Altus File

Assistant

Document 302457
Revision D

February 2013

Notice
Kinemetrics Inc. reserves the right to make improvements in the software described in this documentation at any time and without
notice. The information contained here is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by
Kinemetrics Inc.
The software described in this document is provided as a licensed item, in conjunction with Kinemetrics equipment. It may not be
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Warranty
Software and software updates provided by Kinemetrics Inc. for its Strong Motion and Seismological measurement and recording
equipment have a warranty period of one year. This warranty applies to the standard software package as well as to options or special
software provided to the customer. An update shipped under warranty will be covered by the original systems warranty for the
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Updates not prompted by a software problem.

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Copyright 2003-2013, Kinemetrics Inc.
All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of Kinemetrics Inc.

Table of Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1
File Assistant Overview ................................................................................................................................ 1
Creating or Modifying Connections............................................................................................................ 3
Choosing an Existing Connection .............................................................................................................. 3
Modifying an Existing Connection ............................................................................................................. 3
Creating a New Connection ........................................................................................................................ 7
Deleting an Existing Connection ................................................................................................................ 7
File Browser .................................................................................................................................................. 8
Parameter Editor .........................................................................................................................................12
Sensor Editor ...............................................................................................................................................19
Terminal Window ........................................................................................................................................25
Status Window .............................................................................................................................................27
Serial Data Window ....................................................................................................................................28
Altus File Viewer .........................................................................................................................................29
Installation ...................................................................................................................................................36

Table of Figures
FIGURE 1 - ALTUS FILE ASSISTANT MAIN DISPLAY ......................................................................... 1
FIGURE 2 - DIGITIZER SELECTION DIALOG ......................................................................................... 2
FIGURE 3 - CHOOSING AN EXISTING CONNECTION .......................................................................... 3
FIGURE 4 - MODIFYING CONNECTION PARAMETERS ...................................................................... 3
FIGURE 5 - RS232 CONNECTION PARAMETERS .................................................................................. 4
FIGURE 6 - MODEM CONNECTION PARAMETERS .............................................................................. 5
FIGURE 7 - TCP CONNECTION DIALOG ................................................................................................. 5
FIGURE 8 - CREATING A NEW CONNECTION ...................................................................................... 7
FIGURE 9 DESCRIBING A NEW CONNECTION .................................................................................. 7
FIGURE 10 - FILE BROWSER ..................................................................................................................... 8
FIGURE 11 - FILE RETRIEVAL PROGRESS ............................................................................................. 9
FIGURE 12 - FILE VIEWER DIALOG .......................................................................................................10
FIGURE 13 - ALTUS FILE VIEWER DISPLAY ........................................................................................11
FIGURE 14 - PARAMETER EDITOR.........................................................................................................12
FIGURE 15 - PARAMETERS LOADED .....................................................................................................12
FIGURE 16 - STATION PARAMETERS ....................................................................................................13
FIGURE 17 - UNSAVED CHANGES..........................................................................................................14
FIGURE 18 - CHANNEL 1 SET FOR THRESHOLD TRIGGER ...............................................................15
FIGURE 19 - CHANNEL 1 THRESHOLD TRIGGER PARAMETERS ....................................................16
FIGURE 20 - CHANNEL 1 SET FOR STA/LTA TRIGGER .....................................................................17
FIGURE 21 - CHANNEL 1 STA/LTA TRIGGER PARAMETERS............................................................18
FIGURE 22 - SENSOR EDITOR DIALOG .................................................................................................19
FIGURE 23 - SENSOR PARAMETERS LOADED ....................................................................................19
FIGURE 24 - SENSOR TYPES ....................................................................................................................20
FIGURE 25 - UNSAVED CHANGES..........................................................................................................20
FIGURE 26 - CHANNEL 1 AS FBA............................................................................................................21
FIGURE 27 - CHANNEL 1 FBA PARAMETERS ......................................................................................22
FIGURE 28 - CHANNEL 1 AS AN EPISENSOR .......................................................................................23
FIGURE 29 - CHANNEL 1 EPISENSOR PARAMETERS .........................................................................24
FIGURE 30 - TERMINAL WINDOW .........................................................................................................25
FIGURE 31 - STATUS WINDOW ...............................................................................................................27
FIGURE 32 - SET TIME DIALOG ..............................................................................................................27
FIGURE 33 - SERIAL DATA WINDOW ....................................................................................................28
FIGURE 34 - ALTUS FILE VIEWER..........................................................................................................29
FIGURE 35 - FILE VIEWER TIME SERIES DISPLAY .............................................................................30
FIGURE 36 - FILE VIEWER SETUP DIALOG ..........................................................................................31
FIGURE 37 - FILE VIEWER HEADER DISPLAY.....................................................................................32
FIGURE 38 - FILE VIEWER CURSOR MODE ..........................................................................................33
FIGURE 39 - FILE VIEWER ZOOM ON CHANNEL 2 .............................................................................34
FIGURE 40 - FILE VIEWER ZOOMED ON CHANNEL 2 ........................................................................35
FIGURE 41 - INSTALL SECURITY NOTICE ............................................................................................37
FIGURE 42 - INSTALL.HTM FILE OPEN IN THE BROWSER. ..............................................................38
FIGURE 43 - INSTALL SETUP DOWNLOAD ..........................................................................................39
FIGURE 44 - INSTALL PREPARATION ...................................................................................................39
FIGURE 45 - INSTALL LOCALE SELECTION ........................................................................................40
FIGURE 46 - INSTALL READY TO BEGIN..............................................................................................40
FIGURE 47 - INSTALL LICENSE AGREEMENT .....................................................................................41
FIGURE 48 - CHOOSING THE INSTALL FOLDER .................................................................................42
FIGURE 49 - CHOOSING A JVM ...............................................................................................................43
FIGURE 50 - CREATING ICONS ...............................................................................................................44

