BenchVue 3.0 now available – ask the BenchVue team anything

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi vokars,
Sorry for the delayed response. I usually get EEVBlog emails directly to my inbox but this one seems to have not made it.

Thanks for your feedback on Std Dev. I fully agree this is needed for anyone looking to statistically characterize a parameter. i.e. a mean without a Std-dev hides most of the information. We will definitely add this to our DMM update - thanks for pointing it out. Also glad to hear you're using Test Flow. Do send us feedback about it as well. We're adding some enhancements to Test Flow ( to be released in the near future ) that you'll hopefully find useful.

Regarding the other minor issues - I'll look forward to that as well

Sid

Hi vokars,
We currently display min, max, average, count in our datalogger if you switch to Table View ( go to the Data Logger tab and select the Table icon in the top right corner ) ... We don't however currently display standard deviation. I will add this to our list of future enhancements.

Can I ask you to email us your minor issues as well as any other feedback to benchvue.feedback@keysight.com ( this will come directly to me ). We do plan to overhaul the DMM app and would like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks
Sid

Hello BenchVue Team,

I bought the DMM-App a few days ago. In general I like the software. But there are some minor issues and a major one: Is there really no average/count/stdev or do I am just not able find it?

Hello Sid,

Thank you very much ! The table view is probabely the only view I did not check  . Meanwhile I also implemented StDev in Test Flow. That is really handy. I always liked the possibility in WPF to stack widgets but I never knew a good application for that. In Test Flow this stacking makes sense.

I recommend, to include the StDev also into the statistics. With Test Flow it can be done but the data visualization of the data logger is better. 1. In science StDev is as important as the measurement value itself. I assume that these customers are interesting for Keysight. 2. The DMMs usually can show that in manual mode and my 34411a does so. 3. It is probabely implemented in less than 1h especially because you have access to the efficient implementation of the device firmwares. So you can be shure not to show a different value (there are several different definitions of StDev).

Concerning the minor issues I actually was looking for the right way to communicate it and I appreciate your offer to email. I will try to collect these issues first (e.g. sometimes connection problems, or sometimes no notification when the device is switched into local mode, ...) and verify that the issues are not a problem of the person in front of the screen  .

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hit bitseeker,
Thanks for the feedback.

Regarding the licensing issues - yes I hear you. There was a similar comment from hendorog about scanning for USB Licenses. These posts resulted in us contacting our licensing teams and raising the issue. I will send them your feedback as well so they see it. Just want to let you know, we've heard your feedback and are acting on it.

Sid

I second the spirit of vokar's feedback. Have general statistics generally available, not limited to just the table view.

Regarding the License Manager popping up twice, I find that irritating as well, especially since I use my laptop for more than just running BenchVue. The vast majority of the time, I'm inserting a USB stick or SD card with no license files and then get those pop-ups. Restricting such notifications for when there's a problem with license files would be better.

[bitseeker]

Thanks for the update, Sid. I've generally found the various Keysight departments I've interacted with to be helpful and responsive to feedback and the BenchVue and licensing teams are no exception. Keep up the good work!

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hello folks,
We've provided your feedback regarding Keysight's USB license auto-scan and our licensing teams are looking at ways to improve it. In the interim, for anyone that wants to change its behavior, attached are two .reg files ( one for 32bit and one for 64bit windows ) that can be run with administrator privileges. This will disable our USB auto-scan. After running it you will see the following keys

On 64 bit windows:
DWORD registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Keysight\Licensing\DisableUsbScan  with a value of 1

On 32 bit windows:
DWORD registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Keysight\Licensing\DisableUsbScan with a value of 1
 
Thanks,
Sid
benchvue.feedback@keysight.com

[bitseeker]

That worked great and didn't need a reboot. Thanks, Sid!

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

That worked great and didn't need a reboot. Thanks, Sid!

Great ! Glad it fixed your issue.
Sid

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi EEVBlog folks,

The BenchVue team is looking to make some enhancements to our user on-boarding process. i.e. the process by which a new user becomes familiar with all parts of BenchVue when they first download it - the app tab, the apps, test flow, data manager, demo mode, library etc. if anyone has input for us we would love to hear about it and your past experience getting acquainted with BenchVue. Feel free to add your thoughts here or send them to us @ benchvue.feedback@keysight.com
Thanks,
Sid

[blackdog]

Hi Sid,

How is de Interface of Benchvue goin?
Are our remarks already implemented, is there en new version on its way?

