Helm 4.1.1.0 introduces support for Miranda Densite family modular cards,
Enabling the iControl Services Gateway
Helm uses the iControl Application Server’s XML Gateway to communicate with the cards. Direct communication without an iControl server is not possible. You must ensure that the “iControl Services Gateway” service is enabled and running on the iControl application server.
You should also verify that the card you wish to control can be accessed from iControl Navigator. Contact Miranda support if you’re having problems with this process.
Enumerating Card Properties
Unlike other modular systems, iControl does not inform remote control systems of the properties available for each card.
Because of this, Helm requires an XML file for each type of card to be controlled. The XML file contains information about available properties and their possible values.
How to obtain a card XML file
Many Densite XML card files can be downloaded directly from the iControl server, by accessing the “Supported Hardware” page and downloading the required XML files. Note that some older cards use HTML files – these are not supported by Helm.
If the XML file for your card is not available, you should contact Miranda support in the first instance.
How to install card XML files
The card XML files must be copied into the directory “C:\ProgramData\Rascular\HELM_Designer\Densite XML” on the Helm Designer PC. The files must be named according to the Card Type reported by the iControl Gateway. This usually omits the hyphen, and adds a suffix with the card version number.
For example, an HCO-1822 card running version 1.3.8 firmware would require a file named “HCO1822_138.xml”. Each different firmware version requires its own XML file, because exposed controls will often depend on the firmware version.
Building the panel
The first step is to add an icon representing the frame (or, more accurately, the iControl server), and set it’s IP address to the iControl server. Helm will now query the server for available cards, and load the XML files. If any XML files are missing, a list will be displayed at the end of the scan.
Now go ahead and add a Densite Card icon to your panel. You can associate it with the frame, and then choose the required card from the “Card” dropdown .
Once this is done, all available properties listed in the XML file can be used from scripts and attached to visual controls.
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