Dynascan

Getting Started

 Last Revised: 12/20/10

Dynascan applications are designed to run on small computers that can be held in your hand, or even worn on your arm.  These computers have the same type of wireless network connectivity as a laptop computer.  Dynamo includes Dynascan applications for Purchase Order Receiving, Transfer Order Shipping & Receiving, Order Picking, Order Packing, Item Put-Away, and Physical Inventory.  The programs work much like the ones run on a full size workstation such as a PC, Mac, or thin-client, but the display dimensions are 24 columns by 16 rows, instead of 80/132 columns by 25 rows.  Excellware is an authorized reseller of Motorola products including mobile computers, accessories, and wireless communication devices.

This document is based on using the Wavelink terminal emulator that is included with the Motorola MC9000 series computers.  Although tested on a Motorola MC9090 running Windows CE and Wavelink TelnetCE version 7.0.37, other versions of Windows and other terminal emulators can also be used.

Basic Concepts
Handheld Operating System We have used Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and linux.  Doesn't really matter.
Terminal Emulator We have used the Wavelink terminal emulator that is included with Motorola mobile computers.  For Windows CE we have used TelnetCE version 7.0.37, although any version should work.
Terminal Emulation Dynascan applications use the VT220 emulation which provides color and is widely available.
TERM environment variable The TERM environment variable is used to select the proper emulation within the Dynamo Tools termcap file.  This value should be 'dynascan' for displays with 24 columns and 16 rows.
Setting TERM If using Dynamo Tools login profile files on most Linux or Unix servers, and using Motorola mobile computers with a wireless ethernet mac address that begins with 00:15:70, then TERM will be set to dynascan in the termset script, which is executed during the login process.

 

All handhelds regardless of server operating system, that use the Wavelink terminal emulator, can be used by setting the 'Telnet Negotiation String' to 'dynascan'.  This setting is located in the Host Profile configuration of the handheld computer.  It is typically maintained using the PC based Wavelink Host Profile Editor, although it can be set from the mobile computer itself following the steps below.

1Start the Wavelink Terminal Emulator on the mobile computer (if not configured to launch automatically)
2Enable the Options menu if hidden.  The keystroke used to display the Options menu can vary.  Excellware uses the F10 key by default.  On a Motorola computer, touch the Blue key followed by zero for the F10 key.
3Click on the Options button
4Click on Configure
5Click on Host Profiles
6Enter the Host Config Password (SYSTEM is the default)
7Highlight the desired profile and click Edit.
8Be sure the Emulation is set to VT220.
9Click the Config Button
10Click on the VT Settings tab
11Enter dynascan in the Telnet Negotiation String box.  This value is assigned to the TERM environment variable during login.
12Click OK, then Save, then Done
13Hide the Options menu by touching F10 to insure the entire display is available for the application
Creating a Menu
1

From the Dynamo Tools System Management Utilities (SMU) menu, select Dynascan Menu Maintenance
2 Specify Menu code SYS which is the default main menu
3 Enter a title for the menu such as Dynascan Main Menu.
4 In the Menu Detail, add a Program.  Specify the bbx program name.  It must be accessible using the current bbx PREFIX.  Enter the application Description.
5 Limit the number of selections per menu to 10 so that the entire menu of applications can be displayed on the mobile computer without scrolling.
6 You can create sub-menus with unlimited nesting, just like Dynamo Menus.

 

 

The Dynamo Tools Dynascan Menu Simulator (SMC) can be used to display what the mobile user will see, and to test the menu and applications.

 
Logging in The standard Dynamo Tools profile file, located at CDI/bin/profile can be used to launch either Dynascan Menu or the Dynamo Menu.  Copy into the users home directory and name .profile and/or .bash_profile if using the bash shell.  These two files are placed in the users home directory automatically if the user is created using Operator Information Maintenance (Add/Maintain) on the SMC menu.  Set the user as the owner for these files.  Set the group to 'cdi' or other appropriate group.  Set the file permissions to rwxr-xr-x.
Line Drawing Characters If the Line Drawing Characters used to outline the menu as shown above, do not display like this example, then the mobile computer needs to have a font installed that includes the Line Drawing Characters.  Click here for instructions.
Function Keys The Dynascan terminal configuration includes support for F1 through F12.  On Motorola mobile computers, touch the Blue key followed by the number, i.e., Blue Key then 4, to send the F4 key to the server.
* key Dynamo Tools including keyboard entry (CDS039, CDS069) and record selection (CDS037) enable Dynascan users to touch the * key to simulate F4.  The * key was selected as this key is often large, is located near the Enter key, and is not typically used for most scanning or mobile computer applications.
Arrow Keys The Dynascan terminal configuration includes support for the 4 directional arrows found on most mobile computer keyboards.
Wavelink Configuration Wavelink includes a PC based configuration application where you can configure all settings, save on the PC drive, and upload to the mobile computers.  The Wavelink Configuration Manager can be downloaded from the downloads page of www.wavelink.com.  The screen shots below were taken using the Wavelink Configuration Manager Version 1.65 although the settings would probably be similar for any version.  The small black dots on the Emulation, Common, Display, and Keyboard sections indicate where changes have been made to the default configuration.

 

 

We prefer the emulator to exit the telnet application when the user exits the Dynascan menu, or otherwise is disconnected.

 

 

In order to maximize the space on the display, we recommend hiding all scroll bars and menus.  We set the Menu Toggle Key to the F10 key as shown in the screen shot below.

 

 

We also hide the Windows Start Menu and set the Keyboard Toggle Key to Alt+F10.

 
Top display line Applications launched from the Dynascan Menu will have the Application Title displayed in white letters on a red background on the top line.  The application can use the top line if desired, but it is useful to know what application is currently running.
Bottom display lines The bottom two display lines are used by the Dynamo Tools Data Entry programs CDS039 and CDS069.
Background text We typically used CDS276 to display the screen background in yellow on a black background.  We have found using a black background with various colored foreground text provides good contrast even in low light levels.

 
Programming You can program Dynascan applications much like any bbx program.  Just keep the prompts short and consider using colors to increase readability.  Use the Dynamo Tools error routine, and use the Display Terminal Status option to remotely control a Dynascan session.
Ending the Application At the end of the application, run the Dynamo Tools menu "CDS001" to return to the Dynascan menu.