With the introduction of Delta Watch v3.10, there are some significant changes made in the software. Many of these changes are behind-the-scenes improvements, but there are also various new functions and wizards, and even completely new modules are introduced.
For example:
- Project deletion wizard
- Virtual sensors module
- Improved alarming
- Simplified System diagnostics configuration
- Easy Point group creation
- Local coordinate system with custom offsets
- And a few more….
For a full list of new features and improvements, check out the What is new in v3.10 article and the Revision History document. Both are available on myTopcon via the links at the bottom of this article.
This article covers the steps required to upgrade an existing Delta Watch 3.4 installation to the latest 3.10 release. As with most upgrades between major releases, there are a few things the user needs to check and possibly adjust to ensure full operation of Delta Watch.
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Important: |
| More importantly, this Delta Watch release requires a new license key. Upgrading the current version incorrectly or without having a replacement key could result in loss of processing functionality. Depending on when your copy of Delta Watch was purchased, or if yearly maintenance fees have been paid, this upgrade is free. Please check the section about the License file update carefully and contact your local dealer to arrange a new license key. |  |
More importantly, this Delta Watch release
requires a new license key!
This article covers upgrading from DW v3.4 to v3.10. If you are on an older version, then please update first to DW v3.4, also available on myTopcon. Check the current installed Delta Watch version in the menu item Help > About Delta Watch….
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Although this document is in English and the illustrations are for the English language in Delta Watch, the process is the same, and functions will be found on the same locations in other language versions. However, it might be easiest to switch the language temporarily to English when performing the update process. This can be done under the menu item Languages within Delta Watch. |
Installing this v3.10 for the first time on a computer will activate the 21-day trial license. If installed in a new folder, it will not interfere with the existing installation. Keep in mind that only 1 instance of Delta Watch can be active at any one time!
The update process steps
As with any previous Delta Watch upgrade, it is possible to install the new version directly over the old. Because this upgrade requires a new license key, which needs to be requested using information from both old and new Delta Watch versions, it is recommended to follow the below two-part upgrade process where the new version will temporarily be installed in a new folder.
If choosing not to follow the recommended upgrade procedure, but directly overwriting the existing installation, then beware that without a valid license key, Delta Watch will operate in trial mode. The trial mode enables full functionality for a period of 21 days from installation, with the following limitations:
- Maximum 5 projects
- Maximum 500 active sensors
- Maximum 3 unique Delta Live! users
If the current installation is within the above limits, and you are eligible to get an upgraded license key, then it is possible to install directly over the old Delta Watch 3.4 installation.
However, it is strongly suggested to install this new version temporarily in a new folder. This allows to collect the required information to apply for an upgraded license key. An added benefit is that you can test drive the new features without the chance of making an accidental change to the current projects. Complete the upgrade process once the new license key is received.
The following is the recommended workflow to upgrade a 3.4 version to 3.10.
The process is split into 2 parts:
Part 1: Collecting information to upgrade the license key.
- Collect current Delta Watch information by creating the AboutDeltaWatch.txt file.
- Install the new 3.10 version. Ensure the installation folder is adjusted and does NOT overwrite the old Delta Watch installation.
- Collect the installation key information from the 3.10 version by creating the AboutDeltaWatch.txt file.
- Send the AboutDeltaWatch.txt files from both versions together with the current tunis.lic files to your local dealer or Topcon and wait for the new license key.
Part 2: Install upgraded license key and perform upgrade steps.
- Uninstall the temporary Delta Watch installation as installed during step 2 above.
- Install Delta Watch again, this time overwriting the old version 3.4 installation, making a backup in the process. Do NOT start Delta Watch.
- Install the new license file in the Configuration subfolder. Start Delta Watch and let it upgrade the database.
- Perform the required manual upgrade steps to complete the process.
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If your specific Delta Watch installation is not doing any active processing, i.e., when using it for demonstrations, you could consider to directly overwrite the current Delta Watch installation in part 2. This allows skipping item 5 and 6 above, as long as a full backup was made during the installation process. |
The following sections go into detail on how to execute Part 1 and Part 2 as described above.
Part 1: Collecting information to upgrade the license key
To get the license file updated, the following information needs to be provided to Topcon:
- About Delta Watch information text file created by
- old Delta Watch installation
- new Delta Watch installation
- Old license file
- To generate the AboutDeltaWatch.txt file, check the article called: Delta Watch - Creating About information. Start the old Delta Watch installation and follow these steps, making sure to adjust the filename to reflect from which software version the information is. Close Delta Watch when done.
- Install the new version, making sure to install in a new folder, and start it. Create the About Delta Watch text file, renaming to reflect the program version, and close Delta Watch again when done.
- Copy the old license file. This file (tunis.lic) can be found in the subfolder named \Configuration in the Delta Watch installation folder.
- Send both AboutDeltaWatch.txt files together with the license file to your local Topcon dealer with the request for updating the license.
Now that the request is made, you can test drive Delta Watch at quiet times. Just don’t forget to restart the old Delta Watch to keep processing any active project. It might take a few days for an updated license file to be returned.
This is also the perfect time to do some database maintenance. See the preparations section in Part 2 of the upgrade process below for details.
Part 2: Install license key and perform upgrade steps
There are 4 steps in the second part.
- Preparations
- Removing temporarily installed 3.10 version (if applicable)
- Install 3.10, this time overwriting, and creating a backup of, the old 3.4 installation
- Manual adjustment where required
2.1 Preparations
Before continuing the upgrade process, read through the preparations below, they are:
- Free space
As with any database (DB) where data is fed into continually, the operator needs to keep an eye on the available disk space. The upgrade process does offer the option to make a backup of the current DB before upgrading. It is strongly advised to do so, but there needs to be enough disk space available to perform this action.
