Contours — User Guide
Version 2.0.2 · © Myostat · myostat.ca
This is the end-user guide for Contours, Myostat's multi-axis motion design and control application. Each chapter is its own page — use the index below or the page tree in the sidebar to navigate. The guide reads in order, but every chapter also stands alone.
Contents
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Welcome to Contours — what Contours does, what you need, and the conventions used in this guide.
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Key Concepts — projects, axes, shows, profiles, samples, and splines.
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The Main Window — title bar, menus, tabs, chart, and status bar.
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Working with Projects — creating, opening, saving, and backing up project files.
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Connecting to Motors — discovering motors, linking them to axes, and using a joystick.
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Managing Axes — creating axes, editing properties, loading motor parameters, homing, and zeroing.
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Building Shows — creating shows, working with profiles, saving and loading profiles.
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Recording Motion — capturing live position, speed, and torque data.
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Editing a Recording — cleaning up recordings, smoothing, and adjusting interval and scale.
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Importing Motion from CSV — file format and the import workflow.
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Testing and Running Shows — the Test tab, Run and Stop, and Run To Cursor.
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User Settings — joystick, axes defaults, and chart options.
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Keyboard Shortcuts — quick reference for all global shortcuts.
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Troubleshooting — common problems and their fixes.
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Support and Resources — documentation, service desk, and company contact.
Where to start
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First time? Read Welcome to Contours and then Key Concepts. A few minutes spent on vocabulary saves hours later.
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Setting up a new project? Follow Working with Projects → Connecting to Motors → Managing Axes.
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Building a performance? Jump to Building Shows, then Recording Motion or Importing Motion from CSV.
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Something not working? Check Troubleshooting and, if needed, Support and Resources.
Contours User Guide · Version 2.0.2 · © Myostat