How Do I Recalibrate My Interact Touchscreen? or Change the Panel's Ethernet Address?

Owned by Perla Madrigal (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Aug 01, 2024 by Eric Rojas (Unlicensed)
3 min read

The touchscreen calibration utility on most Interact PowerStations is accessed via the Machine Shop Shell software, which is the factory default level that a unit will boot to and the software level that you need to get to for calibration or ethernet settings on the panel itself.

Running on top of the Shell is the Interact Runtime engine, also called the Interact Application Manager.  The Application Manager is where a customer's application is launched and where runtime options are selected.  Very likely, your panel was configured to boot all the way into the application and you don't see the Shell or App Manager levels at all. 

To escape out of the application there are 3 possible methods to try listed in order of convenience.  Methods 1 and 2 also require that you are at the highest User Level.  Many systems only used the highest level by default while other programmers implemented different user levels and some buttons may not be visible at lower login levels.  Method 3 avoids the possible issues of 1 and 2 including the user level but it is a little more effort.

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Note - its recommended that you boot up the Power Station with a keyboard connected to the PS/2 or USB ports depending on what your hardware uses.  This will facilitate the following options and/or will be required for some (especially 6" QVGA units such as the PA05, PA06, P11, P12, PMP, and P1H models).

  1. The application provides an 'Exit' button of some sort to exit the application and go back to the App Manager screen.  These may also be called 'Quit' or 'Exit to AM' or something similar.  Not all applications were created with exit buttons as this was a programmer's choice when the application was created. 

OR

  1. Use the F10 function key on the keyboard.  By default, this was a 'back door' way to exit the application (identical to the application having an Exit button).  Unless the programmer disabled/changed this setting then this will get you back to the App Manager screen.

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Now look for the App Manager button that is labeled 'Exit Interact'.  Pressing this should exit you back to the Machine Shop Shell level where you want to be.

If the 'Exit Interact' button is grayed out (or doesn't appear) then you are not at the appropriate user level and unless you know how to login to the application at the admin level methods 1 and 2 won't allow you to escape the Interact runtime (App Manager).   See Method 3 instead. 

Note - for the QVGA units you will only see the upper left corner of the App Manager screen since that software does not re-scale itself for the QVGA system.  Thus, use the Alt-Arrow key combinations to move the screen around until you find the 'Exit Interact' button on the menu.

OR

  1. This method applies to models that use a Compact Flash (CF) card for their boot and storage drive.  If your unit does, then power off the unit and remove the CF card.  Install the CF card into a CF card reader on your main PC and access the contents using Windows Explorer (or comparable utility).  Off the root of the CF drive you will see several directories and you should go into the one named CTC.  In there, find the specific file PSU.CFG and open that file using a generic ASCII text editor (like Notepad).  There will be a line containing:   poweron runitr="YES"

Edit this line to change YES to NO leaving all other formatting characters the same.  For example:    poweron runitr="NO"

 Save this modified PSU.CFG file back to the CF card.  Now reinstall the CF card in the unit and it will only boot up to the Shell level as you need it to.

 Note - if methods 1 or 2 don't work or are not possible and your units did not use a CF card, contact 800-358-9068 for other options.

 

 

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Once you reach the Machine Shop Shell screen you can access the touchscreen calibration utility or the Ethernet settings under the 'Settings' button.  Refer to the appropriate installation guide for more details on the calibration utility and/or Ethernet settings.

For PA2 models:

PA2

For P13 models:

P13

For older PowerStation models:

Other

If you used Method 3, after the calibration or Ethernet settings are done, simply 'Run -> Interact' from the Shell menu and it will change the poweron setting back to YES for you.

PA2 P13 P11 PMP P31 P41 P21 P51 P91 P50 PS10 P1 P2 P3 P4

P5 P7 P9 PA P12 P1H P15

glh 8/2015