Channel Management

Overview

The Channels view is the primary interface for interacting with Accordion hardware. Channels represent individual hardware endpoints such as GPIO pins, ADC inputs, I2C buses, power supplies, audio outputs, and more. This page provides tools for browsing, searching, reading, writing, and monitoring all available channels.

Accessing Channels

1. Click Channels in the navigation panel (left sidebar)

2. Or use the keyboard shortcut (if configured)

3. Channels page is the default view on application startup

Channel List View

Grid Columns

The channel list displays the following information:

Grid Features

Sorting:

• Click column header to sort ascending

• Click again to sort descending

• Hold Shift and click multiple columns for multi-column sorting

Grouping:

• Drag column header to group panel (if enabled)

• Channels group by that column value

• Expand/collapse groups by clicking

Filtering:

• Use the Find Panel (Ctrl+F or enable via checkbox)

• Type search text to filter channels

• Supports wildcard and regex patterns

Column Customization:

• Right-click column header → Column Chooser

• Drag columns to reorder

• Right-click header → Hide Column to remove

• Resize columns by dragging header borders

Reading Channel Values

Manual Read

Method 1: Double-Click

1. Double-click a channel row

2. Current value appears in a popup or updates in the Value column

Method 2: Context Menu

1. Right-click the channel

2. Select "Get Value"

3. Value is retrieved and displayed

Method 3: Keyboard

1. Select channel row

2. Press Enter (if configured)

Automatic Polling

Enable Polling:

1. Check "Polling" checkbox in the toolbar

2. Or use Ribbon → Appearance → Enable Polling

Configure Poll Interval:

1. Ribbon → Appearance → Polling Interval

2. Enter interval in milliseconds (default: 500ms)

3. Recommended: 100-1000ms depending on requirements

How It Works:

• Selected or visible channels are polled automatically

• Value column updates with current value

• Changed values may be highlighted (depending on skin)

• High-frequency polling (< 100ms) may impact performance

Performance Considerations:

• Lower intervals = more network traffic

• Poll only visible/needed channels

• Use filtering to reduce polled channel count

• Disable polling when not needed

Writing Channel Values

Set Value Dialog

1. Right-click channel → "Set Value"

2. Or select channel and press configured shortcut

3. Dialog appears with:

   • Channel name

   • Current value (if readable)

   • Input field for new value

   • Value type information

Value Types:

Boolean Channels:

• Enter: true, false, 1, 0, on, off

• Case-insensitive

Numeric Channels:

• Enter decimal number: 123, 3.14

• May support hexadecimal: 0x1A, 0xFF

• Check channel range limits

String Channels:

• Enter text value

• May have length restrictions

Enum Channels:

• Select from dropdown list

• Or type enum value name

Special Channels:

• Some channels have custom editors

• Media channels: select from available media files

• File channels: browse for file path

Batch Operations

Set Multiple Channels:
Currently not directly supported in GUI. Use AccordionShell for batch operations:

AccordionShell set --channel "CH1" --value "1"
AccordionShell set --channel "CH2" --value "2"

Channel Configuration

Configure Channel Properties

Some channels support runtime property configuration:

1. Right-click channel → "Configure" (if available)

2. Dialog shows configurable properties:

   • GPIO: Pull-up/pull-down, drive strength, slew rate

   • ADC: Sample rate, resolution, averaging

   • I2C: Clock speed, timeout

   • Audio: Sample rate, bit depth, channels

3. Modify properties as needed

4. Click OK to apply

Note: Property availability depends on channel type and hardware capabilities.

Change Channel Direction

For bidirectional channels (e.g., GPIO):

1. Right-click channel → "Set Direction"

2. Select Input or Output

3. Direction changes immediately

4. Value behavior changes:

   • Input: Can read external signal

   • Output: Can write value to pin

Channel Filtering and Search

Find Panel

Enable Find Panel:

• Press Ctrl+F

• Or check "Find Panel Visible" in toolbar

• Or Right-click grid → Find Panel

Search Options:

• Simple Text: Type partial name to filter

• Wildcard: Use * and ? (e.g., GPIO_*)

• Regular Expression: Advanced pattern matching

Examples:

GPIO              → Shows all channels containing "GPIO"
I2C_*_SCL         → Shows all I2C SCL channels
^CH_ADC_[0-9]+$   → Regex: Channels starting with CH_ADC_ followed by numbers

Filter by Type

To show only specific channel types:

1. Use Find Panel with type name: I2C, GPIO, ADC, Audio

2. Or use Column Filter:

   • Click filter icon in Channel Type column header

   • Check desired types

   • Click OK

Filter by Capability

Show only readable, writable, or both:

1. Column Filter on Capability column

2. Check desired capabilities:

   • Read

   • Write

   • ReadWrite

   • Execute

Channel Groups

View by Group

1. Enable Group Panel (if not visible)

2. Drag "Group Name" column to group panel

3. Channels organize by group

4. Expand/collapse groups

Common Groups:

• Power: Power supply channels

• GPIO: General purpose I/O

• I2C: I2C bus channels

• Audio: Audio playback/capture

• Video: Video output

• Sensors: Environment sensors

Create Custom Groups

Custom grouping requires alias file modification:

1. Download current alias file (Ribbon → Alias → Download)

2. Edit XML to add GroupName attribute

3. Upload modified file

4. Activate alias file

Example alias file excerpt:

<Channel NetName="CH_GPIO_01" Alias="LED_Red" GroupName="LEDs" />
<Channel NetName="CH_GPIO_02" Alias="LED_Green" GroupName="LEDs" />
<Channel NetName="CH_ADC_01" Alias="Voltage_3V3" GroupName="PowerMon" />

Channel Details and Properties

View Channel Properties

Method 1: Properties Window

1. Select channel

2. View properties panel (if visible)

3. Shows all channel metadata

Method 2: Details Dialog

1. Right-click channel → "Details"

2. Dialog shows:

   • All channel properties

   • Current configuration

   • Capabilities

   • Associated module

Channel Metadata

Each channel includes:

• NetName: Unique identifier

• Alias: User-friendly name

• ChannelType: Hardware type interface

• Capability: Read/Write/Execute permissions

• Direction: Input/Output (for bidirectional)

• Description: Purpose and usage information

• DeviceName: Parent device or module

• SerializationVersion: Configuration version

Advanced Features

Numeric Results View

For numeric channels with statistical capabilities:

1. Right-click numeric channel → "Numeric Results"

2. Opens Numeric Results viewer

3. Shows:

   • Current value

   • Statistics (min, max, mean, std dev)

   • Histogram

   • Sample count

4. Configure:

   • Sample count

   • Histogram bins

   • Auto-update interval

Use AccordionShell for detailed numeric analysis:

AccordionShell num --channel "ADC_1" --target "Value" --samples 1000 --full --histogram

Chart View

Plot channel values over time:

1. Navigate to Chart page

2. Add channels to chart

3. Configure:

   • Lookback points (data history)

   • Update interval

   • Y-axis scaling

   • Multiple series

4. Export chart data if needed

Instrument Panel

For specialized instrument-style displays:

1. Certain channels support instrument views (gauges, meters)

2. Right-click → "Open Instrument" (if available)

3. Visual representation of channel value

4. Real-time updates

Keyboard Shortcuts

Context Menu Options

Right-click channel for quick access to:

• Get Value: Read current value

• Set Value: Write new value

• Configure: Channel property configuration (if supported)

• Set Direction: Change Input/Output direction (bidirectional channels)

• Numeric Results: Open statistical analysis (numeric channels)

• Details: View all channel properties

• Copy: Copy channel information

• Open Instrument: Open specialized view (if available)

Tips and Best Practices

Performance Optimization

1. Disable Polling When Not Needed: Polling generates network traffic

2. Filter Channels: Show only channels you're working with

3. Increase Poll Interval: Use 500-1000ms for normal monitoring

4. Close Unused Views: Minimize active views consuming updates

Organization

1. Use Aliases: Load alias files for readable channel names

2. Group Related Channels: Use grouping to organize view

3. Save Column Layout: Customize columns and save workspace

4. Create Multiple Workspaces: Different layouts for different tasks

Workflow Efficiency

1. Learn Shortcuts: Master Ctrl+F, F5, Enter for faster operation

2. Use Context Menus: Right-click for quick access

3. Customize Grid: Hide unused columns, reorder important ones

4. Multi-Select: Select multiple channels for batch operations (where supported)

Data Quality

1. Check Capability: Ensure channel supports read before polling

2. Verify Ranges: Check min/max values before writing

3. Monitor Transactions: Watch transaction log for bus errors

4. Review Logs: Check log panel for warnings/errors

Common Operations

Monitor GPIO State

1. Filter: GPIO
2. Enable polling (500ms)
3. Group by: Group Name
4. Watch value column for state changes

Configure I2C Bus

1. Find I2C bus channel
2. Right-click → Configure
3. Set clock speed (e.g., 100kHz, 400kHz)
4. Configure timeout
5. OK to apply

Test ADC Reading

1. Find ADC channel
2. Right-click → Numeric Results
3. Set samples: 100
4. Enable histogram
5. Observe statistics and distribution

Control Power Supply

1. Find power supply channel (e.g., VOUT_1)
2. Set Value → enter voltage (e.g., "3.3")
3. Find enable channel (e.g., ENABLE_1)
4. Set Value → "1" or "true" to enable
5. Monitor current draw on I_OUT_1 channel

Troubleshooting

Channel Values Not Updating

Problem: Values don't update with polling enabled

Solutions:

1. Verify connection status (status bar)

2. Check channel capability (must support Read)

3. Reduce polling interval

4. Refresh channel list (F5)

5. Check logs for errors

Cannot Write to Channel

Problem: Set Value operation fails

Solutions:

1. Verify channel capability (must support Write)

2. Check value format (boolean, numeric, string)

3. Verify value is within range

4. Check for write protection

5. Review transaction log for bus errors

Too Many Channels

Problem: Channel list overwhelming

Solutions:

1. Use Find Panel to filter

2. Filter by channel type

3. Filter by group

4. Load alias file with groups

5. Create custom filtered views

Performance Issues

Problem: Application slow with polling enabled

Solutions:

1. Increase polling interval (500-1000ms)

2. Filter channel list to show fewer channels

3. Disable polling on Chart/other views

4. Close unused application windows

5. Check network latency to device