Object Configurator Workspace

In the Main expander, you can:

• Edit the description of object names
• Define an alias name
• Define a service text
• Assign a new Function
• Temporarily take the object out of scan
• Edit object assignment to electrical and mechanical installation
• Define individual data points for critical environment
• Define override protection
• Define tags

Valid

While you change inheritance properties, you cannot disable an inheritance. As a result, the state changes from to or when editing. This display for the inheritance function is used for the Main, Properties, Details, and Alarm Configuration expander.

Alias (User Designation)

As an alternative to describing the data point name, you can enter a freely definable text as user designation. In System Manager, you can search for aliases (filter search), and the alias displays in the Textual Viewer and in the tooltips. It can display in Event List, notification messages, Journaling templates, Trend legends and so on.

The information is taken over in the Alias names during a SiB-X data import if the user designation was previously created using the engineering tool.

Any changes to the Alias names in Desigo CC are lost when reimporting SiB-X data.

Discipline, Subdiscipline, Type, Subtype

Use predefined information to define where the corresponding Function is used.

Entries for Discipline, Subdiscipline, Type and Subtype have a direct influence on alarm forwarding, Scopes, and search criteria in Desigo CC.

Out of Scan

You can temporarily take a data point out of service using the Out of scan function. This makes sense when you need to service a sensor or sensor group. No alarm is triggered as long as the function is selected.

Override Protection

The system protects manual customizations of the main object attributes from being overridden by subsequent bulk updates such as import and discovery procedures. In fact, after any manual modification in the Main expander of the Object Configurator tab, the Override Protection check box gets automatically selected. At that point, if you want the import and discovery procedures to update the main attributes of that object again, you need to deselect the Override Protection check box. The list of main object attributes includes: Description, Function, Alias, Discipline, Subdiscipline, Type, and Subtype.

Validation Profile

Certain critical environments (for example, pharmaceutical installations) require a high level of security. Any changes made by the user must be logged for tracking purposes.

In the Properties expander, you can enable the properties for the log database, and for the history database.

The Properties expander allows you to set a property. It also allows you to assign the data points to the Archive Group and Filter Group.

A grayed-out check box for a property cannot be selected. The FS and MS columns only display if an alarm is defined for this property.

Value Log (VL)

When selected, a change in status for the data point property is entered in the Value Log database.

History logs must not be released for all properties. Otherwise, depending on the project size, it can result in a large amount of data released to the database.
The precision for a 64-bit value is supported till first 15 digits (approximately 2^49) as it is stored as a float.

Activity Log for Events (AL)

When selected, a change in status for the data point property is entered in the Activity Log database.

Alarm Configuration Field System (FS)

When selected, it displays whether an alarm configuration is defined in the field system. The check box is read-only.

Alarm Configuration Management Station (MS)

When selected, it displays whether a management station is defined in the Alarm expander. The check box is read-only.

Archive Group

Select an Archive Group from the available Custom Archive Groups.

Filter Group

Select a Filter Group from the available Filter Groups.

In the Details expander, you can:

• Edit the Data Point Type
• Edit the property descriptive text
• Edit attribute properties
• Assign scaled units

Value Attributes Group Box

The selected data point type determines the entry fields available for this type. See the following:

• Boolean

• 

• Real

• 

• Date Time

• 

• BitString

• 

• Enumeration

• 

• UInteger

• 

• Application Specific

The following tables describe possible items available depending on the selected data point type.

Text groups can be edited or added in the Management View under System Settings > Libraries > [discipline] > [system name] > Texts.

Double-clicking the Unit text group field and clicking the Texts Group Editor tab displays the corresponding text group.

In Object Configurator, the Alarm Configuration expander lets you create and configure alarms for the property currently selected in the Properties expander. Specifically, you can:

• Edit a field system alarm
• Create, edit, or delete a management platform alarm

For related procedures, see Creating Alarms.

