Network Notepad Client Help

Keyboard and Mouse Controls

The Toolbar

	Back and Forward buttons move back and forth through previously loaded diagrams.		Text Mode Button toggles text mode on and off.
	Home button loads the default diagram.		Align Horizontal and Align Vertical Buttons are used to align objects, text and link termination points.
	Open a network diagram file.		Auto Align Button when selected pasted items and links are automatically aligned horizontally or vertically with the previously pasted object.
	Save the current document.		Snap to Grid. When pasting or dragging and dropping, objects are aligned with the grid. To make the grid visible select Options > Grid Lines.
	Print the current document.		Send to Back, Bring to Front Buttons change the order that items are drawn.
	Reload document button. When working with a shared document it changes colour to red to indicate the document has been updated by another user.		Connection Points Button selects between linking to the centre of an object or linking to any part of an object.
	Lock button. Lock a shared document for editing.		Link Button toggles link mode on and off.
	Undo and Redo.		Link Style Drop Down List.
	Object Libraries Button opens the current Object Library and displays available objects to use in the diagram.		Unlink Button removes links between selected objects.
	Online Library button opens a web browser window and navigates to the Online Library.		Zoom in/out.
	Cut button removes selected items and places them on the clipboard.		Display IP Addresses Button.
	Copy Button copies selected items to the clipboard.		Programmable function buttons.
	Paste Button switches to paste mode for a single paste operation.		Open the Connection Manager window.
	Paste Multiple Button switches to paste mode and remains in paste mode for multiple paste operations.		Exit Button.
	Delete Button deletes selected items.		Close current document.

Navigating

To pan around either use the scrollbar or position the mouse pointer over the background of the diagram, hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse.
To follow a link to another diagram - Right click the object and select "Goto next diagram". Objects which link to another diagram have a blue caption by default.
The toolbar back and forward buttons may also be used to jump to the previous or next diagram.
The Home button loads the default diagram if one has been specified in the Setup form.
Network Notepad Professional, Enterprise and Client Editions support multi-page diagrams. The Tab bar along the bottom of the window shows a tab for each page in the diagram.
Network Notepad Professional, Enterprise and Client Editions support opening multiple documents at the same time. A Tab bar for each document is stacked at the bottom of the window. To enable opening more than one document, change the maximum open documents setting in the Setup form.

Using The Zoom Function

-+ Zoom buttons and Zoom Dropdown list lets you quickly zoom in and out the view of the current page. CTRL+Mousewheel also operates the Zoom. You can work on diagrams at any zoom level as normal, though it usually helps when rotating objects and text to return the view to the default 100% scale. Right-clicking the zoom Dropdown resets the zoom to 100%.

Tip: Right click the Zoom dropdown list to quickly default the view back to 100%.

Adding Objects To A Diagram

Click the Object Libraries Button  to display the current Object Library.
Drag and drop Objects from the Library to the diagram.
You may also paste Library objects by selecting the object from the library and then closing or minimising it.
Point the cross hair where you want to place the objects.
To automatically hide the Object Library whenever you select a new object, enable "Auto Hide" in the setup dialogue or from the Object Library ring menu.
The Paste button performs a single paste operation and exits paste mode. The Paste Multiple button performs multiple paste operations without exiting paste mode.

The Online Library Button opens a list of objects available online.

Tip: Double right click the background to toggle the last used mode (Paste, Text, or Link) off and on.

Cutting And Deleting Objects From A Diagram

Highlight the objects you wish to cut or delete by left clicking them and then hit the Cut Button  to place them on the clipboard. Click the Delete Button  on the toolbar to remove selected items.
Pressing SHIFT+Delete on the keyboard is another way to delete selected items.

Selecting/ Deselecting Single/ Multiple objects

Objects need to be selected (Red highlight) and deselected  for cutting and pasting. To select an object, left click it.
To select multiple objects at once, drag a "rubber band" around them with the left mouse button.
You must start the selection with the mouse pointer positioned over a blank piece of background.
To select or unselect additional objects, hold the CTRL key down while selecting.
To select no objects, left click the background or choose Edit and then Select None from the ring menu. CTRL-A also toggles between selecting all and selecting none.

Tip: CTRL-A toggles between selecting all and selecting none.

Aligning Objects

To align objects or text, first select the item to align to and then select items to be aligned with the first item. Choose Format and Align Horizontal or Align Vertical from the Ring Menu or click the horizontal and vertical align buttons , and then select whether to align centres or edges of the objects from the sub menu.
When pasting objects and drawing links, objects and lines are automatically aligned if the Auto Align button is selected.

Resizing Objects

Use Shift + and Shift - to adjust the size of the current object while retaining its current proportions.
You can also resize an object by dragging the edge or corners.
Objects can also be resized by changing the x and y scale in the Object Properties form or on the Object Properties Toolbar.

Linking Objects

To link objects, firstly use the Link Style Dropdown Box to choose the desired type of Link. Click the link button , the mouse pointer will indicate you are in Link Mode. Click on pairs of objects to join them. You may also right-click an object and choose "Link" to enter link mode. To finish linking objects, click the link button  again or hit the escape key. Clicking the background whilst in link mode enables you to form joins (elbows) in links (See also the link break feature). Clicking an existing link automatically sets the Link Style Dropdown Box to the matching link style. To modify or create link styles see Formatting Link Styles.

Linking To Part of An Object The Connection Points button selects whether a new link connects to the centre point of an object or whether it connects to the point on the object which was clicked. The option can also be set using the Format Connection Points option on the main ring menu. A exsiting link can also be moved to the centre point of an object by right clicking a link and selecting "Centre Connection Point". Connection points can also be positioned using drag-and-drop, nudge and align.

Link Align

The link align feature converts any sloping link segments on a link to horizontal and vertical link segments. Right-click a link and select Align On or Align Off to switch this feature on and off. Link align can also be set to be on or off by default for each link style in the Format Link Styles form.

Moving A Link From One Object To Another

To move a link from one object to another, click on the link near the end to be moved so that it shows the red circular link termination. Drag the link termination and drop it on to the other object.

Layers (Drawing Order)

Background Objects

Setting an object to be a background object in the Object Properties form enables you to draw multi-segment links over the top of an object without connecting to it.

Unlinking Objects

To remove links between objects, right-click the link and choose delete or select the objects which are linked and then click the Unlink Button .

Using the Link Break Feature

The Link Break Feature enables you to break a link and create a join anywhere on an existing link. When you right-click the link  and select Break a new "link-node" is highlighted which you can then drag and drop or nudge to the desired position.
To remove a join select the link-node which forms the join and delete it.

 Moving and Copying Objects

To move selected objects, hold the left mouse button down on an object for 1.5s and then drag and drop. Alternatively holding the Shift Key down enables drag and drop immediately.
To copy objects, select them and then click then Copy Button . Click the Paste Button  to enter Paste Mode and the position the cross hair and left click to paste copies of the objects. To finish pasting, click the Paste Button again, or double right click the background to exit the current mode, or hit the escape key.

Nudging Objects

To nudge selected objects, hold down the Shift key while pressing one of the cursor keys.

Setting An Object's IP Address

To set an Object's IP Address, right-click the Object and choose "Properties".
Enter the IP address in the Address field. For more information see Object Properties.

Changing The Name (Or IP Address) Of An Object

To change the name of an object or change its  IP address, Double Left Click on current name or IP address and type in the new details. Press Enter to complete.
You may also change these details by right clicking the object and selecting "Properties".
To insert a Carriage Return in an Object or IP Label use Shift + Enter.

Adding Text To A Diagram

Editing Text

Double click text to start editing it. The Text Mode button will indicate you are in text mode. Press ESC to finish editing the text, or click the text mode button on the toolbar.
To delete a Text Box, double click it and then hit backspace. Press ESC or click the text mode button to exit text mode.

Formatting Text

To Format Text, right click text in your diagram and select Format Text. The Format Text window is now displayed. From here you can set the Font, Font Size, Colours, Transparency, Effects and also set the angle of rotation in degrees.
You can also select Format > Text Styles from the main ring menu to make adjustments to Text Styles.

Moving Text

To move text, hold the left mouse button down on the text for 1.5s, then drag the text to the new position. Alternatively hold the SHIFT key
down and drag the text.
To Rotate Text, hold the SHIFT key down and drag one of the corners of the text.

Text Types

Text can be set to one of four possible types by right-clicking and choosing "Set Type":

Adding Float Text To Objects

Information can be displayed when the pointer is held over an object for a few seconds.
To Add or Edit Float Text, right click the object and select Edit Float Text.
Enter text into the Float Text entry box and hit escape when complete.

Text Properties Toolbar

The Text Properties Toolbar is optionally displayed by selecting Options > Text Properties Toolbar. It provides access to the properties for the most recently clicked text or if no text is selected it provides access to properties for the current font which is used when adding new text.
The controls displayed on the toolbar are covered in the Format Text section above.

Adding Backbones

Resizing And Moving Backbones

To resize a backbone, position the mouse pointer over either end then hold the left mouse button down to drag the backbone larger or smaller.
To move a backbone, hold the shift key down whilst dragging the backbone to a new position.

Linking An Object To A Backbone

To link an object to a backbone, click on the link mode button  and then join the backbone to the object. 

Grouping and Locking

Objects may be grouped together and then locked in position relative to each other to form composite objects.

The first object you select will become the "parent" object and further objects selected will be "child" objects.
Select the parent object, followed by the child objects and then select Format > Group from the ring menu to group the objects together. At this point, you may still move the objects relative to each other. Copying and pasting the parent object will copy and paste all of the child objects as well.
To lock the child objects position relative to the parent object, right click the child object and select "Lock" from the menu. Now when you move the child object, the parent and all of its child objects are moved together. If you resize the parent object all locked child objects are also proportionally resized and moved.
Right-clicking a parent object and selecting Lock > Group Lock or Group Unlock locks or unlocks all child objects and labels associated with the object.
To ungroup objects, select each of the members of the group and then click Format > Ungroup on the ring menu.

Example using the two shapes created in the Custom Shapes section to form a composite Title Box object:

Locking objects which are not a member of a group is used to lock the position of the object on the page. This is useful for things like template borders and title blocks which don't normally need to be moved. Objects locked to the page have the following properties:

• They cannot be moved with drag and drop.
• They cannot be selected with CTRL-A or by dragging a band around them.

Anchoring and Locking

Anchoring fixes the position of objects and text relative to one of the four corners of the page. This is useful when resizing the page to ensure a title block and border remain fixed to the edge.
Select objects and text to be anchored and then Format > Anchor from the menu.
Locking objects and text prevents them from being dragged to a new position (relative to their parent) and also prevents them from being selected and unselected using CTRL-A. It is useful if the title block and border are locked. You can then select your diagram using CTRL-A and reposition it using drag and drop or nudge, without adjusting the position of the title block and border.
Select objects (link nodes) and text to be locked and then Format > Lock or right click objects or text and select Lock.

Rotating Objects and Text

Rotate objects and text using any of the following methods: Specify a rotate angle in the Object Properties Form and in the Format Text Form. Drag any of the four corners of the text or object with the mouse. Hold down the SHIFT key when dragging. The mouse pointer indicates when you are correctly positioned for this as shown in the example here. CTRL +/- rotates the currently selected text or object in 1 degree steps.

Display or Hide IP Addresses

To Display or Hide IP addresses, toggle the IP Address Button  on the toolbar.

Page Setup Use the Page Setup form to select the paper size and orientation used when printing the current page. These are set individually for each page in the document. Printing To print a diagram use the print button on the toolbar. Diagrams are sized to fit the printed page, so if you have large page dimensions then objects will appear small when printed. Drag the page smaller or reduce the page width and height in the Diagram Properties form to make the objects to appear larger when printed. Tip: To ensure a diagram fills the paper when printed: 1. Set a page size in the Diagram Properties form which matches the proportions of your paper. E.g. for letter size paper (11" x 8.5"), you might use a page width of 1100 and height 850 or 2200 x 1700 or any other size with the same proportions. For A4 size paper (297mm x 210mm) you might set a page size of 2970 x 2100 or 5940 x 4200 or any other size with same proportions. 2. Set the Orientation (Portrait or Landscape) to match your page dimensions. E.g for page width 2200 and height 1700 you should set it to Landscape, or for page width 1700 and height 2200 set it to Portrait. Print Preview The print preview menu option gives you an idea how your document will look when it is printed.

Searching Diagrams To search a diagram, press CTRL-F to display the find dialog. Enter the text to find in the text box. Use F3 to Find Next. Tick the Search All Pages box to search for the text in all pages of your document. Tick the Search All Open Documents box to search for the text in all open documents.

Formatting Link Styles

Select Format > Link Styles on the ring menu or right-click a link and select Format Link style.

Link Style List: Select an existing link style to modify or clone. New: Create a new link style starting from scratch. You will be prompted to enter a name. Clone: Create a new link style starting with the selected link style. You will be prompted to enter a name. Rename: Rename the selected link style. Delete: Delete the selected link style. The Up and Down Arrow buttons enable you to change the order in which Link Styles are presented. Style Settings Format: Choose between Line, Lightning, Lightning2, Curve and Curve2 Styles. For the Lightning style to be effective set the width to 14 or more. You can override the link style setting for individual links to switch between Line, Curve and Curve2 from the link context menu (right-click link). Width: Width of Link. Colour: Select Colour of the link. The slider sets the transparency. Line Style: Select from Opaque and various dashed line styles. Dash Cap: Select from Flat, Round and Triangle to set how dash and dot line styles are drawn. Join Style: This setting controls how the join is drawn between segments of a multi-segment link. Join Radius: This enables radiused curves to be drawn between the segments of a link. Align: Adjacent points in a link are automatically aligned horizontally and vertically. This option can also be switched on or off for individual links from the link context menu (right-click link). Secondary Style: This enables the link to be drawn using more than one link style. Click the Format button to work on the secondary style. Line Caps Startcap, Endcap: Selects from a range of built-in startcap/ endcap and custom startcap/ endcap styles. The appearance of the former is dependent on the width of the link and hence is fairly limited. Selecting Custom startcap/ endcap gives much more control over the appearance. The graphic in the centre shows how the X,Y,W and H custom cap parameters control the dimensions and position of the cap. Intersect: Adjusts the Y value of the custom cap so it intersects with the edge of the connected object. Currently this only works if the link connects to the centre of the object (Right-click link and choose centre connection point). Some example Link Styles available Arrow heads drawn using the intersect option File Menu Options Clear Link Styles: Removes all link styles. Load Defaults: Clears all of the link styles and loads a new set from the linkdefs.nls file. If you delete a link style which is used in the diagram the link is drawn using a dashed red line. Open Link Styles: Clears all of the link styles and load a new set from the selected file. Save Link Styles: Save the link styles table to a file.

Curve Link Style Curved link styles use one or two link nodes to act as control points for the curve. From the ring menu select "Options" and "Show Link nodes" to display link nodes while you are drawing curves. Click the first object, click the background to place the first control point, click the background again to create a second control point and then click the second object to complete the link.

Curve2 Link Style Curve2 Link Style allows you to draw curved Links with any number of control points. From the ring menu select "Options" and "Show Link nodes" to display link nodes while you are drawing curves.

Attaching Labels To Links

When labels are attached to links, by default they are rotated automatically to follow the slope of the link. When the connected objects are moved, the labels automatically adjust to the new slope angle as shown in the example here. You can switch the automatic rotation on or off using the "Rotate to follow slope" menu option displayed when you right-click the label.

How To Attach Labels To A Link

1. Place labels in approximate positions using the text tool.	2. Select the link first (black/red circle indication at link termination point) then select each of the labels.	3. Click Format and then Group. The labels are grouped with the link and are automatically rotated to follow the slope of the link segment. Selecting the link now also highlights the related labels.	4. Finalise label positions using Drag and Drop or nudge.

Switching Off Label Rotation

Right-click the label and untick "Rotate to follow slope".

Alignment Points There are three alignment points on a link segment, one at each end and one in the centre of the link segment. The position of a label is relative to the nearest alignment point when the label was first grouped with the link. In the example shown here, when SW2 is moved the first label's position is relative to that end of the link and so it moves by the same distance. The label on the right is relative to the SW1 end of the link and so remains more or less static. The third label is relative to the centre point on the link and so after SW2 is moved it moves to the new centre point of the link.   Detatching A Label from A Link To detach a label from a link, right-click the label and click Ungroup in the context menu.

