National Instruments BridgeVIEW User Manual
User Manual
BridgeVIEW User Manual
May 1998 Edition
Part Number 321294C-01
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Contents
About This Manual
Organization of This Manual...............................................................................................xix
BridgeVIEW Concepts..........................................................................................xix
G Tutorial ...............................................................................................................xx
Appendices, Glossary, and Index..........................................................................xxi
Conventions Used in This Manual......................................................................................xxii
Related Documentation........................................... ...........................................................xxiii
Customer Communication.................................................................................................xxiii
Chapter 1
Introduction
Welcome to BridgeVIEW....................................................................................................1-1
Required System Configuration............................................................................1-2
Installation............................ .................................................................................1-2
What Is BridgeVIEW?.........................................................................................................1-3
How Does BridgeVIEW Work? ..........................................................................................1-3
G Programming.....................................................................................................1-4
Tag Configuration .................................................................................................1-5
Alarms ...................................................................................................................1-6
Events....................................................................................................................1-7
Historical Data Logging and Extraction................................................................1-7
Security..................................................................................................................1-7
What Is the BridgeVIEW System Architecture?.................................................................1-8
User HMI Application...........................................................................................1-8
BridgeVIEW Engine .............................................................................................1-9
Device Servers.......................................................................................................1-9
Where Should I Start?........................................................................................................1-10
P
I
ART
BridgeVIEW Concepts
Data Type................................................................................................1-5
General....................................................................................................1-5
Connection.............................................................................................. 1-6
Scaling.....................................................................................................1-6
Operations...............................................................................................1-6
© National Instruments Corporation v BridgeVIEW User Manual
Contents
Chapter 2
BridgeVIEW Environment
What Is G?...........................................................................................................................2-1
How Does G Work? ........................................................... .................................................2-1
Virtual Instruments ...............................................................................................2-2
Front Panel.............................................................................................. 2-2
Block Diagram........................................................................................2-3
Icon/Connector .......................................................................................2-3
Tools Palette..........................................................................................................2-4
Controls Palette.....................................................................................................2-5
Functions Palette...................................................................................................2-5
Controls and Indicators.........................................................................................2-6
Numeric ..................................................................................................2-6
Boolean...................................................................................................2-7
String ......................................................................................................2-7
Tag..........................................................................................................2-8
BridgeVIEW Environment Project Menu.........................................................................2-10
What Is the BridgeVIEW Engine Manager?.....................................................................2-12
What Are System Errors and Events?............................................................................... 2-15
What Is the Tag Browser?................................................................................................. 2-16
What Is the Tag Monitor?.................................................................................................. 2-18
How Do You Access Online Help?...................................................................................2-23
Simple/Complex Help View...............................................................................2-23
Links to Online Help Files..................................................................................2-24
Chapter 3
Tag Configuration
What Is a Tag?.....................................................................................................................3-1
Tag Attributes .......................................................................................................3-1
General Attributes................................................................................... 3-2
Connection Attributes............................................................................. 3-2
Operation Attributes ...............................................................................3-2
Scaling Attributes ...................................................... .............................3-2
Alarm Attributes.....................................................................................3-3
Static vs. Dynamic Attributes ...............................................................................3-3
BridgeVIEW User Manual vi © National Instruments Corporation
Contents
What Is the Tag Configuration Editor?................................................................................3-3
How Do You Create a Tag? ..................................................................................3-5
How Do You Edit a Tag?......................................................................................3-5
How Do You Delete a Tag? ..................................................................................3-5
What are Network Tags?.......................................................................................3-6
How Do You Add Network Tags?........................................................................3-7
How Do You Set Default Values for Tag Configuration Fields? .........................3-7
How Do You Use Spreadsheet Files for Tag Configuration?...............................3-8
How Do You Configure Tags?..........................................................................................3-10
Data Type ............................................................................................................3-10
Analog Tags..........................................................................................3-10
Discrete Tags.........................................................................................3-10
Bit Array Tags.......................................................................................3-10
String Tags............................................................................................3-11
General ................................................................................................................3-11
Connection...........................................................................................................3-12
I/O Group Configuration.......................................................................3-14
I/O Group Configuration Options...........................................3-15
Server Configuration Options.................................................3-16
Item Configuration................................................................................3-18
Item Configuration Options—Configuring
Item Names..........................................................................3-18
Item Configuration Options—Configuring
Item Resources.....................................................................3-18
What Is a Memory Tag?........................................................................3-19
When Should You Use a Memory Tag?.................................3-19
How Do You Automatically Generate Tags
from Server Information? ..................................................................3-20
How Do You Connect a Tag to an OPC Server?..................................3-21