Introduction
This manual covers the Kinemetrics Altus File Assistant program p/n 302457, or what will be simply
called File Assistant throughout this document.
The purpose of the program is to allow parameter manipulation, status review and data retrieval from
Altus series digital recorders via RS-232, modem, or TCP/IP.
File Assistant is written in Java and is supplied with an installer that installs the program as well as the
supporting documentation, and configuration files. Being written in Java and using a platform
independent installer, File Assistant can run on a variety of computer platforms including Windows
(including Windows 8), Linux, Mac OS, and Sun MicroSystems' Solaris Operating System.

File Assistant Overview

File Assistant is started by selecting the File Assistant icon. This may have been placed on your
desktop or in the system menus. In either case, once started, the program will look something like
this:

Figure 1 - Altus File Assistant Main Display

Note: The File Assistant supports translation of its messages and displays into other languages.
For details, please see Application Note #53 on the Kinemetrics web site.

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There are seven toolbar buttons for the File Assistant. Left to right, they are:
File Browser
Parameter Editor
Sensor Editor
Status Window
Serial Data Window
Terminal Window
Stop & Disconnect
Selecting any of the first six will present you with a Digitizer Selection dialog. The File Assistant
views the outside world as a collection of connections to remote digitizers. So to get started
with any of these four functions, you must first choose a digitizer to communicate with:

Figure 2 - Digitizer Selection dialog

The Digitizer Selection dialog will be discussed in more detail later on in this document.
Once the digitizer has been selected, the connection will be established and the function you had
originally selected (e.g. the File Browser) will appear. You can now communicate with the
selected digitizer. You can switch between the various functions (File Browser, Parameter
Editors, Terminal Window, Status Window, Serial Data Window) and the connection will be
maintained.
To terminate the connection, choose Stop & Disconnect from the toolbar.
If you wish to terminate the connection with the first digitizer and communicate with a second,
simply choose Stop & Disconnect. Then select a function (such as File Browser) to select and
begin communicating with the new digitizer.
Note: Although File Assistant will only communicate with one digitizer at a time, you can run
multiple copies of File Assistant simultaneously, each communicating with a different digitizer.

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Creating or Modifying Connections

Choosing an Existing Connection
File Assistant comes pre-configured with two existing connections: Com1Direct and
Com2Direct. These are available just to get users started with the most common
connection, which is a Windows-based machine via a direct connection (RS-232) to a
COM port.
To select one of the existing connections, pull down on the Digitizer selection widget and
click on your choice. Then select OK:

Figure 3 - Choosing an Existing Connection

Modifying an Existing Connection

To modify an existing connection, select the connection as above, but then select Edit:

Figure 4 - Modifying Connection Parameters

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Storage Directory allows you to specify the base directory for retrieved files from this
digitizer. This can be changed to any valid path and is set independently for each
connection.
Directories will be created as needed if they do not exist.
Slashes in the path name will automatically be corrected to the correct separator character
for your operating system (/ for Linux, \ for Windows). As far as File Assistant is
concerned, it isnt important which one you use.
If file paths do not include a drive specification (C:), then files are placed on the root
drive, which is C: on most PCs. We dont specify C: in our defaults since PCs are not
always the target, but you can specify the drive letter if you wish.
Storage Method indicates how retrieved files will be organized on the PC. The choices
are:
1 Flat Files are placed exactly into the directory you specify, and created with a name
that includes the digitizer: \seismic\Com1Direct_JV002.EVT
2 By Date Files are placed into a subdirectory named with the creation date of the file
in YYYYMMDD format. The EVT file is named with only its base name:
\seismic\19800109\JV002.EVT
3 By Digitizer Files are placed in a subdirectory names for the digitizer. The EVT file
is named with only its base name: \seismic\Com1Direct\JV002.EVT
4 Mimic Digitizer Files are placed in a way that mimics (duplicates) the organization
on the digitizer. In other words, if the digitizer uses the FLAT file structure, it
will be stored as \seismic\EVT\JV002.EVT, but if the digitizer uses the
TREE structure, then the file will be stored as
\seismic\EVT\19800109\JV002.EVT
Connection Parameters shows what type of connection is use to communicate with the
digitizer: RS-232, Modem, or TCP. Pressing the button (labeled RS232 in the figure)
displays a connection parameters dialog:

Figure 5 - RS232 Connection Parameters

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On the RS232 tab, you can select the serial port that will be used (supports Windows
COM ports and Linux/Unix tty ports), the baud rate to be used, and port settings (these
usually should not be changed).
A number of common serial ports are pre-defined, but you can type in additional names
in this field when needed. This could include additional COM ports on Windows, or
additional tty ports on Linux or Mac OS.
On Mac OS in particular, using a USB to serial converter can result in tty port names like
/dev/tty.usbserial-ftDXJPZ6

Figure 6 - Modem Connection Parameters

On the Modem tab, you can select the port that provides the modem connection, the baud
rate for communicating with the modem, port settings, init string, dialing prefix, and the
phone number used to dial a particular digitizer. Note that once this connection is
selected, File Assistant will dial through the modem to establish a connection.

Figure 7 - TCP Connection Dialog

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On the TCP tab, you can select the IP address of the digitizer and the port address used to
communicate with the digitizer. Each remote digitizer (interfaced via IP) will have a
unique IP address and/or port number.
When you have finished setting up the connection parameters, leave the appropriate
RS232/Modem/TCP tab selected, and select OK. The connection will now use that
connection type and parameters when this digitizer is selected.
IO Timeout specifies the maximum amount of time to wait (in seconds) for replies from
the digitizer. The default value is usually OK, but you can change this number to best suit
your application.
Terminal Log Directory specifies where log files from a terminal session with this
digitizer will usually be placed.
By default, log files for all digitizers are usually placed in the \logs directory. This
parameter allows you to specify specific locations for each digitizer so that you dont
have to browse to your preferred directory each time a log file is opened.

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Creating a New Connection

To create a new connection, when the Digitizer Selection dialog is presented, type in a
new name instead of selecting an existing name as shown:

Figure 8 - Creating a New Connection

And then press Edit:

Figure 9 Describing a New Connection

You can now edit the various parameters to specify where and how files are stored and
what type of connection is used to communicate with the digitizer.

Deleting an Existing Connection

To delete and existing connection, select it from the Digitizer Selection dialog and press
Delete.

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File Browser
The File Browser display shows directory contents of the selected digitizer, and provides
several file management functions.

Figure 10 - File Browser

The Center Pane of the File Browser indicates a file or folder name, file size in bytes,
file attributes (A indicates the file has never been retrieved), and file creation date and
time.
The long display bar on the bottom shows the current drive and path, and flashes when
the File Assistant is communicating with the digitizer.
Button definitions (clockwise from top):
A: - Select the digitizers A: drive.
B: - Select the digitizers B: drive.
ChDir Change to the selected directory. For example, select EVT\ and press ChDir.
You can accomplish the same thing by double-clicking the directory name.
Back Go back one directory level, for example from \EVT to \.
Refresh Re-read the drive. This may be needed to check for new files or after changing
out one storage card for another.

