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Thermoguard Report

Version 2.91

Thermoguard

TG Report
Contents
Basics
-

Overview .............................................................................................................3
Installation ..........................................................................................................4
Starting Thermoguard Report ...........................................................................6
Command Line Switches ...................................................................................7
Program Language / Logging ...........................................................................8
Path Settings ......................................................................................................9
Illustration: Example of a typical Installation Scenario ................................ 11
Choosing a Sensor .......................................................................................... 12
Save / Load a Sensor Selection ....................................................................... 13
Refresh Sensor List .......................................................................................... 14

Thermoguard Report Chart


-

Selecting a Period of Time for drawing a Chart ............................................. 15


"Calculate only (no chart)" and "Details" ...................................................... 17
The Chart Window ("Thermoguard Chart") .................................................... 19
Additional Information about the Chart Window ........................................... 23
Chart Batch Print .............................................................................................. 25
The Annotation Editor ..................................................................................... 26

Thermoguard Report Live!


-

Principle ............................................................................................................ 33
How to open a sensor's Live! Window ........................................................... 33
Running Thermoguard Report Live! ............................................................... 34
Alarm Visualization in Value Mode ................................................................. 37
Error Messages, their visualization and Causes ........................................... 38
Live! Window Sets ........................................................................................... 40
Visual Mode / Visual Designer ........................................................................ 42

Appendices
-

A1 For Administrators: Configure fixed Path Presets .................................. 45


A2 Freeware Program "allSnap" ..................................................................... 45
A3 Arithmetic Mean and Mean kinetic Temperature ..................................... 46
A4 Standard deviation ..................................................................................... 47

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Basics
Overview
Thermoguard Report (abbr. "TG Report") is used for analysis and graphic display of data values, which are continuously recorded by the Thermoguard main program.
TG Report provides three main functions:

Thermoguard Chart draws a chart over a period of time specified by the user from the
recorded values of a sensor (see cover image top right). Thermoguard Chart allows a
vast number of possibilities: Navigation, scaling, zooming, three-dimensional display
and much more. Thermoguard Charts can be printed and saved as a graphic file. An
unlimited number of Thermoguard Chart windows can be opened at the same time.
The integrated Annotation Editor provides the possibility to add annotations (comments, pictures) directly to a chart.

Thermoguard Live! displays the current ("last") value of a sensor; either as digital display (see cover image bottom right), as a continuously floating chart or as a gauge display on top of a background image ("Visual Mode", see cover image top left). Again, an
unlimited number of windows can be opened at the same time. Thermoguard Live! window sets can be saved and re-opened. As the Chart windows the Thermoguard Live!
windows can be scaled to any size; i.e. for presentation purposes.

Calculating Mean Arithmetic values and Standard Deviation of all measured units as
well as the Mean Kinetic Temperature (MKT) over any arbitrary period for temperature
data additionally.

TG Report can be used as an analysis and visualization program for employees on any workstation computers - independently of other programs of the Thermoguard family.
All that TG Report requires for access to the recorded data is read-only access to the Thermoguard installation and data directory. No write or administrative rights are required for the
Thermoguard installation and data directory.
This manual is an addition to the Thermoguard System Manual.

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Installation
Installation types
Two options are available for installing TG Report:

Local installation on the same computer where the main program (TGuard) runs; i.e. for
checking data on the part of the Thermoguard system administrator

Installation on one or more workstation computers on the network, e.g. for data
visualization through employees.
Administrators may consult the separate documentation TG Silent Installationen.pdf located in the root directory of the Thermoguard CD for command line switches
providing an unattended installation of Thermoguard Report.

TG Report gleans the information about the number of, label, location, and limits of and other
settings for the sensorcontrollers from the INI, LIC and SCX files from the Thermoguard data
directory. The recorded data (temperature, humidity or any other unit) is read by TG Report
from this directory (by default) as well (*.tg files in subdirectory \tg). TG Report requires
read access to the data directory.
For a local installation the data directory usually is
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Thermoguard Data\tg. Herein %ALLUSERSPROFILE% is a system
environment variable pointing by default to the following paths:

for Windows XP/Server 2003:


C:\Documents and Settings\All Users

for Windows Vista/Windows 7/Server 2008(R2):


C:\ProgramData

For a network installation the path to the data directory can be configured in TG Report, however.
When installing TG Report on a workstation computer on the network, the system administrator
should typically create a share of the Thermoguard data directory on the network, including
read permissions for employees.

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Executing the installation
TG Report is installed as a component of the Thermoguard Setup program (TGuard_290.exe):
TG Report is installed in the \TGReport
subdirectory of the selected installation
directory, i.e. by default in
%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Thermoguard\TGReport.
For details on the Setup program, please
refer to the Thermoguard system manual.

During the installation you can decide


whether to create a desktop shortcut.
By default this option is not checked.

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Starting Thermoguard Report
There are up to three possible ways to start TG Report:

1) Doubleclick the desktop shortcut (if option "Create desktop shortcut" selected on setup)

2) Via start menu

3) Of course also directly by running the program file


"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Thermoguard\TGReport\TGReport.exe".

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Command Line Switches
The program file TGReport.exe supports three command line parameters:
/CfgDataDir:<Directory>
Sample call:
TGReport.exe /CfgDataDir:"C:\Program Files\Thermoguard\TGReport"
This switch may specify a different than the default configuration directory (%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\TGReport Data). The TGReport.ini file is located in this path.
Notes:
This is not the configuration path of the Thermoguard main program.
If the path is invalid TG Report is aborted with an error message:

The TGReport.ini file is not yet present after a new installation. It will be created the
first time the program is terminated.

/tgl:<filename>
Sample call:
TGReport.exe /tgl:"%ALLUSERSPROFILE\TGReport Data\My windows"
A previously saved Live! windows set can be specified. This possibility is described in the section Thermoguard Report Live! in detail.
Remember to enclose paths containing spaces in quotes.
Note:
The Live! windows which were active at program termination are automatically restored on
startup. Therefore the former switch /l has become obsolete now.
/h
Hides the main window after program start automatically (if at least one Live! window was active at program termination). Hides the mouse cursor too.