How Do You Connect a Tag to a DDE Server? ...................................3-21
How Do You Define a Group of Tags for Alarming? ..........................3-21
Operations............................................................................................................3-22
What Is Deadband?...............................................................................3-24
How Do You Use Deadband to Increase Engine Throughput? ............3-2 4
How Do You Configure a Tag to Log Its Data or Events?...................3-25
How Do You Set Initial Tag Value at Startup? ....................................3-25
Scaling................................................................................................................. 3-25
Analog Tags..........................................................................................3-27
Example—Linear Scaling......................................................3-27
Example—Square Root Scaling ............................................3-28
How Do You Assign Units to an Analog Tag?.....................................3-28
Discrete Tags.........................................................................................3-28
Bit Array Tags.......................................................................................3-29
© National Instruments Corporation vii BridgeVIEW User Manual
Contents
Alarms.................................................................................................................3-31
How Do You Configure Alarms for a Tag?.........................................3-34
What Is Alarm Deadband on Analog Tags?......................................... 3-36
How Do You Keep an Alarm Unacknowledged
after the Alarm Returns to Normal? ..................................................3-37
How Do You Configure Other Engine Parameters? ......................................................... 3-44
How Do You Turn on Historical and Event Logging at Startup?....................... 3-44
How Do You Set the File Paths for Historical and Events Files?.......................3-44
How Do You Configure Shifts?..........................................................................3-44
How Do You Configure Engine Parameters?.....................................................3-44
How Do You Launch Server Configuration Utilities
from the Tag Configuration Editor?.................................................................3-46
How Do You Access or Change Tag Configuration Information
in Your Application?......................................................................................................3-46
Chapter 4
Human Machine Interface
What Is an HMI?.................................................................................................................4-1
How Do You Build an HMI? ..............................................................................................4-2
Front Panel Objects...............................................................................................4-3
HMI G Wizard ......................................................................................................4-3
Generate the Block Diagram ..................................................................4-8
Front Panel Object and Wizard Subdiagram Association ...................... 4-8
How Do You Customize Front Panel Objects? ..................................................4-12
Control Editor.......................................................................................4-12
Importing Graphics............................................................................... 4-13
How Do You Configure Front Panel
Objects Programmatically?............................................................ .... 4-15
How Do You Monitor and Control Tags?.........................................................................4-16
Tag Data Type.....................................................................................................4-17
Tags VIs and Alarms and Events VIs................................................................. 4-20
How Do the Tags, and Alarms and Events VIs
Affect Startup/Shutdown?..................................................................4-24
Analog Tags ...........................................................................3-34
Discrete Tags..........................................................................3-35
Bit Array Tags........................................................................3-35
String Tags .............................................................................3-36
Auto Ack on Normal..............................................................3-37
User Must Ack .......................................................................3-38
BridgeVIEW User Manual viii © National Instruments Corporation
General Principles of G HMI Programming......................................................................4-25
How Do You Implement Event-Driven Programming in G?..............................4-25
How Do You Implement Polled Programming in G?.........................................4-27
How Do You Initialize and Shut Down Multiple-Loop Applications?...............4-28
How Do You Display Real-Time Trends?..........................................................4-29
How Can You Use Tag Attributes to Configure HMI Indicator
Attributes Programmatically? ..........................................................................4-31
Chapter 5
Alarms and Events
What are Alarms and Events?.............................................................................................. 5-1
Alarm States ..........................................................................................................5-1
Alarm Limit...........................................................................................................5-1
Alarm Priority........................................................................................................5-2
Alarm Summary ....................................................................................................5-2
Event History.........................................................................................................5-2
How Do You Display Alarm Summary Information?......................................................... 5-2
How Do You Display Event History Information?.............................................................5-6
How Do You Acknowledge Alarms? .................................................................................5-6
How Do You Configure Logging and Printing of Alarms and Events?............................5-10
How Do You Log Alarms and Events?...............................................................5-12
How Do You Print Alarms and Events?..............................................................5-13
How Do You View Alarms and Events?.............................................................5-14
Contents
Chapter 6
Historical Data Logging and Extraction
What Is a Trend?..................................................................................................................6-1
Real-Time Trend ...................................................................................................6-1
Historical Trend.............................................................. .......................................6-1
What Is Citadel?........................................... ........................................................................6-1
How Do You Log Historical Data? .....................................................................................6-2
How Do You Configure Historical Logging?.......................................................6-3
How Do You Extract and View Data from Historical Log Files?.......................................6-4
Historical Data VIs................................................................................................6-4
Historical Trend Viewer (HTV)............................................................................6-9
How Do You Select the Tags to Display? ............................................6-10
How Do You Change the Time Axis?..................................................6-10
Panning Buttons......................................................................6-11
Manual Changes ................................................. ... .................6-11
How Do You Change the Timespan of Data Displayed? .....................6-12
How Do You View the Value of a Tag at
a Specific Point in Time? ...................................................................6-12
© National Instruments Corporation ix BridgeVIEW User Manual
Contents
How Do You Change the Y Axis? .......................................................6-12
How Do You Change the Plot Colors and Style in the Trend? ............ 6-13
How Do You Zoom In on the Trend?...................................................6-13
How Do You Export Data to a Spreadsheet?.......................................6-13
How Do You Get Online Help for the HTV?.......................................6-13
How Do You Set Tag, Time, and Color Preferences?..........................6-13
How Do You View New Data Automatically After
It Has Been Logged to Citadel?......................................................... 6-14
How Do You Incorporate the HTV into Your HMI Application? ....... 6-14
Chapter 7
Advanced Application Topics
How Do You Build an HMI with Multiple Panels?............................................................ 7-1
Front Panel Buttons...............................................................................................7-1
Panel G Wizard.....................................................................................................7-1
How Do You Use the Panel G Wizard? .................................................7-2
How Do You Configure Security with the Panel G Wizard?................. 7-3
