NI Lookout 6.2 Release!

NI Lookout 6.2 Adds Connectivity to Most PLCs
http://digital.ni.com/worldwide/bwcontent.nsf/websearch/25988ccf006fd5fc862574f200758d10
Learn more about NI OPC Server at http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/4584
Ryan Shi
National Instruments

You can download Lookout 6.2 software from here http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/1141/lang/en
I'm sorry that we didn't notify you when the Lookout 6.2 beta would expire.
Ryan Shi
National Instruments

Similar Messages

What is new in Lookout 6.2?

I would like to know what has been improved/changed for the releasing of Lookout 6.2. How to find that?

Rudy,
I have attached the release notes for Lookout 6.2 which detail what is new. Thanks!
Andy F.
National Instruments
Attachments:
relnotes.pdf ‏99 KB

Logging data after a trigger with Lookout Direct

Hi,
I would like to log data with Lookout Direct after a trigger input (not periodically or continuously). I am using Lookout DIrect version 4.5.1 build 19 and a Direct Logic 250 PLC.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to do this? I would prefer that this data be logged into Excel. I have 24 sensors connected to the PLC and each time a sensor transitions from hi to low I would like to log the time of transition.
Currently I have individual spreadsheet storage objects for each sensor as well as individual latchgates to indicate when logging has been completed. In the PLC code there is a state machine for each individual sensor as well and one of the states waits for an acknowledgement from Lookout that data logging has been completed before moving on to the next state (I will have to dig a bit deeper to remember exactly why I needed to do that).
I am hoping there is a more traditional approach that is easier than what I am doing. One of the problems I have been facing is Lookout Direct crashing every few days and I suspect it is because the sensors are often sensed within milliseconds of each other and opening/closing so many files is causing problems. I worked through a list of possible reasons that Lookout may be crashing (provided by tech support) and I am nearly convinced I am just asking too much of the program...
Any help will be greatly appreciated
Thank you,
David

In case someone can help with this, here is a bit more information about my application and the PLC/Lookout code I have developed:
Actuators have two positions, nominal and folded. Prox sensors are used to monitor the position of actuators. 12 actuators can be monitored simultaneously. The time at which prox sensors are sensed high is recorded so that actuator speed and actuation success is logged.
The PLC code consists of 12 separate state machines, each with the following 8 states:
State 1
System reset or nominal timer reset
Wait for nominal prox release
State 2
Nominal prox released
Wait for folded prox sense
State 3
Folded prox sensed
Wait for folded ack from Lookout (acknowledges that timer value has been logged)
State 4
Folded ack from Lookout received
Wait for folded timer reset (this state is active for one scan only)
State 5
Fold-in timer reset
Wait for folded prox release
State 6
Folded prox released
Wait for nominal prox sense
State 7
Nominal prox sensed
Wait for nominal ack from Lookout (acknowledges that timer value has been logged)
State 8
Nominal ack received from Lookout
Wait for nominal timer reset (this state is active for one scan only)
Lookout acknowledges that timer values have been read and saved with LatchGates. Lookout uses a SpreadSheet Storage Object to save the PLC timers when the PLC enters states 3 or 7 (prox sensor triggered). The logged member of the SpreadSheet Storage Object is used to change the state of the LatchGates which, in turn, signal the PLC to proceed to the next state. When the folded file is saved, the nominal LatchGate is turned off and the folded LatchGate is turned on and vice-versa for the nominal file.
The LatchGate/SpreadSheet Storage combination is what I am hoping to improve upon. I believe Lookout is crashing when 12 SpreadSheet Storage Objects log to 12 different files during the same 1 second period of time.
If anyone has suggestions of a way to log this data in the PLC memory or a software package better suited for this application, please let me know! I believe this would be simple with LabVIEW, unfortunately obtaining the additional hardware and software that I would need hasn't been easy!

Halo 4 Midnight release

I was wondering if your stores are going to be launching Halo 4 at midnight and if so, are there any in Arizona?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Keep a lookout on Best Buy's Gaming Events webpage. It should probably update soon and show which stores will have a midnight release for halo 4. For now, you can cross reference which stores are having a midnight opening for medal of honor, forza, and assassins creed. If your store is haveing a midnight opening for these games then chances are they will for halo 4 too. But I make no promises!

