Actions

Overview

Actions let you define buttons on the Serial Studio dashboard that send commands back to the connected device. Common uses include resetting a microcontroller, toggling an output pin, requesting a sensor reading, or sending calibration sequences. Each action is configured in the Project Editor and appears automatically on the dashboard when you connect.

How Actions Work

flowchart LR
    A["Dashboard Button"] --> B["Action Triggered"]
    B --> C["TX Data + EOL"]
    C --> D["Target Device"]

When the user clicks an action button (or a timer fires), Serial Studio transmits the action's payload — the TX Data string followed by the configured EOL sequence — to the target device over the active connection. If Binary mode is enabled, the payload is interpreted as hexadecimal bytes instead of plain text.

Creating an Action

1. Open the Project Editor (toolbar wrench icon, or Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P).
2. Click Add Action in the toolbar, or right-click Actions in the tree view.
3. Select the new action in the tree to configure it in the property panel.

Action Properties

General Information

• Title — the label displayed on the dashboard button (e.g., "Reset Device", "Start Logging").
• Icon — choose from the built-in icon set. The icon appears on both the dashboard button and the flow diagram in the Project Editor.
• Target Device — when working with a multi-source project, select which connected device receives the command. Single-source projects send to the only available device automatically.

Data Payload

• Send as Binary — when checked, the TX Data field is interpreted as hexadecimal bytes (e.g., FF 01 A3) rather than ASCII text.
• Transmit Data — the command string or hex bytes to send when the action triggers.
  • Text mode example: RST or GET_TEMP
  • Binary mode example: FF 01 00 A3
• End-of-Line Sequence — characters appended after the payload:

Execution Behavior

• Auto-Execute on Connect — when enabled, the action fires automatically as soon as the device connects. Useful for initialization sequences (e.g., sending a configuration command or enabling a sensor).

Timer Behavior

Actions can repeat on a timer, which is useful for periodic polling or keep-alive commands.

• Timer Mode:

• Timer Interval — the repeat interval in milliseconds. Default is 100 ms. Set this to match the desired polling or command rate (e.g., 1000 ms for once per second).

Multi-Source Actions

In projects with multiple sources (devices), each action can target a specific device. Use the Target Device dropdown in the action properties to select which device receives the command. The flow diagram in the Project Editor shows a dashed arrow from each action to its target device.

flowchart RL
    A1["Action: Poll Sensor A"] -->|TX| D1["Device A"]
    A2["Action: Poll Sensor B"] -->|TX| D2["Device B"]
    A3["Action: Reset All"] -->|TX| D1

If you do not explicitly set a target device, the action defaults to the first source (Device A).

Dashboard Appearance

When the device is connected, action buttons appear on the dashboard alongside your data widgets. Each button shows:

• The action icon on the left.
• The action title as the button label.

Clicking a button sends the configured payload immediately. If a timer mode is active, the button label indicates the current timer state.

Examples

Simple Text Command

Send a reset command followed by a newline:

Binary Initialization Sequence

Send a binary configuration packet on connect:

Periodic Data Polling

Request a sensor reading every 500 ms:

Toggle Command

Toggle an LED on/off with each click:

Common Mistakes

Action Button Does Not Appear

Symptom: The action is configured in the Project Editor but no button appears on the dashboard.

Fix: Ensure the device is connected. Action buttons only appear on the dashboard while a connection is active.

Command Not Received by Device

Symptom: The button appears and can be clicked, but the device does not respond.

Fix:

1. Check the Console view to confirm the data is being sent.
2. Verify the EOL setting matches what the device firmware expects (many embedded parsers require \n or \r\n).
3. If using binary mode, confirm the hex string is valid and correctly formatted (pairs of hex digits, optionally separated by spaces).
4. In multi-source projects, verify the Target Device is set to the correct device.

Timer Fires Too Fast

Symptom: The device is overwhelmed with commands or the serial buffer overflows.

Fix: Increase the Timer Interval. A value of 100 ms sends 10 commands per second — reduce this if your device cannot keep up. For most polling scenarios, 500–2000 ms is sufficient.

Tips

• Use Auto-Execute on Connect for initialization commands that must run before data collection begins.
• Combine a timed action with a frame parser to implement request/response protocols — the action sends the request, and the parser decodes the response.
• Use descriptive titles and icons so that dashboard buttons are self-explanatory.
• Test actions with the Console view open to verify the exact bytes being transmitted.
• For complex multi-step initialization, create multiple actions with Auto-Execute on Connect enabled — they fire in the order they appear in the project tree.

See Also

• Project Editor — complete guide to creating and configuring projects.
• Widget Reference — all dashboard widget types.
• Data Sources — configuring device connections.
• Communication Protocols — protocol-specific setup and considerations.