How Do You Configure When a Button Will Be Polled?......................7-3
VI Server Functions..............................................................................................7-5
How Do You Control Panel Size?..........................................................7-6
How Do You Control Panel Visibility?.................................................. 7-7
BridgeVIEW System Control.............................................................................................. 7-7
System VIs............................................................................................................ 7-7
How Do You Start or Stop the BridgeVIEW Engine
from Your Application?........................................................ ...............7-8
How Do You Start or Stop Historical Logging from
Your Application?................................................................................7-8
How Do You Start or Stop Event Logging
from Your Application?.......................................................................7-8
How Do You Start or Stop Event Printing
from Your Application?.......................................................................7-8
Tag Attributes VIs............................... ................................................................................7-9
BridgeVIEW Security ....................................................................................................... 7-13
Environment Security ....................................... ..................................................7-13
How Do You Log In and Out? ............................................................. 7-15
How Do You Find Your Access Level?...............................................7-15
How Do You Find Your Environment Privileges? ..............................7-15
How Do You Change Your Password?................................................7-16
How Do You Check a User’s Privileges?.............................................7-16
How Do You Prompt the Operator to Log In
to Your Application? .........................................................................7-16
BridgeVIEW User Manual x © National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 8
Servers
What Are BridgeVIEW Device Servers? ............................................................................8-1
How Do You Install and Configure a Device Server?......................................................... 8-2
How Do You Use OPC Servers with BridgeVIEW?...........................................................8-5
How Do You Use DDE Servers with BridgeVIEW? ..........................................................8-9
How Do You View BridgeVIEW Server Configuration?...................................................8-9
How Do You Develop an IA Device Server?....................................................................8-12
Contents
How Do You Programmatically Log an Operator In
to Your Application?..........................................................................7-17
How Do You Programmatically Log an Operator Out
of Your Application?..................................... ... ..................................7-17
How Do You Identify the Current Operator? .......................................7-17
How Do You Restrict Access to the BridgeVIEW Environment? .......7-17
How Do You Create and Modify User Accounts? ...............................7-17
How Do You Modify the List of Available User
Access Levels?...................................................................................7-19
How Do You Export a List of Users to a File?.....................................7-19
How Do You Export Users to Another Computer
on the Network? .................................................................................7-20
How Do You Import a List of Users from a File?................................7-20
How Do You Import Users from Another Computer
on the Network? .................................................................................7-21
How Do You Modify a User’s BridgeVIEW
Environment Privileges?..................................... ...............................7-22
Operator Interface Security .................................................................................7-22
How Do You Limit User Access to HMI Objects? ..............................7-23
Installing and Configuring the NI-DAQ OPC Server ...........................................8-3
Installing and Configuring Device Servers from
the BridgeVIEW Device Servers CD.................................................................8-4
Registering Simulation Servers.............................................................................8-4
Using Remote OPC Servers ..................................................................................8-7
Registered Server Device and Item Parameters ..................................................8-11
© National Instruments Corporation xi BridgeVIEW User Manual
Contents
Chapter 9
Creating VIs
What is a Virtual Instrument?.............................................................................................. 9-1
How Do You Build a VI?....................................................................................................9-1
What is a SubVI?...............................................................................................................9-12
How Do You Debug a VI?................................................................................................ 9-21
P
II
ART
G Tutorial
VI Hierarchy ....................................... ..................................................................9-1
Controls, Constants, and Indicators ......................................................................9-2
Terminals .............................................................................................................. 9-3
Wires.....................................................................................................................9-3
Tip Strips ................................................................................................9-4
Wire Stretching................................... ....................................................9-5
Selecting and Deleting Wires ................................................................. 9-5
Bad Wires ...............................................................................................9-6
VI Documentation.................................. ...............................................................9-9
Hierarchy Window..............................................................................................9-12
Search Hierarchy ..................................................................................9-14
Icon and Connector.............................................................................................9-14
Opening, Operating, and Changing SubVIs........................................................9-19
Chapter 10
Customizing VIs
Set Window Options...........................................................................................10-1
SubVI Node Setup ..............................................................................................10-1
Chapter 11
Loops and Charts
What is a Structure?...........................................................................................................11-1
Charts.................................................................................................................................11-2
Chart Modes........................................................................................................11-2
Faster Chart Updates...........................................................................................11-3
Overlaid Versus Stacked Plots............................................................................ 11-3
While Loops ......................................................................................................................11-4
Mechanical Action of Boolean Switches............................................................11-7
Timing................................................................................................................. 11-9
Preventing Code Execution in the First Iteration..............................................11-10
BridgeVIEW User Manual xii © National Instruments Corporation
Shift Registers..................................................................................................................11-11
Using Uninitialized Shift Registers...................................................................11-15
For Loops.........................................................................................................................11-20
Numeric Conversion............................................... ...........................................11-21
Chapter 12
Case and Sequence Structures and the Formula Node
Case Structure....................................................................................................................12-2
Sequence Structures...........................................................................................................12-5
Formula Node ..................................................................................................................12-11
Artificial Data Dependency .............................................................................................12-15
Chapter 13
Front Panel Object Attributes
Chapter 14
Arrays, Clusters, and Graphs
Arrays.................................................................................................................................14-1
How Do You Create and Initialize Arrays? ........................................................14-1
Array Controls, Constants, and Indicators............................................14-2
