User's Manual
Author | Date | Version | Modifications |
R. Liévin | May 8th, 2002 | 1.0 | Initial release |
J. Thompson | May 26th, 2002 | 1.1 | Proofreading |
R. Liévin | Aug 12th, 2002 | 1.2 | Update |
N. Gaylinn |
Sep 1st, 2002 |
1.3 |
Proofreading, image compacting, html links, ... |
R. Liévin |
Sep 26th, 2002 |
1.4 |
Update for TiLP v6.00 |
R. Liévin |
Jan 17th, 2002 |
1.5 |
Update for TiLP v6.00 |
R. Liévin |
Feb 8th, 2003 |
1.6 |
Update for TiLP v6.50 |
R. Liévin |
May 4th, 2003 |
1.7 |
Proofreading for final release |
S. Garsault |
May 18th, 2003 |
1.7fr |
French translation |
R. Liévin |
Feb 4th, 2005 |
1.8 |
Removed tiglusb support |
This current release supersedes and cancels any previous documents.
TiLP is the 'Ti Linking Program' for Windows, Linux and Mac OS-X,
created and maintained by the Linux Programmer Group (aka LPG).
TiLP : http://lpg.ticalc.org/prj_tilp
LPG : http://lpg.ticalc.org
ticalc.org : http://www.ticalc.org
TI-GRAPH LINK is a trademark of Texas Instruments, Incorporated.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Incorporated.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
© 2002-2003 by the TiLP team <tilps-users@lists.sf.net>.
Released under FDL.
Contributors :
Translators :
Table Of Contents
1 Introduction
2 System Requirements
3 Installation
4 Overview
5 Settings
5.1 Link cable
5.2 Calculator
5.3 Advanced settings
5.4 AVRlink speed
5.5 General settings
5.6 Screen capture
5.7 External programs [Linux]
6.1 Ready
6.2 Directory listing
6.3 Screen capture
6.4 Backup
6.5 Restore
6.6 Send/receive
6.7 ROM dumping
6.8 Remote Control
6.9 ID-LIST
7 The popup menu
8 Extra information
9 Problems? bugs?
10 FAQ
TiLP is a linking program; it allows you to connect your TI graphing calculator to a computer/workstation and transfers data between them. TiLP is free software and licensed under GPL (GNU Public License).
TiLP can run on several platforms:
TiLP supports all common physical link cables:
TiLP also supports the following virtual links (internal connections with an emulator):
TiLP supports all calculators:
This documentation covers using TiLP on all available platforms. Topics which are specific to a particular operating system are enclosed within brackets ( "[" and "]" ).
In order to run TiLP, your computer must meet one of the following sets of requirements, depending on your opperating system:
Linux:
Windows:
Mac OS-X:
FreeBSD:
First, you must determine which type of link cable you plan on using. There are four classes of cables:
Class ‘1’ & ‘2’ cables require a
serial port (SUBD-9 male).
Class ‘3’ cables require a parallel port (SUBD-25 female).
Class ‘4’ cables require a USB port.
Linux
Before installing TiLP, you may need to install a kernel module to support your link cable or certain features of TiLP (single/super user, GTK+). These features will be explained later, but I will remind you that using the root account for normal operations is not safe and is strongly discouraged.
In most cases, you simply need to install a package for your favorite Linux distribution (Debian, RedHat, Mandrake, etc.). The following distributions are supported :
- Debian : simply install the TiLP package with APT: put your CDROM and type 'apt-get install tilp'. You can install it by http/ftp, too!
- RedHat/Mandrake : execute rpm -i tilp
- Slackware : no tgz is provided yet. You will have to install TiLP from the source archive.
Super User & GTK < 1.2.9
You do not need any kernel module unless you plan to use a SilverLink cable.
If you are using a SilverLink cable, you must have libusb installed, version 0.1.5 mini (0.1.6a is the latest stable release). The tiglusb module is deprecated !
Super User & GTK >= 1.2.9
GTK+ libraries will refuse to run TiLP. See above.
Normal User
Unless you are using a class ‘1’ cable, you will need to install a kernel module. Be sure to check the permissions of the device you plan on using (i.e. /dev/ttyS0, etc.); the permissions should be set to 666.
Class ‘2’ : you will need the tiser kernel module. Starting at TiLP v6.00, it's not required any longer.
Class ‘3’ : you will need the tipar kernel module and the parallel port enabled (either in the kernel or as module).
Class ‘4’ : you will need libusb.Installation instructions for kernel modules are in their associated README files.