All three switches can be combined; their order is not important.

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Program Language
The program language can be set to either English or German. To change it from German to
English use the menu item "Einstellungen" => "Englisch" as shown below.
In order for the change to take effect, the program must be restarted.

Logging
Menu item "Logging" activates or stops Logging for Thermoguard Report:

20 log files 2MB will be written. If the 20th file exceeds 2 MB the oldest file will be overwritten. Thus a maximum of 40MB free disk space is needed for log files. Files will be created in
the subdirectory \log of the configuration path, i.e. by default this is
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\TGReport Data\tg\log. The current log file is always named TGReport.log, the other files are named TGReport00xx.log.

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Path Settings
After starting, the TG Report Main Window opens:
Configuration and data path for accessing
the sensor configuration and data
TG Report will search the TGuard.ini file in the default
configuration path of a Thermoguard installation (%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\ Thermoguard Data) if it is installed
onto the same computer as the Thermoguard main program. It then reads the path to the *.tg files from this file.

Settings are saved to the TGReport.ini file and will be


used again on next start.

Setting the configuration and data path manually


Settings for the path to the main program's configuration
files and to the *.tg files may be set manually once by
the user, e.g. in case TG Report does not reside on the
same computer as the main program.
Use menu item "Options" => "Configure paths".

If the path to configuration data of the main program is


changed, the path to the *.tg files is read from the
TGuard.ini file which resides in the configuration path
and the path is displayed in the lower field automatically.
However, the *.tg path can be set individually too. The
input field will be enabled as soon as the checkbox "Userdefined path to *.tg files" is checked. If unchecked, immediately the *.tg path is read from the TGuard.ini file
again and set.
In the example shown on the left a read only share has
been established on the main program's configuration
directory and mapped as drive T:.
Note:
Shares ("UNC" notation) can also be used, e.g.
\\PC01\TGData. However, drive mappings usually provide better performance.

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Information about used paths
An information window displays the current paths used by TG Report. It can be called via key
or menu item "Help" => "About / Path Information":

==>

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Illustration: Example of a typical Installation Scenario

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Choosing a Sensor
In the upper area of the main window is the sensor list. You can resize the window vertically by
grabbing it at its lower border and dragging the mouse thus enlarging the sensor list as well:

The list can be sorted by Label or Location


by clicking the respective column header.
On an initial program start sort order is always reverted to "sort by Label".

If no sensor is shown in the fields "Label" or "Location", the configuration path setting might not
be correct. Please check the path settings as
described above.

Tip:
If a path's length should exceed the width of the
status bar at the bottom of the window, move the
mouse over the status bar. Then the complete
path will be shown as a tool tip.
Now you select one or more sensors in the sensor list to which you want apply the various
Thermoguard Report functions. To do so you may use the keyboard shortcuts as is standard in
Windows, e.g. CTRL+A (select all), hold CTRL and click with mouse to add an entry etc.

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Whether a certain function can be applied depend on the number of sensors selected (i.e.
highlighted) in the sensor list:
If one or more sensor are selected:
"Draw Chart" (Button) respectively "Calculate and draw chart" (context menu item)
Only if two or more sensors are selected:
"Chart Batch Print"
Only if a single sensor is selected:
"Calculate only (no chart)"
"Live!"
"Visual Designer for selected Sensor"

Save / Load a Sensor Selection


You can save the current sensor selection under a customized name and reload it later. This is
useful to quickly select a number of sensors which belong together logically - e.g. to batch print
their charts using the Chart Batch Print function.
After loading a sensor selection the associated sensor entries are highlighted in the sensor list.
Please note that Saving / loading a sensor selection does not mean, that only the saved sensors are shown in the sensor list excluding all others. The sensor is always populated with all
available sensors.
After selecting several sensors (here three sensors in the same "Room 131", click on "Save
sensor selection" in the context menu and follow the steps illustrated below:
This dialog supports
overwriting an existing selection as
well. In this case a
safety query pops up
first.

Note: A sensor selection is written to the TGReport.ini file to a section named


[*Sel-NameOfSelection].

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Loading a sensor selection is done analogously via context menu item "Load sensor selection":

Now, the three sensors located in Room 131 are


highlighted again

In case a sensor of a saved selection does not exist any longer, an appropriate warning is
shown:

Refresh Sensor List


Via Extras menu|item "Refresh sensor list" or via the corresponding last context menu item the
sensor list can be reloaded. This is mandatory to reflect any changed sensor settings by using
Thermoguard's main program, e.g. new sensors added recently or reconfigured violation limit
values of existing ones:

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Thermoguard Report Chart
Selecting a Period of Time for drawing a Chart
To draw a Chart for a selected sensor, the start and end date and time must be selected first:
Selecting the start and end date
The selection fields for the calendar date and time
("From:" and "To: ") enable limiting the period for the desired analysis accurately by seconds.

You can automatically set the current system date as the


end time. Use one of these possibilities:

Click on "To:" button (shown left)


"To:"=Current system time in Options menu
"To:"=Current system time in context menu
Keyboard shortcut "CTRL+E"

Note: If you click "To:" again, the previously entered Date


is re-established (and not the current date as with previous program versions).

Analogously "Very first data" can be selected as start date.


Use one of these possibilities:

Click on "From:" button


"From:" = Very first data in Options menu
"From:" = Very first data in context menu
Keyboard shortcut "CTRL+F"

Note: If "To:"=Current system time has been set additionally, very large amount of data may be available for
processing. In this case you should consider not to click
on "Draw Chart" directly, but execute "Calculate only (no
chart)" first to get an impression of the data count. In the
example shown left, 1,5 Mio. measurement values exist.

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If no data can be found in the data directory for the selected period, TG Report will send you a message in the status bar: "No data found within specified range" or "Nothing
to do!" (after clicking "Draw Chart").

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"Calculate only (no chart)" and "Details"
"Calculate only (no chart)"
If just a single sensor is selected you can process the
measured values for the selected period without displaying the chart window: Click "Calculate only (no chart)"
in the context menu.
The arithmetic mean ("Arithmetic Mean Temperature/Humidity or [Unit]") as well as the Standard deviation is calculated. Additionally - if the sensor's unit is Temperature the Mean Kinetic Temperature (MKT) for the selected
period is calculated and displayed.
See Appendices A3 and A4 for mathematical background.
For an accurate calculation of the mean kinetic temperature, the exact value of the activation energy H of the
monitored pharmaceutical substance, to be determined
calorimetrically, can be entered in the top area of the dialog shown left.
If the value is unknown usually a default value of 83.144
kJ/mol is used which can be set any time by clicking the
"Default" button.

For other units than Temperature (Relative Humidity or


any other unit recorded by an AC2nn device), the Mean
Kinetic Temperature cannot be calculated. Only the Arithmetic Mean and the Standard deviation are displayed.

Note:
If the sensor is configured as "Switch" or "Alarm Relay
Channel", all three output fields under "Results" are
grayed out, because the associated calculations are not
applicable.
Example for temperature data [C]

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Example for humidity data [%RH]

Example for barometric pressure [hPA]

"Details ON/OFF"
The "Details ON" or "Details OFF" button allows showing
or hiding the details for the measurements within the selected period.
-

Start/end and length of period


Number of data items, errors, low and high alarm limits as well as minimum and maximum values. The
numbers put in brackets indicate how often the lowest
or highest value occurred within the period specified.
Number of exceeded limits as well as number of triggered alarms, separated into Min/Max and Total
(=Min + Max) numbers.

The "Details ON/OFF" function is available within the


Chart window also, which is described in the next chapter.

Details ON

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The Chart Window ("Thermoguard Chart")
By clicking the "Draw Chart" button, data for the specified period is collected and the corresponding chart is displayed. This function can also be applied to several sensors. However, if
the entered time span is long and many sensors are selected the processing job can last significantly long. Therefore you can specify if a safety query shall pop up if a certain number n of
sensors is exceeded: This setting can be found under Options menu|Miscellaneous settings
(lower area of dialog):

=>

=>

In the example above, the window shown on the right is displayed if more than 5 sensors are
selected before executing "Draw Chart". Enter "0" to disable the safety query completely.
If a chart cannot be created for one or more sensors - e.g. because no data could be found for
them - you are being informed by a popup message:

For the same sensor multiple chart windows can be opened - e.g. for different periods.

Thermoguard Chart
The "Draw Chart" button lets you open a window containing a graphic display of the measured data. When opening
the chart window, all data of the selected period will be
displayed.

Vertical alignment depends on the minimum/maximum


alarm limit values set for a sensor.

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"Chart" Menu:
Printing and Saving the graphic
The "Print" item allows printing the currently displayed
graphic. You may use
+ alternatively.
The size of the printed graphic depends on the currently
set window dimensions. In order to achieve maximum
print quality you therefore should maximize the window
before printing.

Via the Chart menu you can invoke the Annotation Editor (or
directly by pressing
+ ). See separate chapter.

The "Save as PNG" (


+ ) item allows saving the currently displayed graphic in "Portable Network Graphics
PNG" format for usage with other programs.
Possibly displayed details (via "View" menu => Details
on/off) are printed (respectively saved to file), too. The
window frame will be ignored though.
"Save as PNG (only inner area)" saves the area within the
x and y axis only excluding the scale labels. This may be
useful when combining to charts using the Annotation
Editor.
Notice that the size of the saved graphic depends on the
currently set window dimensions.
"Save as PDF" creates a PDF file. Here again the saved
size depends on the current window size.

"Options" Menu:
"Dateformat ..." items: Toggles the date format which is
used for labeling the chart's time axis.
"Hide/Show main window" allows to fade out the main
window in case it is not needed or "disturbing" (e.g. when
a permanent control scenario using several Thermoguard
Live! windows at the same time is active).

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"Options" Menu continued
"X axis: First/last value found"
or
"X axis: Force period entered in main window"
When selecting the second of these options the output
only differs compared to the first if no data had been recorded for the sensor at the beginning and/or at the end of
the period selected in the main window. In this case the
affected period is left "blank".
The following sample illustrates the result:

The selected Start Date is November 11, 2001.


However, the first available value has been recorded not
before November 20, 2001.
Using option
"X axis: First/last value found"
the display period starts with the Date of the first measured value. The resulting chart looks as shown left.

Using option
"X axis: Force period entered in main window "
the complete period as selected in the main window is
displayed including dates with no data. I.e. the "empty"
period from November 11 until November 20 is also
shown as blank space at the beginning of the chart when
the window opens.
Now, the resulting chart looks as shown left.

Selecting this option makes sense if you want to compare


charts for different sensors and for one of them no data is
available at the start or end of the desired display period.
A "manual" adjustment would be very inconvenient here.
Note that the setting of this X axis option also affects the
"Reset chart display" function of the "View" menu.

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"View" Menu:
"Show High/Low limit lines" allows hiding the red and blue
high and low alarm limit lines.
Always the alarm limits currently set in the Thermoguard
main program are displayed.
The "Show Details " item (or the
key) allows showing or
hiding measurement details within the selected period as
in the main window.

Chart window using 3D mode and details

Key F4 increases the line width, F3 decreases it.

"Y-Range: smallest/largest value": By pressing the ENTER


key, the y-axis is adjusted to the smallest and largest y
values present in the current section.
"Y-Range: High/Low limit lines": By pressing Shift+ENTER, the y-axis scaling is based on the the values of the
alarm limit lines.
"Y-Range: set own range": By pressing Alt key+ENTER a
dialog popups up where you can set fixed min and max yvalues. This can be useful when combining two charts
with the annotation editor. The values are saved sensor
specifically if the Save Chart settings sensor specific
option is selected (main window, Options menu).

F5 sets one of 8 preset colors for the line color.


F6 opens a dialog where you can pick any color. However, "Reset chart display": The SPACE bar restores the display
if the selected color is "too yellowish" (reserved for FAIL) used on initially opening the chart window.
or to bright, an error message is displayed. Then, you
must select a different color.
All other items are self-explanatory.

