Crestron's Toolbox software is vital to being able to startup any Crestron lighting control job. The intent of this article is to familiarize a new lighting control tech with the very basics of the various Tools available within the Crestron Toolbox software; detailed information can be access anytime from within Toolbox by pressing the F1 function key to open the Crestron Toolbox Help Menu. If a tool window is the active window, pressing F1 will open the Crestron Toolbox Help Menu to the specific page for that tool. 

Initial Toolbox Configuration

When you first open Toolbox, there are several settings and preferences that Chief Integrations recommends making:

• From the list of options at the top, navigate to "File>Preferences..."
  • For "Load Workspace on startup?" select "None"
  • For "Save Workspace on exit?" select "Never"
  • For "Automatically Connect to:" select "Nothing"
• From the list of options at the top, navigate to "Tools>Manage Tools..."
  • We recommend selecting the most commonly used tools and familiarizing yourself with their icons:
    • System Info
    • Text Console
    • SIMPL Debugger
    • Script Manager
    • Package Update Tool
    • Network Device Tree View
    • File Manager
    • Device Discovery Tool
    • DALI Commissioning Tool
    • Network Analyzer
  • Once checked, these icons appear as shortcuts below the "File/View/Tools/etc." menus

Connecting to Devices

In order to connect to any lighting devices, your computer must be physically connected to the lighting device or the lighting network. Typically, this is achieved via TCP (i.e. Ethernet or WiFi) or USB (usually a USB-A to USB-B cable), though some older devices may require an RS-232 serial connection.

Any Toolbox tool which requires connecting to a device has several buttons and fields at the lower left which relate to device connection:

These elements have various functions:

1. Address Book Menu - Used to view and edit the current address book, or to change the active Address Book to a different Address Book 
2. Current Connected Device - If the currently connected device is in the Address Book, it's name in the Address Book will be displayed here. This drop down menu can also be used to connect to a different device within the current Address Book
3. Manual Connection Menu - This menu is used to manually connect to a device that is not in the current Address Book. It can be used regardless of the connection type or device being connected to:
   • 
4. Quick Function Menu (keyboard shortcut: ALT+F) - menu containing a few useful functions
   • Firmware (keyboard shortcut: ALT+O) - menu for loading firmware
   • SIMPL Program (keyboard shortcut: ALT+P) - menu for loading a SIMPL or SIMPL# Program
   • Project (keyboard shortcut: ALT+T) - menu for loading an XPanel UI
5. Current connection status ("Connecting", "Connected", "Disconnected", or "Unknown")
6. Current connection type and address (e.g. "usb" or "ssh 10.44.5.71")

USB Connection

Connecting to a device via USB is only recommended during initial configuration of the device's IP settings or if there is an issue with connecting via Ethernet/TCP. The data transfer rate over USB is very low relative to Ethernet, and so any activities that require data transfer (such as updating firmware, updating showrunner™, or loading a UI) will take much longer than necessary. Additionally, when connecting via USB, only the device you are plugged in to will be connectable in Toolbox, rather than being able to connect to any device on the lighting network as would be possible when connected by Ethernet.

To connect via USB:

1. Determine the necessary USB cable
   • Most devices (DIN-AP3, DIN-AP4, DIN-CENCN-2, etc.) will require a USB-B connection, but some devices may require a Mini USB-B or Micro USB-B connection
2. Plug the USB cable in to both the device and your computer
3. Open Toolbox and then open the desired tool
4. Connect to the device
   • If you are using the Default Address Book, there is already an entry for "Local-USB"
   • If you are not using an Address Book, then you should click the Pencil Icon to open the Manual Connection Menu:
     1. Change the connection type from "TCP" to "USB"
     2. Leave Model, Hostname, and Serial fields blank
     3. If the device has authentication enabled, expand the Advanced options and input the username and password
     4. Click "OK"
5. The current connection status field should change from "Unknown" to "Connecting"
6. After a brief period, the connection status field should change from "Connecting" to "Connected"
   • Some devices may take longer than others to connect
   • If the device has just recently powered up, it may take a few minutes to completely wake up before it can be connected to
   • If you have issues connecting, see Troubleshooting a Failed Connection below

Ethernet Connection

Plugging in to the lighting network and connecting to devices via Ethernet is the most useful way to connect to lighting control hardware. When your laptop is connected to the lighting network, you are able to connect to any device that is on the network, as well as connect to multiple devices simultaneously. Unlike with a USB connection, connecting to a device via Ethernet does not require physical proximity to the device. Wireless connection to the lighting network is possible if the lighting network has properly configured a wireless router on it. 

To connect to a device via Ethernet, your laptop must first be connected to the lighting network.

To connect to the lighting network:

1. Identify an open where you are able to plug in to the lighting network
   • Many Crestron processor and HUB panels will have one or more CEN-SW-POE-5 or CEN-SWPOE-16 ethernet switches. Any open port on these Ethernet switches should be able to be used to connect a laptop to the network.
   • Laptops do not require power over Ethernet, so it is acceptable to use the "Uplink" port if necessary.
   • If the lighting network is on the building LAN, then you may need to reach out to the building's IT department for instructions on how to access the lighting network or VLAN. 
2. Use a Cat 5a or Cat 6 cable to connect your laptop to the lighting network at an open port
   • Most newer laptops will require some sort of adapter in order to connect to a Cat 5a/6 cable
3. Configure your laptop's network settings to be compatible with the lighting network:
   1. Navigate to Control Panel>Network and Internet>Network Connections
   2. Locate the network adapter that is connected to the lighting network
   3. Right click the network adapter and click "Properties"
   4. In the Networking tab of the adapter Properties menu, select "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" from the list
   5. Click the "Properties" button
      • If the lighting network uses static IP addresses:
        1. Click "Use the following IP address:"
        2. For the IP Address, give your laptop an address that is in the range of the lighting devices but that does not conflict with any addresses on the network
        3. For the Subnet mask, give your laptop the same subnet mask as the lighting devices
        4. The Default gateway can be left blank
        5. Once all settings have been configured, press "OK" to close the IP configuration dialog
           • E.g., if there is a lighting network with a processor at 10.0.0.10, a DIN-CENCN-2 at 10.0.0.11, and a TSW at 10.0.0.12 and all devices have a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, then your laptop can have any address in the range 10.0.0.2 through 10.0.0.9 or 10.0.0.13 through 10.0.0.254, since these addresses are all in the subnetwork range and are not being used by other devices.
        6. Press "OK" again to close the Ethernet Properties dialog
      • If the lighting network has a DHCP server (such as a CP4N control subnet):
        1. Use the "Obtain an IP address automatically" option
        2. Press "OK" to close the IP Configuration dialog
        3. Press "OK" again to close the Ethernet Properties dialog
        4. Your laptop will automatically be assigned an IP address in the correct range by the DHCP server on the network.
           • You can verify this by opening the Windows Command Line tool and running "ipconfig" command to view your current adapter settings
4. Open Toolbox and then open the desired tool
5. Connect to the device:
   • If you have created an address book, then select the device from the drop down menu
   • If you have not created an address book, then you should click the Pencil Icon to open the Manual Connection Menu:
     1. Leave the connection type as "TCP"
     2. Type in the IP address of the device you wish to connect to
     3. Generally, the "Auto Detect" box should be left at "Auto Detect", though if you know what type of connection you need then you can manually change it
     4. Leave Model, Hostname, and Serial fields blank
     5. If the device has authentication enabled, expand the Advanced options and input the username and password
     6. Click "OK"
6. The current connection status field should change from "Unknown" to "Connecting"
7. After a brief period, the connection status field should change from "Connecting" to "Connected"
   • Some devices may take longer than others to connect
   • If the device has just recently powered up, it may take a few minutes to completely wake up before it can be connected to
   • If you have issues connecting, see Troubleshooting a Failed Connection below

Device Discovery Tool and Address Book

Address Books are useful ways of managing multiple jobs that each have many devices.

Troubleshooting a Failed Connection

"Device refused to identify" (also happens if too many login attempts are made with the wrong username/password)

"Device not found in database"

Basic Tool Usage

Text Console

Network Device Tree View

Toolbox Quirks

Toolbox has some unique quirks that can sometimes cause issues.

VPT COM Server

Whenever Toolbox is open, Toolbox also starts a separate process called the Crestron Toolbox VPT COM server. This process appears in the system tray with the following icon when active:

Occasionally, something goes wrong with the VPT COM Server process which will prevent Toolbox from functioning correctly. To solve this problem, take the following steps:

1. Close Crestron Toolbox
2. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to open Windows Task Manager
3. Click the "More Details" button to see all processes
4. Sort processes alphabetically and look for "VptCOMServer Module (32 bit)" under the "Background Processes" section
   • If you do not see the VptCOMServer process in Task Manager and the icon is not in the system tray, then it is not running
   • If the VptCOMServer process is still running after Toolbox has closed, select it in Task Manager and press End Process to stop it
5. Once VptCOMServer is stopped, open Toolbox and see if your issues have been resolved

Alternatives to Specific Toolbox Tools

Sometimes it is necessary to connect to a Crestron device for troubleshooting using a computer that either does not or cannot have Toolbox installed on it. In these instances, third-party software can be used to replace some of the Tools in Toolbox in order to allow immediate troubleshooting of the lighting control system. 

The Text Console tool can be substituted with PuTTY, a free and open-source Telnet and SSH client/terminal emulator. SecureCRT is another option with some more capability than PuTTY, but note that it is a paid software which requires a license to use. The File Management tool can be substituted with WinSCP, FileZilla, or CyberDuck. These are all free FTP/SFTP clients that do not require any license to use.

Note that any Text Console or File Management alternatives are only suitable when connecting to Crestron devices over TCP/IP (Ethernet). When connecting to a Crestron device using these third-party programs, use port 22. Connecting to Crestron devices over USB is only possible using Toolbox because these devices do not use a standard communications protocol for USB communications.