Data View

The Data View panel allows monitoring and manipulation of Tag values in the CPU. Tags created within your project will be shown. Multiple Data View tables (Tabs) can be created within a Data View window.

Note:  You must be Online to monitor and edit values.

Note:  Data view monitored values are updated at a 250 msec. rate.

Accessing Data View

There are three methods for accessing Data View.

Method 1

Select the Data View menu item from the Tools Menu dropdown of the Main Menu as shown here.

Method 2

Select Data View from the Monitor & Debug topics of the Application Tools panel as shown below.

Method 3

Select the Data View icon from the Monitor Toolbar.

Once selected, a Data View window will open with the options shown below.

This section will discuss how to use Data View to view and edit tags. See the Graphing section below for information on the graphing functions available in this window.

Using Data View

Each Data View window provides the following:

1. Add Data View: Selecting this button will add another Data View Table.

2. Send Edits: This button will download edits made in the Edit column to the CPU. Send Edits is only active when connected to a CPU.
3. Select All: This button will highlight all tags in the table.
4. Clear Edits: This button will remove all edits made to the Edit column of the table.
5. Clear All Forces: This button will remove all current edits made to the Forces column of the table.
6. Delete Rows: This button will remove highlighted tags from the table.
7. Tagname:  This column provides the Tag Name selections. Click in the Tagname field to open a drop-down menu and select a tag. Click below a tag to add another tag.
8. Modbus Address:  If applicable, this column provides the Modbus Address of the tag.
9. Value: This column provides the current Value of the tag. Data in the Value column is not updated real time with the CPU scan,  but about once per second.
10. Edit: To Edit the value of a tag, change the value in the Edit column and press Send Edits (Item b). The Edit value is sent just once and may be immediately overwritten by ladder logic. Only the value for the highlighted tag(s) is sent.  To select several edits to send simultaneously, hold CTRL and select multiple tags.
11. Force:  Selecting Force causes the tag to maintain the value sent. Ladder logic cannot overwrite a Force value.  Force is available only if a tag’s Forceable attribute is set in the Tag Database, and settings in the Tag Database only take effect after downloading the project to the CPU.

Note: The Productivity CPU supports up to 64 Forceable Tags per project. Exceeding this number will cause an "There cannot be more than 64 Forceable Tags" Error.

12. Tag Data Type: This column provides the Data Type of the tag. The Data Type is further defined in the Data Types topic.
13. View As:  This column allows an Integer data tag to be viewed in another format such as Decimal, Hex, Binary or Sign Magnitude by selecting the data type from a drop-down menu.
14. Comment: This column provides the Comment assigned to the tag in the Tag Database.

There are three different types of views available in Data View for monitoring tag values. Each view can be toggled on or off independently. Tag View is the default. Each view that is toggled on is added to the left (if Splitpane Layout - Horizontal is selected) or to the bottom (if Splitpane Layout - Vertical is selected).

15. Toggle Tag View: turns ON or OFF the Tag View pane in Data View.
16. Toggle Graph View: turns ON or OFF the Graph View pane in Data View.
17. Toggle IO View: turns ON or OFF the IO View pane in Date View.

Various configuration options for Data View can be accessed by going to the Options tab of the Tools Menu (Tools > Options > Data View). You can also get to the options by right clicking in the Data View window and selecting Data View option or by selecting the Dataview Options icon in the toolbar.”

Integer tags can be viewed as Bit Of Word through Data View with the following steps:

1. Enter the integer tag you wish to view in the Data View Tagname field.

   

2. Select the Integer tag you wish to view as Bit Of Word.
   

3. Right click on the tag and select Show Bit Of Word Details.
   

4. The tag will now show a "+" sign beside it. Left-clicking the "+" sign expands the Integer into Bit Of Word.
   

   

5. The state of the bits of the integer can now be viewed.

   

6. Bit Of Word can be turned off by right-clicking on the tag again and selecting Hide Bit Of Word Details.

   

Adding Tags

As mentioned above, tags can be added to the Data View window by clicking in the Tagname column and selecting a database tag from the list.

Note: The Bit of Word addressing format (Old_Version:1) is not allowed in the Data View window. To view bit level data, select the entire word and change the View As column to Binary.

Note: If you require Multiple tag inputs arranged in a table, once a desired tag is chosen for the first input field, leave the cursor in that field and select Ctrl+Enter.The remaining input fields will be populated with tags from the database in the order they appear after the initial tag.

Option 1:

Tags can also be added from within each ladder instruction. A Monitor button is provided within each instruction (as seen below) which will add all tags associated with that instruction to the Data View window when selected.

Option 2:

Adding tags from within the Ladder Editor can be done by right clicking the desired element, rung or rungs and selecting Monitor in Data View from the drop down menu.

After selecting to add tags from the instruction or Ladder Editor, a pop up will appear with two selections available for adding tags to Data View:

1. Create a new tab - This option will create a new tab in Data View that will contain the selected tag(s), enter a name for the new tab or leave the default.

