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Select [View] - [Tag Browser] and make sure the Tag Browser is enabled to open the Tag Browser window.

...

For a more detailed view of the tags, the Tag Browser window This section will discuss Tag Editor features as well as the tag types available.

Table of Contents

Tag Editor Pane

To open the Tag Editor pane, click View > Tag Editor to open the Tag Editor pane.

...

The Tag Editor pane can be undocked by dragging the pane's header for a more detailed view of the window. In this detailed view, the Tag Nametags. The Tags, Type, Device, Address, Initial Value, PersistencePersistent, and Description columns are all displayed in this detailed view.

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Tag Browser Editor

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Item

...

Description

...

...

(blue star) ‘Tag Browser’ window select [] two to edit select [Edit Tag] Delete Tag for deleting :Select the tag to delete and press the ‘Delete’ key. to delete and select [Delete] Select to copy/cut from the tag list.Copy or cut the tag with any of the methods shown below:
   1. Press the Ctrl + C or Ctrl + X keys.
   2. and select [Copy] or [Cut] from the submenu select [] sub menu

Item

Icon

Description

New Tag

Image Added

There are two methods to create a new tag:

  1. Click the icon in the Tag Editor pane.

  2. Right-click the tag list and click New Tag on the submenu.

New Tag Group

Image Added

There are two methods to create a new tag group:

  1. Click the

  1. icon in the

  1. Tag Editor pane.

  2. Right-click the tag list and

  1. click New Tag

  1. Group on the submenu.

Edit Tag

Image Added

There are

three methods to edit a tag:

  1. Select a tag and then click the icon in the Tag Editor pane.

  2. Double-click a tag in the tag list to edit it.

  3. Right-click the tag

  1. and

  1. click Edit Tag on the submenu.

Rename

N/A

Right-click the tag/tag group to and click Rename on the submenu.

Cut

Image Added

There are two methods

to cut a tag/tag

group:

  1. Right-click the tag

  1. list and click Cut on the submenu.

Copy Tag

  1. Click on the tag

  1. /tag group and use the hotkey [Ctrl]+[X].

Copy


Image Added

There are three methods to cut a tag/tag group:

  1. Select a tag/tag group and then click the icon in the Tag Editor pane.

  2. Right-click the tag

  1. list and click Copy on the submenu.

  2. Click on the tag/tag group and use the hotkey [Ctrl]+[C].

After copying, move to the destination, click the Paste icon, right-click and

click Paste

from the

submenu or press the Ctrl+V keys to paste.

Paste

Image Added

There are three methods to paste a tag/tag group:

  1. Select a destination and then click the icon in the Tag Editor pane.

  2. Right-click the tag list and click Paste on the submenu.

  3. Click on the destination and use the hotkey [Ctrl]+[V].

(blue star)

Delete

N/A

There are two methods for deleting a tag:

  1. Right-click the tag/tag group and click Delete on the submenu.

  2. Select the tag/tag group and use the hotkey [Del] or [Delete].

1. No special characters (e.g. Space, Tab, @, *, /, +, -, etc.)

2. The first character of a tag name cannot be a number.
Ex: “DIG1” is valid, but “1DIG” is invalid

3. . All tags will be stored as uppercase. 4. You
Image Added

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.

Tag Group

...

Creation

If you have the user has too many tags in a single window, it may be difficult to find and manage individual tags. Group tags allow you pane, finding and managing individual tags may be challenging. Tag groups allow the user to organize tags based on category, with a tree structure for subordinate tags. The grouped tags are displayed and managed in the Tag Browser windowEditor pane.

To create add a group tag, select the (blue star) , click Add tag group icon in the Tag Browser Editor window to create a tag group. After pressing the icon, a text field will open in the Tag Browser Window Editor window where a name for the Group Tag tag group can be assigned.

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Tag

...

Creation

When creating To add a new tag or editing an existing tag, the ‘Tag Editor’ will appear on screen. , click Add tag icon, and Edit Tag pop-up window will appear.

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This window has two main tabs: the General tab which settings sections:

General Settings

This setting contains pertinent data for all tag types, and the Advanced tab which contains type-specific data for the tag.

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Item

Description

Initial Value

Assign the initial tag value to be loaded to the tag at 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, a warning message will appear and the value will not be recognized.

Scale You using [Tools] – [] local tags, select “None” from the drop down menu. Note that selecting this option will not allow the user to assign an I/O Address you execute

Item

Description

Tag Name

Input a the desired tag name

Path

Outlines the group path of the tag

Type

Allows the user to select from 12 possible data types. The available fields in the advanced options tab will change based on the selected data type.

Info

Please refer to Tag Types for a detailed breakdown.

I/O Device

For remote tags, select the external device to associate the tag with.

The user can check the name of external devices

by clicking Tools > I/O Device Editor

.

For

shared tags, a Data Server must be set up to allow communication with these tags.

I/O Address

Enter the external device address to associate the tag with. You The user must enter the address using the device’s addressing method. For example, for a CIMON PLC, valid bit addresses include “X00”, “Y1E”, etc. This field is enabled only when an I/O device is selected.

Persistent

When this option is true, the last state of the tag is stored when the project is closed. When

the user executes the project again, the tag values will be reloaded.

Value Changed

Quality Changed

BOOL Type

BOOL tags are used to represent ON/OFF status, 0 or 1, True or False, or other values with only 2 possible states. Within Canvas, binary values are stored and represented as either 0 or 1. If a boolean tag is tied to a device address with more than one bit, then any value other than 1 will be treated as a 1. This type selection does not carry any additional options in the Advanced tab of the Tag Editor.

Analog Types

Analog tags are used to represent 8-, 16-, 32-, or 64-bit numeric values. It is important to choose the correct data type for interpreting the data (INT16, UINT32, Float, etc.). Note that within Canvas, “Analog” refers to multi-bit numeric values, but not necessarily values with an analog input source.

(1) Advanced (Analog Types)

With this option enabled, a user-defined script or action list will be performed when the tag value changes.

Quality Changed

With this option enabled, a user-defined script or action list will be performed when the quality of the tag changes. In this case, quality refers to the communications status of the tag.

Advanced Settings (Analog Type)

This setting is only available for analog tag type and string tag type.

two methods. Note that the behavior of the ‘Eng. Data’ Min/Max values change depending on whether the “Scale” box is checked or not.To use the Scale/Offset method, check the “Scale” box, then enter the Scale and Offset values in the ‘Scale/Offset’ field Scale Offset UINT16. When Scale is Offset is Offset Scale

Min./Max.

(Visible when Scale is not selected) the Min/Max method, uncheck the “Scale” box, then enter the Minimum and Maximum values in the ‘Raw Data’ field linearly so that Data minimum Eng. Data minimum Data maximum Eng. Data maximum linearly Data Min Data Max 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
0.0 becomes 0
0.25 becomes 25
0.75 becomes 75
1.0 becomes 100
24.0 becomes 100 Data minimum Eng. Data minimum Data maximum Eng. Data maximum Eng. Data MinEng. Data Max – Eng. Data Min) Data Max Data Min) + Raw Data Min

Item

Description

Encoding

Selecting the BCD option from the drop down menu enables binary-coded decimal encoding. With this mode enabled, a binary sequence will represent the analog tag’s value. Note that binary-coded decimal does not function the same as converting a decimal number to binary.

Clamp Mode

This option dictates how the tag will handle values outside of the specified maximum/minimum values. Note that this setting only applies to write requests, and will not change values read from the PLC.

Clamp High

To use this feature, select Clamp High from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Engineering Max value. Any tag value greater than the assigned Engineering Max value will be overwritten to the Engineering Max value.

Clamp Low

To use this feature, select Clamp Low from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Engineering Min value. Any tag value less than the assigned Engineering Min value will be overwritten to the Engineering Min value.

Clamp Both

To use this feature, select Clamp Both from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Engineering Max and Engineering Min values. Any tag value greater than the assigned Engineering Max value will be overwritten to the Engineering Max value, and any tag value less than the assigned Engineering Min value will be overwritten to the Engineer Min value.

Reject High

To use this feature, select Reject High from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Engineering Max value. Any tag value greater than the assigned Engineering Max value will be discarded, and the tag value will remain at the last recorded tag value.

Reject Low

To use this feature, select Reject Low from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Engineering Min value. Any tag value less than the assigned Engineering Min value will be discarded, and the tag value will remain at the last recorded tag value.

Reject Both

To use this feature, select Reject Both from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Engineering Max and Engineering Min values. Any tag value greater than the assigned Engineering Max value will be discarded, and the tag value will remain at the last recorded tag value. Any tag value less than the assigned Engineering Min value will be discarded, and the tag value will remain at the last recorded tag value.

Deadband Type

Filters the original input data and discards any new input data that falls within a specified range of the last recorded tag value.

Absolute

To use this feature, select Absolute from the Deadband drop down menu. Next, assign any numeric value in the Deadband field. If the absolute difference between the current tag value and the last recorded tag value is greater than the Deadband value, the current value of the tag is sent. If the absolute difference is less than the Deadband value, the current value is filtered.