To estimate how much space is required, multiply the current DB size by 2 and add 500 MB to the value. The resulting figure is a safe value when installing the new Delta Watch and creating a backup copy of the current installation. The size of the current DB can be checked in the Database folder of Delta Watch. The database is the file called TUNIS.FDB.
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Regular database maintenance helps to keep the DB healthy and small. The smaller the DB, the quicker the upgrade process. This is the ideal time to perform that cleanup and reduce the DB size BEFORE you upgrade! |
Check the article called: Delta Watch – DB Management for details.
- Select the right time
Delta Watch will perform most of the database conversion actions, but if you make a backup of the old installation then, depending on the DB size and system performance, this process could take some time.
Make sure to do the upgrade process at a quiet time.
- License key
Wait with upgrading until you have received the new license key.
2.2 Remove previous DW 3.10 installation
Jump directly to step 3 if you already installed version 3.10 over the old 3.4. However, if Delta Watch was installed in a new folder only to collect the installation key for the license, then uninstall Delta Watch v3.10 now.
2.3 Install the new version
- Download the latest Delta Watch version from myTopcon.
- Close down the current running Delta Watch.
- Start the new installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
This time, make sure the Destination folder points to the old v3.4 installation of Delta Watch and make a backup when offered. Doing so allows making a full backup before upgrading the DB. When installed, do NOT start Delta Watch!
| TIP: Installing over an existing installation? Then it is sufficient to update only the core libraries. During the update process, select custom installation and uncheck the Additional files. |
- Install the new license key and start Delta Watch.
The license key needs to be installed before starting Delta Watch. Copy the new tunis.lic file into the /Configuration folder of the Delta Watch installation. Rename any existing file and rename it to reflect for which DW version that old license was. - Launch Delta Watch. It will start the DB upgrade process.
Depending on the number of projects, sensors, and amount of data in the DB, this might take a while. Be patient.
For more information on Delta Watch and its license, check out the article Delta Watch: Software installation and the license elsewhere on myTopcon.
2.4 Make some manual upgrade adjustments
Now that Delta Watch is upgraded and the DB is converted, it is time to make a few checks and adjust where required.
Below is a list of items than need to be checked out. You might not have all of these modules or might not have configured everything. So, do not worry if you can't find something.
Adjustment 1: Background image in User defined charts
User defined charts do now have the option for a background image. By default, this is enabled and will result in an error when trying to save other changes. At this point the user can now load or disable a background image.
- If opting to assign background images, load these first in the System Configuration module using the section Background image. For more details on images, see the myTopcon article: Delta Watch: Importing images for maps and backgrounds.
- Open the User defined charts module and select the first sensor field, then activate the tab Chart Configuration.
- Now select either a Background image or check the No Image checkbox. See illustration below.
Adjustment 2: Check unit setting for Compensator data
Due to a previous bug, the default unit for Compensator data was incorrect. Delta Watch does not automatically adjust this in the upgrade as it is possible the user had already customized this setting.
To check the unit:
- Open the System Configuration module and select the section Units and decimal places.
- Activate the subsection Raw data processing.
- Look for the Compensator and check if the units are set to GON. See below illustration, and adjust if required.
- Apply the changes.
Adjustment 3: Limits and alarms
This version of Delta Watch comes with a much-improved way to define limits. The consequence is that some previously defined limits might have to be adjusted or redone. The new method of defining and using limits does not affect geodetic data. But if alarms are configured for other sensors, such as Delta Link, total station, tilt or water level sensors, then these will need to be adjusted.
How to do this for Delta Link and total station sensors is described in detail in the section about System diagnostics.
For any other sensors, as found in the Sensor Management table, with previously configured alarms do the following:
- Select the sensor channel in the Sensor Management section of the Point and Limit management module. Make a note of the configured limits and then remove them.
- Open the Limit Management tab and Add
a new limit definition. - Specify the name, and set the limit type to Geotechnical sensors.
- Select the sensor type, e.g., tilt or water level etc.
- Configure limit(s) as they were previously applied on the sensor channels from step 1.
- Apply the changes.
- Open the Import and Export module and select the import task that imports the data for this particular sensor.
- Edit
the task, and select the limit as configured in step 3 above. - Apply the changes.
- Repeat steps 1 to 9 for any other sensors.
- For each sensor type, open the respective module, and for each sensor field, check the Sensor field configuration tab and adjust the Alarm + Trigger setting where applicable by selecting the correct limit. This action is for visualization purposes only.
Adjustment 4: System diagnostics
The System diagnostics module is used to monitor the monitoring equipment. In this new version of Delta Watch, there is added support for the Modem information and Compensator data. At the same time, some other major changes have taken place in this module. These were needed to allow easier project assignment. The sensors are now automatically created and have more flexibility to set alarms using the improved Limit Management section.
Adjusting how the sensor data gets into Delta Watch and adding the new sensors to an existing set up is described in a complete separate article: Delta Watch: How to Update System Diagnostics from DW v3.4 to v3.10.
In short, the actions are:
- If required, rename some existing sensors.
- Add missing and new sensors.
- Change alarming method (if configured).
- Adjust import tasks.
For example, the new sensors allow now to create a custom chart and show the compensator data. The user can also configure alarms on items like the compensator levels.
| To be able to import and show the compensator data in Delta Watch, the Delta Link must be running at least DeltaLog version v2v1v0. How to check, and update, can be found in the article: Delta Link: General update process |