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WELCOME TO FACTORYTALK VIEW SE HANDS-ON LAB _________________________________9
OVERVIEW 14
ANIMATION 44
TAGS 61
ALARMING 64
TAG-BASED ALARMS_______________________________________________________ 85
RUNTIME EXPLORATION_____________________________________________________ 98
SECTION 8: FACTORYTALK DIAGNOSTICS SETUP AND THE VIEWER (EST. TIME 20 MIN) ________108
DIAGNOSTICS LIST________________________________________________________109
Welcome to the Automation Fair Hands-On Lab series! This session provides you with an opportunity
to explore the basics of FactoryTalk View Site Edition (FactoryTalk View SE). The following sections
explain what you’ll be doing in this lab session and what you will need to do to complete the hands-on
exercises.
Note: In v 5.00 (CPR 9), product name changes have taken place to better reflect Rockwell
Automation’s system-oriented software and integrated architecture. “RSView SE” was re-branded as
“FactoryTalk View Site Edition” (or FactoryTalk View SE). Terms used to describe a FactoryTalk View
SE application and a FactoryTalk directory has changed. The term “network” will be used instead of
“distributed”. The term “local” will be used instead of stand-alone. This lab uses FactoryTalk View SE
5.00 (CPR 9). View SE is an integrated package for developing and running multi-user, networked
human-machine interface (HMI) applications. View SE is designed for automated process or machine
monitoring, and supervisory control.
In this lab, you will be working with a local application containing an HMI Server, a data server, and a
single HMI Client. For this lab, these servers and clients will all be located on the same computer. View
Studio, the development environment, will also be on this computer. In the deployed system however,
these components could actually be on separate computers, and additional HMI clients could be used.
View SE scales easily from small to large systems. This lab procedure contains content and exercises
for both novice and advanced users. After executing the first few sections of the lab you will be
provided several options.
The first 3 sections will take approximately 60 minutes for the novice user to complete. This time
estimate includes: Add Servers to the Application, Add Content to the Application, Configure and Run a
Client. The remaining laboratory time is to be used for exploring the additional exercises. The additional
exercises are optional and the approximate time to complete each exercise is indicated in the
description.
Lab Materials
For this Hands-On lab, we have provided you with the following materials that will allow you to complete
the labs in this workbook.
Hardware
This hands-on lab does not require any hardware. A Logix5000 controller could be used in place of
SoftLogix 5800.
Note: FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Device Based Alarms requires firmware version 16.20 or higher
for ControlLogix, CompactLogix L3x and L4x, and DriveLogix.
Software
This hands-on lab uses the following software:
FactoryTalk Services Platform v2.10.00.0117
FactoryTalk View SE v5.00.00.55
RSLinx Enterprise v5.00.00.99
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events v2.10.00.0117 (included with FactoryTalk View Site Edition and
RSLinx Enterprise)
RSLinx Classic (used for Logix programming) v2.52.00.17
RSLogix5000 v16.03.00
SoftLogix 16.03.00 (Bld 42)
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express
Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is a free, redistributable version of Microsoft SQL Server.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events uses Microsoft SQL Server as the database engine for logging alarm
and event information. You can connect to an existing SQL Server database, or you can install
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, Service Pack 2, which is included in the Redist folder on the
FactoryTalk View SE and RSLinx Enterprise CDs.
Lab Files
This hands-on lab uses the following files located in the C:\ LabFiles\Lab 15 FactoryTalk View SE\
subdirectory:
LanguageSwitching – contains 3 files that will be used in the language switching section of the lab
AF07_translated.xls
– Translated file for FactoryTalk View SE
AF07_SE_Lab-Tags_translated.TXT
- Translated file for FactoryTalk Alarms and Events device-based alarm messages in RSLogix
5000
AF07_FTAETagServer_AlarmExport_translated.xls
- Translated file for FactoryTalk Alarms and Events tag-based alarm messages in the
FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Server
RSLogix 5000 – contains 3 files that can be used with RSLogix 5000.
AF07_SE_Lab.ACD – control program to be used in this lab
AF07_SE_Lab_pre_translation.ACD – copy of control program that is for the beginning of this
lab prior to Tank 101 alarm messages being converted. Some alarm messages were
preconfigured for language switching at the beginning of this lab
AF07_SE_Lab_post_translation.ACD – control program with Tank 101 alarms converted for
language switching. This is a backup copy of what the control program should look like after
alarm messages have been translated
SQL – contains 1 file for a SQL Query in Microsoft SQLExpress that will be used in the Data
Logging section of this lab
ViewTank101DataLog.sql
Preconfigured FactoryTalk View SE files to be used in this lab:
AlarmLogViewer.gfx
AlarmStatusExplorer.gfx
AlarmSummary.gfx
Footer.gfx
Header.gfx
TankAlarmSummary.gfx
TankOverview.gfx
ClientKeys.key
ClientStartup.mcr
TankDataLogging.gfx – used in the Data Logging Section of this lab
Tank101.mdf – used in the Data Logging Section of this lab
Client – contains a preconfigured FactoryTalk View SE Client file
AF07.cli
Document Conventions
Throughout this workbook, we have used the following conventions to help guide you through the lab
materials.
This style or symbol: Indicates:
Words shown in bold italics Any item or button that you must click on, or a menu name
(e.g., RSLogix 5000 or OK) from which you must choose an option or command. This will
be an actual name of an item that you see on your screen or
in an example.
Words shown in bold italics, An item that you must type in the specified field. This is
enclosed in single quotes information that you must supply based on your application
(e.g., 'Controller1') (e.g., a variable).
Note: When you type the text in the field, remember that you
do not need to type the quotes; simply type the words that
are contained within them (e.g., Controller1).
The text that appears inside of this gray box is supplemental
information regarding the lab materials, but not information
that is required reading in order for you to complete the lab
exercises. The text that follows this symbol may provide you
with helpful hints that can make it easier for you to use this
product. Most often, authors use this “Tip Text” style for
important information they want their students to see.
Note: If the mouse button is not specified in the text, you should click on the left mouse button.
This lab is intended to be a compilation of several smaller exercises designed to instruct the user on the
basics of FactoryTalk View Site Edition. Though the lab can be done linearly, where all exercises are
cumulative, the only required exercises are all of Section 1 Creating your application, Section 2 Graphic
Displays - Add Graphic Displays, and Section 3 Testing Displays - Configure a FactoryTalk View Client
File called AF07. From there, the user may select which exercises interest them most without having to
be concerned with numerical order.
The following steps must be completed before starting the lab exercise:
1. If Log On To Windows dialog is active type ‘administrator’ for Username and type ‘rockwell’ for
password.
2. Use the same Login information if prompted to Log On to the FactoryTalk Directory or when
creating a FactoryTalk Alarms and Events History Database.
This lab will outline the major components and fundamental ideas of FactoryTalk View Site Edition. It
will specifically:
Discuss the components of FactoryTalk View SE
Discuss the differences between FactoryTalk View SE Local and Network Application
Discuss HMI Servers, data servers, and Tag Alarm and Event Server
Discuss FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Services for Device Based and Tag Based Alarms
FactoryTalk® View Site Edition is an integrated software package for developing and running human-
machine interface (HMI) applications that involve multiple users and servers, distributed over a network.
A member of the FactoryTalk family of products, FactoryTalk View Site Edition (also called FactoryTalk
View SE) provides all the tools you need to create powerful, dependable process monitoring and
supervisory control applications.
FactoryTalk View SE software is designed for use with Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003, Windows
XP, and Windows 2000 operating systems.
FactoryTalk View Site Edition consists of several pieces of software you can use to build automation
applications. Depending on the particular software packages installed, you will have one or more of the
following pieces of software: FactoryTalk View Studio, FactoryTalk View SE Client, FactoryTalk View
SE Server, FactoryTalk Alarms and Events, FactoryTalk Services Platform, FactoryTalk Administrator
Console, FactoryTalk™ Directory, and FactoryTalk Activation.
FactoryTalk View Studio
Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk View > FactoryTalk View Studio
FactoryTalk View Studio is configuration software for developing and testing FactoryTalk View SE
applications. FactoryTalk View Studio contains editors for creating complete applications, and includes
client and server software for testing the applications you create. Use the editors to create applications
that are as simple or as complex as you need. You can use FactoryTalk View Studio to develop
FactoryTalk View Site Edition and FactoryTalk View Machine Edition (ME) applications.
FactoryTalk View comes with process faceplates and graphic libraries that can be used in your
applications. Process faceplates are preconfigured to work with various Logix5000 instructions (for
example, PIDE, D2SD, and the new ALMD and ALMA instructions). Many of the graphic library objects
are preconfigured with animation. Use the objects as they are, or change them to suit your needs.
When you have finished developing an application, use FactoryTalk View SE Client to view and interact
with the application.
FactoryTalk View SE Client
Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk View > FactoryTalk View Client
FactoryTalk View SE Client is a complete runtime operating environment for viewing and interacting
with FactoryTalk View SE local and network applications. To set up a FactoryTalk View SE Client, you
need to create a configuration file using the FactoryTalk View SE Client wizard. The HMI Server does
not have to be running when you configure a FactoryTalk View SE Client. With the FactoryTalk View
SE Client you can:
Load, view, and interact with multiple graphic displays at a time from multiple servers
Perform alarm management
View real-time and historical trends
Adjust set points
Start and stop components on any server
Provide a secure operator environment
And much more!
FactoryTalk View Administration Console
Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk View > Tools > SE Administration
Console
FactoryTalk View Administration Console is for administering FactoryTalk View applications after they
have been deployed. FactoryTalk View Administration Console contains a sub-set of the FactoryTalk
View Studio editors, so you can make minor changes to an application without the need for installing
FactoryTalk View Studio. The FactoryTalk View Administration Console has a two hour run-time limit. A
warning message is displayed five minutes before the time is up. To continue using it you simply shut it
down and restart it.
The FactoryTalk View SE Server has no user interface. Once installed, it runs as a set of ‘headless’
Windows services that supply information to clients as they request it.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events
Before FactoryTalk® Alarms and Events (introduced in Version 5.00), FactoryTalk View SE supported
only HMI tag alarm monitoring. To maintain compatibility with existing applications, FactoryTalk View
still supports this type of alarm monitoring.
However, FactoryTalk Alarms and Events now allows multiple FactoryTalk products to participate
together in a common, consistent view of alarms and events throughout a FactoryTalk system.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events supports two types of alarm monitoring:
Device-based alarm monitoring. Pre-built alarm instructions, available in RSLogix 5000 v. 16 or
later, are programmed in a logic project and then downloaded into a Logix5000 controller. The
controller detects alarm conditions and publishes event information, which is routed through the
system for display and logging.
Tag-based alarm monitoring. If you are not using Logix5000 controllers, or if you do not want to use
the pre-built alarm instructions available with RSLogix 5000, tag-based alarm monitoring offers the
equivalent of HMI Tag Alarm Monitoring, but with an expanded feature set. Software-based Tag
Alarm and Event Servers monitor controllers for alarm conditions through data servers and publish
event information for display and logging. Tag-based alarm monitoring is supported for Logix5000
controllers, PLC-5, and SLC 500 devices communicating through Rockwell Automation Device
Servers (RSLinx Enterprise), or for third-party controllers communicating through OPC data
servers.
FactoryTalk Services Platform
FactoryTalk Services Platform provides common services (such as diagnostic messages, health
monitoring services, and access to real-time data) to products and applications in a FactoryTalk
system.
FactoryTalk Directory
FactoryTalk Directory centralizes access to system resources (for example, FactoryTalk View SE
Servers, or OPC servers) and names (for example, data tags, graphic displays, and log models), for all
of the FactoryTalk products and components participating in an automated control system.
FactoryTalk Administration Console
Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk Administration Console
Part of the FactoryTalk Services Platform, FactoryTalk Administration Console is an optional, stand-
alone tool for developing applications and managing a FactoryTalk system. You can use FactoryTalk
Administration Console or FactoryTalk View Studio to develop applications and manage a FactoryTalk
system. Only FactoryTalk View Studio can be used to create HMI servers and HMI projects.
Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk Activation > FactoryTalk Activation Tool
FactoryTalk Activation provides a secure, software-based system for activating Rockwell Software
products and managing software activation files. With FactoryTalk Activation, there is no need for a
physical “master disk” or any physical media; instead, activation files are generated and distributed
electronically.
Once you have created the applications and an HMI server, you can use the FactoryTalk View Studio
editors in the HMI server project to create application components such as graphics displays, global
objects, and data log models.
Root Area: All FactoryTalk View applications have one system-defined area called the root area,
which has the same name as the application. The application root area can contain one HMI server,
and one or more data servers.
Best Practice
Since an area is nothing more than a logical method of organizing the application, and not a physical
entity, there is not a limit to the number of areas that can reside within an application. However, there
is a limit of 1 HMI server per area and 10 HMI servers per application*.
The recommended limit of data servers within an application is 10*. There is not a limit to the number
of data servers that can co-exist in the same area. However, it makes sense to logically organize the
data servers that are serving alarms in order for the alarm summary to filter alarms appropriately at
runtime. For example, a single area may contain an HMI server for a physical location of a facility, an
RSLinx Enterprise data server (configured as a FactoryTalk device based alarm server), and a 3rd
party OPC server (configured with the FactoryTalk tag based alarm server). This configuration allows
for the alarm summary to filer alarms based on the area name, regardless of which server the alarm
comes from.
What you want to avoid is one physical installation of a data server to be referenced multiple times from
different areas of the application. This is not necessary because FactoryTalk allows any client to see
any data point within the application, regardless of which area it comes from.
*Note: The initial release of FactoryTalk Alarms and Events have different limits than FactoryTalk View
SE 5.0. Please refer to the FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Quick Start Guide or Answer id 44177
within the Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase for more information.
Network
Directory
Root Area
HMI Server
Servers
Areas
Area
Data server
The Insta Corp application consists of four different defined areas: ie_packaging, ie_production,
is_packaging, and is_production. The areas are marked by the folders that are right off the root,
which is the application Insta Corp.
Try looking at one of the areas – ie_packaging, the topmost area. Notice that the HMI server called
IE_CasePack is located inside the area.
The folders under the ie_packaging HMI Server titled System, HMI Tags, Graphics, Alarms, Logic and
Control, and Data Log are all different components you can configure under each HMI server – they are
not areas within the area, but are actually components of an HMI server.
There is a data server called RSLinx Enterprise located under the root area (Insta Corp).
The diagram below shows an example system architecture using a Local application as part of a stand-
alone FactoryTalk system.
3) If it’s a network application, one HMI server can be added per area (local creates one
automatically). Choose to add any of the faceplate displays into the HMI server.
4) Set up data server communications. Add one or more of the following data servers
6) Create graphic displays, global objects, and other components into your HMI server
8) Set up Security
A data server can be a Rockwell Automation Device Server (RSLinx Enterprise) or a third-party OPC
data server that serves up tag values. Once a data server is configured, you can set it up to point to a
specific controller such as a ControlLogix processor. Properly configuring a data server allows you to
browse for a tag directly.
4. Select
New
5. Type
‘AF07’
3. Select
Continue
2. Select
Site Edition (Local)
6. Select
Create
Wait for several seconds to allow FactoryTalk View Studio to create the application. After the AF07
HMI Server has been created, you will be prompted with the Add Process Faceplates dialog.
4. Observe that a local application, AF07, has been created. The HMI Server called AF07 has been
created in the root area (AF07).
5. Maximize or resize your FactoryTalk View Studio window to the desired size for working with
your application.
Local
Director
HMI
Server
Application
(Root Area)
Displays for
Process Faceplates
added here
The faceplate displays and the global objects that were used to create them will be added to the HMI
Server under the Displays and Global Objects folders. There were also
some image files added for the Alarm faceplates under Images folder.
6. Click on the + next to the folders to expand them. Observe what has been added.
Note: Only the image files starting with State_ were added with the process faceplates. The other
image files are there when the HMI Server is created.
7. Expand the Libraries folder . All these library files are there when an HMI Server is
created.
In the next section you will be adding and configuring a Rockwell Automation Device Server (RSLinx
Enterprise) and enabling it for alarm and event support and alarm and event history support.
Before you add and configure the Rockwell Automation Device Server you are going to create a
database so you can also enable FactoryTalk Alarm and Event History logging in the next section.
Alarming will be discussed in more detail later in the lab.
1. Expand the Connections folder.
2. Right-click on Databases folder, select the New Database… context menu item
3. When the Alarm and Event Historian Database Properties opens enter:
4. Click on OK.
5. When you are prompted with the Database does not exist message box: “The database will be
created. The database user will also be created. If the user already exists, the user will be assigned
access to the database. Do you want to create the database?” click the Yes button
6. After the database is created the dialog will close. Expand the Databases folder to confirm that it
was created.
To allow our application to monitor and control the values in the SoftLogix Controller that is running the
control program for this lab you need to add a data server. You will add a Rockwell Automation Device
Servers (RSLinx Enterprise). It provides the best performance when communicating with Logix5000
controllers.
To monitor alarms in a Logix5000 controller, a Rockwell Automation Device Server (RSLinx Enterprise)
needs to be added to a FactoryTalk application. Alarm and event support must be enabled. The device
server subscribes to alarms in the controller and then publishes the alarm information to FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events services. Device-based alarms will be discussed in the Alarming and Language
Switching sections of this lab.
1. Right-click on the application node AF07, select the Add New Server > Rockwell Automation
Device Server (RSLinx Enterprise)… context menu item.
2. The RSLinx Enterprise Server Properties will appear. Leave defaults on the General tab.
Configure Communications
The Communication Setup dialog will appear to the right of the Explorer tree.
1. Click the
Add button
2. The Verify dialog will appear. Review your changes. Make sure your shortcut is SoftLogix we
will be using pre-configured displays referencing that shortcut name. Click the Yes button.
Let’s take a minute to verify that communications is setup correctly and that we are getting alarms.
Verify that you are getting alarms by adding a FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Object to a display and
then testing that display in FactoryTalk View Studio. Verify that you can access controller tags from the
online SoftLogix Controller and the offline tags file by performing tag browses. We will go into more
details about these topics in the Tags and Alarms sections of this lab.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Verification
1. In the Explorer, right-click on the Display folder, select the New context menu item
2. Single-click to select the Alarm and Event Summary button from the tool menu.
Or
Select the Objects > Alarm and Event > Summary menu item.
3. Mouse over the upper left corner of the empty display, you will see the cursor change to show that
the Alarm and Event Summary object has been selected. Single-click and hold down the mouse
button, drag the cursor to the lower right corner of the display and release the mouse button. As
you are dragging the mouse you will see a rectangle to show the size of the object that will be
created.
5. The indicator in the lower left corner of the Alarm and Event Summary display should be green to
indicate that you are connected to the RSLinx Enterprise Server. It may take several seconds for
the services to startup before you see alarms in the list. Mouse over the indicator to verify your
connection.
Note: The alarm count of 32 may not be the same on your display.
You should also start to see alarms appear in the summary (This may take a few moments).
7. To remove the object from the display perform one of the following actions:
- Select the Edit – Undo menu item
- Ctrl-Z - Select the CTRL and Z keys at the same time
- Single-click on the Alarm and Event Summary object and select the delete key
Diagnostics List
The Diagnostics List shows information about system activities. It’s located above the status bar at the
bottom of the FactoryTalk View Studio main window. You can hide, move, resize, and clear messages
from the Diagnostics List.
8. Look at the Diagnostics List and the messages in it. Use the arrows to scroll through the messages
or resized the window so you can see 3 or 5 lines at a time.
To change the size of the diagnostic window mouser the upper edge until you see the double lines,
mouse down and drag up to change the size. Release the mouse when you have the desired
window size.
Notice the message “Successfully subscribed to 46 alarms from controller SoftLogix.” This
message is an informational message to help verify that your system is configured properly.
We have just verified that you have the RSLinx Enterprise Device Server and the SoftLogix Device
Shortcut properly configured for FactoryTalk Alarms and Events.
Or
Select the Objects > Numeric and String > Numeric Input menu item.
2. Mouse over a blank area on the display, you will see the cursor change to show that the Numeric
Input object has been selected. Single-click and hold down the mouse button drag the cursor to
down and to the right and release the mouse button. As you are dragging the mouse you will see a
rectangle to show the size of the object that will be created.
When you release the Numeric Input Properties dialog will appear.
5. The Tag Browser will open. If you don’t see a folder for SoftLogix, right-click on AF07, select
the Refresh All Folders context menu item.
6. The browser window and panes can be resized. Expand the tree on the left and navigate to
SoftLogix - Offline – Program:Tank101 - JacketTempLoop
JacketTempLoop is an Enhanced PIDE data structure.
Click on CV in the right pane. CV is a member tag of the Enhanced PIDE. It is an output value of
the PIDE. Your selected tag should look like this:
8. The tag will appear in the Tag/Expression field next to the Value.
12. Single-click on the Test Display button from the tool menu.
13. 0 should appear on the display. This actually verifies that you got the tag from the offline tag file
and you are online with the controller. If you were not online with the controller, it would appear
as what is called a wireframe, because the data is not available at this time. It would look
something like this instead.
15. Take a look at the online tags. Repeat Steps 1 – 14 but this time for Step 5 we will browse for
the ONLINE tag. This time for step 5 collapse the Offline folder and expand the online folder.
16. Before we close the display, try the numeric input object enhancement out.
17. Single-click on the Test Display button from the tool menu.
18. 0 should appear on the display. Type the number ‘-1’ in the field and select the enter key.
20. Select the Esc key to cancel the changes and 0 will be displayed in the field again.
21. Click the Edit Display button to get back to edit mode.
22. Close the display and when prompted to save your changes select No.
Section 1 is complete. You have the building blocks in place and are ready to start creating your
graphic displays.
Graphic Displays
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 external devices such as
programmable controllers. The elements that make up a graphic display are called graphic objects. The
Objects menu in the Graphic Displays editor (fig. 1) provides simple drawing elements such as line,
rectangle and ellipse, as well as ready-made objects such as push buttons, input and display fields, and
alarm summaries. Use these elements to create visual representations of processes and activities then
animate the display by linking objects to tags so that the appearance of the objects will change as the
values of the tags change.
The graphics editor allows you to easily duplicate objects, reshape or resize objects, and arrange them
in a variety of ways like stacking them, aligning them with each other, spacing them horizontally or
vertically, flipping them horizontally or vertically, rotating them, and grouping them so they behave as a
single object. Graphic objects can be
Copied to the clipboard from another Windows application and then pasted into the graphics
display.
Created by another Windows application and inserted into the graphic display using object
linking and embedding.
Dragged and dropped from another graphic display or library, or another Windows application.
Libraries
The Graphics Library comes with a number of ready-made graphic displays containing objects that you
can use in other displays
There are many different library objects that you can use within your applications.
Note: any animation that has been attached to an object will be included with it when it is copied into a
display.
Adding existing HMI Components
There are preconfigured HMI components (i.e., Displays and macros) that will be used in this lab. Do
the following to add them to the HMI Server. Almost all the graphics used in this lab came from the
graphics library.
1. Open the C:\LabFiles\ Lab 15 FactoryTalk View SE folder. Select the Start > Lab 15 FactoryTalk
View SE menu item.
2. The folder will open. Move the folder so it is on top of FactoryTalk View Studio and you can still
see the Explorer.
3. Select all files but NOT the folders in the Lab 15 FactoryTalk View SE folder.
Files ending in GFX are display files and will be added to the Displays folder. Files ending in MCR are
macro files and will be added to the Macros folder located under the Logic and Control folder. Files
ending in KEY are client key files and will be added to the Client Keys folder located under the Logic
and Control folder. Files ending in MDF are Data Log Models and will be added in the Data Log Models
folder under the Data Log folder. You can verify that all the files were added by expanding those
folders.
Animation
Animation is the ability to add logic to a graphic object so that some characteristic of the object will
change when a tag value changes. For example, an object can be made to fill (up, down, left, or right)
or change color in relation to a tag value.
Expression: An expression is a mathematical or logical equation that returns a value. It can contain tag
names, constants and mathematical, relational, logical and/or bitwise operators. A single tag name is
often used for simple expressions.
In Figure 2, the animation dialog shows that expressions are used to animate objects. There is a tab for
each type of animation. If there is a check mark in front of the animation type it means that the selected
object is using that animation. If an animation type is not available for a selected object, the fields on
that animation tab will be grayed out. In the example below, the Fill and Color animations are being
used on the selected object. Selecting a new object while the Animation dialog is opened will update
the Animation dialog for the object that was just selected.
When you click an object in the display to select it, its corresponding entry in the Object Explorer is
highlighted in gray.
When you click an item in the Object Explorer, the object it corresponds to is selected. If an object is
hidden by another, or is part of a group, when you select it in the Object Explorer the handles outlining
the selected object are visible.
Once selected (indicated by a check next to the menu item name), the Object Explorer appears.
The Object Explorer can be resized and moved. You can click on any of the objects listed, and you
will notice that the objects will be highlighted in the display.
The Object Explorer is truly useful when you group items together and want to reference individual
elements within that group.
Grouping is useful when you have common objects that you want to move around or apply
behaviors toward, for example, animation behavior.
Look at groups and animation by using the object explorer
1. Expand and Select the Agitator_Group in the Object Explorer.
3. The Animation dialog will appear and open on the Touch tab.
4. Position windows so you can see both the Object and Animation window.
5. In the Object Explorer, use the mouse or arrow keys to navigate down to item
Agitator_Motor_Group, notice the Touch tab has a check next to it to indicate that Touch
animation is being used and there is an expression for the release action of the
Agitator_Motor_Group. This expression will open the Logix_D2SD faceplate that we added into
our project for the 2 state device called Tank101 Agitator. The display will be positioned at the x and
y coordinates specified.
If you want, you can delete the Release action and recreate it with the Command Wizard.
- List the tag names in a parameter file in the order they are to be used and reference that
parameter file in a command string for the Display command. The /P parameter for the Display
command allows a relative or absolute reference to a parameter file that contains tag names to be
substituted into the display.
- List the tag names in the command string for the Display command. The /T parameter for the
Display command allows for a list of tags (separated by commas) to be substituted into the display.
6. Use the mouse or arrow keys to navigate down to item TankCoolingTemp_Group, notice the
Touch tab has a check next to it to indicate that Touch animation is being used and there is an
expression for the release action of the TankCoolingTemp_Group. There are actually 2
commands that will be executed by this expression.
We have configured touch animation to launch the faceplate display twice, but with the ability to
show the same faceplate display with different data using parameter passing. The faceplate
displays will also be placed in different positions do they don’t overlay each other.
The first display command will open the Logix_PIDE display and anywhere that parameter #1 is
used, it will be replaced with ::[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101.ProductTempLoop and parameter
#2 will be replaced with ::[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101.ProductTempAtune
The second display command will open the Logix_PIDE display and anywhere that parameter #1
is used, it will be replaced with ::[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101.JacketTempLoop and parameter
#2 will be replaced with ::[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101.JacketTempAtune
7. Continue navigating through the Object explorer and look at various animations. Some objects may
have multiple animations defined. For example look at Tank101_AlarmIndicator_Polygon. It has
both Touch and Color animation. Click the tabs to look at those animation properties.
Let’s see the animation and parameter passing at work. We are going to test run this display in View
Studio.
Test Display
Being able to test your display within View Studio without having to run it in a Client is a very powerful
feature of FactoryTalk View.
Behavior when test running a display might not always be identical to run-time behavior if changes
made during development are not saved. To make the behavior as close as possible you should save a
display before testing it.
The Microsoft VBA IDE (Visual Basic for Applications Integrated Design Environment) lets you write,
edit, test run, and debug code.
Not everything can be done by test running your display. Some FactoryTalk View commands are
ignored when run in test display mode. For example, screen navigation commands, using parameter
placeholders in a display, and using parameter values in a reference global object will not function in
test display mode. To test these features, run the display in a FactoryTalk View SE Client.
Testing a graphic display in FactoryTalk View Studio is not the same as running the display in the
FactoryTalk View SE Client. Before you deploy an application, it is recommended that you test it in the
FactoryTalk View SE Client, to verify that everything works as intended.
In Section 1, Verify Communications, the Test Display was used for both a FactoryTalk Alarm and
Event and a native FactoryTalk View object.
You can test the objects in a graphic display quickly, by switching to test display mode in the Graphics
editor. Let’s try this to animate the TankOverview display.
2. From the FactoryTalk View Studio toolbar click on the Test Display button.
3. Observe that the TankOverview graphic begins to animate. Click on the agitator
What happened? Nothing. Look at the Diagnostics List. The Display command for the touch
animation on the agitator and the valve was issued but the command is ignored in FactoryTalk View
Studio.
Now you will need to configure a client file and run the client to finish testing the display.
Before you configure the client file, look at a few of the components that were preconfigured for you to
use with your client.
A macro is a list of commands or command symbols stored in a text file. To run a macro you use its
name just as you would a command. The commands in the macro will be executed in the order in which
they are listed.
A macro can be specified on startup or shutdown of a client or display. It can be called from a
command line in FactoryTalk View Studio or from the Factory Talk View Administration Console for
system administration.
Some commands (such as Print) finish quickly and the next command can start. Others, such as Set,
take longer. In the case of Set, it does not finish until the message has been sent to the controller. In
cases like that, you can set up the macro so that the next command can be executed before the
previous command is finished. Use the ampersand character (&) to do this.
To invoke the command wizard from the macro file, double-click in the macro, or select Edit –
Commands… (Ctrl- M).
Observe Pre-configured Macro
These commands will dock displays at the top and bottom of the client window, and set tag values in
the controller.
This macro will open a header display in a docked area on the top of the client. It will open a footer
display in a docked area on the bottom of the client. Some tag values will be set to 1.
3. Close the ClientStartup macro. If prompted to save changes, select the No button.
Sometimes it is useful to have a single key stroke perform a function or multiple functions in your
application. For example when you press F5 in Internet Explorer you will refresh the page. FactoryTalk
View SE has similar functionality.
The order of precedence for key animation is: object keys, display keys and client keys. This means, for
example, that if a key has object and client key definitions, when the object has focus at run time and
the key is pressed, the object key action will be carried out and the client key action will not.
Observe Pre-Configured Client Keys
These commands will perform a refresh of your client. This is useful for testing since you may need to
make changes to displays and you don’t want to have to close and open the client each time you add or
change something on a display.
2. When the Launch FactoryTalk View SE Client dialog opens select the New… button.
The FactoryTalk View SE Client Wizard will open.
4. Type ‘AF07’ for the name of the configuration file and click the Next button.
Type ‘AF07’
5. Select the Local radio button and click the Next button.
Select Local
and
Select AF07
7. Select the TankOverview display as the initial display, select the ClientKeys key file as the
Initial client key file, select the ClientStartup macro as the Startup macro, and click the Next
button. Note: If you used parameters in the initial display, they would be specified in the Display
parameters field. If you use a network application, the area would need to be specified for the initial
display.
Select TankOverview
Select ClientKeys
Select ClientStartup
Type ’AF07’
Check this
Maximize Option
9. Leave the defaults for auto logout and click the Next button.
and
10. Leave the default to save configuration and open FactoryTalk View SE Client now and click the
Finish button.
and
The FactoryTalk View Client will start with the specified configuration.
The AF07 application is now running in a FactoryTalk View SE Client window. The startup macro
docked displays in 2 areas. The header display contains an alarm banner and is located at the top of
the client window; the footer display contains navigation buttons and is located at the bottom of the
client window.
Docked Displays
At run time, graphic displays can be docked to an edge of the FactoryTalk View SE Client window,
allowing an operator to gain access to certain displays at all times. Docked displays cannot be
accidentally closed by the operator and cannot have other graphics placed on top. They will, therefore,
always remain visible to the operator.
For example, you might consider docking:
Navigational menus, that allow the operator to move among displays in an application.
Headers or banners, that provide specific information to the operator, such as the current user’s
name and area, or information about alarms.
Control panels, that contain standard buttons for special purposes, such as changing users, closing
open windows, or sending information to a maintenance team.
2. Drag the minimized title bar around to the edges of the display client:
5. Drag the Tank Overview display to the lower edge or lower right corner of the client.
7. Move the Tank Overview display so the close button is visible and close the display.
8. Select the Tank Overview button on the footer display to open the Tank Overview display. Notice
how it is sized to fit in the main viewable area of the docked displays.
Verify Client Keys
1. Go back to FactoryTalk View Studio
3. Select the Remove Me! Button and then select the delete key.
7. Select the F5 key (defined to close all displays and re-display the header and footer).
8. Observe that all displays are closed (including Tank Overview). The header and footer display are
re-docked and the footer display no longer has the button called Remove ME!.
2. Click the temp Dec C text . Notice that 2 displays are opened. The
Logix_PIDE display was actually used with 3 different parameters.
3. Observe that the Tank Overview begins to animate. Click on the agitator
5. Click the Close Displays button in the lower right corner of the footer
display.
Remember that these navigation commands did not function when test running the display in
FactoryTalk View Studio.
Tags
A tag is a logical name for a variable in a device or in local memory. For example, a tag can represent a
process variable in a network device.
Indirect Referencing or HMI Tags
Tags defined within FactoryTalk View are referred to as HMI tags; in addition to the tag’s value, they
provide additional properties for alarms, security, and data manipulation.
1. From the Explorer, double-click on Tags located under the HMI Tags folder.
2. This is where you can create, maintain, and remove HMI Tags.
All tag names from all OPC 2.0 servers in the application will be available from the FactoryTalk
directory. This information is served in a hierarchical fashion, organized by areas. So, in this example
you see the areas (Plant Area 1, Plant Area 2…). Within those areas, you can see the topic names
provided by the OPC servers, the online/offline control program, and the tags within them. You would
choose the tag name you want to use right from the FactoryTalk tag browser.
An advantage of FactoryTalk is that it provides an aggregate view of all tags from any data server. This
includes traditional HMI tags that are available through the tag browser that browses the FactoryTalk
directory. So, any RSLinx, OPC, or traditional HMI tags can all be browsed within the same tag
browser. Contrast this to a traditional system, where OPC servers can only be browsed individually, or
where an HMI tag database shows a flat list (non hierarchical) of all the tags in the system. The tags in
the directory can return references to ControlLogix tags, PLC tags (5/500), FactoryTalk View tags, and
third-party OPC server tags without the need to download or import the tags with an intermediary step.
In Section 1, Verify Communications, the FactoryTalk Tag Browser was used to verify access to offline
and online tags when we added tags to a numeric input control. In Section 9 Global Objects - Create
multiple reference objects in a display, and view the display, you will browse for a structured tag of type
PIDE and PIDE_Autotune.
A derived tag file consists of a number of derived tags and a maximum update rate for them. At runtime
you can have multiple derived tag files active at once (up to 20 derived tag files, each containing up to
1000 derived tags).
Writing directly to a derived tag is highly discouraged because the tag value is determined by a given
expression. If a derived tag is written to, the write value is merely overwritten as soon as the defined
expression is evaluated again.
1. From the Explorer, double-click on Derived Tags located under the Logic and Control folder.
2. This is where you can create, maintain, and remove your Derived Tags.
Alarming
Alarms are an important part of plant control applications because they alert operators when something
goes wrong. Often, it is also important to have a record of alarms and whether they were
acknowledged.
FactoryTalk View SE supports the existing traditional HMI tag alarm system and the FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events system. The choices you make will depend on factors such as the design of your
application, the processes you need to monitor for alarms, the types of devices used in the application,
and whether you want to build alarm detection into those devices.
Traditional HMI Tag Alarm System
In FactoryTalk View Studio, you can set up a complete alarm system. At run time, alarm monitoring
occurs at the HMI server. If alarms are detected – tag values outside the configured limits - notification
is sent to connected FactoryTalk View SE clients, where operators can view and acknowledge the
alarms. This is a traditional HMI tag alarm system.
An HMI tag alarm system only detects alarms set up for tags in an HMI server’s tag database. HMI tag
alarm detection does not include FactoryTalk alarms. Use a traditional HMI tag alarm system if your
application uses HMI tags for other purposes, and you want to monitor these tags for alarms.
FactoryTalk View SE Clients receive HMI tag alarm information by way of the FactoryTalk View SE
Servers (also called HMI servers) that contain the HMI tags.
HMI tag alarm data is not managed by FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services. To monitor and
respond to HMI tag alarms, you must use the HMI tag alarm displays and logs available in FactoryTalk
View SE.
device-based alarms, set up by programming alarm detection instructions directly into Logix5000
controllers. FactoryTalk View SE Clients receive device-based alarms by way of Rockwell
Automation Device Servers (RSLinx Enterprise) that you add to a FactoryTalk View SE application.
tag-based alarms, set up to specify alarm conditions for tags in older programmable controllers
(PLC-5 or SLC 500), in third-party devices communicating through OPC data servers, or in an HMI
server’s tag database (HMI tags). FactoryTalk View SE Clients receive tag-based alarms by way of
FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Servers that you add to a FactoryTalk View SE application.
FactoryTalk View SE supports the existing HMI tag alarm system and the FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events system. Configuration for both of these alarming systems is fully supported from within
FactoryTalk View Studio.
The comparison chart on the next page shows which alarming tasks can be performed from within each
user interface.
Create and configure application, area, and data server Yes Yes Yes
elements in a FactoryTalk Directory.
Create and configure alarm and event servers, including Yes Yes Yes
both tag-based and device-based servers.
Configure alarm conditions for tag-based alarm detection. Yes Yes Yes
Create database definitions for logging historical alarm Yes Yes Yes
and event messages.
Configure the alarm setup (e.g., maximum update rate, No Yes Yes
whether an alarm will be generated when tag value is
approaching normal range, and how printing and logging
are handled with redundancy enabled).
HMI Alarm Tags are created using the HMI Tag Editor or using the Tag Import Export Wizard. The
HMI Tag Editor is invoked from the Explorer by double-clicking on the Tags icon under the HMI
Tags Folder.
The HMI Tag Alarm Summary object can be added to a display by selecting the Objects >
Advanced > HMI Tag Alarm Summary menu item.
or by selecting the HMI Tag Alarm Summary button on the tool menu
Library objects are located in HMI Tag Alarm Information library display
HMI Tag Alarm Log Setup, HMI Tag Alarm Log Viewer, and Tag Import and Export Wizard are
located under the Tools menu:
Device-based alarms are configured in the control program and enabled in the Rockwell
Automation Device Server (RSLinx Enterprise). This was done in Section 1 – Add a data server.
Tag Alarm and Event Server can be added to the application by right-clicking on the application
and selecting the Add New Server > Tag Alarm and Event Server… context menu item.
Tag based alarms can be created and configured with the Alarm and Event Setup Editor by
double-clicking on the Alarm and Event Setup icon under the Alarm and Event Tag Server in
the Explorer.
or tag based alarms can be imported and exported by right-clicking on the Tag Alarm and Event
Server and selecting the Import and Export context menu item.
Banner, Summary, Log Viewer, and Status Explorer are located under Objects > Alarm and
Event > Banner, Summary, Log Viewer, and Status Explorer
Library objects are located in the Alarm and Event library display
Preconfigured displays have been added to your HMI project for all of the FactoryTalk Alarm and Event
objects. In Section 1 – Verify Communications, you added a summary object on a display and
performed a test display to verify that you were getting alarms. In this section, you will observe all of the
FactoryTalk Alarm and Event objects in design and runtime. You should have FactoryTalk View Studio
and Client opened.
Alarm and Event Banner (Header display)
Use the Alarm and Event Banner object, embedded in a FactoryTalk View graphic display, to monitor
and respond to the most serious alarms requiring immediate attention.
Run Time
1. From the AF07 client, observe the header display that contains the Banner object.
2. Select a row in the Banner and click on the run alarm command button or double-click
on a row in the Banner.
Note: If the button is gray there is not a FactoryTalk View command associated with that
alarm or the row is not selected. Select a row and try it again.
8. Double-click on the Alarm and Event Banner Design View object in the display
9. Click on each tab to look at all the properties. A couple of things to point out here:
General
The Run Alarm Command will be invoked when the operator double-clicks on an alarm in the
Banner
Columns
Reorder columns
Status Bar
Reorder panes
Event Subscriptions
This Banner object will subscribe to all events with any priority
States
Configure text and background colors for the alarm states and priorities
10. Feel free to make configuration changes and perform a Test Display or save your changes and
use the F5 key in the Client to refresh the header display.
11. Close the Header display in FactoryTalk View Studio when you are done.
Alarm and Event Summary (AlarmSummary and TankAlarmSummary displays)
Use the Alarm and Event Summary object, embedded in a FactoryTalk View graphic display, to
acknowledge, disable, suppress, filter, and sort alarms during run time.
Run Time
1. From the AF07 client, click the Summary button in the footer display.
3. Select a row in the summary list to see details about the alarm.
4. Mouse over the toolbar on the Summary to see what the configured buttons do (read the tool tips).
5. Select a predefined filter called Pump or Tank101 from the drop down list
6. Observe that the list and count are updated in the Summary.
8. Notice that only alarms for Tank 101 are displayed and there is no way to modify the filter at
runtime.
10. Click the Tank101 Summary button in the footer display. You should now see alarms.
Design Time
11. From the Explorer, double-click on the AlarmSummary display to open it.
12. Double-click on the Alarm and Event Summary Design View object in the display and the Alarm
and Event Summary Properties will open.
13. Click on each tab to look at all the properties. A couple of things to point out here:
Appearance
The Run Alarm Command will be invoked when the operator double-clicks on an alarm in the
Banner
Columns
Resize columns
Reorder columns
Reorder buttons/panes
Event Subscriptions
This Summary object will subscribe to all events with any priority
Display Filters
This Summary object has preconfigured filters. These filters were preconfigured using the Alarm
Class field that was configured for the alarm.
Sort
Configure text and background colors for the alarm states and priorities
Behavior
The Run Alarm Command will be invoked when the operator double-clicks on an alarm in the
Summary
14. Double-click on the Alarm and Event Summary Design View object in the display and the Alarm
and Event Summary Properties will open.
16. Observe that this Summary object is only subscribing to alarms where the event source begins with
[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101. Even if the filters option is enabled at runtime only the alarms
beginning with [SoftLogix]Program:Tank101 can be filtered.
17. Go to the Filters property page. Observe that the default filter is set so that Normal and
Unacknowledged alarms do not appear in the TankAlarmSummary.
20. Feel free to make configuration changes to the AlarmSummary display and perform a Test
Display or save your changes and use the button on the footer display to open the display again to
see your changes.
21. Close the AlarmSummary display in FactoryTalk View Studio when you are done.
Alarm and Event Log Viewer (AlarmLogViewer)
Use the Alarm and Event Log Viewer object, embedded in a FactoryTalk View graphic display, to view
and filter historical alarm information stored in Microsoft SQL Server databases.
Run Time
1. From the AF07 client, click the Log Viewer button in the footer display.
4. Mouse over the toolbar on the Log Viewer to see what the configured buttons do.
5. Select a predefined filter called Pump or Tank101 from the drop down list
6. Observe that the list and count are updated in the Log Viewer.
2. Double-click on the Alarm and Event Log Viewer Design View object in the display
and the Alarm and Event Log Viewer Properties will open.
3. Click on each tab to look at all the properties. A couple of things to point out here:
General
Columns
Resize columns
Reorder columns
Toolbar
Reorder buttons
Display Filters
This Log Viewer object has preconfigured filters. These filters were preconfigured using the
Alarm Class field that was configured for the alarm.
Notice that there is not an Event Subscription tab. This is a historical view of what is in the log
(database).
4. Feel free to make configuration changes and perform a Test Display or save your changes and
use the button on the footer display to open the display again to see your changes.
5. Close the AlarmLogViewer display in FactoryTalk View Studio when you are done.
Alarm Status Explorer (AlarmStatusExplorer)
Use the Alarm Status Explorer object, embedded in a FactoryTalk View graphic display, to enable or
disable alarms and suppress or unsuppress alarms.
Run Time
1. From the AF07 client, click the Status Explorer button in the footer display.
3. Mouse over the toolbar on the Status Explorer to see what the configured buttons do.
4. Select a row in the list and select the show details for selected alarm button from the toolbar.
7. Click the suppress column until the suppressed alarms appear at the top of the list.
8. Select all the suppressed alarms and then click the unsuppress button.
9. Type ‘*tank101*’ in the name field for the Alarm source filter and click the Apply Filter button.
10. Observe the list is filtered to show only alarms that contain tank101.
2. Double-click on the Alarm Status Explorer object in the display. Nothing happens. You must right-
click on the object and then select the Properties… context menu item.
4. Close the AlarmStatusExplorer display in FactoryTalk View Studio when you are done.
FactoryTalk Alarm and Event Expressions
There are new FactoryTalk View SE expressions that interact with the FactoryTalk Alarms and Events
Services.
Run Time
4. The alarm indicators should be changing colors. If they are not, slide the Manual Valve Opening
up to about 90 and then wait a few seconds. Slide it back down to about 20 and then wait. This
should trigger some alarms. The alarm indicators should change colors.
