How does the Fusion Digital Power Designer GUI associate a project file when connecting to a previously configured Digital Controller (UCD92xx)?

This may be non intuitive, but Fusion Digital Power Designer is not loading a project file in online mode. It is loading its own mini-project for each unique part/address pair it has worked with (for example, a UCD9240 @ address 126). This mini-project data -– design tool data such as your circuit design and compensation settings and sequencing simulation prefs -– are stored in the user’s prefs database. This is the file C:\Program Files\Texas Instruments Fusion Digital Power Designer\data\prefs.xml if you are curious.

Say you do this:

• Connect to device in online mode
• Jump to the design task
• Notice there is no design, so you import a project file
• This loads design data from the project file into the design tool. You see your power stage circuit and comensation inputs.
• Tweak the design
• Write out your change to the device
• Quit GUI

YOUR ORIGINAL PROJECT FILE WAS NOT UPDATED IN THIS CASE. The GUI saved your design data to the global prefs file, and tied it to the device you were working with (UCD9240 @ 126 in this example).

If you later start the GUI again, it loads the device config from “live” device and uses the cached design for the part/address it saved above. This is not in a project file, just user prefs.

So you need to save out your changes in online mode to your project file to ensure you can move these to other PCs, work with them offline, etc. You don't necissarily need to do this every time you quit the GUI, but if you have made changes to the design tool and are happy with your changes, I'd recommend saving these changes to a project file for future use in offline mode, archival purposes, etc.

 -Mike