Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit

Running AlphaPlus software on Windows 64-bit operating systems

Table of Contents
1.USING DOSBOX TO RUN ALPHAPLUS......................................................................................................2
2.DISCLAIMER..............................................................................................................................................2
3.REQUIREMENTS.........................................................................................................................................2
4.ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS........................................................................................................................3
5.INSTALLING DOSBOX...............................................................................................................................3
6.SETTING UP DOSBOX AND ALPHAPLUS...................................................................................................5
Preparing Media.....................................................................................................................................5
Configuring DOSBox..............................................................................................................................5
7.INSTALLING ALPHAPLUS UNDER DOSBOX..............................................................................................9
8.INAL CUSTOMI!ATION...........................................................................................................................1"
9.ALTERNATIVE SETTINGS AND ENHANCEMENTS......................................................................................11
1". TROUBLESHOOTING..............................................................................................................................12
11. INORMATION OR END USERS............................................................................................................13
12. SCREENSHOTS.......................................................................................................................................14
.............................................................................................................................................................15
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
1. Using DOSBox to run AlphaPlus
DOSBox is a popular free emulator that is capable of running DOS programs on a
variety of hardware and operating systems. DOSBox provides both PC hardware
emulation and operating system emulation, therefore no separate icrosoft license is
necessary. !s the tool has timing"compatible serial ports, it can be used for running
!lphaPlus on platforms that do not have direct support for DOS #$"bit executable
format, such as %indows & $'"bit or %indows (ista $'"bit.
All current 32-bit versions of Windows are capable of running AlphaPlus
directly, and they do not need DOSo!"
2. Disclaimer
#lster does not provide any direct support of the solution described here,
which is for infor$ation only" By DOSBox license that is )P*+, ,lster cannot
pac-age DOSBox together with !lphaPlus and redistribute such pac-age outside the
company, but it is allowed for everyone to have DOSBox downloaded and exposed
on a networ- share if a lin- to http.//www.dosbox.com is provided " the place where
an interested person can download and build DOSBox from source code for one0s
favorite platform.
3. Requirements
%his installation $anual is for e!perienced co$puter users" 1f you are not
fluent with command line, or do not -now what an environment variable is or how to
edit it, please as- someone else to set up DOSBox and !lphaPlus for you. !fter
installation, the usage of !lphaPlus is almost the same as its use under operating
systems that support #$"bit executables directly. ,xtra information dedicated to
!lphaPlus end users is available at the end of the manual.
!vailability of !lphaPlus under DOSBox is only restricted by presence of DOSBox and
a serial port/modem on the target platform. DOSBox itself is limited by the
multiplatform capabilities of the SD* library that it utili2es for emulation. !ccording to
the contents of the SD* library page, SD* fully supports *inux, %indows, %indows
C,, BeOS, acOS, ac OS 3, 4reeBSD, 5etBSD, OpenBSD, BSD/OS, Solaris, 1613,
and 753.
8he biggest demand for running !lphaPlus under the emulation environment exists
among customers who utili2e one of the current $'"bit %indows operating systems,
as there is no support for #$"bit executables present on these $'"bit platforms.
8hese platforms are not only the ultimate future, but already the present, as about
half of licenses sold today are for %indows $'"bit versions. 4or these, DOSBox
provides a complete and easy to use solution.
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
4. Alternatie Solutions
any current virtual machines such as (%are are capable of running S/DOS
operating system or 9+"bit version of %indows, under which !lphaPlus can run. 1f
such solution is chosen, %indows 3P SP9 should be preferred, as this operating
system can be set up to easily share its dis- with the host operating system.
:owever to our opinion, the presented DOSBox solution is easier to configure and
control, it is more lightweight, and there is no necessity of purchasing an extra
license for the virtuali2ed operating system. %hen DOSBox is used, the subdirectory
with !lphaPlus installation will be directly visible by the host operating system, and
the users can manipulate it from host as they would do when having !lphaPlus run
directly from 9+"bit %indows.
