User’s Guide

Doc ID VIEWME-UM003B-EN-E
Contacting Rockwell Technical Support Telephone—440-646-5800
Software Technical Support Fax—440-646-5801
World Wide Web—http://www.software.rockwell.com or
http://support.rockwellautomation.com
Copyright Notice e2003 Rockwell Software Inc., a Rockwell Automation company. All rights reserved.
Published in the United States of America.
Portions copyrighted by the Allen-Bradley Company, LLC, a Rockwell Automation company.
This manual and any accompanying Rockwell Software products are copyrighted by Rockwell
Software Inc. Any reproduction and/or distribution without prior written consent from
Rockwell Software Inc. is strictly prohibited. Please refer to the license agreement for details.
VBA and DCOM, Copyright 1996, 1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

Trademark Notices The Rockwell Software logo, RSLinx, RSLogix 5, RSLogix 500, RSTools, RSView, RSView
Machine Edition, RSView ME Station, RSView Studio, A.I. Series, Advanced Interface (A.I.)
Series, ControlView, FactoryTalk, Object Smart Path, RAC6182, and WINtelligent LOGIC 5 are
trademarks of Rockwell Software Inc., a Rockwell Automation company.
PLC-5 is a registered trademark, and ControlNet, Data Highway Plus, DH+, MicroLogix,
MobileView, PLC-5/20E, PLC-5/40E, PLC-5/80E, SLC, SLC 5/01, SLC 5/02, SLC 5/03, SLC
5/04, SLC 5/05, and SoftLogix are trademarks of the Allen-Bradley Company, LLC, a Rockwell
Automation company.
Adobe and Acrobat are registered trademarks and Reader is a trademark of Adobe Systems
Incorporated. TrueType is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. AutoCAD is a registered
trademark of Autodesk, Inc. Ethernet is a registered trademark of Digital Equipment
Corporation, Intel Corporation, and Xerox Corporation. Modicon is a registered trademark of
Groupe Schneider. Zip is a trademark of Iomega Corporation. KEPServerEnterprise is a
trademark of Kepware Technologies, Inc. ActiveX, Microsoft, MS-DOS, OpenType, Visual
Basic, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries. OPC is a trademark of the OPC Foundation.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.

Warranty This Rockwell Software product is warranted in accord with the product license. The product’s
performance will be affected by system configuration, the application being performed, operator
control, and other related factors. The product’s implementation may vary among users.
This manual is as up-to-date as possible at the time of publishing; however, the accompanying
software may have changed since that time. Rockwell Software reserves the right to change any
information contained in this manual or the software at any time without prior notice.
The instructions in this manual do not claim to cover all the details of variations in the
equipment, procedure, or process described, nor to provide directions for meeting every possible
contingency during installation, operation, or maintenance.
Doc ID ViewME-UM003B-EN-E
March 2003
Contents

Preface
About the documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P-1
Finding the information you need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P-2
Try the User’s Guide and Help first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P-2
Information on the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P-2
Contacting Rockwell Software Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . P-3

Chapter 1
Getting started
The parts of RSView Machine Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Additional software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
The RSView Machine Edition tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Chapter 2
Exploring RSView Studio
Starting and exiting RSView Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Starting RSView Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Exiting RSView Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Opening sample applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Exploring the RSView Studio main window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
The menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
The toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
The Application Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
The workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
The Diagnostics List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
The status bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Workbook tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Showing and hiding items in the main window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Using the Application Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Viewing the Application Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Contents ■ i
 Moving the Application Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Working with editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Locating editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Viewing an editor’s components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Opening editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Closing editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Entering information in spreadsheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Working with components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Creating components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Opening components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Saving components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Closing components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Adding components into an application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Deleting components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Removing components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Renaming components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Duplicating components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Selecting a printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Printing at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18

Chapter 3
Planning applications
Understanding the process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Collecting data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Designing an HMI tag database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Collecting information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Organizing tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Planning graphic displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Developing a hierarchy of displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Creating a template to ensure consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Planning alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Providing information for the operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Local and information messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Diagnostics messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Using trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Designing a secure system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

ii ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Chapter 4
Working with applications
What is an application? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Application versus project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
HMI project file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Run-time application file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Component files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
External folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Default log file locations for PanelView Plus
or Windows CE terminal applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Naming files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Creating, opening, and closing applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Creating applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Importing applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Opening applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Opening multiple applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Closing applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Renaming, copying, deleting, backing up,
and restoring applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
About project settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Project window size and run-time screen resolution . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Title bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11
Specifying project settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Viewing application properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Viewing HMI server properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16

Chapter 5
Setting up communications
About OPC communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
About data servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Using multiple data servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Creating data servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Setting up an RSLinx Enterprise data server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Specifying the RSLinx Enterprise server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Setting up communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Setting up an OPC data server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Specifying the OPC server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

Contents ■ iii
 Setting up data server caches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Updating data server caches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Removing data servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Editing data servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10

Chapter 6
Working with tags
Types of tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Data server tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
The data source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Basic steps for using tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
When to use data server tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Eliminating duplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Using complex data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Steps for using data server tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
When to use HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Scaling, offsetting, or providing a range for data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Storing values in RSView memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Steps for using HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Browsing for tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Browsing for off-line tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Using the Tag Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Working with folders in the Tag Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Showing server names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Creating folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10
Refreshing the list of folders and tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Working with tags in the Tag Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Displaying tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Showing or hiding tag descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Selecting tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Using the Selected tags list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-13
Displaying tag properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
Filtering tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15
Creating, editing, and importing HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17
Using tags and expressions in your application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17
Assigning tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-18

iv ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Assigning tags to graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-18
Using expressions to manipulate tag values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19
Substituting tag names used in graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20
Logging tag values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20
Using macros to assign values to tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22

Chapter 7
Creating HMI tags
HMI tag types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Analog tags that use floating-point values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
How values are rounded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Data sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
The data source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Organizing HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Naming tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Using folders to group tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Using the Tags editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
Using the View menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Using the Accept and Discard buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Using the tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Updating the contents of the Tags editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Viewing tag statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Searching for HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Using folders to group HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Resizing the hierarchy box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Creating folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
Opening folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
Creating tags in a folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11
Nesting folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11
Duplicating folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Deleting folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Working with HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Moving through the spreadsheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Resizing columns and rows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Creating tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Duplicating tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14

Contents ■ v
 Editing tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Deleting tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Addressing syntax for device tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Setting up HMI tag types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Setting up analog tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Setting up digital tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Setting up string tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
Specifying a data source for HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
Specifying device as the data source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
Specifying memory as the data source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-22
Other methods for creating HMI tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
Creating tags as needed in other RSView editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
Creating tags as needed in the Data Log Models editor . . . . . . . 7-23
Using the Tag Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24
Importing tags from a PLC database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-26
Using the Tag Import and Export Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28

Chapter 8
Setting up global connections
About global connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Changing displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Printing displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Updating the date and time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Setting up Backlight Intensity remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Running macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Controlling display changes remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Remote display changes and security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Setting up remote display changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Setting up global connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8

Chapter 9
Setting up alarms
About alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
Preparing to set up alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
The data source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Tags and expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Identifying alarm conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2

vi ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

How alarms work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Alarm triggers and trigger values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Alarm notification methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Displaying alarm information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Responding to alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
The alarm log file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Printing alarm information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Alarm trigger data types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
The Value trigger type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
The Bit trigger type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
The Least Significant Bit (LSBit) trigger type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Tips for using array tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13
Equivalent data types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-14
RSLinx Enterprise tag syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-15
KEPServerEnterprise tag syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-15
Optional alarm controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-15
Controls that work with a specific alarm trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
How the Handshake control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
How the Ack control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-17
How the Remote Ack control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-17
How the Remote Ack Handshake control works . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
How the Message control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Controls that apply to all alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
How the Silence control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
How the Remote Silence control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
How the Remote Ack All control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
How the Status Reset control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
How the Remote Status Reset control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
How the Close Display control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
How the Remote Close Display control works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
Using the Alarm Setup editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Creating alarm triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Creating alarm messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Deleting messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Copying messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Specifying how alarms are displayed, stored, and silenced . . . . . . . . 9-28
After you set up alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30

Contents ■ vii
 The [ALARM] display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
The [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
The [STATUS] display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
The [HISTORY] display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Using displays from the library in your application . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Creating your own alarm display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Opening and closing the alarm display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Opening the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Closing the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
How the alarm list graphic object works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
What is displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
How the list scrolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
How the alarm banner graphic object works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
What is displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
How the alarm status list graphic object works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
What is displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
What happens when the display is opened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Using buttons with the alarm list, alarm banner,
and alarm status list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Alarm buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Linking buttons to objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Key buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Using alarm buttons to acknowledge, silence,
clear, and delete alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Acknowledging the selected alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Acknowledging all alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Silencing alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Clearing and deleting messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Using alarm buttons to sort alarms and set alarm status . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Sorting alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Resetting alarm status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Retaining alarm status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Changing the alarm status displayed
in the alarm status list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47

viii ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Chapter 10
Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics
About FactoryTalk Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1
sing diagnostics messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
How to set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Destinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Message routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Message severities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Audiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Displaying diagnostics messages
during application development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Viewing FactoryTalk Diagnostics log files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-6
Using the Diagnostics Setup tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-7
Setting up the local log file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9
Logging to an ODBC database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-10
Setting up message buffering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11
Setting up the ODBC data source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Routing messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Receiving messages from the PanelView Plus
or Windows CE terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Clearing the local log file manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Displaying and printing diagnostics messages at run time . . . . . . . . 10-16
The diagnostics message display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Setting up how messages are displayed and printed at run time . . . . 10-17
Using the Diagnostics List Setup editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
After you set up how to print
and display messages at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
The [DIAGNOSTICS] display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Creating your own diagnostics display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Opening and closing the diagnostics display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Opening the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Closing the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
How the diagnostics list graphic object works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
What is displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Using buttons with the diagnostics list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22

Contents ■ ix
Chapter 11
Setting up data logging
Data logging and the trend graphic object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
What is a data log model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Tags in the data log model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2
Data log files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2
Data logging methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2
Logging periodically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-3
Logging on change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-3
Data storage locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-3
Logging to a network location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-3
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-4
Using the Data Log Models editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-4
Creating data log models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5
Setting up data log models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6
Specifying how much data to store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6
Specifying where to store the data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7
Specifying when to log data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-9
Specifying the tags to log data for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-11
After you set up the data log model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12
Changing the data log model used at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12
Problems with data logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12

Chapter 12
Creating information messages
About information messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Information messages versus local messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Preparing to set up information messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
The data source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Identifying the tags and values to monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
How information messages work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Information messages and trigger values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-4
The information message display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-4
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-5
Using the Information Messages editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-5
Creating information messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-6

x ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Deleting messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-7
Copying messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-7
Setting up how information messages are displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-7
After you set up information messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-9
The [INFORMATION] display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-9
Creating your own information message display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-11
Opening and closing the information message display . . . . . . . . . . . 12-11
Opening the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-11
Closing the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-11
How the information message display graphic object works . . . . . . 12-12
What is displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-12
Changing the message file used at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-12

Chapter 13
Setting up security
How to use security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-2
How user accounts and security codes work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-2
Working with the User Accounts editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Using the View menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Using the Accept and Discard buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Using the tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
The DEFAULT user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
Setting up user accounts for RSView users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
Deleting RSView user accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-10
Changing RSView user passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-10
Adding users or groups from a Windows network domain . . . . . . . 13-10
Removing users or groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-11
Providing a way for users to log in and log out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
Logging in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
Logging out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
Logging out automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
Preventing unauthorized users from stopping the application . . . . . 13-14
Assigning security to graphic displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-16
Summary of security features in a sample startup display . . . . . . . . . 13-17

Contents ■ xi
Chapter 14
Creating graphic displays
About graphic displays and graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Using the Graphic Displays editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-3
Creating and opening graphic displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-3
The parts of the editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-4
Tools and tips for working in the Graphic Displays editor . . . . . . . . 14-6
Using context menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-6
Using the toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-7
Using the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-9
Zooming in and out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-10
Correcting mistakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-10
Testing your displays as you work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-11
Setting up graphic displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-12
About display types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-12
Resizing displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-13
Specifying display settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-13
Creating a background for your display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-17
Using graphic libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-18
Creating graphic libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-19
Using libraries as displays in your application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-20
Location of library components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-20
Importing images into your application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-22
Bitmap images that come with RSView Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-23
Importing bitmap and JPEG images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-23
Using the Image Browser to import images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-26
Tips for using images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-28
Using parameter files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-29
About tag placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-29
Assigning parameter files to graphic displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-30
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-32
Using the Parameters editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-33
Creating parameter files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-34
Using local messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-34
Local messages versus information messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-34
Preparing to set up local messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-35
How local messages work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-35

xii ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Local messages and trigger values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-37
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-37
Using the Local Messages editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-38
Creating local messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-38
How the local message display graphic object works . . . . . . . . . 14-39
Printing displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-40
Printing displays at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-40

Chapter 15
Creating and working with graphic objects
Types of graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-1
About controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-2
Illustrating your displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-3
Controlling the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-4
Starting and controlling processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-5
Displaying processes and values graphically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-6
Working with lists, trends, alarm banners,
and numeric input objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-7
Entering and displaying numeric and string values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-9
Displaying alarms and messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-9
Selecting tools for creating graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-10
Before you begin creating objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-11
Creating graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-11
Creating drawing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-12
Creating text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-12
Creating images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-15
Creating panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-17
Creating arcs and wedges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-17
Creating ellipses and circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-18
Creating freehand shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-19
Creating lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-19
Creating polygons and polylines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-19
Creating rectangles and squares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-21
Creating rounded rectangles and squares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-21
Using .wmf and .dxf files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-22
Using ActiveX objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-23
Tools and tips for working with objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-25

Contents ■ xiii
 Selecting and deselecting objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-26
Using the Object Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-27
Highlighting objects in the Object Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-29
Using the Properties dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-31
Using the Property Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-35
Setting up properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-35
Assigning tags and expressions to an object’s controls . . . . . . . . 15-38
Coloring objects using the color toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-40
Naming objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-42
Testing how objects look in different states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-43
Assigning tags and expressions to graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-44
Assigning tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-44
Using expressions to manipulate tag values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-46
Replacing tags using tag substitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-46
Using tag placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-49
Performing basic operations on objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-50
Moving objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-50
Copying objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-51
Duplicating objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-53
Resizing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-53
Reshaping drawing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-55
Deleting objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-56
Working with groups of objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-56
Grouping and ungrouping objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-56
Editing groups of objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-58
Editing objects within a group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-58
Arranging objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-59
Layering objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-60
Aligning objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-61
Spacing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-63
Flipping drawing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-64
Rotating drawing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-65
Locking objects into position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-66

xiv ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Chapter 16
Setting up graphic objects
Setting up objects’ spatial properties, names, and visibility . . . . . . . 16-1
Tips for setting up objects with states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-5
Copying and pasting properties from one state to another . . . . . 16-6
Adding and removing states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-7
Setting up how objects are used at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-7
Positioning objects for touch screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-8
Using touch margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-8
Assigning function keys to buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-9
Function key equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-9
Using the keyboard to navigate to and select objects . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-12
What input focus looks like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-12
Using the keys on the keyboard or keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-13
Removing objects from and adding objects
to the tab sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-13
Linking buttons to trends, lists, and alarm banners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-14
Repeating a button’s action by holding down the button . . . . . . . . . 16-17
Ensuring values are read by the data source
before sending new values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-19
Methods of Enter key handshaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-19
Holding the value for a specific period of time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-20
Holding the value until the data source acknowledges
that it has read the value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-21
Using buttons to operate the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-23
Setting up buttons to operate the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-24
Setting up the appearance of the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-26
Setting up a caption or image for the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-27
Using buttons with lists, trends, alarm banners,
and numeric input objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-31
Working with lists, trends, alarm banners,
and numeric input objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-32
Linking buttons to objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-33
Setting up buttons to use with lists and trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-33
Setting up the appearance of the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-35
Setting up a caption or image for the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-36
Setting up whether the button press repeats when held down . . 16-39
How to use push buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-40

Contents ■ xv
 Setting up momentary push buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-42
Setting up the appearance and action
of the momentary push button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-44
Setting up what the momentary push button does
when it is pressed and released . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-46
Connecting the momentary push button to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-50
Setting up maintained push buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-51
Setting up the appearance of the maintained push button
and how it changes state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-53
Setting up what the maintained push button does
when it is pressed and released . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-54
Connecting the maintained push button to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-58
Setting up latched push buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-59
Setting up the appearance of the latched push button
and how to unlatch it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-61
Setting up what the latched push button does
when it is latched and unlatched . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-62
Connecting the latched push button to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-66
Setting up multistate push buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-67
Setting up the appearance of the multistate push button
and how it changes state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-69
Setting up what the multistate push button does
when it is pressed and released . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-70
Setting up whether the multistate push button
press repeats when held down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-74
Connecting the multistate push button to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-75
Setting up interlocked push buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-75
Setting up the interlocked push button’s
appearance and value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-77
Setting up the appearance of the interlocked push button
when it is pressed and released . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-78
Connecting the interlocked push button to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-82
Setting up ramp buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-82
Setting up the appearance of the ramp button
and how it works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-84
Setting up a caption and image for the ramp button . . . . . . . . . . 16-85
Setting up whether the ramp button
press repeats when held down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-88
Connecting the ramp button to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-89
How to use numeric displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-89
How values are displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-89
Problems with displaying values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-90

xvi ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Setting up numeric displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-90
Number formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-90
Setting up the appearance of the numeric display . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-92
Connecting the numeric display to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-93
Setting up numeric input enable buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-94
Setting up the appearance and input focus
of the numeric input enable button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-96
Setting up a caption or image
for the numeric input enable button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-97
Setting up numeric and pop-up options
for the numeric input enable button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-101
Setting up the how the numeric input enable button’s pop-up
works with an Enter key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-103
Connecting the numeric input enable button to data . . . . . . . . . 16-105
Setting up numeric input cursor points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-106
Activating the cursor point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-106
Using the cursor point to ramp values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-106
Setting up the cursor point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-107
Setting up the appearance and key navigation
of the numeric input cursor point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-108
Setting up numeric and pop-up options
for the numeric input cursor point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-110
Setting up the how the numeric input cursor point’s pop-up
works with an Enter key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-113
Connecting the numeric input cursor point to data . . . . . . . . . . . 16-114
How to use string displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-115
How values are displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-115
Setting up string displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-115
Setting up the appearance of the string display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-117
Connecting the string display to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-118
Setting up string input enable buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-119
Setting up the appearance and action
of the string input enable button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-121
Setting up a caption or image
for the string input enable button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-122
Setting up the pop-up for the string input enable button . . . . . . 16-125
Setting up the how the string input enable button’s pop-up
works with an Enter key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-126
Connecting the string input enable button to data . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-128
Setting up goto display buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-128
Setting up the appearance of the goto display button . . . . . . . . . 16-130

Contents ■ xvii
 Setting up a caption or image for the goto display button . . . . . . 16-132
Setting up close display buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-135
Setting up the appearance of the close display button . . . . . . . . . 16-137
Setting up a caption or image for the close display button . . . . . 16-138
Connecting the close display button to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-142
Setting up display list selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-142
Setting up the appearance of the display list selector . . . . . . . . . . 16-144
Setting up which displays appear in the display list selector . . . . 16-145
How to use indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-148
Setting up multistate indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-148
Setting up the appearance of the multistate indicator
and its number of states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-150
Setting up how the multistate indicator’s appearance changes
to match its value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-151
Connecting the multistate indicator to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-155
Setting up symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-155
Setting up the appearance of the symbol
and its number of states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-157
Setting up how the symbol changes appearance
when its value changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-158
Connecting the symbol to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-160
Setting up list indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-161
Setting up the appearance of the list indicator
and its number of states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-163
Setting up how the list indicator’s appearance changes
when its value changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-164
Connecting the list indicator to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-166
How to use bar graphs, gauges, and scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-167
Bar graphs make it easy to compare values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-167
Thresholds change a bar graph’s fill color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-167
Use bar graphs with scales to show limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-168
Gauges make it easy to see limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-168
Thresholds change a gauge’s fill color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-168
Setting up bar graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-169
Setting up the appearance of the bar graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-170
Connecting the bar graph to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-173
Setting up gauges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-173
Number formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-173
Setting up the appearance of the gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-174
Setting up how the gauge works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-175

xviii ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Connecting the gauge to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-178
Setting up scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-178
Setting up the appearance of the scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-179
How to use control list selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-181
How Enter key handshaking works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-182
Setting up control list selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-182
Setting up the appearance of the control list selector . . . . . . . . . . 16-184
Setting up the control list selector’s state values and captions . . 16-185
Setting up the control list selector to work with an Enter key . . 16-187
Connecting the control list selector to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-189
Setting up local message displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-190
Setting up the appearance of the local message display . . . . . . . . 16-192
Connecting the local message display to data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-193
Setting up macro buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-194
Setting up the appearance of the button and the macro to run . . 16-196
Setting up a caption or image for the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-197
Setting up time and date displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-201
Time and date formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-201
Setting up the appearance of the time and date display . . . . . . . . 16-203
Setting up print alarm history buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-204
Time and date formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-204
Setting up the appearance of the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-206
Setting up a caption or image for the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-207
Setting up what appears on the alarm history report . . . . . . . . . . 16-210
Setting up print alarm status buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-212
Setting up the appearance of the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-214
Setting up a caption or image for the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-215
Setting up what appears on the alarm status report . . . . . . . . . . . 16-218
Setting up alarm lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-221
Time and date formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-221
Setting up the appearance of the alarm list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-223
Setting up what appears in the alarm list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-224
Setting up alarm banners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-227
Time and date formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-227
Setting up the appearance of the banner
and the types of alarms to display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-229
Setting up alarm status lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-231
Setting up the appearance of the alarm status list . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-233

Contents ■ xix
 Setting up what appears in the alarm status list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-234
Setting up diagnostics lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-237
Setting up the appearance of the diagnostics list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-239
Setting up information message displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-240
Setting up the appearance of the information message display . . 16-242

Chapter 17
Animating graphic objects
Types of animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-1
Which objects can have which types of animation? . . . . . . . . . . . 17-2
Using the Animation dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-2
About the Animation dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-3
Using Object Smart Path to visually set animation . . . . . . . . . . . 17-6
Testing animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-6
Using tag names and tag placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-7
Tag names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-7
Tag placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-7
Using expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-8
Setting minimum and maximum values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-8
Defining a range of motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-9
Animation that does not use a range of motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-9
Using Object Smart Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-9
Setting up visibility animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-11
Setting up color animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-13
The parts of the list box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-15
Setting up fill animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-18
Setting up horizontal position animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-19
Setting up vertical position animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-20
Setting up width animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-21
Setting up height animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-23
Setting up rotation animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-24
Setting up horizontal slider animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-27
Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-27
Setting up vertical slider animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-28
Applying animation to groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-30

xx ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Checking the animation on objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-30
Changing the animation on objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-32
Copying or duplicating objects with animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-32
Copying animation without copying objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-33

Chapter 18
Setting up trends
About trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-1
Current versus historical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-2
Time, date, and number formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-2
The parts of a trend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-3
Trend border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-3
Trend window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-4
Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-4
Y-axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-4
Vertical axis labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-4
X-axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-4
Horizontal axis labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-5
Pens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-5
Pen icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-5
Pen markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-5
Chart types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-5
Standard vs. XY Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-5
Isolated graphing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-6
Plotting a value across the full width of the chart . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-7
Choosing colors, fonts, lines, and markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-8
The trend border color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-8
The trend window color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-9
Testing the trend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-9
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-9
Creating trend objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-10
Setting up trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-10
Specifying chart style and update mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-12
Setting up how the trend works at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-13
Setting up the horizontal axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-16
Setting up the vertical axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-18
Setting up focus highlight and keyboard navigation . . . . . . . . . . 18-20
Specifying the tags and expressions to plot data for . . . . . . . . . . . 18-21

Contents ■ xxi
 Setting up pens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-22
After you create the trend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-24
Using the Trends graphic library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-24
Using buttons to control the trend at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-25
Printing trend data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-27
Improving clarity of the trend printout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-27
Runtime errors for the trend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-28

Chapter 19
Creating expressions
About expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-1
Expressions that result in floating-point values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-1
Expression components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-2
Where you can use expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-2
Using the Expression editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-3
Using the Expression editor versus
typing expressions directly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-3
About the Expression editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-4
Expression box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-4
Expression buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-5
Validation area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-5
Cursor position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-5
Creating expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-6
Cutting, copying, and pasting expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-7
Formatting expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-8
Using tag names and tag placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-8
Using tag placeholders instead of tag names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-9
Constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-9
Arithmetic operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-9
String operands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-10
Relational operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-10
How string operands are evaluated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-11
Logical operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-11
Bitwise operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-12
Using the left shift operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-14
Evaluation order of operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-14

xxii ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Mathematical functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-17
Security functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-18
If-then-else . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-18
Nested if-then-else . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-20
Using write expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-21

Chapter 20
Creating embedded variables
About embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-1
Where you can create embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-2
Creating embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-2
Creating numeric embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-3
Creating string embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-5
Creating time and date embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-6
Cutting, copying, and pasting embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-7
Editing embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-8
Deleting embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-8
How embedded variables are updated at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-8
How embedded variables are displayed at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-9
Numeric embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-9
String embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-10
Time and date embedded variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-10

Chapter 21
Creating macros
Using macros to assign values to tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-1
When to use macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-2
Running macros when tags or expressions change value . . . . . . . . . . 21-3
Creating macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-4
Where to assign macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-5

Contents ■ xxiii
Chapter 22
Setting up display navigation
About display navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-1
Developing a hierarchy of displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-2
Testing display navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-3
Using graphic objects to navigate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-4
Display type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-4
Goto display buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-4
Goto Configure Mode buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-5
Return to display buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-5
Close display buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-6
Display list selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-7
Shutdown buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-8
Controlling display changes remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-8

Chapter 23
Specifying startup settings, testing applications,
and creating run-time applications
Specifying startup settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-1
Testing your application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-3
Creating run-time application files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-4

Chapter 24
Preparing to run applications in Windows 2000 or Windows XP
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-2
Moving the application to the run-time computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-3
Starting RSView ME Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-4
Opening and running applications
in Windows 2000 or Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-5
Editing device shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-5
Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time computer . . . . 24-6
Setting up serial ports for use
with KEPServerEnterprise communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-7
Setting up drivers in Windows 2000 or Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-7
Specifying the printers to use at run time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-8
Other methods for starting RSView ME Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-10

xxiv ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Using startup parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-11
Starting RSView ME Station when Windows starts . . . . . . . . . . . 24-12
Deleting log files on the run-time computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-14
Running a newer version of the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-14
Deleting log files at application startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-14
Specifying time, date, and number formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-15
Using the DeskLock tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-15
Running applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-16
Shutting down applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-16
What happens when the application shuts down . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-17

Chapter 25
Running applications on a PanelView Plus
or VersaView CE terminal
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-2
Using the RSView ME Station dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-4
Starting RSView ME Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-4
Specifying the driver to use for the transfer
on the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-5
Setting up a driver for the transfer
on the development computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-7
Downloading applications and Windows True Type fonts . . . . . . . . 25-7
About the download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-7
Serial downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-8
Uploading applications from the PanelView Plus
or VersaView CE terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-10
About the upload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-10
Serial uploads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-11
Comparing applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-13
Selecting the application to set up or run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-14
Editing device shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-15
Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the PanelView Plus
or VersaView CE terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-16
Setting up the remote log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-17
Setting up Message Routing for the Remote Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-17
Setting up Message Routing for the RSView Diagnostic List . . . 25-18
Setting up the Display on the PanelView Plus
or VersaView CE terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-18

Contents ■ xxv
 Copying and deleting application and font files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-19
Setting up the keyboard, mouse, keypad and touch screen . . . . . . . . 25-20
Setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-22
Setting up a serial driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-23
Setting up the DHPlus driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-24
Editing device addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-25
Setting up serial ports for use
with KEPServerEnterprise communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-26
Specifying print options on the PanelView Plus
or VersaView CE terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-28
Other methods for starting RSView ME Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-30
Using startup parameters with VersaView CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-31
Starting RSView ME Station
when the VersaView CE terminal is turned on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-32
Viewing the System Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-34
Viewing the Terminal Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-34
Specifying time, date, and number formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-35
Deleting log files on the run-time computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-35
Running a newer version of the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-35
Deleting log files at application startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-36
Running applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-36
Shutting down applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-37
What happens when the application shuts down . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-37

Chapter 26
Running applications on a RAC6182 terminal
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-2
Specifying the driver to use
for the transfer on the RAC6182 terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-4
Setting up a driver for the transfer
on the development computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-5
Downloading applications and Windows True Type fonts . . . . . . . . 26-6
About the download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-6
Serial downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-6
Uploading applications from the RAC6182 terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-9
About the upload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-9
Serial uploads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-9

xxvi ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Comparing applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-11
Using the RSView ME Station dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-13
Starting RSView ME Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-13
Selecting the application to set up or run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-14
Editing device shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-15
Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the RAC6182 terminal . . . . 26-16
Setting up the remote log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-17
Setting up Message Routing for the Remote Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-17
Setting up Message Routing for the RSView Diagnostic List . . . 26-18
Copying and deleting application and font files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-19
Storing temporary files on an external card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-19
Setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-20
Setting up a serial driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-21
Setting up the DHPlus driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-23
Setting up the DH485 driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-24
Editing device addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-26
Setting up serial ports for use
with KEPServerEnterprise communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27
Specifying print options on the RAC6182 terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-28
Other methods for starting RSView ME Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-29
Using startup parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-30
Starting RSView ME Station
when the RAC6182 terminal is turned on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-31
Specifying time, date, and number formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-33
Deleting log files on the run-time computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-33
Running a newer version of the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-33
Deleting log files at application startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-34
Running applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-34
Shutting down applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-35
What happens when the application shuts down . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-35

Chapter 27
Using your application
Logging in to a Windows domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-1
Logging in to the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-2
What happens when a user logs in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-3
Problems with logging in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-3

Contents ■ xxvii
 Logging out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-4
Entering numeric values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-4
Activating the cursor point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-4
Ramping numeric values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-5
Using the numeric pop-up keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-5
Using the numeric pop-up scratchpad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-5
Using buttons and keys with the numeric pop-up windows . . . . 27-6
How values are ramped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-7
How values are calculated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-7
Problems with the numeric pop-up windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-8
Entering string values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-9
Using the string pop-up keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-9
Using the string pop-up scratchpad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-10
Using buttons and keys with the string pop-up windows . . . . . . 27-10
What is written to the Value control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-11
Problems with the string pop-up windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-12
Changing tag values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-12
Viewing tag data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-14
Viewing alarms and messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-16
Viewing information about run-time communication errors . . . . . . 27-17

Appendix A
Converting PanelBuilder 1400e applications
Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
Converting PanelBuilder 1400e application files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
After you convert the PanelBuilder 1400e application . . . . . . . . . . . A-7
Equivalent graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-8
Unsupported graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-10
Unsupported settings and controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-10
Controls for transferring run-time application files . . . . . . . . . . . A-10
Settings and controls for alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Invalid characters in screen names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Screen security settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Block tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Converting non-RIO communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-12
Unsupported communication protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-12

xxviii ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Unsupported tag data types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-12
Unsupported initial values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-13
Unsupported graphic object features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-13
Converting expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-15
Equivalent expression syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-15
Unsupported expression syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-16
Order of precedence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-17
Converting PanelBuilder 1400e RIO applications to RSView . . . . . A-17
Unsupported PanelView 1400e RIO tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-18
Changes from tag type to RSLinx DType . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-19

Appendix B
Converting PanelBuilder and PanelBuilder32 applications
Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
Summary of steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
Converting PanelBuilder application files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
After you convert the PanelBuilder application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-8
Equivalent graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-8
Unsupported graphic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-9
Unsupported settings and controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-9
Settings and controls for alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-9
Invalid characters in screen names and tag names . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
Time and date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
External fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
Screen security settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
Unsupported Power-up Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
Converting non-RIO communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
Unsupported communication protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
Bit array tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
Unsupported graphic object features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12
Converting PanelView RIO applications to RSView . . . . . . . . . . . . B-13
Tag conversions and unsupported tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14
Unsupported PanelView32 RIO tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14

Contents ■ xxix
Appendix C
System tags
Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2
User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-3

Appendix D
The ODBC database format
FactoryTalk Diagnostics log table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1

xxx ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

P Preface
Thank you for choosing RSView Machine Editiont. RSView
Machine Edition is a member of the RSView Enterprise Series
family of products. It is an integrated package for developing and
running automation applications.
Designed for use with Microsoftr Windowsr 2000 and
Windows XP, PanelView Plust terminals, and on VersaViewt CE,
and RAC6182t terminals running Microsoft Windows CE 3.0,
RSView Machine Edition gives you all the tools you need to create
effective machine-level monitoring and control applications.

About the documentation

The RSView Machine Edition documentation set includes:
Release Notes: Information to read before you begin installing or
working with the software.
RSView Machine Edition Installation Guide: A guide to installing
and activating the various components of RSView Machine Edition.
RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide: Comprehensive
information about RSView Machine Edition, procedures for
creating and running an automation application, and reference
information.
Help: Online procedures and reference information.
The Release Notes are available on the RSView Machine Edition
CD-ROM, as well as from the Help menu in RSView Studio. The
User’s Guide, Installation Guide, and Help are available from the
Help menu in RSView Studio.

■ P-1
Preface
Finding the information you need
You have many options for finding information about how to use
RSViewt, or how to solve problems with RSView.

Try the User’s Guide and Help first

The User’s Guide and Help provide comprehensive information
about typical uses of RSView. Chances are, your question is
answered in the documentation.
To find the answer, use the table of contents and the index in the
User’s Guide and Help.
You can also perform a full-text search on both the Help and the
User’s Guide. For information about using Help, see Chapter 5,
“Getting the information you need,” in the RSView Machine
Edition Installation Guide.
For information about performing searches on the User’s Guide,
see Adober Acrobatr Reader Help.

Information on the Internet

If you can’t find the answer to your question or problem in the
User’s Guide or Help, you can find information on the World Wide
Web.
You can connect to the Rockwell Software and Rockwell
Automation web sites from within RSView Studio. To do so, you
must have a web browser installed on your computer, and you must
have an active Internet connection.

To connect to web sites from RSView Studio

" On the Help menu, select Rockwell Software on the Web, and
then click the name of the web page you want to view.
For information about the Rockwell Automation
Knowledgebase and the Rockwell Software Discussion Forums,
see the next sections.

P-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

The Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase

The Knowledgebase web page contains a comprehensive,

searchable database of support information for all Rockwell
Automation and Rockwell Software products.

Rockwell Software Discussion Forums

The Rockwell Software Discussion Forums are web pages for users
of Rockwell Software products. The forums offer discussion
groups, for exchanging tips and questions with other RSView users.

Contacting Rockwell Software Technical

Support
If you can’t find the answer to your question using any of the
resources suggested above, contact Rockwell Software Technical
Support at:
Telephone: 440-646-5800
Fax: 440-646-5801
World Wide Web: http://www.software.rockwell.com or
http://support.rockwellautomation.com
Support staff are available Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM
local time (North America only), except on statutory holidays.

When you call

When you call, be at your computer and be ready to give:

the product serial number.
You’ll find this number on the Activation disk label and in the
About RSView Studio dialog box available from the Help menu
in RSView.
the product version number.
the type of hardware you are using.
the exact wording of any messages that appeared on your screen.
a description of what happened and what you were doing when
the problem occurred.
a description of how you tried to solve the problem.

Preface ■ P-3
Preface
You may also be required to provide information about the RSView
add-ons and updates that are installed on your computer.

To view the list of installed add-ons and updates

1. In RSView Studio, click Help, and then click About RSView
Studio.
2. To view the list of installed add-ons, click Add-Ons.
3. To view the list of installed updates, click Updates.

P-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

1
Chapter

Getting started
RSView Machine Edition is software for developing and running
human-machine interface applications. RSView Machine Edition is
designed for monitoring and controlling automated processes and
machines.
For information about installing RSView Machine Edition, see the
RSView Machine Edition Installation Guide.

The parts of RSView Machine Edition

RSView Machine Edition includes two products:
RSView Studiot is configuration software for developing
machine-level applications. This software runs on the
Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems.
RSView ME Stationt is a stand-alone run-time environment for
machine-level applications. Use RSView ME Station to run the
applications you develop in RSView Studio.
You can run machine-level applications on PanelView Plus
terminals and Windows CE Terminals with the Windows CE 3.0
operating system, and on computers that use the Windows 2000 or
Windows XP operating system.

Additional software
The RSView Machine Edition CD also includes three additional
software products:
RSLinx Enterpriset RSLinx Enterprise is a new communication
server built around FactoryTalk technology to assist in developing
and running your RSView ME applications.It is an OPC 2.05
compliant server and will run on multiple platforms, ranging from
PanelView Plus dedicated terminals to desktop computers.
RSLinxt for RSView is software that provides communications to a
wide range of communications drivers. RSLinx for RSView is an
OPCt-compliant data server.
Adober Acrobatr Readert 5.0 is software for reading the online
RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide. If desired, you can also use
the software to print the User’s Guide.

The parts of RSView Machine Edition ■ 1-1

Preface

The RSView Machine Edition tools

These tools are installed with RSView Studio:
Application Manager is software for renaming, copying,
deleting, backing up, and restoring applications.
Tag Import and Export Wizard is software for importing or
exporting the RSView HMI tag database.
Transfer Utilityis software for moving a run-time machine-level
application from the development computer to the PanelView
Plus or Windows CE terminal.
This tool is installed with RSView ME Station:
DeskLock is software that prevents Windows 2000 and
Windows XP users from exiting the RSView application at run
time. You cannot use DeskLock if you are running your
application on a PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal.

1-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

2
Chapter

Exploring RSView
Studio
This chapter describes:
starting and exiting RSView Studio.
opening sample applications.
exploring the RSView Studio main window.
using the Application Explorer.
working with editors.
entering information in spreadsheets.
working with components.
printing information in editors and components.

Starting and exiting RSView Studio

Starting RSView Studio
To start RSView Studio

" On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, and then click
RSView Studio.
RSView comes with several sample applications. We suggest you
open the Malthouse sample application now to use while you try
out the instructions in the remainder of this chapter. See the
instructions on page 2-2.

Exiting RSView Studio

To exit RSView Studio

" On the File menu, click Exit.

If there are any unsaved changes in open editors, RSView Studio
asks you whether to save the changes before exiting the
program.

Starting and exiting RSView Studio ■ 2-1

Preface
Opening sample applications
The sample applications are designed for two screen resolutions:
640 x 480 and 800 x 600. Select the application that matches the
screen resolution of your run-time monitor.

To open the Malthouse sample application

1. Start RSView Studio.

2. Click the Existing tab.

3. Click Malthouse_640x480 or Malthouse_800x600.

4. Click Open.
RSView Studio displays the sample application in the
Application Explorer.

2-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Exploring the RSView Studio main window

Title bar
Menu bar
Toolbar

Application
Explorer

Diagnostics
List
Status bar

Workspace

The menu bar

The menu bar contains the menu items for the active window. Each
editor has its own set of menus.

The toolbar
The toolbar contains buttons for commonly used menu items so
you can have quick access to the items without opening the menu.
When you point to a button on the toolbar, the button name is
displayed in a tooltip and in the status bar.

Exploring the RSView Studio main window ■ 2-3

Preface

Tooltip

All editors use the Standard toolbar. The Graphic Displays,

Graphic Libraries, User Accounts, and Tags editors have additional
toolbars.

The Application Explorer

The Application Explorer has two tabs: the Application tab, and
the Communications tab.
The Application tab contains the editors for creating and editing
your application. For more information about the Application
Explorer, see page 2-7.
The Communications tab contains the communications tree for the
development computer. For more information about using the
Communications tree, see Help for RSLinx Enterprise.

The workspace
The workspace is the blank area of the RSView Studio window.
You can drag icons from the Application Explorer to the workspace
to open editors and components. For more information, see
page 2-7.

The Diagnostics List

The Diagnostics List shows messages about system activities. You
can specify the types of messages to display in the Diagnostics List,
move the list, resize it, and clear the messages in it.

For information about testing graphic displays, see page 14-11.

Moving the Diagnostics List

You can detach (undock) the Diagnostics List from the main
window, and then move the list anywhere on the screen.

2-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To undock the Diagnostics List, drag the grab bars at the bottom
left of the Diagnostics List. If you can’t see the grab bars, drag the
top edge of the Diagnostics List to make it a bit larger.

To detach the
Diagnostics List,
drag the grab
bars.

To prevent the Diagnostics List from docking automatically while

you move it across the screen, hold down the Ctrl key on the
keyboard while you move the Diagnostics List.
When the Diagnostics List is undocked, you can make it any size
you want, for example to view more than one message at a time. To
resize the bar, drag an edge or corner until the bar is the size you
want.
To clear the selected message in the Diagnostics List, click Clear. To
clear all the messages in the Diagnostics List, click Clear All.

Messages in the Diagnostics List

The types of messages that appear in the Diagnostics List depend

on how you set up FactoryTalkt Diagnostics on the development
system. For information about specifying the types of messages to
display, see page 10-5.

The status bar

The status bar displays information about the active window or
about the selected tool or menu item. The information that is
displayed depends on where the mouse pointer is. For example,
when you select a graphic object in the Graphic Displays editor, the
status bar displays information about the selected object.

Workbook tabs
If you select Workbook Mode on the View menu, the workspace
displays tabs at the bottom for each open editor or component.
Workbook Mode allows you to bring forward an open item more
quickly than by using the Window menu.

Exploring the RSView Studio main window ■ 2-5

Preface

Workbook tabs

Showing and hiding items in the main

window
You can display or hide all the items in the main window (except
the menu bar) by clicking the items on the View menu.

The status bar, Application

Explorer, Diagnostics List,
and Standard toolbar are
visible. Workbook Mode is
turned off.

2-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To hide or display the Application Explorer

" On the View menu, click Explorer Window, or click the

Explorer Window tool on the toolbar.
Explorer Window tool

Using the Application Explorer

The Application Explorer is the main tool for working with
RSView Studio. It lists the editors you use to develop your
application, as well as the components, such as graphic displays,
you’ve created. When you create or open an application, the
application name appears in the title bar of the Application
Explorer.
An application consists of one or more data servers and an HMI
project (also known as an HMI server). The data servers provide
communications for the project. The project consists of graphic
displays, alarm information, user information, and other settings.
This manual generally uses the term application to refer to both
application-level and project-level procedures.

Using the Application Explorer ■ 2-7

 Preface

The top icon represents the application.

RSLinx Enterprise data server

The application’s HMI server contains

editors for setting up your application and
the components you create.

Click the - symbol to close a folder.

Components are listed below the editor’s icon

when you open the folder.
Click the + symbol to see the list of
components for an editor.

OPC data server

When you first create a data server it is added to the Application

Explorer tree.
You can resize the Application Explorer by dragging its edges.

2-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Viewing the Application Explorer
You can view the Application Explorer in a number of ways:
As a docked window. When docked, the explorer is always on
top of other windows that it overlaps. You can dock the
explorer to any edge of the main window.
As a floating window. When floating, the explorer is always on
top of other windows that it overlaps, but you can move it to
different locations in the middle of the main window.
As a “child” window. When the explorer is in child mode, you
can minimize the explorer or position other windows in front of
it. This mode is particularly useful when you are working in
multiple editors or working with the Help open.
To put the explorer in child mode, right-click the Application
Explorer title bar, and then click MDI Child.

Moving the Application Explorer

You can move the Application Explorer in a number of ways:
Click the title bar and drag.
Double-click the title bar to float the explorer in the middle of
the main window, then drag it to a new position.
Right-click the title bar, then select a new docking location,
floating, or child mode.

Working with editors

When developing an application, you will use many different
editors, but they have many similar features and often require
similar information. Knowing how to use these features saves time.
For information on working with particular editors, see the
chapters later in this guide.

Working with editors ■ 2-9

Preface
Locating editors
The editors are grouped in folders in the Application Explorer (see
the illustration on page 2-8). Each editor is displayed with an icon
to the left of the editor name.

To open a folder in the Application Explorer

" Click the + symbol to the left of the folder icon, or double-click
the folder name.

Viewing an editor’s components

With some editors you enter information in a single window or a
tabbed dialog box. Other editors allow you to create multiple
components, such as graphic displays or message files. Each
component is stored in a separate file, with its own name.
You can create components in these editors:
Graphic Displays
Graphic Libraries
Parameters
Local Messages
Information Messages
Data Log Models
Macros
The Application Explorer lists the components you create under
the icon for the editor you used to create the component.
You can use the Images editor to copy bitmap images into your
application (but not to create new images). Each image you copy is
listed as a component under the editor.

To view a list of components for an editor

" Click the + symbol to the left of the editor icon, or double-click
the editor name.

Opening editors
To open an editor

" Right-click the editor, and then click Open or New.

If there are no components in the editor, you can double-click
the editor to open it.

2-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Closing editors

To close an editor

" Click the close button on the editor’s title bar, or on the File
menu click Close.
Some editors have an OK, Cancel, or Close button that you can
click to close the editor.

Entering information in spreadsheets

Some editors contain spreadsheets for entering information. You
can enter information in the white columns. Gray columns display
information; you cannot enter information in them.

This column is for display Enter information in

purposes only. this column.

These editors contain spreadsheets:

Tags*
User Accounts

Entering information in spreadsheets ■ 2-11

Preface
Global Connections
Local Messages
Alarm Setup
Information Setup
Information Messages
Macros
* You cannot make changes in the spreadsheet section of the Tags
editor. In this editor, you must use the Form section of the editor to
create and edit tags.
In the Graphic Displays editor, many of the Properties dialog boxes
for setting up graphic objects contain spreadsheets for assigning tags
or expressions to the objects.
To enter information in a cell in a spreadsheet

" Click the cell, and then type the information. If the cell already
contains text, the new information is added after the current
text.
In the Property Panel, double-click the cell and then type the
information. If the cell already contains text, double-clicking
highlights the text and typing replaces the highlighted text.
To move to the next cell in the row

" Press Tab or Enter.

The method to use depends on which editor you’re working in.
To move to the first cell in the next row

" Press Enter or Down Arrow.

The method to use depends on which editor you’re working in.

To delete a cell’s contents

" Click the cell, and then press Delete or Backspace. Pressing
Backspace removes the characters one by one.
The method to use depends on which editor you’re working in.

Working with components

This section describes how to perform basic operations that are
common to all components.
For information on working with components in particular editors,
see the chapters later in this guide.

2-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Creating components
To create a new component, do one of the following
Right-click the editor, and then click New.
On the File menu, select New, and then click the type of
component to create.

Opening components
To open a component, do one of the following
Double-click the component.
Right-click the component, and then click Open.
Drag and drop the component from the Application Explorer to
the workspace.

Saving components
The Save tool is available when the active component contains
unsaved changes.
Save tool To save a component
1. On the File menu, click Save, or click the Save tool.

2. If this is the first time you’re saving the component, type a name
in the Component name box, and then click OK.

Closing components
To close a component

" On the File menu, click Close, or click the Close button on the
Close button on title
component’s title bar.
bar Some components have a Close button that you can click to
close the component.
Before the component closes you are prompted to save unsaved
Close button in changes, if there are any.
component

Working with components ■ 2-13

Preface
Adding components into an application
You can use the same components in more than one application by
adding components into an application.
For example, if you want to use the same graphic display in
Application A and Application B, create the display in Application
A, then add the graphic display component from Application A to
Application B.
When you add the component into Application B, changes you
make to the component in Application B are not reflected in the
component in Application A.

To add a component from Application A into Application B

1. In Application B, right-click the type of editor that was used to
create the desired component.
For example, to add a graphic display component, right-click
the Displays icon in the Graphics folder.
2. Click Add Component Into Application.

3. In the dialog box, navigate to the component to add (in

Application A’s folder), and then click the component’s file
name.

2-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Click and Shift-click to select a group of components, or
Ctrl-click to select multiple individual components.
For information about application folders and files, see
Chapter 4.
4. Click Open. The components are listed under the editor in the
Application Explorer in Application B.
If you later modify the component in Application A, you can add
the component into Application B again using the same steps as
described above.

Using Add Component Into Application with graphic

displays and graphic libraries
The Add Component Into Application menu command is also
useful for:
adding graphic displays to your application’s Libraries folder.
using libraries as graphic displays in your application.
For information about graphic libraries, see page 14-18.

Deleting components
Deleting a component deletes it from the Application Explorer and
from the hard disk.

To delete a component

" Right-click the component, and then click Delete.

Removing components
You can remove a component from the Application Explorer but
leave it on the hard disk, in case you want to use the component in
another application.

To remove a component

" Right-click the component, and then click Remove.

Renaming components
To rename a component
1. Right-click the component, and then click Rename.

Working with components ■ 2-15

Preface

2. In the To box, type the new name.

3. Click OK.

Duplicating components
The Duplicate option is useful for creating multiple similar
components. For example, you could create a graphic display to use
as a template, then duplicate the display each time you want to use
the template.

To duplicate a component
1. Right-click the component, and then click Duplicate.

2. In the Component name box, type a name for the duplicate

component.
3. Click OK.

2-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Printing
Each editor and component has a Print item on its File menu.

To print an editor or component’s contents

1. Open the editor or component.

2. On the File menu, click Print.

3. Click OK.

Selecting a printer
You must install a printer before you can select it. For information
about installing a printer, see your Windows documentation.

IMPORTANT The Print Setup menu item in RSView Studio applies to

your development computer only.
To print at run time, set up a printer on the computer
you’ll be using to run your application. For more
information about printing at run time, see page 2-18.

To select a printer
1. On the File menu in any editor or component, click Print Setup.

Printing ■ 2-17
Preface

2. If you don’t want to use the default printer, specify another

printer.
3. Choose the appropriate paper and orientation options.
4. Click OK.

Selecting printer setup options

For detailed information about printer options, refer to your

Windows documentation.

Selecting a network printer

RSView Studio can print to a network printer. For detailed

information about setting up network printers, refer to your
Windows documentation.

Printing at run time

You can print graphic displays at run time using the display print
button or using a remote display print. You can also send
diagnostics and alarm messages to a printer at run time.

2-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

For information about See

Display print buttons Page 14-40

Printing graphic displays Chapter 14
Printing displays remotely Chapter 8
Printing alarm messages Chapter 9
Printing diagnostics messages Chapter 10
Specifying the printers to use at run Page 24-8
time for Windows 2000 or Windows
XP applications
The type of printer to use with a Page 25-2
PanelView Plus or Windows CE
terminal

Printing ■ 2-19
3
Chapter

Planning applications
A well-designed application requires planning. To help you plan,
this chapter describes:
understanding the machines and processes you’re automating.
collecting data.
designing an HMI tag database.
planning graphic displays and navigating between them.
planning alarms.
providing information for the operator.
using trends.
designing a secure system.
RSView comes with several sample applications that can give you
guidance when planning your application. For instructions on
opening the sample applications, see page 2-2.

Understanding the process

Gather information from a variety of sources so you have a
complete and detailed understanding of the machines and processes
you’re automating.
To gather information:
Talk to machine operators and other experts who are going to
use the system. Find out what information they need to
optimize machine operations and processes.
Talk to management and management information systems staff
to find out what information they need to support planning
decisions.
Break up each section of the process into its constituent parts.
Determine what type of communications you’ll be
using—which network types, data servers, and devices.
Determine which process variables you need to have access to
and identify their locations in the programmable controllers.
For information about setting up communications, see Chapter 5.

Understanding the process ■ 3-1

Preface
Collecting data
When planning data collection, design your system so only essential
data is collected. Limiting data collection is important because
collection activities require substantial processing power and
generate a lot of traffic on the network.
Keep data collection requirements in mind when designing the
layout of the programmable controller data tables and the HMI tag
database. Ideally, tag addresses should reference contiguous blocks
of programmable controller data tables to reduce highway traffic
and optimize system response. If you’re going to use data from an
OPC server, read the server documentation to find out how to
optimize traffic.

Designing an HMI tag database

Take the time to plan your HMI tag database. A good design helps
reduce the time required for maintenance and can improve
programmable controller-to-RSView response time.
For information about creating HMI tags, see Chapter 7.
If you are going to use direct referencing for all your tags, you
don’t need to create HMI tags in RSView. For information about
creating direct references to data server tags, see Chapter 6.

Collecting information
Before you begin creating the database, collect:
flowcharts of your processes (or process and instrument
diagrams).
a list of programmable controller data table or register addresses
your application will have access to.
machinery systems documentation.
alarm requirements (for more information, see page 3-5).

3-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Organizing tags
Before creating tags:
Develop naming conventions for tags, choosing names that are
familiar and logical to everyone. This makes troubleshooting
easier.
Group related tags.
Group tags in the way that makes most sense for your
application. For example, group all similar devices or group
related areas of the plant floor.
When creating tags, place related tags into folders. For greater
organization, nest folders.

Planning graphic displays

When planning displays, determine the best way for users to
navigate through your displays and develop a template to establish
a common look and feel for your displays.
Also consider factors about the run-time terminal that affect how
the application is displayed and used, such as:
screen size.
whether the operator will be using a keyboard, touch screen,
mouse, or combination of navigation and data entry methods.
For information about creating graphic displays, see Chapter 14.

Developing a hierarchy of displays

A hierarchy of displays is a series of graphic displays that provide
progressively more detail as users move through them. Design your
display hierarchy to meet the needs of the various users, including
managers, supervisors, and operators.
Well-organized graphic displays present information clearly and
consistently and guide users through the system. Before designing
individual graphic displays, plan an overall display hierarchy and
plan how users will navigate through the hierarchy.
For information about navigation methods and developing a
hierarchy of displays, see Chapter 8.

Planning graphic displays ■ 3-3

Preface
Creating a template to ensure consistency
It is possible to keep a consistent appearance among all the displays
in an application by presenting the same pieces of information in
the same place on each graphic display. To ensure uniformity,
develop a display with common elements that acts as a template.
Each time you develop a new display, start with a duplicate of the
template.
For example, the template could contain:
your company logo.
a title.
the date and time.
navigational buttons.
The template does not use a special file format like a Microsoft
Word template does, but is simply a graphic display that you
duplicate for each new display.
When designing displays, applying good visual design principles
helps users and increases their efficiency. Remember these
important design principles:

Consistency
Be consistent with your use of symbols and color.
Be consistent with button labels and button placement.
When you design several displays, place the same kinds of
buttons in the same positions. For example, if you have a Start
button in a certain position in one display, don’t put a Stop
button in the same position in the next display.

Clarity
Use symbols that are easily recognizable. For example, use the
conventional ISA symbols for tanks and valves.
Don’t overload the screen with information.
Use standard, clear terminology, and avoid abbreviations or
acronyms that the user might not understand.
Use colors with recognizable meanings. For example, in North
America the colors red and green usually mean stop and start.

3-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Keep color meanings consistent by assigning red only to Stop
buttons, and green only to Start buttons.
Some people are color blind to red and green so don’t rely on
color alone to establish meaning.
Use high contrast color combinations, such as yellow on blue.

Usability

If you’re designing for a touch screen, don’t place important

buttons where they’ll be blocked by an On Top display. The
user can’t press a covered button. Also, ensure the button is
large enough for users to touch easily.
Ensure there is always a clear way to move between displays.
Keep the intended user in mind and design displays so they are
easy to understand and use. Ask the users to test the displays.

Planning alarms
Before setting up alarms, plan:
what conditions will trigger alarms.
how operators will be notified of alarms.
what information you want alarm messages to contain.
how operators will respond to alarms.

For information about setting up alarms, see Chapter 9.

Providing information for the operator

In addition to notifying the operator of alarm conditions, you can
provide information and instructions about plant processes, and
inform the operator about system activities.
Before setting up information notification, plan:
what system activity the operator needs to be informed about.
what conditions will trigger information messages.
what information you want the messages to contain.

Providing information for the operator ■ 3-5

Preface
Local and information messages
Use local messages to give the operator information in a specific
graphic display while the display is open. Use information messages
to give the operator information no matter which display is open.
For information about setting up local messages, see page 14-34.
For information about setting up information messages, see
Chapter 12.

Diagnostics messages
Set up diagnostics messages to notify the operator of system activity
such as tag reads and writes, communication problems, running
macros, or problems opening displays.
For information about setting up diagnostics messages, see
Chapter 10.

Using trends
When planning trends, consider how they will be used. For
example, will the trend be used to:
analyze process trends?
monitor production efficiency?
archive process variables to ensure compliance with government
regulations?
Based on such considerations, you can determine:
which tags need to be plotted on the same trend.
which tags need to be logged by using a data log model.
For information about setting up data logging, see Chapter 11. For
information about creating trend graphic objects, see Chapter 18.

3-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Designing a secure system
When deciding on your security requirements, consider whether to:
restrict access to every graphic display to prevent accidental
changes.
restrict access to certain graphic displays.
have everyone log on.
allow only authorized users to shut down the application.
use the DeskLock tool to prevent users from switching to
another application at run time (Windows 2000 and
Windows XP run-time applications only).
Based on these considerations, you can set up security for
individual users or groups of users. For example, you might want to
set up groups of users, such as a manager group and an operator
group.
For more information about setting up security, see Chapter 13.

Designing a secure system ■ 3-7

4
Chapter

Working with
applications
This chapter describes:
application files.
creating, opening, and closing applications.
copying, deleting, backing up, renaming, and restoring
applications.
specifying project settings.
viewing application properties.

What is an application?
An application is the software application you create in RSView
Studio to monitor and control your plant processes. An application
consists of one or more data servers and an HMI project (also
known as an HMI server). The data servers provide
communications for the project. The project or HMI server consists
of graphic displays, alarm information, user information, and other
settings.
For information about viewing the application properties, see
page 4-15. For information about viewing the HMI server
properties, see page 4-16.

Application versus project

This manual generally uses the term application to refer to both
application-level and project-level procedures. An exception is the
section on using the Project Settings editor, which begins on
page 4-9. In that section, the term project is used.
When you create an application, RSView creates folders and files in
various locations on the development computer. Some of the folders
are empty until you start setting up your application. When you
finish developing the application, RSView uses the information in
the various folders and files to create the run-time application.

What is an application? ■ 4-1

Preface
HMI project file
The HMI project file has the extension .med. You open this file to
work on the application in RSView Studio. The HMI project file is
located in this directory:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView
Enterprise\ME\HMI projects
or
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents
\RSView Enterprise\ME\MHI projects

Run-time application file

The run-time application consists of a file with the extension .mer.
For information about creating the run-time application, see
Chapter 23.

Component files
Component files are located in folders in the HMI project folder, as
described in the following table. For example, graphic display
component files (with the extension .gfx) are stored in the Gfx
folder. You might need to navigate to the location of these files, for
example if you are adding a component from one application into
another application.
This folder Contains File
extensions
Application name HMI project file and the folders .med
described below

DLG Data log models (component .mdf

files)
Gfx Graphic display component files .gfx
Images Image files .bmp
Information Information message component .ifm
files
Local Local message component files .loc
Macros Macro component files .mcr
PAR Parameter component files .par

4-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

External folders
The following table lists some RSView folders that are external to
the HMI project folder, and the types of files they contain.

The folders are located in this directory:

Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView
Enterprise

This folder Contains File

extensions
Images Image files for use on .bmp
graphic objects
ME\Libraries Graphic library .gfx
component files and .bmp
image files used in the
library displays
ME\Logs\Run-time Application Data log files for .log, .tag
Name\Dlg\Data Log Model applications that have
Name run on the development
computer
ME\Logs\Run-time Application Alarm log file for .alm
Name\M_Alarms applications that have
run on the development
computer
ME\Runtime Run-time application .mer
files
ME\HMI projects Sample application
folders, including all files
and folders needed for
the sample

If desired, you can specify a different directory in which to store

graphic library component files. For more information, see
page 14-20.

Default log file locations for PanelView Plus

or Windows CE terminal applications
On the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, alarm and data
log folders are located by default in this directory:
\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\RSViewME\Logs\

What is an application? ■ 4-3

Preface
Data log file locations

You can also store data log files in a different location on the
run-time computer, on a networked computer, or on a PC card. For
more information, see Chapter 11.

Naming files
File names, including the path, can be up to 200 characters long (file
names can contain spaces). For example, the following path and file
name contains 114 characters:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView
Enterprise\ME\HMI projects\Malthouse_640x480\
Gfx\Steeping.gfx

Creating, opening, and closing applications

Creating applications
You can create a new application when you start RSView Studio, or
once RSView Studio is already open.

To create a new application when you start RSView Studio

1. Start RSView Studio.

4-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

2. In the New tab, in the Application name box, type a name for
your application, up to 32 characters long.

If desired, type a description of the application. If you don’t

type a description now, you can add one later, as described on
page 4-15.

3. Click Create.

RSView Studio creates the application’s folders and files, and

then displays the new application in the Application Explorer.

The application is created in the ME\HMI projects directory, in a

folder with the same name as the application name.

This is the path to the ME\HMI projects directory:

Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView

Enterprise\ME\HMI projects

Creating, opening, and closing applications ■ 4-5

 Preface
Once you create the application, specify the project
IMPORTANT
settings. These settings determine the general appearance
of your run-time application, and affect how your
graphic displays look. For more information, see page
4-9.

To create a new application when RSView Studio is already

open
1. On the File menu, click New Application, or click the New
Application tool.
New Application tool
If an application is already open, RSView Studio asks you
whether to close the application that is currently open. Click
Yes.
2. Follow steps 2 and 3 in the previous procedure.

Importing applications
You can import PanelBuilder, PanelBuilder32 and PanelBuilder
1400e applications into RSView Studio.
For details, see Appendix A and Appendix B.

Opening applications
You can open an application when you start RSView Studio, or
once RSView Studio is already open.
For information about opening a sample application, see page 2-2.

To open an existing application when you start RSView

Studio
1. Start RSView Studio.

4-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. Click the Existing tab, and then click the application to open.
3. Click Open.
RSView Studio displays the application in the Application
Explorer.

To open an existing application when RSView Studio is

already open
1. On the File menu, click Open Application, or click the Open
Application tool.
Open Application too If an application is already open, RSView Studio asks you
whether to close the application that is currently open. Click
Yes.
2. Follow steps 2 through 4 in the previous procedure.

To open an application you used recently

" On the File menu, select Recent Applications, and then click the
name of the application to open.
If an application is already open, RSView Studio asks you
whether to close the application that is currently open. Click
Yes.

Opening multiple applications

To open two applications at the same time, for example to copy
images and graphic objects between applications, start two
instances of RSView Studio.

Creating, opening, and closing applications ■ 4-7

 Preface
Closing applications
To close an application

" On the File menu, click Close Application.

If there are any unsaved changes in open editors, RSView Studio
asks you whether to save the changes before closing the
application.

To close an application and exit RSView Studio at the same

time

" Click the Close button at the right end of the RSView Studio
title bar.
Close button
If there are any unsaved changes in open editors, RSView Studio
asks you whether to save the changes before closing them.

Renaming, copying, deleting, backing up, and

restoring applications
Use the Application Manager tool to:
rename applications.
copy applications.
delete applications.
create a compressed backup copy of an application, with the file
extension .apa.
restore an application from the backup file.
restore a legacy project backup file (with the file extension .mea)
from an earlier release of RSView Studio, and convert it to
Version 3.0.

To start the tool, do one of the following

In RSView Studio, on the Tools menu click Application
Manager.
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, Tools, and then click Application
Manager.
For details about using the tool, see the tool’s Help.

4-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

About project settings
Project settings determine the general appearance of your run-time
application, such as the size of the project window and whether a
title bar appears in the project window.

Since project settings affect how your graphic displays look, specify
the settings before creating graphic displays.

Project window size and run-time screen

resolution
This section describes the difference between project window size
and run-time screen resolution, and describes how these two
settings can affect the behavior of your application at run time.

The project window size is the amount of room your application

occupies on the run-time terminal or computer screen, in pixels.
The run-time screen resolution is the actual size of the run-time
terminal or computer screen, in pixels. Therefore, the project
window size must be less than or equal to the run-time screen
resolution.

Project window size

(640 x 480 pixels)

Screen resolution
(1024 x 768 pixels)

About project settings ■ 4-9

Preface
Usually, an application is designed to completely fill the run-time
terminal or computer screen. If you want your application to do
this, set the project window size to the resolution of the screen in
pixels. For information on setting the project window size, see
page 4-13.

Changing the project window size after creating graphic

displays

The project window size is used for all graphic displays of the
Replace type. If you decrease the window size after you have
already created graphic displays, Replace displays are resized, but
any objects in the displays remain the same size and in the same
position as before. On Top displays are not resized.

For more information about Replace and On Top displays, see

page 14-12.

How the run-time screen resolution affects the pop-up

windows

RSView comes with a pop-up Login window, as well as numeric

and string pop-up windows for run-time data entry.

RSView sizes the

pop-up window to
occupy the center of
the screen

4-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 How the project window size affects the default message
displays

Your application comes with preconfigured, default graphic

displays for diagnostics, alarm, and information messages. If the
project window size is smaller than the default displays, the edges
of the displays are cut off at run time.

The right edge of the

[ALARM MULTI-LINE]
display is cut off.

These are the sizes of the default displays:

Graphic display Width in pixels Height in pixels

[DIAGNOSTICS] 640 160

[ALARM] 640 210
[INFORMATION] 640 80

If your project window size is smaller than the default message

display sizes, you can resize the default displays, or use your own
displays instead.

Title bar
If you select this option, a title bar is used for all Replace graphic
displays. For information about graphic display types, see
page 14-12.

If desired, you can also use a Control box, Minimize button, and
Close button on the title bar. The Close button appears only if you
select the Control box in the Project Settings editor.

About project settings ■ 4-11

 Preface

Title Graphic display name Minimize button

Control box Close button

If you plan to set up security for your application and want to

prevent unauthorized users from stopping the application, do not
use a title bar.
For information about setting up security, see Chapter 13.

Title bar for On Top displays

For On Top displays, you can specify a different name to use in the
title bar. Use the Display Settings dialog box to specify the name
(for details, see page 14-12).

The title you specify in

the Project Settings
editor applies to all
Replace displays.

You can specify a

different title for each
On Top display (using
the Display Settings
dialog box in the
Graphic Displays
editor).

4-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Specifying project settings
To specify project settings
1. Open the Project Settings editor.

spacer text

2. In the General tab, specify these settings:

Project window size

Select a standard window size, or to use a different size, select
Custom size.

Width
If you select Custom size, type the width of the window in
pixels.

Specifying project settings ■ 4-13

Preface
Height
If you select Custom size, type the height of the window in
pixels.

3. Click the Runtime tab, and then specify these settings:

Title bar
Check this box to display the name of the application (or other
title) in a title bar at the top of the window. Type the title in the
box below the check box.
If you select this option, the window border is automatically
displayed with the title bar.

Border
Check this box to display a border around the project window.
If you select Title bar, this option is selected automatically.

4-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Control box
Check this box to display a Control box at the left end of the
title bar. The user can click the Control box to display the
Control menu, which contains options for displaying, moving,
sizing, and closing the window.
If you select this option, a Close button appears at the right end
of the title bar.
Control menu
This option is available only if you select Title bar.

Minimize button
Check this box to display a Minimize button at the right end of
the title bar. The Minimize button reduces the window to an
icon.
This option is available only if you select Title bar and Control
box.

Project window position

Type the number of pixels from the top left corner of the screen
to position the window. If the project window occupies the
whole screen, accept the default values of 0.

Enable auto logout

Check this box if you want the current user to be logged out
automatically if the terminal is inactive for a specified period of
time.

Inactivity period
Type the length of time the terminal must be inactive before the
current user is automatically logged out and the default user is
logged in.
4. Click OK to save the settings and close the editor.

Viewing application properties

You can view this information about your application:
application name
application description, if any

To view application properties

1. On the Application menu, click Application Properties.

Viewing application properties ■ 4-15

Preface

2. If desired, enter or modify the description for the application.

Viewing HMI server properties

You can use the Application Explorer to view this information
about your project or HMI server:
application name
application description, if any
location of the project file
number of graphic displays in the application
maximum number of displays you’re licensed to use

4-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

HMI server name

To view application properties

1. In the Application Explorer, right-click the HMI server name,
and then click Properties.

Viewing HMI server properties ■ 4-17

Preface

2. If desired, enter or modify the description for the HMI server.

4-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

5
Chapter

Setting up
communications
This chapter describes:
what data servers are.
creating data servers in your application.
setting up data server caches.
updating data server caches.
removing data servers from your application.
editing data servers.

About OPC communications

OPCt is OLE for Process Control, used to connect RSViewt to
communication devices via vendor-specific OPC servers. RSView
supports the OPC-DA 2.0 specification.
OPC servers provide a way for RSView to retrieve tag values from:
Allen-Bradley controller devices, using RSLinxt for RSView or
RSLinx Enterprise as an OPC server.
third-party controller devices, such as Siemens or Modiconr,
using third-party OPC servers such as KEPServerEnterpriset.

Summary of steps
To set up communications, follow these steps:
1. Gather information about your network, and the devices that
are connected to it. You will need this information to set up
RSLinx Enterprise, RSLinx for RSView, or another OPC server.
2. If you want to set up RSLinx Enterprise, go to Setting Up
RSLinx Enterprise as a Data Server on page 5-4, and then skip
to step 5.

Summary of steps ■ 5-1

Preface
RSLinx Enterprise is installed automatically when you install
RSView Machine Edition. For more information about RSLinx
Enterprise, see Help for RSLinx Enterprise.

3. If you want to use RSLinx for RSView as the OPC server that
enables communications on your network, set up RSLinx for
RSView on the development computer. RSLinx for RSView is
included on the RSView Machine Edition CD-ROM.For
details, see Getting Results with RSLinx, or see Help for
RSLinx.

4. If you want to use an OPC server other than RSLinx for

RSView to enable communications on your network, set up the
OPC server on the development computer. For details, see the
documentation supplied with your OPC server.

5. In RSView Studio, create a data server that points to the OPC

server you set up in step 2 or step 3.

For details, see page 5-4.

6. If you want to use HMI tags in your application, open the Tags
editor, and then create device tags that point to addresses in
devices. For details about creating HMI tags, see Chapter 7.

If you do not want to use HMI tags, but instead want to

reference addresses in devices directly, skip this step.

7. In objects in graphic displays, or anywhere else you want access

to values in tags, type the tag name using the syntax for your
OPC server, or use the Tag Browser to select tags. For details
about using tags, see Chapter 6.

8. Create the run-time application file. For details, see Chapter 23.

All the necessary tag information is compiled with the run-time

application file.

9. If you are using an OPC server other than RSLinx Enterprise or

RSLinx for RSView , install the OPC server software on the
run-time computer.

For Windows 2000 and Windows XP applications, the OPC

server can be on a different (remote) computer than the run-time
computer, but the remote computer must be on the same
network as the run-time computer.

5-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

About data servers
A data server provides a route to the physical devices on your
network, so you can see the values in those devices, for example:
programmable controller values.
OPC tags, and their value or status information.
named variables in a ControlLogix processor.

Using multiple data servers

Use multiple data servers to:
communicate with more than one type of controller
simultaneously, for example a Rockwell Automation controller
(such as ControlLogix), a Modicon controller, and a Siemens
controller.
Because RSLinx Enterprise and RSLinx for RSView can be set
up to communicate with multiple types of controllers
simultaneously, you might not need a separate data server for
each controller.
If you have set up RSLinx Enterprise or RSLinx for RSView to
communicate with all the controllers in your application, you
need only one data server, and then you can access each
controller using a different RSLinx Enterprise device shortcut or
RSLinx topic.
For details about setting up communications in RSLinx
Enterprise, see Help for RSLinx Enterprise.
For details about setting up communications in RSLinx for
RSView, see Getting Results with RSLinx, or see Help for
RSLinx.
balance the processing load for exchanging data. If CPU usage is
high on a computer on which one data server is running, you
could create another data server on another computer to balance
the processing load.
balance the memory load for tag values. If the computer on
which a data server is running runs out of memory, you could
create another data server on another computer to provide more
memory for tag values.

About data servers ■ 5-3

Preface
Creating data servers
An RSLinx Enterprise data server is created automatically with a
new application.
You can create multiple RSLinx Enterprise or OPC data servers for
your application. For example, you might want to use an RSLinx
Enterprise data server and a KEPServerEnterprise data server.

Setting up an RSLinx Enterprise data server

Use an RSLinx Enterprise data server when you want to use
RSLinx Enterprise communications. For details about setting up
communications in RSLinx Enterprise, see Help for RSLinx
Enterprise.

To create an RSLinx Enterprise data server

1. In the Application Explorer, do one of the following:
Right-click the application root, point to New Data Server,
and then click RSLinx Data Server.
On the File menu, select New, and then click RSLinx
Data Server.
2. In the dialog box, fill in the options in each tab, as described in
the sections that follow. When you are finished, click OK.
The data server is displayed in the Application Explorer.

Specifying the RSLinx Enterprise server

Name Type a name for the data server. The name of the data server
cannot include hyphens (-).

Setting up communications
You can use the Communication Setup editor to add drivers, add
devices, set up driver and device properties, and set up device
shortcuts.

To set up communications in RSLinx Enterprise

1. Double-click the Communication Setup editor.
2. In the RSLinx Configuration Wizard, follow the instructions to
create a new configuration or use an existing device
configuration.

5-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

3. Click Finish.
4. In the Device Shortcuts dialog, add, or remove device shortcuts.

Shortcuts set up in the Target tab apply to the communication

configuration of the run-time terminal. This file is downloaded
to the run-time terminal with the application and can be used
with the application at run time.
Shortcuts set up in the Local tab apply to the communications
configuration of the development computer. These shortcuts are
used when testing the display and the application.
The same shortcut names are used in both instances, but they
can be configured to refer to different devices.
For more information, see Help for RSLinx Enterprise.

Creating data servers ■ 5-5

Preface
Setting up an OPC data server
Use an OPC data server if you want to use RSLinx for RSView
instead of RSLinx Enterprise, or if you want to use a third party
OPC data server.

To create an OPC data server

1. In the Application Explorer, do one of the following:

Right-click the application root, point to New Data Server,

and then click OPC Data Server.
On the File menu, select New, and then click OPC
Data Server.

5-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

2. In the dialog box, fill in the options in each tab, as described in
the sections that follow. When you are finished, click OK.

The data server is displayed in the Application Explorer.

Specifying the OPC server

In the General tab, type a description for the data server, and
specify where the server is located and the name of the OPC server.

Name Type a name for the data server. The name of the data server
cannot include hyphens (-).

Description Type a description for the data server. For example,

use this box to describe the server’s location, or to identify a
contact person or number in the event of failure.

Computer hosting the server Specify whether the server will be

hosted on the local computer (the computer your application will
run on at run time) or a remote computer. To browse for the name
of a remote computer, click Browse.

IMPORTANT For applications that will run on a PanelView

Plus or Windows CE terminal, the server must
be on the local computer.

OPC Server name (ProgID) Type the programmatic ID of the

OPC server. To browse for the programmatic ID, click Browse.
The list displays the servers installed on the development computer.

If you want to use RSLinx for RSView as the OPC server, and
RSLinx for RSView is installed on the same computer as RSView
ME Station, click RSLinx OPC Server.

If RSLinx for RSView is not installed on the same computer as

RSView ME Station, click RSLinx Remote OPC Server.

Setting up data server caches

In the Advanced tab, if desired, set up a cache for tags on the data
server. A cache allows you to view tag names when you are not
connected to the data server.

Creating data servers ■ 5-7

Preface

Include extended information in the server cache file Check

this box if you want to view additional infomation about tags, such
as their data types, when you are not connected to the data server.

Create cache Click this button to create the data server cache file.

For information about updating the data server cache, see the next
section.

Updating data server caches

If tags are added, modified, or deleted on the data server, you must
update (synchronize) the cache manually.

5-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

To update a data server’s cache
1. In the Application Explorer, right-click the data server, and then
click Properties.
2. Click the Advanced tab.

3. Click Synchronize.
4. Click OK.

Creating data servers ■ 5-9

Preface
Removing data servers
To remove a data server

" Right-click the data server, and then click Remove.

Editing data servers

To edit a data server
1. Right-click the data server, and then click Properties.

2. Make your changes in the dialog box that opens.

3. Click OK.

5-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

6
Chapter

Working with tags

This chapter provides general information about working with all
kinds of tags. This chapter describes:
types of tags.
when to use data server tags.
when to use HMI tags.
using the Tag Browser.
using tags and expressions in your application.
logging tag values.
using macros to assign values to tags.
For information about creating HMI tags, see Chapter 7.

Types of tags
A tag is a logical name for a variable in a device or in local memory
(RAM). For example, a tag can represent a process variable in a
programmable controller.

Data server tags

RSViewt conforms to the OPCt Data Access (DA) 2.0
specification for information exchange among automation or
control applications, field systems or devices, and business or office
applications.
In RSView, data servers such as RSLinx Enterprise, RSLinxt for
RSView, and KEPServerEnterpriset provide access to
OPC-DA-compliant tags. In the RSView documentation, the tags
you access through a data server are called data server tags. For
more information about data servers, see Chapter 5.
Data server tags include tags found in ControlLogix processors and
tags from other OPC-compliant devices. You use data server tags
by providing a direct reference to the tag’s location, wherever you
want your application to use the data.

Types of tags ■ 6-1

Preface
HMI tags
In addition to direct referencing tags from data servers, RSView
allows you to create tags with additional properties such as
minimum and maximum values, scale, and offset. These tags can
reference values at an external data source, or store values in the
run-time computer’s memory. Tags you create in RSView are called
HMI tags.

The data source

The RSView documentation uses the term data source as a generic
term that includes all possible sources of tag data, for both data
server tags and HMI tags. The data source can be memory or a
device such as a programmable controller or an OPC server.
RSView writes values to and reads values from the data source. The
data source is set up to exchange information (in the form of
numeric or string values) between the RSView value table and the
machine that your application is controlling.

Basic steps for using tags

To use tags, follow these basic steps:
1. If the tag does not already exist, create the tag:
To use a data server tag, you can use an existing tag in the
processor (for example, a programmable controller), or you
can create a new one in the processor or OPC server. For
example, in a ControlLogix processor, you could create the
tag using your RSLogix 5000 programming software.
To use an HMI tag, you must first create it in the Tags editor.
For details, see Chapter 7.
2. Browse for, or type, the name of the tag anywhere you want to
connect an object to data at run time.
For example, to make a push button change a tag value when it
is pressed, connect the push button to a tag by typing the tag
name in the Connections tab of the push button’s Properties
dialog box.

Browsing for tags

If you don’t know the names of tags, you can browse for them. You
can browse while online and connected to a device, or you can
browse for tags from an offline file, for example a ControlLogix
program file.
To browse for tags, use the Tag Browser. For details, see page 6-5.

6-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Using tag names that don’t exist
You can type the name of a tag that doesn’t yet exist. If you do this,
ensure that you spell every instance of the tag name consistently,
and that you when you do create the tag, you spell it the same way
you did when you referred to it.

When to use data server tags

For some of the things you might need to do in your application,
you might not need to create HMI tags. Use direct references to
tags located in devices instead, for example, tags located in an OPC
server’s database.

Eliminating duplication
Using data server tags allows you to add, modify, or delete tags in a
device without having to duplicate the changes in the RSView HMI
tag database.

Using complex data

Some devices, for example ControlLogix processors, support
complex data types such as arrays and structures. Your controller
might have structures that contain hundreds of member elements.
Referencing tag values directly eliminates the need for creating an
HMI tag for each member.

Steps for using data server tags

To use data server tags, complete three basic steps:
1. Create the tag in the OPC server or processor, or use an existing
tag in the processor.
The server should understand the syntax of the device it’s
connected to. You need only create a tag if you want to browse
the server.
Examples of OPC servers include RSLinx Enterprise, RSLinx
for RSView, and KEPServerEnterprise. For information about
creating tags in OPC servers that have their own tag database,
see the documentation provided with the server.
For information about creating tags in a ControlLogix
processor, see the documentation for your device programming
software.

Steps for using data server tags ■ 6-3

Preface
2. Create a data server in RSView, if your application doesn’t
already have one.
For more information, see Chapter 5.
3. In graphic displays, data log models, or anywhere else you want
to use a tag’s value, create a direct reference to the tag. At run
time, the tag’s value is passed to the graphic display or data log
model.

When to use HMI tags

Use HMI tags to manipulate tag data and to store tag values in the
run-time computer’s memory.

Scaling, offsetting, or providing a range for

data
Use HMI tags if the data server you are using does not provide for:
scaling or offsetting a value.
setting minimum or maximum limits on a value (that is,
providing a range of values).

Scale and offset

The scale and offset modify the “raw data“ that comes from and
goes to the programmable controller before the data is saved in the
computer’s memory (called the value table). The scale and offset
also modify the value specified in RSView before it is written to the
programmable controller.
The scale is a multiplication factor—the value from the
programmable controller is multiplied by the scale.
The offset is a fixed value—after the value from the programmable
controller is multiplied by the scale, the offset amount is added.

Minimum and maximum

HMI tags allow you to set a minimum and maximum value that can
be written to the programmable controller or server.
These values do not affect what is read from the programmable
controller or server.

6-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 For example, if you specify a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 100,
RSView would be able to read a value of 200 from a programmable
controller and store it in the value table, but would not be able to
write this value to the programmable controller.
For more information about minimum and maximum, and scale
and offset, see page 7-17.

Storing values in RSView memory

A memory tag can be used to store values without the need for an
attached or accessible device.
For example, you might need to store a value in memory:
to store the result of a calculation.
temporarily, for example, a counter or index.
to maintain information about the system’s current state, for
example which graphic display was last displayed.
For information about creating HMI memory tags, see Chapter 7.

Steps for using HMI tags

To use HMI tags, complete two basic steps:
1. In the Tags editor in RSView, create a tag and map the tag name
to an OPC tag or device address.
For more information, see Chapter 7.
2. In graphic displays, alarm triggers, or anywhere else you want
to use a tag’s value, assign the tag. At run time, the tag’s value is
passed to the graphic display or alarm system.

Browsing for tags

You don’t have to remember the path and name of a tag to use it in
your application. Whenever you need to use a tag, you can open the
Tag Browser and select the tag to use.

To open the Tag Browser

In most editors, click the Browse button in the Tags column.
In the Expression editor, position the cursor where you want to
Browse button insert a tag name, and then click Tags.

Browsing for tags ■ 6-5

Preface
In the Parameters editor, double-click where you want to insert
a tag name.

The Tag Browser has two modes: one for selecting a single tag, and
one for selecting multiple tags. Depending on whether a single tag
or multiple tags are expected, when you click the Browse button
the single-selection Tag Browser opens, as shown above, or the
multiple-selection Tag Browser opens, as shown on page 6-13.

6-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The Tag Browser for multiple selections allows you to add tags to a
list, and then edit the list before you click OK.

In the Tag Browser, you can:

select tags.
edit HMI tags.
create new HMI tags.
create new folders for HMI tags.
import tags from a PLC or SLC database.

Browsing for off-line tags

For each RSLinx Enterprise device shortcut, or each RSLinx for
RSView OPC topic in your application, an Offline and an Online
folder is displayed in the Tag Browser.

In RSLinx Enterprise, you can use the Offline folder to browse tags
in a RSLogix.acd file. For details about making the .acd file
available to browse offline, see RSLinx Enterprise Help.

In RSLinx for RSView, you can use the Offline folder to browse
tags in a PLC program stored on disk. If the OPC topic in RSLinx
for RSView has access to symbols, you can browse for them in the
Offline folder. For details about adding symbols to the OPC topic
in RSLinx for RSView, see RSLinx for RSView Help.

The Offline folder

contains tags that are
available when you are
not connected to the
controller.

The Online folder

contains tags that are
available when you are
connected to the
controller.

Browsing for off-line tags ■ 6-7

 Preface
Using the Tag Browser

Root folder (same name

as the application)

Folders pane

Tags pane

For a better view of the

folders or tags, drag this
bar to the left or the right.

The parts of the Tag Browser are described on the pages that follow.

6-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Working with folders in the Tag Browser
Tags in your application are organized by folders.

To open or close a folder, do one of the following

Double-click the folder.
Click the + or – icon.
Folders represent the layout of your application:
The root folder shows the name of the application.
The other folders show the names of HMI tag folders and
folders of data server tags. For example, RSLinx for RSView tags
are in a folder with the name of the RSLinx for RSView topic.

Showing server names

By default, the folder pane shows folders, but not the servers they
belong to. You can show the names of servers that have been set up
in the application.

Working with folders in the Tag Browser ■ 6-9

Preface
To display server names

" Right-click a blank area of the folders pane and then click Show
Server Names.

The folders list with The folders list with

server names hidden. server names shown.

In the example on the left, folders are listed alphabetically by name.

In the example on the right, there are two data servers, named
KepServer and RSLinxServer. Folders of data server tags are listed
under the data server to which they belong. Below the data servers,
the application is listed as an HMI server, with folders of HMI tags
under the application name.

Creating folders
You can use the Tag Browser to create folders that will contain
HMI tags. You cannot add folders to data servers.

To create a folder
1. If server names are not visible, right-click the Folders pane, and
then click Show Server Names.

6-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

You can add folders to the
application only, not to
the data servers.

2. Right-click the application name, and then click New HMI Tag
Folder.
3. In the Name box, type the folder name.

4. Click OK.

Refreshing the list of folders and tags

If you have the Tag Browser open, and you add a tag, the new tag
does not appear in the Tag Browser automatically.

To refresh the list of tags in a folder

" Right-click the folder, and then click Refresh Folder.

To refresh the list of tags in all folders

" Right-click a folder in the Folders list, and then click Refresh
All Folders.
If your application contains many data servers, refreshing all
folders can take some time.

Working with folders in the Tag Browser ■ 6-11

Preface
Working with tags in the Tag Browser
Tags are displayed in the right pane of the Tag Browser.

Displaying tags

To display tags

" Click a folder.

Any tags in the folder appear in the right pane of the Tag
Browser. If multiple servers use the same tag name, the server
name automatically appears with the tag name.

Showing or hiding tag descriptions

By default, the Tag Browser does not show tag descriptions.

To show or hide tag descriptions

" Right-click a blank area of the right pane, and then click Show
Description.

Selecting tags

To select tags, do one of the following

To select a single tag, double-click it.
To select consecutive tags, click the first tag, press and hold
down the Shift key, click the last tag, and then click OK.
To select tags that are not consecutive, click the first tag, press
and hold down the Ctrl key, and then click each tag. When you
are finished selecting tags, click OK.

6-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Using the Selected tags list
In the multiple-selection Tag Browser, the Selected tags list shows
the list of tags you have selected. If multiple servers use the same
tag name, the server name automatically appears with the tag name.

To copy tags from this list

to the clipboard, highlight
them, and then press
Ctrl+C.

To add tags to the list

1. Click the folder that contains the tags you want to add to the
list.
2. Select the tags to add to the list.

3. Click Add Tag(s) to List.

Working with tags in the Tag Browser ■ 6-13

Preface
To remove selected tags from the list

" Highlight the tag or tags to remove, and then click Remove.

To remove all the tags from the list

Click Clear.

Displaying tag properties

To display tag properties

" Right-click a tag in the right pane, and then click Properties.

The Item
Canonical Data
Type property is
the tag’s data
type. For more
information about
tag data types,
see page 7-18.

6-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Filtering tags

To display only tags whose names match a pattern

" Type the pattern in the Tag Filter box, and then press Enter.
Tags that match the pattern are displayed in the right pane.
To create the filter, you can use these wildcards:

This wildcard Does this

? Matches any single character.

* Matches any number of characters.

Working with tags in the Tag Browser ■ 6-15

 Preface
The Tag Filter box lists the last 10 filters you applied.

Type the tag

filter here.
Filtered tags
are displayed
in the right
pane.
To clear the
filter, click
<None> in the
list.

6-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Creating, editing, and importing HMI tags
The context menu in the Tag Browser’s right pane includes three
menu items for working with HMI tags:
New HMI Tag allows you to create a new HMI tag.
Edit HMI Tag allows you to edit an existing HMI tag.
Import PLC Tags allows you to import a tag from another
database.
For information about creating and editing HMI tags, see
Chapter 7. For information about importing tags from a PLC
database, see page 7-26.

Using tags and expressions in your application

Once you’ve created tags (either in data servers or in RSView),
assign them to controls in your application to allow the application
to interact with the data source and perform actions based on the
tag values.
You can assign tags in these editors:
Expressions
Global Connections
Graphic Displays
Parameters
Alarm Setup
Information Setup
Macros
Data Log Models

Using tags and expressions in your application ■ 6-17

 Preface
Assigning tags
This example shows the Trigger dialog box that opens when you
click the Add button in the Triggers tab of the Alarm Setup editor:

Type the tag name here... ... or click the Browse button
to open the Tag Browser.

To assign a tag, do one of the following

In the “Tag or expression” column, type the tag name.
In the Tag column, click the Browse button and then select a tag
from the Tag Browser.
Browse button in For information about using the Tag Browser, see page 6-5.
the Tag column

Assigning tags to graphic objects

In the Graphic Displays editor, you can assign tags to many of the
graphic objects you create.
You can use up to 1,000 tags per graphic display. This limit includes
the tags contained in embedded variables.
Use one of these methods to assign tags to a graphic object:
Double-click the object to open the object’s Properties dialog
box, and then click the Connections tab.

Type the tag name here... ... or click the Browse button
to open the Tag Browser.

6-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Select the object, and then assign tags in the Connections tab of
the Property Panel.

Type the tag name here... ... or click the Browse

button to open the Tag
Browser.

Using expressions to manipulate tag values

Many of the controls to which you can assign a tag also permit the
use of expressions to perform logical or mathematical calculations
on tag values. If you assign an expression, RSView monitors the
expression value rather than the original tag value. For example,
your machine might send values to the data source in the form of
temperature in degrees Celsius. You could use an expression to
convert the value to degrees Fahrenheit, and then monitor the
expression result rather than the original tag value.

Using tags and expressions in your application ■ 6-19

Preface
If you can assign an expression, a Browse button is present in the
Exprn column in the editor or Connections tab.

Type the expression here... ... or click the Browse button to

open the Expression editor.

To assign an expression, do one of the following

In the Exprn column, click the Browse button, and then create
an expression in the Expression editor. Use this method if you
want to check the expression syntax.
In the “Tag or expression” column, type the expression. The
expression syntax is not checked if you use this method.
For more information about expressions, see Chapter 19.

Substituting tag names used in graphic

objects
You can use tag substitution to replace tag names assigned to the
controls for graphic objects. For example, if you assign a tag to
multiple objects in a graphic display, and then decide to use a
different name for the tag, you can create a new tag and then use tag
substitution to search for all tag references with the old name, and
replace them with the new tag name.
Tag substitution does not replace the tags contained in embedded
variables. To change the tags in embedded variables, edit the
variables directly. For information about editing embedded
variables, see page 20-8.
For more information about tag substitution, see page 15-46.

Logging tag values

Any analog or digital tag value can be logged. To set up data
logging, use the Data Log Models editor. For more information, see
Chapter 11.

6-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Logging tag values ■ 6-21
Preface
Using macros to assign values to tags
A macro is a list of tag assignments stored in a text file. Whenever
you run the macro, the specified values are written to the tags. For
more information about macros, see Chapter 21.

6-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

7
Chapter

Creating HMI tags

This chapter describes:

HMI tag types and data sources.
organizing HMI tags.
using the Tags editor.
searching for HMI tags.
using folders to group HMI tags.
viewing, creating, editing, duplicating, and deleting HMI tags.
setting up analog, digital, and string HMI tags.
other methods for creating HMI tags.
importing HMI tags.

HMI tag types

HMI tags are tags you create in RSViewt. For information about
when to use HMI tags versus when to use data server tags, see
Chapter 6.