Auto-Indexing......................................................................................................14-2
Using Array Functions ........................................................................................14-9
Build Array ...........................................................................................14-9
Initialize Array.................................................................................... 1 4-10
Array Size ...........................................................................................14-11
Array Subset........................................................................................14-12
Index Array .........................................................................................14-13
Efficient Memory Usage: Minimizing Data Copies..........................................14-16
What is Polymorphism?...................................................................................................14-17
Clusters ............................................................................................................................14-17
Graphs..............................................................................................................................14-18
Customizing Graphs..........................................................................................14-18
Graph Cursors.....................................................................................14-19
Graph Axes .........................................................................................1 4-20
Data Acquisition Arrays....................................................................................14-20
Intensity Plots ..................................................................................................................14-23
Contents
Chapter 15
Application Control
What is the VI Server? ........................................................................................15-2
© National Instruments Corporation xiii BridgeVIEW User Manual
Contents
Chapter 16
Program Design
Use Top-Down Design......................................................................................................16-1
Make a List of User Requirements .....................................................................16-1
Design the VI Hierarchy..................................................................................... 16-1
Create the Program..............................................................................................16-3
Plan Ahead with Connector Panes ....................................................................................16-3
SubVIs with Required Inputs.............................................................................. 16-4
Good Diagram Style..........................................................................................................16-4
Watch for Common Operations..........................................................................16-4
Use Left-to-Right Layouts.................................................................................. 16-5
Check for Errors..................................................................................................16-5
Watch Out for Missing Dependencies................................................................16-7
Avoid Overuse of Sequence Structures ..............................................................16-8
Study the Examples.............................................................................................16-8
Appendix A
HMI Function Reference
Appendix B
Citadel and Open Database Connectivity
Appendix C
Customer Communication
Glossary
Index
Figures
Figure 1-1. BridgeVIEW Architecture ..........................................................................1-8
Figure 2-1. Engine Manager Display........................................................................... 2-12
Figure 2-2. Engine Manager with System Events Displayed......................................2-14
Figure 2-3. Tag Browser Utility ..................................................................................2-16
Figure 2-4. Tag Monitor Utility ...................................................................................2-19
Figure 2-5. Status Details Dialog Box.........................................................................2-21
BridgeVIEW User Manual xiv © National Instruments Corporation
Contents
Figure 2-6. Select Tags to Monitor Dialog Box...........................................................2-22
Figure 2-7. Write to Tag dialog box.............................................................................2-22
Figure 2-8. Tag Monitor Preferences Dialog Box .......................................................2-23
Figure 3-1. Tag Configuration Editor ............................................................................3-4
Figure 3-2. Flowchart of Server/Client Interaction........................................................3-6
Figure 3-3. Select Tags for Network Import Dialog Box ..............................................3-7
Figure 3-4. General Attributes Dialog Box..................................................................3-12
Figure 3-5. Tag Connection Dialog Box......................................................................3-14
Figure 3-6. I/O Group Configuration Dialog Box ....................................................... 3-17
Figure 3-7. Tag Operations Dialog Box.......................................................................3-24
Figure 3-8. Analog Tag Scaling Dialog Box ...............................................................3-29
Figure 3-9. Scaling for Discrete Tag Configuration ....................................................3-30
Figure 3-10. Scaling for Bit Array Tag Configuration ..................................................3-31
Figure 3-11. Alarms for Analog Tag Configuration......................................................3-36
Figure 3-12. Alarms for Discrete Tag Configuration.....................................................3-37
Figure 3-13. Alarms for Bit Array Tag Configuration...................................................3-38
Figure 4-1. HMI G Wizard Dialog Box......................................................... ... .............4-6
Figure 4-2. Control Dialog Box...................................................................................4-11
Figure 4-3. Monitor Tag Value and Alarm VI.............................................................4-26
Figure 4-4. Process View Display VI ..........................................................................4-28
Figure 4-5. Two Trend Display VI ..............................................................................4-30
Figure 4-6. Initializing the Waveform Chart Indicator
for a Real-Time Trend Display .................................................................4-30
Figure 4-7. Using the Tag Attributes VIs to Initialize
Front Panel Indicators, Frame 0 ................................................................4-32
Figure 4-8. Using the Tag Attributes VIs to Initialize
Front Panel Indicators, Frame 1 ................................................................4-33
Figure 5-1. Event Configuration Dialog Box...............................................................5-10
Figure 6-1. Historical Logging Configuration Dialog Box............................................6-3
Figure 6-2. Historical Trend Viewer..............................................................................6-9
Figure 6-3. Select Tags Dialog Box.............................................................................6-10
Figure 7-1. Panel G Wizard ...........................................................................................7-2
Figure 7-2. Access Levels Dialog Box ........................................................................7-14
Figure 7-3. Privileges Dialog Box ...............................................................................7-15
Figure 7-4. Edit User Accounts Dialog Box ................................................................7-17
Figure 7-5. Add a User Account..................................................................................7-17
Figure 7-6. Using the Security Monitor VI to Control Visibility ................................7-22
© National Instruments Corporation xv BridgeVIEW User Manual
Contents
Tables
Figure 8-1. Server Browser............................................................................................8-6
Figure 8-2. View Server Information Dialog Box.........................................................8-7
Figure 8-3. Browse OPC Servers on Network Dialog Box...........................................8-8
Figure 8-4. Server Browser..........................................................................................8-11
Figure 8-5. View Server Information Dialog Box.......................................................8-12
Table 2-1. BridgeVIEW Project Menu Items ............................................................2-10
Table 2-2. Engine Manager Field Descriptions .........................................................2-13
Table 2-3. Tag Browser Field Descriptions ..............................................................2-17
Table 2-4. Tag Monitor Utility Field Descriptions ...................................................2-20
Table 3-1. General Configuration Attributes ............................................................ 3-12
Table 3-2. Connection Configuration Attributes .......................................................3-15
Table 3-3. I/O Group Configuration Attributes .........................................................3-17
Table 3-4. Operations Configuration Attributes ........................................................3-25
Table 3-5. Scaling Configuration Attributes .............................................................3-27
