Widget Designer > Devices > Phidgets

Before connecting to any Phidget device, please install the Phidget driver first.

This driver also installs the Phidget Control Panel, which you can use to check connectivity, status and parameters of the devices.
This application also enables you to send an receive data of Phidgets on the network.

Overview

This dialog displays all locally connected devices, their type, as well as their serial number.
In this example, one VINT Hub module and one RFID Read-Write module are connected via USB to the local computer.
Each port can be expanded for more detailed information about the incoming or outgoing values.
Simply double-click on the correct mode, like "Voltage Ratio Mode", to open the port's properties and retrieve for example the addressing information.

Phidgets connected via network are listed below their respective Server device. In this example, the Server "MANAGER05" provides access to a Stepper Motor.

A second Server device, "DEVELOP12", is password protected and marked with a red icon, it will not display any further information until the user credentials were entered.

Network Server

If you want to use Phidgets connected to a remote machine, the Network Server of this machine needs to be enabled.

To achieve this, go to the Network Server tab in the Control Panel and press the "Start" button at the bottom.
You can edit settings like the Server name or the port.

If you want to automatically start the Network Server when the Control Panel is started, choose a different option from the "Startup Type" drop-down.

Addressing Information

Accessing certain devices, such as Voltage Input or Digital Output devices, with WD requires the additional parameters "Hub Port", "Channel" and the check box "Is Hub Port Device".
If you are not certain which values to enter here, go to the Phidget Control Panel and double-click on the device or the used port, like indicated in the example picture above on "Voltage Ratio Mode".

This configuration dialog can look different for different Phidgets models and enables you to set and retrieve certain parameters.

To retrieve the correct address information, press the red location icon to open the Addressing Information dialog.

Now simply transfer the "Hub Port", "Device Channel" and "Is Hub Port Device?" information to the respective equivalents in WD.

Important Note:

A Phidget Device can only be either connected in WD or opened and configured in the Phidgets Control Panel.

As long as the configuration dialog of the Phidget Control Panel is open, WD will not be able to connect to this device.

To enable the connectivity, close the configuration dialog.