Creating a Table
This is a step-by-step tutorial for creating a table in the Simpliscada Canvas.
Tables can provide an excellent way to display a lot of information in one convenient place. Our table creation tool is very flexible and allows you to completely customize the look and feel to match your project. You are also free to link tag objects to any cell in order to display and even control the various tags within your project. For example, we often setup tables to display flow totals or provide a convenient place to adjust all of your alarm setpoints.
- To start, Select your initial table size from the toolbar on the left-hand side bar. This can be changed later by using the add and remove row/column buttons on the right-hand side toolbar when the table is selected.
- Let's take a closer look at the table Properties Panel:
- If you would like a header for your table, select the Header Toggle. This can be useful to add a title to the table, i.e. "Communication" or "Flow Totals"
- Select the background Fill color for your table. Individual cells or entire rows and columns can also be changed by double clicking on the cell you wish to change.
- Next you can choose a default Text color for the table. Double-click a cell to change the text of individual cells.
- Select a border/grid color. This is often left as the default black color, but can be customized.
- Select a drop shadow color. This will help your table stand out on the page. If you wish to turn off the drop shadow, set the color to transparent in the color selector.
- Next, select a default font size for the table. Once again, you can double-click any cell to change the font size for only that cell.
- Now choose a Font Family for the table.
- You can also adjust the Table Width and Table Height for the entire table or individual rows/columns (Double-click on a cell within the row or column you wish to adjust)
- Enter a border width in the text box to adjust the line weight of the border/grid within your table.
- You can change how round the corners of your table are by choosing a border radius between 1-12, with one being the most square and 12 being the most round.
- The last row of options in the Table Property Panel has the options for Text Formatting (Bold, Italic, and Underline) and the Horizontal and Vertical Alignment options. These can also be set for individual cells.
Next, let's look closer at the Properties Panel for each individual cell.
- When you double click on a cell, a slightly different Properties Panel is presented. It adds options for Linked Tags (Values and Controls) and System Values (communication info), as well as slightly more specific options geared towards individual cells and their Linked Objects (aka Tags).
- The Properties Panel below on the left shows the available options without a Linked Tag. This would be for cells being used as row or column headers that don't need to show any data. The Properties Panel below on the right has an Object Tag linked to it. This opens up more options specific to the Tag that has been linked.
- Clicking on "Select Object" will bring up a list of available tags from your project that can be linked to the cell within your table. This will populate the cell with information from that specific tag. In this example we are going to be selecting from the available Well Levels and Well Pressures to fill out the rest of our table.
- Once the data has been linked to the cells we can use the Properties Panel to manipulate how the data is presented.
- The first set of options available after linking a tag are the 4 check-boxes for presenting the tag as a threshold value. This lets the end user view and manipulate the threshold (HH,H,L,LL) rather than the sensors actual value. This is useful when creating a table for Alert/Notification setpoints. This is beyond the scope of this article and we will have a more detailed knowledgebase article on this in the future.
- The "States" section of the Properties Panel allows you to change the color of the text depending on the value currently being read from the tag. The default setting for states is a group of the 4 Alert Thresholds. These can be used to automatically create an Alert or change the displayed color if the value of the tag exceeds or drops below the set value (i.e. if a tank level drops below 5'). These states can be removed by clicking on the Red circle in the top right corner. Then new custom states can be added by clicking on the small plus sign in the States Header. A common use for this setting in tables is changing the color to Red when an alarm triggers.
- The next Cell Options are very similar to the Table Options we explored above, but apply only to the specific cell you have selected.
- Next we have the "Formats & Formulas" section, as well as the Formatting Preview window. The Formats and Formulas pane is a powerful and versatile set of tools that allow you to manipulate the tag information in a large variety of ways. In this article we will focus an a couple of the most popular options. The Preview window is helpful in showcasing how the data will look after the formatting has been applied.
- First, let's look at the "Number" format. This allows us to take a number that potentially has a large number of decimal places and shorten it to the amount of accuracy that works for the data being used. Once selected, you can use the left and right arrow buttons to shorten or extend the number of decimal points being carried.
- Next, take a look at "Labels". This provides a way to display units of measurement after the data. Clicking this will present a list of any labels that have already been created in the project and also allow you to create new labels to use. Once a label is created be sure to select it in order to actually add it.
- Once selected, you can see how it will look in the Preview window.
- Another important tool is "Dictionaries". This will allow you to completely change what is displayed. For example if you have a pump that gives you a value of "0" when it is off and "1" when it is on, you can use a dictionary to define replacement text to represent the value. In this example, when a 0 is present it will now display the word "Off" and when a 1 is present it will display the word "ON".
- When you click "Dictionary" a list will show any dictionaries that have already been setup in this project. To create a new dictionary click "Edit" in the Dictionary Header. This will present a pop-up with the dictionary creation tool. Give the dictionary a name that clearly shows what it will do. For example: "0=OFF,1=ON". Then, fill in the first definition and select "Add Definition" to add more.
- To view your table's final look, click the green "Save" button in the top right corner of your canvas. Confirm that the data is being displayed correctly and that none of the text exceeds the bounds of the cells. If any adjustments need to be made, simply enter editor mode by selecting the green "Edit" button in the top right corner of the canvas and adjust your table as necessary.
- Congratulations! You have now created and formatted a table. A link to youtube tutorial video will also be available in the near future.
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