WaveForms Linux Installation

WaveForms is software developed by Digilent and intended for use with Discovery test and measurement devices. WaveForms provides a user interface for a 2-channel oscilloscope, logic analyzer, arbitrary waveform generator, digital I/O, and more. It's free to download and compatible with Mac (Apple), Windows, and Linux.

To get a complete breakdown on all of the accessories and features of the Analog Discovery 2, check out our unboxing tutorial and video.

Download WaveForms

This tutorial will guide you through the steps involved in the installation process on Linux after downloading it from the website. We will be using Fedora 21 in this tutorial.

Installing WaveForms

Step 1: Download WaveForms
Download the correct installation file for WaveForms for your distribution of Linux. Since we are using a 64-bit machine with Fedora, we will choose the 64-bit RPM file.

Step 2: Download Adept 2
Download the correct version of Adept 2. Make sure that the version of the Adept install file is the same as WaveForms. We chose the 64-bit RPM for WaveForms, so we will use the 64-bit RPM for Adept.

Step 3: Open the Adept 2 File
Open up the file you downloaded for Adept 2 in Step 2.

Step 4: Click Install
Click “Install” in the window when prompted.

Step 5: Open the WaveForms File
Open the file you downloaded to install WaveForms.

Step 6: Click Install
Click “Install” in the window when prompted.

Step 7: Open WaveForms
Go to your applications and open WaveForms.

Step 8: No Device
If you don't have an Analog Discovery 2 plugged in, a window will pop up with a warning stating that no device was detected. You don't need to have a device to run the software, so go ahead and click “OK” to proceed.

Step 9: Run Demo Mode
The device manager will now open. Click on “Demo Mode”, and then click “Select”.

Step 10: Demo Mode Oscilloscope
As mentioned previously, if you don't have an Analog Discovery 2 yet, that's okay. You can still run WaveForms in demo mode and get a feel for the interface and capabilities.

The below image is a demo of the oscilloscope displaying a sine and square wave.

Step 11: Plug in Analog Discovery 2
If you plug in the Analog Discovery 2, a window will pop up indicating that it was detected. Select “OK” to proceed.

Step 12: Device Manager
If you open the device manager, or you have the Analog Discovery 2 plugged in when WaveForms is open, the window displayed in the image below will appear. Select the Analog Discovery 2 just as you did for demo mode.

Now that you are connected and have WaveForms installed, you can move on to calibrating your device.