"Help" Menu:
Thermoguard Chart Window Command Reference
Opens a table containing all mouse and keyboard shortcuts for customizing and modifying the graphic display.
We recommend that you try all listed key and mouse options to get a feeling for the optimum "navigation"/view of
the displayed graphic.
Additionally, functions for variable scaling of the x- and yaxis and for zooming in and zooming out are available.
(Image cropped)

Most important mouse functions:


Hold the left mouse button while moving the mouse to move the window contents horizontally or vertically.
Hold the right mouse button to select a frame to enlarge ("Zoom").

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Additional Information about the Chart Window

You can open as many Chart windows as you want; even for the same sensor.

Chart settings can be saved individually for each sensor. The menu item of the "Options" menu of the
main window is shown below:

If the option is not set, the settings from the last Chart windows closed are stored in the configuration file TGReport.ini under the section [TfrmChart] and are re-used next time, when any Chart window is opened
again.
If the option is set, the settings are stored for each sensor individually in a section [sensor label].
Please note the importance of this setting for batch printing several charts for different sensors (next chapter).

Display of missing data:

Missing data are represented by a


continuous line and may not be
recognized easily, as shown in the
example!

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Display if a sensor is configured as "Switch" or "Alarm Relay Channel"

A sensor used with the "Switch" or


"Alarm Relay Channel R1/R2" function shows a special On/Off chart
(these functions are described in the
Thermoguard System Manual).
Line color for "FAIL":
Data lines with the entry FAIL instead of real values are represented
with a yellow line from the last real
data point before to the next real
data point.

Displaying High/Low limit lines depending on measurement period:


Starting from version 2.90 the Thermoguard main program adds the High/Low limit values to every data value
line in the *.tg file of a sensor. This enables Thermoguard Report to draw the limit lines which were set in the
respective measurement period. Before version 2.90, the currently set limit values were displayed for any time
period - regardless if different values had been set for a certain time in the past. Here is an example where
the limits were changed a couple of times:

In this example version 2.90 was used from the marked date (2013-12-30, 3PM). For earlier data with lacking
*.tg information about the limits, the current limits are used (here 0 And +9 C). If several limits exist in the
reporting period, the labeling in the "Details" section changes from "Low Limit" to "Lowest Limit" (main window
also). If option " Y-Range: High/Low limit lines" is selected, the y scaling adapts to these "Lowest and Highest"
limits as well (here 0 and +15 C).
Note: Live!Chart window does not support this "Multi limit value display" feature.

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Chart Batch Print
Chart Batch Print provides printing out several sensor charts "in a row" without the need to manually perform the
steps [click on "Draw Chart"] => [Press CTRL+P] => [Confirm Printer dialog] repeatedly for each sensor.
The function can be executed as soon as more than one sensor is selected in the sensor list. It can be started by
one of the following ways:

Via Extras menu|Chart Batch Print or


Via context menu| Chart Batch Print or
Keyboard shortcut CTRL+P

First, an option dialog pops up. The text printed in red depends on the current setting of the "Save Chart settings
sensor specific" option:

OR
Please notice the implications of the red statement for your batch print job.
"Save as PNG" creates png files in the TG Report data directory instead of sending the charts to a printer. The
functionality is the same as "Save as PNG" in the Chart menu of the chart window.
"Confirmation after first printout (recommended) " provides a possibility to check the first copy of your printouts
and only to continue if everything is satisfying.
"Maximize chart window before printout (recommended) " maximizes the window before printout in order to
achieve the maximum quality.
The last option "Y-Range..." simulates pressing the enter key after opening the chart window manually.
After clicking "OK" you may select your preferred printer in the printer dialog finally.
As with clicking "Draw Chart" an informative message pops up, if one or more charts could not be created, see
here.

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The Annotation Editor
An "Annotation" is a graphical note which can be added to a Thermoguard chart and printed out or saved together
with the chart. An annotation can be used to emphasize certain areas of a chart or to comment values violating
the set limits exceptionally.
By adding a transparent annotation of type "image" it is even possible to superimpose two different value curves.

Example of commenting a chart using the


Annotation Editor.
Here, three annotations of type "Note", "Image"
and "Rectangle" were added.

Starting the Annotation Editor:


The Annotation Editor is invoked via the Thermoguard chart window's "Chart" menu. Alternatively you may use keyboard shortcut
+
directly.
As for printing and saving a chart the following
applies:
The size of the annotated graphic depends on
the currently set window dimensions.
In order to achieve maximum quality of the resulting graphic (respectively its printout) you
therefore should maximize the window before
annotating the chart.

The Annotation Editor receives the current section of a chart as a static "snapshot" from the chart window. This
means that after invoking the Annotation Editor the functionality of the chart window (e.g. shifting or zooming the
curve) is no longer available. Thus, carefully set all desired characteristics of the chart to be annotated before
entering the Annotation Editor Mode.

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Basic Annotation Editor behavior:
You can add as many annotations as you want to a chart graphic. As long as you do not save the annotated
chart, you are able to edit any of the annotations (e.g. move it, change its dimension or other properties or delete
it).
On saving the annotated chart, all annotations are "burned" into the graphic and can no longer be edited afterwards!
However, you may add further annotations after saving the graphic in addition to the already "burned in" annotations.

Adding an annotation:
There are 5 different types of annotations
which may be selected via the "Annotate"
menu or directly using the corresponding keyboard shortcuts (see screenshot shown on the
left):

Note
Text
Rectangle
Line
Image

An annotation (here of type Note) will always


be positioned in the upper left corner of the
chart and can be moved after being inserted.
To move the annotation either use the mouse
(click the annotation and hold the left mouse
button while moving the mouse) or alternatively
by pressing the cursor keys (Shift key+cursor
key for faster movement).
By dragging the annotation at its markers its
size can be changed.

