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Eventing Online

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Storage of Events Data

Event data is stored in two different ways:

1. In database files (*.db) - these are accessed using the Event Editor export option from the Raw Data Manager (Replay).
2. In event database files (*.evtdb) - events generated in the Controller. This file is only used for visibility of the events in the displays.
   It can only be edited online via Session Setup/ Eventing/ General/ Edit Events, and after import in a Sidescan target database, stored as an MDB file.

General

In the Controller select Session Setup from the Settings menu. Click on the Eventing tab.

Eventing General Settings	Description
Logging Mode	Enabled when recording - Only those events fired while data recording is enabled are saved in the Event Database. Enabled - Fired events are saved in the Event Database whether data recording is on or off. Disabled - No fired event is stored whether recording is on or off.
Event Database	Click on the Browse button and enter a name for the file in which fired events are to be stored. The file is written to the \Logfiles subfolder of the Project. This file is only used for visibility of the events in the displays. The events themselves are stored in the normal Qinsy database.
New	Create a new event database if necessary:
Edit Events	Pressing this button opens a dialog which gives access to the stored events in the event database (*.evtdb). These events can be edited and deleted. See image below.

Online Edit Events window:

Events

Events are generated when a certain condition occurs.
Define which events should be fired on which occasion.
Every event is assigned to a node offset or a system.

Note

Available functionality here depends upon which version of the Generic Eventing Driver was selected in setting up the Template database (Database Setup):

• 'Generic Eventing Driver' - provides a dedicated interactive window for firing of events and entry of event properties. In this case only the option to change System/Node item is active in this Session Setup - Eventing window.
• 'Generic Eventing Driver (No User Interface)' - has no dedicated interactive window. Control of eventing is all done from this Session Setup - Eventing window.

Example for Pipeline Inspection:

Example for Dredging Operation:

Generic Eventing Driver Window

Once the Controller is started the Eventing Driver icon should be visible in the task bar at the bottom of the screen:

Info

Note that the Driver Icon as displayed in the Windows Task bar changes to red when recording is in progress.

The Driver windows comprises three panes (view areas):

Event Icons
The upper left pane shows the event Icons which have been activated for 43507662. Note that if the Icons are not displayed properly, check the Icon Folder path that was specified in the I/O Driver Editor.
The Icons are displayed in a sorted order based on Description/Abbreviation/Code or Id depending on the selected sorting method (See Events\Options… menu).
Because icon visibility settings are stored in the registry, the Generic Eventing Driver window looks exactly the same the next time the driver is started.

Fired Events List
The bottom pane lists all the events fired. The most recent event is always plotted on top. An example screen capture is shown below.

Events Properties
The upper right pane lists the event properties of the last fired event.

The appearance of the main dialog can be modified: it’s position can be changed and the panes can be resized. The columns' visibility and order of properties is configurable.
This information is also stored in the registry and is automatically retrieved next time the driver starts.

View Menu

Show/Hide Event Icons

If no icons are initially visible add these to the view first:

• Select Show/Hide Icons from the View menu which opens the Show/Hide Event Icons dialog:
  

  

  • The top pane displays the predefined event Classes. Click on a Class icon. The events that are members of the selected Class are shown in the bottom pane.
  • Select each Event icon in turn and tick the Show Icon box. It is possible to select multiple icons with the mouse or keyboard and select/deselect the Show Icon option.
  • Click on each Class icon in turn and repeat the process.
  • Press OK to confirm the selection.

Info

Sequential classes are not shown in the upper pane because the sequence determines which icon is shown.

Columns

Use this option to select which columns are displayed in the lower panel, and the order in which they are shown.

Fully configured the Generic Event Driver window should look something like this:

Events Menu

Firing an event

There are four ways to fire an event:

1. Menu Events\Fire Event…
2. Press Fire Event… button
3. Press Insert key on keyboard
4. Double click the event Icon in the top pane

If an event is fired then the Select Event dialog is, with one exception, always shown first.
The exception is when an event icon is double clicked; in this case showing of the Select Event dialog is skipped if no further user input is required.

Select Event dialog:

This dialog shows only the icons that are also visible in the main window.
The event that is required can be selected with the icons or with the Combo box.
It is also possible to select an event with the keyboard only. If for example in the dialog above the ‘S’ key is pressed then the Icon Start of Freespan is selected.
If the ‘S’ key is pressed again then Start of Burial icon is selected, etc.
Continuing to press the 'S' key cycles through all the events whose description starts with 'S'. This is valid as long as the combo box has the focus.

Depending on the type of event (type can be changed in the I/O Driver Editor) the user may enter input text in some of the controls.
For example, in the picture shown above, the user chooses a 'Condition' status from the drop down list, enters the 'Size' of the item, its 'Type', etc..