Lookout 6.1 Edit Mode Bug

I don't remember seeing this in older versions of Lookout, but in 6.1:
Edit mode allows you to open a second session of object editing. It used to be you had to close an open object edit (connections, data member configuration, etc) before opening another.
Well in 6.1, it will let you open a second one....and Lookout will always crash after you close them and save the process (sometimes it will crash before you try to save).
Ed

Ryan,
Windows XP SP2 32-bit, fully updated. Dell Precision 690 with single Xenon 5160 dual core @ 3.0GHz
I sent you an email with more details....
I have not restored to original release 6.1 only. I will progress the entire upgrade path scenario when I have time to reload the machine in question and I'll test each phase.
Ed
Message Edited by erblock on 03-31-2008 01:38 AM

Proceedure to upgrade from lookout 6.0.0 to 6.0.2

I am looking for some direction on the proper proceedure to upgrade an
existing 6.0 installation to the newly released 6.0.2 version.
The readme file says to remove the previous installation of lookout and
to refersto the release notes. The release notes do not give any
specific instalation instructions other than to install on a clean
computer.
Is there are proceedures that will fully back up my data and
configurations that will restore the proceses and data when the upgrade
is done?
Thanks in advance.

Hi Alan,
If you images were just images from the default Graphics directory, you should have no problem. However, if you used images from the Image Navigator or imported custom graphics, these will need to be added to your new installation. You can either create a subdirectory in the Lookout/Graphics directory, put your images there, and relink all your images to look at the new folder, then copy this folder and put it back to that same location after reinstalling. However, if you are simply upgrading on the same computer, it's probably easier to copy your entire Graphics directory to a safe location, then uninstall/upgrade, then copy the backup Graphics folder over the new Graphics folder after reinstalling. See the following KB
Doug M
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
For those unfamiliar with NBC's The Office, my icon is NOT a picture of me

OPC lookout server ver. 5.1

I'm seeing the following error message
-2147352566 (8002000A) Out of Present Range
Can you find out what the issue is? How do we resolve this error?

I'm sorry we don't have plan to update the IA OPC Server.
Recently we released NI OPC Server with DSC 8.5 and lookout 6.2. If you are using DSC 8.5 or higher, or lookout 6.2 or higher, NI OPC Server will be an option for you.
Here is a list of supported PLCs by NI OPC Server. Micrologix, FX and Q series are all supported.
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/6417
Take a look at this page, click on NI OPC Servers. You can download the evaluation software.
http://www.ni.com/opc
Note that the NI OPC Server can only work with DSC 8.5 or higher, and lookout 6.2 or higher.
Ryan Shi
National Instruments

Lookout bad quality data

I have recived this error in lookout ONLY when I leave the process running for more than FOUR days (sometimes three, sometimes five).
Lookout bad quality data, unknown reason
and the data at the control panel looks with a red X.
The hardware is FieldPoint FP-1001, FP-TC-120 and RS-485 with a National Instruments PCI-485 board.
I had checked the cable and it is ok. I installed the sistem in laboratory, no in the factory, with another computer, and had the same error.
Where can the problem be?
Santiago Orellana V.
HighLights - National Instruments Ecuador

In posting questions like this, you'll find that the more details you provide up front, the quicker your problem will be resolved. Which version of Lookout do you have? Have you installed the latest logos version? (Similar problems were addressed by recent releases.) Are you using OPCFieldPoint or a FieldPoint object? Can you communicate with the hardware through FieldPoint Explorer when the red X's appear in Lookout? If you're having problems in FieldPoint Explorer as well, then the issue is most likely with FieldPoint. Otherwise, we should focus on Lookout.
Regards,
Michael Shasteen
Applications Engineering
National Instru
ments
www.ni.com/ask
1-866-ASK-MY-NI

Lookout 4.0 w/Fieldpoint

Installed Fieldpoint 1.7 after Lookout 4.0 and restarted PC. Lookout no longer
ran due to missing "lkhist.dll" file. Reinstalling Lookout solved problem.
Anyone else seen this yet?