!. "nstalling DOSBox
8o install DOSBox on %indows, download the %indows installer ;%in9+ 1nstaller<
directly from the =Downloads> page at http.//www.dosbox.com.
8he latest stable version of DOSBox is recommended, at present it is &"'(
Double"clic- on the installer executable and follow the steps.
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
select the components to install. Core files, Des-top shortcut
select Destination 4older ;default is typically desired<, and clic- 1nstall.
!fter installation, an icon is displayed on the des-top
! bare DOSBox command prompt can be run from Start menu.
DOSBox download page also has binaries and source code distribution for the other
operating systems such as acOS or *inux. 1n case of free operating systems ;*inux,
BSD<, there are simpler ways of getting DOSBox installed, which is through software
distribution pac-age managers available in these platforms.
! couple of extra front"end applications are available for DOSBox with the main
purpose to simplify configuration and management of different profiles. 8hose are
not described here, and some are available in the download page.
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
8his guide does not ma-e any use of these front"ends, concentrates on the DOSBox
original capabilities. 8he users are free to try front"ends if they find them useful.
#. Setting up DOSBox an$ AlphaPlus
:ere is a step"by"step se?uence on how to have !lphaPlus running under DOSBox.
8he instructions are given for %indows operating system, while the actions for the
other operating systems are very similar.
Preparing %e$ia
8his defines what will be the system dis- @C: under DOSBox.
Create an easily accessible location in the directory hierarchy. Preferred but
not re?uired is if the whole directory path complies with DOS rules, such as it
shall not have blan-s or non"!SC11 ;non",nglish< characters, and no directory
name shall be bigger than eight characters. 4or example, C:\DOSBOX is a nice
directory name for the purpose. 8his directory name will be used in the text
below. Please replace it with yours if another directory is chosen for
installation.
Ander this newly created directory, create a subdirectory with the name C,
which will be the dis- C: of DOSBox. 8he result full directory path is
C:\DOSBOX\C.
&on'iguring DOSBox
8his will configure DOSBox for convenient and transparent use of !lphaPlus.
!dd DOSBox installation directory to the end of PATH environment variable.
Default location of DOSBox version B.&' in $'"bit %indows will typically be
C:\Program Files (x86)\DOSBox-0.!. 8he environment variable editor is
located in the Control Panel "C System ;instructions are %indows version
dependent<. 4or %indows &, select System Properties "C !dvanced, and add
to the Path.
!t this moment, we are going to create DOSBox configuration file. 4rom
%indows Start enu, select DOSBox " O#$io%s " DOSBox 0.! O#$io%s.
8he exact location and name of this command will depend on DOSBox
version. 1f the menu item is not available in the target operating system,
enter the following at the command prompt. &os'ox -e&i$(o%) %o$e#a&,
where %o$e#a& can be replaced by any text editor available.
8ext editor with the default DOSBox configuration file will be shown.
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
8he file has a simple i%i format, and it is well"commented so every option is
described in detail. 8he default location of the configuration file will be in the
user0s application data directory, not easily reachable by means other than
running DOSBox 0.! O#$io%s. %e strongly recommend saving the contents
of the opened editor into the already created DOSBO* directory.
Do it by executing editor0s File " Sa+e As..., and saving the file into
C:\DOSBO*\a#l,s.i%i.
5ow we will be editing this DOSBox configuration file. !t this time, it is not
recommended to change the various options of the configuration, rather we
do only the changes absolutely necessary for !lphaPlus to run. 4irst, disable
mouse a,$olo(- mode. 4ind [sdl] section, and change a,$olo(-.$r,e to
a,$olo(-.)alse.
8he =D> represents a comment in the configuration file.
5ext, find the section [serial] and edit serial ports # and + ;serial#, serial+<
since the default settings in !lphaPlus are CO# for the Communications
Serial Probe Connector and CO+ for the Communication Port for the odem.
8he following illustration shows the default !lpha Plus Communication
Options.
