Serial Monitor Version History

Crash on startup

Application may crash on startup or when enumerating log files.

New MODBUS Visualizer

New version of MODBUS Data Visualizer, based on Custom View, has been implemented. The old version of MODBUS View is still available under "MODBUS View (Legacy)" name.

Display Filter support for Custom View

Custom View and all standard data visualizers based on it now fully support Display Filter.

Request View, Console View and MODBUS View in Serial Bridge

Custom View-based visualizers Request View, Console View and MODBUS View may now be used in bridge monitoring sessions.

RFC2217 protocol added

RFC2217 protocol definition added.

Custom View error scheme

Custom View script may now specify which scheme to use for error messages.

Crash after clearing Data View

Application could crash after Data View visualizer was cleared.

MODBUS Send bug fixed

Fixed wrong size type in ReadWriteRegisters.

Clearing Data View visualizer breaks it

Data View visualizer stops working after being cleared.

Ability to configure Custom View visualizer options for individual visualizers

It is now possible to configure Custom View visualizer options for individual data visualizers (previously, it was only possible to configure them globally).

Read/Write filtering in Console View

Console View adds two configurable options to enable/disable parsing of read or write packets. This allows, for example, to open two Console View visualizers for a session and configure the first of them to only display read packets and configure the second one to only display write packets.

"Add to Session" command is disabled for Favorites

"Add to Session" is disabled for processing modules in Favorites section. It was still possible to add them to a monitoring session by double-clicking. This is now fixed.

"-run" command line parameter did not work correctly

Fixed -run command-line parameter (load and execute scripts) not working correctly.

Crash on start-up

Device Monitoring Studio may start crashing on start-up if invalid protocol file is found in protocol library.

MODBUS Checksum calculation bug

MODBUS Send module sometimes incorrectly calculated checksum for packets it constructed.

MODBUS protocol parsing bug

Structure View sometimes failed to bind MODBUS protocol for monitored packets.

MODBUS View and MODBUS protocol binding improvements

Both MODBUS View data visualizer and MODBUS protocol (used by Structure View data visualizers) now automatically determine if the monitored packet is a request or response.

MODBUS session type mode bugs

Several bugs were discovered and fixed in built-in packet joiner for MODBUS RTU and ASCII protocols. In addition, MODBUS joiners are now more tolerant to errors in monitored data stream.

Playback time range selection bug

It was sometimes impossible to select the desired time range for the log file playback on some computers.

Crash on startup

A rare crash on startup has been fixed.

Crash on session configuration update

A rare crash during updating a running monitoring session configuration has been fixed.

Added option to send CR/LF in Serial Terminal

An option to send CR/LF sequence on Enter instead of just CR has been added to Serial Terminal.

Improvements to Serial Terminal module

New Serial Terminal session window now hides devices for which a terminal session is already running. Advanced Send window now displays target device.

Fixed Request View packet joining

Fixed packet joining in Request View for multi-source sessions.

Better error display in Request View

Request View now correctly displays an error code for failed read requests.

Updated Custom View refresh rate

Improved smoothness of Custom View (and other visualizers based on it) refreshing and scrolling.

Crash during rendering packets in some data visualizers

Some data visualizers failed to render huge packets, leading to crash.

Crash when opening damaged log files

Program may crash trying to open (or even enumerate) damaged log files.

Fixed addDevice function with new logs

It was impossible to use the addDevice scripting function with new DMSLOG8 log files.

Visualization of top-level packets in Structure View

Structure View data visualizer is now capable of displaying bound packet data for top-level collapsed packets.

New built-in visualizer() function

New built-in visualize() function allows protocol definition code to invoke standard field visualization algorithm, including automatic invocation of display attribute.

Log enumeration performance improvements

Improved performance when enumerating log files. This greatly improves application initialization time when there are hundreds of log files in default log folder.

Better rendering of serial protocols

The display attribute has been applied to various serial-related protocols. Now, Structure View data visualizer displays brief important packet information without the need to expand the packet first.

Broken log file name generation

Wrong character 'o' used instead of '0' in auto-generated log file name.

Request View support for multi-source is broken

This release fixes Request View behavior when used in multi-source session.

Crash on application exit

Device Monitoring Studio may crash on exit.

Filter string syntax error

Application incorrectly rejects valid filter expressions. This fix also allows constant filter expressions to be used (previously they did not work as expected).

Protocol definition errors are not displayed

In some situations, protocol definition errors may not be displayed in Output window.

Cursor jumps randomly when item is expanded in Structure View

Fixed random cursor jump after expanding packet in Structure View data visualizer.

Structure View displays local packet index instead of packet's ordinal number

Structure View now correctly displays session-unique packet ordinal number.

Playback session cannot be started from script

Unable to start a playback session with new logging format from script.

New logging system crash

Application could crash during recording log using new logging format.

New Logging Format

New data logging format (DMSLOG8) supports the following logging modes:

1. Unlimited single-file mode (similar to the previous format DMSLOG7)
2. Limited by size multiple-file mode
3. Limited by duration multiple-file mode
4. Limited by size single-file mode
5. Limited by duration single-file mode

In limited multiple-file modes the user may additionally limit the total number of files per log. In limited single-file mode oldest data is automatically overwritten by new data according to specified limit.

Data duplication in Data Repeater

Fixed a bug in Data Repeater component that caused duplication of monitored data when redirected to a serial device.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Packet View numbers bug

Packet View may incorrectly display numbers. Fixed.

Raw Data View Eastern languages bug

Raw Data View may display incorrect data if system locale is set to one of eastern languages. Fixed.

Structure View update bug

Structure View window may not be updated when new packets are added. It can also lose focus and not update command states. Fixed.

Playback in stepped mode broken

Next button may not appear in stepped playback mode. Fixed.

Settings in property pages not saved

Changes made in some of the settings property pages are not saved. Fixed.

Raw Data View mouse wheel or touch scroll bug

Raw Data View may scroll incorrectly when scrolled by some high-definition mice or touchpads.

Beta packages could not be installed

Beta packages could not be successfully installed on Windows 7.

Bug in processing of non-general session types

In some cases, non-general session type is not successfully applied. Fixed.