Press Enter or the OK button to fire the Event. The event is fired if the dialog closes.
If the event is accepted it is added to the event list in the bottom pane of the driver.
Usually its status will be ‘Pending’ until it gets stored in the database. (Action events are stored straight away).

For a variety of reasons an event may not be allowed at this stage in which case a warning message pops up and the event is ignored.

For example:

• If the 'Validate Input' option has been enabled for an event property when defining it in the I/O Driver Editor\Event Properties\Type Tab, a warning message pops up when attempting to input a value outside the window defined by the minimum and maximum values allowed.

• When trying to fire an 'end' event when no 'start event' has been fired first.

• When trying to enter a float number when 'Custom Integer' was the defined property.

• When trying to fire an event that is dependent on recording being enabled.

If the event is accepted it is added to the event list in the bottom pane of the driver.

An event can either be pending, not yet stored in the database, or processed, at which time it is stored in the database.
Pending events can be changed or deleted but as soon as the events are saved to the database they can no longer be changed online.

The driver contains a mechanism for storing pending events; based on time or on number of pending events.
For example the driver will store the event a user defined number of seconds after it was created.
This mechanism gives the user the opportunity to change pending events in case of an input error or interpretation.
See Options from the Events menu for more details on the storage mechanism.

Note

A start event that is not yet linked to an end event is not yet stored; it will be stored as soon as the linked end event is fired.

The storage mechanism as described above can be bypassed with the menu option Events\Save All.. (or Ctrl+S). The user can force a save of all pending events including any unlinked start events.

The mechanism is also bypassed when the user fires an event that has the action ‘End recording’ defined. In this case the driver will store all the pending events (before the driver is closed of course).

After events are logged, it's possible to process the logged events with the Event Editor.

Options

Use this option to control what is shown in the main window.

Icons	Description
Show icon	Choose whether or not to display event icons in the top left panel. Sometimes it is sufficient to show one of the text options.
Show text	Choose whether or not to display one of the text options in the top left panel: Description, Abbreviation or Code. When icons are being displayed, the text option is shown below the icon itself. When icons are not shown, the Description, Abbreviation or Code text is simply listed.
Sorting	Events in the top left panel can be arranged in one of four different ways.
Display Events	Description
Show time as	Display the time in the lower panel as either Local Time or UTC.
Show the last	Choose the number of previous events to list in the lower panel.
Last event font size	The font size entered here governs the scale of text in the upper right panel which lists the properties for the last event fired.
Background Color	Use the drop down list to change the color of the three panels. This does not affect other colors in the window such as menu and task bars.
Event Buffering for Editing	Description
No Buffering (default)	An event is stored as it is fired unless governed by some other condition, e.g. a start event is not stored until an associated end event is fired.
Time before events are stored	Storing of events can be delayed by the number of seconds entered. This provides an opportunity to edit an event before it is finally saved. Pending time has elapsed if a leading disk icon is shown in the list control before the number in the 'Nr' column. That indicates the event is processed. If the disk icon is absent then it is not yet stored and hence the user may still change it. A red dot in the disk icon shows that the event initiated an action, e.g. "start recording". These action events are always stored immediately.
Number of pending events in list before storing	This option provides an alternative way to keep events in 'pending' status. Events initiating an action, e.g. "start recording" are always stored immediately. Start events are not processed until the corresponding end event is fired.
Event Generation	Description
Next Issued Number	Use this option to change the identifying number of an event.
Only when recording	Allows issue of 'next number' only when in recording mode. A warning message pops up when this condition is violated.
Automatically generate events	Description
Automatically generate events	It is possible to trigger the firing of an event by using the receipt of an external observation. Say, for example, that the launching of a towed body, or the lowering of a dredge head, issued a signal of some sort that could be interfaced to Qinsy as an observation system. Receipt of this signal could be used to trigger an event like 'Start Tow' or 'Start Dredging', which in turn could trigger an action like 'Start Recording'.

Displaying Events Online

Firing of events can be visualized in the Navigation Display.
When an eventing system is defined as part of the template database, a further layer is added under View Properties\Layers:

Three options are available:

1. Show all event types - all fired events are symbolized using the event icon.
2. Show only the selected dump material - see Dredging documentation.
3. Select per event type - only particular events that have been enabled in the list of events are shown.

Icons in Navigation Display:

Generic Eventing Driver window:

Setting Up Generic ASCII Data Logger Output

In the Controller select Settings\Session Setup\Storage\Log File.

• Make sure the correct ASCII Logger XML is selected.
• Make sure Trigger = Event based.
• Make sure Events = (fired event).

When events are fired from the Generic Eventing Driver, selected items are written to a *.TXT file stored in the \Logfiles folder in the current project folder.

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