HDPath Command Line
Q: How can I draw a path profile from a command line or from another program?
A: With TAP6.0.2241 or later, the AutoPath module, and a Maintenance Subscription date of June 30, 2008, or later, you can launch HDPath using command line arguments.
Note that all values in this example are for demonstration purposes only. You should determine appropriate settings for your application.
The AutoPath module in TAP enables you to draw and print path profiles, save an image of the profile, and compute and print field strength on the path, all based on parameters in an Excel .XLS or .CSV file.
The command line function in the AutoPath module enables you to draw the profile, and print and save the image of the profile. The command line function can be invoked from the Windows Start menu with the Run command, or from inside another program, for example using a Shell command.
The syntax for the command line parameters is as follows (all parameters are required, and are separated by the ASCII 124 | symbol).
A sample command line is shown below (the commands are all on one line, but are broken up here for readability:
c:\swtap\swhdpath.exe /PATHBYCOORD= The path and name of the program file to launch for HDPath, and the flag recognized by HDPath for this function. Be sure the flag is included exactly as shown, with no space before the = sign
Test A|39.1|-104.1|NAD27|
The information about the Transmitter Site (the left
side facility in the HDPath user interface): Note the | separator between
the fields
Site Description
Latitude in decimal degrees (negative for south latitude)
Longitude in decimal degrees (negative for west longitude)
Coordinate Datum (NAD27, NAD83, WGS84, etc.)
Test B|39.4|-104.4|NAD 27|
The information about the Receiver Site (the right
side facility in the HDPath user interface). Note the | separator between
the fields:
Site Description
Latitude in decimal degrees (negative for south latitude)
Longitude in decimal degrees (negative for west longitude)
Coordinate Datum (NAD27, NAD83, WGS84, etc.)
11|ft| The antenna height above ground level (AGL) for the transmitter facility. Note the | separator between the value and the units. Units can be ft or m.
13|m| The antenna height above ground level (AGL) for the receiver facility. Note the | separator between the value and the units. Units can be ft or m.
305| The operating frequency used to draw the Fresnel zone. (A frequency of zero will cause the Fresnel zone to be left out of the profile plot.)
C:\SWTAP\TEMP\HDPathCmdLineBMP\MyBMPRun.BMP|
The full path and file name,
including the extent, of the image file you want to save the profile to. If
you do not want to save the image, leave this field blank.
With TAP 6.0.2243 and higher, and a Maintenance Subscription date of July 31,
2008, or later, you can specify a file name with a .JPG extent to write the
image in that format. JPG files written by TAP typically are about 5% the
size of files written in the BMP format.
1| A flag to print the profile to the default printer, using the settings for HDPath the last time you printed a profile. If you do not want to print the profile, set this value to zero.
0| A flag to automate the user interface for HDPath. A value of zero will cause the profile to be plotted, the image file saved (if a file name is given) and the profile to be printed (if the print flag is set), all with no user interaction. If you want to display the profile on the screen and wait for user interaction to print the profile each time, set this value to 1.
1.333 The effective earth curvature to use when drawing the path profile. Note there is not a | separator after this last field.
With TAP 6.0.2280 or later, you can include additional command line arguments for computing the field strength at the receiver location. (The received field strength can be converted to a receiver input power or voltage as described in the FAQ on Field Intensity Units
If the additional arguments are used, be sure to include the | separator after the effective earth curvature field.
The four required arguments for computing the field strength are (for example):
1| A flag to print the text for the field strength calculation to the default printer. If you do not want to print the calculation, set this value to zero.
1| A flag to save the text for the field strength calculation to a file. The file will be in the same folder and have the same name as the graphic file you specify, but with a .TXT file extent. If you do not want to save the text file for the calculation, set this value to zero.
100|W The Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of the transmitter on the azimuth and elevation angle of the path to the receiver antenna. Note the | separator between the value and the units. Units can be W, kW, mW, dBm, dBW, or dBk. Note there is not a | separator after this last field. Be sure the ERP you specify is adjusted for any directionality in the horizontal or vertical planes so that the power value used is the power in the direction of the receiver antenna.
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Copyright 2008 by SoftWright LLC