Running Experts

You can easily access iFIX Experts in the WorkSpace while you are drawing your pictures. In our online help, Experts are included in procedures to help you expedite your task. For more information on how to complete the dialog fields in the Expert, use the Help provided with the Expert (in some instances, you must click the Help button and access a procedures window). The following table shows some examples of Experts used in iFIX.

Using Experts in iFIX
While doing the following...	You can use the...	To...
Coloring objects	Foreground Color Expert	Assign a foreground color to objects. For more information on defining a color strategy, refer to the Working with Color section.
Creating schedules	Script Authoring Expert	Write a script to schedule events (example: Toggle Digital Point). For more information, refer to the Writing Scripts manual.
Developing pictures	Rotate Expert	Rotate a selected object. For more information on rotating objects, refer to the Rotating Objects section.

To run an Expert, click the appropriate button on the Experts toolbar, complete the dialog fields and click OK.

Using the Task Wizard to Run Experts

iFIX gives you a convenient organizer to access, customize, and run Experts – the Task Wizard. The Task Wizard allows you to choose a category relating to what action you want to perform, and then select a task specific to that category. All Experts can be accessed from the Task Wizard, but some are not available from the Experts toolbar. These Experts can be accessed on the Buttons tabbed page of the Customize Toolbars dialog box and added to a toolbar. In Ribbon view, all Experts can be accessed via the Tasks/Experts launch button on the Tools tab in the Tasks/Experts group.

For more information on adding buttons to a toolbar, refer to the Customizing Toolbars section of the Understanding iFIX manual.

The following table shows you which Experts are available on the Task Wizard and the Experts toolbar, and what functions they perform:

iFIX Experts
Click this Expert from the Experts toolbar...	Which can be accessed in the Ribbon view...	To...
Fill	From the Tools tab, in the Animations group, click Fill.	Dynamically fill an object.
Rotate	From the Tools tab, in the Animations group, click Rotate.	Rotate an object.
Position	From the Tools tab, in the Animations group, click Position.	Move an object horizontally or vertically across the screen.
Scale	From the Tools tab, in the Animations group, click Scale.	Scale an object.
Visibility	From the Tools tab, in the Animations group, click Visibility.	Make an object visible or invisible.
Edge Color	From the Tools tab, in the Animations group, click Edge Color.	Change the edge color of an object.
Foreground Color	From the Tools tab, in the Animations group, click Foreground Color.	Change the foreground color of an object.
Background Color	From the Tools tab, in the Animations group, click Background Color.	Change the background color of an object.
Data Entry	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Data Entry Expert.	Modify a tag.
Create Picture Wizard	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Picture and then click Create Picture Wizard.	Create, size, and locate a group of pictures.
Open Picture	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then click Open Picture.	Open a new picture on an object's click event.
Close Picture	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then click Close Picture.	Close a picture on an object's click event.
Replace Picture	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then click Replace Picture.	Close an open picture and replace with a new picture on an object's click event.
Open Digital Tag	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then click Open Digital Tag.	Open a digital point on an object's click event.
Close Digital Tag	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then click Close Digital Tag.	Close a digital point on an object's click event.
Toggle Digital Tag	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then click Toggle Digital Tag.	Toggle a digital point on an object's click event. NOTE: In this expert, use the F_CV field as the data link. Using the A_CV field may cause unpredictable results.
Acknowledge Alarm	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then click Acknowledge Alarm.	Acknowledge an alarm on an object's click event.
Alarm Horn	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then click Alarm Horn.	Enable, disable, or silence the alarm horn. Also prompt for alarm horn status in run mode and toggle the horn status between enable and disable.

The following table shows you the additional Experts available from the Task Wizard (but not from the Experts toolbar) and what functions they perform:

Additional Experts in the Task Wizard
From this Task Category...	Click this Expert...	Which can be accessed in the Ribbon View...	To...
Command	Ramp Tag Value	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Ramp Tag Value.	Ramp a specified database tag by a percentage or actual value that you define.
	Write Value to Tag	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Write Value to Tag.	Write a value you select to the specified database tag.
	Turn Tag On Scan	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Turn Tag On Scan.	Turn a specified database tag on scan.
	Turn Tag Off Scan	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Turn Tag Off Scan.	Turn a specified database tag off scan.
	Toggle Scan	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Toggle Scan.	Toggle a specified database tag on and off scan.
	Set Tag Auto	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Set Tag Auto.	Set a specified database tag to automatic.
	Set Tag Manual	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Set Tag Manual.	Set a specified database tag to manual.
	Set Symbol Values	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Set Symbol Values.	Replace multiple symbols in the picture with specific values at run time.
	Set Symbol From Model Browse	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Set Symbol From Model Browse.	Set a symbol’s value by browsing and selecting a model object instance at run time.
	Toggle Tag Auto/Manual	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Toggle Tag Auto/Manual.	Toggle a specified database tag between auto and manual.
	Acknowledge All Alarms	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Acknowledge All Alarms.	Acknowledge all new alarms in the specified picture.
	Disable Alarm	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Disable Alarms.	Disable all new alarms in the specified picture.
	Enable Alarm	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Enable Alarms.	Enable all new alarms in the specified picture.
	Locate Object	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Locate Object.	Find a specified object.
	Print Crystal Report	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then Print Crystal Report.	Prints a specified Crystal Report.
Database	Add Database Block	From the Applications tab, in the Process Database group, click Blocks and then click Add Database Block.	Add a new database block without opening Database Manager.
	Modify Database Block	From the Applications tab, in the Process Database group, click Blocks and then click Modify Database Block.	Modify a database block without opening Database Manager.
	Database Save	From the Applications tab, in the Process Database group, click Save Database.	Save the database.
	Database Reload	From the Applications tab, in the Process Database group, click Reload Database.	Reload the database.
Data Entry	Data Entry	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Tasks/Experts. Select Data Entry from the Task Categories menu and Data Entry from the Task list. Click Perform Task.	Enter the data source that the data entry gets written to.
Picture	Resolve Files	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Tasks/Experts. Select Picture from the Task Categories menu and Resolve Files from the Task list. Click Perform Task.	Resolve files before you enter into the run-time environment.
	Generate New Picture	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Picture and then click Generate Picture Expert.	Generate a new picture.
	Refresh Rate	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Picture and then click Refresh Rate Expert.	Change the refresh rate for a selected object or an entire picture.
	Export Key Macros	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Picture and then click Export Key Macros.	Export all of the key macros in the selected object, picture, or user global page to a .CSV file.
	Save Files with Thumbnail Preference	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Tasks/Experts. Select Picture from the Task Categories menu and Save Files with Thumbnail Preference from the Task list. Click Perform Task.	Save thumbnails of existing pictures and Dynamo Sets.
	Convert a Selected Button's Caption	From the Application tab, in the Utilities group, on the drop down menu, click Convert a Selected Button's Caption.	Converts one button caption text to scale to a new screen resolution in pictures using the Enhanced Coordinate System.
	Multiple Button Caption Converter Expert	From the Application tab, in the Utilities group, on the drop down menu, click Multiple Button Caption Converter Expert.	Converts more than one or all the button caption text to scale a new screen resolution in pictures using the Enhanced Coordinate System.
	Upgrade to Enhanced Coordinates	From the Applications tab, in the Utilities group, click Upgrade to Enhanced Coordinates.	Upgrade one or more pictures/Dynamo Sets to the Enhanced Coordinate System -Or- Restore one or more pictures/dynamo Sets to the Logical Coordinate System.
Report	Print Crystal Report	From the Tools tab, in the Tasks/Experts group, click Commands and then click Print Crystal Report.	Prints a specified Crystal Report.

You can also create your own Experts to help you automate processes that you do often. This can be done through VBA scripts. For more information on creating your own Experts, refer to the Writing Scripts manual. To learn how to use the Task Wizard, refer to the Using Experts and the Task Wizard section of the Understanding iFIX manual.

IMPORTANT: If you are working in a secure environment and using the Electronic Signature option, you must be aware of the impact of unsigned writes to the process database. Unsigned writes can originate from scripts Refer to the Implications of Database Writes With Electronic Signature section of the Using Electronic Signatures manual for detailed information. When you use certain Experts, such as Toggle Digital, you are prompted to sign if the associated tag is configured for electronic signature. For complete information on a secure environment and electronic signatures, refer to the Using Electronic Signatures manual.

Re-entering Experts

All of the Experts in the Animation category of the Task Wizard have re-entrance functionality, allowing you to exit the Expert, make any changes you want within your picture, and then go back into the Expert to resume inputting data to complete the task. These Experts include the following:

Fill
Foreground Color
Edge Color
Background Color
Rotate
Scale
Visibility
Position

You can also re-enter the Data Entry Expert, located in the Data Entry category of the Task Wizard.

NOTE: The Data Entry Expert writes a script to a selected object; therefore, it will not retain its re-entrance functionality if you change the code. Instead, it will act as though there are no data entry parameters, and will therefore write over the existing script.

Notes About VBA Code Generated by Experts

Some of the iFIX Experts generate VBA code. Occasionally, a conflict can occur between the VBA code generated by the Expert and the VBA code for a picture, variable, or globals page because of naming conflicts. When a conflict like this occurs, the solution is to change the name of your picture, variable, of globals subroutine.

For example, do not name a picture after one of Data Entry Expert types. Picture names can conflict with the script variable names used with the Data Entry Expert. For instance, if you name your picture Pushbutton.grf and also use the Pushbutton data entry method, when you enter run mode, an error message appears. If you rename the picture, Pushbutton1.grf, the error message does not appear, since the picture name is now different than the data entry method.

Using the Task Wizard to Run Experts

Re-entering Experts

Notes About VBA Code Generated by Experts

See Also