How can I control Uniview through external communication?

1.5 1.6

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It is possible to control Uniview from external software using the TCP protocol. This text describes how to configure Uniview to enable this functionality.

Configuration

To connect your external communication application to Uniview you first need to edit the Uniview.ini file located in the system settings folder. In the Uniview launcher, press "Show More Options...", then "Open System Settings", then "Yes". Open Uniview.ini with a text editor like notepad.

Below the [System] section, modify the ExternalServer variable to True instead of False. This will result in a listening server being launched with Uniview. You may also specify which port to use for the communication.

Example:

[System]
ClientCount=1
ExternalClientCount=0
ExternalServer=True
ExternalServerPort=22000

Save the file and press "Synchronize" in the Launcher.

Usage

Sending events to Uniview is only a matter of connecting to the server socket and sending ascii-strings. When connecting to a Uniview cluster specify the IP address of the computer which is running the server. That address can be found in the [server] section of Uniview.ini.

Examples of commands:
Earth.on;
Earth.off;
camera.flyto Moon;
camera.jumpto Earth;

Please consult the Uniview Run-time Command Syntax for a list of all available commands, it is available from your Uniview Theater help menu.

Test

To test this functionality you can download the free software Putty, which is a terminal software. Configure it to the IP and port of the Uniview server and set it to Telnet mode. When connected you can type commands which are sent to Uniview when you press enter.

Also worth noting is that each string should end with a newline (ascii 10).

In Uniview 1.6 this should follow the same protocal as Telnet does, so that means a Carriage-return (ascii 13) followed by a line-feed (ascii 10).