Windows
If you intend to use a SilverLink cable you will need the SilverLink driver. There are two available drivers, one for Windows 98, Me, and 2000 (98 targetted) and one for Windows Me, 2000, and XP (XP targetted). You will need the driver for your version of Windows. Both drivers are fully compatible.
Windows 9x/Me & NT4/2000/XP are supported in the same way independantly of your cable type.To install, get the self-installing package named 'tilp.zip' from the ticalc archives, decompress it using WinZip, and lauch tilp-X.XX.exe.
Then, follow the installation instructions.
Mac OS-X
The user's manual is separately provided with the Mac OS-X port.
The first time you launch TiLP, you will see the main window:
TiLP is made up of several components:
Any operation done is based on the content of the left or the right frame.
The first time you run TiLP, you will need to configure it. All modifiable parameters are put together in the Setup menu. Most of them have default settings, but you have to follow the §5.1, §5.2 and §5.4 for the first run.
You can save your configuration at any time by clicking File | Save config. You can reload it with File | Load config.
Also, you can load TiLP's default configuration by clicking File | Default config.
1°) First, you have to choose a link cable by clicking the Setup | Communication menu item. The following box should appear:
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Simply select the link cable model you will be using from the upper left frame.
If you want to use TiLP for exchanging data with an emulator (such as VTi under Windows or TiE under Linux/Win32), you will have to select Vti or (Gtk)TiEmu. TiLP must be launched AFTER the emulator has already been started.
2°) Next, you have to select an I/O port, depending on your model.
If you have a GreyLink, a BlackLink or an AVRlink, click Serial port #1 if your cable is plugged into your first serial port (usually called COM1), Serial port #2 if the second one (COM2), and so on.
If you have a homemade parallel link cable, click Parallel port #1 if you cable is plugged into your first parallel port (usually called LPT1). Most PC's have only one parallel port.
If you have a TI-GRAPH LINK USB (a.k.a. SilverLink), click USB port #1. I don't think that you will plug in more than one SilverLink cable. The SilverLink driver (Win32/Linux/BSD) must be successfully installed before doing this.
For virtual links, you will always select Virtual port #2.
Experienced users or people who have very specific hardware will have to edit the TiLP resource file and enter specific settings. Beware: these settings must be used with caution; they might affect the behavior of your machine or even cause it to crash!
Simply select the calculator model you wish to link with.
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The Auto-detect check-box allows TiLP to automatically determine your calculator type whenever you do an operation. This works only with FLASH calculators (73/83+/89/92+).
Note: the V200 calculator can not be automatically detected (same IDs than TI92+).
Once you have configured the link cable and the calculator, you can test that connection is working. The best thing to do is to do a screen capture (See section 5.6). If it does not work, save your configuration, launch TiLP, and try again.
1°) With this box, you can modify the timeout value. This determines how long TiLP will wait for a responce before displaying an error message. It is strongly recommended to not decrease this below 1.5s or some FLASH transfers will fail.
2°) The delay value can be changed if you are using a parallel, serial, or BlackLink cable. This value determines the pause to insert between each bit transfered.
The lower the value is, the faster the transfer will be. However, the transmission may become unstable (transmissions errors) if you try to go too fast. 10µs is the optimal value. If you have a fast calculator (TI89/92/92+), you can decrease it.
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This box influences the behavior and the look & feel of TiLP.
Options are separated into 2 categories: calculator and computer.
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1°) Computer options:
- Sort by: determine the sorting mode in the right frame.
- Order: determine the sorting order in the right frame.
- File displaying: determine whether TiLP will display all files or only TI files.
- File/Variables : when this box is checked, TiLP will ask for confirmation for operations such as deleting files, overwriting files, or overwriting calculator variables (a directory listing is performed before sending any variable).
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2°) Calculator options:
- Sort by: determine the sorting mode in the left frame.
- Order: determine the sorting order in the left frame.
- Path mode: tell TiLP to send variables to the current folder (local) or to the original folder (full). This works only with TI9x calculators (89/92/92+/V200).
- Receiving files: determine the way TiLP will save received variables. In single mode, TiLP saves each variables into itw own file. In group mode, TiLP saves the set of variables into a single file.
Note: this option does not apply to TI82/85. Multiple varibles are always saved at once (single or group). Use the popup menu to degroup the file if needed.
TiLP always codes images with 1-bit color depth (black and white).
