The configuration software

Applies to: IOcan · Standalone controller. What this means

Apex Studio is where a device is configured. It connects to the device over USB and holds every workspace you need between unboxing a device and driving the car. It runs either in a browser or as an installed Windows application — see getting the software.

Three workspaces are not documented yet — Controller, I/O Settings and Tuning. Everything else in the application is covered below.

The Apex Studio home screen. A welcome panel across the top with a "No Device Connected" card and a Connect Device button. Below it, Recent Configurations on the left and a Quick Actions grid on the right offering Open Config, Create New, Save As, Import from Device, Compare Configs and Merge Configs. Along the bottom, three panels: Getting Started, Support & Resources, and News & Updates.

Getting around

The navigation rail runs down the left. It collapses to icons and expands to labels, and it is split into three groups: the configuration workflow at the top, the standalone tools below the divider, and settings at the bottom.

The Apex Studio navigation rail expanded to show labels. From the top: a search box, Home, a device slot reading "No Device found", Configuration, Controller, I/O Settings, Tuning, and a collapsible Expert Tools group. Below a divider: CAN Analyzer, Data Logger and Firmware Loader. At the bottom: Settings.

Where What it is for
Home Recent configurations, quick actions, device connection
Configuration The device's General section and its I/O — see the configuration workspace
Controller The transmission controller's own parameters
I/O Settings Per-pin setup for the inputs and outputs
Tuning The maps
CAN Analyzer Watch a live bus, or open a captured log — see CAN Analyzer
Data Logger Plot channels live or from a file — see Data Logger
Firmware Loader Flash device firmware

Entries grey out when they are not reachable. With no device connected the device slot reads No Device found and the Firmware Loader is unavailable — neither is an error.

The status bar

The strip along the bottom carries two independent indicators, and they do not mean the same thing:

  • Not Connected / Connected — whether the application has a serial link to a device.
  • Not ready / Ready — whether the configuration in front of you is complete enough to be written.

A configuration can be Ready with nothing plugged in. That is the normal state when you are building one at a desk.