Table 3-6. Bit Array Scaling Examples...................................................................... 3-32
Table 3-7. Alarms Configuration Attributes ............................................................3-33
Table 3-8. Events with Alarm Deadband = 0.0% ......................................................3-38
Table 3-9. Events with Alarm Deadband = 1.0% ......................................................3-39
Table 3-10. Configuration Settings for Activity 3-1 ................................................... 3-42
Table 3-11. Configuration Modifications for Activity 3-1...........................................3-43
Table 3-12. Configurable Memory Allocation Parameters ......................................... 3-47
Table 4-1. HMI G Wizard Operations .........................................................................4-4
Table 5-1. Tag Configuration Editor Event Configuration Selections ......................5-10
Table 5-2. Event Configuration, Log, and Print Format Selections ..........................5-12
Table 6-1. Parameters You Can Configure for Historical Logging ............................ 6-3
Table 6-2. Panning Button Functions.........................................................................6-11
Table 7-1. BridgeVIEW Environment Privileges ....................................................7-12
Table 7-2. Abbreviations Used to Enable Privileges for a User ...............................7-19
Table B-1. Data Transform Commands .......................................................................B-5
BridgeVIEW User Manual xvi © National Instruments Corporation
Activities
Activity 2-1. Open and Run a VI......................................................................................2-8
Activity 3-1. Configure a Tag, and View the Tag Configuration
Activity 4-1. Use the HMI G Wizard ...............................................................................4-8
Activity 4-2. Import a Graphic Image into BridgeVIEW...............................................4-13
Activity 4-3. Read a Tag .................................................................................................4-20
Activity 5-1. Build an Alarm Summary Display..............................................................5-3
Activity 5-2. Acknowledge Alarms in the Alarm Summary Display...............................5-7
Activity 6-1. Use the Historical Data VIs.........................................................................6-6
Activity 6-2. Use the Historical Trend Viewer...............................................................6-15
Activity 7-1. Use the Panel G Wizard ..............................................................................7-3
Activity 7-2. Use Tag Attributes.....................................................................................7-10
Activity 7-3. Apply Security to the Alarm Summary Display .......................................7-23
Activity 9-1. Create a VI...................................................................................................9-6
Activity 9-2. Document a VI ..........................................................................................9-10
Activity 9-3. Create an Icon and Connector...................................................................9-16
Activity 9-4. Call a SubVI..............................................................................................9-19
Activity 9-5. Debug a VI in BridgeVIEW......................................................................9-21
Contents
Parameters and Tag Values.......................................................................3-40
Activity 10-1. Use Setup Options for a SubVI .................................................................10-2
Activity 11-1. Experiment with Chart Modes .................................................................11-3
Activity 11-2. Use a While Loop and a Chart .................................................................11-4
Activity 11-3. Change the Mechanical Action of a Boolean Switch...............................11-8
Activity 11-4. Control Loop Timing................................................................................11-9
Activity 11-5. Use a Shift Register................................................................................11-13
Activity 11-6. Create a Multiplot Chart and Customize Your Trends...........................11-17
Activity 11-7. Use a For Loop.......................................................................................11-22
Activity 12-1. Use the Case Structure .............................................................................12-2
Activity 12-2. Use a Sequence Structure.........................................................................12-5
Activity 12-3. Use the Formula Node............................................................................12-13
Activity 14-1. Create an Array with Auto-Indexing........................................................14-3
Activity 14-2. Use Auto-Indexing on Input Arrays.........................................................14-7
Activity 14-3. Use the Build Array Function ................................................................14-15
Activity 14-4. Use the Graph and Analysis VIs ............................................................14-20
© National Instruments Corporation xvii BridgeVIEW User Manual
About This Manual
The BridgeVIEW User Manual contains the information you need to get
started with the BridgeVIEW software package. This manual explains the
BridgeVIEW environment, tag configuration, human machine interfaces,
alarms and events, and historical data logging and extraction. This manual
also reviews the concepts of G programming.
Throughout both sections of this manual, there are activities that teach
you what you need to know to build your own virtual instruments, and
ultimately, your own SCADA system. This manual assumes that you
know how to operate your computer and that you are familiar with its
operating system.
Organization of This Manual
This manual is divided into two parts. Part I, BridgeVIEW Concepts,
introduces you to the basic BridgeVIEW concepts, and includes Chapters 1
through 8. Part II, G Tutorial, describes the G programming language, and
how it works within BridgeVIEW, and includes Chapters 9 through 15.
We encourage you to work through all the activities in this manual before
you begin building your applications. You should save all of the VIs you
create with the BridgeVIEW activities in the
directory. To view the VI(s) for an activity that you have not completed
yourself, see the
solutions to the activities from the BridgeVIEW Concepts section of this
manual, and the
solutions to the activities in the G Tutorial section of this manual.
BridgeVIEW\Activity\Solutions
BridgeVIEW\Activity\Solution
BridgeVIEW\Activity
directory for the
directory for the
BridgeVIEW Concepts
Part I, BridgeVIEW Concepts, contains the following chapters.
• Chapter 1, Introduction, describes the unique BridgeVIEW approach
to Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Supervisory Control and
Data Acquisition (SCADA). It also contains system configuration,
installation instructions and basic information that explains how
to start using BridgeVIEW to develop industrial automation
applications.
• Chapter 2, BridgeVIEW Environment, describes the BridgeVIEW
environment. It explains the basic concepts behind G, the
© National Instruments Corporation xix BridgeVIEW User Manual
About This Manual
programming language upon which BridgeVIEW is built, the
BridgeVIEW Engine Manager, system errors and events, the Tag
Monitor utility, and the Tag Browser utility. This chapter also explains
how to access online help for BridgeVIEW and provides an activity
that illustrates how to examine the front panel and block diagram of a
virtual instrument (VI).
• Chapter 3, Tag Configuration, explains tags, the Tag Configuration
Editor, and how you edit tags within the BridgeVIEW system.
• Chapter 4, Human Machine Interface, explains what a Human
Machine Interface (HMI) is and how you can monitor and control tags
from your HMI.
• Chapter 5, Alarms and Events, introduces the basic concepts of alarms
and events, and explains how to view, acknowledge, and configure
them within the BridgeVIEW system.
• Chapter 6, Historical Data Logging and Extraction, explains the
concept of a trend, how to log and extract historical data, and how to
use the Historical Trend V iewer (HTV), a utility that displays historical
data that has been logged to disk with BridgeVIEW.
• Chapter 7, Advanced Application Topics, explains the advanced topics
you need to understand to make optimum use of BridgeVIEW for
developing applications. The advanced topics covered in this chapter
are the Panel G Wizard, BridgeVIEW System Control, Tag Attributes
VIs, and BridgeVIEW Security.
• Chapter 8, Servers, explains how to use servers with BridgeVIEW.
BridgeVIEW supports several types of servers including OPC Serv ers,
DDE Servers, and IA Device Servers.
G Tutorial
Part II, G Tutorial, contains the following chapters.
• Chapter 9, Creating VIs, introduces the basic concepts of virtual
instruments and provides activities that explain how to create the icon
and connector, how to use a VI as a subVI, ho w to use the VI Setup…
option, and how to use the SubVI Node Setup… option.
• Chapter 10, Customizing VIs , introduces the basic concepts used for
customizing VIs.
• Chapter 11, Loops and Charts, introduces structures and explains
the basic concepts of charts, the While Loop, and the For Loop.
BridgeVIEW User Manual xx © National Instruments Corporation
• Chapter 12, Case and Sequence Structures and the Formula Node,
introduces the basic concepts of Case and Sequence structures, and
provides activities that explain how to use the Case structure, how
to use the Sequence structure, and what sequence locals are and
how to use them.