You can create and use these types of HMI tags in RSView:

This tag Stores this type of data

type
Analog Range of values.
Use analog tags to represent variable states such as
temperature or the position of rotary controls.
Digital 0 or 1.
Use digital tags to represent devices that can only be on or
off, such as switches, contacts, and relays.

HMI tag types ■ 7-1

Preface
This tag Stores this type of data
type
String ASCII string, series of characters, or whole words
(maximum of 82 characters).
Use string tags to represent devices that use text, such as a
bar code scanner that uses an alphanumeric product code.
System Information generated while the system is running, such as
the name of the logged-in user, system time and date, and so
on.
RSView creates system tags when you create an application.
The system tags are stored in the folder called “system” in
the HMI tag database. You cannot edit system tags. You can
use system tags anywhere you would use any other type of
tag. For a list of system tags, see Appendix C.

Analog tags that use floating-point values

You can assign analog tags to most of the controls in RSView. If the
analog tag uses the floating-point data type but an integer value is
required, the floating-point value is rounded.
For information about the data types available for analog tags, see
page 7-18.

How values are rounded

When a floating-point value must be rounded to an integer, this is
how the value is rounded:
If the number after the decimal is 4 or less, the value is rounded
down. For example, 8.495 is rounded to 8.
If the number after the decimal is 6 or more, the value is rounded
up. For example, 8.6 is rounded to 9.
If the number after the decimal is 5, the value is rounded using a
“banker’s algorithm,” to average out the rounding over time:
If the number before the decimal is 0, the value is rounded
down. For example, 10.5 is rounded to 10.
If the number before the decimal is an odd number, the value
is rounded up. For example, 11.5 is rounded to 12.
If the number before the decimal is an even number, the value
is rounded down. For example, 12.5 is rounded to 12.

7-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Floating point values are rounded to a maximum of seven digits.
Therefore, using a floating-point data type and adding to it a
value that exceeds the seven significant digits will result in a
rounding error. For example, adding any number to 9,999,999
will result in a rounding error.
This rounding method is also used for numeric input enable buttons
that use the implicit decimal position, if an integer tag is assigned to
the button’s Value control. For more information about the numeric
input enable button, see page 16-94.

Data sources
When creating an HMI tag, you must specify a data source. The data
source determines whether the tag receives its values externally or
internally.

The data source

The RSView documentation uses the term data source as a generic
term that includes all possible sources of tag data, for both data
server tags and HMI tags. The data source can be memory or a
device such as a programmable controller or an OPCt server.
RSView writes values to and reads values from the data source. The
data source is set up to exchange information (in the form of
numeric or string values) between the RSView value table and the
machine that your application is controlling.

Device
A tag with device as its data source receives its data from a source
external to RSView. The data can come from a programmable
controller or other device via RSLinx Enterprise, or from another
OPC server. You can use up to 5,000 device tags.
For analog tags with Device as the data source, the data type
determines the format used when reading and writing tag data to the
data server.

Memory
A tag with memory as its data source receives its data from (and
stores values in) the RSView internal value table. Tags with memory
as the data source do not count toward the total tag limit.
For analog tags with Memory as the data source, select the data type
that matches the format of the data you will store in the tag.
Choosing Default is the same as choosing Floating Point.

Data sources ■ 7-3

Preface
Organizing HMI tags
Organizing tags makes finding and using tags faster and simpler. To
organize your tags, try these tips:
Establish naming conventions.
Naming conventions enable you to use wildcards most
effectively when searching for and displaying tags during
development.
Use folders to group related tags.

Naming tags
Tag names can be up to 255 characters long including folder name. If
you create a folder, the folder name becomes part of the tag name.
The tag name can contain these characters:
A to Z
0 to 9
underscore (_) and dash (-)
Tag names cannot contain spaces. The tag name can be mixed case.
Tag names preserve upper and lower case for readability but are not
case sensitive. For example, the tag name MixerValve1 is the same as
mixervalve1.
When a tag name starts with a number or contains a dash, enclose
the name in braces { } when you use it in an expression, for example,
{N33-0}. For more information about using tags in expressions see
Chapter 14.

Using folders to group tags

To organize tags, create a folder to store tags that are related to one
another. To separate the folder name from the rest of the tag name,
use a backslash (\). For example, tags in the folder called Pump
would start with Pump\.
For greater organization, you can nest folders. For example, you can
organize the HMI tag database first by area, then by machines in the
area, and finally by devices in each machine. The result might be
Area1\Machine1\Pump.
To create similar groups of tags quickly, create one folder with its
tags and then duplicate the folder.

7-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Using the Tags editor

To open the Tags editor

" Double-click the Tags icon.

The Tags editor has these parts: form area, query box, folder
hierarchy, and spreadsheet area.

Form
area

Query
box

Folder
hierarchy

Spreadsheet area

The information you enter in the form area is displayed in the

spreadsheet area.

Using the Tags editor ■ 7-5

Preface
Using the View menu
Use the items on the View menu to control the appearance of the
Tags editor.
To do this On the View menu, click this

Show or hide the spreadsheet area Spreadsheet

Show or hide the form area Form
Change the font used in the Spreadsheet Font. In the Font
spreadsheet area dialog box, specify the font, style,
and size to use.
Restore the default font Restore Default Settings
Update the contents of the editor Refresh
(for example, when you’ve created
tags in other editors). For details,
see page 7-7.
View information about the tag Tag Statistics
database. For details, see page 7-7.

Using the Accept and Discard buttons

When you enter information, the Prev and Next buttons change to
Accept and Discard buttons. Click Accept to save tag information.
Click Discard to cancel changes to a tag.

Using the tools

The Tags editor has these tools for working in the editor:
Use this tool To do this

Delete Delete the selected tag. For details,

see page 7-14.
Duplicate Tag Create a duplicate of the selected
tag, with all the same settings,
except for the name. For details, see
page 7-14.
Insert Row Insert a new tag above the selected
row. For details, see page 7-13.
Refresh Update the contents of the database
with changes from other editors.
For details, see page 7-7.
Delete Folder Delete the selected tag folder,
including all the tags in the folder.
For details, see page 7-12.

7-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Use this tool To do this

Duplicate Tag Folder Create a copy of the selected tag

folder, including all of the tags in
the folder. For details, see
page 7-12.
Create Folder Create a tag folder. For details, see
page 7-10.
DB Browser Import tags from a PLC database.
For details, see page 7-26.

Updating the contents of the Tags editor

You can create tags in the Tags editor, but you can also create them
as you work in other editors, and you can import them from an
existing tag database. To see the result of changes to the database you
make in other editors while the Tags editor is open, update the
contents.

To update the contents of the editor

" On the View menu, click Refresh, or click the Refresh tool.
When you click Refresh, the undo buffer is cleared and recent
Refresh tool
changes can’t be automatically reversed.
Refresh is not available if you haven’t accepted the current tag.
For information about creating tags in other editors, see page 7-23.

Viewing tag statistics

The Tag Statistics dialog box provides a summary of how many tags
your application uses, as well as other tag information such as the
date the HMI tag database was last modified. To view tag statistics,
the Tags editor must be open and have focus.

To view tag statistics

" On the View menu, click Tag Statistics.

Using the Tags editor ■ 7-7

Preface

Searching for HMI tags

Use the query box to select the tags you want to display in the
spreadsheet. This allows you to edit tags in different folders without
browsing the folder hierarchy. You can:
select a single tag by typing the tag name.
select multiple tags by typing wildcards.

These are the wildcards:

This character Does this
? Matches any single character.
* Matches any number of characters, including the
backslash (\) character.
Use this wildcard by itself to display all the tags in the
HMI tag database.

For example, to search for all the tags that contain the string “pump”
in their name, type *pump* in the Search For box. When you press

7-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Enter, a list of tags containing the string “pump” appears in the
spreadsheet.
When you do searches, remember that the backslash in a folder
name counts as a character in the tag name.

Using folders to group HMI tags

The folder hierarchy and spreadsheet work together. The hierarchy
shows the tag folders and the spreadsheet shows the tags within the
folders.
Use the folder hierarchy to:
create folders.
open folders.
add tags to folders.
nest folders.
duplicate folders.
delete folders.
A folder icon known as root is always present in the hierarchy
window, at the top of the folder hierarchy. This folder contains all
the tag folders you and RSView create. For example, the system
folder holds the system tags that RSView creates when you create an
application. For a complete list of the system tags, display the
contents of the folder or see Appendix C.
You can nest folders. If a folder has a plus (+) sign, it contains one or
more folders. If a folder is blank, it does not contain any other
folders.

This folder contains one or more folders.

This folder does not contain another folder.

Resizing the hierarchy box

To view a series of nested folders, resize the hierarchy box.

To resize the hierarchy box

1. Place the cursor over the right border of the box until it changes
to a double arrow.

Using folders to group HMI tags ■ 7-9

 Preface
2. Drag the border to the required size.

Creating folders

To create a folder

1. On the Edit menu, click New Folder, or click the Create Folder
tool.
Create Folder tool

2. Type the folder name.

3. Click OK.

The new folder is displayed in the hierarchy window.

Opening folders
When you open a folder, its contents are displayed in the
spreadsheet.

To open a folder

" Double-click the folder.

7-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To open multiple folders
1. Select the folders by doing one of the following:
Click a folder and then drag the mouse up or down.
Click a folder and Shift-click other folders immediately above
or below the first selected folder.
Click a folder and Ctrl-click other folders anywhere in the
hierarchy.
2. Press Enter.
The tags in the selected folders are displayed in the spreadsheet.

Creating tags in a folder

Once you have created a folder, you can create tags in it.

To create a tag in a folder

1. Double-click a folder in the folder hierarchy.
The folder name is displayed in the Name box of the form.
2. After the backslash (\), type the new tag name, up to 255
characters long including folder name.
For information about setting up tags once you’ve created them, see
page 7-16.

Nesting folders
Nesting folders means to create a folder inside another folder.

To create a folder inside another folder

1. Select a folder in the folder hierarchy.
2. On the Edit menu, click New Folder, or click the Create Folder
tool.

Create Folder tool 3. After the backslash (\), type the new folder name.

Using folders to group HMI tags ■ 7-11

 Preface
4. Click OK.

When you nest folders, remember that the backslash in a folder

name counts as one character in the tag name.

Duplicating folders
When you duplicate a folder, all the tags in the folder are duplicated
and automatically given the new folder name. If the folder contains
folders, those folders are also duplicated.

IMPORTANT Be sure to choose Duplicate Folder rather than

Duplicate. Duplicate only duplicates individual tags.

To duplicate a folder and its tags

1. Select the folder in the hierarchy.

2. On the Edit menu, click Duplicate Folder, or click the Duplicate

Duplicate Tag Folder Tag Folder tool.
tool

3. In the To box, type the new folder name.

4. Click OK.

Deleting folders

To delete folders

1. Select one or more folders in the hierarchy.

2. On the Edit menu, click Delete Folder, or click the Delete Folder
Delete Folder tool tool.

7-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Working with HMI tags
Use the spreadsheet to:
view tags.
create tags.
edit tags.
duplicate tags.
delete tags.
Use the query box or folder hierarchy to select the tags you want to
view.

Moving through the spreadsheet

To scroll through the spreadsheet rows
Use the Prev or Next buttons in the form area.
Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys.
Use the scroll bars on the spreadsheet.
To select a row, click anywhere in the row or click the row number.

Resizing columns and rows

To resize a column or row
1. Place the cursor over the division between the column or row, in
the top or side border, until it changes to a double arrow.
2. Drag the column or row to the required size.

Creating tags
To create a tag inside a folder, first open the folder. For details, see
page 7-10.

To create a tag, use any of these methods

Click New in the forms area.
Click the Insert Row tool.
On the Edit menu, click Insert Row.
Insert Row tool Each method inserts a new row above the highlighted row, with the
boxes in the form area ready to receive information about the new
tag.
For information about setting up tags once you’ve created them, see
page 7-16.

Working with HMI tags ■ 7-13

 Preface
Duplicating tags

To duplicate a tag
1. Select the tag to duplicate.
2. On the Edit menu, click Duplicate, or click the Duplicate Tag
Duplicate Tag tool tool.
A new row is inserted below the highlighted row. The new row
contains all the same information except the tag name.
3. In the form area, in the Name box, type the name for the new
tag, up to 255 characters long including folder name.
4. Click Accept.

Editing tags
You can edit all parts of a tag except the tag name and tag type.

To edit a tag
1. Select the tag to edit.
The details of the tag appear in the form area.
2. Edit any details except the tag name or tag type.

Deleting tags
Delete tags carefully. Once you click the Delete button, the tag is
deleted. There is no confirmation message and you cannot undo the
deletion.

To delete a tag
1. Select the tag to delete.
2. On the Edit menu, click Delete, or click the Delete tool, or press
Delete tool the Delete key on your keyboard.

7-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Addressing syntax for device tags
For device tags, you must provide the address and path to the OPC
server that is connected to the data source. For example, the OPC
server could be connected to a device such as a programmable
controller.

The syntax for OPC tag addresses is:

[AccessPath]Address

or

::[AccessPath]Address

where :: indicates that the address resides in a data server in the

application. (The two colons are necessary when the address
contains a colon, for example, N7:0.)

IMPORTANT The square brackets are part of the syntax. They do not
indicate optional parameters.

The access path is one of the following:

For communications with an RSLinx Enterprise data server, the

access path is the name of the Device Shortcut in RSLinx
Enterprise.

For communications with an RSLinx for RSView OPC server,

the access path is the name of an OPC topic in RSLinx for
RSView.

For communications with other OPC servers, the access path

might be optional. For information about the syntax for the
access path, see your OPC server documentation.

Example: ControlLogix addressing

We recommend that you use the Tag Browser to select OPC items.
When you use the Tag Browser the correct syntax and data types are
selected automatically.

Addressing syntax for device tags ■ 7-15

Preface
However, if you want to define tags before setting up
communications, you can type the address manually, as shown in
this example. If you type the address manually, be sure to select the
data type for the tag that matches the data type used by the
ControlLogix processor. If you use the Default data type, values are
treated as floating-point values.
This example shows you how to specify the OPC topic, item name,
and bit level of an item that uses the integer data type in a
ControlLogix processor.

OPC topic and item addressing

ControlLogix uses this addressing syntax:
[Device Shortcut]item name for RSLinx Enterprise.
[OPC topic name]item name for RSLinx for RSView.
In this example, the RSLinx Enterprise Device Shortcut name for the
ControlLogix processor is CLGX. To connect to an OPC item
called Motor, type this address:
[CLGX]Motor

Bit level addressing

You can access the bit level of an item that uses the integer data type
by appending .# to the end of the tag address, where # is the number
of the bit to access.
For example, to access the first bit of the integer item Motor, type
this address:
[CLGX]Motor.0

Setting up HMI tag types

The topics below describe how to complete the boxes in the Tag
section of the form. There are separate instructions for analog,
digital, and string tag types.
For information on filling in the boxes in the Data Source section of
the form, see page 7-21.

Setting up analog tags

To set up an analog tag
1. Create the tag, as described on page 7-13.

7-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

2. In the Name box, type a tag name, up to 255 characters long
including folder name. If the tag is part of a folder, type the name
after the backslash (\).
3. In the Type box, select Analog.

4. Fill in the boxes as outlined below.

Numeric values that require a decimal must use the decimal point
(.) as the decimal symbol, regardless of which decimal symbol is
specified in Regional Options in the Windows Control Panel
(Regional and Language Options if you use Windows XP).

Description
Type a description of the tag, up to 128 characters long.

Minimum and Maximum

Type the minimum and maximum values that can be written to
the data source. These values do not affect what is read from the
data source. For example, if you specify a minimum of 0 and a
maximum of 100, RSView would be able to read a value of 200
from a PLC and store it in the value table, but would not be able
to write this value to the PLC.
The range between the minimum and maximum values cannot
exceed the maximum floating-point value (3.402823E38).

Scale and Offset

Type a number. For the scale, do not use 0. To disable the scale,
type 1. To disable the offset, type 0.

Setting up HMI tag types ■ 7-17

Preface
The scale and offset modify the “raw data” that comes from the
data source before it is saved in the value table. The scale and
offset also modify the value specified in RSView before it is
written to the data source. The scale is a multiplication
factor—for example, the value from the PLC is multiplied by the
scale. The offset is a fixed value—after the value from the PLC is
multiplied by the scale, the offset amount is added. The following
formula shows the relationship between the PLC value and the
amount stored in the RSView value table.
RSView value = (PLC value × scale) + offset

IMPORTANT Values from the data source are first scaled and then
added to the offset. When a value is written to the
data source, the process is reversed: the offset is
subtracted and the scale is used for division. This
ensures that the correct, unchanged value is sent to
the data source.

Data Type
For tags with Device as the data source, select the data type that
matches the format of the data stored in the programmable
controller or Windows application.
For analog tags connecting to a ControlLogix processor, specify
a data type that corresponds to the data type in the ControlLogix
processor: Byte, Unsigned Integer, Integer, Long Integer, or
Floating Point.
For tags with Memory as the data source, select the data type that
matches the format of the data you will store in the tag.
Choosing Default is the same as choosing Floating Point.

7-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The data types are:
Data type Description Range
Default Single-precision (32-bit) See “Floating Point,”
floating-point below.
Unsigned Integer Unsigned 16-bit integer 0 to 65,535
Integer Signed 16-bit integer -32,768 to 32,767
Long Integer Signed 32-bit integer -2,147,483,648 to
-2,147,483,647
Floating Point Single-precision (32-bit) -3.402823E+38 to
floating-point -1.175494E-38,
0,
1.175494E-38 to
3.402823E+38
Byte Unsigned 8-bit integer 0 to 255
3-Digit BCD 3-digit binary-coded 0 to 999
decimal
4-Digit BCD 4-digit binary-coded 0 to 9,999
decimal

IMPORTANT For a tag with a Long Integer data type, if the

minimum, maximum, scale, offset, or initial value
contains a decimal point, the value is stored
internally in floating-point format. This means that
the maximum value for the tag is 16,777,216, which
is the maximum integer value for single-precision
floating-point numbers.

For information on filling in the boxes in the Data Source section of

the form, see page 7-21.5.

Setting up digital tags

To set up a digital tag

1. Create the tag, as described on page 7-13.

2. In the Name box, type a tag name, up to 255 characters long

including folder name. If the tag is part of a folder, type the name
after the backslash (\).
3. In the Type box, select Digital.

Setting up HMI tag types ■ 7-19

Preface

4. In the Description box, type a description of the tag, up to 128

characters long.
For information on filling in the boxes in the Data Source section of
the form, see page 7-21.5.

Setting up string tags

To set up a string tag

1. Create the tag, as described on page 7-13.
2. In the Name box, type a tag name, up to 255 characters long
including folder name. If the tag is part of a folder, type the name
after the backslash (\).
3. In the Type box, select String.

7-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 4. Fill in the boxes as outlined below:
Description
Type a description of the tag, up to 128 characters long.
Length
Type a number between 1 and 82 to specify the length of the
string tag in characters.
If the data source is a programmable controller, the length must
be a multiple of the size of the programmable controller data
element you are addressing. For example, to reference two-byte
data elements in an integer section, the length must be a multiple
of two.
For information on filling in the boxes in the Data Source section of
the form, see the next section.5.

Specifying a data source for HMI tags

The following topics describe how to fill in the boxes in the Data
Source section of the form. For details about filling in the boxes in
the Tag section of the form, see page 7-16.

Specifying device as the data source

A tag with device as its data source receives its data from a source
external to RSView. The data can come from:
programmable controllers through an OPC server.
another Windows program through an OPC server.

Specifying a data source for HMI tags ■ 7-21

 Preface
To specify device as the data source
1. Click Device.

2. In the Address box, specify the address of the OPC item (data
server tag) in the OPC server. The item syntax depends on the
OPC server. The maximum length is 255 characters.
To browse for the OPC item, click the Browse button beside the
Address box.
Browse button For more information about OPC addressing syntax, see
page 7-15.

Specifying memory as the data source

To specify memory as the data source

1. Click Memory.

2. In the Initial Value box, type the tag’s starting value.

The first time you start the application, the value defined in the
Initial Value box is assigned to the memory tag.
You can also use macros to assign values to tags. For information
about macros, see Chapter 21.
3. To retain the most recent value when the application is shut
down and restarted, check Retentive.
If you do not check this box, the Initial Value is used when the
application is restarted.

7-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Other methods for creating HMI tags
In addition to creating tags in the Tags editor as described earlier in
this chapter, you can:
create tags as needed in other editors (using the Tag Browser).
import tags from a PLC or SLC database.

Creating tags as needed in other RSView

editors
You can create tags as needed in any editor or dialog box that uses
tags. You can add a tag to the database by doing one of the
following:
Click the Browse button in the Tag column to open the Tag
Browser and create the tag. For more information, see page 7-24.
Type a new tag name in the “Tag or expression” column. Keep
Browse button in
the Tag column track of the tag name, and add the tag in the Tags editor when
convenient.

Creating tags as needed in the Data Log

Models editor
In the Data Log Models editor, in the Tags in Model tab, you can
add a tag to the database by doing one of the following:
Click the Browse button beside the “Tags to add” box to open
the Tag Browser and create the tag, as described in the next
Browse button in the section.
Data Log Models editor Type a new tag name in the “Tags to add” box, and then click
Add. You are warned that the tag does not exist. Click Yes to add
the tag to the list of tags in the datalog model. Keep track of the
tag name, and add the tag in the Tags editor when convenient.

Other methods for creating HMI tags ■ 7-23

Preface

For more information about the Data Log Models editor, see
Chapter 11.

Using the Tag Browser

When you click a Browse button in a dialog box or editor’s Tag
column, or in the Tags in Model tab of the Data Log Models editor,
the Tag Browser opens.

7-24 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

In the Tag Browser, you can:
select a single tag or multiple tags. The ability to select multiple
tags depends on which tag browser you have opened. In the
figure above, only a single tag could be selected.
select data server tags and HMI tags.
edit HMI tags.

Other methods for creating HMI tags ■ 7-25

 Preface
create new HMI tags.
create new folders for HMI tags.
import tags from a PLC or SLC database.
For information about using the Tag Browser to select tags and
create folders for tags, see Chapter 6. For information about using
the Tag Browser to import tags from a PLC or SLC database, see the
next section.

To create tags in the Tag Browser

1. Right-click the right pane and then click New HMI Tag.
2. Fill in the options as described in the sections beginning on
page 7-16.

To edit tags in the Tag Browser

1. Right-click the tag and then click Edit HMI Tag.
2. Edit any details except the tag name or tag type.

Importing tags from a PLC database

To open the Import PLC Tags dialog box, do one of the
following
In the Tag Browser, right-click the right pane, and then click
Import PLC Tags.
DB Browser tool In the Tags editor, on the Edit menu click Other Databases, or
in the Tags editor click the DB Browser tool.
Use the Import PLC Tags dialog box to selectively import tags from
a PLC or other database into your application’s HMI tag database.
Tags imported in this way are copied into the database—they are not
shared with the source database. This means changes to tags in your
application do not affect the database from which they have been
imported and vice versa.
You can import tags from any of these databases:
legacy PLC databases, created using WINtelligent LOGIC 5t
or A.I.t 5, with file extension .dsc
RSLogix 5t or RSLogix 500t, saved as an external database,
with file extension .ctd (before importing, explicitly export to the
.ctd format to be sure of including the latest changes)

7-26 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 RSLogix 5 internal database, with file extension .rsp

RSLogix 500 internal database, with file extension .rss

For PLC and SLC addresses, the Import PLC Tags dialog box
shows only addresses that are used in the symbol or address list of
the PLC programming software.

To import tags from a PLC database

1. In the Import Tags into Folder box, type a folder name if you
want the tags to be in a folder. If the folder does not already exist
in the application’s HMI tag database, it is created.
2. In the RSLinx Topic box, type the name of the RSLinx for
RSView topic to use for the tags, or the name of the RSLinx
Enterprise device shortcut. The tags will be copied into this

Other methods for creating HMI tags ■ 7-27

Preface
topic, and each tag’s address in the HMI tag database will contain
the name of the topic.
3. In the PLC Database box, type the path to the database to
import tags from, or click Browse to locate and select the
database to import tags from.
The addresses and symbols from the selected database are
displayed in the box below the Filter box.
4. To filter the tag list so that only certain addresses or symbols are
displayed, in the Filter box type a character string, and then click
Search.
To search on names only, click the Symbols button so that only
symbol names are displayed. If an address does not have a
symbol name it is not displayed.
Use filtering if the address or symbol list is too big to display
entirely. You cannot filter beyond a slash. For example, a filter of
B3/1 will not show B3/10, B3/11, and so on.
5. In the list box, click the tags to import.

6. Click OK.
The selected tags are added to the HMI tag database for the
current application and displayed in the Tag Browser, in the
folder for the specified RSLinx for RSView topic. If you have
already imported a particular tag, you are prompted to change its
name if you want to import it again.

Using the Tag Import and Export Wizard

You can also import PLC or SLC databases into RSView using the
Tag Import and Export Wizard.
You can use the wizard to:
import tags from legacy PLC databases, created using
WINtelligent LOGIC 5 or A.I. 5, with file extension .dsc.
import tags from RSLogix 5 or RSLogix 500, saved as an external
database, with file extension .ctd (before importing, explicitly
export to the .ctd format to be sure of including the latest
changes).
export your application’s tags to a .csv file.
import tags from another RSView application’s tag .csv file.

7-28 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 merge tags from another RSView application (that is, import
them directly from the application, without first creating a tag
.csv file).
import RIO configurations.

To start the wizard, do one of the following

In RSView Studio, on the Tools menu, click Tag Import and
Export Wizard.
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, Tools, and then click Tag Import
and Export Wizard.
For details about using the wizard, see the wizard’s Help.

Other methods for creating HMI tags ■ 7-29

 8
Chapter

Setting up global
connections
This chapter describes:
what global connections are.
controlling display changes remotely.
setting up remote display changes.
setting up global connections.

About global connections

Global connections are controls that apply to your entire run-time
application. Global connections allow the data source to control or
interact with your application at run time.
You can use global connections to:
notify the data source of the current display number.
notify the data source when a display is printed.
update the date and time at the data source using the run-time
terminal’s date and time.
change the display on the run-time terminal remotely (from the
data source).
print the current display from the data source.
update the date and time on the run-time terminal using the data
source date and time.
set the intensity of the backlight on a PanelView Plus terminal.
run up to five macros from the data source, when a tag or
expression result changes.
The use of each global connection is optional.

About global connections ■ 8-1

Preface
Changing displays
Use these global connections to monitor and control display
changes:
Display Number—notifies the data source of the number of the
display that’s currently open.
Remote Display Number—allows the data source to change the
display on the run-time computer.
For detailed information about using the data source to control
display changes, see page 8-5.

Printing displays
Use these global connections to monitor and control display
printing:
Display Print Active—notifies the data source that a display
print is in progress
Remote Display Print—allows the data source to trigger a
display print
The operator can also print the current display by pressing the
display print button. For information about setting up this button,
see page 16-23.
When the data source or the operator prints a display, everything on
the screen is printed, including the current display, pop-up
windows, and any visible background applications. The display is
printed in gray-scale, even if you use a color printer.

IMPORTANT If you plan to print graphic displays remotely, turn off the
screen saver. If the screen saver is on when a remote
display print is triggered, only the screen saver image is
printed.
For information about turning off the screen saver, see
your Windows documentation.

8-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Updating the date and time
Use the date and time controls to update the date and time. You can
assign any or all of the date and time controls, or leave them
unassigned.
Normally you would assign only one set of date and time controls,
either to update the date and time at the data source from the
terminal, or to update the terminal’s internal clock from the data
source.
The values of assigned date and time controls are updated in the
order in which the controls are listed in the Global Connections
editor.

Updating the date and time at the data source from the
terminal
To update the date or time at the data source from the terminal’s
internal clock, assign an analog tag to one or more of these controls:
This control Contains this range of values

Year 00–99
Day of Week 1–7, with 1 being Sunday
Month 1–12
Day of Month 1–31
Hour 1–23
Minute 0–59
Second 0–59

Specify how frequently to update the values of the assigned controls

at the data source (from the terminal’s internal clock) by typing a
time in the “Date and time output interval” box.

Updating the date and time at the terminal from the data
source
This option is especially useful if you have several terminals
connected to the same data source. Instead of the operator resetting
the date and time manually on each terminal, the data source can
reset all internal clocks at once.
To update the date or time in the terminal’s internal clock from the
data source, assign an analog or digital tag or an expression to the
Remote Date and Time control. Assign an analog tag or an
expression to one or more of these controls:

Updating the date and time ■ 8-3

Preface
This control Contains this range of values

Remote Year 00–99 or 0000–9999

Remote Month 1–12
Remote Day of Month 1–31
Remote Hour 1–23
Remote Minute 0–59
Remote Second 0–59

When the Remote Date and Time control value changes from 0 to a
non-zero value, the terminal resets its internal time and date to the
time and date read from the individual remote date and time
controls.

The date and time are updated at the rate specified in the
“Maximum update rate” box.

Setting up Backlight Intensity remotely

Use this option to set the backlight intensity of a run-time terminal
remotely from a data source.

To update the backlight intensity of the run-time terminal from the

data source, assign a tag, expression or direct reference to this
read-only control.

This control Contains this range of values

Remote Backlight Intensity 0-100

During run time, the application reads the value at the data source
and sets the backlight to a percentage of its maximum intesity
corresponding to the value. For instance, if the value of the
connection is 25, the backlight will be set to 25% of its maximum
intensity. This value will override the terminal’s own backlight
intensity setting.

If the value of the connection is greater than 100, the backlight will
be set to its maximum intensity. If the value is less than 0, the
backlight is set to its minium value, that is, it will be turned off.

8-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Running macros
Use these global connections to run macros:
This control Runs this macro

Remote Macro1 Macro1

Remote Macro2 Macro2
Remote Macro3 Macro3
Remote Macro4 Macro4
Remote Macro5 Macro5

Create the macros in the Macros editor. Make sure you name them
exactly as shown in the table above (with no space in the name).
When the tag or expression assigned to one of these controls
changes to a new non-zero value, RSView runs the associated
macro.
For information about creating macros, see Chapter 21.

Controlling display changes remotely

To control display changes remotely, you can set up the data source
to open graphic displays.
The data source can control display changes for Replace displays
only. You can set up the data source to control all Replace display
changes, or to open displays under set conditions, allowing the
operator to change displays the rest of the time.
To use remote display changes, assign a unique display number to
each Replace display, and assign a tag or expression to the Remote
Display Number control. When the data source sends a display’s
number to the control, the specified display opens. When the
control’s value is 0, the operator has control of display changes
(using display navigation objects).
For information about assigning numbers to displays, see
page 14-14.

Remote display changes and security

If you set up the data source to open graphic displays remotely,
remote display changes occur whether or not the logged-in user has
security access to a given display.

Controlling display changes remotely ■ 8-5

Preface
However, you can set up the Remote Display Number control to
prevent access to the application unless an authorized user is logged
in. To do this, assign an expression to the control to monitor the ID
of the logged-in user, as described in the following example.
For more information about setting up security for your
application, see Chapter 13.

Example: Using the Remote Display Number control to

prevent unauthorized users from using the application
This example shows how to set up the data source to open a Log In
display when a user logs out. The Log In display remains open until
an authorized user logs in. Then control of display changes reverts
to the operator.
1. Create a graphic display called Log In, containing a login
button. In the Display Settings dialog box, assign the number 3
to the display.
2. In the Global Connections editor, assign this expression to the
Remote Display Number control:
if CurrentUserName( ) == “DEFAULT” then 3 else 0
If an authorized user is logged in, the value of the expression is 0,
and the operator has control of display changes. When the user logs
out, the DEFAULT user is logged in, and the Log In display
remains open until another authorized user logs in.
This method is useful if you want to allow users to log out from
multiple locations (graphic displays) in the application. However, if
you use the Remote Display Number control for this purpose, you
cannot use it to control other display changes remotely.
If you only permit users to log out from a startup Log In display,
you can achieve the same result as in this example, but without
using the Remote Display Number control. For more information
about creating a startup display, see page 13-17.

Setting up remote display changes

This section outlines the steps for setting up remote display
changes. For detailed information about using the Global
Connections editor, see the next section.

8-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

To set up remote display changes
1. In the Graphic Displays editor, in the Display Settings dialog
box, assign a unique display number to each Replace display.
By default, every Replace display is assigned the number 1.
Therefore, to use remote display changes you must assign a
unique display number to every Replace display, even if you
don’t plan to open a particular Replace display remotely.
Another option is to avoid using the display number 1 for
remote display changes. Then you only need to assign display
numbers to the displays you want to change remotely.
For more information about graphic displays, see Chapter 14.
2. In the Global Connections editor, assign an analog tag or an
expression to the Remote Display Number control.
3. If you assign an analog tag to the Remote Display Number
control, set up the data source to send a display’s number to the
control when you want the display to open.
If you assign an expression to the Remote Display Number
control, RSView monitors the values of the tags used in the
expression, and uses the expression result to determine which
display to open.

Setting up remote display changes ■ 8-7

Preface
Setting up global connections
To set up global connections
1. Open the Global Connections editor.

text

2. Specify these settings:

Date and time output interval

Type the frequency with which to update date and time values
from the terminal to the data source.

8-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Maximum update rate
Select the rate at which to update tag values from the data
source. Data servers use this rate to send tag values to RSView.
This rate is used for tags assigned to the Remote controls,
including tags used in expressions.
Tag values for the Remote controls are also updated when the
application is started.
Although this is the update rate for the tags, this rate does not
update the terminal’s internal clock. Updating the clock is only
triggered by the Remote Date and Time control.
This update rate overrides OPC topic update rates.
3. To send values from the application to the data source, assign
tags to the following controls.
For information about assigning tags, see page 6-17.

Display Number
RSView sends the number of the current graphic display to this
control. Assign an analog tag.
This option applies to Replace displays only. Make sure that
each display has its own unique number.

Display Print Active

Assign a digital tag to this control to notify the data source
when a display is printing. RSView writes 1 to this control when
printing begins, and 0 when RSView is finished printing. When
the value changes to 0 the printer could still be printing buffered
data.

Year
RSView sends the value corresponding to the year in the
terminal’s internal clock to this control.

Day of Week
RSView sends the value corresponding to the day of the week to
this control.

Month
RSView sends the value corresponding to the month to this
control.

Day of Month
RSView sends the value corresponding to the day of the month
to this control.

Setting up global connections ■ 8-9

Preface
Hour
RSView sends the value corresponding to the hour to this
control.
Minute
RSView sends the value corresponding to the minute to this
control.
Second
RSView sends the value corresponding to the second to this
control.
4. To allow the data source to control the application remotely,
assign analog tags or expressions to the following controls.
For information about assigning tags and expressions, see
page 6-17.
Remote Display Number
RSView reads the value of this control and opens the graphic
display whose display number matches the value. If the value
is 0, the operator has control of display changes (using the
display navigation objects). If the value does not match any
display’s number, the application sends a message to
FactoryTalk Diagnostics.
If you assign this control, remote display changes occur whether
or not the logged-in user has security access to a given display.
This option applies to Replace displays only. Make sure that
each display has its own unique number.
Do not assign an expression consisting of a constant to this
control. If you do, the display whose number matches the
constant opens and can never be closed or changed.
For more information about remote display changes, see
page 8-5.
Remote Display Print
Assign this control to allow the data source to trigger the
printing of graphic displays. When the value of the control
changes from 0 to a non-zero value, RSView prints the currently
visible display.
You can assign an analog or digital tag or an expression to this
control.
Disable the screen saver on the run-time terminal if you assign
this control.

8-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

If a display print is currently in progress, subsequent print
requests from the data source are ignored until the display print
is finished.
Remote Date and Time
RSView monitors this control and, when the value changes
from 0 to a non-zero value, updates the terminal’s internal clock
with the values in the remote date and time controls (listed
next).
You can assign an analog or digital tag or an expression to this
control.
Remote Year
Assign this control to send the value corresponding to the year
from the data source to the run-time terminal.
Remote Month
Assign this control to send the value corresponding to the
month from the data source to the run-time terminal.
Remote Day of Month
Assign this control to send the value corresponding to the day of
the month from the data source to the run-time terminal.
Remote Hour
Assign this control to send the value corresponding to the hour
from the data source to the run-time terminal.
Remote Minute
Assign this control to send the value corresponding to the
minute from the data source to the run-time terminal.
Remote Second
Assign this control to send the value corresponding to the
second from the data source to the run-time terminal.
Remote Backlight Intensity
Assign this control to set the backlight of a PanelView Plus or
VersaView CE terminal to a percentage of the terminal’s
maximum backlight intensity. A percentage of 1 is the minimum
intensity with the Backlight on, and 100 is the maximum
intensity. A percentage of 0 turns the backlight off.
You can assign an analog or digital tag or an expression to this
control.
This global connection does not work on a RAC6182 terminal,
or Windows 2000/XP computer.

Setting up global connections ■ 8-11

Preface

IMPORTANT When the temperature goes below 50 degrees Fahrenheit,

a terminal overload sets the backlight to maximum
intensity. This overdrive takes precedence over the
Remote Backlight Intensity global connection.
When the temperature goes above 131 degrees fahrenheit,
the Backlight Intensity is reduced to at least 40%.

Remote Macro1
Assign this control to allow the data source to control when
Macro1 is run.

Remote Macro2
Assign this control to allow the data source to control when
Macro2 is run.

Remote Macro3
Assign this control to allow the data source to control when
Macro3 is run.

Remote Macro4
Assign this control to allow the data source to control when
Macro4 is run.

Remote Macro5
Assign this control to allow the data source to control when
Macro5 is run.
5. Click OK to save your settings and close the editor.

8-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 9
Chapter

Setting up alarms
This chapter describes:
preparing to set up alarms.
how alarms work.
alarm trigger data types.
optional alarm controls.
steps for setting up alarms.
using the Alarm Setup editor.
the [ALARM], [ALARM MULTI-LINE], [STATUS], and
[HISTORY] displays.
using displays from the library in your application.
creating your own alarm display.
opening and closing the alarm display.
how the alarm list, alarm banner, and alarm status list work.
using buttons to acknowledge, silence, clear, and delete alarms.
using buttons to sort alarms and reset alarm status.

About alarms
An alarm occurs when something goes wrong or is about to go
wrong. Alarms can signal that a device or process has ceased
operating within acceptable, predefined limits, and can indicate
breakdown, wear, or process malfunctions. Alarms are also used to
indicate the approach of a dangerous condition.
Alarms are an important part of most plant control applications
because an operator must know the instant something goes wrong.
It is often equally important to have a record of the alarm and
whether the alarm was acknowledged.

About alarms ■ 9-1

Preface
Preparing to set up alarms
As your application is running, information is continually sent to
the data source about the state of the various processes. For
example, your application might be monitoring whether a valve is
open or closed, or the temperature in a boiler. Values representing
the status of these processes are sent to the data source.
The first step in setting up alarms is determining which processes to
monitor for alarm conditions.

The data source

The RSView documentation uses the term data source as a generic
term that includes all possible sources of tag data, for both data
server tags and HMI tags. The data source can be memory or a
device such as a programmable controller or an OPC server.
RSView writes values to and reads values from the data source. The
data source is set up to exchange information (in the form of
numeric or string values) between RSView and the machine that
your application is controlling.

Tags and expressions

Before setting up alarms, you must set up data server or HMI tags
corresponding to the addresses at the data source that will store the
values you want to monitor for alarm conditions. You can monitor
analog and digital tags for alarm conditions. You cannot monitor
string tags.
For information about setting up data server tags, see your OPC
data server documentation. For information about creating HMI
tags, see Chapter 7.
You can also use expressions to perform logical or mathematical
calculations on tag values, and then monitor the expression value
rather than the original tag value. For example, you could use an
expression to monitor whether a tag value has increased or
decreased beyond a threshold value: If Tag1 > 90 then 1 else 0.
For information about creating expressions, see Chapter 19.

Identifying alarm conditions

Once you have identified the processes you want to monitor for
alarms, and the tags or expressions that will store the values

9-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 representing the status of the processes, you must determine the
acceptable range of values for each tag or expression. Then you can
set up alarms to notify the operator when a value is outside the
normal operating range.

How alarms work

This section provides an overview of the key components of your
application’s alarm system, and describes how the different parts
work together.

Alarm triggers and trigger values

You specify the tags and expressions (also known as controls) to
monitor for alarm conditions by creating an alarm trigger for each
control.
Each alarm trigger can generate one or more alarm messages,
associated with different trigger control values. For each alarm
trigger, you specify the trigger values that will generate alarm
messages, and create the messages to display for the trigger values.
The trigger value can be a non-zero integer value or a bit position,
depending on which trigger data type you assign. For more
information about trigger data types, see page 9-8.

Alarm notification methods

You can use any combination of these methods to notify the
operator that an alarm condition has occurred:
Open an alarm graphic display containing an appropriate alarm
message.
Set off an audible signal (if the application is running in
Windows 2000 or Windows XP).
Send a message to a printer.
Send a message to the data source.
To use these methods, select the Display, Audio, Print, and Message
to Tag options when you create your messages, as described on
page 9-26.

IMPORTANT Be sure to select the Print option if you need to keep a

permanent record of alarms. You can also print the
contents of the alarm log file periodically, as described
on page 9-8. (The alarm log file is also referred to as the
alarm history.)

How alarms work ■ 9-3

Preface
Displaying alarm information
RSView comes with these alarm displays:
[ALARM] contains an alarm banner graphic object that displays
one alarm at a time.
[ALARM MULTI-LINE], a display in the Libraries folder,
contains an alarm list graphic object that is set up to display all
the alarms in the alarm log file.
[STATUS], a display in the Libraries folder, contains an alarm
status list graphic object that is set up to display active alarms. It
contains a goto display button for opening the [HISTORY]
display.
[HISTORY], a display in the Libraries folder, contains an alarm
list graphic object and a goto display button for opening the
[STATUS] display.
By default, the [ALARM] graphic display opens automatically at
run time when an alarm is generated.
You can accept the default, edit the [ALARM] display, use one of
the other alarm displays, or create your own display. If you elect
not to automatically open a graphic display for alarm notification,
an alternative is to provide the operator with a way to open an
alarm display when desired.
For more information about See

The [ALARM] display Page 9-30

The [ALARM MULTI-LINE] Page 9-31
display
The [STATUS] display Page 9-32
The [HISTORY] display Page 9-34
Creating your own alarm display Page 9-36
The alarm list graphic object Page 9-37
The alarm banner graphic object Page 9-39
The alarm status list graphic object Page 9-40

9-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Responding to alarms
Depending on which alarm objects you set up, the operator can:
acknowledge one or all alarms.
clear all alarms.
silence alarms (if the application is running in Windows 2000 or
Windows XP).
sort alarms.
reset the status of all alarms.
For information about the alarm button graphic objects the
operator can use to work with alarms, see page 9-41.
You can also set up remote acknowledgement, silencing, and
resetting of alarms, to allow the data source to perform these
functions. And you can set up the data source to close the alarm
display. For more information, see pages 9-17 and 9-20.

Methods for acknowledging alarms

A single alarm is acknowledged when:

the operator selects an alarm in the alarm list and presses the
acknowledge alarm button, an enter button object, or the Enter
key on an external keyboard or keypad.
the alarm banner has focus and the operator presses the
acknowledge alarm button, an enter button object, or the Enter
key on an external keyboard or keypad.
A single alarm for a trigger is acknowledged when:
the trigger’s Remote Ack control value changes to the alarm’s
trigger value (or bit position, for bit triggers).
All alarms for a trigger are acknowledged when:
the trigger’s Remote Ack control value changes to the
“Acknowledge all” value. The “Acknowledge all” value is
specified in the “Use ack all value” box in the Alarm Setup
editor.

How alarms work ■ 9-5

Preface
All alarms are acknowledged when:
the operator presses the acknowledge all alarms button.
the Remote Ack All control’s value changes to a new non-zero
value.
For more information about acknowledging alarms, see page 9-44.

IMPORTANT The operator can send button presses to objects that do

not have focus. For information about linking buttons
to objects, see page 16-14.

Methods for deleting and clearing alarms

All alarms are deleted from the alarm log file and cleared from all
alarm lists and alarm banners when the operator presses the clear
alarm history button.
The alarm in the alarm banner is cleared when the operator presses
the clear alarm banner button. It is not deleted from the alarm log
file.
For more information about clearing and deleting alarms, see
page 9-45.

Methods for silencing alarms

The audio alarm indicator is available for applications running in

Windows 2000 or Windows XP only.
All alarms are silenced when:
the operator presses the silence alarms button.
an alarm whose Audio property is enabled is acknowledged.
the Remote Silence control’s value changes to a new non-zero
value.
the operator presses the clear alarm history button.

Method for sorting alarms

When the operator presses the sort alarms button, the sort order
toggles from time to trigger value or from trigger value to time. The
sort order applies to all alarms in all alarm lists and in the alarm log
file.

9-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Methods for resetting alarms
Resetting alarms affects how alarms are displayed in the alarm
status list. When alarms are reset:
the accumulated time an alarm has been in alarm is reset to 0. If
the alarm is still active, the time begins accumulating again.
the number of times the alarm has been triggered is reset to 0. If
the alarm is still active, the number changes to 1.
the date and time are sent to the system tag
AlarmResetDateAnd
TimeString.
All alarms are reset when:
the operator presses a reset alarm status button.
the operator presses a clear alarm history button.
the Remote Status Reset control’s value changes to a new
non-zero value.
For more information about resetting alarms, see page 9-46.

The alarm log file

As soon as the application starts running, RSView begins
monitoring trigger controls for alarm conditions. When an alarm
occurs, RSView adds the associated message to the alarm log file.
When the file is full, the oldest messages are deleted to make room
for new messages. Specify the maximum number of messages to
store in the Alarm Setup editor, as described on page 9-29.
For each message, the log file records the time the alarm was
triggered and the time the alarm was acknowledged (if it was
acknowledged).
The log file is saved every 30 seconds, if there are new alarms. The
log file is also saved when the application is shut down.
The alarm log file is also referred to as the alarm history. For
example, the operator presses the clear alarm history button to
remove all alarms from the log file.
The alarm log file is retained when you restart an application after a
shutdown or power loss. You can delete the log file from the
run-time computer at application startup. For information about
deleting the log file, see Chapter 26.
If you download a newer version of an application to the run-time
computer, the alarm log file for the older version is deleted
automatically.

How alarms work ■ 9-7

Preface
Printing alarm information
In addition to automatically printing each alarm message as it
occurs, you can keep a printed record of alarms:
using the print alarm history button. When the operator presses
the button, a report is printed of the contents of the alarm log
file. The report can include the time alarms occurred and were
acknowledged.
using the print alarm status button. When the operator presses
the button, a report is printed of the status of all alarms that
have been set up in the Alarm Setup editor. The report can
include how many times each alarm was triggered, and the
accumulated time in alarm.

For information about specifying which printer to use at run time

for Windows 2000 or Windows XP applications, see page 24-8. For
information about the type of printer to use with a PanelView Plus
or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-2.

Alarm trigger data types

When you create alarm triggers, you must specify the type of data
the trigger’s tag or expression uses. The type of data affects how
alarms are triggered.

The Value trigger type

To trigger alarms based on integer or floating-point values, use the
Value trigger type. When the value of the trigger control equals the
trigger value of a message, an alarm is generated.

If you use an analog tag or an expression, you can use any non-zero
integer or floating-point value to trigger an alarm. Floating-point
values are rounded to the nearest integer. For information about
how values are rounded, see page 7-2.

Trigger values cannot be 0. Digital tags have two possible values, 0

and 1. Therefore, if you use a digital tag you can only use the value
1 to trigger a message. If you want to use a digital tag to trigger two
different messages, create an expression that adds 1 to the digital
tag’s value. That way, you can use the trigger values 1 and 2.

9-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Example: Integer trigger values
This example shows how to set up alarms using integer trigger
values to monitor the level of acid in a 100-gallon tank. Alarms are
generated when the tank is 75% full and 90% full.
1. Create an alarm trigger for the analog tag Acid_tank_level. This
tag points to an address in a programmable controller that is
linked to a sensor in the tank. The tag’s minimum value is 0 and
its maximum value is 100.
Use this expression for the alarm trigger:
if ((Acid_tank_level > 74) AND (Acid_tank_level < 90))
then 1
else if (Acid_tank_level > 89)
then 2
else 0
2. Use the Value trigger type for the alarm trigger.
3. Specify these trigger values and alarm messages for the alarm
trigger:
Trigger value Message

1 Warning! The acid tank has exceeded safe fill

levels.
2 Danger! The level in the acid tank is too high.

At run time, when the value of Acid_tank_level is 75 or greater,

RSView generates the first alarm message. The second message is
generated when the tag value is 90 or greater.
Using the expression in step 1 allows a range of values to trigger
each alarm. This is useful in case the tag is not being read at the
exact moment it reaches a threshold level.

The Bit trigger type

Use the Bit trigger type to generate multiple simultaneous alarm
messages. You can assign an array tag (consisting of up to 1,024
bits) to the trigger control. Each bit in the array whose value
changes from 0 to 1 triggers an alarm (if a message is set up for the
bit position).

Alarm trigger data types ■ 9-9

Preface

Example: Trigger values using bit positions

This example shows how to use bit positions to generate multiple
simultaneous alarms. The array tag uses 32 bits, from N7:0/00 to
N7:1/15.
This diagram shows the bit addresses and bit positions for the array
tag:

Bit address

Bit position

Bit address

Bit position

The tag is currently generating alarms at bit positions 2, 6, 12, 21,

22, 26, and 30.
To set up alarms for this array tag:
1. Create an alarm trigger for the array tag. Use the Bit trigger
type.
The tag uses the integer data type (16 bits per element). Append
L2 to the tag’s starting address to indicate that the trigger will
monitor 2 tag elements (32 bits), as follows:
::[PLC5]N7:0,L2
PLC5 is the RSLinx Enterprise device shortcut name. The two
colons at the beginning are necessary when the tag reference
contains a colon.
2. Specify trigger values and alarm messages for the alarm trigger.
Each trigger value corresponds to a bit position (not a bit
address).
Bit position Trigger value Message

1 1 Line 1: Conveyor has stopped.

2 2 Line 1: Power failure.

9-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Bit position Trigger value Message

3 3 Line 2: Conveyor has stopped.

4 4 Line 2: Power failure.
.. .. ..
32 32 Oven door open.

The Least Significant Bit (LSBit) trigger type

Use the Least Significant Bit trigger type to generate alarm
messages based on a priority sequence that is determined by bit
position. You can assign an array tag (consisting of up to 1,024 bits)
to the trigger control. When multiple bits in the array change from
0 to 1, only the alarm with the lowest bit position is generated.

Example: Trigger values using least significant bits

This example shows how to use the Least Significant Bit trigger
type to prioritize which alarm is generated when multiple alarm
conditions occur.
In this example, a programmable controller monitors a motor’s
power, manual stop, and overload status. The diagram indicates the

Alarm trigger data types ■ 9-11

Preface
location of sensors that are linked to an array tag in the
programmable controller.

L1 L2

Power loss
Bit 00

Start
Stop Overload
CR

CR

Overload
Bit 02
Manual stop
Bit 01

If power to the motor is lost, the manual stop and overload switch
also lose power, generating alarms for all three motor parts. The
only alarm the operator needs to see is the alarm for the motor,
since the cause of the alarm is power loss to the motor, not a
problem with the other two motor parts.

If someone stops the motor manually, power to the overload switch

is lost. Alarms are generated for the manual stop and the overload
switch, but the only alarm the operator needs to see is the alarm for
the manual stop.
1. Create an alarm trigger for the tag Motor_starter. The tag uses
16 bits, and points to the programmable controller address
N7:61, although only the first three bit positions are used in this
example. Use the LSBit (Least Significant Bit) trigger type.
Because you are using only the first three bits in a single tag
element, there is no need to specify a length for the array tag in
this example. You can use a simple tag type.
However, if you were also monitoring bits in N7:62, you would
need to add L2 to the address, as follows:
::[PLC5]N7:61,L2

9-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. Specify these trigger values and alarm messages for the alarm
trigger:
Bit in the Bit Trigger Message
array position value

00 1 1 The motor has lost power.

01 2 2 The motor has stopped.
02 3 3 The overload switch has
lost power.

At run time, if power to the motor is lost, the programmable

controller changes all three bit values from 0 to 1, but RSView
generates the first alarm message only (since bit 00 is the
lowest—that is, least significant—bit in alarm). If the operator
acknowledges the first alarm and power is not yet restored, the
second alarm is generated, and so on.

Tips for using array tags

You can use these tag data types for array tags:
Data type Number of bits

Character 8
Byte 8
Short Integer 16
Word 16
Integer 32
Double Word 32

The right column shows the number of bits for each data type. This
is useful for helping to determine how many data elements to
address to achieve the required number of bits. To create an array
tag, specify how many elements to use, beginning with the first
element at the tag’s address.
For example, if you want to monitor 128 bit positions for an alarm
trigger, and you are using the Integer data type, you would append
the modifier [4] to the tag name (because 4 x 32 = 128). For detailed
information about tag syntax, see page 9-15.
You cannot use digital or string tags for array tags.

Tips for using array tags ■ 9-13

Preface
Equivalent data types
Different processors and OPC servers use different terminology for
tag data types. This section provides information about equivalent
data types that you can use for array tags, with the associated
number of bits for each.

HMI tags (created in RSView)

When creating array tags, you can use analog HMI tags with these
data types:
Data type Number of bits

Byte 8
Unsigned Integer 16
Integer 16
3-Digit BCD 16
4-Digit BCD 16
Long Integer 32

You can view a tag’s data type in the Tag Browser, as described on
page 6-14. All of the HMI tag data types described in the previous
table are displayed with the Item Canonical Data Type of Integer.

PLC and SLC tags

When creating array tags, you can use PLC and SLC tags with this
data type:
Data type Number of bits

Short Integer 16

Data server tags with the Short Integer data type are displayed in
the Tag Browser with the Item Canonical Data Type of Integer.

ControlLogix tags
When creating array tags, you can use ControlLogix tags with these
data types:
Data type Number of bits

SINT 8
INT 16
DINT 32

9-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Data server tags with the data types described in the previous table
are displayed in the Tag Browser with the Item Canonical Data
Types of Character, Short Integer, and Long Integer, respectively.

RSLinx Enterprise tag syntax

To create an RSLinx Enterprise array tag, use this syntax to specify
the length of the array:
tagname,Larraylength
For example, ::[PLC5]N7:0,L5
The tag N7:0 uses the Short Integer data type (16 bits), so the array
tag consists of 80 bits (16 x 5).
When the tag contains a colon (:), put two colons before the RSLinx
Enterprise device shortcut name.

KEPServerEnterprise tag syntax

To create a KEPServerEnterprise array tag, use this syntax to
specify the length of the array:
tagname [arraylength]
For example, Chan1.Dev1.Tag1 [3]
The tag Tag1 uses the Integer data type (32 bits), so the array tag
consists of 96 bits (32 x 3).
Alternatively, you can define the tag length in KEPServerEnterprise
when you create the tag, and then just select the tag name in
RSView Studio. For more information, see KEPServerEnterprise
Help.

Optional alarm controls

When an operator acknowledges an alarm, the acknowledge time is
recorded in the alarm log file and the alarm is silenced. This might
be all you require of your alarm system.
However, you can use the optional alarm controls to set up more
sophisticated interactions with the data source when alarms are
triggered, acknowledged, silenced, and reset. For example, you can
set up the data source to acknowledge, silence, and reset alarms.
You can also use optional alarm controls to close the alarm display
or allow the data source to close the alarm display.

Optional alarm controls ■ 9-15

Preface
There are two sets of optional alarm controls:
controls that work with a specific alarm trigger. You can assign a
different set of controls to each alarm trigger.
controls that apply to all alarms

Controls that work with a specific alarm

trigger
You can assign a different set of these controls to each alarm trigger,
or to only one or some alarm triggers:
Handshake—Assign a digital tag to this control to notify the
data source when the trigger’s value changes.
Ack—Assign an analog or digital tag to this control to notify the
data source when the operator acknowledges an alarm (or all
alarms).
Remote Ack—Assign an analog tag or an expression to this
control to allow the data source to acknowledge alarms.
Remote Ack Handshake—Assign a digital tag to this control to
notify the data source when a remote acknowledgement occurs.
Message—Assign a tag to this control to send alarm messages to
the control. Make sure the tag supports the type of data sent in
the alarm message. For example, if the message is a string of
text, assign a string tag to the Message control.
Assign tags or expressions to these controls when you create your
alarm triggers, as described on page 9-23. For more detailed
information about how these controls work, see the next sections.

How the Handshake control works

The Handshake control is useful for triggers that use the Value data
type. Program the data source to queue alarm notifications when
multiple alarms are generated for the same trigger. Use the
Handshake control to notify the data source that RSView has
detected the alarm notification. Then the data source can send the
next alarm to RSView.
When the application starts, the Handshake control has a value of 1.
When the trigger control’s value changes, the Handshake control’s
value toggles from 1 to 0. The next time the trigger value changes,
the Handshake control’s value toggles from 0 to 1.
A change in the trigger control’s value does not necessarily indicate
an alarm—the value might still be within acceptable limits.

9-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

How the Ack control works
When the application starts, this control has a value of 0.
When the operator acknowledges an alarm by pressing the
acknowledge alarm button, RSView sends the alarm’s trigger value
(or bit position, for bit triggers) to this control, and holds the value
as long as the operator presses the button, or for the duration of the
hold time, whichever is longer. Then the control’s value is reset to
0.
When the operator acknowledges all alarms by pressing the
acknowledge all alarms button, RSView sends the trigger’s
“Acknowledge all” value to this control, and holds the value as long
as the operator presses the button, or for the duration of the hold
time, whichever is longer. Then the control’s value is reset to 0.
To avoid confusion about whether a specific trigger’s alarm has
been acknowledged or all alarms have been acknowledged, make
sure the “Acknowledge all” value is not the same as one of the
trigger values.

How the Remote Ack control works

The Remote Ack control allows for the remote acknowledgement
of alarms. The data source writes the alarm’s trigger value (or bit
position, for bit triggers) to this control, and the unacknowledged
alarm with this trigger value is acknowledged.
If you assign this control and specify an “Acknowledge all” value
for the trigger, when the data source sends the “Acknowledge all”
value to this control, all unacknowledged alarms for the trigger are
acknowledged.
Make sure that the “Acknowledge all” value is not the same as one
of the trigger values.
Set up the data source to send the correct value to the Remote Ack
control when you want a remote acknowledgement to take place.
Remote acknowledgement does not take place if the hold time is in
effect for the Ack control.

Optional alarm controls ■ 9-17

Preface

Example: Using the Remote Ack control

This example shows how to use the Remote Ack control to
acknowledge an alarm.
In this example, the same application is run at two different
locations on the plant floor, and both terminals are connected to the
same programmable controller. All the tags in the example refer to
addresses in the programmable controller.

Application X Application X
Location 1 Location 2

Programmable
controller

1. Create an alarm trigger for an analog tag called Alarm. Use the
Value trigger type.
2. Assign an analog tag called Ack to the Ack control.
3. Assign an analog tag called Remote_ack to the Remote Ack
control.
4. Create an alarm message for the alarm trigger, with the trigger
value 1.
5. Set up the data source to write the value at the Ack control to
the Remote Ack control whenever the value of the Ack control
changes from 0 to a non-zero value.
At run time, when an alarm with the trigger value 1 is generated,
the alarm message appears at both locations simultaneously. If the
operator acknowledges the alarm at Location 1, RSView writes the
value 1 to the Ack control.
Since the Ack control is write-only (not read), the
acknowledgement doesn’t appear at Location 2. However, the
programmable controller writes the value from the Ack control (1)
to the Remote Ack control, and the alarm at Location 2 is
acknowledged.

9-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

How the Remote Ack Handshake control
works
This control is used to notify the data source that the remote
acknowledgement has been detected by RSView.
When the application starts, the Remote Ack Handshake control
has a value of 1. When the Remote Ack control value changes, the
Remote Ack Handshake control’s value toggles from 1 to 0. The
next time the Remote Ack value changes, the Remote Ack
Handshake value toggles from 0 to 1.
The Remote Ack Handshake value toggles whether or not the new
Remote Ack value matches a trigger value.

How the Message control works

This control is used to send the message associated with a trigger
value to the data source.
The message is sent only if the trigger value’s Message to Tag
option is selected.

Controls that apply to all alarms

These controls apply to all alarms:
Silence—Assign a digital tag to this control to notify the data
source that all alarms have been silenced (Windows 2000 and
Windows XP applications only).
Remote Silence—Assign an analog tag or an expresson to this
control to allow the data source to silence all alarms
(Windows 2000 and Windows XP applications only).
Remote Ack All—Assign an analog tag to this control to allow
the data source to acknowledge all alarms at once.
Status Reset—Assign a digital tag to this control to notify the
data source that alarm status has been reset.
Remote Status Reset—Assign a tag or expression to this control
to allow the data source to reset the alarm status.
Close Display—Assign a digital tag to this control to notify the
data source that the alarm display has closed.
Remote Close Display—Assign a tag or expression to this
control to allow the data source to close the alarm display.

Optional alarm controls ■ 9-19

Preface
Assign tags or expressions to these controls in the Advanced tab of
the Alarm Setup editor, as described on page 9-28. For more
detailed information about how these controls work, see the next
sections.

How the Silence control works

When the application starts, this control has a value of 0. When
alarms are silenced, this control is set to 1 for the hold time and the
internal beeper is turned off. At the end of the hold time, the
control is reset to 0.
If the silence event is triggered by a button press, this control is set
to 1 for the hold time or for the duration of the button press,
whichever is longer. At the end of this time, the control is reset to 0.
If subsequent alarms (that have been set up to sound the internal
beeper) are generated, the alarms sound the beeper regardless of the
Silence control value or hold time status.
While the hold time is in effect, new alarms cannot be silenced.

How the Remote Silence control works

When this control changes to a new non-zero value, all alarms are
silenced. Alarms can be silenced using other methods regardless of
this control’s value.
Set up the data source to send a new non-zero value to the Remote
Silence control each time you want a remote silencing of alarms to
take place.

How the Remote Ack All control works

When this control changes to a new non-zero value, all alarms are
acknowledged.
Set up the data source to send a new non-zero value to the Remote
Ack All control each time you want a remote acknowledgement of
all alarms to take place.

How the Status Reset control works

When the application starts, this control has a value of 0. If a reset
alarm status or clear alarm history button is pressed, this control is
set to 1 for the hold time or for the duration of the button press,
whichever is longer. At the end of this time, the control is reset to 0.

9-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The Status Reset control is also set to 1 if the Remote Status Reset
control changes to a new non-zero value, and remains set for the
hold time.
While the hold time is in effect, the alarm status cannot be reset
again. The status of alarms keeps updating during the hold time.

How the Remote Status Reset control works

When this control changes to a new non-zero value, the status of all
alarms is reset, as described on page 9-7. Alarms can be reset using
other methods regardless of this control’s value.
Set up the data source to send a new non-zero value to the Remote
Status Reset control each time you want a remote resetting of alarm
status to take place.

How the Close Display control works

When the application starts, this control has a value of 0. If the
alarm display (assigned in the Alarm Setup editor) closes, this
control is set to 1 for the hold time. At the end of the hold time, the
control is reset to 0.
If subsequent alarms are generated, the alarm display opens again
regardless of the Close Display control value or hold time status.

How the Remote Close Display control

works
When this control changes to a new non-zero value, the alarm
display closes. The alarm display can be closed using other methods
regardless of this control’s value.
Set up the data source to send a new non-zero value to the Remote
Close Display control each time you want a remote closing of the
alarm display to take place.

Summary of steps
Follow these steps to set up alarms:
1. In the Alarm Setup editor, set up alarm triggers (the tags or
expressions to monitor), define the alarm messages and their
trigger values, and specify the graphic display to open when
alarms occur (if any).

Summary of steps ■ 9-21

Preface
Also use this editor to specify trigger types, “Acknowledge all”
values, the maximum alarm log file size, the hold time, and
optional controls.
2. In the Startup editor, ensure that the Alarms box is checked (it is
checked by default). See Chapter 23.
3. If desired, in the Graphic Displays editor modify the default
[ALARM] display, or create your own graphic display to use for
alarms. For example, if you won’t be using audible alarm
signals, edit the default display to remove the silence alarms
button.
For information about graphic displays, see Chapter 14.
4. Test alarms on the run-time system.

Using the Alarm Setup editor

Use the Alarm Setup editor to set up alarms.

Define alarm triggers.

Create alarm messages.

Specify the graphic display

to use to display alarm
messages at run time.

To set up alarms

1. Open the Alarm Setup editor.

2. Set up alarms in the tabs of the editor, as described in the

sections that follow.
3. Click OK.

9-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Creating alarm triggers
The Trigger settings
options apply to the
selected trigger.

The “Select trigger” box

displays the tags and
expressions that have
been added so far.

To edit a trigger, click it

and then click Edit.
Make your changes in
the Trigger dialog box.
To remove a trigger,
click it and then click
Remove.

Each trigger is a control (a tag or an expression) you want to

monitor for alarm conditions. For detailed information about alarm
triggers, see page 9-3.
The Select trigger box lists the triggers you create.

To create alarm triggers

1. In the Triggers tab, click Add.
The Trigger dialog box opens.

2. Specify the tag or expression to use.

You can use analog, digital, and array tags to generate alarms.
For information about specifying tags and expressions, see
page 6-17. For information about using array tags, see page 9-13.

Creating alarm triggers ■ 9-23

Preface
3. Click OK. The trigger you create is selected in the “Select
trigger” box.
4. Specify these properties for the trigger:

Trigger type
Select the type of data the trigger’s tag or expression uses (for
details, see page 9-8):
Value—integer or floating-point values. Floating-point
values are rounded to the nearest integer. Use with analog or
digital tags.
Bit—an array tag consisting of one or more bit positions.
Use this trigger type to generate multiple alarm messages
with a single tag (or array tag) or expression.
LSBit—an array tag consisting of one or more bit positions.
Use this trigger type to trigger alarms based on a priority
sequence determined by bit position.

Trigger label
Type a name for the trigger, up to 40 characters. This name is
used to select the triggers to display in the alarm list and alarm
status list graphic objects.
Some alarm objects can be set up to display or print the trigger
label.

Use ack all value

Check this box to send a value to the data source when the
operator presses the acknowledge all alarms button. Type the
integer value to send.
The “Acknowledge all” value works with the Ack and Remote
Ack controls. For details, see page 9-17.

Optional trigger connections

If desired, assign tags to use for handshaking and
acknowledgement for the selected trigger. You can also specify a
tag to send alarm messages to. For more information about
optional trigger controls, see page 9-16.
Handshake—Assign a digital tag to this control to notify the
data source when the trigger’s value changes.
Ack—Assign an analog or digital tag to this control to notify
the data source when the operator acknowledges an alarm
(or all alarms).

9-24 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Remote Ack—Assign an analog tag or an expression to this
control to allow the data source to acknowledge alarms.
Remote Ack Handshake—Assign a digital tag to this control
to notify the data source when a remote acknowledgement
has been detected by RSView.
Message—Assign a tag to this control to send alarm messages
to the control. Make sure the tag supports the type of data
sent in the alarm message. For example, if the message is a
string of text, assign a string tag to the Message control.
For information about assigning tags and expressions, see
page 6-17.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 to create and set up additional triggers.

Creating alarm messages

To view only the messages for a To sort the list of messages by
single trigger, select it in the trigger or by message, select an
“Trigger filter” box. option in the “Sort by” box.

Use the scroll bar to see more

columns.

Creating alarm messages ■ 9-25

Preface
To create alarm messages
1. In the Messages tab, in the Trigger column, select the trigger for
which to create messages.
To assign the same message to all the triggers you set up in the
Triggers tab, select <AllTriggers>.
If you are creating messages before setting up triggers, select
<Unassigned>. Once you set up triggers, select the appropriate
trigger for each message.
2. Specify these properties for the message:

Trigger value
Type a non-zero integer value or bit position. When the trigger
control’s value changes to this value, or when the bit in this
position changes from 0 to 1, the associated message is
generated. This column cannot be blank.
For more information about trigger values, see page 9-3.
Message
Type the message, up to 256 characters.
To create a line break in the message, type \n. The message will
continue at the beginning of the next line. (Multi-line messages
are supported in the alarm banner graphic object only.)
If you want the character sequence “\n” to appear in the
message, type “\\n”. This way the sequence won’t be interpreted
as a line break. For example, to create the message “Logging to
\norm’s bakery\logs has been interrupted.” you would type this:
Logging to \\norm’s bakery\logs has been interrupted.
Display
Check this box to open the alarm display (if it is not already
open) when this alarm is generated.
The message is added to the alarm log file, and can be displayed
in any alarm list, alarm banner, and alarm status list objects in
your graphic displays, even if you do not check this box.
Audio
For Windows 2000 and Windows XP applications, check this
box to sound the run-time computer’s internal beeper when this
alarm is generated. The beeper beeps continuously, .5 seconds
on and .5 seconds off, until the alarm is silenced.
Print
Check this box to print the alarm message when this alarm is
generated.

9-26 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To print alarm messages at run time, set up a printer on the
run-time terminal.
For information about other methods of printing alarm
information, see page 9-8.
For information about specifying which printer to use at run
time for Windows 2000 or Windows XP applications, see page
24-8. For information about the type of printer to use with a
PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal, see page 25-2. For
information about the type of printer to use with a RAC6182
terminal, see page 26-2.

Message to Tag
Check this box to send the alarm message to the Message
control.

Background
Click this button to select a different color for the background
of the message text.

Foreground
Click this button to select a different color for the message text.
3. To use an embedded variable in the message, right-click the
Message column, and then click Edit String.
If the context menu doesn’t open, click in another cell, then
right-click the Message column.
4. In the String Edit dialog box, position the cursor where you
want to insert the variable.
5. Click Insert Variable, and then click the type of variable to use.
6. Make your choices in the dialog box that opens, and then click
OK.
For more information about creating embedded variables, see
Chapter 20.
7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 to create additional messages.

Creating alarm messages ■ 9-27

Preface
Deleting messages
To delete a message

" Select any cell in the message’s row, and then press Delete.
Shift-click in a column to select cells for multiple messages.

Copying messages
To copy a message
1. In the Message column, select one or more messages and then
press Ctrl-C (or right-click the selected cells and then click
Copy).
2. In the Message column, click the cell to paste the first message
in, and then press Ctrl-V (or right-click the cell and then click
Paste).

Specifying how alarms are displayed, stored, and

silenced
The options in the Advanced tab apply to all alarms (as opposed to
a single alarm trigger or message).

9-28 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To specify how alarms are displayed, stored, and silenced
1. In the Advanced tab, in the Current alarms box, select the
graphic display to use to display alarm messages. Click the
Browse button
Browse button to select from a list of all the graphic displays in
the application.
The specified display opens when an alarm occurs, if you select
the Display option for the alarm message (in the Messages tab).
If you don’t want to open a graphic display automatically when
alarms occur, clear the box.
For information about the different graphic displays you can use
to display alarm information, see page 9-4.
2. To edit the selected graphic display, click Edit. The Graphic
Displays editor opens with the selected display open for editing.
For information about graphic displays, see Chapter 14.
3. Specify these settings:

History Size
Type the number of alarms to retain in the alarm log file, up
to 10,000. When the log file contains this number of alarms, the
oldest alarms are deleted when new alarms occur.
For more information about the alarm log file, see page 9-7.
Hold time
Select the hold time to use when acknowledging, silencing, and
resetting alarms. RSView holds the values at the Ack, Silence,
Status Reset, and Close Display controls for the specified length
of time, then resets the controls to 0.
Maximum update rate
Select the rate at which to update tag values. Data servers use
this rate to send tag values to RSView. This rate is used for the
tags you’ve defined as alarm triggers, including tags used in
expressions. This rate is also used for tags assigned to the
Remote controls, and for tags used as embedded variables in
alarm messages. All other alarm tags are updated when specific
events occur, as described in the section beginning on page 9-15.
Tag values are also updated when the application is started.
Optional connections
If desired, assign tags to use for silencing and remotely
acknowledging all alarms, resetting the alarm status, and closing
the alarm display (for details, see page 9-19).

Specifying how alarms are displayed, stored, and silenced ■ 9-29

Preface
The Silence and Remote Silence controls apply to applications
that will run in Windows 2000 and Windows XP only.
Silence—Assign a tag to this control to notify the data source
that alarms have been silenced.
Remote Silence—Assign a tag or an expression to this
control to allow the data source to silence alarms.
Remote Ack All—Assign a tag to this control to allow the
data source to acknowledge all alarms at once.
Status Reset—Assign a tag to this control to notify the data
source that alarm status has been reset.
Remote Status Reset—Assign a tag or expression to this
control to allow the data source to reset the alarm status.
Close Display—Assign a tag to this control to notify the data
source that the alarm display has closed.
Remote Close Display—Assign a tag or expression to this
control to allow the data source to close the alarm display.
For information about assigning tags and expressions, see
page 6-17.

After you set up alarms

Now that you’ve set up alarm triggers, messages, and settings:
In the Startup editor, ensure that the Alarms box is checked (it is
checked by default). For more information, see Chapter 23.
If desired, modify the default [ALARM] display, or create your
own graphic display to use for alarms. For example, if you
won’t be using audible alarm signals, edit the default display to
remove the silence alarms button.
See the topics in the remainder of this chapter.
Test alarms on the run-time system.

The [ALARM] display

When you create an application, it comes with a graphic display
called [ALARM]. The [ALARM] display is the default display for
showing alarm messages at run time. It shows one unacknowledged
alarm at a time.

9-30 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Alarm banner
graphic object

Buttons

You can use the [ALARM] display as is, or modify the display. For
example, you can change the color of the objects, or add and
remove buttons.
Another option is to create your own graphic display to use when
an alarm occurs, as described on page 9-36. Or, you can use one of
the default alarm displays in the graphic library. These displays are
described in the next three sections.
A copy of the [ALARM] display is included in the graphic library,
with the name [ALARM BANNER].

The alarm banner graphic object

The [ALARM] display contains an alarm banner graphic object,
which lists the most recent alarm message. You can set up the alarm
banner to queue new alarms until the displayed alarm has been
acknowledged, or to show new alarms as they occur. The alarm
banner in the [ALARM] display is set up to display new alarms as
they occur and to display active alarms only (but you can edit it, if
desired).
For more information about the alarm banner, see page 9-39.

Buttons in the [ALARM] display

The [ALARM] display contains alarm buttons for acknowledging,
clearing, and silencing alarms, as well as a button for closing the
display. For information about how the buttons work, see
page 9-41.

The [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display

The Libraries folder contains a graphic display called [ALARM
MULTI-LINE]. The [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display allows the
operator to see multiple alarms at once.

The [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display ■ 9-31

 Preface

Header

Alarm list
graphic object

Buttons

You can use the [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display as is, or modify

the display. For example, you can select which alarm triggers’
alarms to display in the list.

The alarm list graphic object

The [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display contains an alarm list

graphic object, which lists the time the alarms occurred and were
acknowledged, as well as the alarm messages. You can set up the
alarm list to show all alarms, or to show unacknowledged alarms
only. The alarm list in the [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display is set
up to show all alarms (but you can edit it, if desired).
For more information about the alarm list, see page 9-37.

Buttons in the [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display

The [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display contains alarm buttons for

acknowledging and silencing alarms, as well as buttons for scrolling
the list and closing the display. For information about how the
buttons work, see page 9-41.

The [STATUS] display

The Libraries folder contains a graphic display called [STATUS].
The [STATUS] display allows the operator to see the status of all
the alarms that have been set up in the Alarm Setup editor.

9-32 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Header

Alarm status list

graphic object

Buttons

You can use the [STATUS] display as is, or modify the display. For
example, you can select which alarm triggers’ alarms to display in
the list, or remove buttons that you don’t want to use.

The alarm status list graphic object

The [STATUS] display contains an alarm status list graphic object,

which lists the alarm messages. You can set up the alarm status list
to show the status of all alarms that have been set up, active alarms
only, or all alarms that have occurred since the alarm status was last
reset. The alarm status list in the [STATUS] display is set up to
show the status of active alarms (but you can edit it, if desired).
For more information about the alarm status list, see page 9-40.

Buttons in the [STATUS] display

The [STATUS] display contains alarm buttons for resetting and

silencing alarms, changing the display mode, printing the status of
alarms, and opening the [HISTORY] display, as well as buttons for
scrolling the list and closing the display. For information about how
the buttons work, see page 9-41.

The [STATUS] display ■ 9-33

 Preface
The [HISTORY] display
The Libraries folder contains a graphic display called [HISTORY].
It is similar to the [ALARM MULTI-LINE] display, but the alarm
list graphic object is larger (to display more alarm messages at
once), and the [HISTORY] display contains more buttons.

Header

Alarm list graphic

object

Buttons

You can use the [HISTORY] display as is, or modify the display.
For example, you can select which alarm triggers’ alarms to display
in the list, or remove buttons that you don’t want to use.

The alarm list graphic object

The [HISTORY] display contains an alarm list graphic object,

which lists the time the alarms occurred and were acknowledged, as
well as the alarm messages. You can set up the alarm list to show all
alarms, or to show unacknowledged alarms only. The alarm list in
the [HISTORY] display is set up to show all alarms (but you can
edit it, if desired).

For more information about the alarm list, see page 9-37.

9-34 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Buttons in the [HISTORY] display

The [HISTORY] display contains alarm buttons for

acknowledging, silencing, and clearing alarms, sorting the list of
alarms, printing the alarm history list, and opening the [STATUS]
display, as well as buttons for scrolling the list and closing the
display. For information about how the buttons work, see page
9-41.

Using displays from the library in your application

The previous three sections described the [ALARM
MULTI-LINE], [STATUS], and [HISTORY] displays that are
included in the Libraries folder. You can copy objects from the
displays to your own display, or you can copy the entire displays
into your application.

For information about copying objects from a library into your

graphic display, see page 15-51.
The graphic libraries are available on the development computer,
but do not appear at run time. To use a display in the library as a
graphic display at run time, you must add the library display into
your application’s folder of graphic displays.

To add a library display into your application

1. In the Application Explorer, in the Graphics folder, right-click

the Displays icon.
2. Click Add Component Into Application.

3. In the dialog box, navigate to the Libraries folder, and then click
the name of the display to add, for example, [HISTORY].gfx.
The Libraries folder is located in \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME.
For information about changing the location of library
component files see page 14-20.
4. Click Open. The display is copied into the Displays folder.

Once you copy the display into your application, you can use it as
the display to open when alarms are triggered, or use it in
conjunction with other alarm displays.

Using displays from the library in your application ■ 9-35

Preface

Example: Using the [ALARM] and [HISTORY] displays

together
To use the [ALARM] display to alert the operator about the most
recent alarm only, and the [HISTORY] display as a full record of all
alarms:
1. In the Alarm Setup editor, in the Advanced tab, select the
[ALARM] display as the display to open when alarms are
triggered, if it is not already selected. (It is selected by default.)
2. Add the [HISTORY] display from the library.
3. Edit the [ALARM] display by adding a goto display button that
opens the [HISTORY] display when pressed.

Creating your own alarm display

You can create your own graphic display for displaying and
responding to alarms. For example, you could create a display with
a static text object that notifies the operator that an alarm has
occurred, and a goto display button that the operator can press to
open a display that lists the actual alarm message.
If you create your own graphic display, use an On Top display and
select the Cannot Be Replaced option.
For information about the graphic objects you can use to display
alarm information, see the information starting on page 9-37. For
information about creating graphic displays and graphic objects, see
Chapters 14 and 15.

Opening and closing the alarm display

Opening the display

The alarm display you specify in the Advanced tab of the Alarm
Setup editor (either the default [ALARM] display, a display you
copy from the library, or your own display) is automatically opened
whenever a trigger control’s value matches a trigger value (if you
selected the Display option for the trigger value).

9-36 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 You can also create a goto display button that the operator can
press to open the alarm display. For information about setting up a
goto display button and specifying the display to open, see Chapter
16.

Closing the display

The operator can close the display by pressing a close display
button.
The display closes automatically under these circumstances:
when all alarms are acknowledged.
when the operator presses a clear alarm history button.
when the Remote Close Display control changes to a new
non-zero value.
when the newest alarm is acknowledged.

How the alarm list graphic object works

The alarm list graphic object displays the time an alarm was
triggered, and the time it was acknowledged (if you set up the
object to display acknowledged alarms).
At run time, when a trigger control at the data source matches a
message’s trigger value, an alarm appears in the alarm list. The
alarm list can be in the [ALARM MULTI-LINE] or [HISTORY]
display, in an alarm display you have created, or can be placed on
any display in your application.
You can use multiple alarm lists, in the same display or in different
displays. Each alarm list displays information from the same alarm
log file, although you can set up different lists to display different
information.
For information about setting up alarm lists, see page 16-221.

What is displayed
If you set up the list to show the alarms for specific alarm
triggers, only alarms for those triggers are displayed.
If the list is set up to show unacknowledged alarms only, the
alarms displayed in the list are unacknowledged and the
acknowledge time column, if any, is always blank.

How the alarm list graphic object works ■ 9-37

Preface
If the list is set up to show all alarms, acknowledged alarms
show an asterisk (*) at the left end of the row, and the
acknowledge time appears in the acknowledge time column, if
displayed.
If the message is too long to fit in the object, the last displayed
character is replaced with an asterisk. Similarly, if a column
heading is too long to fit in the column, the last displayed
character is replaced with an asterisk.
The number of alarm messages that fits in the display depends
on the height of the alarm list, the list’s font size, and whether
the column headings are displayed.
If alarms are currently being sorted by time, alarms are listed
with the newest alarms on top.
If alarms are currently being sorted by trigger value, alarms
from the first trigger in the Alarm Setup editor are listed first,
with alarms from subsequent triggers listed after. Alarms in the
list from the same trigger are grouped together and then sorted
by trigger value, from lowest to highest.
If there are multiple instances of the same alarm, these alarms
are sorted by time with the newest on top.

How the list scrolls

When a display containing an alarm list is opened, the highlight
bar is at the top of the list: on the most recent alarm if sorted by
time; or on the first alarm for the first trigger, if sorted by trigger
value.
If alarms are sorted by time, and the top alarm is highlighted, as
new alarms occur, the old alarms scroll down, but the highlight
remains at the top.
If alarms are sorted by time, when the operator selects an alarm
other than the top one in the list (by using the move down
button), and new alarms occur, they are added above the visible
area if the list is full. The currently highlighted alarm continues

9-38 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 to be highlighted and maintains its position in the displayed
portion of the list.
If alarms are sorted by trigger value, as new alarms occur the
currently highlighted alarm continues to be highlighted and
maintains its position in the list.
If the sort order changes, the highlighted alarm is displayed at
the top of the displayed portion of the list, or as close to the top
as possible.

How the alarm banner graphic object works

The alarm banner graphic object displays a single, unacknowledged
alarm.
At run time, when a trigger control at the data source matches a
message’s trigger value, an alarm appears in the alarm banner. The
alarm banner can be in the [ALARM] display, in an alarm display
you have created, or can be placed on any display in your
application.
You can use multiple alarm banners, in the same display or in
different displays. You can set up different banners so that one
displays the most recent alarm, and the other queues alarms until
the displayed alarm is acknowledged.
For information about setting up alarm banners, see page 16-227.

What is displayed
You can set up the banner to queue new alarms until the
operator clears the current alarm, or to always display the most
recent alarm.
When a display containing an alarm banner is first opened, the
alarm banner is blank, unless the display is the alarm display
specified in the Alarm Setup editor and it was opened in
response to an alarm.
When the displayed alarm is acknowledged, it is removed from
the alarm banner. If there are no newer alarms, the banner is
blank.
If the operator presses a clear alarm history button or if all
alarms are acknowledged, the banner is blank.
If the list is set up to show both active and inactive alarms, when
an alarm is active, an asterisk (*) appears in the alarm status
column, if displayed.

How the alarm banner graphic object works ■ 9-39

Preface
How the alarm status list graphic object works
The alarm status list graphic object displays the status of alarms,
including whether an alarm has been triggered, how many times an
alarm has been triggered, and for how long.
The alarm status list can be in the [STATUS] display, in an alarm
display you have created, or can be placed on any display in your
application.
You can use multiple alarm status lists, in the same display or in
different displays. You can set up different lists to display different
information.
For information about setting up alarm status lists, see page 16-231.

What is displayed
If you set up the list to show the alarms for specific alarm
triggers, only alarms for those triggers are displayed.
If an alarm is active, an asterisk (*) appears in the alarm state
column, if displayed.
If the message is too long to fit in the object, the last character
that would fit is replaced with an asterisk. Similarly, if a column
heading is too long to fit in the column, the last character that
would fit is replaced with an asterisk.
The number of alarm messages that fits in the display depends
on the height of the alarm status list, the list’s font size, and
whether the column headings are displayed.
For value-triggered alarms, the accumulated time column shows
how long the alarm has been set to the trigger value.
For bit-triggered alarms, the accumulated time column shows
how long the bit has been set to 1.
For LSBit-triggered alarms, the accumulated time column shows
how long the corresponding alarm’s least significant bit has been
set to 1.

9-40 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 What happens when the display is opened
The first time a display containing the alarm status list is
opened, the first page of alarms is displayed.
If a display containing an alarm status list is reopened, the list is
displayed with items in the same position as when the display
was closed.
If the list is set up to display active alarms only, and alarms that
were visible when the display was closed are no longer active,
the alarms are removed from the list.
If alarms have been reset since the display was last opened, the
first page of alarms is displayed.

Using buttons with the alarm list, alarm banner, and

alarm status list

Alarm buttons
You can use these alarm buttons to interact with the alarm list,
alarm banner, or alarm status list:
Use this button With this graphic To do this
object
Acknowledge alarm Alarm list Acknowledge and silence the
Alarm banner selected alarm.
Acknowledge all Alarm list Acknowledge and silence all
alarms currently unacknowledged
alarms.
Alarm status mode Alarm status list Change the type of alarms
displayed in the alarm status
list, from all alarms to active
alarms to past alarms.
Clear alarm banner Alarm banner Clear the alarm in the alarm
banner without removing the
alarm from the alarm log file
and alarm lists.

Using buttons with the alarm list, alarm banner, and alarm status list ■ 9-41
Preface
Use this button With this graphic To do this
object
Clear alarm history Alarm list Remove all alarms from the
alarm log file and all alarm
lists. If the Ack control is
assigned for any of the alarm
triggers, the operator is
prompted to acknowledge all
alarms before clearing them.
Pressing this button also
resets the number of times an
alarm has been triggered to 0,
and the accumulated time in
alarm to 0, for all alarms.
Print alarm history Print a report of all the alarm
messages in the alarm log file.
The report can include the
time alarms occurred and
were acknowledged.
Print alarm status Print a report of the status of
alarms. The report can include
how many times each alarm
was triggered, and the
accumulated time in alarm.
Reset alarm status Alarm status list Reset the number of times an
alarm has been triggered to 0,
and the accumulated time in
alarm to 0, for all alarms.
Silence alarms Silence the audio indicator for
all alarms (Windows 2000 and
Windows XP applications
only).
Sort alarms Alarm list Toggle between sorting
alarms in alarm lists and the
alarm log file by time and by
trigger value.

9-42 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 You can assign any caption you choose to the labels on the alarm
buttons.
For information about See

Setting up alarm buttons Pages 16-23 and 16-31

Setting up print alarm history Page 16-204
buttons
Setting up print alarm status buttons Page 16-212
How alarm buttons work at run Pages 9-44 and 9-46
time

Linking buttons to objects

You can link the acknowledge alarm button to a specific alarm list
or alarm banner, or set up the button to work with whichever alarm
list or alarm banner is selected in the graphic display.
Similarly, you can link the clear alarm banner button to a specific
alarm banner. This option is useful if you have multiple alarm
banners in the same graphic display. And you can link the alarm
status mode button to a specific alarm status list.
For more information about linking buttons to objects, see
page 16-14.

Key buttons
You can also use these key button graphic objects to interact with
the alarm list, alarm status list, or alarm banner:
This button Does this
Move up Scrolls up one row in the list.
Move down Scrolls down one row in the list.
Page up Moves the highlight bar up one page in the list.
Page down Moves the highlight bar down one page in the
list.
Home Moves the highlight bar to the top alarm in the
list.
End Moves the highlight bar to the bottom alarm in
the list.
Enter Acknowledges the currently highlighted alarm (in
alarm lists and alarm banners).

Using buttons with the alarm list, alarm banner, and alarm status list ■ 9-43
Preface
You can link key buttons to a specific alarm object, or set up the
buttons to work with whichever object is selected in the graphic
display. For more information, see page 16-14.
For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15. For
information about setting up key buttons, see page 16-31.

Using alarm buttons to acknowledge, silence, clear,

and delete alarms
Acknowledging messages does not remove them from the alarm log
file. You can still display acknowledged alarms in an alarm list that
is set up to show all alarms.

Acknowledging the selected alarm

When the operator presses the acknowledge alarm button, an enter
button, or the Enter key on an external keyboard or keypad:
the selected alarm in the alarm list is acknowledged and the
audio indicator for the alarm, if any, is silenced.
the displayed alarm in the alarm banner is acknowledged and
the audio indicator for the alarm, if any, is silenced.
This is what happens when the alarm is acknowledged:
If assigned, the alarm trigger’s Ack control is set to the alarm
trigger value at the data source. The value is held as long as the
operator presses the button, or for the hold time, whichever is
longer.
If the hold time is still in effect and the operator acknowledges a
new instance of the same alarm, the new acknowledgement is
ignored.
If the alarm list is set up to display unacknowledged alarms
only, the alarm is removed from the list. The highlight bar
moves up to the next unacknowledged alarm, unless it is already
on the top unacknowledged alarm.
If the highlight bar is on an acknowledged alarm when the
operator presses the acknowledge alarm button, the button press
is ignored.
The alarm is removed from the alarm banner.

9-44 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Acknowledging all alarms
When the operator presses the acknowledge all alarms button, all
unacknowledged alarms in the system are acknowledged.
This is what happens when all alarms are acknowledged:
For each alarm trigger to which an “Acknowledge all” value is
assigned, the specified “Acknowledge all” value is sent to the
trigger’s Ack control. The value is held as long as the operator
presses the button, or for the hold time, whichever is longer.
Then the control’s value is reset to 0.
If the “Acknowledge all” value is not assigned for a trigger, no
value is sent to the trigger’s Ack control.
If the hold time for any alarm is still in effect and the operator
presses acknowledge all alarms, the button press is ignored.
If the alarm list is set up to display unacknowledged alarms
only, all alarms are removed from the list.
The alarm banner is cleared.

Silencing alarms
When the operator presses the silence alarms button, any audible
signal triggered by an alarm is silenced and the Silence control is set
to 1 for the hold time or for the duration of the button press,
whichever is longer. Then the control’s value is reset to 0.
If the hold time for any alarm is still in effect and the operator
presses silence alarms, the button press is ignored.
The audio alarm indicator is available for applications running in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP only.

Clearing and deleting messages

From alarm lists
When the operator presses the clear alarm history button, all alarms
in the system are deleted from the alarm log file and from all alarm
lists. For information about the alarm log file, see page 9-7.
If the Ack control is assigned for any of the alarm triggers, the
operator is prompted to acknowledge the unacknowledged
messages before deleting them. If the operator chooses to
acknowledge the alarms, the “Acknowledge all” value (if any) is
sent to the Ack control before deleting the messages. If the Ack
control is not assigned, or if the operator chooses not to
acknowledge alarms, all messages are deleted immediately.

Using alarm buttons to acknowledge, silence, clear, and delete alarms ■ 9-45
Preface
From the alarm banner

When the operator presses the clear alarm banner button, the
displayed alarm is cleared from the banner. The alarm remains in
the alarm log file and in all alarm lists it appears in.

Using alarm buttons to sort alarms and set alarm

status

Sorting alarms
When the operator presses the sort alarms button, the sort order
toggles from time to trigger value or from trigger value to time. The
sort order applies to all alarms in all alarm lists and in the alarm log
file.

Resetting alarm status

When the operator presses the reset alarm status button, the alarm
status of each alarm is reset as follows:
The accumulated time an alarm has been in alarm is reset to 0. If
the alarm is still active, the time begins accumulating again.
The number of times the alarm has been triggered is reset to 0. If
the alarm is still active, the number changes to 1.

If the Status Reset control is assigned (in the Alarm Setup editor), it
is set to 1 for the hold time or for the duration of the button press,
whichever is longer. If a hold time from a previous reset alarm
status button press is still in effect, the button press is ignored.
Pressing the clear alarm history button also resets the status of all
alarms.

