Actions

Overview

Actions let you put buttons on the Serial Studio dashboard that send commands back to the connected device. Typical uses include resetting a microcontroller, toggling an output pin, asking for a sensor reading, or sending calibration sequences. Each action is configured in the Project Editor and shows up 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 you click an action button (or a timer fires), Serial Studio transmits the action's payload (the Transmit Data string followed by the configured End-of-Line Sequence) to the target device over the active connection. If Send as Binary is on, the payload is interpreted as hexadecimal bytes instead of plain text.

Creating an action

1. Open the Project Editor (toolbar wrench icon).
2. Click Action in the Project Editor toolbar (in the Output section).
3. Select the new action in the tree to configure it in the property panel.

Action properties

General information

• Action Title. The label shown on the dashboard button (for example "Reset Device", "Start Logging").
• Action Icon. Pick one from the built-in icon set. The icon appears on both the dashboard button and the flow diagram in the Project Editor.
• Target Device. In a multi-source project, pick which connected device receives the command. The dropdown only appears when the project has more than one source; single-source projects send to the only available device.

Data payload

• Send as Binary. When checked, the payload field becomes Transmit Data (Hex) and is interpreted as hexadecimal bytes (for example FF 01 A3) instead of text.
• Transmit Data. The command string or hex bytes to send when the action fires.
  • Text mode example: RST or GET_TEMP. C-style escape sequences (\n, \r, \t, \\) are resolved before transmission.
  • Binary mode example: FF 01 00 A3.
• Text Encoding. In text mode, the character encoding used to serialize the payload. This option is hidden when Send as Binary is enabled.
• End-of-Line Sequence. Characters appended after the payload. Disabled in binary mode; append terminator bytes to the hex payload instead.

Execution behavior

• Auto-execute on connect. When enabled, the action fires automatically as soon as the device connects. Handy for initialization sequences (for example 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:

• Interval (ms). The repeat interval in milliseconds. Default is 100 ms. Set it to match your desired polling or command rate (for example 1000 ms for once per second).
• Repeat Count. Only used by the Repeat N Times mode. The number of times the command is sent on each trigger. Default is 3.

Multi-source actions

In projects with multiple sources (devices), the Target Device dropdown in the action properties selects which device an action transmits to, and the flow diagram in the Project Editor draws an arrow from each action to its target device. When the action fires, its payload is sent to the selected source.

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 don't set a target device, the action defaults to the first source (Device A).

Dashboard appearance

When the device is connected, action buttons show up on the dashboard alongside your data widgets. Each button has:

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

Clicking the button sends the configured payload immediately. If a timer mode is active, the button label reflects the 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 or off with each click:

Common mistakes

Action button doesn't appear

Symptom. The action is configured in the Project Editor but no button shows up on the dashboard.

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

Command not received by the device

Symptom. The button appears and can be clicked, but the device doesn't respond.

Fix:

1. Check the Console view to confirm the data is being sent.
2. Make sure the EOL setting matches what the device firmware expects. Many embedded parsers need \n or \r\n.
3. If you're in binary mode, make sure the hex string is valid and well-formatted (pairs of hex digits, optionally separated by spaces).
4. In multi-source projects, check that the Target Device is set correctly.

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 can't keep up. For most polling scenarios, 500 to 2000 ms is enough.

Tips

• Use Auto-Execute on Connect for initialization commands that must run before data collection starts.
• Combine a timed action with a frame parser to implement a request/response protocol: the action sends the request, the parser decodes the response.
• Use clear titles and icons so dashboard buttons are self-explanatory.
• Test actions with the Console view open so you can see the exact bytes being sent.
• 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: full guide to creating and configuring projects.
• Widget Reference: all dashboard widget types.
• Data Sources: configuring device connections.
• Communication Protocols: protocol-specific setup and considerations.