Whenever you add a block, its configuration dialog box appears. The dialog box fields and controls represent locations in the block called fields. These fields store the information you enter into the dialog box. This information includes such data as the block's name, description, scan time, I/O address, and scan status.
Other block fields receive information from your process hardware or from other blocks. For example, a primary block's current value comes from an I/O device. However, a secondary block receives its current value from an upstream block.
All block fields use a common naming convention:
format _ name
The format indicates the type of data that the field stores. The following table lists the available formats:
Refer to the Creating Pictures manual for more information on Data links, objects in pictures, and charts.
The name indicates the specific information in the field. For example, the current value of a block is identified by the name:
CV
The combination of the field format and the field name provides you with the information you want. For example, if you want the current value of a block displayed as a number, you select the field F_CV. If you want the current value of a block displayed as text, you select the field A_CV.
