To bring up the data bridge editor window, double-click ‘Data Bridge’ in the project workspace, select [Tools] – [Data Bridge] or press the 
icon. The data bridge editor window will appear as shown below.
(1) Add Data Bridge Model
Pressing the icon adds a new data bridge model. Specific settings vary depending on the model type.
Common Settings
Item | Description |
Model Name | Enter the model name in the text field. Duplicate names are not allowed. |
Model Type | Select the method for synchronizing device data. You can exchange data based on specific tags, contiguous memory blocks, or system memory. |
Tag-Based Model
Item | Description | |
Model Type (Tag Base) | Select ‘Tag base’ as the model type. Source and destination data will be exchanged based on Xpanel tags. This method is used when the number of data points is small, or when the order of addresses is different on different devices. You must add source and destination tags (or addresses) after configuring the model settings. | |
Sync. Properties | Select the frequency for synchronizing the data. | |
Always | Source and destination data are synchronized immediately when source data is changed. | |
Trigger | Source and destination data are synchronized when the selected tag has a non-zero value. You can choose an analog or digital tag/device address. | |
Periodically | Source and destination data are synchronized at a specified interval. You can assign an interval from 1 to 10,000,000 seconds. | |
| When using many tags with a data bridge function, data processing can take a few seconds. In comparison, within a single PLC, or for general device communication, data is processed in milliseconds. Avoid using the data bridge feature for values that need to be consistently updated more than once per second. |
Block-Based Model
Item | Description | |
Model Type (Block Base) | Select ‘Block base’ as the model type. Source and destination data will be exchanged based on contiguous blocks of memory. This method is used for transferring consecutive data addresses between destinations. | |
Sync. Properties | Select the frequency for synchronizing the data. | |
Trigger | Source and destination data are synchronized once each time the trigger tag takes on a non-zero value. You can choose an analog or digital tag/device address. | |
Periodically | Source and destination data are synchronized at a specified interval. You can assign an interval from 1 to 10,000,000 seconds. | |
Block Size | Enter the number of consecutive addresses (block size) for the block. This will take into consideration the data type of the starting block. For example, if the block starts with a DWORD (INT32, UINT32, Float, etc.), then the block size represents the number of DWORDs in the block. | |
Source Block Start Addr / Tag | Enter the starting tag or address (on the source device) of the data block to send to the destination. | |
Source Handshake Start Addr / Tag | This is used internally when Xpanel reads data from the source device. You must enter a digital address from the source device. Do not use an address that is already targeted by another program. | |
Destination Block Start Addr / Tag | Enter the starting tag or address (on the destination device) for receiving block data from the source. | |
Destination Handshake Start Addr / Tag | This is used internally when Xpanel reads data from the destination device. You must enter a digital address from the destination device. Do not use an address that is already targeted by another program. | |
Data Bridge for Uploading Device Data to System Memory
Item | Description | |
Model Type (Upload Data to Sys-mem) | Select ‘Upload data to Sys-mem’ as the model type. This model reads data from the source device to Xpanel’s system memory and synchronizes it. | |
Sync. Properties | Select the frequency for synchronizing the data. | |
Trigger | Source and destination data are synchronized once each time the trigger tag takes on a non-zero value. You can choose an analog or digital tag/device address. | |
Periodically | Source and destination data are synchronized at a specified interval. You can assign an interval from 1 to 10,000,000 seconds. | |
Block Size | Enter the number of consecutive addresses (block size) for the block. This will take into consideration the data type of the starting block. For example, if the block starts with a DWORD (INT32, UINT32, Float, etc.), then the block size represents the number of DWORDs in the block. | |
Source Block Start Addr / Tag | Enter the starting tag or address (on the source device) of the data block to send to the destination. | |
Source Handshake Start Addr / Tag | This is used internally when Xpanel reads data from the source device. You must enter a digital address from the source device. Do not use an address that is already targeted by another program. | |
Start Address of System Memory | Assign the starting address in system memory for receiving data. Source data is transferred to system memory beginning at the start address and ending at an offset location determined by the block size. | |
Data Bridge for Downloading Device Data from System Memory
Item | Description | |
Model Type (Download Data from Sys-mem) | Select ‘Download data from Sys-mem’ as the model type. This model writes system memory data to the destination device. | |
Sync. Properties | Select the frequency for synchronizing the data. | |
Trigger | Source and destination data are synchronized once each time the trigger tag takes on a non-zero value. You can choose an analog or digital tag/device address. | |
Periodically | Source and destination data are synchronized at a specified interval. You can assign an interval from 1 to 10,000,000 seconds. | |
Block Size | Enter the number of consecutive addresses (block size) for the block. This will take into consideration the data type of the starting block. For example, if the block starts with a DWORD (INT32, UINT32, Float, etc.), then the block size represents the number of DWORDs in the block. | |
Destination Block Start Addr / Tag | Enter the starting tag or address (on the destination device) for receiving block data from system memory. | |
Destination Handshake Start Addr / Tag | This is used internally when Xpanel reads data from the destination device. You must enter a digital address from the destination device. Do not use an address that is already targeted by another program. | |
Start Address of System Memory | Assign the starting address of system memory for transferring data. System memory data is transferred to the destination and ends at an offset location determined by the block size. | |
(2) Edit Data Bridge Model
Pressing the icon modifies the selected model. The model type cannot be changed.
(3) Delete Data Bridge Model
Pressing the icon deletes the selected model.
(4) Add Data Bridge Tag
When the model type is ‘Tag Base’, you must add individual source and destination tags (or addresses) for exchanging data. Pressing the icon adds these tags to the selected model.
Item | Description |
Original Addr / Tag | Enter the tag name or address (on the source device) to send data from. |
Target Addr / Tag | Enter the tag name or address (on the destination device) to transfer data to. |
(5) Edit Data Bridge Tag
Pressing the icon modifies the selected original and target tags (or addresses) from the selected (tag-based) model.
(6) Delete Data Bridge Tag
Pressing the icon deletes the selected original and target tags (or addresses) from the selected (tag-based) model.