Errors in remote monitoring

Sometimes garbage data may be received from the remote monitoring session. Fixed.

Crash on application close

An application could crash on exit on slow (or busy) single-CPU computers.

Hang on application close

An application could hang and had to be killed by Task Manager in some cases after changes had been detected in watched folders (log files, structure definition files or custom view implementation files).

Packet View performance issues

Packet View could not sustain high packet rate (for example, log playback in continuous mode).

Packet View packet loss

Packet View could start "losing" packets when session contained several hundred million packets.

Various performance improvements

Improved performance of the following data visualizers: Raw Data View, Structure View, Packet View, Custom View.

Failed log playback

There was an error playing back recorded log files in some cases.

Continuous mode playback performance improved

Playback performance in continuous playback mode was improved.

Filter string could not contain hexadecimal numbers

It was not possible to use hexadecimal numbers in capture/display filter string.

Auto-completion did not work in Capture Filter

Auto-completion did not work in Serial Bridge's capture filter.

Display Filter not working correctly

Display Filter could not be applied for some sessions after they have been started.

Workspace loading order bug

Workspace components loading order has been updated. Now, if workspace contains a serial terminal session and monitoring session for the same port, a monitoring session is guaranteed to be started before the terminal session.

Unable to start script upon launch

Script files specified on command line with "-run" option failed to start if they were using monitoring session objects.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Performance improvements

This release has increased performance in various key scenarios.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

This is a new major version release. The following features are new or have been significantly improved compared with the previous version:

Script Debugger

Increased support for scripting in Device Monitoring Studio calls for better tools. The built-in script editor with auto-completion support and built-in documentation is now accompanied by a script debugger.

The user may now place breakpoints, and perform stepping while debugging his scripts. The Watch tool window and Stack Trace tool window provide the detailed information about the script execution state.

Custom View Visualizer

The Custom View data visualizer is now out of beta. It has been redesigned and is now backed by TypeScript (not internal protocol definition language). Serial's Request View and Console View have been rewritten using Custom View.

Custom View data visualizer allows the user to consume the information produced by protocol binding module and display parsed data with rich visualization capabilities.

Request View and Console View data visualizers are now powered by Custom View. Old versions of these visualizers are still available as Request View (Legacy) and Console View (Legacy).

Extended Scripting API

This release extends the list of components that may be controlled from TypeScript (JavaScript) scripts executing inside the Device Monitoring Studio:

1. File Manager object.
2. TCP Session, UDP Session and TCP Listener objects.
3. Updated Serial Terminal object.
4. New MODBUS Builder Object.

Added support for promises

Scripts may now use promises and async/await language operators.

New 'delay' function

New function delay added that returns promise, which is completed after specified number of milliseconds.

New Console View data visualizer

New Console View data visualizer was added. It is based on Custom View.

HTML Copy/Export in Custom View

Custom View now supports copying/exporting selected data in HTML format. New Request View and New Console View data visualizers, which are based on Custom View, also support this feature.

Updated TypeScript version

Built-in TypeScript compiler updated to version 2.3.0.

TCP manager renamed

TCP Manager has been renamed to Network Manager. This only affects scripts.

Improved performance

Application start-up performance has been improved.

Crash on playback in continuous mode

Application could crash if playback was running in continuous mode.

Baud rate limit removed

In previous versions, application did not allow using baud rates larger than 256000 both in Serial Terminal UI and scripting. This limit has been removed.

Fixed "Invalid Configuration" message on license installation

An "Invalid Application Configuration" message could be displayed after successful license installation. This has been fixed.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Improved protocol definition language

This release adds new directives and attributes to protocol definition language, adding look-ahead support to protocol binding.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

New script editor

New script editor is introduced with support for auto-completion and error highlighting.

High-DPI Support

This release makes Device Monitoring Studio fully compatible with high-definition displays.

Custom session type

Serial Monitor now allows setting custom session type (also known as session communication mode) programmed on TypeScript. Custom session type helps protocol binding to find the start of new packet in captured data stream.

Dropped support for Windows XP and Windows Vista

Starting from this version, the minimum supported OS is Windows 7. Application no longer supports Windows XP and Windows Vista. The minimum supported server OS is Windows Server 2008 R2.

TypeScript support

TypeScript is now always supported, the requirement to have Internet Explorer 11 installed is removed.

New scripting engine

Updated scripting engine with support for ES6. This allowed us to improve various APIs provided by Device Monitoring Studio components. For example, all methods that worked with Array objects now also work with typed arrays, array buffers and data views.

Serial Terminal flow control setting

Serial terminal session flow control mode is now correctly read from Session Configuration window.

Start Serial Terminal Command

"Start Serial Terminal" command is now available for serial devices in Devices tool window.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Restart device not working

Restart device command (in Dependent Devices window) now works as expected.

Log file playback error

Device Monitoring Studio crashed when user attempted to play back log files with long "gaps" - periods without data.

Crash on startup

Several bugs have been fixed that could cause application to crash on startup.

Crash on Next Connected

"Next Connected" monitoring session could crash Device Monitoring Studio after device had been connected to the computer.

Crashes on startup

Several problems causing application to crash on start have been fixed.

Copy/Export bugs

Several bugs in copy/export code in various data visualizers have been fixed.

Find Next hot key

F3 key now correctly works as Find Next hot key in various data visualizer.

Crash on loading invalid workspace file

DMS could crash if invalid workspace file was loaded.

Several bug fixes

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several bug fixes

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several bug fixes

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs and improves performance and reliability.

This release is dedicated mostly to polishing various application features. It improves a lot of existing components by fixing bugs and memory leaks. It also significantly reduces application memory requirements and works around memory exhaustion issues, particularly on 32-bit systems.

New Features

This release introduces high-precision session time measurement mode. As of 7.51, this mode is supported by USB, Serial and Network modules. When enabled (per-session), Device Monitoring Studio uses high-precision system timer for packet time-stamping. This mode is enabled by default if Device Monitoring Studio is installed on Windows 7 or later.

Starting from 7.51, various device information is automatically saved to a log file if the Data Recording module is added to a monitoring session. This includes the Serial Device Information for serial devices and all kinds of USB descriptors for USB devices (Device Descriptor, Configuration Descriptor and HID Descriptor tool windows).

When resulting log file is later selected in the Devices tool window, corresponding tool windows are updated with saved information.

Raw Data View and Structure View data visualizers now support additional packet coloring mode. Now they allow the user to choose one of three modes: no coloring, packet interlacing (coloring odd and even packets) and read/write coloring (coloring read and write packets).

In addition, built-in MODBUS protocol now automatically selects RTU or ASCII mode. This works automatically in Structure View and in filters and does not affect MODBUS View data visualizer.

Fixed Bugs

This release fixes over 200 different bugs, including crashes. A special attention has been paid to the following:

1. Monitoring session startup and shutdown-related issues, including crashes and hangs. This includes configuring and starting monitoring session, adding or removing data processing modules to running session and stopping monitoring session, as well as changing session's Capture Filter or visualizers' Display Filter for a running session.
2. Capture and display filter performance.
3. Protocol binding performance.
4. Issues with various data visualizers. Almost every data visualizer has been optimized or fixed in some way.
5. Workspace saving and loading issues.

Here is a short list of most remarkable fixed bugs:

Line View

Line View had a bug that prevented it from working. Now Line View works correctly when monitoring serial modems.

Correct emergency session termination

When resources are low, Device Monitoring Studio is now more robust in stopping affected high-data rate monitoring sessions, or session processing modules. This mostly affects 32-bit systems or systems with slow secondary storage.

Log file repairing

Device Monitoring Studio has always repaired damaged log files on startup. If log file was large, it introduced a startup delay (only splash screen was visible and application appeared to be hanging). Now a progress bar is shown to tell the user that application is alive.

Serial communication mode

A number of various bugs related to support for serial communication mode in Serial and Serial Bridge modules have been fixed. This includes saving the mode into the workspace or log file.

Operating with limited processing resources

During monitoring Device Monitoring Studio uses available disk space as configured in the Data Processing Tab (invoked by Tools » Settings menu command). We have fixed a number of bugs related to Device Monitoring Studio operation under limited settings (like 1% on a single disk and 0% on all others).

"Exporter" data processing modules: Raw Exporter, Text Exporter and Data Recording

A number of bugs have been fixed in exporter modules. CPU and memory usage have been carefully profiled and optimized.

Memory Usage Optimizations

This release also brings improvements to Device Monitoring Studio memory usage strategies. All critical paths have been carefully analyzed and profiled, resulting in memory usage savings of up to 10 times in several places. Application is now much more robust on systems with lower amount of RAM. In addition, when installed on 32-bit operating systems, application is now capable of sustaining much higher data rates during monitoring.

Reduced memory demands now also allow to start "heavier" monitoring sessions - sessions with more data processing modules, complex custom protocols and filter expressions.

Supported OSes

This release drops support for 64-bit Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. 32-bit versions of these operating systems are still supported.

Remote Source now requires at least Windows Vista and will not be installed on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003.

Future releases will drop support for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 entirely.

UI Layout Update

This release will install new default UI layout (tool windows and toolbars). Any user-defined layout will be overwritten.

Trial period extension

Trial period has been extended to 21 days from 14 days.

Multiple crashes in Serial Terminal

Serial Terminal module crashed when loading workspaces from previous versions. It could also crash on saving workspace.

Crash after removing data processing modules from running session

Application crashed when a data processing module was removed from a running session.

Invalid behavior after changing visualizer's root protocol

When Root Protocol was changed for the active visualizer, it could result in removing all monitored packets due to incorrect interpretation of empty display filter.

Crash after closing Structure View or Raw Data View visualizers

Application could crash after closing Structure View or Raw Data View visualizers.

New scripting objects: Remote Connection Manager and Bridge Manager

Two new scripting objects added. Remote Connection Manager allows user scripts to establish remote connections. Bridge Manager allows user scripts to create and manage serial bridges. In addition, user script may now add remote devices and serial bridges to monitoring session.

Documentation for predefined fields and functions

All predefined protocol fields and functions have been documented. Additional code cleanup for built-in protocols.

Automatic reconnect for remote sessions

If network connection error occurs during remote monitoring, Device Monitoring Studio automatically tries to reconnect to remote server and continue monitoring.

Typescript updated to 1.5

Built-in Typescript compiler has been updated to version 1.5.

Flow control support for terminal sessions from scripting

It is now possible to set flow control for serial terminal sessions from user script.

Fixed "Minimize to tray" command line switch

Command line switch -m did not work as expected.

Possible crash during remote server connection

Application could crash if connected to remote server running Windows 8 or later.

Fixed script editor auto-indentation feature

Script editor could incorrectly apply auto-indentation in some cases.

Structure View, PPP View and MODBUS View support in bridge mode

Serial Bridge monitoring session may now use Structure View, PPP View and MODBUS View, providing appropriate communication mode is set.

Sorted tool windows in View » Tool Windows menu

Tool windows in View » Tool Windows menu group are now sorted, which makes navigation easier.

Missing Modbus enumeration constant

Serial.CommunicationMode enumeration was missing new Modbus value.

MODBUS View crash on 32-bit OSes

MODBUS View data visualizer could crash on 32-bit operating systems.

Application crash if running multiple copies

Application crashed when multiple copies were launched by different users.

Crash during scrolling or exporting a view in long monitoring session

An application crash was possible when the user tried to export or scroll data window in a long monitoring session.

Duplicate entries in Capture Filter Intellisense

There were duplicate items in Capture/Display Filter Intellisense window.

Incorrect installation state if used by different user

Some default configuration settings were missing if application was installed under one user account and then used under another account.

Improved stability on startup

Improved compatibility with third-party software that modifies application files during startup. This has caused early re-compilation of protocol definition files and could lead to crash.

Several bugs fixed

Several reported bugs have been fixed, including application crashes.

MODBUS serial protocol added to Structure View

This release adds MODBUS protocol, which can now be used in Structure View and filters.

Crash on 64-bit CPUs without support for AVX

It was impossible to install and/or use the application on some hardware configurations (like no or disabled AVX support on CPU).

MODBUS TCP

This release adds new protocol definition files and other supporting tools for MODBUS TCP protocol: new MODBUS communication mode, Packet Builder update to send MODBUS TCP packets and MODBUS Send window update to send MODBUS TCP packets to TCP sessions.

Serial Terminal parameters

Serial Terminal parameters are now saved into workspace.

New column in exporter output

New column containing packet time stamps has been added to Raw Exporter and Text Exporter.

TypeScript 1.4

Built-in compiler for TypeScript language has been updated to version 1.4.

Error copying/exporting multiple selection from Raw Data View

Copying/exporting multiple selection produced incorrect data.

Additional checks for temporary folder locations

If for some reason the default temporary disk location is unavailable, Device Monitoring Studio falls back to %TEMP% folder.

Various crashes

Application could crash if Data View or MODBUS View were added to serial or bridge session.

Custom Visualizer support (BETA)

This release brings (beta) support for creating custom data visualizers.

Protocol & Script Editor

Built-in script and protocol definition files editor now has auto-indentation feature and brace match feature.

Various bug fixes

Several reported bugs have been fixed.

Improved scripting support

User scripts may now create, configure and start monitoring sessions. Full programming access to all monitoring session aspects, including multiple devices, source configuration, capture filters and visualizers and their configuration is provided. Scripts may be written in TypeScript language (superset of JavaScript), which gives better syntax and error checking. VBScript support has been discontinued.

Monitoring session initialization script may be automatically generated from the New Session window.

Built-in script editor

Device Monitoring Studio now has a built-in script file editor, which supports syntax highlighting and marking of error locations.

Line parameters visualization

Serial Monitor now automatically determines the line parameters applied by monitored application and displays them in Sessions Tool Window. Previously, you had to manually analyze control packets to get this information.

Improved performance for polling scenarios

Serial Monitor is now much more responsive when monitoring a polling session (that is, when monitored application issues hundreds of thousands empty read requests continuously). This affects Request View, Data View and other visualizers.

Several bugs fixed

Several reported bugs have been fixed, including application crashes.

Crash on session stop

Device Monitoring Studio crashes after session with configured data logging is stopped.

Various playback bugs

Several bugs and inconsistencies in Playback module have been fixed.

Improved support for IOCTL_SERIAL_IMMEDIATE_CHAR

Data sent using TransmitCommChar Windows API call (aka IOCTL_SERIAL_IMMEDIATE_CHAR I/O control request) is now treated like written data by Data View, Raw Data View and Console View data visualizers.

Log file format change

Due to fixing a bug in USB Monitor Playback, the format of log files has been changed. Old log files are still supported, but new log files will not be playable in previous versions of Device Monitoring Studio.

Playback improvements

The performance and stability of Playback on high speeds have been improved.

Coloring page fixed

Changing font size on the Coloring page has an effect now (Tools » Settings).

Protocol List window fixed

Delete now works correctly in Protocol List window.

Configurable auto-hide tool windows timeouts

User may now configure timeouts to open and hide auto-hide tool windows.

operator[] for strings

Operator [] now works with string value types.

Improved multi-monitor support

If a floating tool window is positioned on a secondary monitor which is later disconnected, Device Monitoring Studio automatically moves the tool window in sight next time the application is launched.

Social plugin changes

Social module does not require authentication to read contents anymore and provides notifications for updates. It is also now supported on Windows XP.

Wrong tooltip after window drag

If you changed the position of opened windows using mouse, window title tooltips remained at the old position.

Compiler error visualization

Visualizers now correctly display packet binding errors.

MODBUS Send bug

MODBUS Send module bug which prevented from correctly sending values starting with 'f' has been fixed.

Crash on non-standard parity

Serial Monitor could crash if non-standard parity was used in a monitoring session. Serial Monitor now also displays custom parity values.

Built-in protocol definition editor

This release introduces the built-in protocol definition editor. Now you may modify any built-in protocol definition or define your custom protocol directly inside Device Monitoring Studio. Automatic re-compilation and rich error reporting are provided by the DMS.

Context menu not working in Devices window

You could not invoke a context menu in Devices tool window using keyboard. Only right mouse click worked.

Unable to playback Serial Bridge sessions

There was an error playing back recorded serial bridge monitoring sessions.

Minor bug fixes

This release fixes a number of discovered and reported errors, including application crashes.

SerialPayload protocol

This release adds SerialPayload protocol. When used in data visualizers, binds to the monitored data directly, skipping IOCTL packets, connect/disconnect packets and other utility information. This is now a default root protocol for Raw Data View visualizer. PPP packet is now embedded in SerialPayload packet, instead of Serial packet.

DMS 6 Log Converter Beta

Device Monitoring Studio 6.xx Log Converter Beta added. This console utility may be used to convert log files from DMS 6.xx format to DMS 7.xx format.

Crash on session change

Device Monitoring Studio crashed when you changed the root protocol on newly added visualizer on a running session.

Error saving Data View into workspace

When a workspace with a monitoring session with Data View visualizer was saved, it later loaded as Request View.

Error in Serial protocol definition

Serial protocol definition used incorrect byte ordering.

Filtering worked incorrectly in Serial Data View and Request View

Configured filtering could incorrectly remove or duplicate monitored packets.

Multi-source Monitoring

Device Monitoring Studio supports joining monitored data from multiple sources of the same type into a single monitoring session. It is possible to monitor two or more serial ports, USB devices or network adapters. Device Monitoring Studio makes sure packets are correctly sorted and presented through a number of supported data visualizers. Data logging also supports multi-source sessions.

Remote Monitoring

DMS 7 supports monitoring USB and serial devices connected to remote servers. A single client may monitor several servers and a single server may be monitored by multiple clients. A separate server installation is provided. It includes a server access module, serial and usb monitoring modules, administration and management module and documentation. A server is managed using the MMC Snap-In or from Windows Scripting Host or PowerShell.

Windows 8 Support

DMS 7 officially supports Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

USB 3.0 Support

USB Monitor introduces support for USB 3.0 host controllers and devices.

Built-In and Custom Protocol Parsing

DMS 7 extends protocol parsing support for all monitoring modules: network, USB and serial. In addition, this version has new implementation of protocol parsing, which is more flexible and greatly improves performance.

New Data Processing Category

New processing category is introduced: data exporters. These are components that process monitored data in some way, but do not produce any visible output on the screen. Data recording module now belongs to this category. Other data exporters are Raw Data Exporter and Text Exporter. Both these exporters are capable of using built-in or custom protocol definitions to parse monitoring data before exporting.

Parallel Processing

New version of Device Monitoring Studio utilizes multiple cores for more responsive monitoring session operation. It basically allows the user to still perform real-time monitoring of 1 Gb network transfer without packet loss and slowdowns while having such "heavy" processing like Capture Filter and Display Filter configured for a monitoring session.

Device Tool Window

New tool window that displays all devices the user can monitor in a single customizable view. For each supported device, its image, type and current state are displayed. The user may start, stop and configure monitoring sessions, view device properties, restart and rename devices.

Sessions Tool Window

New tool window lists all currently running sessions and their properties. It allows you to close data visualizers, add new data processing modules, pause, resume or stop sessions. It also allows you to quickly change data processing modules configuration. For example, for data recording, the current log file size is displayed. By clicking "End Stream", the user ends the current stream and starts a new one.

Protocol-Based Data Visualizers

Structure View and Raw Data View data visualizers for USB, Serial and Network with additional filtering (Display Filter) and ability to specify root protocol.

Automatic Layout Loading

DMS 7 automatically loads separate tool window and command layout when monitoring session is started. Thus, until a session is started, a layout which simplifies device discovery and information retrieval is used. After the session is started, another layout is automatically loaded streamlining monitoring session usage. Both layouts may be customized by the user.

Global Configuration Switch

Device Monitoring Studio provides you with a global switch to quickly turn it into Serial Monitor, USB Monitor or Network Monitor. This switch may be used in combi installations to temporary hide unneeded components.

Session Configuration Window

New Session Configuration window greatly simplifies session creation and modification. There is a list of configured sources at the top of the window. Below are optional device configuration settings, buttons to add more devices and remove existing ones.

Depending on the type and number of configured sources, a list of available processing modules is populated. It is divided into two main categories: visualizers and exporters.

Double-click on the processing module to add it to the current session. Some of modules support configuration. Customized processing modules may be saved for future use.

Finally, the user specifies a capture filter, a generic (protocol-based) conditional expression used to filter out specific monitored packets.

Console View rendering bug

Console View incorrectly displays lines with several carriage return characters in them.

Corrupt log file handling

Device Monitoring Studio may crash when it encounters corrupted log file.

Installation problem

Installer may fail with 0x8007000a error code in HHD Setup Log File.txt.

Several bugs in Structure View and Raw Data View

Several bugs in Serial Monitor Structure View and Raw Data View data visualizers were fixed.

Raw Data View settings were not saved to workspace

Serial Monitor Raw Data View data visualizer settings were not saved to the workspace file. Fixed.

Several bugs in MODBUS View visualizer

A number of bugs have been fixed in MODBUS View data visualizer.

Bug in Hex Editor Neo integration

DMS could not find Hex Editor Neo if it was installed for all users. Fixed.

"Join consequent packets" option added

A long awaited "Join consequent packets" option has been added to the Serial Monitor. When enabled, it automatically joins consequent write or read requests. Applicable to Request View and Data View visualizers.

Process packet data with Hex Editor Neo

New "Process with Hex Editor Neo" command has been added to Raw Data View visualizer. It copies the selected packet data and opens it in installed copy of Hex Editor Neo.

Serial Bridge visualizers coloring fixed

Serial Bridge's Request View and Data View visualizers used assigned coloring settings incorrectly. Fixed.

Improved setup speed

Speed of Device Monitoring Studio setup application has been greatly improved. Installer now needs to update less files and system settings and operates much quicker.

Improved application start-up time

We have improved the application start-up time by reducing time required by various components to initialize and allowing several components to initialize in parallel.

Improved performance

This release has improved performance thanks to optimization of various core components and the use of new compiler.

License update

Registered users: A license update is required!

A new license may be downloaded from the My Account.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes several reported bugs, including application crashes.

Data View Filtering

This release adds filtering support for Data View visualizer.

Integration with Windows Error Reporting

Application now fully integrates with Windows Error Reporting. If it ever crashes or hangs, you can submit the report, which will allow us to fix a bug and provide a solution.

Possible BSOD

A system may crash when power policy is changed for some serial devices with Serial Monitor installed. Fixed.

Application may fail to start

Sometimes an application may fail to start. Fixed.

Application hangs or crashes on startup

Serial Monitor hangs or crashes on startup if you do not install Scripting feature. Fixed.

Ability to create virtual serial ports

Serial Monitor now provides the ability to create virtual serial ports with different routing possibilities.

New column in Packet View

Packet View now has a new column "Time Diff" that displays the time difference between packets.

Several bug fixes and performance improvements

Several reported bugs have been fixed. This release also has different stability and performance improvements.

Crash in Packet View

Serial Monitor may crash in Packet View in some rare situations. Fixed.

Invalid data filtering in Packet View

Packet View incorrectly filtered data. In addition, filtering is now ignored for visualizer if it is inside Packet View.

Invalid data filtering in Packet View

Packet View incorrectly filtered data. Fixed.

Invalid behavior when no serial devices are present

You could not correctly start and use Serial Monitor on a computer without serial ports. This has been fixed in this release.

Improved Packet View visualizer

Packet View visualizer is now much faster and smoother.

Invalid data exported from Packet View

When filters apply to Packet View and you export selected rows, incorrect data is exported. Fixed.

Better support for virtual serial ports

This release brings better support for virtual serial ports from different suppliers on the market.

New option to hide packet tooltip in Raw Data View

Raw Data View visualizer now has additional option that allows you to disable packet information popup.

New filtering options

This release adds more filtering options to Request View (Serial & Bridge), URB View (USB) and Packet View. It also changes the default color settings for Request View and URB View data visualizers.

Default filtering has also been modified: it now does not display Read DOWN and Write UP requests by default. You can change this behavior in the Tools » Settings… » Filtering Tab.

Crash in Raw Data View visualizer

A crash in Raw Data View visualizer has been fixed.

Raw Data View Visualizer

This new data visualizer, called Raw Data View is similar to Serial Monitor's Data View in that it also has two windows, one of which displays data sent to a device, and another one displays data received from a device. All subsequent packets are concatenated into a single data stream, which is displayed as a sequence of hexadecimal, decimal, octal or binary numbers. Alternatively, the stream may be displayed as a sequence of floating-point numbers with single or double precision.

This new data visualizer is very flexible and allows you to customize both its layout and appearance. It has a built-in pattern coloring, powerful find capabilities and Clipboard/exporting support.

Filtering for Packet View

You may know apply filtering to a Packet View data visualizers.

Quiet installation mode

A new command line switch, "/q" may be passed to the Serial Monitor's installer to perform a non-interactive installation/uninstalltion of the product.

Crash during monitoring

A crash that occurred sometimes during monitoring has been fixed.

Crash in Serial Bridge

A crash in the Serial Bridge module has been fixed.

Crash in logging module

A crash in data logging module has been fixed.

Appearance customization

This release brings you the possibility to change the appearance of visual elements of the following data visualizers:

• MODBUS View
• Request View (Serial, Bridge)
• Data View
• PPP View

New driver installation framework

This release features a new driver installation mechanism. Setup now uses built-in Windows services to install the filter drivers for serial monitoring, resulting in much lower risks of permanently disabling serial devices.

License update

Registered users: A license update is required!
A new license may be downloaded from the My Account.

Fixed reported bugs

A lot of reported bugs have been fixed in the product.

Incorrect version determination

Incorrect version determination has been fixed.

Toolbar bugs

Several toolbar customization bugs have been fixed.

Toolbar bugs

Several toolbar customization bugs have been fixed.

Updated functionality

This release updates functionality and behavior of several included modules as well as some portions of user interface.

Bug fix release

This release fixes several reported bugs.

Export Binary command

Export Binary command may be used to export binary packet data.

Several bugs fixed

A number of reported bugs were fixed.

Serial PPP View Visualizer

Device Monitoring Studio version 5.22 introduces new data visualizer – Serial PPP View. It can be used to decode Point-to-Point Protocol packets, as well as a number of packets that can be encapsulated in PPP packets. The current version of the visualizer supports the following protocols:

1. Novell IPX
2. OSI Network Layer Control Protocol
3. DECnet Phase IV Control Protocol
4. Appletalk Control Protocol
5. Link Control Protocol
6. Password Authentication Protocol
7. Link Quality Report
8. Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol
9. Multilink Protocol
10. Compression Control Protocol
11. Extensible Authentication Protocol
12. NETBIOS Protocol

High-Speed operation mode

The High-Speed mode is automatically enabled for a session, for which only the Statistics visualizer is configured. In this mode the amount of data analyzed by the application is reduced significantly, leading to more accurate performance measurements. This mode is useful if you have a device with extremely high transfer rate (more than 16 MB/s) and want to measure its performance.

Automatic Data Policy Management

There has always been a feature in the Device Monitoring Studio, called "Data Processing". It could be and still can be used to control the data processing policy. You can trade disk space usage for a session history length. More disk space you allow Device Monitoring Studio to use, more older session packets are available for you.

Version 5.22 introduces an automatic data policy management for monitoring sessions. If only Logging and/or Statistics visualizer are configured for the monitoring session, it is forced to low disk space usage policy. If any other visualizer is configured for the monitoring session, it falls back to the setting, defined by the user.

Several bugs in Serial Terminal

Several bugs in the Serial Terminal module were fixed.

Performance counters calculation bug for Serial Monitor module

There was an error in calculation of some counters for the Statistics visualizer in Serial Monitor module. Fixed.

Several UI bugs

Several user interface bugs were fixed.

Several bugs in MODBUS View visualizer

Several bugs in MODBUS View visualizer were fixed.

Keyboard Map printing

Keyboard Map can be printed or copied to the Clipboard.

Generic open feature

Device Monitoring Studio is now capable of opening log files and tool window configuration files in addition to workspaces. They can be opened through the File|Open menu option, dropped from Windows Explorer, or specified in the command line.

GPF in Serial Bridge

Program crash in Serial Bridge module was fixed.

Several GPFs

Several application crashes were fixed.

Generic Filtering feature

Generic filtering feature allows you to configure filtering for different visualizers and create filtering schemes, which then can be quickly applied to different visualizer windows. This feature is utilized by MODBUS View and Request View visualizers.

New options in Playback context menu

Playback context menu now has two additional options: “Collapse All” and “Expand All”, which can be used to collapse/expand log file names and log streams in the tree.

Serial Terminal "Data block size" option

The size of internal block size used by the Serial Terminal to send data can be configured.

Serial Terminal "Convert tabs to spaces" option

Serial Terminal can be configured to replace tabulation characters with spaces for a typed or sent text.

MODBUS View "Concatenate packets" option

MODBUS View visualizer can be configured to join divided packets.

Application loading time improved

Device Monitoring Studio loading time is improved in case there are a lot of log files in the log file folder.

Several streams in log file

You were unable to create multiple streams in a single log file - fixed.

Playback bugs

Several bugs in Playback tree and playback module were fixed.

Serial Terminal Send File bug

Several bugs with a Serial Terminal Send File feature were fixed.

MODBUS View and MODBUS Send bugs

Several bugs in MODBUS View visualizer and MODBUS Send were fixed.

Program Crash

The program may crash on some computers on startup or device selection. Fixed.

Export works incorrectly

Export to text file feature produces incorrect results. Fixed.

Serial devices inactive after program uninstallation

On some machines serial devices may become inactive after uninstalling the Device Monitoring Studio. Fixed.

Installation bug on Windows XP x64 and Windows Server 2003 x64

On some machines running Windows XP x64 and Windows Server 2003 x64 the product refuses to install. Fixed.

MODBUS Protocol Responses

The MODBUS Send module is now capable of sending MODBUS protocol responses to the connected hardware.

MODBUS RTU Mode

Both MODBUS Send module and MODBUS View visualizer are now capable of working in RTU mode (in addition to previousely supported ASCII mode).

64-bit Platform Support

Device Monitoring Studio now fully supports 64-bit operating systems, including Windows XP x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and Windows Vista x64 Edition.

