Vijeo Citect VS Factory Talk SE

arlenjacobs said:

Why are direct access tags more trouble down the line?

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One, for the reason jkerekes stated... Having a display on multiple screens means having to search each and every screen if a tag source changes.

Also:
Direct access tags are only editable within the absolutely worst HMI development package available in the world, FTView Studio.

I can edit HMI tags in Excel, or UE Studio, or any of my other real text editors.
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Direct access tags are bad when you reuse display components across multople projects. Again, have to go and replace every single instance of the communications pointer at least.

With HMI tags, I load up the Tag DB in a function editor (not View Studio, do a global search and replace on the IO Access name, and reload that into my View project. Done.
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No matter what the organization level is in the PLC program, HMI tags can always be put in a logical, hierarchical structure, which can be duplicated as needed for multiple identical control system areas. Copy a display, do a simple search and replace a part of the tag database structure name, and you have a display pointing at a different machine section. Also excellent with parameter files.
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HMI Tags don't actually care what processor is being used.
I can use the same application with an AB processor, or with Automation Direct, or Siemens, or anything. The entire HMI structure is unchanged, it is only necessary to edit the tag references in the database (again, with a real text editor) and reload.

Nice when three end-users want a Logic CPU, and one wants a GE.
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Tag Database tags give someone working on the HMI software at least a view of the limits (for analog tags) and a better description of what the tag is meant to be used for in the PLC. Provided of course that whoever originally set up the tag database had even the slightest thought towards future development/edits, or even as in some places, the logical end of an HMI is handled by one team, and the visual end by another.

As an aside, a Tag Database is a "Physical" interface into the PLC (or other device) controls showing what is available for HMI control purposes, without exposing the nitty gritty internals of a program that no HMI developer should be playing with.

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Although I try not to use it, Tag Database tags give the ability to scale analog tags, which can be very useful when one PLC coder decides that they are only going to work with raw values in the program.
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If you are actually working with FTView SE, and want to actually do anything besides "Press a display button to set a bit ON in the PLC", you are going to have to use VBA. VBA does not play nicely with direct tags. At all.
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For historical trending, using the built in FTView trend (garbage), you need to use Tag Database tags. Direct tags do not work.
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If you work with Multiple HMI packages (Citect, InTouch, FTGarbage, Automation Direct's POV, Red Lion), usually, with just a little bit of scripting in a decent text editor (UltraEdit Studio is my favorite), it is possible even to export the tag DB from one project, run a quick script over the text file, and import it into another project of a different brand.

Or even the same one. That is the most convenient way, for example, of getting FTView SE tags into FTView ME systems, and visa-versa.
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/shrug.
Whatever. I really haven't given this much thought.

I second rdrast opinion about FTView being the junkiest software I ever used.

Everything else is way better.

And it kills me because RSL5K ( or studio ) with CompactLogix and ControlLogix PLCs are by far my favorites to work with.

I didnt know somebody just builds the hmi and somebody builds the program that seems strange to me.
I could probablly write the plc program and hmi in logix and factory talk faster then u could probably do a tag based HMI.

I use Citect all the time with Omron. Citect has an Excel add in that I use. I then copy and paste the I/O from my Omron CX-Programmer software into the Excel add in and modify/adjust as required. Pretty easy.

rdrast said:

/shrug.
Whatever. I really haven't given this much thought.

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Yeah. Can't argue with that list.

OPO said:

I didnt know somebody just builds the hmi and somebody builds the program that seems strange to me.
I could probablly write the plc program and hmi in logix and factory talk faster then u could probably do a tag based HMI.

Click to expand...

That happens all the time. One person writes the HMI and another the PLC. It leads to a lot of tag structure and naming arguments... which is probably when the HMI tag database is useful.