Product Support

MS Sensor 3.0 End of Life

July 22, 2021 By Diablo Analytical

A recent Windows 10 update introduced an incompatibility with the MS Sensor 3.0 software that caused certain controls to display and function incorrectly and also caused the program to crash when starting an acquisition. We were able to identify and update the incompatible software library (an older version of the Microsoft Common Controls library) and compile a new version of the software. If you are affected by this issue, please contact Diablo Analytical Support and we can send you a link to download this new version of MS Sensor 3.0.

However, MS Sensor 3.0 is at its end of life and will become increaingly susceptible to Windows updates introducing these kinds of incompatiblities. Users who are dependent on MS Sensor 3.0 to control their 5000A Real-Time Gas Analyzer (RTGA) should be planning for a transition to MS Sensor 4.0. Here are some suggestions to help you during this transition period:

Be very cautious allowing Windows 10 updates to be installed on the computer running the MS Sensor 3.0 software or transferring MS Sensor 3.0 to a computer running a recent version of Windows 10. If there are concerns about computer security, disconnect the computer from the LAN and use it only to control the RTGA.
Contact Diablo Analytical for information on upgrading to MS Sensor 4.0. If your system is currently running the Agilent MSD ChemStation data system to control the Agilent Technologies Mass Spectrometer (Agilent 5973/5975/5977 MSD), then you will also need to upgrade to the Agilent MassHunter GC/MS data system.

MS Sensor 4.0 was a complete re-write of the software to address the compatibility issues we anticipated would become increasingly probable. In addition, it has significantly enhanced functionality compared to MS Sensor 3.0. See our MS Sensor 4.0 product page for more information.

Resources

Diablo Analytical Support Resources

Diablo MS Sensor 4.0 Information

EZReporter 4.0.13.1 Released

December 4, 2020 By Diablo Analytical

Diablo Analytical has released Version 4.0.13.1 of the EZReporter Software.

This release adds support for the GPA 2261-20 Standard and is recommended if you use the GPA 2261 repeatability or reproducbility limits or if one one of the enhancements or fixes applies to your application. The significant enhancements are listed below. A complete list of fixes and enhancements is provided in the release notes.

See the post linked below for information on updating the GPA 2261 repeatability and reproducibility formulas in your configuration files:

GPA 2261-20 Update

Enhancements

[+] [NGA] Added GPA 2261-20 Support: Updated the GPA 2145-16 (FPS), GPA 2145-16 (SI) and GPA 2145-09 physical property data sources and associated configuration templates to use the new GPA 2261-20 Reproducibility formulas for Carbon Dioxide and Ethane. End user configuration files will need to be updated to use the new formulas.

[+] [ALL] Added a “lightweight” password protection option for the configuration editor, instrument/sample processing settings, and Modbus configuration. You can enable and configure password protection using a new “Tools > Configure password protection” menu option. Once you have enabled password protection and set an administrator password, a password will be required to access the configuration editor, etc.

[+] [ALL] You can now enter calculated result formulas that evaluate to “True” (-1) or “False” (0) and then use the calculated result as the source for a parameter alarm. This provides for more complex alarming than is possible with the current high and low limits.

[+] [ALL] Added new options to the text variable alignment/formatting string to control whether the text is trimmed from the start or end when the alignment length is less than the length of the text. The “<” token trims the charaters from the start of the text, while “>” trims from the end of the text (and is equivalent to “!”). Example: {SampleName,,6>} and {SampleName,,6!} will trim characters from the end of the text if the length of the text result is > 6, while {SampleName,,6<} will trim characters from the start of the text result.

[+] [RDB] Added a new option to the results database “Batch Process” window that allows you to use the export file from the first result for all subsequent results during a batch export. This allows date and time stamps to be included in the export file name without creating new export files for subsequent results as the time changes during the batch export.

Installing this Release

If you are running version 4.0.4.1 or later, you can download and install the correct version of the software using the “Check for Updates” option of the “Help” menu.

Otherwise, simply download and run the installation program from the download page.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you download the installer that includes support for the chromatography data system you are using.

NOTE: The “web” version of the installer can be used to upgrade an existing installation even if the computer doesn’t have Internet access.

