GE iFIX

Trending Historical Data

Version 5.8, SP2

December 2016
Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability

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© 2016, General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

Trending Historical Data 1

Reference Documents 1

Using Charts to Analyze Process Trends 1

What is a Chart? 1

Adding Charts to Your Pictures 1

Comparing Standard Charts and Enhanced Charts 2

Plotting Different Types of Data 3

Displaying SQL Data 3

Working with Enhanced Charts 4

Enhanced Chart Types 4

Statistical Process Control Charts 4

Understanding X-Bar Charts 5

Understanding R-Bar Charts 5

Understanding S-Bar Charts 6

Other Types of Enhanced Charts 7

Data Sources and Chart Types 7

Understanding Line/Multiline Charts 7

Examples of Charts with Multiple Y Axes 8

Examples of Other Features Available in Line/Multiline Charts 9

Understanding XY Charts 11

Understanding Histograms 11

Working with Enhanced Chart Properties 12

Applying Enhanced Chart Properties 12

Applying Properties to all Data Sources 13

Naming an Enhanced Chart 13

Entering an Enhanced Chart Description 13

Defining Data Sources for Enhanced Charts 13

Adding Data Sources to Your Chart 14

Defining Data Properties 14

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. i

 Selecting a Historical Display Mode 15

Scrolling an Enhanced Chart 16

Plotting Ideal Curves 16

Scrolling an Enhanced Chart 17

Chart Configuration Considerations 18

Using the Historical Line Chart Dynamo 18

Changing the Appearance of an Enhanced Chart 19

Adding a Title to an Enhanced Chart 19

Changing the Chart Update Rate for an Enhanced Chart 19

Understanding Refresh Rates for Enhanced Charts 20

Configuring the Legends for an Enhanced Chart 20

Plotting Style Legend 21

Data Source Legend 21

Choosing a Border Style for an Enhanced Chart 21

Choosing the Format and Precision of Data to Display for Enhanced Charts 21

Defining a Grid for an Enhanced Chart 21

Defining Time Ranges for an Enhanced Chart 22

Configuring the X and Y Axis for an Enhanced Chart 22

Choosing Fonts for Enhanced Charts 22

Font Selection Considerations 24

Changing the Color Scheme of an Enhanced Chart 24

Using Pre-Set Styles 25

Color Selection Considerations 26

Defining the Plotting Style for Enhanced Charts 26

Working in the Run-time Environment for Enhanced Charts 26

Defining Run-time Attributes for an Enhanced Chart 27

Zooming in an Enhanced Chart 27

Displaying Time Cursors in an Enhanced Chart 27

Displaying Hover Tool Tips in an Enhanced Chart 28

Displaying Data Point Labels in an XY Chart 30

Data Source Limit Symbols 31

ii © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Understanding Chart Time for Enhanced Charts 32

Example 1: No Features Enabled 32

Example 2: Lock Time Feature is Enabled 33

Example 3: Using Server Time Zone (Proficy Historian only) 33

Example 4: Displaying Data from Multiple Time Zones (Proficy Historian only) 33

Adjusting for Daylight Savings Time for Enhanced Charts 33

Choosing Subsets for Line/Multiline Graphs 33

Marking Data Points in an Enhanced Chart 33

Performance Considerations and Limitations for Enhanced Charts 34

Exporting Data from an Enhanced Chart 34

Working with Standard Charts 34

Working with Standard Chart Properties 35

Applying Standard Chart Properties 35

Applying Properties to all Pens 36

Defining the Pen Type 36

Adding Pens to Your Chart 36

Defining Data Properties 37

Selecting a Historical Display Mode 38

Defining General Standard Chart Properties 39

Naming a Standard Chart 39

Entering a Standard Chart Description 40

Attributing a Help Context ID 40

Scrolling a Standard Chart 40

Plotting Ideal Curves 42

Changing the Appearance of a Standard Chart 43

Changing a Standard Chart's Foreground or Background Colors 44

Making the Chart Transparent 44

Changing the Refresh Rate 45

Defining Pen Styles 45

Applying Line Styles 46

Selecting a Line Color 46

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. iii

 Selecting a Marker Style 46

Defining Time Ranges 47

Configuring the X and Y Axis 48

Defining a Grid 49

Configuring the Legend 50

Animating Chart Properties 50

Working in the Run-time Environment 50

Defining Run-time Attributes 51

Zooming 51

Displaying Multiple Values and Times 52

Displaying Time Cursors and Tool Tips 53

Understanding Standard Chart Time 54

Example 1: No Features Enabled 54

Example 2: Lock Time Feature is Enabled 55

Example 3: Developing for Remote Deployment (Proficy Historian only) 55

Example 4: Developing for Multiple Time Zone Deployment (Proficy Historian only) 55

