CONFIGURING TREND CHARTS - CURRENT DATA
Now, since this lab is about trending, we’ll take advantage of those simulated data points and define trend charts to observe them!
Go to the CIMPLICITY Workbench and click on the New Screen icon in the toolbar. This will launch CimEdit. When the CimEdit screen opens choose the “OLE” button.
This tool will let you insert an ActiveX or OLE object. CIMPLICITY HMI makes extensive use of OLE and ActiveX technology – a key to integrating your application with other software tools such as typical graphic, spreadsheet or database tools.
Move the cursor into the screen area and click the left mouse button. This will position the object. Don’t worry - you can move it or resize it later!
From the list you can see a variety of OLE objects already defined on your computer. From the menu choose “CIMPLICITY Trend Control” and click on OK. The flexibility and power of this feature is tremendous!
Now, move your cursor into the object and click once. The object is now selected. Remember, you can re-size it. Let’s do that now!
Move to the lower left or lower right corner and grab the small black box with your mouse cursor. Drag the size of the trend chart to fill the screen. Make it big! You can also make trend charts small enough to fit several on the same screen! But for now, let’s stick to a single large chart.
Here's what a single large trend chart looks like before we start adding important details like the data to be trended! Your screen should look like this so far:
Double-click within the trend chart. The Trend Control Properties Box will open.
Cick on the “New” icon
Click on “>” to the right of the Expression field and select “Browse Point ID.” Double-click on the DEMO_SAWTOOTH point. It is now added as a point in your chart. Repeat these steps and choose two more points - DEMO_COSINE and DEMO_SINE.
Your list of lines and points should look like this now.
Notice the Line type is “Expression.” This will report the value of the point from the Point Management process. In other words, this gives us the real-time value of the DEMO_SAWTOOTH, DEMO_COSINE, and DEMO_SINE points.
When you are done adding points, click on OK. Notice that your selected points now appear in the Legend on the bottom of the chart.
Your chart should now look like this:
While we are here, let's also change the background color of the chart from silver to white. Double-click on the trend chart again and go to the Chart tab on the Properties sheet.
Using the Chart color field, you can select one of the standard palette colors or make a custom color. You can also set the chart color to a special color - one that is used by the Windows color scheme. Make sure you pay attention to your color choices. Colors that look great on a screen may not look so good if you intend to print and copy the screens for others. Click OK once you have selected your chart colors.
Before we test the chart, we need to get the DEMO points started. Remember, select the DEMO_POINTS_START_STOP point in the Workbench, right click and choose Point Control Panel. Then double-click on the point to bring up a dialog box that will allow you to change the value from a 0 to a 1.
Now we will test your chart by clicking on the “Test Screen” icon (the light bulb).
Now, move your mouse to the black line (Slider) on the left side of the chart. Click and hold this line with your mouse and move it over towards the right side of the chart. Notice that this “slider" will show point values in the Legend for the lines you have intersected. Here’s what your chart might look like now.
Now double-click within the chart. This allows us to get at the properties of the running chart. Choose the “Chart” tab. Go ahead and change the Background Color to Silver. If you click on the “Apply” button your changes will immediately take effect! This is great!! What this means is that even after your screens are built and installed in your application, you can still modify the appearance of the data! Click on OK to close the Properties box.
Another great feature of the trends chart is the ability to zoom!
Take your mouse pointer to the upper right of the chart. Click, hold and drag your mouse pointer down and to the left. Notice that a black area is outlined. Release the mouse and the chart is redrawn based on the area you “zoomed in.”
You can repeat this process several times to zoom right into your data and see exactly what's happening!
To “Zoom Out,” click on the trend chart with the right mouse button and select “Unzoom.”
Double-click within the chart again and choose the “Lines” tab. Add some new lines or change the ones you previously chose. Notice that you can make these changes in “Runtime.”
Now close the test screen. Notice that your “Runtime” changes are not saved. All your hard work in defining the original screens is protected. The next user will see the screen as you originally intended but can still make some changes that might let them better view the data.
Now save the screen by choosing File and Save. Save the file as “CurrentTrend.” It is important to use this name since we’ll look for it again later!
If you still have a few minutes, experiment with the various settings for the trend chart. Change line colors, add or delete lines and other parameters. See what you can do!
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