MethodicConfigurator

External Parameter File Upload Architecture

Overview

The external parameter file comparison and upload feature allows a user to load an ArduPilot .parm or .param file that is not part of the files managed by ArduPilot Methodic Configurator (AMC), inspect its values against the connected flight controller (FC), optionally make temporary per-parameter changes, and selectively upload parameters.

This workflow is deliberately separate from the sequential configuration-step workflow. Opening or editing an external file does not add it to the vehicle project, change the current configuration step, write to the selected file, or ask whether temporary edits should be saved.

Requirements

Functional Requirements

1. External file selection
   • Provide an Compare and upload button beside the parameter-editor legend.
   • Disable this entry button when no FC is connected.
   • Allow selection of .parm and .param files.
   • Parse and validate the selected file with the standard ParDict parser.
   • Report parsing and file-access errors without changing the active AMC project.
2. Modal parameter preview
   • Display the selected file in a modal child window.
   • Reuse the standard parameter table and parameter metadata presentation.
   • Display parameter name, current FC value, difference indicator, file/new value, unit, Upload checkbox, and Manual checkbox.
   • Omit parameter add/delete controls and the change-reason field.
3. Upload selection
   • Provide one Upload checkbox per parameter.
   • Select changed or FC-missing parameters by default when an FC is connected.
   • Leave parameters whose file value equals the FC value deselected by default.
   • Upload only parameters whose Upload checkbox is selected and currently displayed.
   • Preserve Upload selections while the table is repopulated.
4. Temporary manual editing
   • Keep every loaded value non-editable by default.
   • Provide one Manual checkbox per writable parameter.
   • Make only that parameter’s value editable when its Manual checkbox is selected.
   • Keep edits in memory and use them only for the current upload operation.
   • Restore the value loaded from the external file when Manual is cleared.
   • Never persist a temporary edit to the external file or an AMC-managed file.
5. Changed-parameter filtering
   • Provide a Show only changed parameters checkbox.
   • Treat parameters missing from the FC as changed.
   • Do not advance or skip an AMC configuration step when no differences exist.
6. FC upload: Provide Compare and upload and Cancel buttons. Use the comparison table to review FC values against the external file before uploading. Reuse the standard parameter upload, reset, reconnect, re-download, validation, retry, error-reporting, and progress-window workflows. Warn before upload when a temporary manual edit differs from the FC value but its Upload checkbox is not selected. Close the modal after a successful upload without advancing the AMC configuration step.

Non-Functional Requirements

• Avoid duplicating parameter table rendering and upload orchestration.
• Preserve the behavior of the normal AMC parameter editor.
• Keep project-managed and external-file state clearly separated.
• Validate temporary edits with the same metadata, type, range, choice, and bitmask rules used by the regular parameter editor.
• Keep the window modal so that the underlying parameter editor cannot change configuration step while an external upload is being prepared.

Architectural Context

The feature is launched from the normal parameter editor but owns a separate set of ArduPilotParameter objects:

External .parm/.param file
          |
          v
      ParDict parser
          |
          v
External ArduPilotParameter objects <---- FC values + parameter metadata
          |
          v
Configurable shared ParameterEditorTable
          |
          v
Selected temporary values as ParDict
          |
          v
Existing FC upload workflow

The active ParameterEditor.current_step_parameters remains untouched throughout this flow.

Components

Parameter Editor Entry Point

• File: ardupilot_methodic_configurator/frontend_tkinter_parameter_editor.py
• Methods: _create_conf_widgets(), on_compare_and_upload_parameter_file_click()
• Responsibilities:
  • Place the external upload button to the right of the legend.
  • Disable external upload button when no FC is connected.
  • Open the file-selection dialog with .parm and .param filters.
  • Ask the data model to parse the selected file.
  • Display file errors through the injected UI services.
  • Construct the modal ParameterFileUploadWindow after successful parsing.

The entry point does not alter current_file, the configuration-step combobox, or project filesystem state.

External Parameter Upload Window

• File: ardupilot_methodic_configurator/frontend_tkinter_parameter_compare_and_upload.py
• Class: ParameterFileUploadWindow
• Responsibilities:
  • Own the modal window lifecycle.
  • Show the full path of the selected external file.
  • Configure and host the shared parameter table.
  • Apply the changed-only filter.
  • Obtain the checked upload payload from the table.
  • Run upload precondition checks and delegate to the parent upload workflow.
  • Close without invoking project navigation or save operations.

The modal upload button does not duplicate the entry-point connection-state gate. The upload precondition remains in the data model to handle a connection that disappears while the modal is open.

The window is transient to the main parameter editor. A Tk grab is used for modality on platforms other than macOS, where grabs are intentionally avoided because of known Tk freezes.

