Displays Draw

Draw Workspace

The Draw workspace integrates GUI design and programming tools to develop operational interfaces. It simplifies control interface creation, allowing users to design operator panels, control modules, and process monitoring screens. The Drawing tool lays out and customizes elements like buttons and graphs, while CodeBehind scripts input handling, data display, and hardware interaction.

The explanation for the Draw panels and tools is on the next documentation section Draw (Displays and Symbols)

In this section, you'll find just an introductory summary of Toolbars and Panels.

Toolbars

In the Draw Environment, in addition to the solution toolbar, you have the following toolbars:

Document Toolbar

The Displays Documents toolbar provides quick access to various display-related functions and tools, such as creating new displays, opening existing displays, and managing display properties. It simplifies the process of creating and organizing displays, making it easier for users to navigate their solutions and maintain a structured, organized workspace.

Drawing Toolbar

The Drawing toolbar provides a set of tools for creating and modifying graphical elements within the display, such as shapes, lines, and text. Users can quickly access these tools to design custom visuals, ensuring that their displays accurately represent the automation processes and equipment they are monitoring. For more information about Toolbars and Properties, visit: Toolbars and Panels.

Object Toolbar

The Object toolbar provides a set of tools for creating and modifying graphical elements within the display, such as shapes, lines, and text. Users can quickly access these tools to design custom visuals, ensuring that their displays accurately represent the automation processes and equipment they are monitoring. For more information about Toolbars and Properties, visit: Toolbars and Panels.

Panels

There are two Panels in the Drawing environment: the Components Panel on the left side and the Tags Panel on the right side. The usage of them is pretty simple: select the component or tag and drag and drop it into the Drawing area.

Components Panel (left side)

This panel serves as a repository for visual elements. It offers a range of components that can be incorporated into their application interfaces. Users select a component and drag it into the Drawing area. The Components Panel simplifies the task of adding and arranging visual elements. It supports the creation of intuitive, functional interfaces tailored to the specific needs of each application. Configuration of these components occurs post-placement. For more information about components and user controls, visit: Graphical Elements.

Tags Panel (right side)

The Tag Panel is a critical tool for linking data to visual components. It contains a list of tags representing data points in the system. Users can drag and drop these tags onto components in the Drawing area, establishing a connection between the component and the underlying data. This process enables real-time data visualization and interaction within the application interface. The Tag Panel streamlines the task of data binding, promoting effective and efficient development of data-driven applications.

Properties Sidebar (right side)

At the Right side, its is the Properties Sidebar. Users can modify properties and configure dynamic properties like animation settings and data bindings to tags. The Properties are a context-sensitive showing the information related to the selected element in the display.

The main expanders of the Properties side bar are Appearance and Display Settings.

• Appearance: allow to customize the visual aspects of graphical elements. It provides options to adjust size, color, font, and visibility, enabling users to tailor the look of their application interfaces. 
• Display Settings: allow to customize the appearance and behavior of their displays, including size, background color, and grid settings. 

Properties Window (Settings and Dynamics)

The Properties is a context-sensitive configuration popup that appears when double-clicking on a graphical element to open. It enables users to configure the Settings and Dynamics of the selected element quickly, without needing to navigate through multiple menus or panels. The Popup offers options for modifying appearance, behavior, and interactivity, as well as quick access to the relevant animation settings and data bindings. This streamlined approach ensures that users can efficiently customize graphical elements and create dynamic, interactive displays.

Creating New Displays in Draw Environment

To create a display on Draw:

1. Navigate to Displays / Draw.
2. Click the button at the top to open the 'New Display' popup window.
3. Define the Name and Description of the display.
4. Define the Rendering Engine. This configuration item has three options: Portable (available for WPF and HTML5), WPF Only, and HTML5 Only.
5. Choose a Template for the display. If you do not select a template, a blank page will be created by default. Two types of templates must be highlighted:
   1. The Canvas option allows for manual positioning and sizing of elements.
   2. The Dashboard option automatically resizes and repositions elements, organizing the display into predefined regions. It provides a structured and uniform layout, ensuring that elements adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions without manual adjustments.
6. Finally, press the OK button to finish the display creation and close the popup window.

CodeBehind

The CodeBehind tab is where the scripts connected with display is editing.  Developers can write code in VB.NET, C# and JavaScript (for HTML5 only pages) and switch between languages.

The CodeBehind section has predefined methods such as DisplayOpening(), DisplayIsOpen(), DisplayClosing(). For dialog displays, the DialogOnOK method is also pre-defined, which is executed when the OK button is pressed, additionally, CodeBehind handles custom mouse input command.

When programing the CodeBehind, in order to have the proper performance, asynchronous methods should be used, and loops or interactions that may block the UI should be avoided. For more information on Async programming: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/asynchronous-programming/

See Display Code Behind for information on creating CodeBehind when drawing pages.

In this section: