=========================================================
FlukeView(R) Forms
Version 3.1
April, 2006

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README.txt file
==============================
General Notes Index

1.  FlukeView Forms 3.1 Overview

2.  Installation notes

    i.   Installation on Windows NT 4, Windows 2000 and Windows XP
        a.  Administrator Privileges
        b.  Installation problems on Windows NT 4.0

    ii.  Upgrading earlier versions of FlukeView Forms on your PC

        a.  FlukeView Forms 1.5 and higher
        b.  FlukeView Forms for the 89, and FlukeView Forms for the 53/54-II

3.  Using the SAMPLE database files

4.  Concurrent Logging Feature

NOTE:  Please check the readme.txt file stored in the root directory of the
       FlukeView Forms CD for any late-breaking news about this release of
       FlukeView Forms.
==============================
1.  FlukeView Forms 3.1 Overview

FlukeView Forms is the latest version of the FlukeView Forms documenting
software, that allows you to transfer data from a supported Fluke 
instrument directly to forms on your computer.  English, French,
German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese versions
may be installed.

The complete list of supported meters for FlukeView Forms 3.1 is:

- Fluke 180 series
- Fluke 53-II and 54-II
- Fluke 89-IV and 87-IV
- Fluke 45
- Fluke 789 ProcessMeter
- Fluke 1653 Electrical Installation Tester
- Fluke 1550B MegOhmMeter
- "Add-in" instruments as noted on the FlukeView Forms web page

Although any of the meters can be used with FlukeView Forms 3.1, only
one meter can be used at a time. (Though multiple instances of FlukeView
Forms can be run, starting with FlukeView Forms 2.2, with each instance
concurrently logging data from a different meter. See the "Concurrent Logging 
Feature" section below for instructions on how to enable this feature.) 

===========================================================================
FlukeView Forms 3.1 features and improvements:

- Several enhancements have been made to the Amplitude Histogram:

   -- Traces from multiple data groups (up to six) can be displayed on a
      single histogram.

   -- The ability to set Manual Zoom values has been added to the histogram.

- To allow for future Fluke instrument additions, the ability to
  "Add-in" Fluke instruments has been implemented.

   -- To obtain the latest software required to connect your Fluke instrument
      to FlukeView Forms, you can check for software updates through the 
      "Check for Updates" Help menu in FlukeView Forms.

- To assure database integrity, a FlukeView Forms database cannot be opened
  by more than one application across a network.

===========================================================================
FlukeView Forms 3.0 features and improvements:

- FlukeView Forms Designer has had many significant improvements.  These include:

   -- Multiple Form Items can be selected, either by using the SHIFT or CTRL key
      in standard Windows fashion, or by doing a "rubber-band" capture -- clicking
      on the form template and dragging a "capture rectangle" around multiple items,
      and then releasing them.  

   -- The designer now has grid lines for aligning/guiding form template design.
      They can be adjusted or switched off in the "Grid Lines" menu item, under
      the "View" menu.

   -- You can align form items, either to the grid or to each other.  See the
      "Align Form Items" and "Snap To Grid" menu items under the Edit menu.

   -- You can also resize form items to the same size as each other, or to
      the grid.  See the "Resize Form Items" and "Shape to Grid" menu items
      under the Edit menu.

   -- You can also control the "Z-order" of the form items, i.e., move them on top
      of, or under, each other.  See the "Order" menu item under the "Edit" menu.

   -- Form items can be copied and pasted in the Designer (including multiple 
      form items.)  See "Copy / Paste Form Items" under the "Edit" menu.

   -- A form template can now be up to 20 pages long.  However, printing
      of forms using templates > 5 pages is prohibited on Windows 95/98/Me PCs.

- The Logging Window (interactive logging) has been redesigned to simplify and 
  enhance the feature.  There is now a "strip chart" graph displaying real-time
  logging information.

- Several enhancements have been made to the Logged Readings Graph:
  
   -- Traces from multiple data groups can be displayed on a single graph.

