Basically, it copies a regular VGA screen over a serial connection to the PC.  But, because it only sends pointers to the internal font, it can update the screen very quickly, even in XGA (768x1024) mode.

Screenshot: 

Usage:

Easiest way is to use "vga_text_monitor1a" in place of "vga_text" and use as normal.  This way is hard-coded to use pin 30 to transmit the screen.  See PropMonitor1a_test5 for example usage.

Otherwise, just use the "VGA" driver object as usual, but add the "PropMonitor1a" object too.

Then, call the "start" function of PropMonitor1a and pass the address of VGA parameters, a character to indicate screen type ("V"=vga, "X"=xga), and the pin to send serial data over.

It is convenient to use pin 30 if you already have a serial connection for use with the PropTool.

To avoid interference with the PropTool, PropMonitor closes the serial port when the window is minimized. 

Notes:

PropMonitor requires 2 cogs, one for serial coms and one to stream data.

PropMonitor communicates with the PC at 256000 baud.

PropMonitor uses Parallax's own font to display characters in a way very close to what you would see with a monitor.

You can select between regular and large font to change the size of the window.

You can begin auto-updating the display once per second with the "Start" button and stop with the "Stop" button.

Or, you can just grab one update with the "Update Once" button.

PropMonitor only transmits data in a stream, it does not receive any data from the PC.  So, only one pin is required.