Retaining alarm status

The status of alarms is retained when the application is shut down.
When the application is restarted:
if an alarm is still active, the time begins accumulating again.
if an alarm is still active, the number of times the alarm has been
triggered is increased by 1.

9-46 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Changing the alarm status displayed in the
alarm status list
When the operator presses the alarm status mode button, the type
of alarms displayed in the alarm status list changes as follows:
If the current type displayed is all alarms, the list changes to
display active alarms only.
If the current type displayed is active alarms, the list changes to
display past alarms only.
If the current type displayed is past alarms, the list changes to
display all alarms.
The change affects the linked or selected alarm status list only, not
all alarm status lists.

Using alarm buttons to sort alarms and set alarm status ■ 9-47
10
Chapter

Setting up FactoryTalk
Diagnostics
This chapter describes:
FactoryTalk Diagnostics.
destinations, message routing, message severities, and audiences.
displaying diagnostics messages during application development.
viewing FactoryTalk Diagnostics log files.
using the Diagnostics Setup tool.
setting up destinations and message routing.
displaying and printing diagnostics messages at run time.
setting up how messages are displayed and printed at run time.
using the Diagnostics List Setup editor.
the [DIAGNOSTICS] display.
creating your own diagnostics display.
opening and closing the diagnostics display.
how the diagnostics list works.

About FactoryTalk Diagnostics

FactoryTalk Diagnostics replaces RSView activity logging, and
records information about various types of system activity,
including:
command and macro usage.
operator comments.
system messages and errors.
errors from the communication network.
tag read and write activity.

About FactoryTalk Diagnostics ■ 10-1

Preface
Browsing diagnostics messages
You can view diagnostics messages about system activity during
application development and at run time. For example, while you
develop your application, use diagnostics messages to track what the
system is doing and to ensure you’ve set things up the way you
intend. At run time, use diagnostics messages to show the operator
messages about system activity. You can also save information in a
log file for future processing or analysis.

How to set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics

You must set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on both the development
computer and the run-time computer. The settings for FactoryTalk
Diagnostics apply to all Rockwell Software products installed on the
computer.
Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics involves:
setting up destinations, where logged information is received for
storage or display.
setting up which destinations receive which categories of
messages. This is called message routing.
setting up how messages are displayed and printed at run time.
This chapter describes how to set up FactoryTalk diagnostics on
computers running Windows 2000 and Windows XP. For
information about setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the
PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal, see Chapter 25. For
information about setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the
RAC6182 terminal, see Chapter 26.

Destinations
FactoryTalk Diagnostics allows you to send diagnostics messages to
multiple destinations.

During application development

During application development, you can send diagnostics messages
to:
the Diagnostics List at the bottom of the RSView Studio
window.
a local log, which is viewable using the FactoryTalk Diagnostics
Viewer tool.
an ODBC database.

10-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

At run time
At run time, you can send diagnostics messages to:
diagnostics list graphic objects, either in the default
[DIAGNOSTICS] display, or in a display you create.
a printer
a local log (Windows 2000 and Windows XP applications only),
which is viewable using the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer.
a remote log (PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminals only).
an ODBC database.
The FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer is available on computers
running Windows 2000 and Windows XP only. However, if you
send diagnostics messages from a PanelView Plus or Windows CE
terminal to a computer running Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you
can view the messages in the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer.

IMPORTANT The destinations available on your computer might

vary, depending on which Rockwell Software products
you have installed.

Message routing
You can decide which destinations receive which kinds of messages.
This allows you to make the right information available to the right
person, in the right place.
For example:
You can send messages that contain information about what the
system is doing to the local log file. You can also send warnings
about things that might go wrong if left unattended to the local
log file.
This allows a control systems engineer to analyze system activity
and performance, and make corrections during scheduled
maintenance times.
You can send errors that require immediate action to the
diagnostics list object in the [DIAGNOSTICS] display, as well as
the log file.
You can set up the display to open automatically when system
activity occurs, to allow the operator to respond to problems that
might stop production if they are not solved immediately.

About FactoryTalk Diagnostics ■ 10-3

Preface
During scheduled maintenance time, the engineer can use the
diagnostics messages recorded in the local log file to analyze
operation of the system, and then make the necessary
corrections.

Categories
FactoryTalk Diagnostics categorizes messages by severity, and by
audience. For each destination, you can specify the message severity
and audience.

Choosing not to log messages

IMPORTANT If messages of a particular category are not routed to

any destination, the messages for that category are not
logged. For example, you might not want to log
information messages, or you might not want to send
any messages to the Operator.

Message severities
RSView categorizes messages in four severities:
Errors indicate that a process or action has failed. For example, a
tag’s value could not be written, or a user typed the wrong
password while logging on to the system.
Warnings indicate that a process or action might not function
correctly, or might eventually fail if preventive action isn’t taken.
For example, if an ActiveX Control used in a graphic display is a
different version than the one installed on the run-time
computer, a warning is logged to indicate the mismatch.
Mismatched ActiveX Controls might not behave as expected at
run time.

10-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Information indicates that a process or action has completed
successfully. For example, a user logged on to the system or a tag
value has been written to the data source.
Audit indicates that the system configuration has been changed.
RSView records all tag writes as Audit messages. Other Rockwell
Software products make more extensive use of Audit messages.
For example, If you set up an Audit log in RSMACC, RSView’s
Audit messages will be sent there, as well as to FactoryTalk
Diagnostics.
In the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer, the message severity is
shown in the Severity column, indicated by the ! symbol.
The content of the messages is provided by the system—you don’t
need to do anything to set up message content.

Audiences
FactoryTalk Diagnostics allows messages to be categorized
differently for the various people for whom the messages are
relevant. You can sort the messages in the Diagnostics Viewer, so
that those relevant to a particular person are grouped together.
RSView automatically sends audit messages to the Secured audience.
The Secured audience allows auditing tools, such as those required
for US Government 21CFR Part 11 compliance, to track system
activity.
RSView does not make use of the Developer category. Selecting this
option has no effect on messages generated by RSView.

Who receives which messages?

Messages for all tag writes, whether successful or unsuccessful, are

sent to the Engineer and Secured audiences. All other messages are
sent to the Operator.

Displaying diagnostics messages during application

development
During application development, diagnostics messages are displayed
when you test your graphic displays. The messages are displayed in
the Diagnostics List at the bottom of the RSView Studio window.
You can also view the messages in the FactoryTalk Diagnostics
Viewer, as described in the next section.

Displaying diagnostics messages during application development ■ 10-5

Preface
By default, all warning and error messages are displayed in the
Diagnostics List. To change what is displayed in the Diagnostics
List, use the Diagnostics Setup tool, as described on page 10-7.
For information about testing graphic displays, see page 14-11.

To display the Diagnostics List

" On the View menu, click Diagnostics List. A check mark beside
the menu item indicates the Diagnostics List is displayed.
For information about moving, resizing, and clearing messages in the
Diagnostics List, see page 2-4.

If you don’t want to display diagnostics messages

" On the View menu, click Diagnostics List. The option is turned
off when no check mark appears.

Viewing FactoryTalk Diagnostics log files

Use the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer to view the contents of
FactoryTalk Diagnostics local log files. You can open the
FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer from within RSView Studio, or
from the Windows Start menu.

The FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer is available on computers

running Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

You can also set up Windows 2000 or Windows XP computers to

accept messages from PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminals,
and then display the messages in the FactoryTalk Diagnostics
Viewer. For information about sending messages from PanelView
Plus or Windows CE terminals to computers running Windows
2000 or Windows XP, see page 10-14.

To open the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer, do one of the

following
In RSView Studio, click the Tools menu, and then click
Diagnostics Viewer.
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, Utilities, and then click Diagnostics Viewer.

10-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 For information about setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics to send
messages to the local log, see page 10-9. For additional information
about setting up and using the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer, see
the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer Help.

Using the Diagnostics Setup tool

Use the Diagnostics Setup tool to set up:
destinations and message routing on the development computer.
destinations and message routing on run-time computers that use
Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
the Windows CE run-time destination to receive logged messages
from.

To open the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Setup tool, do one of

the following

In RSView Studio, on the Tools menu, click Diagnostics Setup.

In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Diagnostics Setup.
For information about opening the RSView ME Station dialog
box in Windows 2000 or XP, see page 24-4. For information
about opening the RSView ME Station dialog box on a
PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal, see page 25-4. For
informatin about opening the RSView ME Station dialog box on
a RAC6182 terminal, see page 26-13.
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, Utilities, and then click Diagnostics Setup.

Using the Diagnostics Setup tool ■ 10-7

 Preface

Specify which
destinations
receive what
categories of
messages.

10-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Setting up the local log file
To set up the local log file
1. In the Diagnostics Setup tool, click Local Log.

2. To specify a different location for the logging path, click the

Browse button.
Browse button 3. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, click the folder in which to
create the log file.
4. Click OK.
5. Specify these options:
Maximum log size Type or select the maximum size of the log
file in kilobytes.
Overwrite events as needed Select this option to overwrite
the oldest event in the log file when the log file becomes full and
a new event occurs.
Overwrite events older than x days Select this option to
overwrite events older than the specified number of days only.
The system does not overwrite events newer than the specified
number of days. If the log file becomes full, and there are no

Setting up the local log file ■ 10-9

Preface
events older than the specified number of days, new events are
discarded.
Do not overwrite events Select this option if you don’t want
the system to overwrite any events in the log file. To prevent the
log file from becoming full, clear the log file manually, as
described on page 10-15. If the log file becomes full, new events
are discarded.
6. To save changes without closing the Diagnostics Setup dialog
box, click Apply.

Logging to an ODBC database

The option of logging FactoryTalk Diagnostics messages to an
ODBC database is available for computers running Windows 2000
and Windows XP only.
ODBC logging works by periodically exporting the contents of the
local log file to an ODBC-compliant database. RSView supports
these ODBC-compliant databases:
Microsoft Access
Sybase SQL Server
Oracle
Microsoft SQL Server
If you have set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics to overwrite events in
the local log file, make sure messages are logged to the
ODBC-compliant database before the oldest events are deleted.

10-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

For information about the contents of the FactoryTalk Diagnostics
ODBC tables, see Appendix D.

To log data to an ODBC database

1. In the Diagnostics Setup tool, click ODBC Database.
2. Fill in the options as described in the sections that follow.
3. To save the changes without closing the Diagnostics Setup dialog
box, click Apply.

Setting up message buffering

FactoryTalk Diagnostics messages are stored in the computer’s local
log file, and are exported to the ODBC-compliant database at the
interval you specify.
You can also specify that messages remain in the local log file for a
period of time after they have been exported to the
ODBC-compliant database. This is useful in the event of a network
failure, or any other reason that causes the database to be
unavailable. In this case, the messages remain in the local log file
until the buffer time expires. If the ODBC-compliant database
becomes available during that time, the buffered messages are then
exported to the database.

Logging to an ODBC database ■ 10-11

 Preface

Log messages to database every Type a number, and then select

a time interval, to specify how frequently messages are exported
from the local log file to the ODBC-compliant database. Ensure this
interval is lower than the interval at which the contents of the log file
is overwritten.
Buffer message locally for up to Type a number, and then select a
time interval, to specify how long messages should remain in the
local log file before they are deleted.

Setting up the ODBC data source

Data source name Type the name of the ODBC data source. To
browse for the data source name, click the Browse button.
Browse button
Target table Type the name of the target table in the
ODBC-compliant database. To browse for the target table, click the
Browse button.
If the target table does not exist, and if you have a connection to the
database, you can create the target table. Type the target table name
and then click Create Table.
Maintain connection Specify how long you want the connection
to the ODBC-compliant database to remain open. Type the number
of minutes, or click indefinitely.

10-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Login required If the ODBC database and application are located
on different computers, you must enter a Database user ID and
password to connect to the database. Check Login required, and
then type the user ID and password.

Routing messages
For each destination you set up, you can specify how messages are
routed.
To route messages, specify:
the types of messages to log.
the audiences to send the messages to.
whether to accept messages from Windows CE devices.
For information about who receives which types of messages, see
page 10-5.

To route messages
1. In the Diagnostics Setup tool, to specify which message
categories are sent to the local log, click Local Log.

Routing messages ■ 10-13

Preface
Use the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer to view messages in the
local log.
2. Check the boxes for the messages types you want to log, and the
audiences you want to receive them.
Clear a check box if you don’t want the message type to be sent
to a particular audience.

IMPORTANT RSView does not log any messages for the audience
called Developer. Selecting check boxes for the
audience Developer has no effect.

3. To accept messages from a PanelView Plus or Windows CE

terminal, check Accept message from Windows CE devices.
4. To specify which messages are sent to the Diagnostics List in
RSView Studio, and to the diagnostics list graphic object at run
time, click RSView Diagnostics List.
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3.
6. To specify which messages are sent to an ODBC database, click
ODBC database, and then repeat steps 2 and 3.
7. To save changes without closing the Diagnostics Setup dialog
box, click Apply.

Tip
If desired, you can select multiple destinations at once, to apply the
same message routing to the selected destinations simultaneously.

Receiving messages from the PanelView Plus or

Windows CE terminal
You can set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics to receive messages that are
generated on the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal at run
time. The PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal must be on the
same network as the computer running FactoryTalk Diagnostics.
To receive messages:
enable the Windows 2000 or Windows XP computer to receive
the messages, as described in this section
set up the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal to send the
messages.

10-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 For information about setting up the PanelView Plus or
Windows CE terminal to log to the Windows 2000 or Windows
XP computer, see page 25-16.

To set up the Windows 2000 or Windows XP computer to

receive messages from a PanelView Plus or Windows CE
terminal
1. In the Diagnostics Setup tool, click Destination Setup.
2. Check Enable this computer to receive messages broadcast from
Windows CE devices.
3. In the Port box, type the port number on the Windows 2000 or
Windows XP computer to send the messages to.
4. When you are finished, click OK.

Clearing the local log file manually

You can set up the local log file so that once the file reaches the
specified size message are overwritten, as described on page 10-9.
You can also clear the log file manually at any time.

To clear the log file manually

1. In the Diagnostics Setup tool, click Local Log.

Clearing the local log file manually ■ 10-15

Preface
2. Click Clear Log.

3. If you want to save a copy of the log file before it is cleared, click
Yes when prompted.
4. Browse for the folder in which to save the file copy.

5. Type a name for the file, and then click Save.

Displaying and printing diagnostics messages at

run time
At run time, you can display diagnostics messages in a graphic
display. You can also print the messages.

Printed messages list the date and time, the category of system
activity, and the message text. By default, messages are not printed at
run time.

By default, your application is set up to display diagnostics messages

automatically at run time. If you want to use the default settings,
you don’t need to do anything further to set up diagnostics messages
for print and display in RSView ME Station.

The messages that are printed and displayed depend on how you set
up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time computer:
For applications running on Windows 2000 or Windows XP, use
the Diagnostics Setup tool to set up diagnostics message logging.
For information about using the Diagnostics Setup tool, see the
sections beginning on page 10-7.
For information about setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the
PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see Chapter 25.

For applications running on Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you

can also view the run-time messages in the FactoryTalk Diagnostics
Viewer, as described on page 10-6.

If you don’t want to display diagnostics messages in

RSView ME Station

" In RSView Studio, in the Diagnostics List Setup editor, clear the
Display name box, or clear the four “Open display automatically
when” boxes.

10-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The diagnostics message display
RSView comes with a preconfigured diagnostics message graphic
display called [DIAGNOSTICS]. It contains a diagnostics list
graphic object, which lists the diagnostics messages, and buttons for
scrolling through the list of messages, clearing messages, and closing
the display. By default, the [DIAGNOSTICS] graphic display opens
automatically at run time when a warning, error, information, or
audit message is generated.
You can use the [DIAGNOSTICS] display as is, edit the display, or
create your own display. Another option is to place the diagnostics
list object in a graphic display that doesn’t open automatically when
a message is generated.
For more information about the [DIAGNOSTICS] display, see
page 10-20. For information about creating your own diagnostics
message display, see page 10-21. For more information about the
diagnostics list graphic object, see page 10-21.

Setting up how messages are displayed and printed

at run time
Follow these steps to set up how diagnostics messages are displayed
in RSView ME Station:
1. In the Diagnostics List Setup editor, specify which messages to
print, the graphic display to use, when to open the graphic
display, and the maximum number of messages to store.
2. If desired, modify the default [DIAGNOSTICS] display, or
create your own graphic display to use for diagnostics messages.
For example, if you don’t want the operator to clear all messages
at once, edit the default display to remove the clear all button.
For information about graphic displays, see Chapter 14.

Using the Diagnostics List Setup editor

Use the Diagnostics List Setup editor to set up when to print and
display messages at run time in RSView ME Station.

Setting up how messages are displayed and printed at run time ■ 10-17
Preface
To set up how messages are displayed and printed at run
time
1. Open the Diagnostics List Setup editor.

text

2. To print messages at run time, check the box for the severity of
message to print.
Set up a printer on the run-time terminal.
For information about specifying which printer to use at run
time for Windows 2000 or Windows XP applications, see page
24-8. For information about the type of printer to use with a
PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal, see page 25-2. For

10-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 information about the type of printer to use with a RAC6182
terminal, see page 26-2.
3. In the Display name box, select the graphic display to use to
display diagnostics messages. Click the Browse button to select
from a list of all the graphic displays in the application.
Browse button
If you don’t want to display diagnostics messages at run time,
clear the box.
For information about the different graphic displays you can use
to display diagnostics messages, see page 10-17.
4. To edit the selected graphic display, click Edit. The Graphic
Displays editor opens with the selected display open for editing.
For information about graphic displays, see Chapter 14.
5. Specify these settings:

Open display automatically when

Specify when to open the diagnostics display. Select any or all
options:
Error occurs—RSView opens the diagnostics display when a
new error occurs.
Warning occurs—RSView opens the diagnostics display when
a new warning occurs.
Information occurs—RSView opens the diagnostics display
when a new information message occurs.
Audit occurs—RSView opens the diagnostics display when a
new audit message occurs.
If you don’t want the diagnostics display to open automatically,
clear all the check boxes.
If you elect not to open a diagnostics display automatically, you
can still display diagnostics messages in any diagnostics list
graphic object, in any graphic display. Create a goto display
button that the operator can use to open the graphic display
containing the diagnostics list.

Maximum number of messages

Type the maximum number of messages to store in memory, up
to 2000. When this number is reached, the oldest message is
deleted to make room for a new message.
6. Click OK.

Setting up how messages are displayed and printed at run time ■ 10-19
Preface
After you set up how to print and display
messages at run time
If desired, use the Graphic Displays editor to modify the default
[DIAGNOSTICS] display or to create your own graphic display for
diagnostics messages. For example, if you don’t want the operator to
clear all messages at once, edit the default display to remove the clear
all button.

See the topics in the remainder of this chapter.

The [DIAGNOSTICS] display

When you create an application, it comes with a graphic display
called [DIAGNOSTICS]. The [DIAGNOSTICS] display is the
default display for showing diagnostics messages at run time.

Diagnostics list
graphic object

You can use the [DIAGNOSTICS] display as is, or modify the

display. For example, you can change the color of the objects, or add
and remove buttons. Or, you can create your own graphic display to
use for displaying diagnostics messages. In the Diagnostics List
Setup editor, specify the display to use.

The diagnostics list graphic object

The [DIAGNOSTICS] display contains a diagnostics list graphic

object, which lists the diagnostics messages. For more information
about the diagnostics list, see page 10-21.

10-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Buttons in the [DIAGNOSTICS] display
The [DIAGNOSTICS] display contains diagnostics list buttons for
clearing the messages, as well as buttons for scrolling the list and
closing the display. For information about how the buttons work,
see page 10-22.

Creating your own diagnostics display

You can create your own graphic display for displaying diagnostics
messages, containing a diagnostics list graphic object and the buttons
the operator needs for using the display.
If you create your own graphic display, use an On Top display and
select the Cannot Be Replaced option.
For more information about the diagnostics list, see page 10-21. For
information about the buttons you can use with the list, see
page 10-22. For information about creating graphic displays and
graphic objects, see Chapters 14 and 15.

Opening and closing the diagnostics display

Opening the display
The diagnostics display you specify in the Diagnostics List Setup
editor (either the default [DIAGNOSTICS] display or a display you
create) is automatically opened whenever a diagnostics message of
the specified severity occurs.
The display remains open until the operator closes the display.
If you decide not to open the diagnostics display automatically, you
can create a goto display button that the operator can press to open
the diagnostics display. For information about setting up a goto
display button and specifying the display to open, see page 16-128.

Closing the display

The operator can close the display by pressing a close display
button.

How the diagnostics list graphic object works

At run time, when a severity of system activity occurs that you’ve
set up to log, a message about the activity is added to the diagnostics
list. The diagnostics list can be in the [DIAGNOSTICS] display, in a
diagnostics display you have created, or can be placed on any display
in your application.

How the diagnostics list graphic object works ■ 10-21

Preface
You can use multiple diagnostics lists, in the same display or in
different displays. Each diagnostics list displays the same
information.
For information about setting up diagnostics lists, see page 16-237.

What is displayed
If the message is too long to fit in the list, the last displayed
character is replaced with an asterisk (*).
The number of diagnostics messages that is visible at one time
depends on the height of the diagnostics list and the list’s font
size.
Messages are listed with the newest diagnostics message on top.

Using buttons with the diagnostics list

Diagnostics buttons
You can use these diagnostics buttons to interact with the
diagnostics list:
This button Does this
Diagnostics clear Clears the selected message from all diagnostics
lists in the application.
Diagnostics clear all Clears all diagnostics messages from all
diagnostics lists in the application.

You can assign any captions you choose to the labels on the
diagnostics buttons.
You can link the diagnostics clear button to a specific diagnostics
list. When the operator presses the button, the selected message is
deleted from the linked diagnostics list, and also from any other
diagnostics lists in the application. For information about linking
buttons to objects, see page 16-14.

Key buttons
You can also use these key button graphic objects to interact with
the diagnostics list:
This button Does this
Move up Scrolls up one row in the list.
Move down Scrolls down one row in the list.

10-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

This button Does this
Page up Moves the cursor up one page in the list.
Page down Moves the cursor down one page in the list.
Home Moves the cursor to the top message in the list.
End Moves the cursor to the bottom message in the
list.

You can set up the key buttons to work only with the specified
diagnostics list, or to work with whichever object is selected in the
graphic display. For information about linking buttons to objects,
see page 16-14.
For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15. For
information about setting up buttons, see page 16-23.

How the diagnostics list graphic object works ■ 10-23

11
Chapter

Setting up data logging

This chapter describes:
data logging and the trend graphic object.
data log models.
the different data logging methods.
data storage locations.
steps for setting up data logging.
using the Data Log Models editor.
creating and setting up data log models.
changing the data log model used at run time.
problems with data logging.

Data logging and the trend graphic object

Use data logging to keep a permanent record of tag data. You can
record tag data as tag values change, or on a periodic basis (for
example, every minute).
You can use the trend graphic object to display the data that you’ve
logged. At run time, when the operator opens a graphic display
containing a trend, the trend displays values from the data log file
for the data log model that is running. The data log model specifies
which data to collect in the data log file.
In addition to displaying historical values from the data log file,
trends can display current values for the tags in the model. Trends
can also display current values for tags or expressions that are not in
a data log model. For more information about trends, see Chapter
18.

What is a data log model?

A data log model defines which tags to log data for, as well as how
and where the data is logged. For information about creating a data
log model, see page 11-5.

What is a data log model? ■ 11-1

Preface
You can set up multiple data log models, but you can run only one
data log model at a time. For information about running a different
data log model, see page 11-12.

Tags in the data log model

The data log model can contain up to 100 analog or digital tags.
You cannot use string tags, tag placeholders, or expressions in your
data log model.

Deleting tags from the model

If you delete a tag from the data log model, previously logged data
for the tag is not accessible unless you add the tag back to the model.

Data log files

As soon as the application starts running, RSView begins logging tag
values to the data log files. When the maximum number of data
points have been logged, the oldest data is deleted to make room for
the new data. RSView supplies data from the log files to the trend
object for the requested tags and time span.
The data log files are retained when you restart an application after a
shutdown or power loss. You can delete the log files from the
run-time computer at application startup.
For information about deleting the log files, see Chapter 26.

File names
RSView creates two data log files:
Data Log Model Name.log
Data Log Model Name.tag
You’ll need this information if you log to a custom path and want to
delete the log files manually.

Data logging methods

There are two methods for triggering data logging. You can set up
logging so tag values are logged:
periodically (periodic logging)
only when a tag value changes (on-change logging)

11-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Logging periodically
Periodic logging is used to take a snapshot of all tag values at a
particular point in time. Tag values are logged even if there has been
no change.
You cannot change the periodic log rate at run time.

Logging on change
On-change logging is used to log only tags whose values have
changed.
For HMI tags, before logging occurs, the change must equal a
specified percentage of change in the tag value. The percentage is
based on HMI tags’ minimum and maximum values as set up in the
Tags editor. Only the tags that change by the specified percentage are
logged. If you specify a percentage of 0, all changes are logged.
If a tag does not have a minimum or maximum attribute (for
example a data server tag in ControlLogix), when you specify
on-change logging, all changes are logged for that tag. You don’t
need to specify a percentage.
Using a heartbeat rate
You can also specify a heartbeat rate, to log values at specified times
even if no tag value changes have occurred. The heartbeat ensures
that the data in the log file is current. The heartbeat is also a good
way to ensure that data logging is working and acquiring valid data.
The heartbeat cannot be less than the maximum update rate, which is
the rate at which data servers send tag values to RSView.
If you specify a heartbeat of 0, the heartbeat is not used.

Data storage locations

You can store data log files in any one of these locations:
on the run-time computer
on another computer on the network
on a PC card (for PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal
applications only)

Logging to a network location

To log data to a network location, the network drive must be shared,
and the run-time computer must be loggtd in to the same domain as
the computer on the network. To do this, the user must have access
rights for the domain.

Data storage locations ■ 11-3

Preface
The PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal cannot be part of a
domain. However, you can verify that the user who is logged into
the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal is on a user list that is
part of a domain.
For more information about logging in to a Windows domain or
authenticating users, see page 27-1.

Summary of steps
Follow these steps to set up data logging:
1. In the Data Log Models editor, set up a data log model that
specifies how many log values to store, the conditions that trigger
data logging, where to log data, and which tags to monitor.
2. In the Startup editor, turn on data logging by selecting the Data
logging check box. Also use this editor to specify the data log
model to use at run time. See Chapter 23.
3. In the Graphic Displays editor, create a graphic display
containing the trend graphic object, and set up how the object
looks, which tag values to display, the start time, and the time
span for the data. Also specify the name of the data log model to
use.
For information about graphic displays, see Chapter 14. For
information about setting up trends, see Chapter 18.

Using the Data Log Models editor

Use the Data Log Models editor to create one or more data log
models. Each data log model is a file stored in the editor’s
folder—you can open and work on multiple models at the same
time.

11-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Set up general aspects
of the model.

Specify where to log

the data.

Specify how logging

occurs.

Specify which tags

to log data for.

Creating data log models

To create a data log model

1. Open the Data Log Models editor.

2. Set up the model in the tabs of the editor, as described in the

sections that follow.

3. On the File menu click Save, or click the Save tool.

4. In the Component name box, type a name for the model, and
then click OK.

5. Click Close.

Save tool
Creating data log models ■ 11-5
Preface
Setting up data log models

Specifying how much data to store

You specify a name

for the model when
you save it.

To specify the maximum amount of data to store

1. In the Setup tab, type a description of the model, up to 50

characters. This is for your information only.
2. Type the maximum number of data values to store, between 100
and 300,000 (do not type the comma).
When your data exceeds the limit, the oldest data is deleted from
the data log file. The higher the limit, the more space the data log
file requires on the run-time computer, or on the remote
computer (if logging to a custom path on a remote computer).

11-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Specifying where to store the data

To specify where to store the data

" In the Paths tab, click System default or Custom.

System default
If you select this option, the location where log files are stored
depends on the run-time platform.
Log files for Windows 2000 and Windows XP applications
are stored in this folder:
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\
RSView Enterprise\ME\Logs\Runtime Application Name\
DLGLOG\Data Log Model Name

Setting up data log models ■ 11-7

Preface
Log files for PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal
applications are stored in this folder:
\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\RSViewME\Logs\
Runtime Application Name\DLGLOG\Data Log Model
Name

Custom
If you select this option, type the path to the folder where you
want the log files to be stored. The path syntax depends on the
run-time platform.
For Windows 2000 and Windows XP applications, the path
must contain a drive letter (such as C:\) or use the Universal
Naming Convention (UNC) style.
Paths using UNC style begin with two backslashes. For
example, \\server\logs uses UNC style. In this example, logs
is a shared folder on a network server.
For PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal applications,
you can log to a location on the PanelView Plus or Windows
CE terminal or to a PC card. For example, \Storage
Card\Data\Logs specifies a location on the PanelView Plus or
Windows CE terminal.
To log from the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal to a
network folder, use UNC style.
You can specify a path to a folder that does not exist. If it doesn’t
exist, it is created at run time, as long as the user logged in to the
run-time computer has folder creation rights at the specified
location.

11-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Specifying when to log data

To specify when to log data

1. In the Log Triggers tab, click Periodic or On Change to specify

whether logging takes place at regular intervals or when tag
values change.
2. Fill in the boxes as follows:

Log Periodically

In the Interval box, type a time and click a time unit to specify
how often tag values are logged. All tags in the model are logged
each time this interval expires.

Log on tag change

Setting up data log models ■ 11-9

Preface
Maximum update rate
Select the rate at which to update tag values. Data servers use this
rate to send tag values to RSView. This rate is used for all the tags
in the data log model.
Tag values are also updated when the application is started.

Change percentage
In the Change percentage box, type the percent the tag value has
to change in order to trigger logging. To log all changes, type 0.
The percentage is based on HMI tags’ minimum and maximum
values as set up in the Tags editor. If a tag does not have a
minimum or maximum attribute, for example a data server tag in
ControlLogix, all changes are logged for that tag.

Heartbeat
To specify how often tag values are logged even if no change has
occurred, in the Heartbeat box type a time, and then click a time
unit. The heartbeat cannot be less than the maximum update rate.
If you do not want to use the heartbeat, type 0. If you type 0,
tags values are logged only when a tag value changes.

11-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Specifying the tags to log data for

The “Tags in model”

box displays the tags
that have been added
to the model so far.

To remove a tag from

the model, click it and
then click Remove.

To remove all the tags

from the model, click
Remove All.

To specify the tags to log data for

1. In the Tags in Model tab, in the “Tags to add” box, type the
names of the tags to log.
2. To browse for tag names, click the Browse button to open the
Tag Browser.
Browse button For information about selecting multiple tags in the Tag Browser,
see page 6-13.
3. Click Add. The tags listed in the “Tags to add” box move to the
“Tags in model” box.
If you are using on-change logging, the percentage of change is
calculated using HMI tags’ minimum and maximum values as set up
in the Tags editor.

Setting up data log models ■ 11-11

Preface
After you set up the data log model
Now that you’ve created the data log model:
In the Startup editor, turn on data logging and specify the data
log model to use at run time. For more information, see
Chapter 23.
In the Graphic Displays editor, create a display containing a
trend graphic object, and set up the trend to display the values
from the data log model. For more information, see Chapters 14
and 18.

Changing the data log model used at run time

Your application can run only one data log model at a time. Follow
this procedure to switch data log models.

To run a different data log model

1. Shut down the application.
2. Start RSView Studio and open the application.
3. In the Startup editor, specify the new data log model.
4. Create the run-time application. See Chapter 23.
5. Transfer the run-time application to the run-time platform.
For information about transferring applications to a PanelView
Plus or Windows CE terminal, see Chapter 25.
For information about transferring applications to a computer
running the Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating system,
see Chapter 24.
6. Run the new application.

Problems with data logging

Problems with data logging occur under these circumstances:
If logging to a folder on a networked computer, and the run-time
computer is not logged in to the Windows domain of the
network computer, the log folder cannot be created. An error
message is sent to the activity log.
If logging to an invalid path, the log folder cannot be created. An
error message is sent to the activity log. One of the reasons that
the path may be invalid is that the top-level folder of the path
must be shared.

11-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

If the storage device becomes full due to lack of disk space, data
logging stops and an error message is sent to FactoryTalk
Diagnostics. When sufficient disk space becomes available, data
logging continues, but the data that would have been logged
during the intervening time cannot be retrieved.
If there is not enough disk space at application startup, the data
log model does not start when the application starts. An error
message is sent to FactoryTalk Diagnostics.

Problems with data logging ■ 11-13

12
Chapter

Creating information
messages
This chapter describes:
preparing to set up information messages.
how information messages work.
steps for setting up information messages.
using the Information Messages and Information Setup editors.
creating information messages.
setting up how messages are displayed.
the [INFORMATION] display.
creating your own information message display.
opening and closing the information message display.
how the information message display graphic object works.
changing the information message file used at run time.

About information messages

Use information messages to give the operator messages about the
process, prompts or instructions, and information about current
states.

Information messages versus local

messages
Use information messages to give the operator information no
matter which display is open. To give the operator information in a
specific graphic display while the display is open, use local messages.
For details about local messages, see page 14-34.

About information messages ■ 12-1

Preface
Preparing to set up information messages
As your application is running, information is continually sent to
the data source about the state of various processes. For example,
your application might be monitoring whether a valve is open or
closed, or the temperature in a boiler. Values representing the status
of these processes are sent to the data source.

The data source

The RSView documentation uses the term data source as a generic
term that includes all possible sources of tag data, for both data
server tags and HMI tags. The data source can be memory or a
device such as a programmable controller or an OPC server. RSView
writes values to and reads values from the data source. The data
source is set up to exchange information (in the form of numeric or
string values) between RSView and the machine that your
application is controlling.

Identifying the tags and values to monitor

To set up information messages, determine which tags associated
with machine processes to monitor, and identify the values for those
tags that will trigger information messages.

For information about creating tags, see Chapter 7.

How information messages work

These are the key parts of the information message system:
Information message file—a text file containing a list of messages,
with a numeric trigger value for each message
Information message display—a graphic display that opens at run
time and displays information messages
Value control—a tag or expression. When the value of this
control matches a message’s trigger value, the information
message display opens with the associated message displayed.

The following example shows how the key parts of the information
message system work together.

12-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Example: Setting up the data source to display information
messages
This example shows how to set up the data source to notify the
operator that a conveyor belt has stopped. In this example, the status
of two conveyor belts is being monitored.
1. Create a digital tag called Conveyor_1_status. This tag points to
an address in a programmable controller that is linked to a sensor
on the first conveyor belt. When the belt is running, the tag’s
value is 0. When the belt stops running, the value changes to 1.
2. Create a second digital tag called Conveyor_2_status. This tag
points to an address in a programmable controller that is linked
to a sensor on the second conveyor belt. When the belt is
running, the tag’s value is 0. When the belt stops running, the
value changes to 1.
3. Create an analog tag called Information_messages. Set up the
data source to send a value of 1 to this tag when
Conveyor_1_status has a value of 1, and to send a value of 2 to
this tag when the Conveyor_2_status tag has a value of 1.
4. In the Information Messages editor, create these messages with
trigger values matching the values that will be sent to the
Information_messages tag:

Trigger value Message

1 Conveyor belt 1 has stopped.

2 Conveyor belt 2 has stopped.

Save the message file with the name “Conveyor belts.”

5. In the Information Setup editor, assign the Information_messages
tag to the Value control, and select the Conveyor belts message
file.

At run time, when the value of Conveyor_1_status changes to 1, the

first message is displayed (in the default information message
display). When the value of Conveyor_2_status changes to 1, the
second message is displayed.

How information messages work ■ 12-3

Preface
Information messages and trigger values
Create messages associated with each tag value change that you want
to inform the operator about. Assign each message a trigger value,
and set up the data source to send the trigger value to the Value
control.

The trigger value can be any non-zero integer value (positive or

negative). Trigger values do not need to be contiguous, but they
must be unique for each message. For example, you could use trigger
values of 1, 2, and 3, or values of 10, 20, and 30.

Trigger values cannot be 0. Digital tags have two possible values, 0

and 1. Therefore, if you use a digital tag you can only use the value 1
to trigger a message. If you want to use a digital tag to trigger two
different messages, create an expression that adds 1 to the digital
tag’s value. That way, you can use the trigger values 1 and 2.

If you use an analog tag or an expression, you can use any non-zero
integer or floating-point value to trigger an alarm. Floating-point
values are rounded to the nearest integer. For information about
how values are rounded, see page 7-2.

You can create multiple information message files, but you can use
only one message file at run time. For information about using a
different message file, see page 12-12.

The information message display

RSView comes with a preset up information message graphic display
called [INFORMATION]. It contains an information message
display graphic object and buttons for acknowledging the displayed
message and closing the display. By default, the [INFORMATION]
graphic display opens automatically at run time when an
information message is generated.

You can accept the default, edit the [INFORMATION] display, or

create your own display. Another option is to place the information
message display object in a graphic display that doesn’t open
automatically when a message is generated.

For more information about the [INFORMATION] display, see

page 12-9. For information about creating your own information
message display, see page 12-11. For information about the
information message display graphic object, see page 12-12.

12-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Summary of steps
Follow these steps to set up information messages:
1. In the Information Messages editor, set up the messages and their
trigger values.
2. In the Information Setup editor, specify the graphic display to
open when information messages occur, and the file of messages
to display.
Also use this editor to assign a tag or expression to the Value
control. If you want the operator to acknowledge messages,
assign the Ack control and specify the acknowledge hold time.
3. In the Startup editor, ensure that the Information messages box is
checked (it is checked by default). See Chapter 23.
4. If desired, in the Graphic Displays editor modify the default
[INFORMATION] display, or create your own graphic display
to use for information messages. For example, if you don’t want
the operator to acknowledge messages, edit the default display to
remove the information acknowledge button.
For information about graphic displays, see Chapter 14.

Using the Information Messages editor

Use the Information Messages editor to create one or more files of
information messages. Each file is stored in the editor’s folder. You
can open and work on multiple message files at the same time.

You can define up to 10,000 messages in each message file.

Using the Information Messages editor ■ 12-5

 Preface
Creating information messages
To create information messages
1. Open the Information Messages editor.
2. Specify these properties for the message:

Trigger value
Type a non-zero integer value. When the Value control changes
to this value, the associated message is generated. This column
cannot be blank.
For more information about trigger values, see page 12-4.

Message
Type the message, up to 256 characters.
3. To create a line break in the message, type \n. The message will
continue at the beginning of the next line.
If you want the character sequence “\n” to appear in the message,
type “\\n”. This way the sequence won’t be interpreted as a line
break. For example, to create the message “Logging to \norm’s
bakery\logs has been interrupted.” you would type this: Logging
to \\norm’s bakery\logs has been interrupted.
4. To use an embedded variable in the message, right-click the
Message column, and then click Edit String.
If the context menu doesn’t open, click in another cell, then
right-click the Message column.
5. In the String Edit dialog box, position the cursor where you want
to insert the variable.
6. Click Insert Variable, and then click the type of variable to use.
7. Make your choices in the dialog box that opens, and then click
OK.
For more information about creating embedded variables, see
Chapter 20.
8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 to create additional messages.
9. On the File menu click Save, or click the Save tool.
10. In the Component name box, type a name for the file, and then
Save tool click OK.
11. Click Close.

12-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Deleting messages
To delete a message

" Select any cell in the message’s row, and then press Delete.
Shift-click in a column to select cells for multiple messages.

Copying messages
To copy a message
1. In the Message column, select one or more messages and then
press Ctrl-C (or right-click the selected cells and then click
Copy).
2. In the Message column, click the cell to paste the first message in,
and then press Ctrl-V (or right-click the cell and then click
Paste).

Setting up how information messages are displayed

Use the Information Setup editor to set up how information
messages are displayed.

Setting up how information messages are displayed ■ 12-7

 Preface
To set up how information messages are displayed
1. Open the Information Setup editor.
2. In the “Display file name” box, select the graphic display to use
to display information messages. Click the Browse button to
select from a list of all the graphic displays in the application.
If you clear the box, no display is opened when the Value control
changes to an assigned trigger value.
For information about the different graphic displays you can use
to display information messages, see page 12-4.
3. To edit the selected graphic display, click Edit. The Graphic
Displays editor opens with the selected display open for editing.
Browse button For information about graphic displays, see Chapter 14.
4. In the “Message file name” box, select the file of information
messages to display. Click the Browse button to select from a list
of all the information message files in the application.
If you leave the box blank, no messages are ever displayed. If you
specify a message file, it is used for all Information Message
display objects you place in your graphic displays.
For information about creating information message files, see
page 12-6.
5. To edit the selected message file, click Edit. The Information
Messages editor opens with the selected message file open for
editing.
6. Specify these settings:

Acknowledge hold time

Select the hold time to use when acknowledging information
messages. RSView sets the value at the Ack control to 1 for the
specified length of time (or as long as the operator presses the
information acknowledge button, whichever is longer), then
resets the control to 0.

Maximum Update Rate

Select the rate at which to update tag values. Data servers use this
rate to send tag values to RSView. This rate is used for the tag
assigned to the Value control, including tags used in an
expression.
Tag values for the Value control are also updated when the
application is started.

12-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Connection
Assign a tag or expression to these controls:
Value—Assign a tag or expression to this control. The
information message graphic display opens when the Value
control at the data source changes from 0 to a non-zero value.
If you assign an expression, RSView calculates the value of the
expression and opens the display when the expression value
changes from 0 to a non-zero value.
Ack—Assign a digital tag to this control to notify the data
source when the operator acknowledges an information
message.
For information about assigning tags and expressions, see
page 6-17.
7. Click OK.

After you set up information messages

Now that you’ve set up information messages:
In the Startup editor, ensure that the Information messages box is
checked (it is checked by default). For more information, see
Chapter 23.
If desired, modify the default [INFORMATION] display, or
create your own graphic display to use for information messages.
For example, if you don’t want the operator to acknowledge
information messages, edit the default display to remove the
information acknowledge button.
See the topics in the remainder of this chapter.

The [INFORMATION] display

When you create an application, it comes with a graphic display
called [INFORMATION]. The [INFORMATION] display is the
default display for showing information messages at run time.

The [INFORMATION] display ■ 12-9

Preface

Information Buttons
message display
graphic object

You can use the [INFORMATION] display as is, or modify the

display. For example, you can change the color of the objects, or add
and remove buttons. Or, you can create your own graphic display to
use for displaying information messages. In the Information Setup
editor, specify the display to use.

The information message display graphic object

The [INFORMATION] display contains an information message

display graphic object, which lists one information message at a
time.
For information about how the information message display object
works at run time, see page 12-12.

Buttons in the [INFORMATION] display

The [INFORMATION] display contains these buttons:

This button Does this
Ack Acknowledges the information message.
(information
acknowledge)
Close Closes the information message graphic display.
(close display)

You can assign any caption you choose to the labels on the buttons.

Using the information acknowledge button

When the operator presses the information acknowledge button, if

the Ack control is assigned, the control value is set to 1 at the data
source. The value is held as long as the operator presses the button,
or for the acknowledge hold time, whichever is longer. Then the
control is reset to 0.

12-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Creating your own information message display
You can create your own graphic display for displaying information
messages, containing an information message display graphic object
and the buttons you want to use in the display.
If you create your own graphic display, use an On Top display and
select the Cannot Be Replaced option.
For more information about the information message display
graphic object, see page 12-12. For information about creating
graphic displays and graphic objects, see Chapters 14 and 15.

Opening and closing the information message

display

Opening the display

The information message display you specify in the Information
Setup editor (either the default [INFORMATION] display or your
own display) is automatically opened whenever the Value control’s
value matches a trigger value.
You can also create a goto display button that the operator can press
to open the information message display. For information about
setting up a goto display button and specifying the display to open,
see Chapter 16.

Closing the display

The information message display closes when the Value control’s
value changes to 0.
To automatically close the display when the operator acknowledges
a message, set up the data source to set the Value control to 0 when
the Ack control is set to 1.
The operator can also close the display by pressing a close display
button.

Opening and closing the information message display ■ 12-11

Preface
How the information message display graphic
object works
At run time, when the Value control at the data source changes from
0 to a non-zero value, the assigned information message display
opens. If the value matches a message’s trigger value, the associated
information message appears in the information message display
graphic object. The object can be in the default [INFORMATION]
display, in an information message display you have created, or can
be placed in any display in your application.
For information about setting up the information message display
graphic object, see page 16-240.

What is displayed
If the Value control is unassigned, the information message
graphic display never opens automatically. If the operator opens
a graphic display containing an information message display
object, the object is blank.
The Value control is rounded up to the nearest integer. If the
value does not match any of the trigger values in the specified
message file, the display is filled with question marks (?).
For information about how values are rounded, see page 7-2.
If the message is too long to fit in the information message
display object, the last displayed character is replaced with an
asterisk (*).
When the Value control’s value is 0, the information message
graphic display is closed.

Changing the message file used at run time

Your application can use only one message file at a time. Follow this
procedure to switch message files.

To use a different message file

1. Shut down the application.
2. Start RSView Studio and open the application.
3. In the Information Setup editor, specify the new information
message file.

12-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

4. Create the run-time application. See Chapter 23.
5. Transfer the run-time application to the run-time platform.
For information about transferring applications to a PanelView
Plus or Windows CE terminal, see Chapter 25.
For information about transferring applications to a computer
running the Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating system,
see Chapter 24.
6. Run the new application.

Changing the message file used at run time ■ 12-13

13
Chapter

Setting up security
Set up security in your application to prevent users from accessing
certain graphic displays.
This chapter describes the RSView security system, and outlines
how to:
set up user accounts.
set up security.
assign security to graphic displays.
use the User Accounts editor.
change passwords.
provide a way for users to log in and log out.
prevent unauthorized users from running or stopping the
application.

How to use security

If you don’t set up security, anyone can use the application without
logging in, and view all the graphic displays.
You can use security features to:
prevent users from opening graphic displays to which you don’t
want them to have access.
prevent unauthorized users from running the application.
prevent unauthorized users from stopping the application.
prevent users from seeing and using certain parts of a graphic
display.
prevent users from switching to other applications or having
access to the desktop on the run-time computer. This feature uses
the DeskLock tool, and is available for Windows 2000 and
Windows XP run-time applications only. For more information
about the DeskLock tool, see Chapter 24.

How to use security ■ 13-1

Preface
To limit the users who have access to the application or parts of the
application, you must set up user accounts and passwords.

IMPORTANT If you set up the data source to open graphic displays

remotely (using global connections), remote display
changes occur whether or not the logged-in user has
security access to a given display.
For details about controlling display changes
remotely, see page 8-5.

Summary of steps
Follow these steps to set up security:
1. In the User Accounts editor, set up users and passwords, and
assign security codes to users.
set up users. You can add users or groups from a Windows
network domain, or you can add RSView users. You cannot
use both Windows network domain users or groups and
RSView users at the same time.
assign a security code to each user or group.
2. Provide users with a method for logging in and out.
3. In the Graphic Displays editor, assign security codes to graphic
displays that will have limited access.
4. If desired, prevent unauthorized users from stopping the
application.
5. If desired, assign visibility animation to graphic objects that only
certain users are authorized to use.

How user accounts and security codes work

There are two types of user accounts: users or groups from a
Windows Network domain, or users from the RSView domain. You
cannot use both user account types in the application at the same
time.
By default, all users have unrestricted access to all graphic displays.
When you assign a security code to a graphic display, only the users
who are assigned that security code have access to the display.
There are 16 security codes, A through P, and the asterisk
symbol (*). The * represents unlimited access. You can assign
combinations of security codes to users, to allow each user access to
a different set of displays.

13-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Example: Assigning security codes to prevent access to
graphic displays
This example shows how to set up users with access to different
graphic displays.
1. Assign security codes to graphic displays as follows:

To this display Assign this security code

Alarm History A
Boiler B
Furnace C
Top Secret D

2. In the User Accounts editor, assign security codes to users:

To this user Assign these security codes

SUPERVISOR A, B, C
OPERATOR A, B
ADMIN All
DEFAULT None

How user accounts and security codes work ■ 13-3

Preface

The users have access to these graphic displays:

SUPERVISOR has access to the first three graphic displays.
OPERATOR has access to the Alarm History and Boiler
displays, but not to the Furnace or Top Secret displays.
The ADMIN user has access to every graphic display.
The DEFAULT user has access only to graphic displays to which
no security has been assigned (that is, graphic displays with the
security code *). In this example, the DEFAULT user does not
have access to any of the four graphic displays.
In this example, you could have assigned the same security code to
the Alarm History and Boiler displays, since all users except the
DEFAULT user have access to these displays.

13-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Example: Using security codes to control the visibility of input
objects
This example shows how to set up users so that only authorized
users can use input objects to enter data.
This example uses the CurrentUserHasCode( x ) expression security
function to determine whether a user is authorized to input data
using a numeric input enable button.
The security code E is assigned to users who are authorized to enter
data.
1. In the User Accounts editor, assign security codes to users.

To this user Assign these security codes

OPERATOR A, B
SUPERVISOR A, B, C
ADMIN All
DEFAULT None

2. Create a numeric input enable button.

3. Assign visibility animation to the button using this expression:
CurrentUserHasCode( E )
For the Expression True State, click Visible.
When the graphic display containing the numeric input enable
button is open, the SUPERVISOR and ADMIN user can see the
button. If the OPERATOR or DEFAULT user is logged in, the
button is not visible.

How user accounts and security codes work ■ 13-5

Preface
Working with the User Accounts editor
In the User Accounts editor, set up accounts for each user or group
of users that will have access to the application at run time.

Form area

Spreadsheet area

Use the scroll bar or drag Double-click in the security code

the border of the editor to columns to toggle between Yes
see more columns. and No.

Using the View menu

Use the items on the View menu to control the appearance of the
User Accounts editor.
To do this On the View menu, click this

Show or hide the spreadsheet area Spreadsheet

Show or hide the form area Form
Change the font used in the Spreadsheet Font. In the Font
spreadsheet area dialog box, specify the font, style,
and size to use.
Restore the default font Restore Default Settings

Using the Accept and Discard buttons

When you enter information, the Prev and Next buttons change to
Accept and Discard buttons. Click Accept to save user account
information. Click Discard to cancel changes to a user account.

13-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Using the tools
The User Accounts editor has these tools for working in the editor:
Use this tool To do this

Cut Cut the selected text and place it on

the clipboard.
Cutting a No security code setting
changes it to a Yes. You cannot cut
Yes security code settings.
Copy Copy the selected text.
Paste Paste the cut or copied text from
the clipboard.
Delete Delete the selected text.
Deleting a No security code setting
changes it to a Yes. You cannot
delete Yes security code settings.
Duplicate Create a duplicate of the selected
user, with all the same settings,
including name.
Insert Row Insert a blank row above the row in
which the cursor is located.
Fill Forward With multiple rows selected, copy
the settings from the first row into
the other selected rows.
Sort With multiple cells in a column
selected, sort the user accounts
alphanumerically by the selected
cells’ contents.
Undo Undo the previous operation or
sequence of operations.
Redo Redo the previously undone
operation or sequence of
operations.

Working with the User Accounts editor ■ 13-7

Preface
The DEFAULT user
The first account in the editor is the DEFAULT user account. The
DEFAULT account is used when no one is logged in. The
DEFAULT user initially has access to each security code. Unless
you want everyone to have access to all parts of the application
without logging in, turn off the DEFAULT user’s access to the
security codes you plan to use.
You cannot delete the DEFAULT user account.

Setting up user accounts for RSView users

To set up user accounts for RSView users
1. Open the User Accounts editor.

TEXT

2. If the editor already contains user account definitions, click the

first blank row in the spreadsheet, or click Next to scroll to a
blank row.

13-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 3. Specify these settings:

Account ID
Type a user name or ID for the account, up to 20 characters
including spaces.
The name is not case sensitive when the user types it at run time.
However, RSView uses all uppercase for names in expressions.

Login Macro
To run a macro when this user logs in, type the name of the
macro, or click the Browse button to select from a list of macros
in the application.
Browse button
For information about creating macros, see Chapter 21.

Logout Macro
To run a macro when this user logs out, type the name of the
macro, or click the Browse button to select from a list of macros
in the application.

Password
Type a password for the account, up to 14 characters including
spaces, and then press Enter. The password is not case sensitive.

In the Password Confirmation dialog box, retype the password,

and then click OK.
You can use the form or spreadsheet section of the editor to enter
all user information except passwords. Use the form area to enter
passwords.

Setting up user accounts for RSView users ■ 13-9

Preface
Security Codes
To prevent the user from having access to a security code, clear
the check box for the code, or double-click in the code’s column
in the spreadsheet to change the setting to N.
4. Click Accept.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to set up additional user accounts.
6. Click Close. When prompted to save your changes, click Yes.

Deleting RSView user accounts

To delete a user account

" In the spreadsheet area, click the number at the left end of the
row for the user to delete, and then press Delete on your
keyboard.

Changing RSView user passwords

Users cannot change passwords at run time. You can change
passwords in the User Accounts editor.

To change a user’s password

1. In the spreadsheet area, click the row for the user’s account.
2. In the form area, in the Password box, type the new password.
3. In the Password Confirmation box, type the new password
again, and then click OK.

Adding users or groups from a Windows network

domain
Before you can make use of user accounts in RSView, you must first
create the user accounts in your Windows domain. To do this, your
network must have at least one Windows server acting as a domain
controller. You cannot use Windows Workgroups, or local
workstation accounts.

The user password is the Windows Network password.

To add user accounts from a Windows domain

1. On the Setup menu, click Windows Security Options.

13-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

2. In the Add User/Group display, check Use Windows accounts as
source for RSView user accounts.
3. In the Windows Domain list, select the name of the domain from
which you want to add users.
4. In the Windows Users or Groups list, click the user or group
names you want to include in the RSView User Accounts list.

To select multiple users, do one of the following:

Click a user name, and then drag the mouse up or down.
Click a user name, and then Shift-click other user names
immediately above or below the first selected user name.
Click a user name, and then Ctrl-click other user names
anywhere in the list.
5. To add the selected names to the RSView User Accounts, click
the Move button ( › ). To add all the names, click the Move All
button ( » ).
6. Click OK.

Removing users or groups

When you remove a user or group from the RSView user list, the
following items are deleted:
The user or group’s name is deleted from the RSView User
Accounts list. The user or group is not deleted from the
Windows domain.

Adding users or groups from a Windows network domain ■ 13-11

Preface
The user or group’s security codes are deleted from the User
Accounts editor.
If you remove users from the Windows domain, they are not
removed automatically from the RSView user list. You must remove
the users from the RSView user list manually.

To set up user accounts for Windows network account

users
1. Open the User Accounts editor.

TEXT

2. In the account column, click the User name or Group name of

the account you want to set up.
3. Specify these settings:

Account ID
You cannot modify the Account ID for a Windows Network
User or group.

13-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Login Macro
To run a macro when this user logs in, type the name of the
macro, or click the Browse button to select from a list of macros
in the application.
Browse button
For information about creating macros, see Chapter 21.
Logout Macro
To run a macro when this user logs out, type the name of the
macro, or click the Browse button to select from a list of macros
in the application.
Password
You cannot assign or modify a password for a Windows
Network account from RSView. To change the password, use the
Users and Passwords tool in Windows.
Security Codes
To prevent the user from having access to a security code, clear
the check box for the code, or double-click in the code’s column
in the spreadsheet to change the setting to N.
4. Click Accept.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to set up additional user accounts.
6. Click Close. When prompted to save your changes, click Yes.

Providing a way for users to log in and log out

Use login and logout buttons to provide a way for users to log in
and log out. Make sure you place these buttons in graphic displays
that all users have access to.

Logging in
When the application starts, the DEFAULT user is automatically
logged in until a new user logs in.

To provide a way for users to log in

Specify the startup display in the Startup editor, in the Initial
graphic box.
Create a login button in the startup graphic display (the graphic
display that opens when your application starts running).
For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15.
For information about setting up login buttons, see page 16-23.
For information about using the Startup editor, see Chapter 23.
For more information about logging in, see Chapter 27.

Providing a way for users to log in and log out ■ 13-13

Preface
Logging out
To best maintain your security system, users who log in should also
log out.
When a user logs out, the DEFAULT user is automatically logged in
until a new user logs in. Disable the DEFAULT user’s access to the
security codes you plan to use.

To provide a way for users to log out

" Create a logout button in a graphic display that all logged-in

users have access to.
For more information about logging out, see Chapter 27.

Logging out automatically

You can set up your run time terminal so that the current user will
be logged out automatically after the terminal has been inactive for a
specified period of time. The automatic logout is independent of the
security configuration of RSView user accounts or Windows
Account Security.

To set up automatic logout

1. In the Application Explorer, double-click Project Settings, and
then click the Runtime tab.
2. Check Enable auto logout.
3. Specify how long the terminal must be inactive before the
automatic logout occurs.
4. Click OK.
At run time, when the inactivity period expires, the current user is
logged out, and the default user is logged in. Any macros configured
to run at user logout will run.

Preventing unauthorized users from stopping the

application
To prevent unauthorized users from stopping the
application
Do not use a title bar on the application window. To turn off the
title bar for the application window, in the Project Settings
editor, in the Runtime tab, clear the Title bar check box.
For more information about using the Project Settings editor, see
Chapter 4.

13-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Assign visibility animation to the shutdown button, so that the
button is only visible when a user who is authorized to stop the
application is logged in. For an example, see page 13-20.
Set up security for the graphic display in which the shutdown
button is located, so only users who are authorized to stop the
application can open the display.

Additional step for Windows 2000 and Windows XP

applications

Use the DeskLock tool to prevent users from having access to the
desktop, to prevent access to operating system functions such as
restarting Windows or shutting down tasks. For more information,
see page 24-15.

Additional step for RAC6182 applications

Use the Keypad Configuration Utility that ships on CD with the

RAC6182 to disable the Win key and the Alt-Tab key combinations.
Otherwise, the user can press the Win key or press Alt-Tab to open
the Windows Taskbar.
For information about using the Keypad Configuration Utility, see
the utility’s Help.

Additional step for VersaView CE and RAC6182

applications

Hide the Windows Taskbar to make it inaccessible.

To hide the Windows Taskbar

1. On the Windows Start menu select Settings, and then select
Taskbar.
2. Clear the “Always on top” check box.
3. Select Auto hide.
4. In the RSView User Accounts list, click the user name or group
name you want to delete.

Preventing unauthorized users from stopping the application ■ 13-15

Preface
To select multiple users, do one of the following:
Click a user name, and then drag the mouse up or down.
Click a user name, and then Shift-click other user names
immediately above or below the first selected user name.
Click a user name, and then Ctrl-click other user names
anywhere in the list.

5.Click the Remove button.

6.When you are finished, click OK.

Assigning security to graphic displays

Assign security to graphic displays in the Graphic Displays editor.
You can:
assign security when you create the graphic display, or at any
time after creating the display.
assign the same security code to more than one display.
assign whichever codes you want, in any order. For example, you
can choose to use only the codes D and P and you can assign P
before you assign D.
For more information about graphic displays, see Chapter 14.

To assign security to a graphic display

1. In the Graphic Displays editor, right-click an empty area of the
display, and then click Display Settings.

13-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Select a security code.

2. In the General tab, select a security code.

To allow unlimited access to the display, select the asterisk (*).
The * is selected by default.
3. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Summary of security features in a sample startup

display
This section provides an example of how to use all the security
features in a startup graphic display called Log In.

To create a startup display that uses all the security

features in RSView
1. Set up user accounts and passwords.
2. In the Project Settings editor, clear the Title bar check box.
3. Create a graphic display called Main Menu that contains
navigation buttons that give the operator access to the different
displays in the application. Assign a security code to the display
so that only authorized users can open it.

Summary of security features in a sample startup display ■ 13-17

Preface
4. Create a graphic display called Log In containing these button
objects:
This button Does this

Login Opens the Login dialog box.

Logout Logs the current user out and logs in the
DEFAULT user.
Goto display Opens the Main Menu graphic display.
Shutdown Shuts down the application.

5. Set up the goto display button to open the Main Menu display. If
desired, attach visibility animation to the goto display button, so
that only authorized users can see the button.
For more information, see Example 1 on page 13-19.
6. Attach visibility animation to the shutdown button, so that only
authorized users can see (and therefore use) the button.
For more information, see Example 2 on page 13-20.
7. Specify captions for the buttons, and add explanatory text to the
graphic display. If desired, attach visibility animation to the text
as well.
8. In the Display Settings dialog box, assign the security code * to
the Log In display, so that all users have access to it.
9. In the Startup editor, in the Initial graphic box, select the Log In
display.

Until an authorized user is logged in, further access to the

application is denied. In addition, only authorized users can stop the
application.

Users who have access to the application can use the application and
log out. Make sure you provide a way for users to navigate back to
this display to log out.

IMPORTANT When a user logs out, the DEFAULT user is

automatically logged in. Do not give the DEFAULT
user access to the goto display button or shutdown
button.

To see what the startup Log In display looks like when different
users are logged in, see Example 3 on page 13-21.

13-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

You can also use the Remote Display Number control to open the
startup Log In display when a user logs out. This might be useful if
users can log out from various locations (graphic displays) within
the application. For an example, see page 8-6.
For more information about See

Using the Application Settings editor Chapter 4

Attaching animation to graphic objects Chapter 17
Setting up display navigation Chapter 8
Using the Startup editor Chapter 23
Logging in, logging out, and stopping Chapter 27
applications

Example 1: Assigning visibility animation to the goto display

button
This example shows how to assign visibility animation to the goto
display button so that a user must log in before seeing the button.
This example uses the security function CurrentUserName( ). The
function returns the string value of the Account ID (user name) for
the user who is currently logged in.
The CurrentUserName( ) function is case sensitive. All user names
use uppercase letters, so make sure that you use uppercase letters in
your expression.
The DEFAULT user is the current user when the application starts,
and when a user logs out.

To assign visibility animation to the goto display button

1. Right-click the goto display button, select Animation, and then
click Visibility.
2. In the Animation dialog box, in the Expression box, type this:
CurrentUserName( ) <> “DEFAULT”
3. For the Expression True State, click Visible.
4. Click Apply.

Summary of security features in a sample startup display ■ 13-19

Preface

Example 2: Assigning visibility animation to the shutdown

button
This example shows how to assign visibility animation to the
shutdown button so that only the ADMIN user can stop the
application.

To assign visibility animation to the shutdown button

1. Right-click the shutdown button, select Animation, and then
click Visibility.
2. In the Animation dialog box, in the Expression box, type this:
CurrentUserName( ) == “ADMIN”
3. For the Expression True State, click Visible.
4. Click Apply.

13-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Example 3: The sample Log In startup display
At run time, this is what the display looks like when no one has
logged in:

Summary of security features in a sample startup display ■ 13-21

Preface
This is what the display looks like when a user who is authorized to
use the application but not to stop the application has logged in:

13-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

This is what the display looks like when the ADMIN user (who has
authority to stop the application) has logged in:

Summary of security features in a sample startup display ■ 13-23

14
Chapter

Creating graphic
displays
This chapter describes the editors in the Graphics folder and outlines
how to:
create and open graphic displays.
use the Graphic Displays editor.
test your displays as you work.
specify display settings.
create a background for your displays.
use graphic libraries.
import graphic images.
create parameters to use the same display with different tags.
create local messages in your displays.
print graphic displays at run time.

IMPORTANT Before creating graphic displays, specify application

settings. Application settings determine important
aspects of your graphic displays such as display size
and position. For more information, see page 4-9.

About graphic displays and graphic objects

A graphic display represents the operator’s view of plant activity.
The display can show system or process data and provide operators
with a way to write values to an external data source. The data
source can be memory or a device such as a programmable controller
or an OPC server.
Operators can print the display at run time to create a visual record
of tag values, object states, or current messages.

About graphic displays and graphic objects ■ 14-1

Preface
The elements that make up a graphic display are called graphic
objects. You can create objects in the Graphic Displays editor, or
copy them from a graphic library or from another application.
For information about creating and copying graphic objects, see
Chapter 15.
You can use up to 1,000 tags per graphic display. This limit includes
the tags contained in embedded variables.

Before you begin

Before you begin, plan your displays. Think about what information
the operator needs to see, and the best way to provide the
information. For example:
Does the operator need to know the exact speed of a conveyor
belt, or just whether the belt is moving, jammed, or stopped?
Do different users need to have access to different types of
information?
Do you need to limit access to certain types of information?
Also consider the run-time environment and how the operator will
use the application:
Does the run-time computer have a touch screen, mouse,
keyboard, or some combination of these?
How will the operator navigate through the displays of the
application?
Review the chapters on planning, security, and navigation before
you begin creating displays. Browse through the sample applications
for design ideas. Map out a display hierarchy. Then create a graphic
display to use as a template.
The time you spend planning your displays will make your
application easy to use and will save you time in the long run.
For information about See

Planning your displays and creating a template Chapter 3

Setting up application security to control access to Chapter 13
displays
Setting up display navigation and creating a display Chapter 8
hierarchy
Setting up how objects are used at run time Chapter 16

14-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Using the Graphic Displays editor
The Graphic Displays editor opens when you create or open a
graphic display. Each display is stored in the Displays folder. You
can open and work on multiple graphic displays at the same time.

Creating and opening graphic displays

To create a graphic display

1. In the Graphics folder, do one of the following:

right-click Displays and then click New.

click the New Display tool.
drag and drop the Displays icon into the workspace.
2. On the Edit menu, click Display Settings to open the Display
New Display tool
Settings dialog box and specify settings for the display.
For more information, see page 14-12.
3. Create the objects you want to put in the display.

For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15.

4. On the File menu click Save, or click the Save tool.

5. In the Component name box, type a name for the display, and
Save tool then click OK.
The display is added to the list in the Displays folder.
The display is created as a Replace display by default, but you
can change it to an On Top display in the Display Settings dialog
box. For more information, see page 14-13.

To open a graphic display

" In the Graphics folder, open the Displays folder and then
double-click the display name, or right-click the display name
and then click Open.
You can also drag and drop the display from the Application
Explorer to an empty area in the RSView Studio workspace.

Using the Graphic Displays editor ■ 14-3

 Preface
This example shows a graphic display from the Malthouse sample
application, with the Application Explorer closed.

Standard toolbar
Graphics toolbar
Objects toolbar

Display area

Object Explorer

Diagnostics List
Status bar

Property Panel

The parts of the editor

This section provides an overview of the main parts of the Graphic
Displays editor that you use to create your graphic displays.

Toolbars

The Graphic Displays editor provides an array of toolbars in

addition to the Standard toolbar available in other editors. The
toolbars contain tools for creating and setting up graphic objects.
The illustration shows the Graphics and Objects toolbars, which
you’ll probably want to keep open at all times. There are other
toolbars that you can use when performing specific tasks such as
assigning colors to objects. For more information, see page 14-7.

14-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Display area

This area is your graphic display. The appearance of the display in

the Graphic Displays editor is similar to what you see at run time,
except for the title bar and the display position. If you change the
zoom settings, or resize a Replace display by dragging the borders,
these changes do not affect the appearance of the run-time display.

If you want to use a title bar at run time, set up the title bar in the
Application Settings editor. Also use the Application Settings editor
to specify the display size (for Replace displays), position, and
whether to use a border at run time. For more information, see page
4-9.

You can change the display type, color, and other settings in the
Display Settings dialog box. For more information, see page 14-13.

Property Panel

The Property Panel displays the properties of the selected objects,

and shows what values are assigned to the properties. For example, it
shows whether an object’s background style (BackStyle) is solid or
transparent. It also lists the object’s controls, and shows which tags
or expressions have been assigned to them.

In addition to displaying information, you can use the Property

Panel to modify the properties of graphic objects and assign tags and
expressions to the objects.

You can keep the Property Panel open as you work on different
objects and in different displays. For more information, see
page 15-35.

Object Explorer

The Object Explorer lists all the objects and groups of objects in
your display (except objects that are converted to wallpaper). You
can click an object in the list to select it in your display. You can also
right-click the object to open the context menu for the object.

You can also use the Object Explorer to highlight objects by object
type, highlight objects that have animation attached, and to highlight
objects with specific tag or expression assignments. You can keep the
Object Explorer open as you work on different objects and in
different displays. For more information, see page 15-27.

Using the Graphic Displays editor ■ 14-5

Preface
Status bar

The status bar describes the action to be performed by the selected

menu item or tool. The status bar also displays the X and Y
coordinates, width, height, and name of the selected object.

Tools and tips for working in the Graphic Displays

editor
This section describes features of the Graphic Displays editor that
help you create your displays. It describes how to:
use context menus and toolbars to perform actions quickly.
set up a grid that you can use to position and size objects
precisely.
zoom in when you need to look at details closely.
correct mistakes.
test your displays as you work.

Using context menus

No matter where you are in the Graphic Displays editor, you can
open a menu by clicking the right mouse button. This is often
quicker than moving the mouse up to the menus at the top of the
screen.
The items on the menu depend on the cursor’s location. For
example, when you right-click an object, the menu contains the most
common actions you can perform on that object.

14-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

When you
right-click an
object...

... a menu opens. It

contains menu items
for working with the
selected object.

Using the toolbars

The toolbars provide another convenient way to perform an action
quickly. You can customize your workspace by dragging the
toolbars to any location on the screen. You can also dock them to
the inside edges of the RSView Studio workspace.

Tools and tips for working in the Graphic Displays editor ■ 14-7
 Preface
Click the Close button
Click the grab bars to close the toolbar.
and drag to undock a
docked toolbar. Click the title bar and drag to move
a floating (undocked) toolbar.

To display a toolbar

" On the View menu, select Toolbars, and then click the toolbar to
display.
The menu displays a check mark beside the toolbars that are
already open.

To undock a toolbar

" Click the double “grab bars” at the left or top of the toolbar, and
then drag. Press the Ctrl key to prevent accidental redocking.

To move an undocked toolbar

" Click the toolbar’s title bar, and then drag. Press the Ctrl key to
prevent accidental redocking.

14-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To dock a toolbar

" Click the toolbar’s title bar, and then drag to any edge of the
workspace.

To close a toolbar

" On the View menu, select Toolbars, and then click the toolbar to
close, or click the toolbar’s Close button.

Using the grid

To size and position objects precisely, use the grid. You can change
the grid settings at any time during the drawing process.
The grid can be active or passive. When the grid is active, all the
objects you draw or position are pulled to the closest grid point.
This makes it easy to align and size objects. When the grid is passive,
it is visible but does not affect the position of your objects.
Make the grid passive to position an element between the grid lines.
Make the grid active, and the next object you draw or place is
automatically aligned with the grid. Making the grid active does not
affect the placement of existing objects.
The grid is visible during application development only. It is not
visible at run time.

To set up the grid

1. On the View menu, click Grid Settings, or right-click an empty
area of the display and then click Grid Settings.

Check this box to make

the grid visible.

Check this box to make

the grid active.

Select a color for the Set the spacing of the grid

grid points. points in pixels.

2. Specify the color and spacing of the grid points.

Tools and tips for working in the Graphic Displays editor ■ 14-9
 Preface
3. To turn on the grid, click Show Grid.
When the Grid Settings dialog box is not open you can turn the
grid on by clicking Show Grid on the View menu.
4. To make the grid active, click Snap To Grid.
When the Grid Settings dialog box is not open you can make the
grid active by clicking Snap On on the View menu.
5. Click OK.

To make the grid passive

" In the Grid Settings dialog box, clear the Snap To Grid check
box, or on the View menu click Snap On to toggle the option off.
There is no check mark beside the menu item when it is
deselected.

To turn off the grid

" In the Grid Setting dialog box, clear the Show Grid check box, or
on the View menu, click Show Grid to toggle the option off.

Zooming in and out

To magnify or reduce your view of a graphic display, use Zoom In
and Zoom Out. Zoom In magnifies objects; Zoom Out reduces
magnification.

To zoom in on objects
1. Select the objects you want to zoom in on.
Zoom In tool 2. On the View menu, click Zoom In, or click the Zoom In tool.

To zoom out

" On the View menu, click Zoom Out, or click the Zoom Out
Zoom Out tool tool.

Correcting mistakes
If you change your mind about something you did, you can undo
the action. If you change your mind again, you can redo the action.
You can undo and redo all the operations you performed since you
last saved the display, one operation at a time.

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 The operations you perform between opening and closing a dialog
box are treated as a single operation. Operations you perform in the
Property Panel are treated as separate operations.

To undo an operation

" On the Edit menu, click Undo, or click the Undo tool.
Undo tool
To redo an operation

" On the Edit menu, click Redo, or click the Redo tool.
Redo tool

Testing your displays as you work

To test the objects in your displays as you work, use the Test
Display tool to switch to test mode. When you are finished testing,
switch back to edit mode to continue editing.

IMPORTANT Test mode is not the same as running the display. It

does not change the appearance or position of the
display as set up in the Display Settings dialog box.
Alarm and information messages are not displayed,
although if communications are set up, tag values are
read and written. Display navigation, data logging,
parameters, and macros do not work in this mode. If
you want to test these features, test the application as
described on page 23-3.

Using the Diagnostics List when in test mode

The Diagnostics List shows messages about system activities when

you test your graphic displays. You can specify the types of
messages to display in the Diagnostics List, move the list, resize it,
and clear the messages in it.
For information about using the Diagnostics List, see page 2-4. For
information about specifying the types of messages to show in the
Diagnostics List, see page 10-5.

Tools and tips for working in the Graphic Displays editor ■ 14-11
 Preface
To use test mode

" On the View menu, click Test Display, or click the Test Display
Test Display tool tool.

To return to edit mode

Edit Display tool " On the View menu, click Edit Display, or click the Edit Display
tool.

Setting up graphic displays

To set up a graphic display, specify its type, background color, and
run-time behavior in the Display Settings dialog box. You can
specify and edit the display settings at any time while you work on
your display.

About display types

Replace
Replace is the default display type. Replace displays are full-sized
displays. They use the application window size specified in the
Application Settings editor.
For more information about the application window size, see page
4-10.
At run time, you can have only one Replace display open at a time.
When the operator opens a Replace display, this is what happens:
The Replace display that was open closes.
On Top displays that do not use the Cannot Be Replaced option
are closed.
The new Replace display opens.
On Top displays that use the Cannot Be Replaced option remain
open, on top of the new Replace display.
If the operator attempts to open a Replace display that is already
open (for example, using a goto display button to which the same
display is assigned), the display does not close and RSView sends an
error message to the activity log.
On Top
Use this option to create “pop-up” displays that open on top of the
current Replace display. Usually, On Top displays are smaller than
Replace displays, so the operator doesn’t lose track of display
navigation.

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You can open multiple On Top displays. If more than one On Top
display is open, the display that has focus, or had the most recent
focus, appears on top.
Use the Cannot Be Replaced option if you want the On Top display
to remain open when a new Replace display is opened.
On Top displays do not have a Close button in the title bar. Be sure
to create a close button graphic object in On Top displays so the
operator can close them.
The operator cannot move an On Top display by dragging its title
bar. The run-time position of the display is fixed (according to the
position settings defined for the display).

Resizing displays
The application window size is used for all Replace displays. If you
change the application window size after you have designed any
graphic displays, Replace displays are resized, but any objects in the
displays remain in the same position as before. On Top displays are
not resized.
For information about specifying the application window size, see
page 4-10.

Changing the display area while working

You can change the display area of a display while you’re working
on it by dragging the border of the display area. For example, you
might want to make the display area smaller so you can see parts of
two displays in order to drag and drop objects between them.
Changing the display area in this manner does not change the
display size for Replace displays. For On Top displays that are sized
with the “Use Current Size” option, dragging the border does resize
the display.
Another way to arrange multiple displays while working on them is
to use the options on the Windows menu. For example, Tile
Horizontal arranges all the open displays with as much of the top
part of each display showing as possible.

Specifying display settings

To specify display settings
1. On the Edit menu, click Display Settings, or right-click an empty
area of the display and then click Display Settings.

Setting up graphic displays ■ 14-13

Preface
Set up how the display looks.

Set up how the display works

at run time.

2. In the General tab, specify these settings:

Display Type
Select the display type.
If you select On Top and you want the display to remain open
when a new Replace display opens, select Cannot Be Replaced.

Display Number
For Replace displays, if you want the data source to open the
display remotely at run time, specify a unique display number.
Otherwise, accept the default number.
For information about remote display changes, see page 8-5.

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Security Code
To restrict access to the display, select a security code. At run
time, only users with access to the security code can open the
display.
For information about setting up security and user accounts, see
Chapter 13.
Title Bar
This option is available only for On Top displays. To use a title
bar, check this box and then type the title in the box below.
Disable Initial Input Focus
Check this box if you don’t want the display to have input focus
when it opens.
This option is useful for On Top displays, if you want the
Replace display to retain the focus after the On Top display
opens.
The operator can still touch or click the On Top display to give it
input focus.
Maximum Tag Update Rate
Select the rate at which to update tag values. Data servers use this
rate to send tag values to RSView. This rate is used for the tags
assigned to objects in the graphic display, including tags used in
expressions and embedded variables.
Tag values are also updated when the graphic display is opened.
Size
For On Top displays, specify the display size. The operator
cannot resize the display at run time.
Use Current Size—Select this option to size the display using
the mouse.
Specify Size in Pixels—Select this option to specify the width
and height manually. Type the width and height (in pixels) in
the boxes.
Position
For On Top displays, specify the display position relative to the
upper left inside corner of the application window. (That is,
inside the window’s border and below the title bar, if these are
selected in the Application Settings editor.)
X—Type the number of pixels from the left of the application
window’s edge.

Setting up graphic displays ■ 14-15

 Preface
Y—Type the number of pixels from the top of the application
window’s edge.

IMPORTANT If the operator opens the display using a goto

display button that uses the “Display position
enabled” option, the position specified by the button
overrides the position specified in the Display
Settings dialog box.

Background Color
Click this box to select a different background color for the
display.

3. Click the Behavior tab, and then specify these settings:

Startup Macro
Click the Browse button to select a macro to run while the
display opens.
Browse button A macro assigns values to tags. For more information, see
page 21-1.

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 Shutdown Macro
Click the Browse button to select a macro to run after the display
closes.
Disable Highlight When Object has Focus
Check this box if you don’t want a highlight box to appear
around objects when they have the input focus. (When an object
has input focus it is ready to accept keyboard input.)
The operator can still select and use input objects, but there is no
visual indication that the object is selected.
For more information about input focus, see page 16-12.
Highlight Color
Click this box to select a different highlight color for input
objects.
Select a color that stands out from the display’s background
color or wallpaper objects. For information about wallpaper
objects, see the next section.
4. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Creating a background for your display

You can create a background for your graphic display by converting
graphic objects to wallpaper. When objects are converted to
wallpaper, they are locked into position and become an unchanging
background for the other objects in the display.
Converting objects that do not need to be animated or updated with
tag values can significantly improve the run-time performance of a
graphic display.
Objects that have been converted to wallpaper cannot be selected or
edited until you unlock the wallpaper. Also, animations attached to
the wallpaper objects are not in effect. However, animations are
restored when you unlock the wallpaper.
Similarly, any tags or expressions assigned to an object become
inactive when the object is converted to wallpaper. Connections are
restored if you unlock the wallpaper.
To manage a number of objects easily, group the objects, and then
convert the group to wallpaper.

To convert objects to wallpaper

1. Select the objects to convert.

Creating a background for your display ■ 14-17

Preface
For information about selecting objects, see page 15-26.
2. On the Edit menu, select Wallpaper, and then click Convert to
Wallpaper.
For a single object, you can right-click it and then click Convert
to Wallpaper.

To unlock the wallpaper

" On the Edit menu, select Wallpaper, and then click Unlock All
Wallpaper.
All objects in the graphic display are converted back to their
original state.

Using graphic libraries

RSView Studio comes with a set of libraries, contained in the
Libraries folder. As with a public library, the graphics libraries can
provide you with source materials and reference information.

Each graphic library consists of a graphic display, with the file

extension .gfx. The library displays contain graphic objects that you
might find useful in your own application. Many of the objects are
preconfigured with animation. For example, see the Conveyor parts
library.

You can:

look at the objects and displays to get ideas for your own
application.

drag and drop (or copy and paste) objects from the libraries into
your own displays.
For information about copying objects from a library into your
graphic display, see page 15-51.

use the objects as they are or change them to suit your needs.
create your own libraries of objects.
use libraries as displays in your application.

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 To open a graphic library
1. In the Application Explorer, open the Graphics folder, and then
open the Libraries folder.
2. Double-click the library name, or right-click it and then click
Open.

Creating graphic libraries

You can create a graphic library in the Libraries folder, or create a
graphic display in the Displays folder and then add the display to the
Libraries folder.

To create a graphic library

1. In the Graphics folder, right-click Libraries and then click New.

2. Create the objects you want to put in the library.

For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15.

3. On the File menu click Save, or click the Save tool.

4. In the Component name box, type a name for the library, and
Save tool then click OK.
The library is added to the list in the Libraries folder.
You can also create a graphic display and then use Add Component
Into Application to add the display to the Libraries folder.

To add a graphic display to the library

1. Create the graphic display.

2. In the Application Explorer, in the Graphics folder, right-click

the Libraries icon.
3. Click Add Component Into Application.

4. In the dialog box, navigate to the Gfx folder, and then click the
.gfx file for the display to use.
The Gfx folder is located in \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\HMI
projects\Application Name
where Application Name is the name of your application.
5. Click Open. The display is copied into the Libraries folder.

Using graphic libraries ■ 14-19

Preface
Using libraries as displays in your
application
The graphic libraries are available on the development computer, but
do not appear at run time. To use a library as a graphic display at run
time, you must add the library into your application’s folder of
graphic displays.

To use a library as a display in your application

1. In the Application Explorer, in the Graphics folder, right-click
the Displays icon.
2. Click Add Component Into Application.
3. In the dialog box, navigate to the Libraries folder, and then click
the .gfx file for the library to use.
The Libraries folder is located in \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME.
4. Click Open. The library is copied into the Displays folder.

Location of library components

The Libraries folder is located in \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME.
If desired, you can specify a different directory in which to store
library components. If you specify a different directory, RSView
saves graphic libraries that you add or create in the new directory.
Similarly, when you open a library component RSView looks for the
component in the specified directory.
If you specify a different directory but want to use the libraries that
come with RSView, use My Computer or Windows Explorer to
copy the library component files into the directory you’ve specified,
or else change the path back to the default path when you want to
open an RSView library component.

To specify a new path for graphic libraries

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.

14-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. Click the Browse button.

Browse button

Using graphic libraries ■ 14-21

Preface

3. In the dialog box, navigate to the directory where you want to

store library component files.
To create a new folder, click New Folder and then specify the
name for the folder. Click the new folder to select it.
4. With the desired folder selected, click OK.
5. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.

Importing images into your application

You can use these types of external graphic files in your graphic
displays:
.bmp—bitmap images
.jpg—JPEG images
.dxf—AutoCADr files
.wmf—Windows metafiles

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You import and place .dxf and .wmf files in your displays in one
step. Once imported, they are converted to drawing objects. For
more information about using these types of files in your displays,
see page 15-22.

Bitmap images that come with RSView

Studio
RSView Studio comes with sets of bitmaps that are useful for
illustrating graphic objects and displays:
arrows
DIN symbols
ISA symbols
keyboard button symbols such as enter and page up
parts such as buttons, conveyors, pipes, tanks, and valves
The symbols and most of the arrows are monochrome (that is, use
only two colors, one for the foreground and one for the
background).
You can set up the foreground and background colors for the
monochrome images that you use for your objects.
For color images, including JPEG images, you can specify whether
to use a transparent or solid background. If you select the
transparent background style, the black portions of the image
become transparent.
For detailed information about setting up objects, see Chapter 16.

Location of bitmap files

The bitmap files that come with RSView Studio are stored in this
directory:
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView
Enterprise\Images
The images are in folders called Arrows, DIN, ISA, ListKey, and
Parts.

Importing bitmap and JPEG images

To use bitmap and JPEG images, you can:
import the images first, and then place them in your displays as
needed. This method is useful for images that you use to
illustrate your displays.

Importing images into your application ■ 14-23

Preface
For information about placing images in your display once
you’ve imported them, see page 15-15.
use the Image Browser to import images as needed while setting
up your graphic objects. This method is useful for images that
you use as labels on your graphic objects.
For information about using the Image Browser, see page 14-26.
copy and paste images from the graphic libraries.
For information about copying and pasting objects, see
page 15-52.
copy and paste images from one application to another.
For information about opening two applications at once, see
page 4-7.
If you will be using images that have more than 256 colors, before
importing the images set up your video adapter to display more than
256 colors. This will ensure that the colors of imported images
appear the same as in the original. For more tips about using images,
see page 14-28.

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To import bitmap and JPEG images
1. In the Graphics folder, right-click Images and then click Add
Component Into Application.

To view the images, click

this button, and then click
Thumbnails.

2. In the Files of type box, select the type of image to add.

3. Navigate to the directory where the .bmp or .jpg file is stored,
and then click the file name.
Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select additional files.
4. Click Open to add the selected files to the list in the Images
folder.

Importing images into your application ■ 14-25

 Preface
To view an image that you’ve already imported

" In the Images folder, double-click the image name, or right-click

it and then click Open.

Using the Image Browser to import images

Use the Image Browser to import images as needed while you set up
graphic objects.

In the Image Browser you can:

import images into the application.
select the image to use on a graphic object.
delete images from the application.

To open the Image Browser, use one of these methods

In an object’s Properties dialog box, click the Browse button next

to the Image box.
Browse button Depending on the type of object, the Image box could be located
on the General tab, Label tab, or States tab.
For information about opening the Properties dialog box, see
page 15-33.
With one or more objects selected, in the Property Panel click the
Image property, and then click the Browse button.
For information about opening the Property Panel, see
page 15-35.

14-26 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Click an
object
to
select
it.

To use the Image Browser to import and select an image

1. Click Add.
2. Navigate to the directory where the .bmp or .jpg file is stored,
and then click the file name.
Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select additional files.
3. Click Open to add the images to the Select image list. The first
image you added is displayed in the Preview box.
The images are also added to the Images folder in the Application
Explorer.
JPEG images are given the file extension .bmp in the Windows
Explorer, but they are not converted to bitmaps.
4. To view another image, click it in the list.
To scroll quickly through all the images in the list, select the first
image and then press the Down Arrow key.
5. When you’re finished viewing images, click the image to use on
the object’s label.

Importing images into your application ■ 14-27

Preface
6. Click OK to close the Image Browser and use the selected image
on the object’s label. To close the browser without using the
selected image, click Cancel.
Clicking Cancel does not remove the imported images from the
Images folder.

To use the Image Browser to delete images from the

application
1. In the Select image list, click the file to delete.
Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select additional files.
2. Click Delete to delete the images from the application.
3. When prompted to confirm the deletion, click OK.
4. To close the browser, click OK or Cancel.
Clicking Cancel does not restore the images you deleted.
You can also remove an image by clicking it in the Images folder and
then right-clicking Remove or Delete. For more information, see
page 2-15.

Tips for using images

Using bitmaps versus JPEG images
When deciding whether to use a bitmap image or a JPEG image,
consider these points:
RSView supports 256 color (grayscale) and 16 million color
JPEG images only. For all other color types, use bitmaps.
For large color images (16 million color, 320 x 240 pixels or
larger), JPEG images load faster than bitmaps. In all other cases,
bitmaps load faster than JPEGs.
Color JPEG images have a much smaller file size than the
equivalent bitmap image, and therefore require less disk space at
run time.

Guidelines for using images

Images consume Windows resources, so when using graphic images
use the lowest color depth possible.
The more colors you use, the more memory is consumed, and the
longer the image takes to load and display.

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 This bitmap type Consumes this many bits per pixel

Monochrome 1
16 color 4
256 color 8 (1 byte)
64 K color 16 (2 bytes)
16 million color 24 (3 bytes)

For example, a 24-bit bitmap image that measures 800x600 pixels

consumes 1440 KB of memory. If the bitmap color depth is
decreased to 256 colors, the image might have minor color loss, but
the new image uses only 480 KB of memory.

Using parameter files

To use the same graphic display with different sets of tags, use
parameter files and tag placeholders. Using tag placeholders can be
quicker than duplicating a display and setting up the objects in it to
use a different set of tags, especially when the display uses a lot of
tags. Using parameter files also reduces the size of the run-time
application file.

The parameter file specifies which tags to substitute for the

placeholders in the display, by assigning one tag to each unique
placeholder in the display. Create a parameter file for each set of tags
that you want to use with the same graphic display.5.

At run time, the tag values that are displayed depend on which
parameter file is used when the display opens. When you open the
display, the tags specified in the parameter file replace the tag
placeholders.

About tag placeholders

A tag placeholder consists of the # symbol and a number between 1
and 500, for example, #1. You can use a placeholder anywhere that
you would normally assign a tag.

For more information about using tag placeholders, see page 15-49.

Using parameter files ■ 14-29

Preface
Assigning parameter files to graphic
displays
You can use parameter files with:
the graphic display that opens when the application is first run.
Specify the graphic display to open, and the parameter file to use
with it, in the Startup editor.
graphic displays that are opened using goto display buttons.
Specify the graphic display to open, and the parameter file to use
with it, when you set up the button.
graphic displays that are opened using display list selectors.
Specify the graphic displays to open, and the parameter files to
use with them, when you set up the display list selector.

Example: Using a parameter file to replace tag placeholders

This example shows how to use a graphic display called Canning
Overview with two sets of tags, one for canning corn, and one for
canning peas.
The Canning Overview display is opened from a graphic display
called Main Menu.
1. Create these sets of tags:

Tag type Tag name Tag name

String Corn_Name Pea_Name

Analog Corn_Temp Pea_Temp
Analog Corn_Weight Pea_Weight
Analog Corn_Level Pea_Level

2. Create two parameter files, called Corn and Peas, containing

these parameters:
Corn Peas

#1=Corn_Name #1=Pea_Name
#2=Corn_Temp #2=Pea_Temp
#3=Corn_Weight #3=Pea_Weight
#4=Corn_Level #4=Pea_Level

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3. In the Canning Overview display, assign tag placeholders to the
Value controls for these graphic objects:
This graphic object Uses this tag placeholder

String display #1
Numeric display 1 #2
Numeric display 2 #3
Bar graph #4

4. Use descriptive text to illustrate the objects in the display.

5. In the Main Menu display, create a display list selector for
opening the Canning display, with two states.
6. Assign the Corn parameter file to one state, and the Peas
parameter file to the other.
7. Call the captions for the states Corn and Peas, respectively.

At run time, when the operator selects the Peas state on the display
list selector in the Main Menu, and presses the Enter key, the
Canning Overview display opens and shows the values of the Pea_
tags. When the operator selects the Corn state, the values of the
Corn_ tags are displayed.

Using parameter files ■ 14-31

Preface
The Canning Overview display looks like this when the operator
selects the Peas state:

Summary of steps
Follow these steps to use parameter files and tag placeholders:
1. In the Parameters editor, create parameter files for each set of tags
that the display will use. In the parameter files, specify which tags
to substitute for which placeholders.
2. In the Graphic Displays editor, create graphic objects and assign
tag placeholders to the objects.

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 For information about creating graphic objects and assigning tag
placeholders, see Chapter 15.

3. In the Graphic Displays editor, create goto display buttons or

display list selectors for opening the display containing tag
placeholders. Specify the appropriate parameter files in the Goto
Display Button Properties dialog box or Display List Selector
Properties dialog box.

For information about setting up goto display buttons, see

page 16-128. For information about setting up display list
selectors, see page 16-142.

4. If the startup display uses tag placeholders, in the Startup editor

specify the parameter file to use with the startup display.

For information about the Startup editor, see Chapter 23.

Using the Parameters editor

Use the Parameters editor to create one or more files of tag
placeholder replacements. Each file is stored in the editor’s folder.
You can open and work on multiple parameter files at the same time.

Using parameter files ■ 14-33

 Preface
Creating parameter files
To create a parameter file
1. Open the Parameters editor.
2. Type one entry for each unique placeholder in the display, in the
format <placeholder>=<tag name>.
The placeholder consists of the # symbol and a number between
1 and 500. For example:
#1=pea_weight
#2=pea_level
#3=pea_temp
3. To open the Tag Browser and select a tag, double-click the editor
where you want to insert the tag name.
4. Select a tag, and then click OK. The selected tag name is inserted
in front of the cursor.
5. On the File menu click Save, or click the Save tool.
6. In the Component name box, type a name for the file, and then
Save tool click OK.