Example: Select a DINT tag type and an Absolute Deadband type. For a Deadband of 10:

Last Recorded Tag Value: 40

Current Tag Value: 12

Absolute Difference = |Last Recorded Tag Value - Current Tag Value|

For this case, the absolute difference between the two tags is 28. The absolute difference is higher than the Deadband, so the current tag value will be recorded. Next, say that the last recorded tag value remains at 40 with a new current tag value of 32. The absolute difference in this case would be less than the deadband, so the current tag value would be filtered and the tag value would remain as the last recorded tag value.

Percent

To use this feature, select Percent from the Deadband drop-down menu. Next, assign a numeric value between 1 and 100 in the Deadband field. If the percent difference between the current tag value and the last recorded tag value is greater than the Deadband value, the tag's current value is sent. The current value is filtered if the percent difference is less than the Deadband value.

Example: Select a DINT tag type and a Percent Deadband type. For a Deadband of 10:

Last Recorded Tag Value: 40

Current Tag Value: 12

Percent Difference = |Last Recorded Tag Value - Current Tag Value| /(Last Recorded Tag Value) * 100

For this case, the percent difference between the two tags is 70%. The percent difference is higher than the Deadband, so the current tag value will be recorded. Next, say that the last recorded tag value remains at 40 with a new current tag value of 37. The percent difference in this case would be less than the deadband, so the current tag value would be filtered and the tag value would remain as the last recorded tag value.

Scale Mode

Converts the original input data into a new value using one of

Scale/Offset

(Only visible when Scale is selected)

four methods.

Linear Range

To use this feature, select Linear Range from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Raw Low, Raw High, Scaled Low, and Scaled High values. With this option, the tag value will be linearly scaled such that the Raw Low is converted to the Scaled Low and the Raw High is converted to the Scaled High. 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 Low) / (Raw High – Raw Low) * (Scaled High– Scaled Low) + Scaled Low

Example: Select a REAL tag type. Set the Raw Low to zero and the Raw High to one. Set the Scaled Low to zero and the Scaled High to 100. Now, PLC values (on the left) will be converted to the following tag values (on the right):

-17.0 becomes 0
0.0 becomes 0
0.25 becomes 25
0.75 becomes 75
1.0 becomes 100
24.0 becomes 100

Any input value below the Raw Low will be converted to the Scaled Low. Any input above the Raw High will be converted to the Scaled High.

For a given tag value, the corresponding input value can be calculated using the formula below:

Input Value = (Tag Value – Raw Low) / (Scaled High – Scaled Low) * ( Raw High– Raw Low) + Raw Low

Linear Slope

To use this feature, select Linear Slope from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Slope and Intercept values in their respective fields. With this option, the tag value will be calculated using the formula below:

Tag Value = (Input Value *

Slope) +

Intercept

Example: Select an analog tag with data type

UINT. For a Slope of 0.1 and

an Intercept of 10:

Minimum value: (0 * 0.1) + 10 = 10,
Maximum value: (65535 * 0.1) + 10 = 6563.5

For a given tag value, the corresponding input value can be calculated using the formula below:

Input Value = (Tag Value –

Intercept) /

Slope

Square Root

To use

this feature, select Square Root from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Raw Low, Raw High, Scaled Low, and Scaled High values. With this option, the tag value will be

exponentially scaled

, such that the Raw

Low is converted to the

Scaled Low and the Raw

High is converted to the

Scaled High. Intermediate values are scaled

exponentially, with a fixed exponent of 1/2. For a given input (raw) value, the exact output (tag) value can be calculated using the formula below:

Tag Value = (Scaled High – Scaled Low) * sqrt((Input Value

- Raw

Low) /(Raw

High – Raw

Low)) + Scaled Low

Any input value below the Raw

Low will be converted to the

Scaled Low. Any input above the Raw

High will be converted to the

Scaled High.

For a given tag value, the corresponding input value can be calculated using the formula below:

Input Value = ((Tag Value –

Scaled Low) / (

Scaled High – Scaled Low))^2 * ( Raw

High – Raw

Low) + Raw Low

Polynomial

To use this feature, select Polynomial from the drop-down menu. Next, enter the desired Exponent, Slope, and Intercept values. With this option, the tag value will be exponentially scaled. For this option, the tag value will be calculated using the formula below:

Tag Value = Slope * (Input Value)^Exponent + Intercept

For a given tag value, the corresponding input value can be calculated using the formula below:

Input Value = ((Tag Value - Intercept)/(Slope)) ^ (1/Exponent)

Advanced Settings (String Type)

This setting is only available for analog tag type and string tag type.

