Overview
Categories allow to add custom labels and metadata information to the configuration objects in your solution.
This enriched set of information is useful during the configuration of large solutions, allowing to Group and Sort elements during the Design phase. It can also be used when the application is running, to run automated scripts, filter or present advanced User Interfaces, verifying the categories attributed to Tags, PLC's Nodes, or other configuration elements.
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Understanding Categories
Categories are powerful organizational features that function as metadata labels for data items and application objects. They organize solutions by grouping related items, facilitating efficient data management, especially in large systems.
Using categories, is a two-step process. First, in this user interface, you create the category items. A Category Item is a label, or can understand it as a parameters, key, or simply a category name.
For instance, in an energy grid management solution, you could have categories such as "Generation", "Transmission", and "Distribution". In a factory you can have categories like Sensor, Output, Conveyor, Robots.
Once you have your category names, you can apply those labels to relevant tags or or configuration objects (devices, displays, alarms, queries), which can then be used as a filter or sorting parameter.
This ability to view data selectively enhances solution manageability during the configuration process. For advanced solutions, that metadata information is also accessible though scripts, allows the creation of custom logic, or operation displays, based on that custom classification.
In summary, to use categories:
Step 1: Define the names of categories items in this user interaface
Step 2: Go To UnifiedNamespace Tags, or Displays List, or Device Nodes, or any configuration object you want to apply the label, make the Category column visible (right-click in the column names), and apply the categories to the elements you want.
Working with Categories
Create a Category Item
- Go to the Insertion Row (first row of the table) in the Solution Categories table.
- Type a text in the NAME column, optionally add Description.
- Press ENTER.
Apply Categories to Configuration elements
- Navigate to the configuration table of the desired element.
- Right click on the titles of the Table, to make the Category column visible
- Select the Category items that applies to that element.
Editing Multiple Rows
If you select multiple rows, using shift-click or ctrl-click, you can open the Context Menu (with a mouse right-click) and select the Edit Combined Rows options.
That enables you to apply a category to multiple configuration objects in one step.
Using Categories on Runtime
The object categories can also be accessed during runtime for filtering and other custom applications from Category.
A list of all the categories that are defined in the solution during runtime is available in the property
@Info.CategoryItem
All the configuration objects that allow to receive a category classification, like Tags, Device.Nodes, and others, they have a Category property, like in the examples:
@Tag.Tag1.Category
@Device.Node.Node1.Category
Categories Columns
Categories Properties | |
|---|---|
ID | Identifies the category uniquely. |
VersionID | Identifies the version of the category, allowing for version control. |
Name | Specifies the name of the category, which labels and identifies it. |
DefaultSymbol | Indicates the default symbol assigned to the category for use in displays or other applications. |
LockState | Denotes the current state of the category, determining whether it can be edited. |
LockOwner | Identifies the user or system entity that has locked the category. |
DateCreated | Records the date and time when the category was created. |
DateModified | Tracks the date and time when the category was last modified. |
Description | Provides a textual explanation of the category's purpose and use cases. |
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