Kind regarts,
Bram

[bitseeker]

The BenchVue team is looking to make some enhancements to our user on-boarding process. i.e. the process by which a new user becomes familiar with all parts of BenchVue when they first download it - the app tab, the apps, test flow, data manager, demo mode, library etc.

Hi Sid,

From what I remember when I first used BenchVue, the on-boarding was difficult. Being greeted by the empty Bench and a message that nothing was detected along with the need to launch IO Libraries was not friendly. If the software already knows where I need to be, then it should take me there. The old software design mantra, "Don't make me click," applies.

I don't know about the latest BenchVue (I'm currently at 3.7), but having to find various disparate tools in order to accomplish tasks on the same instrument took some time to get your head around. For example, if I'm looking at the DMM app to set up some logging and decide I want to send some SCPI commands, I'd prefer to just hit a button in the DMM app to get a SCPI console rather than open IO Libraries in order to find the Connection Expert.

Once you figured out how to add and interact with instruments, it was also strange when sometimes devices would be detected automatically at the next startup, but other times you'd have to open the apps or the IO Libraries to get them to be recognized again. That might just be a bug.

Another issue that comes to mind is when using logging. After stopping a log (or it stops itself), if you change the setup, a modal dialog pops up to warn you that the log will be lost, but only when you've already partially changed a configuration value, rather than when clicking on the field. As a result, some values such as start/stop times are auto-zeroed when the interruption prevents you from entering a valid value.

Anyway, those are some things that come to mind.

[sarel.wagner]

I am a Time and Volts Nut, its a hobby thing. Soooo its dead for me, no way I am going to spend $$$ on your software. I do have a number of IEEE-488 devices however I am forced to use not your software . That sucks. I do have some HP and Agilent/Keysight gear.

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi Bram,
Thanks for checking in. Yes there is a new version we will be releasing soon. A number of your comments around charts, graphs etc have been implemented for our scope app which is getting an overhaul. I realize your comments were more targeted towards DMM app which we do plan to update soon as well.
Sid

Hi Sid,

How is de Interface of Benchvue goin?
Are our remarks already implemented, is there en new version on its way?

Kind regarts,
Bram

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi Bitseeker,
Thanks for the feedback - just the type of input we are looking for. Looks like you've experienced a mix of connectivity issues along with general lack of instruction when first using BenchVue.  The datalogger issues might be a bug with the particular app - do you recall which instrument that was for ?

Would you be interested in talking to our usability engineer about the onboarding process ? If so, can you send me an email at Benchvue.feedback@keysight.com ? It would just be one or two 30 min interviews at times convenient for you with BenchVue running over a web meeting.

Thanks,
Sid

The BenchVue team is looking to make some enhancements to our user on-boarding process. i.e. the process by which a new user becomes familiar with all parts of BenchVue when they first download it - the app tab, the apps, test flow, data manager, demo mode, library etc.

Hi Sid,

From what I remember when I first used BenchVue, the on-boarding was difficult. Being greeted by the empty Bench and a message that nothing was detected along with the need to launch IO Libraries was not friendly. If the software already knows where I need to be, then it should take me there. The old software design mantra, "Don't make me click," applies.

I don't know about the latest BenchVue (I'm currently at 3.7), but having to find various disparate tools in order to accomplish tasks on the same instrument took some time to get your head around. For example, if I'm looking at the DMM app to set up some logging and decide I want to send some SCPI commands, I'd prefer to just hit a button in the DMM app to get a SCPI console rather than open IO Libraries in order to find the Connection Expert.

Once you figured out how to add and interact with instruments, it was also strange when sometimes devices would be detected automatically at the next startup, but other times you'd have to open the apps or the IO Libraries to get them to be recognized again. That might just be a bug.

Another issue that comes to mind is when using logging. After stopping a log (or it stops itself), if you change the setup, a modal dialog pops up to warn you that the log will be lost, but only when you've already partially changed a configuration value, rather than when clicking on the field. As a result, some values such as start/stop times are auto-zeroed when the interruption prevents you from entering a valid value.