2°) The TI89 calculator has an interesting peculiarity: its screen (LCD) is smaller than one in a TI92(+), but the real screen (in terms of memory) has the same size as a TI92(+). You can see the LCD as a rectangular window.
If you select the full button, TiLP will display the entire TI89 screen from the calculator's memory; otherwise, it will only display the portion visible on the actual TI89's screen (LCD).
3°) Lastly, the emulate/blurry button may be useful for people who want to release screenshots on their websites. When this button is checked, TiLP saves images using emulated grayscales (that is to say, it replaces the black pixels with dark pixels and white pixels with green pixels). In fact, images saved by this feature look just like those gotten from VTi.
1°) In the Linux release, you can directly decompress ZIP or TAR archives (downloaded from the TI web site, on ticalc.org, etc.). This functionnality is not provided under any other platforms.
In order to do this, TiLP must know where the UNZIP or TAR programs are located.
The first entry contains the program location. You can change it by clicking the '...' button.
When the options entry is empty, TiLP uses its internal parameters. If you type some options here, TiLP will use yours.
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2°) Another capability, which has been recently added for the TI83+ FLASH application developers is the ability to directly sign a file generated by a Z80 assembler to a TI83+ FLASH application (.8Xk). When this is done, you can send it to the calculator.
This will require you to download and install the appsign utility (it can be download from the TI-83+ section of TI's web site). This option is currently available for Linux only!
This section describes the different things you can do with your calculator and TiLP.
TiLP can perform the following operations:
Depending on the calculator type, some functions may be unavailable. The chart below sums up the available operations:
73 | 82 | 83 | 83+/84+ | 85 | 86 | 89 (tm) |
92 | 92+ | V200 |
|
Ready | * | * | * | * | * | * |
||||
Screenshot | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * |
DirList | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * |
|
Variables | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * |
Backup | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * |
|
FLASH apps | * | * | * | * | * |
|||||
OS upgrades | * | * | * | * | * |
|||||
ROM dump | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * |
|
Remote control | ? | ? | * | * | * | * |
||||
Clock | * |
* |
* |
The basic operations are available from the toolbar or by Drag and Drop (DnD for short). Some others, which are used less often or are more specific, are only available from the Misc menu (ROM dumping, Remote Control, and ID-LIST).
DnD works in 2 ways:
- from the calculator frame to the computer frame,
- from the computer frame to the calculator frame.
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Click this icon to check whether your
calculator is ready for transmission. Usually, you don't need to use it
since TiLP automatically uses this operation whenever you do a
transfer, but it may be useful to restore the connection after an error. When the calculator is ready, TiLP displays 'Status: connected !' in the status bar. |
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Get a list of folders, variables, and applications stored on the calculator. The resulting list is displayed in the calculator frame.
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About selections: - the base nodes (Screen,Operating System, Variables, Applications) can be double-clicked or dragged. They can not be selected.
- dragging a folder selects all variables beneath the folder during the drag operation only.
- you can use mouse or keyboard for selecting one or more items.
- multiple items can be selected by clicking them and maintaing the Shift (or Ctrl) key pressed. You can use the arrows keys, too.
- Ctrl+A selects all items whereas Ctrl+Shift+A unselect them all.
- if you want to drag several files, select them and keeps the Shift key pressed while dragging.
Screen capture
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- Double-click the 'Screen' item of the calculator frame will open the 'Screen Capture' window.
- Drag&Drop the 'Screen' item to the computer frame will do a screenshot and will save it in a file.
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Backup the calculator data. On FLASH calculators, the backup is not a true backup, it's a group of all variables (83+/89/92+/V200PLT) but attributes are kept (locking/archiving), but FLASH applications are not saved. On the other calculators, the backup is a memory copy and contains the whole calculator content.
Alternate way: by double-clicking or dragging the 'Variables' node.
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Restore the calculator content by sending a previously received backup. Contrary to TI's software, variables will stay archived if they were archived before the backup.
With TI89/92+/V200 calculators, you can use this function to send a group file which keeps the variable attributes.
The main window is splitted into 2 frames: the calculator frame and the computer frame.
1°) The calculator frame lists variables and applications stored into your calculator. By clicking on an item, you can select one or more variables or applications.
If you have selected one ore more applications, they will be saved one by one (one file per application).
If you have selected one variable, it will be saved in one file with the appropriated extension.
If you have selected more than one variable, the variables will be grouped into a single file (group file).
Next, drag the selection to receive variables if the calculator support directory listing. Else, use the Receive button (TI82/85).
