WinX10 Hints and Suggestions

This note explains some features of WinX10 and gives some hints on
how to get the most out of the program.

1) WinX10  works  best  when  all WinX10 files (WINX10.EXE, *.ICO,
   HOUSE.BMP and  NOFOUND.ICN)  are  kept  in  the same directory.
   Since WinX10 never  writes  your  WIN.INI  file or your Windows
   directory, all WinX10 files will remain in one directory making
   it easy for you to update or remove WinX10 at a later date.

2) Always  run  WinX10 from the same directory (eg C:\WINX10).  If
   you  run  WinX10  from  different directories you may  end  out
   creating  multiple  copies  of  DEFAULT.X10.    If  during  one
   secession you  load  one  version  of  DEFAULT.X10  and  during
   another  secession you  load  another  version  of  DEFAULT.X10
   (containing  different  parameters),  you   may  get  undesired
   results since loading DEFAULT.X10 does  not download the events
   stored in DEFAULT.X10.
 
3) Whenever you  exit  from  WinX10,  the  program  will  save the
   current configuration in DEFAULT.X10.    Each  time  you  start
   WinX10, it will look for  DEFAULT.X10 in the current directory.
   If it finds DEFAULT.X10, it will load the port settings, window
   coordinates,  programmed events, etc.  If WinX10  doesn't  find
   DEFAULT.X10  it will ask you what port the  X10  controller  is
   connected to (just like when you ran the program  for the first
   time).   If you ever desire to start the program  from  scratch
   you  can  delete  DEFAULT.X10  so  the  program  thinks you are
   running it for the first time.
   
4)  If    you    add   "X10=C:\WINx10\WINX10.EXE ^.X10"   to  your
   "[Extensions]" area of  WIN.INI  then  you  can start WinX10 by
   clicking on the *.X10  file  in  file manager.  This allows you
   add different configurations of WinX10  to  your Windows group.
   For example, if you have files FALL.X10, WINTER.X10, SPRING.X10
   and SUMMER.X10, you can create an Icon  in  your  windows group
   for each X10 configuration file by clicking on  FILE-NEW in the
   program manager and choosing one of the *.X10 files.  Now, when
   you  click  on one of these Icons, the WinX10 program  will  be
   started,  the  appropriate  *.X10  file will be loaded, and the
   events will be downloaded to your CP290.

5) Whenever WinX10  is  loaded,  it  will  attempt  to 'guess' the
   current  state (eg ON or OFF) of each Unit.  It will  be  wrong
   from  time  to  time.    This  is  due  to  the X10 "open loop"
   protocol.   For  example, if you manually turn on a light via a
   wall switch, it  never  registers  in  the  X10  controller and
   therefore the program has  no  way of knowing about it.  WinX10
   compares the current time/day with  all  the stored events.  If
   the last programmed event for a  given  unit turned the unit ON
   then WinX10 will display the ON Icon.    If the last programmed
   event for a given unit turned the unit  OFF  then  WinX10  will
   display the OFF Icon. 
   
6) WinX10  will  track  the  CP290  rocker  switches  on  the  X10
   Controller  while  the  program  is running.    Since  the  X10
   Controller uploads status to the computer whenever  it's rocker
   switches  are  pressed,  WinX10  will  update the corresponding
   Icon.  So when you turn a light ON/OFF using the rocker switch,
   the  corresponding Icon on the screen will turn ON/OFF.   Also,
   if  a  programmed  event  occurs  while  the  WinX10 program is
   running, the Icon on the screen will be updated accordingly.

7) WinX10  does  not  support  "grouping"  of  Units.  If you want
   multiple units to turn  ON/OFF  at the same time, you will have
   to add an event for each unit separately.