   -- The maximum number of traces that can be displayed on a single graph
      has been increased to six.

   -- User-selectable horizontal and vertical cursors can be set on the graph.
      Enable "Cursor Values" on the Logged Reading Graph's pop-up menu (right-click
      to make it appear), and then click on an axis to have the cursor appear.
      These axis cursors will also appear in printouts.

- "Sticky notes" can now be added to a form in FlukeView Forms, to annotate
   your forms before printing and saving.  Use the "Add a note" menu item
   under the Edit menu to add one; you can then drag it, stretch it, and
   edit it within FlukeView Forms.

- You can easily create a new FlukeView Forms database from within FlukeView Forms.  
  Select "New Database" from the "File" menu; name the new database; and select 
  what form templates you would like copied into the new database from your currently 
  open database.

- Multiple instances of FlukeView Forms can be run concurrently.  This is useful
  if you wish to interactively log from multiple meters at the same time.  

  See "Concurrent Logging Feature" below for full details of this feature

- Support for the Fluke 1550B MegOhmMeter in all languages.

===========================================================================
FlukeView Forms 2.2 features and improvements:

- Support for the Fluke 1653 Electrical Installation Tester in all languages.

- Initial support for Concurrent Logging Feature.

===========================================================================
FlukeView Forms 2.1 features and improvements:

- Saved forms and meter data can now be copied between FlukeView 
  Forms databases.  Databases can now be easily managed so that they 
  contain only the data you want them to.

- The Logged Readings graphs can now display data from multiple meters
  on a single graph.

- Support for the Fluke 789 meter in all languages.

- The Display Readings table can now be customized.  The order of the columns
  and the number of readings displayed per row can be changed; custom user
  annotation columns can also be added.

- Expansion and updating of the FlukeView Forms documentation, specifically the 
  Adobe Acrobat documents (User's Manual, Tutorials, Connect the Meter
  documents) and the Windows Help files.

- All data files created by previous versions of FlukeView Forms are
  compatible with the latest version of FlukeView Forms.

Also, a free demonstration version of FlukeView Forms is available for download
from the FlukeView web page.  While the demo version cannot communicate with meters,
it allows anyone to view saved forms and meter data created by the commercial 
version of the software.

===========================================================================
FlukeView Forms 2.0 features and improvements:

-  Previous versions of FlukeView Forms have only allowed one "meter's worth"
   of data to be placed on a single form.  For instance, the data from two
   meters cannot be uploaded or logged to a single FlukeView Forms form --
   they must be uploaded/logged onto separate forms.

   With FlukeView Forms 2.0, data from multiple meters may be placed on a
   single form.  This allows the data to be viewed side-by-side, compared,
   and printed together, instead of on separate forms.  This is done
   via FlukeView Forms "data groups".

   For an example of this, look at the "Three Meter Sample" form in the
   SAMPLE.FDB database, particularly the saved form "Sample Test". This shows
   data logged with 3 separate meters during the same time period, and
   uploaded to a single form.

   For more details about data groups, see:

   -  The FlukeView Forms User's Manual, "Data from Multiple Meters on a Single
      Form"
   -  Tutorial 4, "Multiple Data Groups"

-  The graphs (particularly the Logged Readings Graph) has expanded options
   for viewing data. It has also been changed to support the new "data groups"
   feature.  Data from different data groups appears in different colors on
   the graphs.  

   By right-clicking on a Logged Readings graph in FlukeView Forms,
   you will get the Logged Reading graph menu.  From there, you can
   access several new features:

       - Change the data group that the graph is displaying, via
         the "Select Traces" submenu.  

       - Show timestamps in elapsed time since the start of logging,
         as opposed to Date/time stamps, by selecting "Elapsed Time".
         This is useful when comparing several logged data groups
         that were started simultaneously.