All Device Monitoring Studio binaries were ported to 64-bit (not only filter drivers), resulting in much better performance and scalability. The single installation package is used to install application on 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.

Please see the included release notes for previous version compatibility issues.

Scripting

Scripting now offers new methods for sending MODBUS protocol responses as well as several new utility methods (mainly for Serial Terminal module).

Console View

Several bugs in the Console View visualizer have been fixed. It now also displays sent data in addition to received data.

Log Files Sharing

Log files can now be shared among several running copies of the Device Monitoring Studio (either locally or over the network). Log files can be shared only for playback.

Access weakened

The Device Monitoring Studio incorrectly tried to open resources with high privileges resulting in inability of less privileged user to use some of the program features (it still worked, although). The access mode was weakened for all such cases, resulting in Administrative rights being required only during application install.

New User Interface

The product is now a part of the Device Monitoring Studio.

Overall performance and stability improvements

The application now requires less RAM and disk space and supports high speed communications without affecting computer performance.

Serial Terminal

The Serial Terminal module allows you to open an interactive terminal session with for a serial device. The terminal session is fully scriptable as well.

Multiple monitoring sessions support

The application now allows you to create as many monitoring sessions as you need. You can have as many different serial, USB, bridging or log playback sessions as you need.

MODBUS protocol support

MODBUS protocol support is offered via MODBUS View visualizer and MODBUS Send module.

Statistics visualizer

Analyzes the device throughput and displays linear graphics for a number of variables.

Customization

The built-in scripting support offers a great freedom in customization of the Device Monitoring Studio.

Auto Start/Stop Recording

Auto Start/Stop Recording feature can be used to immediately start recording data for newly created monitoring sessions.

Windows Vista support

The Serial Monitor is now compatible with Windows Vista (32-bit only). 64-bit support is coming.

Save to Log

Use "Save to Log" feature to save the monitoring session data to the log file.

Visualizers support

All existing Serial Monitor visualizers are supported. The upper limit on the amount of data the visualizers can display is removed.

Improved support for serial bridging

This version offers improved support for serial bridging (former Protocol Analyzer monitoring session type).

Improved support for data logging and log file play back

Improved support for data logging and log file play back - no upper limit on log file sizes, improved performance, stability and management.

Console View visualizer

Improved Console View visualizer - added support for line numbering and improved performance.

Windows 2000 compatibility isues

Windows 2000 compatibility issues fixed.

Known bugs

All known bugs of the previous version have been fixed.

Computer Restart Eliminated

The installer now does not require you to restart the computer on installation and uninstallation of the product.

Better Compatibility

The compatibility with various hardware devices has been extended.

Performance Tuning

The performance of the filtering driver has been increased.

Bug with playing back recorded Protocol Analzer sessions

Sessions recorded with Protocol Analyzer sometimes fail to play back.

Bug in the installer

The product sometime fails to install on Windows 2K machines (without msvcr71.dll)

Activation bug for Unlimited Site License

Activation bug for Unlimited Site License

New Installer

New Serial Monitor installer now gives you better flexibility to control the way the product installed.

On some machines the installation fails

Launch the installation. It may finish with an error.

Advanced Settings

Serial Monitor now allows you to tweak internal filter driver settings to achieve better performance.

Some multiport serial adapters are not supported

If you have such adapter you may not see its serial ports when creating new monitoring session. In Serial Devices those ports are displayed under "Non-Active" tab.

GPF when configuring logging for Protocol Analyzer

Create a new Protocol Analyzer monitoring session and select Logging on visualizers page. The crash will occur.

Console View does not automatically update in Protocol Analyzer mode.

Create a new Protocol Analyzer monitoring session and select Console View visualizer. You will notice that the visualizer is not automatically updated when new data is monitored.

You cannot use the Log File Playback monitoring session type

Start new monitoring session. In Wizard, select the "Log File Playback" session type and click the Next button. Nothing happens.

Seriously improved performance

New version offers completely redesigned internal structures and algorithms, boosting performance of both kernel mode and user mode components.

Simplified monitoring session creation/closing

Now you can connect to the serial device even if it is already used and disconnect from it at any time.

PnP and virtual serial devices support

The Serial Monitor now completely supports PnP and virtual serial devices with hot-plug and hot-unplug functionality.

Serial Port Information dialog changes

The dialog has been renamed into “Serial Devices” dialog and now displays more information about active serial devices and also allows you to remove registry entries for unused serial devices.

Wizards and property sheets are incorrectly sized when using non-standard font size

Set Windows standard font size to higher value and run the Serial Monitor. You will see that program's wizards and property sheets are partly visible.

The product cannot be successfully registered on Windows NT 4.0 machine.

If you try to use the Registration Name/Unlock Code pair to register the software on Windows NT 4.0 machine, you will fail.

Crash in Settings|Format

Create a monitoring session and go to the Tools|Settings menu option, then open the Format tab. The Serial Monitor will cause GPF.

Performance

Rendering performance has been enhanced

Minor bug fixes

Some small or rare bugs have been fixed.

New baud rates in Protocol Analyzer

Protocol Analyzer now allows you to specify two additional baud rates: 76800 and 230400

The Serial Monitor main window can be made too small.

You can reduce the Serial Monitor main window size to the minimum.

You are unable to launch the application under different user.

The Serial Monitor program group is installed under the current user profile.

GPF with overflow in Console View

If the long line is displayed in the Console View, the Serial Monitor may cause the General Protection Fault

New language packs.

Italian, Spanish and Russian languages added.

Hex Data display

You can now change the way the hex data displayed in Request View and Data View. Select the View|Hex Data Display… command for more information.

Find feature.

You can now search for a text in a Data View, Request View and Console View.

Always on top feature.

The Serial Monitor can now be forced to stay on top of all other windows. See the View menu for the command.

Moving the Start Menu group to another location.

Install the Serial Monitor and then move the program group to another location. The Serial Monitor will launch the Windows Installer in an attempt to find the modules.

Log files with gaps

Write the log file with gaps (no data) more than an hour long. When you close the monitoring session, the program will GPF. The same will occur when you try to open this log file for playback.

GPF while playing back log file.

Start the "Log File Playback" session. The Serial Monitor may sometimes fail to display correct data or cause a general protection fault.

