Settings and Preferences

Part 3 — Reference.

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27.1 Two different dialogs

	Settings	Prefernces
Opens from	[☰] → Settings	[☰] → Prefernces
Contains	how iDM3 behaves on your PC	how much of the CU's capacity this project uses
Changes	your working environment	nothing — it is a read-out

"Prefernces" is spelled that way in the software. It is a typo in the menu, not in this manual.

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27.2 Settings

Program settings — Localization

Setting	Notes
Select language	English, Czech, Slovak, Spanish

This manual uses the English labels throughout.

Connection settings

Setting	Notes
IP address : port	The central unit's address
Timeout (ms)	How long to wait before giving up
Ping test	Checks the CU answers — run this first when anything fails

Init project from

Which template a new project starts from:

Option	Result
Default project	The factory default, with its 61 predefined functions
User default	Your own saved default
Empty project	Nothing predefined

Set this to User default once you have built a company default — Tutorial 10.

Floors image opacity

Background-image opacity, set per workspace tab:

Setting	Applies to
Design:	Design tab
Groups:	Groups tab
Functions:	Function tab
Simulation:	Simulation tab

A strong plan helps while placing devices; a faint one keeps wires readable while programming.

Visual effects

Setting	Effect
Show device wires animation	Animates connections between devices
Show group connections animation	Animates group membership lines

Helpful when learning, distracting later. Turn them off on large projects.

Other settings

Setting	Effect
Enable manual change consumer value	Allows changing a consumer's value by hand
Enable scroll floor items	Scrolling of floor items
Auto open wire detail	Opens the wire detail automatically when a wire is selected
Auto restore project at the CU	See Chapter 23
Save function blocks templates to project file	Embeds function block templates in the .elp
Show hidden objects	Reveals hidden objects
Show registration	Whether the registration dialog appears at startup

Turn on "Save function blocks templates to project file" if your projects use custom function blocks and are opened on more than one machine. Templates normally live in funcBloks\ outside the project, so a project that uses them is incomplete elsewhere.

Turn on "Auto open wire detail" while programming — it removes a click from the most repeated action in iDM3.

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27.3 Prefernces — project resource limits

Progress bars showing what your project uses against the central unit's maximum.

AllModules count	AllDevices count	ThermoDrivers count
Users count	Cards count	Readers count
EZSZones count	Timers count	Counters count
Controllers count	PeriodicalProgs count	ContinualProgs count
TwoStateProgs count	WeekPlans count	DayPlans count
SystemBits count	SystemInts count	Groups count
UserFunctions count	Wires count	VirtualWires count
MessageIncome count	MessageOutcome count	MessageSMS count
Contacts count

Known maximums: 64 timers, 64 counters, 500 system bits, 500 system integers.

Check this early on a large project. Discovering you are out of wires or system bits after programming three floors is an expensive lesson. The Wire manager also shows used/maximum wires at the top of its window.

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27.4 Where settings are stored

UserSett.hdb	Your personal settings — survives reinstalls
IDM.config	Program configuration
Registry	HKCU\Software\ELKO EP\iDM3 — install path and version

See Appendix F.

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Next: Chapter 28 — Opening older projects.