Item

Description

Add Tag

Adds a tag.

Add Tag Group

Adds a tag group.

Edit Tag

Edits the selected tag

Copy Tag

Saves the selected tag’s content in the clipboard.

Paste Tag

Pastes the tag’s content in a Tag Editor pane, Spreadsheet, or Notepad.

Delete Tag

Deletes the selected tag.

Tag Count

Opens a pop-up window that displays the number of created tags for each type or device.

Expand All

Shows all dropdown content within the Tag Editor pane.

Collapse All

Hides all dropdown content within the Tag Editor pane.

Data Type

Description

Range

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.

0 – 1

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

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

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.

Remote Tag

Write and read their value to and from external devices. When the value of a remote tag changes, it is immediately written to the associated device (via the chosen connection method - some methods may be faster than others).

Virtual Tag

Allow access to the Xpanel’s gateway, allowing various features (i.e., alarming, data logging, etc.). Other devices can access shared tags using the Data Server feature over a common protocol.

Virtual (Runtime Only) Tag

They are used internally within Xpanel. They simulate devices and processes, process input data, and store data describing the application state. Each tag has a specific sub-type: BOOL, REAL, LREAL, SINT, INT, DINT, LINT, USINT, UINT, UDINT, ULINT, or STRING.

Item

Description

Tag Name

Assigns a name to the user’s tag.

Path

Displays the group path of the tag.

Data Type

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

Users can also select Virtual or Virtual (Runtime Only) for those respective tag types.

I/O Address

For remote tags, 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. For Virtual or Virtual (Runtime Only), enter the system tag values for specific functions.

Bit Access

Enables or disables the use of Bit Number. This is unavailable for data types BOOL, REAL, LREAL, or STRING.

Bit Number

Assigns the value of the bit number to target in the given I/O Address.

Initial Value

Assigns the value of the tag to be set on project startup.

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 communication status of the tag.

Item

Description

Encoding

Selecting the BCD option from the dropdown 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 like 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 dropdown 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 dropdown 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 dropdown 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 dropdown 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 dropdown 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 dropdown 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 within a specified range of the last recorded tag value.

Absolute

To use this feature, select Absolute from the Deadband dropdown 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 tag's current value 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 dropdown 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 dropdown 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 dropdown 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 dropdown 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 dropdown 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

Use Device Encoding

When this option is false, the Device Encoding is overridden with the selected String Encoding option.

String Encoding

Specifies the encoding method for reading and writing string values stored on the device. The available encoding methods are ASCII, ISO-8859-1, Latin1, Windows-1252, Windows-949, CP949, Shift_JIS, GBK, and UTF-8.

Use Device Encoding Method

When this option is false, the Device Encoding Method is overridden with the selected String Encoding Method option.

String Encoding Method

When an invalid character is encountered, the gateway will do one of the following:

• Replace the character with "?".

• Skip the character and continue with the next one.

• Stop the string and truncate any remaining characters.

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.

Type

Value

Description

Normal

N/A

Treats the tag the same as a remote tag.

System

CPU Architecture

Returns processor’s instruction set type.

Operating System

Returns the name of the system software.

OS Kernal Type

Returns the name of the system kernel.

OS Kernal Version

Returns the version of the system kernel.

Device Host Name

Returns the name of the device.

System Username

Returns the name of the current user.

Datetime String

Returns the system date and time in format YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss

Unix Timestamp

Returns the seconds since January 1st, 1970.

System Uptime (ms)

Returns the system uptime in seconds.

Current Language

Returns the BCP 47 code for system language.

Data Log

Enable Status

Returns the currently logged-in user’s ID.

I/O Device

Connection Status

Starts the selected Data Log.

Type

Value

Description

Normal

N/A

Treats the tag the same as a remote tag.

System

CPU Architecture

Returns processor’s instruction set type.

Operating System

Returns the name of the system software.

OS Kernal Type

Returns the name of the system kernel.

OS Kernal Version

Returns the version of the system kernel.

Device Host Name

Returns the name of the device.

System Username

Returns the name of the current user.

Datetime String

Returns the system date and time in the format YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss

Unix Timestamp

Returns the seconds since January 1st, 1970.

System Uptime (ms)

Returns the system uptime in seconds.

Current Language

Returns the BCP 47 code for system language.

Screen

Width (Pixels)

Returns the current screen size width in pixels.

Height (Pixels)

Returns the current screen size height in pixels.

Resolution (WxH)

Returns the current screen size in the format WidthxHeight.

Page

Current Page Name

Returns the project’s current page name.

Current Page Number

Returns the project’s current page number.

Security

Current Username

Returns the currently logged-in user’s ID.

Data Log

Enable Status

Starts the selected Data Log.

I/O Device

Connection Status

Returns 0 if communication with the selected I/O device is functioning or a 1 if not.