Need help connecting to Agilent E4440A, IVI Drivers can no be imported

I am trying to use instrument control toolbox (R2023B) in order to connect to Agilent E4440A and collect some data in the future. Since this is the first time I will be using this toolbox and remote control functionality of any instrument I am having some difficulties.

First of all, I have downloaded and installed "IO Libraries Suite 21.2.207". I can see and connect to the instrument using software that came with this installation. I am confident there is no connection issues.

I have installed IVI-Drivers from Keysight website here which does list my model as supported.

From command window I run the command ividriverlist and get the output below, which makes me think MATLAB can see the installed drivers.

My problems start when I try to follow the video Using MATLAB with Agilent Instruments. In the video after calling midedit @2:15 "Import" function is used to view all the instrument drivers installed on PC. In my case all I get is an empty list.

As previously mentioned ividriverlist command results in some output thus I believe that drivers are installed properly and can be seen by MATLAB but the import function of midedit can not see and import them.

What am I missing ? Thanks in advance

Answer 1

[Tridib]

Hi @Enes,

The output from the "ividriverlist" command shows that MATLAB can detect the IVI driver. However, it is normal for the "Import Driver" window in "midedit" to appear empty. This occurs because the "Import" tool is designed for MATLAB Instrument Drivers (.mdd files), VISA, or VXIplug&play drivers, not for IVI-C or IVI-COM drivers directly. IVI drivers will not show up in the "Import" dialog unless a MATLAB Instrument Driver for them already exists, or one is created manually.

To use the instrument, it is possible to communicate directly using the VISA interface, or by accessing the IVI-C/IVI-COM driver through code. For IVI-C drivers, the "ividev" object in MATLAB should be used.

You can also try these troubleshooting steps which might help resolve the issue:

• Ensure the IVI driver matches MATLAB’s version (32-bit or 64-bit).
• Verify that the IVI driver is properly registered in the IVI configuration.
• Restart MATLAB after installing any drivers.

Also, the MATLAB functions "makemid", "midedit", and "midtest" are planned for removal in a future update. Instead, use the "ividev" interface from the Instrument Control Toolbox Support Package for IVI and VXIplug&play Drivers.

For more information refer to these documentations:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/instrument/creating-matlab-instrument-drivers.html

https://www.mathworks.com/help/instrument/ivi-drivers-overview.html

https://www.mathworks.com/help/instrument/supported-ivi-drivers.html

Hope this helps!

[Enes]

Thanks for your response.

I did not have time to look over all the things you mentioned but something caught my eye so I thought I should address it first. The drivers are 32-bit (because this is an old device and I guess the manufacturer did not bother developing and sharing 64-bit version) and my MATLAB is 64-bit. Can this be the reason ?

Also I am confused because

ividriverlist

returns:

and this makes me think altogugh the driver is 32-bit and MATLAB is 64-bit, MATLAB is somehow able to see the driver. But perhaps, it is unable to work with it ?