Design Time
2. Open the Object Explorer by selecting the View – Object Explorer item from the menu,
This expression will change the color of the polygon to red if there are any active alarms where the
alarm names starting with SoftLogix]Program:Tank101 (i.e., all my tank101 alarms.) It does not
matter whether alarms are acknowledge or unacknowledged.
Logix controllers will serve alarm information to FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Services with
FactoryTalk View SE 5.0. Two new alarm instructions have been added to the Logix Controllers. These
new instructions are available in the ladder logic, function block, and structured text programming
languages.
A digital alarm is configured to monitor its input for one of the following alarm conditions:
When the alarm condition is true, the alarm enters the In Alarm state. When the alarm condition is
false, the alarm enters the Normal or Out of Alarm State.
An analog alarm can be configured to monitor for two types of alarm conditions: Level and Rate of
Change.
A Level alarm monitors an input for alarm conditions that go In Alarm when the input value goes above
or below predefined limits. When defining a level alarm, you can configure up to four alarm level
conditions each with limits (sometimes called thresholds), a severity and alarm message. The
supported alarm conditions are:
o High (HI)
o Low (LO)
A Rate of Change alarm monitors an input for alarm conditions that go In Alarm when the input value
changes faster or slower than predefined limits. When defining a level alarm, you can configure up to
two rate of change conditions each with limits, a severity, and an alarm message. The supported alarm
conditions are:
The severity value can range from 1 to 1000, to indicate different levels of importance. Alarm severities
are integer values, where 1 is the least severe, and 1000 is the most severe. For example, a level
alarm may be configured with the HI level condition using a severity of 750 to warn that a vat is 80
percent full of liquid while the HIHI level condition could use a severity of 900 to indicate that the vat is
about to overflow.
Because 1000 different alarm severities can be cumbersome to work with, ranges of alarm severities
are mapped to one of four (Low, Medium, High, Urgent) alarm priorities by the FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events system.
Minimum Duration
The Minimum Duration specifies the minimum amount of time that the alarm condition must be true (the
Input=1 in this case) before the alarm condition goes In Alarm. This setting is used to minimize false
alarms.
Associated Tags
In many cases it is useful to have additional process information associated with an alarm. When an
alarm is defined, you can associate up to four tags with the alarm. At run time, the tag values are
recorded in the Alarm and Event History Log and can also be displayed in the Alarm and Event
Summary or Alarm and Event Log Viewer, and embedded in alarm messages. The contents of the
Alarm and Event Log Viewer can be filtered based on the value of an associated tag.
Alarm Class
To help group alarms, you might want to classify alarms that relate to each other in ways that do not
include severity or priority. For example, you might want to group together alarms by function, such as
those that monitor for valves that fail to open or close, pressure, temperature, equipment running, or
tank levels. The alarm class is a text string of up to 40 characters that you enter when configuring an
alarm.
At run time, the value of the alarm class is recorded in the Alarm and Event History Log and can also
be displayed in the Alarm and Event Summary or Alarm and Event Log Viewer. The contents of the
Alarm and Event Summary or Alarm and Event Log Viewer can also be filtered based on the value of
the alarm class.
You can associate a FactoryTalk View command of up to 1000 characters with any alarm. The
command is executed from the Alarm and Event Summary or Alarm and Event Banner when the
operator selects an alarm and then clicks a button. The Summary and Banner can also be configured to
execute the command when the operator double-clicks the alarm in the list. A common use for the
FactoryTalk View command is to display a screen that shows an overview of the equipment related to
the alarm.
If you would like to take a look at the alarms that have been configured for this lab, do the following.
Open RSLogix 5000
1. Select the AF07_SE_Lab shortcut from the Start menu
OR
Click the Logix 5000 Alarms button on the footer menu of the AF07 client
After clicking the button, the FactoryTalk View command to open RSLogix 5000 will appear in the
diagnostic list.
It will take a few seconds for RSLogix 5000 to start and open to the routine. If the Quick Start page
appears, close or hide it.
2. Go online with the controller by selecting the Communications > Go Online menu item.
4. Navigate to the Tank101 routine if you are not already there (double click to open).
3. Observe the Configuration and Messages property pages for the ALMA instruction
Tag-Based Alarms
FactoryTalk tag-based alarms are set up by specifying alarm conditions for tags in devices that do not
have built-in alarm detection. Use tag-based alarms to include these devices in an integrated
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events system.
You can set up tag-based alarms for tags in older programmable controllers (PLC-5 or SLC 500), for
tags in third-party devices communicating through OPC data servers, or for HMI tags in an HMI server’s
tag database.
You can also set up tag-based alarms for Logix5000 controllers that do support device-based alarms, if
you prefer not to set up built-in alarm detection. FactoryTalk View SE Clients receive tag-based alarm
data by way of Tag Alarm and Event Servers that you add to a FactoryTalk View SE application.
You will create tag-based alarms in Section 10 - tag-based alarm language switching.
About Security
For FactoryTalk products like FactoryTalk View SE, the FactoryTalk Directory stores information about
which users are allowed access to the parts of a control system.
User authentication verifies the user’s identity, and whether a request for service actually
originated with that user.
User authorization verifies the user’s request to access a software resource, based on the
access rights and privileges defined for that user.
For example, when a FactoryTalk View SE network application user logs on to FactoryTalk View
Studio, FactoryTalk Security services verify the user’s identity first.
If authentication succeeds, security services check permissions assigned to the user, to authorize
actions performed on secured parts of the application.
In a network application, security services also check whether the user is allowed to perform authorized
actions on the current computer.
In addition, FactoryTalk Security services manage system-wide policies, such as how often users must
change their passwords, or whether users can back up and restore applications.
You can enforce “line-of-sight” security by restricting operators to specific computers that are
within visual range of the machine or process.
Inheritance allows you to define basic levels of access for a broad set of users, across a
FactoryTalk-enabled system. You can then refine security settings for selected users as
necessary, by overriding inherited permissions on lower-level resources.
You can explicitly deny rights to certain users from all computers or from specific computers.
Selecting the Deny check box for an action denies permission explicitly. This always takes
precedence over allowing permission.
If a user belongs to two different groups, and one group is allowed to delete applications but the
other group is denied that permission explicitly, then the user will not be allowed to delete
applications.
Security
Following installation of the FactoryTalk View SE software, the All Users account is automatically added
to the Runtime Security list and allowed all run-time security codes. This gives any FactoryTalk View
SE Client user permission to run a client, open displays, write to tags, and execute commands and
macros.
In a secured FactoryTalk system, you must remove the All Users account, add users to the Runtime
Security list, and then give the users the security permissions needed to run an application.
After the FactoryTalk View SE software is installed, all users have full initial access to network and local
applications on the computer.
There is no need to log on, to run FactoryTalk View Studio, the FactoryTalk View SE Administration
Console, or a FactoryTalk View SE Client. The current Windows user is automatically logged on to
FactoryTalk View SE.
However, you do need to log on and off to change users, or to gain access to secured parts of the
FactoryTalk system.
FactoryTalk View Runtime Security
FactoryTalk View Runtime Security manages run-time security for HMI project components, including
FactoryTalk View commands and macros, graphic displays, OLE objects, and HMI tags. In FactoryTalk
View Studio, you can secure access to HMI project components by assigning security codes (A - P) to
users and user groups (in the Runtime Security editor); to commands and macros (in the Runtime
Secured Commands editor), to graphic displays and OLE object animation (in the Graphics editor), and
to HMI tags (in the Tags editor).
Before you can assign FactoryTalk View security codes to users and user groups, you have to create
the user and user group accounts in FactoryTalk Security, and then add them to the Runtime Security
editor.
When setting up security for a FactoryTalk View application, it is recommended that you create group
accounts and set up access permissions for them first. Using group accounts makes it easier to assign
and manage permissions for multiple users with similar security needs. Rather than assigning
permissions to each user in the system, you can create accounts for new users, and then add the users
the appropriate groups.
You are going to create a new user and user group. You will assign the user to a user group. You will
do this from FactoryTalk view Studio.
2. Right-click on the User Group folder, select the New > User Group… context menu item.
6. The Select User or Group dialog will open, Click the Show users only radio button and click
Create New > User… menu item.
Type ‘Tank101Operator ‘
Type ‘password’
Type ‘password’
9. You will be back at the New User Group dialog. Tank101Operator should be in the Members list:
When setting up security, you can specify which actions a user or group can perform on the resources
in your system while working from a particular computer or group of computers. In a FactoryTalk Local
Directory, actions can only be performed from the local computer — the FactoryTalk Local Directory
does not contain any computer accounts.
Action
An organized activity performed on a resource in order to accomplish an objective. Actions are grouped
into categories. In addition to a set of common actions that apply to most FactoryTalk products, each
product can also include its own set of actions. For information about those actions, see Help for the
FactoryTalk product.
Resources
The objects in a FactoryTalk system for which actions can be secured. Each FactoryTalk product
defines its own set of resources. For example, some products might allow you to configure security for
resources such as servers in an area. Other products might allow you to configure security for logic
controllers and other devices. FactoryTalk Administration Console allows you to configure security for
the System folder and its contents, applications, areas, and many other items. Do not confuse
resources with resource groupings: resource groupings allow you to group together control hardware
represented in the Networks and Devices tree, and then configure security for the grouping in one step.
Let’s specify that our operators can not perform certain alarming actions.
1. From the Explorer, right-click on AF07 and select the Security… context menu item
2. Security Settings for AF07 dialog appears. Click the Add… button.
3. The Select User or Group dialog appears. Select the Operators and click the OK button.
4. While the Operators group is selected, expand the Alarming action, Check the Deny check box
next to Alarming and check the Allow checkbox next to Acknowledge.
You are only allowing the operators to acknowledge FactoryTalk Alarm and Events Alarms. They
can not perform the other actions.
After you have created users and user groups in FactoryTalk Security, you add them to the security
accounts list in the Runtime Security editor in FactoryTalk View SE. When you add an account, you
also assign the security codes that will give them access to secured HMI components. (Secured HMI
components are those that have been assigned security codes.)
These codes (A through P), along with those assigned to HMI project components, determine which
components a user has access to at run time.
To restrict access to a command, macro, graphic display, OLE object verb, or HMI tag, you assign a
security code from A through P to it, and then assign that code only to the users who are supposed to
have access to the component.
Assign Security Codes to Users and User Groups
1. Double-click on the Runtime Security icon in the Explorer
Or
8. The Select User and Group dialog is closed and the Operators group is added to the Users list.
While it is highlighted, expand the FactoryTalk View Security Codes actions. Select the Deny
checkbox for A.
12. When prompted with the message “Save changes to document?” Select the Yes button.
2. The Runtime Secured Commands dialog is opened. Expand the window to see all the fields.
8. Observe the Security Code drop down list that can be used to assign a security code to a
command.
10. When prompted with the message “Save changes to document?” select the No button.
In this section you will verify your security settings with the client. You will login in as the
tank101operator and then try to suppress an alarm. First you will try to suppress it from the Alarm
Status Explorer display, then from the Tank101 Summary display, and then finally you will try to
suppress it from the Summary display. Your attempts should fail because of the security settings. Let’s
see what happens.
3. Login as the new user ‘Tank101Operator’ using the password of ‘password’. Note user name is
not case sensitive.
4. The information message “User tank101operator has been logged in.” will appear in the
diagnostics list.
6. What happened? Nothing! The message “Currently logged-in user does not have security
access to AlarmStatusExplorer.” will appear in the diagnostics list. The display setting security
worked!