       - When viewing data from meters with multiple inputs (like
         the Fluke 54, or interactively logged dual display readings
         from a Fluke 87/89-IV, 187/189 or 45), you can view the
         multiple traces either overlayed (default) or side-by-side,
         by selecting "Overlap" or "Split" from the "Graph View" 
         submenu.  You can also choose to show/hide individual 
         traces via the "Select Traces" submenu.

----------------------------------
2.  Installation notes

For the most up-to-date installation information, go to the FlukeView Forms 
FAQ page at Fluke.com, at http://www.fluke.com/flukeviewforms/.  
Select "FlukeView Forms Support", and then select "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)".

--
i.  Installation on Windows NT 4, Windows 2000 and Windows XP

a.  Administrator Privileges

On Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, you must be logged in with
Administrator privileges to install FlukeView Forms. After installing
FlukeView Forms on Windows NT 4, you may be instructed to reboot the
PC; if so, you must log in with Administrator privileges a second time 
for the software configuration to complete successfully. If you do not 
do this, the Microsoft Data Components software (MDAC) will not install
correctly. 

If you are installing the FlukeView Forms program under Windows 2000 or
Windows XP, and you do not have Administrator privileges, the installation 
program aborts almost immediately with the following message:

        "Error installing iKernel.exe (0x800)"


b.  Installation problem on Windows NT 4.0

Symptoms: 

During the installation of FlukeView Forms on a Windows NT 4.0 PC, 
you receive an error message dialog box saying that a number of files did not
"register", or "self-register". 

This error message occurs after the installation program has copied all
the FlukeView Forms files to your PC, but before the Microsoft Data
Components (MDAC) setup has started (the green screen that pops up at the
end of the setup process.)  This error message means your software has NOT
installed successfully.

After the installation process is finished and you reboot (and log in as
Administrator a second time), you will be unable to use either FlukeView
Forms or FlukeView Forms Designer -- you will get GPFs or other errors
when trying to run the software.

Description of Problem:

This problem occurs on Windows NT 4.0 PCs that have been misconfigured by
other faulty setup programs. There is a Microsoft component file, 
COMCAT.DLL, that is usually (but not always) already installed on Windows NT 
4.0 PCs.  The installation program for FlukeView Forms installs COMCAT.DLL 
if it is not already installed on the PC.  The version of COMCAT.DLL that 
is needed to be installed on Windows NT is version 4.71.  (This is true even 
for the latest Windows NT 4 Service Pack installations, e.g., SP6a.)

There is a COMCAT.DLL version 5.0 that was designed for Windows 95 and 98,
and is incompatible with Windows NT 4.0.  There is also a COMCAT.DLL version
5.0 which is released with Windows 2000, and is incompatible with other
versions of Windows.

If either COMCAT.DLL 5.0 is installed on Windows NT, it will cause problems 
with other DLLs registering. While most installation programs (ours included) 
are careful not to install the wrong version of COMCAT.DLL on Windows NT, others
are not (including a few from Microsoft.)  For some reason, this problem
seems to occur more frequently in Europe. 

To fix the problem:

1)  First, determine the version number of COMCAT.DLL with Windows NT
    Explorer.  (Windows NT Explorer will have to have the "Show all Files" 
    option selected in its View/Options/View menu to be able to view 
    COMCAT.DLL.)  The version number is displayed by right-clicking on the 
    COMCAT.DLL file in the Windows NT Explorer, selecting "Properties", and 
    clicking on the "Version" tab.  At the top of the tab will be the words 
    "File Version:" and the version number.

    If the version of COMCAT.DLL is NOT 4.71, proceed with the steps below.

    If the version of COMCAT.DLL is 4.71, you are experiencing a different
    installation problem.  In this case, please check the FlukeView Forms
    WWW page FAQ for further installation help, by visiting 

                      http://www.fluke.com/flukeviewforms
    
    and clicking "FlukeView Forms Support" and then "Frequently Asked
    Questions (FAQ)".  Or contact Fluke Support at the e-mail and phone
    numbers listed at the end of this Readme file.

2)  After attempting to uninstall the FlukeView Forms software, delete the
    directory where FlukeView Forms was installed.  (Usually this is
    c:\program files\Fluke\FlukeViewForms.)