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
8he following illustration shows the default !lpha Plus odem Options.
1n order to configure the serial ports in the aplus.ini file, the port that the
optical probe or modem is using must be -nown. 8his can be determined by
viewing the Device anager EControl Panel "C System "C :ardware "C Device
anager "C PortsF
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
1n the specific example above, the ,lster Anicom 111 ASB Optical Probe is
connected via CO9 on the host machine and an external modem is
connected via CO+.
8he resulting configuration in the aplus.ini file is.
Due to the way !lphaPlus uses serial ports, the @directserial option should
always be used, even for modem. 6emember that due to DOS restrictions,
you will not be able to use serial port # together with port 9, nor serial port +
together with '. 8herefore, unless you have more than two serial devices,
-eep @serial9G and @serial'G set to @disabledG.
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
(. "nstalling AlphaPlus un$er DOSBox
1t is time to run DOSBox. Open the command line promptH navigate to directory
C:\DOSBOX and from that location type.
&os'ox -(o%) (:/&os'ox/a#l,s.i%i (:/&os'ox/(
8he parameters are the path of the i%i file created, and the absolute directory for
dis- 0C0 of DOSBox. DOSBox is somewhat pic-y at names given as parameters. Please
ma-e sure the forward slashes are used, and all letters are in lowercase.
8wo windows will appear as illustrated below.
One window will hold the log, and another will present a regular DOS command line
prompt. 8he log reading shall confirm that the custom configuration file a#l,s.i%i is
loaded without errors, and the command prompt shall be @C:0. 1f the dis- 1: shows
up, the parameters or configuration were not correct.
5ext step is to mount !lphaPlus setup as a dis- in DOSBox. :ave !lphaPlus
installation media accessible in the host computer. 1f ta-en from 2e$er(a$
installation CD, AS version of Al#3aPl,s setup will have directory name 4005060706,
and international version is the directory 4005068706. Ander DOSBox command
prompt, type.
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
C:\0 mo,%$ d e:/#a$3/$o/al#3a#l,s/se$,#/2e$er(a$/4005060706
6eplace the example path with the real one. 8he given command will mount the dis-
D: into DOSBox, from which setup can be run. 6emember that after mounting,
DOSBox does not understand long %indows file names, so instead of directory name
Al#3aPl,s one will see A9PHAP:4 and so on. Proceed with installing Al#3aPl,s
normally by running ;<STA99.=*= from the mounted location.
C:\0 d:
D:\0 (& A9PHAP:4
D:\A9PHAP:40 i%s$all
Ase default installation path C:\AP9>S\, choose options as desired.
6un !lphaPlus as usual.
D:\0 (:
C:\0 (& AP9>S
C:\0 AP9>S.'a$
and configure it to use serial ports, as written in the i%i file. 8hen ma-e sure you
can read the meters with the installed !lphaPlus through these serial interfaces.
). *inal &ustomi+ation
!t this moment, it is time to ma-e the bundle of DOSBox and !lphaPlus so that
!lphaPlus is launched automatically when DOSBox is started.
*eave !lphaPlus and DOSBox by typing exi$ at command prompt.
Open a#l,s.i%i, and scroll down to its last section [autoexec?.
8he commands in this section will get executed at DOSBox start.
:ere is a recommended set of options that get !lphaPlus executed at startup of
DOSBox.
@a,$oexe(?
A 9i%es i% $3is se($io% Bill 'e r,% a$ s$ar$,#.xx
A Co, (a% #,$ Do,r 2O><T li%es 3ere.
mo,%$ ( (:/&os'ox/(
(:
(& AP9>S
AP9>S.BAT
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
!s mounting of dis- C: is already done in a,$oexe(, running such installation
re?uires only the -(o%) option.
&os'ox -(o%) (:/&os'ox/a#l,s.i%i
8o further simplify usage, it is a good idea to create a bat file that contains the
command above. 1f this is $'"bit %indows and etercat is installed, to launch
!lphaPlus, one needs to name this bat file AP9>S.'a$. :ere is the contents of such
C:\DOSBOX\APLUS.bat, assuming DOSBox is present in PATH environment variable.