Item

Description

Max Length

Assign the maximum string length that can be written to the tag. For local tags, the user can choose a value between 1 and 2147483647. For remote tags, the maximum length is only limited by the device memory. Note: Be careful to avoid overlapping device addresses. For example, if one string tag “STR1” begins at address D00 on a CIMON PLC, and another string tag begins at address D07, then STR1 should be no longer than 14 characters (7 words * (16 bits/word) / (8 bits/character) = 14 characters). Otherwise, editing one string may affect the other.

Tag Types

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 4294967295UBCD16 16-bit binary-coded decimal number ~ 9999Unsigned (non-negative) binarycoded decimal number.32

Data Type

Description

BOOL

Represent ON/OFF status, 0 or 1, True or False, or other values with only two possible states. If a boolean tag is tied to a device address with more than one bit, then any value other than one will be treated as a one.

Do not have Advanced Settings section on the Edit Tag pop-up window.

Analog

Represent 8, 16, 32, or 64-bit numeric values. Choosing the correct data type for interpreting your data (INT16, UINT32, Float, etc.) is crucial.

Analog refers to multi-bit numeric values within Canvas but not necessarily values with an analog input source.

Analog Data Type

Description

Range

SINT(INT8)

Signed 8-bit integer. Enables the Encoding, Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

-128

127

INT(INT16)

Signed 16-bit integer. Enables the Encoding, Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

-32768

32767

DINT(INT32)

Signed 32-bit integer. Enables the Encoding, Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

-2147483648

2147483647

LINT(INT64)

Signed 64-bit integer. Enables the Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

-9223372036854775808 – 9223372036854775807

USINT(UINT8)

Unsigned (non-negative) 8-bit integer. Enables the Encoding, Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

0

255

UINT(UINT16)

Unsigned (non-negative) 16-bit integer. Enables the Encoding, Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

0

65535

UDINT(UINT32)

Unsigned (non-negative) 32-bit integer. Enables the Encoding, Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

0

BCD8

Signed 8-bit Binary-coded decimal number.

-79 ~ 79

BCD16

Signed 16-bit Binary-coded decimal number.

-7999 ~ 7999

BCD32

Signed 32-bit binary-coded decimal number.

-79999999 ~ 79999999

UBCD8

Unsigned (non-negative) 8-bit binary-coded decimal number.

0 ~ 99

– 4294967295

ULINT(UINT64)

Unsigned (non-negative)

64-bit integer. Enables the Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

0

UBCD32

– 18446744073709551615

REAL(FLOAT)

32-bit

floating-

0 ~ 99999999

Float

point number. Enables the Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

-3.403e+038 – 3.403e+038

LREAL(DOUBLE)

64-bit floating-point number

-3.40282346638529e+038 ~

3.40282346638529e+038

(blue star)

. Enables the Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

-1.798e+308 – 1.798e+308

STRING

Stores a string value composed of ASCII characters. For local tags, strings up to 22 characters long can be created. For remote tags, strings will use a contiguous data block on the target device.

tag.
Image Added
  • 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 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

String Tag

...

  • tag

...

Item

...

Description

...

Name

...

Enter the tag name.

...

Des.

...

Enter a description for the tag.

...

Previous

...

Moves to the previous tag’s ‘Edit Tag’ window.

...

Next

...

Moves to the next tag’s ‘Edit Tag’ window.

...

Ok

...

Registers the tag in the database.

...

Cancel

...

Cancels the tag registration and goes back to the database window.

(1) General (String Tag)

...

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 starting word addresses include “X00”, “M30” “D16”, etc. Note that real string tags will take up multiple words on the target device, depending on the length of the string. Only the starting address for the string needs to be specified; the other words in the string are implied by the starting address and the length of the string. Each ASCII character in the string uses 8 bits of data. For CIMON PLC’s, the standard unit of device memory is 16 bits or one “word”. Thus, every 2 characters in the string will require 1 word of device memory on the PLC. 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 maintained. Note: this feature is only available for virtual tags.

(2) Advanced (String Tag)

...

Item

Description

Length of String

Assign the maximum string length that can be written to the tag.
For virtual tags, you can choose a value between 1 and 22. For real tags, the maximum length is only limited by the device memory. Note: Be careful to avoid overlapping device addresses. For example, if one string tag “STR1” begins at address D0 on a CIMON PLC, and another string tag begins at address D7, then STR1 should be no longer than 14 characters (7 words * (16 bits/word) / (8 bits/character) = 14 characters). Otherwise, editing one string may affect the other.

Initial Value

Assign the initial value to be used at the project startup
  • .