Working With Shared Documents

Network Notepad Enterprise Edition includes features which enables multiple users to edit shared documents/ diagrams safely. It solves the problem where a document which is edited simultaneously by more than one user results in changes made by one user being overwritten by another user.

	In the Setup form, first make sure all users have a unique User Name assigned. (Do not tick/check the "All Documents Shared" checkbox for now. See the Setup Form section for more information about this.)
	To make the current document shared, tick the shared document box in the Diagram Properties Form.
	A shared document is initially opened in read-only mode. All edit functions are disabled until the user clicks the Lock File Button.
	A "lock file" is created along side the document file. It stores the name of the user who has locked the file and the time and date the lock was created.
	Other users who have the document open will see the status displayed in the title bar. They are blocked from editing the document until the lock file is released.
	To release the lock click the Lock File button again. The document is automatically saved.
	The status is reflected in the title bar for other users and the refresh button changes colour to red to indicate an update is available.
	Clicking the refresh button reloads the document. Locking the document automatically refreshes the document first if the diagram has been updated by another user.

User-Defined Apps

A list of user-defined Apps is presented for execution when you right click an object. The first 6 of the Apps are also available using the function buttons on the main toolbar: . Variables such as IP address or hostname of the object can be included in the App definition.
A set of user-defined Apps is called a toolset. Multiple toolsets can be configured for use with different types of equipment and then assigned to the objects in your diagram from the Object Properties form.

Configuring User-Defined Apps
Select the User-Defined Apps tab in the Setup form. Settings Command Line: This is the command which is executed when the app is selected. Display Title: This is the text displayed in the menu. If left blank the Command Line is displayed instead. Hide: If set to true will minimise the Network Notepad window when the app is run. Multiple: If true then the tool is run against all selected objects. If false then the tool just runs for the most recently clicked object.
Variables The following Network Notepad variables may be included in the Command Line and Display Title definitions:   $IPADDRESS Substituted for the most recently clicked object's IP address. $IPADDRESS is truncated at a "/" character.   $ADDRESS Substituted for the most recently clicked object's IP address (and is not truncated like $IPADDRESS).   $HOSTNAME Substituted with the most recently clicked object's hostname.   $BROWSE Invokes the default browser/application. E.g.1. $browse http://$ipaddress..... will open the object's ip address in a web browser window. E.g.2. $browse c:\docs\$hostname.doc..... will try and open for example "router1.doc" in whatever application is configured to handle .doc files.   $EXPLORE Invokes an instance of Internet Explorer. E.g. $explore $ipaddress...... to browse the object by ipaddress.   CopyToClipboard Copies the resolved definition to the windows clipboard.   $FILENAME Substituted for the current diagram's filename (.ndg).   $VAR1,$VAR2 User variables. These are set in the Object Properties Form on the Misc Tab and can contain any user-defined data. Ellipsis buttons are provided to browse for filenames. E.g. $browse $VAR1..... Could be used to open a specific file associated with the object.   $FieldN Passes field number N from the object table. e.g. the CDP user-defined app tool definition includes $field2 to pass the object number which it then uses to construct the data put on to the clipboard.   $HWND Passes the Network Notepad Windows Handle.   $ADDRLIST Functionally the same as $ADDRESS, but intended to pass a list of IP addresses separated by ";" characters.   $APPDIR Substituted with the Network Notepad installation folder. For the Professional Edition it usually returns C:/Program Files(x86)/Network Notepad Professional/ For the Enterprise Edition it usually returns C:/Program Files(x86)/Network Notepad Enterprise/ For Network Notepad Client it usually returns C:/Program Files(x86)/Network Notepad Client/   $DOCVAR1 Per-document user variable which is configurable in the Diagram Properties form.   && Enables multiple apps to be called in one definition. See the Wake-On-Lan Tool example below. Example Command Lines: Use SSH to connect to a device using Putty: "C:\Program Files\putty\putty.exe" -ssh $IPADDRESS In this example putty.exe has been installed to the Network Notepad program folder: putty -ssh $IPADDRESS   Use Putty in telnet mode to connect to a device: "C:\Program Files\putty\putty.exe" -telnet $IPADDRESS   Open a web browser session to a device's IP address: $BROWSE http://$IPADDRESS Remote control a device using VNC: "C:\Program Files\UltraVNC\vncviewer.exe" $IPADDRESS   Remote Desktop: C:\windows\system32\mstsc.exe /v:$IPADDRESS   Open a spreadsheet to access for example asset information for each device in your diagram: $BROWSE "F:\Asset Files\$hostname.xlsx" NNPing Tool: NNPing $IPADDRESS 1000 3 up.wav 3 down.wav Wake-On-Lan Tool: NNPing $IPADDRESS 1000 3 up.wav 3 down.wav on&&nnwol.exe $VAR1 Where && is used to separate and execute multiple apps. User variable $VAR1 is configured in the Object Properties form on the Misc Tab and is set to provide   <broadcast IP address> <port> <mac-address> e.g. 192.168.1.255 9 21-3a-55-37-6e-76 The nnping "on" parameter overrides the usual toggle-on, toggle-off state when calling nnping. Provide a link in your diagram to to related documents (in this example an IP addresses spreadsheet): Add an Object which provides links to related documents. Eg. The File Cabinet icon: Create a new toolset and name it "Documents". Set the new object to use the "Documents" toolset. Add tools to the Documents toolset. E.g. To add a link to a spreadsheet listing IP addresses: Command Line: $Browse Z:\IP addresses.xlsx Display Title: IP Addresses Spreadsheet.xlsx   Tip: Enclose file pathnames containing spaces with quotation marks as shown in the first three examples above. If you don't do this then Windows cannot distinguish the difference between c:\program files and c:\program.exe for example. Copy Tools From Other Toolsets: When creating a new toolset you can use this option to list all tools in all toolset and tick those you wish to copy to the new toolset. Up/ Down Buttons Change the order the tools are presented by moving the selected tool up or down in the list of tools. Toolset: Network Notepad Professional and Enterprise Editions allow you to define multiple toolsets. You can choose a toolset to use with an object in the Object Properties form. Naming Toolsets: Toolsets can be named by entering text in the Toolset dropdown list in place of the default numbers. Add Toolset Button : If you need more than the default 10 toolsets, you can add more with this button. Edit Button : Toolset definitions are stored in a local tooldefs.txt file. This button enables you to edit the file directly, making it easy to copy, paste and share toolsets. Here is an excerpt from a tooldefs.txt file:   Toolset(0)=1. Routers Command(0,1)=$APPDIRputty.exe -telnet $ipaddress Display(0,1)=telnet $IPADDRESS AutoMin(0,1)=False Multiple(0,1)=False Command(0,2)=Copy2Clipboard $IPADDRESS Display(0,2)= AutoMin(0,2)=False Multiple(0,2)=False Command(0,3)=$explore http://$IPADDRESS Display(0,3)= AutoMin(0,3)=False Multiple(0,2)=False Command(0,4)=ping -t $IPADDRESS Display(0,4)= AutoMin(0,4)=False Multiple(0,4)=True Toolset(1)=2. Synology Command(1,1)=$browse http://$ipaddress:5000 Display(1,1)= AutoMin(1,1)=False Multiple(1,1)=False Command(1,2)=$browse//$IPADDRESS Display(1,2)= AutoMin(1,2)=False Multiple(1,2)=False ...     When editing the tooldefs.txt file keep the numbers in brackets in order. That is (toolset number) in the case of the Toolset statement and (toolset number, tool number) in the case of the Command, Display,Automin and Multiple statements. When you have finished editing the tooldefs.txt file, save the file and then click the Refresh button in the Setup form to re-read the file contents into Network Notepad..

Refresh Button :

The refresh button is used to re-read the tooldefs.txt file after editing it outside of Network Notepad. The tooldefs.txt file is written to when you click the OK button.

Tip: Network Notepad Files are stored as plain text. Use Windows "Search for Files" to scan through all your diagrams and find what you are looking for.

