# Working Offline with an RTU

Use the Offline mode to prepare a configuration profile for an RTU before connecting to it.

To work off-line with an RTU, follow the steps as described below:

1. If you have not done so already, start Alarmware™.
2. Choose an existing RTU from the list, or add a new RTU via the Add button, making sure for newly added RTUs that the model number is correctly selected.
3. Click on the Work Offline button.

Alarmware™ will not attempt to connect to the RTU. This will enable you to create or edit the configuration information for a particular RTU. Working off-line allows you to make and save configuration changes, while the RTU is allowed to perform without disruption.

When you are satisfied with the profile you have created, or the changes you have made, simply select Save to Disk from the Transfer menu. This configuration will then be available for export the next time you connect to the RTU.

The Offline window is designed to represent the LED display on the Front Panel of an RTU. Each box within the Offline window has a corresponding LED on the Front Panel. The numbers represent channel numbers or ranges of channel numbers. The Offline window is different from the Online window in a number of different ways. For example, when working Offline, upon clicking on a channel number or channel number range the Channel Settings dialog box will be launched, instead of the Channel Status dialog box. When clicking on a net number, the Device Settings dialog box for that net will be launched instead of the Net Status dialog box.

Note: When you later connect with the RTU online, you will need to decide whether to download the RTU Alarmware™ configuration file to the RTU, or upload the RTU existing configuration into the corresponding Alarmware™ configuration file. This action will overwrite the existing file for that RTU in the computer. When online, the two configurations must continuously match, with the single exception of recorded speech message data.