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Home > Audio & Wireless > Components > Technical Support > Software > ARK Documents > ARKonline Quick Start Guide
 
 
 
 
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ARKonline Quick Start Guide

ARKonline is a web-based tool that allows hearing instrument manufacturers to customize and build product component libraries. These libraries will consist of one or more products and each product in the library will have a microphone, a receiver and a map associated with it. Maps contain the configurable parameters in a product. With the ARKonline map wizard you will be able to design customized maps to use in your libraries.

ARKonline Membership

Registering for an Account
In order to use ARKonline you must first register for an account online.
To do this:
  1. Click on Register in the menu on the left.
  2. Fill out the Registration Information on this page and click Register at the bottom of the page.
  3. An account will be set up for you within 2 working days after receiving your application.

How to Login to ARKonline
  1. To login to ARKonline click Login in the menu on the left.
  2. Fill in the username and password that was given to you.
  3. If you would like to change your password you can click Preferences and enter your new password.


Libraries

Creating a Library
  1. To create a library click Library Manager in the menu on the left to enter the ARKonline Library Manager.
  2. Then click Libraries. This will bring you to the LIBRARIES page.
  3. Click on Create New Library to begin.
  4. Enter the library name. This name will appear in the code and will be the name of the DLL.
  5. Enter the library title. The title of the library can be more descriptive. This title will appear in the tables on the LIBRARIES page.
  6. Comments is an additional field and you may choose to leave it blank.
  7. Enter a version number for this library.

  1. The Library ID is an automatically generated sequential number that uniquely identifies the library within your company. The number may be left as is or changed by the user if desired.
  2. Select the desired platform(s) for which the library will be used. The zip file you download after building will contain a library for each platform.
  3. Click Create Library. You will be sent to the Edit Library page where you will be able to edit the library information as well as add products to the library.
  4. If you return to the "My Libraries" page, you will notice that the word download under the headings DLL and Source is gray because the status of the library is "Not Built". When the status of the library is "Built" the word download will be a blue link.
Adding a Product to a Library
  1. To add the first product, click Add Product located at the top right of the table titled "Products in this Library". This will add an empty entry to this table.

  1. Fill out the empty fields under the headings Product Name and Product Title in the product table. Notice that there are two blank fields in the products table under Max Gain and Max Output. These values will be calculated later.
  2. The next step is to select a microphone, a map and a receiver for this product. Clicking Select a Microphone under the heading microphone will bring you to a new page with a list of possible microphone choices.
  3. To make a microphone selection for this product click Select located to the right of the selection. This will return you to the EDIT LIBRARY page with the library that is currently be edited. Notice that now under the microphones heading will be the name of the microphone that was just selected.
  4. Repeat the above for selecting a map and a receiver.
  5. Notice that the max gain and max output have been calculated and added to the table for this product.
  6. To add more products click Add Product and repeat the above steps.
  7. When you have finished editing the library click Save and you will be returned to the LIBRARIES page.
  8. Click 'View' next to the library that was just edited and there will be a summary of the information about this library.
Building a Library
When a library is built the DLL and code for the library will be generated automatically and will be available for you to download. If you have finished creating and adding products to your library you will now be able to build it.
  1. From the LIBRARIES page click Edit next to the library that you would like to build.
  2. You are now at the EDIT LIBRARY page again.
  3. Click 'Build' in the menu at the top of the page.
  4. If there are unsaved microphones, maps or receivers in the library a warning will be displayed. If you choose to continue these above items will be saved.(See Saved vs. Unsaved below)
  5. After selecting Build you will be taken back to the LIBRARIES page.
  6. The status of the library should now be changed to Pending.
  7. When the library has finished building the status will change to Built. In order to check the status of the library, click the refresh button on the top toolbar of the web browser.
  8. At this time you will be able download the DLL and code for the library you just built by clicking Download next to the title of the library.
  9. Note that if you click Edit next to this library you will no longer be able to download this version of your DLL or code you will have to build the library again. If you click Edit by mistake click Abort in the menu at the top of the page and you will be able to download the DLL and source again.
Installing the DLL
After the DLL has been downloaded it must now be installed to be used in the Interactive Data Sheet. To simplify this process, ARKbase comes with a program called the ARK Component Manager which can be utilized as follows:
  1. Go to the Windows Start menu in the left bottom corner
  2. Select "Programs" then select "Gennum" then select "Configuration Tools"
  3. In Configuration Tools click on the "ARK Component Manager"
  4. After the program is initialized click on "Select file to install..."
  5. In the new window select the DLL you want to install. Click "Open"
  6. Click on "Product Component Libraries". You should be able to see the installed DLL.
With this program it is also possible to uninstall DLL's. After the program is launched:
  1. Click on "Product Component Libraries"
  2. Select the DLL you wish to uninstall
  3. Click "Uninstall"
The following steps describe how to manually install the DLL:
  1. Click on the file you selected and extract the file to a directory.
  2. Click the start menu on the windows task bar and select run.
  3. Using the browse button, search for the DLL that was just extracted.
  4. In front of this file name type regsvr32 followed by a space.
  5. Click ok and the DLL is now installed.
  6. Start the Interactive Data Sheet and the library that was just created will now be one of the choices.
Copying a Library
As well as creating libraries with ARKonline, you are able to copy existing libraries. You can copy a library that you have previously created, a library that someone else in your company has created, or any of the libraries in the table "Public Libraries". When a library is copied all the products that are in this library will be copied as well. To copy a library:
  1. If you are not currently at the libraries page click Libraries in the menu on the left.
  2. Next to the libraries that you can copy there will be a Copy link. Select the library that you would like to copy and click Copy.
  3. Now you will be brought to the EDIT LIBRARY page. All the information from the library that you copied is now copied to a new library which you are now editing.
  4. Now you can edit this library the same way you would edit a library that you created. (See Viewing/Editing a Library below.)
Viewing/Editing a Library
After you have created a library with ARKonline you will be able to edit or view this library at any time.
To edit the library:
  1. Go to the LIBRARIES page by clicking Libraries.
  2. Click Edit to the right of the library to edit.
  3. Now you will be brought to EDIT LIBRARY page. All the information about the library is displayed on this page.
  4. Change the library name, title etc. to what you would like it to be. You can now edit the products in this library.
  5. For example, to change the map that you have selected for one of the products in this library click the map name next to the product you are editing.
  6. This will take you to the MAPS page. The map that you currently have selected is highlighted in blue. To change the selected map click Select next to your new choice for the map.

