The spec_par() parameters are:

"anka_remote_host", "anka_remote_node", "anka_locate_node"

These parameters are only visible when the ANKA RST Gamma hardware is configured. See the anka help file for an explanation of what they mean. These parameters can be set in the config file.

"auto_file_close"

The auto-file-close option is available to automatically close output files that haven't been accessed for some interval of time. The parameter units are hours, and the parameter can have nonintegral values. When the auto-close option is enabled, each time an on(), off(), open(), close() or fprintf() function is called, spec will check its list of opened output files. Any files which have not been written to for the length of time given by value hours will be closed. Enabling this option can help prevent errors when your macros or commands do not close files when appropriate, resulting in spec running out of resources to open additional files.
 As files are opened automatically when sent output, auto-close mode operates transparently for the most part. However, if you change to a different working directory between the time the file is first opened and subsequently automatically closed, and if the file is not opened by an absolute path name, the next time you refer to the file, spec will reopen it using a relative path based on the current directory.
 If value is zero, the mode is disabled. By default, the mode is initially disabled.

"auto_hdw_poll"

When automatic hardware polling is turned on, spec will automatically poll busy motor controllers, timers and acquisition devices to determine when they are finished. For some polled devices, spec needs to perform an action, such as starting a motor backlash move, when the device is finished with its current business. Without automatic hardware polling, a call to the wait() function is necessary. The default is for this mode to be on. A reason to turn it off may be to reduce the amount of debugging output during hardware debugging. Early versions of spec made more frequent use of interrupt-driven devices (certain motor controllers and timers), for which this mode is irrelevant.

"check_file_names"

The check-file-names option can prevent you from (accidentally) creating files with names containing nonstandard characters. When enabled, if a file name passed to the on(), open() or fprintf() functions contains any of the characters ()[]{}|$'`*?;!&<>", the space character, any control characters or any characters with the eighth bit set, and the file doesn't already exist, spec will print a error messages and reset to command level. By default, this mode is on.

"confirm_quit"

If set, spec prompts with a "Really quit?" message when the quit or ^D commands are entered. The question must be answered in the affirmative to exit the program. The value for "confirm_quit" is not saved in the state file. The option must be set again on each spec invocation.

"elog_level"

The level at which commands are saved to the elog error files is set using this option. At level 1, the default, only commands typed at the keyboard are logged. At level 2, the commands read from command files are also logged.

"elog_timestamp"

The time interval for the optional time stamps for the elog error file capability is set using this option. The units of the "elog_timestamp" parameter are minutes. The default value is 5 minutes. Note, time stamps are only added before a command or error message is logged, so that the interval between time stamps can be greater than that specified if no commands are being typed or errors generated. However, for time-stamp intervals less than 1 second (or 0.1666 min), every command and error message will be preceded by a time stamp, and the time stamp will include fractional seconds in the epoch value.

"epics_timeout"

Sets the default timeout for channel access ca_pend_io() calls on EPICS. The default value is 0.5 seconds. This option appears only when spec is linked with the EPICS channel access libraries. Timeout values for individual process variables can still be changed with the epics_par() function. This parameter can be set in the config file.

"flush_interval"

The flush-interval parameter controls how often spec flushes output to the hard disk or other output devices. Traditionally, spec flushed output after each print command. However, as some users report that this frequent flushing introduces considerable delays when the output device is to an NFS-mounted file system, the flushing interval can now be controlled. The "flush_interval" parameter specifies how many seconds to allow between output buffer flushing. The default value is 0.5 seconds. If the interval is set to zero, the traditional frequent-flushing behavior will be restored. Output to the screen is still flushed immediately. Output is also flushed each time the main spec prompt is issued.

"HKL_rounding"

Traditionally, spec rounded values for H, K, and L (and other geometry values derived from motor positions) to five significant digits for configurations using reciprocal space calculations. As of release 4.03.01, the rounding is now turned off by default. It can be turned on using the command spec_par("HKL_rounding", 1e5) where the argument indicates the magnitude of the rounding, i.e., one part in 1e5, for example. Note, values with an absolute value less than 1e-10 are still rounded to zero whether or not the optional rounding is turned on.

"hdw_poll_interval"

When the wait() function is called to wait for polled motors, timers or other acquisition devices to finish, spec sleeps for a small interval between each check of the hardware. Use this spec_par() option to change that interval. The units of the parameter are milliseconds, and the default sleep time is 10msec. A value of zero is allowed, though not recommended if the computer is being used for anything else.

"keep_going"

Normally, when taking commands from a command file, spec resets to command level and the main interactive prompt when there are syntax errors in the file, certain floating point exceptions, references to unconfigured hardware, hardware access errors, along with a number of other errors. When the "keep_going" option is set, spec will keep reading and executing commands from a command file no matter what errors occur. When there is an error, the next line from the current command file will be read. Note, depending on where the error is in a file, reading subsequent lines may generate more errors, particularly if the error occurs inside a statement block.

"modify_step_size"

Normally, spec doesn't allow users to modify the motor step-size parameter with the motor_par() function, as the consequences are generally undesirable. However, in the rare circumstance that it is necessary, this parameter allows you to enable such modifications.

"old_shared"

With spec release 5.02.01, the structure of the shared array header was changed so that the data portion of the array would lie on a memory page boundary. To allow compatibility with applications built with the old header structure, the "old_shared" option can be set. However, this option can only be set as a -o command line start-up option, and the parameter is not saved in the state file. It must be set each time spec is invoked.

"parse_units"

When parsing of units is turned on, numbers typed as input to spec's parser with one of the following suffixes appended will automatically be multiplied by the corresponding factor.