Configurable Parameter Table

• File: ardupilot_methodic_configurator/frontend_tkinter_parameter_editor_table.py
• Classes: ParameterEditorTable, ParameterTableOptions
• Responsibilities:
  • Render both the normal AMC table and the external upload table.
  • Select columns and behaviors through ParameterTableOptions.
  • Render per-row Upload and Manual controls.
  • Preserve upload selections across repopulation.
  • Validate edits and update difference indicators.
  • Build a ParDict containing only selected external parameters.

The external modal uses these options:

Option	Value	Effect
show_parameter_actions	False	Hides add/delete controls
show_upload_column	True	Shows per-parameter Upload checkboxes
show_manual_override_column	True	Shows per-parameter Manual checkboxes
show_change_reason_column	False	Omits the change-reason field
values_editable	False	Makes all values read-only initially
skip_when_no_differences	False	Prevents AMC step navigation
manual_override_for_all_parameters	True	Gives external parameters temporary Manual behavior

manually_editable_parameters is an in-memory set of names whose Manual checkbox is active. It is table-view state, not the persisted manual-override state used by forced and derived AMC parameters.

Parameter Editor Data Model

• File: ardupilot_methodic_configurator/data_model_parameter_editor.py
• Methods: load_external_parameter_file(), update_parameter_object(), parameters_as_par_dict()
• Responsibilities:
  • Parse external files through ParDict.from_file().
  • Create independent ArduPilotParameter objects using available documentation, default values, and current FC values.
  • Validate changes to parameter objects that are not in current_step_parameters.
  • Convert selected parameter objects to the ParDict required by the upload workflow.

An empty configuration-step filename is supplied while constructing external parameter objects. This prevents forced or derived definitions from the active AMC step being applied to the external file.

ArduPilot Parameter Model

• File: ardupilot_methodic_configurator/data_model_ardupilot_parameter.py
• Method: reset_new_value_to_file_value()
• Responsibilities:
  • Retain the immutable value originally loaded from the external file.
  • Hold a separately editable in-memory new value.
  • Restore the original file value when the external Manual checkbox is cleared.

The reset method changes only the in-memory candidate value. It performs no file I/O.

Existing Upload Infrastructure

• Files: frontend_tkinter_parameter_editor.py, data_model_parameter_editor.py
• Methods: ParameterEditorWindow.upload_selected_params(), ParameterEditorWindow.upload_external_params(), ParameterEditorUiServices.upload_params_with_progress(), ParameterEditor.upload_selected_params_workflow(), ParameterEditor.upload_external_params_workflow()
• Responsibilities:
  • Validate that parameters and an FC connection are available.
  • Upload parameters that require an FC reset in the correct order.
  • Reset and reconnect when required.
  • Upload remaining selected parameters.
  • Re-download FC parameters and validate the resulting values.
  • Offer retry/cancel behavior and manage progress windows.

The external model entry point delegates to the common upload implementation with configuration step-state persistence disabled. Every FC download, including one made for an external upload, refreshes complete.param in the vehicle directory. MAVFTP-capable FCs also supply and refresh the 00_default.param snapshot; MAVLink parameter downloads do not expose defaults. The shared FC safety mechanics remain common, while the normal workflow continues to write the current-step marker and reports.

State Model

Each external parameter has four relevant pieces of state:

State	Owner	Lifetime	Persistent?
Value loaded from file	ArduPilotParameter	Modal lifetime	No writes
Candidate/new value	ArduPilotParameter	Modal lifetime	No
Upload selection	ParameterEditorTable.upload_checkbutton_var	Modal lifetime	No
Manual selection	ParameterTableOptions.manually_editable_parameters	Modal lifetime	No

The FC value and parameter metadata in each external parameter object are snapshots supplied when the object is created. The shared upload workflow refreshes its FC parameter cache for verification; it does not convert the modal’s original comparison values into project state.

Detailed Workflows

Open and Display

1. The user presses Compare and upload to choose an external file for comparison.
2. Tk displays a file picker restricted to ArduPilot parameter files, with an all-files fallback.
3. Cancellation returns without side effects.
4. ParameterEditor.load_external_parameter_file() parses the selected file.
5. Each parsed Par is converted to an ArduPilotParameter with metadata, default value, and matching FC value when available.
6. ParameterFileUploadWindow creates the configured shared table.
7. The modal grab prevents configuration-step changes behind the window.

Manual Edit

1. All New Value widgets begin disabled.
2. Selecting Manual for a writable row adds its name to manually_editable_parameters.
3. The table enables only that row’s existing value widget; the static table is not rebuilt.
4. The user edits the value; standard parameter validation runs.
5. The candidate value and difference indicator update in memory.
6. Clearing Manual removes the name from the set and restores the original external-file value.
7. Closing or cancelling the modal discards every temporary edit.

