Vehicle profiles in FORScan
Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2019 4:57 am
This long-standing feature still causes confusion, especially for new users, which is why we are creating this article.
A vehicle profile is a file FORScan creates to store information about a vehicle. On the initial connection, FORScan performs significant work: it conducts a full scan of the vehicle's network to identify its configuration, discover available modules along with their part numbers and parameters, and so on. This process may take several minutes, depending on various factors such as adapter and bus performance, the number of modules, etc. FORScan then saves this information to the vehicle profile file. During subsequent connections to the same vehicle, FORScan retrieves the data from the profile, eliminating the need to repeat the time-consuming scan. This drastically improves connection speed and performance. A second important function of the profile is that it stores the vehicle's original module information. If a module or the vehicle becomes bricked or damaged, the profile can be used to establish communication with the vehicle and assist in recovery.
Most professional scanners have similar functionality, although it may be named differently. For example, in Ford's IDS, it is called a "session".
The Windows version of FORScan provides a special tab for managing profiles:
This tab can be used to delete, export (backup), and import (restore) vehicle profiles.
FORScan Lite for iOS and Android offers the same core functionality but does not have dedicated screens for profile management. The app handles profiles automatically in the background. The only way for a user to remove a profile is by using the "Clear Cache" function:
This functionality looks simple, but causes confusion very often. Let's review typical problems:
1. Users often don't realize that FORScan performs a full scan only during the first connection. Therefore, if the initial scan fails or is incomplete, subsequent connections will also be problematic. A common example is when a user has an adapter with a manual HS/MS switch but doesn't understand how to operate it correctly. During the first connection, the user might fail to switch from HS to MS as required. As a result, FORScan won't detect modules on the MS-CAN bus and won't search for them again in the future. We receive many support complaints of this nature.
2. Another common scenario occurs when a user modifies the vehicle's network but doesn't update the profile. For instance, if a new module is added, FORScan won't detect it unless the old profile is deleted. Similarly, if a module is replaced (e.g., upgrading the IPC), the new module may have significantly different internal functionality. FORScan may fail to interact with it correctly until a new profile is created.
3. When we add support for new modules or parameters to the FORScan database, the software won't recognize them in an existing vehicle until a new profile is generated.
4. Unfortunately, profiles from different FORScan versions may be incompatible. This is a design limitation in FORScan: much of the data stored in a profile is linked to specific versions of the internal database. Certain database updates can render parts of the profile data invalid. This is why we recommend deleting old profiles when installing a new version of FORScan.
Fortunately, these problems can almost always be resolved easily by deleting the old profile (clearing the cache) and reconnecting to the vehicle.
A vehicle profile is a file FORScan creates to store information about a vehicle. On the initial connection, FORScan performs significant work: it conducts a full scan of the vehicle's network to identify its configuration, discover available modules along with their part numbers and parameters, and so on. This process may take several minutes, depending on various factors such as adapter and bus performance, the number of modules, etc. FORScan then saves this information to the vehicle profile file. During subsequent connections to the same vehicle, FORScan retrieves the data from the profile, eliminating the need to repeat the time-consuming scan. This drastically improves connection speed and performance. A second important function of the profile is that it stores the vehicle's original module information. If a module or the vehicle becomes bricked or damaged, the profile can be used to establish communication with the vehicle and assist in recovery.
Most professional scanners have similar functionality, although it may be named differently. For example, in Ford's IDS, it is called a "session".
The Windows version of FORScan provides a special tab for managing profiles:
This tab can be used to delete, export (backup), and import (restore) vehicle profiles.
FORScan Lite for iOS and Android offers the same core functionality but does not have dedicated screens for profile management. The app handles profiles automatically in the background. The only way for a user to remove a profile is by using the "Clear Cache" function:
This functionality looks simple, but causes confusion very often. Let's review typical problems:
1. Users often don't realize that FORScan performs a full scan only during the first connection. Therefore, if the initial scan fails or is incomplete, subsequent connections will also be problematic. A common example is when a user has an adapter with a manual HS/MS switch but doesn't understand how to operate it correctly. During the first connection, the user might fail to switch from HS to MS as required. As a result, FORScan won't detect modules on the MS-CAN bus and won't search for them again in the future. We receive many support complaints of this nature.
2. Another common scenario occurs when a user modifies the vehicle's network but doesn't update the profile. For instance, if a new module is added, FORScan won't detect it unless the old profile is deleted. Similarly, if a module is replaced (e.g., upgrading the IPC), the new module may have significantly different internal functionality. FORScan may fail to interact with it correctly until a new profile is created.
3. When we add support for new modules or parameters to the FORScan database, the software won't recognize them in an existing vehicle until a new profile is generated.
4. Unfortunately, profiles from different FORScan versions may be incompatible. This is a design limitation in FORScan: much of the data stored in a profile is linked to specific versions of the internal database. Certain database updates can render parts of the profile data invalid. This is why we recommend deleting old profiles when installing a new version of FORScan.
Fortunately, these problems can almost always be resolved easily by deleting the old profile (clearing the cache) and reconnecting to the vehicle.