&os'ox -(o%) (:/&os'ox/a#l,s.i%i
8his 'a$ file can be added to %indows Start menu. 8o allow launching !lphaPlus
from etercat, go to etercat0s Tools " 2a(3i%e se$$i%gs menu and change the
location of AP9>S.BAT to the one Iust created.
1t is worth mentioning that there are two AP9>S.BAT files. One is the one created in
as suggested above ;C:\DOSBO*\AP9>S.'a$), and another is the original !lphaPlus
file C:\DOSBO*\C\AP9>S\AP9>S.BAT.
,. Alternatie Settings an$ -nhancements
8his guide is made for what is believed to be a usable and simple solution, however
the advanced users may choose different options. Some of these items were not
tested vigorously. $'"bit %indows is assumed, while many of these apply to other
operating systems.
1. 1t is not a re?uirement for DOSBox to have a subdirectory as its dis- C. any
will prefer to have their real dis- C:\ to be the DOSBox root dis-, and install
!lphaPlus at its regular place, C:\AP9>S. 8his will immediately open the whole
%indows directory tree to DOS programs. Different from the original DOS,
DOSBox does not have any restrictions on the si2e of the dis- C:.
2. DOSBox can configure more than one dis-, and the alternative to the above is
adding extra dis-s with DOSBox"specific command mo,%$. :ost operating
system0s directory or the whole dis- can be mounted. 6unning mo,%$ without
parameters gives the currently mounted dis-s, while mo,%$ & e:\Bor-&ir is
going to create dis- &: under DOSBox prompt.
3. 1nstead of installing a fresh !lphaPlus, users might consider moving their
existing AP9>S installation directory under DOSBox. Serial port configuration
can be tuned in the i%i file to match the installed configuration.
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
'. 1f the computer can boot into more than one operating system, or if it
employs virtual machines, !lphaPlus installation can be shared among these
OS instances if the dis- is shared. DOSBox shall be installed on these OSes
separately, and very li-ely, different configuration files will have to be used "
case when serial port mapping is different on all these OSes.
J. !dvanced users can create roaming/portable installation of DOSBox and
!lphaPlus that wor- directly from an ASB stic-. ,diting the configuration file
will be necessary if any of the host computers have different sets of serial
ports. :ere is the page for such DOSBox installation.
http.//portableapps.com/apps/games/dosboxKportable
y )P*2 license of DOSo!, anyone can build a bundle of DOSo! and
AlphaPlus, but one shall not redistribute it outside the co$pany, as this
would re+uire opening source code of AlphaPlus
1.. /rou0leshooting
DOSBox original pages are the main source of troubleshooting information.
:ere is the proIect wi-i pages. http.//www.dosbox.com/wi-i/ainKPage
!nd this is a very useful DOSBox forum.
http.//vogons.2etafleet.com/index.phpLcM&
8he following are some extra common problems and their possible solutions.
1. AlphaPlus co$plains it cannot open serial port"
#. (erify you are not running the second copy of DOSBox, because the
first one will -eep the port allocated.
+. (erify the ports are not opened by some other application at the time
DOSBox runs.
9. ,xit DOSBox and verify you can use the host computer0s serial port
from etercat or another application. ,xit application before retrying
with !lphaPlus.
4. a-e sure the custom configuration file a#l,s.i%i is used, not a
generic default DOSBox (o%) file. One can see which file is loaded in
the DOSBox log window.
5. (erify serial port configuration in a#l,s.i%i. a-e sure the mapping is
correct, and &ire($serial is used even for modem port.
2. Serial ports are not accessible to host co$puter applications after
running AlphaPlus"
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
#. a-e sure there is no DOSBox still running somewhere in the
bac-ground window
+. *oo- at the list of Processes in 8as- anager if there is a process with
name DOSBox.exe, and -ill it.
