*********************** **** Read Me First **** *********************** Version 1.1.9.0 July 2013 Introducing the AgilentE36xx IVI Driver for the Agilent 3600 Series of Power Supplies --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This instrument driver provides access to the functionality of AgilentE36xx through a COM server or ANSI C API which also complies with the IVI specifications. This driver works in any development environment which supports COM or C programming including Microsoft Visual C++, Microsoft .NET, Agilent VEE Pro, National Instruments LabView, LabWindows CVI, MATLAB(32 bit only) and others. Supported Instruments --------------------- E3649A, E3648A, E3647A, E3646A, E3645A, E3644A, E3643A E3642A, E3641A, E3640A, E3634A, E3633A, E3632A, E3631A Installation ------------- System Requirements: The driver installation will check for the following requirements. If not found, the installer will either abort, warn, or install the required component as appropriate. Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 Shared Components Before this driver can be installed, your computer must already have the IVI Shared Components installed. Minimal IVI Version: 2.2.1 The IVI Shared Components installer is available from: http://www.ivifoundation.org/shared_components/Default.aspx VISA-COM Any compliant implementation is acceptable. Typically, VISA-COM is installed with VISA and other I/O library modules. The latest version of Agilent's IO Libraries is recommended and includes VISA-COM. You can download the latest version from: http://www.agilent.com/find/iosuite Uninstall --------- This driver can be uninstalled like any other software from the Control Panel using "Add or Remove Programs" in Win XP or "Programs and Features" in Windows Vista/Windows 7. The IVI Shared Components may also be uninstalled like any other software from the Control Panel using "Add or Remove Programs" in Win XP and "Program & Features" in Windows Vista/Windows 7. Note: All IVI-COM/C drivers require the IVI Shared Components to function. To completely remove IVI components from your computer, uninstall all drivers and then uninstall the IVI Shared Components. Source Code ----------- Driver source code is available by choosing "Custom" and selecting "Source Code" when installing the driver. This code is provided as is for informational purposes only. Modification of this code is not supported. Caution: Once you have installed version 2.x of the IVI Shared Components, you will not be able to build IVI drivers and applications developed with earlier versions. You will need to upgrade those drivers/applications to the new IVI Shared Components and to build on Visual Studio 2008 or higher or you will need to build those drivers/applications on a different machine that does not have version 2.x of the IVI Shared Components. Start Menu Help File -------------------- A shortcut to the driver help file is added to the Start Menu, All Programs, Agilent IVI Drivers, AgilentE36xx group. It contains "Getting Started" information on using the driver in a variety of programming environments as well as documentation on IVI and instrument specific methods and properties. You will also see shortcuts to the Readme file and many programming examples for this driver. Additional Setup ---------------- .NET Framework The .NET Framework itself is not required by this driver. If you plan to use the driver with .NET, the minimal .NET framework version is: 2.0 The .NET Framework requires an interop assembly for a COM server. A Primary Interop Assembly, along with an XML file for IntelliSense is installed with the driver. The driver's PIA along with IVI PIAs are installed by default in: :\Program Files <(x86)>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\Primary Interop Assemblies The PIA is also installed into the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) if you have the .NET framework installed. Using a New Version of the Driver --------------------------------- New versions of this Agilent IVI-COM/C driver may have a new ProgId. If you use the version dependent ProgId in CoCreateInstance, you will need to modify and recompile your code to use the new ProgID once you upgrade to the next version of the driver. Doing a side-by-side installation of the driver to use multiple versions of the driver is not supported. If you need to go back to an older version of the driver, you need to uninstall the later version and install the older version. If you use the version independent ProgId in CoCreateInstance, you will not need to modify and recompile your code. The new version of the driver has been tested to be backwards compatible with previous versions. To access the new functionality in a new version of the driver you will need to use the latest numbered IAgilentE36xx[n] interface rather than the IAgilentE36xx interface. The IAgilentE36xx[n]. property will return a pointer to the new IAgilentE36xx[n] interface. The IAgilentE36xx[n] interface contains the methods and properties for the new functionality. The new interfaces were introduced rather than modifying the existing interfaces for backwards compatibility. The interfaces that were previously shipped have not been changed. Pre-existing .NET client applications must be re-build before using the new version of the driver. Known Issues ------------ This driver does not have any known defects. Revision History ---------------- Version Date Notes ------- -------- ----- 1.1.9.0 Jul 2013 Defect fixes 1.1.7.0 Jan 2012 Add 64 bit driver, MATLAB support, updated IVI-C and help file 1.1.5.0 Oct 2009 Fixed the defect of incorrect output category of E3645A 1.1.4.0 Mar 2009 Add IVI-C driver, Updated Help, Examples, and Simulation 1.0.5.0 May 2003 Fix deserialize defect for the config store file 1.0.4.0 Apr 2003 Change PIA interop assembly file name & contents Support Error message for non English OS 1.0.3.1 Feb 2003 Update help file for ANSI-C of the IVI Factory 1.0.3.0 Feb 2003 Update help file for the IVI Factory Add Examples for Excel, VB 6.0, VC++ 6.0, VB.NET and C# Update IVI Foundation information 1.0.1.0 Jan 2003 First customer release IVI Compliance -------------- IVI-COM/IVI-C IviFgen Specific Instrument Driver IVI Instrument Class: IviDCPwr IviDCPwr Spec: IVI-4.4_v3.0 IviDCPwrBase Yes IviDCPwrTrigger Yes IviDCPwrSoftwareTrigger Yes IviDCPwrMeasurement Yes Optional Features: Interchangeability Checking no State Caching no Coercion Recording no Driver Identification: Vendor: Agilent Technologies Description: IVI driver for the Agilent E36xx family of programmable power supplies Revision: 1.1.8.0 Component Identifier: AgilentE36xx.AgilentE36xx Hardware Information: Instrument Manufacturer: Agilent Technologies Supported Instrument Models: E3649A, E3648A, E3647A, E3646A, E3645A, E3644A, E3643A, E3642A, E3641A, E3640A, E3634A, E3633A, E3632A, E3631A Supported Bus Interfaces: GPIB, ASRL (RS-232) 32-bit Software Information: Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista 32, Windows 7 32 Unsupported Operating Systems: Windows 2000 Support Software Required: VISA-COM Source Code Availability: Source code included with driver. 64-bit Software Information: Supported Operating Systems: Windows Vista 64,Windows 7 64 Support Software Required: VISA-COM Source Code Availability: Source code included with driver. More Information ---------------- For more information about this driver and other instrument drivers and software available from Agilent Technologies visit: http://www.agilent.com/find/adnivicominfo A list of contact information is available from: http://www.agilent.com/find/assist Microsoft, Windows, MS Windows, and Windows NT are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. © Copyright Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2003-2013