Logging

The Logging module was completely overwritten to be more robust, fast and to produce smaller log files. CPU-intensive Zlib compression was replaced by the NTFS-compression.

Buffer overrun error

Start the Serial Port Monitor monitoring session and launch a CPU-intensive process in background. Sooner or later, the Serial Monitor's filter driver runs out of buffers and an error message or a system shut down occurs.

BSOD after the trial period is over

When the Serial Monitor's trial period is over, it brings the system down when trying to create a monitoring session.

BSOD during monitoring

Start the Serial Port Monitor monitoring session. Sometimes the Serial Monitor will immediately bug check the system

The session containing Line View will not save.

The attempt to save the session with Line View visualizer will fail.

Status bar panes overlap

Start the Log File Playback monitoring session and select the Line View visualizer. The status bar panes will overlap

Skip button does not work

Start the Log File Playback monitoring session. Skip button (displayed during long pauses) will not work.

Line View visualizer appended.

The Serial Monitor now contains the new visualizer called Line View which shows the state of all serial and modem lines.

IOCTL_SERIAL_GETMODEMSTATUS serial input/output control code implemented.

The Serial Monitor now correctly intercepts and decodes the IOCTL_SERIAL_GETMODEMSTATUS input/output request.

Some corrections in French version.

French version of the Serial Monitor was slightly changed.

No Window Menu

Configure the monitoring session without visualizers (with only Logging enabled). Then choose Tools|Add New Visualizer and select some visualizers. The Window menu will not appear, instead part of it will be present in pop-up menus.

Session Error "Not enough storage is avaiable…" at high port rates

Configure the monitoring session and start an application performing high baud-rate transmissions. The Serial Monitor will most likely stop processing and/or display the "Not enough storage is available…" error.

Missing monitored data or Serial Monitor GPF after Port Open request.

Configure the monitoring session. Start the monitored application. After the application opens the port, the Serial Monitor will most likely miss some subsequent requests.

Multiple selected visualizers

Start the New Session Wizard. Select the monitoring session type, configure it and go to visualizers select page. Check some visualizers and then return back to selecting the monitoring session type. Select another session type and complete the wizard. You'll get several copies of selected visualizers.

BSOD on Serial Monitor process termination

Start the Serial Port Monitor monitoring session. If the Serial Monitor process is terminated during monitoring (by causing GPF or manually), the computer will most likely bugcheck when the port is closed by the monitored application.

BSOD on trying to open invalid (or locked) device

Start the Serial Port Monitor monitoring session. Enter the invalid device name or select the device which is already being used. The Serial Monitor will bugcheck your computer when the session is created.

Multi-language support added

The Serial Monitor now supports multiple languages. The user interface, documentation and supporting resources are all available on multiple languages.

French language pack

This version of the Serial Monitor contains English (US) and French (France) language packs.

Redesigned driver

The Serial Monitor filter driver has been completely rewritten to be faster and more robust.

Session serialization bug

Create the Serial Port Monitor session and configure logging. Save the session to the disk and try to open it again. The attempt can fail.

Incorrect Date in Log Configuration Dialog

Create the Log File Playback session type. Select the log file and the stream. The times displayed are incorrect.

Serial Monitor Converter SDK support

We have released the Serial Monitor Converter SDK. Version 2.30 or later is required for the SDK.

Log File Extended Playback

During playback you can now set the time scale multiplier from 1:16 to 16:1 of the original time. There are also two options - Stepped (for step by step confirmation and Continuous for playing back the whole log stream immediately)

Log File Compression Level Setup

Now you can setup one of three different compression levels for the log files the Serial Monitor produces. There are No compression, Optimize for speed and Optimize for Size levels, which let you to trade performance for the size of the log file

Windows NT 4.0 support

The Serial Monitor version 2.25 now supports Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and Windows XP

HHD Software USB Monitor compliance

The Serial Monitor was changed to work with HHD Software USB Monitor when installed on single machine.

Incorrect Long Date format

On systems with old msvcrt.dll long date format is displayed incorrectly. 3903 is displayed instead of 2003 year.

Toolbar Customization

Now you have an ability to customize the Serial Monitor toolbars. Go to the Tools|Customize menu option and click the Toolbars tab. See on-line documentation for more information

Buttons on toolbar are grayed incorrectly.

Grayed buttons on toolbar are not the same as in menu.

Serial Monitor does not list COM ports starting with COM5 in Serial Port Monitor configuration page.

Start new monitoring session. If your computer is equipped with COM5 or more, the Serial Monitor will not list them.

Serial Monitor brings the system to the Blue Screen of Death while detaching from the serial port when monitoring some applications.

Start monitoring the application that makes heavy transfers through the serial device. Close the monitoring session and then close the monitored application. The system will bugcheck.

Keyboard Customization.

Select Tools|Customize to customize the keyboard shortcuts for any command in the Serial Monitor.

Serial Port Information.

Select Tools|Serial Port Information to display the complete information about any serial device.

Protocol Analyzer monitoring session type.

There is new monitoring session type available: Protocol Analyzer. It allows you to monitor the serial protocol between two different serial devices, connected by null-modem cables to your computer. See on-line documentation or product description for more information.

Windows XP themes support.

Serial Monitor now fully supports Windows XP themes.

User Interface.

Some user interface items have been updated. This includes splash screen, wizards and icons.

Program hangs on some configurations when trying to display Open/Save File common dialog.

On some computers running Windows 2000 select File|Open Session menu option and the Serial Monitor hangs while trying to display the Open File common dialog.

Add New Visualizer.

Create monitoring session. Select the Tools|Add New Visualizer… menu option and select any additional data visualizers to use in the current session.

Incorrect month number in Request View.

Create monitoring session with Request View visualizer. Monitor some data. You will see that the month number, displayed by the Request View is incorrect.

Stack overflow in Console View.

Create monitoring session with Console View visualizer. Monitor large binary transfers. The Serial Monitor may disappear without any notification when Console View tries to display the long line of binary data.

Memory leaks in Console View and Logging Module.

Create monitoring session with Console View visualizer and/or configure Logging. Monitor data for a while. Run Task Manager to view increased Virtual and Physical Memory usage for "Device Monitor.exe" process.