Editing CVT Avant Stellar (section)

== Software ==

CVT offered at least three versions of software for their keyboards.  All three versions are capable, in different ways, of sending keyboard programming data from a DOS/Windows PC to an Avant keyboard, provided the computer has a PS/2 port.  There is no known way to program an Avant keyboard via software through a USB-to-PS/2 converter.

There is also no known way to run any of Avant's software versions inside a virtual machine, because VM host software (e.g. VMWare Workstation) does not allow guest software to directly interact with the i8042 keyboard controller's hardware.

Thus, in order to run any of Avant's software versions, a system must be able to directly run the operating system required by the particular Avant software version.

=== DOS Software (AVANTDWN.EXE) ===

CVT provided a DOS utility, AVANTDWN.EXE, which pushes ("downloads" in CVT's terminology) a set of keyboard programming data to the keyboard.  AVANTDWN can be run manually or via a script.

AVANTDWN is only known to support one command-line parameter, which is the name of the file (in CVT's *.kbd file format) to send to the keyboard.

AVANTDWN.EXE is included in the installation of version 3.10 of CVT's software.

AVANTDWN can be run from a bootable DOS USB stick (e.g. FreeDOS) on an x86/x64 system having a PS/2 port.

=== Software Version 3.10 for Windows 3.x / 9x 16-Bit (avantser.exe and avantps2.exe) ===

[[File:ver_310.png|thumb|CVT Avant Version 3.10 Software]]

This version of CVT's software is a 16-bit Windows program (written in Visual Basic, probably version 4 or 5).  It runs as a GUI application on Windows 95, 98 and probably Me, and lets the user program the keyboard by remapping one key to another, programming a macro keystroke sequence and assigning it to a specified key, and other functions.

Notably, this is the only known software version from CVT that can read ("upload" in CVT's terminology) the programming from an Avant keyboard and allow the user to modify it or save it to a *.kbd file.

This version can also send ("download") the programming from the GUI application to the keyboard, where it is stored permanently in the keyboard's EEPROM chip.

As of 11/2023, this software is available as an [https://web.archive.org/web/20060906222916if_/http://www.cvtinc.com:80/downloads/avant31.exe executable] thanks to the Wayback Machine.

=== Software Version 4.00 for Windows 2000 / XP 32-Bit (Avant.exe) ===

[[File:Ver_400.png|thumb|CVT Avant Version 4.00 Software]]

Around the early 2000s, CVT released version 4.00 of their keyboard programming software, which runs only on Windows 2000 and Windows XP (not Windows NT 4.0 or earlier, and not Windows Vista or any later versions).

When this software version is installed, it replaces two of the Windows keyboard drivers (i8042prt.sys, the i8042 port driver, and kbdclass.sys, the keyboard class driver) with CVT's customized versions of those drivers, which support the ability to program the Avant keyboards through their software.

This software design relies on being updated in order to work with newer Windows versions, but the software was never updated to support Vista or later Windows versions, and so cannot work on those versions, due to driver signing requirements or other incompatibility of the Avant custom drivers with those Windows versions.

The 4.00 software version can send ("download") programming data to the keyboard, but cannot read ("upload") the programming from a keyboard.

As of 11/2023, this software is available as an [https://web.archive.org/web/20060911054427if_/http://www.cvtinc.com:80/downloads/Setup2k.exe executable] thanks to the Wayback Machine.