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Editing an annotation's properties:
Always, first click the annotation you want to
edit (=> the "markers" show up).
Then, choose one of the following three alternative possibilities to enter the properties dialog:
The "Annotate" menu shows two additional
items "Properties" and "Delete". Select
"Properties".
or
Right click the marked annotation and select "Properties" from the context menu
(this method is shown on the left).
or
Just press the "Enter" key.

Annotation of type "Image":


After clicking "Load" you can select any graphics file and add it to your chart. A typical scenario is to add your company logo.
In the directory
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\TGReport Data\img the

installation provides 8 different red arrows


which may be used for image annotations as
well (shown on the left).

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Notes on printing out the annotated
graphic:
In most cases the printer's page orientation
setting should be set to "Landscape" before
starting the printout (see screenshot shown on
the left).
Before printing out an annotated chart it is not
mandatory to save it first. However pay attention to the fact, that the markers of a selected
annotation will be included in the printout. To
prevent this click shortly on the background to
revoke the selection-markers before printout.

Reset default properties for all annotation types ("Annotate" menu):


All properties (except the position) of an annotation type are saved to the configuration file TGReport.ini in section [TfrmAnnoProp] and are re-applied after terminating and restarting the program.
Via menu item "Reset default properties for all annotation types" this [TfrmAnnoProp] section will be deleted from
the configuration file completely. Annotation type's factory settings will be set on adding an annotation after this
function has been executed.

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Combining two charts:
You may use the " Annotation Editor" to superimpose (combine, overlay) two (or even more) chart curves. The
following step-by-step instructions will show how you would typically achieve this objective:
Example: The temperature from January, 1st 2013 to February, 10th 2013 is to be combined with the temperature
of the same period of 2014 (same sensor).
1. Main window: Setting the desired period of time for 2013:

2. Click "Draw Chart" and maximize the chart window


3. Select "X axis: Force period entered in main window" from the chart's Options menu
4. Select "Y-Range: set own range" from the chart's View menu and choose an appropriate y-range;
here -5.5C and +14.5C:

5. Modify line width and line color if necessary


6. Chart menu: "Save as PNG (only inner area)"; e.g. as "2013.png"; the 2013 chart can be closed now
7. Now create the 2014 chart; modify period:

8. Click "Draw Chart" and maximize the chart window

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9. Modify line width and line color if necessary (here: changed to blue)
10. Again: "X axis: Force period entered in main window" from the chart's Options menu.
In our example, there are not yet any February 2014 data. The "X axis: Force period ..." option ensures that
the 2014 chart displays the same period as the 2013 chart.
11. Set the same y range (again -5.5C and +14.5C)
12. Hide the High/Low limit lines - the easiest way to do this is by pressing the "l"-key (lower "L")
13. Now, call the " Annotation Editor":

14. Set "Original size" in "View" menu


15. "Annotate menu" => "Add Image"
16. "Annotation Properties" => "Load" Button => Load the previously saved graphics "2013.png":

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17. Shift the image so that the x and y axes fit perfectly. For the final, fine adjustment you should use the cursor
keys!
18. Now you may add further annotations. In the example a legend was added as two annotations of the "Text"
type providing an explanatory text for both curves:

19. Finally, save the combined chart (e.g. as "2013vs2014.png"). The changes are made permanent then. However you can reload "2013vs2014.png" in Annotation Editor's "File|Open" menu item at any time later to add
some more annotations (e.g. a third curve).

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TG Report
Thermoguard Report Live!
Principle
The Thermoguard main program collects and stores all sensor data automatically, whereas
TG Report is able to calculate and show them with the Live! function near real time.
A TG Report Live! window reads all 1.5 seconds the last measured value from the last *.tg
file and shows it as free scalable digital display, as a continuously drawn chart or as a gauge
type "visualization".
Several TG Report Live! windows can be
opened and arranged at the same time:

The windows size depends only on the display size and resolution:

TG Live! windows set for 4 different sensors


TG Live! shown on a Plasma display

Some examples that show the usage of Thermoguard Report Live! windows are shown in our
homepage's gallery

How to open a sensor's Live! Window


A Live! window can only be opened for one selected single sensor. Here are the possibilities:

Double clicking directly on a sensor list's entry (in case several sensors are highlighted
before click, the current multiselection is revoked by the double click).
Pressing the Enter key (only one single sensor may be highlighted)
Via Extras menu|Live!
Via context menu|Live!

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Running Thermoguard Live!
Thermoguard Live! Value and Chart
Three register cards can be selected: Value, Chart and
Visual (if configured, described later in a separate chapter). Value shows the recorded data as numeric value,
while Chart opens a separate window with a continuously
drawn chart. The displayed period can be user defined
from 1..24 hours (see further below).
Several Value, Chart and Visual windows for several sensors can be opened and arranged on screen at the same
time.

Live! Options for Value Mode


A click with the right mouse button within the Live! Value
window shows the Options menu:
-

"VALUE|CHART|VISUAL": These items provide switching between the Live! display modes - especially if
the tabs are faded out (see next item)

"Show tabs ": The tabs may be faded out to achieve


a more compact, clear display. Eventually you must
adjust the vertical height afterwards.

"Show last *.tg file ": Opens the last saved file with
the sensor data

"LCD Mode": Shows either a window using LCD


style or a proportional font style. The latter ("NonLCD Mode") shows the physical unit and sign ("+")
too, if appropriate.

"Color set selection ": Allows the selection of at least


seven different "Color Sets" for showing the LCD
window.

"Magnetic snap at screen edges": Switches the "Border Snap" function On and Off.

"Show info in title bar": Shows or hides the current


Date and the physical unit of the data shown at the
upper border of the window (in the example shown
this option is unchecked so info is hidden).

"Date format ...": Toggles between European and


U.S. format of Date in the title border. Not available
in the example shown left, because "Info in title bar"
is set off

Context menu for "Value" mode

The "Non-LCD Mode" includes the unit

Color set selection dialog

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Live! Options for Value Mode (continued)
-

"Sensor Info": Shows information for the selected


senor and its settings in a separate window

"Minimum Size": Minimizes the window to the smallest supported size

"Hide/Show main window": Hides or restores the


TG Report main window

"Hide|Show mouse cursor": If running TG Report


with the /h parameter or if the main window has
been faded out (using the previously described
menu item) the mouse cursor is hidden. In this case
it can be restored via menu item "Show mouse cursor". If the mouse is hidden, it only vanishes in the
areas of those windows belonging to TG Report; as
you move the mouse cursor across the screen it
becomes visible in all other screen areas.

"Visual Designer for this sensor": A "shortcut" for


starting the "Visual Designer" (compared to starting it
via the main window), see separate chapter

"Autosave window as PNG ": If this item is checked,


every time the contents of the Live! window
changes, a *.png graphic file of the whole Live! window will be saved automatically to the Thermoguard
Report configuration path.
This is by default %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\ TGReport Data. The scheme for the filename is:

Context menu for "Value" Mode, continued

TGLive_[Label]__[Location]__[Mode]_w.png

Here, [Mode] is = "std" for Non-LCD Mode, "lcd" for


LCD Mode, "crt".for Chart Mode and "vis" for Visual
Mode. Special characters, spaces and characters
which are invalid for filenames are replaced by "_".
So there will be no problems when uploading the
files to a (UNIX) web server.
-

Sensor information window

"Autosave display as PNG": As before, but just the


display without the surrounding window frame is
saved. Filename scheme's suffix is "d" instead of
"w":
TGLive_[Name]__[Location]__[mode]_d.png
The saved files may be uploaded to a website on a
regular basis using a FTP scheduler program. If implementing such a scenario, remember to set the
dimensions within the HTML code of the website to
the exact ones of the according Live! windows.

A Tooltip reveals basic data of the sensor, here


shown upon a Live! window with faded tabs

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TG Report
Live! Options for Chart Mode
A click with the right mouse button within the Chart window shows the Options menu. Four additional items are
enabled which are not available in Value mode:
-

"Show High/Low limit lines": Show or hide high (red)


and low (blue) limit value lines
"Show limit values": Shows or hide the numerical
values of the upper and lower limit.
"Show Grid": Show or hide grid lines.
"Show Low/High: In the status bar at the bottom of
the window the Lowest and Highest value of the currently displayed period are shown ("Peaks") using
the format L:[Value] H:[Value]; an example:

"L:" means "Low", "H:" means "High"

Context menu for "Chart" mode

Option for the Live! Chart Mode in the


TG Report Main Window
-

"Options" menu:
Set Live! Chart display period":
Sets the time interval of the Live! Chart Display between 1 and 24 hours. Default setting is 12 hours.
A new setting takes effect for all new Live! windows.

Period = 1 hour

Period = 24 hours

Edit Live! Color set in Thermoguard Report's


Main window
-

Thermoguard

Extras menu|"Edit Live! Color set":


Any of the seven predefined color sets can individually altered here. Background as well as the Font
color can be set to a customized color.

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TG Report
Alarm Visualization in Value Mode
Alarms Colors
(here using color set #1)
TG Report Live! shows current violations of the lower or
upper limits with different colors.
A simple violation of the lower or upper limit without matching the alarm trials counter is shown as "pre alarm" in
yellow color.
Matching the alarm trials counter with the next violation of
the lower or upper limit will be shown in blue or red color.
The next value between the lower and upper limit (i.e.
within the "valid range") will be shown in white color again.
If the value for alarm trials is set to "0", any value exceeding the lower or upper limit will be shown immediately in
blue or red color.

TG Report Live! accumulates no alarm states. The digital display shows always the last value
and its status color. If the status color is normal (again), the display gives no information if,
when and why an alarm might have occurred!

How Thermoguard Live! alarm colors are assigned to Thermoguard alarm states
TG Live! does not use the sensor limit settings from the TGuard.scx file. Instead, the information from the corresponding sensor's *.tg file are used solely.
Examples:
*.tg file
07.06.2008
07.06.2008
07.06.2008
07.06.2008
07.06.2008
07.06.2008
07.06.2008
07.06.2008
07.06.2008

08:30:00
09:00:00
09:30:00
10:00:00
10:30:00
11:00:00
11:30:00
12:00:00
12:30:00

-21.3
-21.4
-5.8
-10.2
-11.9
-12.6
-13.2
-31.0
-31.2

1/1+
2/1+ A+
1/1+
1/12/1- A-

TGLive! Display:
white
white
yellow
red
yellow
white
white
yellow
blue

If no trial is configured for a sensor (sensor configuration in the main program), TG Live! will
never show a window with yellow background for this sensor in Value mode.

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TG Report
Error Messages, their visualization and Causes

Thermoguard

Error "- - - -":


No data could be read
Possible reasons:
* There are no data for this sensor polled and stored
until now (no *.tg file exists for this sensor yet)
* File access denied (*.tg file is locked)
* An empty line at the end of the corresponding *.tg
file.
In the window headline "----" will blink in red color,
when this error message occurs. Blinking will even
occur, when the option "Show info in title bar" is
disabled.
In Chart mode, the background shows a yellow-red
blinking gradient.

Error " Old":


The value is outdated
Reason: The difference between the values time and
date and current system time and date exceeds the
polling time interval. This error message can only
occur, when the polling interval is set to "Every n
minutes"!
Date and time in the window headline will blink in red
color, when this error message occurs. Blinking will
even occur, when the option "Show info in title bar"
is disabled.
In Chart mode, the background shows a whiteyellow blinking gradient.

Error "dErr":
Data are not complete or faulty (Data Error)
Possible reasons:
Data are manipulated intentionally or by mistake; or
there might be read/write errors. E.g.: There must be
at least one tab character within any line of a *.tg file.
Missing this tab character will cause a Data Error.
In the window headline "derr" will blink in red color,
when this error message occurs. Blinking will even
occur, when the option "Show info in title bar" is disabled.
In Chart mode, the background shows a white-red
blinking gradient.