11. The Alarm Summary is displayed. But what do you see? There is a suppress and an Alarm Status
Explorer button. This display didn’t hide the buttons from the operator or secure the display from the
operator.
Note: If you don’t see these buttons you may have changed your configuration in the Alarming
section.
12. Select a row (alarm) in the summary list and click on the suppress button.
13. When the Suppress Alarm dialog comes up, click the suppress button to confirm that you want to
suppress the alarm.
14. What happened? There is a message right? The message should read something like “Failed to
Suppress Alarm alarm [alarm name] Tank101Operator does not have Suppress/Unsuppress
permission. The message will appear in the diagnostics list. If the option to display errors from
operator action in a dialog was checked when configuring the summary (which it was originally), a
dialog with the message will appear. If the message dialog appears, click the OK button.
16. What happened? The Alarm Status Explorer dialog opened. This is because it is not the same as
the display that we configured a security code on.
17. Select an alarm in the list and then click on each of the first 4 buttons (enable alarm, disable
alarm, suppress alarm, unsuppress alarm) to try to perform these actions. Observe what happens.
The actions are secured and the operator can not perform them. So even though the operator was
able to access the Alarm Status Explorer from the Summary display because maybe the HMI
Designer forgot to hide the button, he still could not perform actions that he didn’t have permissions
for.
19. Right-click on an alarm in the summary and select one of the Ack context menu items.
20. The alarm will be acknowledged because the tank101operator has permission to perform that
action.
23. Perform some of the steps above. You should be able to open the Alarm Status Explorer from the
footer display and perform all actions on the alarms.
Runtime Exploration
Data Logging
Data logging is a FactoryTalk View component that collects and stores tag values. You specify which
tag values to collect, when to collect them, and where to store them by defining a data log model.
The HMI tag database does not store actual tag values; it only defines which values are to be collected.
The values themselves are stored on a given HMI server. When the HMI server is turned off, the value
table is cleared (excluding retentive tags). To have a permanent record of tag values, log them to the
data log file on disk. Remember: controller tags will keep their value when an HMI server is powered
down because they’re located within the controller; they’re not HMI (or memory) tags stored on the
server itself.
To log tag values to disk, you create a data log model and specify the tags that are to be logged. This is
done in the Data Log Model editor. The values can also be logged to an ODBC-compliant database.
An application can have up to 20 data log models running at a time. The maximum number of tags that
can be logged by one data log model is 10,000.
Trending
A trend is a visual representation, or chart, of current or historical tag values. A trend provides
operators with a way of tracking plant activity as it is happening. The trend object displays real-time
data and historical data from the FactoryTalk View Site Edition data logs. Pens on the run-time chart
represent data from the tags and expressions that you add to the trend object. The trend object
provides extensive, flexible run-time control. You can add pens, toggle between isolated and non-
isolated graphing, specify unique line settings, plot one variable against another in XY plots, and print
chart data.
- Historical Trending
o Historical Trending is when a trend polls data from a data log that is previously
configured. This will allow the user to browse through a timeline to look at the data over
a given period of time.
- Runtime trending
o A Runtime trend displays data trends directly from the processor. The trend will start
trending its runtime data from the time it’s first loaded on the display.
Viewing a Trend
1. Go to the AF07 client
There was an attempt to connect to an ODBC data source that failed, Tank101 is logging to a
secondary path that is a file. You will take a look at why this happened in the configuration section.
10. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider to the top. Wait about 20 seconds.
11. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider about half the way down. Wait about 20 seconds or
until the Level is OK.
12. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider to the bottom. Wait about 20 seconds.
13. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider about half the way down.
14. Click the Data Logging button from the footer display.
15. Observe the trend. Find the HMI Time that you noted if it is not visible by using the buttons
under the trend.
The trend displayed is configured to display historical data. This means that the trend reads both
Real-time data (occurring now) and Historical data (read from data log files).
Configuration Exploration
Data Log Models
1. From the Explorer, navigate to AF07 > Data Log > Data Log Models > Tank101.
2. Double-click on Tank101
This is a pre-configured
System DSN pointing to
a database that is called
FactoryTalk.
You can set up logging to log to a file set or to log to any database that you can connect to with
ODBC.
The data log model can be configured to be stored as a file set or an ODBC database. Notice that
this data model is being stored in an ODBC database. There is a System Data Source Name (DSN)
called FactoryTalk that points to a SQL Server Express database called FactoryTalk.
An ODBC System DSN stores information about how to connect to the indicated data pointer. If you
want to see how the System DSN was configured, Select the Start > Settings > Control Panel menu
item. From the Control Panel, select Administrative Tools, and then select Data Sources (ODBC).
Look at the System DSN tab and the DSN called FactoryTalk.
There is a database and a pointer to the database but the tables to store the data have not been
created. This was done to demonstrate what happens when the connection to the database fails
and there is a backup path enabled.
4. Click the Create Tables button if you haven’t already done so. You should get a FactoryTalk View
Datalog Editor message saying ODBC tables were successfully created. Click the OK button.
This configuration tab is used to set the file location of the data logs. This is useful if you have a
distributed network set up; you will want to store the logs to one common location instead of on
each individual HMI server on the network.
Notice that he Enable ODBC backup path was selected and a logging path was specified. This is
why you were able to see the historical data in the trend display even though the connection to the
ODBC failed.
The tables are created and the connection should be successful now. At some point you will see
messages like
Click the Advanced button, and notice the settings. SwitchBack is set to 10 minutes.
Trigger is On Change
Heartbeat of 2 minutes
8. Click the Tags in Model tab
This configuration tab is used to select what information is logged. You can add or remove different
tags from this menu using the tag browser.
10. Click the OK button to close the Tank101 Data Log Model dialog
Configuring Trends
Do not add a new trend or change this one. You can do so at the end of this section.
These pens were added by selecting the Add Pen(s) from Model button. The Configure Tags
dialog opened. The Add All button was selected to add all the tags. Then the OK was clicked to
accept the changes.
6. Click the Cancel button on the Trend Properties dialog to close the dialog.
8. Click the Action tab and look at the Release action. This command DataLogOn Tank101 starts
the data logging for the model.
11. Click the Action tab and look at the Release action. This command DataLogOff Tank101 stops
the data logging for the model.
13. Close the TankDataLogging display. If prompted to save changes, select the No button.
A view was created in the database to allow you to query the data log. Do the following to view the data
log.
1. Open the C:\LabFIles\ Lab 15 FactoryTalk View SE folder if it isn’t already opened. Select the Start
> Lab 15 FactoryTalk View SE menu item.
4. Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express will open and you will be prompted with a
Connect to Database Engine dialog.
Click the Options >> button.
Click the Connection Properties tab.
Type ‘FactoryTalk’ in the Connect to database field.
Click the Connect button.
2. Click Connections
Properties Options
3. Type
‘FactoryTalk’
4. Click the
Connect button
1. Expand Options
7. Scroll to the bottom of the list and notice the number of rows.
9. Scroll to the bottom of the list and notice the number of rows and the Data and Time. Did the row
count change? Have we gotten any new rows? We are only logging on change.
14. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider to the top. Wait about 20 seconds.
15. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider about half the way down. Wait about 20 seconds or
until the Level is OK.
16. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider to the bottom. Wait about 20 seconds.
17. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider about half the way down.
20. Scroll to the bottom of the list and notice the number of rows. Did the row count change? Are we
getting new rows? Yes, it should have.
22. Click the Data Logging button from the footer display.
29. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider to the top. Wait about 20 seconds.
30. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider about half the way down. Wait about 20 seconds or
until the Level is OK.
31. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider to the bottom. Wait about 20 seconds.
32. Slide the Manual Valve Opening Slider about half the way down.
35. Scroll to the bottom of the list and notice the number of rows. Did the row count change? What is
the date and time of the last row? You should have not received any new records after you stopped
the data logging.
36. Close the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express. If prompted to save changes,
select the No button.
The idea behind FactoryTalk Diagnostics is to answer the question, "Why did that happen?"
FactoryTalk Diagnostics collects and provides access to a global store of time-and-date stamped
messages that can help answer that question.
The FactoryTalk Diagnostics service includes a Diagnostics Setup editor, a Diagnostics Viewer, and a
Local Log on each computer where the FactoryTalk Services Platform is installed. Other custom
logging destinations are also available. For example, the FactoryTalk AssetCentre software product
provides customized FactoryTalk Audit Logs.
Use the Diagnostics Setup editor to set up options for logging destinations and to filter the types of
messages you want to log on the local computer.
Use the Diagnostics Viewer to review diagnostics messages. You can view both local messages and
messages retrieved and merged from logs on multiple computers.
FactoryTalk View SE, FactoryTalk Alarms and Events, and other FactoryTalk software products are all
sending messages to one Local Log and to one FactoryTalk Audit Log on one computer. When you set
options for a particular logging destination, the options you choose affect the log on this computer that
any number of FactoryTalk products may be using. Likewise, when you configure message routing
options, the filtering options you choose affect the types of messages routed from all FactoryTalk
products that send messages.
Each FactoryTalk product and service categorizes the messages that it generates using a matrix of
Severity options (Error, Warning, Information, and Audit) together with Audience options (Operator,
Engineer, Developer, and Secure). For example, a product might generate a series of security
messages classified as Operator-Audit and Operator-Information, and also generate a series of
communication messages classified as Operator-Warning, Engineer-Warning, and Developer-Error.
Diagnostics information can be displayed in the Diagnostics List or in the FactoryTalk Diagnostics
Viewer. The Diagnostics List is intended to show messages as they occur. Messages displayed in the
Diagnostics List are not time stamped. The Diagnostics Viewer provides a way to retrieve messages
Diagnostics List
The Diagnostics List can be displayed in a FactoryTalk View Studio window, FactoryTalk View SE
Client, and FactoryTalk View Administration Console window. You have used the FactoryTalk View
Diagnostics List in earlier sections of this lab. You can clear messages from the Diagnostics List by
selecting a row or multiple rows and clicking the Clear button or by clicking the Clear All button.
Removing a message from the Diagnostics List does not delete the message from the Diagnostics log.
Removing a message from one Diagnostics List does not remove it from another Diagnostics List. I.e.,
removing a message from the View Studio window does not remove it from the View Client window.
When the application (View Studio, View Client, or View Administration Console) starts new messages
begin to get logged to the list. Old messages will be removed from the list as new ones come in and the
message limit has been reached. When the application is closed, the list is cleared.
Diagnostics Viewer
The FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer allows you to view both local messages and messages retrieved
and merged from multiple products running on multiple computers logging to multiple destinations.
Open the Diagnostics Viewer
1. From Explorer, select the Tools > Diagnostics Viewer… menu item
Or
3. Mouse over the toolbar and look at the menus to see the operations you can perform with the
Diagnostics Viewer.
Filter Diagnostics List
1. Select the View > Options… menu item.
2. On the General tab of the Properties dialog, make sure message source is set to Local Log.
5. Select the
3. Select Equals OK button
4. Select Developer
2. Click the
Add Where Condition…) button
5. Observe the list was updated but no messages appear in the list.
6.
1. Select the Audience =
‘Developer’
3. Select Equals
4. Select Operator
5. Select the
OK button
8. Observer the list was updated to only show messages that were created with the audience set to
operator.
3. Select Contains
2. Click the
Add Where Condition…) button
12. Observe the list was updated to only show messages that contained the string tank101.
Take a look at the diagnostics setup to see why you didn’t see any developer messages.