Object Properties Form

Tool Set: Select which set of user-defined apps are to be used with this object. Toolsets can be renamed in the setup form. The ellipsis button provides a shortcut. Links Table: See section below. Labels   Name: The name of the object. Address: Specifies the IP address of the object. This can be passed to user-defined apps using the $IPADDRESS or $ADDRESS variables. Anything entered after a "/" character is not passed when using $IPADDRESS but is passed when using $ADDRESS. ("/" is commonly used to document the subnet mask length e.g. 192.168.1.251 /24) The dropdown lists next to the labels allow you to change the position of the labels relative to the object. Choose from NSEW (as in the positions on a compass), C for centred and " " for hidden. * is shown if the label has been dragged and dropped away from the standard positions. You can also toggle the displaying of all address information in your diagram using the "Display IP Addresses" button on the main toolbar.   Draw   Object Type: Object type name as shown in the Object Library. X/Y Scale: Used to enlarge or reduce the size of the Bitmap.

Linking Diagrams

Diagrams may be linked together such that one or more special objects provide a link to other pages or files. To follow a link to another diagram, right click the object and select "Goto next diagram" or double click the object. To configure an object to link to another page or file use the following settings on the Misc Tab in the Object Properties form:
Link?:	This tick box enables the "Goto next diagram" option when this object is right clicked.
Location:	Filename of next diagram (include .ndg extension). Leave this blank for the current diagram.

Example We will link an object on page1 to an object on page 3: Go to destination object on page 3. Right-click the object and click "Bookmark Object". Go to the source object on page 1.
Open it's Properties and select the "Misc" Tab. Tick the "Link" box, click "Use Bookmark" and then click OK. You can now right-click the object on page 1 and click "Go To Next Diagram". To create a link back the other way, bookmark the object on page1 and add it to the properties of the object on page 3.

Drag And Drop Method For Linking Diagrams

Another way to create a link to a diagram is to drag and drop the .ndg file you want to link to on to a blank part of the page. This adds an object which provides the link as discussed above.

The Links Table

Object Properties Toolbar

The Object Properties Toolbar is optional. It provides quick access to some of the properties for the most recently clicked object.
Enable the toolbar by selecting Options > Object Properties Toolbar from the main ring menu.
The controls displayed on the toolbar are covered in the Object Properties Form section above.

The Object Libraries Form Click the Object Libraries button on the main toolbar to open the Object Libraries Form. Select different libraries from the dropdown list or use the -+ buttons move backwards and forwards through the available libraries. You can also use File > Open to browse for Object Libraries. Note: Network Notepad requires all Object Libraries to be located in the same folder. If you open an Object Library file in a different folder, you will change the location of the Object Libraries folder and Network Notepad will then not be able find objects referred to by other Object Libraries (unless you have copied those Object Libraries to the new folder as well). If Network Notepad cannot find an object in the current Object Libraries folder it will display a graphic in it's place when the document is loaded. To reset the Object Libraries folder location back to default, from the library menu select Misc > Restore Default Object Library File and Folder. Searching Object Libraries The search box on the toolbar may be used to search all available libraries for objects. You can save objects found as a new Library using the save button on the toolbar.

Adding Objects To An Object Library

Drag a .ico, .bmp, .wmf, .gif, .png or .jpg  file on to a blank part of the Object library form.
Right clicking an object allows you to change an objects default name, filename and X/Y scale.
Use "File","Save Object Library" to save the updated Object Library file.
It is recommended to leave the default libraries unchanged and create a new library instead when adding new objects.

Creating A New Object Library

From the Object Library ring menu select File>New to create a new, blank Object Library file. Paste new object images as explained previously and then use File > Save As to save the new Object Library.

Deleting Objects From The Object Library

To delete an object from the current Object Library, select the object followed by "Edit" and "Cut Image from Object Library".

Auto-Hiding The Object Library Form

To auto-hide the Object Library Form whenever an object is selected click File > Auto-hide.

Workgroup Object Libraries

A workgroup Object Library (Folder) may be specified in the main setup form. Network Notepad will use this library when the shared drive is available. Otherwise it will use the default local copy.
To set this up initially, copy contents of the local libraries folder to the shared folder.

Copying An Object Library

You have created your own Object Library, how would you share it with a colleague?
An Object Library usually consists of an index file (.plf) and multiple bitmap files (.bmp,.gif,.png,.jpg), metafiles (.wmf,.emf) and icon files (.ico). All of the Object Libraries and associated graphic files are stored in a single object library folder. To make it easy to copy an Object Library and all of its associated grahics files there is a menu option in the Object Library window "Copy Object Library". This copies the current library index file and all the associated graphics files to the Windows clipboard so that you use the Windows Explorer paste option to copy the files to a new folder. From there you can zip the library to make it portable.
Update: The latest versions now have a menu option File > Save Library To .Zip File which creates a .zip file from a library index file and associated graphics files.

Installing An Object Library

To install an object library which has been saved to a .zip, from the object libraries window, click File > Open Object Libraries Folder. Unzip the object library file to this folder.

Shapes are simple graphics which can be customised. There are some shapes preconfigured in the "Shapes" and "Backbones" Object Libraries.
Select Format > Shape from the main ring menu or right click a shape in a diagram or Object Library.

Format Shape

	Example Shapes
		Rectangle, Width=200, Height=100, background set to transparent by setting the colour slider control to the left. Arc size 20 sets radiused corners.
		Rectangle, Width=200, Height=100. This variant has only the top two corners radiused.

See Grouping and Locking for information on combining these shapes in to a composite object.

"Script Objects" provide a way to construct vector-based graphics for use in Network Notepad from plain-text scripts. Some examples are available in the scripts library.

Script Syntax

A Script Object consists of the following statements and commands:

1. The Script Statement.
2. Path Statements.
3. Pens and Brushes.
4. Commands.
5. Align Statements.

Format Script Object

Format Script Object provides an environment for creating and modifying Script Objects. Access it from the Format menu or right-click a Script Object in a diagram or the library window.

To paste a script in to the editor, switch to script view (Script button) and paste in to the main panel.

Colour Pickers for pens and brushes are available in the Tabular view by clicking the elipsis column (...) in the respective tables.

&hBbGgRr& specifies the Blue, Green and Red components of the colour in Hex.

Tspcy is the colour transparency value from 0 to 255, where 255 is solid colour.

The form is resizable and the panels can also be resized by dragging the horizontal and vertical bars which divide the panels.

Click the Refresh button to apply changes made in the script panels.

Merging Script Objects

Format > Merge Script Objects enables mulitple Script Objects to be merged in to a single Script Object. Text can also be merged.
In the following example an small ethernet hub is built up from components in the online Script Objects Library and then merged:

1. Add the parent object which will act as a container for the other components.
I have used Format Script Object to create a box and given the script a new unique name (this is important).

script "Netgear FE104" 158 25 0.5 brush blue_brush &h8B4001& 255 path name Box path addrectangle 0 0 158 25 fill "Box" blue_brush

2. Copy and paste script components from the online library on to the parent object.
I have added four RJ45 sockets and then using the Text tool added a brand label.

3. Put the parent box and child components in to a group.
Select the parent Box first followed by the 4 sockets and the label, then select Format > Group on the ring menu.
The objects are now loosely bound together.

4. Select the group by clicking the parent box and then select Format > Merge Script Objects.
The parent box and the 5 child objects are now merged into a single Script Object.

script "Netgear FE104 Hub" 158 25 0.6 brush blue_brush &h8B4001& 255 brush black_brush &h000000& 255 brush silver_brush &hd0d8dc& 255 brush brush1 &hFFFFFF& 255 path name Box path addrectangle 0 0 158 25 path name rj45down path addlines 2 7 2 9 3.5 9 3.5 10 9 10 9 9 10.5 9 10.5 7 12.5 7 12.5 0 0 0 0 7 path name single_port path addrectangle 0 0 15 12 path name path1 path addstring 0 0 NETGEAR arial 3 1 fill "Box" blue_brush fill single_port silver_brush 111.5 8 fill rj45down black_brush 112.5 19 1 -1 fill single_port silver_brush 66.5 8 fill rj45down black_brush 67.5 19 1 -1 fill single_port silver_brush 81.5 8 fill rj45down black_brush 82.5 19 1 -1 fill single_port silver_brush 96.5 8 fill rj45down black_brush 97.5 19 1 -1 fill path1 brush1 5.25 2.25

5. To save the new object to the current local library, right-click the object and select Format Script Object. Click the "Save to Library" checkbox and click OK.
Please email me a copy of your new scripts (or any new components) for inclusion in the online library!