Your current version of EZReporter will be uninstalled and the new version installed automatically. Your license status will be preserved.

Software Support/Maintenance Subscription

This is a free upgrade if your software support subscription has not expired. You can view the status of software support in the License Status window (click “Help > License Status”). If software support has expired then you will either need to extend your support subscription or upgrade depending on when your support subscription expired. Contact Diablo Analytical for information on extending software support, or upgrading your license.

About Diablo EZReporter Software

The Diablo EZReporter software is a flexible, advanced, post-run data analysis and reporting solution for any instrument that can be controlled by a supported chromatography data system. The EZReporter Natural Gas Analysis and Natural Gas Liquids Editions are state-of-art solutions for natural gas analysis and natural gas liquids/extended reporting.

For more information: Diablo EZReporter Software

Upgrading

The price to upgrade to EZReporter 4.0 from earlier versions of EZReporter and BTU Calculator will depend on 1) the number of licenses, 2) the edition you are upgrading from and upgrading to, and 3) the number of instruments you want to license.

For Additional Information:

Contact Diablo Analytical if you have any questions about EZReporter 4.0.

GPA 2261-20 Update

December 1, 2020 By Diablo Analytical

GPA Midstream has released a new version of the GPA 2261 Standard: GPA 2261-20. The only change from GPA 2261-19 is that the reproducibility formulas for Carbon Dioxide and Ethane were updated. We have released a new release of EZReporter 4.0 (4.0.13.1) that incorporates these changes. See the following post for information on this new release and how to upgrade:

EZReporter 4.0.13.1 Released

Please Note:

IMPORTANT: In order to install this new release your software support subscription needs to be active. Please contact us for information on how to renew software support if your’s has expired. If you are unable to renew software support for some reason, see the instructions below to update the reproducibility formulas manually.
Once you have installed the new version of EZReporter, you will need to transfer the new reproducibility formulas to each of your configuration files. See the instructions below on how to do this.
We will not be updating EZReporter 3.0. So, if you are still running EZReporter 3.0 (or an earlier version), this would be a good time to consider upgrading to EZReporter 4.0. Please contact us for information on upgrading.

There are instructions below for updating the reproducibility formulas in your configuration files after you have upgraded EZReporter or if you are updating your configuration files manually.

Updating the GPA 2261-20 Reproducibility Fomulas After Upgrading EZReporter

After upgrading to EZReporter version 4.0.13.1 or later, you will need to transfer the updated GPA 2261-20 reproducibility formulas to each of your configuration files as follows:

1) Open the configuration editor and click the “Std. Components” button below the component table. Then, check the components you want to update. In this particular case, only the CO2 and Ethane reproducibility formulas have changed. Finally, click the “Transfer” button at the bottom.

2) Since only the reproducibility formula is being updated, click “Select None” and then scroll down and just check the GPA 2261-20 reproducibility. Then click “Transfer” again:

3) You can then scroll the component table to the right and confirm the new constants:

4) Click the “Save” button when you are finished.

Updating the GPA 2261-20 Reproducibility Fomulas Manually

The changes made in GPA 2261-20 are relatively minor, so you can also update the reproducbility formulas yourself. Here are instructions:

1) Open the configuration editor by clicking the “Edit Configuration” button in the toolbar. The configuration editor should open to the Component Settings. Scroll the component table to the right until you find the column labeled, “GPA 2261-19 Reproducibility Formula”.

Note: the screen captures below are from the pre-release version of EZReporter, so the column header refers to “GPA 2261-20”. Your column will still be labeled, “GPA 2261-19”.

2) The only formulas that were changed were for Carbon Dioxide and Ethane. Here are the new values that you can copy and paste into the table:

Carbon Dioxide:	0.12×0.3333
Ethane:	0.0315×0.3333

3) Click the “Save” button when you are finished.

EZReporter 4.0.12.18 Released

September 2, 2020 By Diablo Analytical

Diablo Analytical has released Version 4.0.12.18 of the EZReporter Software. This is a minor release that includes updates for two component constants used in Natural Gas Analysis calculations. For details see the release notes.