbose): Select to keep a log of errors and other information related to the Serial input. Since these messages can accumulate, you have the option of not logging them.