This Manual behavior must not be confused with the persisted @manual_override mechanism for forced and derived parameters in AMC-managed configuration steps.

Changed-Only Filter

1. Selecting Show only changed parameters repopulates the shared table.
2. A parameter remains visible when its candidate value differs from the FC value or the parameter is absent from the FC parameter set.
3. Upload selections are captured before widgets are destroyed so they survive repopulation.
4. An empty result leaves the modal open and does not call the parameter editor’s skip action.

Upload

1. ParameterEditorTable.get_upload_selected_params() reads the visible Upload checkbox states.
2. The table identifies manually enabled parameters that were edited, differ from the FC, and are not selected for upload; the modal warns the user and stops that upload attempt when this set is non-empty.
3. Selected external ArduPilotParameter objects are converted to a ParDict using their current candidate values.
4. ensure_upload_preconditions() rejects an empty selection or missing FC connection.
5. ParameterEditorWindow.upload_external_params() invokes the shared progress-managed upload UI with ParameterEditor.upload_external_params_workflow().
6. Reset-required parameters, reconnection, remaining uploads, re-download, and validation follow the normal parameter editor rules.
7. The user reviews the differences and may edit values temporarily before pressing Upload selected params to the FC.
8. On success the modal closes.
9. The current AMC configuration step is not saved, skipped, or advanced; no tuning report or FC-difference export is written.

Data Integrity Invariants

The following invariants define the boundary between external upload and project editing:

• The selected external file is opened only for parsing.
• The external file is never passed to a write/export method.
• External parameters are never inserted into ParameterEditor.current_step_parameters.
• External parameters are never inserted into LocalFilesystem.file_parameters.
• Temporary changes never set the normal parameter editor’s dirty/save state.
• The external upload path never calls write_changes_to_intermediate_parameter_file().
• The external upload path never writes last_uploaded_filename.txt, tuning_report.csv, or an FC-difference export.
• Reset timing uses BRD_BOOT_DELAY from the selected external payload when present, rather than the active AMC step.
• Read-only parameters are never selected or included in an external upload payload.
• The external upload path never calls on_skip_click() or changes current_file.
• Cancel always destroys the modal without file or project mutations.
• Only the checked Upload parameters are converted to the upload payload.

Error Handling

• File cancelled: return silently.
• Malformed, duplicate, invalid, non-finite, or incorrectly encoded parameter: show a Parameter file error dialog and do not open the modal.
• No FC connection: disable the parameter editor’s Compare and upload entry button; the model precondition remains a defensive check if the connection is lost while the modal is open.
• No Upload checkbox selected: show the standard no-parameter-selected warning.
• Unselected changed manual edit: warn with the omitted parameter names and leave the modal open without starting an upload.
• Invalid temporary value: show the same validation feedback as the regular parameter editor.
• Out-of-range value: use the shared confirmation behavior.
• Upload or verification failure: use the standard error and retry/cancel workflow.
• External-only parameter name: render directly from the external parameter object rather than looking it up in the active AMC configuration step.

Testing Strategy

Data Model Tests

• Load .parm files into independent ArduPilotParameter objects.
• Attach FC context without registering the file in project state.
• Validate temporary object edits.
• Convert edited objects to upload ParDict values.
• Restore the value loaded from the file when a temporary edit is discarded.

Table and Modal Tests

• Verify external-table columns include Upload and Manual and omit editor-only columns.
• Verify Manual affects only the selected parameter.
• Verify clearing Manual discards its in-memory edit.
• Verify external-only names do not access current_step_parameters.
• Verify only Upload-checked parameters enter the payload.
• Verify the modal delegates to the shared upload workflow and never advances the project.
• Verify a failed model upload leaves the modal open.
• Verify Manual toggles update only the affected row rather than rebuilding the static table.
• Verify file-selection and parse-error orchestration.

Regression Tests

The default ParameterTableOptions retain the normal parameter editor layout and behavior. Existing parameter editor and ArduPilotParameter tests protect the managed-file editing, forced/derived manual override, validation, bitmask, and upload workflows while the external-specific tests cover the alternate table configuration. Model-level external upload tests exercise the shared upload orchestration and assert that it produces no AMC project markers, reports, or exports.

Extension Points

• Additional read-only comparison columns can be added through ParameterTableOptions without creating a separate table implementation.
• A future preview summary can consume the external parameter dictionary without changing project ownership.
• Additional accepted ArduPilot parameter filename extensions can be added at the file-selection boundary while keeping parsing centralized in ParDict.
• Upload policy changes should be implemented in the shared ParameterEditor upload workflow so both managed and external parameter uploads retain identical FC safety behavior.

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