There are a number of restrictions with the Merge Script Objects feature:

• The component objects must not be rotated.

• The component objects must use their default x-scale and y-scale settings (That will be 1,2 or 4 depending on the Format > Resolution setting).

• Name and Address labels are excluded from a merge.

The Setup Form

To access the Setup Form select File > Setup from the main ring menu.

General Settings Tab

Language:	Select the Language used for Network Notepad.
:	This button opens the selected language translation file for editing.
:	This button refreshes translations from the language translation file.
Show index:	To assist with language translations this temporarily prepends entries with section number and line number to show where each text entry is located in the language translation file.
User Name:	Sets the name stored in lock files to show other users who is editing a shared document. The name must be unique. In Network Notepad Client this is also used to authenticate a user connecting to the Network Notepad Server.
All Documents Shared:	When this option is enabled, all documents are automatically set as shared documents which must be locked before they can be edited. For finer control, set individual documents to be shared in the Document Properties form.
Windows Date Time Format:	This just displays the Date Time format currently configured in Windows for reference. This setting will be removed in a future release.
Lock Date Time Format:	Leave blank. This setting will be removed in a future release.
Grid Line Spacing:	Sets the spacing for grid lines when grid lines option is switched on (Options > Grid Lines).
Default IP Address:	A partial or complete IP Address which will be applied to all new objects added to the diagram.
Maximum Open Documents:	Sets how many documents can be opened at once. Each open document presents its own tab bar at the bottom of the screen.
Default Diagram:	Sets the diagram loaded by default if no diagram is specified on the command line. Use the ellipses button to browse for a file or the "Use Current" button to make the current diagram the default diagram. The "None" button clears the default diagram.

User-Defined Apps Tab

For information on the User-Defined Apps, see User Defined Apps.

Monitoring Tab

Default Node Settings

Sets the default node settings applied when adding new objects. Node settings are used by add-ons such as NNMonitor and Network Notepad Client/Server to set what actions to take when a node changes state. Node settings can be changed for individual objects from the "Node" menu when you right-click an object.
 

Overlays

Sets the style and colour used for overlays set by add-ons such as NNMonitor, NNPing and Network Notepad Client/Server to indicate the up, down or transitioning state of nodes.

Status Panel

Choose the colours and fonts used for each status shown in the Status Panel.

Updates Tab

Client Tab

The Client Tab shows settings specific to Network Notepad Client.

Status

Encryption

Misc

The Diagram Properties Form

The Diagram Properties Form is accessed from the main ring menu File > Edit Diagram Properties.

Diagram Templates

When you start a new drawing or add a new page to an existing document, you are prompted to select from a list of templates. A diagram template is simply a minimal diagram containing defaults you commonly use in new diagrams. It sets the page width, height and orientation and can set text styles, link styles and some default drawing, for example a title block, border and logo.

Creating Diagram Templates

To create new diagram template, set up a new single page document with the desired settings and default drawing as mentioned above and then save it to the templates folder using File > Save to Templates.

 

Network Notepad Client/ Server

How It Works

1. Network Notepad Server can be run as a standalone executable file or as a Windows service to provide the following functions:
It reads a single diagram file (.ndg) and continuously monitors the nodes in the diagram using Ping.
It accepts connections from and authenticates Network Notepad Clients and it provides node status information to the clients.
It can send out emails when it detects a node has changed state.
It accepts NNServerConsole connections for remote administration of the server.

2. The monitored diagram is stored on a drive which is accessible to both the Network Notepad Server and Network Notepad Clients. This can be on the same server as Network Notepad Server or on a separate File Share or NAS (or on the Network Notepad Client if everything is on one PC).

3. A Network Notepad Client opens the diagram file and the diagram is displayed. The client then looks at $DOCVAR1 in the diagram properties to see if it provides an IP Address and Port for a Network Notepad Server. The format for $DOCVAR1 to supply Network Notepad Server details is "-socket <server ip address>:<server port>".

4. If the diagram provides the Server IP Address and Port, the Network Notepad Client connects to the server and is authenticated if authentication is enabled.

5. The Network Notepad Server provides node status information to the client and the client displays this as overlays in the diagram and in tabular format in the Status Panel form. The server continues to send node updates to connected clients whenever it detects a change in state for as long as the clients remain connected.

6. The Network Notepad Server can send out email alerts when a node changes state.

7. NNServerConsole is a small app deployed with the Network Notepad Client software for remotely administering the server. It displays a real-time view of events on the server and provides administrative functions such as adding user accounts.

Network Notepad Server Requirements

Network Notepad Server (NNServer) can be run on a Windows PC, a Windows server, or it can be run on a Linux box using Mono. An article on building a Raspberry-Pi-based Network Notepad Server will be published later.
NNServer targets .Net framework 4.7.2, so should work with Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and later versions of Windows.
A single NNServer instance is designed to monitor the nodes in a single .ndg diagram file only. The .ndg file can be stored on a separate file server or NAS, the NNServer can be the file server, or the .ndg file can be stored on a client PC if everything is run on a single PC. If running on a raspberry Pi using Mono, Samba can be used to make it the file server also.

Installing Network Notepad Server

To install Network Notepad Server, create a folder (e.g. C:\nnserver) and unzip the contents of the .zip file to it.
The .zip file has the following contents:

It is recommended to initially build and test your configuration using the command line executable version of Network Notepad Server (nnserver.exe) as it is easier to troubleshoot. When it is working ok you have the option to install and run the Windows Service version (nnserversvc.exe).

Setting Up Network Notepad Client For Connecting To The Server

Enter a User Name in the field provided in the Setup form. This indentifies the user when locking a diagram file (as with Enterprise Edition) and now it also identifies the user when connecting to a Network Notepad Server. Also highlighed is the Lock Date Time Format. The server and all of the clients must use the same date time format when writing lock files. The date time format for the server can be set in the nnserver.ini file. Note, in the latest versions of the server and client the default Lock Date Time Format is independent of the Windows Date Time Format, so it is unlikely these settings will need to be changed. The option to change the Lock Date Time Format will probably be removed in a future release.

Preparing A Diagram (.ndg)

1. The diagram to be monitored must be saved to a location which is accessable by both the Server and the Clients. This could be a shared folder on the Network Notepad Server itself, on a separate file server or NAS, or even on the client if the client and server are all on one PC.

2. In the Diagram Properties, it works best if the "Shared Document" option is ticked. In Network Notepad Enterprise Edition the "Shared Document" option is used to manage multiple users attempting to modify a diagram at the same time. With a shared document you have to click the Lock button on the toolbar before you can make changes to a diagram and click the Lock button again when you have finished making changes. Network Notepad Client uses this unlock event to send a refresh signal to the server that the diagram has been updated and to reload it and handle any changes.

3. In the Diagram Properties $DOCVAR1 field specify the IP Address and TCP port of the Network Notepad Server. When the diagram is loaded by the server this setting informs it what TCP port to listen on for client connectons and when the client loads the diagram it populates the Server address and TCP port settings for the connection and it initiates the connection process.
In this example the Network Notepad Server is at IP address 192.168.1.100 and will listen on TCP port 9998 for Client connections:

-socket 192.168.1.100:9998

Note. By default nnserver will listen for connections from the server administration tool NNServerConsole on the TCP port which follows the client TCP port. In this case it will listen on port 9999 for nnserverconsole connections.

4. It is helpful if the diagram contains a graphic/object for the Network Notepad Server in order to right-click it and launch a user-defined tool which opens nnserverconsole (see Setting Up NNServerConsole section below).

5. Objects in the diagram must have a valid, pingable addresses in order to be monitored. A valid address is an IPv4 IP Address, an IPv4 IPAddress followed by a "/" character (e.g. "192.168.1.1/24") or a DNS name.

Minimal Setup And First Time Run

On the Network Notepad Server, copy or rename the "example nnserver.ini" file to nnserver.ini. The settings in this file are covered later. The default settings in the file will be sufficient to get things running. Start NNServer from a command prompt like this nnserver.exe –file <.ndg file> e.g. nnserver.exe –file S:\Diagram.ndg The server will output progress. In Network Notepad Client, open the diagram on the shared drive. The client will display the diagram and connect to the server and display the status overlays. (Authenticating client connections is covered later)

Stopping the Command Line Network Notepad Server

To stop the command line Network Notepad Server press CTRL-C.