3. AlphaPlus application ,%hresholds, captured the $ouse, one cannot
$ove the $ouse out of DOS window"
1. Press -Alt-./&0 to release mouse. 1f it wor-s, this is a wor-around,
and the solution is in the items below.
2. a-e sure the custom configuration file a#l,s.i%i is used, not a
generic default DOSBox (o%) file. One can see which file is loaded in
the DOSBox log window.
3. a-e sure a#l,s.i%i has @s&l? option a,$olo(-.)alse.
11. "n'ormation 'or -n$ Users
Short "ntro$uction to DOSBox
8he guide sets up the environment in such a way so that the end users of !lphaPlus
do not have to deal with DOSBox directly. :owever, some advanced users might
need to install extra DOS software, or access DOS"li-e features of DOSBox. Since
DOSBox has excellent documentation already, this chapter is mostly about where to
find it.
DOSo! wi1i pages are located here.
http.//www.dosbox.com/wi-i/ainKPage
%hen DOSBox runs, it shows a regular DOS"li-e prompt, and there is a
special command i%)o, which gives a short introduction to DOSBox.
DOS-li1e 2elp syste$ is also available. 8o get the list of all supported
commands, one says H=9P /all. :elp on a particular command is got by
adding /E to the command, such as CD /E. *argely, DOSBox commands are
compatible with S/DOS.
Ander %indows, install directory has a text file with the manual, with the
lin- available through %indows Start menu. 1n $'"bit %indows, DOSBox
installation is defaulted to (:\Program Files (x86)\DOSBox-0.!.
Ander the operating systems that have their roots in A513, such as !pple
acOS or *inux, there is a $an page dosbox.
DOSBox reports DOS version J.BB with its command F=7.
8he subdirectory C:\DOSBO*\C\AP9>S under host operating system will hold the
contents visible from within DOSBox as C:\AP9>S. One can manipulate the contents
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit
of this directory from either DOSBox or from the host operating system. Prefer host,
as it gives you a more current wor-ing environment with extra features and
conveniences.
Ase -Alt-#nter0 to switch between full screen mode and window mode of DOSBox.
8his is similar to command prompt window of %indows.
Di''erences 'rom regular 1in32 "nstallation
8here is an obvious difference as in %indows there is an extra DOS window shown to
present the log to the user. 8his window is helpful for troubleshooting, and can
simply be ignored by ordinary users. Other operating systems such as *inux
incorporate log into its command line window directly. 8he log window will
periodically show errors or warnings of various -inds. 8hey can be ignored if
!lphaPlus continues wor-ing as usual.
Different from regular !lphaPlus, while DOSBox is open, even if there is no !lphaPlus
running, serial ports configured for its use will always be allocated, unavailable to
etercat or other applications. ,xit DOSBox to reuse serial ports from %indows.
DOSBox is compatible with regular S/DOS, therefore it does not understand
%indows long paths, and it will shorten them into Ntilda formatN. 4or example, a file
Al#3aPl,s.$x$ will become visible under DOSBox as A9PHAP:4.T*T.
8he following DOSBox imperfect behaviors were observed, and should be considered
normal.
Screen would flic-er sometime to show random cubism"li-e paintings. 8his
relates to imperfect implementation of display mode switching.
8he log window would complain about some unsupported modes or errors of
serial port. 1t appears that these errors do not prevent !lphaPlus from
communicating with devices.
%hen running !lphaPlus graphic application @8hresholdsG, %indows (ista and
%indows & will complain sometimes about DOSBox compatibility, and switch
their interface to compatibility mode " the one without animations and the
other candies. 8hey will switch bac- as soon as DOSBox exits.
12. Screenshots
8he following is !lphaPlus running under DOSBox under $'"bit version of %indows &.
!s one can see, the log window shows various serial port errors, however the
communication proceeds normally.
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Elster Solutions Running AlphaPLus on Windows 64-bit

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