Using local messages

Use local messages to give the operator ongoing information about
the status of devices and processes. For example, you might use local
messages to describe the status of a device whose condition cannot
be shown graphically with complete accuracy.
The messages you create in the Local Messages editor are displayed
in local message display objects in graphic displays. You can use
multiple local message display objects in your application, and link
each object to a different file of messages. Or, you can use the same
file of messages for multiple local message display objects.

Local messages versus information

messages
Use local messages to give the operator information in a specific
graphic display while the display is open. To give the operator
information no matter which display is open, use information
messages.
For details about information messages, see Chapter 12.

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Preparing to set up local messages
As your application is running, information is continually sent to
the data source about the state of various processes. For example,
your application might be monitoring whether a valve is open or
closed, or the temperature in a boiler. Values representing the status
of these processes are sent to the data source.

The data source

The RSView documentation uses the term data source as a generic
term that includes all possible sources of tag data, for both data
server tags and HMI tags. The data source can be memory or a
device such as a programmable controller or OPC server. RSView
writes values to and reads values from the data source. The data
source is set up to exchange information (in the form of numeric or
string values) between RSView and the machine that your
application is controlling.

Identifying the tags and values to monitor

To set up local messages, determine which tags associated with
machine processes to monitor, and identify the values for those tags
that will trigger local messages.
For information about creating tags, see Chapter 7.

How local messages work

These are the key parts of the local message system:
Local message files—text files containing lists of messages, with a
numeric trigger value for each message
Local message display object—a graphic object that displays local
messages when the Value control assigned to the object matches a
message’s trigger value
Value control—a tag or expression. When the value of this
control matches a message’s trigger value, the local message
display object displays the associated message.
The local message display object always appears in the graphic
display it’s placed in, whether or not there is a message to display.
However, the operator does not see the message unless the object is
located in the display the operator is currently viewing.
The following example shows how the key parts of the local message
system work together.

Using local messages ■ 14-35

Preface

Example: Displaying local messages

This example shows how to notify the operator of the status of a
hoist.
1. Create an analog tag called Hoist_Status. This tag points to an
address in a programmable controller that is linked to sensors on
the hoist. The tag has five possible values:

The tag has this When the hoist has this status
value

1 At bottom
2 Raising
3 Stopped between the top and bottom
4 Lowering
5 At top

2. In the Local Messages editor, create these messages with trigger

values matching the values that will be sent to the Hoist_Status
tag:

Trigger value Message

1 The hoist is ready to rise.

2 The hoist is raising the pallet.
3 The hoist has stopped.
4 The hoist is lowering the pallet.
5 The hoist is finished rising.

Save the message file with the name “Hoist status.”

3. In the Graphic Displays editor, create a local message display
object. In the object’s Properties dialog box, assign the
Hoist_Status tag to the Value control, and select the Hoist status
message file.

At run time, when the operator views the graphic display containing
the local message display object, the status of the hoist is displayed.

14-36 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Local messages and trigger values
Create messages associated with each tag value that you want to
inform the operator about. Assign each message a trigger value, and
set up the data source to send the trigger value to the Value control.
The trigger value can be any non-zero integer value (positive or
negative). Trigger values do not need to be contiguous, but they
must be unique for each message. For example, you could use trigger
values of 1, 2, and 3, or values of 10, 20, and 30.
If you use an analog tag or an expression, you can use any non-zero
integer or floating point value to trigger an alarm. Floating point
values are rounded to the nearest integer. For information about
how values are rounded, see page 7-2.
Trigger values cannot be 0. Digital tags have two possible values, 0
and 1. Therefore, if you use a digital tag you can only use the value 1
to trigger a message. If you want to use a digital tag to trigger two
different messages, create an expression that adds 1 to the digital
tag’s value. That way, you can use the trigger values 1 and 2.
When the Value control’s value is 0, the local message display object
is cleared.

Summary of steps
Follow these steps to set up local messages:
1. In the Local Messages editor, set up the messages and their
trigger values.
2. In the Graphic Displays editor, create local message display
objects in the graphic displays in which you want the messages to
appear at run time. For each local message display, assign a tag or
expression to the Value control and specify the file of messages to
display.
For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15.
For information about setting up local message display objects,
see page 16-190.

Using local messages ■ 14-37

Preface
Using the Local Messages editor
Use the Local Messages editor to create one or more files of local
messages. Each file is stored in the editor’s folder. You can open and
work on multiple message files at the same time.

You can define up to 10,000 messages in each message file.

Creating local messages

To create local messages

1. Open the Local Messages editor.
2. Specify these properties for the message:

Trigger value
Type a non-zero integer value. When the Value control changes
to this value, the associated message is generated. This column
cannot be blank.
For more information about trigger values, see page 14-37.

Message
Type the message, up to 256 characters.
3. To create a line break in the message, type \n. The message will
continue at the beginning of the next line.
If you want the character sequence “\n” to appear in the message,
type “\\n”. This way the sequence won’t be interpreted as a line
break. For example, to create the message “Logging to \norm’s
bakery\logs has been interrupted.” you would type this: Logging
to \\norm’s bakery\logs has been interrupted.

14-38 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 4. To use an embedded variable in the message, right-click the
Message column, and then click Edit String.
If the context menu doesn’t open, click in another cell, then
right-click the Message column.
5. In the String Edit dialog box, position the cursor where you want
to insert the variable.
6. Click Insert Variable, and then click the type of variable to use.
7. Make your choices in the dialog box that opens, and then click
OK.
For more information about creating embedded variables, see
Chapter 20.
8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 to create additional messages.
9. On the File menu click Save, or click the Save tool.
10. In the Component name box, type a name for the file, and then
Save tool click OK.
11. Click Close.

To delete a message

" Select any cell in the message’s row, and then press Delete.
Shift-click in a column to select cells for multiple messages.

To copy a message
1. In the Message column, select one or more messages and then
press Ctrl-C (or right-click the selected cells and then click
Copy).
2. In the Message column, click the cell to paste the first message in,
and then press Ctrl-V (or right-click the cell and then click
Paste).

How the local message display graphic

object works
When you open a graphic display at run time, RSView reads the
value of the Value control and updates the local message display
object based on the value.

What is displayed
If the Value control is unassigned, the display is filled with
question marks (?).

Using local messages ■ 14-39

Preface
The Value control is rounded to the nearest integer. If the value
does not match any of the trigger values in the specified message
file, the display is filled with question marks.
For information about how values are rounded, see page 7-2.
If the message is too long to fit in the object, the last displayed
character is replaced with an asterisk (*).
When the Value control’s value is 0, the display is cleared.

Printing displays
You can print your graphic displays on the development computer.
This might be useful if you want other people to review the displays
before implementing the application, or if you want to keep a visual
record of the displays.
You can also print graphic displays at run time, to provide a printed
record of process values such as trend data.
For information about printing on the development computer, see
page 2-17.

Printing displays at run time

When you print a display at run time, everything on the screen is
printed, including the current display, pop-up windows, and any
visible background applications.
For information about specifying which printer to use at run time
for Windows 2000 or Windows XP applications, see page 24-8. For
information about specifying printer options for applications that
will run on a PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page
25-28.

To print graphic displays at run time, use one or both of

these methods
Create display print buttons in the graphic displays you want to
print. At run time, the operator presses the buttons to print the
displays.
For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15.
Assign a tag or expression to the Remote Display Print control
(in the Global Connections editor). When the value of the tag or

14-40 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

expression changes from 0 to a non-zero value, the current
displays are automatically printed.
Program the data source to trigger the change as often as you
want the data printed.
For more information about setting up remote display printing,
see page 8-2.

Printing displays ■ 14-41

15
Chapter

Creating and working

with graphic objects
This chapter describes the types of graphic objects and outlines how
to:
create graphic objects, including drawing and ActiveX objects.
select and deselect objects and use the Object Explorer.
use the Properties dialog box and Property Panel to set up
objects.
color objects.
name objects.
test how objects look in different states.
assign tags and expressions to objects.
replace tags using tag substitution.
use tag placeholders.
move, copy, duplicate, resize, reshape, and delete objects.
group and ungroup objects, and edit group objects.
arrange objects and lock objects into position.
For information about setting up graphic objects once you’ve
created them, see Chapter 16.
For examples of how to set up objects, see the sample applications
that come with RSView Studio. The Help also provides examples of
how to use objects.

Types of graphic objects

The elements that make up a graphic display are called graphic
objects. Use objects to control your process, machines, and
application.

Types of graphic objects ■ 15-1

Preface
RSView comes with a complete range of configurable objects such as
push buttons, list selectors, bar graphs, and trends. Some objects
interact with the data source, allowing the operator to change or
view tag values. For example, the operator can push a button to set a
tag value to 1, causing a programmable controller to start a conveyor
belt. Other objects are used to control your application. For
example, there are button objects that you can use to change displays
and scroll through lists.
RSView also comes with drawing objects that you can use to
illustrate your graphic displays. The drawing objects include text,
bitmap images, and geometric and freehand shapes.
RSView also supports the use of ActiveX objects—third-party
software components that you can use to control processes and
display information. The ActiveX objects available depend on which
third-party applications are installed on your development
computer. For example, products such as Microsoft Visual Basicr,
Rockwell Software RSToolst, and Microsoft Office provide
ActiveX objects that are configurable in RSView Studio.

Using the tables

The tables beginning on the next page will help you choose which
objects to use to control your application, machines, and process.
The tables group the objects according to function, provide an
overview of what each object does, and list cross-references to more
detailed information about using the objects.

About controls
Many of the objects use controls to interact with the data source. A
control is the link between the object and the data source.
Depending on an object’s function, the object may have more than
one control. For example, a momentary push button has a Value
control and an Indicator control. The Value control is used to set a
value at the data source, and the Indicator control is used to display
the data source value in your graphic display.
By assigning tags or expressions to an object’s controls, you control
the flow of data between the application and the data source, which
in turn controls your process or machines. Assign tags or
expressions to an object’s controls in the Connections tab of the
object’s Properties dialog box (see page 15-31) or in the Connections
tab of the Property Panel (see page 15-35).

15-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Illustrating your displays
Use this graphic To do this
object

Text Create text for labels or instructions in the display. See page 15-12.
Image Place bitmap images in your display. For information about bitmaps, see
page 14-22. For details about creating image graphic objects, see
page 15-15.
Panel Draw rectangles that have borders. See page 15-17.
Arc Draw an arc (a segment of an ellipse or circle’s perimeter). See page 15-17.
Ellipse Draw ellipses and circles. See page 15-18.
Freehand Draw freehand shapes as you would with a pen on paper. See page 15-19.
Line Draw straight diagonal, horizontal, and vertical lines. See page 15-19.
Polygon Draw a series of connected straight lines forming a closed shape. See
page 15-19.
Polyline Draw a series of connected straight lines. See page 15-19.
Rectangle Draw rectangles and squares. See page 15-21.
Rounded rectangle Draw rectangles and squares with rounded corners. See page 15-21.
Wedge Draw a filled segment of an ellipse or circle. See page 15-17.

Illustrating your displays ■ 15-3

Preface
Controlling the application
Use this graphic To do this
object

Goto display button Open a graphic display. For details, see page 22-4.
Goto configure mode Open RSView ME Station. For details, see page 22-5.
button
Return to display button Close a display and return to the previous display. For details, see
page 22-5.
Close display button Close a display. Can also send a value to a tag. For details, see page 22-6.
Display list selector Select a display to open from a list of displays. For details, see page 22-7.
Login button Open the Login dialog box and then log in. For details, see page 13-13.
Logout button Log out of the application. For details, see page 13-13.
Display print button Print the current display. For details, see page 14-40.
Print alarm history Print a report of all the alarm messages in the alarm log file. For details,
button see page 16-204.
Print alarm status button Print a report of the status of alarms, including how many times each
alarm was triggered and the time in alarm. For details, see page 16-212.
Shutdown button Stop the application and shut down RSView ME Station. For details, see
page 22-8.

15-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Starting and controlling processes
Use this graphic object To do this

Momentary push button Start a process or action by sending one value to the tag when pressed,
and another value when released. For details, see page 16-42.
Maintained push button Toggle between two values, by sending one value to the tag when
pressed, and a second value the next time the button is pressed and
released. This button is useful for changing a setting within a machine or
process, but not for starting the machine or process. For details, see
page 16-51.
Latched push button Start a machine or process. The button remains set (latched) until the
process is complete. For example, use this button to start a bag filling
machine. When the process is complete (the bag is full), the button is
reset (unlatched) by the Handshake control. For details, see page 16-59.
Multistate push button Cycle through a series of values. Each time the operator presses the
button, the value for the next state is sent to the tag. When the button is
in its last state, pressing it changes the button to its first state and writes
out the first state value.
This button is useful when you want the operator to see and select
multiple options in sequence, using a single button. The button displays
the current state of an operation by showing a different color, caption,
or image to reflect the different states. For details, see page 16-67.
Interlocked push button Use a group of buttons to send values to the same tag. When the
operator presses one button in the group, the button’s value is sent to
the tag, and the button remains highlighted as long as the tag value is the
same as the button’s value. Pressing another button in the group releases
the first button, and sends a new value to the tag. For details, see
page 16-75.
You can also use a single button to send a value to a tag.
Ramp button Increase or decrease the value of a tag by a specified integer or
floating-point value. For example, use two ramp buttons together to
create a raise/lower control. For details, see page 16-82.
Control list selector Select from a list of states for a process or operation. The list is
highlighted to show the current state, and the operator can scroll
through the list to select a different state. The value assigned to the
selected state is written to the tag. For details, see page 16-181.
Drawing object with Set the value of a tag by dragging the slider object. The pixel position of
horizontal or vertical slider the slider is translated into a value that is written to the tag. If the value
animation of the tag is changed at the data source, the position of the slider changes
to reflect this. For information about animation, see Chapter 17.
ActiveX object Change tag values using a third-party object connected to an analog,
digital, or string tag. When the object’s property value changes, the new
value is written to the associated tag. For details, see page 15-23.

Starting and controlling processes ■ 15-5

Preface
Displaying processes and values graphically
Use this graphic object To display this

Bar graph Numeric values in bar graph format. The bar graph increases or
decreases in size to show the changing value. For details, see
page 16-167.
Gauge Numeric values in dial format. The gauge’s needle moves around the
dial to show the changing value. For details, see page 16-167.
Scale A static indication of the range of values for a bar graph. For details, see
page 16-167.
Multistate indicator The state of a process, on a panel that changes its color, image, or
caption to indicate the current state. Each state is set up to correspond
to a numeric tag value. For details, see page 16-148.
Symbol The state of a process, using a monochrome image that changes color to
indicate the current state. Each state corresponds to a numeric tag value.
This object is useful for showing the state of a process or operation at a
glance. For details, see page 16-148.
List indicator The state of a process, using a list of possible states with the current
state highlighted. Each state is represented by a caption in the list, and
corresponds to a numeric tag value.
This indicator is useful if you want to view the current state, but also
want to see the other possible states. For sequential processes, the list
can alert the operator about what happens next in the process. For
details, see page 16-148.
Trend Historical or current numeric tag values, plotted against time or
displayed in an XY plot (where one or more tags’ values are plotted
against another tag’s values to show the relationship between them). For
details, see Chapter 18.
Time and date display Display the current time and date. For details, see page 16-201.
ActiveX object Data using a third-party object connected to an analog, digital, or string
tag. The format of the data displayed depends on the object. For details,
see page 15-23.
Drawing object with The value of a tag using a pictorial representation of the current value in
rotation, width, height, fill, relation to a range of possible values. For example, use rotation
color, or horizontal or animation to show the tag value as a needle’s position on a dial.
vertical position animation For color animation, assign different colors to represent different values.
For information about animation, see Chapter 17.

15-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Working with lists, trends, alarm banners, and
numeric input objects
Use this button With this graphic To do this
object

Pause button Trend Toggle a trend between pausing and automatic

scrolling.
Next pen button Trend Change the vertical axis labels for a trend to the
scale for the next pen.
Backspace button Control list selector Move the cursor back to the highlighted item in
the list.
End button Lists and trends List—move to the bottom item visible in the list.
Trend—resume trend scrolling and move to the
current (latest) data in the trend.
Enter button Lists Select the item the cursor is pointing to.
Alarm banner Acknowledge the displayed alarm.
Home button Lists and trends List—move to the top item visible in the list.
Trend—pause the trend and move to the earliest
data in the trend.
Move left / right buttons Trend Pause the trend and scroll to the left or right.
Move up / down buttons Lists, trends, and List—move up or down one item in the list.
numeric input Trend—scroll up or down to display higher or
objects lower values on the vertical scale.
Numeric input cursor point and numeric input
enable button—ramp the value up or down.
Page up / down buttons Lists Move up or down one page in the list.
Acknowledge alarm Alarm list Acknowledge and silence the selected alarm.
button Alarm banner
Acknowledge all alarms Alarm list Acknowledge and silence all currently
button unacknowledged alarms.
Alarm status mode button Alarm status list Change the type of alarms displayed in the alarm
status list, from all alarms to active alarms to past
alarms.
Clear alarm banner Alarm banner Clear the alarm in the alarm banner without
button removing the alarm from the alarm log file and
alarm lists.

Working with lists, trends, alarm banners, and numeric input objects ■ 15-7
Preface
Use this button With this graphic To do this
object

Clear alarm history Alarm list Remove all alarms from the alarm log file and all
button alarm lists. Also resets the number of times an
alarm has been triggered to 0, and the
accumulated time in alarm to 0, for all alarms.
Reset alarm status button Alarm status list Reset the number of times an alarm has been
triggered to 0, and the accumulated time in alarm
to 0, for all alarms.
Silence alarms button Silence the audio indicator for all current alarms
(Windows 2000 and Windows XP applications
only).
Sort alarms button Alarm list Toggle between sorting alarms in alarm lists and
the alarm log file by time and by trigger value.
Diagnostics clear button Diagnostics list Remove the selected message from all diagnostics
lists.
Diagnostics clear all Diagnostics list Remove all diagnostics messages from all
button diagnostics lists.
Information acknowledge Information Message Acknowledge the current message in the display.
button display

For more information about using the buttons with lists and trends,
see the topics on these pages:
For information about See

Linking a button to a specific list or trend object Page 16-14

Using buttons with alarm lists, alarm banners, and Page 9-41
alarm status lists
Using buttons with information message displays Page 12-10
Using buttons with diagnostics lists Page 10-22
Using buttons with trends Page 18-25

15-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Entering and displaying numeric and string values
Use this graphic object To do this

Numeric input enable Enter a numeric value and then write the value to a tag or an expression,
button or ramp a value at the data source. For details, see page 27-4.
Numeric input cursor Enter a numeric value and then write the value to a tag or an expression,
point or ramp a value at the data source. For details, see page 27-4.
String input enable button Enter a string value and then write the value to a tag. For details, see
page 27-9.
Numeric display Display numeric tag values. For example, display the current
temperature of an oven. For details, see page 16-89.
String display Display string tag values. For example, set up the data source to generate
strings that report on the state of a process or operation, or that provide
the operator with instructions about what to do next. For details, see
page 16-115.
ActiveX object Enter or display data using a third-party object connected to an analog,
digital, or string tag. The format of the data entered or displayed
depends on the object. For details, see page 15-23.

Displaying alarms and messages

Use this graphic object To display this

Alarm list Multiple alarm messages, including the time the alarms are triggered and
acknowledged. For details, see page 9-37.
Alarm banner A single unacknowledged alarm message. For details, see page 9-39.
Alarm status list The status of alarms, including how many times an alarm has been
triggered and how long it has been active. For details, see page 9-40.
Diagnostics list Messages about system activity such as tag reads, tag writes, and
communication errors. For details, see page 10-21.
Information message Messages about the process, prompts or instructions, and information
display about current states. For details, see page 12-12.
Local message display Ongoing information about the status of devices or processes. For
details, see page 14-34.

Displaying alarms and messages ■ 15-9

Preface
Selecting tools for creating graphic objects
The Objects menu in the Graphic Displays editor contains items for
creating objects, as well as items for selecting and rotating objects.
You can also create most objects using the tools on the Objects
toolbar.

Objects menu Objects toolbar

Before you can create an object, you must select the object’s tool,
either by clicking a menu item or by clicking the tool on the toolbar.
When you position a cursor over a tool on the toolbar, the name of
the tool is displayed in a tooltip and in the status bar.

To select a tool

" Click the tool on the toolbar or on the Objects menu. When you
click a tool, the pointer changes to show which tool is active.

Freehand tool Text tool

15-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To deselect a tool, do one of the following
Double-click an empty area in the display.
Click the Select tool.
Click another tool.
Select tool For some drawing objects, double-clicking an empty area of the
display creates another instance of the object. For these objects, to
finish drawing, click the Select tool. For more information, see the
instructions for creating drawing objects, beginning on page 15-12.

Before you begin creating objects

To size and position objects precisely as you create them, use the
grid.

To use the grid

" On the View menu, click Show Grid, and then click Snap On.
For information about setting up the grid, see page 14-9.
The next sections describe how to create graphic objects. For
information about setting up graphic objects once you’ve created
them, see Chapter 16. For information about attaching animation to
the objects you create, see Chapter 17.

Creating graphic objects

This section applies to graphic objects in general.
ActiveX objects and some drawing objects require extra steps to
create them. For details about creating drawing objects, see the next
section. For information about ActiveX objects, see page 15-23.

To create a graphic object

1. Select the tool for the object to create.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the object, and then
drag to draw a rectangle the general size you want the object to
be.
3. Double-click the object to open its Properties dialog box.
4. In the dialog box, specify how the object looks, its behavior, and
controls. For more information about the Properties dialog box,
see page 15-31.
You can also use the Property Panel to set up objects. For
information about using the Property Panel, see page 15-35.

Creating graphic objects ■ 15-11

 Preface
Creating drawing objects
The following instructions for creating drawing objects describe
how to create the objects and then open the objects’ Properties
dialog boxes to set up how the objects look. For information about
using the Properties dialog box, see page 15-31.
You can also use the Property Panel to set up objects. For
information about using the Property Panel, see page 15-35.

Creating text

Choosing fonts

You can select any font you have installed, but TrueTypet and
OpenTyper fonts are recommended. These fonts can be resized
easily, without losing text quality.
If you run an application on a computer that does not have the fonts
you used when setting up the application, Windows substitutes with
the fonts that most closely match the fonts you specified.

To create a text object

1. Select the Text tool.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the text, and then
Text tool drag to draw a rectangle.
The Text Properties dialog box opens.

15-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

3. In the Text box, type the text.

To move the cursor to the next line of text, press Enter.

4. To use an embedded variable in the text, click Insert Variable, and
then click the type of variable to use.
5. Make your choices in the dialog box that opens, and then click
OK.
For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.
6. In the General tab, specify how the text looks and the font to
use:
Font, size, and style Click a font for the text in the Font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to make

Creating drawing objects ■ 15-13

 Preface
the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline
the text.
Or, click the Browse button to open the Font dialog box and set
up font attributes.
Browse button Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
text’s background.
Fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
text.
Size to fit Check this box to resize the text object so that all the
text you type appears in the display. Clear the box if you want
the text to be cropped within the object’s bounding box.
For information about bounding boxes, see page 16-8.
Word wrap Check this box to wrap words to the next line if
they are too long for the width of the text object. Clear this
check box to wrap on characters instead.
The maximum number of characters displayed depends on the
size of the text’s bounding box and the font.
This option does not apply if you select Size to fit.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the text
object’s bounding box. In the default alignment position, the text
is centered vertically and horizontally within the bounding box.
Back style Click Solid to cover the display behind the text
object with a solid rectangle in the shape of the text’s bounding
box. Click Transparent to allow the display’s background to
show through between the letters.
7. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
8. To close the dialog box, click OK.

The text is positioned where you drew the rectangle.

9. To create another text object, move to a new area in the display,
and then repeat steps 2 through 8.

After you’ve set up one text object to look the way you want, copy
and paste it to create additional text objects with the same
formatting. Then edit the text of the new objects.

15-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To edit a text object
1. Double-click the text.
The Text Properties dialog box opens.
2. In the Text box, click where you want to make the change. To
delete text characters, use the Backspace and Delete keys.

Creating images
Use the image graphic object to place bitmap and JPEG images in
your graphic displays.
Images support visibility animation only.

Using bitmaps and JPEG images

Before you can place a bitmap or JPEG image in a display, you must
import the image into your application. For more information, see
page 14-22.

To place a bitmap or JPEG image in a display

1. Select the Image tool.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the image, and then
Image tool drag to draw a rectangle.
The Image Browser opens.

Creating drawing objects ■ 15-15

Preface

3. In the Select image list, click the image to add, and then click
OK.
For more information about using the Image Browser, see
page 14-26.
The image is placed where you drew the rectangle, but the actual
size of the image is used, rather than the size of the rectangle you
drew.
4. To change the image’s attributes, double-click the image to open
the Image Properties dialog box.
5. For monochrome bitmaps, specify the image color, background
style, and whether the image blinks.
For color bitmaps, specify the background style.
6. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
7. Click OK to close the dialog box.

15-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Creating panels
Panels support visibility animation only.

To create a panel
1. Select the Panel tool.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the panel, and then
Panel tool drag to draw a rectangle the general size you want the panel to
be.
3. To change how the panel looks, double-click the panel to open
the Panel Properties dialog box.
4. In the General tab, specify how the panel looks.
5. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
6. To close the dialog box, click OK.

Creating arcs and wedges

Arcs and wedges are drawn in two steps: first you create an ellipse or
circle, and then you reshape it into the segment you want.

Arc Transparent wedge Solid wedge

To create an arc or wedge

1. Select the Arc or Wedge tool.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the object, and then
Arc tool drag to draw an ellipse or circle.
To base the arc or wedge on a circle rather than an ellipse, hold
down Ctrl while you drag.
When you release the mouse button, a set of handles appears so
you can decrease the angle of the wedge or arc from 360 degrees
to the desired angle.

Creating drawing objects ■ 15-17

 Preface
3. Click a handle, and drag the mouse to ‘cut out’ part of the circle.

4. To finish drawing, right-click the object.

5. To change how the object looks, click Properties on the context
menu, or double-click the object to open its Properties dialog
box.
6. In the General tab, specify how the object looks.
For example, if the shape you created has a solid background and
you don’t want the shape to be filled, select the transparent
background style.
7. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
8. To close the dialog box, click OK.

You can also use the Arc and Wedge tools to reshape arcs and
wedges. For more information, see page 15-55.

Creating ellipses and circles

Use the Ellipse tool to draw an ellipse or circle.

To create an ellipse or circle

1. Select the Ellipse tool.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the object, and then
Ellipse tool drag to draw an ellipse or circle of the desired size.
To draw a circle, hold down Ctrl while you drag.
3. To change how the object looks, double-click it to open the
object’s Properties dialog box.
4. In the General tab, specify how the object looks.
5. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
6. To close the dialog box, click OK.

15-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Creating freehand shapes
Using the Freehand tool is similar to drawing with a pen on paper.

To create a freehand shape

1. Select the Freehand tool.
2. Click and drag to create the shape you want.
Freehand tool 3. To change how the object looks, double-click it to open the
Freehand Properties dialog box.
4. In the General tab, specify how the object looks.
For example, if the shape you created has a solid background and
you don’t want the shape to be filled, select the transparent
background style.
5. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
6. To close the dialog box, click OK.

Creating lines
To create a line
1. Select the Line tool.
2. Click where you want the line to start, and then drag from the
beginning point to the end point.
Line tool
To draw horizontal or vertical lines, hold down Ctrl while you
drag the mouse.
3. To change how the line looks, right-click the line and then click
Properties on the context menu. The Line Properties dialog box
opens.
4. In the General tab, specify how the line looks.
5. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
6. To close the dialog box, click OK.
You can use the Polyline tool to convert the line into a polyline. For
more information, see page 15-55.

Creating polygons and polylines

A polyline is a series of connected line segments. A polygon is a
multi-sided object (with three or more sides). For example, use the
polygon shape if you want to create triangles.

Creating drawing objects ■ 15-19

 Preface

Polyline Transparent polygon Solid polygon

To create a polygon or polyline

1. Select the Polygon or Polyline tool.

2. Click and drag to create the first segment of the object. Release
Polygon tool the mouse button.
To draw horizontal or vertical lines, hold down Ctrl while you
drag.

Polyline tool

3. Move the mouse to where you want the next segment to end, and
then click.
Repeat this step until you have completed the object.

4. To finish drawing, double-click an empty area of the display, or

click the Select tool.
5. To change how the object looks, double-click it to open the
object’s Properties dialog box.
6. In the General tab, specify how the object looks.

For example, if the shape you created has a solid background and
you don’t want the shape to be filled, select the transparent
background style.
7. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
8. To close the dialog box, click OK.

You can use the Polygon tool to reshape lines, polygons, polylines,
and rectangles. For more information, see page 15-55.

15-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Creating rectangles and squares

To create a rectangle or square

1. Select the Rectangle tool.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the object, and then
Rectangle tool drag until the rectangle or square is the size you want.
To draw a square, hold down Ctrl while you drag.
3. To change how the object looks, double-click it to open the
object’s Properties dialog box.
4. In the General tab, specify how the object looks.
5. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
6. To close the dialog box, click OK.

You can use the Polygon tool to reshape the rectangle into a
polygon. For more information, see page 15-55.

Creating rounded rectangles and squares

Due to a Windows limitation, you cannot rotate rounded rectangles
and rounded squares.

To create a rounded rectangle or square

1. Select the Rounded Rectangle tool.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the object, and then
Rounded rectangle tool drag until the rectangle or square is the size you want.
To draw a square, hold down Ctrl while you drag.
You can change how rounded the corners are by using the handle
that appears inside the rounded rectangle. Click the handle and
drag inward to increase roundedness, or outward to decrease
roundedness.

3. To finish drawing, right-click the object.

Creating drawing objects ■ 15-21

Preface
4. To change how the object looks, click Properties on the context
menu, or double-click the object to open its Properties dialog
box.
5. In the General tab, specify how the object looks.
6. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
7. To close the dialog box, click OK.

For information about using the Rounded Rectangle tool to reshape

the rounded rectangle, see page 15-56.

Using .wmf and .dxf files

Windows metafiles (.wmf) and AutoCAD (.dxf) files are converted
to drawing objects (such as lines, ellipses, and polygons) when you
import them. You can edit the drawing objects the same way you
edit drawing objects that you create in RSView.
Depending on the complexity of the metafile or AutoCAD file, the
converted image could consist of 500 or more drawing objects. This
would lead to long display load times. In this case, it would be better
to covert the .wmf or .dxf file to a bitmap, and then display the
bitmap in an image object.

To place a .wmf or .dxf file in a display

1. On the Objects menu, click Import.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the file, and then
drag to draw a rectangle the general size you want the final object
to be.

15-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 3. In the “Files of type” box, select the type of file to import.
4. Navigate to the directory where the file is stored, and then click
the file to import.
5. Click Open.
The file is converted to drawing objects and grouped, and then
the grouped object is placed in the graphic display.

Using ActiveX objects

ActiveX objects use tags or expressions to exchange information
with the data source.
The properties and controls available for a particular ActiveX object
depend on the third-party vendor’s implementation.

Using ActiveX objects ■ 15-23

 Preface
IMPORTANT If your application will run on a PanelView Plus or
Windows CE terminal, the ActiveX object must be
available for both the development system
(Windows 2000 or Windows XP) and PanelView Plus
or Windows CE terminal (Windows CE) platforms.
Make sure you install and register the Windows CE
version of the ActiveX object on the run-time
computer.

ActiveX objects support visibility animation only.

To create an ActiveX object

1. Select the ActiveX Control tool.
2. Click the mouse where you want to position the object, and then
ActiveX Control tool drag until the object is the size you want.

3. In the dialog box that opens, click the object to add to your
graphic display. The list of objects depends on the software you
have installed.
If an object you have installed does not appear in the list, the
object might not be registered.
4. To register an object, click Register, select the object to add to the
list, and then click Open.
5. To remove an object from the list, select the object, and then click
Unregister.
6. Click OK.

15-24 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The object is placed in the display. Depending on how the third
party implemented the object, it might be a different size than the
rectangle you drew.
7. To specify the object’s properties and assign tags or expressions
to its controls, do one of the following:
Right-click the object, and then click Properties to open the
object’s Properties dialog box.
Depending on how the third party implemented the object, it
might not have a Properties dialog box. If the Properties
menu item is not available, use the next method.
Right-click the object, and then click Property Panel.
8. In the Properties dialog box or Properties tab of the Property
Panel, specify the object’s properties.
9. If desired, set up the properties in the Common tab, as described
on page 16-1.
10. In the Connections tab, assign tags or expressions to the object’s
controls.
11. To close the Properties dialog box, click OK. To close the
Property Panel, click the Close button.
For information about using the Properties dialog box, see
page 15-31. For information about using the Property Panel, see
page 15-35.

Tools and tips for working with objects

This section describes features of the Graphic Displays editor that
help you work with the objects you create. It describes how to:
select and deselect objects.
use the Object Explorer to view and select objects.
use an object’s Properties dialog box to set up the object’s
properties and assign tags and expressions to its controls.
use the Property Panel to set up individual and group object
properties, and to assign tags and expressions to individual
objects’ controls.
color objects.
name objects.
test how objects look in different states.

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-25

 Preface
Selecting and deselecting objects
To work with an object, you must first select it. You can use the
Select tool or the Object Explorer to select objects.

For information about using the Object Explorer, see page 15-27.

To select the Select tool

" On the Objects menu, click Select, or on the Objects toolbar

click the Select tool.

Select tool The mouse pointer changes to a single arrow.

To select objects, follow the procedures in this table

To select Do this
An object or group of objects G Click the object or group.
G In the Object Explorer, click the
object or group.
An object within a group of G Double-click the group, and then
objects click the object.
G In the Object Explorer, open the
group, and then click the object.
Several objects Click the first object, and then Ctrl-click
additional objects.
All objects in an area Click and drag diagonally to draw a
selection border around the objects.
Ctrl-click objects outside the border to
add them to the selection.
All objects in the drawing area On the Edit menu, click Select All, or
or in a group you are editing press Ctrl-A.

To deselect objects, follow the procedures in this table

To deselect Do this
An object Ctrl-click the object.
Several objects Hold down Ctrl and drag a selection
border around the objects.
All selected objects Click in the drawing area, away from
any objects.

15-26 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Using the Object Explorer
Use the Object Explorer to view and select objects from a tree-list of
all the objects in a display. Groups are listed as expandable items in
the tree, with a + icon.
Use the Object Explorer to select an object that is hidden behind
other objects in the display, without bringing the object to the front.
Objects are listed in front-to-back order. The object you created
most recently is at the front, unless you move it back using the Send
to Back option. For more information about layering objects, see
page 15-60.
You can also use the Object Explorer to highlight objects by object
type, highlight objects that have animation attached, and to highlight
objects with specific tag or expression assignments. For more
information, see page 15-29.
The Object Explorer does not show wallpaper objects, nor objects
within ActiveX composite objects.

To open the Object Explorer, use one of these methods

On the Graphics toolbar, click the Object Explorer tool.
On the View menu, click Object Explorer.
Object Explorer tool
Right-click an object, and then click Object Explorer.
You can keep the Object Explorer open as you work in the Graphic
Displays editor.

To view the objects in a group

" Click the + icon next to the group name, or double-click the
group name.
The list expands to show the objects and groups within the
group.
If the list is already expanded, double-clicking the group name
collapses the group.

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-27

Preface

Right-click an object
to open its context
menu.
Click the + icon to
view the objects and
groups within a group.

To select an object in the Object Explorer

" Click the object.

The object is selected in the Object Explorer and selection
handles appear around the object in the graphic display.

Double-clicking objects in the Object Explorer

Double-clicking an object in the Object Explorer is the same as

double-clicking it in the display:
For most graphic objects, including drawing objects,
double-clicking the object in the Object Explorer opens the
object’s Properties dialog box.
For ActiveX objects, the behavior of the object when
double-clicked depends on the vendor’s implementation.

15-28 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Highlighting objects in the Object Explorer
You can use the Object Explorer to highlight:
specific types of objects
objects that have animation attached
objects that have a specific tag or expression assigned to them
The objects are highlighted in red in the Object Explorer and in the
graphic display. If your graphic display uses a red background, the
highlighting is not visible in the graphic display.

To highlight objects in the Object Explorer

1. In the Object Explorer, click Highlighting on, and then click
Settings.

To clear all the check

boxes, right-click the
list and then click
Clear All.

To select all the check

boxes, right-click the
list and then click
Select All.

2. To highlight one or more object types, click the check boxes in

the By object type list.

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-29

Preface
3. To highlight objects with one or more types of animation
assigned, click the check boxes in the By animation type list.
Each object that has one or more of the specified animation types
assigned will be highlighted.
4. To highlight objects that have a specific tag or expression
assigned, check By tag name, and then select a tag or expression
from the list.
The list displays all the tags and expressions that have been
assigned to objects in the graphic display, except tags contained
in embedded variables.
5. Click OK.
Objects with the specified highlight settings are highlighted in
the Object Explorer and in the graphic display.
Objects that use embedded variables containing the tag specified
in step 4 are not highlighted in the Object Explorer (unless they
match the criteria specified in steps 2 or 3).

15-30 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Using the Properties dialog box
Every graphic object has a Properties dialog box that you can use to
set up the object. Depending on how the vendor implemented the
object, third-party ActiveX objects might have a Properties dialog
box as well.

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-31

Preface
The Properties dialog box contains tabs that you can use to set up
the object’s properties and controls:

In this tab Do this

General Set up the object’s appearance, audio indicator, and

touch margins (for buttons), and settings that are unique
to the object, such as the button action for a push
button, whether to use key navigation to select the
object, or whether to link a button to a specific object.
For information about touch margins, see page 16-8.
For information about key navigation, see page 16-12.
For information about linking buttons to objects, see
page 16-14.
States Set up the states for the object, including the value for
each state and whether to display a caption or image for
the state.
For information about checking that the states are set up
the way you intended, see page 15-43.
Label For objects that don’t have multiple states, specify
whether to use a caption or image on the object.
For information about using the Image Browser to
select an image to use in the label, see page 14-26.
Timing Set up the object’s auto repeat (see page 16-17) or Enter
key handshaking (see page 16-19) settings.
Common Set up the object’s spatial properties, name, and
visibility. For details, see page 16-1.
Connections Assign tags and expressions to the object’s controls.
For information about assigning tags and expressions,
see page 15-44.

The tabs that are available depend on the object:

Some objects have only General and Common tabs.
If an object can have more than one state, the object’s Properties
dialog box contains a States tab.
The trend and gauge objects have unique tabs that are not listed
in the table above.
The tabs that an ActiveX object has depends on the vendor’s
implementation, though if you can assign tags or expressions to
the object it has a Connections tab.

15-32 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To open an object’s Properties dialog box, use one of these
methods
Double-click the object.
Right-click the object, and then click Properties.
Select the object, and then on the Edit menu, click Properties.
In the Property Panel, with the object selected, click the
(Custom) property and then click the Browse button.
Browse button In the Property Panel, with the object selected, double-click the
(Custom) property.
In the Object Explorer, double-click the object.

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-33

Preface

Click a tab
to select it.

This button is available once you make changes in the dialog box.
Click it to apply your changes without closing the dialog box. When
you change to a different tab, the changes in the current tab are
applied automatically.

You can also use the Property Panel to set up an object’s properties,
as described next.
For more information about assigning tags and expressions to

15-34 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 objects, see page 15-44. For details about setting up a particular
object, see Chapter 16.

Using the Property Panel

Use the Property Panel to modify the properties of graphic objects
and assign tags and expressions to the objects.
The Property Panel is especially useful for making changes to the
properties of multiple objects at the same time.

To open the Property Panel, use one of these methods

On the Graphics toolbar, click the Property Panel tool.
On the View menu, click Property Panel.
Property Panel tool
Right-click an object, and then click Property Panel.
Right-click an empty area of the display, and then click Property
Panel.
You can keep the Property Panel open as you work in the Graphic
Displays editor. You can drag the panel’s borders to make the
Property Panel larger or smaller.

Setting up properties
Use the Property Panel’s Properties tab to set up the properties of
the selected object or objects.

Viewing properties for multiple objects

If multiple objects are selected, you can specify which properties to

display in the Property Panel:
To view all the properties of all the selected objects, click All
Properties.
To view only the properties that are common to the selected
objects, click Shared Properties.

Viewing properties for group objects

When you first select a group object, the Property Panel displays the
group properties only, such as the group’s name and height. To view
and edit the properties of the individual objects within the group,
click Include Grouped Objects.

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-35

Preface
When you click Include Grouped Objects, if Shared Properties is
selected, only the properties that are common to the selected objects
are displayed. To view all the properties of all the objects in the
group, click All Properties.
If different objects in the group have different values assigned to a
property, the cell next to the property name is blank.

15-36 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Click to Close.
If only one object is
selected, this box
shows the object’s Click for help on the
name and type. selected property.

If a group object is
selected, click this
button to edit the
properties of the
objects within the
Scroll to see more
group.
properties...

.. or drag the splitter

bar to see more
properties.
This box describes
the selected
property and
indicates the type of
data the property
value uses.
Click for help on the
Property Panel.

To set up an object’s properties

1. Select one or more objects.
2. Click the Properties tab if it is not already selected.
3. Double-click a property’s row to select the property.

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-37

 Preface
If the property has a list of values associated with it, pressing
Enter or double-clicking in the property’s row changes the
property’s value to the next available value. A down-arrow
appears in the right column. Click it to see the options for the
property.

If the property has a dialog box (such as the Font dialog box)
associated with it, double-clicking the row opens the dialog box.
Or, a Browse button appears in the right column—click it to
open the dialog box.
Browse button
If the selected object has a dialog box for setting up properties, a
(Custom) property appears in the first or second row of the grid.
To open the object’s Properties dialog box, double-click the row,
or click the Browse button.

4. Type the new value for the property, select one from the list, or
make selections from the dialog box.

5. Press Enter or click another cell in the grid to save the change.
The selected object is updated with the new property value and
its appearance in the display changes, if appropriate.

Assigning tags and expressions to an

object’s controls
Use the Property Panel’s Connections tab to assign tags or
expressions to the selected object’s controls. If multiple objects are
selected the tab is blank, because you can assign tags or expressions
to only one object at a time.

How values are updated

The arrows indicate the direction in which the data flows between
the control and the data source:

A right arrow indicates that the control sends values to the data
source. The control is a write control.

A left arrow indicates that the data source sends values to the
control. The control is a read control.

A double arrow indicates that the data flows in both directions.

The control is a read-write control.

15-38 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Click for help on
the selected
control.

This box describes the

selected control and
indicates the type of data
the control uses.

The arrows show the direction in which data flows between the control and
the data source. If the control is a read control (arrow points left), data
flows from the data source to the object. If the control is a write control
(arrow points right), data flows from the object to the data source. If the
control is a read and write control (double-headed arrow), data flows in
both directions.

To assign tags and expressions to an object’s controls

1. Select an object.

2. Click the Connections tab if it is not already selected.

3. Click a control’s row to select it.

4. In the “Tag / Expression” column, type a tag name or expression.

You can assign an expression only if the Browse button is
available in the Exprn column.
Browse button in
the Exprn column To open the Tag Browser and select a tag, click the Browse
button in the Tag column. For information about using the Tag
Browser, see page 7-24.

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-39

Preface
To open the Expression editor and use it to create an expression,
click the Browse button in the Exprn column. For information
about creating expressions, see Chapter 19.
For the numeric input enable button’s Optional Expression
control, you can assign write expressions only. For information
about write expressions, see page 19-21.
5. Press Enter or click another row to save the tag or expression
assignment.
For more information about assigning tags and expressions to
objects, see page 15-44.

To delete a tag or expression assignment

" Click the row and press Delete.

Coloring objects using the color toolbars

The Foreground Color and Background Color toolbars contain a
selection of colors you can assign to objects’ color properties.

About color properties

The number of color properties an object has depends on the type of

object and how you set up it. For example, a button with states can
use up to seven different colors for each state. When you select
colors using the color toolbars, some properties are assigned the
foreground color and some are assigned the background color.
Other color properties, such as Fill color, cannot be assigned using
the color toolbars (instead, use the object’s Properties dialog box or
the Property Panel).
This table lists the color properties you can assign using the color
toolbars:
Property Foreground color Background color

Back color n
Background color n
Border color n
Caption color n
Caption back color n
Fore color n

15-40 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Property Foreground color Background color

Foreground color n
Image color n
Image back color n
Legend color n
Needle color n
Pattern color n

For objects with states, the selected color is applied to the current
state’s color properties only. In the Property Panel, properties that
apply to states have “St_” at the beginning of the property name.

When to select colors using the toolbars

For all the drawing objects except image and panel, you can select
colors from the color toolbars before you draw an object (either
before or after you click the object’s tool).
The other objects are always drawn using their default colors, but
you can select the objects and then click the toolbars to change their
colors. The toolbars are especially useful for quickly assigning the
same colors to multiple objects.

To display a color toolbar

" On the View menu, select Toolbars, and then click Foreground
Colors or Background Colors.

To close a color toolbar

" On the View menu, select Toolbars, and then click Foreground
Colors or Background Colors, or click the toolbar’s Close
button.

Other methods for assigning colors

You can also assign colors using an object’s Properties dialog box or
the Property Panel. Use one of these methods if you want to assign
separate colors to different foreground or background color
properties, or to choose colors that don’t appear in the toolbars.
For example, if you want to use a dark blue background color for a
button, with a light blue background color for its image label, you

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-41

Preface
must assign the colors separately. Using the toolbar would assign the
same color to both properties.
Also use the Properties dialog box or Property Panel to change the
default colors for properties that cannot be assigned using the color
toolbars.

Naming objects
Objects (and groups of objects) are automatically given a name and
number when you create them, for example NumericInputEnable4.
If desired, you can assign a more meaningful name to the object, for
example Conveyor_speed_input.
The object name appears in the status bar, diagnostics bar, Property
Panel, and Object Explorer in RSView Studio, and in diagnostics log
messages at run time.

To name an object in the Property Panel

1. Select the object.
2. In the Property Panel, click the Properties tab.
3. Double-click the (Name) row, and then type the name.
The name must start with a letter, and cannot contain spaces. You
can use the underscore character (_).

To name an object in its Properties dialog box

1. Double-click the object to open its Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Common tab.
3. In the Name box, type the name.
The name must start with a letter, and cannot contain spaces. You
can use the underscore character (_).

To name a group object

1. Select the group object.
2. In the Property Panel, click the Properties tab.
3. Double-click the (GroupName) row, and then type the name.
The name must start with a letter, and cannot contain spaces. You
can use the underscore character (_).

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Testing how objects look in different states
To make sure the different states for an object are set up correctly,
you can view them using the States toolbar or the Property Panel.

To open the States toolbar

" On the View menu, select Toolbars, and then click States.

To view an object’s states using the States toolbar

1. Select one or more objects.
2. In the States toolbar, select the state to view.
If you selected multiple objects, the toolbar shows the states that
are common to all the objects.
3. To view the next state, select it in the toolbar or press the Down
Arrow key on your keyboard.
You can also use these keys to select the next state to view:
To view the previous state, press the Up Arrow key.
To view the first state, press the Home key.
To see the last state, press the End key.

To view an object’s states using the Property Panel

1. Select one or more objects.
2. In the Property Panel, click the State property and then select the
state to view.
3. To view the next state quickly, double-click the row, or press the
Enter key on your keyboard.

Tools and tips for working with objects ■ 15-43

Preface
Assigning tags and expressions to graphic objects
You can assign tags and expressions to many of the graphic objects,
including ActiveX objects (depending, of course, on how the vendor
implemented the object). This section describes how to:
assign tags to graphic objects.
use expressions to manipulate tag values.
replace tags using tag substitution.
use tag placeholders so the same display can be used with
different sets of tags.

Assigning tags

To assign tags to a graphic object, use one of these

methods
Double-click the object to open the object’s Properties dialog
box, and then assign tags in the Connections tab.

Type the tag name here... ... or click the button to open the Tag
Browser.

Select the object and then assign tags in the Connections tab of
the Property Panel.

15-44 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Type the tag name here... ... or click the
button to open the
Tag Browser.

Select the object, and then on the Edit menu click Connections.
Assign tags in the Connections tab of the Properties dialog box.

Right-click the object, and then click Connections. Assign tags in

the Connections tab of the Properties dialog box.

For information about:

using the Tag Browser, see page 7-24.

using the Properties dialog box, see page 15-31.

using the Property Panel, see page 15-35.

Assigning tags and expressions to graphic objects ■ 15-45

Preface
Using expressions to manipulate tag values
Many of the controls to which you can assign a tag also permit the
use of expressions to perform logical or mathematical calculations on
tag values. If you assign an expression, RSView monitors the
expression value rather than the original tag value. For example,
your machine might send values to the data source in the form of
temperature in degrees Celsius. You could use an expression to
convert the value to degrees Fahrenheit, and then monitor the
expression result rather than the original tag value.
If you can assign an expression, a Browse button is present in the
Exprn column in the Connections tab.

Type the expression here... ... or click the Browse button to open the
Expression editor.

To specify an expression, do one of the following

In the “Tag / Expression” column, type the expression.
In the Exprn column click the Browse button and then create an
expression in the Expression editor. Use this method if you want
to check the expression syntax, or to use multiple lines for the
expression.
For more information about expressions, see Chapter 19.

Replacing tags using tag substitution

You can replace tags assigned to the graphic objects in your display
by using tag substitution. You can also replace the tags used in
expressions assigned to graphic objects.
For example, if you assign a tag called HoistHeight to multiple
objects in the display, and then decide to use the tag Hoist_height
instead, you can use tag substitution to quickly replace the old tag
with the new tag.

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You can replace:
a tag name (with or without folder names).
a folder name.
the text in an expression.
Tag substitution does not replace the tags contained in embedded
variables. To change the tags in embedded variables, edit the
variables directly. For information about editing embedded
variables, see page 20-8.

To replace tags
1. Select one or more objects.

To select all the objects in the display, on the Edit menu, click
Select All.
2. On the Edit menu, click Tag Substitution.

To replace the tags for a single object, you can right-click it and
then click Tag Substitution.

3. In the Search for box, type the name of the tag, folder, or
expression to replace, or click an item in the list box.
The list box lists the tags and expressions assigned in the graphic
display.

Assigning tags and expressions to graphic objects ■ 15-47

 Preface
To open the Tag Browser and select a tag, click the Browse
button.
Browse button
4. In the Replace with box, type the name of the new tag, folder, or
expression.
To open the Tag Browser and select a tag, click the Browse
button.
5. To confirm each replacement before it is made, check Confirm
replacements.
To automatically replace all occurrences of the tag, folder, or
expression for the selected object or objects, leave the box
unchecked.
6. Click Replace.

If the Confirm Replacements check box is not selected, all

occurrences of the text in the Search for box are automatically
replaced with the text in the Replace with box (for the selected
object or objects).
If the Confirm Replacements check box is selected, the Confirm
Replacement dialog box opens, showing the objects in which the
text is used. The first object is selected in the graphic display.

7. To replace the text in the selected object, click Replace.

To move to the next object that uses the text string, click Next.
To replace the text for all the objects in the dialog box, click
Replace All.
8. When all replacements are done, click Cancel to close the
Confirm Replacements dialog box. (It closes automatically if you
click Replace All.)
9. To close the Tag Substitution dialog box, click Close.

15-48 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Using tag placeholders
Tag placeholders provide a way to use one graphic display to
represent a number of similar operations.
For example, suppose you are creating displays for a plant that cans
corn and peas. The machinery used in both processes is identical.
Instead of creating two displays and specifying corn-related tags in
one display and pea-related tags in another, you can create one
display and not specify any tag names. Where a tag name is required,
type a tag placeholder.
You can use tag placeholders wherever you would normally assign a
tag to an object, including in expressions and embedded variables.
You can also use tag placeholders in the expressions you create to
animate objects.
You can use tag placeholders in:
the graphic display that opens when the application is first run.
graphic displays that are opened using a goto display button.
graphic displays that are opened using a display list selector.
Use parameter files to specify which tags to substitute for which
placeholders. For information about creating parameter files, see
page 14-29.

Creating tag placeholders

A tag placeholder is the cross-hatch character (#) followed by a

number from 1 to 500, as shown in this example:

Assigning tags and expressions to graphic objects ■ 15-49

Preface
The tag placeholder can replace any part of a tag name, including
folder names. For example, you could create a parameter file
specifying that the tag placeholder #1=Folder1. You could assign the
folder and a tag name to a graphic object’s control: #1\Tag1.
You can use tag placeholders in:
the Connections tab of an object’s Properties dialog box.
the Connections tab of the Property Panel.
the Expression box in the Animation dialog box.
anywhere that you can insert an embedded variable. For
information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

To create a tag placeholder

" Type the cross-hatch character followed by a number (no space

in between). For example, #1.

Performing basic operations on objects

Once you have drawn an object, you can select the object and work
with it. You can:
move objects.
copy objects.
duplicate objects.
resize objects.
reshape drawing objects.
delete objects.

Moving objects
You can move objects using the mouse or the keyboard. The keys
give you fine positioning, allowing you to move objects in small
increments. You can also use the grid to position objects precisely.
Another option is to position an object using the object’s Top and
Left properties in the Property Panel. For information about using
the Property Panel, see page 15-35.
Once you’ve moved objects into position, you might want to align
other objects with them, or lock them into place. For information
about aligning objects, see page 15-61. For information about
locking objects into position, see page 15-66.

15-50 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

To automatically align objects to the grid as you move
them

" On the View menu, select Snap On. A check mark appears beside
the menu item when the option is selected.
For information about setting up the grid, see page 14-9.

To move objects by dragging with the mouse

1. Select one or more objects.
2. Place the pointer on an object (not on the edge or on the
handles).
3. Drag the objects to the desired position.

Select the object. Drag the object to the

desired position.

If you selected several objects, dragging one of the objects moves

all the selected objects. The objects maintain their position
relative to each other.

To move objects in small increments using the keyboard

1. Select one or more objects.
2. Place the pointer on the object, not on its edge or handle.
3. Hold down Shift while you press an arrow key.
To adjust the amount of the increment, first hold down the Shift
key and press the + or - keys on the keyboard’s numeric keypad.
4. Release the Shift key when the object is in place.

Copying objects
To copy objects, you can:
drag and drop objects in the same display.
drag and drop objects between displays, or from a graphic library
to a display.
copy and paste objects.
When an object is copied, any animation attached to the object is
also copied. If a group is copied, the new copy of the group can be
ungrouped to individual objects, just like the original.

Performing basic operations on objects ■ 15-51

 Preface
To drag objects in the same display
1. Select one or more objects.
2. Drag the object, and then press Ctrl.
When you press Ctrl, a plus sign is added to the cursor.
3. When the object is where you want it, release the mouse button
and then the Ctrl key.
A new copy of the object is created.
If you selected several objects, dragging one of the objects copies
all the selected objects. The objects maintain their position
relative to each other.

To drag objects between displays

1. Open both displays (or a graphic library and a display).
2. Position or resize the displays so both are visible.
For more information, see page 14-13.
3. Select one or more objects.
4. Click the selected object and drag it to the new display.
If you selected several objects, dragging one of the objects copies
all the selected objects. The objects maintain their position
relative to each other.

Copying and pasting objects

You can cut, copy, or paste objects using the menu items on the Edit
menu or the buttons on the toolbar.
Once you cut or copy an object, you can paste it anywhere in the
drawing area of:
the same graphic display.
a graphic display in the same or a different application.
a graphic library in the same or a different application.

To cut or copy objects

1. Select one or more objects.
2. On the Edit menu, click Cut or Copy, or click the Cut or Copy
tool on the Graphics toolbar.

Cut tool To remove the original object, click Cut.

To retain the original object, click Copy.

Copy tool
15-52 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide
 To paste objects
1. Click in the display or library to paste to.
2. On the Edit menu, click Paste, or click the Paste tool on the
Graphics toolbar.

Paste tool
Duplicating objects
When an object is duplicated, any animation attached to the object is
also duplicated. If a group is duplicated, the new copy of the group
can be ungrouped to individual objects, just like the original.

To duplicate objects
1. Select one or more objects.
2. On the Edit menu, click Duplicate, or click the Duplicate tool on
the Graphics toolbar.

Duplicate tool The duplicated object is placed slightly offset from the original.
Duplicate also duplicates actions. For example, if you duplicate an
object, move it, and then duplicate it again, the second Duplicate
will, in one step, duplicate and move the object. This is useful for
creating a series of objects with an equal distance between them.

Select object. Duplicate object. Move object. Duplicate again.

Duplicate works until you deselect the object.

Resizing objects
You can resize objects using the mouse or using the keyboard. The
keys let you resize objects in small increments. You can also use the
grid to resize objects precisely.
Another option is to size an object using the object’s Height and
Width properties in the Property Panel. This method is especially

Performing basic operations on objects ■ 15-53

Preface
useful for quickly resizing multiple objects to the same size. For
information about using the Property Panel, see page 15-35.
When you resize text objects, the font size is adjusted to fit the new
object size as closely as possible.

To automatically align objects to the grid as you resize

them

" On the View menu, select Snap On. A check mark appears beside
the menu item when the option is selected.
For information about setting up the grid, see page 14-9.

To resize an object using the mouse

1. Select the object.
2. Place the pointer on one of the handles.
A double arrow appears.
3. Drag the handle until the object is the desired size or shape.
Drag a side handle to change width or height, or a corner handle
to change both.

For perfect circles and squares, press Ctrl and hold the key down
while you drag a corner handle.
To maintain the object’s original proportions (width to height),
press Shift and hold the key down while you drag a corner
handle.

To resize an object in small increments using the keyboard

1. Select the object.
2. Place the pointer on one of the handles.
A double arrow appears.
3. Hold down Shift and press an arrow key until the object is the
desired size.
To adjust the amount of the increment, first hold down the Shift
key and press the + or - keys on the keyboard’s numeric keypad.

15-54 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Reshaping drawing objects
You can reshape arcs, lines, polygons, polylines, rectangles, rounded
rectangles, and wedges.

To reshape lines, rectangles, polylines, and polygons

1. Select the object you want to reshape.

2. Click the Polygon tool, or right-click the object and then click
Edit.

Polygon tool The cursor changes to the Polygon tool, and handles appear on
the object.
3. Move the cursor over any line or corner of the object.

A handle with a cross-hair appears.

4. Drag the handle until the object is the desired shape.

Dragging from a point along the line (between corners) creates a

new angle between the two corners.
5. To delete an angle, position the pointer at the tip of the angle, and
then press Delete.

To reshape arcs and wedges

1. Select the object you want to reshape.

2. Click the Arc or Wedge tool, or right-click the object and then
click Edit.

Arc tool The cursor changes to the Arc or Wedge tool, and handles appear
on the object.
3. Place the pointer on one of the handles.

A cross-hair appears.
Wedge tool 4. Drag the handle until the object is the desired shape.

Performing basic operations on objects ■ 15-55

 Preface
To reshape rounded rectangles
1. Select the rounded rectangle.
2. Click the Rounded Rectangle tool, or right-click the object and
then click Edit.
A handle appears inside the rounded rectangle.
Rounded rectangle tool
3. Click the handle and drag inward to increase roundedness, or
outward to decrease roundedness.

Deleting objects
If you accidentally delete an object, use the Undo tool to restore it.

To delete objects
Undo tool 1. Select one or more objects.
2. On the Edit menu, click Delete, or press Delete on the keyboard.

To delete all the objects in the display

" On the Edit menu, click Clear All.

Working with groups of objects

Grouping and ungrouping objects
Grouping combines several objects into a single object so you can
manipulate them as a single object. Grouping is useful for keeping
objects in the same position relative to each other. You can cut, copy,
and paste groups, arrange the group as a single object relative to
other objects, and apply the same properties to all the members of
the group at once.
You can attach animation to a group, and any animation attached to
individual objects in the group remains active. The group animation
generally takes precedence over the animation of individual objects
within the group. For more information, see page 17-30.
Deleting a group deletes all individual objects in the group.

To group objects
1. Select all the objects you want grouped.
2. On the Arrange menu, click Group, or on the Graphics toolbar
click the Group tool.
The handles around each object are replaced by a set of handles
Group tool
around the group.

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 ... ... ... ... ...

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ...

Select the objects. Group them.

To ungroup objects
1. Select the group of objects to ungroup.
2. On the Arrange menu, click Ungroup, or on the Graphics
toolbar click the Ungroup tool.

Ungroup tool The handles around the group are replaced with handles around
each object.

Select the group. Ungroup it.

Ungrouping deletes any animation attached to the group, because

the group no longer exists. However, animation attached to the
individual objects that were in the group remains active.

Working with groups of objects ■ 15-57

Preface
Editing groups of objects
Edit a group the same way you would edit an individual object. You
can:
use the Property Panel to apply the same properties to all the
members of the group at once. For example, change the line
width of all objects in the group to 2 pixels.
For information about using the Property Panel to edit groups of
objects, see page 15-35.
use the toolbars to apply the same pattern style, background
style, foreground colors, and background colors to all the
members of the group.
for objects with states, use the States toolbar to cycle through the
states and apply the same properties to the states for each object
in the group at once. When you select a group containing objects
with states, only the states that are common to all objects in the
group appear in the toolbar.
For more information about using the States toolbar, see
page 15-43.

Editing objects within a group

You can also edit individual objects within the group without
breaking the group, which is particularly useful when you have
animation attached to the group.

To edit objects within a group

1. Double-click the grouped object, or right-click it and then click
Edit. A hatched border appears around the group.
When the hatched border is around the group, you are in group
edit mode. In this mode, you can select individual objects in the
group and modify them.
You can also add new objects to the group.

15-58 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Double-click to edit the group. A hatched
border appears around the group.

Click again to select an object in the

group. Handles appear to indicate the
object is selected.

2. To select an individual object (or a group) in the group, click it.

You can also use the Object Explorer to select objects within the
group. For details, see page 15-27.
The status bar and Object Explorer indicate which object or
group is selected.
3. Make your changes to the object.

You can change the selected object’s shape, size, or position, or

use the object’s Properties dialog box or the Property Panel to
edit the object’s properties.
4. If desired, create new objects inside the hatched border.

5. To stop editing, click outside the group.

Arranging objects
You can arrange objects (or groups of objects) in a number of ways.
You can:
layer objects by moving them in front of or behind other objects.
align objects with each other and with the grid.
space objects horizontally or vertically.
flip drawing objects horizontally or vertically.
rotate drawing objects.
lock objects into position.

Arranging objects ■ 15-59

 Preface
Layering objects
You can layer objects (or groups of objects) on top of each other.
Objects are layered in the order they are created, with the most
recently created object on top. Change the layer order with Send to
Back and Bring to Front.
Send to Back moves the selected object to the bottom layer.
Bring to Front moves the selected object to the top layer.

To bring an object to the front

1. Select the object.
To select an object that’s behind another object, place your
pointer on the front object, click once, pause, and then click
again. Do not double-click and do not move the mouse.
You can also select a concealed object easily by clicking the
object in the Object Explorer.
2. On the Arrange menu, click Bring to Front, or click the Bring to
Front tool.

Bring to Front tool

Select the object in Bring the

back. object to front.

To send an object to the back

1. Select an object.
2. On the Arrange menu, click Send to Back, or click the Send to
Back tool.

Send to Back tool

Select the Send the

object. object to the
back.

15-60 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Aligning objects
You can align objects (or groups of objects) with each other and
with the grid.

To align objects

1. Select the objects you want to align.

2. On the Arrange menu, click the appropriate menu item, or click a

tool on the Alignment toolbar:

This tool or menu item Aligns selected objects with

Align Left Left-most selected object

Align Center Horizontal center of all selected objects

Align Right Right-most selected object

Align Top Top-most selected object

Align Middle Vertical center of all selected objects

Align Bottom Bottom-most selected object

Align Center Center of all selected objects

Points

Align to Grid Grid

Arranging objects ■ 15-61

Preface
To automatically align objects to the grid as you create or
move them

" On the View menu, select Snap On. A check mark appears beside
the menu item when the option is selected.
For information about setting up the grid, see page 14-9.

Examples: Aligning objects left, right, and center

Select objects. Align left.

Select objects. Align right.

Select objects. Align center.

15-62 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Examples: Aligning objects top, middle, and bottom
Align
top.

Align
middle.

Align
bottom.

Spacing objects
With Space Vertical and Space Horizontal, objects (or groups of
objects) are moved vertically or horizontally to have the same
amount of space from the center point of each object.

To space objects
1. Select the objects you want to space.
2. On the Arrange menu, click a Space menu item, or click a tool on
the Graphics toolbar:

Space Horizontal tool This tool or menu item Does this

Space Horizontal Places the centers of the selected objects
an equal distance apart horizontally.
Space Vertical tool Space Vertical Places the centers of the selected objects
an equal distance apart vertically.

Arranging objects ■ 15-63

 Preface

Examples: Spacing objects vertically and horizontally

Centers are
separated by
an equal vertical
distance.
Select objects. Space vertically.

Centers are separated

by an equal horizontal
distance.

Select objects. Space horizontally.

Flipping drawing objects

Flipping an object creates a mirror image of the object. You can flip
all the drawing objects (or groups of drawing objects) except text,
images, and panels.

To flip a drawing object

1. Click the object.

2. On the Arrange menu, click a Flip menu item, or click a tool on

the Graphics toolbar:

Flip Vertical tool

This tool or menu Flips selected objects
item
Flip Vertical Top to bottom (upside-down)
Flip Horizontal tool Flip Left to right
Horizontal

15-64 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Examples: Flipping drawing objects vertically and horizontally

Select object. Flip vertical.

Select object. Flip horizontal.

Rotating drawing objects

You can rotate all the drawing objects (or groups of drawing objects)
except images, panels, and rounded rectangles.
You can attach rotation animation to the same drawing objects. With
rotation animation, the object rotates around an anchor point to
indicate a tag’s value at run time. For details about rotation
animation, see page 17-24.
When you rotate text, it rotates around the anchor point but the text
itself remains upright.

To rotate a drawing object

1. On the Objects menu, click Rotate, or on the Objects toolbar
click the Rotate tool.

Zoom In tool 2. Click the object you want to rotate. A small crosshair circle
appears in the middle of the object. This is the anchor point that
is used as the center of rotation.
3. To move the center of rotation, click the cross-hair and drag it to
a new anchor position. The anchor can be inside or outside the
object.

Arranging objects ■ 15-65

Preface
You can place the crosshair inside an object...

... or you can place it outside an object.

4. Click an edge of the object and drag in the direction you want to
rotate it.
To rotate the object in five-degree increments, press Ctrl while
you drag.
5. When the object is in the desired position, release the mouse
button.

Locking objects into position

You can lock graphic objects (or groups of objects) into position by
converting them to wallpaper. Once you convert objects to
wallpaper, you cannot select or edit them unless you unlock the
wallpaper. Wallpaper objects cannot be animated at run time.

If the grid is on, wallpaper objects are positioned behind the grid.

If you just want to lock the objects into place while you’re working
in the display, unlock the wallpaper when you’re finished. If you
want to use the wallpaper objects as a background for your display,
leave the wallpaper locked.

For more information about creating a background for your display,

see page 14-17.

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To convert objects to wallpaper
1. Select the objects to convert.
2. On the Edit menu, select Wallpaper, and then click Convert to
Wallpaper.
For a single object, you can right-click it and then click Convert
to Wallpaper.

To unlock the wallpaper

" On the Edit menu, select Wallpaper, and then click Unlock All
Wallpaper.
All objects in the graphic display are converted back to their
original state.

Arranging objects ■ 15-67

16
Chapter

Setting up
graphic objects
This chapter describes how to set up graphic objects. It describes
how to:
set up objects’ spatial properties, names, and visibility.
work with objects that have states.
position objects for touch screens.
assign function keys to buttons.
use the keyboard to navigate to and select objects at run time.
link buttons to lists and trends.
repeat a button’s action by holding down the button.
ensure values are read by the data source before sending new
values.
use objects’ Properties dialog boxes to set up options for the
individual graphic objects.
For objects that are not described in other chapters of the manual,
this chapter provides information about how to use the objects.
For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15.
For information about creating and setting up the trend graphic
object, see Chapter 18.

Setting up objects’ spatial properties, names, and

visibility
Every graphic object has a Common tab in its Properties dialog
box. Use the Common tab to set up the following properties for the
object:
height and width
top and left position

Setting up objects’ spatial properties, names, and visibility ■ 16-1

Preface
name
visibility

For ActiveX and trend objects, you can also set up these properties:
focus highlight
key navigation

16-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

To set up the common properties for an object
1. Click the Common tab.
2. Fill in the boxes as follows.

Height
Type the number of pixels for the height of the object. The
height includes the object’s borders.
If the object’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the height applies to
the object’s bounding box. For information about the bounding
box, see page 16-8.
Width
Type the number of pixels for the width of the object. The
width includes the object’s borders.
If the object’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the width applies to the
object’s bounding box.
Top
Type the number of pixels from the top of the display to
position the object. You can type a positive or negative number.
If you use a negative number, part or all of the object is off the
display.
If the object’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the top position applies
to the object’s bounding box.
Left
Type the number of pixels from the left of the display to
position the object. You can type a positive or negative number.
If you use a negative number, part or all of the object is off the
display.
If the object’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the left position applies
to the object’s bounding box.
Name
Type a name for the object. The name must start with a letter,
and cannot contain spaces. You can use numbers and the
underscore character (_) in the name.
If you don’t specify a name for the object, the default name is
used in the status bar, Diagnostics List, Property Panel, and
Object Explorer in RSView Studio, and in diagnostics messages
at run time.
Visible
Click this box to make the object visible. Clear the box if you
don’t want the object to appear at run time.

Setting up objects’ spatial properties, names, and visibility ■ 16-3

Preface
If you are using visibility animation, the visibility animation
setting overrides this option.

3. For ActiveX and trend objects, specify these options as well:

Focus highlight
Check this box to display a highlight box around the ActiveX or
trend object when it has focus at run time.
Clear the check box if you don’t want the object to display a
highlight box at run time.
For more information about focus highlight, see page 16-12.

Key navigation
Check this box to allow the operator to navigate to the ActiveX
or trend object using the keyboard and give the object focus.
Clear the check box if you don’t want the operator to navigate
to the object using the keyboard.
For more information about keyboard navigation, see
page 16-12.

16-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Tips for setting up objects with states
The graphic objects that have states have a States tab in their
Properties dialog box.

To set up the properties for a state

1. Click the States tab.

Tips for setting up objects with states ■ 16-5

Preface
2. In the Select state list, click the state.
3. Specify options for the state.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each additional state, including the
error state if the object has one.

Copying and pasting properties from one

state to another
Often, you’ll want most of the properties to be the same from state
to state, with only one or two settings changing to distinguish the
different states.
To simplify setting up states when many of the properties are the
same, you can copy and paste settings from one state to another.

To copy settings from one state to another

1. In the Select state box, click the state whose settings you want to
copy.
2. Click the Copy button.

3. In the Copy State Settings dialog box, select the settings to copy.
Clear the check boxes for settings you don’t want to copy, or
click Clear All to clear all the check boxes and then specify the
settings to copy.

16-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 4. Click OK.
5. In the Select state box, click the state to which to paste the
settings.
6. Click the Paste button.

7. In the Paste State Settings dialog box, specify whether to paste

the settings to the selected (current) state only, or to all the
object’s states.
8. Click OK.

Adding and removing states

Some graphic objects have a configurable number of states. For
these objects, you can use the Insert State and Delete State buttons
in the States tab, to add and remove states without returning to the
General tab. The “Number of States” setting on the General tab is
automatically updated.
Insert State Click a state, and then click Insert State. The new
state is inserted above the selected state.
Delete State Click the state to delete, and then click Delete State.

Setting up how objects are used at run time

Just as you must provide operators with a way to navigate between
displays at run time, you must also make sure that operators can use
the objects within the displays. The next sections in this chapter
describe how to set up your objects so the operator can:
access objects using a touch screen.
use function keys to press buttons when a mouse or touch
screen is not available on the run-time computer.
use the keyboard or keypad to navigate to and select lists,
trends, and ActiveX input objects.

Setting up how objects are used at run time ■ 16-7

Preface
use buttons to work with lists and trends.
repeat a button’s action by pressing and holding it.
ensure that tag values are read by the data source before sending
new values.

Positioning objects for touch screens

If the operator will be using a touch screen at run time, keep these
tips in mind when positioning graphic objects in your displays:
Don’t place important buttons where they’ll be blocked by an
On Top display. The user can’t press a covered button.
Ensure buttons are large enough for users to touch easily.
Use touch margins for buttons that are positioned close
together, to ensure that the adjacent button is not pressed by
mistake.

Using touch margins

Touch margins are touch-insensitive borders inside the button’s
margin. If the operator presses on the touch margin, the button
press is not registered. Touch margins are useful when buttons are
positioned close to each other and you want to make sure the
operator doesn’t press the wrong button by mistake.
You can create touch margins at the top and bottom of the button,
at the sides, or on all four sides.
In the illustration below, the button’s border and touch margins are
the same size, 12 pixels. A button press would be registered only
when the darker rectangle in the middle of the button is pressed.

The margins at The margins at

the top and the left and right
bottom edges edges are called
are called horizontal touch
vertical touch margins.
margins.

The bounding box

If the object’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the touch margin applies
to the object’s bounding box, not the object’s border. The bounding
box is an invisible square or rectangle that surrounds the object.
When you select the object, the selection handles show the location
of the bounding box.

16-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The invisible
bounding box is
just inside the
selection handles.

To create touch margins, use one of these methods

In the General tab of the button’s Properties dialog box, type
the number of pixels for the touch margins in the Horizontal
margin and Vertical margin boxes.
In the Properties tab of the Property Panel, type the number of
pixels for the HorizontalMargin and VerticalMargin properties.

Assigning function keys to buttons

You can assign function keys to the buttons in your displays to
allow the operator to press the buttons using the function keys on
the run-time terminal (or the function keys on a keyboard, if one is
available). You can also assign a function key to the numeric input
cursor point.
You can assign up to 34 function keys to each graphic display.
Here are some tips for assigning function keys:
Where possible, use the same function keys for the same
operations in all your graphic displays. For example, if every
display contains a goto display button that returns the operator
to a graphic display called Main Menu, assign the same function
key to this button in each display.
Include the name of the function key assigned to a button in a
caption on the button.
For buttons with multiple states, include the function key name
in the caption for each state, or create a text object to use as a
label for the button (so that you don’t have to set up the caption
for each state), and then group the text and button together.

Function key equivalents

If your application will run on the RAC6182, the function keys
correspond to the keys F1 to F14 and K1 to K20 on the computer’s
keypad.

Assigning function keys to buttons ■ 16-9

Preface
If your application will run in Windows 2000 or Windows XP, the
keyboard contains the function keys F1 to F12 only. The remaining
function keys are associated with these key combinations:
For this function key Use this key combination

F13 Left Shift-F1

F14 Left Shift-F2
K1 - K12 Right Alt-F1 to Right Alt-F12
K13 Right Shift-F1
K14 Right Shift-F2
K15 Right Shift-F3
K16 Right Shift-F4
K17 Right Shift-F5
K18 Right Shift-F6
K19 Right Shift-F7
K20 Right Shift-F8

At run time, the operator presses the key combination to activate

the object to which the function key is assigned.

To assign function keys to buttons

1. On the Edit menu, click Key Assignments, or right-click a
button and then click Key Assignments.

16-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The list shows all the buttons in the graphic display to which a
function key can be assigned, and indicates which keys have
already been assigned.
2. In the “Select an object” list, click the button to which to assign
a function key.
3. In the “Select a key assignment” box, select the key to assign.
The assigned key appears after the button name in the list.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to assign keys to the other buttons in the
display.
5. Click OK to close the dialog box.

To change the function key assigned to a button

" In the Key Assignment Properties dialog box, select the button
and then select a new function key.

Assigning function keys to buttons ■ 16-11

Preface
Using the keyboard to navigate to and select
objects
If a mouse or touch screen is not available on the run-time
computer, the operator can use the keys on a keyboard or keypad to
select (give focus to) these objects:
lists: control list selector, display list selector, diagnostics list,
alarm list, and alarm status list
alarm banner
trends
numeric input enable buttons and string input enable buttons
numeric input cursor point
third-party ActiveX input objects

What input focus looks like

The object with focus is surrounded by a highlight box, unless the
Disable Highlight When Object has Focus box is selected (in the
Display Settings dialog box). You can specify the color of the
highlight in this dialog box as well. For more information, see
page 14-17.

Highlight box

Focus highlight for ActiveX and trend objects

For ActiveX and trend objects, you can specify whether or not to
display a highlight box in the object’s Properties dialog box, on the
Common tab. For more information about setting up options on
the Common tab, see page 16-1.

If the Disable Highlight When Object has Focus box is checked (in
the Display Settings dialog box), that setting overrides the setting
you specify in the Common tab.

16-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Using the keys on the keyboard or keypad
When a graphic display opens, the keyboard-navigable object that
is closest to the top left corner of the display is selected. The
operator can use these keys to move to and select a different object:

Use this key To do this

Tab Move from the upper left to the

lower right.
Shift+Tab Move from the lower right to the
upper left.
Ctrl+arrow key Move left, right, up, or down

Removing objects from and adding objects

to the tab sequence
By default, you can use the keys to navigate to all lists, alarm
banners, numeric input cursor points, trends, and ActiveX input
objects in a display. However, you can turn off key navigation for
these objects if desired.

When an object’s key navigation is turned off, the operator can still
select the object using a mouse or touch screen, if available.

By default, key navigation is turned off for the numeric input

enable buttons and string input enable buttons. You can turn on
keyboard navigation if you want the operator to use the keyboard
to navigate to these objects.

To turn key navigation on or off, use one of these methods

In the Properties tab of the Property Panel, set the

KeyNavigation property to False for off or True for on.
For list objects, alarm banners, numeric input cursor points,
numeric input enable buttons, and string input enable buttons,
in the General tab of the object’s Properties dialog box, clear the
Key navigation box for off. Check the box for on.
For ActiveX and trend objects, in the Common tab of the
object’s Properties dialog box, clear the Key navigation box for
off. Check the box for on.

Using the keyboard to navigate to and select objects ■ 16-13

Preface
Linking buttons to trends, lists, and alarm banners
The table on page 16-31 lists buttons that work with the trend and
list objects. Some of the buttons also work with the alarm banner.
For the buttons in the table, you can specify whether the button
works with a specific object only, or whether it works with
whichever trend, list, or alarm banner is selected in the display.
If you are creating small graphic displays that don’t have much
room, you might prefer to use one set of buttons to work with all
the graphic objects (that accept input focus) in the display.
By default, the buttons are set up to work with whichever object
has input focus (is selected) in the display.
However, if space isn’t a concern, you can create multiple copies of
the buttons you want to use and link them to specific objects. One
benefit of linking a button to a specific object is that the operator
doesn’t have to select the object before pressing the button.
Another benefit is that you can position the buttons close to the
specified object, making it easier for the operator to understand
which buttons work with which objects.

16-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

This trend object
has focus.

These move up
and move down
buttons work with
all the objects in
the display.

Linking buttons to trends, lists, and alarm banners ■ 16-15

 Preface

Each object has its own

set of buttons.

To link a button to a specific object using the button’s

Properties dialog box
1. Double-click the button to open its Properties dialog box.
2. In the General tab, in the “Send press to” box, select Linked
Object.
3. To select from a list of all the objects in the display that you can
link the button to, click the Browse button next to the Linked
object box.
Browse button

16-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 4. Click the name of the object to link the button to, and then click
OK.
5. Click OK to close the button’s Properties dialog box.

To link a button to a specific object using the Property

Panel

" In the Properties tab, specify the SendPressTo and

LinkedObject properties.
Once you have linked buttons to an object, you might want to turn
off the object’s key navigation, since this option is no longer
needed. For details, see page 16-13.

Repeating a button’s action by holding down the

button
To repeat a button’s action by pressing and holding it, set up auto
repeat for the button. If you set up auto repeat, when the operator
presses and holds down the button, repeated button presses are
registered until the operator releases the button.
A button press occurs when the operator clicks an object with the
mouse, presses it on a touch screen, or presses the function key
associated with the object. Auto repeat works with all these
methods of pressing buttons.

Repeating a button’s action by holding down the button ■ 16-17

Preface
You can use auto repeat with these buttons:
For this button Each button press does this

Multistate push Sends the value for the next state to the data source.
External changes to the Value control are not
recognized when the button is in auto repeat mode.
Ramp Sends the new ramped value to the data source.
External changes to the Value control are not
recognized when the button is in auto repeat mode.
Move up Moves the highlight up an item in the list, scrolls up
in the trend, or ramps the numeric input cursor point
or numeric input enable button value.
Move down Moves the highlight down an item in the list, scrolls
down in the trend, or ramps the numeric input
cursor point or numeric input enable button value.
Page up Moves the highlight up a page in the list.
Page down Moves the highlight down a page in the list.
Move left Scrolls the trend to the left.
Move right Scrolls the trend to the right.

For each button that uses auto repeat, you can specify these
properties:
Auto repeat rate—the number of times per second a button
press is registered when the button goes into auto repeat mode.
The default rate is 0, which means that auto repeat is turned off.
Auto repeat delay—the length of time the button has to be
pressed and held down before auto repeat starts.

To set up auto repeat for a button, use one of these

methods
In the Timing tab of the button’s Properties dialog box, specify
the Auto repeat rate and Auto repeat delay properties.
In the Properties tab of the Property Panel, specify the
AutoRepeatRate and AutoRepeatDelay properties.

16-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To set up auto repeat for arrow keys on the RAC6182 or
VersaView CE terminal

" In the Windows Control Panel, double-click Keyboard Settings.

Specify the auto repeat settings in the dialog box that opens.

To set up auto repeat for arrow keys on the PanelView Plus

or VersaView CE terminal
1. In the RSView ME dialog box, click Terminal Settings.
2. Double-click Input Devices.
3. In the Input Devices dialog, double click Keyboard.
4. In the Keyboard dialog, double-click Key Repeat Settings.
5. In the Keyboard Repeat Settings, click a repeat delay, and then
type a repeat rate.
6. Click OK.

Ensuring values are read by the data source before

sending new values
To ensure a value is read by the data source before the operator
sends a new value, use Enter key handshaking. While Enter key
handshaking is in effect for an object, the operator cannot send a
new value to the object’s Value control.
You can use Enter key handshaking with these graphic objects:
control list selector
numeric input enable button
string input enable button
numeric input cursor point
If Enter key handshaking is in effect for one of these objects, the
operator can still provide input to other objects in the graphic
display.
If the graphic display is closed while Enter key handshaking is in
effect, the handshaking is cancelled.

Methods of Enter key handshaking

Enter key handshaking works by setting the object’s Enter control
to 1. As long as the Enter control is set to 1, new values cannot be
sent to the Value control. How the Enter control is reset to 0
depends on how you set up Enter key handshaking.

Ensuring values are read by the data source before sending new values ■ 16-19
Preface
There are two ways you can use Enter key handshaking:
to hold the value at the data source for a specific period of time.
to hold the value at the data source until the data source notifies
RSView that the value has been read.
Choose the method that best suits your application needs and
communication system.

Holding the value for a specific period of

time
To set up an object’s Enter key handshaking so that the value at the
Value control is held for a specific period of time, assign a tag to the
Enter control and specify the Enter key hold time. You can also
specify an Enter key control delay, if desired.

How handshaking works

This method of Enter key handshaking works as follows:
1. When the operator presses the Enter button, the value is sent to
the Value control and the “Enter key control delay” timer
begins timing. (The use of a delay is optional.)
2. If you specify an Enter key control delay, when the time is up,
the Enter control is set to 1. If you don’t use the delay, the Enter
control is set to 1 as soon as the operator presses Enter.
As long as the Enter control is set to 1, the operator cannot send
new values to the data source.
3. When the Enter control is set to 1, the “Enter key hold time”
timer begins timing.
4. When the Enter key hold time has expired, the Enter control is
reset to 0 and the operator can send a new value to the Value
control.

To set up Enter key handshaking to hold the value for a

specific period of time
1. In Timing tab of the object’s Properties dialog box, specify the
Enter key control delay (optional) and Enter key hold time
properties.
2. In the Connections tab, assign a tag to the Enter control. A
digital tag is recommended.
You can also use the Property Panel to specify the properties and
assign a tag to the Enter control.

16-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Holding the value until the data source
acknowledges that it has read the value
To set up an object’s Enter key handshaking so that the value at the
Value control is held until the data source notifies RSView that it
has read the value, use two controls: the Enter control and the
Enter handshake control.
Instead of using an Enter key hold time, specify an Enter key
handshake time. You must also specify the Handshake reset type.
You can use an Enter key control delay, if desired.

How the Handshake reset type works

How the Enter handshake control resets the Enter control depends
on which Handshake reset type you select:
With this Handshake The Enter control is set to 0 when
reset type

Non-zero Value The Enter handshake control has a

non-zero value.
If the Enter handshake control already has
a non-zero value when the value is sent to
the Value control (or when the Enter key
control delay has expired, if the delay is
used), then the Enter control is not set to 1,
and Enter key handshaking does not take
place.
Zero to Non-zero transition The Enter handshake control changes from
0 to a non-zero value.

Set up the data source to send a non-zero value to the Enter

handshake control when it has read the new value at the Value
control, and then to reset the Enter handshake control to 0.
If the Enter key handshake time expires before the Enter handshake
control resets the Enter control, an error message is sent to the
Diagnostics List.

How handshaking works

If you use the Enter handshake control, handshaking works like
this:
1. When the operator presses the Enter button, the value is sent to
the Value control and the “Enter key control delay” timer
begins timing. (The use of a delay is optional.)

Ensuring values are read by the data source before sending new values ■ 16-21
Preface
2. If you specify an Enter key control delay, when the time is up,
the Enter control is set to 1. If you don’t use the delay, the Enter
control is set to 1 as soon as the operator presses Enter.
As long as the Enter control is set to 1, the operator cannot send
new values to the data source.
If the Handshake reset type is Non-zero Value, the Enter
handshake control must be 0 when the delay expires in order to
set the Enter control to 1.
3. When the Enter control is set to 1, the “Enter key handshake
time” timer begins timing.
4. The Enter control remains set until the Enter key handshake
time expires or until reset by the Enter handshake control,
whichever happens first.
5. The Enter control is reset to 0 and the operator can send a new
value to the Value control.

To set up Enter key handshaking to hold the value until the

data source has read it
1. In the Timing tab of the object’s Properties dialog box, specify
these properties:
Enter key control delay (optional)
Enter key handshake time
Handshake reset type
2. In the Connections tab, assign these controls:
Enter—assign a tag. A digital tag is recommended.
Enter handshake—assign a tag or expression.
3. Set up the data source to send a non-zero value to the Enter
handshake control when it has read the new value at the Value
control, and then to reset the Enter handshake control to 0.
You can also use the Property Panel to specify the properties and
assign tags to the controls.

16-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Using buttons to operate the application
Use these button graphic objects to operate the application:
Use this button To do this

Return to display Close a display and return to the previous display.

button For details, see page 22-5.
Login button Open the Login dialog box and then log in. For
details, see page 13-13.
Logout button Log out of the application. For details, see page
13-13.
Display print Print the current display. For details, see page 14-40.
button
Shutdown button Shut down the application and exit RSView ME
Station. For details, see page 22-8.
Goto Configure Stop the application and open the RSView ME
Mode button Station dialog box. For details, see page 22-8.
Acknowledge all Acknowledge and silence all currently
alarms button unacknowledged alarms. For details, see page 9-45.
Clear alarm history Remove all alarms from the alarm log file and all
button alarm lists. Also resets the number of times an alarm
has been triggered to 0, and the accumulated time in
alarm to 0, for all alarms. For details, see page 9-45.
Reset alarm status Reset the number of times an alarm has been
button triggered to 0, and the accumulated time in alarm
to 0, for all alarms. For details, see page 9-46.
Silence alarms Silence the audio indicator for all current alarms
button (Windows 2000 and Windows XP applications
only). For details, see page 9-45.
Sort alarms button Toggle between sorting alarms in the alarm log file
and alarm lists by time and by trigger value. For
details, see page 9-46.
Diagnostics clear all Remove all diagnostics messages from all diagnostics
button lists. For details, see page 10-22.
Information Acknowledge the current message in the information
acknowledge message display. For details, see page 12-10.
button

Using buttons to operate the application ■ 16-23

Preface
You can set up any combination of these buttons in a graphic
display. For example, you might want to put a login, logout, and
shutdown button in the same graphic display.
Create and then set up each button separately.
For information about setting up the goto display button, see
page 16-128.

Setting up buttons to operate the application

All of the buttons listed in the previous table are set up the same
way. This section shows how to set up the login button, but you
can use these instructions to set up any of the buttons in the table.

To set up a button
1. Double-click the button.

16-24 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

2. In the button’s Properties dialog box, fill in the options on each
tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

Setting up buttons to operate the application ■ 16-25

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the button
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.

16-26 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up a caption or image for the button

In the Label tab, specify what text or image to display on the
button.

Setting up buttons to operate the application ■ 16-27

Preface

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

16-28 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Setting up buttons to operate the application ■ 16-29

 Preface

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

16-30 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Using buttons with lists, trends, alarm banners, and
numeric input objects
The button graphic objects in the table are useful for scrolling
through and selecting items in lists and trends. You can also use
some of the buttons with the alarm banner, numeric input cursor
point, and numeric input enable button.
Use this With this To do this
button graphic object

Pause button Trend Toggle a trend between pausing and

automatic scrolling.
Next pen button Trend Change the vertical axis labels for a
trend to the scale for the next pen.
Backspace Control list Move the cursor back to the
button selector highlighted item in the list.
End button Lists and trends List—move to the bottom item
visible in the list.
Trend—resume trend scrolling and
move to the current (latest) data in
the trend.
Enter button Lists Select the item the cursor is pointing
to.
Alarm banner Acknowledge the displayed alarm.
Home button Lists and trends List—move to the top item visible in
the list.
Trend—pause the trend and move to
the earliest data in the trend.
Move left button Trend Pause the trend and scroll to the left.
Move right Trend Pause the trend and scroll to the
button right.
Move down Lists, trends, and List—move down one item in the
button numeric input list.
objects Trend—scroll down to display
lower values on the vertical scale.
Numeric input cursor point and
numeric input enable button—ramp
the value down.

Using buttons with lists, trends, alarm banners, and numeric input objects ■ 16-31
Preface
Use this With this To do this
button graphic object

Move up button Lists, trends, and List—move up one item in the list.
numeric input Trend—scroll up to display higher
objects values on the vertical scale.
Numeric input cursor point and
numeric input enable button—ramp
the value up.
Page down Lists Move down one page in the list.
button
Page up button Lists Move up one page in the list.
Acknowledge Alarm list Acknowledge and silence the
alarm button Alarm banner selected alarm. For details, see
page 9-44.
Clear alarm Alarm banner Clear the alarm in the alarm banner
banner button without removing the alarm from
the alarm log file and alarm lists. For
details, see page 9-46.
Alarm status Alarm status list Change the type of alarms displayed
mode button in the alarm status list, from all
alarms to active alarms to past
alarms. For details, see page 9-47.
Diagnostics clear Diagnostics list Remove the selected message from
button all diagnostics lists.

Working with lists, trends, alarm banners,

and numeric input objects
The buttons in the table work with these graphic objects:
control list selectors
display list selectors
diagnostics lists
alarm lists, alarm banners, and alarm status lists
trends
numeric input cursor points and numeric input enable buttons
You can set up any combination of these buttons in a graphic
display that contains a list object or trend. Create and then set up
each button separately.

16-32 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 For information about See

Using buttons with alarm lists, alarm banners, and Page 9-41
alarm status lists
Using buttons with diagnostics lists Page 10-22
Using buttons with trends Page 18-25

Linking buttons to objects

You can link the buttons to specific objects in a display, or use the
same buttons with multiple objects. If you use the same buttons
with multiple objects in a display, the button press goes to
whichever object has input focus.
For more information about linking buttons to graphic objects, see
page 16-14.

Setting up buttons to use with lists and trends

All of the buttons listed in the previous table are set up the same
way, except that the move up, move down, move left, move right,
page up, and page down buttons can be set up to auto repeat. The
other buttons have no auto repeat function.
This section shows how to set up the move up button, but you can
use these instructions to set up any of the buttons in the table.

To set up a button
1. Double-click the button.

Setting up buttons to use with lists and trends ■ 16-33

Preface

2. In the button’s Properties dialog box, fill in the options on each

tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

16-34 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Setting up the appearance of the button
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.

Setting up buttons to use with lists and trends ■ 16-35

 Preface
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.
Send press to Select Object With Focus to send the button’s press
action to the object that is selected on the display.
Select Linked Object to send the button’s press action to the object
to which the button is linked.
For more information about linking buttons to graphic objects, see
page 16-14.
Linked object Click the Browse button, and then click the object
you want to link the button to.
Browse button
Setting up a caption or image for the button
In the Label tab, specify what text or image to display on the
button.