The Connection Manager Window

The Connection Manager Window is displayed when connecting to or disconnecting from a Network Notepad Server. To open the Connection Manager window click the button on the toolbar: , or use the menu option: File > Connection Manager.

The Status Panel

The Status Panel provides a tabular view of the nodes being monitored and a log of status changes received from the server. Access it from the View menu. Note. A limitation of the log window is it is cleared when it reaches 30000 entries.

Setting Up NNServerConsole

NNServerConsole.exe is the remote administration console for Network Notepad Server. It is included with the Network Notepad Client installation and can be launched from a user-defined tool in Network Notepad (The diagram must contain an icon/object for the Nework Notepad Server). Configure a user defined tool like this:

Command Line: nnserverconsole.exe -consocket $IPADDRESS:9999
Display Title: NNServerConsole@$IPADDRESS

Connecting To A Network Notepad Server Using NNServerConsole

Right-click the Network Notepad Server icon in your diagram and choose the NNServerConsole user-defined tool which was configured in the previous section. You will be prompted for a password. The default password is "password". The first time you login, you will be prompted to choose a new password for console access. Note there are two tabs available. The Log tab displays server activity. The Terminal tab shows results for commands entered. To see a list of commands available, enter "?" or "help" in the command window: debug [<address>|none] - Debug node help,? - This help page lock - View lockfile details loglevel [n|+n|-n] - View or set the loglevel logout - Logout log - Switch to log tab memory - Show nnserver instantaneous memory usage meminterval [n] - View or set memstats collection interval in minutes memstats - View nnserver memory usage statistics password ["]<user id>["] <password> [change] ping <address> - Ping from NNServer reset email - Reset email counts and startup email count statistics - Show node statistics status - Show status information term - Switch to terminal tab test email - Send test email useradd ["]<user id>["] <password> [change] userdel ["]<user id>["] users - Display list of user accounts version - show NNServer version who - Who's connected

When you enter a command the display tab automatically switches to the Terminal tab to display the result. If you need to return to the Log view, click the Log tab or type "log".
The "loglevel" command is worth mentioning at this point as it controls what information is logged by the server and is helpful during setup and troubleshooting to see the server activity. Enter "loglevel" to see the current setting. Enter "loglevel 2047" to log all information (switch back to the log tab to see the result). Enter "loglevel 0" to minimize the information logged.
You can use loglevel +n or -n  to set or clear individual loglevel bits. e.g. To add loglevel bit 16 and view timer logging, enter "loglevel +16".
A full NNServerConsole command reference is provided below. 

Encryption Key

The encryption key is used for two functions:
1. To encrypt data sent between the Network Notepad Clients and the Network Notepad Server.
2. To encrypt user account data stored on the server.

The encryption key on the server must match the encryption key on the clients.
The encryption key must be exactly 32 characters in length (=256 bits).

To set the encryption key in the Server, edit the nnserver.ini file and change the "key" setting.
To set the encryption key in Network Notepad Client, go to File > Setup > Client tab.
NNServerConsole uses the encryption key configured in Network Notepad Client.

If you change the encryption key after the console password has been changed or other user accounts have been added you must delete and recreate the "passwd" file.
The procedure is as follows:
1. Delete the "passwd" file.
2. Login using NNServerConsole with the default password and set a new console password when prompted.
3. If you have added any other user accounts, these must be added again using the useradd command, see below.
 

Authentication

To authenticate client connections to Network Notepad Server, set the "authenticate" setting in the nnserver.ini file.
The default setting is "authenticate console". Change it to "authenticate all". Save the file and restart NNServer.
The next step is to add user accounts on to the server.

User account information is stored in a file determined by the "passwordfile" setting in the nnserver.ini file. The default file is "passwd" as shown in this extract from nnserver.ini:

#
# Set the file used to store user account information on the server. This file is created when you use the useradd command in the NNServer Console app.
#
passwordfile passwd

Note: The passwd file does not exist until you set a new NNServerConsole password or add user accounts.

Adding User Accounts

When you login in to NNServer with NNServerConsole and chang the default password it will create the "passwd" file and save the new console credentials in it.
(This is equivalent to running this command: useradd console <password>)

Add user accounts for Network Notepad clients. The userid must match the User Name configured in the Setup form for each client.

useradd ["]<user id>["] <password> [change]

e.g.

useradd Jason secret

Quotation marks are required around the userid if the userid contains one or more space characters.
When the optional "change" parameter is included the user is prompted to set a new password next time they log in.

Changing A Password

A user's password can be changed only after the the user has been added using the useradd command. Use the password command to change a user's password:

password ["]<user id>["] <new password> [change]

e.g.

password Jason secret

Quotation marks are required around the userid if the userid contains one or more space characters.
When the optional change parameter is included the user is prompted to set a new password next time they log in. 

Viewing User Accounts

To see a list of user accounts which are configured, enter the "users" command:

users
console ********
jason ********

Configuring Network Notepad Server To Send Email Alerts

Network Notepad Server can send email alerts when a node changes state and it can also be configured to send an email each time the server process is restarted.
The server requires access to a SMTP server for this to work.
The following extract from the nnserver.ini file shows the parameters used to setup email alerts:

#
# Email Configuration. NNServer will send email notifications of status changes when the following variables are set up.
#
emailclient mailkit
emailserver smtp.example.com
emailport 587
emailusername my_email_username
emailpassword my_email_password
emailoptions starttls
emailfrom support@mydomain.com
emailto everyone@mydomain.com
#
# Set a per-node email limit for the number of emails which can be sent in the per-node email limit time period.
#
emaillimit 10
#
# Set the per-node email limit time period in minutes.
#
emaillimitperiod 60
#
#
# Send an email when NNServer starts or restarts
#
sendstartupemail
#
# Set a maximum number of start up emails per day.
#
maxstartupemails 20

Notes:

emailclient mailkit	This sets the library used to send emails. The choices are "mailkit" or "smtpclient". mailkit is the recommended setting for smtp servers.
emailoptions starttls	This sets sets some security settings associated with the library used to send emails. The choices as "starttls" for mailkit and "sslonconnect" for the smtpclient library.
emaillimit 10	A continuously flapping node could potentially result in a lot of emails being generated, so this setting sets a per-node limit for the number of emails which can be sent in the time period specified below.
emaillimitperiod 60	Sets a per-node time limit period of 60 minutes. The example sets a limit of 10 emails per node in a 60 minute period.
sendstartupemail	Unhash this line to send an email whenever the Network Notepad Server process starts.
maxstartupemails 20	Unhash this line to set a limit of sending no more than 20 startup emails per day.

The NNServerConsole command "reset email" can be used to clear any email limits which have been reached and resume sending emails.

Testing Email Settings

You can send a test email using the NNServerConsole "test email" command:

test email

The Log window will show progress like this:

12/9/2023 1:53:06 PM: SendEmail() connecting to smtp.example.com port 587 using StartTls
12/9/2023 1:53:06 PM: SendEmail() authenticating with username support@example.com
12/9/2023 1:53:06 PM: Test email sent to jason@networknotepad.com ok.

Network Notepad Node Monitoring Settings

You can set node monitoring settings for each object in a diagram by right-clicking an object and selecting the Node menu. The following options are displayed:

Monitor	Enable or Disable monitoring the node.
Audible Alert	Enable or Disable an audible alert when the node changes state.
Log	Enable or Disable whether node state changes are logged for this node.
Email	Enable or Disable whether an email is sent when the node changes state.

After changing a setting, save the diagram by releasing the diagram lock (Click the Lock button). This will send a signal to the Network Notepad Server that the diagram has changed.
The default settings for node monitoring when adding new nodes to a diagram can be set in the Setup form, Monitoring Tab.

Ping Parameters

The following parameters in the nnserver.ini file set how Network Notepad Server pings nodes. Note all timings are approximate:

PingInterval 20	Set the time between ping cycles to 20 seconds.
FastPingInterval 5	Set the time between ping cycles when confirming a state change to 5 seconds. For accurate timing, ideally the fastpinginterval time should divide evenly in to the pinginterval time. Pings are also despatched evenly across all fastpingintervals. FastpingInterval must not be less than the timeout below.
DownRetries 3	The server will ping a node 3 times to confirm the node is down.
UpRetries 3	The server will ping a node 3 times to confirm the node is up.
Timeout 2000	Set the timeout for an individual ping to 2 seconds.
PingDelay 10	Adds a 10ms delay between despatching each individual ping. This may be required when large numbers of nodes are monitored to help avoid heavy bursts of ping traffic on the network.

Ping Timing Example

If you have 40 nodes in a diagram, using the parameters above gives 4 fastpingintervals per pinginterval (20 divided by 5), therefore 10 nodes will be pinged during each fastpinginterval + any retries outstanding from previous fastpingintervals.
Additional fastpingintervals may be added to a cycle until all outstanding retries are completed before moving on to the next ping cycle.
With a high number of nodes and short ping interval times, or if an outage causes a lot of ping retries, it is possible to run out of time to send all of the pings. In this situation a message like this may be logged:

Ping interval delayed. The previous interval is still running!

This message can be ignored if it rarely occurs, but if it is occuring often you should increase the PingInterval and FastPingInterval times to avoid it. The PingDelay setting also affects how long it takes to complete a ping cycle and may also need to be adjusted.

DNS Parameters

The following parameters in the nnserver.ini file set how Network Notepad Server does DNS name resolution:

DnsInterval 600	Where node addresses use DNS names as opposed IP addresses, this parameter sets the frequency for resolving the DNS names (looking up the IP addresses). The example does DNS lookups every 600 seconds (10 minutes).
DnsIntervalUnresolved 120	This sets the frequency for resolving currently unresolved DNS names. This example retries looking up unresolved DNS names every 120 seconds (2 minutes).

LogFile

Network Notepad Server can log to a file. Unhash the logfile entry in nnserver.ini and specify a filename as shown here:

#Enable logging to a file and specify log filename here
#
logfile nnserver.log

Log files are rolled over at the start of each day and the previous day's log file is renamed to include the date. It is a good idea to create a separate folder for logs (Make sure the folder exists). In this example the entry in nnserver.ini specifies to write logfiles to a logs folder in the nnserver installation folder:

#Enable logging to a file and specify log filename here
#
logfile C:\nnserver\logs\nnserver.log

An absolute path name for the logfile is recommended when configuring the Windows Service version of NNServer.

Installing Windows Service

(1). Unblock the nnserverservice.exe file

nnserversvc.exe is the Windows Service executable file. You may need to "unblock" this file before it can be installed. Right-click the file and open it's properties. Tick "unblock" and click OK.

(2). Configure the nnserver.ini file

It is not easy to set command line parameters with a Windows service, so the “-file” command line switch used previously has an alternative in the nnserver.ini file. This extract from nnserver.ini shows the default settings:

#
# The following setting is used in place of the -file command line switch with the Network Notepad Server Windows Service (nnserversvc.exe).
#
# Specify the .ndg file to load and monitor. Use UNC filename rather than mapped drive letters.
#file "\\192.168.1.100\nas\example network.ndg"

Remove the '#' at the start of the line and set the filename for the .ndg file.
Use the UNC pathname of the file (\\server\path\file) when specifying the file. Do not use mapped drive letters.
e.g.

#
# The following setting is used in place of the -file command line switch with the Network Notepad Server Windows Service (nnserversvc.exe).
#
# Specify the .ndg file to load and monitor. Use UNC filename rather than mapped drive letters.
file "\\zen\share\Diagram.ndg"

3. Install the Service as Administator

To install nnserversvc.exe as a service you need to use the Windows installer tool "InstallUtil.exe". It is usually located in the .Net folder on a Windows System:

C:\Windows\Microsoft.Net\Framework64\v<version>\Installutil.exe

e.g.
At a Command Prompt run as Administrator, enter the following command:

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\InstallUtil.exe "C:\nnserver\nnserversvc.exe"

Alternatively use the installservice.bat provided. Note: This script assumes the location of the InstallUtil.exe file is as above.
Right-click the installservice.bat file and choose Run as administrator.

(For info, if you need to uninstall the Network Notepad Server service use the -u flag e.g. C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\InstallUtil.exe -u "C:\nnserver\nnserversvc.exe" or right-click the uninstallservice.bat file and choose Run as administrator)

In Windows Services, use Action > Refresh to see the Network Notepad Server service listed:

4. Configure Service Log On

If the .ndg file is stored on a file share you will most likely need to set a “Log On” account and password in the service properties so that the service has access to the file. The account will be one which is local to the server running the nnserversvc that has access to the shared file. Use Windows Services to start, stop or automatically start the Network Notepad Server service. Windows Event Log The service logs some startup information in the "Network Notepad Server" Log in the Applications and Services Logs in the Event Viewer.