    

2. Append to Existing Tab - This option allows the selected tag(s) to be added to an already existing tab in the Data View window.

These tags will be placed under a new Tab in the Data View that is named after the Task and Rung Location.

Option 3:

Another option is to highlight a ladder instruction(s) or entire rung(s) and drag them directly into DataVeiw adding all tags selected.

Options for Added Tags

There are several options available from the Data View window once a tag(s) are added. To see the options available, right click on a tag(s).

1. Copy: The Copy selection is used to place a Copy of a selected tag(s) in the Clipboard. The Clipboard saves the Copy in memory so it is available for the Paste function. The Copy stays in the Clipboard until a new Copy is made of other tag(s) or until you Exit the program.
2. Cut: The Cut selection is used to remove a selected object from the Data View. When an object is selected and Cut, the object is removed from the project and a Copy of this object is saved in the Clipboard. The Clipboard saves the Copy in memory so it is available when the Paste function is selected. The Copy stays in the Clipboard until a new Copy or Cut is made of another object or until you Exit the program.
3. Paste: The Paste selection is used to Paste or Place a Copied or Cut item from the Clipboard into the a Data View window. When the Paste function is selected, a tag(s) is placed on the work area at the selected location.
4. Delete: The Delete option allows permanent removal of selected tag(s) from a Data View window.
5. Insert Rows: The Insert option allows a user to insert rows (default 1) either before or after a selected row in a Data View window.

6. Graph Tags: Allows a user to insert a tag(s) into the graphing view window.
7. Data View Options: Takes user to Data View tab in Options menu to allow a user to change various table Options.
8. Expand All:This option Expands all array tags that are assigned to that specific Data View tab.
9. Collapse All: This option collapses any already expanded array tags for that specific Data View tab.

Monitoring Array and Structure Tags

When selecting an Array or Structure Tag to monitor, the Data View window allows the user to expand or collapse the associated array elements. The user can display an entire array at once by clicking the "+" sign next to the array, as seen below:

Select the array tag.

Select the "+" sign to view all of the array elements.

Using Indirect Addressing

Data View allows the use of Indirect Addressing when monitoring tag values. As seen in the example below, the index tag is the pointer or the tag that contains the element number desired and 1D Array Int 16 is the actual array. By placing index between the parenthesis in the array tag name (1D Array Int 16(index)), the array element is indirectly selected using the value of index. So if index = 1 (as seen in example), the element selected is 1D Array Int 16(1). If index = 2, the element selected is 1D Array Int 16(2). Any edits made to the array element must be done to the element tag (1D Array Int 16(1)) and not the indirectly addressed array tag. The element column for the 1D Array Int 16(index) tag is grayed out to prevent edits.

Graphing

Graphical representations of the tags in Data View are available if desired. Click on the Toggle Graph View button to display the graphing functions. By default the Data View window is configured with a Horizontal Splitpane Layout. For the following example, a Vertical Splitpane Layout was selected.

15. Graph Tag(s): Highlight a tag(s) in the Data View window and select Graph Tag(s) to place these tags into the Graph window.

    

16. Export Data: This icon will export all currently graphed tags for up to 5 minutes worth of data points to a .csv file.
17. Resume Graphing: If graphing is paused, the Resume icon will resume graphing of the currently graphed tags.
18. Pause Graphing: This selection will pause the currently graphed tags for up to 10 minutes. You can view the percentage of storage on the bar graph located on the right hand side of the toolbar.

Note: The time displayed indicates the current data being viewed on the graph.

19. Fast Forward: Selecting this icon will Fast Forward the graph at 5 times the current rate.
20. Skip to Current: This option causes the graph to jump to the current time and clears the buffer of all data.
21. Options:
    • Autoscale: Chart will Autoscale to the Max and Min chart values.

     

• Booleans Only: Select this option to show only the currently graphed Boolean tags.

• Offset Booleans: This option will offset each boolean tag graphed by the Boolean Offset Multiplier set up in the Data ViewOptions.

• Line Fill: Enables fill between the trend line and the number line.


• Line Smoothing: Draws a smooth curve between two points.

  

• Tool Tip: The Tool Tip allows a user to place the mouse cursor on a specific data point, then hover the cursor over that data point to read the actual graphed value and tag name as seen below.

22. Slider Bar and Collapse Arrows: The chart Slider Bar allows the Data View and Graph windows to be resized as needed. The Collapse Arrows are also available and can be used to collapse either the Data View or the Graph window.

Slider Bar: Collapse Arrows:

23. Clear Graph: Selecting this option will clear the current graph data and start a new graph.
24. Reset to Defaults: The following graph settings will be reset to their default values:

• Options (with Autoscale selected only).
• Graph Zoom Level.
• Disabled tags are re-enabled.

Graph Options

Allows user to enable the graphing function of Data View with the following options:

Note: The Graph Options window is only available by right clicking inside the graph area.

a. Print Graph: Allows user to Print currently displayed graphed tags.
b. Save Graph: Allows user to Save currently displayed graphed tags as a
.png file.