16-36 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

Setting up buttons to use with lists and trends ■ 16-37

Preface
Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

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 Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Setting up whether the button press repeats

when held down
The Timing tab is available only for the move up, move down,
move left, move right, page up, and page down buttons.

Setting up buttons to use with lists and trends ■ 16-39

Preface
In the Timing tab, set up whether or not the button press repeats
automatically when the operator presses and holds the button
down. You can also set up the rate at which the button press
repeats.
For more information about auto repeat, see page 16-17.

Auto repeat rate Select the number of times per second a button
press is registered when the button goes into auto repeat mode.
If you don’t want the button press to repeat automatically, select 0.
Auto repeat delay Click the number of milliseconds or seconds
the button must remain pressed before auto repeat starts.

How to use push buttons

Push buttons start or stop processes or actions by changing tag
values.

IMPORTANT Never use push buttons for emergency stops.

Emergency stop buttons must always be hard-wired.

You can use different kinds of push buttons, depending on what

kind of machinery you are running or process you are controlling:
Momentary push buttons change a tag to one value when the
button is pressed, and another value when the button is released.
The machine is on only while the button is held down. When the
button is released, the machine turns off. Momentary push buttons
are useful for jogging a motor, and they can be set up to start and
stop a machine or process.
Maintained push buttons toggle between two values. This type of
button is useful for changing a setting within a machine or process,

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but not for starting the machine or process. For example, use the
maintained push button for changing modes, such as Auto to
Manual, or Metric to Imperial.
Latched push buttons latch in the on position, and must be
unlatched by another button or process to return to the off
position. This type of button is useful for starting a machine or
process.
Multistate push buttons allow an operator to cycle through
multiple options consecutively, using a single button. The current
state of a process or operation is displayed on the button by a
different color, caption, or image for each state.
Interlocked push buttons work in groups, and share the same tag.
The buttons work together like the preset station selector buttons
on a car radio: pressing one button cancels another. Although
interlocked push buttons work as a group, you add them to the
display one at a time.
Ramp buttons increase or decrease the value of a tag by either an
integer or floating-point value. You can use two ramp buttons
together to create an increase/decrease control, for example for the
speed of a motor. Or, you can use a numeric input enable button or
numeric input cursor point.
For information about the numeric input enable button, see
page 16-94. For information about the numeric input cursor point,
see page 16-106.

How to use push buttons ■ 16-41

Preface
Setting up momentary push buttons
Use the momentary push button to start a process or action. When
pressed, the button changes a tag to one value, and when released,
the button changes the tag to another value.
The momentary push button’s states can perform one of three kinds
of actions:
Change the Value control to 1 when the button is pressed, and
to 0 when the button is released. This kind of button is called
normally open, because its released state is off. Pressing the
button completes the circuit.
Change the Value control to 0 when the button is pressed, and
to 1 when the button is released. This kind of button is called
normally closed, because its released state is on. Pressing the
button breaks the circuit.
Change the Value control to a value you specify. You assign the
desired values to the button’s press and release actions. For
example, 50 when pressed, and 100 when released.

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To set up a momentary push button

1. Double-click the momentary push button.

2. In the Momentary Push Button Properties dialog box, fill in the

options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up momentary push buttons ■ 16-43

Preface
Setting up the appearance and action of the
momentary push button
In the General tab, specify what the momentary push button looks
like at run time, and what type of action the button performs.

Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to

remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color on the States tab.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

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Button action Click Normally open to change the button’s tag to
1 when the button is pressed, and 0 when the button is released.

Click Normally closed to change the button’s tag to 0 when the

button is pressed, and 1 when the button is released.

Click Value to specify values for each of the button’s states. Type
values on the States tab, described on page 16-46.

Hold time Select the amount of time the button remains pressed
before the release action takes effect, even if the operator releases
the button sooner.

The hold time should reflect network traffic. Increasing the hold
time prevents a very quick object press from being missed by the
programmable controller. If you are using a memory tag, click the
shortest hold time.

The operator cannot press the object again until the hold time has
expired. If a display change occurs before the hold time has expired,
the value for the released state is sent immediately to the tag.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.

For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.

Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.

If the computer running the display does not have an internal

speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up momentary push buttons ■ 16-45

Preface
Setting up what the momentary push button
does when it is pressed and released
In the States tab, specify what the button does when it is pressed
and released.
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

The error state

The button’s error state is displayed at run time when:

the Value control is unassigned.
the Indicator control’s value does not match one of the state
values you set up.

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Value The value to which the button changes the Value control
when the selected state is in effect. When the Indicator control
changes to this value, the button’s appearance changes to the
settings you specify for the state.
If you selected Value for the button action on the General tab, you
can type a value for the state in this box. You cannot type a value
for the button’s error state.

Setting up momentary push buttons ■ 16-47

Preface
If you selected Normally open for the button action on the General
tab, state 0 has a value of 0, and state 1 has a value of 1. You cannot
change these values.
If you selected Normally closed for the button action on the
General tab, state 0 has a value of 1, and state 1 has a value of 0.
You cannot change these values.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
If you select the Border uses back color option, on the General tab,
the border color you specify here is not used. Instead, the back
color is used.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.
To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,
and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.
For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

16-48 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the Font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.

Setting up momentary push buttons ■ 16-49

Preface
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Connecting the momentary push button

to data
In the Connections tab, specify the tags or expression with which
the button exchanges data. For information about assigning tags
and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control triggers the button’s action. For example,
when the tag assigned to the control is set to 1, the data source
starts a motor.

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 Indicator The Indicator control provides visual feedback to the
button of its state. For example, the control can show whether a
motor is running. If you assign this control, the button does not
display the pressed state until it receives a response from the
Indicator control. Set up the data source to change the Indicator
control’s value when it has read the Value control’s value.

Setting up maintained push buttons

Use the maintained push button to change a setting in a machine or
process. Maintained push buttons are not useful for starting or
stopping a machine or process.
When pressed the first time, the maintained push button changes a
tag to one value. When pressed and released a second time, the
button changes the tag to another value.

To set up a maintained push button

1. Double-click the maintained push button.

Setting up maintained push buttons ■ 16-51

Preface

2. In the Maintained Push Button Properties dialog box, fill in the

options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the maintained
push button and how it changes state
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time,
and how the button changes state.

Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to

remove the border.

Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the

button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.

Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.

Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color on the States tab.

Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.

Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background

behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.

Shape Click a shape for the button.

Next state based on Click Current state to toggle the button’s

state relative to its current state. For example, if the button’s
current state is 0, its next state is 1. If the button’s current state is 1,
its next state is 0.

Click Value control to toggle the button’s state relative to the Value
control. If the operator presses the button, changing its state to 1,
and then the data source changes the button’s state to 0, the next
time the operator presses the button, the button’s state will be 1.

Setting up maintained push buttons ■ 16-53

Preface

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button. If the computer running the
display does not have an internal speaker, pressing the button does
not trigger a beep.

Setting up what the maintained push button

does when it is pressed and released
In the States tab, specify what the button does when it is pressed
and released.
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

The error state

The button’s error state is displayed at run time when:

the Value control is unassigned.
the Indicator control’s value does not match one of the state
values you set up.

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The error state is also displayed when the display containing the
maintained push button first opens, if the Value control’s value does
not match one of the state values you set up.

Value The value to which the button changes the Value control
when the selected state is in effect. When the Indicator control
changes to this value, the button’s appearance changes to the
settings you specify for the state.

Setting up maintained push buttons ■ 16-55

Preface
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
If you select the Border uses back color option, on the General tab,
the border color you specify here is not used. Instead, the back
color is used.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.
To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,
and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.
For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.
Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the Font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.

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 Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.

Setting up maintained push buttons ■ 16-57

Preface
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.

Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.

Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at

run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.

Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.

If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit

inside the circle or ellipse.

Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In

the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Connecting the maintained push button

to data
In the Connections tab, specify the tags or expression with which
the button exchanges data. For information about assigning tags
and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control triggers the button’s action. For example,
when the tag assigned to the control is set to 1, the data source
changes the machine to Auto mode.

RSView reads the Value control when the “Next state based on”
option is set to Value control.

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 Indicator The Indicator control provides visual feedback to the
button of its state. For example, the control can show which mode
a machine is using. If you assign this control, the button does not
display the pressed state until it receives a response from the
Indicator control. Set up the data source to change the Indicator
control’s value when it has read the Value control’s value.

Setting up latched push buttons

The latched push button latches in the On position, and must be
unlatched by another button or process to return to the Off
position.
Latched push buttons work like momentary push buttons, except
that the tag doesn’t change to the button’s release value until the
button is unlatched by another button or process. This type of
button is useful for starting a machine or process.
When the operator presses a latched push button, it changes a tag to
one value, and remains at that value until the operator presses
another button to change the Handshake control to a different
value.

To set up a latched push button

1. Double-click the latched push button.

Setting up latched push buttons ■ 16-59

Preface

2. In the Latched Push Button Properties dialog box, fill in the

options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the latched
push button and how to unlatch it
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time,
and how to unlatch it.

Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to

remove the border.

Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the

button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.

Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.

Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color on the States tab.

Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.

Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background

behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.

Shape Click a shape for the button.

Latch reset type To unlatch the push button when the Handshake
control has a non-zero value, click Non-zero Value.

To unlatch the push button when the Handshake control changes

from a 0 to a non-zero value, click Zero to Non-zero transition.

Be sure to assign values to states 0 (unlatched) and 1 (latched) on

the States tab, and assign a tag or expression to the Handshake
control in the Connections tab.

Setting up latched push buttons ■ 16-61

Preface

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up what the latched push button

does when it is latched and unlatched
In the States tab, specify what the button does when it is latched
and unlatched.
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

The error state

The button’s error state is displayed at run time when:

the Value control is unassigned.
the Indicator control’s value does not match one of the state
values you set up.
The Handshake control is unassigned.

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The error state is also displayed when the display containing the
latched push button first opens, if the Value control’s value does not
match one of the state values you set up.

Value The value to which the button changes the Value control
when the selected state is in effect. When the Indicator control
changes to this value, the button’s appearance changes to the
settings you specify for the state.

Setting up latched push buttons ■ 16-63

Preface
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.
To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,
and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.
For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.
Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the Font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.

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 The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.

Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.

Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In

the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.

Setting up latched push buttons ■ 16-65

Preface
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Connecting the latched push button to data

In the Connections tab, specify the tags or expressions with which
the button exchanges data. For information about assigning tags
and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control triggers the button’s action. For example,
when the tag assigned to the control is set to 1, the data source
starts a motor.
Indicator The Indicator control provides visual feedback to the
button of its state. For example, the control can show whether a
motor is running. If you assign this control, the button does not
display the pressed state until it receives a response from the
Indicator control. Set up the data source to change the Indicator
control’s value when it has read the Value control’s value.
Handshake To unlatch the button, the Handshake control works
with the “Latch reset type” setting (on the General tab, see
page 16-61).

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 Depending on which latch reset method you select, the Handshake
control unlatches the button either when the Handshake control
has a non-zero value, or when the Handshake control changes from
a 0 to a non-zero value.

Setting up multistate push buttons

The multistate push button displays—and allows an operator to
cycle through—multiple options consecutively. The multistate push
button displays the current state of a process or operation by
showing a different color, caption, or image to reflect different
states.
Each time the operator presses the button, the tag changes to the
value for the next state. When the button is in its last state and the
operator presses the button, the button returns to its first state.

To set up a multistate push button

1. Double-click the multistate push button.

Setting up multistate push buttons ■ 16-67

Preface

2. In the Multistate Push Button Properties dialog box, fill in the

options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the multistate
push button and how it changes state
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like, and how the
button changes state.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color on the States tab.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Number of states Click the number of states you want the button
to have.
Next state based on When the operator presses the button, the
next state that is displayed can be based on the current state, or on
the value of the Value control.
Click Current state to use the current state as the basis for deciding
what the next state will be. With this method, the button itself
determines what its next state will be.
Click Value control to use the Value control as the basis for
deciding what the next state will be. With this method, other
devices can change the Value control’s value, and determine what
the button’s next state will be.

Setting up multistate push buttons ■ 16-69

Preface
If the Value control does not match one of the button’s state values,
the button changes to State 0, and changes the Value control to the
value of State 0.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up what the multistate push button

does when it is pressed and released
In the States tab, specify what the button does when it is pressed
and released.
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

The error state

The button’s error state is displayed at run time when:

the Value control is unassigned.
the Indicator control’s value does not match one of the state
values you set up.
The error state is also displayed when the display containing the
multistate push button first opens, if the Value control’s value does
not match one of the state values you set up.

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Value The value to which the button changes the Value control
when the selected state is in effect. When the Indicator control
changes to this value, the button’s appearance changes to the
settings you specify for the state.

Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.

Setting up multistate push buttons ■ 16-71

Preface
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.
To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,
and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.
For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.
Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the Font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.

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 Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.

Setting up multistate push buttons ■ 16-73

Preface
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Setting up whether the multistate push

button press repeats when held down
In the Timing tab, set up whether or not the button press repeats
automatically when the operator presses and holds the button
down. You can also set up the rate at which the button press
repeats.
For more information about auto repeat, see page 16-17.

Auto repeat rate Select the number of times per second a button
press is registered when the button goes into auto repeat mode. If
you don’t want the button press to repeat automatically, select 0.
Auto repeat delay Click the number of milliseconds or seconds
the button must remain pressed before auto repeat starts.

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 Connecting the multistate push button
to data
In the Connections tab, specify the tags or expression with which
the button exchanges data. For information about assigning tags
and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control triggers the button’s action. For example,
when the tag assigned to the control changes to the next state, the
data source changes the speed of a conveyor belt.
RSView reads the Value control when the “Next state based on”
option is set to Value control.
Indicator The Indicator control provides visual feedback to the
button of its state. For example, the control can show the speed of a
conveyor belt. If you assign this control, the button does not
display the pressed state until it receives a response from the
Indicator control. Set up the data source to change the Indicator
control’s value when it has read the Value control’s value.

Setting up interlocked push buttons

Multiple interlocked push buttons work together and share the
same tag.
The buttons work together like the preset station selector buttons
on a car radio: pressing one button cancels another. Although
interlocked push buttons work as a group, you add them to the
display one at a time.
When the operator presses one of the interlocked push buttons, the
tag assigned to its Value control changes to one value. When the
operator presses a different interlocked push button, the tag
changes to another value. Assign the same tag to each button’s
Value control.
You can also use a single interlocked push button to send a value to
a tag.

Setting up interlocked push buttons ■ 16-75

Preface
To set up an interlocked push button

1. Double-click the interlocked push button.

2. In the Interlocked Push Button Properties dialog box, fill in the

options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

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Setting up the interlocked push button’s
appearance and value
In the General tab, specify the button’s appearance, and the value it
sends to the Value control.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color on the States tab.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Button value Type an integer value for the button. When the
operator presses the button, the button changes to State 1, and
changes the Value control to this value.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.

Setting up interlocked push buttons ■ 16-77

Preface
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up the appearance of the

interlocked push button when it is pressed
and released
In the States tab, specify what the button looks like when it is
pressed and released at run time.
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

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Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.

Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.

Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.

Setting up interlocked push buttons ■ 16-79

Preface
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.
To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,
and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.
For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.
Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the Font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.

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 Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.

Setting up interlocked push buttons ■ 16-81

Preface
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Connecting the interlocked push button

to data
In the Connections tab, specify the tag with which the button
exchanges data. Interlocked push buttons have no Indicator control.
For information about assigning tags, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control triggers the button’s action. For example,
when the tag assigned to the control is set to 1, the data source
changes the machine to Auto mode.
When the Value control changes to a value that doesn’t match the
button’s value, the button changes to state 0.

Setting up ramp buttons

Use the ramp button to increase or decrease the value of a tag.
Ramp buttons can change a tag by either an integer or
floating-point value. You can use two ramp buttons together to
create an increase/decrease control.
Each time the operator presses the button, the tag changes to the
next highest or next lowest value, depending on how you set up the
button.

To set up a ramp button

1. Double-click the ramp button.

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2. In the Ramp Button Properties dialog box, fill in the options on
each tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

Setting up ramp buttons ■ 16-83

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the ramp
button and how it works
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like, and whether
the button ramps a value up or down.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.

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Ramp up Click Ramp up to increase the value of the tag.

Ramp down Click Ramp down to decrease the value of the tag.

Upper limit This box appears only if you select Ramp up. Type the
upper limit for the tag’s value.
Lower limit This box appears only if you select Ramp down. Type
the lower limit for the tag’s value.
Ramp value Type the positive value by which the button increases
or decreases the tag’s value.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up a caption and image for the ramp

button
In the Label tab, specify what text or image appears on the button.

Setting up ramp buttons ■ 16-85

Preface

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

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 Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the Font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.

Setting up ramp buttons ■ 16-87

Preface
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Setting up whether the ramp button press

repeats when held down
In the Timing tab, set up whether or not the button press repeats
automatically when the operator presses and holds the button
down. You can also set up the rate at which the button press
repeats.
For more information about auto repeat, see page 16-17.

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 Auto repeat rate Select the number of times per second a button
press is registered when the button goes into auto repeat mode. If
you don’t want the button press to repeat automatically, select 0.
Auto repeat delay Click the number of milliseconds or seconds
the button must remain pressed before auto repeat starts.

Connecting the ramp button to data

In the Connections tab, specify the tag with which the button
exchanges data. Ramp buttons have no Indicator control. For
information about assigning tags, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control triggers the button’s action. For example,
when the tag assigned to the control is increased, the data source
increases a motor’s speed.

How to use numeric displays

Use the numeric display object to show the operator numeric
information from the data source. For example, you might use a
numeric display to show the current temperature of an oven.

How values are displayed

The numeric display shows the value of the Value control at the
data source. The value shown depends on whether the Value
control value is a floating-point number or an integer. Integer
values are displayed as is. Floating-point values are rounded to fit
the display.
For example, if the numeric display is set up to show 6 digits,
1234.56 is rounded to 1234.6. 1234.44 is rounded to 1234.4. The
decimal counts as one of the digits.
For more information about how values are rounded, see page 7-2.

How to use numeric displays ■ 16-89

Preface
Number formats
The numeric display uses the number format you set up on the
run-time computer. For example, if the run-time computer is set up
to use a comma for the decimal symbol, the numeric display uses a
comma for the decimal symbol.
For information about specifying time, date, and number formats
on the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35.
For information about specifying time, date, and number formats in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP, see page 24-15.

Problems with displaying values

If the Value control is unassigned, the numeric display is filled
with asterisks (*).
If the integer portion of the value, including the decimal point
and minus sign, contains more digits than specified for the
display, the numeric display is filled with asterisks.
If the numeric display is sized so that the value cannot be fully
displayed, the value is truncated and the last displayable digit is
replaced with an asterisk.
If the value doesn’t fit on the first line of the display, and there is
room for a second line, the value continues onto the second line.

Setting up numeric displays

The numeric display shows the operator numeric values from the
data source.

Number formats
The numeric display uses the number formats you set up on the
run-time computer.
For information about specifying number formats on the
PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35. For
information about specifying number formats in Windows 2000 and
Windows XP, see page 24-15.
Specify the appearance of the display, the number of digits to
display, and the tag or expression to display.

To set up a numeric display

1. Double-click the numeric display.

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2. In the Numeric Display Properties dialog box, fill in the options
on each tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you
are finished, click OK.

Setting up numeric displays ■ 16-91

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the numeric
display
In the General tab, specify what the numeric display looks like at
run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
numeric display’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the numeric
display’s border to have the same color as the numeric display’s
background.
Clear the check box if you want the numeric display’s border to
have a different color than the numeric display’s background, and
then choose a Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
numeric display’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
numeric display’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the numeric display. Click Transparent to allow objects or
the display background behind the numeric display to show
through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the numeric display.
Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for the text
in the numeric display.
Blink Check this box to make the numeric display blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the numeric display from
blinking at run time.

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Font, size, and style Click a font for the numeric display’s text in
the Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click
B to make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to
underline the text.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the numeric
display. In the default alignment position, the text is centered
vertically and horizontally on the numeric display.

Number of digits Click the maximum number of digits to display,

up to 17 digits. The decimal point and minus sign each count as a
digit.
Fill left with Select a character to fill the left of the display with if
the value at the data source contains fewer than the maximum
number of digits. If you don’t want to use a fill character, select
None.
Decimal places Click the maximum number of decimal places to
display.

Connecting the numeric display to data

In the Connections tab, specify the tags or expressions whose data
is displayed. For information about assigning tags and expressions,
see page 15-44.

Value The Value control’s value is shown in the numeric display.

For example, the numeric display can show the temperature of an
oven.

Setting up numeric displays ■ 16-93

Preface
Polarity The Polarity control determines whether or not a minus
sign is displayed. A minus sign is displayed when this control has a
positive non-zero value.
If the Polarity control is assigned, it overrides the polarity of the
Value control’s value.
If the Polarity control uses a tag with a floating-point value, values
of less than .5 are rounded down (to 0) and values of .5 or greater
are rounded up (to 1).

Setting up numeric input enable buttons

The operator can press the numeric input enable button to open a
numeric pop-up keypad or scratchpad. The operator can enter a
number in the keypad or scratchpad, and then send the number to
the data source.
For more information about using the numeric input enable button
with the numeric pop-up windows, see page 27-4.
You can also set up the numeric input enable button to work as a
ramp button. In this case, when the button has focus, the operator
can press a move up or move down button to change a tag by either
an integer or floating-point value. The operator can also press the
Up Arrow or Down Arrow on the keyboard or keypad to ramp the
value.
Specify the appearance of the button, whether the button opens a
keypad or scratchpad, the value to ramp by, and how the button
interacts with the data source.

To set up a numeric input enable button

1. Double-click the numeric input enable button.

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2. In the Numeric Input Enable Properties dialog box, fill in the
options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up numeric input enable buttons ■ 16-95

Preface
Setting up the appearance and input focus
of the numeric input enable button
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time,
whether the operator can navigate to the cursor point using the
keys on the keyboard or keypad, and whether the operator can
press the button to give it focus.

Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to

remove the border.

Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the

button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.

Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.

Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.

Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.

Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.

Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background

behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.

Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.

Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.

Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.

Shape Click a shape for the button.

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Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.
Key navigation Check this box to allow the operator to navigate
to the button and give it focus using the keyboard.
For more information about keyboard navigation, see page 16-12.
Take focus on press Check this box if you want the button to
take the focus when pressed.

Setting up a caption or image for the

numeric input enable button
In the Label tab, specify what text or image to display on the
button.

Setting up numeric input enable buttons ■ 16-97

Preface

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

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Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Setting up numeric input enable buttons ■ 16-99

 Preface

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.

Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background

behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.

Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.

Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.

Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at

run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.

Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.

If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit

inside the circle or ellipse.

Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In

the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

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Setting up numeric and pop-up options for
the numeric input enable button
In the Numeric tab, set up which pop-up window opens (if any),
the ramp value (if any), minimum and maximum values to send to
the data source, and decimal point settings.

Setting up numeric input enable buttons ■ 16-101

Preface
Numeric pop-- up Select whether to use the keypad or scratchpad. If
you want the button to behave like a ramp button, select None.
The keypad is larger than the scratchpad. To use the scratchpad, the
run-time computer must have an external keyboard or keypad.
To use the button as a ramp button, ensure that the operator has a
way to give the button focus. On the General tab, select Key
navigation, Take focus on press, or both.

Minimum value Type the minimum value to send to the Value

control. If you select the Fixed Position type of decimal point, and
the Fixed position output option is Stripped Value, the minimum
applies to the stripped value, not the displayed value (unless you are
using the button for ramping, in which case the decimal point
setting is ignored).
If you use the Optional Expression control, the minimum applies to
the value sent to the expression, not the value sent to the Value
control.
Maximum value Type the maximum value to send to the Value
control. If you select the Fixed Position type of decimal point, and
the Fixed position output option is Stripped Value, the maximum
applies to the stripped value, not the displayed value (unless you are
using the button for ramping, in which case the decimal point
setting is ignored).
If you use the Optional Expression control, the maximum applies
to the value sent to the expression, not the value sent to the Value
control.

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Ramp value Specify the amount by which the tag assigned to the
Value control increases or decreases when the operator ramps the
button. A ramp value of 0 means that ramping is turned off.
If you assign the Optional Expression control, ramping is turned
off.

Decimal point Select Implicit if the operator manually enters the

decimal point and you want the decimal point to be used when the
value is sent to the Value control.
Select Fixed Position if the values to enter in the pop-up window
always have the same number of digits after the decimal point. If
you select this type of decimal point, specify a “Digits after
decimal” value.
When you ramp a value, this setting is ignored.
Fixed position output If you select the Fixed Position type of
decimal point, select the kind of output to send to the Value
control. If you select Stripped Value, the decimal point is stripped
when the value is sent to the Value control. If you select Displayed
Value, the value is sent as is.
When you ramp a value, this setting is ignored.
Digits after decimal If you select the Fixed Position type of
decimal point, select the number of digits to appear after the
decimal point.
When you ramp a value, this setting is ignored.

Setting up how the numeric input enable

button’s pop-up works with an Enter key
In the Timing tab, set up the timing and handshake settings for the
Enter key. These settings do not apply when you ramp a value.

Setting up numeric input enable buttons ■ 16-103

Preface
For information about using Enter key handshaking, see
page 16-19.

Enter key control delay Click the number of milliseconds or

seconds to delay between pressing the Enter key and setting the
Enter control to 1. Specify the tag to use for the Enter control in
the Connections tab.
Enter key hold time Click the number of milliseconds or seconds
the Enter control remains at a value of 1. This setting applies only if
the Enter control is assigned and the Enter handshake control is not
assigned (in the Connections tab).
Enter key handshake time Click the maximum number of
seconds the Enter control remains at a value of 1. This setting
applies only if the Enter control and Enter handshake control are
both assigned (in the Connections tab).
Handshake reset type Click Non-zero Value to reset the Enter
control when the Enter handshake control is a non-zero value.
Click Zero to Non-zero transition to reset the Enter control when
the Enter handshake control changes from 0 to a non-zero value.

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Connecting the numeric input enable button
to data
In the Connections tab, specify the tags or expressions with which
the numeric input enable button exchanges data. For information
about assigning tags and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value When the operator presses the pop-up window’s Enter key,
the numeric value the operator enters is sent to the Value control.
For example, the operator could enter a value to change the fill
level for a tank.
If the button is set up as a ramp button, when the operator gives the
button focus and presses a move up or move down button (or the
Up Arrow or Down Arrow key on the keyboard), the value at the
Value control is increased or decreased by the Ramp value amount.
For example, the operator could ramp the button to increase an
oven’s temperature 5 degrees.
If you do not assign a tag to this control, at run time when the
operator presses the button the pop-up keypad or scratchpad does
not open.
Optional Expression The Optional Expression control is an
optional write control. Assign a write expression to this control.
When the operator enters a value, the expression’s logic is
performed on the value, and the result is sent to the Value control.
The write expression must contain a question mark (?) as a
placeholder for the value the operator enters at run time.
Do not assign an expression to this control if you want to use the
button for ramping.
For more information about write expressions, see page 19-21.

Setting up numeric input enable buttons ■ 16-105

Preface
Enter The Enter control accepts values of 0 or 1 only. The control
determines how long the Enter key press is registered. No further
values can be entered by the button when the Enter control is set
to 1.
Enter handshake The Enter handshake control resets the Enter
control, using the “Handshake reset type” option specified on the
Timing tab.
Use this control for Enter key handshaking if you want to reset the
Enter control when a value in the programmable controller
changes.

Setting up numeric input cursor points

The operator can activate the numeric input cursor point to open a
numeric pop-up keypad or scratchpad. The operator can enter a
number in the keypad or scratchpad, and then send the number to
the data source. The cursor point displays the current value at the
data source (if you assign a tag to the Indicator control).
For more information about using the numeric input cursor point
with the numeric pop-up windows, see page 27-4.

Activating the cursor point

When the numeric input cursor point has focus, the operator can
activate the cursor point by pressing any of these keys on the
keyboard or keypad:
numbers from 0 to 9
the minus sign (-) or decimal point (.)
the Enter key, or an enter button
the Backspace key, or a backspace button
When the operator activates the numeric input cursor point, the
numeric pop-up keypad or scratchpad opens.

Using the cursor point to ramp values

You can also set up the numeric input cursor point to work as a
ramp button. In this case, when the cursor point has focus, the
operator can press a move up or move down button to change a tag
by either an integer or floating-point value. The operator can also
press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow on the keyboard or keypad to
ramp the value.

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Setting up the cursor point
Specify the appearance of the cursor point, whether the cursor
point opens a keypad or scratchpad, the value to ramp by, and how
the cursor point interacts with the data source.

To set up a numeric input cursor point

1. Double-click the numeric input cursor point.

Setting up numeric input cursor points ■ 16-107

Preface
2. In the Numeric Input Cursor Point Properties dialog box, fill in
the options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up the appearance and key

navigation of the numeric input cursor point
In the General tab, specify what the cursor point looks like at run
time, and whether the operator can navigate to the cursor point
using the keys on the keyboard or keypad.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the cursor
point’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the cursor
point’s border to have the same color as the cursor point’s
background.
Clear the check box if you want the cursor point’s border to have a
different color than the cursor point’s background, and then choose
a Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
cursor point’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
cursor point’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the cursor point. Click Transparent to allow objects or the
display background behind the cursor point to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the cursor point.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the cursor point when it is
pressed. If the cursor point does not use a border, the highlight
color is not visible when the cursor point is pressed.
Blink Check this box to make the cursor point blink at run time.
Clear the check box to prevent the cursor point from blinking at
run time.

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Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.

Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the cursor

point’s edges. In the default alignment position, the text is centered
vertically and horizontally on the cursor point.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.

For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.

Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the cursor point.

If the computer running the display does not have an internal

speaker, pressing the cursor point does not trigger a beep.

Key navigation Check this box to allow the operator to navigate

to the cursor point and give it focus using the keyboard.

For more information about keyboard navigation, see page 16-12.

Setting up numeric input cursor points ■ 16-109

Preface
Setting up numeric and pop-up options for
the numeric input cursor point
In the Numeric tab, set up which pop-up window opens (if any),
the ramp value (if any), minimum and maximum values to send to
the data source, decimal point settings, and display settings.

Numeric pop-- up Select whether to use the keypad or scratchpad. If

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you want the cursor point to behave like a ramp cursor point, select
None.

The keypad is larger than the scratchpad. To use the scratchpad, the
run-time computer must have an external keyboard or keypad.

To use the cursor point as a ramp button, ensure that the operator
has a way to give the cursor point focus. On the General tab, select
Key navigation.

Minimum value Type the minimum value to send to the Value

control. If you select the Fixed Position type of decimal point, and
the Fixed position output option is Stripped Value, the minimum
applies to the stripped value, not the displayed value (unless you are
using the cursor point for ramping, in which case the decimal point
setting is ignored).

If you use the Optional Expression control, the minimum applies to

the value sent to the expression, not the value sent to the Value
control.

Maximum value Type the maximum value to send to the Value

control. If you select the Fixed Position type of decimal point, and
the Fixed position output option is Stripped Value, the maximum
applies to the stripped value, not the displayed value (unless you are
using the cursor point for ramping, in which case the decimal point
setting is ignored).

If you use the Optional Expression control, the maximum applies

to the value sent to the expression, not the value sent to the Value
control.

Ramp value Specify the amount by which the tag assigned to the
Value control increases or decreases when the operator ramps the
cursor point. A ramp value of 0 means that ramping is turned off.

If you assign the Optional Expression control, ramping is turned

off.

Setting up numeric input cursor points ■ 16-111

Preface

Decimal point Select Implicit if the operator manually enters the

decimal point and you want the decimal point to be used when the
value is sent to the Value control.
Select Fixed Position if the values to enter in the pop-up window
always have the same number of digits after the decimal point. If
you select this type of decimal point, specify a “Digits after
decimal” value.
When you ramp a value, this setting is ignored.
Fixed position output If you select the Fixed Position type of
decimal point, select the kind of output to send to the Value
control. If you select Stripped Value, the decimal point is stripped
when the value is sent to the Value control. If you select Displayed
Value, the value is sent as is.
When you ramp a value, this setting is ignored.
Digits after decimal If you select the Fixed Position type of
decimal point, select the number of digits to appear after the
decimal point.
When you ramp a value, this setting is ignored.

Number of digits Click the maximum number of digits to display,

up to 17 digits. The decimal point and minus sign each count as a
digit.
Fill left with Select a character to fill the left of the display with if
the value at the data source contains fewer than the maximum
number of digits. If you don’t want to use a fill character, select
None.

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Decimal places Type the maximum number of digits to display
after the decimal point.

Setting up how the numeric input cursor

point’s pop-up works with an Enter key
In the Timing tab, set up the timing and handshake settings for the
Enter key. These settings do not apply when you ramp values.
For information about using Enter key handshaking, see
page 16-19.

Enter key control delay Click the number of milliseconds or

seconds to delay between pressing the Enter key and setting the
Enter control to 1. Specify the tag to use for the Enter control in
the Connections tab.
Enter key hold time Click the number of milliseconds or seconds
the Enter control remains at a value of 1. This setting applies only if
the Enter control is assigned and the Enter handshake control is not
assigned (in the Connections tab).
Enter key handshake time Click the maximum number of
seconds the Enter control remains at a value of 1. This setting
applies only if the Enter control and Enter handshake control are
both assigned (in the Connections tab).
Handshake reset type Click Non-zero Value to reset the Enter
control when the Enter handshake control is a non-zero value.
Click Zero to Non-zero transition to reset the Enter control when
the Enter handshake control changes from 0 to a non-zero value.

Setting up numeric input cursor points ■ 16-113

Preface
Connecting the numeric input cursor point
to data
In the Connections tab, specify the tags or expressions with which
the numeric input cursor point exchanges data. For information
about assigning tags and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value When the operator presses the pop-up window’s Enter key,
the numeric value the operator enters is sent to the Value control.
For example, the operator could enter a value to change the fill
level for a tank.
If the cursor point is set up as a ramp button, when the operator
gives the cursor point focus and presses a move up or move down
cursor point (or the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key on the
keyboard), the value at the Value control is increased or decreased
by the Ramp value amount. For example, the operator could ramp
the cursor point to increase an oven’s temperature 5 degrees.
If you do not assign a tag to this control, at run time when the
operator activates the cursor point the pop-up keypad or scratchpad
does not open.
Optional Expression The Optional Expression control is an
optional write control. Assign a write expression to this control.
When the operator enters a value, the expression’s logic is
performed on the value, and the result is sent to the Value control.
The write expression must contain a question mark (?) as a
placeholder for the value the operator enters at run time.
Do not assign an expression to this control if you want to use the
cursor point for ramping.
For more information about write expressions, see page 19-21.

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 Indicator The Indicator control provides visual feedback of the
value at the Value control. For example, the Indicator control can
show the fill level of a tank or the temperature of an oven.
If you assign this control, the cursor point does not display the
value sent to the Value control until it receives a response from the
Indicator control. Set up the data source to change the Indicator
control’s value when it has read the Value control’s value.
Enter The Enter control accepts values of 0 or 1 only. The control
determines how long the Enter key press is registered. No further
values can be entered by the cursor point when the Enter control is
set to 1.
Enter handshake The Enter handshake control resets the Enter
control, using the “Handshake reset type” option specified on the
Timing tab.
Use this control for Enter key handshaking if you want to reset the
Enter control when a value in the programmable controller
changes.

How to use string displays

Use the string display object to show the operator messages from
the data source. For example, you might set up the data source to
generate strings that report on the state of a process or operation, or
that provide instructions about what the operator should do next.
At run time the display shows the operator the string value of the
Value control at the data source.

How values are displayed

If the Value control is unassigned, the string display is blank.
RSView displays the number of characters (bytes) specified for
the tag assigned to the Value control. If a longer string is sent to
the control, only the specified number of characters is displayed.

Setting up string displays

The string display shows the operator string values from the data
source.
Specify the appearance of the display and the tag or expression to
display.

Setting up string displays ■ 16-115

Preface
To set up a string display

1. Double-click the string display.

2. In the String Display Properties dialog box, fill in the options on

each tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the string
display
In the General tab, specify what the string display looks like at run
time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the string
display’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the string
display’s border to have the same color as the string display’s
background.
Clear the check box if you want the string display’s border to have
a different color than the string display’s background, and then
choose a Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
string display’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
string display’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the string display. Click Transparent to allow objects or the
display background behind the string display to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the string display.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for the text
in the string display.
Blink Check this box to make the string display blink at run time.
Clear the check box to prevent the string display from blinking at
run time.

Setting up string displays ■ 16-117

Preface
Font, size, and style Click a font for the string display’s text in
the Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click
B to make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to
underline the text.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the string
display. In the default alignment position, the text is centered
vertically and horizontally on the string display.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.

Connecting the string display to data

In the Connections tab, specify the tag or expression whose data is
displayed. For information about assigning tags and expressions, see
page 15-44.

Value The Value control’s value is shown in the string display. For
example, the display can show a message about the status of a
conveyor belt.
Assign a tag or expression that can support up to 82 characters
(bytes).

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Setting up string input enable buttons
The operator can press the string input enable button to open a
string pop-up scratchpad or keyboard. The operator can enter text
in the scratchpad or keyboard, and then send the string to the data
source.
For more information about using the string input enable button
and the string pop-up windows, see page 27-9.
Specify the appearance of the button, whether the button opens a
scratchpad or keyboard, and how the button interacts with the data
source.

To set up a string input enable button

1. Double-click the string input enable button.

Setting up string input enable buttons ■ 16-119

Preface

2. In the String Input Enable Properties dialog box, fill in the

options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance and action of the
string input enable button
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.

Setting up string input enable buttons ■ 16-121

Preface
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.
Key navigation Check this box to allow the operator to navigate
to the button and give it focus using the keyboard.
For more information about keyboard navigation, see page 16-12.
Take focus on press Check this box if you want the button to
take the focus when pressed.

Setting up a caption or image for the string

input enable button
In the Label tab, specify what text or image to display on the
button.

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Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

Setting up string input enable buttons ■ 16-123

Preface
Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

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 Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Setting up the pop-up for the string input

enable button
In the String tab, specify the pop-up to open and the number of
characters to accept.

Setting up string input enable buttons ■ 16-125

Preface

String pop-- up Select whether to use the scratchpad or keyboard.

The keyboard is larger than the scratchpad.
To use the scratchpad, the run-time computer must have an external
keyboard or keypad.
Number of input characters Specify the maximum number of
input characters for the pop-up window to accept, up to 82
characters.
Fill character Select a character to pad the string with if the
operator enters fewer than the maximum number of input
characters.
When the value is sent to the Value control, the fill characters are
placed after the string the operator enters. The characters do not
appear in the pop-up window.
Mask scratchpad Check this box to hide the text the operator
enters by using the # character instead of the actual text.
If you don’t want to hide the text the operator types, clear the
check box.

Setting up how the string input enable

button’s pop-up works with an Enter key
In the Timing tab, set up the timing and handshake settings for the
Enter key.

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For information about using Enter key handshaking, see page
16-19.

Enter key control delay Click the number of milliseconds or

seconds to delay between pressing the Enter key and setting the
Enter control to 1. Specify the tag to use for the Enter control in
the Connections tab.
Enter key hold time Click the number of milliseconds or seconds
the Enter control remains at a value of 1. This setting applies only if
the Enter control is assigned and the Enter handshake control is not
assigned (in the Connections tab).
Enter key handshake time Click the maximum number of
seconds the Enter control remains at a value of 1. This setting
applies only if the Enter control and Enter handshake control are
both assigned (in the Connections tab).
Handshake reset type Click Non-zero Value to reset the Enter
control when the Enter handshake control is a non-zero value.
Click Zero to Non-zero transition to reset the Enter control when
the Enter handshake control changes from 0 to a non-zero value.

Setting up string input enable buttons ■ 16-127

Preface
Connecting the string input enable button to
data
In the Connections tab, specify the tags or expression with which
the string input enable button exchanges data. For information
about assigning tags and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value The string value the operator enters is sent to the Value
control. Assign a tag that can support up to 82 characters (bytes).
When the operator presses the Enter key, the alphanumeric string is
sent to the data source.
If you do not assign a tag to this control, at run time when the
operator presses the button the pop-up window does not open.
Enter The Enter control accepts values of 0 or 1 only. The control
determines how long the Enter key press is registered. No further
values can be entered by the button when the Enter control is set
to 1.
Enter handshake The Enter handshake control resets the Enter
control, using the “Handshake reset type” option specified on the
Timing tab.
Use this control for Enter key handshaking if you want to reset the
Enter control when a value in the programmable controller
changes.

Setting up goto display buttons

Use the goto display button to open a graphic display. You can
create as many goto display buttons as you need, but each button
opens a single display only.
For more information about using goto display buttons, see
page 22-4.

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Specify the graphic display to open, and a parameter file to use with
tag placeholders in the display (if any).

To set up a goto display button

1. Double-click the goto display button.

Setting up goto display buttons ■ 16-129

Preface
2. In the Goto Display Button Properties dialog box, fill in the
options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up the appearance of the goto

display button
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time.

Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to

remove the border.

Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the

button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.

Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.

Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.

Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.

Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.

Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background

behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.

Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.

Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.

Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.

Shape Click a shape for the button.

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 Display Type the name of the graphic display to open when the
button is pressed. To browse for a graphic display, click the Browse
button.
Browse button
Parameter file Type the name of the parameter file to run when
the button is pressed. To browse for a parameter file, click the
Browse button.

A parameter file assigns tags to tag placeholders in the display when

the display opens. For more information about parameter files, see
page 14-29.

Top position Type the number of pixels from the top edge of the
application window to position the display. This option applies
only if the graphic display the button opens is an On Top display.

Left position Type the number of pixels from the left edge of the
application window to position the display. This option applies
only if the graphic display the button opens is an On Top display.

Display position Check this box if you want to use the Top
position and Left position options to position the display the
button opens.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.

For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.

Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Setting up goto display buttons ■ 16-131

Preface

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up a caption or image for the goto

display button
In the Label tab, specify what text or image to display on the
button.

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Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

Setting up goto display buttons ■ 16-133

Preface
Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

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 Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Setting up close display buttons

When the operator presses a close display button at run time, the
graphic display that the button is on closes. You can set up the
button to write out a value when the display closes.

Setting up close display buttons ■ 16-135

Preface
For more information about using close display buttons, see
page 22-6.
Specify the appearance of the button, and whether to write out a
value when the display closes.

To set up a close display button

1. Double-click the button.

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2. In the button’s Properties dialog box, fill in the options on each
tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

Setting up the appearance of the close

display button
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time,
and whether to write out a value when the display closes.

Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to

remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.

Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.

Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.

Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background

behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.

Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.

Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.

Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Setting up close display buttons ■ 16-137

Preface

Write on close Check this box to write out a value when the
operator presses the button.
Close value Type the integer value to write to the Value control.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up a caption or image for the close

display button
In the Label tab, specify what text or image to display on the
button.

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Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

Setting up close display buttons ■ 16-139

Preface
Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

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 Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.

Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background

behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.

Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.

Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.

Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at

run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.

Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.

If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit

inside the circle or ellipse.

Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In

the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Setting up close display buttons ■ 16-141

Preface
Connecting the close display button to data
In the Connections tab, specify the tag with which the close display
button exchanges data. For information about assigning tags, see
page 15-44.

Value The value specified in the Close value box (on the General
tab) is sent to the Value control. Assign a tag that can receive the
integer value specified.
When the display closes, the integer value is sent to the data source.

Setting up display list selectors

The display list selector is a list of graphic displays in the
application. Each graphic display is represented by a different state
in the display list selector. An operator can scroll through the list of
displays, and then select the display to open by pressing an enter
button or Enter key.
For more information about using display list selectors, see
page 22-7.
Specify the graphic displays associated with each state, and the
parameter files to use with tag placeholders in the display (if any).

To set up a display list selector

1. Double-click the display list selector.

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2. In the display list selector Properties dialog box, fill in the
options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up display list selectors ■ 16-143

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the
display list selector
In the General tab, specify what the display list selector looks like
at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the display
list selector’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the display
list selector’s border to have the same color as the selector’s
background.
Clear the check box if you want the display list selector’s border to
have a different color than the selector’s background, and then
choose a Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
display list selector’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
display list selector’s border.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the display list selector.
Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Selection back color Click the color box, and then click a color
for the background of a highlighted item in the list.
Selection fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the text of a highlighted item in the list.
Blink Check this box to make the display list selector blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the selector from blinking at
run time.

Font, size, and style Click a font for the display list selector’s text
in the Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box.
Click B to make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click
U to underline the text.

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Caption truncate Select Word to cut off captions that exceed the
maximum length at the beginning of a word. Select Character to cut
off captions that exceed the maximum length in the middle of a
word.
The maximum caption length depends on the width of the display
list selector and the font size.
When a caption has been truncated, an asterisk ( * ) appears at the
right end of the caption to indicate that text is missing.

Number of states Click the number of states you want the display
list selector to have.

Key navigation Check this box to allow the operator to navigate

to the display list selector and give it focus using the keyboard.
For more information about key navigation, see page 16-12.
Wrap around Check this box if you want the list to wrap from the
end of the list to the beginning when scrolling down and from the
beginning of the list to the end when scrolling up.

Setting up which displays appear in the

display list selector
In the States tab, specify which graphic display to use for each of
the display list selector’s states, and how each graphic display is
named in the list.

Setting up display list selectors ■ 16-145

 Preface
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

Display Type the name of the graphic display for the selected state.
To browse for a graphic display, click the Browse button.
Browse button Parameter file Type the name of the parameter file to run when
the display is opened. To browse for a parameter file, click the
Browse button.

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A parameter file assigns tags to tag placeholders in the display when
the display opens. For more information about parameter files, see
page 14-29.
Display position Check this box if you want to use the Top
position and Left position options to position the display the list
opens.
Top position Type the number of pixels from the top edge of the
application window to position the display. This option applies
only if the graphic display the list opens is an On Top display.
Left position Type the number of pixels from the left edge of the
application window to position the display. This option applies
only if the graphic display the list opens is an On Top display.

Use display name Check this box to use the name of the graphic
display as the caption for the state. Clear this check box to type a
different caption for the state.
Caption Type the text you want to appear as the name of the
graphic display in the display list selector.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.

Setting up display list selectors ■ 16-147

Preface
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the display list selector’s
background behind the text. Click Transparent to allow the display
list selector’s background to show through between the letters.
Alignment Click a position in the grid for the text, relative to the
display list selector. In the default alignment position, the text is
positioned at the left of the display list selector, inside the border (if
a border is used).

How to use indicators

Indicators display the status of processes or operations by showing
different colors, captions, or images to reflect different states.
You can create different kinds of indicators to suit your needs:
Multistate indicators display the current state of a process or
operation by showing a different color, caption, or image to reflect
different states.
Symbols display a symbol that changes color to indicate the state of
a process or operation. This allows the operator to see the status of
a process or operation at a glance.
List indicators display a list of states for a process or operation, and
highlight the current state. Each state is represented by a caption in
the list. This type of indicator is useful if you want operators to
view the current state, but also see the other possible states. For
sequential processes, the list can inform the operator about what
happens next.

Setting up multistate indicators

The multistate indicator displays the current state of a process or
operation by showing a different color, caption, or image for each
state.
Specify the state values of the multistate indicator. At run time, the
indicator displays the state whose value matches the Indicator
control’s value.

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To set up a multistate indicator

1. Double-click the multistate indicator.

2. In the Multistate Indicator Properties dialog box, fill in the

options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up multistate indicators ■ 16-149

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the multistate
indicator and its number of states
In the General tab, specify what the indicator looks like, and the
number of states for the indicator.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
indicator’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the indicator’s
border to have the same color as the indicator’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the indicator’s border to have a
different color than the indicator’s background, and then choose a
Border color on the States tab.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the indicator. Click Transparent to allow objects or the
display background behind the indicator to show through.
Shape Click a shape for the indicator.

Number of states Click the number of states you want the

indicator to have.
Trigger type Select Value to trigger a state based on the value of
the Value control. Select LSB to trigger a state based on the least
significant bit that is set to 1 in the Value control.

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Setting up how the multistate indicator’s
appearance changes to match its value
In the States tab, specify how the indicator’s appearance changes
when its tag or expression’s value changes.
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

The error state

The multistate indicator’s error state is displayed at run time when:

the Indicator control is unassigned.
the Indicator control’s value does not match one of the state
values you set up.
the Trigger type is set to Value and the Indicator control value
does not match one of the configured state values.
the Trigger type is set to LSB and the position of the least
significant bit set in the Value control does not match one of the
configured state values
the Trigger type is set to Value and an array tag has been
assigned to the object’s Value control.

Setting up multistate indicators ■ 16-151

Preface

Value Type the integer value for the selected state. When the
Indicator control changes to this value, the indicator’s appearance
changes to use the settings you specify for the state.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
indicator’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
indicator’s border.

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Blink Check this box to make the indicator blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the indicator from blinking at run time.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the indicator.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the indicator. If you
don’t want any text on the indicator, leave the Caption box blank.
To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,
and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.
For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.
Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the Font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.

Setting up multistate indicators ■ 16-153

 Preface
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid for the text, relative to the
indicator. In the default alignment position, the text is centered
vertically and horizontally on the indicator.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the indicator’s
background (such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click
Transparent to allow the indicator’s background to show through
between the letters.

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the indicator,
or click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the indicator’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the indicator’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.

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 Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the indicator. Clear the check box to crop the image to the area of
the indicator if it is too large to fit on the indicator.
If the indicator shape is a Circle or Ellipse, the image is shaped to
fit inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid for the image, relative to the
indicator. In the default alignment position, the image is centered
vertically and horizontally on the indicator.

Connecting the multistate indicator to data

In the Connections tab, specify the tag or expression from which
the indicator receives data. For information about assigning tags
and expressions, see page 15-44.

Indicator The Indicator control provides feedback to the indicator

object of its state. For example, the control can indicate the status
of a hoist.

Setting up symbols
The symbol is an indicator that displays a single monochrome
image that changes color to match the state of a process or
operation. This allows the operator to see the status of a process or
operation at a glance.
Specify the state values, and the color of the image for each state.
At run time, the symbol displays the state that matches the
Indicator control’s value.

To set up a symbol
1. Double-click the symbol.

Setting up symbols ■ 16-155

Preface

2. In the symbol Properties dialog box, fill in the options on each

tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

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 Setting up the appearance of the symbol
and its number of states
In the General tab, specify what the symbol looks like at run time,
and the number of states for the symbol.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
symbol’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Shape Click a shape for the symbol.

Number of states Click the number of states you want the symbol
to have.
Image Type the name of the monochrome image file to display on
the symbol, or click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Trigger type Select Value to trigger a state based on the value of
the Value control. Select LSB to trigger a state based on the least
significant bit that is set to 1 in the Value control.

Setting up symbols ■ 16-157

Preface
Setting up how the symbol changes
appearance when its value changes
In the States tab, specify how the symbol’s appearance changes
when its tag or expression’s value changes.
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

The error state

The symbol’s error state is displayed at run time when:

the Indicator control is unassigned.
the Indicator control’s value does not match one of the state
values you set up.
the Trigger type is set to Value and the Indicator control value
does not match one of the configured state values.
the Trigger type is set to LSB and the position of the least
significant bit set in the Value control does not match one of the
configured state values
the Trigger type is set to Value and an array tag has been
assigned to the object’s Value control.

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Value Type the integer value for the selected state. When the
Indicator control changes to this value, the symbol’s appearance
changes to the settings you specify for the state.

Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
symbol’s border.

Setting up symbols ■ 16-159

Preface

Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
monochrome image.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of the monochrome image.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the symbol’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the symbol’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image blink Check this box to make the monochrome image blink
at run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking
at run time.

Connecting the symbol to data

In the Connections tab, specify the tag or expression from which
the symbol receives data. For information about assigning tags and
expressions, see page 15-44.

Indicator The Indicator control provides feedback to the symbol

object of its state. For example, the control can indicate the state of
a pump.

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Setting up list indicators
The list indicator displays a list of states for a process or operation,
and highlights the current state.
Each state is represented by a caption in the list. This type of
indicator is useful if you want operators to view the current state,
but also see the other possible states.
For sequential processes, the list can inform the operator about
what happens next.
Specify the state values of the list indicator. At run time, the
indicator highlights the state whose value matches the Indicator
control’s value.
The list indicator has no error state. If the value of the Indicator
control does not match any of the available states, none of the states
is highlighted.

To set up a list indicator

1. Double-click the list indicator.

Setting up list indicators ■ 16-161

Preface

2. In the List Indicator Properties dialog box, fill in the options on

each tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the list
indicator and its number of states
In the General tab, specify what the indicator looks like at run time,
and the number of states for the indicator.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
indicator’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the indicator’s
border to have the same color as the indicator’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the indicator’s border to have a
different color than the indicator’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
indicator’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
indicator’s border.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the indicator.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Selection fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the text of a highlighted item in the list.
Selection back color Click the color box, and then click a color
for the background of a highlighted item in the list.
Blink Check this box to make the indicator blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the indicator from blinking at run time.

Font, size, and style Click a font for the indicator’s text in the
Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to
make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to
underline the text.

Setting up list indicators ■ 16-163

Preface
Caption truncate Select Word to cut off captions that exceed the
maximum length at the beginning of the word. Select Character to
cut off captions that exceed the maximum length in the middle of a
word.
The maximum caption length depends on the width of the indicator
and the font size.
When a caption has been truncated, an asterisk ( * ) appears at the
right end of the caption to indicate that text is missing.

Number of states Click the number of states you want the

indicator to have.
Trigger type Select Value to trigger a state based on the value of
the Value control. Select LSB to trigger a state based on the least
significant bit that is set to 1 in the Value control.

Setting up how the list indicator’s

appearance changes when its value
changes
In the States tab, specify how the indicator’s appearance changes
when its tag or expression’s value changes.
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

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Value Type the integer value for the selected state. When the
Indicator control changes to this value, this state becomes the
highlighted state.

Setting up list indicators ■ 16-165

Preface

Caption Type the text to display on the indicator for this state.

Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Caption back style Click Solid to use the Caption back color
behind the text. Click Transparent to allow the indicator’s
background to show through between the letters.
Alignment Click a position in the grid for the text, relative to the
indicator. In the default alignment position, the text is positioned at
the left of the indicator, inside the border (if a border is used).

Connecting the list indicator to data

In the Connections tab, specify the tag or expression from which
the indicator receives data. For information about assigning tags
and expressions, see page 15-44.

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 Indicator The Indicator control provides feedback to the indicator
object of its state. For example, the control can indicate the mode
of operation of a blower.

How to use bar graphs, gauges, and scales

Bar graphs and gauges display graphical representations of numeric
values. The scale is used with bar graphs to indicate the range of
values for the bar graph.

Bar graphs make it easy to compare values

Bar graphs display numeric values in bar graph format. They are
useful for allowing comparisons between multiple values, or for
representing the fill levels of tanks for which a reading on a vertical
scale is appropriate.
For example, one bar graph can show the required level of a tank,
and a second bar graph can show the actual level of the tank. The
first graph can change to represent the required level for a particular
application, and the second graph changes as the actual level in the
tank rises or drops.
Bar graphs are more useful than numeric displays when it’s
important for the operator to analyze the relationships between
numeric values. It’s easier for the operator to see that one graph is
at a lower level than the other, or that one’s fill is blue and the
other’s is yellow, than it is to subtract one numeric value from
another.

Thresholds change a bar graph’s fill color

As it fills, a bar graph can change its fill color to help an operator
recognize abnormal conditions. The change in color happens when
the tag (or expression) value crosses a threshold you set up for the
graph. For example:
If the level of the tank of ingredients is lower than the recipe
requires, the graph can show the tank’s level in red.
If the recipe will empty the tank, the graph can show the level in
yellow.
If the level is higher than the level the recipe requires, the graph
can show the level in green.

How to use bar graphs, gauges, and scales ■ 16-167

Preface
If you want to use a different fill color on a bar graph to show
abnormal conditions, make sure enough of the new fill color is
visible when the abnormal condition occurs that the operator can
see the condition.

Use bar graphs with scales to show limits

Unlike gauges, bar graphs do not have integrated scales. You can
show values on a bar graph using a scale graphic object and text.
Scales consist of major ticks, represented by long lines, and minor
ticks, represented by short lines. To indicate the values of major or
minor ticks, use text objects.

Gauges make it easy to see limits

Gauges display numeric values in dial format. They are useful for
displaying a value in relation to its lower and upper limits.
For example, a temperature gauge shows the current temperature in
relation to its minimum and maximum extremes. By looking at the
position of the needle on the gauge (pointing left, up, or right), the
operator can tell at a glance whether the temperature is nearer its
lower limit, nearer the middle, or nearer its upper limit.
Gauges are used instead of numeric displays when it’s important for
the operator to recognize an abnormal condition instantly, either
from far away when the scale on the gauge isn’t visible, or before
the operator has had the opportunity to determine the exact reading
on the gauge. This characteristic of gauges is one of the reasons why
they are used in automobile instrumentation.

Thresholds change a gauge’s fill color

As the needle sweeps higher on a gauge, the gauge can fill the area
behind the needle with a color. The gauge can change its fill color
to help an operator recognize abnormal conditions. The change in
color happens when the tag (or expression) value crosses a
threshold you set up for the gauge. For example:
If the temperature of an oven is lower than required for a recipe,
the gauge can show the temperature in blue
If the temperature is in the correct range for the recipe, the
gauge can show the temperature in green
If the temperature is higher than the recipe allows, the gauge can
show the temperature in red

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 If you plan to use colored fills on a gauge to show abnormal
conditions, make sure enough of the fill is visible when the
abnormal condition occurs that the operator can see the condition.

IMPORTANT Some people are color blind to red and green so don’t
rely on color alone to establish meaning.

Setting up bar graphs

Use bar graphs to represent numeric values by filling and emptying
as the values rise and fall.
Specify the minimum and maximum values of the bar graph, and
the tag or expression to which the graph is connected. At run time,
the graph shows the value of the tag or expression in relation to the
graph’s minimum and maximum values.

To set up a bar graph

1. Double-click the bar graph.

Setting up bar graphs ■ 16-169

Preface

2. In the Bar Graph Properties dialog box, fill in the options on

each tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

Setting up the appearance of the bar graph

In the General tab, specify what the bar graph looks like at run
time.

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Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the bar
graph’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the bar
graph’s border to have the same color as the bar graph’s
background.
Clear the check box if you want the bar graph’s border to have a
different color than the bar graph’s background.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the bar graph. Click Transparent to allow objects or the
display background behind the bar graph to show through.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the bar
graph’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the bar
graph’s border.
Fill color Click the color box, and then click a color for the filled
part of the graph. The filled part represents a numeric value, and is
displayed against the graph’s background. If you use thresholds,
this color is used until the graph’s value reaches the first threshold.

Minimum value Type the minimum value to display on the graph.

If the Value control is at or below this value, the graph is empty.
Maximum value Type the maximum value to display on the graph.
If the Value control is at or above this value, the graph is filled.
Fill direction Click the direction in which to fill the graph.

Setting up bar graphs ■ 16-171

Preface

Number of thresholds Click the number of thresholds you want

the graph to have, or select 0 if you don’t want to use thresholds.
Threshold type Select Value to set up thresholds using constant
values. Select Percentage to set up thresholds using percentages of
the graph’s total range.
Threshold 1 value, Threshold 2 value Type a constant value, or a
percentage, depending on the threshold type. When the tag or
expression crosses this value, the fill color changes. The section of
the graph above the threshold can also begin to blink.
Fill color Click the color box, and then click a color for the filled
part of the graph above the threshold.
Blink Check this box to make the filled section above the threshold
blink at run time. Clear the check box to prevent the filled section
from blinking at run time.

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 Connecting the bar graph to data
In the Connections tab, specify the tag or expression from which
the bar graph receives data. For information about assigning tags
and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control changes the fill level on the bar graph. For
example, the Value control can show the temperature in an oven
going up.

Setting up gauges
The gauge graphic object represents numeric values using a needle
on a dial.

Number formats
The numeric display uses the number formats you set up on the
run-time computer.

For information about specifying number formats on the

PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35. For
information about specifying number formats in Windows 2000 and
Windows XP, see page 24-15.

Specify the minimum and maximum values of the gauge, and the
tag or expression to which the gauge is connected. At run time, the
gauge indicates the value of the tag or expression in relation to the
gauge’s minimum and maximum values.

To set up a gauge

1. Double-click the gauge.

Setting up gauges ■ 16-173

Preface

2. In the Gauge Properties dialog box, fill in the options on each

tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

Setting up the appearance of the gauge

In the General tab, specify what the gauge looks like at run time.

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Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the gauge. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the gauge to show through.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
gauge’s background.
Fill color Click the color box, and then click a color for the filled
part of the gauge. The filled part represents a numeric value, and is
displayed against the gauge’s background. If you use thresholds,
this color is used until the gauge’s value reaches the first threshold.
Line style Click a line style for the gauge’s scale. If you want a line
style other than solid, the line width must be 1 pixel.
Line width Type a number to change the line thickness of the
gauge’s scale. Line width is measured in pixels.
Needle color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
gauge’s needle.
Fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
gauge’s scale. The scale is the curved line and ticks that form the
dial shape.
Sweep style Select Point to point the needle at the scale as the
needle sweeps over the gauge. Select Fill to fill the area behind the
needle with color as the needle sweeps over the gauge.
Needle width Type a number to change the thickness of the
gauge’s needle. Needle width is measured in pixels.
Major ticks Click the number of major ticks you want on the
gauge’s scale.
Minor ticks Click the number of minor ticks you want on the
gauge’s scale. Minor ticks are spaced evenly between the major
ticks.
Font, size, and style Click a font for the gauge’s legends (numeric
labels) in the Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size
box. Click B to make the font bold, click I to make the font italic,
click U to underline the text.

Setting up how the gauge works

In the Display tab, specify how the gauge displays values at run
time.

Setting up gauges ■ 16-175

Preface

Minimum value Type the minimum value to display on the gauge.

If the Value control is at or below this value, the needle is at the left
end of the dial.

Maximum value Type the maximum value to display on the gauge.

If the Value control is at or above this value, the needle is at the
right end of the dial.

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Show legend Check this box to show numeric labels on the gauge.
The labels show the numeric value for each major tick on the gauge.
Clear this check box to remove labels from the gauge.
Digits after decimal Click the number of digits to display after
the decimal point for the numeric labels on the gauge’s scale.
Legend color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
numeric labels on the gauge’s scale.

Number of thresholds Click the number of thresholds you want

the gauge to have, or select 0 if you don’t want to use thresholds.
Threshold type Select Value to set up thresholds using constant
values. Select Percentage to set up thresholds using percentages of
the gauge’s total range.
Threshold 1 value, Threshold 2 value Type a constant value, or a
percentage, depending on the threshold type. When the tag or
expression crosses this value, the fill color changes. The section of
the gauge above the threshold can also begin to blink.
Threshold fill and blink indicators do not appear if the Sweep style
is Point. The Sweep style is specified in the General tab.
Fill color Click the color box, and then click a color for the filled
part of the gauge above the threshold.

Setting up gauges ■ 16-177

Preface
Blink Check this box to make the filled section above the threshold
blink at run time. Clear the check box to prevent the filled section
from blinking at run time.

Connecting the gauge to data

In the Connections tab, specify the tag or expression from which
the gauge receives data. For information about assigning tags and
expressions, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control changes the position of the needle on the
gauge. For example, the Value control can indicate that a machine is
overheating, or that a tank is empty.

Setting up scales
Use the scale graphic object to show the possible range of values for
a bar graph.
Specify how the scale looks. Because the scale doesn’t change at run
time, you don’t need to assign tags or expressions to it.
To place value labels on the scale (to create a legend), use text
objects. Create the text objects and then position them next to the
tick marks on the scale.

To set up a scale
1. Double-click the scale.

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2. In the Scale Properties dialog box, fill in the options on the
General tab, as described in the next section. When you are
finished, click OK.

Setting up the appearance of the scale

In the General tab, specify what the scale looks like at run time.

Setting up scales ■ 16-179

Preface
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the scale’s
border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the scale’s
border to have the same color as the scale’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the scale’s border to have a
different color than the scale’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
scale’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
scale’s border.
Line style Click a line style for the scale. If you want a line style
other than solid, the line width must be 1 pixel.
Line width Type a number to change the line thickness of the scale.
Line width is measured in pixels.
Fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for the lines
of the scale.
Blink Check this box to make the scale blink at run time. Clear the
check box to prevent the scale from blinking at run time.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the scale. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the scale to show through.

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 Tick direction Click the direction for the ticks to face. For
example, if you are positioning the scale to the right of a vertical
bar graph, click right.
The tick direction graphic illustrates the selected tick direction.
Major ticks Click the number of major ticks to use on the scale.

Minor ticks Click the number of minor ticks to use on the scale.
Minor ticks are spaced evenly between the major ticks.

How to use control list selectors

Control list selectors allow an operator to scroll through a list of
states for a process and select one of the states. A highlight in the
list shows the current state.
A control list selector can show several states at the same time, but
only one state can be selected at a time. As the operator scrolls
through the list, each successive state is selected automatically. If
you want the operator to confirm the selection of a particular state
before the state’s value is written to the programmable controller,
create an Enter button on the same display as the control list
selector, and select the “Write on enter” option.
The operator can scroll through the control list selector using:
button graphic objects. These are graphic objects that duplicate
the functions of keyboard keys. For information about the
different button graphic objects, see page 16-31.

How to use control list selectors ■ 16-181

Preface
the arrow keys and Enter key on a terminal’s keypad.
the arrow keys and Enter key on a keyboard.
The operator presses the buttons to scroll up or down the list, or to
make selections from the list. The buttons can be set up to work
with the control list selector that has input focus, or you can link
the buttons to a specific control list selector. For information about
how particular buttons work with the control list selector, see
page 16-31.

How Enter key handshaking works

When the operator selects a state in the control list selector and
presses an Enter button or Enter key, the highlighted state’s value is
written to the programmable controller or device.
You can use Enter key handshaking to hold the value of the tag at
the programmable controller or device for a specific period of time,
to ensure the value is read before the control list selector overwrites
the value with a new value.
For more information about using Enter key handshaking, see
page 16-19.

Setting up control list selectors

The control list selector is a list that allows an operator to cycle
through and select from multiple options. The control list selector
displays the current state of a process or operation by highlighting
the state.

To set up a control list selector

1. Double-click the control list selector.

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2. In the Control List Selector Properties dialog box, fill in the
options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up control list selectors ■ 16-183

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the
control list selector
In the General tab, specify what the control list selector looks like
at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the control
list selector’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the control
list selector’s border to have the same color as the selector’s
background.
Clear the check box if you want the control list selector’s border to
have a different color than the selector’s background, and then
choose a Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
control list selector’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
control list selector’s border.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the selector.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Selection back color Click the color box, and then click a color
for the background of a highlighted item in the list.
Selection fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the text of a highlighted item in the list.
Blink Check this box to make the selector blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the selector from blinking at run time.

Font, size, and style Click a font for the selector’s text in the Font
list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to
make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to
underline the text.

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Caption truncate Select Word to cut off captions that exceed the
maximum length at the beginning of a word. Select Character to cut
off captions that exceed the maximum length in the middle of a
word.
The maximum caption length depends on the width of the selector
and the font size.
When a caption has been truncated, an asterisk ( * ) appears at the
right end of the caption to indicate that text is missing.

Number of states Click the number of states you want the

selector to have.

Write on enter Check this box to send the control list selector’s
state value to the programmable controller when the operator
presses Enter.
Clear this check box to send the state value as soon as the operator
scrolls to a new state.
Key navigation Check this box to allow the operator to navigate
to the control list selector and give it focus using the keyboard.
For more information about key navigation, see page 16-12.
Wrap around Check this box if you want the list to wrap from the
end of the list to the beginning when scrolling down and from the
beginning of the list to the end when scrolling up.

Setting up the control list selector’s state

values and captions
In the States tab, set up the value and caption for each state. The
value defines the control list selector’s action, by changing the
Value control to the value you specify when the selected state is in
effect.

Setting up control list selectors ■ 16-185

Preface
For tips about setting up states, see page 16-5.

Value Type the integer value for each state. The Value control
changes to this value when the selected state is in effect.

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Caption Type the text to display in the list for this state.

Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only on items in the list
that are not highlighted, and if the Caption back style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the control list selector’s
background color with the caption’s background color. Click
Transparent to hide the caption’s background color.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the control list
selector. In the default alignment position, the text is positioned at
the left of the control list selector, inside the border (if a border is
used).

Setting up the control list selector to work

with an Enter key
In the Timing tab, set up the timing and handshake settings for the
Enter key.

Setting up control list selectors ■ 16-187

Preface
For information about using Enter key handshaking, see
page 16-19.

Enter key control delay Click the number of milliseconds or

seconds to delay between pressing the Enter key and setting the
Enter control to 1. Specify the tag to use for the Enter control in
the Connections tab.
Enter key hold time Click the number of milliseconds or seconds
the Enter control remains at a value of 1. This setting applies only if
the Enter control is assigned and the Enter handshake control is not
assigned (in the Connections tab).
Enter key handshake time Click the maximum number of
seconds the Enter control remains at a value of 1. This setting
applies only if the Enter control and Enter handshake control are
both assigned (in the Connections tab).
Handshake reset type Click Non-zero Value to reset the Enter
control when the Enter handshake control is a non-zero value.
Click Zero to Non-zero transition to reset the Enter control when
the Enter handshake control changes from 0 to a non-zero value.

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Connecting the control list selector to data
In the Connections tab, specify the tags or expression with which
the control list selector exchanges data. For information about
assigning tags and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control triggers the state’s action. For example,
when the tag assigned to the control changes to a new state, the data
source changes a motor’s speed to a new setting.
Enter The Enter control accepts values of 0 or 1 only. The control
determines how long the Enter key press is registered. No further
values can be entered by the selector when the Enter control is set
to 1.
Enter handshake The Enter handshake control resets the Enter
control, using the “Handshake reset type” option specified on the
Timing tab.
Use this control for Enter key handshaking if you want to reset the
Enter control when a value in the programmable controller
changes.

Setting up control list selectors ■ 16-189

Preface
Setting up local message displays
Use local message displays to provide the operator with
information about what to do next, or with information about a
process. At run time, the local message display shows one message
at a time.
To use local messages, create a local message display object in a
graphic display, and then assign a local message file to the local
message display object.
For more information about local messages, see page 14-34. For
information about creating local message files, see page 14-38.
Specify the local message display’s appearance, the file of messages
to use with the display, and the tag or expression to monitor for
message trigger values.

To set up a local message display

1. Double-click the local message display.

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2. In the Local Message Display Properties dialog box, fill in the
options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up local message displays ■ 16-191

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the
local message display
In the General tab, specify what the local message display looks like
at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the local
message display’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the local
message display’s border to have the same color as the local
message display’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the local message display’s border
to have a different color than the local message display’s
background, and then choose a Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the local
message display’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
local message display’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the local message display. Click Transparent to allow objects
or the display background behind the local message display to show
through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the local message display.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for the text
of the message in the local message display.
Blink Check this box to make the local message display blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the display from blinking
at run time.

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 Font, size, and style Click a font for the local message display’s
text in the Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box.
Click B to make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click
U to underline the text.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the local message
display. In the default alignment position, the text is centered
vertically and horizontally on the local message display.

Message file Type the name of the local message file to use for this
local message display. Click the Browse button to browse for the
file instead of typing its name.
Browse button
Connecting the local message display to
data
In the Connections tab, specify the tag or expression the local
message display is connected to. For information about assigning
tags and expressions, see page 15-44.

Value The Value control determines which message in the message

file is displayed in the local message display. For example, if the
Value control is 1, the local message display shows the message
whose trigger value is 1.
If no message exists for the trigger value, the display is filled with
question marks (?).

Setting up local message displays ■ 16-193

Preface
Setting up macro buttons
Macro buttons assign values to tags when pressed.
For information about creating macros, see Chapter 21.
Specify the appearance of the button and the macro to run when the
operator presses the button.

To set up a macro button

1. Double-click the button.

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2. In the button’s Properties dialog box, fill in the options on each
tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

Setting up macro buttons ■ 16-195

 Preface
Setting up the appearance of the button and
the macro to run
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time,
and the macro to run when the button is pressed.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.
Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Macro Type the name of the macro to run when the button is
pressed. To browse for a macro, click the Browse button.
Browse button A macro assigns values to tags. For more information about
macros, see Chapter 21.

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Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.
Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up a caption or image for the button

In the Label tab, specify what text or image to display on the
button.

Setting up macro buttons ■ 16-197

Preface

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

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Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Setting up macro buttons ■ 16-199

 Preface

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.

Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background

behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.

Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.

Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.

Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at

run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.

Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.

If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit

inside the circle or ellipse.

Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In

the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

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Setting up time and date displays
A time and date display shows the current time and date in a
graphic display.
Specify the appearance of the time and date display, and the format
in which the time and date appear.

Time and date formats

The time and date display uses the time and date formats you set up
on the run-time computer. For example, if you set up the display to
use the short date format, at run time the display uses the short date
format that the run-time computer uses.
For information about specifying time and date formats on the
PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35. For
information about specifying time and date formats in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP, see page 24-15.

To set up a time and date display

1. Double-click the time and date display.

Setting up time and date displays ■ 16-201

Preface

2. In the Time Date Display Properties dialog box, fill in the

options on the General tab, as described in the next section.
When you are finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the
time and date display
In the General tab, specify what the time and date display looks
like at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the time
and date display’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the time and
date display’s border to have the same color as the display’s
background.
Clear the check box if you want the time and date display’s border
to have a different color than the display’s background, and then
choose a Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the time
and date display’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
time and date display’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the time and date display. Click Transparent to allow objects
or the display background behind the time and date display to show
through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the time and date display.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for the text
of the time and date display.
Blink Check this box to make the time and date display blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the display from blinking
at run time.

Setting up time and date displays ■ 16-203

Preface
Font, size, and style Click a font for the time and date display’s
text in the Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box.
Click B to make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click
U to underline the text.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the time and
date display. In the default alignment position, the text is centered
vertically and horizontally on the display.

Time and date format Click the format in which to display the
time and date. The options include date only and time only.

Setting up print alarm history buttons

The operator can press the print alarm history button to print a
report of all the alarm messages in the alarm log file. The report can
include the time alarms occurred and were acknowledged.
For information about the alarm log file, see page 9-7.
Specify the appearance of the print alarm history button, and the
types of information to include on the report.

Time and date formats

The time and date that alarms were triggered and acknowledged are
printed using the time and short date formats you set up on the
run-time computer.
For information about specifying time and date formats on the
PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35. For
information about specifying time and date formats in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP, see page 24-15.

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To set up a print alarm history button

1. Double-click the button.

2. In the Print Alarm History Button Properties dialog box, fill in

the options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up print alarm history buttons ■ 16-205

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the button
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.

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Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up a caption or image for the button

In the Label tab, specify what text or image to display on the
button.

Setting up print alarm history buttons ■ 16-207

Preface

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

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Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Setting up print alarm history buttons ■ 16-209

 Preface

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Setting up what appears on the alarm

history report
In the Print tab, specify what information to print on the report.

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To set up what appears on the report
1. In the Select a column list, click the type of information to
include on the report:
Trigger label—prints the trigger label associated with the
alarm.
Trigger value—prints the trigger value of the alarm.

Setting up print alarm history buttons ■ 16-211

Preface
Alarm time—prints the date and time at which the alarm was
triggered.
Acknowledge time—prints the date and time at which the
alarm was acknowledged.
Message—prints the alarm message.
2. Check the Print box to include the information on the report.
Clear the box if you don’t want the information to appear on
the report.
3. In the Width box, type the number of characters for the width
of the column.
This box applies to the width of the column for the trigger label
and trigger value only.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each column of information.

5. In the Title box, type the title for the report, up to 80 characters.
The title is printed at the top of the report.

Setting up print alarm status buttons

The operator can press the print alarm status button to print a
report of the status of all the alarms that have been defined for the
application (in the Alarm Setup editor). The report can include all
alarms, active alarms only, or only alarms that have been active
since the alarm status was last reset. The report can include how
many times each alarm was triggered, and the accumulated time in
alarm.

Specify the appearance of the print alarm status button, and the
types of information to include on the report.

To set up a print alarm status button

1. Double-click the button.

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2. In the Print Alarm Status Button Properties dialog box, fill in
the options on each tab, as described in the sections that follow.
When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up print alarm status buttons ■ 16-213

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the button
In the General tab, specify what the button looks like at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
button’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the button’s
border to have the same color as the button’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the button’s border to have a
different color than the button’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
button’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the button. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the button to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the button.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Highlight color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
selection border that appears around the button when it is pressed.
If the button does not use a border, the highlight color is not visible
when the button is pressed.
Blink Check this box to make the button blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the button from blinking at run time.
Shape Click a shape for the button.

Horizontal margin Type the number of pixels for the

touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s left and right edges.
For information about using touch margins, see page 16-8.

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Vertical margin Type the number of pixels for the
touch-insensitive margin inside the object’s top and bottom edges.

Audio Check this box to beep the computer’s internal speaker

when the operator presses the button.
If the computer running the display does not have an internal
speaker, pressing the button does not trigger a beep.

Setting up a caption or image for the button

In the Label tab, specify what text or image to display on the
button.

Setting up print alarm status buttons ■ 16-215

Preface

Caption Type the text you want to appear on the button. If you
don’t want any text on the button, leave the Caption box blank.

To use an embedded variable in the caption, click Insert Variable,

and then click the type of variable to use. Make your choices in the
dialog box that opens, and then click OK.

For more information about embedded variables, see Chapter 20.

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Font, size, and style Click a font for the caption in the font list.
Type or click a size for the font in the size box. Click B to make the
font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to underline the
text.
Caption color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
caption’s text.
Caption back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the caption’s background.
The caption’s background color is visible only if the Caption back
style is Solid.
Caption blink Check this box to make the caption blink at run
time. Clear the check box to prevent the caption from blinking at
run time.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.
Caption back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
(such as a graphic image) behind the text. Click Transparent to
allow the button’s background to show through between the letters.

Setting up print alarm status buttons ■ 16-217

 Preface

Image Type the name of the image file to display on the button, or
click the Browse button to browse for the image.
Browse button If you click the Browse button, the Image Browser opens. Click an
image in the Select image box, and then click OK.
Image back style Click Solid to cover the button’s background
behind the image. Click Transparent to allow the button’s
background to show through spaces in the image.
Image color Click the color box, and then click a color for a
monochrome image. You cannot change the color of grayscale or
color images.
Image back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the background of a monochrome image. You cannot change the
background color of grayscale or color images.
Image blink Check this box to make a monochrome image blink at
run time. Clear the check box to prevent the image from blinking at
run time. You cannot make grayscale or color images blink.
Image scaled Check this box to scale the image to fit the area of
the button. Clear this check box to crop the image to the area of the
button if it is too large to fit on the button.
If the button’s shape is a circle or ellipse, the image is shaped to fit
inside the circle or ellipse.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the button. In
the default alignment position, the image is centered vertically and
horizontally on the button.

Setting up what appears on the alarm

status report
In the Print tab, specify what information to print on the report.

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To set up what appears on the report
1. In the Select a column list, click the type of information to
include on the report:
Trigger label—prints the trigger label associated with the
alarm.
Trigger value—prints the trigger value of the alarm.

Setting up print alarm status buttons ■ 16-219

Preface
Alarm quantity—prints the number of times the alarm has
been triggered.
Accumulated time—prints the total time the alarm has been
in alarm (since the alarm status was last reset).
Alarm state—prints the alarm status. At run time, an asterisk
(*) indicates the alarm is active. If the column is blank, the
alarm is off.
Message—prints the alarm message.
2. Check the Print box to include the information on the report.
Clear the box if you don’t want the information to appear on
the report.
3. In the Width box, type the number of characters for the width
of the column.
This box applies to the width of the column for the trigger label
and trigger value only.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each column of information.

5. In the Title box, type the title for the report, up to 80 characters.
The title is printed at the top of the report.

6. Click the type of alarms to print:

All alarms—prints all the alarms for each alarm trigger that
has been set up, whether or not an alarm has ever been
active.
Active alarms—prints all the alarms that are active at the
time the button is pressed.
Past alarms—prints all the alarms that have been active since
the alarm status was last reset.

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Setting up alarm lists
The alarm list graphic object displays a list of alarms from the alarm
log file. It can show all the alarms in the alarm log file, or only
alarms that have not been acknowledged yet. It can also show the
alarms for specific alarm triggers.
RSView comes with two graphic displays, [ALARM
MULTI-LINE] and [HISTORY], that contain alarm list objects.
These displays are in the graphic library. You can copy the displays
into your application and use the displays and objects as is,
customize them, or create your own.
For more information about using alarm lists, see page 9-37. For
information about the alarm log file, see page 9-7.
Specify the appearance of the alarm list, whether it displays all
alarms or only unacknowledged alarms, and whether to show the
alarms for specific alarm triggers.

Time and date formats

The time and date that the alarm was triggered and acknowledged is
displayed using the time and date formats you set up on the
run-time computer. You can choose whether to display the time
only, the date only, or both.
For information about specifying time and date formats on the
PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35. For
information about specifying time and date formats in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP, see page 24-15.

To set up an alarm list

1. Double-click the alarm list.

Setting up alarm lists ■ 16-221

Preface

2. In the Alarm List Properties dialog box, fill in the options on

each tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you are
finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the alarm list
In the General tab, specify what the alarm list looks like at run
time, whether the operator can navigate to the list using a keyboard,
and how scrolling works for the list.

Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to

remove the border.

Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the alarm

list’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.

Border uses back color Check this box if you want the alarm
list’s border to have the same color as the list’s background.

Clear the check box if you want the alarm list’s border to have a
different color than the list’s background, and then choose a Border
color.

Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
alarm list’s background.

Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
alarm list’s border.

Header back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the heading bar at the top of the list.

Header fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the text in the heading bar at the top of the list.

Selection back color Click the color box, and then click a color
for the background of a highlighted item in the list.

Selection fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the text of a highlighted item in the list.

Font, size, and style Click a font for the alarm list’s text in the
Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to
make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to
underline the text.

Setting up alarm lists ■ 16-223

Preface

Key navigation Check this box to allow the operator to navigate

to the alarm list and give it focus using the keyboard.
For more information about key navigation, see page 16-12.
Wrap around Check this box if you want the list to wrap from the
end of the list to the beginning when scrolling down and from the
beginning of the list to the end when scrolling up.

Setting up what appears in the alarm list

In the Alarm tab, specify what information to include in the list.

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To set up what appears in the list

1. In the Select a column list, click the type of information to

include in the list:

Alarm time—displays the time the alarm was triggered.

Setting up alarm lists ■ 16-225

Preface
Acknowledge time—displays the time the alarm was
acknowledged. If the List type is unacknowledged alarms
only, the acknowledge time never appears in this column.
Message—displays the alarm message.
2. Check the Display box to include the information in the list.
Clear the box if you don’t want the information to appear in the
list.
3. For the alarm time and acknowledge time, click the format in
which to display the time and date.
4. In the Header text box, type the heading to appear at the top of
the column, up to 80 characters.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each column of information.

6. Click the type of alarms to display in the list:

All alarms—displays all the alarms in the alarm log file.
Unacknowledged alarms only—displays all the alarms that
have not been acknowledged.

7. Specify whether to display the column headings for the alarm

list. Check the Display Header box to display the headings.

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 8. If you want to show only the alarms for specific alarm triggers,
type the trigger labels in the Filtered triggers box. Or, click the
Browse button to browse for the trigger names.
Browse button
Type a comma between trigger names.

Setting up alarm banners

The alarm banner graphic object displays a single unacknowledged
alarm message. For example, the banner could display a message
that warns the operator that the pressure in a boiler is too high.
RSView comes with a default graphic display called [ALARM] that
contains an alarm banner object. You can use the display and object
as is, customize them, or create your own.
For more information about using alarm banners, see page 9-39.
Specify the appearance of the alarm banner, and whether it displays
active alarms only, or also displays inactive alarms.

Time and date formats

The time and date that the alarm was triggered is displayed using
the time and date formats you set up on the run-time computer.
You can choose whether to display the time only, the date only, or
both.
For information about specifying time and date formats on the
PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35. For
information about specifying time and date formats in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP, see page 24-15.

To set up an alarm banner

1. Double-click the alarm banner.

Setting up alarm banners ■ 16-227

Preface

2. In the Alarm Banner Properties dialog box, fill in the options on

the General tab, as described in the next section. When you are
finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the banner and
the types of alarms to display
In the General tab, specify what the banner looks like at run time,
whether to queue alarms, and whether to display all alarms or
active alarms only.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
banner’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the banner’s
border to have the same color as the banner’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the banner’s border to have a
different color than the banner’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
banner’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
banner’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the banner. Click Transparent to allow objects or the display
background behind the banner to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the banner.

Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Blink Check this box to make the banner blink at run time. Clear
the check box to prevent the banner from blinking at run time.

Font, size, and style Click a font for the banner’s text in the Font
list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click B to
make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to
underline the text.

Setting up alarm banners ■ 16-229

Preface
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the banner. In
the default alignment position, the text is centered vertically and
horizontally on the banner.

Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.

Queue new alarms Check this box to queue new alarms until the
operator clears the current alarm from the banner. When the banner
is cleared, the next alarm is displayed, if there is one.

Clear the check box if you want the banner to always display the
most recent alarm.

Display trigger value Check this box to display the trigger value
associated with the alarm.

Display trigger label Check this box to display the trigger label
associated with the alarm.

Display inactive alarms Check this box to display inactive alarms.

If an alarm is inactive, that means it is no longer in alarm—the
condition that triggered the alarm no longer exists.

Display alarm state If you select Display inactive alarms, check

this box to display the alarm state. If an alarm is still active, an
asterisk (*) appears beside the message.

Display alarm time Check this box to display the alarm time.

Alarm time format If you select Display alarm time, click the
format in which to display the time and date for the alarm time.

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 Key navigation Check this box to allow the operator to navigate
to the alarm banner and give it focus using the keyboard.
For more information about key navigation, see page 16-12.

Setting up alarm status lists

The alarm status list graphic object displays the status of alarms,
including how many times an alarm has been triggered and how
long it has been active. For example, the list could display an alarm
that has been triggered 5 times for a total accumulated time in alarm
of 10 minutes.
The operator can view the status list in three different modes:
All alarms—displays the status of all alarms that have been
defined in the Alarm Setup editor.
Active alarms—displays the status of all the alarms that are
currently active.
Past alarms—displays the status of all the alarms that have been
active since the alarm status has been reset.
The operator can press the alarm status mode button to cycle
through the different modes.
If desired, you can set up the alarm status list to show alarms for
specific alarm triggers only.
RSView comes with a default graphic display called [STATUS] that
contains an alarm status list object, alarm status mode button, and
other buttons for working with the list. You can use the display and
objects as is, customize them, or create your own.
For more information about using alarm status lists, see page 9-40.
Specify the appearance of the alarm status list, and the type of
information to display.

To set up an alarm status list

1. Double-click the alarm status list.

Setting up alarm status lists ■ 16-231

Preface

2. In the Alarm Status List Properties dialog box, fill in the options
on each tab, as described in the sections that follow. When you
are finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the alarm
status list
In the General tab, specify what the alarm status list looks like at
run time, whether the operator can navigate to the list using a
keyboard, and how scrolling works for the list.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the alarm
status list’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the alarm
status list’s border to have the same color as the list’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the alarm status list’s border to
have a different color than the list’s background, and then choose a
Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
alarm status list’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
alarm status list’s border.
Header back color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the heading bar at the top of the list.
Header fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the text in the heading bar at the top of the list.

Font, size, and style Click a font for the alarm status list’s text in
the Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click
B to make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to
underline the text.

Setting up alarm status lists ■ 16-233

Preface
Key navigation Check this box to allow the operator to navigate
to the alarm status list and give it focus using the keyboard.
For more information about key navigation, see page 16-12.
Wrap around Check this box if you want the list to wrap from the
end of the list to the beginning when scrolling down and from the
beginning of the list to the end when scrolling up.

Setting up what appears in the alarm status

list
In the Alarm tab, specify what information to include in the list.

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To set up what appears in the list
1. In the Select a column list, click the type of information to
include in the list:
Trigger label—displays the trigger label associated with the
alarm.
Trigger value—displays the trigger value of the alarm.

Setting up alarm status lists ■ 16-235

Preface
Alarm quantity—displays the number of times the alarm has
been triggered.
Accumulated time—displays the total time the alarm has
been in alarm (since the alarm status was last reset).
Alarm state—displays the alarm status. At run time, an
asterisk (*) indicates the alarm is active. If the column is
blank, the alarm is off.
Message—displays the alarm message.
2. Check the Display box to include the information in the list.
Clear the box if you don’t want the information to appear in the
list.
3. In the Width box, type the number of pixels for the width of the
column.
4. In the Header text box, type the heading to appear at the top of
the column, up to 80 characters.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each column of information.

6. Click the status mode (type of alarms) to display in the list when
it first opens:
All alarms—displays the status of all the alarms that have
been defined in the Alarm Setup editor.
Active alarms—displays the status of all the alarms that are
currently active.
Past alarms—displays the status of all the alarms that have
been active since the alarm status was last reset.
7. In the Titles box, type a title for the alarm status list, up to 80
characters. Type a title for each status mode. At run time, the
title for the current status mode appears at the top of the list.

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 8. Specify whether to display the column headings and title for the
alarm status list. Check the boxes to display the headings and
title.

9. If you want to show only the alarm status for specific alarm
triggers, type the trigger labels in the Filtered triggers box. Or,
click the Browse button to browse for the trigger names.
Browse button
Type a comma between trigger names.

Setting up diagnostics lists

The diagnostics list graphic object displays run-time information
about system activity:
Information messages, such as messages about tag assignments,
tag read and write activity, and macro usage.
Warning messages.
Error messages, such as messages about communication errors,
invalid values, and unassigned controls.
Audit messages about tag writes and tag write failures.

RSView comes with a default graphic display called

[DIAGNOSTICS] that contains a diagnostics list object. You can
use the display and object as is, customize them, or create your
own.

For more information about using diagnostics lists, see page 10-21.

Specify the appearance of the diagnostics list, and whether the

operator can navigate to the list using a keyboard.

To set up a diagnostics list

1. Double-click the diagnostics list.

Setting up diagnostics lists ■ 16-237

Preface

2. In the Diagnostics List Properties dialog box, fill in the options

on the General tab, as described in the next section. When you
are finished, click OK.

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Setting up the appearance of the
diagnostics list
In the General tab, specify what the diagnostics list looks like at run
time.

Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to

remove the border.

Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the

diagnostics list’s border. Border width is measured in pixels.

Border uses back color Check this box if you want the
diagnostics list’s border to have the same color as the list’s
background.

Clear the check box if you want the diagnostics list’s border to have
a different color than the list’s background, and then choose a
Border color.

Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
diagnostics list’s background.

Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
diagnostics list’s border.

Fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for the text
in the diagnostics list.

Selection back color Click the color box, and then click a color
for the background of a highlighted item in the list.

Selection fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for
the text of a highlighted item in the list.

Font, size, and style Click a font for the diagnostics list’s text in
the Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the Size box. Click
B to make the font bold, click I to make the font italic, click U to
underline the text.

Setting up diagnostics lists ■ 16-239

Preface

Key navigation Check this box to allow the operator to navigate

to the diagnostics list and give it focus using the keyboard.
For more information about key navigation, see page 16-12.
Wrap around Check this box if you want the list to wrap from the
end of the list to the beginning when scrolling down and from the
beginning of the list to the end when scrolling up.

Setting up information message displays

The information message display graphic object gives the operator
run-time messages about information that requires immediate
attention.
RSView comes with a default graphic display called
[INFORMATION] that contains an information message display
object. You can use the display and object as is, customize them, or
create your own.
For more information about using information message displays,
see page 12-12.
Specify the appearance of the information message display.

To set up an information message display

1. Double-click the information message display.

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2. In the Information Message Display Properties dialog box, fill
in the options on the General tab, as described in the next
section. When you are finished, click OK.

Setting up information message displays ■ 16-241

Preface
Setting up the appearance of the
information message display
In the General tab, specify what the information message display
looks like at run time.
Border style Click a border style in the list, or click None to
remove the border.
Border width Type a number to change the thickness of the
information message display’s border. Border width is measured in
pixels.
Border uses back color Check this box if you want the
information message display’s border to have the same color as the
display’s background.
Clear the check box if you want the information message display’s
border to have a different color than the display’s background, and
then choose a Border color.
Back color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
information message display’s background.
Border color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
information message display’s border.
Back style Click Solid to cover objects or the display background
behind the information message display. Click Transparent to allow
objects or the display background behind the information message
display to show through.
Pattern style Click a pattern style for the information message
display.
Pattern color Click the color box, and then click a color for the
pattern.
Fore color Click the color box, and then click a color for the text
of the information message display.
Blink Check this box to make the information message display
blink at run time. Clear the check box to prevent the display from
blinking at run time.

