Adding Tags to a Project

Adding Tags to a Project


Tag Addresses are the foundations of your project. They are the reference points that allow sensor information to interact with objects in the HMI. The actual address format will vary depending on the communication protocol used by your PLC. In this article we will focus on the format used in the Modbus Protocol.

Tags are entered from the Site Communication Page.


From there, you will select the PLC that contains the tags that you wish to add.



You will then be able view/edit any existing tags as well as add new ones. Click the + icon to add a new tag.



You will now see the "Tags Editor" which will allow you to enter the tag information. You will need the following information:
      - Sensor Object. This what you will call your tag within the project. It can be the name already defined in the PLC programming (often looks something like "TANK_LEVEL" or "PUMP_STATUS") or a unique identifier that will be easy to identify when it's time to add it to an object within the HMI.
      - Category: This helps define what type of object it is (i.e. Setpoint, Alarm, Pressure, Level, Flow, etc.) Categories are used in the creation of "Graph Reports" from the Dashboard section of the Simpliscada site.
      - Description: Use this to elaborate on the sensor object. (i.e. "Site 1 Tank Level" or  "Well 1 Pressure High High Setpoint")
      - Tag Operation: Read or Read/Write. This must be set to Read/Write if the tag is to be used to control or adjust a value.
      - Address/ID: For Modbus this will be the memory address of the PLC containing the data point you wish to use (i.e. "40043" or "00001"). Other protocols will have different formats, for example DNP3 has the format: 30.5.101 and Allen-Bradley has the format: F18:1/5.



    









     

      - Address Type: Some protocols will have this automatically defined and this field will not be present. For Modbus this is the type of data used
            - Float: a 32-bit floating point number that takes up 2 address registers.
            - Integer: a 16-bit signed integer that can include negative and positive values between −32,768 to +32,767.
            - Unsigned: a 16-bit unsigned integer that only included positive values between 0 to 65,535
            - Boolean: a single bit 1 or 0. Often used for Alarm state or on/off control.
     


      - Byte Order: Used for 32-bit numbers, it is the order of the 16-bit binary numbers that make up a "byte" or "word". Big Endian means the bytes are read from left to right, while Little Endian means they are read from right to left. 
      - Word Order: Used for 32-bit numbers, it is the order of 16-bit "bytes" or "words" inside a 32-bit value. Big Endian means that the first register is in front, while Little Endian means that the second register is in front.
            *when the byte order or word order is not correct, the read value will be unrealistically large or small or not readable. If the order isn't defined in the tag listing source simply try different orders to see if a value is reported that makes sense in the context of the sensor. Typically the order will remain the same for all sensor objects in the same project.
                 
    
      
      -Alert Threshold (can be used as setpoints for alerts, notifications, and HMI color changes) 
            - Critical High-High: This is the setpoint for critical alerts that are equal to or above the set value.
            - Warning High: This is the setpoint for the warning alerts that are equal to or above the set value.
            - Warning Low: This is the setpoint for the warning alerts that are equal to or below the set value.
            - Critical Low-Low: This is the setpoint for critical alerts that are equal to or below the set value.
     


      - Select Formats & Formulas: This pop-up has multiple ways that you can manipulate numbers by adding Formats ("Labels" i.e. GPM or PSI, or "Dictionaries" i.e. 0=OK,1=ALARM) or Formulas (i.e. x/1000). For more information, see our knowledgebase articles on Formatting a Value, Scaling a Value, and Using a Dictionary. 





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