Note: This file is automatically stored in "Documents" folder.

c. Copy Graph: Allows a user to Copy currently graphed tags to the clipboard
to be pasted into other applications.

Color Options:

• Graph Background: This option will modify the background color of the graph.
• Graph Grid: This option allows the user to change the color of the graph grid.
• Graph Labels: Allows the adjustment of the Graph Label color displayed in the graphing window.

Graph Options:

• Graph History: Displays a time history of graphed tags.
  • User selectable from 15 secs - 5 minutes.
• Boolean Offset Multiplier offsets each Boolean tag by a selectable amount for easier viewing of multiple tags.
  • Selectable offsets: 10, 50, 100, 1000 or 5000.

I/O View in Data View

I/O View is a quick and easy way to monitor all hardware points installed in a system. A user can also force on or off any discrete or analog point using I/O View.

Note: A tag(s) must be set as Forceable in the Tag Database and downloaded to the CPU before any point can be forced.

Note: You must first select a point by holding Ctrl + Left Mouse Click. Then the point will be highlighted gray to begin forcing.

Discrete I/O

Legend
	Discrete Input		Discrete Output
	Point Selected as Forceable		Point Forced OFF
	Point Selected		Point Forced On

Analog I/O

UDI (User Defined Instruction) view management panel is where users can add, delete, and view elements of a UDI instance.

 

Note: Users must be online with the CPU to expand and view elements of a UDI instance.

Entering the UDI instance name or selecting it from the dropdown will display the instance along with its associated elements.

Note: Making edits will cause the UDI view to become out of sync with the project, resulting in a red status indicator. This condition can only be resolved by performing a project transfer.

Right-Click Options

1. Expand all bases:Expands all bases within I/O view.
2. Collapse all bases:Collapses all bases within I/O.

If you click on a cell of I/O and then hover over a point, the details associated with that point are displayed.

Additional Features

Show List: The Show List Icon is available when Data View tabs become too numerous to display all at once. When selected, a drop down menu will appear allowing the user to select one of the tabs that are off screen.

Table Editor: Allows the user to change the table display. Drag any field header to the left or right to change the display order.

Or right click on a field header to see the pop-up menu shown below. This menu allows adding, removing and resizing.

Selecting More... will display the Choose Columns to Display window shown here:

Both the right click menu and the Choose Columns to Display window allow the user to select which columns are visible in the table. The Choose Columns to Display window can be relocated on the screen for easier viewing.

Sorting Columns: Once you have entered your tags into the Data View window, you can sort the tags in each column by left-clicking on the desired column's header as seen below.

By left-clicking a third time the table will change back to the order you entered in the original table.

 

There are also Tag display options available by right clicking the tag in the Graph window. The following options are provided:

• Enable/Disable - Enables or disables graphing of tag data. Tagname will be grayed out in Tags list.



• Change Color...- Allows user to change the color of an individual tag graph.



• Remove: Removes the selected tag from the graph.

Zoom: Used to Zoom the graphing window.

To zoom the graphing window:

1. Pause the graph.
2. Left click and drag on the area of the graph you would like to zoom up to four levels.

To zoom out the graphing window:

1. Right click once to zoom out for each level of zoom.
   
2. Or Select Reset to Defaults, Resume, Fast Forward or Skip to Current.

Forcing Tags

This Help File includes a topic that discusses the use of Force Tags. To open this topic and learn more about Forcing Tags, click on the green text.

Force Indicator

The Force Indicator is a small lock with a red arrow that is displayed on the Data View window to indicate that the Value of that specific Tag is currently being Forced. The graphic shown below provides an example of a Data View window with Force Indicators being displayed.

Tags can be Forced by clicking the appropriate check box under the Force column. When Forcing Tags through the Data View window, the Forces will NOT be active until the Send Edits button is selected. Once the Send Edit button is selected, the Force Indicators will display the newly added Forces.

From the graphic above we see the following:

1. The Tag Name (fan.sp) is Forced and the Force Indicator shows that a Value of 157 is being Forced. Also, The Tag Name (fan.start) is Forced and the Force Indicator shows that the Fan is Forced and should be running.
2. The Tag Name (fan.reset) is Forced however, since the Force Indicator is NOT displaying it shows that this Tag has not been Forced yet. This is because the Force checkbox has been selected but the Send Edits button has not been clicked yet. Once the Send Edits button is clicked the Force Indicator will display showing the Tag is being Forced.
3. The Tag Name (fan.out.perc) is Forced and the Force Indicator shows that a Value of 12.0 is being Forced. However, the Force checkbox shows that this Tag is not being Forced. This is because this Tag had been previously Forced and this is why the Force Indicator is displayed. This graphic shows that the Force checkbox was unchecked after the Tag had been Forced but the Send Edits button has not been clicked yet. Once the Send Edits button is clicked, the Force Indicator will turn OFF indicating the Tag is no longer Forced.