Diagnostics Setup
Open the Diagnostics Setup
1. Run the Diagnostics Setup from within the FactoryTalk View Studio. From the Tools menu, select
the Diagnostics Setup… menu item
1. Expand the Destination Setup, select the FT View Diagnostics List item. Notice that there aren’t
any configuration settings. The destination is the Diagnostics List which is managed by
FactoryTalk View.
2. Select the Message Routing setup and then select the FT View Diagnostics List
Messages that were intended for Operator and Engineer audience that were of type Error, Warning,
and Info appeared in the FactoryTalk View Diagnostics List.
Configuring the Local Log
You just used the Diagnostics Viewer to look at the local log. Look at the configuration.
The local log is a file that exists on this computer. There are options for overwriting events, log size,
and an option to clear the log.
2. Select the Message Routing setup and then select the Local Log
Messages that were intended for Developer audience were not logged to the Local Log so that is why
we did not see any.
5. Go to the AF07 client; click the clear all button in the Diagnostics List.
7. Type ‘75’ in the Manual Valve Opening input field and select the enter key.
10. Select the last 2 messages in the list to look at the details. Notice that they are developer
messages one is of type audit and the other is of type information.
Depending on the products you have installed and the configuration options you have set, FactoryTalk
Diagnostics can also route these messages to other centralized logging destinations, such as an ODBC
database or FactoryTalk Audit Log.
Use the ODBC Database Destination Setup window to send messages to an ODBC data source. To
send messages from multiple computers, configure the destination on each computer where the
FactoryTalk Diagnostics service is installed.
Microsoft Access
Oracle
Some types of information cannot be logged to an ODBC database destination. This includes:
any additional database fields not included in the ODBC table format, that a FactoryTalk product
might use. Even if you create the additional fields manually, nothing will be logged to them. The
additional information logged by a FactoryTalk product will, however, appear in the Local Log on
the computer where the product is installed.
any messages where the audience type is set to Secure, or the severity type set to Audit.
Secure messages can only be logged by the FactoryTalk AssetCentre software product to the
FactoryTalk Audit Log.
Configure the ODBC Database Setup
You are going to configure the destination setup. You will use a System DSN called FactoryTalk that
has been configured to point to a MS SQL Server Express database called FactoryTalk.
Browse
Select the
FactoryTalk Data
Source Name
5. Type ‘FTDiagnostics’ for the target table and click the Create Table button.
Type
‘FTDiagnostics’
6. Click the OK button when you get the message that “The table FTDiagnostics was successfully
created.”
8. Select the Message Routing setup and then select the ODBC Database. Check all the options in
the Developer row.
Notice that Audit messages can not be routed to the ODBC destination.
11. Select the View > Options menu item. Move the Properties window so you can view the list.
14. Notice the list is empty because nothing has happened since we created this destination.
15. Go to the AF07 client; click the clear all button in the Diagnostics List.
17. Type ‘85’ in the Manual Valve Opening input field and select the enter key.
22. If you queried the database, you would see it has been updated
Global Objects
FactoryTalk View global objects allow you to link the appearance and behavior of one graphic object to
multiple references of that object in the same application.
Global objects are created on global object displays. In FactoryTalk View Studio, you create global
object displays in the Global Objects folder, the same way you create standard graphic displays in the
Displays folder.
Changes you make to the base object are reflected in all of the reference objects linked to it the next
time a display containing the reference objects are opened, or refreshed by closing and reopening
them.
In Section 2 – Animation – Object Explorer of this lab, you saw that the TankOverview display had one
touch animation on the TankCoolingTemp_Group that opened two Logix_PIDE display for different
loops. The Logix_PIDE display contains reference objects to the Logix_PIDE base global object.
In this section of the lab, you will create a new display and use the base Logix_PIDE global object to
create two reference objects on that display. You will use the parameter values to specify which PIDE
loops you want to view and animate. You will then change the touch animation in the Tank Overview
display to call the new display and then run the client to test your work.
2. Open the Logix_PIDE global object - Expand the Global Objects folder in the Explorer, Double-
click on Logix_PIDE
3. Create a reference object on your new display – Single-click on the global object to select the
faceplate, drag and drop it on the new display.
5. Position the reference object in the upper left corner of the new display.
6. Duplicate the 1st reference object – Right-click on the reference object and select the Duplicate
context menu item OR perform a copy and paste.
Notice that there is a description for the #1 and #2 parameters. You will be looking for structured
tags of type PIDE and the PIDE_Autotune. The PIDE_Autotune is not required.
Notice that this time when the tag browser is opened you are positioned at the tag you previously
selected (::[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101.ProductTempLoop). This help you navigate more quickly.
12. The #1 and #2 parameter values should be entered for the Tank101 - ProductTempLoop
13. Click the OK button on the Global Object Parameter Values dialog.
#2 is assigned ::[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101.JacketTempAtune
15. Configure Display Settings with all the defaults except for these:
Display Type use On Top
type the text ‘Temp Loops for Tank101 Product’ for the Title Bar
Notice the Insert Variable… button under the title bar text.
Feeling adventurous? Try using this to show the loop names in the title bar like the Logix_PIDE
display. Remember there are 2 loops in your display.
18. Perform a Test Display. What happens? Lots of failed to resolve messages.
You can use the test display mode to test global objects. However, this global object uses parameter
placeholders and even though we set the values they are ignored. Remember, not all FactoryTalk View
commands work in test display mode and parameter placeholders are ignored.
Now you will have to test the display in the client. But first you need to launch the display.
3. Find the TankCoolingTemp_Group object in the Object Explorer and Open the Touch Animation
Properties.
4. Remove the release action and click on the … button to open the Command Wizard.
5. Step 1 of Command Wizard, Select the Display command, click the Next button.
4. Mouse over the temperature and click for the touch animation.
5. What happens? Your new display should be opened and you should see values and animations for
both loops.
Global object parameters are defined in base objects in global object displays. When you copy a global
object from a global object display onto a standard display from the Graphics folder, you can assign
values to the global parameters in the resulting reference object.
We just assigned the parameter values in reference objects in the previous section. Let’s look at how
they get defined.
1. From FactoryTalk View Studio, restore your Logix_PIDE Global Object if it is not opened then
open it.
5. Right-click on the PIDE_Global_Group and select the Global Object Parameter Definitions
item in the context menu.
The Global Object Parameter Definitions dialog is opened. Observe the name and definitions. This is
what you saw when assigning values in the reference global object.
6. Click the Cancel button to close the Global Object Parameter Definitions dialog.
The reference object has a LinkBaseObject property that specifies the name and location of the base
object the reference object is linked to. You cannot modify the LinkBaseObject property. If the specified
global object display or base object does not exist, the reference object will appear in red outline, with a
red cross on a white background.
Once you have a reference object, you can not easily change the object name in the base object. You
will get a warning message when attempting to rename a base object. If you accidentally perform a
name change or delete a base object, it can be restored. To restore the reference object, you must
recreate the base global object with the same name, on the same global object display in order to allow
the reference objects to work again.
A reference object has properties that link it to its base object. When a reference object is created, the
global object defaults are used to set how the reference object will be linked to the base object. These
properties can be modified after the object has been created. You can choose to break the link to the
base object after the reference object is created. If you break the link the object will become a graphics
object and will no longer reference the base object.
The values of the Link properties determine whether aspects of the reference object’s appearance and
behaviors are defined by the base object, or by the reference object itself.
LinkAnimation
The LinkAnimation property determines whether the reference object uses the animation set up for its
base object.
Set up the LinkAnimation property of the reference object by selecting:
Link with expressions, to use the animation, including expressions, set up for the base object.
Link without expressions, to use the animation, excluding expressions, set up for the base object.
This means you can set up the expressions for the reference object separately.
Do not link, to set up animation and expressions for the reference object separately.
LinkConnections
The LinkConnections property determines whether the reference object uses the connections set up for
its base object.
Set up the LinkConnections property of the reference object by selecting:
True, to use the connections assigned to the base object.
False, to set up connections for the reference object separately.
In FactoryTalk View Site Edition, a reference object that is a tag label, trend, or Button push button with
an action other than Command, always uses the connections assigned to its base object. You cannot
set up connections for these reference objects separately.
LinkSize
The LinkSize property determines whether the reference object uses the height and width set up for its
base object.
Set up the LinkSize property of the reference object by selecting:
True, to use the height and width set up for the base object.
False, to set up the height and width of the reference object separately.
If you attempt to resize a reference object with its LinkSize property set to True, the object will snap
back to its original size.
All the reference objects in this application have been created with these defaults. This means that any
changes we make to the animation, connection, or size of the base object will be reflected in the
reference object.
2. Click the Cancel button to close the Global Object Defaults dialog.
3. Right-click on an object in the Explorer, select the Property Panel item in the context menu
or
click the Show Property Panel button in the tool bar
4. Click different objects in the Object Explorer and observe the properties.
What happens when you think you have your application all done and then you get a change request?
The change could be adding a new item to a display or changing colors on an animation. Global objects
allow you to make the change in the base object and the reference objects will inherit that change. This
makes maintaining your application a lot easier.
You will be modifying the Logix_PIDE Global Object. If you mess up, you can use the Add Process
Faceplates dialog to add it back into the project and replace the one that you modified.
Modify CV Text
The operator is not familiar with the label CV (Control Variable) and is use to seeing OUT (Output)
instead. You can change the text label in the base global object and the reference objects will reflect
the change.
2. Find the CVLabel_Text object in the Object Explorer. Double-click on CVLabel_Text to open
the Text Properties dialog.
12. Mouse over the temperature and click for the touch animation.
So we made a change in 1 place, the base object and the 3 reference objects now reflect the change.
The text label change would have been updated in all of the reference objects regardless of what the
link properties were set to.
This next one is a little trickier. If you want to give it a try continue on or you can skip it and go to the
next section.
Add engineering units as Parameter Definition
Suppose you want to add engineering units to your faceplate. The engineering units (EU) could be
different depending on the PIDE Loop you are looking at. So, you want to use a parameter placeholder
for the EU. The Logix_PIDE Global Object already exists and is being referenced. Let’s see how we
would make this change.
2. You want to add a text object for the EU next to the PV value. Find the PVValue_Group and then
select the PV_NumericDisplay in the Object Explorer.
4. Move the mouse next to the PV_NumericDisplay object. Single-click, drag, and release.
6. In the String Variables dialog, select the Literal string option, enter #3 for the literal, select the
Fixed number of 6 characters, and the show * option.
11. When prompted “Changing the name will break the links to any reference objects. Do you want to
continue?” select the Yes button.
It is OK to rename the object here because we just created it and do not have any references to it yet.
12. Look in the Object Explorer and see if your new object was created under the group
PV_ValueGroup.
13. Right-click on the PIDE_Global_Group in the Object Explorer, select the Global Object
Parameter Definitions context menu item.
3. Mouse over the temperature and click for the touch animation.
2. Right-click on the 1st reference object, select the Global Object Parameter Values context menu
item. Enter ‘Deg-C’ for the #3 value. Click the OK button.
3. Right-click on the 2nd reference object, select the Global Object Parameter Values context menu
item. Enter ‘Deg-C’ for the #3 value. Click the OK button.
3. Mouse over the temperature and click for the touch animation.
That takes care of one of the faceplates we know about but there are still references on the
TankOverview display. Use Tag Substitution to find and modify the references or you can skip to the
next section.
