Saving a state file and transferring that state file to another PC is a commonly automated task.
This example was created in Microsoft Visual Studio 2022. Before running the example code below, ensure the systems and code are set up properly:
Change the IP address to that of the VNA host controller (or localhost to use on the same PC).
(Optional) Change the file name or path to save the state file in and transfer it to.
On the VNA system, make sure that “Enable Remote Drive Access” is enabled in Instrument > Setup > System Setup > Remote Interface…
This program uses the Ivi.Visa.Interop library commonly found here:
C:\Program Files\IVI Foundation\VISA\VisaCom64\Primary Interop Assemblies\Ivi.Visa.Interop.dll
Add this assembly as a project reference in Visual Studio or whatever IDE this is running from to get access to ResourceManager and FormattedIO488.
Note: Enabling "Enable Remote Drive Access" may make your system less secure. Please ensure you are following appropriate security measures before checking this box.
using System;
using Ivi.Visa.Interop;
namespace CSharp_TransferStateFile
{
internal class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Create the Visa Interop objects so we can use their API
ResourceManager rm = new ResourceManager();
FormattedIO488 fio = new FormattedIO488();
// Connect to a VISA address
string VISA_ADDRESS = "TCPIP0::localhost::hislip0::INSTR";
fio.IO = (IMessage)rm.Open(VISA_ADDRESS);
// Send identification request to instrument
fio.WriteString("*IDN?");
ReadResponse(fio);
// Save instrument state (change to desired path)
string stateSavePath = "c:/temp/myStateFile.sta";
fio.WriteString($"MMEMory:STORe:CSARchive '{stateSavePath}'");
// Grab state file from controller
fio.WriteString($"MMEM:TRAN? '{stateSavePath}'");
byte[] data = (byte[])fio.ReadIEEEBlock(IEEEBinaryType.BinaryType_UI1);
File.WriteAllBytes("c:/temp/myStateFile.sta", data);
// Close connection to instrument
fio.IO.Close();
}
private static void ReadResponse(FormattedIO488 fio)
{
// Try to read the instrument's response
try
{
string response = fio.ReadString();
Console.WriteLine(response);
PrintErrors(fio);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
// If error, write to console instead of crashing program
Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
}
private static void PrintErrors(FormattedIO488 fio)
{
// Check how many errors are in the queue
fio.WriteString("SYST:ERR:COUN?");
int errorCount = int.Parse(fio.ReadString());
if (errorCount == 0)
return; // no errors
else
{
string errorMessage;
// Print each error message to console
for (int i = 0; i < errorCount; i++)
{
fio.WriteString("SYST:ERR?");
errorMessage = fio.ReadString();
Console.WriteLine(errorMessage);
}
}
}
}
}