On first starting up, XTension will look for AppleScript and the Serial Tool to be in the Extensions folder of your System Folder.
If it cannot find both of these, it will display a short message and then quit.
If this happens, check to make sure that both the files are there, and note that you must restart after first installing these.
Once XTension comes up for the first time it may ask you for your master diskette. After the first time, you should put the diskette away in a safe place.
The default mode is "Monitor mode True", and the serial port is disabled.
You must go to the Preferences dialog and choose "Comm..s".
Click on the "Enable Serial Comms" button.
XTension will attempt to locate the interface on the Modem port,
with the settings needed for your combination of XTension and interface.
If the port is in use by some other function on your Mac, like FAX
or AppleTalk software, then XTension will announce that the port
is in use or that it is not 'free'.
If XTension gives you no warning at this time, then the port is available and has been siezed by XTension. It is now usable.
You should then turn off "Monitor Mode" and now we can test the communications with the interface.
The best way to test the whole thing is to put a lamp module in a socket and then issue a command from the "X-10 Command" panel to the same address.
If everything is working, XTension will pass the command to the interface, the interface relays it to the power line, the lamp module sees the command and responds accordingly.
You should see a message in the Log window which says that the command was issued.
Errors at this point and after are recorded in the Log.
Messages in the Log
Your scripts may write messages to the log which indicate some illogical or exceptional condition. These messages are totally under your control.
write log "Begin rose garden misters"
Dialog windows
Multiple dialog warnings may be written to the screen without response from the user, and without disruption of other applications.
display dialog "Errors have occurred, check the Log"
System errors
XTension will usually display a reasonable dialog or log entry when it detects an unusual error. We have tried to eliminate coded errors, but with such a wide platform, it is impossible to be able to decode all of them.
Should any system error occur, it is unlikely that it will result in a serious disruption to XTension or the database.
XTension periodically saves the database if during the period any changes occurred. Therefore schedules, and states of devices are maintained on restart.
XTension will announce how long a lapse has occurred in the log, as well as any possible scheduled events which were missed.
On the host Macintosh, you should put an ‘alias’ of XTension into the ‘Startup Items’ folder in the System Folder. This will ensure that XTension is always restarted when a failure/restart occurs.
Should any system error occur, and the MacOS is able to recover, you might find a 'recovered item' in the Trash after restart of the Mac. This file is a copy of the latest image of your database.
If you have just finished creating a lot of new units and scripts, you will want to recover them. Move this file into your XTension folder, and rename it as "XTension Database". (save the previous one just in case.)