Anyway, those are some things that come to mind.

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi Sarel
Understood about not purchasing our software. However, if you do have any general feedback we would be very interested to hear it as always.
Sid

I am a Time and Volts Nut, its a hobby thing. Soooo its dead for me, no way I am going to spend $$$ on your software. I do have a number of IEEE-488 devices however I am forced to use not your software . That sucks. I do have some HP and Agilent/Keysight gear.

[sarel.wagner]

  hahaha Sid, you funny..... Send me a copy and I will review and comment, DMM and Counter would be nice. Can do some ADEV. How do I feedback when I cannot afford to buy the Software?

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi Sarel,
I did walk right into that one, didn't I ?

I should have mentioned that we do have 30-day free trials for all our applications. You would need to download the BenchVue Platform ( available at keysight.com/find/BenchVue ) and then any of our applications can be downloaded from the Apps tab within BenchVue. If you don't have any Keysight software on your PC, we do need to install a few other components such as Connection Expert ( our VISA library ), a license manager and a few other prerequisites.

You can confirm whether your existing instruments are supported in BenchVue @ www.keysight.com/find/benchvueinstruments.

Sid

hahaha Sid, you funny..... Send me a copy and I will review and comment, DMM and Counter would be nice. Can do some ADEV. How do I feedback when I cannot afford to buy the Software?

[bitseeker]

Thanks for the feedback - just the type of input we are looking for. Looks like you've experienced a mix of connectivity issues along with general lack of instruction when first using BenchVue.  The datalogger issues might be a bug with the particular app - do you recall which instrument that was for ?

The data logger issues were with the DMM app on 34401A and 34410A, both connected via GPIB.

Would you be interested in talking to our usability engineer about the onboarding process ? If so, can you send me an email at Benchvue.feedback@keysight.com ? It would just be one or two 30 min interviews at times convenient for you with BenchVue running over a web meeting.

Sure. I'll shoot you an email.

[coldframe]

Hi Sid,

Do you have any plan for 33120A  AWB?

[sarel.wagner]

Hi Sid, yes you did. No thank you to 30 day trials. What is the point, you think our time as hobbyists are free to use? Then when the 30 days are gone, that is if I can learn this behemoth in that time, I will need to clean it out of windows, yea right!

If Keysight is not prepared to consider a free version, or at least give some to hobbyists for free, you can keep it. The open source model works for a reason. Lots of software companies have made certain of their products available for free, even your competitors does that.

Hi Sarel,
I did walk right into that one, didn't I ?

I should have mentioned that we do have 30-day free trials for all our applications. You would need to download the BenchVue Platform ( available at keysight.com/find/BenchVue ) and then any of our applications can be downloaded from the Apps tab within BenchVue. If you don't have any Keysight software on your PC, we do need to install a few other components such as Connection Expert ( our VISA library ), a license manager and a few other prerequisites.

You can confirm whether your existing instruments are supported in BenchVue @ www.keysight.com/find/benchvueinstruments.

Sid

hahaha Sid, you funny..... Send me a copy and I will review and comment, DMM and Counter would be nice. Can do some ADEV. How do I feedback when I cannot afford to buy the Software?

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi Sarel,
All fair points. We certainly wouldn't presume anyone's time to be free - just wanted to let you know we value feedback whether you're our customer or not.

We have discussed the idea of a hobbyist program for BenchVue. If you've got recommendations based on how you've seen it managed well with other companies, I would really like to hear more. It's no secret that you guys have valuable feedback for product teams.

Sid

Hi Sid, yes you did. No thank you to 30 day trials. What is the point, you think our time as hobbyists are free to use? Then when the 30 days are gone, that is if I can learn this behemoth in that time, I will need to clean it out of windows, yea right!

If Keysight is not prepared to consider a free version, or at least give some to hobbyists for free, you can keep it. The open source model works for a reason. Lots of software companies have made certain of their products available for free, even your competitors does that.

Hi Sarel,
I did walk right into that one, didn't I ?

I should have mentioned that we do have 30-day free trials for all our applications. You would need to download the BenchVue Platform ( available at keysight.com/find/BenchVue ) and then any of our applications can be downloaded from the Apps tab within BenchVue. If you don't have any Keysight software on your PC, we do need to install a few other components such as Connection Expert ( our VISA library ), a license manager and a few other prerequisites.