NNServerConsole Commands Reference

debug <address>	Shows when the server is pinging the target address. > debug 192.168.1.254 5/9/2024 8:41:43 AM: Debugging node 192.168.1.254 Switch to the log window to view the results: 5/9/2024 8:41:49 AM: Ping result for 192.168.1.254 (192.168.1.254) interval 1 seq 54867 (54866) Reply address 192.168.1.254 up 0ms To turn off debugging enter "debug none" > debug none 13/05/2024 20:06:45: Debugging switched off
help, ?	Display help page
lock	View lockfile details. > lock LockFile: /nn/demo network.lck Lockee: Jason Green Lock time: 6/21/2024 11:01:05 AM UTC Instance: C Locked: True
loglevel [n|+n|-n]	Loglevel with no parameters displays the current loglevel. Each bit value of the loglevel controls what is logged by nnserver e.g. > loglevel loglevel is set to 19 ✓ bit 1 - General debug ✓ bit 2 - Keepalives    bit 4 - Incoming messages from clients    bit 8 - Outgoing messages to client ✓ bit 16 - Timer    bit 32 - Diagram refresh    bit 64 - DNS    bit 128 - Ping Exceptions    bit 256 - Ping starts failing    bit 512 - Ping starts succeeding    bit 1024 - Locking Loglevel [n] - Changes the loglevel e.g. > loglevel 2047 loglevel is set to 2047 ✓ bit 1 - General debug ✓ bit 2 - Keepalives ✓ bit 4 - Incoming messages from clients ✓ bit 8 - Outgoing messages to client ✓ bit 16 - Timer ✓ bit 32 - Diagram refresh ✓ bit 64 - DNS ✓ bit 128 - Ping Exceptions ✓ bit 256 - Ping starts failing ✓ bit 512 - Ping starts succeeding ✓ bit 1024 - Locking Loglevel  [+n|-n] - sets (+n) or clears (-n) bits from the current loglevel value e.g. >loglevel -768 loglevel is set to 1279 ✓ bit 1 - General debug ✓ bit 2 - Keepalives ✓ bit 4 - Incoming messages from clients ✓ bit 8 - Outgoing messages to client ✓ bit 16 - Timer ✓ bit 32 - Diagram refresh ✓ bit 64 - DNS ✓ bit 128 - Ping Exceptions    bit 256 - Ping starts failing    bit 512 - Ping starts succeeding ✓ bit 1024 - Locking
logout	Logout and disconnect nnserver console session
log	Switch to the log tab in NNServerConsole. See also term.
memory	Displays a snapshot of the memory usage for NNServer. > memory Private Memory(MB), Virtual Memory(MB), Working Set(MB), Paged Memory(MB), Paged System Memory(MB), Non-Paged System Memory(MB) 22.93, 211.73, 24.11, 22.93, 0.29, 0.03
meminterval [n]	View or set the time interval in minutes for collecting memory usage stats for the memstats command. > meminterval meminterval= 5 (minutes)
memstats	Display memory usage data collected since NNServer was started at intervals set by the meminterval command. The csv data can be imported to Excel, for example, using the Text Import Wizard (select the data and press CTRL-C to copy it). > memstats Date,Time,Private Memory(MB), Virtual Memory(MB), Working Set(MB), Paged Memory(MB), Paged System Memory(MB), Non-Paged System Memory(MB) 13/05/2024, 19:42:59, 14.18, 173.72, 22.74, 14.18, 0.26, 0.02 13/05/2024, 19:47:59, 19.95, 204.18, 32.77, 19.95, 0.28, 0.03 13/05/2024, 19:52:59, 21.85, 206.8, 34.62, 21.85, 0.29, 0.03 13/05/2024, 19:57:59, 22.4, 208.32, 34.88, 22.4, 0.29, 0.03 13/05/2024, 20:02:59, 22.41, 205.7, 34.61, 22.41, 0.29, 0.03 13/05/2024, 20:07:59, 22.16, 207.01, 31.04, 22.16, 0.29, 0.03 13/05/2024, 20:12:59, 23.45, 210.42, 31.05, 23.45, 0.29, 0.03 Memory usage data is stored in a ring buffer which is sized to collect 24 hours of stats at the default 5 minute meminterval. Increasing the meminterval by 5x to 25minutes, the ring buffer will hold memory usage data for 5 days, etc.
password ["]<user id>["] <password> [change]	Change the password for an existing user. Quotation marks must be included if the user id contains one or more space characters. If the optional change parameter is included the user will be prompted to enter a new password next time they login. See also useradd command. > password jason secret change Password changed for user jason and they will be requested to change their password at next login
ping <address>	Initiate a ping from nnserver and display the result. > ping 192.168.1.254 Ping reply from 192.168.1.254 up 1ms Ping reply from 192.168.1.254 up 1ms Ping reply from 192.168.1.254 up 1ms Ping reply from 192.168.1.254 up 1ms Ping reply from 192.168.1.254 up 1ms
reset email	If the maximum number of emails sent for a node is reached, further emails for the current time period are disabled. The reset email command clears the email counts for all nodes and resumes sending emails. It also clears the email count for the nnserver startup emails. > reset email Email counts have been reset
statistics	Display statistics collected for nodes in csv format. The csv data can be imported to Excel for example using the Text Import Wizard (Highlight the data and press CTRL-C to copy it). name,key,seq,success,fail,confirm_up,confirm_down,exceptions,lock,bad_lock_count, .resolved_address,.newstate,.status Edge SW2,192.168.1.81,90208,0,90208,0,0,0,1,0,192.168.1.81,11010,TimedOut Pub SW2,192.168.1.65,90209,90005,204,3,251,0,0,0,192.168.1.65,0,Success Old SW1,192.168.2.104,90208,0,90208,0,0,0,1,0,192.168.2.104,11010,TimedOut DMZ SW1,192.168.1.142,90209,90209,0,0,6,0,0,0,192.168.1.142,0,Success DMZ SW2,192.168.1.67,90209,90209,0,0,229,0,0,0,192.168.1.67,0,Success ... Field Descriptions name - node name. key - node address. seq - This is the sequence number for the current ping to the node. success - This is a count of successful pings to the node. fail - This is a count of failed pings to the node. confirm_up -  This is a count of up retries when pinging a node. confirm_down - This a count of down retries when pinging a node. exceptions - Errors executing the ping to a node. lock - A value 1 indicates the node is currently locked for a ping and value 0 shows the node is not locked. bad_lock_count - This is a count of how many times a lock was already in place when attempting to lock a node. A non-zero value here could indicated the timing values set in the nnserver.ini file are too fast. .resolved_address - Where a DNS address is used for the node address this field shows the resolved address. .newstate - A numeric value representing the most recent state of the node. .status - Text description of the most recent state of the node.
status	Display status information for NNServer. > status Network Notepad Server version 1.0.37 rev109 beta Filename=D:\Client Features Diagram.ndg PingInterval=12s FastPingInterval=3s PingDelay=1ms Monitoring 59 nodes 4 FastPingIntervals per PingInterval Timeout=2000ms UpRetries=3 DownRetries=3 DnsLookupAllInterval=600s DnsLookupUnresolvedInterval=120s MemInterval=25m Authenticate all MasterTimer.enabled=True LogFileErrors=0 TotalSent=5068792 TotalResults=5068792
term	Switch to the terminal tab in NNServerConsole. See also log.
test email	Send a test email from NNServer.
useradd ["]<user id>["] <password> [change]	Add a user account to NNServer. Quotation marks must be included if the user id contains one or more space characters. If the optional change parameter is included the user will be prompted to enter a new password next time they login. > useradd Joe secret change User Joe added successfully.
userdel ["]<user id>["]	Remove a user account from NNServer. Quotation marks must be included if the user id contains one or more space characters. > userdel joe User joe deleted.
users	Display a list of user accounts on NNServer. > users surface ******** jason ******** console ********
version	Display the NNServer software version. > version Network Notepad Server version 1.0.37 rev109 beta
who	Display a list of users currently connected to NNServer. > who 2 users connected: console 192.168.1.146:60555 Jason 192.168.1.146:60543

Status Panel (Standalone Client)

A Status Panel app is included with Network Notepad Client. It is used to display a status panel similar to the one built in to Network Notepad client, but it runs as a standlone app.
You will find it on the Windows Start Menu under Network Notepad Client.

Making A Manual Connection To NNServer

Click the Setup button and enter the account username which will be used to connect to the NNServer.
Click the Connection Manager button to open the Connection Manager.
Enter the server ip address and port of the Network Notepad Server and click Connect.

Command Line Arguments 

The Status Panel app supports the following command line arguments

-socket <address>:<port>	Specify the IP address and port of the NNServer.
-username <user-id>	Specify a username to use when connecting to NNServer.
-inifile <file>	Read/write settings from/to a .ini file. This is useful if you want to run more than one instance of the Status Panel and use different settings for each instance. A template_statuspanel.ini file is included with the installation. If you don't specify a .ini file, settings are saved in the Registry.

Adding A Backdrop Image

Drag and drop a bitmap file (.bmp, .png, .gif or .jpg) on to the page to use as a backdrop image for your diagram.
In the Diagram Properties form, you may also specify a filename for a backdrop bitmap, and you can select whether to stretch, centre or tile the image.

Export To Bitmap Graphics File

To export a diagram as a bitmap file, from the ring menu, select File and then Export To Bitmap Graphics File. Enter a suitable filename when prompted. The following bitmap file types can be selected from drop-down list: .bmp, .gif and .png.

Export To A PDF File

To export a Network Notepad diagram or document to a searchable PDF file:

File > Export To PDF > Export Page or Export Document

Setting A Default Diagram

You may configure a default diagram to be displayed when Network Notepad is run. The default diagram is configured in the Setup Form.

Working with CSV files

Network Notepad can save to and load from .csv files which means you can use a spreadsheet to view and edit diagram files.
In the File > SaveAs and File > Open dialogs select .CSV file in the type dropdown list.

Import CSV Data

This feature lets you import a list of Objects from CSV data. Open the form from the menu option File > Import CSV Data.

Note: For cultures which use "," as a decimal separator character use ";" as the delimiter.

Paste a list of objects in the form in the following format:

Name, Address, Object Type

Example:

router1,10.1.10.1/24,routerc1
switch1,10.1.10.254/24,workgroup switch
PC1,10.1.10.2/24,pc.wmf

When you click the OK button, Network Notepad switches to paste mode and shows the outlines of the objects to be pasted

Paste the objects to complete the operation.

Transfer License To Another PC

When a licensed PC is to be replaced, the Network Notepad license can be transferred to the replacement PC using the procedure shown below. There are a couple of points to be aware of when doing this:

• Use this procedure only when a complete PC is being replaced. If you are not replacing a complete PC, such as when upgrading a CPU chip, replacing a motherboard or replacing a PC but keeping the old hard disk drive, do not use this procedure. Contact Support instead.
  
  
• It is a one-way procedure. You cannot transfer a license back to the original PC. It is possible to reactivate the license on the original PC but only with assistance from Support.
   
• As soon as you proceed with the transfer, Network Notepad will no longer be licensed and will not function the next time you try to open it.
   
• Web browser access to the Internet is required to create the replacement license file.
  
  

1. On the PC which is to be replaced, open the Network Notepad License Manager and click File > Transfer License To Another PC.

2. Click OK at the first confirmation dialog.
3. Tick the "I agree" box and click OK at the second confirmation dialog.
4. Copy the URL displayed to a PC with Internet access and browse to the URL (If you happen to close the dialog at this point, the URL will be displayed again next time you open the License Manager).
5. Fill out the online form and enter the Hardware-ID from the new PC (Run the License Manager on the new PC to display its Hardware-ID) and click Next.
6. Confirm the details on the next page.
7. Download the new PC's license file. A copy is also sent to the email address entered in to the form previously.
8. Copy the license file to the new PC and double-click the file to install it or use the License Manager menu option File > Install a License File.