  1. Changing the microphone or receiver selected is the same process as described above.
  2. To add more products to this library click Add Product at the top of the products table. To remove products click Delete next to the product you would like to delete
  3. When you have finished making all changes to this library you can do one of the following options:
    • Save: Click the Save button in the menu at the top of the page. If there are unsaved microphones, receivers or maps associated with any products in this library a warning will be displayed. If you choose to continue all these items will be saved along with the products in this library. This action will take you back to the LIBRARIES page. The library that you just edited will be in the table "My Libraries" highlighted in gray because it is a saved library.
    • Build: If you are ready to generate the DLL and code for the library click the Build button in the menu at the top of the page. (See Building a Library above)
    • Abort: Abort will undo all changes that were made to this library. A library can only be aborted if there is a previously saved version of this library. A message will be displayed to notify you if it is not possible to Abort.
  4. If there are still more changes you would like to make to this library at a later date click Libraries in the menu on the left. If the library you are editing was created by you the library is now in the table My Libraries. If the library was created by someone else in your company you will see it in the table "Company Libraries". The library will be highlighted in yellow because it is an unsaved library.
To view this library:
  1. Click View next to the library. This will give you a summary of the information about this library and list the description of the products in this library.
  2. Click Libraries to return to the LIBRARIES page to view another library.
Maps

Creating a Map
ARKonline allows you to configure your own maps to be used in your product component libraries.
  1. Click Maps in the menu bar on the left. This will bring you to the MAPS page with a table of maps that you have already created under the headings "My Maps".
  2. Click Create New Map at the top of the page to begin. This will launch the online wizard for creating maps.
  3. Select the Wizard you intend to use.
  4. Fill out the form with the information about the new map you are going to create and click Create Map.
  5. Now you can start editing the individual parameters of your map. You can either navigate through the wizard sequentially or use the highlighted menu on the left with the parameter links. Each parameter is initially filled with a set of default names and values. You can edit this information or choose to leave it as the default values.
  1. When you have finished editing the information for that parameter click Next to proceed to the next parameter.
  2. Now when you create your libraries you will be able to select the map that you just created for one or more of the products in your library.
  3. For more information on how to edit the parameters in your map see Viewing/Editing a Map below.
Copying a Map
The Copy link on the MAPS allows you to copy an existing map. You can copy maps that you have created, maps that other people in your company have created or copy any of the public maps. To copy a map:
  1. Click Copy beside the map that you would like to copy.
  2. Change the map information from the map you are copying to the information about your new map.
  3. Step through the pages of the wizard the same way that you would if you were creating a new map. The default values that are in this map will be the same as the map that you made a copy of.
  4. You can now edit this map the same way as described below.
Editing/Viewing a Map
If you would like to edit a map that you have created using ARKonline you can go to the MAPS page by clicking Maps in the menu on the left.
To edit a map:
  1. Click the Edit link. This will take you to a summary of the information about that map.
  2. If you would like to edit the map name, title, version or permissions you can do this here by typing the new information into the text boxes at the top of the page.
  3. Move your mouse over the links on the left to have a summary of the details for each parameter displayed in the Parameter Details box.
  1. If you want to edit any of the values for the parameters you can click on the individual parameter links to take you to the corresponding page in the map wizard to edit that parameter.
  2. Now you will be able to edit any of the parameters in the map. You can use the Next and Previous links at the bottom of the page to proceed through the wizard or use the highlighted menu on the left to go directly to one of the parameters.
  3. If you have finished editing this map you can:
    • Save: Click the Save button in the menu at the top of the page. This action will take you back to the MAPS page. The map that you just edited will be in the table "My Maps" highlighted in gray because it is a saved map.
    • Abort: Abort will undo all changes that were made to this map. It will take you to the previously saved version of this map. A map can only be aborted if a previously saved version exists.
  4. If there are still more changes that you would like to make to this map click Maps to bring you back to the MAPS page or click Map Summary in the menu if you want to view the changes that you made.
To view a map:
  1. Click View next to the map you would like to see.
  2. Move your mouse over the parameter names on the left and see a summary of the parameter values in the box in the middle of the screen.
  3. Click Maps to go back to the MAPS page to view another map.
Microphones/Recievers

The processes for adding, copying, viewing and editing a microphone/receiver are exactly the same. The descriptions below will use microphones as an example.

Adding a Microphone/Receiver
  1. Click Microphones in the menu on the left. This will take you to the MICROPHONES page.
  2. Click Add New Microphone at the top of the page. This will take you to the form that must be filled out with the information about the microphone to be added.
  3. Notice that the textbox at the bottom of the page needs to be filled with the measured sensitivity data about the microphone. This information can be copied and pasted from the The Modeler software available from Gennum. To get more information on Modeler software refer to "mARK Modeler Reference Guide" Information Note Doc# 17810
  4. When you have finished entering all the required information you can click Save Microphone at the bottom and this will take you back to the MICROPHONES page.
  5. You will now be able to associate these microphones with products in a library.
Copying a Microphone/Receiver
Microphones can be copied the same way that you would copy a map.
  1. Click Copy next to the microphone that you would like to copy.
  2. Change any information about this microphone as desired.
  3. Click Save to return to the search page.
Viewing/Editing Microphones and Receivers
ARKonline also will allow you to edit the data that you have entered for the microphones or receivers.
  1. Click Edit next to the microphone. This page is similar to the page you saw when you added the microphone/receiver.
  2. You can change any of the information on this page.
  3. Notice that now you can see the graph of the data above the data points.

  1. If you are finished making changes to this microphone you can do either of the following:
    • Save: Click the Save button in the menu at the top of the page. This action will take you back to the MICROPHONES page. The microphone that you just edited will be in the table "My Microphones".
    • Abort: Abort will undo all changes that were made to this microphone. A microphone can only be aborted if there is a previously saved version.
    • Undo: Undo will just undo the changes that you made to this page.
  2. If there are still more changes you would like to make to this microphone click Microphones in the menu on the left. The microphone will be highlighted in yellow because it is unsaved.
  3. Click View next to the microphone where you changed the data values and you will see how these changes affect the sensitivity curve in the graph.
Additional Features

Setting Permissions
Within ARKonline there is a search page for libraries and there are search pages for each of the three components of a product in a library: microphones, receivers and maps. ARKonline will allow you to set permissions for these four items. The permissions you select will determine if other employees in your company will be able to view or edit these items. This is why it is possible to have three tables on each of the four search pages in ARKonline. The structure will be described below using maps as an example but it the same for the other three search pages.
  1. "My Maps"
    The table titled "My Maps", for example, will contain the maps that you created. If one of the maps that you have created is currently being edited then the item will be highlighted in yellow. When you were creating your map, if you set permissions as "Allow others in my company to edit this item" it will be possible for others in your company to edit this map after you save it. When other people in your company are editing items you created below the item there will be the name of the person in your company who is editing this item.
  2. "Company Maps"
    The second table will actually be referred to by the name of your company and will contain the items that other people in your company have created. Other people using ARKonline will not be able to see these maps only employees in your company registered with ARKonline will have access to these. If you are editing items that have been created by other employees in your company it will be displayed in this table. Below the company item you are editing will be the name of the employee who created this item. If you set the permissions on your map to "Allow others in my company to view this item" the map will be displayed in this table with no Edit link beside it. If you do not select either of the permissions the map will not be displayed in this table at all.
  3. "Public Maps"
    The third table contains items that have been made public. Anyone using ARKonline will be able to view or copy these items and use them in their libraries.
Saved vs. Unsaved
The four items in the Library Manager: libraries, microphones, receivers and maps can all have items in them that will be classified as saved or unsaved. On each of these four pages there is a legend at the top of the page to note which items are saved and which are unsaved. The table rows highlighted in yellow are referred to as unsaved items and the gray rows are classified as saved. When an item is unsaved this means that the revision of this item is still being edited. This item can be left unsaved for as long as you would like. You will not lose your changes if you leave the ARKonline site. If you would like someone else in your company to be able to edit this item you will have to save it. When the item is saved, it means that this revision of the item has been closed. To edit this item again you must open it by clicking Edit again and essentially opening another revision of the item.

There are two different types of items that you will be able to edit: saved items and unsaved items. When you edit a saved item a copy of this item is made and stored. This will allow you to Abort to the saved version of the item at anytime during the editing session if needed. When you edit an item that is unsaved you will not be able to do this. You are only able to abort to a saved version of the item if one exists.


Gennum Corporation took all the efforts required to ensure the accuracy of the information included in this document and the accuracy of links to external web sites at the time of publishing. However, Gennum Corporation assumes no responsibility for damages resulting from the use of any information included in this document and makes no representation that they are free from patent infringements.
   
 
     
 
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