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Retrieve Retrieves selected files. More than one file at a time can be selected for
retrieval by holding the CTRL key while selecting files.
Note: By default retrieved files will be stored as specified by Storage Directory
and Storage Method for the current digitizer. This default file storage can be
overridden by holding the SHIFT key when pressing Retrieve. In this way, you
will be allowed to specify unique file storage locations and filenames.
Delete Deletes the selected files. This operation is permanent and cannot be undone.
Format Drive Formats the selected drive, erasing all files and directories. This
operation is permanent and cannot be undone.
File Viewer Allows you to view retrieved EVT files by sending them to an associated
file viewer application. Any application can be used that will accept the path to the EVT
file name as an argument. One option is the Altus File Viewer program that is included
with this package.
Cancel Closes the File Browser.
Note: During file retrieval, the File Browser will display the name of the current file
being retrieved, and the amount of data transferred for far:

Figure 11 - File Retrieval Progress

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Once one or more files have been retrieved, you may view them using the File Viewer
function. Pressing the File Viewer button from the File Browser will display the File
Viewer dialog allowing you to display any of the files retrieved:

Figure 12 - File Viewer Dialog

Note that the Display Utility field indicates the application that will be used to view
files. You must assign this to the program you wish to use. In the example above, we
have used the Altus File Viewer program.
On Mac OS, select the script file runavf.sh as the display utility. This script will start
the File Viewer when needed. Note that this file will be placed in the install directory
when Altus File Assistant is installed on a Mac OS machine.

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Selecting a file (which has been previously uploaded) and then pressing View will
cause the viewer program to start. In our case, seeing:

Figure 13 - Altus File Viewer Display

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Parameter Editor
The Parameter Editor allows you to access the parameters on the digitizer, manipulate them, and
send them back changing the behavior of the digitizer.
Parameters may be read from or written to a digitizer, and may also be read from or written to a
file (usually a .PAR file).
It is important to note that the parameters that you can edit from the Parameter Editor are
typically those that you can share with similar instruments (a group of 3 channel Etnas or a group
of 12 channel K2s for example). The parameter editor will not allow you to access parameters
that are unique to each instrument for example sensor types, sensor serial numbers, or sensor
parameters. These parameters are accessed through the Sensor Editor.
The basic Parameter Editor display looks like this:

Figure 14 - Parameter Editor

Obviously, the first thing you need to do is retrieve the parameters from the Recorder or from a
file (which you will need to select). Once you do this, youll see:

Figure 15 - Parameters Loaded

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You can now open each category of parameters and change the parameters within each category
as necessary. For example, pressing Station brings up this dialog:

Figure 16 - Station Parameters

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If you make a change and press OK, the fact that an unsaved change has been made will be noted
down in the lower left-hand corner as follows:

Figure 17 - Unsaved Changes

If you attempt to close the Parameter Editor without saving the changes to the Recorder or to a
File, youll get a confirmation reminder.

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Parameter categories are dynamic, and change with selection of other parameters. This is done so
as to not show you parameters that arent used the way the system is currently set up. For
example, if you have Channel 1 set up to use Threshold triggering:

Figure 18 - Channel 1 set for Threshold Trigger

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And then go look at the Triggering parameters, youll notice that the parameters for Channel 1 are
the Trigger and Detrigger thresholds:

Figure 19 - Channel 1 Threshold Trigger Parameters

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However, if you have Channel 1 set for STA/LTA triggering:

Figure 20 - Channel 1 set for STA/LTA Trigger

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Then the triggering parameters will be changed accordingly:

Figure 21 - Channel 1 STA/LTA Trigger Parameters

Similarly, available parameters, channel counts, and other features will dynamically change based
on the type of digitizer (Etna vs. K2), number of channels, or version of firmware currently
loaded into the digitizer.
For details on Parameters and their use and values, refer to the Altus Monitor Mode manual, p/n
302219.