Alarm Configuration Expander
	Name	Description
1	None	Defines no alarm functionality for this data point property.
2	Valid	Displays, based on the color code, the source used for inheriting the information (see Presetting Behavior).
3	Field system	Defines the alarm configuration for the field system.
4	Management Station	Defines the alarm functionality on the management station.
5	Alarm kind	Discrete: When the alarm value is located within a defined range (for example, between 100 and 200) or a set of predefined values (for example, 10, 20, 30). Continuous: When the entire value range is monitored for limits (for example = 50, = 75, or >= 199).
6	Alarm flags	None: All alarms are reported and logged. This is the standard behavior for integrated subsystems No alarm on driver invalid: No alarm is generated for objects when there is no connection to the integrated subsystem. This applies also to system startup where alarms are not created before a connection to a subsystem can be established. In case a connection to a subsystem is lost, existing alarms from the subsystem are set back to normal. Depending on the chosen acknowledgment model such alarms are closed immediately. No alarm on source time invalid: No alarm is triggered when a source time stamp is invalid (01.01.1970). NOTE: Desigo CC databases are set to 01.01.1970 by default before any other value is written to them.
7	New	Opens an input mask for defining the alarm condition in a row. Multiple alarm conditions can be defined.
8	Delete	Deletes the highlighted alarm condition.
9	Clear	Deletes all alarm conditions from the alarm table, (except the entries for Normal and Alarm).

Entry Mask for Management Platform Alarm

	Name	Description
1	Alarm Class	Defines the alarm class to be enabled for an event.
2	Operand	Defines the condition (operand) for reporting the event.
3	Value Range	Defines the value at which an event is reported.
4	Event Text	Displays the alarm text for incoming event.
5	Normal Text	Displays the alarm text for outgoing event.
6	Alarm config. activated	When the check box is selected, the alarm is set to active.

 

Supported Operands
Operand	Meaning	Example
| |	Or
!| |	Nor
..	In the range of two values
!..	Not in the range of two values
>	Greater than
<	Less than
>=	Greater than or equal to
<=	Less than or equal to

Fault indication

• The first value must be less than the second value. A valid value must be less than or equal to 30.

• 

• The value sequence is not ascending. A valid value must be less than 50.

Smoothing is used to reduce the data traffic between a device driver and the process image that is retained in the system. It is mainly used to optimize systems where data is acquired via polling, for example, Modbus integrations. Not all smoothing algorithms are available for all data types.

Value-dependent

Absolute: If the original value changes more than the set absolute value (unit), the value is not smoothed and is set as original value.

Example

For a temperature sensor, the last logged value was 20.5 degrees Celsius. If you set an absolute deadband of 0.5 degrees, a value will be logged if the reading is 21.1 C or 19.9 C.

Relative: If the original value changes more than the set relative value (%), the value is not smoothed and is set as original value.

Example

If you set a relative deadband of 2%, a value will be logged if the reading is 20.92 C or 20.08 C.

Time-dependent

Messages during a variable period after the last message are discarded.

Example

A temperature sensor reads every 500ms. In order to reduce data volume you only want two readings per minute to be logged. You enter an interval of 20 seconds.

Value AND time-dependent smoothing

Values within the set tolerance time AND within the set tolerance range are smoothed. After the time has elapsed or when the set value (limit) is exceeded within the tolerance time, the value is not smoothed and the value is saved as an original value.

Example

Readings are only logged either in intervals (for example, every 20 seconds) or when the value is outside the deadband 0.5 K.

Value OR time-dependent smoothing

Values within the set tolerance time OR within the set tolerance range after the set time has elapsed are smoothed. After the time has elapsed and when the set value (limit) is exceeded, the value is not smoothed and the value is saved as an original value.

Example

Readings are only logged in intervals (for example, every 20 seconds) and only when the value is outside the deadband of 0.5 K.

Old/new comparison

Messages are created only if the value itself changes. If only the status (quality and time stamp) of a value is changed, the value is not archived.

Example

This smoothing type should be used for digital values, such as a light switch. A reading (such as OFF) is only logged when it is different from the last logged value (such as, ON).

Old/new AND time-dependent

All variable values that occur within a tolerance time and remain unchanged, are suppressed.

This means that after a value change, unchanged values are not sent to the system during the given tolerance time. If the value changes, the new value is sent to the system. The old/new comparison is restricted to the tolerance time of the time dependent smoothing. After the end of the tolerance time range a new value is sent in any case, even if the value or the status is identical to the former value.

Example

This smoothing type should be used for digital values, such as a light switch. Values are only logged in intervals (for example, every 20 seconds) as well as when a reading (such as OFF) is different from the last logged value (such as, ON).

Old/new OR time-dependent

Value or status changes are suppressed within the tolerance time (due to the time dependency). After the end of the tolerance time, only the old/new comparison is valid. The later value changes are only sent if the original value changes (because of the old/new comparison). Thus, either the time dependent smoothing OR the old/new comparison is valid.

Example

This smoothing type should be used for digital values, such as a light switch. Values are only logged in intervals (for example, every 20 seconds) as well as when a reading (such as OFF) is different from the last logged value (such as, ON).

Value smoothing is not recommended for BACnet integrations because the BACnet driver has an integrated smoothing function.