Almost unrecognizable, but functionally the same: ConfigTool .NET is a new version replacing the 10 year old UMB Config Tool with which we make a decisive step towards user friendliness. This applies not only to the end user, but also to the developer. It’s made possible through the used state-of-the-art technologies. In the following blog post, the developer presents the new ConfigTool .NET at first hand.

It is hard to imagine that until recently I had nothing to do with apps and graphical programming, but I had been satisfied with my bits and bytes. They are the innermost of every computer. When I was programming the new ConfigTool with Windows and Android programming, I quickly took pleasure on it and teached it myself. This is partly due to the modern development tools I work with.

The final new software is as handy as the programming tool I used. This is the new version of the UMB Config Tool from Lufft with the aim of making it more user-friendly and flexible. The old version had grown over the years and became increasingly confusing.

New and different

The modern user interface of the new solution is based on the design of Google and Microsoft. It is compatible with almost all UMB sensors. In addition to the desktop application, our users can now also enjoy a handy Android app, with which you can set and query your sensor easily via smartphone or tablet. The app runs on Android 4.1 + and is available on the Google Play Store. Both the desktop and mobile applications are currently available in German and English. Other languages are added quickly.

It is also easy to import devices and device settings into the new ConfigTool .NET. The connection to UMB measuring devices, e.g. an air humidity sensor, can be set up via various options:

• Though a serial port by using ISOCON
• By using a serial-to-Ethernet converter
• Or NEW: Via a WiFi or Bluetooth module directly to the Android device. For this purpose, there is a retrofit, serial Bluetooth converter for sensors that don’t have an integrated Bluetooth module.
• Or – soon available – by using a USB-to-serial converter from the smartphone.

After successfully connecting a sensor, you can see the values in table and graphic form as soon as you activate the measurement. This can also happen in the background. An icon in the status bar indicates the current measurement, even if you are not in the app.

In addition, the sensor settings can be managed as before and can also be adjusted for the sensors of the latest generation for up to 10 measuring points. In the old Config Tool version, only individual offsets were possible. The device settings are now uniform for all sensors and has recognizable icons. Settings and/ or sensor options are opened in a new tab instead of window, thus providing a manageable size. Also many small things are now easier to handle, e.g. the scroll function during the data evaluation.

All data can be simply exported and imported – either as classic text file or as finished Excel spreadsheet.

But what is so handy about the new features of the Config Tool .NET?

The new design is consistent and equal on both platforms. If you know the Windows version, then you also know the Android version and vice versa. Therefore, you do not need to “learn” to deal with the new program.

Imagine, you are a service technician and you are in the field, directly in front of the assembled weather station. Instead of analyzing the device with the laptop as before, and – if necessary – get advice from the Lufft support team by phone, you can now connect to any Android smartphone and get the settings directly from the Lufft suport team to your smartphone. A button press is sufficient to play the settings on the sensor. Or you can send sensor settings as a file to Lufft, which they evaluate and then send back to your smartphone in a corrected form. This also works wirelessly.

As you can see, the UMB world becomes even easier with the new ConfigTool .NET.