Daktronics Venus DataStreamer User Manual
201 Daktronics Dr. PO Box 5128 Brookings SD 57006
www.daktronics.com
Venus® DataStreamer®
Operation Manual
ED-13649 Rev 10– 22 July 2011
Tel 866-343-3122 Fax 605-697-4700
ED13649
Product 1260
Rev 10– 22 July 2011
DAKTRONICS, INC.
Copyright 2003-2011
All rights reserved. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual, the publisher
assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. No part of this book covered by the copyrights hereon may be
reproduced or copied in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,
taping, or information storage and retr ieval sy ste ms – without written permission of the publisher.
®
, DAKTicker®, DataTrac
Galaxy
Corportation.
™
,DataStreamer
®
, and Venus® are trademarks of Daktronics, Inc. Windows® is a trademark of Microsoft®
Table of Contents
Section 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 System Requirements ............................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Conventions Used in this Manual ........................................................................................ 1
1.3 Definitions of Terms ............................................................................................................... 1
1.4 Functions of the Venus DataStreamer Toolbar ................................................................... 3
1.5 Help Menu ............................................................................................................................... 5
1.6 Basic Steps to Using the Venus DataStreamer Software .................................................... 5
1.7 Contacting Daktronics ............................................................................................................ 6
Section 2: Installation ................................................................................................................... 7
Section 3: Configuration .............................................................................................................. 9
3.1 DAKTicker Display Configuration ....................................................................................... 9
Rename a Display .......................................................................................................... 12
Edit a Display ................................................................................................................. 12
Remove a Display .......................................................................................................... 12
3.2 Panelized DataTrac Display Configuration ...................................................................... 12
3.3 Data Driver Configuration ................................................................................................... 14
Configuring the Financial Driver ................................................................................ 14
Source Tab ....................................................................................................................... 15
Configuring the Weather Driver .................................................................................. 15
Source Tab ....................................................................................................................... 16
Configuring the MarketWatch News Driver ............................................................. 16
Source Tab ....................................................................................................................... 17
Filtering Tab.................................................................................................................... 17
Configuring the TSN Sports Driver............................................................................. 17
3.4 Database Driver Configuration ........................................................................................... 22
3.5 NTP Configuration ............................................................................................................... 25
3.6 Email Configuration ............................................................................................................. 26
Section 4: Options ...................................................................................................................... 27
4.1 Options Tab............................................................................................................................ 27
Minimizing Venus DataStreamer Software................................................................ 27
Default Description........................................................................................................ 27
Ticker Direction .............................................................................................................. 27
No Results Notification ................................................................................................. 27
4.2 Email Notification Tab ......................................................................................................... 28
Setting Email Frequency ............................................................................................... 28
To Add a Contact ........................................................................................................... 28
To Remove a Contact..................................................................................................... 29
To Edit a Contact ............................................................................................................ 29
Table of Contents i
Test Email ........................................................................................................................ 29
4.3 Image Options Configuration.............................................................................................. 30
Section 5: Image Explorer .......................................................................................................... 31
Section 6: Creating Messages for a DAKTicker ....................................................................... 33
6.1 Creating a New Message ...................................................................................................... 33
6.2 Adding a Text Frame ............................................................................................................ 34
6.3 Adding a Time/Date Frame ................................................................................................ 35
6.4 Adding a DDE Frame ........................................................................................................... 36
6.5 Adding a Financial Frame .................................................................................................... 38
6.6 Adding a News Frame ......................................................................................................... 40
6.7 Adding a Sports Frame ........................................................................................................ 41
6.8 Adding a Weather Frame ..................................................................................................... 43
6.9 Adding a Database Frame .................................................................................................... 45
6.10 Adding an Image Frame ...................................................................................................... 47
Section 7: Creating Messages for the Panelized DataTrac ..................................................... 49
7.1 To Create a New Message .................................................................................................... 49
7.2 Entering a Text Field ............................................................................................................. 50
7.3 Entering a Time/Date Field ................................................................................................. 50
7.4 Entering a DDE Field ............................................................................................................ 51
7.5 Entering Financial Information ........................................................................................... 52
Entering a Financial Field ............................................................................................. 52
Entering a Financial Table ............................................................................................ 53
7.6 Entering a News Table ......................................................................................................... 57
7.7 Entering a Sports Table ........................................................................................................ 59
7.8 Entering Weather Information ............................................................................................ 62
7.9 Entering Database Information ........................................................................................... 63
Section 8: Conditionals .............................................................................................................. 67
Type ................................................................................................................................. 67
Setting the Conditional .................................................................................................. 67
8.1 Conditionals Defined ............................................................................................................ 68
Section 9: Playlist Manager ........................................................................................................ 71
9.1 Adding a Message ................................................................................................................. 71
9.2 Updating the Display ........................................................................................................... 72
9.3 Removing a Message ............................................................................................................ 72
9.4 Blanking the Display ............................................................................................................ 73
9.5 Saving a Playlist .................................................................................................................... 73
ii Table of Contents
9.6 Opening a Playlist ................................................................................................................. 73
9.7 Scheduling a Message .......................................................................................................... 73
9.8 Exiting the Playlist Manager ............................................................................................... 74
Section 10: Venus DataStreamer Troubleshooting ................................................................... 75
Table of Contents iii
Section 1: Introduction
Conventions Used in this Manual
a figure or another section, also appears in boldface.
taken on this item. Captions also appear in italics.