3)  Rename c:\winnt\system32\COMCAT.DLL to comcat.old (where "c:\winnt" is
    the Windows NT 4.0 directory.)  

4)  Re-run the FlukeView install program. It will install COMCAT.DLL 4.71 on
    Windows NT 4.0.

--
ii.  Upgrading earlier versions of FlukeView Forms on your PC

Owners of earlier versions of FlukeView Forms can upgrade to FlukeView
Forms 3.1 by running the FlukeView Forms installation program.  All data 
files created by previous versions of FlukeView Forms can be read by 
FlukeView Forms 3.1.  However, FlukeView Forms 3.1 files (databases 
(.fdb) and form templates (.ftf)) are not usable by earlier versions of 
FlukeView Forms.


a.   Upgrading FlukeView Forms 1.5 and higher

The FlukeView Forms 3.1 installation program will automatically upgrade
your current installation of FlukeView Forms to FlukeView Forms 3.1, in
the same directory that FlukeView Forms is currently installed.  Your 
existing FlukeView Forms data files will not be overwritten or deleted;
the existing SAMPLE.FDB and SAMPLE_1653.FDB files will be copied and 
renamed before being replaced by updated sample databases.

Note: A non-English version of FlukeView Forms cannot be upgraded to an 
English version of FlukeView Forms 3.1 (the 3.1 installation program will 
not allow it.)  However, it can be upgraded to any non-English version of 
3.1.

To upgrade a non-English version to an English version, you will first need 
to uninstall FlukeView Forms using "Add/Remove Programs" in the Windows 
Control panel.  Afterwards, install FlukeView Forms 3.1, English version.


b.   Upgrading FlukeView Forms for the 89, and FlukeView Forms for 
     the 53/54-II

If either of these versions of FlukeView Forms exist on your PC, you will 
be asked during FlukeView Forms 3.1 installation if you would like to
remove these earlier versions from your computer. This is optional --
the existence of the older FlukeView Forms versions will not affect
FlukeView Forms 3.1, and vice-versa -- but since FlukeView Forms 3.1
supersedes all earlier versions, and all FlukeView Forms database files
can be read by 3.1, there is no reason to keep these older versions of
software on your PC. 

Whatever you decide to do, none of your existing FlukeView Forms data
files will be deleted. If you decide not to remove the previous versions
during FlukeView Forms 3.1 installation, you may remove them from your
computer at a later time from "Add/Remove Programs" in the Windows
Control Panel. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: You must not install FlukeView Forms 3.1 in the same
directory where any previous versions are installed. Since the default
installation directory for this version is different than the default
directories for previous versions, this situation is unlikely to occur.
If you do install FlukeView Forms in a previous version's directory,
neither version will be able to run correctly. 

COMPATIBILITY: As mentioned above, all your existing FlukeView Forms
database files (*.fdb) and form template files (*.ftf) can be read by
FlukeView Forms 3.1. Open the older databases from "Open Database..." in
the File menu of FlukeView Forms or FlukeView Forms Designer; the
databases will be converted to FlukeView Forms 3.1 format, while a
backup of the original database will be saved as well. Older form
template files can be imported from "Import..." in the File menu of
FlukeView Forms Designer. 


----------------------------------
3. Using the SAMPLE database files

[Note: In the Demonstration version of FlukeView Forms, SAMPLE.FDB
 has been renamed to DEMO.FDB, and SAMPLE_1653.FDB renamed to
 DEMO_1653.FDB.  

 And in FlukeView Forms Basic, the sample database is named SAMPLE_BASIC.FDB.  
 (No SAMPLE_1653.FDB ships with FlukeView Forms Basic.)]

The SAMPLE.FDB and SAMPLE_1653.FDB (for use only with the Fluke 1653)
files are provided as example databases; they contain sample forms with 
sample data to show what different types of forms and data could look like. 
However, you will typically want to create a new database for storing your 
own data. 

