Manipulator Instructions

To get started, you’ll need to install the FCI Tools Excel add-in.

1. Open the Email you received after you subscribed. You’ll see a link to download the software, as well as the Manipulator Excel template.
2. Download and run the setup.exe file to install the add-in.
3. Download Excel and open the Excel template.
4. Upon opening the template, you should see a new ribbon tab, labeled “FCI Tools”, to the left of the “Home” tab. This tab will automatically show and hide itself as you switch between different Excel files. At this point, you should see most of the buttons greyed out. Near the left side, you should see a button labeled “Activate License”.
5. Click Activate Licence to enter your serial number and register the software. Once registered, you should see most of the buttons in the ribbon enable.

Opening a program is simple and fast. All commands related to program interaction can be found on the FCI Tools ribbon tab, in the “Communications” group. To conserve ribbon space, this group is only shown when you are on one of the Manipulator program editing worksheets. (Sensors, Modules, CAMs, LED CAMs, Group Labels, or NGA Messages)

1. In the Manipulator template, click on the “Manipulator” button at the top left. This will configure the workbook for first use, and immediately prompt for a Save-As, so you can keep the original file clean for the next project. We recommend naming the file with the project name, node type, and template version (eg. White House ILI’s 3.6.2.10.xlsm), but you can call it anything you want. Make sure the file is saved as an .XLSM or you will lose functionality.
2. First pick a Node Type to work with from the node type drop-down box.
3. Then Click the Extract button. (Optionally, you can click the arrow below the Extract button to only extract specific nodes.(This can be very useful when working on phased projects that have been partially completed, just don’t extract the nodes that are in completed areas, and you can avoid making accidental changes))
4. Browse to the program you would like to work with and click open.
5. Your selected nodes will then be pulled into Excel for easy editing,

The Settings menu can be accessed from either the down arrow on the Manipulator button or via “File->Add-Ins->FCI Tools”. The settings window is divided into tabs which group relevant settings together. The first tab contains General Options, the second tab is SLC Settings, and the third tab is for CAM settings.

1. General Options contains settings for Push Log reporting (which gives you a detailed report of all changes made during a Push, so you can double check your work), auto-saving of the push logs, auto-saving of Validation Logs, and whether or not to enable autogrouping.
2. SLC Settings allows you to configure the SLC device types which are used in the Manipulator. These settings are stored in the Manipulator file when they’re changed, so if you wish to make changes that will apply to all of your projects, set these prior to starting a new Manipulator file with the Manipulator button. Optionally, you could also change them in each project to reflect the device options needed for that job. These can be changed at any timeTIP: keep as few checked as possible. It’s easier to work with the smaller lists of devices, so you’ll be a little faster if you don’t have everything checked.
3. CAM Settings tell FCI Tools what types of CAMs (ILI Nodes Only) to pull into a Manipulator file during an Extract. It is recommended to keep as few of these checked as possible, as each additional CAM type Extracted and Pushed takes a little longer. Also, the fewer you have checked, the fewer you’ll need to scrolll through.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.