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Feature Description

The Tag Editor is a core feature of CIMON Canvas that links abstract process variables with physical control devices. Nearly every feature Canvas provides has its functionality based on the tags defined in the Tag Editor. These tags can be numerous data types, and within a Canvas application, tags can be accessed and updated by UI elements, external devices, scripts, and various utility functions (recipes, alarm groups, etc). Tags are easily created, modified, and organized inside the Tag Editor pane or exported and imported from spreadsheet-type software (i.e., Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets), allowing easy management and printing.

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Designer Functionalities

Tag Editor Pane

Click View > Tag Editor to open the Tag Editor pane, as displayed on the right:

Here, all created tags and their designated names, data types, connected I/O devices, assigned I/O addresses, initial values, persistent attributes, and descriptions are shown. Users can create, group, edit, paste, copy, and delete tags from this pane. The user can also click the Tag Count icon to see how many tags of each type or device have been created.

The Tag Editor pane can be undocked by dragging the pane's header to be placed to the user’s liking.

Tag Editor Groups

To add a tag group, click the Add tag group icon in the Tag Editor pane. After pressing the button, a text field will open in the Tag Editor pane where a name for the tag group can be assigned.

If the user has too many tags in a single pane, finding and managing individual tags may be challenging. Tag groups allow the user users to organize tags based on category, with a tree structure for subordinate tags. The grouped tags are displayed and managed in the Tag Editor pane.

Tags

Tags can be defined and configured inside the Tag Editor pane. Within a Canvas project, tags can be accessed and updated by UI elements, external devices, scripts, and various utility functions (recipes, alarm groups, etc). There are three types of tags that Canvas currently has: Remote, Virtual, and Virtual (Runtime Only). Remote tags write and read their value to and from external devices. Virtual tags allow access to the Xpanel’s gateway and can be accessed by other devices through the Data Server feature. Virtual (Runtime Only) tags are only used internally within the Xpanel. They simulate devices and processes, process input data, and store data describing the application state.

Each tag supports boolean, analog, and string tags with the following data types: BOOL, REAL, LREAL, SINT, INT, DINT, LINT, USINT, UINT, UDINT, ULINT, and STRING.

Edit Tag

To create a new tag, click the Add tag icon to open the Edit Tag window. This window will also pop up when double-clicking an existing tag or right-clicking an existing tag and clicking Edit Tag.

To add a new tag, click Add tag icon, and Edit Tag pop-up window will appear.

  • Project status and local tag values can be maintained when stopping and restarting the project, allowing operators to continue their work.

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In this window, tag names, data types, I/O devices, I/O addresses, etc may be assigned. One field, Path, may not be assigned, but it shows the location where the tag is being created or resides. When selecting Virtual or Virtual (Runtime Only) in the I/O Device field, a Type field populates in the I/O Address Editor. The options of this drop-down are shown in the image at the top right. All options are available to Virtual (Runtime Only), whereas some are unavailable to Virtual. Each chosen option populates another Value field with pre-set selections to do particular functions.
The visibility of the Advanced section and the fields shown inside of it are dependent on the Data Type field. The BOOL data type does not show the Advanced drop-down, whereas some data types do not have the Encoding field. Shown at the bottom right, the STRING data type is selected, which has a different Advanced section than the others:

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  • When creating a tag, use a name that follows the criteria listed below:

    • The following special characters are not allowed: $, #, +, /, ?, ., {, }, [, ].

    • Tags are not case-sensitive (i.e. dig and DIG will give a duplicate name error).

    • The user cannot use the same tag name more than once in the same tag group. However, tags may use the same name if they are in different tag groups.

  • It is important to verify that the data type of every tag matches the data type used within the paired device. If there is a mismatch, data may be incorrectly represented or manipulated.

  • For Only the first address is needed for data types that span multiple addresses (namely 32-bit double words), only the first address is needed. The address of the remaining words or bytes is implied. Note that Modbus devices typically only send and receive one 16-bit word per address. Therefore, Modbus double words may not be directly accessible via a single real tag.

Spreadsheet Compatability WIP

The tag attributes listed in Excel match the ones described in section 4.1.2 Settings. A detailed description of the tag attributes and their intended functions can be found here. Note that the associated attributes of Encoding, Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode populate in Excel, even if their parent attribute is disabled.

Copying from the Tag Editor to Spreadsheet

  1. Select the tag(s) or tag group(s) to be copied to Excel. The user can select multiple tags using the [Ctrl] + Left-click. The subordinate tags are also selected when the user chooses a group tag.

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  2. Copy ([Ctrl] + [C]) the selected tags to the clipboard.

  3. Paste ([Ctrl] + [V]) the contents directly into Excel. Each column stores a different tag attribute. Please refer to the table in the next section for details.

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  1. Edit the tag(s)/tag group(s) in Excel. The user can automatically create consecutive tags with Excel’s increment/decrement feature. Note: Excel’s auto-increment feature does not work for hexadecimal values. Please double-check that word and bit addresses for real tags follow the correct device address format.

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Pasting from Spreadsheet to the Tag Editor

  1. Select the rows to copy.

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  2. Copy ([Ctrl] + [C]) the rows to the clipboard and paste ([Ctrl] + [V]) them to the Canvas Tag Editor pane. The pasted contents will replace tags with the same name.

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Excel Tag Attributes

The tag attributes listed in Excel match the ones described in section 4.1.2 Settings. A detailed description of the tag attributes and their intended functions can be found here. Note that the associated attributes of Encoding, Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, & Scale Mode populate in excel, even if their parent attribute is disabled.
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