Select [Tools] – [Database] or press the 
icon to bring up the Database editor window as shown below.:
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Database Editor
Item | Description |
New Tag | There are several methods to create a new tag:
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Edit Tag | There are several methods to edit a tag:
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Delete Tag | There are several methods for deleting a tag:
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Copy Tag | Select the tag to copy/cut from the tag list. Copy or cut the tag with any of the methods shown below: |
Drag & Drop | Tags can also be copied and pasted by dragging and dropping:
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| When creating a tag, use a name that follows the criteria listed below. : 1. No special characters (e.g. Space, Tab, @, *, /, +, -, etc.) 2. The first character of a tag name cannot be a number. 3. Tags are not case-sensitive. All tags will be stored as uppercase. 4. You 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 groups. |
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Digital tags are used to represent ON/OFF status, 0 or 1, True or False, or other values with only 2 possible states. Within XpanelDesigner, digital values are stored and represented as either 0 or 1. If a digital tag is tied to a device address with more than one bit, then any value greater other than 1 will be treated as a 1. Note that within XpanelDesigner, “Digital” refers only to binary values, not to other value types that are stored digitally.
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Item | Description | |
Tag Type | Select the tag type (real or virtual) | |
Real Tag | Links to an external device connected to Xpanel. The tag value updates automatically when the device value updates. | |
Virtual Tag | Acts as a general-purpose variable for use within Xpanel. Does not connect to an external device. | |
I/O Device | Select the external device to associate the tag with. You can check the name of external devices using [Tools] – [I/O Device]. This field is enabled only when ‘Real tag’ is selected. | |
I/O Address | Enter the external device address to associate the tag with. You must enter the address using the device’s addressing method. For example, for a CIMON PLC, valid bit addresses include “X00”, “Y1E”, “D16”, etc. This field is enabled only when ‘Real tag’ is selected. | |
Save last status when closing | When you select this option, the last state of the tag is stored when the project is closed. When you execute the project again, the tag values will be reloaded. Note: this feature is only available for virtual tags. Real tags are controlled by Upon startup, real tag values will be read from the device they are linked to. | |
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Item | Description |
Initial Value | Assign the initial tag value to be loaded to the tag at the project startup. This field is only available for virtual tags. |
Analog Tag
Analog tags are used to represent 8-, 16-, or 32-bit numeric values. It is important to choose the correct data type for interpreting the data (INT16, UINT32, Float, etc.). Note that within XpanelDesigner, “Analog” refers to multi-bit numeric values, but not necessarily values with an analog input source.
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Item | Description | |
Initial Value | Assign the initial tag value to be loaded to the tag at the project startup. | |
Data Type | Select the data type (bit encoding) of the tag value to use within XpanelDesigner. Refer to the table below for a description of each data type. | |
Clipping | With this option, when the analog value exceeds the specified Min/Max range, an alarm a warning message will appear and the value will not be recognized. | |
Scale | Converts the original input data into a new value using one of two methods. Note that the behavior of the ‘Eng. Data’ Min/Max values valuess change depending on whether the “Scale” box is checked or not. | |
Scale/Offset (Only visible when Scale is selected) | To use the Scale/Offset method, check the “Scale” box, then enter the Scale and Offset values in the ‘Scale/Offset’ field. With this option, the tag value will be calculated using the formula below: Tag Value = (Input Value * Scale) + Offset Example: Select an analog tag with data type UINT16. When Scale is 0.1 and Offset is 10: Minimum value: (0 * 0.1) + 10 = 10, For a given tag value, the corresponding input value can be calculated using the formula below: Input Value = (Tag Value – Offset) / Scale | |
Min./Max. (Visible when Scale is not selected) | To use the Min/Max method, uncheck the “Scale” box, then enter the Minimum and Maximum values in the ‘Raw Data’ field. With this option, the tag value will be linearly scaled so that that the Raw Data minimum is converted to the Eng. Data minimum and the Raw Data maximum is converted to the Eng. Data maximum. Intermediate values are scaled linearly. For a given input (raw) value, the exact output (tag) value can be calculated using the formula below: Tag Value = (Input Value – Raw Data Min) / (Raw Data Max – Raw Data Min) * (Eng. Data Max – Eng. Data Min) + Eng. Data Min Example: Select an analog tag with data type Float. Set the Raw Data minimum to 0 and the maximum to 1. Set the Eng. Data minimum to 0 and the maximum to 100. Now, PLC values (on the left) will be converted to the following tag values (on the right): -17.0 becomes 0 Any input value below the Raw Data minimum will be converted to the Eng. Data minimum. Any input above the Raw Data maximum will be converted to the Eng. Data maximum. For a given tag value, the corresponding input value can be calculated using the formula below: Input Value = (Tag Value – Eng. Data Min) / (Eng. Data Max – Eng. Data Min) * (Raw Data Max – Raw Data Min) + Raw Data Min | |
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