HMI Label Questions

[plcgrasshopper]

Hello,

My company has recently been tasked with a redesign of an HMI and they were originally using Numeric Inputs to display the values. I am switching them to numeric displays and was just wondering how I should format the Connections property to always display a "°" at the end of the number regardless if it's one or two digits.

 

[I_Automation]

Depending on the HMI it is usual that when adding an object in the properties you can specify a prefix or suffix to display after the value


Prefix = Tank 1
Value = [tag]
Suffix = °F

Tank 1 135°F

 

[joseph_e2]

Like I_Automation said, some HMIs have an option for a suffix or unit. The AB PV+ appears not to with the normal numeric display objects. You can, however, use a simple text box and use the "Insert Variable..." button to stick the tag inside the string that's displayed.

 

[plcgrasshopper]

Hmm, I seem to be misunderstanding what you're saying.

When I insert a variable of "°", I see /*LS:0 °*/ and it shows "s...s" in the text box.

What could the disconnect be?

 

[ck8177]

Like I_Automation said, some HMIs have an option for a suffix or unit. The AB PV+ appears not to with the normal numeric display objects. You can, however, use a simple text box and use the "Insert Variable..." button to stick the tag inside the string that's displayed.

+1

Based on the nomenclature you are using, I am assuming that you are using an Allen-Bradley PV+ HMI. If not, feel free to disregard.

With a numeric display object, to my knowledge you cannot append string characters to the numeric value being displayed. In this case I typically use a text box (overlayed onto a panel object for aesthetics) and you can insert just about any mixture of tag references and literal string characters you like. Pictures attached for reference. FYI, keyboard shortcut for the "°" symbol is ALT+248.

Hope this helps.

 

[ck8177]

Hmm, I seem to be misunderstanding what you're saying.

When I insert a variable of "°", I see /*LS:0 °*/ and it shows "s...s" in the text box.

What could the disconnect be?

I've done the same thing. Use the "Insert Variable" button to insert a reference to the tag value you want to display. Then, once that has been inserted, place your cursor immediately to the right of the string that the "Insert Variable" button generated, and type your string characters directly. Example from my first post:

/*N:2 {[PLC]AmbientTemp} ZEROFILL DP:0*/ °

Where "/*N:2 {[PLC]AmbientTemp} ZEROFILL DP:0*/" was generated through the "Insert Variable" function and "°" was typed in directly.

 

[I_Automation]

Hmm, I seem to be misunderstanding what you're saying.

When I insert a variable of "°", I see /*LS:0 °*/ and it shows "s...s" in the text box.

What could the disconnect be?

Is your tag LS:0?


It appears that the HMI is changing your tag to simple text when you add the ° in the address.


EDIT: It also could be that HMI doesn't support displaying higher ASCII characters - the ° is ASCII 176, well above 127




If that is what's happening you would leave the object tag just LS:0 and add a separate text box after it with the °. To get it to line up have the tag value display with Right Justification so the last digit is right next to the °.


What HMI model are you using, because they are all just a little different in programming?

 

[joseph_e2]

Hmmm....I've always used ALT+0176 for the degree symbol. But ALT+248 works too. ALT+0248 is different: ø
Huh...Nope. Not going down that rabbit hole today.

 

[I_Automation]

Hmmm....I've always used ALT+0176 for the degree symbol. But ALT+248 works too. ALT+0248 is different: ø
Huh...Nope. Not going down that rabbit hole today.

Using ALT without adding the leading 0 doesn't display the ASCII characters correctly, 176=░ 0176=° 149=ò 0149=•

 

[ASF]

Forget the numeric display object exists. It's garbage.

I use a multistate indicator, because you can embed strings, numbers, whatever you want in it, and surround it with whatever prefixes and suffixes you want. It also has a full suite of style controls for fonts, backgrounds, borders, and whatever else you could need. Just put an "always off" tag in the value connection so that it always displays the zero-indexed state, and you're away.

Or, if you want to get a little more clever, tie the value connection to a "PLC connected" tag of some sort, and then you can configure it to visibly change if the connection to the PLC is lost, to indicate the problem.

Or, it becomes very easy to highlight a value that's out of range without having to mess about with visibility animation and multiple objects.

tl;dr, numeric display is garbage, use multistate indicator.