Keywords
Keywords, also referred to as headers, are instructions recognized by the instrument. Common
commands are also keywords.
OUTPut is a root keyword, STATe, COUPling, and PROTection are second-level keywords, and CLEar
are third-level keywords. Colons ( : ) separate the keyword levels.
The command syntax shows most commands (and some parameters) as a mixture of upper- and
lower-case letters. The upper-case letters indicate the abbreviated spelling for the command. For
shorter program lines, you can send the abbreviated form. For better readability, send the long form.
In the above examples, OUTP and OUTPUT are both acceptable. You can use upper- or lower-case
letters. Therefore, OUTPUT, outp, and OuTp are all acceptable. Other forms, such as OUT, will
generate an error.
Queries
Following a keyword with a question mark ( ? ) turns it into a query (Example: VOLTage?,
VOLTage:TRIGgered?). If a query contains parameters, place the question mark after the last keyword,
before the parameters. Insert a space between the question mark and the first parameter.
You can query the value of most parameters. For example, to query the output voltage, send:
VOLTage?
You can also query the minimum or maximum allowable voltage:
VOLTage? MIN
VOLTage? MAX
Wait for all of the results of a query to be returned before sending another command or query.
Otherwise, a Query Interrupted error will occur and the unreturned data will be lost.
Command Separators and Terminators
Separators
Colons ( : ) separate keyword levels. Blank spaces separate command parameters from their
corresponding keyword. If a command requires more than one parameter, a comma separates
parameters. In the following example, the frequency (100), low frequency limit (90), and high frequency
limit (110) are separated by commas. Note the space after the word FREQuency.
FREQuency 100,90,110
Semicolons ( ; ) separate commands within the same subsystem. This lets you send several subsystem
commands within the same message string. For example, the following command:
FREQuency 100,90,110;MODE FIXed
Keysight AC6800B Series Operating and Service Guide
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