David,
You're very right. At the time that I made that post, it was valid information.
In the mean-time, the version of lksock.dll on the ftp site has changed,
and it references parts of the new lkdynam.dll (not on the ftp site).
We will be releasing a maintenence update to Lookout at the end of this month
that will resolve all of these inconsistencies.
Obviously, with file versions on the ftp site changing frequently in this
interim time period, I do not want to give directions on how to "fix" this
until the maintenence release (lest my advice once again become invalid before
someone else reads it).
For anyone else who experiences similar problems, please go to our Ask an
Engineer site at http://www.ni.com/ask
and provide the details as David did. You will receive a reply from one
of our Applications Engineers who will help you get a consistent combination
of files.
I apologize for the inconvience during this interim time before the maintenence
release. David, I will send the current instructions to you after posting
this message.
Anita Anderson
support wrote:
>Anita,>>I followed your instructions and downloaded the updates from the
FTP>site.>One of that was "lksock.dll".>However if you use this version the
following error message is generated>when starting the Citadel services.>>"The
LKSOCK.DLL file is linked to missing export>LKDYNAM.DLL:ThreadStartup">>Does
this mean that the updated "LKDYNAM.DLL" is missing from the FTP>site.>>David
Crofts>Acquisition Systems Ltd>>>Anita Anderson wrote> >> "Todd Buchholz"
wrote> >>Installed Fieldpoint 1.7 after Lookout
4.0 and restarted PC. Lookout no>> longer>ran due to missing "lkhist.dll"
file. Reinstalling Lookout solved>> problem.> Anyone else seen this yet?>>
>> Todd,>> >> I tried to replicate your problem on a newly reformatted NT
machine. My>> lkhist.dll was on my machine, both before & after. Lookout
ran fine so I'm>> not sure why your machine experienced the problem. There
are a few other>> things you should be aware of.>> >> Fieldpoint Explorer
1.7 is an older version of the software, designed prior>> to Lookout 4.0.
It will run with Lookout 4.0, but there are a few reasons>> for why you
should install the current version (2.0) when using Lookout 4.0.>> When
you install version 1.7, it will actually overwrite the fpoint.cbx>> in the
Lookout 4.0 directory with an older version. The main reason to upgrade>>
your FieldPoint software is that there is a crash associated with using the>>
old fpoint.cbx with Lookout 4.0. Also, the older version of the FieldPoint>>
software does not support the FP-1600 network module. I'm guessing that>>
you aren't using this network module, but if you decide to use it in the>>
future, you would need to upgrade anyway.>> >> The most recent version (2.0)
is available in a zip file from our ftp site>> at>> ftp://ftp.ni.com/support/fieldpoint/Server/>>
>> After you install that software, you can go to the site below and download>>
a couple of fixes available for Lookout 4.0. Among them is a newer version>>
of fpoint.cbx which fixes the crash problem.>> >> ftp://ftp.ni.com/support/lookout/Lookout4fixes/>>
>> Anita Anderson>> National Instruments

Has anyone ported a large I/O count Lookout application to LabVIEW DSC yet?

Please share your Lookout to LabVIEW conversion tests, successes and/or failures with this forum community. Lookout's days are numbered and we need to see if NI is meeting our needs for the next generation operating system(s) (Vista, in my case).
Large or small projects or even tiny tests will matter.
Windows Server 2003 experiences count also!
Regards,
Ed

ok. let me tell you that Lookout 6.1 will be released, which will support Vista.
The Lookout developers are just waiting for the Vista release and we need to do more tests on that.
Ryan Shi
National Instruments

Copying Lookout Objects

Is there any way to copy Lookout "Expression" and "Average" objects using
the keyboard shortcuts (i.e. "CTL-C") or with the mouse?. I can
successfully copy objects such as "Gauges" and "Pots" and Lookout creates a
new object with a number appended to the end of the original name. If I try
to do the same thing with the expression it just creates a linked copy of
the same object. I have many expressions that are practically identical
except for the name and the source and I have to do "Object >> Create..."
every time! This is REALLY slowing down my development.
Geoffrey B. Klotz
GK Associates, Inc.
TEL: (805) 523-8700
FAX: (805) 523-1216
EMAIL: [email protected]

Thanks for the suggestions. Editing the .lks file seems to work great. I
figured out that when you are finished editing the source that you have to
recompile manually. Maybe on a future release of Lookout, NI can include a
text editor for manipulating the source code similar to some of the HTML
editors like MS FrontPage.
One other suggestion is adding a feature to the "alignment" commands that
will make all highlighted display boxes equal in dimension. The most time
consuming part of creating a user panel right now is manually manipulating
each gauge object with the mouse and trying to match the size of previously
created display objects.
All in all, a nice product. Thanks again.
Geoffrey B. Klotz
GK Associates, Inc.
TEL: (805) 523-8700
FAX: (805) 523-1216
EMAIL: [email protected]
Guy McDonnell wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> One approach, though it can be perilous, is to manualy edit the .lks file
> with a basic text editor that does not force hidden character such as eol.
> This approach allows the copy paste option you reference. I usually use
the
> editor with my C compiler but notepad will also work.
>
>
> "newsgroups.ni.com" wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
> > Is there any way to copy Lookout "Expression" and "Average" objects
using
> > the keyboard shortcuts (i.e. "CTL-C") or with the mouse?. I can
> > successfully copy objects such as "Gauges" and "Pots" and Lookout
creates
> a
> > new object with a number appended to the end of the original name. If I
> try
> > to do the same thing with the expression it just creates a linked copy
of
> > the same object. I have many expressions that are practically identical
> > except for the name and the source and I have to do "Object >>
Create..."
> > every time! This is REALLY slowing down my development.
> >
> > --
> > Geoffrey B. Klotz
> > GK Associates, Inc.
> > TEL: (805) 523-8700
> > FAX: (805) 523-1216
> > EMAIL: [email protected]
> >
> >
> >
>
>

Verizon and Lookout teaming up..

