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Manage Instrument Panel

From the lower right-hand corner of the BenchVue interface, you can manage the list of instruments shown on the Instrument Panel.

Refresh Bench

Show/Hide Favorite Instruments

Manage Instruments

License Details

Activate License

Enter/Exit Demo Mode

Manage Demo Bench

Refresh Bench

Refresh the instrument list from Keysight Connection Expert, which is part of the Keysight IO Libraries Suite. Connection Expert automatically configures your instrument IO and populates the BenchVue Instrument Panel. If you are experiencing connection issues with an instrument, be sure to verify that the instrument is turned on and is properly connected to the selected interface. Then try refreshing the instrument list in BenchVue by clicking the Refresh button.

If this does not resolve the issues, see Troubleshoot Instrument Connections.

Show/Hide Favorite Instruments

Click the My Instruments button to toggle the list of "favorite" instruments on or off (not available in the Demo Mode). "My Instruments" are those instruments that you plan to use frequently and you have marked them with a gold star in Connection Expert. From BenchVue, a blue star indicates that the instrument list is currently being filtered based on the selected "favorites"; a gray star indicates that all discovered instruments are currently shown in the instrument list.

When an instrument is added to the Instruments view as a "favorite" in Connection Expert:

• By default, instruments on all interfaces except LAN are marked as favorites. When a non-LAN instrument is either auto-discovered or manually added, it is marked as a favorite (gold star). You turn off an instrument's Favorite status at any time by clicking the icon (gray star).
• By default, auto-discovered LAN instruments are not favorites because such instruments may be added to your subnet without your knowledge, and may not be relevant to your system. When a LAN instrument is auto-discovered, its Favorite icon is not selected (gray star). You turn on an instrument's Favorite status at any time by clicking the icon (gold star).
• By default, manually-added LAN instruments are favorites. When a LAN instrument is manually added, its Favorite icon is enabled (gold star). You turn off an instrument's Favorite status at any time by clicking the icon (gray star).

Note: For more information on using Connection Expert, see the Connection Expert Help.

Manage Instruments

Open Keysight Connection Expert application. The BenchVue application uses Keysight Connection Expert, which is part of the Keysight IO Libraries Suite, to automatically configure your instrument IO and populate the BenchVue Instrument Panel. Connection Expert displays the status of your instruments as determined by the Keysight Instrument Discovery Service, which loads whenever your computer is running with IO Libraries Suite installed. Most instruments are automatically discovered by the Instrument Discovery Service and you will see those instruments in the BenchVue Instrument Panel. In some cases, however, you may need to launch Connection Expert to manually add an instrument to your configuration.

If an instrument you are expecting to see is not shown in the BenchVue Instrument Panel, launch Connection Expert to manually add that instrument to your configuration – usually for serial (RS-232) instruments and LAN instruments that are not on your local subnet or are older LAN-based instruments. Note that if one of your instruments was discovered at an earlier time but communication can no longer be established with that instrument, it will not be shown in Connection Expert. In most cases, this means that the instrument has been disconnected or turned off. If you are experiencing connection issues with an instrument, be sure to verify that the instrument is turned on and is properly connected to the selected interface. Then try refreshing the instrument list in BenchVue by clicking the Refresh button at the bottom right corner of the Instrument Panel.

For more information on troubleshooting connectivity issues, click the appropriate link below: 

Troubleshoot USB Connections

Troubleshoot GPIB Connections

Troubleshoot LAN Connections

Troubleshoot RS-232 Connections

Troubleshoot Favorite Instruments

Troubleshoot Hidden Instruments

For more information on using Connection Expert, see the Connection Expert Help.

Note: If you have installed a different VISA Client, such as National Instruments Measurement & Automation Explorer™, BenchVue will allow you to select either VISA Client when you click this button.

License Details

View the current status of your software licensing. For more information on software licensing, see BenchVue Licensing Options.

Activate License

Activate previously-purchased licenses. For more information on software licensing, see BenchVue Licensing Options.

Enter/Exit Demo Mode

Toggle between the Demo Mode with simulated instruments and measurement data and the "live" mode connected to actual instruments on your bench. Some functionality shown in the Demo Mode may not be available on your particular instruments.

As shown below, each bench application displays a "SIM" (simulation) address label in the title bar while in the Demo Mode.

Manage Demo Bench

While in the Demo Mode, you can select which simulated instruments will appear as instrument icons on the Instrument Panel by clicking on the +Add button. Not all functionality for a particular instrument may be supported in the Demo Mode.

Click the "Restore to Default" to restore the simulated instruments to the default list as shown below.