2. When the TankOverview display is highlighted, select the Edit > Select All menu item.
3. While all items are selected, select the Edit > Tag Substitution menu item.
4. When the Tag Substitution dialog is opened, scroll through the Search for list and look for
occurrences of Display Logix_PIDE
6. Edit the Replace with to add the EU for #3. Type a ‘,EU’
Display Logix_PIDE
/T::[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101.LevelController,::[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101.LevelAtune,EU
/x875 /y125
Remember no spaces for embedded variables being used as a literal string. Put the text
immediately after the , It should look like this ,EU
7. Make sure the confirm check box is checked. Click the Replace button.
8. When prompted to confirm the replace, click the replace button one at a time until complete.
9. Continue to look in the Search for list and make sure there are not anymore references.
Depending on global object complexity and the number of data items associated with it, loading a
display with many global object instances can result in performance issues. For example, a graphic with
20 relatively data intensive Global Objects takes 5-7 seconds to display.
At run time, Global Objects require extra time to resolve their required tag instances and start receiving
them from the data server. This causes graphics using significant numbers of Global Objects to display
more slowly. The reason for this is that global objects instances and the data items associated with
them are not cached to the local memory cache at run time.
Whenever possible, avoid creating global objects that are too complex. Object complexity is
measured by the number of graphic objects contained within a global object, the number of
expressions and animations associated with a global object, the number of global object
connections, and combinations of these variables. If a complex global object is required, avoid
creating a large number of instances of this object on one standard display.
Do not create a large number of base global objects on a single global object display. Organize
global object displays in such a way that the majority of base global objects required by a
specific standard display, reside on the same global object display.
If a standard display contains ten or more complex global objects and is being accessed
frequently, set its Cache After Displaying property to Yes. This is done in the Properties tab of
the Display Settings dialog box
Important: While the Cache After Displaying property is in effect, design-time changes to the
base object will not be picked up by the corresponding reference object until the FlushCache
command is issued, or an SE Client session is closed and restarted.
Language switching allows operators to view user-defined text strings in FactoryTalk View SE Client
applications in multiple languages at run time. This includes FactoryTalk device-based alarm messages
created in RSLogix 5000 and FactoryTalk tag-based alarm messages created in the Alarm Setup
Editor. FactoryTalk historical alarm and event information is only logged in one language which is
specified on the alarm server properties.
At run time in a network application, multiple FactoryTalk View SE clients can switch between any of
the languages the application supports. Multiple clients can also run in different languages at the same
time.
Develop an application in one language, export the user-defined text strings for the application, and
then import translated strings for up to 40 languages into the same application.
1. From FactoryTalk View Studio, select the Tools > Languages… menu item.
7. Notice that these languages have been added to the list and English is set as the default
language as indicated by the check mark next to English.
8. Check the Display undefined strings using the default language option.
There are a number of ways to change the text strings in a graphic display besides editing them
individually by object. The best approach is to export the strings to Excel and use the Optimize
duplicate strings feature.
2. Select the Export strings for all languages to an Excel spreadsheet radio button. Check the
Optimizing duplicate strings and Open exported file options
If you have a network application with multiple HMI Servers you would be prompted to select one HMI
Server at this point. Since you are using a local application there is only one HMI Server and you will
not see the Select Servers dialog.
Scroll down in Excel until you see row number 230. Column D “Description” will have
‘CloseNonPermissive_Text.Caption”. Note, your Excel file may look different. If it isn’t row 230 do a find
on the description. This is REF:36 and it is the first occurrence. Row 244 has a Column D description of
“OpenNonPermissive_Text.Caption” and is cross-referencing (**REF:36**) the first occurrence. Only
the first occurrence will need to be translated. Notice that the cross-reference to the first occurrence is
in the language columns. Notice that the “REF” Columns (E, G, I, and K) are left blank when the
occurrence is not cross-referenced.
Here is an example of first occurrence references of #36, 231, 232, and 233 along with the cross-
reverences.
1. From the Start menu, select the Lab 15 FactoryTalk View SE shortcut
3. Observe the file. Notice that not everything has been translated. Notice that this file was translated
from an export file that was not optimized.
2. Select the option to Import strings from an Excel spreadsheet…. from the String Import Export
Wizard dialog and click the Next button
4. String import in Progress will start. Once it is completed, you will see the message String import
completed successfully in the Diagnostics List.
The Language command was added to the Release action by clicking the … button and then using the
Command Wizard. The command Language is located under the System – Languages folder.
5. Repeat steps 2 – 4 for the other flags to observe the release action.
4. Click the different flag buttons in the footer display and navigate through different displays.
5. Notice that language switching works but not everything was translated.
6. Notice that the date and time are still displayed in English.
You can use FactoryTalk View SE system tags in an application to display text in graphic displays. For
example, the tag, system\dateandtimestring, displays the current date and time. Text in the following
system tags is always displayed in the format prescribed by the language of the Windows operating
system:
System\Time
System\Date
System\DateAndTimeString
System\MonthString
System\AlarmMostRecentDate
System\AlarmMostRecentTime
System\AlarmStatus
7. Notice that alarm messages for Tank101 are not translated. These will be translated in the next
section.
In RSLogix 5000, use the Alarm Properties dialog box to translate device-based alarm messages
individually. RSLogix 5000 configures alarm messages in the language of RSLogix 5000 software. For
example, the German version of RSLogix 5000 configures alarm messages in the German language. If
you add another language, then when RSLinx Enterprise connects to the controller, both languages are
uploaded and available to FactoryTalk Alarms and Events clients.
Once you have exported the alarm messages, you can then manually add all the messages in the
languages you desire (limited to the languages supported by FactoryTalk View) and then import the file
when translation is complete. This simplifies sending the work out to translators.
Export alarm messages in RSLogix 5000
1. Go to RSLogix 5000
OR if it isn’t already opened
OR
Click the Logix 5000 Alarms button on the footer menu of the FactoryTalk View Client
If your RSLogix 5000 project includes a large number of programs, and you want to translate alarm
messages from only one of them, you can make selections in the Export dialog box to limit the data that
is exported.
3. Expand the width of columns A, B, C, and D. Notice that the last line of text in the file is the alarm
definition for the low alarm for the ProductTempLoop which we will be modifying. The first element
from the left is the instruction type (ALMMSG:) and the language string for the alarm message (en-
us for English in the United States). The alarm message text appears as the fourth column (D)
from the left (“ProductTemp Low”).
4. Copy the last ALMMSG line and then paste it at the end of the file.
5. Change the text en-us to ‘de-DE’ (for German in Germany), and then change the alarm message
text to read, ‘ProductTemp Tiefpunkt’
6. Paste another copy of the ALMMSG line at the end of the file.
7. Change the text en-us to ‘es-MX’ (for Spanish in Mexico), and then change the alarm message
text to read, ‘ProductTemp Bajo’.
Your file should look something like this.
4. Select the RSLogix 5000 Unicode Import/Export Files (*.TXT) file type.
5. Select the filename AF07_SE_Lab-Tags_translated.TXT, leave the default settings for the Tags
and Logic Comments.
9. When prompted with the message “Done downloading. Change the controller mode back to
Remote Run?” select the Yes button.
11. Tank 101 alarms should now be language translating in View Client. You will verify this at the end of
this section.
When the Alarm and Event Setup editor launches in FactoryTalk Administration Console, alarm
messages display in the default language defined for the application. If a message string does not exist
in the default language a question mark character (?) is displayed.
When the Tag Alarm and Event Editor opens in FactoryTalk View Studio, alarm messages display in
the language selected during start up of the FactoryTalk View SE application. If alarm messages are
not defined in the specified language, alarm messages display in the default language defined for the
application. If a message string does not exist in the default language a question mark character (?) is
displayed.
When editing alarm messages in multiple languages, the Microsoft Excel method offers the advantage
that you don’t have to close and then re-open the application in the appropriate language each time—
you can edit the text in any language in one step and then import the translated text for all languages
into the application at once.
2. On the General tab of the Tag Alarm and Event Server Properties page type ‘FTAETagServer’
for the name.
3. Click on the Priorities and History tab, leave the settings at the defaults:
Notice the history is being logged in English and the tag alarms will be logged in the same
database as the device-based alarms.
6. The Alarm and Event Setup Editor will open. Notice that there are no alarms. You will use the
import to create alarms.
3. Notice there is a worksheet for each alarm type, one for the messages, and then one for tag update
rates.
4. Click on each of the tabs and take a look. There is one digital alarm and one level alarm. Notice
that one message can be used in multiple alarms.
5. Click on the Messages tab. There is a column for each language that has been translated.
6. Select the Update existing alarm definitions and create new alarm definitions from the import
file option and click the Finish button.
7. A progress indicator will open. When complete, you should see this
3. Double-click on the first alarm, the Digital Alarm Properties dialog will open. Look at the Digital
Tab and notice that these properties are almost the same as the device-based digital alarm
instruction property sheet that you saw in RSLogix 5000. In fact, this tag alarm will be triggered from
the same condition as a device-based alarm that was created. This is just so you can compare
them.
5. The next alarm will be displayed in the Level Alarm Properties dialog. Look at the Level and the
Messages tabs and notice that these properties are almost the same as the device-based analog
alarm instruction property sheet that you saw in RSLogix 5000. In fact, this tag alarm will be
triggered from the same condition as a device-based alarm that was created. This is just so you can
compare them. Notice on the Messages tab that the same message string is used for both the High
High and the High condition.
8. To view the list of alarms that are referencing a particular alarm message, right-click the row
containing the message and then click the Usage Details context menu item. Click the OK button
to close the Message Usage Details dialog.
1. From the Explorer, right-click on the FTAETagServer and select the Import and Export…
context menu item.
2. Select the Export alarm configuration to Excel file and click the Next button
4. Select the Export messages for all alarms, check all the languages, and click the Next button.
5. Change the file name to MY_ AF07_FTAETagServer_AlarmExport.xls and click the Finish
button.
When RSLinx Enterprise makes the connection to the controller, all alarm messages and their
languages are uploaded from the controller. When a FactoryTalk View SE Client runs, the FactoryTalk
Alarm and Event objects (Alarm and Event Summary, for example) connect to the Alarm and Event
system and request alarm messages in the current language. You can then switch among languages
with the click of a button on the client computer, and the alarm monitoring system and all of the client
screens switch to the appropriate language on that specific client.
Switching languages at run time does not switch time and date formats. The Alarm and Event objects in
FactoryTalk View always show the date/time format of the operating system.
Alarm Fault List messages that can be displayed from the Alarm and Event Banner and Summary do
not currently switch languages.
FactoryTalk historical alarm and event information is only logged in one language which is specified on
the alarm server properties. The contents of the Alarm and Event Log Viewer event list, which consists
of historical alarm and event information, is not translated. This data continues to appear in the same
language used when the alarm and event information was written to the alarm history database. For
example, a message logged in English will be displayed only in English, even if the language is
switched to German.
2. Click the different flag buttons in the footer display and navigate through different displays.
3. Notice that language switching works and alarm messages are also being updated to the
appropriate language.
4. Notice both the tag and device-based alarms appear and the message strings are language
switchable. Tag-based alarms will start with Tank101. Device-based alarms will have the shortcut
name at the beginning of the alarm name i.e., [SoftLogix].
Tag-based alarms will not appear in the Tank Summary because the event subscription is set to
[SoftLogix]Program:Tank101.*. The tag-based alarms start with Tank101. To get them to appear in the
Tank Summary, change the event subscription to *Tank101* or add another event source called
Tank101*