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Sensor Editor
The Sensor Editor allows you to access the sensor specific parameters on the digitizer, manipulate
them, and send them back changing the behavior of the digitizer.
Parameters may be read from or written to a digitizer, and may also be read from or written to a
file (usually a .PAR file).
It is important to note that the sensor parameters that you can edit from the Sensor Editor are
those that you can NOT share with similar instruments (a group of 3 channel Etnas or a group of
12 channel K2s for example). The sensor editor allows you to access parameters that are unique
to each instrument for example sensor types, sensor serial numbers, or sensor parameters.
The basic Sensor Editor display looks like this:

Figure 22 - Sensor Editor dialog

Obviously, the first thing you need to do is retrieve the sensor parameters from the Recorder or
from a file (which you will need to select). Once you do this, youll see:

Figure 23 - Sensor Parameters Loaded

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You can now open each category and change the parameters within each category as necessary.
For example, pressing Sensor Types brings up this dialog:

Figure 24 - Sensor Types

If you make a change and press OK, the fact that an unsaved change has been made will be noted
down in the lower left-hand corner as follows:

Figure 25 - Unsaved Changes

If you attempt to close the Sensor Editor without saving the changes to the Recorder or to a File,
youll get a confirmation reminder.

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Sensor Parameter categories are dynamic, and change with selection of other parameters. This is
done so as to not show you parameters that arent used the way the system is currently set up. For
example, if you have Channel 1 set up as an FBA sensor:

Figure 26 - Channel 1 as FBA

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And then go look at the Sensor parameters, youll notice that the parameters for Channel 1 are the
standard FBA parameters:

Figure 27 - Channel 1 FBA Parameters

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However, if you have Channel 1 set as an EpiSensor:

Figure 28 - Channel 1 as an EpiSensor

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Then the sensor parameters will be changed accordingly:

Figure 29 - Channel 1 EpiSensor Parameters

Similarly, available parameters, channel counts, and other features will dynamically change based
on the type of digitizer (Etna vs. K2), number of channels, or version of firmware currently
loaded into the digitizer.
For details on Sensor Parameters and their use and values, refer to the Altus Monitor Mode
manual, p/n 302219.

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Terminal Window
The Terminal Window allows you to type in commands directly to the console of the digitizer.
The Terminal Window looks like this:

Figure 30 - Terminal Window

The bulk of the Terminal Window is dedicated to the simplest part the text window. In this
window you can type commands and see responses in text mode while communicating with the
console of the digitizer.
Note that the key sequence Ctrl+B (Control B) can be used over RS-232 connections to
generate a BREAK character. When the digitizer is configured for auto-baud rate mode, the
digitizer will cycle through available baud rates each time a BREAK is received.

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The buttons across the top of the dialog are for special functions:
Log Session Allows you to enable creation of a log file to hold all incoming and outgoing text.
This feature is useful for documenting results or for sending symptoms to Kinemetrics in
the form of text files.
When you press the button, you can select the name and location of a created log file. A
\logs subdirectory is created as a default location to hold these files, but this can be
overridden by selecting another directory.
After selection, the button will change to read Close Log.
Select Firmware Used to locate a .IMG file to be sent to the digitizer during the firmware
update process. Select the firmware image file BEFORE telling the Altus Bootloader to
update the Bootloader or Application Firmware. Then press Send Firmware.
Send Firmware Used to start the transmission of a .IMG firmware file that was previously
selected using Select Firmware. In addition, the Altus Bootloader must be ready to
receive the new firmware before this function is used.
For details on Terminal Mode commands and their use and values, refer to the Altus Monitor
Mode manual, p/n 302219.

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Status Window
The Status Window gives you an overview of the status of the digitizer. This includes information
such as time, acquisition status, free storage, and so on. The Status Window looks like this:

Figure 31 - Status Window

The buttons along the bottom of the Status Window are as follows:
Refresh Refreshes the status display by re-reading status data (which is automatically updated
every few seconds)
Set Time Allows you to set time manually, or from the PCs clock. Note that you must stop
acquisition before you can set time:

Figure 32 - Set Time Dialog

AQ off/on Allows you to stop and start acquisition.

KB Trigger Allows you to trigger and detrigger recording on the digitizer.
Functional Test Allows you to perform a functional test.

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Serial Data Window

The Serial Data Window gives you a graphical representation of serial data coming from the
digitizer. In order to use this feature, the digitizer must be set up for serial data in mode 1. Errors
in streaming setup will be indicated by messages when you open the window and the Serial Data
Window display will abort. The Serial Data Window looks like this:

Figure 33 - Serial Data Window

Note: The Serial Data Window is for checking the proper operation of serial data output only. There are
several restrictions and this is not intended as a data collection, analysis, or detailed diagnostic feature.
Other programs
for those
Selections
at the exist
bottom
of thepurposes.
dialog include:

Mean Remove Enables and disables mean removal of the signal for display purposes.
Scale Factor Allows scaling of the signal for display. Larger factors cause display of a larger
signal, but can result in clipping of the display.

