The list of new or modified features for the 9/7/00 release of the HomeWorks Interactive Utility is given below. Features that are already in the previous releases are not repeated here.

When security mode is terminated, the lights and CCOs in the home can be returned to their previous light level. This is a much-requested improvement. This can be added to an existing database by checking the checkbox on the security mode tab in the programming screen. Any programming that is on the "Exit Security Mode Preset" will be deleted when this box is checked (you will get a warning from the software). If there are specific lights that you would like to force to a level other than their previous level, you will have to add them back onto the "Exit Security Mode Preset" after the checkbox has been checked.

To simplify the programming of input closures and "on while the button is pressed" functions on keypads, we have added a new programming option to the "Default" button type. In addition to "Toggle" and "Single Action", we now have "Dual Action". This provides two presets for the button, a "Press" preset and a "Release" preset. For contact closure inputs, there will be a "Close" preset and an "Open" preset. This functionality was achievable in the past, but was much more involved than it is now.

We have added another feature to the right-mouse-click menu in the programming screen. If you want to create a new Global Scene from a preset that was not previously a Global Scene, select "Preset" and then "Make New Global Scene" from the right-mouse-click menu. You will be prompted to enter a name for the new global scene. After the name has been entered, the button will have the new Global Scene on it and the scene will be available for assignment to other buttons.

For "Single Action" and "Conditional" button types, we have increased the number of LED options available. We have "Always On", "Momentary On when Pressed", and "via RS-232". The first two are self-explanatory. The "via RS-232" option allows an external system (Crestron, AMX, etc) to control the LED using RS-232 strings sent into the processor's RS-232 port (using the SETLED command). In the past, the only way to do this was with a button that had no Lutron programming on it (otherwise our programming would determine the LED state, regardless of what the external system did).

For the new "Notes" tab on the button programming screen, we have added a blue flag next to the word "Notes" to indicate whether or not the button has some notes associated with it.

For those who use cycle dim, the direction that the lights will go on the first press (i.e. "raise" or "lower") is now programmable on a system-wide basis. This is done on a tab on the "upload project" screen. On the same tab, we have also added an option that allows you to trade off the toggle response time with the cycle dim functionality. If you configure it for "Press" it will activate the preset on the press of the button (like it does today). If you configure it for "Release", the system will wait until you release the button before it activates the preset. In this configuration, the preset will not be activated if the button is held long enough to enter cycle dim. Many people will prefer the "release" configuration, although it does slow down the activation of the preset for any button with cycle dim.

We have also added a couple of different raise/lower rates for systems that contain Vareos, so that you can tailor cycle dim to the tastes of the homeowner. This is done on a tab on the "upload project" screen. As always, I would recommend avoiding using cycle dim on presets that contain mostly Vareo loads, since the performance is less than optimal.

RPM loads will stay at their current light level after uploads, as long as no addresses have been changed. Otherwise, they will turn off after the upload.

Buttons with conditional logic were previously unaffected by master raise/lower buttons. This has been changed so that the most recent preset executed by the conditional will be raised or lowered if the conditional button was the last button pressed.

The Toolbar has been improved and new icons have been added. Hold your mouse pointer over each icon to get the "tool tip" that tells you what the button does.

We have added a new function called user preferences that will allow you to customize your HWI software for maximum efficiency. We have consolidated the "preferences" that we had on many different screens in the old version of the software into this one new location. If there is something that you are looking for from the old software that you can't find, it is probably now in the user preferences. The new capabilities are listed below.

The new preferences screen "File I/O " tab allows you to specify the directory that you would like to use for project databases and reports.

The new preferences screen "Load Schedule" tab allows you to specify the Manual Override level and Bypass level that you would like to use as the default for any new loads or projects.

The new preferences screen "Control Station" tab allows you to specify a default for engraving font size, justification, capitalization, and fill color. In conjunction with our engraving report, this should simplify the ordering of engraved wallplates.

The new preferences screen "Programming" tab allows you to specify defaults for a wide range of programming options. For example, you can select your default LED logic (i.e. room, scene, or pathway) for future projects. You can specify that the software should synchronize on every upload, what the timeout should be on security mode, what your default vacation settings should be, whether or not you want cycle dim as a standard on buttons, etc.

The new preferences screen "Keypads" tab allows you to specify that the hold messages for cycle dim should be generated internally by the processor (normally, they are generated by the keypad). This means that keypads like the PHAST DMS keypad (which can't generate a hold message except on the main menu) can now do cycle dimming if this option is selected. The "Keypads" tab also lets you change the flash rates for the LEDs, the speed required for a double-tap (similar to setting the double-click speed for your mouse), etc.

The new preferences screen "Printing" tab allows you to import your company logo for printout on selected reports (Control Station Engraving and Control Station Installation)

We have created a completely new terminal window. It now can be accessed directly from the toolbar, regardless of which screen you are in (floorplan, load schedule, etc.). It can be kept open while other screens are used - it will automatically minimize when you click elsewhere in the software. The many new features are outlined below.