• Chapter 13, Front Panel Object Attributes, describes objects called
attribute nodes, which are special block diagram nodes that control the
appearance and functional characteristics of controls and indicators.
• Chapter 14, Arrays, Clusters, and Graphs, introduces the basic
concepts of polymorphism, arrays, clusters, and graphs and provides
activities that explain auto-indexing and the Graph and Analysis VIs.
• Chapter 15, Application Control, introduces the VI Server and
provides an activity that explains how to use it within BridgeVIEW.
The VI Server allows you to control when a VI is loaded into memory,
run, and unloaded from memory.
• Chapter 16, Program Design, suggests some techniques to use when
creating programs and offers programming style recommendations.
Appendices, Glossary, and Index
• Appendix A, HMI Function Reference, describes error handling
for BridgeVIEW VIs and contains an explanation of the VIs in the
BridgeVIEW VI library. In this appendix, the VIs are arranged
alphabetically, first by VI Library name (Alarms and Events,
Historical Data, System, Tags, and Tag Attributes), then by VI name.
• Appendix B, Citadel and Open Datab ase Connectivity, describes the
Citadel database and the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) driver ,
and includes several examples of how to use it.
• Appendix C, Customer Communication, contains forms to help
you gather the information necessary to help us solve your
technical problems, and a form you can use to comment on
the product documentation.
• The Glossary contains an alphabetical list of terms used in this
manual, including abbreviations, acronyms, metric prefixes,
mnemonics, and symbols.
• The Index contains an alphabetical list of key terms and topics in
this manual, including the page where you can find each one.
About This Manual
© National Instruments Corporation xxi BridgeVIEW User Manual
About This Manual
Conventions Used in This Manual
The following conventions are used in this manual:
bold Bold text denotes a parameter, menu name, palette name, menu item,
return value, function panel item, or dialog box button or option.
italic Italic text denotes mathematical variables, emphasis, a cross reference,
or an introduction to a key concept.
bold italic Bold italic text denotes an activity objective, note, caution, or warning.
monospace
monospace bold
monospace italic
<> Angle brackets enclose the name of a key on the keyboard—for example,
- A hyphen between two or more key names enclosed in angle brackets
<Control> Key names are capitalized.
» The » symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options
Text in this font denotes text or characters that you should literally enter
from the keyboard. Sections of code, programming examples, and syntax
examples also appear in this font. This font also is used for the proper
names of disk drives, paths, directories, programs, subprograms,
subroutines, device names, variables, filenames, and extensions, and
for statements and comments taken from program code.
Bold text in this font denotes the messages and responses that the computer
automatically prints to the screen. This font also emphasizes lines of code
that are different from the other examples.
Italic text in this font denotes that you must enter the appropriate words or
values in the place of these items.
<PageDown>.
denotes that you should simultaneously press the named keys—for
example, <Control-Alt-Delete>.
to a final action. The sequence File»Page Setup»Options»Substitute
Fonts directs you to pull down the File menu, select the Page Setup item,
select Options, and finally select the Substi tute Fonts option from the last
dialog box.
paths Paths in this manual are denoted with backslashes (\) to separate drive
names, directories, and files, as in
BridgeVIEW User Manual xxii © National Instruments Corporation
C:\dir1name\dir2name\filename
.
This icon to the left of bold text denotes the beginning of an activity, which
contains step-by-step instructions you can follow to learn more about
BridgeVIEW.
This icon to the left of bold text denotes the end of an activity, which
contains step-by-step instructions you can follow to learn more about
BridgeVIEW.
This icon to the left of bold italicized text denotes a note, which alerts you
to important information.
Abbreviations, acron yms, metric pref ixes, mnemonics , symbols, and terms
are listed in the Glossary.
Related Documentation
The following documents contains information that you might find helpful
as you read this manual:
• G Programming Reference Manual
• BridgeVIEW Online Reference, available online by selecting
Help»Online Reference
About This Manual
Customer Communication
National Instruments wants to receive your comments on our products
and manuals. We are interested in the applications you develop with our
products, and we want to help if you have problems with them. To make it
easy for you to contact us, this manual contains comment and configuration
forms for you to complete. These forms are in Appendix C, Customer
Communication, at the end of this manual.
© National Instruments Corporation xxiii BridgeVIEW User Manual
BridgeVIEW Concepts
This section contains information about the BridgeVIEW environment, tag
configuration, Human Machine Interface, alarms and events, historical data
logging and extraction, servers, and advanced application topics such as
system control and security.
Part I, BridgeVIEW Concepts, contains the following chapters.
• Chapter 1, Introduction, describes the unique BridgeVIEW approach
to Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Supervisory Control and
Data Acquisition (SCADA). It also contains system configuration,
installation instructions and basic information that explains how
to usestart using BridgeVIEW to develop industrial automation
applications.
• Chapter 2, BridgeVIEW Environment, describes the BridgeVIEW
environment. It explains the basic concepts behind G, the
programming language upon which BridgeVIEW is built, the
BridgeVIEW Engine Manager, system errors and even ts, th e Tag
Monitor utility, and the Tag Browser utility. This chapter also explains
how to access online help for BridgeVIEW and provides an activity
that illustrates how to examine the front panel and block diagram of a
virtual instrument (VI).
• Chapter 3, Tag Configuration, explains tags, the Tag Configuration
Editor, and how you edit tags within the BridgeVIEW system. Before
you can run a BridgeVIEW application, you must specify a tag
configuration.
• Chapter 4, Human Machine Interface, explains what a Human
Machine Interface (HMI) is and how you can monitor and control tags
from your HMI.
• Chapter 5, Alarms and Events, introduces the basic concepts of alarms
and events, and explains how to view, acknowledge, and configure
them within the BridgeVIEW system.
Part I
Part I BridgeVIEW Concepts
• Chapter 6, Historical Data Logging and Extraction, explains the
concept of a trend, how to log and extract historical data, and how to
use the Historical Trend V iewer (HTV), a utility that displays historical
data that has been logged to disk with BridgeVIEW.
