The Comms Channel processor view enables you to examine data that passes to and from the debugger target along the Debug Communications Channel (DCC), and to send data of your own. AXD has its own built-in DCC viewer. If your target offers, for example, the file ThumbCV.dll as a DCC viewer, do not select it.

The Comms Channel Viewer processor view is shown in Figure 5.45. You can enable or disable the debug communications channel by checking or clearing a check box on the Comms Channel Properties dialog available from the Comms Channel Viewer pop-up menu (see Comms Channel Viewer pop-up menu) or on the Processor Properties dialog (see Configure Processor... or Control system view pop-up menus).

Figure 5.45. Comms Channel Viewer processor view

Use the Send group of this window to send information down the channel. Type information in the edit box and click the Send button to store the information in a buffer. The information is sent when requested by the target, in ASCII character codes. The Left to send counter displays the number of bytes that are left in the buffer.

By default, the information received by the Comms Channel Viewer is displayed using the Auto-Toggle format. This converts the information into ASCII character codes and displays it in the Receive pane, if the channel viewer is active.

However, if 0xFFFFFFFF is received, the Auto-Toggle format displays the following words as a hexadecimal number. On the next occurrence of 0xFFFFFFFF the Auto-Toggle format switches and information is again converted into ASCII character codes. In this way, 0xFFFFFFFF is used to toggle between the different formats.

You can display received information in other formats, as described in Comms Channel Viewer pop-up menu.

Comms Channel Viewer pop-up menu

To display the Comms Channel Viewer pop-up menu (see Figure 5.46), right-click anywhere in the Comms Channel processor view except in the Send edit area or the Receive pane.

Figure 5.46. Comms Channel Viewer pop-up menu

Receive log file...

Select this option to specify a file where data received from the target is stored.

Send from file...

Select this option to specify a text file where data is stored ready to be sent to the target.

Clear Send Buffer

Select this option to flush the send buffer and to close an input file if used.

Format

Select this option to display the submenu shown in Figure 5.47.

Figure 5.47. Comms Channel Viewer formats

When you select any format except Auto-Toggle (the default), information received is shown in columns. Your choice of format determines the initial column width, but you can change the column widths by using the mouse to drag the column header dividers to the left or right.

Properties...

Select Properties... from the Comms Channel Viewer pop-up menu to display the dialog shown in Figure 5.48.

Figure 5.48. Comms Channel Properties dialog

The Comms Channel Properties dialog is used to enable the Comms Channel Viewer and to specify how information from the Comms Channel is displayed.

AXD online help describes this and all the Comms Channel Viewer pop-up menu items.