This is because the SAMPLE database files are fairly large, due to the 
sample data they contain.  A new database will be considerably smaller, and
you will not be confusing data that you have stored in the database
with sample data that came with the SAMPLE databases.

(Optimizing your FlukeView Forms database will improve the performance
 of FlukeView Forms.  For details, see "Optimizing a Database" in the
 FlukeView Forms Users Manual.)

You may choose to store some of your own data in the SAMPLE database files;
however, keep in mind that these files will be replaced with a new
SAMPLE.FDB and SAMPLE_1653.FDB file if FlukeView Forms is ever re-installed 
on the computer.  If this occurs, the FlukeView setup program will rename and 
copy your old SAMPLE database files. These backups of your SAMPLE database 
files will be named SAMPLE_N.FDB and SAMPLE_1653_N, where N is a unique number.

There is also a copy of each SAMPLE database file on your CD-ROM, in the
directory d:\Samples\<language> (where d: is your CD-ROM drive.)  There are
also copies of all the forms in the SAMPLE database files in this directory as
well, saved as .ftf files. These can be imported into any database using
the FlukeView Forms Designer's "Import..." menu under the File menu.

For information on creating a new database, see "Creating a New Database" 
in the FlukeView Forms Users Manual.


----------------------------------
4.  Concurrent Logging Feature

Beginning with FlukeView Forms 2.2, you can now interactively log data
from several supported meters concurrently, on the same PC.

This is done by setting FlukeView Forms so that multiple instances of
FlukeView Forms can be run at the same time.  (I.e., several FlukeView
Forms applications will be running on Windows simultaneously.)  Each
FlukeView Forms instance can be configured to communicate with a separate
meter, and data can be interactively logged from each meter
simultaneously.

To enable multiple instances of FlukeView Forms, select "Options" from the 
"Tools" menu.  Then, on the "Preferences" tab, check "Enable multiple 
instances of FlukeView Forms".

Once this setting has been changed, each time you start FlukeView Forms
from the Windows Start menu, a new instance of FlukeView Forms will be
opened.

To return FlukeView Forms to being limited to one instance, close all but 
one instance of FlukeView Forms.  Then, select "Options" from the "Tools"
menu, select the "Preferences" tab, and uncheck "Enable multiple instances
of FlukeView Forms".

The limitations to this feature are that:

1)  Each instance of FlukeView Forms must have its own serial port.
    For example, if the first instance is configured to communicate with
    COM1, the second instance must be configured to use a different 
    serial port (e.g., COM2).

2)  Each instance of FlukeView Forms must use a different FlukeView
    Forms database (.fdb file).  When a new instance of FlukeView Forms
    is started, you are prompted for a different database to open.  (You
    can create new databases with FlukeView Forms Designer.)

    The data logged by each instance of FlukeView Forms will be stored
    in each separate database.  After all logging is finished, and
    there is only one instance of FlukeView Forms running, you can 
    combine meter data from multiple databases into a single database 
    (or onto a single form, where multiple data groups has been enabled).
    Use the "Import Form Data..." feature underneath the "Edit" menu of 
    FlukeView Forms.

    For more details about the "Import Form Data..." feature, see
    "Importing Meter Data from Another Database" in the Windows Help 
    file, or the FlukeView Forms Technical Note "Managing FlukeView 
    Forms Databases", available on the FlukeView Forms CD, or from the 
    FlukeView Forms Support Page at http://www.fluke.com/flukeviewforms/

3)  No more than 4 instances of FlukeView Forms can be run concurrently.



==============================
Contacting Fluke
==============================

Phone Numbers

USA:            1-800-44-FLUKE
Canada:         1-800-363-5853
Europe:         +31 402-675-200
Japan:          +81-3-3434-0181
Singapore:      +65-738-5655 in Singapore

And +1-425-446-5500 from other countries

E-Mail
You may send questions, comments, or suggestions via E-Mail to:
fluke-info@fluke.com.  Or visit us on the World Wide Web at: www.fluke.com
