Item

Icon

Description

New Tag

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

There are two methods to create a new tag group:

1. Click the icon in the Tag Editor pane.

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

Edit Tag

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 and click Edit Tag on the submenu.

Rename

N/A

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

Cut

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

1. Right-click the tag list and click Cut on the submenu.

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

Copy

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 list and click Copy on the submenu.

3. 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

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].

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].

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.

Item

Description

Tag Name

Input 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.

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. 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

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.

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 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)

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.

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.

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 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 – 4294967295

ULINT(UINT64)

Unsigned (non-negative) 64-bit integer. Enables the Clamp Mode, Deadband Type, and Scale Mode advanced options.

0 – 18446744073709551615

REAL(FLOAT)

32-bit floating-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. 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.

• 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 tag.