[X]
Represents a keyboard key that needs to be pressed.
Items that need to be typed.
Press and release th e left mouse button.
Press and release the left mouse button twice.
Press and release the right mouse button.
>
Followed by (ex. File > Open).
This manual will assist in the installation and operation of the Venus® DataStreamer® software and
display network. Instructions are included for both DAKTicker
in separate sections.
®
and DataTrac™ displays, sometimes
1.1 System Requirements
Venus DataStreamer software has the following minimum system requirements:
• Pentium III 800Mhz or higher
• 256MB of RAM or higher
• 50MB Hard disk space
• Windows 2000 w/SP4, XP Professional w/SP1 required, or Vista, all with most
recent updates installed. (Windows 95, 98, ME, NT and XP Home are not supported)
• Other equipment as needed per data source.
• Available parallel or USB port for software key.
Note: These are minimum PC requirements. In cases where multiple displays and/or data
sources are used, increasing hardware should be considered to improve performance.
1.2 Conventions Used in this Manua l
Any item that requires direct action, such as clicking, pressing, selecting, or
Bold
Italics
“Quotes”
Click
Double-click
Right-click
formatting, appears in boldface. Any item within the manual to reference, such as
Indicates an item visible on the screen or within a menu. No direct action will be
1.3 Definitions of Terms
The following are terms and definitions used throughout the manual and software.
Apply: Allows changes to take effect without closing the dialog; this is an alternative to OK.
Cancel: Cancels the last command and closes the window. The [ESC] key on the keyboard
also performs this action.
Configure: Defines the size and display type operated with Venus DataStreamer software.
Introduction 1
Conditional: A set format applied to data when the data satisfies a defined parameter(s).
Duration: The length of time a frame remains on the display before displaying the next
frame. This only applies to DataTrac displays.
Field: A section added to the frame of a message. Fields can contain the following
information types: Text, Date/Time, DDE, Financial, News, Sports, Weather, or Database.
This applies only to DataTrac displays.
Frame: A “page” on the display. A message is composed of one or more frames.
Monochrome: Displays capable of displaying only one color.
OK: Executes a command and/or closes the window. This icon can sometimes be activated
by pressing [Enter] on the keyboard.
RG: Displays containing red and green LEDs which combine to create amber light. RG
displays are capable of using any of these three colors for messages.
RGB: Displays with red, green, and blue LEDs on the modules.
Table: Allows a variety of information to be displayed in a structured format as shown in
Figure 1.
• Field: A
portion of the
cell that
contains the
specified data
to be
displayed.
• Cell: A
quadrant of a
table set up to
contain a
certain
number of
fields.
Figure 1: Table Dialog
2 Introduction
1.4 Functions of the Venus DataS t reamer Toolbar
The following items are located on the toolbar of the main screen as shown in Figure 2. This
section will explain the function of each button.
Figure 2: Venus DataStreamer Toolbar
New: Start a new message.
Open: Open a previously saved message.
Save: Save a message. If the message has not been previously saved, a window will
appear asking where to save the message and what name to give it.
Cut: Remove the selected fields from their current location in the frame of the message
and place them on the clipboard.
Copy: Copy selected fields or text from a message onto the clipboard for use in a
different message.
Paste: Place a copy of the current contents of the clipboard into the frame of a message.
Items that may be pasted include copies of other Venus DataStreamer data fields, text from
outside applications, DDE links to DDE compliant applications such as Microsoft Excel, etc.
Playlist: Defines the order and the time that messages are run on a selected display. This
is done after messages have been created and saved.
Zoom In/Zoom Out: Zoom In enlarges the contents of a frame by one step per
click. Zoom Out reduces the contents of the frame by one step per click.
Left, Center, and Right Justify: Set the position of text within a field.
Introduction 3
About: Provides information about the software.
Preview Current Frame/ Play Message Preview/ Stop Message Preview/
Pause Message Preview: Used to preview a single frame or an entire message before sending
the message to the display.
First Frame/Previous Frame/Next Frame/ Last Frame: Used for navigation
between the frames of a message.
Add Frame: Add an empty frame to the end of the message. This only applies to
DataTracs.
Copy Frame: Insert a copy of the current frame immediately following the current
frame.
Remove Frame: Remove the current frame from a message.
The following icons, as shown in Figure 3, are located on the left edge of the main screen.
Text: Insert text data into a message.
Date/Time: Insert new Date or Time data into a
message.
Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE): Add data gathered
from other DDE compliant applications such as Microsoft
Excel.
Financial: Insert new financial data into a message.
Information is collected from external data sources based on
set parameters. Separate data service registration and fees
may apply.
News: Insert news data into a message. The news
driver will collect information from external data sources
based on set parameters. Separate data service registration
Figure 3: Frame Type Toolbar
and fees may apply.
Sports: Insert new sports data into a message. The sports driver will collect information
from an external data source based on the set parameters. Separate data service registration
and fees may apply.
4 Introduction
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