by Proculus Technologies

UnicView AD Overview

UnicView AD (Advanced Design) is a GUI Designer (Graphical User Interface Designer) used to create the configuration project for AD LCMs. It provides an intuitive and easy-to-use environment to create Human-Machine Graphical Interfaces very quickly. It provides a great set of configurable pre-made functions (keyboard, slider, numeric displays, etc.), shrinking GUI development time as the the developer no longer needs to worry about low-level graphical management. Instead, they will just drag and drop the Interface Objects, configure their parameters, and the LCM will communicate in a simple 5-command protocol with the external controller.

AD LCMs are applicable on most systems that need an GUI, as AD firmware is very simple to use and design. The set of tools it provides is more than enough for 90% of real-world scenarios. Only when the application requires greater low-level control is that a more complex solution is needed (UnicView RD).

Features

Visual "Drag & Drop" Editor

• Interface Objects (or Elements) are placed simply by dragging and dropping over the Screen canvas.
• All Interface Objects' Properties (e.g. Font Color, Position, etc.) for the selected Objects can be quickly edited on the "Properties" panel.
• Rearrange, Resize, Reorder - All the common layout tools are available, for an intuitive and smooth work.
• Undo and Redo functions for all manipulations on Interface Objects.

Library Editors

• Create and modify Image, Icon and Font libraries very quickly. Any modifications on the libraries update the project structure automatically when it's compiled.
• Just drag and drop image file to the Image and Icon library editors to add new resources to the project.

No coding skills required

• Software Developers, Graphical Designers, Businessmen - Anyone can use the software and colaborate to the project development process.
• Project can be split across a team: a Graphical Design Expert can create the Screen Backgrounds, while a Software Engineer decides what the Object Address mapping show be like.

Clean and Accessible Project Structure

• All files in the project are neatly arranged in a project-based folder structure.
• After compilation, all addresses, initial memory values and allocation indices can be accessed by the developer in charge of application-side integration.
• CSV (Comma-Separated Values) format export for memory and allocation tables.

In-Project Design Tools

• Each Screen may have a color overlay, making it easy to create a "dim" or "brighter" look on the background images, for example.
• Internet-based image resource repository is planned for upcoming versions. This will provide users with a large image database for creating projects even faster.

Modbus-Ready

• UnicView AD has built-in support for Modbus communication settings (on Modbus-ready Proculus AD LCMs)
• After compilation, all addresses, initial memory values and allocation indices can be accessed by the developer in charge of application-side integration.

Backup and Auto-Save Capabilities

• Users can set how often (or disable) the project should be automatically saved.
• UnicView AD can optionally keep a number of backup project points, in case of unexpected system failure.

One-Click PC → LCM Project Download

• Projects can be downloaded to the LCM via USB or SD Card. It's as easy as clicking "Download".
• Users may choose which files (Images, Configurations, Libraries, etc.) to send to the LCM.

Automatic Firmware Database Download

• UnicView AD automatically downloads the latest Firmware information upon start-up.
• Interface Objects that are not supported by the current selected Firmware are disabled.

Clean Compilation Reports

• After compilation, all results are shown on the "Output" panel.
• Any errors or warnings are readly available to the user.
• Interface Objects present on the project that are not supported by the current selected Firmware are notified as warnings.

Integrated Serial Terminal

• Built-in Serial Terminal grants quick LCM debbuging and communication.
• Provides one-click Firmware and Project download to LCM.

Easy to learn

Extensive documentation, including:

• Video Tutorials.
• Demonstration Projects.
• Quick Tips and Examples.
• Complete Advanced Documentation.

Upcoming Features

We aim for excellence. As such, we are on a continuous developing process, enhancing user-experience, including new features and functionalities. Among many other upcoming features, here are some planned for the near-future:

• Internet-based image resource repository.
• Built-in feedback and support request.
• Language translations.
• Application Scripting Tools.
• Additional and Custom Interface Objects.
• Extensible Serial Terminal Plugin.

Technical Support

User feedback is of most importance to us. Any suggestions or complaints are welcome!