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Altus File Viewer

The Altus File Viewer is a standalone application that is installed along with the Altus File
Assistant. It can be used as a file viewer when associated with Altus File Assistant via the File
Browser dialog as explained earlier. In addition, the Altus File Viewer (called File Viewer here)
can be run separately to view EVT files. A brief summary of capabilities follows. The initial File
Viewer display looks like this:

Figure 34 - Altus File Viewer

Note: The File Viewer supports translation of its messages and displays into other languages.
For details, please see Application Note #53 on the Kinemetrics web site.

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The File Viewer consists of a graphic display area (below), a menu, and a set of toolbar buttons.
Left to right, the toolbar buttons are as follows:
Open Opens a file for display. As of this writing, the File Assistant supports Kinemetrics EVT
files and MiniSEED files (with some restrictions) when used with a .m extension. In the case of
MiniSEED, multiple files for the same time period may be opened at once.

Figure 35 - File Viewer Time Series Display

Save As Allows saving of the current file in another directory or under another name.
Print Prints the current time series.

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Setup Allows configuration of additional File Viewer features. The Setup dialog looks like:

Figure 36 - File Viewer Setup Dialog

Setup selections include:

Columns Select the number of columns of graphic displays. You could for
example, organize an 18 channel record into 1 column of 18 plots, two columns
of 9 plots, or three columns of 6 plots.
Mean Allows mean removal from the data, or As Read display.
Autoscale Allows autoscale as Global (all channels scaled to largest signal),
Individual (channels scaled individually), or None

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Header Display Displays header information as is available from the file:

Figure 37 - File Viewer Header Display

Grid Mode Displays grid lines on the plots if requested.

Negative Display Displays plots as green on black or blue on white.
DAC Mode Displays data points as point-to-point, or showing individual signal levels for each
sample. This is usually only discernable when zoomed in closely.
Multi-channel Mode Displays all channels or only one channel at a time. In single channel
mode, channels can be selected with the Page Up / Page Down keys.
Units Allows selection of display units. Choices include counts, volts, g, cm/s2, or gal. Note
that correct bit weight and sensitivity settings are required for proper scaling of the data.

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Cursor Enables cursor mode so that you can click to display exact time and amplitude of
individual sample values. Note that the cursor can be moved with another mouse click or by using
the left and right arrow keys:

Figure 38 - File Viewer Cursor Mode

Re-Sync X-Axes Allows you to synchronize the display of all channels in the X-axis to show
the same time period. You could, for example zoom in on an area of one channel, and then resync the other channels to show the same time period.
Re-Sync Y Axes Allows you to synchronize the display of all channels in the Y-axis to show
the same amplitude range. You could, for example zoom in on an area of one channel, and then
re-sync the other channels to show the same amplitude range.
Zoom Out Zooms out to the original full scale range or autoscale setting.
About Shows the current version of the program.

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File Viewer Dynamic Operation

The File Viewer contains some dynamic displays manipulation features as follows:
Zooming: When NOT in Cursor mode, you can zoom on any channel by using the mouse to draw
a box around the area of interest:

Figure 39 - File Viewer Zoom on Channel 2

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Once zoomed, the display will look like this:

Figure 40 - File Viewer Zoomed on Channel 2

Note that the zoomed data will show a different amplitude and/or time period. You can zoom in
multiple times, and un-zoom one level at a time using a right click of the mouse. Zooming will
remember five levels of zoom for each plot.
Panning of the selected plot is also supported regardless of zoom level. The arrow keys allow
panning left, right, up, or down.