2°) The computer frame lists the files in a working folder.
The working folder can be changed by double-clicking thebutton. You also can change the working drive (Windows) with the popup menu (right mouse button).
Simply select one or more files (variables or FLASH applications only; no backup) and drag them to the calculator frame.
If you have checked the confirm deleting/overwriting button (General Settings), TiLP will do a directory list before sending your variables. Next, it will display the following window:
TiLP will display all variables which already exists on the calculator and wait for an action. Select one or more items with mouse or keyboard and use one of the 3 buttons (Overwrite, Rename, Skip) to change the action.
Beware: a backup should be done before doing a ROM dump because ROM dumping uses an assembly program which may corrupt or crash your calculator.
This operation will transfer a small assembly program to your calculator. If your calculator model has remote control (89/92/92+/V200), the program will be automatically launched and the ROM will be dumped. Otherwise, TiLP will wait for you to execute the assembly program.
Depending on your calculator model, a shell may be required:
- TI73: not supported
- TI82: ASh 3.0
- TI83: AShell
- TI83+: any shell
- TI84+: any shell
- TI85: Usgard, ZShell 4.0
- TI86: any shell
- TI89: none
- TI89 Titanium: none
- TI92: Fargo II
- TI92+: none
- V200: none
Alternate way:double-clicking or dragging the 'Operating System' node.
It's no longer available (>= v6.50). Please use an emulator instead...
The remote control is available for TI89 and TI92(+) calculators. It exists on TI73/83+ but does not work (any informations is welcome!).
Calculators based on FLASH technology (TI83+, TI89, TI92+ and V200PLT) have a unique identifier in their memory. This identifier can be requested by TI for buying/signing FLASH applications.
You can retrieve it with this function.
If you press the right button of your mouse in the computer frame, a popup menu will appear.
This menu contains some functions for manipulating files:
- Edit: cut/copy/paste files, rename/delete files, create a new folder,
- File: unarchive ZIP/TAR archive [Linux], (un)select all files, go to the parent foler, set as working folder (whenever you run TiLP, it will directly go to this one), refresh the list.
- Group files: group/ungroup selected files (about GFM: it has been moved as a plugin (Open with)).
- Misc: send variables to FLASH (TI83+) or keep archive attribute (TI89/92+/V200), sign TI83+ FLASH app,
- Console: open an xterm [Linux].
- Open with: use a plugin (if available) for opening the selected file(s),
- Change: change the working drive [Win32].
You will find some extra items such as the ManPage in the Help menu of TiLP.
1°) The manpage is a Linux concept but is also provided in the Windows release trough the Help | Manpage item. The manpage describes:
The configuration file contains all the settings of TiLP as well as some extra settings used for test/developer purposes.
There are several ways to get in touch if
you encounter a problem with TiLP or if you have questions,
suggestions,
bug reports, etc.
If you have general questions or problems, please consider the users' mailing
list first.
If you want to discuss TiLP, you can use the TiLP forum.
If you want to contribute to the TiLP project, there is a developer's mailing
list.
For bug reports, use the 'Bug Tracking System'.
Before e-mailing the TiLP team, make sure you have read the FAQ....
Please read all documentation carefully before sending a post. Most people do not take enough time to actually read the documentation. If you are sure that your question is not answered in any of these docs, then post.
Send me a log rather than a message such as 'libti?? does not compile'... For getting a log: 'make install &> log' and attach the log to your mail or copy it in the post.
Most of bug reports I receive do not
contain enough information (because people do not read documentation
before mailing!). I often have to ask for subsequent information which
is not very efficient for me and takes more time for you.
A bug report should always contain the following information:
- platform type: Windows (which Windows you are running), Linux (which
distribution, which kernel, is devfs running, etc.)
- calculator type (TI83, 89, HW1, HW2, etc.)
- cable type and port (COM1, LPT1, USB, etc.),
- the version of TILP and of the required libraries
- which driver/module you are using
- [Linux]: TiLP displays much information at startup. You have 2 ways
for sending them to me. Either launch TiLP by 'tilp >& log' and
send/post the log file, or send/post the '$HOME/tilp.console' file.
- [Win32]: you will have to enable the console first. Open the
'tilp.ini' file and change 'console=no' to 'console=yes'. Launch TiLP
and send/post the 'C:\console.log' file.
If you have more information, you are welcome to send it! You can send
screen captures, too, just don't exceed 250KB.
If you want to contribute to or translate this document, please e-mail the TiLP team at tilp-users@lists.sf.net.