Tags, Assets, and Templates

FactoryStudio provides 13 built-in tag types, most of which are based directly on .NET datatypes. The 13 built-in tag types are summarized in the following table. 

Decimal

The Decimal type allows calculation with higher precision than the Double type. However, math operations using Decimal can be 40 times slower than using Double. So the Decimal type should only be used when Double precision is not enough.

Timer

Timer is a built-in integer type that can be used to generate precise timing signals. Timers have the following varieties: 

• SquareWave:  The value toggles between 0 and 1.
• Pulse: The tag changes to 0. Then immediately changes to 1. 
• DelayOff: The tag behaves as a PLC Timer Off. If you set the tag with a value other than the StartValue during runtime, the tag will hold that value for the period specified in the Interval. The tag goes back to its StartValue after the period of time (Interval). 

• Comparer: The tag is set to 1 after the specified comparer Interval, and then goes back to zero at midnight. 

For SquareWave, Pulse, and Comparer, the tag toggles between 0 and the StartValue (instead of 0 and 1) if you set the tag StartValue.

Reference

Reference tags allow dynamic addressing of variables. 

The way you use Reference tags in FactoryStudio is closer to how you use references in .NET programming than it is to the old C++ pointers. Reference tags are similar to .NET references because they both have a type. When you create a reference tag, you need to define the type of object the reference will point to. Unlike C++ pointers, a Reference tag cannot be defined to point to invalid memory areas that would cause errors in the application.

The target type for the Reference types is defined in the Parameters columns.

Typed references bring advantages in both the engineering stage and in runtime. In the engineering stage, it allows IntelliSense to directly browse the template members if a reference is pointing to a template. In runtime, it allows string data validation. 

All Reference tags have an additional runtime attribute. This is the link, and it specifies which tag that the reference will be linked to during execution.

Essentially, the link property is a string property that needs to receive the target tag name before using the reference tag. You can assign a string directly or by using a string expression. The best way to set the link property is to use the method GetName(), which will create the string based on the current tag name. This way, you can rename the tag without having to search the strings. This also shows the tag names linked on the cross-reference utility. 

An example project (ReferenceTags) ships with FactoryStudio.

The reason for using the GetName() method, instead of using strings directly, is that with GetName() you retain the benefits of Cross-Reference and Refactoring. 

Templates let you create new tag types based on existing built-in types.

To create a tag template:

• Go to Edit > Tags > Templates.
• Click New.
• The "Create New Tag Template" dialog shows.
• In the "New Type Name" field, enter a name for the tag type. In the Description, enter a description of the tag. Click OK. The Templates tab displays with the name of the new template at the top of the tab.
• Click the insertion row to create a new attribute for this tag template.

• Enter or select information, as needed. The properties are the same ones for Tags. See Creating and Editing Tags above.

• To delete a template, select it from the User Custom Type drop-down list, then click Del.
• On the Objects tab, you can now use this new template in the Type column.

Assets

Assets let you configure additional metadata for your project when you have the Enterprise version of FactoryStudio. For example, you can organize the objects in your project into a hierarchy. This lets you group tags that are related to each other. The hierarchy may reflect such things as the area of your manufacturing floor or the location of your machinery.

To create assets:

• Go to Edit > Tags > Assets.
• Right-click "Elements" and select New Level.
• Enter a name for the level.
• Right-click the new level and select Insert Asset.
• The Select Object window displays, with all the objects organized by type on the left side.
• Select the object type on the left side and the object you want on the right side.
• Click OK.
• The object becomes a child of the selected level.
• Continue adding child or sibling levels and inserting assets, as needed.
• Right-click to rename or delete a level, or right-click an asset to delete it.
• In the Objects tab, select the new level in the Level column.

Categories

If you have the Enterprise version of FactoryStudio, you can create user-defined categories of data that you can use as tag metadata. Categories are useful for filtering, both when creating the project and during runtime.

To create categories:

• Go to Run > Dictionaries > Categories.
• Enter or edit the name and description of the category.
• Continue adding as many categories as you need.
• On the Tag > Objects tab, select the new category in the Category column. Other project elements can use categories for project organization.

All project tags are available in the runtime modules as .NET objects for the Tag Namespace. 

All of the built-in tag types share a common set of properties and methods which are defined in the base class TagObj. The tags created from user defined templates are implemented by the base class UserType. 

See Namespaces for the complete programming reference on runtime objects.