You can confirm whether your existing instruments are supported in BenchVue @ www.keysight.com/find/benchvueinstruments.

Sid

hahaha Sid, you funny..... Send me a copy and I will review and comment, DMM and Counter would be nice. Can do some ADEV. How do I feedback when I cannot afford to buy the Software?

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi coldframe,
We do receive requests for the 33120 from time to time. Right now we don't have plans to add support in the next year but we do keep reevaluating every few months based on feedback we receive.
Sid

Hi Sid,

Do you have any plan for 33120A  AWB?

[sarel.wagner]

Sid, just look at what CAD companies have done, no no lease ware crapware, the other stuff. Some made all products freely available for Education, and have some free products available too. Not crippled products or 30 day eval crap, proper products alongside those where they sell same to business users.

Look at Linux, Arduino and the open source community. And no you do not have to give away your source code. You sell and we happily buy your electronic products. You have IEEE 488 and now we have USB and LAN with LXi. All these are standard. If you would consider publishing API to Benchvue framework, the community can code and publish new control and automation apps. You provide the framework already and its free.

The community, (and your paying clients) can then do the things THEY want and desire. A lot smarter than doing what your budget and resources allow. You and your clients get these apps for free. A better Benchvue for all. Nothing stops Benchvue from now controlling other devices from other vendors and  manufacturers, giving us all a better future.

[daveyk]

Hi guys. Question about Benchview:
If it controls a 33250a generator, is it not real expensive? I’ve looked at it in the past at work and it seems every module was at least a $1000.00. I’m looking at creating some simple arbitrary waveforms on a 33250a more or less as a hobbiest and trying to figure out how to do so.

From what I can tell on your website Intuilink does not require a license but a download is no longer possible?

I love the idea of a completely computerized workbench which is what I think Benchview can supply, I just can’t pay for it and am only looking for control of this one generator (thru GPIB).

Educate me a bit on what my possibilities are please? Maybe there is an affordable module for Benchview to handle this?

Thanks kindly,

Dave


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi daveyk,
The BenchVue Function Generator application runs from about $90 to $340 depending on the type of license you want. This will also include a license for our Waveform Builder PRO SW which usually sells for $780. If you're looking to purchase, you're better of with the BenchVue app ( www.keysight.com/find/benchvuefg) as you get both software for a much  lower price.

Another option would be to use our Command Expert SW available for no cost to program SCPI commands to the instrument.

Sid

Hi guys. Question about Benchview:
If it controls a 33250a generator, is it not real expensive? I’ve looked at it in the past at work and it seems every module was at least a $1000.00. I’m looking at creating some simple arbitrary waveforms on a 33250a more or less as a hobbiest and trying to figure out how to do so.

From what I can tell on your website Intuilink does not require a license but a download is no longer possible?

I love the idea of a completely computerized workbench which is what I think Benchview can supply, I just can’t pay for it and am only looking for control of this one generator (thru GPIB).

Educate me a bit on what my possibilities are please? Maybe there is an affordable module for Benchview to handle this?

Thanks kindly,

Dave


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sid.BenchVueTeam]

Hi sarel,
Thanks for your thoughts. Regarding the quoted comment, this is something we have seriously entertained. We do have a software development kit for Benchvue that would allow others to develop their own applications within the framework and utilize all its capabilities. Other teams within our company use this SDK. We decided to not launch externally given it does require a decent amount of programming investment ( as does any application development ). If you or others are interested in learning more please contact me at benchvue.feedback@keysight.com. It would be very interesting to have a dialog around it as we often discuss it internally.

Thank you
Sid

If you would consider publishing API to Benchvue framework, the community can code and publish new control and automation apps. You provide the framework already and its free.

The community, (and your paying clients) can then do the things THEY want and desire. A lot smarter than doing what your budget and resources allow. You and your clients get these apps for free. A better Benchvue for all. Nothing stops Benchvue from now controlling other devices from other vendors and  manufacturers, giving us all a better future.

[sarel.wagner]

If you not aware of this guy: http://toolguyd.com/keysight-benchvue-is-a-great-example-of-an-unfavorable-approach-to-hardware-supporting-software/ Massive following...,