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Font, size, and style Click a font for the information message
display’s text in the Font list. Type or click a size for the font in the
Size box. Click B to make the font bold, click I to make the font
italic, click U to underline the text.
Word wrap Check this box if you want the caption to continue on
the next line at the beginning of a new word. If this box is not
checked, the caption continues on the next line whenever the
maximum text length is reached, even if this occurs in the middle of
a word. The maximum text length depends on the width of the
object and the font size.
Alignment Click a position in the grid, relative to the information
message display. In the default alignment position, the text is
centered vertically and horizontally on the display.
Congratulations! You have reached the end of Chapter 16.

Setting up information message displays ■ 16-243

17
Chapter

Animating graphic
objects
This chapter describes:
the types of animation and which objects support which types of
animation.
using the Animation dialog box.
testing animation.
using tag names, tag placeholders, and expressions when
attaching animation.
setting the minimum and maximum values for animation that
uses a range of motion.
using Object Smart Patht to define an object’s range of motion.
setting up each type of animation.
applying animation to groups.
checking what kind of animation is attached to an object.
changing animation settings.
copying and pasting animation.

Types of animation
Animation associates graphic objects with tags so the appearance or
position of an object changes to reflect changes to the tag’s value.
For example, an object’s color could change from yellow to orange
to red as the tag’s value increases. Or a slider could move from left to
right as a tag’s value increases.
You can use these types of animation:
color
fill
height
horizontal position
horizontal slider
rotation

Types of animation ■ 17-1

Preface
vertical position
vertical slider
visibility
width
The Objects sample application contains many examples of
animation. In particular, see the graphic displays called
“Animation I” and “Animation II.”

Which objects can have which types of

animation?
This table summarizes which types of objects support which types
of animation. For information about the different types of graphic
objects, see page 15-1.
These objects Support these types of
animation

Drawing objects, except images, All types

panels, and rounded rectangles
Rounded rectangles All types except rotation
All other objects Visibility

You can also attach animation to groups of drawing objects. For

more information, see page 17-30.
You can attach as many types of animation to a drawing object
(except images and panels) as you like. For example, apply width,
height, horizontal position, and vertical position animation to an
object to give it the appearance of moving into or out of the display
as it shrinks and grows.

Using the Animation dialog box

To attach animation, use the Animation dialog box.

To open the Animation dialog box, do one of the following

Select an object, and then on the View menu click Animation.
Select an object, and then on the Animation menu click an
animation type. Animation types that are not supported for the
selected object are unavailable.

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 Right-click an object, select Animation, and then click an
animation type. Animation types that are not supported for the
selected object are unavailable.

View menu Animation menu

About the Animation dialog box

The Animation dialog box is a floating dialog box, which means you
can keep it open all the time and move it around the screen. While
it’s open you can select other objects and open other dialog boxes.

Using the Animation dialog box ■ 17-3

Preface
Animation tabs Expression box

Expression range Animation result

Animation tabs
Click the tab for the type of animation to set up. If the animation
type is not supported for the selected object, the boxes in the tab are
unavailable.

Touch and OLE Verb animation are not supported in machine-level

applications.

Expression box
Create an expression either by typing it or by clicking the
Expression button. If you click Expression, the Expression editor
opens. You can use the editor to check your expression syntax to
make sure it’s valid.

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To supply a tag name for an expression, click the Tags button and
then select a name, or type the name in the Expression box. If you
use multiple tags in an expression, the first tag’s minimum and
maximum values are used if you select the expression range “Use
tag’s min and max property values.”

Enclose tag names that contain dashes or start with a number in

braces { } when you use them in an expression. This distinguishes the
characters in the tag name from the characters in the expression.

For more information about creating expressions, see Chapter 19.

For horizontal and vertical sliders, you assign a single tag to define
animation. In the Animation tabs for slider animation, there is a Tags
box rather than an Expression box.

Expression range
Specify how to calculate the minimum and maximum values for the
tag or expression. If a value falls outside the specified range, it will be
evaluated as either the minimum or maximum value. For details, see
page 17-8.

Animation Result
Specify how the object’s appearance changes based on the result of
the expression. The boxes in this area change for each type of
animation.

For some types of animation, you specify a change of state. For

example, an object with visibility animation switches between visible
and invisible.

Using the Animation dialog box ■ 17-5

 Preface
For other types of animation, you specify a range of motion. For
example, an object can move from a fixed starting point to a fixed
end point. The range of motion is related to the minimum and
maximum values for the expression. The object moves from the At
minimum position to the At maximum position as the expression
value changes to the maximum value.

Apply, Delete, and Close Buttons

These buttons do the following:
This button Does this

Apply Applies the animation set up for the

selected object or group of objects.
Choosing another tab is the same as
choosing Apply—the animation
you set up is applied to the object.
Delete Deletes the animation for the
selected object.
Close Prompts to apply changes and
closes the dialog box.

Using Object Smart Path to visually set

animation
Because the Animation dialog box stays open, you can go back and
forth between the dialog box and the graphic display. This makes it
easy to set the range of motion for an object because you do not
have to know how many pixels you want an object to move. Instead,
you can set the range of motion visually using the Object Smart Path
feature. For details, see page 17-9.

Testing animation
To test the animation you have set up in a graphic display, use the
Test Display tool to switch to test mode. When you are finished
testing, switch back to edit mode to continue editing.
Test Display tool

Edit Display tool

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 To switch between test and edit modes

" On the View menu, click Test Display or Edit Display, or click
the Test Display and Edit Display tools.

IMPORTANT Test mode is not the same as running the display.

Test mode does not change the appearance or
position of the display as set up in the Display
Settings dialog box.

Using tag names and tag placeholders

When setting up animation for objects, you are linking objects to
tags, so you have to specify a tag name or tag placeholder. Following
is a brief description of how to use tag names and placeholders.

Tag names
You can use tag names that you have already added to the HMI tag
database or you can use a new tag name.

Tag placeholders
Tag placeholders allow you to create displays that can be used with
different tags.
You can use tag placeholders in:
the graphic display that opens when the application is first run.
graphic displays that are opened using a goto display button.
graphic displays that are opened using a display list selector.
Use parameter files to specify which tags to substitute for which
placeholders. For information about creating parameter files, see
page 14-29.

Using tag names and tag placeholders ■ 17-7

Preface
The tag placeholder can replace any part of a tag name, including
folder names. For example, you could create a parameter file
specifying that the tag placeholder #1=Folder1. You could assign the
folder and a tag name to a graphic object’s control: #1\Tag1.

To create a tag placeholder

" In the Expression box, type the cross-hatch character followed

by a number (no space in between). For example, #1.

Using expressions
Many types of animation can be achieved using expressions. You can
use expressions containing tag values, constants, mathematical
equations, and if-then-else logic. A tag name or tag placeholder can
be included as part of an expression, or it can stand alone as the
entire expression.
For more information about expressions, see Chapter 19.

Setting minimum and maximum values

Many types of animation require a minimum and maximum range
for the tag or expression. These values determine the start and end
points for a range of motion.
For example, if you specify a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 100,
the object will not react to values outside of this range. So, even if
the expression has a value of 200, the object does not change from its
“At maximum” position.
When setting up animation, select one of these methods for
calculating the minimum and maximum values:
Use tag’s min and max property values—select this method to
use the minimum and maximum values of the first HMI tag in
the expression. If more than one HMI tag is used in the
expression, the first HMI tag’s minimum and maximum values
are used.
For analog HMI tags, the values are taken from the Minimum
and Maximum boxes in the Tags editor. For digital tags, the
minimum is 0 and the maximum is 1.
Use constant—select this method to use numeric constants. Type
the minimum and maximum values in the boxes.

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 Read from tags—select this method to read two tags’ values to
determine the minimum and maximum values. Type the tag
names in the boxes, or click the Browse buttons to open the Tag
Browse button Browser and select the tags.
If you use this method, the tags are read when the graphic display
opens. Their values at that time are used for the minimum and
maximum values. The tags are not read again after this.

Defining a range of motion

To define a range of motion for an object, do one of the following:
Use the mouse to move the object in the display. This uses the
Object Smart Path feature to visually define the range of motion.
Type values in the At minimum and At maximum boxes.
All motion is defined in pixels.

Animation that does not use a range of

motion
Visibility and color animation do not use a range of motion, because
these types of animation represent a change of state, not a range of
values.

Using Object Smart Path

With Object Smart Path, you can easily set the range of motion for
an object. The following example shows how Object Smart Path
works.

Example: Using Object Smart Path to define the range of

motion for horizontal slider animation

To define a range of motion for a slider object

1. In the Graphic Displays editor, create a slider object using a line
and a rectangle, or copy a slider object from the Sliders graphic
library.
2. Open the Animation dialog box and click the Horizontal Slider
tab.

Defining a range of motion ■ 17-9

Preface
3. In the display, select the rectangle in the slider object.

4. In the Tag box of the Animation dialog box, specify a tag name.

5. In the display, drag the rectangle to the position that will indicate
the lowest number in the range.

In the Animation dialog box, set this position by clicking the At

minimum check box.

6. In the display, drag the rectangle to the position that will indicate
the highest number in the range.

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 In the Animation dialog box, set this position by clicking the At
maximum check box.

7. To save the settings, click Apply.

When you finish setting up the animation, the rectangle returns
to its original position.

Setting up visibility animation

With visibility animation, an object becomes visible or invisible
based on a tag value or the result of an expression.
If an object is invisible, it is inactive.
Visibility animation is available for all objects. Visibility animation
overrides an object’s Visible property.

IMPORTANT If you use a tag’s value to control visibility

animation as well as in an expression to control
some other aspect of animation, when you set up
visibility you should set the Expression true state
to “Invisible”. If you do not do this, the object
could appear briefly in its design-time location and
orientation before animating properly.

Setting up visibility animation ■ 17-11

Preface

To set up visibility animation

1. Select the object.
2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Visibility tab.
3. In the Expression box, create an expression.
4. Specify the Expression true state:
Invisible—Click this if you want the object to be invisible
when the tag or expression value is true—that is, when it does
not equal 0.
Visible—Click this if you want the object to be visible when
the tag or expression value is true—that is, when it does not
equal 0.
5. Click Apply.

Example: Using visibility animation to set up security for a

graphic display
This example shows how to use visibility animation to control what
operators can see. In a graphic display that all users have access to,
only the Admin user can see the graphic object to which this
animation is attached.
This example uses the security function CurrentUserName( ). The
function returns the string value of the Account ID (user name) for
the user who is currently logged in.

17-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The CurrentUserName( ) function is case sensitive. All user names
use uppercase letters, so make sure that you use uppercase letters in
your expression.

To specify which user can view an object in a display

1. Select the object to which to limit visibility.
2. Open the Animation dialog box and click the Visibility tab.
3. In the Expression box, type this:
CurrentUserName( ) == “ADMIN”
4. For the Expression true state, click Visible.

5. Click Apply, and then click Close.

At run time, the object is visible only if the Admin user is logged in.

Setting up color animation

With color animation, an object changes color based on a tag value
or the result of an expression. You can specify up to 16 color changes
(A to P) for any object. Colors can be solid or blinking. For each
color change, specify the value or threshold at which the color is to
change and specify the colors to change to. At run time, when the
value reaches or crosses the threshold, the color changes.

Setting up color animation ■ 17-13

Preface
Color animation is available for all drawing objects except images
and panels.

The list box displays To return to the default

the values and colors colors and thresholds,
for each threshold. click this button.

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The parts of the list box

Foreground color
Background color

If you select white, the color box is

not visible against the white
background of the dialog box.

Threshold value A box with two colors shows the

colors the object will alternate
Threshold between when blinking.

To set up color animation

1. Select the object.

2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Color tab.

3. In the Expression box, create an expression.

4. In the list box, select a threshold (A through P) for which to set

up a value and colors. You can change the default values and
colors for thresholds A and B. The other thresholds have no
defaults.
5. In the Value box, type the threshold value. When the expression
value reaches this threshold, the object’s color changes.
Enter threshold values in ascending order. That is, A must be
lower than B, B must be lower than C, and so on.
To delete a value for a threshold (A - P), select the threshold and
delete the value in the Value box. In the list box, the value is
replaced with “No value.”
6. Click Solid or Blink for the foreground and background colors,
and then select the foreground and background colors to use.
Foreground colors apply to the object’s Fore color and Pattern
color properties. Background colors apply to the object’s Back
color properties.

Setting up color animation ■ 17-15

Preface
To select a color, click the color box, and then click the desired
color.

Specify the solid color here. Specify the blinking colors here.

If you select blink, the two colors must be different.

7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 to set up additional thresholds.
8. In the Blink rate box, specify how many seconds each blink cycle
will be. For example, if you specify four seconds, the object will
be one color for two seconds and the other color for two
seconds.
9. Click Apply.

Example 1: Creating a text object that blinks

This example describes how to create a text object that constantly
blinks between two colors. Since the blinking is not based on
changes in tag values, the expression is simply a constant value that
matches the value for the selected threshold.
For details about creating text, see page 15-12.
1. Select the text object.
2. Open the Animation dialog box, and then click the Color tab.
3. In the Expression box, type 0.
Zero is the default value for threshold A.
4. In the list box, click threshold A. (Leave the value in the Value
box as 0.)
5. For the foreground color, click Blink. (If desired, click Blink for
the background color too.)
6. For each color, click the color box, and then click the color to
use.
7. Click Apply.

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Example 2: Creating an object that changes color as the fill
level changes
This example describes how to create a rectangle object that changes
color as the object’s fill level increases. This example uses a tag called
Hopper1\FlourLevel. The tag has a range of 1 to 100. When the
flour level reaches 80, the rectangle blinks between gray and yellow
to warn the operator that the hopper is nearly full. When the flour
level reaches 95, the rectangle blinks between gray and red.
You could use a bar graph object (without animation) to achieve a
similar result.
1. Double-click the rectangle to open the Polygon Properties dialog
box. Assign these properties to the rectangle:
In the Back style box, select Solid.
For the Fore color and Back color, select gray.
2. Click OK to close the Polygon Properties dialog box.
3. With the rectangle selected, open the Animation dialog box, and
then click the Fill tab.
4. Attach fill animation as follows:
In the Expression box, type Hopper1\FlourLevel (this is the
tag that monitors the fill level).
For Fill Direction, click Up.
5. Click the Color tab and then attach color animation as follows:
In the Expression box, type Hopper1\FlourLevel (the same
tag that was used in the Fill tab).

Set up the color for the normal state

In the list box, click A. (In the Value box, leave the value as 0.)
For foreground and background colors, click Solid.
For each, click the color box, and then click gray (the same
gray used for the rectangle).

Set up the color for the first warning

In the list box, click B.
In the Value box, type 80.
For foreground and background colors, click Blink.

Setting up color animation ■ 17-17

Preface
Yellow
Gray

For the foreground colors, select gray for the first color and
yellow for the second color. Repeat for the background
colors.

Set up the color for the second warning

In the list box, click C.
In the Value box, type 95.
For the foreground and background colors, click Blink.

Red
Gray

For the foreground colors, select gray for the first color and
red for the second color. Repeat for the background colors.
6. Click Apply.

Setting up fill animation

With fill animation, the level of fill in an object is based on a tag
value (or the result of an expression) in relation to the specified
minimum and maximum values. For example, if the value of the
expression is halfway between the minimum and maximum values,
the object will be half full.
Fill animation is available for all drawing objects (including group
objects) except images and panels.
If you select the Inside Only check box, fill animation does not
affect line objects or objects with transparent backgrounds.
If you clear the Inside Only check box, fill animation does not affect
horizontal lines.

17-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To set up fill animation
1. Select the object.
2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Fill tab.
3. In the Expression box, create an expression.
4. Specify At minimum and At maximum values for the fill
percentage levels.
5. Click a fill direction.
6. If you want the object’s outline to remain constant so only the
inside fill level varies, select the Inside Only check box.
7. Select the method to use to calculate the expression’s minimum
and maximum values.
8. Click Apply.

Setting up horizontal position animation

With horizontal position animation, an object moves horizontally
based on a tag value (or the result of an expression) in relation to the
specified minimum and maximum values. For example, if the value
of the expression is halfway between the minimum and maximum
values, the object will be halfway between its minimum and
maximum pixel offset.
Horizontal position animation is available for all drawing objects
except images and panels.

Setting up horizontal position animation ■ 17-19

Preface

To set up horizontal position animation

1. Select the object.
2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Horizontal Position tab.
3. In the Expression box, create an expression.
4. Set the starting point for the object by dragging the object or by
typing a value in pixels (in relation to its current position on the
display).
5. Click the At minimum check box.
6. Set the ending point for the object by dragging the object or by
typing a value in pixels (in relation to its current position on the
display).
7. Click the At maximum check box.
8. Select the method to use to calculate the expression’s minimum
and maximum values.
9. Click Apply.

Setting up vertical position animation

With vertical position animation, an object moves vertically based on
a tag value (or the result of an expression) in relation to the specified
minimum and maximum values. For example, if the value of the
expression is halfway between the minimum and maximum values,
the object will be halfway between its minimum and maximum
offset.

17-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Vertical position animation is available for all drawing objects except
images and panels.

To set up vertical position animation

1. Select the object.
2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Vertical Position tab.
3. In the Expression box, create an expression.
4. Set the starting point for the object by dragging the object or by
typing a value in pixels (in relation to its current position on the
display).
5. Click the At minimum check box.
6. Set the ending point for the object by dragging the object or by
typing a value in pixels (in relation to its current position on the
display).
7. Click the At maximum check box.
8. Select the method to use to calculate the expression’s minimum
and maximum values.
9. Click Apply.

Setting up width animation

With width animation, an object’s width changes based on a tag
value (or the result of an expression) in relation to the specified
minimum and maximum values. For example, if the value of the
expression is halfway between the minimum and maximum values,
the object will be half the full width.

Setting up width animation ■ 17-21

Preface
Width animation is available for all drawing objects except images
and panels.

To set up width animation

1. Select the object.
When the object is first selected, its width is 100 percent.
2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Width tab.
3. In the Expression box, create an expression.
4. Set the minimum width for the object by doing one of the
following:
Click a handle on the left or right side of the object and drag
it to resize the object.
Type the width (as a percentage of the full width) you want
the object to be when the expression evaluates to its minimum
value.
5. Click the At minimum check box.
6. Set the maximum width for the object by doing one of the
following:
Click a handle on the left or right side of the object and drag
it to resize the object.
Type the width (as a percentage of the full width) you want
the object to be when the expression evaluates to its
maximum value.

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 7. Click the At maximum check box.
8. Click an anchor point.
This is the part of the object that does not move. For example,
click Left if you do not want the left side of the object to move.
As the value of the expression changes, the object will grow to or
shrink from the right.
9. Select the method to use to calculate the expression’s minimum
and maximum values.
10. Click Apply.

Setting up height animation

With height animation, an object’s height changes based on a tag
value (or the result of an expression) in relation to the specified
minimum and maximum values. For example, if the value of the
expression is halfway between the minimum and maximum values,
the object will be half the full height.
Height animation is available for all drawing objects except images
and panels.

To set up height animation

1. Select the object.
When the object is first selected, its height is 100 percent.

Setting up height animation ■ 17-23

Preface
2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Height tab.
3. In the Expression box, create an expression.
4. Set the minimum height for the object by doing one of the
following:
Click a handle on the top or bottom of the object and drag it
to resize the object.
Type the height (as a percentage of the full height) you want
the object to be when the expression evaluates to its minimum
value.
5. Click the At minimum check box.
6. Set the maximum height for the object by doing one of the
following:
Click a handle on the top or bottom of the object and drag it
to resize the object.
Type the height (as a percentage of the full height) you want
the object to be when the expression evaluates to its
maximum value.
7. Click the At maximum check box.
8. Click an anchor point.
This is the part of the object that does not move. For example,
click Top if you do not want the top of the object to move. As
the value of the expression changes, the object will grow to or
shrink from the bottom.
9. Select the method to use to calculate the expression’s minimum
and maximum values.
10. Click Apply.

Setting up rotation animation

With rotation animation, an object rotates around an anchor point
based on a tag value (or the result of an expression) in relation to the
specified minimum and maximum values. For example, if the value
of the expression is halfway between the minimum and maximum
values, the object will rotate half the specified amount.
Rotation animation is available for all drawing objects except images,
panels, and rounded rectangles. If you apply rotation animation to
text, the text rotates around the anchor point but remains in the
upright position.

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To set up rotation animation
1. Select the object.
2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Rotation tab.
3. In the Expression box, create an expression.
4. Set the center of rotation using one of the methods described
next. The center of rotation is the point around which the object
will rotate. This point can be inside or outside of the object. If it
is outside, the object will appear as if it is moving in an arc.

Using the default center points

To use the default center points, click a “Center of rotation”

button.
Why use the default center points? If you set the center of
rotation with the default center points, the object will rotate
around the same point even if the object is resized. For example,
the top-middle point will always be the center of rotation no
matter what size the object is.

Specifying coordinates

Setting up rotation animation ■ 17-25

Preface
The default coordinates 0,0 are the center of the object; all
coordinate values are relative to the center. To specify
coordinates, do one of the following:
Select the button beside the coordinates box. Place the mouse
Object’s
pointer over the object’s cross-hair until the cursor changes to
cross-hair
a cross-hair, and then click and drag the cross-hair to the
desired center of rotation.
Type values in the coordinates box, and then select the button
beside the box.
5. Set the range of motion for the object.
To set the minimum, do one of the following and then select the
At minimum check box:
With the cursor indicating the Rotate tool (not the
cross-hair), visually set the degree of rotation by clicking the
mouse and dragging until the object is in the desired
minimum (beginning) position.
Rotate tool Type the desired minimum degree of rotation (this value is
relative to the object’s current position). For clockwise
rotation, use a positive number. For counterclockwise
rotation, use a negative number.
To set the maximum, do one of the following and then select the
At maximum check box:
With the cursor indicating the Rotate tool (not the
cross-hair), visually set the degree of rotation by clicking the
mouse and dragging until the object is in the desired
maximum (ending) position.
Type the desired maximum degree of rotation (this value is
relative to the object’s current position). For clockwise
rotation, use a positive number. For counterclockwise
rotation, use a negative number.
6. Select the method to use to calculate the expression’s minimum
and maximum values.
7. Click Apply.

17-26 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Setting up horizontal slider animation
With horizontal slider animation, you can use a drawing object to set
the value of a tag. To do this, define a path for the object. At run
time, when the operator moves the object horizontally (using a
mouse), the pixel position of the object is translated into values that
are written to the tag. If the tag value is changed externally, the
position of the slider changes as well.
An object can have both vertical and horizontal slider animation.
Horizontal slider animation is available for all drawing objects
except images and panels.

Tips
Here are some tips for creating slider objects:
The Sliders graphic library contains several slider objects you can
drag and drop into your graphic displays. Attach slider
animation to the button portion of the slider object.
If you create your own slider object, it’s useful to draw an object
(for example, a line) to represent the path the slider will move
along.

To set up horizontal slider animation

1. Select the object.
2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Horizontal Slider tab.

Setting up horizontal slider animation ■ 17-27

Preface
3. In the Tag box, type the name of the tag whose value will be set
by the slider.
4. Set the starting point for the slider object by dragging the object
or by typing a value (in relation to its current position on the
display).
5. Select the At minimum check box.
6. Set the ending point for the slider object by dragging the object
or by typing a value (in relation to its current position on the
display).
7. Select the At maximum check box.
8. Select the method to use to calculate the minimum and maximum
values that are written to the tag.
9. Click Apply.

Setting up vertical slider animation

With vertical slider animation, you can use a drawing object to set
the value of a tag. To do this, define a path for the object. At run
time, when the operator moves the object vertically (using a mouse),
the pixel position of the object is translated into values that are
written to the tag. If the tag value is changed externally, the position
of the slider changes as well.
An object can have both vertical and horizontal slider animation.
Vertical slider animation is available for all drawing objects except
images and panels.
For tips about creating slider objects, see page 17-27.

17-28 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

To set up vertical slider animation
1. Select the object.
2. In the Animation dialog box, click the Vertical Slider tab.
3. In the Tag box, type the name of the tag whose value will be set
by the slider.
4. Set the starting point for the slider object by dragging the object
or by typing a value (in relation to its current position on the
display).
5. Select the At minimum check box.
6. Set the ending point for the slider object by dragging the object
or by typing a value (in relation to its current position on the
display).
7. Select the At maximum check box.
8. Select the method to use to calculate the minimum and maximum
values that are written to the tag.
9. Click Apply.

Setting up vertical slider animation ■ 17-29

Preface
Applying animation to groups
You can apply animation to objects and then group those objects
and apply animation to the group. When the display is running,
animation is applied as follows:
These types of animation Are applied like this

Color, fill Animation attached to individual objects

within the group overrides group
animation.
Horizontal slider, vertical Group animation overrides animation
slider attached to individual objects within the
group.
Height, width, horizontal Animation results for individual objects
position, vertical position, and the group are combined. For example,
and rotation if an individual’s horizontal position
animation result is to offset the object by
100 pixels, and the group’s result is to
offset the group by 200 pixels, the
individual object is offset by 300 pixels.
Visibility When the group’s animation visibility is
False (the group is not visible), then no
objects in the group are visible, regardless
of the animation status of the individual
objects.
When the group’s animation visibility is
True (the group is visible), the visibility of
an object within the group is determined
by the individual object animation.

Test your animation to ensure you achieve the intended results.

To apply animation to objects within groups, use the group edit
feature. For details, see page 15-58.

Checking the animation on objects

To see what type of animation has been set up for an object or group
of objects, use the Object Explorer, the Animation menu, or the
Animation dialog box.
For information about using the Object Explorer to highlight
objects that have animation attached, see page 15-29.
To see what type of animation has been set up for objects within a
group, use the group edit feature or the Object Explorer. For
information about using the group edit feature, see page 15-58.

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To view the animation on an object using the Animation
menu
1. Select an object.
2. View the animation by doing one of the following:
Click the Animation menu and see which items have a check
mark.
Right-click the object and then select Animation to see which
items have a check mark.

This object has visibility,

color, fill, and horizontal
slider animation.

To view the animation on an object using the Animation

dialog box
1. Select an object.
2. On the View menu, click Animation.
When the Animation dialog box opens, look at which tabs have
check marks on them to see which types of animation have been
set up.

Checking the animation on objects ■ 17-31

Preface

Changing the animation on objects

You can change the animation attached to an object, a group of
objects, or to individual objects within the group. To access objects
within a group, use the group edit feature. For details, see
page 15-58.

To change the animation on objects

1. Select the object or group.
2. Open the Animation dialog box.
3. Make the required changes.
4. Click Apply.

Copying or duplicating objects with animation

You can copy or duplicate objects that have animation attached to
them. When you do, the animation attached to the objects is also
copied or duplicated. If you copy or duplicate a group, the copy of
the group can be ungrouped to individual objects, just like the
original.

17-32 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 For information about copying and duplicating objects, see
pages 15-51 and 15-53.

Copying animation without copying objects

If you have attached animation to an object, you can copy the
animation and paste it onto another object. If the object has more
than one type of animation, all animation is copied and pasted. Note
that you can only copy animation to an object that supports the
same type of animation.

To copy and paste animation

1. Select the object that has the animation you want to copy.
2. On the Edit menu, click Copy Animation, or right-click the
object and then click Copy Animation.
3. Select the objects to copy the animation to.
4. On the Edit menu, click Paste Animation.
To paste to a single object, you can right-click the object and
then click Paste Animation.

Copying animation without copying objects ■ 17-33

18
Chapter

Setting up trends
This chapter describes:
what trends are.
the parts of the trend graphic object.
the different chart types.
choosing colors, fonts, lines and markers for the trend.
testing the trend.
steps for creating trends.
creating and setting up trend graphic objects.
using objects from the Trends graphic library.
using buttons to control the trend at run time.
printing trend data.
run-time errors for trends.

About trends
A trend is a visual representation of current or historical tag values.
The trend provides operators with a way of tracking plant activity as
it is happening.
You can:
plot data for as many as eight tags or expressions on one trend.
create a trend that is part of a graphic display or acts as the entire
graphic display.
plot data over time, or plot one variable against another in an XY
Plot chart to show the relationship between them.
display isolated or non-isolated graphs. Isolated graphing places
each pen in a separate band of the chart. With non-isolated
graphing, pen values can overlap.
create buttons to allow the operator to pause, scroll, and print the
trend data.

About trends ■ 18-1

Preface
The illustration below shows a trend that has been added to a
graphic display. You can view the Kiln Status display by opening the
Malthouse sample application.

Trend
graphic
object

Current versus historical data

The data displayed in a trend can come from two sources. For
current values, data comes from the value table as it is collected. The
value table is a record of the most recent values collected from the
data source, and is stored in temporary memory while the
application is running.
For historical values, data comes from a data log model’s log file, if a
model is assigned to the trend. You can display both current and
historical data in the same trend.
For information about data log models, see Chapter 11.

Time, date, and number formats

The trend is displayed using the time, date, and number formats you
set up on the run-time computer.

18-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 For information about specifying time, date, and number formats on
the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35. For
information about specifying time, date, and number formats in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP, see page 24-15.

The parts of a trend

The illustration below shows a standard trend chart, with three pens
and a two-minute time span. Two of the pens have markers. The
third uses digital plotting. For more information about plot types,
see page 18-23.

Trend border
Pen marker

Trend window Pen icon

Chart

Digital
plotting
y-axis

Vertical axis
label

Pen marker

x-axis Horizontal axis label

Trend border
The border appears around the trend object at run time when the
trend is selected. The border uses the highlight color for the graphic
display, specified in the Behavior tab of the Display Settings dialog
box.

The parts of a trend ■ 18-3

Preface
Trend window
The area around the chart, between the border and the chart, is the
trend window. You can use the Property Panel to specify whether
the window is transparent or opaque. If it is opaque, you can specify
its color.

Chart
The chart is the area of the trend in which values are plotted. It is
bounded by the y-axis on the left and the x-axis on the bottom. It
contains the plotted trend data (shown using pen lines and pen
markers), as well as grid lines (if you choose to display them).

Y-axis
The y-axis is the left vertical edge of the chart. It is also known as the
vertical axis.

Vertical axis labels

The vertical axis labels show the scale (range) of values for the pens.
If desired, you can set up the trend to omit the vertical axis labels.
The minimum and maximum values for the scale can be determined
automatically (using the best fit for the current data), be derived
from a pen’s minimum and maximum values, use a constant value, or
be controlled by tags.
You can set up the trend so all pens use the same scale, or use
individual ranges for each pen. If you choose the latter method,
create a next pen button in the graphic display, to allow operators to
view the range for each pen. When the operator presses the button,
the vertical axis changes to the new pen’s range.
For example, if Pen 1 has a minimum value of 10 and a maximum
value of 100, the range on the vertical axis is 10 to 100 when the pen
is selected. If Pen 2 has a minimum of -10 and a maximum of 50, the
range on the vertical axis changes to -10 to 50 when the operator
presses the next pen button.

X-axis
The x-axis is the bottom horizontal edge of the chart. It is also
known as the horizontal axis.

18-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Horizontal axis labels
For standard charts, the horizontal axis labels indicate the time span
covered by the trend. For XY Plot charts, the horizontal axis labels
show the scale (range) of values for the pen selected to serve as the
x-axis pen.

If desired, you can set up the trend to omit the horizontal axis labels.
The number of labels depends on the size of the trend object and the
number of vertical grid lines.

Pens
Pens are the lines and/or symbols used to represent values. The
values can be tags you are monitoring, expressions that manipulate
tag values, or constants. For details, see page 18-21.

If there is no data for a pen, or if the data is outside the vertical axis
range, the pen does not appear in the chart.

Pen icons
Pen icons appear at the right edge of the chart at run time, if you
choose to display them. The icon’s position indicates the pen’s most
recent recorded value (from the value table), even if the trend is
paused or if the most recent value has not been plotted yet.

Pen markers
Pen markers are symbols that indicate data points. If data is plotted
frequently, the markers might not appear as distinct, separate
symbols. For example, see the lowest pen in the illustration on
page 18-3.

Chart types

Standard vs. XY Plots

You can create a standard chart, which plots tag values against time,
or an XY Plot chart, which plots one (or more) tag’s values against
another’s.

Chart types ■ 18-5

Preface
This illustration shows what an XY Plot chart could look like:

Time period

Notice that the horizontal axis labels display the range for the
specified x-axis pen. The time period covered by the chart is at the
upper left.

Isolated graphing
For charts with multiple pens, you can allow the pen values to
overlap, or you can isolate each pen in its own horizontal band on
the chart.

18-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

This is an example of isolated graphing, with a 10% buffer between
each pen’s band:

Notice that in this illustration each pen uses its own scale. If desired,
you can use the same scale for all pens.
With isolated graphing, a grid line is automatically placed above each
pen’s band.

Plotting a value across the full width of the

chart
Use horizontal lines to provide a frame of reference for your tag
data. For example, if you define values that are the limits within
which a tag should operate, and display horizontal lines in your
trend to indicate the limits, when a tag crosses one of these limits the
tag’s alarm condition is obvious on the trend.
There are two ways to plot a value across the full width of the chart:
In the Connections tab, assign a constant value to a pen.
When values for the pen have been plotted across the full width
of the chart, the pen appears as a solid line.

Chart types ■ 18-7

Preface
In the Connections tab, assign to a pen the tag, expression, or
constant whose value will be used to determine the position of
the line, and then in the Pens tab, choose the pen type Full
Width.
As soon as the trend is displayed, the pen appears as a horizontal
line across the full width of the chart. Its vertical position is
determined by the tag, expression, or constant’s value. If the
value changes, the position changes.

Choosing colors, fonts, lines, and markers

The following table summarizes where in the Trend Object
Properties dialog box to specify colors, fonts, lines, and markers for
a trend.
You can also specify these settings in the Properties tab of the
Property Panel.
To specify this Use this box or In this tab
column
Chart background Background color Display
color
Horizontal label color Text color Display
Text font, style, and Font (button) Display
size

Pen line, pen marker, Color Pens

pen icon, and vertical
label color
Pen line width Width Pens
Pen line style Style Pens
Pen marker Marker Pens

Vertical grid line color Grid color X-Axis

Horizontal grid line Grid color Y-Axis
color

The trend border color

The trend border uses the highlight color for the graphic display,
specified in the Behavior tab of the Display Settings dialog box.

18-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The trend window color
By default, the trend window uses the background color of the
display, specified in the General tab of the Display Settings dialog
box.

To use a different window color

" In the Property Panel, select the opaque WindowStyle, and then
specify the WindowColor property.
For information about using the Property Panel, see page 15-35.

Testing the trend

You can quickly test the trend by switching to test mode. If
communications are active and there is data for the tags, the pens
plot values in the trend. When you are finished testing, switch back
to edit mode to continue editing.

To switch between test and edit modes

" On the View menu, click Test Display or Edit Display, or click
the Test Display and Edit Display tools.
Test Display tool Test mode is not the same as running the display.
IMPORTANT
Test mode does not change the appearance or
position of the display as set up in the Display
Settings dialog box. Also, data logging is not
Edit Display tool enabled in test mode.

Summary of steps
These are the steps for creating a trend:
1. To plot historical data, create a data log model in the Data Log
Model editor. For information, see Chapter 11.
2. Create a trend graphic object in the Graphic Displays editor, as
described on page 18-10.
3. Set up the trend in the Trend Object Properties dialog box, as
described on pages 18-10 through 18-24.
4. If desired, create a next pen button, a pause button, or key
buttons in the same graphic display, to allow the operator to
switch between pens, pause the trend, or scroll the trend.

Summary of steps ■ 18-9

Preface
For information about the buttons you can use with trends, see
page 18-25.
5. To keep a printed record of the trend data, provide a way for the
operator to print the graphic display. For information see
page 18-27.

Creating trend objects

To create a trend object
1. In the Graphic Displays editor, create or open a graphic display.
2. Select the Trend drawing tool by doing one of the following:
In the Objects toolbox, click the Trend tool.
On the Objects menu, select Trending, and then click Trend.
3. Drag the mouse to create a box approximately the size you want
for the trend.
4. Double-click the trend to open the Trend Object Properties
dialog box.
5. Set up the trend as described in the next section.
6. When you’re finished setting up the trend, click OK to save your
changes.
7. To name the trend, open the Property Panel and then type a
name in the (Name) row.
The name can contain letters, numbers, and the underscore
character (_), but the first character must be a letter. Do not use
spaces in the name.
The name is used in the status bar, activity bar, Property Panel,
Object Explorer, and activity log messages.
Once you have set up the trend, you can edit it as you would any
other graphic object. You can move it, resize it, attach animation to
it, and so on. You can also use this object in other graphic displays
by dragging it from one display and dropping it into another.
For more information about graphic objects, see Chapter 15.

Setting up trends
When you double-click a trend object, the Trend Object Properties
dialog box opens. Use the dialog box to set up the trend.

18-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Set up how the trend looks.
Set up how the trend works
at run time.

Set up pens.

Set up the horizontal axis.

Set up the vertical axis.

Set up focus highlight and

keyboard navigation.

Set up the tags and

expressions to plot data for.

Setting up trends ■ 18-11

Preface
Before you set up the pens in the Pens tab, use the Connections tab
to specify the tags and expressions for which to plot data.

Specifying chart style and update mode

To specify the chart style and update mode

" In the General tab, specify these settings:

Chart style
Specify the plotting style of the trend:
Standard—plots each pen against time (with time on the
horizontal axis).
XY Plot—plots each pen against a pen that serves as the
x-axis. In the X-Axis pen box, select the pen to use for the
x-axis.

Chart update mode

Specify how often the trend updates with new data:
Automatic—updates data at regular time intervals. In the
Refresh Rate box, type a time and click a time unit to specify
how often the trend acquires data.
The refresh rate range is 50 milliseconds to 596 hours.
On Change—updates the data as values change. This mode is
useful for data that changes rapidly.
To specify how often data is updated even if no change has
occurred, in the Heartbeat box type a time, and then click a
time unit. If you do not want to use the heartbeat, type 0.
To specify a percentage by which a value must change before
the trend displays the new value, in the Deadband box type a
number.

18-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Setting up how the trend works at run time

To set up how the trend works at run time

" In the Display tab, specify these settings:

Time format
Select how the trend displays time:
Use system time format—displays time using the format
specified in the Windows Control Panel, in the Regional
Options dialog box.
24-hour format
AM/PM format

Setting up trends ■ 18-13

Preface
Chart radix
Specify the number base to use for displaying numeric values in
the trend labels. If you select the XY Plot chart style, this setting
affects the labels on the y-axis and the x-axis.
However, if the number of decimal places specified in the Y-Axis
tab is set to anything other than 0, that setting overrides the radix
selection and all numbers are displayed as decimals.

Data point connection

Specify how data points on the trend are connected:
Connect points—data points are connected with a line.
Show discontinuity—plot lines are disconnected between the
start and end of a discontinuity in data. A discontinuity in
data indicates a communication error, or a break in a model’s
data logging (for example, when the operator stops and then
restarts the application).
Show only markers—a marker is displayed for each data
point. Lines do not connect the data points, so if a pen
doesn’t have a marker assigned to it (in the Pens tab), then the
pen does not appear in the trend.

Display milliseconds
If you select the standard chart style, select this box to display
milliseconds in the time labels on the x-axis. (To display time
labels, in the X-Axis tab select the Display Scale check box.)

Display pen icons

Select this box to display an icon for each pen at the right side of
the trend chart. The pen icon moves vertically to indicate the
current value of the pen, even if the chart is not scrolling, so some
pen icons might not be at the end of a line.

Background color
Click this box to select a background color for the chart.
The chart border is always black. For information about
specifying the background color for the other areas in the trend,
see page 18-9.

Text color
Click this box to select the text color for the labels above and
below the chart.
The labels on the vertical axis use the color of the first pen, unless
you select the “Each pen on independent scale” option (in the

18-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Y-Axis tab), in which case the label’s color matches the pen
whose range is currently displayed on the vertical axis.
If you use isolated graphing, each pen is shown in a separate
section of the chart, with its own color labels.

Font
Click this button to select the font to use for the text in the trend.

Allow scrolling
Check this box to continually update the trend with new data at
run time. If you clear this box, once the trend has filled with data
up to the buffer limit the chart does not update until the operator
manually toggles the scroll mode (using the pause button).
If you allow scrolling, select a scroll mode:
Continuous Scroll—chart scrolls from right to left for each
new data reading.
Half Screen Scroll—chart scrolls half a screen at a time. Pens
scroll from the middle of the chart to the right. When the
pens reach the right side of the screen, the screen scrolls left
and the pens continue at the middle of the chart.
Full Screen Scroll—chart scrolls a full screen at a time. Pens
scroll from the left to the right, starting at the left of the chart.
When the pens reach the right side of the screen, the entire
screen scrolls and the pens begin again at the left side.

Buffer for extra data

Specify the number of extra data points (outside of the display
area) to store for each pen. The operator can view these data
records by manually scrolling (using the key buttons).
The maximum buffer size is 32,767 data points. Divide this
number by the number of pens in the trend to determine the
maximum data records per pen.
The more data points held in the buffer, the faster it is to scroll.
However, a larger buffer size also requires more system
resources.

Setting up trends ■ 18-15

Preface
Setting up the horizontal axis

For a standard chart, the horizontal axis represents time; for an XY

Plot chart, the horizontal axis represents the selected pen’s values.
The settings in this tab apply to both types of chart.

To set up the horizontal axis

" In the X-Axis tab, specify these settings:

Start date and Start time

These settings are not available if you select “Allow scrolling,”
on the Display tab. If you want to specify a starting date and
time for the trend, clear the Allow scrolling check box.
To select a date from the calendar, click the Down Arrow beside
the Start date box.

18-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

These settings determine when to begin displaying data for the
trend. As the operator manually scrolls, the chart updates with
the latest data for the specified time span.

If the trend is plotting current values only, and it is first displayed

after the specified time, the current time is used as the starting
point.

If the trend is plotting historical data, and the data log model is
running at the specified start time, data is displayed from this
time onwards. Otherwise, the earliest available data (after the
start time) is displayed. Once the operator scrolls to the current
time, values are taken from the value table, not the data log file.

Time span
In this box type a time, and then click a time unit, to specify the
amount of data the trend displays at run time.

For a standard chart, the time span controls the horizontal scale.
For an XY Plot chart, the Min and Max values (specified in the
Pens tab) of the selected pen control the horizontal scale, and the
time span controls the number of data points plotted.

Display scale
Check this box to display x-axis labels at the bottom of the trend.

For a standard chart, the labels show the start and end times. If
there’s room, intermediate times are shown below each vertical
grid line.

For an XY Plot chart, the labels show the minimum and

maximum value range of the pen selected as the x-axis. If there’s
room, intermediate values are shown as well.

Display grid lines

Check this box to display vertical grid lines on the chart, and
then type the number of major and minor lines to display.

You can display up to 30 major lines, and up to 10 minor lines

between each major line. The major lines are solid, and the minor
lines are dashed.

Grid color
If you display grid lines, click this box to select the color for the
lines.

Setting up trends ■ 18-17

Preface
Setting up the vertical axis

To set up the vertical axis

" In the Y-Axis tab, specify these settings:

Minimum / maximum value options

Select the method for determining the minimum and maximum
values for the vertical axis:
Automatic—the lowest data reading serves as the minimum
value and the highest data reading serves as the maximum. As
the trend acquires new data, the y-axis might rescale to fit the
new values.

18-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Preset—the minimum and maximum pen values, set up in the
Pens tab, serve as the y-axis scale. The scale does not change.
Which pen’s minimum and maximum values are used depends
on the scale options you select in this tab.
Custom—allows you to specify constant minimum and
maximum values, or to assign tags or expressions whose
values are used to determine the minimum and maximum
values.
To use constant minimum and maximum values, click “Actual
minimum value” and type the value in the box. Repeat for the
maximum value.
To use tags or expressions to determine the values, you must
first assign the tags or expressions in the Connections tab.
Then return to this tab and click “Controlled by tag.”

Isolated graphing
Check this box to place each pen in a separate band of the chart,
and then, in the “% isolation” box, type the distance between
bands. The distance is a percentage of the chart height, between 0
and 10%.
To allow pens to overlap, clear the check box.
If you select isolated graphing, you cannot display horizontal
grid lines. Instead, a horizontal line appears above each band.

Display scale
Check this box to display y-axis labels at the left of the trend.
To display decimals in the labels, type a number in the Decimal
places box. If you type a number other than 0, this setting
overrides the Chart radix setting in the Display tab, and all
numbers are displayed as decimals.

Display grid lines

Check this box to display horizontal grid lines on the chart, and
then type the number of major and minor lines to display.
You can display up to 30 major lines, and up to 10 minor lines
between each major line. The major lines are solid, and the minor
lines are dashed.

Grid color
If you display grid lines, click this box to select the color for the
lines.

Setting up trends ■ 18-19

Preface
If you use isolated graphing, this color is used for the horizontal
lines between bands.

Scale options
Specify how multiple pens with different minimum and
maximum ranges scale together on the chart (this option is not
available if you use the Custom minimum/maximum value
option):

All pens on same scale—displays all pens relative to the same

scale, determined by the lowest minimum and highest
maximum values of all pens.

Each pen on independent scale—scales each pen

independently using the pen’s minimum and maximum values
as the range. Only one pen’s range is used in the labels on the
vertical axis, which can be misleading if other pens use a
different range.

To allow the operator to view each pen’s vertical axis labels,

create a next pen button. When the operator presses the
button, the vertical axis changes to the new pen’s range. The
color for the labels changes to the color of the selected pen.

Scale using pen—uses the same scale for all pens, based on the
minimum and maximum values for the specified pen, or based
on the best fit for the pen’s actual data. Select the pen to use.

If you use the Preset minimum/maximum value option, set up

the minimum and maximum values in the Pens tab, as
described on page 18-22.

Scale as percentage
Check this box to display the y-axis values as a percentage of the
minimum and maximum range. The y-axis labels display the
percentage range, from 0 to 100%.

Setting up focus highlight and keyboard

navigation
Use the options in the Common tab to set up the trend’s size,
position, visibility, name, focus highlight, and keyboard navigation
properties. For information about setting up the options in the
Common tab, see page 16-1.

18-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Specifying the tags and expressions to plot
data for

To specify the tags and expressions to plot data for

1. In the Connections tab, specify up to 8 tags or expressions to
plot values for. Do not use string tags.
To plot historical values, specify tags from the data log model
you’ll be using at run time. (Specify the data log model in the
Pens tab.)
If desired, you can specify both tags that are in a data log model
and tags that are not. You cannot use expressions to plot
historical values.
For information about specifying tags and expressions, see
page 6-17.
2. To control the vertical axis minimum and maximum values using
tags or expressions (using the Custom setting in the Y-Axis tab),
assign tags or expressions to the Minimum and Maximum
controls.

Setting up trends ■ 18-21

Preface
Setting up pens

Before you set up pens, assign tags or expressions to the pens in the
Connections tab.

To set up pens

" In the Pens tab, set up each pen as follows:

Tag Name
This column is for display purposes only. Assign a tag or
expression to the pen in the Connections tab.

Color
Click this box to select the color for the pen’s lines, markers, and
icon.

18-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

At run time, the selected pen’s color is also used for the labels on
the vertical axis.
If you use isolated graphing, each pen is shown in a separate
section of the chart, with its own color labels.

Visible
Click in this column to toggle between On and Off. When
visibility is off, the pen is not displayed on the trend.

Width
Type the number of pixels for the width of the pen’s line. If you
use a width other than 1, you cannot change the line style setting.

Type
Specify how to plot the pen lines:
Analog—plots pen lines using diagonals from one point to
the next.
Digital—plots pen lines using only horizontal and vertical
lines between points.
Full-Width—plots a tag’s value as a horizontal line that
extends across the full width of the chart. The line moves up
and down in the chart as the tag or expression value changes.

Style
Click in the column to select a line style. If you select a style
other than solid, the line width must be 1 pixel.

Marker
Click in the column to select a plot symbol for each data point. If
you use the “Show only markers” option (specified in the
Display tab), only pens that you select a plot symbol for are
displayed in the trend.
If a pen displays new data frequently, for example every few
seconds, the markers might appear to form a solid line.

Min and Max

If you specify the “Preset minimum/maximum value” option (in
the Y-Axis tab), type the minimum and maximum values for the
pens.
The minimum and maximum values, together with the scaling
options you select in the Y-Axis tab, determine the range of the
trend’s vertical axis. Tag values outside this range do not appear
on the chart.

Setting up trends ■ 18-23

Preface
Link Data
Check this box to use the assigned tag’s minimum and maximum
values. Checking this box disables the Min and Max columns. If
the tag’s minimum and maximum values are not available, ???
appears in the columns.
For digital tags, the minimum is 0 and the maximum is 1. For
analog HMI tags, specify the minimum and maximum values in
the Tags editor.
Data Log Model
For historical data, select the data log model to use to supply the
data when the trend is first displayed or you scroll back in time
(using the key buttons). If buffered data is available, that data is
used instead of the data from the model.
If the trend plots current values only, accept the default of None.
Make sure you add the tags to the data log model.

To set up multiple pens at the same time

1. Select the pens to set up by Shift-clicking or Ctrl-clicking in the
Tag Name column.
2. In the Multiple Pen Edits columns, specify the attributes to use.
You can apply one, some, or all the attributes at once.
To clear the Multiple Pen Edits columns, click Clear Selections.
3. To apply the attributes, click Apply to Selected Pens.

After you create the trend

Now that you’ve created the trend:
If desired, create a next pen button, a pause button, or key
buttons in the same graphic display, to allow the operator to
switch between pens, pause the trend, or scroll the trend.
For information about the buttons you can use with trends, see
page 18-25.
To have a printed record of the trend data, provide a way for the
operator to print the graphic display. For information see
page 18-27.

Using the Trends graphic library

The Trends graphic library contains a trend graphic object and
buttons for controlling the trend. It also contains numeric display
objects that display the value of each tag used in the trend.

18-24 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 You can use the trend and objects as they are, or you can edit them
to suit your needs. To use the objects, drag and drop (or copy and
paste) them into your graphic display.
For information about copying and pasting objects from the graphic
libraries, see page 15-51.

To use the Trends graphic library

1. Open the Graphics folder, and then open the Libraries folder.
2. Double-click the Trends library.
3. Drag and drop or copy and paste objects into your display.

Using buttons to control the trend at run time

You can place buttons in the same graphic display as the trend, to
allow the operator to pause the trend, switch between pens, or scroll
the trend.
You can link the buttons to a specific trend object, or set up the
button to work with whichever object is selected in the graphic
display. For information about linking buttons, see page 16-14.

Using buttons to control the trend at run time ■ 18-25

Preface
Use these buttons with trends:
This button Does this

Pause Toggles between pausing and

automatic scrolling.
When the trend is paused, the pen
icons continue to move vertically to
indicate the pens’ current values.
When the trend resumes scrolling,
values that occurred while the trend
was paused are filled in, bringing
the trend up to the current time
(unless you are scrolling historical
data).
Next pen Changes the vertical axis labels to
the scale for the next pen. The color
of the labels matches the color of
the selected pen.
Move up Scrolls up to display higher values
on the vertical scale. For example, if
the visible scale range is 0 to 100,
pressing move up changes the
visible range to 10 to 110.
The incremental amount the axis
scrolls depends on the pen’s range
and the number of horizontal grid
lines.
This button does not work if the
“Minimum / maximum value
option” in the Y-Axis tab is set to
Automatic.
Move down Scrolls down to display lower
values on the vertical scale.
This button does not work if the
“Minimum / maximum value
option” in the Y-Axis tab is set to
Automatic.
Move left Pauses the trend and scrolls to the
left.
Move right Pauses the trend and scrolls to the
right.

18-26 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 This button Does this

Home Pauses the trend and moves to the

earliest data in the trend.
End Resumes trend scrolling and moves
to the current (latest) data in the
trend.

To see how the buttons work with the trend, open the Trends
graphic library (see page 18-24), and start test mode (see page 18-9).
For information about creating buttons, see Chapter 15. For details
about setting up the buttons, see page 16-31.

Printing trend data

To print trend data at run time, provide the operator with a method
for printing the graphic display.
You can use these methods to print graphic displays at run time:
Create a display print button. For information about creating
graphic objects, see Chapter 15.
Assign a tag or expression to the Remote Display Print control
(in the Global Connections editor). When the value of the tag or
expression changes from 0 to a non-zero value, the current
display is automatically printed.
Program the data source to trigger the change as often as you
want the data printed.
For more information about setting up remote display printing,
see Chapter 8.
Everything on the screen is printed, including the current display,
pop-up windows, and any visible background applications.
For information about specifying which printer to use at run time
for Windows 2000 or Windows XP applications, see page 24-8. For
information about specifying printer options for applications that
will run on a PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page
25-28.

Improving clarity of the trend printout

Depending on what type of printer you use, pen lines with a width
of 1 pixel might not appear in the printout. Choose high-contrast
colors and wider line widths to ensure that the trend data prints
clearly.

Printing trend data ■ 18-27

Preface
Runtime errors for the trend
If data for the trend is not available at run time due to
communication errors, a message is sent to FactoryTalk Diagnostics.
See Help for information about solving common trend problems.

18-28 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

19
Chapter

Creating expressions
This chapter describes:
the types of expression components.
which editors use expressions.
using the Expression editor.
creating and formatting expressions.
using tag names and tag placeholders with expressions.
using constants.
using operators, math and security functions, and if-then-else
logic in expressions.
the evaluation order of operators.
using write expressions.

About expressions
Sometimes the data you gather from devices is meaningful only
when you:
compare it to other values.
combine it with other values.
create a cause-effect relationship with other values.
Expressions allow you to create mathematical or logical
combinations of data that return more meaningful values.
Depending on the components used in the expression, the value
returned can be in the form of a numeric value, a true/false value, or
a text string.

Expressions that result in floating-point

values
If an expression results in a floating-point value but an integer value
is required, the floating-point value is rounded.
For information about how values are rounded, see page 7-2.

About expressions ■ 19-1

Preface
Expression components
Expressions can be built from:
tag values.
tag placeholders.
constants.
arithmetic, relational, logical, and bitwise operators.
mathematical and security functions.
if-then-else logic.
Tags, arithmetic operators, bitwise operators, and mathematical
functions such as SQRT (square root) return numeric values.
Relational and logical operators return true/false values. The security
function CurrentUserHasCode(x) also returns a true/false value.
The security function CurrentUserName( ) returns a string value.
Expressions that use if-then-else logic can return numeric values,
true/false values, or text strings, depending on how they are
structured. These are called conditional expressions because the
result of the expression depends on whether the If statement is true
or false. When the If statement evaluates to true, the result is defined
by the Then statement. When the If statement is false, the result is
defined by the Else statement.
The Objects sample application contains many examples of
expressions. For example, see the alarm trigger expressions in the
Alarm Setup editor.

Where you can use expressions

You can use expressions in these editors:
Graphic Displays—You can define an expression to control
various aspects of a graphic object’s appearance. For more
information about assigning expressions to graphic objects, see
page 15-46.
You can also use expressions to attach animation to graphic
objects. For more information, see Chapter 17.
Global Connections—You can use expressions to remotely
control when to open and print displays, as well as the date and
time to display. For more information, see Chapter 8.

19-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Alarm Setup—When setting up alarms, you can use expressions
for alarm triggers, and with some of the controls that silence and
acknowledge alarms. For more information, see Chapter 9.
Information Setup—You can use expressions to determine when
to display information messages. For more information, see
Chapter 12.
Macros—You can use expressions in macros to assign values to
tags. For more information, see page 21-1.

Using the Expression editor

To create an expression, you can:
type it directly in the “Tag or expression” column, for any
control that accepts expressions, or in the Expression box (for
animation).
open the Expression editor, and then create the expression in the
editor, as described on page 19-6.

Using the Expression editor versus typing

expressions directly
Once you are familiar with expression syntax, you might find it
quicker to create short expressions by typing them directly in the
“Tag or expression” column.
The Expression editor allows you to see more text at once, which is
useful for longer, more complicated expressions. Also, you can click
buttons to enter tag names, operators, and functions, thus avoiding
typing mistakes. Another advantage of using the Expression editor is
that you can check whether the syntax of the expression you’ve
created is valid.

To create an expression by typing it directly

" Type an expression up to 999 characters long.

Expressions that you type directly are not checked for syntax.

To open the Expression editor, do one of the following

Click the Browse button in the Exprn column for a control that
accepts expressions.

Browse button in
the Exprn column Using the Expression editor ■ 19-3
Preface
The Browse button is not available for controls to which you can
assign only tags.
In the Animation dialog box, click the Expression button.

About the Expression editor

The Expression editor has these parts:

Expression box Expression buttons

Cursor position Validation area

Expression box
The Expression box is a text edit area where you can build
expressions. Type text directly and use the expression buttons to
build the expression.

19-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Expression buttons
These are the expression buttons:
This button Displays a list of

If If-then-else operators
Logical Logical operators
Relational Relational operators
Arithmetic Arithmetic operators
Bitwise Bitwise operators
Functions Mathematical and security
functions (clicking the button
opens the Functions box)
Tags Tags in the Tag Browser

Validation area
To validate your expression, click the Check Syntax button. You can
check the syntax as often as you like. When you make changes, the
expression is no longer validated.
If an expression is without errors, “Valid” appears in the text
box.
If an expression has not been validated, the text box remains
empty.
If there are errors in the expression, a description of the error and
the location appears in the text box.

Cursor position
The Line and Column boxes show the cursor position in the
Expression box.

Using the Expression editor ■ 19-5

Preface
Creating expressions

Create an expression.

Validate the syntax.

Locate syntax errors.

To create an expression in the Expression editor

1. Type the expression in the Expression box, up to 999 characters
long.
2. To use a tag in the expression, you can type the tag name directly
or click Tags and then select the tag to use.
For more information about using tags in expressions, see
page 19-8.
3. To use an operator, you can type it directly or click an expression
button and then click the operator to use.
For information about using a specific operator, see pages 19-9
through 19-16. For information about using if-then-else logic,
see pages 19-18 through 19-21.
4. To use a function, click Functions.

19-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Click the type
of functions
to display.

5. In the Functions box, click the function to use, and then click
OK.
For information about using a specific function, see pages 19-17
and 19-18.
6. To validate your expression, click Check Syntax.

If your expression has a syntax error, the line and column

location appears beside the Check Syntax button.

For information about formatting expressions, see page 19-8.

Cutting, copying, and pasting expressions

You can cut, copy, or paste an expression or parts of an expression
between objects and editors.

To do this Do this And then press this

Cut Select the text Ctrl-X

Copy Select the text Ctrl-C
Paste Double-click in the column Ctrl-V
or click in the Expression
box and then position the
cursor where you want the
text

Cutting, copying, and pasting expressions ■ 19-7

Preface
Formatting expressions
You can format expressions so they are easier to read. However, do
not let tag names, function names, or function arguments span more
than one line.
When formatting expressions, you can use line returns and multiple
spaces.
Enclose strings in quotes. The string can contain any character, and
can include spaces.

Example: Formatting an expression

To format this if-then-else statement, you can align the Else with the
appropriate If so the logic is easy to understand:
if (tag1 > tag2) then 0
else if (tag1 > tag3) then 2
else 4
Or you can condense it to the following:
if (tag1 > tag2) then 0 else if (tag1 > tag3) then 2 else 4

Using tag names and tag placeholders

A tag name can be included as part of an expression or can stand
alone as the entire expression.
To supply a tag name, do one of the following:
Type a tag name.
You can type a tag name that does not exist in the tag database.
When you click OK, you are prompted to create the tag. You can
create it now, or write down the name and create it later.
Click the Tags button and select a tag from the Tag Browser.
Enclose tag names that contain dashes or start with a number in
braces { } when you use them in an expression. This distinguishes the
characters in the tag name from the characters in the expression.
You can use string tags as operands with the plus (+) arithmetic
operator and with the relational operators.

19-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Using tag placeholders instead of tag
names
The Graphic Displays editor accepts tag placeholders instead of tag
names. Placeholders allow you to use the same display with different
sets of tags.
You can use tag placeholders in:
the graphic display that opens when the application is first run.
graphic displays that are opened using a goto display button.
graphic displays that are opened using a display list selector.
Use parameter files to specify which tags to substitute for which
placeholders at run time. For information about creating parameter
files, see page 14-29.
The tag placeholder can replace any part of a tag name, including
folder names. For example, you could create a parameter file
specifying that the tag placeholder #1=Folder1. You could assign the
folder and a tag name to a graphic object’s control: #1\Tag1.
To create a tag placeholder in an expression
" Type the cross-hatch character followed by a number (no space
in between). For example, #1.

Constants
A constant can have any of the following formats:
integer (123)
floating-point (123.45)
string constant (“character string”)

Arithmetic operators
Arithmetic operators perform math on two or more numeric values
and calculate the result. The arithmetic operators are:
Symbol Operator Example
(For these examples, tag1 = 5 and
tag2 = 7)

+ addition tag1 + tag2

returns a value of 12
You can also use this operator with string
operands. See page 19-10.
- subtraction tag1 - tag2
returns a value of -2

Arithmetic operators ■ 19-9

Preface
Symbol Operator Example
(For these examples, tag1 = 5 and
tag2 = 7)

* multiplication tag1 * tag2

returns a value of 35
/ division tag1 / tag2
returns a value of 0.7142857
MOD, modulus tag2 MOD tag1
% (remainder) returns a value of 2
The modulus operator is the remainder of
one number divided by another. In this
example, the remainder of 7 divided by 5
is 2; so 7 % 5 = 2.
Important: This operator is for integers
only, not floating-point numbers.
** exponent tag1 ** tag2
returns a value of 78125

IMPORTANT Be sure that any tag value you use as a divisor cannot at
some point have a value of zero. Expressions that
attempt to divide a number by zero produce an error at
run time.

String operands
The + operator can be used to join string operands. For example, the
expression “hello” + “world” returns: helloworld.
You cannot join string tags to analog tags.

Relational operators
Relational operators compare two numeric or string values to
provide a true or false result. If the statement is true, a value of 1 is
returned. If false, 0 is returned.
The relational operators are:
Symbols Operator Numeric String Example
Example

For the numeric examples, tag1 = 5 and tag2 = 7

For the string examples, serial_no = “ST009”
EQ, == equal tag1 == tag2 serial_no == “ST011”
false false

19-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Symbols Operator Numeric String Example
Example

NE, <> not equal tag1 <> tag2 serial_no <> “ST011”
true true
LT, < less than tag1 < tag2 serial_no < “ST011”
true true
GT, > greater than tag1 > tag2 serial_no > “ST011”
false false
LE, <= less than or tag1 <= tag2 serial_no <= “ST011”
equal to true true
GE, >= greater than or tag1 >= tag2 serial_no >= “ST011”
equal to false false

How string operands are evaluated

String operands are evaluated by case and by alphabetical order.
Upper case letters are greater than lower case letters. For example, H
is greater than h. Letters later in the alphabet are greater than those
earlier in the alphabet. For example, B is greater than A.

Logical operators
Logical operators determine the validity of one or more statements.
There are three logical operators: AND, OR, and NOT. The
operators return a non-zero value if the expression is true, or a 0 if
the expression is false.
Any statement that evaluates to a non-zero value is regarded as true.
For example, the statement tag1 is false if the value of tag1 is 0, and
true if tag1 has any other value.

Logical operators ■ 19-11

Preface
The logical operators are:

Symbols Operator Action Example

(For these examples, tag1 =
5 and tag2 = 7)

AND, && and Returns a 1 (tag1 < tag2) AND (tag1 == 5)

if the both statements are true;
statements returns a 1
to the right
and left of
the operator
are both
true.
OR, || or Returns a 1 (tag1 > tag2) OR (tag1 == 5)
if either the tag1 == 5 is true;
statement to returns a 1
the left or
right of the
operator is
true.
NOT negation Reverses the NOT (tag1 < tag2)
logical value although tag1 < tag2 is true,
of the NOT reverses the logical value;
statement it returns a 0
operates on.

IMPORTANT The parentheses are essential in the above expressions.

They determine the evaluation order of the operators.
For more information, see page 19-14.

Bitwise operators
Bitwise operators examine and manipulate individual bits within a
value.

IMPORTANT These operators are for integers only, not floating-point

numbers. Do not use them with tags or expressions that
return floating-point values.

19-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Symbol Operator Action (for examples, see page 19-14)

& AND Compares two integers or tags on a bit-by-bit

basis.
Returns an integer with a bit set to 1 if both the
corresponding bits in the original numbers are
1. Otherwise, the resulting bit is 0.
| inclusive Compares two integers or tags on a bit-by-bit
OR basis.
Returns an integer with a bit set to 1 if either or
both of the corresponding bits in the original
numbers are 1. If both bits are 0, the resulting
bit is 0.
^ exclusive Compares two integers or tags on a bit-by-bit
OR (XOR) basis.
Returns an integer with a bit set to 1 if the
corresponding bits in the original numbers
differ. If both bits are 1 or both are 0, the
resulting bit is 0.
>> right shift Shifts the bits within an integer or tag to the
right.
Shifts the bits within the left operand by the
amount specified in the right operand. The bit
on the right disappears.
Either a 0 or a 1 is shifted in on the left,
depending on whether the left-most bit is a 0 or
a 1, and whether the operand consists of a
signed or unsigned data type.
For signed data types, if the left-most bit is 0, a
0 is shifted in. If the left-most bit is 1, a 1 is
shifted in. In other words, the sign of the
number is preserved.
For unsigned data types, a 0 is always shifted in.
<< left shift Shifts the bits within an integer or tag to the left.
Shifts the bits within the left operand by the
amount specified in the right operand. The bit
on the left disappears and 0 always shifts in on
the right.
See “Using the left shift operator,” next.
~ complement Returns one’s complement; that is, it toggles the
bits within an integer or tag.
Reverses every bit within the number so every 1
bit becomes a 0 and vice versa.

Bitwise operators ■ 19-13

Preface
Using the left shift operator
If the left bit is a 1 an overflow occurs, and an error message is
generated. To prevent this, use the bitwise AND operator with the
left shift operator in an expression. For example:
(dev << 1) & 65535
where dev is a tag whose value is being shifted left, and 65535 is 1111
1111 1111 1111 in binary form.

Examples: Bitwise operators

For these examples tag1 = 5 (binary 0000 0000 0000 0101),
tag2 = 2 (binary 0000 0000 0000 0010)
tag1 & tag2
Returns 0 (binary 0000 0000 0000 0000).
tag1 | tag2
Returns 7 (binary 0000 0000 0000 0111).
tag1 ^ tag2
Returns 7 (binary 0000 0000 0000 0111).
tag1 >> 1
Returns 2 (binary 0000 0000 0000 0010).
tag1 << 1
Returns 10 (binary 0000 0000 0000 1010).
~ tag1
Returns -6 (binary 1111 1111 1111 1010).

Evaluation order of operators

Expressions with more than one operator are evaluated in this order:
Operators in parentheses are evaluated first.
Therefore, to change the order of precedence, use parentheses.
The operator with the highest precedence is evaluated next.
When two operators have equal precedence, they are evaluated
from left to right.

19-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Operators are evaluated in this order:

Evaluation order Symbols

1 (highest) ()
2 NOT
~
3 *
/
MOD, %
**
AND, &&
&
>>
<<
4 +
-
OR, ||
|
^
5 (lowest) EQ, ==
NE, <>
LT, <
GT, >
LE, <=
GE, >=

Examples: Evaluation order

For these examples, tag1 = 5, tag2 = 7, and tag3 = 10.

_____________________________

(tag1 > tag2) AND (tag1 < tag3)

is evaluated in this sequence:

1. tag1 > tag2 = 0

2. tag1 < tag3 = 1

3. 0 AND 1 = 0

The expression evaluates to 0 (false).

Evaluation order of operators ■ 19-15

Preface
_____________________________
tag1 > tag2 AND tag3
is evaluated in this sequence:
1. tag2 AND tag3 = 1
2. tag1 > 1 = 1

The expression evaluates to 1 (true).

_____________________________
NOT tag1 AND tag2 > tag3 ** 2
is evaluated in this sequence:
1. NOT tag1 = 0
2. 0 AND tag2 = 0
3. tag3 ** 2 = 100
4. 0 > 100 = 0

The expression evaluates to 0 (false).

19-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Mathematical functions
Use math functions to calculate the square root, log (natural or
base 10), or trigonometry ratios (in radians or degrees) of a tag.
These functions perform math on an expression:
This function Returns this value
SQRT (expression) The square root of the expression
LOG (expression) The natural log of the expression
LOG10 (expression) The base ten log of the expression
SIN (expression) The sine of the expression in radians
COS (expression) The cosine of the expression in radians
TAN (expression) The tangent of the expression in radians
ARCSIN (expression) The arc sine of the expression in radians
ARCCOS (expression) The arc cosine of the expression in radians
ARCTAN (expression) The arc tangent of the expression in
radians
SIND (expression) The sine of the expression in degrees
COSD (expression) The cosine of the expression in degrees
TAND (expression) The tangent of the expression in degrees
ARCSIND (expression) The arc sine of the expression in degrees
ARCCOSD (expression) The arc cosine of the expression in degrees
ARCTAND (expression) The arc tangent of the expression in
degrees

Mathematical functions ■ 19-17

Preface
Security functions
Use security functions to control access to your application.
These functions allow you to determine a user’s identity or security
rights in order to limit access to the application based on these
criteria.
This function Returns this value
CurrentUserHasCode True (1) if any of the specified security
(Security Code Letters) codes have been assigned to the user; false
(0) if not.
If checking multiple security codes, do not
type a space between the security code
letters.
For example:
CurrentUserHasCode (ABP)
returns the value 1 if the user has been
assigned one or more of the specified
codes.
CurrentUserName( ) A string containing the name of the
current user.
This function is case sensitive. All user
names use uppercase letters, so make sure
that you use uppercase letters in your
expression.

For more information about setting up security for your application,

see Chapter 13.
For an example of using the CurrentUserHasCode( x ) function, see
page 13-5. For examples of using the CurrentUserName( ) function,
see page 13-19.

If-then-else
If-then-else expressions carry out an action conditionally or branch
actions depending on the statements in the expression. The
if-then-else statements enable the expression to perform different
actions in different situations and to repeat activities until a
condition changes.
To build conditional expressions, use the relational operators and the
logical operators for the statement and values.
The if-then-else structure is:
if statement then value1 else value2

19-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

If the statement is true then the expression returns value1; if the
statement is false then the expression returns value2. If the result of
the statement is a non-zero value, the statement is true (and returns
value1); if the result is 0, the statement is false (and returns value2).
The if-then-else structure is illustrated below.

enter

true
statement

false

value2 value1

exit

If-then-else ■ 19-19
Preface
Nested if-then-else
You can also nest an if-then-else structure inside the then or else part
of an if-then-else structure.

Example 1: Nested if-then-else

This expression:
if statement1 then value1
else if statement2 then value2
else value3
has this interpretation:

enter

true
statement1

false

true
value1
statement2

false

value3 value2

exit

19-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Example 2: Nested if-then-else
This expression:

if statement1 then
if statement2 then value1
else value2
else value3

has this interpretation:

enter

true true
statement1 statement2 value1

false false

value3 value2

exit

Using write expressions

Write expressions allow the operator to enter a value at run time.
RSView substitutes the value the operator enters for the placeholder
in the expression, calculates the value of the expression, and writes
the result to the Value control. All write expressions must contain a
question mark (?) as a placeholder for the value the operator enters.

You can use write expressions with the numeric input enable button.
When the operator presses the button, a keypad or scratchpad
opens. The operator enters a value in the keypad or scratchpad, and
this value is substituted for the ? placeholder in the write expression.

Using write expressions ■ 19-21

Preface

Example: Using write expressions

In this example, the operator regulates the speed of a conveyor belt
by entering a value in feet or meters per second. When the operator
enters the value in meters per second, the value is converted to feet
per second before being passed to the data source.
The operator first indicates whether the value is in feet or meters by
pushing a maintained push button. The push button has one state
corresponding to feet per second, and the other state to meters per
second.
Then the operator presses the numeric input enable button and
enters the value for the conveyor speed in a numeric pop-up keypad.
The ? character in the write expression is the placeholder for the
value the operator enters.

To set up the maintained push button

1. In the Maintained Push Button Properties dialog box, in the
States tab, set up these states:
State 0—Value: 0, Caption: Feet/S
State 1—Value: 1, Caption: Meters/S
2. In the Connections tab, assign a digital tag called Feet_or_meters
to the Value control.

To set up the numeric input enable button

1. In the Numeric Input Enable Properties dialog box, in the Label
tab, type the caption “Enter conveyor speed”.
2. In the Connections tab, assign an analog tag called
Conveyor_speed to the Value control.
3. Assign this expression to the Optional Exp control:
if Feet_or_meters == 0 then
?
else
? * 3.281
RSView writes the result of the expression to the Conveyor_speed
tag at the data source.

19-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

20
Chapter

Creating embedded
variables
This chapter describes:
the types of embedded variables.
where you can create embedded variables.
using tag names and tag placeholders in embedded variables.
creating embedded variables.
cutting, copying, and pasting embedded variables.
editing and deleting embedded variables.
how embedded variables are updated at run time.
how embedded variables are displayed at run time.

About embedded variables

Embedded variables allow you to display values that change
dynamically at run time. You can use embedded variables in the text
captions on graphic objects, and in message text. You can use
multiple embedded variables in the same caption or message.
For example, you could embed a tag value and the time variable in a
local message. At run time when the local message is displayed, it is
updated to reflect the tag’s current value as the value changes. The
time is also updated as the time changes.
Embedded variables can consist of:
numeric (analog or digital) tags.
string tags.
tag placeholders. For information about tag placeholders, see
page 15-49.
the time.
the date.

About embedded variables ■ 20-1

Preface
The Objects sample application contains examples of embedded
variables.

Where you can create embedded variables

You can create embedded variables in these editors:
Graphic Displays—Use this editor to insert embedded variables
in the captions for graphic objects. For graphic objects with
multiple states, you can insert different embedded variables in
each state’s caption.
For information about specific graphic objects, see Chapter 16.
Local Messages—Use this editor to insert embedded variables in
local messages.
For more information about local messages, see page 14-34.
Information Messages—Use this editor to insert embedded
variables in information messages.
For more information about information messages, see
Chapter 12.
Alarm Setup—Use this editor to insert embedded variables in
alarm messages.
For more information about alarms, see Chapter 9.

Creating embedded variables

Embedded variables are case sensitive, and must use the proper
syntax to work. Otherwise, the embedded variable is treated as a
piece of text. Therefore, we do not recommend creating and editing
embedded variables manually. Instead, use the Insert Variable and
Edit variable dialog boxes.
For more information about editing embedded variables, see
page 20-8.

To open a dialog box for creating an embedded variable in

a graphic object’s caption:
1. Open the graphic object’s Properties dialog box.
2. Click the tab containing the Caption box.

20-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The Caption box is on the Label tab or the States tab, depending
on the type of object.
For text objects, use the Text box on the General tab.
3. Click Insert Variable.

4. Click the type of variable to insert.

5. Fill in the options in the dialog box that opens, as described in

the following sections.

To open a dialog box for creating an embedded variable in

a message:
1. In the Message column of the Local Messages, Information
Messages, or Alarm Setup editor, right click and then click Edit
String.

2. Click Insert Variable.

3. Click the type of variable to insert.

4. Fill in the options in the dialog box that opens, as described in

the following sections.

Creating numeric embedded variables

To create a numeric embedded variable

1. Do one of the following:

In a graphic object’s Properties dialog box, click Insert

Variable, and then click Numeric.
In a Message column, right-click, click Edit String, click
Insert Variable, and then click Numeric.

Creating embedded variables ■ 20-3

 Preface

2. Fill in the boxes as follows.

Tag
Type the name of an analog or digital tag, or type a tag
placeholder.
To open the Tag Browser and select a tag, click the Browse
button.
Browse button Number of digits
Select the maximum number of digits to display, up to 17 digits.
The decimal point and minus sign each count as a digit.
Decimal places
Select the number of digits to appear after the decimal point.
Fill left with
Select a character to fill the left of the display with if the value at
the data source contains fewer than the maximum number of
digits. If you don’t want to use a fill character, select None.
3. Click OK.

Example: Numeric embedded variable syntax

Numeric embedded variables use this syntax:
/*N:# Tag_name Fill_character DP:#*/
where
N indicates it’s a numeric embedded variable.
# indicates the number of digits.
Tag_name is the tag to display; you can also type a tag placeholder
here.

20-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Fill_character is the fill character to use: NOFILL, ZEROFILL, or
SPACEFILL.
# indicates the number of decimal places.
To display the current value of an analog tag called Oven_temp, with
3 digits, no decimal places, and no fill character, you would type this:
/*N:3 Oven_temp NOFILL DP:0*/

Creating string embedded variables

To create a string embedded variable
1. Do one of the following:
In a graphic object’s Properties dialog box, click Insert
Variable, and then click String.
In a Message column, right-click, click Edit String, click
Insert Variable, and then click String.

2. Fill in the boxes as follows.

Tag
Type the name of a string tag, or type a tag placeholder.
To open the Tag Browser and select a tag, click the Browse
button.
Browse button Fixed number of characters
Check this box if you want the variable to always display the
same number of characters, and then select the number of
characters to display, up to 255.
If you clear this box, the length of the embedded variable changes
to accommodate the length of the string tag’s value.
3. Click OK.

Creating embedded variables ■ 20-5

Preface

Example: String embedded variable syntax

String embedded variables use this syntax:
/*S:# Tag_name*/
where
S indicates it’s a string embedded variable.
# indicates the number of characters if you select a fixed number of
characters; type 0 if you don’t want to use a fixed number.
Tag_name is the tag to display; you can also type a tag placeholder
here.
To display the current value of a string tag called Blower_status,
with a fixed length of 20 characters, you would type this:
/*S:20 Blower_status*/

Creating time and date embedded variables

To create a time or date embedded variable

1. Do one of the following:

In a graphic object’s Properties dialog box, click Insert

Variable, and then click Time/Date.
In a Message column, right-click, click Edit String, click
Insert Variable, and then click Time/Date.

2. Select the time and date format to display. The options include
time only and date only.
3. Click OK.

20-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Example: Time and date embedded variable syntax
Time and date embedded variables use this syntax:
/*Time_date_format*/
where
Time_date_format uses one of these character sequences:
These characters Specify this format

SD Short date
LD Long date
SDT Short date and time
LDT Long date and time
T Time
TSD Time and short date
TLD Time and long date

To display the time followed by the short date, you would type this:
/*TSD*/
A space is placed between the time and date when the embedded
variable is displayed at run time.

Cutting, copying, and pasting embedded variables

You can cut, copy, or paste an embedded variable between objects
and editors.
To do this Do this And then press this

Cut Select the text Ctrl-X

Copy Select the text Ctrl-C
Paste Double-click in the Message Ctrl-V
column or click in the
Caption box and then
position the cursor where
you want the text

Cutting, copying, and pasting embedded variables ■ 20-7

Preface
Editing embedded variables
To edit an embedded variable
1. In the Caption box or String Edit dialog box, double-click the
embedded variable, or right-click the variable and then click Edit
Variable.
2. Make your changes in the dialog box that opens.
3. Click OK.

Deleting embedded variables

To delete an embedded variable

" Click the embedded variable to select it, and then press Delete.

How embedded variables are updated at run time

At run time, this is how embedded variables are displayed and
updated:
Graphic objects—When a display containing a graphic object
that uses an embedded variable is open, the value of the
embedded variable is updated whenever a new tag value is read
from the data source. For time and date embedded variables, the
time and date are updated as the system time and date change.
Local messages—When a display containing a local message
display object is open, and the message the object is displaying
contains an embedded variable, the value of the embedded
variable is updated whenever a new tag value is read from the
data source. For time and date embedded variables, the time and
date are updated as the system time and date change.
Information messages—The value of the embedded variable is
read when the information message is first displayed. It is not
updated after that.
If the message is printed, it is printed using the value the variable
had when the message was first displayed. This value is retained
if you shut down and restart the application.
Alarm messages—The value of the embedded variable is read
when the alarm occurs, and is displayed in the message associated
with the alarm. It is not updated after that.
If the message is printed, it is printed using the value the variable
had when the alarm first occurred. This value is retained if you
shut down and restart the application.

20-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

How embedded variables are displayed at run time
If there is no valid data available for the embedded variable, the
variable is replaced with question marks (?). This could occur when
a display first opens and the data has not arrived yet, or when there
is a problem that prevents communication with the data source.
If a string or numeric embedded variable has been set up but no tag
has been assigned, the embedded variable is replaced with
asterisks (*).

Numeric embedded variables

The value shown for a numeric embedded variable depends on
whether the tag value is a floating-point number or an integer.
Integer values are displayed as is. Floating-point values are rounded
to fit the specified number of digits for the variable.
For example, if the variable is set up to show 6 digits, 1234.56 is
rounded to 1234.6. 1234.44 is rounded to 1234.4. The decimal counts
as one of the digits.
For more information about how values are rounded, see page 7-2.
If the tag value, including the decimal point and minus sign, contains
more digits than specified for the variable, the numeric variable is
replaced with asterisks.

Number formats

The numeric variable uses the number format you set up on the
run-time computer. For example, if the run-time computer is set up
to use a comma for the decimal symbol, the numeric variable uses a
comma for the decimal symbol.
For information about specifying time, date, and number formats on
the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35. For
information about specifying time, date, and number formats in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP, see page 24-15.

How embedded variables are displayed at run time ■ 20-9

Preface
String embedded variables
For string embedded variables that do not use a fixed number of
characters, the entire string tag value is displayed, unless a null
character is read. Nothing after a null character is displayed.
If a fixed number of characters is used, the variable displays the value
of the tag up to the number of characters specified, unless a null
character is encountered before the specified length. Nothing is
displayed after a null character. If necessary, spaces are used to make
up the required number of characters.
Null characters have a hex value of 0. The null character indicates the
end of string input. It does not add to the actual string length.

Time and date embedded variables

For embedded variables that show both the time and the date, a
space is placed between the time and date when the embedded
variable is displayed at run time.

Time and date formats

Time and date embedded variables use the time and date formats you
set up on the run-time computer. For example, if you specify the
short date format, at run time the display uses the short date format
that the run-time computer uses.
For information about specifying time, date, and number formats on
the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, see page 25-35. For
information about specifying time, date, and number formats in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP, see page 24-15.

20-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

21
Chapter

Creating macros

This chapter describes:

using macros to assign values to tags.
when to use macros.
running macros when tags or expressions change value.
creating macros.
where to assign macros.

Using macros to assign values to tags

A macro is a list of tag assignments stored in a text file, in the format
<tag>=<value>. Each assignment assigns a value to a tag. The value
can be in the form of another tag, an expression, a numeric constant,
or a string.

Examples: Using macros to set tag values

Tag1 = 8
Sets the value of Tag1 to 8.

Tank1\Message = “Tank1 overflow”

Sets the string tag Tank1\Message to Tank1 overflow.

Tag1 = Tag2
Sets the value of Tag1 to be the same as Tag2.

Tag1 = Tag1 + 1
Increases the value of Tag1 by 1.

Tag1 = if (Tag2 < Tag1) then 4 else 3

Performs the if-then-else calculation and stores the result in Tag1.

Using macros to assign values to tags ■ 21-1

Preface
1Pump = {Industry-2} + {2Pump}
Adds the values of Industry-2 and 2Pump and stores the result in
1Pump.
Braces surround Industry-2 because of the dash in the name. Braces
surround 2Pump because the name starts with a number. No braces
are used for 1Pump because this name is on the left side of the equal
sign.
For more information about expression syntax, see Chapter 19.

When to use macros

You can assign macros to run when:
the application starts running or shuts down.
a graphic display opens or closes.
a user logs in or out.
a specified tag or expression changes to a new non-zero value
(using global connections).
an operator presses a macro button.
At run time, when the macro runs, the values are sent to the tags at
the data source.

IMPORTANT At run time, the tag assignments are executed

asynchronously. That is, the system does not wait for
the completion of one tag assignment before executing
the next. Therefore, do not rely on the order of
assignments to control your process.

Example: Using a goto display button to run a macro

This example shows you how to run a macro when the operator
presses a goto display button. The macro resets a group of
production tags to 0.
1. Create a macro called Reset, with these tag assignments:
TotalProductionUnits=0
LineDownTime=0
TotalRejects=0

21-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. Create an On Top display containing the text “Production values
have been reset.” Create a close display button in the display,
with the caption “OK.” Call the display Reset Message.
3. Create a goto display button with the caption “Reset Production
Data.” Assign the Reset Message display and the Reset macro to
the button.
At run time when the operator presses the Reset Production Data
button, the display opens and the macro runs. When the operator
presses OK the display closes.

Running macros when tags or expressions change

value
You can use global connections to run macros when tags or
expressions change value. This means you can use the data source to
trigger the macro to run.
RSView allows you to create up to five macros for use with global
connections. The macros must be named Macro1, Macro2, Macro3,
Macro4, and Macro5 in order to work with global connections.
For more information about global connections, see Chapter 19.

Example: Using macros to reset tag values

This example shows you how to run a macro whenever the operator
needs to reset production information tags to known values.
The macro writes the desired values to the tags whenever the
operator presses a momentary push button.
1. Create a memory tag called ResetProdData.
2. Create a momentary push button with the caption “Reset
Production Data.” Assign the ResetProdData tag to the Value
control.
3. Create a macro called Macro1, with these tag assignments:
TotalProductionUnits=0
LineDownTime=0
TotalRejects=0

Running macros when tags or expressions change value ■ 21-3

Preface
4. In the Global Connections editor, assign the ResetProdData tag
to the Remote Macro1 control.
When the operator presses the Reset Production Data button, the
value of the ResetProdData tag changes from 0 to 1. This tells
RSView to run Macro1, which writes the specified values to the tags
in the macro.

Creating macros
To create a macro
1. Open the Macros editor.

text

21-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. In the Tag column, type the name of the tag to assign a value to,
or click the Browse button to open the Tag Browser and select a
tag.
Browse button in 3. In the Expression column, type a tag name, expression, or
the Tag column
numeric value, or click the Browse button to open the
Expression editor and create an expression.
Create the expression in the Expression editor if you want to
check the expression syntax.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to assign values to other tags.
5. On the File menu click Save, or click the Save tool.
6. In the Component name box, type a name for the macro, and
Save tool then click OK.
7. Click Close.

Where to assign macros

Once you’ve created the macros you want to use, assign the macros
in these editors:
In this editor Do this
Startup Assign application startup and shutdown macros. See
Chapter 23.
Graphic Assign macros to run when displays open or close,
Displays using the Display Settings dialog box. See Chapter 14.
User Accounts Assign macros to run when users log in and log out.
See Chapter 13.
Global Specify the tags or expressions that will run the macros
Connections named Macro1 to Macro5. See Chapter 19.

Where to assign macros ■ 21-5

22
Chapter

Setting up display
navigation
This chapter describes:
what display navigation is.
developing a hierarchy of displays.
testing display navigation.
using graphic objects to navigate.
controlling display changes remotely.
setting up remote display changes.
This chapter describes methods for navigating between graphic
displays. For information about navigating between objects in a
graphic display, see Chapter 16.

About display navigation

The term display navigation refers to the way the operator moves
between the graphic displays that make up an application.
Use these methods to set up display navigation for your application:
Develop a hierarchy of graphic displays, to chart how users will
navigate the application.
Determine which users will have access to which parts of the
application.
Create graphic objects that the operator can use to navigate the
application.
Use the Remote Display Number control to automatically
control display changes. The use of this control is optional.
Assign it in the Global Connections editor, as described in
Chapter 8.

About display navigation ■ 22-1

Preface
In the Startup editor, specify the graphic display to open when
the application starts.
For information about specifying the startup display, see
Chapter 23.
Set up security so that only authorized users have access to the
application or parts of the application.
For information about setting up security, see Chapter 13.

Developing a hierarchy of displays

A display hierarchy is a series of graphic displays that provide
progressively more detail as users move through them. Design your
display hierarchy to meet the needs of the various users, including
managers, supervisors, and operators.
If you plan to use security, determine which groups of users need
access to which displays, and decide where in the hierarchy to locate
login, logout, and shutdown buttons. For information about setting
up security, see Chapter 13.
A display hierarchy could include:
an initial graphic display for logging in.
a graphic display that serves as a menu.
an overview of the plant.
a comprehensive display of each process being monitored.
process-specific displays that provide more detail.
management summary displays.
trend displays of historical and current data.

22-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The following illustration shows a sample display hierarchy.

Log In

Main Menu

Alarm System Process Management

Summary Status Overview Summary

Historical Data
Trend Display

Process Process Process

Monitoring 1 Monitoring 2 Monitoring 3

Area 1 Area 2 Area 3

Trend Display Trend Display Trend Display

Testing display navigation

Once you set up display navigation for your application, test the
application to make sure that navigation flows smoothly and that
you have avoided problems like these:

A graphic display contains no buttons for moving forward or

back.

When a graphic display closes, no other display is open and there

is no way to continue using the application.

For information about testing your application, see page 23-3.

Testing display navigation ■ 22-3

Preface
Using graphic objects to navigate
Use these graphic objects to navigate through the displays in the
application:
Use this object To do this
Goto display button Open the specified graphic display.
Goto Configuration Mode Stop the application and open the
button Configuration mode dialog box.
Return to display button Close the current display and open the
previous display.
Close display button Close the current display. Can send a
value to a tag when the display closes.
Display list selector Provide a list of graphic displays so the
operator can select which display to
open.
Shutdown button Stop the application and exit RSView
ME Station.

The behavior of these graphic objects depends on which types of

graphic displays are used. See the following sections for details.
For detailed information about setting up graphic objects, see
Chapter 16.

Display type
The display type you use gives you additional control over how the
operator navigates between displays. For example, use the On Top
type to keep a graphic display on top at all times, even when another
display has focus. Or use the Replace type if you want a display to
replace all other open displays when it opens.
For information about specifying the display type, see page 14-12.

Goto display buttons

When you set up a goto display button, specify the graphic display
to open when the operator presses the button at run time.
The specified display doesn’t open if the operator does not have
security access for the display.
You can also assign a parameter file that assigns tags to tag
placeholders in the display when the display opens. For more
information about parameter files, see page 14-29.

22-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

For information about setting up goto display buttons, see
page 16-128.

How display types affect the button’s behavior

The goto display button’s behavior at run time also depends on
which types of graphic displays are already open and which type of
display it is opening:
If the graphic display assigned to the button is a Replace display,
it closes any open On Top or Replace displays. It does not close
any On Top displays that use the Cannot Be Replaced option.
If the display assigned to the button is already open, but does not
have focus, pressing the button gives the display focus.
The operator cannot use the goto display button to open Replace
displays if display change is currently controlled remotely (using
global connections). But the operator can still open On Top displays.

Goto Configure Mode buttons

When the operator presses a Goto Configuration Mode button at
run time, the current application stops running and the RSView ME
Station dialog box opens.
While in configure mode, the operator can change applications,
application settings, and terminal settings. For more information
about configure mode, see page 25-4.

Return to display buttons

When the operator presses a return to display button at run time, the
graphic display that the button is on closes and the display that was
previously open reopens.
The current display does not close if:
the display change is currently controlled remotely (using global
connections).
there were no previously opened Replace displays.
the operator does not have security access for the previous
display. This can only occur if a new user logs in using a login
button in the current display.
The return to display button only goes back to the most recent
display. It doesn’t go back through a series of displays.

Using graphic objects to navigate ■ 22-5

Preface
For information about setting up return to display buttons, see
page 16-23.

How display types affect the button’s behavior

Both the current display and the previous display must be Replace
displays. When the operator presses the return to display button:
If the graphic display that is closing is a Replace display, the
display closes and the previously opened Replace display opens.
Any On Top displays that were previously open with the
Replace display are not reopened.
If the graphic display that is closing is an On Top display, the
display closes but no display is reopened.
We therefore recommend that you use return to display buttons in
Replace displays only.

