Easybuiler Pro - multiple bits controlling colour of Word Lamp

I have a text display "Word Lamp" that I need to change the background color of if any one of 3 (sometimes 4) PLC bits are ON, and on top of all that, the green background needs to blink.

Easy enough to do in FactoryTalk View, simply create an "Expression" in a Color Animation of the text box ...

Can't seem to find a way to do this in EBPro.

Think it might involve a Data Transfer, or Macro, but can't see the wood for the tress ...


TIA

Just at easy in EZBuilder Pro!

Drop word lamp object on screen, select word datatype, apply the number of states.
Program each state to your needs. Set Blink Settings.

damica1 said:

Just at easy in EZBuilder Pro!

Drop word lamp object on screen, select word datatype, apply the number of states.
Program each state to your needs. Set Blink Settings.

Click to expand...

Yes, but the driving bits are discrete BOOLs in the controller, and the expression in FTView just ORs those bits together to give a logical 1 or 0 as appropriate.

Now I can OR these bits in the controller, no problem, as each named tag is an alias to a bit of DINT tags.

This would give me a single DINT tag to drive a Bit Lamp in EBPro. However, the not so useful "fitering" on the EBPro Tag Picker doesn't present DINT tags for Bit Lamps, only BOOL tags, and BOOL elements of Data-Types (if enabled). I think the filtering should allow bits of DINTs SINTs and INTs to be picked. It is also not possible to enter the tagname manually, only by that "picker". I did find a workaround for this, which involved tag substitution, but I will have so many to do it will be tedious to say the least ...

Resolved

I have resolved the issues I had with this.

Firstly let me say that my 1st post mentioned Word Lamp, I of course meant Bit Lamp.

I have constructed an OR of the 3 DINTs in the PLC so the HMI doesn't have to look at multiple bits, but to be able to "pick" the bits for the HMI objects I have had to make a 32-BOOL data-type and COP the result of the OR instructions into it.

Another "work-around" I have just tested is to create UDTs of BSINT, BINT, and BDINT, each with the correct number of BOOL members. Unfortunately you can't name the members 0, 1, 2 etc., so I made them _0, _1, _2 etc. Match the Data-Type in EBPro, and at least you have a reasonable method for getting at bits of integer tags - e.g. MyTag._5

I find it very frustrating that the tag picker will not list SINTs INTs and DINTs so that you can drill down to the bits within them.

I also find it frustrating that the tag import utility doesn't import ALIAS tags either, and you have to "fudge" the Logix export CSV file before importing into EBPro.