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TG Report

Thermoguard

Error "dcEr":
Decryption error during decoding the encrypted data
Possible reason:
Data are manipulated intentionally.
In the window headline "dcerr" will blink in red color,
when this error message occurs. Blinking will even
occur, when the option "Show info in title bar" is disabled.
In Chart mode, the background shows a white-red
blinking gradient.

Error "FAIL":
No value could be polled for this sensor ("Alarm on
Fail")
Possible reasons:
There might be a network or power failure, license
error etc. For more reasons, please see the Thermoguard System Manual.
You may press F5 to load the corresponding *.tg file
into your text editor; then take a look at the last entry
to get more detailed information, e.g. "FAIL (NO
DATA received)".
No special visualization in Chart Mode, but note
these paragraphs: Display of missing data and Line
color for "FAIL".

Error "SimErr":
Error in simulation mode
Possible reasons:
The simulation file could not be found or contains an
invalid line (see Thermoguard System Manual).
No special visualization in Chart Mode, but note
these paragraphs: Display of missing data.

Error "NoSens":
Sensor missing.
Possible reasons:
Sensor missing, cable disrupted etc.
No special visualization in Chart Mode, but note
these paragraphs: Display of missing data.

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TG Report
Live! Window Sets
Autosave of the last settings per Sensor to TGReport.ini
All Live! window settings of an individual sensor are stored in a separate section of the file
TGReport.ini when closing. These settings are re-used, when this sensor windows is opened
next time. Sample sections from TGReport.ini:
[Temperatur-LIVE!]
Settings=268,329,203,89,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,1,1,351,215,283,145
[Humidity-LIVE!]
Settings=150,200,283,145,1,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,1,1,283,145,283,145
Autosave of the last window configuration when closing TG Report to TGReport.tgl
When closing TG Report, the last active Live! window setting is always saved in the file TGReport.tgl. If the file exists it will be overwritten.
The TGReport.tgl file is always read at program start; therefore the last active configuration
will be restored.
If there is no Live! window when closing the program, no TGReport.tgl file at all will be created (no one with a size of 0 byte either).
The settings of all Live! windows are stored in a *.tgl file - i.e. even settings for multiple windows for the very same sensor. Sample lines from a *.tgl file:
Temperature,202,285,283,145,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,1,1,273,180,200,780
Temperature,202,0,283,145,1,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,1,1,314,190,200,780
Humidity,386,284,283,145,1,1,1,1,1,0,1,1,1,0,0,1,1,311,208,283,145
Humidity,388,0,283,100,1,0,0,1,1,0,1,1,1,0,0,1,1,311,173,283,145
In this example for each of the two sensors a value as well as a chart window were opened.

It should be noted here that the extremely helpful recommended utility allSnap makes the
arrangement of Live! windows a child's play!

=>

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TG Report
Saving and loading of complete window sets with a dedicated name
Using the menu options "Save/Load Thermoguard Live! window set" of the TG Report main
window, all current Live! windows and their settings can be saved and loaded using a dedicated name of your choice:

If a Live! window set is to be opened and one or more Live! windows are already active, a request for closing of these windows will show up.
If you do not close the existing windows while loading the very same set again, the windows
are stacked exactly on top of each other!
The number of actual opened windows is shown in the button for closing all charts in the main
window:

The shown number refers to all opened TG Report windows; including all Live! and all static
Chart windows.
Using the command line switch /tgl:<Filename>, a previously saved *.tgl file is opened
automatically (possibly via a desktop shortcut). Example:
"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Thermoguard\TGReport\TGReport.exe" /tgl:ClimChambers

If no file extension is entered, .tgl is set automatically.


If not path is entered (like in the example above), the default path %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\TGReport Data is set automatically. If the *.tgl file should reside in a different path,
the path can be included in the parameter after /tgl:.
When one or more sensors defined in a *.tgl file no longer exist the following type of warning
message is displayed:

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TG Report
Visual Mode / Visual Designer
Thermoguard Report Live! Visual Mode provides the possibility to visualize the measured
value as a bar graph combined with any background graphics picture of your choice. The
gauge height reflects the current value; Examples:

16 Live! windows visualize gas pressure level in 8


gas cylinders

As background image you can select an artificial graphics scheme or - as with the bathtub
thermometer below - a "real" photograph. Up to three sections can be defined each showing a
different (also customizable) color:
Operational Principle:
All parameters of a visualization are saved in a
*.vis text file, e.g. which background image to
use etc. When opening a Live! window, TG
Report looks if such a file "sensorname.vis"
exits and if so, the "Visual" tab is shown:
After clicking on the
"Visual" tab, the display
changes
into
your
visualization and all tabs
are faded out as they would disturb the "look".
In "Visual" Mode you should disable the
"Show info in title bar" option for the same
reason. If you want to switch back again to
"Value" or "Chart" mode, right click the graphic
to open the context menu; then click either
"VALUE" or "CHART".
3 different colors are supported
Switch back to one of the other Live! display
modes via the context menu

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*.vis files are located in the \vis subfolder of Thermoguard main program's configuration
directory, so this is by default %ProgramData%\Thermoguard Data\vis.
The background images are in the subfolder %ProgramData%\Thermoguard
Data\vis\img.
Due to this central storage principle, any Thermoguard Report Client on workstations in the
network can access the data without maintaining local copies themselves.
Beginning with setup TGuard_270.exe some sample template *.vis files and their associated
background images are installed as part of the "main program" component (not as part of TG
Report). Therefore, if you want to take advantage of the new Visual Mode, you should not only
update Thermoguard Report clients, but also the main program on your Thermoguard server if
you are updating from a version earlier than version 2.70.
Be aware that your own custom background images must be copied to the \vis\img folder mentioned above as well.
Visual Designer
Now, how to create your own *.vis files? They are easily designed using the "Visual Designer"
utility. The Visual Designer is started via the TG Report main window or directly via a Live!
window. Via main window: Assure that only one single sensor is selected. Now, you can start
the program using one of these possibilities:
Via Extras menu|"Visual Designer for selected sensor"
or
Via context menu|"Visual Designer for selected sensor" or
Using keyboard shortcut CTRL+V
Alternatively via Live! window:
Via context menu|"Visual Designer for this sensor" or
The "d" Key
The Visual Designer is an own executable program (TGReportVisDesigner.exe); if it is
already running, a warning message is shown.
If a vis file already exists for a sensor, the corresponding window showing the visualization
shows up. If not, the following query pops up:

If you confirm, Visual Designer is started:

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TG Report

For a first time vis file a standard thermometer background image of size 99x400 pixel and a
scale from -30 to +50 C is loaded. In the session shown above, this default background image
has been replaced with the (also preinstalled) larger 149x600 pixel version. Then the width of
the bar has been increased and the bar set to "transparent" (therefore the grey background
color setting is of no meaning). Designer functions are intuitive and self-explanatory. By using
the "Test value" slider you can check if the bar "hits" the desired marks of the scale. Fine tuning can be done by adjusting the "Min:" and "Max:" values.
Important:
A vis file is not "connected" to the sensor settings which are maintained using the Thermoguard main program. Especially the lower and upper border settings for dividing the color
"fields" of the visualization are not synchronized in any way with the sensor's alarm limit
values. If you change these settings in the main program you must readjust them with Visual
Designer.
Tip for (first time) positioning of the bar (named "gauge" in the Designer): Using the four blue
arrows of the "cross control" you change either the size or the position of the bar - depending
on the setting Mode(Position|Size). Instead of clicking either Position or Size you can click the
symbol in the middle of the cross. Depending on the active mode it changes its shape appropriately.
For a coarse positioning/sizing of the bar, you may enter values directly in their input fields.
If you click an arrow "key" and hold the mouse down, the changes are applied continuously.

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A1: For Administrators: Configure fixed Path Presets
There is the possibility for an administrator to preset fixed TG Report paths by creating the following registry entries manually:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Thermoguard\TGReport\FixedPaths]
CfgDataDirTGReport=[Path]
CfgDataDirTGMain =[Path]
TgPath
=[Path]

In the example shown below, the TG Report configuration path is the default setting (here for
Windows Vista) whereas the configuration path of the main program as well as the *.tg path
had been set to a network drive T:, which is mapped to a read-only network share:

A standard user can not alter this paths, because:


He has no write access to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
The menu item "Options" => "Configure paths" is not present any longer
The command line switch /CfgDataDir:<Directory> has no effect.
Setting fixed paths prevents data manipulation or the possibility that a user alters the important
base path settings for TG Report intentionally or unintentionally.
Note that the option to display all current path setting using "Help" menu => "About / Path Information" is not suppressed.

A2: Freeware Program "allSnap"


The option "Magnetic snap at screen edges" for a TG Report Live! window drags the window to
the screens edge. However, if several Live! windows are open it often is desirable that the windows will snap to each other as they are aligned as well.
Such a feature is provided by the free software "allSnap", which can be downloaded here:
http://www.allsnap.org/
It is also located on the Thermoguard CD in directory \Weitere Software\allSnap.

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TG Report
A3: Arithmetic and Mean kinetic Temperature
The arithmetic mean temperature in an observation period is a simple measure for thermal
pressure on stored products. The durability of a product is directly dependent on the thermal
pressure.
Like most chemical processes, the speed of aging processes in organic matter such as foodstuff or pharmaceuticals is not linear in line with the temperature, though, but follows an exponential function. Higher temperatures in a particular period have an exponentially over-proportional influence on lower temperature during the same period.
Even short-term rise in temperature, which may be due to technical disruptions, must therefore
not be neglected, and cannot be offset against the corresponding lower temperature within the
same period of time.
When calculating the "mean temperature", the higher temperatures must be weighed exponentially. Given this insight, as early as 1971, J. D. Haynes deduced a "mean kinetic temperature" from the gas equation by S. Arrhenius under the title "Worldwide Virtual Temperatures for
Product Stability Testing" (Sci. Vol. 60, 927- 929, June 1971).
Today MKT is defined by the United States Pharmacopoeia USP in the chapter on "pharmaceutical dosage forms" as "single calculated temperature at which the total amount of degradation over a particular period is equal to the sum of the individual degradations that would
occur at various temperatures".
So MKT is a degraded temperature that would expose a chemical compound to the same
thermal pressure as a series of higher and lower temperatures. In technical notation, the formula for calculating the mean kinetic temperature for a particular chemical compound or pharmaceutical substance of a product is:
MKT = (-H/R)/ln{(SUM(exp(-H/RTn))))/n}
or, in algebraic notation:

MKT

H
R

n RTH
e

ln i 1

The abbreviations have the following meaning:


MKT
H
R

Thermoguard

Mean Kinetic Temperature, calculated as the absolute temperature in Kelvin


Activation energy of the chemical compound or the pharmaceutical substance, in
kJ/mol
Universal gas constant (0,0083144 kJ/molK)

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TG Report
Tn
SUM
n
ln
exp

Absolute temperature during period n, measured in Kelvin


Sum for n periods
Total number of all measured absolute temperature values over the observation
period of i=1 to n
Natural logarithm
Exponential function for basis e (2,71828)

The activation energy of a chemical compound can be determined in exact terms by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). For many pharmaceutical substances, this is in the 42-125
kJ/mol range. For simplicity's sake, though, the activation energy is frequently not determined
but defined as equal to a mean value of 83.144 kJ/mol.
In regular storage conditions without fluctuations or extreme temperatures, the arithmetic mean
temperature and the mean kinetic temperature match. Thus using a mean value of 83.144
kJ/mol for activation energy is enough for comparing both values for estimating the influence of
peak temperatures.

A4: Standard deviation


Thermoguard Report estimates the standard deviation based on a sample (ignoring "values"
which do not represent regular values - like "error" etc.).
It equals the Microsoft Excel function STDEV.S (Excel 2010, former versions = STDEVS).
A result is not displayed if there is only one single value in the selected time period.
The following formula is used:

where x is the sample arithmetic mean temperature (displayed in the first output field of the
"Results"-frame) of the values and n is the "sample size" (i.e. the number of regular values
which were measured in the selected time period).

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