Example: Navigating through displays

This example uses the display hierarchy illustrated on page 22-3,
and shows what happens as the operator navigates through the
hierarchy. The graphic displays are all Replace displays.
1. In the Main Menu display, the operator uses a display list selector
to open the Process Overview display.
2. In the Process Overview display, the operator presses a goto
display button to open the Process Monitoring 1 display.
3. After viewing the state of the process, the operator presses a
return to display button to close the current display and reopen
the Process Overview display.
4. In the Process Overview display, the operator presses a return to
display button. Which display opens? The Process Monitoring 1
display (because this was the previously opened display).
To return to the Main Menu display from the Process Overview
display, the operator would have to press a goto display button
that is set up to open the Main Menu display.

Close display buttons

When the operator presses a close display button at run time, the
graphic display that the button is on closes. You can set up the
button to write out a value when the display closes.

22-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

If the graphic display that is closing is a Replace display, and the
display change is controlled remotely, the display does not close. If
the display does not close, the close value, if any, is not written out.
If the display change is controlled by the operator and the graphic
display that is closing is a Replace display, if there are no On Top
displays open, an empty window is displayed. The operator will not
be able to use the application again (unless a remote display change
occurs or an alarm, activity, or information message display opens).
We therefore recommend that you use close display buttons in On
Top displays only.
For information about setting up close display buttons, see
page 16-135.

Display list selectors

Use the display list selector to show a list of graphic displays that the
operator can choose from. The operator can scroll through the list
and select the graphic display to open.
The specified display doesn’t open if the operator does not have
security access for the display.
You can also assign a parameter file that assigns tags to tag
placeholders in the display when the display opens. For more
information about parameter files, see page 14-29.
For information about setting up display list selectors, see
page 16-142.

How display types affect the selector’s behavior

The display list selector’s behavior at run time also depends on
which types of graphic displays are already open and which type of
display it is opening:
If the selected graphic display is a Replace display, it closes any
open On Top and Replace displays. It does not close On Top
displays that use the Cannot Be Replaced option.
If the selected display is an On Top display, it opens on top of the
current display. The current display does not close.
The operator cannot use the display list selector to open Replace
displays if display change is currently controlled remotely. But
the operator can still open On Top displays (with or without the
Cannot Be Replaced option).

Using graphic objects to navigate ■ 22-7

Preface
Selecting the display to open

The operator can scroll through the list and select displays using the
key button graphic objects, or, if the list has the input focus, by
using the arrow keys and Enter key on a keypad or external
keyboard.
You can link key buttons to a specific display list selector, or set up
the buttons to work with whichever object is selected in the graphic
display.
For information about input focus, see page 16-12. For information
about linking buttons to the display list selector, see page 16-14.

Shutdown buttons
When the operator presses the shutdown button at run time, the
application stops and RSView ME Station closes.
To prevent an unauthorized user from stopping the application,
assign visibility animation to the shutdown button. For details, see
page 13-20.
For information about setting up shutdown buttons, see page 16-23.

Controlling display changes remotely

To control display changes remotely, you can set up the data source
to open graphic displays using global connections.
Global connections are controls that apply to your entire run-time
application. Global connections allow the data source to control or
interact with your application at run time.
For example, the Remote Display Number control is a global
connection that you can use to control display changes from the data
source. You can also use global connections to print graphic displays
from the data source, to run macros from the data source, and to
control the date and time displayed on the run-time terminal. For
more information about global connections, see Chapter 8.

22-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

23
Chapter

Specifying startup
settings, testing
applications, and
creating run-time
applications
This chapter describes:
specifying startup settings.
testing your application.
creating run-time application files.

Specifying startup settings

Use the Startup editor to specify which application processes and
components to start when the application starts at run time.
You can specify startup settings once you’ve set up all the parts of
the application, or you can specify processes and select components
in the Startup editor as you create them.

Specifying startup settings ■ 23-1

Preface
To specify startup settings

1. Open the Startup editor.

text

2. Select the application processes and components to use when the

application starts:

Alarms
Check this box to monitor tag values for alarm conditions at run
time.

For information about setting up alarms, see Chapter 9.

23-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Information messages
Check this box to display information messages at run time.
For information about setting up information messages, see
Chapter 12.
Data logging
Check this box to start data logging when the application starts.
Select the data log model to use from the list of models in the
application.
For information about setting up data logging, see Chapter 11.
Startup macro
Check this box to use a startup macro. The startup macro assigns
values to tags when the application starts. Select the macro to use
from the list of macros in the application.
For information about creating macros, see Chapter 21.
Shutdown macro
Check this box to use a shutdown macro. The shutdown macro
assigns values to tags when the application shuts down. Select the
macro to use from the list of macros in the application.
Initial graphic
Check this box to specify the graphic display to open when the
application starts. Select the display to open from the list of
displays in the application.
If you do not select a display, an empty window is displayed at
run time.
For information about creating graphic displays, see Chapter 14.
Parameter file for the initial graphic
Check this box to use a parameter file to replace tag placeholders
in the graphic display that opens when the application starts.
Select the parameter file from the list of parameter files in the
application.
For information about creating parameter files, see page 14-34.
3. Click OK.
Once you specify the startup settings, test your application.

Testing your application

You can test your application in RSView Studio at any time during
the development process, to make sure that everything works the
way you intend.

Testing your application ■ 23-3

 Preface
If the development computer is connected to the data source, you
can test all functions of the application, including communications
and alarm monitoring.

An RSView ME Station emulator opens on the development

computer and runs the application. This run-time version of the
application is a temporary version for testing use only. You cannot
run it on another computer.

There is a two-hour time limit for test running the application in

RSView Studio.

The procedure in this section shows you how to test your entire
application. For information about testing a single graphic display,
see page 14-11.

To test your application in RSView Studio

1. On the Application menu, click Test Application, or click the

Test Application tool.
Test Application tool
2. Test your application.

3. To stop your application, press a shutdown button, or type X.

Make sure you provide the operator with a method for shutting
down the application at run time. For more information about
methods for shutting down applications, see page 25-37.

Once you’ve tested your application to make sure everything works

the way you intend, create the run-time application file and transfer
the file to the run-time computer.

Creating run-time application files

Before you can run your application, you must create a run-time
version. When you create the run-time version, RSView Studio
compiles all of the necessary application information into a single
file with the extension .mer.

To create a run-time application

1. In RSView Studio, with the application open, on the Application

menu click Create Runtime Application.

23-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

2. If desired, specify a different directory in which to save the
run-time application file.
The default directory is \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\Runtime.
3. If desired, in the File name box, type a different name for the
run-time application file.
The default is to use the same name as the development
application.
4. Click Save.
RSView creates a run-time version of the application in the
directory you specify. If any editors are open, you are first
prompted to save any unsaved changes.
For information about transferring the run-time application to a
Windows 2000 or Windows XP platform, see Chapter 24. For
information about transferring the run-time application to a
PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal, see Chapter 25. For
information about transferring the run-time application to a
RAC6182 terminal, see Chapter 26.

Creating run-time application files ■ 23-5

24
Chapter

Preparing to run
applications in
Windows 2000 or
Windows XP

This chapter describes:

specifying the time, date, and number formats to use at run time.

using the DeskLock tool to prevent users from switching to

another application or having access to the desktop at run time.

moving the application to another Windows 2000 or

Windows XP computer.

starting RSView ME Station.

setting up communication drivers in Windows 2000 or

Windows XP.

specifying the printers to use at run time.

setting up serial ports for use with KEPServerEnterprise

communications.

opening and running applications in Windows 2000 or

Windows XP.

other methods for starting RSView ME Station, including using

startup parameters and starting RSView ME Station
automatically when Windows starts.

For information about setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics at run

time, see Chapter 10.

■ 24-1
Preface
Summary of steps
Follow these steps to:
install the necessary hardware and software on the run-time
computer.
transfer your Windows 2000 or Windows XP application to the
run-time computer.
run your application.
For information about installing RSView ME Station, see the
RSView Machine Edition Installation Guide.

Installing hardware and software on the run-time computer

1. If you will be printing displays, alarms, or diagnostics messages,
set up printer connections on the run-time computer.
For more information, see page 24-8.
2. If you are using RSLinx Enterprise, set up communications as
explained in Chapter 5.
3. If you are using an OPC server other than RSLinx, install the
OPC server software on the run-time computer or on another
computer on the network.
For installation information, see the documentation supplied by
your OPC server vendor. For information about OPC, see
Chapter 5.
If you are using RSLinx as the OPC server on the run-time
computer, install RSLinx on the run-time computer. If you are
using RSLinx on a remote computer, install RSLinx on the
remote computer.
4. If your application uses third-party ActiveX objects, install and
register the Windows 2000 or Windows XP version of the objects
on the run-time computer.
For information about ActiveX objects, see page 15-23.
5. If the run-time computer uses different time, date, or number
formats than the development computer, specify the time, date,
and number formats to use at run time.
For more information, see page 24-15.
6. If desired, use the DeskLock tool to prevent users from
switching to another software application or the desktop at run
time.
For more information, see page 24-15.

24-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Transferring the application

" Move the application to the Windows 2000 or Windows XP

run-time computer.
For more information, see page 24-3.

Preparing to run the application

1. On the run-time computer, start RSView ME Station.
For more information, see page 24-4.
2. In RSView ME Station, set up communication drivers (if you
have not already done so).
For more information, see page 24-7.
3. In RSView ME Station, set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics (if you
have not already done so).
For more information, see Chapter 10.
4. In RSView ME Station, specify the printers to use.
For more information, see page 24-8.
5. In RSView ME Station, load and run the application you just
transferred.
For more information, see page 24-5.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to run the
application. For information about running your application, see
Chapter 27.

Moving the application to the run-time computer

The run-time application file has the extension .mer. You can use any
standard file transfer method to copy your run-time application
from the development computer to the run-time computer.
You can:
copy the application file from the development computer to a
floppy disk, and then from the floppy disk to the run-time
computer.
if the application file is too large to fit on a floppy disk, use a
larger storage device such as a Zipt disk.
if the development and run-time computers are on the same
network, use Windows Explorer or My Computer to move the
file.
For information about creating the run-time application file, see
Chapter 23.

Moving the application to the run-time computer ■ 24-3

Preface
Starting RSView ME Station
Before running your application for the first time, use the RSView
ME Station dialog box to:

load the application.

set up the communication driver to use at run time (if you have
not already done so).

if you are using a KEPServerEnterprise data server, specify the

port to use for serial communications.

set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time computer.

For information about setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics, see

Chapter 10.

specify the printers to use at run time.

To start RSView ME Station

" On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell

Software, RSView Enterprise, and then click RSView ME Station.
The RSView ME Station dialog box opens.

For information about other methods of starting RSView ME

Station, see page 24-10.

24-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Opening and running applications in Windows 2000
or Windows XP
You can run any run-time application that is on the run-time
computer. Run-time applications have the extension .mer.

To open the application

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Load Application.

2. Navigate to the folder containing the application’s .mer file, and

then click the file name.
3. Click Open.
The application name is displayed in the Current application
name box in the RSView ME Station dialog box.
4. Click yes to replace the terminal’s RSLinx Enterprise settings
with the application’s RSLinx Enterprise settings. Click No to
keep the terminal’s RSLinx Enterprise settings.
5. To run the application, click Run Application.

Editing device shortcuts

You can use RSView ME Station to edit device shortcuts that have
been set up in the run-time application.
Before editing device shortcuts, open the application containing the
device shortcut you want to edit, as described in the previous
section.

Editing device shortcuts ■ 24-5

Preface
To edit device shortcuts
1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Application Settings.
2. Double-click Device Shortcuts.
3. Double-click the name of the shortcut you want to edit.
4. In the Select Device dialog, navigate through the tree, click the
device you want the shortcut to point to, and then click OK.
If you cannot see the device you want, use the up and down
arrows. When the device goes off the screen to the right, press
CTRL and the right or left arrows on the scrollbar.

Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time

computer
You can set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time computer
using the RSView ME Station dialog.

To set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time

computer
1. In RSView ME Station. click Terminal Settings.
2. Double-click Diagnostics Setup.
The FactoryTalk Diagnostics Setup dialog opens. Set up
FactoryTalk Diagnostics as described in Chapter 10.
3. Click OK to save your changes and return to RSView ME
Station.

24-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Setting up serial ports for use with
KEPServerEnterprise communications
If you plan to use KEPServerEnterprise and serial communications,
you must specify which COM port to use.
For information about setting up communications in
KEPServerEnterprise, see KEPServerEnterprise Help.

To specify the COM port to use for serial communications

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Networks and Communications.
2. Click KEPWare Serial Port IDs, and then click the enter key.

3. In the KepServer Serial Port IDs box, click the serial port ID you
specified when you set up the KEPServerEnterprise channel.
If you forget which serial port ID you specified, in the
KEPServerEnterprise software click the channel, and then click
Edit Port. The ID box displays the serial port you assigned to the
channel.
4. Click Close to confirm your changes.

Setting up drivers in Windows 2000 or Windows XP

Use RSLinx Enterprise to set up communication drivers for your
Windows 2000 or Windows XP run-time application. You can set up
the drivers directly in RSLinx Enterprise, or open RSLinx Enterprise
via the RSView ME Station dialog box.

Setting up drivers in Windows 2000 or Windows XP ■ 24-7

Preface
To set up the Windows 2000 or Windows XP driver to use
at run time

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings.

2. Double-click Networks and Communications.

3. Click RSLinx Communications, and then click the enter key.

4. Click the driver you want to edit, and then click Edit Driver.

For information about setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers, see

the RSLinx documentation.
5. When you’re finished setting up the driver, click Close.

Once the driver is set up, RSView ME Station automatically starts

the driver software when you run the application.

Specifying the printers to use at run time

To specify the printers to use at run time

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,

and then double-click Print Setup.

2. Double-click Display Print Setup.

24-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

3. Click Printer.

Specifying the printers to use at run time ■ 24-9

Preface
4. Modify the print options as required.
For detailed information about printer options, refer to your
Windows documentation.
5. Click OK.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to set up additional printers.
7. Click OK to confirm the printer settings and return to the
RSView ME Station dialog box.
8. Click Cancel to discard your changes and return to the RSView
ME Station dialog box.
You can use local or network printers to print diagnostics messages,
alarm messages, and graphic displays at run time. If desired, you can
use a different printer for each type of printing.

Other methods for starting RSView ME Station

This section describes the various methods you can use to start
RSView ME Station.
When you start RSView ME Station, you can use startup parameters
to:
start running an application.
automatically delete an application’s log files before running the
application.
replace RSLinx communications.
You can also set up RSView ME Station to start automatically when
Windows starts.

To start RSView ME Station, do one of the following

On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, and then click RSView ME Station.
On the desktop, double-click the shortcut icon RSView ME
Station.
In the Windows Explorer, double-click MERuntime.exe.
This file is located in \Program Files\Rockwell Software\
RSView Enterprise.
On the Windows Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type
the path to the MERuntime.exe file.

24-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To search for the file, click Browse. When you’ve specified the
file to open, click OK.
The RSView ME Station dialog box opens.
Use the dialog box to set up communication drivers, set up
FactoryTalk Diagnostics, specify printers, delete log files, set up
serial ports for use with KEPServerEnterprise communications, and
specify the application to run.
For information about setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics, see
Chapter 10. For information about deleting log files, see Chapter 26.

To start RSView ME Station and start an application at the

same time

" In the Windows Explorer, double-click the application’s .mer file.

By default, this file is located in \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\Runtime.
The RSView ME Station dialog box opens, with the application
selected.

Using startup parameters

When you start RSView ME Station, you can use startup parameters
to start running an application at the same time, and to automatically
delete an application’s log files before running the application.
If you use startup parameters, the RSView ME Station dialog box is
bypassed.
You can use these startup parameters:
/r—runs the application
/d—deletes the application’s alarm and data log files before
running the application
/o replaces the terminal’s communication configuration with
the application’s communication configuration.
For more information about deleting data log files, see
page 25-36.
You can use the /r parameter alone, or with the /d or /o parameters.
You cannot use the /d or /o parameters alone.
To use the startup parameters, you must specify both the path to the
MERuntime.exe file and the path to the application’s .mer file.

Other methods for starting RSView ME Station ■ 24-11

Preface
To use startup parameters
1. On the Windows Start menu, click Run.
2. In the Open box, type the path to the MERuntime.exe file, then a
space, then the path to the application’s .mer file, followed by the
startup parameters to use. If the paths contain spaces, enclose
them in double quotes.
If you accepted the default file locations, you would type this:
“C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\RSView Enterprise\
MERuntime.exe” “C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\
Runtime\ApplicationName.mer” /r /d /o
If you don’t want to delete the application’s log files, omit the /d
parameter. If you don’t want to replace the terminals’
communication configuration, omit the /o parameter.
3. Click OK.
The application starts running.

Starting RSView ME Station when Windows

starts
If desired, you can set up RSView ME Station to start automatically
when Windows starts. You can also run an application automatically
when Windows starts.

To start RSView ME Station automatically

1. On the Windows Start menu, select Settings, and then click
Taskbar & Start Menu.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Add.
3. Browse to the location of the MERuntime.exe file.
This file is located in \Program Files\Rockwell Software\
RSView Enterprise.
4. Click Next.
5. Click the Startup folder (in the Start menu\Programs folder), and
then click Next.
6. Type a name for the shortcut, such as RSView ME Station, and
then click Finish.
7. Click OK.

24-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 From now on, RSView ME Station starts automatically when
you start Windows.

To start RSView ME Station and run an application

automatically

1. In Windows 2000, on the Windows Start menu, select Settings,

and then click Taskbar & Start Menu.
In Windows XP, on the Windows Start menu, click Control
Panel, Taskbar & Start Menu, Appearance and Themes, Taskbar
& Start Menu, Start Menu Tab, and then click Classic Start Menu.
2. In Windows 2000, click the Advanced tab, and then click Add.

In Windows XP, click Customize, and then click Add.

3. In the “Type the location of the item” box, type the path to the
MERuntime.exe file, then a space, then the path to the
application’s .mer file, followed by the startup parameters to use.
If the paths contain spaces, enclose them in double quotes.
If you accepted the default file locations, you would type this:
“C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\RSView Enterprise\
MERuntime.exe” “C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\
Runtime\ApplicationName.mer” /r /d /o
If you don’t want to delete the application’s log files, omit the /d
parameter. If you don’t want to replace the terminals’
communication configuration, omit the /o parameter.
4. Click Next.

5. Click the Startup folder (in the Start menu\Programs folder), and
then click Next.
6. Type a name for the shortcut, such as the application name, and
then click Finish.
7. Click OK.

From now on, RSView ME Station starts automatically when

you start Windows, and the specified application starts running.

For more information about changing settings in Windows 2000 or

Windows XP, see your Windows documentation.

Other methods for starting RSView ME Station ■ 24-13

Preface
Deleting log files on the run-time computer
When you run your application, RSView ME Station stores log files
for alarms and data logging (if you use these features). When you
start RSView ME Station, you can delete the alarm and data log files
for the selected application, or for all the applications on the
run-time computer.

Running a newer version of the application

If you run a newer version of an application, the alarm log file for
the older version is deleted automatically. The data log file for the
older version is retained, to allow the display of historical data in
trends.
For more information about the alarm log file, see page 9-7. For
more information about data log files, see page 11-2.

Deleting log files at application startup

To delete log files for the selected application

" In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Yes to Delete log
files before running. Click No to keep the log files.
All alarm and data log files for the selected application are deleted.

To delete log files for all applications on the run-time

computer
1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal settings.
2. Double-click Delete Log Files.
3. Click Yes to Delete all log files on the run-time computer. Click
No to keep all log files on the run-time computer.
Only log files for data log models that use the default path are
deleted when you use this option. All alarm log files are deleted.
For more information about data log files, see page 11-2.

24-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Specifying time, date, and number formats
Time, date, and number formats are used by these graphic objects:
numeric display
gauges
time and date display
trend
alarm banner
alarm list
The time and date formats are also used when printing the alarm
history report (using the print alarm history button).
If the run-time computer uses different time, date, or number
formats than the development computer, specify the time, date, and
number formats to use at run time.
You can also change these formats after the application is running,
but you must shut down and restart the application for the changes
to take effect.

To specify time, date, and number formats

1. On the Windows Start menu, select Settings, and then click
Control Panel.
2. Double-click Regional Options.
3. Specify the locale to use, and then select the number, time, and
date settings to use.
4. Click OK, and then close the Control Panel.
For more information, see your Windows documentation.

Using the DeskLock tool

Use the DeskLock tool to prevent users from switching to another
software application or having access to the desktop at run time.
This tool can have far-reaching effects on your operating system.
The DeskLock tool replaces the standard Windows 2000 or
Windows XP non-configured desktop with a customized desktop.
The customized desktop is intended to prevent operators from
having access to other applications and operating system functions
such as restarting Windows or shutting down tasks.

IMPORTANT Before using the tool, read the DeskLock Help file
completely.

Using the DeskLock tool ■ 24-15

Preface
To open the DeskLock tool

" On the run-time computer, on the Windows Start menu, select

Programs, Rockwell Software, RSView Enterprise, Tools, and
then click DeskLock.

For details about using the tool, see the tool’s Help.

Running applications

To run the selected application

" In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Run Application.

For information about other methods of starting a Windows 2000 or

Windows XP application, see page 24-10.

Shutting down applications

To shut down an application, use one of these methods

Press a shutdown button in a graphic display.

If the application is set up to use a title bar with a Control box,
click the Close button at the right end of the title bar.
If the application is set up to use a title bar with a Control box,
on the Control menu at the left end of the title bar, click Close.

Control box

Control menu Close button

For information about using a title bar in graphic displays, see

page 4-11. For information about preventing unauthorized users
from shutting down applications, see page 13-14.

24-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

What happens when the application shuts
down
When the application shuts down:
If you assigned a shutdown macro (in the Startup editor), the
macro runs, assigning values to tags, and then the application
stops.
For information about the Startup editor, see Chapter 23.
RSView ME Station closes.

Shutting down applications ■ 24-17

25
Chapter

Running applications
on a PanelView Plus
or VersaView CE
terminal
This chapter describes:
setting up the communication drivers to use to transfer the
application to the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal.
transferring applications to the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE
terminal.
comparing an application on the development computer with an
application on the terminal.
starting RSView ME Station.
loading and running applications on the PanelView Plus and
VersaView CE terminals.
setting up the communication driver to use at run time.
setting up serial ports for use with KEPServerEnterprise
communications.
set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time computer.
specifying print options for graphic displays.
other methods for starting RSView ME Station on the VersaView
CE including using startup parameters and starting RSView ME
Station automatically when Windows starts.
specifying the time, date, and number formats to use at run time.
selecting the application to set up or run.
editing device addresses
deleting log files.
running applications.
shutting down applications.

■ 25-1
Preface
Summary of steps
Follow these steps to:
install the necessary hardware and software on a PanelView Plus
or VersaView CE terminal
transfer your application to the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE
terminal.
run your application.
For information about installing RSView ME Station, see the
RSView Machine Edition Installation Guide.

Installing hardware and software on a Windows CE

terminal
1. If you will be printing displays, alarms, or diagnostics messages,
connect a printer to the USB or Network port.
The PanelView Plus or VersaView terminal supports printing
using the Microsoft Windows CE PCL3 printer driver, which is
already installed on the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE
terminal. Printing is supported for most laser and ink-jet printers.
If you have problems printing, check that your printer is
compatible with the PCL3 printer driver.
2. If you are using RSLinx Enterprise, set up communications as
described in Chapter 5.
3. If you are using an OPC server other than RSLinx for RSView,
install the OPC server software on the PanelView Plus or
VersaView CE terminal.
For installation information, see the documentation supplied by
your OPC server vendor. For information about OPC data
servers, see Chapter 5.
If you are using RSLinx as the OPC server on the VersaView CE
terminal, install RSLinx on the VersaView CE.
4. If your application uses third-party ActiveX objects, install and
register the Windows CE version of the objects on the run-time
computer.
For information about ActiveX objects, see page 15-23.
5. If the run-time computer uses different time, date, or number
formats than the development computer, specify the time, date,
and number formats to use at run time.
For more information, see page 25-35.

25-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Transferring the application
1. On the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal, start RSView
ME Station.
For more information, see page 25-4.
2. In RSView ME Station, if you’re transferring via a serial
connection, specify and set up the serial driver . If you are using
Ethernet for the transfer, you can skip this step.
For more information, see page 25-5.
3. On the development computer, set up the driver to use for the
transfer. You can use an RSLinx Enterprise or an RSLinx driver.
For more information, see page 25-7.
4. Move the application to the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE
terminal using the Transfer Utility tool.
For more information, see page 25-7.

Running the application

1. In RSView ME Station, set up the driver to use at run time.
For more information, see page 25-22.
2. If desired, in RSView ME Station, specify the print options to use
for printing graphic displays, alarm messages and diagnostic
messages.
For more information, see page 25-28.
3. In RSView ME Station, load the application you just transferred.
For more information, see page 25-14.
4. In RSView ME Station, click Run Application.

For information about running your application, see Chapter 27.

Summary of steps ■ 25-3

Preface
Using the RSView ME Station dialog box
Use the RSView ME Station dialog box to perform the tasks
described in this chapter. The dialog box opens when you start
RSView ME Station.

If you set up an application to open directly when Windows starts,

this dialog box is bypassed. To open the dialog box, use a Goto
Configure Mode button. For more information about the Goto
Configure Mode button, see page 16-23.

Starting RSView ME Station

Before running your application for the first time, use the RSView
ME Station dialog box to:
select the application to run.
set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time computer.
set up options for printing graphic displays.
if you are using a KEPServerEnterprise data server, specify the
port to use for serial communications.

To start RSView ME Station

" If you are running a VersaView CE terminal, on the Windows

Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell Software, RSView
Enterprise, and then click RSView ME Station.
The RSView ME Station dialog box opens.

25-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 " If you are running a PanelView Plus terminal, the RSView ME
Station dialog box opens automatically on start up.

For information about other methods of starting RSView ME

Station, see page 25-30.

Specifying the driver to use for the transfer on the

PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal
You can download the run-time application file to the PanelView
Plus or VersaView CE terminal using:
Ethernet
a direct serial connection

If you are using an Ethernet connection for the transfer, you don’t
need to set up a driver for the transfer, since the Ethernet driver is
selected and loaded by default.

If you are using a serial connection for the transfer, specify and set
up the driver.

To specify and set up a serial driver for the transfer

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,

and then double click Networks and Communications.

Specifying the driver to use for the transfer on the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal ■ 25-5
Preface

2. In the Networks and Communications dialog box, double click

RSLinx communications.

3. Click the Device you want to set up and then click Edit Device.
4. Set up the device, and then click OK.
5. Click the Driver you want to set up and then click Edit Driver.
6. Set up the driver, and then click OK.
7. Click Close.
You are prompted to restart the computer for the changes to take
effect.
8. Click Yes to restart now. Click No to restart later.

25-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Setting up a driver for the transfer on the
development computer
On the development computer, set up the RSLinx Enterprise or
RSLinx driver that you will use to download your application to the
PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal.
Use one of these drivers for the transfer:
AB_DF1-1—Use for a serial transfer.
AB_ETH-1—Use with an Ethernet connection.
For information about setting up drivers in RSLinx Enterprise or
RSLinx, see RSLinx Help.
For information about using the Transfer Utility, see the next
section.

Downloading applications and Windows True Type

fonts
Use the Transfer Utility to download your run-time application or
Windows True Type font files from the development computer to
the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal. Run-time
applications have the extension .mer. Windows True Type font files
have the extension .ttf or .ttc.
For information about creating the run-time application file, see
Chapter 23.

About the download

You can use a serial or Ethernet connection between the
development computer and the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE
terminal destination. You must use one of the drivers listed in the
previous section for the download.
You can download while an application is running on the run-time
computer.
You can download:
multiple applications (one at a time) to the same run-time
computer.
a new copy of the application currently running on the run-time
computer, for use the next time the application is started.

Downloading applications and Windows True Type fonts ■ 25-7

Preface

IMPORTANT If the download process fails or is cancelled, the

application file will be deleted from the destination
directories. Make a copy of the application file before
you begin and make sure there is enough storage
space on the destination computer.

Serial downloads
To perform a serial download, make sure the terminal is connected
to the development computer using the correct cable:
Connect a PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal to the PC
using the Allen-Bradley serial cable 2711-NC13.

To transfer an application to the PanelView Plus or

VersaView CE terminal
1. On the development computer, do one of the following:
In RSView Studio, on the Tools menu, click Transfer Utility.
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, Tools, and then click ME
Transfer Utility.

25-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. Click the Download tab.
3. In the Source file box, type the location of the run-time
application file (with the extension .mer) or Windows True Type
font (with the extension .ttf or .ttc) on the development
Browse button computer.
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\
Runtime.
4. To use a different name for the application or Windows True
Type font file at run time, check the “Download as” box and
then type the new name.
5. In the Destination storage box, select the kind of storage in
which the file will be stored at the destination.
6. To set the application to run when the download completes,
check Run application when download completes.
7. To replace the existing communications for the application with
the communications in the downloaded file, click Replace
Communications.

Downloading applications and Windows True Type fonts ■ 25-9

Preface
8. Click the + beside the driver to use for the download, and then
click the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal to which to
download the application file or Windows True Type font file.
9. To begin the transfer, click Download.

If you selected a destination that is not a valid PanelView Plus or

VersaView CE terminal, you are prompted to select a new
destination.
If the application file already exists at the destination, you are
given the opportunity to replace it.
If the terminal doesn’t respond within the timeout interval, a
message is displayed and the download is cancelled. Check that
the correct driver is specified on the PanelView Plus or
VersaView CE terminal, and that the driver is set up properly,
and then repeat step 6.

Uploading applications from the PanelView Plus or

VersaView CE terminal
Use the Transfer Utility to upload your run-time application from
the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal to the development
computer. Run-time applications have the extension .mer.

For information about creating the run-time application file, see

Chapter 23.

IMPORTANT If the upload process fails or is cancelled, the

application file will be deleted from the destination
directories. Make sure there is enough storage space
on the destination computer.

About the upload

You can upload while an application is running on the run-time
computer.

You can upload:

an existing copy of the application currently running on the
run-time computer.

25-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Serial uploads
To perform a serial upload, make sure the terminal is connected to
the development computer using the correct cable:
Connect a PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal to the PC
using the Allen-Bradley serial cable 2711-NC13.

To transfer an application from the PanelView Plus or

VersaView CE terminal

1. On the development computer, do one of the following:

In RSView Studio, on the Tools menu click Transfer Utility.

On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, Tools, and then click ME
Transfer Utility.

2. Click the Upload tab.

3. In the Source storage type box, select the storage device type. For
more information about the source storage types, see Help.

Uploading applications from the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal ■ 25-11

 Preface
4. In the Source file box, type the location of the run-time
application file (with the extension .mer) on the development
computer.
Browse button
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Storage
Card\RSView Enterprise\ME\Runtime.
5. To use a different name for the application file at run time, check
the “Upload as” box and then type the new name.
6. In the Destination folder box, type the location of the folder to
where the file will be uploaded.
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\
Runtime.
7. Click the + beside the driver to use for the upload, and then click
the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal to upload the
application file from.
8. To begin the transfer, click Upload.
If you selected a destination that is not a valid Windows 2000 or
Windows XP computer, you are prompted to select a new
destination.
If the application file already exists at the destination, you are
given the opportunity to replace it.
If the terminal doesn’t respond within the timeout interval, a
message is displayed and the upload is cancelled. Check that the
correct driver is specified on the PanelView Plus or VersaView
CE terminal, and that the driver is set up properly, and then
repeat step 6.

25-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Comparing applications
You can use the Transfer Utility tool to compare an application on
the development computer with an application on the terminal. The
comparison tool can tell you whether the files are identical or
different.

To compare applications
1. On the development computer, do one of the following:
In RSView Studio, on the Tools menu click Transfer Utility.
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, Tools, and then click ME
Transfer Utility.

2. Click the Compare tab.

Comparing applications ■ 25-13

 Preface
3. In the Local file box, type the location of the run-time
application file (with the extension .mer) on the development
computer.
Browse button
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Rockwell
Software\RSViewME\Runtime
4. In the Remote Storage Type list, select the storage location of the
application on the terminal.
If you are unable to find your file at the location you specified,
try changing the Remote Storage Type.
5. In the communications tree, select the terminal on which the
application file is located.
6. In the Remote file box, type the location of the run-time
application file (with the extension .mer) on the terminal.
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Storage
Card\Rockwell Software\RSView ME\Runtime.
7. Click Compare.

Selecting the application to set up or run

You can run any run-time application that is on the run-time
computer. Run-time applications have the extension .mer.
For information about creating the run-time application, see
Chapter 23.

To select the application to set up or run

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Load Application.

25-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. Click the source location (Internal Storage, External Storage 1, or
External Storage 2), and then click the name of the application.
3. Click Load.
The application name is displayed in the Current Application
box in the RSView ME Station dialog box.
4. To run the application, click Run Application.
For information about deleting log files before running the
application, see the topics in the remainder of this chapter.

Editing device shortcuts

You can use RSView ME Station to edit device shortcuts that have
been set up in the run-time application.
Before editing device shortcuts, open the application containing the
device addresses you want to edit, as described in the previous
section.

To edit device shortcuts

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Application Settings.
2. Double-click Device Shortcuts.
3. Double-click the name of the shortcut you want to edit.
4. In the Select Device dialog, navigate through the tree, click the
device you want the shortcut to point to, and then click OK.

Editing device shortcuts ■ 25-15

Preface
If you cannot see the device you want, use the up and down
arrows. When the device goes off the screen to the right, press
CTRL and the right or left arrows on the scrollbar.

Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the

PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal
To display or print diagnostics messages for your application, you
must set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics message routing on the
PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal.
In addition to displaying and printing messages on the PanelView
Plus or VersaView CE terminal, you can send messages to a remote
log on a Windows 2000 or Windows XP computer, where the
messages can be saved in a log file or ODBC table, or viewed in the
FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer.
For more information about diagnostics messages, see Chapter 10.

To set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Diagnostics Setup.

25-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Specify which
destinations
receive what
categories of
messages.

2. Fill in the options as described in the sections that follow.

3. When you are finished, click Close.

Setting up the remote log

To set up the remote log

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,

and then double-click Diagnostics Setup.
2. Click Remote Log

3. Type the address and the port for the Remote Log.

4. Click OK.

Setting up Message Routing for the Remote

Log

To set up message routing for the Remote Log

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,

and then double-click Diagnostics Setup.
2. Click Message Routing, and then click Edit.

3. Double-click Remote Log.

Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal ■ 25-17

Preface

4. Click to select or clear a message type to send to the remote log.

5. To save changes and return to the Message Routing dialog, click
OK.

Setting up Message Routing for the RSView

Diagnostic List

To set up message routing for the RSView Diagnostic List

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Diagnostics Setup.
2. Click Message Routing, and then click Edit.
3. Double-click RSView Diagnostic List.
4. Click to select or clear a message type to send to the RSView
Diagnostic List.
5. To save changes and return to the Message Routing dialog, click
OK.

Setting up the Display on the PanelView Plus or

VersaView CE terminal
You can use the RSView ME Station dialog box to set up the
terminal display intensity and screen saver, or to determine the
display temperature of the terminal.

25-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To set up Display Intensity
1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Display.
2. Double-click display intensity
3. Click the arrow keys to specify the intensity of the display.
4. Click Yes to use the intensity setting when the terminal is started.
Click No to use the default intensity setting.
5. Click OK.

To determine Display Temperature

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Display.
2. Double-click display temperature.
The current temperature of the terminal is displayed.
3. Click OK.

To set up the terminal Screen Saver

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Display.
2. Double-click Screen Saver.
3. Click a length of time (in minutes) before the screen saver turns
on automatically. You can also disable the screen saver, and set
the screen saver intensity.
4. Click OK.

Copying and deleting application and font files

You can use the RSView ME Station dialog box to copy and delete
application and font files.

To copy an application or font file

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click File Management.
2. Double-click Copy Files.
3. Click Copy Applications to copy an application file. Click Copy
Font to copy a font file.
4. Click the name of the file to copy, and then click Copy.

Copying and deleting application and font files ■ 25-19

Preface
To delete an application or font file
1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click File Management.
2. Double-click Delete Files.
3. Click Delete Applications to delete an application file. Click
delete font to delete a font file.
4. Click the name of the file to delete, and then click delete.

Setting up the keyboard, mouse, keypad and touch

screen
You can use the RSView ME Station dialog box to set up the
keyboard, keypad, mouse and touch pad.

To set up the keyboard

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Input Devices.
2. Double-click Keyboard.
3. Double-click Key Repeat Settings.
4. Click a Repeat Delay, and then type a Repeat Rate. A Repeat
Rate of 0 disables Key Repeats.
5. Click OK.
6. Double-click Key Settings.
7. Click Enabled to allow operators to type CTRL + ALT + DEL.
Click Disabled to prevent users from typing CTRL + ALT +
DEL.
8. Click OK.

To set up the keypad

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Input Devices.
2. Double-click Keypad.
3. Double-click Key Repeat Settings.
4. Click a Repeat Delay, and then type a Repeat Rate. A Repeat
Rate of 0 disables Key Repeats.

25-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

5. Click OK.
6. Double-click Key Settings.
7. Click Enabled to allow operators to use Single Key Mode. Click
Enabled with Abort to allow operators to use Single Key Mode
with an abort key. Click Disabled to prevent operators from
using Single Key Mode.
8. Type a Hold Off Time, in seconds. A Hold Off time of 0 will
disable the Single Key Hold Off mode.
9. Click OK.

To set up the mouse

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Input Devices.
2. Double-click Mouse.
3. Double-click Set to set the double-click speed of the mouse.
4. Double-click Test to test the double-click speed of the mouse. A
successful double-click will toggle the Test button.
5. Click OK.

To set up the touch screen calibration

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Input Devices.
2. Double-click Touch Screen.
3. Double-click Calibration.
4. Follow the instructions to calibrate the touch screen.

To set up the touch screen cursor

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Input Devices.
2. Double-click Touch Screen.
3. Double-click Cursor
4. Click Yes to enable the cursor. Click No to disable the cursor.
5. Click OK.

To set up the touch screen double-tap sensitivity

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Input Devices.

Setting up the keyboard, mouse, keypad and touch screen ■ 25-21

Preface
2. Double-click Touch Screen.
3. Double-click Double Tap Sensitivity
4. Double-click Set to set the double-click speed of the touch
screen.
5. Double-click Test to test the double-click speed of the touch
screen. A successful double-click will toggle the Test button.
6. Click OK.

Setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers

You can use these drivers for run-time communications:
Serial—Use for serial communications.
Ethernet—Use for Ethernet communications.
DHPlus—Use for communications over a DHPlus network.
If you are using Ethernet communications, you don’t need to do
anything to set up the driver, and it is enabled by default.

To set up the driver to use at run time

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
click Networks and Communications, and then click RSLinx
communications.

2. In the RSLinx Communications dialog box, select the driver to

use, and then click Edit Driver:
Serial
Click this driver if you are using a serial connection.

25-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Ethernet
You don’t need to do anything to set up this driver.

DHPlus
Click this driver to connect the terminal to a DHPlus
network.For details, see the next section.
3. Click Close.

Setting up a serial driver

Use the serial communication driver for serial network connections.

To set up the serial driver

1. In the Serial properties dialog box, click the property you want
to edit, and then click Edit.
2. Specify these setting in the dialog box that opens:

Use Auto-Configuration
Select yes if you want the driver to automatically detect baud
rate, parity, and error checking settings when you start the
application. Select No if you do not want the driver to
automatically detect configuration settings.
RSView queries the network to determine the correct settings to
use. If information is not available, RSView uses the settings you
specify in this dialog box.

Setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers ■ 25-23

Preface
Device
Select the type of device to communication with.
Comm port
Select the COM port to which the serial cable is attached on the
run-time computer.
Stop bits
Select the amount of time between data transmissions.
Station number
Select the station number setting for the source DF1 device, from
0 to 77 (octal).
ACK/Poll Timeout (mSec)
Type the number of milliseconds to wait for acknowledgement
before retrying to connect with the device.
Max retries
Type the maximum number of times to retry to connect to the
device before the driver fails (stops trying to communicate).
Baud
Select the baud rate (speed) to use for serial communications.
Parity
Select the type of error checking to perform for serial
communications.
Error check
Select the type of error checking the controller uses to verify that
the data it sends is complete and correct. RSView will use the
same type of error checking when it receives the data.
Newer controllers generally use the CRC (Cyclical Redundancy
Check) method. Older controllers could use CRC or BCC
(Block Character Check).
If you’re not sure which type to select, consult the controller’s
documentation.

Setting up the DHPlus driver

Use the DHPlus communication driver for network connections to
DHPlus.

To set up the DHPlus driver

1. In the DHPlus Properties dialog box, click the property you
want to edit, and then click Edit.

25-24 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. Specify these settings in the dialog box that opens:

Station number
Select the station number setting for the source DHPlus device,
from 0 to 77 (octal).
Jumper ID
Select the card jumper ID.
Baud rate
Select the baud rate (speed) to use for DHPluscommunications.
3. To save your changes and return to the Configure Drivers dialog
box, click Close.

Editing device addresses

You can use RSView ME Station to edit device addresses. For
example, you can edit IP addresses, host names, DH+ addresses,
processor slot numbers, and ControlLogix Ethernet addresses.

To edit device addresses

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings.
2. Double-click Networks and Communications.
3. Click RSLinx communications, and then click the enter key.
4. Click the name of the device you want to edit, and then click
Edit Device.

Editing device addresses ■ 25-25

Preface

5. In the Edit Device Address dialog box, type the new address, and
then click OK.
The settings available in this dialog box are determined by the
type of device you selected in the previous step.

Setting up serial ports for use with

KEPServerEnterprise communications
If you plan to use KEPServerEnterprise and serial communications,
you must specify which COM port to use.
For information about setting up communications in
KEPServerEnterprise, see KEPServerEnterprise Help.

To specify the COM port to use for serial communications

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Networks and Communications.

25-26 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. Double-click KEPServer Serial Port ID’s.

3. In the Serial Port IDs box, click the serial port ID you specified
when you set up the KEPServerEnterprise channel.
If you forget which serial port ID you specified, in the
KEPServerEnterprise software right-click the channel, and then
click Properties. The ID box displays the serial port you assigned
to the channel.
4. Click Edit Port. In the KepServerCommunications Port dialog
box, click the COM port to use for serial communications.

Setting up serial ports for use with KEPServerEnterprise communications ■ 25-27

Preface
Specifying print options on the PanelView Plus or
VersaView CE terminal
You can set up print options for graphic displays, the alarm log, and
the diagnostic log.

To set up print options for graphic displays

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Print Setup.

2. Click Display Print Setup.

25-28 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 3. Modify the print options as required.
4. Click OK to confirm the printer settings and return to the
RSView ME Station dialog box.
5. Click Cancel to discard your changes and return to the RSView
ME Station dialog box.

To set up print options for Alarms

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Print Setup.
2. Click Alarms Print Setup.
3. Modify the print options as required.
4. Click OK to confirm the printer settings and return to the
RSView ME Station dialog box.
5. Click Cancel to discard your changes and return to the RSView
ME Station dialog box.

To set up print options for Diagnostics Print

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Print Setup.
2. Click Diagnostics Print Setup.
3. Modify the print options as required.
4. Click OK to confirm the printer settings and return to the
RSView ME Station dialog box.
5. Click Cancel to discard your changes and return to the RSView
ME Station dialog box.

Specifying print options on the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal ■ 25-29

Preface
Other methods for starting RSView ME Station
This section describes the various methods you can use to start
RSView ME Station.
When you start RSView ME Station, you can use startup parameters
to:
start running an application.
automatically delete an application’s log files before running the
application.
replace RSLinx Enterprise communications.
You can also set up RSView ME Station to start automatically when
the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE terminal is turned on.

To start RSView ME Station on a VersaView CE terminal,

do one of the following
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, and then click RSView ME Station.
On the desktop, double-click the shortcut icon RSView ME
Station.
In the Windows Explorer, double-click MERuntime.exe.
This file is located in \Storage Card\Rockwell
Software\RSViewME.
On the Windows Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type
this:
“\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\RSViewME\
MERuntime.exe”
To search for the file, click Browse. When you’ve specified the
file to open, click OK.
A keyboard is required to use this method.
The RSView ME Station dialog box opens.

25-30 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

To start RSView ME Station on a PanelView Plus or
VersaView CE terminal and start an application at the
same time
1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings.

2. Double-click Startup Options.

3. Double-click RSView ME Station Startup.

4. Click Run Application.

5. Click Run Options, and specify the .mer file to run.

6. Click OK.

The RSView ME Station dialog box opens, with the application

selected.

Using startup parameters with VersaView

CE
When you start RSView ME Station, you can use startup parameters
to start running an application at the same time, and to automatically
delete an application’s log files before running the application.

If you use startup parameters, the RSView ME Station dialog box is

bypassed.

To set up startup parameters, a keyboard must be attached to the

run-time computer.

You can use these startup parameters:

/r—runs the application
/d—deletes the application’s alarm and data log files before
running the application
/o replaces the terminal’s communication configuration with
the application’s communication configuration.
For more information about deleting data log files, see
page 25-36.

You can use the /r parameter alone, or with the /d parameter. You
cannot use the /d parameter alone.

To use the startup parameters, you must specify both the path to the
MERuntime.exe file and the path to the application’s .mer file.

Other methods for starting RSView ME Station ■ 25-31

Preface
To use startup parameters

1. On the Windows Start menu, click Run.

2. In the Open box, type this:

“\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\RSViewME\

MERuntime.exe” “\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\
RSViewME\Runtime\ApplicationName.mer” /r /d /o
If you don’t want to delete the application’s log files, omit the /d
parameter.
If you don’t want to replace the terminal’s communication
configuration with the application’s communication
configuration, omit the /o parameter.
3. Click OK.

The application runs.

Starting RSView ME Station when the

VersaView CE terminal is turned on
If desired, you can set up RSView ME Station to start automatically
when the VersaView CE terminal is turned on. You can also run an
application automatically when the VersaView CE terminal is turned
on.

The Storage Card directory

Storage Card is the only permanent directory on the VersaView CE.

All other directories are stored in volatile memory, and are wiped
out when Windows shuts down. When you restart Windows, the
terminal recreates the other directories using information stored in
the Storage Card directory.

This means that changes you make to the Windows desktop are not
permanent unless you store the changes in the Storage Card
directory.

The instructions below show you how to create a permanent

shortcut in the \Storage Card\Windows\Startup directory, so that
RSView ME Station starts automatically each time Windows starts.

To create the shortcut, a keyboard must be attached to the run-time

computer.

25-32 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

To start RSView ME Station automatically
1. In the Windows Explorer, open the folder \Storage
Card\Windows\Desktop, or \Flash Storage\Windows\Desktop.
2. Right-click RSView ME Station, and then click Copy.
3. Open the folder \Storage Card\Windows\Startup.
4. Right-click Startup, and then click Paste.
From now on, RSView ME Station starts automatically when
you start Windows.

To start RSView ME Station and run an application

automatically
1. Follow steps 1 through 4 in the previous procedure.
2. In the Startup folder, right-click RSView ME Station, and then
click Properties.
3. In the Target box, type a space at the end of the existing text, and
then type this:
“\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\RSViewME\
Runtime\ApplicationName.mer” /r /d /o
If you don’t want to delete the application’s log files, omit the /d
parameter.
If you don’t want to replace the terminal’s communication
configuration with the application’s communication
configuration, omit the /o parameter.
4. Click OK.
From now on, RSView ME Station starts automatically when
you start Windows, and the specified application starts running.
For more information about changing settings in Windows CE, see
your Windows documentation.

Other methods for starting RSView ME Station ■ 25-33

Preface
Viewing the System Event Log
You can use the RSView ME Station dialog box to view the System
Event Log.

To view the system event log

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings.
2. Double-click System Event Log.
3. Click a message, and then click More Details to see the entire
message.
4. Click Clear All to remove all messages from the log.
5. Click OK.

Viewing the Terminal Information

You can use the RSView ME Station dialog box to view the battery
voltage, battery state, power on time, available memory and
processor temperature of the terminal.

To view the terminal information

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings.
2. Double-click System Information.
3. Double-click Terminal Information.
The Terminal Information Dialog displays read-only information
about the battery, processor temperature, and memory available
on the terminal.
4. Click Close.

To change memory allocation

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings.
2. Double-click System Information.
3. Double-click Terminal Information.
4. Click Memory Allocation.
5. Click the Up and Down buttons to change the allocated and in
use Storage and Program memory levels.
6. Click OK.

25-34 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Specifying time, date, and number formats
Time, date, and number formats are used by these graphic objects:
numeric displays
gauges
time and date displays
trends
alarm banner
alarm list
The time and date formats are also used when printing the alarm
history report (using the print alarm history button).
If the run-time computer uses different time, date, or number
formats than the development computer, specify the time, date, and
number formats to use at run time.
You can also change these formats after the application is running,
but you must shut down and restart the application for the changes
to take effect.

To specify time, date, and number formats

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog, click Terminal Settings.
2. Double-click Time/Date/Regional Settings.
3. Specify the time zone to use, and then specify the date, regional
settings, and time.
4. Click close.

Deleting log files on the run-time computer

When you run your application, RSView ME Station stores log files
for alarms and data logging (if you use these features). When you
start RSView ME Station, you can delete the alarm and data log files
for the selected application, or for all the applications on the
run-time computer.

Running a newer version of the application

If you run a newer version of an application, the alarm log file for
the older version is deleted automatically. The data log file for the
older version is retained, to allow the display of historical data in
trends.
For more information about the alarm log file, see page 9-7. For
more information about data log files, see page 11-2.

Deleting log files on the run-time computer ■ 25-35

Preface
Deleting log files at application startup

To delete log files for the selected application

" In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Yes to Delete log
files before running. Click No to keep the log files.
All alarm and data log files for the selected application are deleted.

To delete log files for all applications on the run-time

computer
1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal settings.
2. Double-click File Management.
3. Double-click Delete Files.
4. Double-click Delete Log Files.
5. Click Yes to Delete all log files on the run-time computer. Click
No to keep all log files on the run-time computer.
Only log files for data log models that use the default path are
deleted when you use this option. All alarm log files are deleted
For more information about data log files, see page 11-2.

Running applications
To run the selected application

" In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Run Application.

For information about other methods of starting a PanelView Plus
or VersaView CE terminal application, see page 25-30.

25-36 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Shutting down applications
To shut down an application, use one of these methods
Press a shutdown button in a graphic display.
If the application is set up to use a title bar with a Control box,
click the Close button at the right end of the title bar.
If the application is set up to use a title bar with a Control box,
on the Control menu at the left end of the title bar, click Close.

Control box

Control menu Close button

For information about using a title bar in graphic displays, see

page 4-11. For information about preventing unauthorized users
from shutting down applications, see page 13-14.

What happens when the application shuts

down
When the application shuts down:
If you assigned a shutdown macro (in the Startup editor), the
macro runs, assigning values to tags, and then the application
stops.
For information about the Startup editor, see Chapter 23.
RSView ME Station closes.

Shutting down applications ■ 25-37

26
Chapter

Running applications
on a RAC6182
terminal
This chapter describes:
setting up the communication drivers to use to transfer the
application to the RAC6182.
transferring applications to the RAC6182.
comparing an application on the development computer with an
application on the terminal.
starting RSView ME Station.
setting up the communication driver to use at run time.
setting up serial ports for use with KEPServerEnterprise
communications.
set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time computer.
specifying print options for graphic displays.
loading and running applications on the RAC6182.
other methods for starting RSView ME Station on the RAC6182
terminal including using startup parameters and starting RSView
ME Station automatically when Windows starts.
specifying the time, date, and number formats to use at run time.
storing temporary files on an external card.
selecting the application to set up or run.
editing device addresses
deleting log files.
running applications.
shutting down applications.

■ 26-1
Preface
Summary of steps
Follow these steps to:
install the necessary hardware and software on a RAC6182
terminal
transfer your application to the RAC6182 terminal
run your application.
For information about installing RSView ME Station, see the
RSView Machine Edition Installation Guide.

Installing hardware and software on a Windows CE

terminal
1. If you will be printing displays, alarms, or diagnostics messages,
connect a printer to the LPT1 or Network port on the RAC6182
terminal.
The RAC6182 terminal supports printing using the Microsoft
Windows CE PCL3 printer driver, which is already installed.
Printing is supported for most laser and ink-jet printers. If you
have problems printing, check that your printer is compatible
with the PCL3 printer driver.
2. If you are using RSLinx Enterprise, set up communications as
described in Chapter 5.
3. If you are using an OPC server other than RSLinx, install the
OPC server software on the RAC6182 terminal.
For installation information, see the documentation supplied by
your OPC server vendor. For information about OPC data
servers, see Chapter 5.
If you are using RSLinx as the OPC server on the RAC6182
terminal, install RSLinx.
4. If your application uses third-party ActiveX objects, install and
register the Windows CE version of the objects on the run-time
terminal.
For information about ActiveX objects, see page 15-23.
5. If the run-time computer uses different time, date, or number
formats than the development computer, specify the time, date,
and number formats to use at run time.
For more information, see page 26-33.

26-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

6. If you want to store temporary files on an external PC card to
preserve internal storage space on the RAC6182 terminal, insert
the PC card.
For more information, see page 26-19.

Transferring the application

1. On the RAC6182 terminal, start RSView ME Station.

For more information, see page 26-13.

2. In RSView ME Station, if you’re transferring via a serial
connection, specify and set up the serial driver . If you are using
Ethernet for the transfer, you can skip this step.
For more information, see page 26-4.
3. On the development computer, set up the RSLinx Enterprise or
RSLinx driver to use for the transfer.
For more information, see page 26-20.
4. Move the application to the RAC6182 terminal using the
Transfer Utility tool.
For more information, see page 26-6.

Preparing to run the application

1. In RSView ME Station, set up the driver to use at run time.

For more information, see page 26-20.

2. If desired, in RSView ME Station, specify the print options to use
for printing graphic displays, alarm messages, or diagnostic
messages.
For more information, see page 26-28.
3. In RSView ME Station, load the application you just transferred.

For more information, see page 26-14.

4. If desired, in RSView ME Station, specify the PC card on which
to store temporary files (RAC182 only).
For more information, see page 26-19.
5. Click Run Application.

For information about running your application, see Chapter 27.

Summary of steps ■ 26-3

Preface
Specifying the driver to use for the transfer on the
RAC6182 terminal
You can download the run-time application file to the RAC6182 or
MobileView terminal using:
Ethernet
a direct serial connection
If you are using an Ethernet connection for the transfer, you don’t
need to set up a driver for the transfer, since the Ethernet driver is
selected and loaded by default.
If you are using a serial connection for the transfer, specify and set
up the driver.

To specify and set up a serial driver for the transfer

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double click Networks and Communications.

2. In the Networks and Communications dialog box, double click

RSLinx communications.

26-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 3. Click the Device you want to set up and then click Edit Device.
4. Set up the device, and then click OK.
5. Click the Driver you want to set up and then click Edit Driver.
6. Set up the driver, and then click OK.
7. Click Close.
You are prompted to restart the computer for the changes to take
effect.
8. Click Yes to restart now. Click No to restart later.

Setting up a driver for the transfer on the

development computer
On the development computer, set up the RSLinx Enterprise or
RSLinx driver that you will use to download your application to the
RAC6182 terminal.
Use one of these drivers for the transfer:
AB_DF1-1—Use for a serial transfer.
AB_ETH-1—Use with an Ethernet connection.
For information about setting up drivers in RSLinx Enterprise or
RSLinx, see RSLinx Help.
For information about using the Transfer Utility, see the next
section.

Setting up a driver for the transfer on the development computer ■ 26-5

Preface
Downloading applications and Windows True Type
fonts
Use the Transfer Utility to download your run-time application or
Windows True Type font files from the development computer to
the RAC6182 terminal. Run-time applications have the extension
.mer. Windows True Type font files have the extension .ttf or .ttc.

For information about creating the run-time application file, see

Chapter 23.

About the download

You can use a serial or Ethernet connection between the
development computer and the RAC6182 terminal. You must use
one of the drivers listed in the previous section for the download.

You can download while an application is running on the run-time

computer.

You can download:

multiple applications (one at a time) to the same run-time
computer.
a new copy of the application currently running on the run-time
computer, for use the next time the application is started.

IMPORTANT If the download process fails or is cancelled, the

application file will be deleted from the destination
directories. Make a copy of the application file before
you begin and make sure there is enough storage
space on the destination computer.

Serial downloads
To perform a serial download, make sure the terminal is connected
to the development computer using the correct cable:

Connect a RAC6182 to the PC using the Allen-Bradley serial cable

6189-2NMCBL.

For details about wiring the cable, see Table Q of Appendix D in the
6182 Windows CE Industrial Computer User Manual.

26-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 To transfer an application to the RAC6182 terminal
1. On the development computer, do one of the following:
In RSView Studio, on the Tools menu, click Transfer Utility.
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, Tools, and then click ME
Transfer Utility.

2. Click the Download tab.

3. In the Source file box, type the location of the run-time
application file (with the extension .mer) or Windows True Type
font (with the extension .ttf or .ttc) on the development
Browse button computer.
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\
Runtime.
4. To use a different name for the application or Windows True
Type font file at run time, check the “Download as” box and
then type the new name.

Downloading applications and Windows True Type fonts ■ 26-7

Preface
5. In the Destination storage box, select the kind of storage in
which the file will be stored at the destination.
6. To set the application to run when the download completes,
check Run application when download completes.
7. To replace the existing communications for the application with
the communications in the downloaded file, click Replace
Communications.
8. In the left pane, click the + beside the driver to use for the
download, and then click the RAC6182 terminal to which to
download the application file or Windows True Type font file.
Information about the selected computer is displayed in the right
pane.
To update the list of destinations, click Refresh or check the
Autobrowse box.
To change the format of the list, click the icon and list buttons.
9. To begin the transfer, click Download.
If you selected a destination that is not a valid RAC6182
terminal, you are prompted to select a new destination.
If the application file already exists at the destination, you are
given the opportunity to replace it.
If the terminal doesn’t respond within the timeout interval, a
message is displayed and the download is cancelled. Check that
the correct driver is specified on the RAC6182 terminal, and that
the driver is set up properly, and then repeat step 6.

26-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Uploading applications from the RAC6182 terminal
Use the Transfer Utility to upload your run-time application from
the RAC6182 terminal to the development computer. Run-time
applications have the extension .mer.
For information about creating the run-time application file, see
Chapter 23.

IMPORTANT If the upload process fails or is cancelled, the

application file will be deleted from the destination
directories. Make a copy of the application file before
you begin and make sure there is enough storage
space on the destination computer.

About the upload

You can use a serial or Ethernet connection between the
development computer and the RAC6182 terminal. You must use
one of the drivers listed in the previous section for the upload.
You can upload while an application is running on the run-time
computer.
You can upload:
an existing copy of the application currently running on the
run-time computer.

Serial uploads
To perform a serial upload, make sure the terminal is connected to
the development computer using the correct cable:
Connect a RAC6182 to the PC using the Allen-Bradley serial cable
6189-2NMCBL.
For details about wiring the cable, see Table Q of Appendix D in the
6182 Windows CE Industrial Computer User Manual.

To transfer an application from the RAC6182 terminal

1. On the development computer, do one of the following:
In RSView Studio, on the Tools menu click Transfer Utility.
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, Tools, and then click ME
Transfer Utility.

Uploading applications from the RAC6182 terminal ■ 26-9

 Preface

2. Click the Upload tab.

3. In the Source storage type box, select the storage device type. For
more information about the source storage types, see Help.
4. In the Source file box, type the location of the run-time
application file (with the extension .mer) on the development
computer.
Browse button
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Storage
Card\RSView Enterprise\ME\Runtime.
5. To use a different name for the application file at run time, check
the “Upload as” box and then type the new name.
6. In the Destination folder box, type the location of the folder to
where the file will be uploaded.
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\
Runtime.

26-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 7. In the left pane, click the + beside the driver to use for the
upload, and then click the RAC6182 terminal to upload the
application file from. Information about the selected computer is
displayed in the right pane.
To update the list of destinations, click Refresh or check the
Autobrowse box.
To change the format of the list, click the icon and list buttons.
8. To begin the transfer, click Upload.
If you selected a destination that is not a valid Windows 2000 or
Windows XP computer, you are prompted to select a new
destination.
If the application file already exists at the destination, you are
given the opportunity to replace it.
If the terminal doesn’t respond within the timeout interval, a
message is displayed and the upload is cancelled. Check that the
correct driver is specified on the RAC6182 terminal, and that the
driver is set up properly, and then repeat step 6.

Comparing applications
You can use the Transfer Utility tool to compare an application on
the development computer with an application on the terminal. The
comparison tool can tell you whether the files are identical or
different.

To compare applications
1. On the development computer, do one of the following:
In RSView Studio, on the Tools menu click Transfer Utility.
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, Tools, and then click ME
Transfer Utility.

Comparing applications ■ 26-11

 Preface

2. Click the Compare tab.

3. In the Local file box, type the location of the run-time
application file (with the extension .mer) on the development
computer.
Browse button
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Rockwell
Software\RSViewME\Runtime
4. In the Remote Storage Type list, select the storage location of the
application on the terminal.
If you are unable to find your file at the location you specified,
try changing the Remote Storage Type.
5. In the communications tree, select the terminal on which the
application file is located.

26-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 6. In the Remote file box, type the location of the run-time
application file (with the extension .mer) on the terminal.
To browse for the file, click the Browse button.
The default location for the run-time file is \Storage
Card\Rockwell Software\RSView ME\Runtime.
7. Click Compare.

Using the RSView ME Station dialog box

Use the RSView ME Station dialog box to perform the tasks
described in this chapter. The dialog box opens when you start
RSView ME Station.

If you set up an application to run directly when Windows starts,

this dialog box is bypassed. To open the dialog box, use a Goto
Configure Mode button. For more information about the Goto
Configure Mode button, see page 16-23.

Starting RSView ME Station

Before running your application for the first time, use the RSView
ME Station dialog box to:
select the application to run.
set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the run-time computer.
set up options for printing graphic displays, alarm messages and
diagnostic messages.

Starting RSView ME Station ■ 26-13

Preface
specify a PC card on which to store temporary files (RAC6182
only).
For details, see page 26-19.
if you are using a KEPServerEnterprise data server, specify the
port to use for serial communications.

To start RSView ME Station on the RAC6182 terminal

" On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell

Software, RSView Enterprise, and then click RSView ME Station.
The RSView ME Station dialog box opens.

For information about other methods of starting RSView ME

Station, see page 25-30.

Selecting the application to set up or run

You can run any run-time application that is on the run-time
computer. Run-time applications have the extension .mer.
For information about:
creating the run-time application, see Chapter 23.

To select the application to set up or run

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Load Application.

26-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 2. Click the source location (Internal Storage, External Storage 1, or
External Storage 2), and then click the name of the application.
3. Click Load.
The application name is displayed in the Current Application
box in the RSView ME Station dialog box.
4. To run the application, click Run Application.
For information about deleting log files before running the
application, see the topics in the remainder of this chapter.

Editing device shortcuts

You can use RSView ME Station to edit device shortcuts that have
been set up in the run-time application.
Before editing device shortcuts, open the application containing the
device shortcuts you want to edit, as described in the previous
section.

To edit device shortcuts

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Application Settings.
2. Double-click Device Shortcuts.
3. Double-click the name of the shortcut you want to edit.
4. In the Select Device dialog, navigate through the tree, click the
device you want the shortcut to point to, and then click OK.

Editing device shortcuts ■ 26-15

Preface
If you cannot see the device you want, use the up and down
arrows. When the device goes off the screen to the right, press
CTRL and the right or left arrows on the scrollbar.

Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the RAC6182

terminal
To display or print diagnostics messages for your application, you
must set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics message routing on the
RAC6182 terminal.
In addition to displaying and printing messages on the RAC6182
terminal, you can send messages to a remote log on a Windows 2000
or Windows XP computer, where the messages can be saved in a log
file or ODBC table, or viewed in the FactoryTalk Diagnostics
Viewer.
For more information about diagnostics messages, see Chapter 10.

To set up FactoryTalk Diagnostics

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Diagnostics Setup.

26-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Specify which
destinations
receive what
categories of
messages.

2. Fill in the options as described in the sections that follow.

3. When you are finished, click Close.

Setting up the remote log

To set up the remote log

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,

and then double-click Diagnostics Setup.
2. Click Remote Log

3. Type the address and the port for the Remote Log.

4. Click OK.

Setting up Message Routing for the Remote

Log

To set up message routing for the Remote Log

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,

and then double-click Diagnostics Setup.
2. Click Message Routing, and then click Edit.

3. Double-click Remote Log.

Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics on the RAC6182 terminal ■ 26-17

Preface

4. Click to select or clear a message type to send to the remote log.

5. To save changes and return to the Message Routing dialog, click
Close.

Setting up Message Routing for the RSView

Diagnostic List

To set up message routing for the RSView Diagnostic List

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Diagnostics Setup.
2. Click Message Routing, and then click Edit.
3. Double-click RSView Diagnostic List.
4. Click to select or clear a message type to send to the RSView
Diagnostic List.
5. To save changes and return to the Message Routing dialog, click
Close.

26-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Copying and deleting application and font files
You can use the RSView ME Station dialog box to copy and delete
application and font files.

To copy an application or font file

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click File Management.
2. Double-click Copy Files.

3. Click Copy Applications to copy an application file. Click Copy

Font to copy a font file.
4. Click the name of the file to copy, and then click Copy.

To delete an application or font file

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click File Management.
2. Double-click Delete Files.

3. Click Delete Applications to delete an application file. Click

delete font to delete a font file.
4. Click the name of the file to delete, and then click delete.

Storing temporary files on an external card

RSView ME Station creates temporary files when you open your
application. If the application contains many bitmap images, the
RAC6182 might run out of disk space because of the size of the
temporary files. If desired, you can store temporary files on an
external PC card while your application is running.
Performance using external PC storage might be slightly slower than
when using the RAC6182’s internal disk space for storage.

To store temporary files on an external card on the

RAC6182
1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click File Management.
2. Double-click Temporary Files.

Storing temporary files on an external card ■ 26-19

Preface

3. Click the storage card to use.

If only one PC card is inserted in the RAC6182, use Storage
Card2. If two cards are inserted, you can use either Storage
Card2 or Storage Card3.
4. Click OK.

Setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers

You can use these drivers for run-time communications:
Serial—Use for serial communications.
Ethernet—Use for Ethernet communications.
DHPlus—Use for communications over a DH+ network.
DH485—Use for communications over a DH-485 network
(RAC6182 only).
If you are using Ethernet communications, you don’t need to do
anything to set up the driver, and it is enabled by default.
To use a serial, DHPlus or DH485 driver for run-time
communications, set up and enable the driver.

To set up the driver to use at run time

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
click Networks and Communications, and then click RSLinx
communications.

26-20 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 The DH485 driver is available for the RAC6182 only.
2. In the RSLinx Communications dialog box, select the driver to
use, and then click Edit Driver:

Serial
Click this driver if you are using a serial connection.

Ethernet
You don’t need to do anything to set up this driver.

DHPlus
Click this driverto connect the terminal to a DHPlus network.
For details, see the next section.

DH485
Click this driver if you are using a DH-485 network (RAC6182
only). For details, see page 26-24.

3. Click Close.

Setting up a serial driver

Use the serial communication driver for serial network connections.

To set up the serial driver

1. In the Serial properties dialog box, click the property you want
to edit, and then click Edit.

Setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers ■ 26-21

Preface
2. Specify these setting in the dialog box that opens:

Use Auto-Configuration
Select yes if you want the driver to automatically detect baud
rate, parity, and error checking settings when you start the
application. Select No if you do not want the driver to
automatically detect configuration settings.
RSView queries the network to determine the correct settings to
use. If information is not available, RSView uses the settings you
specify in this dialog box.

Device
Select the type of device to communication with.

Comm port
Select the COM port to which the serial cable is attached on the
run-time computer.

Stop bits
Select the amount of time between data transmissions.
Station number
Select the station number setting for the source DF1 device, from
0 to 77 (octal) or 0 to 31 (decimal). Whether the number is octal
or decimal depends on the device type.

ACK/Poll Timeout (mSec)

Type the number of milliseconds to wait for acknowledgement
before retrying to connect with the device.

26-22 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Max retries
Type the maximum number of times to retry to connect to the
device before the driver fails (stops trying to communicate).

Baud
Select the baud rate (speed) to use for serial communications.

Parity
Select the type of error checking to perform for serial
communications.

Error check
Select the type of error checking the controller uses to verify that
the data it sends is complete and correct. RSView will use the
same type of error checking when it receives the data.
Newer controllers generally use the CRC (Cyclical Redundancy
Check) method. Older controllers could use CRC or BCC
(Block Character Check).
If you’re not sure which type to select, consult the controller’s
documentation.

Setting up the DHPlus driver

Use the DHPlus communication driver for network connections to
DHPlus.

To set up the DHPlus driver

1. In the DHPlus Properties dialog box, click the property you
want to edit, and then click Edit.
2. Specify these settings in the dialog box that opens:

Setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers ■ 26-23

Preface

Station number
Select the station number setting for the source DF1 device, from
0 to 77 (octal).

Jumper ID
Select the card jumper ID. This ID is used to identify the card if
there are multiple cards installed on the RAC6182.

Baud rate
Select the baud rate (speed) to use for serial communications.
3. To save your changes and return to the Configure Drivers dialog
box, click Close.

Setting up the DH485 driver

Use the DH485 communication driver for DH-485 network
connections (RAC6182 only). These network connections also
require an Allen-Bradley 1784-PKTX or 1784-PKTX(D) card.

To set up the DH485 driver

1. In the DH485 Properties dialog box, click the property you want
to edit.

26-24 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

2. Specify these settings in the dialog box that opens:

Station number
Select the station number setting for the source DF1 device, from
0 to 77 (octal).

Jumper ID
Select the card jumper ID. This ID is used to identify the card if
there are multiple cards installed on the RAC6182.

Baud rate
Select the baud rate (speed) to use for DH485 communications.

Maximum Node
Select the maximum node, from 00 to 31.
3. To save your changes and return to the Configure Drivers dialog
box, click Close.

Setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers ■ 26-25

Preface
Editing device addresses
You can use RSView ME Station to edit device addresses that have
been set up in the run-time application. For example, you can edit IP
addresses, host names, DH+ addresses, DH-485 addresses, processor
slot numbers, and ControlLogix Ethernet addresses.

Before editing device addresses, open the application containing the

device addresses you want to edit, as described in the previous
section.

To edit device addresses

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings.

2. Double-click Networks and Communications.

3. Click RSLinx communications, and then click the enter key.

4. Click the name of the device you want to edit, and then click
Edit Device.

5. In the Edit Device Address dialog box, type the new address, and
then click OK.
The settings available in this dialog box are determined by the
type of device you selected in the previous step.
The run-time application file is updated with the new address
information.

26-26 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Setting up serial ports for use with
KEPServerEnterprise communications
If you plan to use KEPServerEnterprise and serial communications,
you must specify which COM port to use.

For information about setting up communications in

KEPServerEnterprise, see KEPServerEnterprise Help.

To specify the COM port to use for serial communications

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,

and then double-click Networks and Communications.

2. Double-click KEPServer Serial Port ID’s.

3. In the Serial Port IDs box, click the serial port ID you specified
when you set up the KEPServerEnterprise channel.

If you forget which serial port ID you specified, in the

KEPServerEnterprise software right-click the channel, and then
click Properties. The ID box displays the serial port you assigned
to the channel.

4. Click Edit Port. In the KepServerCommunications Port dialog

box, click the COM port to use for serial communications.

Setting up serial ports for use with KEPServerEnterprise communications ■ 26-27

Preface
Specifying print options on the RAC6182 terminal
You can set up your application to print diagnostics or alarm
messages, or to print graphic displays.

To set up print options for graphic displays

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Print Setup.

2. Click Display Print Setup.

26-28 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 3. Modify the print options as required.
4. Click OK to confirm the printer settings and return to the
RSView ME Station dialog box.
5. Click Cancel to discard your changes and return to the RSView
ME Station dialog box.

To set up print options for Alarms

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Print Setup.
2. Click Alarms Print Setup.
3. Modify the print options as required.
4. Click OK to confirm the printer settings and return to the
RSView ME Station dialog box.
5. Click Cancel to discard your changes and return to the RSView
ME Station dialog box.

To set up print options for Diagnostics Print

1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal Settings,
and then double-click Print Setup.
2. Click Diagnostics Print Setup.
3. Modify the print options as required.
4. Click OK to confirm the printer settings and return to the
RSView ME Station dialog box.
5. Click Cancel to discard your changes and return to the RSView
ME Station dialog box.

Other methods for starting RSView ME Station

This section describes the various methods you can use to start
RSView ME Station.
When you start RSView ME Station, you can use startup parameters
to:
start running an application.
automatically delete an application’s log files before running the
application.
You can also set up RSView ME Station to start automatically when
the RAC6182 terminal is turned on.

Other methods for starting RSView ME Station ■ 26-29

Preface
To start RSView ME Station on a RAC6182 terminal, do one
of the following
On the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Rockwell
Software, RSView Enterprise, and then click RSView ME Station.
On the desktop, double-click the shortcut icon RSView ME
Station.
In the Windows Explorer, double-click MERuntime.exe.
On the RAC6182, this file is located in \Storage Card\Rockwell
Software\RSViewME.
On the Windows Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type
this:
“\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\RSViewME\
MERuntime.exe”
To search for the file, click Browse. When you’ve specified the
file to open, click OK.
A keyboard is required to use this method.
The RSView ME Station dialog box opens.

To start RSView ME Station on a RAC6182 terminal and

start an application at the same time

" In the Windows Explorer, double-click the application’s .mer file.

On the RAC6182, the file is located in \Storage Card\Rockwell
Software\RSViewME\Runtime.
The RSView ME Station dialog box opens, with the application
selected.

Using startup parameters

When you start RSView ME Station, you can use startup parameters
to start running an application at the same time, and to automatically
delete an application’s log files before running the application.
If you use startup parameters, the RSView ME Station dialog box is
bypassed.
To set up startup parameters, a keyboard must be attached to the
run-time computer.
You can use these startup parameters:

26-30 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 /r—runs the application
/d—deletes the application’s alarm and data log files before
running the application
/o replaces the terminal’s communication configuration with
the application’s communication configuration.
For more information about deleting data log files, see
page 26-33.
You can use the /r parameter alone, or with the /d parameter. You
cannot use the /d parameter alone.
To use the startup parameters, you must specify both the path to the
MERuntime.exe file and the path to the application’s .mer file.

To use startup parameters

1. On the Windows Start menu, click Run.
2. In the Open box, type this:
“\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\RSViewME\
MERuntime.exe” “\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\
RSViewME\Runtime\ApplicationName.mer” /r /d
If you don’t want to delete the application’s log files, omit the /d
parameter.
3. Click OK.
The application starts running.

Starting RSView ME Station when the

RAC6182 terminal is turned on
If desired, you can set up RSView ME Station to start automatically
when the RAC6182 terminal is turned on. You can also run an
application automatically when the RAC6182 terminal is turned on.

The Storage Card directory

Storage Card is the only permanent directory on the RAC6182. All
other directories are stored in volatile memory, and are wiped out
when Windows shuts down. When you restart Windows, the
terminal recreates the other directories using information stored in
the Storage Card directory.
This means that changes you make to the Windows desktop are not
permanent unless you store the changes in the Storage Card
directory.

Other methods for starting RSView ME Station ■ 26-31

Preface
The instructions below show you how to create a permanent
shortcut in the \Storage Card\Windows\Startup directory, so that
RSView ME Station starts automatically each time Windows starts.

To create the shortcut, a keyboard must be attached to the run-time

computer.

To start RSView ME Station automatically

1. In the Windows Explorer, open the folder \Storage

Card\Windows\Desktop, or \Flash Storage\Windows\Desktop.
2. Right-click RSView ME Station, and then click Copy.

3. Open the folder \Storage Card\Windows\Startup.

4. Right-click Startup, and then click Paste.

From now on, RSView ME Station starts automatically when

you start Windows.

To start RSView ME Station and run an application

automatically

1. Follow steps 1 through 4 in the previous procedure.

2. In the Startup folder, right-click RSView ME Station, and then

click Properties.
3. In the Target box, type a space at the end of the existing text, and
then type this:
“\Storage Card\Rockwell Software\RSViewME\
Runtime\ApplicationName.mer” /r /d /o
If you don’t want to delete the application’s log files, omit the /d
parameter.
If you don’t want to replace the terminal’s communication
configuration with the application’s communication
configuration, omit the /o parameter.
4. Click OK.

From now on, RSView ME Station starts automatically when

you start Windows, and the specified application starts running.

For more information about changing settings in Windows CE, see

your Windows documentation.

26-32 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Specifying time, date, and number formats
Time, date, and number formats are used by these graphic objects:
numeric displays
gauges
time and date displays
trends
alarm banner
alarm list
The time and date formats are also used when printing the alarm
history report (using the print alarm history button).
If the run-time computer uses different time, date, or number
formats than the development computer, specify the time, date, and
number formats to use at run time.
You can also change these formats after the application is running,
but you must shut down and restart the application for the changes
to take effect.

To specify time, date, and time zone

1. On the Windows Start menu, select Settings, and then click
Control Panel.
2. Double-click Regional Options.
3. Specify the locale to use, and then select the number, time, and
date settings to use.
4. Click OK, and then close the Control Panel.
For more information, see your Windows documentation.

Deleting log files on the run-time computer

When you run your application, RSView ME Station stores log files
for alarms and data logging (if you use these features). When you
start RSView ME Station, you can delete the alarm and data log files
for the selected application, or for all the applications on the
run-time computer.

Running a newer version of the application

If you run a newer version of an application, the alarm log file for
the older version is deleted automatically. The data log file for the
older version is retained, to allow the display of historical data in
trends.

Deleting log files on the run-time computer ■ 26-33

Preface
For more information about the alarm log file, see page 9-7. For
more information about data log files, see page 11-2.

Deleting log files at application startup

To delete log files for the selected application

" In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Yes to Delete log
files before running. Click No to keep the log files.
All alarm and data log files for the selected application are deleted.

To delete log files for all applications on the run-time

computer
1. In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Terminal settings.
2. Double-click File Management.
3. Double-click Delete Files.
4. Double-click Delete Log Files.
5. Click Yes to Delete all log files on the run-time computer. Click
No to keep all log files on the run-time computer.
Only log files for data log models that use the default path are
deleted when you use this option. All alarm log files are deleted.
For more information about data log files, see page 11-2.

Running applications
To run the selected application

" In the RSView ME Station dialog box, click Run Application.

For information about other methods of starting a RAC6182
application, see page 25-30.

26-34 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Shutting down applications
To shut down an application, use one of these methods
Press a shutdown button in a graphic display.
If the application is set up to use a title bar with a Control box,
click the Close button at the right end of the title bar.
If the application is set up to use a title bar with a Control box,
on the Control menu at the left end of the title bar, click Close.

Control box

Control menu Close button

For information about using a title bar in graphic displays, see

page 4-11. For information about preventing unauthorized users
from shutting down applications, see page 13-14.

What happens when the application shuts

down
When the application shuts down:
If you assigned a shutdown macro (in the Startup editor), the
macro runs, assigning values to tags, and then the application
stops.
For information about the Startup editor, see Chapter 23.
RSView ME Station closes.

Shutting down applications ■ 26-35

27
Chapter

Using your
application
This chapter describes:
logging in and logging out.
entering numeric and string values.
changing tag values.
viewing tag data.
viewing alarms and messages.
viewing information about run-time communication errors.
For information about navigating between displays, see Chapter 8.
For information about navigating between and using the graphic
objects in a display, see page 16-7.

Logging in to a Windows domain

To log data to a network location, the run-time computer must be
logged in to the same domain as the computer on the network. To
do this, the user must have access rights for the domain.

To log in to a domain from Windows 2000 or Windows XP

" When Windows starts, type a user name, password, and domain
name.
The PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminals cannot be part of a
domain. However, you can verify that the user who is logged in to
the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal is on a user list that is
part of a domain.
On the PanelView Plus or Windows CE terminal, logging in hard
codes a domain member’s credentials. This gives the terminal access
to permissible network resources such as network folders.

Logging in to a Windows domain ■ 27-1

Preface
To authenticate a user on a Windows CE terminal
1. On the Windows Start menu, select Settings, and then click
Control Panel.
2. Double-click Network.
3. Click the Identification tab.
4. Type a user name, password, and domain name.

To authenticate a user on a PanelView Plus or VersaView

CE terminal
1. In the RSView ME Dialog box, click Terminal Settings.
2. Double-click Networks and Communications.
3. Double-click Network Connections
4. Type a user name, password, and domain name, and then click
OK.

Logging in to the application

To log in, the user must have an account in the User Accounts editor.
If security is set up, the user must also have a password.
For information about setting up user accounts and passwords, see
Chapter 13.
You cannot change passwords at run time. To change a password,
use the User Accounts editor in RSView Studio. For more
information, see page 13-10.

To log in
1. Press the login button.
The Login window opens.

2. Press the User button, or press F2 on an external keyboard.

The string pop-up keyboard opens. For details about using the
keyboard, see page 27-9.

27-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

3. Type your user name in the string pop-up keyboard, or on an
external keyboard, and then press Enter.
The name is not case sensitive.
4. To enter a password, press the Password button, or press F3 on
an external keyboard.
5. Type the password in the string pop-up keyboard, or on an
external keyboard, and then press Enter.
The password is not case sensitive.
6. To close the Login window and complete the login, press Enter.

What happens when a user logs in

When a user logs in:
If the previous user did not log out, the previous user is logged
out now. If a logout macro is set up for the previous user, the
logout macro runs, assigning values to tags.
The new user is logged in.
If a login macro is set up for the new user, the macro runs,
assigning values to tags.

Problems with logging in

Login is unsuccessful under these circumstances:
If the graphic display changes remotely before the user has
finished logging in, the login is cancelled.

Logging in to the application ■ 27-3

Preface
If the user name or password doesn’t match the settings in the
User Accounts editor, the user is not logged in.
If the screen resolution is smaller than 280 pixels wide by
84 pixels high, the Login window cannot open.
If the screen resolution is smaller than 236 pixels wide by
208 pixels high, the string pop-up keyboard cannot open.

Logging out
When the current user logs out, the DEFAULT user is logged in.

To log out

" Press the logout button.

Entering numeric values

The operator can enter or ramp numeric values at run time using the
numeric input enable button or the numeric input cursor point.
When the operator presses the button or activates the cursor point,
the numeric pop-up keypad or scratchpad opens. If you set the
button or cursor point up to ramp, pressing the object gives it focus,
but does not open a pop-up window.
To use the numeric pop-up scratchpad, a keyboard must be attached
to the run-time computer, or the terminal must be a keypad
terminal.
For information about setting up the numeric input enable button,
see page 16-94. For information about setting up the numeric input
cursor point, see page 16-106.

Activating the cursor point

When the numeric input cursor point has focus, the operator can
activate the cursor point by pressing any of these keys on the
keyboard or keypad:
numbers from 0 to 9
the minus sign (-) or decimal point (.)
the Enter key, or an enter button

27-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 the Backspace key, or a backspace button
When the operator activates the numeric input cursor point, the
numeric pop-up keypad or scratchpad opens.

Ramping numeric values

If you set up the numeric input enable button or numeric input
cursor point to ramp values, the operator presses the object to give it
focus. When the button has focus, the operator can press a move up
or move down button, or the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key on a
keyboard or keypad, to ramp the value at the Value control.

Using the numeric pop-up keypad

The keypad can accept up to 17 digits, including the decimal point,
leading zero, and minus sign.

Scratchpad area

When the keypad is open, no other objects in the graphic display can
accept input.

Using the numeric pop-up scratchpad

The scratchpad can accept up to 17 digits, including the decimal
point, leading zero, and minus sign.

Entering numeric values ■ 27-5

Preface

Scratchpad area

The scratchpad does not contain any buttons. If the run-time

computer does not have an external keyboard or keypad attached,
the operator will be unable to enter values or close the scratchpad.
When the scratchpad is open, no other objects in the graphic display
can accept input.

Using buttons and keys with the numeric

pop-up windows
You can use the following buttons and their keyboard or keypad
equivalents with the numeric pop-up keypad. For the pop-up
scratchpad, you can use the keys on an external keyboard or keypad
only.
Use this button To do this
or key

Decimal (.) Type a decimal point.

This button is visible only if the decimal point type
for the numeric input enable button is Implicit.
Minus (-) Toggle the value between positive and negative.
ESC Close the pop-up window without writing the value
to the button’s Value control.
Backspace (←) Delete the rightmost digit in the scratchpad. If no
digits are left, the minus sign, if any, is removed.

27-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Use this button To do this
or key

Enter (↵) Close the pop-up window and write the value to the
button’s Value control.
If the Optional Expression control is assigned to the
numeric input enable button, RSView calculates the
value of the expression and writes the result to the
Value control. For details, see page 19-21.
If Enter key handshaking is set up for the numeric
input enable button, the button’s Enter control is set
to 1 and the handshaking timer begins timing. For
details, see page 16-19.
Delete Clear the scratchpad.
There is no Delete button in the pop-up keypad, but
you can use the Delete key on an external keyboard
or keypad.

How values are ramped

If the button or cursor point is being used to ramp a value at the
Value control:
When the tag assigned to the Value control is an integer tag, but
the ramp value is a floating point value, the ramp value is added
to (or subtracted from) the Value control value, and then the
result is rounded and written to the Value control.
For information about how values are rounded, see page 7-2.
If the operator presses and holds down the move up or move
down button, or the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key on the
keyboard or keypad, the button or key goes into auto repeat
mode. The ramp value is added to (or subtracted from) the last
value sent to the Value control.
For more information about auto repeat mode, see page 16-17.
If ramping the button or cursor point would cause the value at
the Value control to exceed the maximum value, or be less than
the minimum value, a message is written to the Diagnostics List
and the value at the Value control is not changed.

How values are calculated

When the operator presses the Enter button in the pop-up keypad or
scratchpad, the value that is sent to the Value control depends on
how the numeric input enable button is set up.

Entering numeric values ■ 27-7

Preface
The value the operator enters is compared to the minimum and
maximum range for the button. If the value is within the range,
the value is written to the Value control.
If the Optional Expression control is assigned, and the original
value is within the range but the expression result is a value
outside the range, the value is still written to the Value control.
If the decimal point type is Fixed Position, with a “Digits after
decimal” value that is greater than 0, the decimal point is stripped
from the value before comparing it to the minimum and
maximum range.
For example, if the entered value is 9.25, the stripped value is 925.
If the stripped value is within the range, the stripped value is sent
to the Value control (or substituted for the ? in the Optional
Expression).
If the decimal point type is Implicit, and the tag assigned to the
Value control uses an integer data type, floating-point values are
rounded.
If the Optional Expression control is assigned, the floating-point
value is substituted for the ? in the expression, and the expression
result is rounded.
For information about how values are rounded, see page 7-2.

Problems with the numeric pop-up windows

Problems with the numeric pop-up keypad and scratchpad occur
under these circumstances:
If the graphic display changes remotely before the user has
pressed the Enter button, the pop-up window closes without
writing out a value.
If the screen resolution is smaller than 124 pixels wide by
240 pixels high, the pop-up keypad cannot open.
If the screen resolution is smaller than 124 pixels wide by
68 pixels high, the pop-up scratchpad cannot open.
If the value is too large for the data type of the tag assigned to the
Value control, the pop-up window remains open and the value is
not written to the control. The scratchpad area changes to red to
alert the operator of the error.

27-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 If the value is outside the minimum and maximum range
specified for the numeric input enable button, the pop-up
window remains open and the value is not written to the control.
The scratchpad area changes to red to alert the operator of the
error.
If Enter key handshaking is still in effect, the pop-up window
closes but the value is not written to the control.

Entering string values

The operator can enter string values at run time using the string
input enable button.
When the operator presses the button, the string pop-up keyboard
or scratchpad opens, depending on how you set up the button. To
use the scratchpad, a keyboard must be attached to the run-time
computer.
For information about setting up the string input enable button, see
page 16-119.

Using the string pop-up keyboard

The string pop-up keyboard opens when the operator presses a
string input enable button or the User or Password button in the
Login dialog box.

Scratchpad area

If the operator opens the pop-up keyboard by pressing a string input

enable button, the number of characters the keyboard accepts
depends on how you set up the button.

Entering string values ■ 27-9

Preface
When the keyboard is open, no other objects in the graphic display
can accept input.

Using the string pop-up scratchpad

The number of characters the scratchpad accepts depends on how
you set up the string input enable button.

Scratchpad area

The scratchpad does not contain any buttons. If the run-time

computer does not have an external keyboard attached, the operator
will be unable to enter characters or close the scratchpad (unless the
run-time terminal is a keypad terminal). If the run-time terminal is a
keypad terminal, the operator can enter numbers (not letters) in the
scratchpad, and close the scratchpad.
When the scratchpad is open, no other objects in the graphic display
can accept input.

Using buttons and keys with the string

pop-up windows
You can use the following buttons and their keyboard equivalents
with the string pop-up keyboard. For the pop-up scratchpad, you
can use the keys on an external keyboard only.
Use this Or this To do this
pop-up keyboard
keyboard equivalent
button

SHF none Capitalize a single letter, or type a

shifted character such as #.
CAP none Capitalize multiple letters.
INS Insert Toggle between insert and
overstrike modes.
SPACE Spacebar Insert a space.
<< Left Arrow (←) Move the cursor to the left.
>> Right Arrow (→) Move the cursor to the right.

27-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Use this Or this To do this
pop-up keyboard
keyboard equivalent
button

ESC Esc Close the pop-up window without

writing the string to the Login
dialog box or the string input
enable button’s Value control.
CLR Delete Clear the scratchpad.
Backspace (←) Backspace Delete the character in front of the
cursor.
Enter (↵) Enter Close the pop-up window and
write the string to the Login dialog
box or the string input enable
button’s Value control.
If Enter key handshaking is set up
for the string input enable button,
the button’s Enter control is set
to 1 and the handshaking timer
begins timing. For details, see
page 16-19.

What is written to the Value control

When the operator presses the Enter button in the pop-up keyboard
or scratchpad, the string that is sent to the Value control depends on
how the string input enable button is set up.
If a fill character is set up for the button, and the operator enters
fewer than the maximum number of input characters, the fill
characters are placed after the string the operator enters.
Spaces have a hex value of 20.
Zeroes have a hex value of 30.
FF characters have a hex value of FF.
Null characters have a hex value of 0. The null character
indicates the end of string input. It does not add to the actual
string length.
If the number of input characters is fewer than the number of
characters in the length of the string tag assigned to the Value
control, the remaining spaces are padded with the null character.

Entering string values ■ 27-11

Preface
When the string is written to the Value control, the first character is
placed in the high order byte of the first word at the tag address, the
second character is placed in the low order byte of the first word,
and so on.

Problems with the string pop-up windows

Problems with the string pop-up keyboard and scratchpad occur
under these circumstances:
If the graphic display changes remotely before the user has
pressed the Enter button, the pop-up window closes without
writing out a string.
If the screen resolution is smaller than 236 pixels wide by
208 pixels high, the pop-up keyboard cannot open.
If the screen resolution is smaller than 236 pixels wide by
44 pixels high, the pop-up scratchpad cannot open.
If the string pop-up window is set up to accept more characters
than the Value control tag length, the pop-up window remains
open and the string is not written to the control. The scratchpad
area changes to red to alert the operator of the error.
If Enter key handshaking is still in effect, the pop-up window
closes but the value is not written to the control.

Changing tag values

This section gives an overview of the graphic objects you can use to
change tag values. For information about setting up the objects, see
Chapter 16.
The operator uses these objects to start and stop plant operations,
and to control machines and processes. Choose the objects that best
suit your process. Set up the data source to carry out the desired
actions in response to the changes in tag values.
The operator can use function keys with all of these objects except
control list selectors, third-party ActiveX objects, and drawing
objects with slider animation. The last three types of objects can be
pressed using a mouse or touch screen.
For information about assigning function keys to graphic objects,
see page 16-9.

IMPORTANT Do not use push buttons for emergency stops.

Emergency stop buttons must be hard-wired.