Here is a nice little twist from the usual security flaws post that we have been seeing lately, so I decided to share.
It appears that Verizon and Lookout Security are teaming up to protect the customer from being attacked by the dreaded Malware bug that has been popping up lately.
Check out the post released at Android Central.... http://www.androidcentral.com/lookout-announces-mobile-threat-network-partnership-vcast-app-store
This isn't a way to completely stop the problem but it at least is a starting point and its worth acknowledging.

This sounds like a very good thing Wildman.

Lookout support for SQLSERVER 2005 Express

Any chance of you folks packaging the newest version to replace SQL's MSDE with your Lookout deployments?
Alternatively, can you define a workaround to get Lookout to work with the newest Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (which replaces MSDE 2000a)?
I really wish you didn't use installers to install both Lookout and MSDE setup with mixed authentication mode!
Cheers,
Ed

Ed,
I am not aware of any plans to upgrade to MS SQL Server 2005 in Lookout
nor of a way for Lookout to use SQL Server 2005. The Lookout
Release Notes explain how you can change SQL Servers to use Windows
Authentication mode rather than Mixed Mode.
Doug M
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
For those unfamiliar with NBC's The Office, my icon is NOT a picture of me

Lookout 6.7.1 hosting on IIS 7.5

I am an IT consultant brought on to try and resolve an issue with Lookout 6.7.1 hosting on windows server 2008 machine utilizing IIS 7.5 to host the web client files. This is my first experience with the Lookout software.
I believe the IIS is setup correctly and we have gone through the procedure to export the web data files through the Lookout client. Using IE to connect to the hosted website, the error message we see states to look at KB article 67L8J3QW for a resolution. My understading is that security updates (kill bits) released by Microsoft have disabled connectivity to certain Active X controls that enable Lookout to display properly through Internet Explorer.
I have researched documentation here:
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/A792DE0703C8108786257B3600506077
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/0B7F7B6397CF2DE286257B5800661303?OpenDocument
Although it doesn't appera the lookout player for version 6.7.1 is available via ftp.ni.com we have the download available and it's installed on each machine I have used for testing.
I'm looking for guidance on what to do next to get this to work.
One thing that is odd is http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/0B7F7B6397CF2DE286257B5800661303?OpenDocument talks about having to go into the registry and modify some Active X class ID's to allow the active X to work though IE. It states that you can find the CLSID from the dafault.html code base. I can find the CLSID in the source of the HTML page however it doesn't match up with anything in the registry. How is that possible? Is there a known bug with this verison?
Thanks,
Rich

It can, but read release notes.
http://www.ni.com/product-documentation/14462/en/#91092_by_Date

GE fanuc PLC & Lookout

I want to make SCADA system which will pool several machines with GE Fanuc PLCs. I intend to use National Instruments Lookout which support mentioned PLC but problem is that I can't access (force) I/O adresses from Lookout. In LM90 I must press F11 before forcing any variable and then F12. How this shall be done from Lookout or any other application?

It can't be done unless NI updates the GE.CBX finally! They need to add manipulation of the control bit on the "forceable" registers. This feature is huge to Lookout's ability to have "Total" interface with the 90-30 and 90-70 PLC's.
Come on guys at NI....how about a late Christmas present?
Quote:
The Ge Fanuc 90-30 and 90-70 PLC's were well in place throughout the world BEFORE Lookout at Georgetown Systems was ever on more than one floppy drive.
I'm a big believer in open systems, but unfortunately, that is more of a dream than a reality.
Consider that GE is not your run-of-the-mill startup company, that this product had a huge footing before anything like Lookout existed, and that they make huge amounts of cash pushing and selling someone else's s
oftware package "Cimplicity" by a major automation software competitor.
I'm not saying that Lookout should write proprietary drivers for all the PLC's that come along in the future. It just seems that since they already paid GE Fanuc for the rights to interface their product, that they would just get it done right.
Lastly, It really did take Steph a matter of an less than an hour to modify and email a major CBX mod to me back in 1997. I didn't expect any guarantees. I was just so happy to get the new features.
I'm frustrated to know that the reason Lookout has not taken off is mostly for the lack of people such as Steph along with a corporate commitment to make it happen.
It is very sad to know that the LabVIEW name has to have all the attention and funding, even when Lookout will always have a separate and still unmatched role in the automation software scene. National Instruments can't ever expect Lookout to take-off with this attitude, and I'm convinced that
NI does not want Lookout to succeed in some weird way.
Lastly, NI promised to release the GE Fanuc source code to me years ago but it never happened. Something is not right in Austin.
Cheers,
Ed"

NI Lookout 6.2 Release!

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