Passing parameters to AOI via OPC

[dburnum]

I've developed an AOI for our facility, and it appears to be working well for what I need it to do. (Analog alarm for multiple alarm setpoints).

I've set several Boolean and Integer and Real Types as Input parameters, as well as about 8 DINT input parameters.

I've noticed that while all of my "required" input parameters show within RSLinx OPC Test Client, ...the DINT Input parameters do not appear to map at all.

These are program type tags, so all the other inputs appear:
[TOPIC]Program: (Program Name).AOI UDT(Tag).Parameter

Why would all my parameters show except the DINTs?

 

[ASF]

I've been caught by that one before. Not sure if your issue is the same, but look in the left column of the tag browser.

When you click on a folder or a data structure, all of the "final element" tags get shown in the right column, and all of the tags that can be further broken down like nested UDT's or timers get shown in the left. You click on them in the left column, and now the right column shows all of the "final" elements of *that* data structure.

Since a DINT can be individually broken down into bits, perhaps it's over on the left.

The other possibility, of course, is that the external access for those tags is set to None. Check that as well.

 

[dburnum]

I'm at a bit of a loss. I've noticed my offline OPC topics have the DINTs in there, but not online. It won't let me add an offline topic AOI parameter, but I do see them there. I checked online with my facility's OPC server and they don't show there online. Those Topics are the very ones I see the DINTs offline at my home office. The same AOIs.
I'm somewhat curious that if I manually entered them to see if they would pull in live data.

 

[ASF]

That IS odd. Perhaps remove the offline file and re-add it back in, then do a "refresh all folders" and see if it comes up?

As to your other question - yes, as long as the DINT's actually exist at runtime (and have appropriate external access settings, etc) then it will almost certainly pull live data if you type it in manually. You can use this trick to read AOI Local Parameters - which are not visible in the tag browser no matter what tricks you play - but if manually typed in will retrieve data as normal.

 

[dburnum]

I think I should have read your first response a little more closely. In my AOI the DINTs are aliasing timers .PRE, and the timers themselves do not have external access....so, the aliased DINTs do not either. Either way..not that big of a heartbreak. My existing faceplates do not have access to the configuration timers, and are done so in my APACS softlist parameters.
We'll just do the same, but in the Logix AOI parameter for each alarm within Logix5000 itself.