27-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

You can also use macros to assign values to tags. For more
information, see Chapter 21.
The operator can change tag values at run time using these graphic
objects:
Use this graphic To do this
object

Momentary push button Start a process or action by sending one value

to the tag when pressed, and another value
when released.
Maintained push button Toggle between two values, by sending one
value to the tag when pressed, and a second
value the next time the button is pressed and
released.
This button is useful for changing a setting
within a machine or process, but not for
starting the machine or process.
Latched push button Start a machine or process and remain set
(latched) until the process is completed, by
sending a value to the tag when pressed, and
retaining this value until reset (unlatched) by
the Handshake control.
Multistate push button Cycle through a series of values. Each time
the operator presses the button, the value for
the next state is sent to the tag. When the
button is in its last state, pressing it causes
the button to change to its first state and
write out the first state value.
This button is useful when you want the
operator to see and select multiple options in
sequence, using a single button. The button
displays the current state of a process or
operation by showing a different color,
caption, or image to reflect the different
states.
Interlocked push button Use a group of buttons to send values to the
same tag. When the operator presses a button
in the group, the button’s value is sent to the
tag, and the button remains highlighted as
long as the tag value is the same as the
button’s value. Pressing a new button in the
group releases the other button and sends a
new value to the tag.
You can also use a single interlocked push
button to send a value to a tag.

Changing tag values ■ 27-13

Preface
Use this graphic To do this
object

Ramp button Increase or decrease the value of a tag by a

specified integer or floating-point value.
Use two ramp buttons together to create a
raise/lower control.
Numeric input enable Enter a numeric value and write the value to
button a tag.
String input enable button Enter a string value and write the value to a
tag.
Drawing object with Control the value of a tag by dragging the
horizontal or vertical slider object with a mouse. The pixel position
slider animation of the slider is translated into a value that is
written to the tag.
If the value of the tag is changed externally,
the position of the slider changes to reflect
this.
Control list selector Select from a list of states for a process or
operation. The list is highlighted to show the
current state, and the operator can scroll
through the list to select a different state. The
value assigned to the selected state is written
to the tag.
If the value of the tag is changed externally,
the position of the highlight changes to
reflect this.
ActiveX object A third-party object, connected to an analog,
digital, or string tag. When the object’s
property value changes, the new value is
written to the associated tag.

You can attach visibility animation to these graphic objects, to

display or hide the objects based on changes in tag or expression
values. For information about visibility animation, see page 17-11.
For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15. For
information about setting up graphic objects, see Chapter 16.

Viewing tag data

This section gives an overview of the graphic objects you can use to
display tag data. For information about setting up the objects, see
Chapter 16.

27-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

The operator can view tag data at run time using these graphic
objects:
Use this graphic To display this
object

Numeric display Numeric tag values. For example, display the

current temperature of an oven.
Numeric input cursor Numeric tag values. For example, display the
point current temperature of an oven.
String display String tag values. For example, set up the data
source to generate strings that report on the
state of a process or operation, or that provide
the operator with instructions about what to do
next.
Bar graph Numeric values in bar graph format. The bar
graph increases or decreases in size to show the
changing value.
Gauge Numeric values in dial format. The gauge’s
needle moves around the dial to show the
changing value.
Multistate indicator The state of a process, on a panel that changes its
color, image, or caption to indicate the current
state. Each state is set up to correspond to a
numeric tag value or Least Significant Bit.
Symbol The state of a process, using a monochrome
image that changes color to indicate the current
state. Each state is set up to correspond to a
numeric tag value or Least Significant Bit.
This object is useful for showing the state of a
process or operation at a glance.
List indicator The state of a process, using a list of possible
states with the current state highlighted. Each
state is represented by a caption in the list, and is
set up to correspond to a numeric tag value or
Least Significant Bit.
This indicator is useful if you want to view the
current state but also want to see the other
possible states. For sequential processes, the list
can alert the operator about what happens next
in the process.

Viewing tag data ■ 27-15

Preface
Use this graphic To display this
object

Trend Historical or current numeric tag values, plotted

against time or displayed in an XY plot where
one or more tags’ values are plotted against
another tag’s values to show the relationship
between them.
Drawing object with Display the value of a tag using a pictorial
rotation, width, height, representation that shows the current value in
fill, color, or relation to a range of possible values. For
horizontal or vertical example, use rotation animation to show the tag
position animation value as a needle’s position on a dial.
For color animation, assign different colors to
represent different values.
ActiveX object A third-party object, connected to an analog,
digital, or string tag. The data displayed depends
on the object.

Any of these objects can be set up to manipulate tag values using

expressions, and display the expression result rather than the original
tag value. For information about expressions, see Chapter 19.
You can also attach visibility animation to these graphic objects, to
display or hide the objects based on changes in tag or expression
values. For information about visibility animation, see page 17-11.
For information about creating graphic objects, see Chapter 15. For
information about setting up graphic objects, see Chapter 16.

Displaying the date and time

To display the current date and time, create a time and date display.
This object uses the operating system’s date and time and therefore
does not use tags or expressions.

Viewing alarms and messages

The operator can view alarms and other messages at run time using
these graphic objects and graphic displays:
This Appears in this In this default For
information object graphic display details
see

Alarm messages Alarm list [ALARM] Page 9-30

Alarm banner
System activity Diagnostics list [DIAGNOSTICS] Page 10-21

27-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 This Appears in this In this default For
information object graphic display details
see

Information Information [INFORMATION] Page 12-12

messages message display
Local messages Local message No default Page 14-34
display

The default alarm and information displays open automatically

when the assigned tags match messages’ trigger values. The default
diagnostics display opens automatically when system activity occurs.
If desired, you can set up your own graphic displays to open
automatically, instead of the default displays. You can also set up any
of the displays to open when an operator presses a goto display
button or selects a display in the display list selector.
The operator can acknowledge alarm and information messages. The
operator can clear alarm and diagnostics messages. The operator can
sort alarms and reset their status.

Viewing information about run-time communication

errors
To display communication errors in the diagnostics list object, set up
message routing so that messages are sent to the RSView Diagnostics
List.
For information about setting up diagnostics message routing, see
Chapter 10.

Viewing information about run-time communication errors ■ 27-17

A
Appendix

Converting
PanelBuilder 1400e
applications
This appendix describes:
terms that are different in PanelBuildert 1400e and RSView.
steps for converting PanelBuilder 1400e applications.
steps for converting PanelBuilder 1400e RIO applications
names of equivalent graphic objects in the two products.
PanelBuilder 1400e graphic objects that are not supported in
RSView.
PanelBuilder 1400e settings and controls that are not supported
in RSView.
how communications are converted and which
PanelBuilder 1400e communication protocols are not supported
in RSView.
PanelBuilder 1400e graphic object features that are not supported
in RSView, with information about how to achieve the same
result when possible.
converting PanelBuilder 1400e expressions.
PanelBuilder 1400e applications are applications you create using
PanelBuilder 1400e Configuration Software for Windows. For
information about converting applications from PanelBuilder or
PanelBuilder32, see Appendix B.

Terminology
This section describes terms that are different in PanelBuilder 1400e
and RSView.

Terminology ■ A-1
Preface
PanelBuilder 1400e term RSView term
screen display, graphic display
Optional Keypad Write Optional Expression
Expression
programmable controller data source

In RSView, the data source can be memory or a device such as a

programmable controller or an OPC server. RSView writes values to
and reads values from the data source. The data source is configured
to exchange information (in the form of numeric or string values)
between RSView and the machine that your application is
controlling. The general term data source is used unless specifically
discussing a programmable controller.

Summary of steps
Follow these steps to convert PanelBuilder 1400e applications:
1. Convert the application file, as described in the next section.
2. Specify additional project settings, as described on page 4-9.
For example, if you want the application to have a border around
its graphic displays, or to use a title bar, you can specify these
options in the Project Settings editor.
3. If you select Convert to new windows size, check the position of
the graphic objects in each display.
4. Set up communications and edit tags that don’t convert directly.
For more information, see page A-12.
5. Set up graphic object features that don’t convert directly.
For more information, see page A-13.
6. Check each expression you used in PanelBuilder 1400e.
For more information, see page A-15.

Converting PanelBuilder 1400e application files

Follow these steps to convert a PanelBuilder 1400e application file,
with the extension .pvc, to an RSView application file, with the
extension .med. The original PanelBuilder 1400e application file is
not modified by the conversion.

A-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

You can convert the PanelBuilder 1400e application when you open
RSView Studio, or once RSView Studio is already open.

To convert a PanelBuilder 1400e application when you

open RSView Studio

1. Open RSView Studio.

2. In the New tab, in the Application name box, type a name for
your converted application, up to 32 characters long.
3. If desired, type a description of the application. If the
PanelBuilder 1400e application contains an Application File
Comment, the Application File Comment will overwrite the
description you type here.
You can add or change the description later, as described on
page 4-15.
4. Click Import.

Converting PanelBuilder 1400e application files ■ A-3

Preface

5. Click “PanelBuilder 1400e Application (*.pvc),” and then click

Next.

A-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 6. Click the Browse button
7. Navigate to the directory where the PanelBuilder 1400e
Browse button application file is stored, and then click the file name.
8. Click Open, and then click Next.

Converting PanelBuilder 1400e application files ■ A-5

Preface

9. Specify whether to use the same window (graphic display) size,

or to convert displays to a new size.
The size you specify is used for all Replace displays.
10. If you are converting to a new window size, specify the window
size in the Size box.
11. If you select Custom size, type the width and height of the
window size in pixels.
12. If you are converting to a new window size, specify whether to
scale the displays:
To scale the displays, check Scale graphic displays. If you
scale the displays, the graphic objects are resized to retain
their relative position to each other in the display.
To resize the displays without scaling, clear the Scale graphic
displays check box. If you resize the displays without scaling,
objects retain their original size and position in the display.
Some objects might be outside the display area, but you can
still select them and move them onto the display.

A-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 13. If the PanelBuilder 1400e application you are converting is a
keypad-only application, specify whether to enable the Touch
property for graphic objects that the operator presses:
If you want the operator to press objects using a touch screen
or mouse, check “Enable touch on graphic objects from
keypad-only applications.”
If you want the operator to press objects using a keypad or
external keyboard only, clear the “Enable touch on graphic
objects from keypad-only applications” check box.
14. Click Finish.
RSView Studio converts the PanelBuilder 1400e application,
creates the converted application’s folders and files, and then
displays the converted application in the Application Explorer
window in RSView Studio.
If there are any messages about conversion, they are displayed
automatically in the Project Status dialog box.
The converted application is created in the ME\HMI projects
directory, in a folder with the same name as the application name
you specified in step 2.
This is the path to the ME\HMI projects directory:
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView
Enterprise\ME\HMI projects
Conversion messages are saved in a file called Convert.log, in the
HMI projects directory.

To convert a PanelBuilder 1400e application when RSView

Studio is already open
1. On the File menu, click New Application, or click the New
Application tool.
New Application tool If an application is already open, RSView Studio asks you
whether to close the application that is currently open. Click Yes.
2. Follow steps 2 through 14 in the previous procedure.

After you convert the PanelBuilder 1400e

application
Now that you’ve converted the PanelBuilder 1400e application to
RSView:
Specify additional project settings, as described on page 4-9.

After you convert the PanelBuilder 1400e application ■ A-7

 Preface
If you select Convert to new windows size, check the position of
the graphic objects in each display.
Set up communications and edit tags that don’t convert directly.
For more information, see page A-12.
Set up graphic object features that don’t convert directly.
For more information, see page A-13.
Check each expression you used in PanelBuilder 1400e.
For more information, see page A-15.

Equivalent graphic objects

This section describes graphic objects that are equivalent in
PanelBuilder 1400e and RSView, but have different names in the two
products.
This PanelBuilder 1400e Is converted to this Notes
object RSView object
Increment Value Button Ramp button During conversion the button is set
up to increment.
Decrement Value Button Ramp button During conversion the button is set
up to decrement
Increment Value Button with Ramp button and numeric The Increment Value Button with
Display display Display is divided into two separate
RSView objects.
Decrement Value Button with Ramp button and numeric The Increment Value Button with
Display display Display is divided into two separate
RSView objects.
ASCII Input (small and large) String input enable button
Numeric Entry Keypad (small Numeric input enable button
and large)
Screen List Selector’s list Display list selector The PanelBuilder 1400e Screen List
Selector is divided into four separate
RSView graphic objects.
Screen List Selector’s Enter Enter button
Key
Screen List Selector’s Down Move down button
Cursor
Screen List Selector’s Up Move up button
Cursor
Control List Selector’s list Control list selector The PanelBuilder 1400e Control
List Selector is divided into four
separate RSView graphic objects.

A-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

This PanelBuilder 1400e Is converted to this Notes
object RSView object
Control List Selector’s Enter Enter button
Key
Control List Selector’s Down Move down button
Cursor
Control List Selector’s Up Move up button
Cursor
Screen Select Keypad (small Display list selector Specify the graphic displays that the
and large) display list selector can open.
Screen Keypad Enable Button Display list selector Specify the graphic displays that the
display list selector can open.
Goto Screen Button Goto display button
Return to Previous Screen Return to display button
Button
ASCII Display String display
Numeric Keypad Enable Numeric input enable button
Button
Normally Open Momentary Momentary push button During conversion the button is set
Push Button up to be normally open.
Normally Closed Momentary Momentary push button During conversion the button is set
Push Button up to be normally closed.
Screen Print Button Display print button
Alarm History Sort By Sort alarms button
Time/Sort By Value Button
Alarm Status Reset Qty/Time Reset alarm status button
Button
Alarm Panel Alarm banner
Single Line Alarm Window Alarm banner
Alarm Status Screen Alarm status list
Time Display Time and date display During conversion the display is set
up to show the time only. The
PanelBuilder 1400e time format is
not converted. For details about the
RSView time format, see
page 16-201.

Equivalent graphic objects ■ A-9

 Preface
This PanelBuilder 1400e Is converted to this Notes
object RSView object
Date Display Time and date display During conversion the display is set
up to show the date only. The
PanelBuilder 1400e date format is
not converted. For details about the
RSView date format, see
page 16-201.
Arc (with solid fill style) Arc (with solid back style) and The line graphic object is added
line because the solid RSView arc shape
does not have a line between the
two points of the arc.

RSView arc RSView arc with line

Unsupported graphic objects

These PanelBuilder 1400e objects are not supported in RSView:
Scrolling List (includes Cursor List, Multistate Indicator Object
List, Local Message Object List, Numeric Data Display Object
List)
Set Bit Cursor Point

Unsupported settings and controls

This section describes PanelBuilder 1400e settings and controls that
are not used in RSView.

Controls for transferring run-time

application files
PanelBuilder 1400e uses these optional controls for transferring files
to the run-time terminal:
Transfer Inhibit control
Transfer Request control
Transfer Status control
These controls are not necessary in RSView because the ME Transfer
Utility allows you to transfer the run-time project file while running
a project on the run-time terminal.

A-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Settings and controls for alarms
RSView does not use these PanelBuilder 1400e features and settings
to manage alarms:
blinking alarm messages
alarm relays
bit alarm acknowledgement
Remote Alarm Operation Hold Time. The PanelBuilder 1400e
Remote Alarm Ack Control Hold Time will be used for all alarm
hold times. You can change the hold time in the RSView Alarm
Setup editor, in the Advanced tab.
Remote Alarm Control Delay Time. In RSView, if an Ack
control is assigned, when an alarm is acknowledged the Ack
control is set immediately, without waiting for a delay time.
handshaking when alarm messages are sent to a PLC
RSView does not use these PanelBuilder 1400e controls to manage
alarms:
PLC Controlled Relay control
PLC Controlled Audio control
Message control (but the PanelBuilder 1400e Message to PLC
control is converted to the RSView Message control)
Message Handshake control
Acknowledge to PLC control (if the Alarm Acknowledge to
PLC option is set to Bit)

Invalid characters in screen names

Characters in PanelBuilder 1400e screen names that are not
supported in RSView are replaced with the underscore character.

Screen security settings

PanelBuilder 1400e screen security settings are not converted,
because RSView uses a different method to assign security to graphic
displays. For information about setting up security in RSView, see
Chapter 13.

Block tags
Block tags are not supported in RSView. Block tags that are
monitored for alarms in your PanelBuilder 1400e application are
converted to bit arrays. For information about monitoring bit arrays
for alarm conditions, see Chapter 9.

Unsupported settings and controls ■ A-11

Preface
Converting non-RIO communications
This section describes how to convert communications that are
non-RIO. If you want to convert RIO communications, see page
A-17.
RSView does not use nodes for communications. Nodes are
converted to RSLinx topics. Topics are then converted into device
shortcuts, to run with RSLinx Enterprise. You must have both
RSLinx for RSView and RSLinx Enterprise installed to make this
two-step conversion.
Tags are converted to HMI tags within the RSLinx topics. The
Unsolicited_Msgs node is not converted.
If you import an application multiple times, delete the device
shortcuts in RSLinx Enterprise before re-importing. Otherwise,
multiple unused device shortcuts will be created in RSLinx
Enterprise.
For more information about setting up communications, see
Chapter 5.

Unsupported communication protocols

These communication protocols are not supported in RSView:
ControlNet scheduled communications
Modbus communications
Tags that use these protocols are converted to memory tags. Once
you have set up communications for your converted application,
change the memory tags to device tags that point to the correct
addresses. For information about editing tags, see Chapter 7.

Unsupported tag data types

These tag data types are not supported in RSView:
Binary (used with Remote I/O communications)
Bit Position
1-BCD, 2-BCD, 5-BCD, 6-BCD, 7-BCD, 8-BCD
BIN3, BIN4, BIN6, BIN8 (used with Modbus communications)
Tags that use these data types are converted to analog tags with the
Default data type. The Default data type uses floating point values.

A-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Unsupported initial values
Device tags in RSView do not use initial values. Memory tags are
converted with their initial values.

Unsupported graphic object features

This section describes features of PanelBuilder 1400e graphic objects
that are not supported in RSView. The Notes column provides
additional information and describes methods for achieving the same
result when possible.
Graphic object Unsupported feature in Notes
RSView
Image, text, arc, ellipse, line, Blinking wallpaper objects If you want an object to blink at run
panel, rectangle, wedge time, unlock the wallpaper.
In RSView, all of the listed objects
except images and panels use color
animation to blink. For details, see
page 17-13.
Panels use the Blink property to
blink.
Color images do not blink.
Monochrome images use the Blink
property to blink. For details, see
page 15-15.
Numeric Display Polarity If a PanelView 1400e application
was configured with the Polarity
control requiring a negative number
to display the minus sign, the
Numeric Display will not work
properly after the application is
converted to RSView ME.
Numeric Input Cursor Point, Fixed Position and PLC Use an expression to achieve the
Numeric Data Display Controlled decimal display same result. Assign the expression
options to the object’s Value control. For
information about expressions, see
Chapter 19.
Numeric Input Cursor Point, PLC Controlled and Decimal Use an expression to achieve the
Numeric Keypad Enable Key Controlled decimal point same result. Assign the expression
Button options to the object’s Optional Expression
control. For information about
expressions, see Chapter 19.
Numeric Input Cursor Point Retain Cursor on Cancel The numeric input cursor point
retains focus when the operator
cancels entering a numeric value.

Unsupported graphic object features ■ A-13

 Preface
Graphic object Unsupported feature in Notes
RSView
Maintained Push Button, Initial state values If you want to set these objects’
Multistate Push Button, states on application startup, create
Control List Selector a macro to set the appropriate tag
values for the objects’ controls. For
information about macros, see
Chapter 21. Assign the macro in the
Startup editor. For details, see
page 23-3.
Trend Blinking pens
Date labels on the X-Axis The date is displayed in the title.
Background screen plotting You can plot tag values in the
background by assigning the tags to
a data log model. Tags set up for
background screen plotting are
automatically assigned to a data log
model on conversion. However,
data log models do not plot
expression values. Therefore,
expressions set up for background
screen plotting are not converted.
For information about data logging,
see Chapter 11.
All objects PanelBuilder 1400e object Object names are replaced with the
name RSView default object names. The
PanelBuilder 1400e object name is
used for the object’s description.
You can view and edit the name and
description in the Property Panel.
For details, see page 15-35.
All objects Caption and image placement RSView supports one, three, or nine
positions for captions and images,
depending on the type of object. On
conversion, captions and images are
positioned using the closest match.
Therefore some captions might
overlap images, some captions
might be truncated, and some
images might be clipped to fit the
object.
All objects Multiple image labels RSView supports one image label
per object or state. If a PanelBuilder
1400e object is set up to use
multiple image labels, only the top
left image is converted.

A-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Converting expressions
Some PanelBuilder 1400e expression syntax is not supported in
RSView. Expressions are converted without modification, and then
turned off by placing warning text at the beginning of the first line
of the expression. In addition, exclamation marks (!) are placed at the
beginning of each subsequent line of the expression. To enable the
expression, you must remove the warning text and exclamation
marks, and revise the syntax if necessary.
The maximum expression length in RSView is 1,024 characters. If a
PanelBuilder 1400e expression contains more than 1,024 characters,
the excess characters are not converted.
Some PanelBuilder 1400e objects support both tags and expressions.
For these objects, if the text assigned to a control could be valid
syntax for both a tag and an expression, the control is treated as an
expression, and is therefore turned off.
For example, N20-0_String_64 could be the name of a tag, or it
could be an expression that subtracts “0_String_64” from the tag
“N20.” The text would be converted as an expression, and turned
off.

To enable an expression
1. Select the object containing the expression.
2. Open the Property Panel, and then click the Connections tab.
3. In the Exprn column, click the Browse button beside the
expression to enable.
Browse button
4. In the Expression editor, delete the warning text and exclamation
marks.
5. Revise the expression, if necessary, using the tables in the
following three sections as guides.
6. Click Check Syntax.
For more information about using the Expression editor, see
Chapter 19.

Equivalent expression syntax

This table describes RSView expression syntax that is equivalent to
PanelBuilder 1400e syntax. When you edit the converted
expressions, replace the PanelBuilder 1400e syntax with the RSView
equivalent.

Converting expressions ■ A-15

 Preface
Syntax that is not listed in this table or in the next section is okay the
way it is.

Type of expression PanelBuilder 1400e syntax RSView syntax

component or operator
Comment REM or ’ !
Line continuation _ (underscore) not needed
Equality (=) EQ or ==
Bitwise Not Not ~ (tilde)
Bitwise And And &
Bitwise Or Or | (pipe)
Bitwise Xor Xor ^
If both operands are Byte,
Integer, Long, Variant, or any
combination of these data
types, use the RSView syntax.
For other data types, no
change is needed.

Unsupported expression syntax

This table describes the PanelBuilder 1400e expression syntax that is
not supported in RSView with information about how to achieve the
same result where possible

Type of expression PanelBuilder 1400e syntax Equivalent RSView syntax (if

component or operator any)
Exit statement Exit not needed
Local variables DIM varname AS ...
varname =
Integer division \ (x - (x MOD y))/y
Endif If then endif If then else 0
If then else endif If then else
Select case SelectCase Use nested if then else
Case1...CaseN
CaseElse
EndSelect
Logical Xor (if one or both Xor NOT ((x AND y)
operands are Boolean or Single OR NOT (x OR y))
data types)

A-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 Order of precedence
The order of precedence is slightly different in RSView. Check your
expressions to make sure the result is what you intend.

PanelBuilder 1400e order RSView order of

of precedence precedence
() ()

- (negation) NOT, ~ (tilde)

*, / (floating point division) *, /, MOD, %, **, AND, &&,
&, >>, <<
\ (integer division) +, -, OR, ||, |, ^
Mod EQ, ==, NE, <>, LT, <, GT, >,
LE, <=, GE, >=
+, - (subtraction)
=, <>, <, >, <=, >=
Not
And
Or
Xor

For more information about order of precedence, see page 19-14.

Converting PanelBuilder 1400e RIO applications to

RSView
RIO communications is not supported for Windows 2000/XP run
time or test run.

To convert a RIO application from PanelView to RSView

1. Start RSView Machine Edition.
2. In the New/Open Machine Edition Application dialog box, click
the New tab, and then click Import.
3. Follow the instructions in the wizard to import your RIO
application.
4. Open the RSLinx data server, and then double-click
Communications set up.

Converting PanelBuilder 1400e RIO applications to RSView ■ A-17

Preface
5. In the Communications Setup editor, add a RIO driver. For more
information about adding drivers in RSLinx, see the RSLinx
Help.
6. Expand the RIO tree, right-click RIO Data, and then click
Configure RIO.
7. In the RIO Configuration dialog box, right-click RIO, and then
click Import.
8. Browse to the location of the .xml file.
9. In the RSLinx data server, double-click Device Shortcuts.
10. In the Communications Setup editor, create a device shortcut
named “PVRIO” that points to the RIO data device. For more
information about creating a device shortcut, see the RSLinx
help.
11. Correct any invalid RIO configurations, if any. Invalid RIO
configurations are highlighted with red “x” icons.
12. Save the converted RIO configuration. You will not be allowed
to save the configuration is there are any invalid RIO
configurations.

Unsupported PanelView 1400e RIO tags

A PanelView 1400e RIO tag will be converted to an HMI Memory
tag and an error will be logged to the conversion log file if it:
has a blank address
has a data type of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 BCD
has a data type of “Bit Position” and its address does not
reference a single bit
has a data type of “Binary” and its address does not reference a
single bit, a single word, or a length or range of 8 or 16 bits
specified
has a data type of “Byte” and its address does not have a bit
offset of 0 or 8
has a data type of “Binary” and its address has a length or range
of 8 bits specified, but its address does not have a bit offset of 0
or 8 (for block transfer addresses and SLC I/O addresses)
has a data type of “Binary” and its address has a length or range
of 8 bits specified, but its address does not have a bit offset of 0
or 10 (for non-SLC I/O addresses)

A-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 has a data type of “Binary” and its address has a length or range
of 16 bits specified, but its address does not have a bit offset of 0
has a data type of “Default” “Unsigned Integer” “Signed
Integer” “Long Integer” “Float” “String” “4 Digit BCD” or “8
Digit BCD” and its address has a bit offset assigned that is not 0
has a tag type of “Block”
has an invalid PanelView 1400e address.

Changes from tag type to RSLinx DType

PanelBuilder PanelBuilder
1400e 1400e RSLinx “DType”
Tag type Data type

Analog [default] UWORD

Analog Unsigned Integer UWORD
Analog Integer SWORD
Analog Long Integer SLONG
Analog Floating Point FLOAT
Analog Bit Position BIT (only for tags whose
address references a single
bit)
Analog Binary BIT (only for tags whose
address references a single
bit)
Analog Binary UBYTE (for tags whose
address references a range
or length of 8 bits)
Analog Binary UWORD (for tags whose
address references a range
or length of 16 bits)
Analog Binary UWORD (for tags whose
address references a single
word)
Analog 4 Digit BCD 4BCD
Analog 8 Digit BCD 8BCD
Digital N/A BIT
String N/A STRING1
Block N/A This will not be converted.

Converting PanelBuilder 1400e RIO applications to RSView ■ A-19

B
Appendix

Converting
PanelBuilder and
PanelBuilder32
applications
This appendix describes:
terms that are different in PanelBuildert and RSView.
steps for converting PanelBuilder applications.
steps for converting PanelBuilder32 RIO applications
names of equivalent graphic objects in PanelBuilder and RSView.
PanelBuilder graphic objects that are not supported in RSView.
PanelBuilder settings and controls that are not supported in
RSView.
how communications are converted and which PanelBuilder
communication protocols are not supported in RSView.
PanelBuilder graphic object features that are not supported in
RSView, with information about how to achieve the same result
when possible.
This appendix uses the term PanelBuilder to refer to both
PanelBuilder and PanelBuilder32 features.
For information about converting applications from
PanelBuilder 1400e, see Appendix A.

Terminology
This section describes terms that are different in PanelBuilder and
RSView.

Terminology ■ B-1
Preface
PanelBuilder term RSView term
screen display, graphic display
programmable controller data source

In RSView, the data source can be memory or a device such as a

programmable controller or an OPC server. RSView writes values to
and reads values from the data source. The data source is configured
to exchange information (in the form of numeric or string values)
between RSView and the machine that your application is
controlling. The general term data source is used unless specifically
discussing a programmable controller.

Summary of steps
Follow these steps to convert PanelBuilder applications:
1. Convert the application file, as described in the next section.
2. Specify additional project settings, as described on page 4-9.
For example, if you want the application to have a border around
its graphic displays, or to use a title bar, you can specify these
options in the Project Settings editor.
3. If you select Convert to new windows size, check the position of
the graphic objects in each display.
4. Set up communications and edit tags that don’t convert directly.
For more information, see page B-11.
5. Set up graphic object features that don’t convert directly.
For more information, see page B-12.

Converting PanelBuilder application files

Follow these steps to convert a PanelBuilder application file, with
the extension .pba or .pva, to an RSView application file, with the
extension .med. The original PanelBuilder application file is not
modified by the conversion.
You can convert the PanelBuilder application when you open
RSView Studio, or once RSView Studio is already open.

To convert a PanelBuilder application when you open

RSView Studio
1. Open RSView Studio.

B-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

2. In the New tab, in the Application name box, type a name for
your converted application, up to 32 characters long.
3. If desired, type a description of the application. If the
PanelBuilder application contains an Application Description,
the Application Description will overwrite the description you
type here.
You can add or change the description later, as described on
page 4-15.
4. Click Import.

Converting PanelBuilder application files ■ B-3

Preface

5. Click “PanelBuilder Application (*.pba)” or “PanelView

Terminal (*.pva),” and then click Next.
In PanelBuilder, .pba is the development file extension, and .pva
is the run-time file extension.

B-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 6. Click the Browse button
7. Navigate to the directory where the PanelBuilder application file
Browse button is stored, and then click the file name.
8. Click Open, and then click Next.

Converting PanelBuilder application files ■ B-5

Preface

9. Specify whether to use the same window (graphic display) size,

or to convert displays to a new size.
The size you specify is used for all Replace displays.
10. If you are converting to a new window size, specify the window
size in the “Size” box.
11. If you select Custom size, type the width and height of the
window size in pixels.
12. If you are converting to a new window size, specify whether to
scale the displays:
To scale the displays, check “Scale graphic displays.” If you
scale the displays, the graphic objects are resized to retain
their relative position to each other in the display.
To resize the displays without scaling, clear the “Scale graphic
displays” check box. If you resize the displays without
scaling, objects retain their original size and position in the
display. Some objects might be outside the display area, but
you can still select them and move them onto the display.

B-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 13. If the PanelBuilder application you are converting is a
keypad-only application, specify whether to enable the Touch
property for graphic objects that the operator presses:
If you want the operator to press objects using a touch screen
or mouse, check “Enable touch on graphic objects from
keypad-only applications.”
If you don’t want the operator to press objects using a touch
screen or mouse, clear the “Enable touch on graphic objects
from keypad-only applications” check box.
14. If the PanelBuilder application you are converting uses an
external font, specify which font to use in the converted
application.
15. If the PanelBuilder application you are converting uses an
external font, specify which language (or code page) was used
when the external font in the imported application was created.
All the ASCII text strings in the imported application are
converted to their Unicode equivalent text strings during
conversion.
16. Click Finish.
RSView Studio converts the PanelBuilder application, creates the
converted application’s folders and files, and then displays the
converted application in the Application Explorer window in
RSView Studio.
If there are any messages about conversion, they are displayed
automatically in the Project Status dialog box.
The converted application is created in the ME\HMI projects
directory, in a folder with the same name as the application name
you specified in step 2.
This is the path to the ME\HMI projects directory:
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView
Enterprise\ME\HMI projects
Conversion messages are saved in a file called Convert.log, in the
HMI projects directory.

To convert a PanelBuilder application when RSView Studio

is already open
1. On the File menu, click New Application, or click the New
Application tool.
New Application tool

Converting PanelBuilder application files ■ B-7

Preface
If an application is already open, RSView Studio asks you
whether to close the application that is currently open. Click Yes.
2. Follow steps 2 through 16 in the previous procedure.

After you convert the PanelBuilder application

Now that you’ve converted the PanelBuilder application to RSView:
Specify additional project settings, as described on page 4-9.
If you select Convert to new windows size, check the position of
the graphic objects in each display.
Set up communications and edit tags that don’t convert directly.
For more information, see page B-11.
Set up graphic object features that don’t convert directly.
For more information, see page B-12.

Equivalent graphic objects

This section describes graphic objects that are equivalent in
PanelBuilder and RSView, but have different names in the two
products.
This PanelBuilder object Is converted to this Notes
RSView object
Numeric Entry Keypad Numeric input enable button
Enable Button
Numeric Entry Cursor Point Numeric input cursor point
Increment/Decrement Entry Numeric input enable button The numeric input enable button is
Button set up to work as a ramp button,
using the Fine Step value. The
Coarse Step value is not converted.
ASCII Entry Keypad Enable String input enable button The Show Current String on ASCII
Button Scratchpad setting is not converted.
The pop-up scratchpad or keyboard
is always blank when opened.
ASCII Entry Cursor Point String input enable button The Show Current String on ASCII
Scratchpad setting is not converted.
The pop-up scratchpad or keyboard
is always blank when opened.
Message Display Multistate indicator
Numeric Data Display Text The text object contains a numeric
embedded variable that displays the
read tag.

B-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

This PanelBuilder object Is converted to this Notes
RSView object
Connected Line Polyline
Circle Ellipse The ellipse has a circular shape.
Freeform Freehand
Screen List Selector Display list selector
Goto Screen Button Goto display button
Return Screen Button Return to display button

Unsupported graphic objects

These PanelBuilder objects are not supported in RSView:
Piloted Control List Selector
Print Only Object
Circular Scale
Scrolling Text
Print Alarm Button
Horn Silence Button
Lamp/Horn Test Button
Select Operator Button
Enable/Disable Security Button
New Password Button
Verify Password Button

Unsupported settings and controls

This section describes PanelBuilder settings and controls that are not
used in RSView.

Settings and controls for alarms

RSView does not use these PanelBuilder features and settings to
manage alarms:
Ack setting for alarm messages; in RSView, all alarms can be
acknowledged

Unsupported graphic objects ■ B-9

Preface
bit alarm acknowledgement
handshaking when alarm messages are sent to a remote device
RSView does not use these PanelBuilder controls to manage alarms:
Remote Ack All Handshake Tag
Remote Clear All Alarm Tag
Remote Clear All Alarm Handshake Tag
Message to Remote Device Notification Tag
Message to Remote Device Handshake Tag

Invalid characters in screen names and tag

names
Characters in PanelBuilder screen names and tag names that are not
supported in RSView are replaced with the underscore character.

Time and date

PanelBuilder time and date formats are not converted. For details
about RSView time and date formats, see page 16-201.

External fonts
PanelBuilder external fonts are not converted. When you convert
your application you can specify the font to use instead, as described
on page B-7.

Screen security settings

PanelBuilder screen security settings are not converted, because
RSView uses a different method to assign security to graphic
displays. For information about setting up security in RSView, see
Chapter 13.

Unsupported Power-up Options

These PanelBuilder32 Power-up Options will not import directly
into RSView.
Wrtie Last Terminal State to Controller
Display Last User Screen
Use Terminal Presets.

B-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Converting non-RIO communications
This section describes how to convert communications that are
non-RIO. If you want to convert RIO communications, see page
B-13.
RSView does not use nodes for communications. Nodes are
converted to RSLinx topics. Topics are then converted into device
shortcuts, to run with RSLinx Enterprise. You must have both
RSLinx for RSView and RSLinx Enterprise installed to make this
two-step conversion.
If you import an application multiple times, delete the Device
Shortcuts in RSLinx Enterprise before re-importing. Otherwise,
multiple unused topics will be created in RSLinx Enterprise.
For more information about setting up communications, see
Chapter 5.

Unsupported communication protocols

These communication protocols are not supported in RSView:
ControlNet scheduled communications
Modbus communications
Profibus DP communications
DeviceNet communications
DH+ nodes that use the AutoMax node type
Invalid PanelBuilder node types and non-existent node names
that are saved with the PanelBuilder application
Tags that use these protocols are converted to memory tags. Once
you have set up communications for your converted application,
change the memory tags to device tags that point to the correct
addresses. For information about editing memory tags, see
Chapter 7.

Bit array tags

You can monitor bit arrays for alarm conditions in RSView, but you
can’t assign bit arrays to graphic objects or write to bit arrays. For
this reason, all bit array tags in your PanelBuilder application are
converted to memory tags.
For information about monitoring bit arrays for alarm conditions,
see Chapter 9. For information about editing memory tags, see
Chapter 7.

Converting non-RIO communications ■ B-11

 Preface
Unsupported graphic object features
This section describes features of PanelBuilder graphic objects that
are not supported in RSView. The Notes column provides additional
information and describes methods for achieving the same result
when possible.

Graphic object Unsupported feature in Notes

RSView
Image, text, arc, ellipse, Blink property In RSView, all of the listed objects
freehand, line, polyline, except images use color animation
rectangle, wedge to blink. For details, see page 17-13.
Color images do not blink.
Monochrome images use the Blink
property to blink. For details, see
page 15-15.
Increment/Decrement Entry Allow Home/End
Button (converted to numeric Allow Wrap
input enable button) Ramping by coarse steps
Maintained Push Button, Initial state values If you want to set these objects’
Multistate Push Button, states on application startup, create
Standard Control List Selector a macro to set the appropriate tag
values for the objects’ controls. For
information about macros, see
Chapter 21. Assign the macro in the
Startup editor. For details, see
page 23-3.
Multistate Indicator, Message Print setting
Display
Bar Graph Inner text and inner graphic Converted to a separate text object
and image object.
Gauge Inner text and inner graphic Converted to a separate text object
and image object.
Scale clipping If the scale doesn’t fit within the
height or width of the gauge, it is
not clipped. Check the position of
the scale to ensure it doesn’t overlap
other objects.
Needle Converted to a separate gauge
object; if the gauge had 2 needles,
each needle is converted to a
separate gauge object.

B-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Graphic object Unsupported feature in Notes
RSView
Alarm List Lines per Alarm Only 1 line is supported.
Active/Inactive setting To show active alarms only, or to
indicate whether an alarm is active
or inactive, use an alarm status list.
Unacknowledged Alarms Unacknowledged alarms are always
displayed.
No Acknowledgement All alarms can be acknowledged.
Required
All objects Caption and image placement RSView supports one, three, or nine
positions for captions and images,
depending on the type of object. On
conversion, captions and images are
positioned using the closest match.
Therefore some captions might
overlap images, some captions
might be truncated, and some
images might be clipped to fit the
object.
All objects Turn Object View On If this property is set to False, the
property converted object has a transparent
background, no border, no caption,
and no image.
All objects Blinking inner graphics If the inner graphic uses a color
image, it will not blink. Use a
monochrome image if you want the
inner graphic to blink.

Converting PanelView RIO applications to RSView

RIO communications is not supported for Windows 2000/XP run
time or test run.

To convert a RIO application from PanelView to RSView

1. Start RSView Machine Edition.
2. In the New/Open Machine Edition Application dialog box, click
the New tab, and then click Import.
3. Follow the instructions in the wizard to import your RIO
application.
4. Open the RSLinx data server, and then double-click
Communications set up.

Converting PanelView RIO applications to RSView ■ B-13

Preface
5. In the Communications Setup editor, add a RIO driver. For more
information about adding drivers in RSLinx, see the RSLinx
Help.
6. Expand the RIO tree, right-click RIO Data, and then click
Configure RIO.
7. In the RIO Configuration dialog box, right-click RIO, and then
click Import.
8. Browse to the location of the .xml file.
9. In the RSLinx data server, double-click Device Shortcuts.
10. In the Device Shortcuts editor, create a device shortcut named
“PVRIO” that points to the RIO data device. For more
information about creating a device shortcut, see the RSLinx
help.
11. Correct any invalid RIO configurations, if any. Invalid RIO
configurations are highlighted with red “x” icons.
12. Save the converted RIO application.

Tag conversions and unsupported tags

Unsupported PanelView32 RIO tags

A PanelView “s” RIO tag will be converted to an HMI Memory tag
and an error will be logged to the conversion log file if it:
has a blank address
has a data type of “Bit Array” and its address dow not have an
“Array Size” of 1, 8, 16, or 32
has a data type of “Bit Array”, and its “Array Size” is 8, but its
address does not have a bit offset of 0 or 8
has a data type of “Bit Array,” and its size is 16 or 32, but its
address does not have a bit offset of 0
does not have a valid I/O address or block transfer address
PanelView32 Data Type RSLinx Dtype

Bit BIT
BOOL BIT
4BCD 4BCD

B-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

PanelView32 Data Type RSLinx Dtype

Unsigned Integer UWORD

Signed Integer / INT SWORD
IEEE Float / REAL FLOAT
Bit Array BIT
Only for PanelView32 tags with an
array size of 1.
Bit Array UBYTE
Only for PanelView32 tags with an
array size of 8, whose address has a
bit offset of 0 or 8.
Bit Array UWORD
Only for PanelView32 tags with an
array size of 16, whose address has
a bit offset of 0.
Character Array STRING1
DINT SLONG
SINT SBYTE

Tag conversions and unsupported tags ■ B-15

C
Appendix

System tags

This appendix describes the system tags.

System tags are preconfigured HMI tags created by RSView. System

tags are read-only. Display them as needed in your application.

Alarms
The following tag contains the time and date that the status of alarms
was last reset. The date uses the long date format.

Tag Name Type Function

system\AlarmReset String Contains the date and time of the last
DateAndTimeString alarm reset.

For information about resetting alarms, see page 9-7.

Graphics
The following tags can be used to make graphic objects appear as
though they are blinking on and off:

Tag Name Type Function

system\BlinkFast Digital Toggles on and off every 100
ms (10 times per second).
system\BlinkSlow Digital Toggles on and off every 500
ms (twice per second).

A more efficient way to make graphic objects blink is to use the

blinking color option in color animation. For details, see page 17-13.

Also, many objects have a blink property that you can set up. For
information about specific objects, see Chapter 16.

Alarms ■ C-1
Preface
Time
The following tags record time and date information in various
formats:
Tag Name Type Provides this data Read or
write
system\Date String System date. Read only
system\DateAndTime Analog Number of seconds Read only
Integer elapsed since midnight
(00:00:00) January 1,
1970, coordinated
universal time (UTC).
system\DateAndTime String Complete date and time Read only
String display.
For example:
Monday, December 12
2001 10:47:50 AM
system\DayOfMonth Analog Day of the month Read only
(1 – 31).
system\DayOfWeek Analog Day of the week (1 – 7); Read only
Sunday = 1.
system\DayOfYear Analog Day of the year (1 – 366). Read only
system\Hour Analog Hour of the day (0 – 23). Read and
write
system\Minute Analog Minutes (0 – 59). Read and
write
system\Month Analog Number for month Read only
(1 - 12).
system\MonthString String Name of the month. Read only
system\Second Analog Seconds (0 – 59). Read and
write
system\Time String System time. Read only
system\Year Analog The year (1980 – 2099). Read only

For information about using the data source to update the system
date and time, or about sending the run-time computer’s date and
time to the data source, see Chapter 8.

C-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

User
The following tag contains the name of the current user:

Tag Name Type Function

system\User String Contains name of logged-in user.

We recommend that you use the expression security function

CurrentUserName( ) instead of the system\User tag, especially if
you intend to convert the application to RSView Enterprise
Supervisory Edition. In distributed applications, system\User
returns the name of the user logged into the HMI server, not the user
logged into the display client.
For more information about the security functions, see page 19-18.

User ■ C-3
D
Appendix

The ODBC database

format
This appendix describes the ODBC database format, or schema, for
messages from FactoryTalk diagnostics. The target table of the
ODBC database to which you are sending messages must use the
format shown in the next section.
The option of logging FactoryTalk Diagnostics messages to an
ODBC database is available for computers running Windows 2000
and Windows XP only.
For information about setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics, see
Chapter 10.

FactoryTalk Diagnostics log table

FactoryTalk Diagnostics uses one table to log data in ODBC
format.
This column Contains SQL Data Type Length

TimeStmp The time and date data was logged, in SQL_TIMESTAMP Driver
coordinated universal time (UTC) format. dependent
Encoded as a date variant.

MessageText Message to be logged. SQL_VARCHAR, or 254

SQL_CHAR

Audience A number representing the message audience: SQL_SMALLINT, or 1

0 — Operator SQL_INTEGER
1 — Engineer
2 — Developer
3 — Secured

Severity A number representing the severity of the SQL_SMALLINT, or 1

diagnostics message: SQL_INTEGER
0 — Error
1 — Warning
2 — Information
3 — Audit

FactoryTalk Diagnostics log table ■ D-1

 Preface

This column Contains SQL Data Type Length

Area The FactoryTalk path to the area in which the SQL_VARCHAR, or 80

activity occurred. SQL_CHAR

Location The name of the computer where the message SQL_VARCHAR, or 15

was generated. SQL_CHAR

UserID The name of the user (including domain name, if SQL_VARCHAR, or 38

there is one) that initiated the action that caused SQL_CHAR
the diagnostics message. If the diagnostics
message was caused by an HMI server, the user
column contains “System”.

UserFullName The full name of the user that was logged in SQL_VARCHAR, or 255
when the activity occurred. SQL_CHAR

Provider The name of the product that generated the SQL_VARCHAR, or 20

message. SQL_CHAR

D-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Index

Symbols Numbers
.bmp files, 14-22 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, 10-5
importing, 14-23
location of, 14-23
placing in graphic displays, 15-15 A
tips for using, 14-28 A.I. 5 tags, importing, 7-28
viewing, 14-26 AB_DF1-1
setting up at run time, 25-23, 25-24, 26-21,
.dxf files, 14-22 26-23
placing in graphic displays, 15-22 using at run time, 25-22, 26-20
.jpg files, 14-22 using to transfer applications, 25-7, 26-5
importing, 14-23 AB_ETH-1
placing in graphic displays, 15-15 setting up at run time, 25-22, 25-23, 26-21
tips for using, 14-28 using at run time, 25-22, 26-20
viewing, 14-26 using to transfer applications, 25-7, 26-5
.mea files, 4-8 AB_KT-1
setting up at run time, 26-21, 26-24
.med files, 4-2
using at run time, 25-22, 26-20
.mer files, 4-2, 26-1
Acknowledge alarm button graphic object,
See also Run-time application 15-7, 16-32
comparing, 25-13, 26-11 using with alarm objects, 9-5, 9-41
creating, 23-4 Acknowledge all alarms button graphic
default location, 23-5 object, 9-6, 15-7, 16-23
transferring using with alarm lists, 9-41
from PanelView Plus or VersaView CE, ActiveX objects, 15-2
25-10 See also Graphic objects
from RAC6182, 26-9 animating, 17-2
to PanelView, 25-2, 25-7 at run time, 27-14, 27-16
to RAC6182, 26-2, 26-6 creating, 15-23
to VersaView CE, 25-2, 25-7 navigating to, 16-12
to Windows 2000 or Windows XP, 24-2, registering, 15-24
24-3 using to display tag values, 15-6, 15-9
using to set tag values, 15-5, 15-9
.wmf files, 14-22
placing in graphic displays, 15-22 Activity logging. See Diagnostics
messages
[ALARM BANNER] display, editing, 9-31 Addresses, for OPC items, 7-22
[ALARM MULTI-LINE] display, 9-4 Addressing syntax
copying, 9-35 ControlLogix, 7-15
editing, 9-31 for HMI tags, 7-15

Index ■ I-1
Adobe Acrobat Reader, 1-1 editing, 9-30
Alarm banner graphic object, 15-9, 16-227 window size, 4-11
at run time, 9-39, 27-16 Alarms, 9-1
linking buttons to, 16-14 acknowledging, 9-5, 9-17, 9-44
navigating to, 16-12 remotely, 9-17, 9-19, 9-20
specifying time and date format for, 24-15, clearing, 9-6, 9-45
25-35, 26-33 creating your own display for, 9-36
using buttons with, 9-41 deleting, 9-45
Alarm display, opening and closing, 9-21, displaying, 9-4, 9-26, 9-28
9-36 displaying in the alarm status list, 9-47
remotely, 9-21 expressions in, 19-3
Alarm list graphic object, specifying time hold time, 9-29
and date format for, 25-35, 26-33 inactive, 16-230
Alarm list graphic object, 15-9, 16-221 keeping a permanent record of, 9-3, 9-8
at run time, 9-37, 27-16 notification methods for, 9-3
linking buttons to, 16-14 printing, 9-8, 9-26
navigating to, 16-12 queueing, 9-16
specifying time and date format for, 24-15 resetting, 9-7
using buttons with, 9-41 resetting status of, 9-20, 9-46
Alarm log file, 4-3, 9-7 remotely, 9-21
deleting at application startup, 24-11, 24-14, responding to, 9-5
25-31, 25-35, 26-30, 26-33 retaining status of, 9-46
printing contents of, 9-8 sending messages to the data source, 9-19, 9-27
size, 9-29 setting up, 9-21
silencing, 9-6, 9-20, 9-28, 9-45
Alarm logging. See Alarms
remotely, 9-20
Alarm messages
sorting, 9-6, 9-46
copying, 9-28
testing on the development computer, 23-4
creating, 9-25
updating tag values for, 9-29
deleting, 9-28
Analog tags, 7-1
embedded variables in, 20-2
data types, 7-18
printing at run time, 9-8
how floating-point values are rounded, 7-2
viewing at run time, 27-16
logging values for, 11-2
Alarm monitoring, turning on and off, 23-2 monitoring for alarms, 9-2
Alarm Setup editor, 9-22 setting up, 7-16
using tags in, 6-18 using to generate a range of alarms, 9-8
Alarm status list graphic object, 15-9, Animation, 17-1
16-231 changing, 17-32
at run time, 9-40 checking, 17-30
linking buttons to, 16-14 copying, 17-32, 17-33
navigating to, 16-12 defining range of motion for, 17-9
using buttons with, 9-41 for group objects, 15-56, 17-30
Alarm status mode button graphic object, setting minimum and maximum values for,
15-7, 16-32 17-8
using with alarm status lists, 9-41 testing, 17-7
Alarm triggers, 9-3 using expressions, 17-8
creating, 9-23 using Object Smart Path, 17-6, 17-9
data types for, 9-8 using tags and placeholders, 17-7
[ALARM] display, 9-4 viewing in Object Explorer, 15-29
at run time, 27-16 Animation dialog box, 17-2

I-2 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Animation types, 17-1 versus projects, 4-1
color, 17-13 Arc graphic object, 15-3, 15-17
fill, 17-18
Arithmetic operators, in expressions, 19-9
height, 17-23 evaluation order of, 19-14
horizontal position, 17-19
Array tags, 9-13
horizontal slider, 17-27
data types for, 9-13, 9-14
rotation, 17-24
vertical position, 17-20 Arrow images, 14-23
vertical slider, 17-28 Audiences, for diagnostics messages, 10-5
visibility, 17-11 Audio indicator, for alarms, 9-26
width, 17-21 Auto repeat, 16-17
Application Explorer, 2-3, 2-4 AutoCAD files. See .dxf files
showing and hiding, 2-6 Automatic logout, 13-14
using, 2-7
Application files
deleting from disk, 2-15 B
viewing location of, 4-16 Background Color toolbar, 15-40
Application Manager, 4-8 Background style, transparent, 14-23
Application properties, viewing, 4-15, 4-16 Backspace button graphic object, 15-7,
16-31
Application window size. See Project
window size Bar graph graphic object, 15-6, 16-167,
16-169
Applications, 2-1, 26-1 at run time, 27-15
See also Components; Run-time application using animation to create, 17-17
backing up and restoring, 4-8
Bit arrays
closing, 4-8
using to generate alarms based on priority
comparing, 25-13, 26-11
sequence, 9-11
converting using to generate multiple alarms, 9-9
PanelBuilder, B-1
Bit trigger type, 9-9
PanelBuilder 1400e, A-1
PanelBuilder 32, B-1 Bitmap files. See .bmp files
copying and deleting at run time, 25-19, 26-19 Bitwise operators, in expressions, 19-12
copying, deleting, and renaming, 4-8 evaluation order of, 19-14
creating, 4-4 Bounding box, 16-8
importing Button graphic objects
PanelBuilder, B-1 See also Graphic object types; Graphic objects
PanelBuilder 1400e, A-1 bounding box, 16-8
PanelBuilder 32, B-1 creating touch margins for, 16-8
opening, 4-6 linking to specific objects, 16-14
multiple, 4-7 repeating button presses, 16-17
planning, 3-1 selecting objects to send button presses to,
run-time, creating, 23-4 16-12, 16-14
sample, opening, 2-2 using function keys with, 16-9
testing on the development computer, 23-3 using with alarm banners, 15-7
transferring from a RAC6182 terminal, 26-9 using with lists, 15-7
transferring from PanelView Plus or VersaView using with numeric input objects, 15-7
CE, 25-10 using with trends, 15-7, 18-25
transferring to PanelView Plus or VersaView Button presses
CE, 25-7 repeating, 16-17
transferring to RAC6182, 26-6 sending to graphic objects, 16-12, 16-14

Index ■ I-3
 Components, 2-10
C adding into applications, 2-14
Caches for data servers file locations, 4-2
creating, 5-7 printing, 2-17
synchronizing, 5-8 working with, 2-12
Circle graphic object, 15-3, 15-18 Constants, in expressions, 19-9
Clear alarm banner button graphic object, Context menus, 14-6
9-6, 15-7, 16-32 Control list selector graphic object, 15-5,
using with alarm banners, 9-41 16-181
at run time, 27-14
Clear alarm history button graphic object,
15-8, 16-23 linking buttons to, 16-14
clearing alarms with, 9-6 navigating to, 16-12
resetting alarms with, 9-7 using Enter key handshaking with, 16-19
silencing alarms with, 9-6 ControlLogix processors, 6-2
using to delete the alarm log file, 9-7 addressing syntax for, 7-15
using with alarm lists, 9-42 creating tags in, 6-3
Close display button graphic object, 15-4, Controls, 15-2
16-135 See also Expressions; Tags
and alarms, 9-37 assigning to graphic objects, 15-44
and diagnostics messages, 10-21 using the Property Panel, 15-38
and information messages, 12-10, 12-11 for alarms, 9-3, 9-15, 9-19
using to navigate, 22-4, 22-6 Current trends, 11-1, 18-2
Color See also Trend graphic object
blinking, 17-16, C-1
for graphic objects, 15-40
in graphic displays, 14-16
D
animating, 17-13 Data log files, 4-3, 11-2
in trends, 18-8 deleting, 24-11, 25-31, 26-30
Data log models, 11-1
Color animation, 15-6, 17-13 changing the model to use at run time, 11-12
at run time, 27-16
creating, 11-5
COM port, for serial communications, using deleting tags from, 11-2
KEPServerEnterprise, 24-7, 25-26,
26-27 specifying how much data to store, 11-6
specifying the storage location, 11-7
Communication drivers, 26-1
specifying the tags to log, 11-11
setting up at run time, 25-22, 26-20
specifying when to log data, 11-9
for transfer to PanelView Plus, 25-5
using with trends, 18-24
for transfer to RAC6182, 26-4
Data Log Models editor, 11-4
for transfer to VersaView CE, 25-5
using tags in, 6-20
in Windows 2000 or Windows XP, 24-7
setting up in RSLinx Enterprise, 26-5 Data logging, 11-1
choosing the data to log, 11-2
at run time, 24-7
methods, 11-2
for transfer to PanelView Plus, 25-7
problems with, 11-12
for transfer to RAC6182, 26-5
setting up, 11-4
for transfer to VersaView CE, 25-7
storage locations, 11-3
Communications turning on and off, 23-3
errors, displaying, at run time, 27-17 updating tag values for, 11-10
setting up, 5-1 Data server tags, 6-1
testing on the development computer, 23-4 browsing for, 6-5
Communications tab, 2-4 how to use, 6-3

I-4 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 when to use, 6-3 in the [DIAGNOSTICS] display, 10-17
Data servers, 2-7, 4-1, 5-3 linking buttons to, 16-14
creating, 5-4, 5-6 navigating to, 16-12
creating caches for , 5-7 using buttons with, 10-22
editing, 5-10 Diagnostics List Setup editor, 10-17
how to use, 5-3 Diagnostics messages, 10-1
removing, 5-10 at run time, setting up, 10-17
synchronizing caches for , 5-8 audiences for, 10-5
Data source creating your own display for, 10-21
ensuring values are read by, 16-19 displaying at run time, 10-16, 10-19, 27-16
for alarms, 9-2 displaying during application development,
for HMI tags, 7-3, 7-21 10-5
for information messages, 12-2 local log file for, 10-9
for local messages, 14-35 clearing, 10-15
for tags, 6-2, 7-3 logging from PanelView Plus and Windows
for trends, 18-2 CE terminals, 10-14
logging from the PanelView Plus and Windows
Data types for analog tags, 7-18 CE Terminals, 10-7
Date and time. See Time and date logging to an ODBC database, 10-10
Default graphic displays. See [ALARM] message severity, 10-4
display; [DIAGNOSTICS] display; ODBC format for, D-1
[INFORMATION] display
printing at run time, 10-16
DEFAULT user, 13-8
remote log file for, 25-17, 26-17
DeskLock tool, 13-1, 24-15 setting up destinations for, 10-7, 10-9
Device addresses, editing at run time, on the PanelView Plus or VersaView CE
25-25, 26-26 terminal, 25-17
Device shortcuts, editing at run time, 24-5, on the RAC6182 terminal, 26-17
25-15, 26-15
setting up message routing, 25-17
Device tags, 7-3, 7-22 setting up message routing for, 10-7, 10-13,
addressing syntax for, 7-15 26-17
DH+ network, connecting to at run time, viewing log files, 10-6
25-23, 26-21
Diagnostics Setup tool, 10-7
DH-485 network, connecting to at run time,
26-21 Diagnostics Viewer tool, 10-6
Diagnostics clear all button graphic [DIAGNOSTICS] display, 10-17
object, 15-8, 16-23 at run time, 27-16
using with diagnostics lists, 10-22 editing, 10-20
Diagnostics clear button graphic object, opening and closing, 10-21
15-8, 16-32 window size, 4-11
using with diagnostics lists, 10-22 Digital tags, 7-1
Diagnostics List, 2-4 logging values for, 11-2
clearing messages in, 2-4 monitoring for alarms, 9-2
displaying, 10-6 setting up, 7-19
moving, 2-4 DIN symbols, 14-23
resizing, 2-4 Display editor. See Graphic Displays editor
showing and hiding, 2-6 Display list selector graphic object, 15-4,
using to test displays, 14-11 16-142
Diagnostics list graphic object, 15-9, linking buttons to, 16-14
16-237 navigating to, 16-12
at run time, 10-21, 27-16 using parameter files with, 14-33
displaying communication errors in, 27-17 using to navigate, 22-4, 22-7

Index ■ I-5
Display number, specifying, 8-5, 8-7, 14-14 Editors
Display print button graphic object, 14-40, printing in, 2-17
15-4, 16-23 working with, 2-9
printing trend data with, 18-27 Ellipse graphic object, 15-3, 15-18
using the data source instead of, 8-2 Embedded variables, 20-1
Display settings, on the PanelView Plus or copying, 20-7
VersaView CE terminal, 25-18 creating, 20-2
Display Settings dialog box, 14-13 deleting, 20-8
Display size. See Window size displaying at run time, 20-9
Display types, 14-12 editing, 20-8
and navigation, 22-4 types of values, 20-1
default, 14-3 updating at run time, 20-8
End button graphic object, 15-7, 16-31
Displays. See Graphic displays
using with alarm objects, 9-43
Documentation for RSView using with diagnostics lists, 10-23
finding, i using with trends, 18-27
printing, 1-1
Enter button graphic object, 15-7, 16-31
Drawing objects, 15-2 and Enter key handshaking, 16-19
See also Graphic object types; Graphic objects using with alarm objects, 9-5, 9-43
animating, 17-2
Enter key handshaking, 16-19
coloring, 15-41
Error messages. See Diagnostics
creating, 15-12 messages; Problems at run time
flipping, 15-64 Ethernet network, connecting to at run
locking into position, 15-66 time, 25-22, 25-23, 26-21
reshaping, 15-55 Expression editor, 19-3
rotating, 15-65 using tags in, 6-5
Drivers. See Communication drivers Expression results
for animation, 17-5
rounding, 19-1
E types of values, 19-2
Expressions, 19-1
Edit mode, 14-11 See also Write expressions
Editor types and animation, 17-8
Alarm Setup, 9-22 assigning to controls, 6-19
Data Log Models, 11-4 assigning to graphic objects, 15-44
Diagnostics List Setup, 10-17 using the Property Panel, 15-38
Expression, 19-3 checking syntax, 19-5
Global Connections, 8-8 constants in, 19-9
Graphic Displays, 14-3 copying, 19-7
Graphic Libraries, 14-19 creating, 19-6
Images, 14-25 evaluation order of operators, 19-14
Information Messages, 12-5 formatting, 19-8
Information Setup, 12-7 if-then-else logic in, 19-18
Local Messages, 14-38 math functions in, 19-17
Macros, 21-4 monitoring for alarms, 9-2
Parameters, 14-33 operators in
Project Settings, 4-13 arithmetic, 19-9
Startup, 23-2 bitwise, 19-12
Tags, 7-5 logical, 19-11
User Accounts, 13-6 relational, 19-10

I-6 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 security functions in, 19-18 specifying number format for, 24-15, 25-35,
tags and placeholders in, 17-5, 19-8 26-33
using in macros, 21-5 Global connections, 8-1
viewing in Object Explorer, 15-29 setting up, 8-8
updating tag values for, 8-9
using to change displays remotely, 8-5, 8-6,
F 22-8
using to print displays remotely, 8-2
FactoryTalk Diagnostics, 10-1 using to run macros, 8-5, 21-3
See also Diagnostics messages
Global Connections editor, 8-8, 14-41
setting up, on a Windows 2000 or Windows
XP run-time computer, 24-6 Goto configure mode button, 16-23
Goto display button graphic object, 15-4,
FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer 16-128
See also Windows Event Viewer and alarms, 9-36, 9-37
viewing diagnostics log files in, 10-6 and diagnostics messages, 10-21
FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer tool, 10-6 and information messages, 12-11
File names, 4-2 assigning visibility animation to, 13-19
and spaces, 4-4 positioning displays with, 14-16
maximum length of, 4-4 using parameter files with, 14-33
Files, temporary, storing externally, 26-19 using to navigate, 22-4
Fill animation, 15-6, 17-18 Graphic displays, 14-1
at run time, 27-16 assigning tag values for, 14-16
background color of, 14-16
Folders, 7-4
changing remotely, 8-5, 22-8
adding HMI tags to, 7-11
security issues, 8-5
creating, 7-10
setting up, 8-6
creating in the Tag Browser, 7-26
using global connections, 8-2
deleting, 7-12
when a user logs out, 8-6, 13-19
duplicating, 7-12 creating, 14-3
nesting, 7-11 creating a background for, 14-17
opening, 7-10 default. See [ALARM] display;
using in the Tag Browser, 6-9 [DIAGNOSTICS] display;
Fonts [INFORMATION] display
copying and deleting, 26-19 developing a hierarchy for, 22-2
copying and deleting at run time, 25-19 disabling input focus for, 14-15
in graphic displays, substitution at run time, illustrating, 15-3
15-12 limiting access to, 13-16, 14-15
in trends, 18-8 maximum number licensed to use, 4-16
transferring, 25-7 navigating between, 22-1
Foreground Color toolbar, 15-40 objects for, 22-4
Freehand graphic object, 15-3, 15-19
testing navigation, 22-3
numbering, 8-5, 8-7, 14-14
Function keys
opening, 14-3
assigning to graphic objects, 16-9
planning, 3-3, 14-2
changing, 16-11
positioning, 14-15
printing, 14-40
at run time, 14-40
G remotely, 8-2, 14-41
Gauge graphic object, 15-6, 16-167, 16-173 setting up printer, 24-8
at run time, 27-15 setting up, 14-12

Index ■ I-7
 sizing, 4-10, 14-13, 14-15 control list selector, 15-5, 16-181
specifying the first display to open, 23-3 diagnostics clear all button, 15-8, 16-23
testing, 14-11 diagnostics clear button, 15-8, 16-32
animation, 17-7 diagnostics list, 15-9, 16-237
title bar in, 4-11 display list selector, 15-4, 16-142
types of, 14-12 display print button, 15-4, 16-23
default type, 14-3 drawing objects, 15-2
updating tag values for, 14-15 See also Drawing objects
using parameter files with, 14-30 arcs, 15-3, 15-17
viewing in detail, 14-10 circles, 15-3, 15-18
Graphic Displays editor, 14-3 ellipses, 15-3, 15-18
undoing and redoing actions in, 14-10 freehand objects, 15-3, 15-19
using tags in, 6-18 images, 15-3, 15-15
lines, 15-3, 15-19
Graphic images
deleting, 14-28 panels, 15-3, 15-17
importing, 14-22 polygons, 15-3, 15-19
polylines, 15-3, 15-19
monochrome, 14-23
rectangles, 15-3, 15-21
selecting for a graphic object, 14-27
rounded rectangles, 15-3, 15-21
that come with RSView Studio, 14-23
squares, 15-3, 15-21
viewing, 14-26
text, 15-3, 15-12
Graphic libraries, 14-18 wedges, 15-3, 15-17
[ALARM BANNER] display, 9-31 end button, 15-7, 16-31
[ALARM MULTI-LINE] display, 9-4, 9-31 enter button, 15-7, 16-31
[HISTORY] display, 9-4, 9-34 gauge, 15-6, 16-167, 16-173
[STATUS] display, 9-4, 9-32 goto configure mode button, 16-23
changing file location for, 14-20 goto display button, 15-4, 16-128
copying, 9-35 home button, 15-7, 16-31
creating, 14-19 information acknowledge button, 15-8, 16-23
opening, 14-19 information message display, 15-9, 16-240
Sliders library, 17-27 interlocked push button, 15-5, 16-75
Trends library, 18-24 latched push button, 15-5, 16-59
Graphic Libraries editor, 14-19 list indicator, 15-6, 16-161
Graphic object types local message display, 15-9, 16-190
See also Button graphic objects; Headings for login button, 15-4, 16-23
individual objects; Multistate graphic logout button, 15-4, 16-23
objects macro button, 16-194
acknowledge alarm button, 15-7, 16-32 maintained push button, 15-5, 16-51
acknowledge all alarms button, 15-7, 16-23 momentary push button, 15-5, 16-42
ActiveX objects, 15-2, 15-23 move down button, 15-7, 16-31
See also ActiveX objects move left button, 15-7, 16-31
alarm banner, 15-9, 16-227 move right button, 15-7, 16-31
alarm list, 15-9, 16-221 move up button, 15-7, 16-32
alarm status list, 15-9, 16-231 multistate indicator, 15-6, 16-148
alarm status mode button, 15-7, 16-32 multistate push button, 15-5, 16-67
backspace button, 15-7, 16-31 next pen button, 15-7, 16-31
bar graph, 15-6, 16-167, 16-169 numeric display, 15-9, 16-89
clear alarm banner button, 15-7, 16-32 numeric input cursor point, 15-9, 16-106
clear alarm history button, 15-8, 16-23 numeric input enable button, 15-9, 16-94
close display button, 15-4, 16-135 page down button, 15-7, 16-32

I-8 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 page up button, 15-7, 16-32 using keys to work with. See Special keys
pause button, 15-7, 16-31 using to display alarms and messages, 15-9
print alarm history button, 15-4, 16-204 using to display processes, 15-6
print alarm status button, 15-4, 16-212 using to enter and display numeric and string
ramp button, 15-5, 16-82 values, 15-9
reset alarm status button, 15-8, 16-23 using to illustrate displays, 15-3
return to display button, 15-4, 16-23 using to navigate, 22-4
scale, 15-6, 16-167, 16-178 using to start and control processes, 15-5
shutdown button, 15-4, 16-23 visibility, setting up, 16-1
silence alarms button, 15-8, 16-23 Graphics toolbar, 14-4
sort alarms button, 15-8, 16-23 Grid
string display, 15-9, 16-115 in graphic displays, 14-9
string input enable button, 15-9, 16-119 in trends, 18-8, 18-17, 18-19
symbol, 15-6, 16-155 Group objects
time and date display, 15-6, 16-201 animating, 15-56, 17-30
trend, 15-6 creating, 15-56
Graphic objects, 14-1, 15-1 editing, 15-58
See also Group objects; Headings for naming, 15-42
individual objects; Help setting up in the Property Panel, 15-35
aligning, 15-61
animating, 17-2
See also Animation H
arranging, 15-59, 15-63 Height animation, 15-6, 17-23
assigning controls to, 15-44 at run time, 27-16
using the Property Panel, 15-38 Historical trends, 11-1, 18-2
coloring, 15-40 See also Trend graphic object
converting to wallpaper, 14-17 [HISTORY] display, 9-4
copying, 15-51 copying, 9-35
creating, 15-11, 15-12 editing, 9-34
selecting tools, 15-10 HMI servers, 2-7, 4-1
deleting, 15-56 HMI tag folders, 7-9
deselecting, 15-26 See also Folders
duplicating, 15-53 HMI tags, 6-2, 7-1
editing, 15-50 See also Analog tags; Device tags; Digital tags;
embedded variables in, 20-2 Memory tags; String tags; System tags
grouping and ungrouping, 15-56 addressing syntax for, 7-15
moving, 15-50 browsing for, 6-5
naming, 15-42 creating, 7-11, 7-13, 7-23
navigating between, 16-12 in the Tag Browser, 7-26
positioning, 15-60 data sources, 7-3, 7-21
with grid, 14-9 deleting, 7-14
replacing tags and expressions in, 15-46 duplicating, 7-14
resizing, 15-53 editing, 7-14
selecting, 15-26 in the Tag Browser, 7-26
setting up, 16-1 exporting, 7-28
using the Properties dialog box, 15-31 how to use, 6-5
using the Property Panel, 15-35 importing, 7-26, 7-28
spatial properties, setting up, 16-1 merging databases, 7-28
using at run time, 16-7 naming, 7-4

Index ■ I-9
 searching for, 7-8 window size, 4-11
when to use, 6-4 Initial values for tags
Hold time, for alarms, 9-29 See also Tag values
Home button graphic object, 15-7, 16-31 assigning to memory tags, 7-22
using with alarm objects, 9-43 Input devices, run-time settings for, 25-20
using with diagnostics lists, 10-23 Input focus
using with trends, 18-27 disabling for graphic displays, 14-15
Horizontal position animation, 15-6, 17-19 giving to graphic objects, 16-12
at run time, 27-16 specifying behavior of, 14-17
Horizontal slider animation, 15-5, 17-9, Interlocked push button graphic object,
17-27 15-5, 16-75
at run time, 27-14 at run time, 27-13
ISA symbols, 14-23
Keyboard button symbols, 14-23
I Isolated graphing, in trends, 18-6
If-then-else logic
in expressions, 19-18
nesting, 19-20
K
KEPServerEnterprise
Image Browser, 14-26
array tag syntax, 9-15
Image graphic object, 15-3, 15-15 run-time communications with, specifying
See also Graphic images COM port for, 24-7, 25-26, 26-27
Images editor, 14-25 Key repeat settings, 25-20
Indicators, 16-148 Keyboard, run-time settings for, 25-20
Information acknowledge button graphic Keyboard navigation, 16-12
object, 15-8, 16-23 See also Special keys
at run time, 12-10
Keypad, run-time settings for, 25-20
Information message display graphic
object, 15-9, 16-240
at run time, 12-12, 27-17
in the [INFORMATION] display, 12-4
L
Latched push button graphic object, 15-5,
Information message files, 12-2, 12-5 16-59
changing the file to use at run time, 12-12 at run time, 27-13
Information messages, 12-1 Least Significant Bit, trigger type
copying, 12-7 using with the list indicator, 16-164
creating, 12-6 using with the multistate indicator, 16-150
creating your own display for, 12-11 using with the symbol indicator, 16-157
deleting, 12-7
Least Significant Bit trigger type, 9-11
displaying, 12-7, 23-3
Libraries. See Graphic libraries
embedded variables in, 20-2
License, viewing maximum allowable
setting up, 12-5 graphic displays, 4-16
updating tag values for, 12-8
Line graphic object, 15-3, 15-19
viewing at run time, 27-16
List indicator graphic object, 15-6, 16-161
Information Messages editor, 12-5 at run time, 27-15
Information Setup editor, 12-7 Local message display graphic object,
[INFORMATION] display, 12-4 14-35, 15-9, 16-190
at run time, 27-17 at run time, 14-39, 27-17
editing, 12-9 using with message files, 14-34
opening and closing, 12-11 Local message files, 14-35, 14-38

I-10 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Local messages, 14-34 Microsoft Access, logging to, 10-10
copying, 14-39 Microsoft SQL Server, logging to, 10-10
creating, 14-38 Minimum and maximum values
deleting, 14-39 for animation, 17-8
embedded variables in, 20-2 for HMI tags, 6-4, 7-17
viewing at run time, 27-16 for trends, 18-4, 18-18
Local Messages editor, 14-38 Modicon devices, 5-1
Log files Momentary push button graphic object,
See also Alarm log file; Data log files 15-5, 16-42
ODBC format for diagnostics messages, D-1 at run time, 27-13
Logging out automatically, 13-14 Monochrome images, 14-23, 15-6
LOGIC 5. See WINtelligent LOGIC 5 tags Mouse, run-time settings for, 25-20
Logical operators, in expressions, 19-11 Move down button graphic object, 15-7,
evaluation order of, 19-14 16-31
setting up auto repeat for, 16-18
Login button graphic object, 13-13, 15-4,
16-23 using with alarm objects, 9-43
locating in display hierarchy, 22-2 using with diagnostics lists, 10-22
using with trends, 18-26
Login window, 27-2
See also Users Move left button graphic object, 15-7,
16-31
Logout button graphic object, 13-13, 15-4, setting up auto repeat for, 16-18
16-23
locating in display hierarchy, 22-2 using with trends, 18-26
LSBit trigger type. See Least Significant Move right button graphic object, 15-7,
16-31
Bit trigger type
setting up auto repeat for, 16-18
using with trends, 18-26
M Move up button graphic object, 15-7, 16-32
setting up auto repeat for, 16-18
Macro button graphic object, 16-194
using with alarm objects, 9-43
using to run macros, 21-2
using with diagnostics lists, 10-22
Macros using with trends, 18-26
creating, 21-1
Multistate graphic objects
login and logout, 13-9, 13-13
See also Graphic object types; Graphic objects
remote, running from the data source, 8-5, 21-3
coloring, 15-40
startup and shutdown, 23-3
setting up, 16-5
for graphic displays, 14-16
testing states, 15-43
Macros editor, 21-4
Multistate indicator graphic object, 15-6,
using tags in, 6-22 16-148
Maintained push button graphic object, at run time, 27-15
15-5, 16-51, 19-22
Multistate push button graphic object,
at run time, 27-13 15-5, 16-67
Math functions, in expressions, 19-17 at run time, 27-13
Memory tags, 7-3, 7-22 setting up auto repeat for, 16-18
using, 6-5
Menus, in the Graphic Displays editor, 14-6
Message severity, for diagnostics
N
messages, 10-4 Navigation
Messages between graphic displays, 22-1
See also Diagnostics messages testing, 22-3
displaying, 15-9 between graphic objects in a display, 16-12

Index ■ I-11
Next pen button graphic object, 15-7, ODBC storage format, for diagnostics
16-31 messages, D-1
using to change trend’s vertical axis labels, 18-4, Off-line tags
18-20 browsing for, 6-7
using with trends, 18-26 creating caches of, 5-7
Normally closed push button, 16-42 On Top displays, 14-12
Normally open push button, 16-42 positioning, 14-15
Notification hold time, for alarms. See Hold sizing, 4-10, 14-15
time using for alarms, 9-36
Number format, at run time, 24-15, 25-35, using for diagnostics messages, 10-21
26-33 using for information messages, 12-11
Numeric display graphic object, 15-9, OPC communications
16-89, 18-24 and RSLinx for RSView, 5-1
at run time, 27-15 setting up, 5-1
specifying number format for, 24-15, 25-35, using to connect to ControlLogix processors,
26-33 7-15
Numeric embedded variables, creating, OPC servers, items in, 7-16, 7-22
20-3
OPC tags, addressing syntax for, 7-15
Numeric input cursor point graphic object,
15-9, 16-106 Operators. See Expressions
at run time, 27-15 Oracle, logging to, 10-10
navigating to, 16-12
using Enter key handshaking with, 16-19
Numeric input enable button graphic
P
object, 15-9, 15-40, 16-94 Page down button graphic object, 15-7,
at run time, 27-4, 27-14 16-32
how values are calculated, 27-7 setting up auto repeat for, 16-18
how values are ramped, 27-7 using with alarm objects, 9-43
navigating to, 16-12 using with diagnostics lists, 10-23
using Enter key handshaking with, 16-19 Page up button graphic object, 15-7, 16-32
using write expressions with, 19-21 setting up auto repeat for, 16-18
using with alarm objects, 9-43
Numeric pop-up windows, using at run
time, 27-5 using with diagnostics lists, 10-23
Numeric values Panel graphic object, 15-3, 15-17
See also Tag values PanelBuilder 1400e applications,
ramping at run time, 27-5 converting, A-1
using graphic objects to display and enter, 15-9 PanelBuilder 32 applications, converting,
B-1
PanelBuilder applications, converting, B-1
PanelView Plus terminals
O editing device addresses on, 25-25
Object Explorer, 14-5, 15-27 editing device shortcuts on, 25-15
opening, 15-27 logging diagnostic messages from, 10-7, 10-14
using to highlight objects, 15-29 memory allocation for, 25-34
using to select objects, 15-28 running applications on, 25-1
viewing animation in, 15-29 viewing terminal information for, 25-34
viewing objects in, 15-27 Parameter files, 15-49
viewing tag and expression assignments in, assigning to graphic displays, 14-30
15-29 using display list selectors, 14-33
Object Smart Path, 17-6, 17-9 using goto display buttons, 14-33
Objects toolbar, 14-4 assigning to startup display, 23-3

I-12 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 creating, 14-34 Projects
Parameters editor, 14-33
See also Applications
using tags in, 6-6 versus applications, 4-1
Properties dialog box
Passwords, 13-2
changing, 13-10 opening, 15-33
setting up, 13-9, 13-13 setting up objects in, 15-31
using to assign controls to graphic objects,
Pause button graphic object, 15-7, 16-31 15-44, 15-46
using with trends, 18-26
Property Panel, 14-5
PC card, storing temporary files on, 26-19 opening, 15-35
Placeholders. See Tag placeholders setting up objects in, 15-35
PLC tags, importing, 7-26 using to assign controls to graphic objects,
Polygon graphic object, 15-3, 15-19 15-38
Polyline graphic object, 15-3, 15-19 Push buttons, 16-40
Preconfigured graphic displays. See
[ALARM] display; [DIAGNOSTICS]
display; [INFORMATION] display R
Print alarm history button graphic object, RAC6182
15-4, 16-204 editing device addresses on, 26-26
specifying time and date format for, 24-15, logging diagnostics messages from, 10-7, 10-14
25-35, 26-33 running applications on, 26-1
using to print alarm information, 9-8 running out of disk space, 26-19
using with alarm objects, 9-42 Ramp button graphic object, 15-5, 15-46,
Print alarm status button graphic object, 16-82
15-4, 16-212 at run time, 27-14
using to print alarm information, 9-8 setting up auto repeat for, 16-18
using with alarm objects, 9-42 Range of motion, for animation, 17-8, 17-9
Print options, specifying at run time Read control, 15-38
on PanelViewPlus , 25-16, 25-28 Read-write control, 15-38
on the RAC6182, 26-16, 26-28 Real-time trends. See Current trends
on VersaView CE , 25-16, 25-28 Rectangle graphic object, 15-3, 15-21
Printers blinking, 17-17
selecting on the development computer, 2-17 Relational operators, in expressions, 19-10
specifying at run time, in Windows 2000 or evaluation order of, 19-14
Windows XP, 24-8 Remote macros, 8-5, 21-3
type to use with PanelView Plus and VersaView Replace displays, 14-12
CE, 25-2 sizing, 4-10
type to use with RAC6182, 26-2 Reset alarm status button graphic object,
Problems at run time 15-8, 16-23
data logging, 11-12 using to reset alarms, 9-7
logging in, 27-3 using with alarm status lists, 9-42
running out of disk space, 26-19 Return to display button graphic object,
15-4, 16-23
using the numeric pop-up windows, 27-8
using to navigate, 22-4, 22-5
using the string pop-up windows, 27-12
Right-click menus, 14-6
Project files
Rotation animation, 15-6, 15-65, 17-24
location of, 4-2 at run time, 27-16
viewing location of, 4-16
Rounded rectangle graphic object, 15-3,
Project Settings editor, 4-13 15-21
Project window size, 4-9, 4-10 RSLinx Enterprise, 1-1
changing, 4-10 array tag syntax, 9-15

Index ■ I-13
 setting up drivers in setting up RSLinx Enterprise drivers, 25-22,
at run time, 24-7 26-20
for transfer to PanelView Plus, 25-7 time, date, and number formats, 24-15, 25-35,
for transfer to RAC6182, 26-5 26-33
for transfer to VersaView CE, 25-7 using graphic objects, 16-7
viewing alarms and messages, 27-16
RSLinx for RSView, 1-1
and OPC, 5-1 viewing communication errors, 27-17
Run-time application, 26-1
RSLogix 5 tags, importing, 7-28
See also .mer files
RSLogix 500 tags, importing, 7-28 COM port for serial communications, for
RSLogix 5000, 6-2 KEPServerEnterprise communications,
RSView Enterprise 24-7, 25-26, 26-27
RSView ME Station, 1-1 opening, 24-5, 25-14, 26-14
RSView Studio, 1-1 in Windows 2000 or Windows XP, 24-4,
24-10
RSView Machine Edition, 1-1
installing. See RSView Machine Edition on PanelView Plus, 25-30
Installation Guide on the RAC6182, 26-29
on VersaView CE, 25-30
RSView ME Station
running, 24-16, 25-36, 26-34
exiting, 24-16, 25-37, 26-35
in Windows 2000 or Windows XP, 24-5
starting
on PanelView Plus terminals, 25-4
in Windows 2000 or Windows XP, 24-4,
on the RAC6182, 26-1, 26-13
24-10
on VersaView CE terminals, 25-4
on PanelView Plus terminals, 25-4, 25-30
setting up, 25-14, 26-14
on the RAC6182, 26-13, 26-29
shutting down, 24-16, 25-37, 26-35
on VersaView CE terminals, 25-4, 25-30
transferring
RSView ME Station dialog box, 26-13 from PanelView Plus or VersaView CE,
bypassing, 24-11, 25-31, 26-30 25-10
in PanelView Plus or VersaView CE , 25-4 from RAC6182, 26-9
opening, 26-13 to PanelView, 25-2, 25-7
in PanelView Plus or VersaView CE, 25-4 to RAC6182, 26-2, 26-6
RSView Studio to VersaView CE, 25-2, 25-7
main window, 2-3 to Windows 2000 or Windows XP, 24-2,
starting and exiting, 2-1 24-3
RSView tags, importing, 7-28 Run-time application file, creating, 23-4
Run time Run-time screen resolution, 4-9
changing tag values, 27-12
deleting log files, 24-14, 25-35, 26-33
displaying tag values, 27-14
S
entering numeric values, 27-4 Sample applications, 2-2
entering string values, 27-9 Scale graphic object, 15-6, 16-167, 16-178
font substitution, 15-12 Screen resolution, at run time, 4-9
logging in and out, 27-2, 27-4 Screen size. See Window size
problems with logging in, 27-3 Security, 13-1
printing, 2-18 See also Passwords
printing graphic displays, 14-40 adding groups, 13-10
setting up communication drivers, in Windows adding users, 13-10
2000 or Windows XP, 24-7 and remote display changes, 8-5
setting up printers, in Windows 2000 or controlling who can stop the application, 13-14
Windows XP, 24-8 logging in and out, 13-13

I-14 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

 removing groups, 13-11 Spreadsheets
removing users, 13-11 in the Tags editor, 7-13
setting up, 13-2 in the User Accounts editor, 13-9
using visibility animation, 13-15, 13-19, 17-12 working in, 2-11
Square graphic object, 15-3, 15-21
Security codes, 13-2
assigning to graphic displays, 13-16, 14-15 Standard toolbar, 2-4
assigning to user accounts, 13-10, 13-13 Startup display, specifying, 23-3
Startup editor, 23-2
Security functions
in expressions, 19-18 Startup macro. See Macros
using, 13-5, 13-19, 17-12 Startup settings, 23-1
serial communications, using States. See Multistate graphic objects
KEPServerEnterprise, 24-7, 25-26, States toolbar, 15-43
26-27 Status bar, 2-5, 14-6
Serial downloads, cable to use for, 26-6, showing and hiding, 2-6
26-9
[STATUS] display, 9-4
in PanelView Plus or VersaView CE, 25-8 copying, 9-35
Servers, data, 5-3 editing, 9-32
Shutdown button graphic object, 15-4, Storage Card directory, in Windows CE,
16-23 25-32, 26-31
assigning visibility animation to, 13-20 String display graphic object, 15-9, 16-115
limiting access to, 13-15 at run time, 27-15
locating in display hierarchy, 22-2 String embedded variables, creating, 20-5
using to navigate, 22-4, 22-8 String input enable button graphic object,
using to shut down application, 24-16, 25-37, 15-9, 16-119
26-35 at run time, 27-9, 27-14
using to stop application, 23-4 how values are written, 27-11
Shutdown macro. See Macros navigating to, 16-12
using Enter key handshaking with, 16-19
Siemens devices, 5-1
String pop-up windows, using at run time,
Silence alarms button graphic object, 9-6, 27-9, 27-10
15-8, 16-23
String tags, 7-1
using with alarm objects, 9-42
setting up, 7-20
SLC tags, importing, 7-26 String values
Sort alarms button graphic object, 9-6, See also Tag values
15-8, 16-23 using graphic objects to display and enter, 15-9
using with alarm lists, 9-42
Sybase SQL Server, logging to, 10-10
Special keys Symbol graphic object, 15-6, 16-155
arrows, using with graphic objects, 15-54 at run time, 27-15
Ctrl
Syntax, expression, checking, 19-5
copying objects with, 15-52 See also Tag syntax
drawing objects with, 15-18, 15-19, 15-20,
System activity. See Diagnostics
15-21 messages
resizing objects with, 15-54 System event log, viewing at run time,
rotating objects with, 15-66 25-34
selecting objects with, 15-26 System tags, 7-1, C-1
Shift, using with graphic objects, 15-51, 15-54 alarm reset date and time, C-1
using to navigate at run time, 16-13 for making graphic objects blink, C-1
using with numeric pop-up windows, 27-6 time and date, C-2
using with string pop-up windows, 27-10 viewing in the Tags editor, 7-9

Index ■ I-15
System time and date. See Time and date assigning to graphic objects, 15-44
using the Property Panel, 15-38
viewing in Object Explorer, 15-29
T basic steps for using, 6-2
browsing for, 6-5
Tag Browser
displaying tag properties in, 6-14 displaying data type of, 6-14
displaying tags in, 6-12 displaying in Tag Browser, 6-12
folders in, 6-9 displaying properties of, 6-14
limits, in graphic displays, 14-2
opening, 6-5
off-line, browsing for, 6-7
selecting tags in, 6-12
selecting in Tag Browser, 6-12
updating tags in, 6-11
updating in Tag Browser, 6-11
using, 6-8, 7-24
using in expressions, 17-5, 19-8
using wildcards in, 6-15
Tags editor, 7-5
Tag Import and Export Wizard, 7-28
Test mode, 14-11
Tag placeholders, 14-29, 15-49 Text graphic object, 15-3, 15-12
creating, 15-49, 17-8, 19-9 blinking, 17-16
using in expressions, 19-8 editing, 15-15
using with animation, 17-7
Time and date
Tag statistics, viewing, 7-7 at run time, 24-15, 25-35, 26-33
Tag substitution, 6-20, 15-46 setting using global connections, 8-3
Tag syntax, for array tags system tags, C-2
KEPServerEnterprise, 9-15 updating, 8-3
RSLinx Enterprise, 9-15 Time and date display graphic object, 15-6,
16-201
Tag values at run time, 27-16
assigning specifying time and date format for, 24-15,
when a display opens or closes, 14-16 25-35, 26-33
when a user logs in or out, 13-9, 13-13
Time and date embedded variables,
when an application starts or stops, 23-3 creating, 20-6
assigning initial values, to memory tags, 7-22 Title bar
changing at run time, 27-12 and security, 13-14
displaying at run time, 27-14 in graphic displays, 4-11
ensuring the data source has read, 16-19 in On Top displays, 14-15
logging, 6-20, 11-2 Toolbars, 2-3
updating Background Color toolbar, 15-40
for alarms, 9-29 Foreground Color toolbar, 15-40
for data logging, 11-10 Graphics toolbar, 14-4
for displays, 14-15 in the Graphic Displays editor, 14-4, 14-7
for global connections, 8-9 Objects toolbar, 14-4
for information messages, 12-8 showing and hiding, 2-6
using graphic objects to display, 15-9 Standard toolbar, 2-4
using graphic objects to set, 15-5, 15-9 States toolbar, 15-43
using macros to assign, 6-22, 21-1 Tools
Tags, 6-1 Application Manager, 4-8
See also Analog tags; Array tags; Data server DeskLock, 13-1, 24-15
tags; Digital tags; HMI tags; String tags; Diagnostics Setup, 10-7
System tags Diagnostics Viewer, 10-6
addressing syntax, 7-15 Tag Import and Export Wizard, 7-28
assigning to controls, 6-17 Transfer Utility, 25-8, 25-11, 26-7, 26-9

I-16 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide

Touch margins, using on buttons, 16-8
U
Touch screen, run-time settings for, 25-20
Update rate, tag
Touch screens, positioning objects for, for alarms, 9-29
16-8 for data logging, 11-10
Transfer Utility tool, 25-8, 25-11, 26-7, 26-9 for displays, 14-15
for global connections, 8-9
Transparent background style, 14-23 for information messages, 12-8
Trend data, printing at run time, 18-27 User accounts, 13-2
remotely, 18-27 adding, 13-10
DEFAULT user, 13-8
Trend graphic object, 15-6, 18-1
deleting, 13-10
and data logging, 11-1
displaying current user, 19-18
at run time, 27-16 removing, 13-11
border, 18-3 setting up, 13-8
chart, 18-4, 18-12 User Accounts editor, 13-6
isolated graphing in, 18-6, 18-19 Users, logging in and out, 13-13, 27-2, 27-4
types, 18-5
XY Plot, 18-5
coloring, 18-8 V
creating, 18-10 Value table, 6-2, 6-4, 7-3
grid, 18-17, 18-19 Value trigger type, 9-8
linking buttons to, 16-14 VersaView CE, logging diagnostic
minimum and maximum values for, 18-4, 18-18 messages from, 10-14
navigating to, 16-12 VersaView CE terminals
pens, 18-5 editing device addresses on, 25-25
memory allocation for, 25-34
icons, 18-5, 18-14
viewing terminal information for, 25-34
markers, 18-5
Vertical position animation, 15-6, 17-20
setting up, 18-22
at run time, 27-16
plotting values across the chart, 18-7
Vertical slider animation, 15-5, 17-28
setting up, 18-3, 18-9, 18-10 at run time, 27-14
specifying number, time, and date format for,
Visibility animation, 17-11
24-15, 25-35, 26-33 using to set up security, 13-15, 13-19, 17-12
specifying tags and expressions to plot data for,
18-21
specifying the amount of data to store, 18-15 W
testing, 18-9 Wallpaper
troubleshooting. See Help converting graphic objects to, 14-17
window, 18-4 unlocking, 14-18
x (horizontal) axis, 18-4, 18-16 Wedge graphic object, 15-3, 15-17
labels, 18-5, 18-17 Width animation, 15-6, 17-21
y (vertical) axis, 18-4, 18-18 at run time, 27-16
labels, 18-4, 18-19 Wildcards, 7-4, 7-8
using to select tags, 6-15
Trigger values
for alarms, 9-3, 9-8, 9-26 Window size
default graphic displays, 4-11
for information messages, 12-4, 12-6
project, 4-10
for local messages, 14-37
Windows 2000 or Windows XP
Troubleshooting. See Problems at run time editing device shortcuts on, 24-5

Index ■ I-17
 run-time terminal settings, 24-4 Windows network domain, adding users or
running applications in, 24-1 groups, 13-10
WINtelligent LOGIC 5 tags, importing, 7-28
Windows CE, 26-1
See also RAC6182 Workbook Mode, 2-5
Storage Card directory, 25-32, 26-31 turning on and off, 2-6
Windows CE Terminals, logging Workspace, 2-4
diagnostics messages from, 10-7 Write control, 15-38
Windows CE terminals Write expressions, 15-40, 19-21
editing device shortcuts on, 25-15, 26-15
running applications on, 25-1, 26-1
Windows domain, logging in to, 27-1 X
Windows metafiles. See .wmf files XY Plot trend, 18-5

I-18 ■ RSView Machine Edition User’s Guide