Nets and templates

A net gives a name to one channel of an instrument, for example supply1 for the output of a power supply. Tests and Workbench use the net name, not the instrument address. Lager stores the nets on the box, and the Nets tab shows them. Everyone who can open a box can see its nets. Only owners and admins can add, change, or delete nets.

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The Nets tab

When the box cannot see an instrument that one of its nets uses, a red warning shows at the top of the tab. Put the pointer on the warning to read the names of those instruments. The tab shows all the nets of the box in one table, as lager nets does. To put the nets into sections, use the Group by buttons at the top of the tab:

• Instrument puts the nets of each instrument in one section. This is the default.
• Type puts the nets of each net type in one section, for example all the usb nets.
• None shows all the nets in one list, with no sections.

Your browser keeps your choice for the next visit. A link to one instrument, for example from the Boxes page, groups the table by instrument and goes to the section of that instrument. The link does not change your choice. At the top of the tab, Add Nets adds nets for the free channels of every instrument. To open Workbench for this box, select the Workbench tab. While the tab is open, it refreshes every 10 seconds. It also refreshes when the box goes online or offline, and when you come back to the tab from a different window. Thus a change that you make with the lager command shows when you come back to Stout. When the box is offline, the tab shows the last known nets. If the box detects no instruments, the tab says so. Connect an instrument to the box over USB, and then select Check again.

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The table

The table shows the Name, Type, Instrument, Channel, State, and Purpose of each net. When a section heading shows the instrument or the type, the table does not show that column again. When no net on the box has a state or a purpose, the table does not show that column. State shows the live state of the net, as lager nets state does.

• For a USB port, State shows if the port is on or off.
• For a power supply, a battery simulator, or an electronic load, State shows if the output is on or off. It also shows the values that the box measured.
• For other types of net, State shows the value that the box read, for example HIGH (1) or 1.2500V.
• Unknown means that the box did not read the state. Put the pointer on Unknown to see the reason.
• A dash means that the box cannot read the state of this type of net.

On a box with an older Lager release, an output that is off can show as Unknown. Update the box to show Off.

• To sort the table, select the Name, Type, Instrument, or Channel heading. Select the heading again to reverse the order.
• To show only some nets, type in Filter nets. The filter finds text in the name, the type, the instrument, and the purpose. While you filter, the table opens all the sections and hides the sections that have no match.
• To collapse a section, select its heading. Select the heading again to expand the section.

When the box does not detect the instrument of a net, the table keeps the net. The row is dim. When the table shows the Instrument column, the instrument cell shows “disconnected”. Each row has a … menu with Edit and Delete. When Workbench supports the type of the net, the row also has the Workbench button, which opens the instrument in Workbench. When you group by instrument, this button is in the heading of the instrument, not in the row.

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Instrument sections

When you group by instrument, each section has a heading for its instrument. The heading shows the instrument name and the connection state. To see what an instrument is, put the pointer on its name. A card shows a photo of the instrument and what it does. When the box has two or more instruments of the same model, each heading also shows a serial number. The serial number is the last four characters, or all of the characters if the last four are the same. Use it to identify each instrument. An instrument that is the only one of its model shows no serial number. The heading of each instrument has these controls:

• Livefeed opens this camera in Workbench. It appears for a camera. Where your organization does not have Workbench, it opens the Webcams tab.
• Add Net adds one net to the instrument. It does not appear when the instrument cannot take another net, for example a debug probe that already has its net.
• The … menu has Delete All Nets, which deletes the nets of this instrument.

An instrument that the box detects, but that has no nets, gets a section that says so. Nets that have no instrument go in a section named Unassigned.

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Add nets for all free channels

Add Nets proposes one net for each instrument channel that has no net.

1. Select Add Nets.
2. Clear the check box of each channel that you do not want.
3. If you want different names, change them. Stout names each net after its type and the next free number, for example supply1 or gpio3.
4. For a debug probe, enter the Device type. This is the part number of the target MCU.
5. Select the add button, for example Add 4 Nets.

Some channels do not appear in the list. A yellow notice in the dialog explains each case:

• An instrument that runs one mode at a time offers no more channels after it has a net.
• An instrument that can switch between two roles offers its second role unchecked. If you choose that role, the instrument switches its mode.
• Stout hides two instruments that report the same address, because it cannot tell them apart.

Net names must be unique on a box. Stout ignores letter case when it compares names.

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Add one net

1. On the Nets tab, in Group by, select Instrument.
2. In the heading of the instrument, select Add Net.
3. Enter the Net Name.
4. Select the Role / Type.
5. Select the Channel. For a debug probe, enter the Device type instead.
6. Select Add Net.

To describe the new net, edit it, and then fill in Purpose.

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Edit a net

In the row of the net, select … > Edit. The Edit Net dialog has these fields:

• Name, Role / Type, and Channel define the net on the box. Instrument, Address, and Serial are read-only.
• Purpose is one sentence about what the net does on the device under test.
• Notes holds free-form details, for example jumper positions or probe points.
• Tags holds comma-separated tags.

Purpose, Notes, and Tags are the same fields that lager nets describe sets with --purpose, --notes, and --tag. When the box supports it, Stout sends your changes to the box. A Modified on box badge next to a field means that the box has a different value for that field. Save the field in Stout to keep the value that Stout shows. When you rename a net, Stout keeps its purpose, notes, and tags. To delete one net, select … > Delete in its row, and then confirm. Stout removes the net from the box. For the Lager commands, see lager nets in the Lager docs.

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Delete all nets

You can delete many nets in one step:

• When you group by instrument, … > Delete All Nets in the heading of an instrument deletes the nets of that instrument.
• In the header of the box page, … > Delete All Nets deletes every net on the box.

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Templates

A template saves the nets of one box. Use it to set up other boxes the same way. Only owners and admins can save, apply, and manage templates.

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Save a template

1. Open the box, and then open the … menu in the header.
2. Select Save as Template.
3. Enter a Template Name.
4. Select Save Template.

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Apply a template

1. Open the box, and then open the … menu in the header.
2. Select Apply Template.
3. Select the Template.
4. Check the preview. It sorts the nets into Ready to create, Awaiting instruments, and Skipped.
5. Select the apply button, for example Apply 12 Nets.

Awaiting instruments lists nets for instruments that are not connected. Stout creates these nets now, and they show Disconnected. When you connect the instrument, Stout binds the nets to it. Skipped lists the nets that Stout cannot create, with the reason. If the box is offline, the button is Assign Template. Stout applies the template when the box comes online. You can also select a template in the Add Box dialog. Stout applies it when the new box first comes online. If that apply fails, the Nets tab shows a notice, and Stout tries again the next time that the box comes online. When the box is online, select Apply now in the notice to try at once.

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Manage templates

On the Boxes page, select Box Groups, and then select Templates. The Box Templates dialog lists every template with its number of nets and its source box.

• Select the arrow to see the nets in a template.
• Select the pencil to rename a template.
• Select the refresh icon to update a template from its source box.
• Select the trash icon to delete a template.