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Overview

The MetaController is a small program that runs in the background of RT-LAB on the host computer. It is usually launched automatically when the main RT-LAB UI is started, but can also be started manually or by scripting. It can be accessed in the Windows tray icons toolbar with this specific icon (circled in red):

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The role of the MetaController is to manage background processes of RT-LAB, especially the Controller.exe applications that are spawned when projects are opened. The MetaController also manages the OpalDLoader executable which is automatically launched when the MetaController starts and closed when the MetaController exits.

The MetaController is an essential process for the proper operation of RT-LAB and its API. The MetaController should always be running whenever RT-LAB, or its API, are in use. Also, the MetaController should not be stopped or restarted while other RT-LAB processes (RT-LAB.exe, Controller.exe) are running.

The MetaController executable is typically located at “<RT-LAB Installation path>\common\bin\MetaController.exe”, unless a different path was specified during the installation of RT-LAB.

Only one MetaController instance, regardless of the version, may be running on a given computer at a given time.

Starting the MetaController

There are two ways the MetaController can be started:

1. Automatically, whenever the main RT-LAB UI (RT-LAB.exe) is started. This will be the case for most users.
   
   When the RT-LAB UI starts up, if it detects the MetaController is not running, it will automatically launch a MetaController and the MetaController icon will become visible in the system tray of the Windows taskbar. However, if a MetaController from the same RT-LAB version is already running when the UI is launched, the already running MetaController will be used. If the running MetaController is from another RT-LAB version, it will automatically be closed and the appropriate MetaController will be launched.
   
   

2. If the user does not intend to use the UI and relies on the API to control simulations, the MetaController must first be started manually or from a program or by scripting. This must be done before any calls to the API are to be made.

Closing the MetaController

If the MetaController is automatically launched by the RT-LAB UI, the UI will also close it automatically as it itself closes, unless a project remains active. However, if the MetaController is already running when RT-LAB is launched, the MetaController will remain running even after the UI closes.

If the MetaController was started manually or by a script or a program, the MetaController process can be closed either by:

• Right-clicking on the MetaController icon in the system tray and selecting Exit:
  
  

  Open

  

• Invoking the (Opal)CloseMetaController API call

System Tray Icon Menu

When right-clicking on the MetaController icon in the system tray, a menu will appear offering the following options:

Command line options

When launching the MetaController through command line or programmatically, the following options can be passed as arguments: