12.2 Read Only, Auto Save, & Drag Loading

Timing diagram files can be loaded by dragging a waveform file into the program from a file manager window. Timing diagrams can also be loaded in a READ-ONLY model that prevents the user from accidentally editing the file. Also, there is an auto-save feature that backs up your work during a session.

Drag and Drop File Load

•Drag-N-Drop File Load: From Windows Explorer you can drag a *.tim or *.btim file (the program's normal output file) and drop it into the timing window to open the file. This is helpful if you have many timing diagrams and would like to view them in rapid succession.

Read-Only Mode:

•The read-only mode may be used to ensure that changes to diagram waveforms cannot be made accidentally when importing and exporting waveform data. To turn on the read-only mode, check the the Options > Read-Only Mode menu.

Auto Save and Recovery of Data

The General Preferences dialog controls the Auto Save for Recovery feature. Timing diagrams will be temporarily saved at the indicated time interval. If the program is prematurely terminated (e.g due to a power loss or a program crash), then the next time it is launched it will reload the temporary file so that you can choose to use this data or revert to the original file. This is a product-specific feature, so you must launch the same program as the program that was running during the crash to recover the file. For example, if you were running TestBencher before your operating system crashes, then you must run TestBencher (not WaveFormer or other products) to recover the data.

•Choose Options > General Preferences to open the dialog.

•Check the Auto Save for Recovery box to enable the feature and type in the time interval between auto-saves.