ReMapPro Version 1.2

Date: 13 January 2003

Labtam is pleased to present a new software Product known as ReMapPro.
It is the second major release for this product and the first for the 2003 year.

The main utility, the Comport, is included in the ReMapPro package makes serial (RS232) data from your PC available on TCP/IP-based networks and makes TCP/IP data available on serial ports on your PC. This makes it possible for any other computer on the same network to send and receive serial data through a remote serial port on the PC where the Comport is running. You can connect to the remote serial port by connecting to a TCP/IP port. The Comport can also be used to pass the serial data across a corporate intranet or over the Internet. The Comport allows multiple sessions to run simultaneously but each with a different serial port.

The Comport supports full two-way I/O for full control of serial instruments (i.e. any instrument that you can plug into the serial port (RS232, RS422 or RS485) of your PC). Typical devices include most serial devices like gauges, scales and balances, sensors, micrometers, calipers, bar code scanners, densitometers, laboratory instruments, electronic balance or electronic measuring instrument, RF equipment, communication systems, etc...

New Features on this release include:

1. The following enhancements have been made :

1. Both Comport and Comserv :
- the "Enable Reconnection" setting was implemented for the Client TCP/IP mode;
- the COM port extra strings (for TCP/IP connection and disconnection) may be filled with necessary bytes sequences for each COM port;
- "pools" (sets) of COM ports may be specified for use in the Server TCP/IP mode;
- the "Set" button was implemented to change the COM port number associated with a TCP/IP Server or Client;
- the "Ignore TCP/IP connections exceeding the limit" setting was implemented to toggle between rejecting or delaying the TCP/IP connection requests when there are no free COM ports;
- the max number of available COM ports may be changed;
- the "Start All"/"Stop All" buttons wasimplemented for one-touch start/stop actions;

2. Both Comport and Comserv under Windows 2000/XP :
- virtual COM ports generation and usage was implemented;

2. The following bugs have been fixed :

1. Both Comport and Comserv :
- sometimes data leaks took place.

Undocumented Features

1. Both Comport and Comserv :
- the "TCP/IP settings"->"Enable Reconnection" check box initiates periodical attempts to reconnect the closed TCP/IP Client connection;
the "Reconnection period" setting specifies the frequency of these attempts;
- the COM port's "Extra string"->"Connection" field may be filled with necessary bytes sequence to be sent to COM port when the TCP/IP connection gets established;
- the COM port's "Extra string"->"Disconnection" field may be filled with necessary bytes sequence to be sent to COM port when the TCP/IP connection gets closed;
- in the TCP/IP Server mode, the following buttons can be used to add/delete a COM port to/from the "pool" (list) of COM ports of the TCP/IP Server:
"Add", "Add all" and "Delete";
- the "Set" button changes the COM port number associated with TCP/IP Server or Client;
- disabling of the "Ignore TCP/IP connections exceeding the limit";
this setting provides immediate closing of TCP/IP connection requests that cannot be satisfied because of the absence of free COM ports instead of enqueueing;
- the "Start All" button starts all the connections that are specified;
- the "Stop All" button stops all the connections that are started (running);

2. Comport :
- the "Number_of_COM_ports=..." line may be added into the "[COMPORT]" section of the "xwp.ini" file to change the default (8) max number of processing COM ports.

3. ComServ :
- the "Number_of_COM_ports=..." line may be added into the "[COMSERV]" section of the "xwp.ini" file to change the default (8) max number of processing COM ports.

4. Both Comport and Comserv under Windows 2000/XP can create "Virtual COM ports" which may be used to supply any application with COM ports as it is real. For example, this is vitally necessary on some modern notebooks which do not have physical COM ports at all. This feature is available after installation of the corresponding driver included in the package.

Known problems

1. Uninstallation :
- the uninstallation procedure does not remove components which were installed in additional (non-first) installation sessions. Such additional components should be removed manually.