The Expression Builder dialog box is your tool for creating expressions.
This dialog box lets you select the data source you want to use or create
expressions by combining two or more data sources together.
The Expression Builder dialog box is divided into multiple tabs, which
are described in the following table.
Expression Builder Tabs
|
The tab...
|
Displays...
|
|
FIX Database
|
Any SCADA servers to which your computer is communicating.
Use a data server as a data source when you want to animate an object
or an iFIX tag. The tabbed page includes Node Names, Tag Names, and Field
Names windows to help you specify your selections.
|
|
Pictures
|
The pictures residing on your computer. The Objects
window displays each object in the picture. Use one of these objects as
a data source when you want to animate an object with a picture or object
property value. The Properties window displays the properties for the
selected object so that you can select a specific property.
|
|
Globals
|
Global data sources. The tabbed page includes Objects
and Properties windows to help you specify your selections.
|
|
Data Servers
|
Third party OPC servers. Data source connections to
data servers fire at run-time only.
|
|
Alarm Counters
|
A filtered list of SCADA servers that your computer
is communicating with. The tabbed page includes the Alarm AreaTag Names
window that displays a filtered list of alarm areas on the selected SCADA
and alarm counter tags. The Alarm Counter Field Names window displays
a filtered list of fields available from the selected area.
|
|
Historian
|
Any Proficy Historian Server to which your computer
is communicating. Use a Proficy Historian Server data source when you
want to animate an object. The tabbed page includes Node Names and Tag
Names windows to help you specify your selections.
|
| Model |
Allows you to browse your iFIX model directly when building animation expressions in your picture. Browsing Types automatically creates a symbol-based string in your expression, while browsing Object instances directly inserts the instance variable in your expression. |
When you select a data source, it appears in the field at the bottom
of the dialog box. You can add strings by typing them into the field.
You can also add operators and numeric constants by typing them into the
field, or by clicking the operator buttons on the right side of the dialog
box while the cursor is in the field. To display the operator buttons,
click the Mathematical Functions button.
NOTE: If you
have created an object-to-object connection, such as the fill percentage
of one tank to another, or created a connection to a data source, the
animated properties display in boldface in the Properties list of the
Pictures tab for the selected object.
The Filter fields and buttons allow you to filter data sources. For
more information, refer to the Filtering
Data Sources section. Additionally, you can specify a tolerance, deadband,
and refresh rate in the appropriate fields. These functions are described
later in this section.
For more information on selecting data sources from the Expression Builder
dialog box, including examples, refer to the Selecting
Data Sources from a List section.
How Do I...