The new terminal window allows the user to access commonly-used RS-232 commands by selecting them out of a tree on the left-hand side of the window. The display of this list of commands can be toggled on and off by clicking on the "232" icon on the toolbar.

The new terminal window puts a timestamp next to every sent and received RS-232 string. The display of this timestamp can be toggled on and off by clicking on the clock icon on the toolbar.

The new terminal window logs all of the incoming and outgoing RS-232 strings to a log file (if that function is turned on). The stoplight icon on the toolbar turns this logging function off and on, and the notepad icon allows you to open the log file to look at the contents. It can be cleared by clicking on the icon on the toolbar that looks like a pencil with an eraser.

The new terminal window will allow you to configure your laptop modem using the information in your Windows registry. This should simplify modem setup.

The modem setup window will also let you put in multiple phone numbers for a particular database.

We have added the new ELV dimming module (HW-RPM-4E-230-CE) to the software tool. It will be automatically selected for any ELV loads that are in your database when you run the panel wizard (220V - 240V only). The 120V version of this product is still in development.

The "Where Programmed" function now has a button in the toolbar so that it can be accessed more easily. It is to the left of the "?" button on the toolbar.

The HWI Online Help has not been updated with all of the new 3.80 features. It will be updated by the end of September 2000. Please download the upgrade from our dealer/installer webpage in October so that you have the updated Help information.

The delay function on presets formerly had a minimum time of 1 second. To facilitate better integration with systems requiring RS-232 string outputs from the HWI system, we have changed the software to allow .25 second delays. This is particularly useful when multiple strings are to be assigned to a single preset, since it allows 4 strings per second to be sent as opposed to 1 string per second with the old software.

NOTE: Keypads prior to this version do not provide this functionality.

The keypad copy function (activated by right-clicking on the keypad in the programming screen) now copies the engraving information as well as the programming information. Note: If the copied keypad is not the same model as the source keypad, the engraving information will not be copied)

In the addressing tab, an additional serial port is shown for the second serial port that has been added to the processor. The port addition is part of a new processor design, and is unfortunately not retrofittable to existing HWI processors

An exceptions page has been added to the Engraving Details report to indicate whether or not there are any problems with engraving information that has been entered.

A "Where Programmed" report is now available. Although it creates a printable report, this function is very useful for troubleshooting even if you don’t have a printer available on the site. If you have a load that seems to be programmed on a button that it shouldn’t be, this report will help you find your programming error by telling you every button, timeclock event, etc that controls the load. It remains on your task bar if you click back to the programming screen, so you don't have to reload it every time.

A new engraving report has been created that prints out full sized control stations. This makes the engraving info much more readable than it was on the previous report. This report includes all of the engraving details (font, fill color, etc) and eliminates the need to re-enter the information on an engraving detail form. Please be sure to put a cover sheet on the engraving request that you send to Lutron. Include the job name, Purchase Order number, and your company information including a phone number for the person to contact if there are questions about the request.

The entry of engraving information has been greatly improved. Unlike previous versions of the utility, the software now limits the number of characters that you can enter according to the size of the letters and the place that the engraving is being done. For example, it allows more text below a large button on a keypad than it allows on the button. Some engraving locations now allow different font sizes. Justification (left, right, center) rules have been added to this release so the software will prevent you from specifying a type of justification that is not available for the engraving location you are editing. Also new in this release is the capability to enter two lines of engraving text on the square-shaped large buttons found on the KP and KP-LB series of keypads.

Important note – engraving of keypad faceplates is included in the price of keypads. Engraving of Vareo faceplates and other non-keypad faceplates is available as a custom (it is not included free of charge). Contact customer service for pricing information on custom engraving.

A copy of the database can now be stored in the processor for extraction at a later date. This will only occur when you select the "synchronize" option in the upload screen. The "synchronize" button has replaced the "check all" button since it performs the "check all" function as well as the database storage function. When you are at a site making programming changes, it is not necessary to synchronize after each change. To save time, perform a normal "compile and upload" for each change you make and then do a "synchronize" with your last upload of the day. If you upload a system and forget to synchronize before you close the HWI utility, it will remind you that you need to synchronize. You will not be able to extract a database from a processor until after it has been synchronized once.

For processors that have been synchronized (the synchronization process stores a complete copy of the database in the processor), the database will be extractable. Unlike the previous generation of HomeWorks, the database extracted will contain all attributes, including button engraving. This will make it easier to leave the latest copy of the database on the jobsite for another programmer to use. The "extract" button on the terminal screen allows you to extract the database from the HWI system and save it as a project database. Make sure you write down the filename you save it to because the software doesn’t automatically exit the database that you were in prior to the extraction and open the extracted database.

We have added a new address report that makes it significantly easier for the contractor to wire loads to the RPM panels. It can be sorted by a couple of different parameters, one of them being circuit number. If you have 200 pieces of Romex hanging from the ceiling with circuit # or zone names written on them, you can now take them one at a time and look up which panel, module, and module output they should be connected to.