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Installation
This section addresses installation of File Assistant software on a customer-supplied computer.
Overview
File Assistant software is written in Java. As one result of this, the distribution has been reduced
to a single CD (or web installer). This CD can be can be used to install File Assistant software on
multiple platforms, such as Windows operating systems, Sun workstations, Linux, and Mac OS.
Kinemetrics will include in the installation only those platforms that have been tested, even if it is
possible that the software might work on another platform.
The following are included on the CD:
- File Assistant software
- Installation routines for supported platforms.
- JVMs for supported platforms.
This section describes the process of installing the File Assistant software from CD. The
installation process uses Zero G's InstallAnywhere software, which is a multi-platform installer.
So although the installation examples you'll see here are for a Windows computer, they are
essentially the same as what you'd see on a Linux machine or Sun workstation.
Installing for Solaris
Installation on a Sun workstation is mostly the same, but the CD format common to many Solaris
systems is somewhat incompatible with the formats created by the tools used by Kinemetrics.
It is recommended that you install File Assistant from the web for use on a Solaris machine, or
that you transfer these files to your workstation via FTP or another similar method, and then
directly execute the install.bin file located in the subdirectory InstData/Unix/Solaris.
Be sure that you have appropriate permissions to install the software.
Once you are able to begin the installation, skip to the step "Installation Steps".

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Installing for Windows, Linux or Mac OS

After inserting the CD, locate the file INSTALL.HTM - this is the file that is the starting point for
the InstallAnywhere installer. Open this file with your browser, which on most Windows
machines is done by double-clicking on the file icon. On Linux you single-click.
NOTE: On some systems it may be necessary to download the install to your hard drive, and
follow the simple installation instructions given on the INSTALL.HTM screen. You may see a
security notice that looks something like this:

Figure 41 - Install security notice

This screen is a standard notice that the installer is about to install some software on your system
temporarily. The installer is not connecting to the Internet, it does not pose a security risk. Select
YES. If you really don't want to get asked this question again, you can select "Always Trust".
On Linux, be sure that you have appropriate permissions to install the software. Since libraries
and support files are installed in system directories it may be easiest to install the software as
root or equivalent, and then change ownership of the installation directory and contents to a
non-privileged user.

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The next screen you'll see is the first actual install screen:

Figure 42 - INSTALL.HTM file open in the browser.

Note that in this example the screen includes a one click button (in this case, "Start Installer for
Windows") to start the installer for your particular platform. This shows the platform that the
installer detected. The other available installers for other platforms are listed below. (If your
display doesn't show the one click button, then select from that list of available installers below.)
"Download" is little misleading, as the download may actually be from the CD to your hard drive.

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If you start the installer from the one click button, a screen will appear over the next minute or
two (depending on the speed of your computer), which show the progress of setting up the
installer:

Figure 43 - Install setup download

Installation Steps
Once the installation gets started in detail, you may see a screen such as the following to indicate
that the installer is unpacking the software and getting it ready for installation:

Figure 44 - Install preparation

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Next, you'll be allowed to select the locale (or language) for the installation. This is a standard
InstallAnywhere feature, and will change the standardized messages of the installer.

Figure 45 - Install locale selection

After selecting the locale, several screens will display to step through the installation process.
First is the screen indicating that the installer is ready to begin:

Figure 46 - Install ready to begin

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Following this is the Kinemetrics software license agreement:

Figure 47 - Install license agreement

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The next screen selects the installation folder. Kinemetrics recommends that the software be
installed in the default folder. The rest of the examples in the installation section will assume that
the software is installed into C:\Program Files\Altus File Assistant.

Figure 48 - Choosing the install folder

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Next, youll be asked which JVM (Java Virtual Machine) to use with the File Assistant. For most
users, Kinemetrics recommends that you allow the installer to install a JVM to be used only with
the File Assistant. However, you can choose to associate the File Assistant with a previously
installed JVM if you wish.
JVMs for supported platforms are included on the CD, and can be installed if desired.

Figure 49 - Choosing a JVM

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Now you can choose where shortcuts to the program are installed. If your computer is used by
several different users with different login accounts, youll probably want to select Create icons
for all users.

Figure 50 - Creating icons

The screens that follow may indicate that the installation has changed your environment
variables, and that the computer will have to be rebooted for the changes required by the
installation to be complete. After the installation completes, and if requested, reboot your
computer.

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Index

A
Altus File Viewer, 29

C
Choosing an Existing Connection, 3
Creating a New Connection, 7
Creating or Modifying Connections, 3

I
Installation, 36
Introduction, 1

M
Modifying an Existing Connection, 3

P
Parameter Editor, 12

Deleting an Existing Connection, 7

F
File Assistant Overview, 1
File Browser, 8
File Viewer, 29
File Viewer Dynamic Operation, 34

S
Sensor Editor, 19
Serial Data Window, 28
Status Window, 27

T
Terminal Window, 25, 27, 28, 29