• Chapter 7, Advanced Application Topics, explains BridgeVIEW
Environment Securitythe advanced topics you need to understand to
make optimum use of BridgeVIEW for developing applications. The
advanced topics covered in this chapter are the Panel G Wizard,
BridgeVIEW System Control, Tag Attributes VIs, and BridgeVIEW
Security.
• Chapter 8, Servers, explains how to use servers with BridgeVIEW.
BridgeVIEW supports several types of servers including OPC Serv ers,
DDE Servers, and IA Device Servers.
BridgeVIEW User Manual I-2 © National Instruments Corporation
Introduction
This chapter describes the unique BridgeVIEW approach to
Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (SCADA). It also contains system configuration, installation
instructions, and basic information that explains how to start using
BridgeVIEW to develop industrial automation applications. This chapter
refers you to other chapters or manuals for more information.
Welcome to BridgeVIEW
BridgeVIEW adds real-time process monitoring, historical trending, alarm
and event reporting, online configuration tools and PLC connectivity to a
premiere graphical development environment, G.
BridgeVIEW makes use of an intuitive graphical user interface combined
with a powerful graphical programming language, G, that enables you to
perform data acquisition and analysis, create an operator interface or
Human Machine Interface (HMI), and develop adv anced supervisory
control applications.
1
BridgeVIEW provides the following features for the development of your
Industrial Automation applications.
• Graphical human-machine interface (HMI)
• Easy-to-use, fill in the blank configuration utilities
• Graphical programming tools
• Real-Time Database (RTDB)
• Historical data collection and trending (Citadel)
• Alarm and event reporting and logging
• Security
• Connectivity to PLC and industrial device networks
• OPC Server Support
© National Instruments Corporation 1-1 BridgeVIEW User Manual
Chapter 1 Introduction
Required System Configuration
BridgeVIEW is distributed on a CD-ROM that includes the complete
BridgeVIEW 2.0 release.
The Windows 95/NT version of BridgeVIEW runs on any system that
supports Windows 95 or W indows NT 4.0. A minimum of 24 MB of RAM
is required for this version to run effectively. We recommend 32 MB of
RAM and at least 30 MB of swap space available on your system.
Note
Installation
The standard BridgeVIEW installation requires approximately 110 MB of disk
space. A full installation requires approximately 150 MB. If you plan to install the
NI-DAQ Server as well, an additional 30 MB of disk space is required.
Complete the following steps to install BridgeVIEW.
1. Insert the CD in your CD-ROM drive.
2. Run the BridgeVIEW installer.
a. If you have Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 and your system
uses the AutoPlay feature, the Welcome to BridgeVIEW screen
appears a short time after you insert the CD.
b. If you have a system not using AutoPlay, run the following
program:
X
:\bvsetup.exe
X
where
is the letter of your CD-ROM drive.
3. Choose an installation. The installer offers several installation types:
Standard, Full, Minimum, and Custom. The Standard installation
requires approximately 110 MB. The Full installation, which also
includes Data Acquisition, GPIB, and VISA libraries and examples,
requires approximately 150 MB of disk space. The Standard
installation is recommended.
4. After selecting an installation, follow the instructions that appear on
your screen.
Note
If you plan to use National Instruments Data Acquisition (DAQ) devices, VISA, or
GPIB instrumentation, you can perform either the Full installation, which installs
all necessary drivers and example programs, or the Custom installation, in which
you select the items to install.
After you have installed BridgeVIEW completely, it is ready to run.
You migh t need to re-boo t your machine after installation so that updated
system, DAQ, VISA, or GPIB drivers can be loaded properly.
BridgeVIEW User Manual 1-2 © National Instruments Corporation
What Is BridgeVIEW?
BridgeVIEW is a software package specifically targeted at industrial
automation applications. BridgeVIEW provides configurable solutions for
common HMI and SCADA functions while leveraging the flexibility of
graphical programming. BridgeVIEW is built around the Gprogramming
language, created by National Instruments Corporation.
With BridgeVIEW, you can acquire data and control one or more
distributed devices in an overall facility. BridgeVIEW can change set points
or send control instructions to the individual devices while monitoring the
entire system. It also can gather information like alarms and measurement
points from these devices.
Common devices used for data acquisition include Programmable Logic
Controllers (PLCs), plug-in Data Acquisition boards, and other distributed
Input/Output (I/O) modules. BridgeVIEW device servers communicate
with these non-plug-in devices through RS-232, RS-485, TCP/IP, DDE,
netDDE, direct I/O, or other proprietary interfaces. BridgeVIEW device
servers provide the necessary protocol software to communicate with
thesedevices. BridgeVIEW also operates directly with OPC servers.
Chapter 1 Introduction
How Does BridgeVIEW Work?
BridgeVIEW uses a combination of tags, events, and data. A tag is a
connection to a real-world I/O point, while an event is anything that
happens to a tag or to the BridgeVIEW Engine in general. The
BridgeVIEW Engine communicates with device servers on one end,
andwith your HMI application at the other end. The BridgeVIEW
Enginemaintains a Real-Time Database (RTDB) of tag information and
logs historical data and events. You can build your HMI to interface with
the BridgeVIEW Engine using virtual instruments (VIs) to read and write
tag values, view alarm information and trend data. A virtual instrument is
a BridgeVIEW function, written in the graphical programming language G.
For more information about G, see any of the chapters in the G Tutorial
section of this manual.
Start by configuring all the tags in your system with the Tag Configuration
Editor. Then, you can launch the BridgeVIEW Engine, which reads your
configuration file and starts monitoring tags, logging data and events. You
can create your HMI application to display tag values, trends, and alarms.
You also can acknowledge alarms and control output tags. You can build
the HMI using BridgeVIEW VIs to read and write tag values, view alarm
© National Instruments Corporation 1-3 BridgeVIEW User Manual
Chapter 1 Introduction
G Programming
information, acknowledge alarms, view real-time trends and retrieve
historical data. For more information about how to get started with
BridgeVIEW, see the Where Should I Start? section at the end of this
chapter.
G is the easy-to-use graphical data flow programming language
BridgeVIEW is based upon. G simplifies scientific computation,
processmonitoring and control, test and measurement, and a wide
varietyof other applications.
G was first introduced by National Instruments as the programming
language behind LabVIEW, the program development application used
commonly for test and measurement purposes. BridgeVIEW has taken all
the functionality of G and enhanced it for your industrial automation needs.
The G Tutorial section of this manual covers the functionality of G that you
need to get started with most BridgeVIEW applications. For a more
extensive explanation of BridgeVIEW functionality, see the
GProgramming Reference Manual.
The basic concepts of G that are covered in this manual are as follows:
• VIs—Virtual instruments (VIs) have three main parts: the front panel,
the block diagram, and the icon/connector. The front panel specifies
the user interface of the VI. The block diagram consists of the
executable code that you create using nodes, terminals, and wires.
With the icon/connector, you can use a VI as a subVI in the block
diagram of another VI. For more information about VIs, refer to
Chapter9, CreatingVIs, and Chapter10, Customizing VIs.
• Loops and Charts—G has two structures to repeat execution of a
sub-diagram—the While Loop and the For Loop. Both structures are
resizable boxes. You place the subdiagram to be repeated inside the
border of the loop structure. The While Loop executes as long as the
value at the conditional terminal is TRUE. The For Loop executes a set
number of times. Charts are used to display real-time trend information
to the operator. For more information about loops and charts, refer to
Chapter11, Loops and Charts.
• Case and Sequence Structures—The Case structure is a conditional
branching control structure, which executes a subdiagram based on
certain input. sequence structure is a program control structure that
executes its subdiagrams in numeric order. For more information about
Case or Sequence structures, refer to Chapter12, Case and Sequence
Structures and the Formula Node.
BridgeVIEW User Manual 1-4 © National Instruments Corporation
Tag Configuration
Chapter 1 Introduction
• Attribute Nodes—Attribute nodes are special block diagram nodes that
you can use to control the appearance and functional characteristics of
controls and indicators. For more information about attribute nodes,
refer to Chapter13, Front Panel Object Attributes.
• Arrays, Clusters and Graphs—An array is a resizable collection of
data elements of the same type. A cluster is a statically sized collection
of data elements of the same or different types. Graphs commonly are
used to display data. For more information about arrays, clusters, and
graphs, refer to Chapter14, Arrays, Clusters, and Graphs.
• VI Server—The VI Server allows you to control when a VI is loaded
into memory, run, and unloaded from memory. For more information
about VI Control VIs, refer to Chapter15, Application Control.
A tag value is acquired and/or controlled by a device server that
communicates with the BridgeVIEW Engine and can be read or set by
aVIin your HMI application. Tags can be of the following types: input,
output, Input/Output, or memory. You can configure tags through the
TagConfiguration Editor. A tag configuration consists of its data type,
connection, scaling, operations, and alarms settings. For more information
about this topic, refer to Chapter3, Tag Configuration.
Data Type
A tag datatype can be analog, discrete, bit array, or string. Analog tags
have continuous values with a specified range (such as 0.0 to 100.0).
Discrete tags have values that are either ON (1) or OFF (0). Bit array tags
are comprised of up to 32 bits, each of which can have an ON (1) or OFF(0)
state. String tags consist of ASCII characters or binary data and can be of
any length.
General
General includes the following tag attributes:
•Tag name
• Tag description
• Tag group
• Length (for bit array and string tags)
© National Instruments Corporation 1-5 BridgeVIEW User Manual
Chapter 1 Introduction
Connection
Connection includes the following tag attributes:
• Access rights (input only, output only, Input/Output, or memory)
•Server name
• I/O group name
• Item name
• Access path (for OPC servers)
Scaling
Scaling controls the type of scaling to perform on a tag when
communicating with a device server, and the expected engineering
rangeand units for the tag.
Operations
You can specify how the BridgeVIEW Engine updates the Real-Time
Database (RTDB), when it logs the tag data to disk, if it logs events
associated with the tag, and what value exists in the database at startup.
Theoperations that can be performed on a tag are as follows:
• Updating the Real-Time Database
• Historical logging
• Event logging
• Event printing
Alarms
An alarm is an abnormal process condition. For example, an analog
tagcanbe configured to be in a HI alarm state when its value is greater
than25.You can set alarm limits for a tag in the Tag Configuration Editor.
Each alarm limit has a priority associated with it to determine the severity
of the alarm.
BridgeVIEW User Manual 1-6 © National Instruments Corporation
Events
An event is something that happens within the BridgeVIEW system.
Events can be divided into two groups: those that pertain to individual
tagsand those that pertain to the overall BridgeVIEW system. Events
pertaining to tags include the following:
• A tag going in or out of alarm
• An operator changing the value of a tag
• An operator acknowledging an alarm
Events pertaining to the system include the following:
• The launching or shutting down of the Engine
• A new operator logging on
• An error from a server
The Engine also maintains alarm summary and event history information
pertaining to tags. This information can be viewed by the user’s HMI and/or
be logged to disk.
Historical Data Logging and Extraction
You can extract data from the historical database to view the trend of tag
data over time. The BridgeVIEW Engine manages logging data to the
Citadel Historical Database. A trend is a view of data over time. Trends can
be real-time (current data) or historical (logged data). You can view logged
data with a user interface (HMI) or with the Historical Trend Viewer
(HTV). For more information about historical data logging and extraction
or the Citadel Historical Database, see Chapter6, Historical Data Logging
andExtraction, or AppendixB, Citadel and Open Database Connectivity.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Security
Environment security is built into BridgeVIEW and determines access to
certain parts of the BridgeVIEW environment. BridgeVIEW security is
broken into two general categories:
• BridgeVIEW Environment Access Privileges
• Operator Interface Security
© National Instruments Corporation 1-7 BridgeVIEW User Manual
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