Use of mapping items¶

When a signal is created or put into the tab signal recordings, a corresponding entry (a so-called mapping item) is created in the Mapping tab.

Such a mapping item consists of a mapping name (“reference (origin)”) and the original name (“element (target)”) of the signal to which the mapping name refers.

When creating trace analyses and the associated signal connection in the tab trace analysis the generic signals (which are processed by the trace steps of the trace analysis) are assigned concrete signal names. The signal names which can be selected there correspond to the mapping names of mapping items that in turn refer as mentioned to the original names at which the indicated signal is kept in the trace file.

In the process of automatic generation of a mapping item after putting a signal into the tab signal recordings, as mentioned above, mapping name and original name are identical. This is why that intermediate level of the mapping item in the course of outlining a trace analysis may be mostly ignored at that time.

An application case

However, the use of mapping items becomes very helpful, for example, in the following application case:

If there is already a trace analysis (together with signal connection and corresponding signal groups), and a recording is to be analyzed in the same way, whose signals carry, however, different original names, the creation of the new trace analysis can be carried out comfortably by means of mapping items.

Instead of re-processing the entire signal group(s) and re-assigning the generic signals at Signal connection it will be sufficient to just change the corresponding recording and adapt the mapping items; the trace analysis (including synchronization!) remains unaffected.

The adaptation of mapping items can be made either, after double-clicking on the corresponding mapping item in the dialog Edit mapping item, by changing the signal name or, even more comfortably, by drag-and-drop. For that it is sufficient to drag the new signal from the tab trace files or the tab BUS to the mapping item to be changed in the tab mapping, and the original name (in column element (target)) is replaced immediately.

Global mappings

For a flexible reaction to the mentioned changes of names it is possible to store (local) mapping items from the tab mapping separately and persistently in a so-called global mapping (in the file format *.xam). This is done by means of the option Add to global mapping of the context menu by right-clicking on the corresponding mapping item, and subsequent saving of the global mapping in the tab global mapping.

Attention has to be paid to the fact that mapping items of an opened global mapping overwrite those with identical mapping names in the tab Mapping.

If the mapping name exists in several global mappings, the mapping item of the first file (tab on the far left) is used for execution.