PDBTools V0.50 Beta "READ ME" Document
PDBTools: Pronto DataBase Tools (PDBExport and PDBImport)
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Warning: These tools are being released for testing. It is recommended that you make a copy of your Component Database for safe keeping until **YOU** are confident of the tools performance and safety
Functionality:
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PDBExport: Export Individual Component Configuration information from Factory or User DataBase
PDBImport: Import Component Configuration Information into the User Database
Purpose and Intent:
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This toolset is intended to give the user community the ability to export and import individual component information from/to the Pronto DataBase. It is hoped that this will result in a much more direct method of saving, editing, and importing individual device libraries. By using These tools, Device Information can be saved in dedicated export/import files and there is no need to export/import/manipulate whole system project files, entire user databases (V2), or Copy and Paste Hex Code strings into Pronto Edit. Just import a previously saved PDBEXPORT device file by using PDBIMPORT!
The Device Export format is in tab delimited format so it is user editable (MS Excel works well for this type of editing). Codes can be added, changed, and field content manipulated (be careful!). (Want to make those "DATABASE CODE" sequences visible in PEP? - Try changing the "IsRCSCode" field from "0" to "1" in your import file).
As these two tools are still under development, the first version(s) are in console format. This means you will have to run them under a command prompt from Windows. Open up a console prompt or run "CMD" from the run option on the Start Button....
Installation:
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Three files are required for this toolset: PDBEXPORT.EXE, PDBIMPORT.EXE, and PDBTOOLS.INI. All three of these files should be extracted to the same directory. You must be in the directory when these tools are run in order for PDBTOOLS.INI to be located. (IOW: "CD" into the directory which contains the tools before running them). PDBTools.INI contains user modifiable information on where to look for the actual Component DataBase File. (More on this later).
PDBEXPORT:
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Usage:PDBEXPORT {database} (brand} {model}
Where{database} = "USER" or "FACTORY"
{brand} = Brand of Device to be Exported
{model} = Model of device to be Exported
PDBExport will make no changes to your database(s)! It only displays data which is retrieved from them.
By default, PDBExport will display the export information to your console screen. The following example will export the DirecTV H20 information from the USER DataBase directly to the console screen:
Example:PDBEXPORT User DirecTV H20 > H20.DAT
In order to capture the data to an export file simply redirect the output to a file using the redirect operation (">"). The following example will export the DirecTV H20 information from the Factory DataBase and save it in a file named H20.DAT:
Example:PDBEXPORT Factory DirecTV H20 > H20.DAT
PDBIMPORT:
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Usage:PDBIMPORT {filename}
Where:{filename} = Name of file containg PDBExport data
PDBImport always imports data into the User Database (never the Factory Database). I would recommend that Pronto Edit be completely shut down when running import operations. If you are using PEP V1, the import results will be immediately visible/available once PEP is restarted, If you are using PEP V2, you must manually restart the "Pronto DataBase Service" before the import will be visible/available. (unlike Pronto Edit Professional Version 1, Version 2 creates a "Pronto Data Server" service to run on your system and we must start/stop the service so it re-reads the database). Restarting the V2 DataBase service is very simple. It can either be done from the Administative "Services" Applet, or you can issue the following commands at the command prompt (Since this is where you are running the tools from
anyway:
PEP V2 DataBase Service Restart Commands:Net Stop "Pronto Data Server"
Net Start "Pronto Data Server"
Compatilibility:
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PDBTools are completely compatible with both version 1.X and Version 2 of the Pronto Edit Professional Databases. Although there are slight differences in the database formats, the export file format is prepared for V2 compliance. If PDBEXPORT is run against a V1 database, additional field data is appended (as NULL Values) to satisfy V2 requirements. If PDBIMPORT is being used to add data to a V1 database, then the additional field info is ignored.
PDBTOOLS.INI:
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The PDBTOOLS.INI contains configuration information used by both utilities. Currently, it is used to identify the location of the ComponentDatabase.db file. This single file
contains both the factory database (tables) and the user database (Tables). By default, this file is located in different directories depending on the PEP version and
installation O/S (XP or Vista):
PEP2 (Vista) = C:\ProgramData\Philips\Common Database\ComponentDataBase.DB
PEP2 (XP) = C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Philips\Common Database\ComponentDataBase.DB
PEP1 (XP or Vista) = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Pronto\ComponentDatabase.DB
By default, the PDBToolset will search for the ComponentDatabase in the order listed above. It will use the first file it finds. If you are using both versions of PEP (V1 and V2) on your system, it is possible to make a very simple edit in PDBTOOLS.INI to force it to use a specific database instead of searching for one. The default "SEARCH=0" key in PDBTOOLS.INI tells the tools to search for the first DataBase it finds (as listed in the INI file). Setting "SEARCH" to some other value (1,2,3,etc) tells the tools to only use the respective database file. This is useful if you have both PEP1 and PEP2 on your system and want to specify which DB to use. Please read the comments in PDBTOOLS.INI for additional information.
Future:
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Although no support is provided for these tools, I welcome any and all constructive feedback. Any comments or suggestions should be sent directly to me via a message to "evanevery" on the
www.remotecentral.com message board. If the community finds these tools to be of value, the next step will be to move these functions into a complete GUI with additional functionality.
