S331E, S332E, S361E, S362E Site Master™MS2711E, MS2712E, MS2713E Spectrum Master™MT8212E, MT8213E Cell Master™ Programming Manual : General Information : Sending SCPI Commands
 
Sending SCPI Commands
SCPI commands can be sent to the instrument through any Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA) controller. VISA is a commonly used API in the Test and Measurement industry for communicating with instruments from a PC. The physical connection between the PC and the instrument can be Ethernet or USB. NI‑VISA is the National Instruments implementation of the VISA I/O standard. Information and downloads are available at http://www.ni.com/visa/
The following example describes the verification that a VISA controller can interact with the instrument. The images shown and the instructions for your instrument and software may differ from the examples.
Note 
Before remote operation, confirm that the instrument is not in the Menu screen. Sending commands while this screen is displayed is an invalid operation. Refer to the instrument User Guide for information on the Menu screen.
1. On the PC, run VISA Interactive Control and double-click on the instrument.
VISA Interactive Control
2. Select the viWrite tab and execute the default *IDN? write by clicking the Execute button.
VISA Interactive Control viWrite Tab
3. Select the viRead tab and click the Execute button. If the PC is connected to the instrument, the command returns the following information from the Buffer: manufacturer name (“Anritsu”), model number/options, serial number, and firmware package number.
VISA Interactive Control viRead Tab