Example 5: Using Server Time Zone (Proficy Historian only) 55

Example 6: Displaying Data from Other Time Zones (Proficy Historian only) 55

Example 7: Displaying Data from Multiple Time Zones (Proficy Historian only) 55

Adjusting for Daylight Saving Time 55

Using the Chart Group Wizard with Standard Charts 57

Displaying and Using the Chart Group Toolbar 57

To display the Chart Group toolbar: 57

Before You Begin Working with the Chart Group Wizard 58

Understanding Charts and Pens 58

Understanding Chart Group Files 59

Defining Pens in a Chart Group File 59

Adding, Modifying, Deleting, and Re-Ordering Pens 59

Adding and Editing Pens 60

Deleting Pens 60

Reordering Pens 60

iv © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Setting Pen Styles 60

Setting Pen Properties 61

Setting Time-Related Pen Properties 61

Setting Properties Related to Data Limits 62

Historical Mode Options 62

Applying Changed Pen Configurations to a Chart 63

How the Chart Group Wizard Works in Configuration Mode 63

Applying the Chart Group Wizard to a Chart 63

Considering When to Apply the Chart Group Wizard 64

Configuring and Applying Chart Group Files 64

To configure and apply chart group files: 64

Applying a Chart Group File to a Chart 65

To apply a chart group file: 65

Creating and Managing Chart Group Files 65

Applying a Default Chart Group File to a Chart 66

Displaying the Name of a Chart Group File 66

To display the name of a chart group file without scripting: 66

To display the name of a chart group file with scripting: 66

Preventing Run-time Changes to Chart Group Files 67

Saving Chart Group Files 67

How the Chart Group Wizard Works in Run Mode 67

Using Scripting with the Chart Group Wizard 67

Applying a Chart Group File Through Scripting 68

Applying the Chart Group Wizard Through Scripting 68

Properties Defined Through the Chart Group Wizard 69

Examples of Using the Chart Group Wizard 69

Example 1: Applying the Chart Group Wizard to a Chart 70

To apply the Chart Group Wizard: 70

Example 2: Modifying a Pen Definition 70

Example 3: Applying a Chart Group File in Run Mode 71

Example 4: Applying a Chart Group File on an Object's Click Event 72

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. v

 Chart Group Wizard Dialog Boxes 72

Chart Group Configuration Dialog Box 72

Chart Group File 73

Pen List 73

Time 73

Pen Style 74

Data 75

Open File 75

New 75

Save 75

Save As 75

Apply Pens 75

Chart Group File Dialog Box 75

Chart Group File Path 75

Chart Group File Tree 75

Save As Read Only 75

File Name 76

Add Folder 76

Delete File 76

How Do I... 76

Getting Started 76

Working with Chart Group Files in Configuration Mode 76

Modifying a Chart Group File in Configuration Mode 77

To modify a chart group file in Configuration mode: 77

Working with Chart Group Files in Run Mode 77

Defining Pens 77

Using Scripts with the Chart Group Wizard 78

Index 79

vi © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Trending Historical Data

The Trending Historical Data manual is intended for process control engineers and operators who are
responsible for analyzing real-time and historical data using iFIX®. The manual assumes knowledge of the
Microsoft Windows environment, and basic iFIX operations and concepts.

Reference Documents
For related information on iFIX, refer to the following manuals:

l Building a SCADA System

l Understanding iFIX
l Setting Up the Environment
l Creating Pictures

Using Charts to Analyze Process Trends

Given the vast amount of data you can collect with iFIX, you need a way to present the information and
react to the results. Once you have collected the necessary data, you can display the data as process
trends in a chart. iFIX charts let you plot both real-time and historical data on the same chart, and gives
you easier access to the information you need.

Refer to the following sections for more information on charts:

l What is a Chart?
l Comparing Standard Charts and Enhanced Charts
l Plotting Different Types of Data
l Displaying SQL Data

What is a Chart?

Charts are an effective way to display trend data to users. They enable you to view specific sets of data rel-
ative to other data, thereby allowing you to continually determine the status of your process.

Charts are objects, and as such contain properties, methods, and events, just like any other iFIX object that
you can add to your picture. This means you can animate a chart through VBA, or change the chart's colors
or other properties. The behavior of iFIX objects is fully documented in the Creating Pictures manual. The
VBA properties, methods, and events are documented in the iFIX Automation Reference manual.

iFIX offers many types of charts for displaying your trend data. They are divided into two groups: Enhanced
Charts and Standard Charts. Enhanced Charts include many types of statistical process charts and are
highly customizable. Standard Charts allow you to configure an unlimited number of data sources, in any
combination, for your chart. For more information about each type of chart, refer to the Types of Charts
section.

Adding Charts to Your Pictures

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 1
 To add a chart to your picture, click the Chart button on the Shapes toolbar (Classic view) or on the Insert
tab, in the Charts group, click the desired chart style (Ribbon view - pictured in the following figure). If the
Toolbox is enabled, click the button on the Toolbox.

Chart Selection Options - Ribbon View

After selecting the desired chart, the cursor becomes a plus sign. Click and drag the mouse in an area of
the picture where you want to place the chart. When you initially add a chart to your picture, it is created
with a default name of Chart#, and the chart appears in the system tree in the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace.

Comparing Standard Charts and Enhanced Charts

The following table details the features that are provided by Standard or Enhanced Charts.

Feature Standard Charts Enhanced Charts

Allows animation X
Allows selection of font face and type X
Auto time cursor tracking X
Automatic padding for data plotting X
Baseline data source subsets X
Data quality legend X
Data sources can be added or deleted in run X X
mode
Exports chart data X
Line/multiline charts: while in run mode, can X
be viewed as another type of chart
Line/multiline charts: can view subsets of X
data for comparison
Log scale X
Multiple data plotting styles X
Multiple X and Y axes X
Provides histograms X
Provides line/multiline charts X X
Provides statistical process control charts X
Scrolling left to right X
Scrolling data source subsets X
Static Snapshot of chart X

2 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Tag group substitution X X
Time duration applies only to selected data X
source
Time duration applies to entire chart (includ- X
ing mixed mode)
Uses bitmaps and gradient fills X
Uses chart groups X
Uses the chart group wizard X
Variable orientation of X axis labels X

Plotting Different Types of Data

iFIX charts plot three types of data:

l Real-time – Data that is current.

l Historical – Data obtained at a previous time by Historical Collect.
l T_Data – Data obtained from a trend block of a real-time data source.

The type of data plotted is determined by the data source you have selected. For Standard Charts, this is
referred to as the pen type. For Enhanced Charts, it is referred to as Data Sources. The pen type, or data
source, determines which properties are available in your chart. The following table lists some of the com-
mon pen, or data source properties and their availability for each type.

Properties Based on Type

Property Historical Real-time (including T_Data)
Fixed Date Enabled Disabled
Fixed Time Enabled Disabled
Days Before Now Enabled Disabled
Duration Before Now Enabled Disabled
Interval Enabled Disabled

NOTE: If you are using a historical data source, the Tolerance, Deadband, and Refresh Rate fields have no effect
on data retrieval.

This section primarily focuses on how to set properties for historical data you want to plot in a chart. For
additional information on working with properties for real-time data, refer to the Adding a Chart section in
the Creating Pictures manual.

Displaying SQL Data

iFIX can retrieve data that is stored in a relational database and display the data in a chart. The term SQL
data encompasses any data that you want to display in a chart that is stored in a relational database.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 3

 For example, you may perform quality tests on your products or processes and record data from these
tests. iFIX lets you view this data as charts, arrays, or single values. You can view numeric data from a rela-
tional database provided that the database supports ODBC queries.

iFIX gives you full control over how you display and manipulate SQL data by letting you create and edit VBA
scripts. Refer to the Writing Scripts manual for detailed information on VBA scripts. For more information
on using SQL data sources, refer to the Using SQL manual.

Working with Enhanced Charts

The following sections describe how to modify many of the properties of an Enhanced Chart:

l Enhanced Chart Types

l Working with Enhanced Chart Properties
l Changing the Appearance of an Enhanced Chart
l Working in the Run-time Environment for Enhanced Charts
l Performance Considerations and Limitations for Enhanced Charts
l Exporting Data from an Enhanced Chart

Enhanced Chart Types

The following types of Enhanced Charts are available in the WorkSpace:

l X-Bar Charts
l R-Bar Charts
l S-Bar Charts
l Histograms
l Line/Multiline Charts
l XY Charts

The following sections describe each chart in detail:

l Statistical Process Control Charts (X-Bar, R-Bar, and S-Bar)

l Other Types of Enhanced Charts (Histogram, Line/Multiline, and XY)

Statistical Process Control Charts

Enhanced charts offer the ability to add statistical process control charts to your pictures. The charts use
the Statistical Data database block type SD. These blocks collect data according to how you configure
them, and display the collected data in run mode. The number of samples and other parameters are con-
figured in the block, not through the WorkSpace. Refer to the Database Block Reference for more inform-
ation on configuring Statistical blocks.

4 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 When you configure a data source for a statistical process control chart, you can only use statistical data
tags. If you add a data source using the Expression Builder, only statistical data tags are available for selec-
tion. Similarly, if you choose to enter your data source directly in the Data Sources list of the expression
editor and it is not a statistical data tag, you will receive an error message.

The statistical charts provide graphical data of key Statistical Data tag calculations. There are three stat-
istical process control charts, which are X-Bar, R-Bar, and S-Bar.

Understanding X-Bar Charts

The X-Bar chart shows how the mean (or average) changes over time. This chart is used to analyze central
location; that is, the center of a set of sample data. The statistic used to describe the central location is the
mean.

Data for the X-Bar chart can be derived from subgroups of constant size or variable sizes.

X-Bar Chart

The average over time

The Upper and Lower Warning Limits
The Upper and Lower Control Limits

Understanding R-Bar Charts

An R-Bar chart shows the range of the data. When creating statistical data, R is the range of the data; that
is, the highest observed value minus the lowest. R-Bar is the average of the ranges for the subgroups col-
lected.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 5

 R-Bar Chart

The average of the ranges of the data for all subgroups

The Upper and Lower Control Limits

Understanding S-Bar Charts

The S-Bar chart shows the standard deviation of the process, where S represents the standard deviation
of the process data, and the S-Bar represents the average of the standard deviations for the subgroups.

S-Bar Chart

The average of the standard deviations for all subgroups

The Upper and Lower Control Limits

6 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Other Types of Enhanced Charts

Other than the statistical process control charts, iFIX offers three other types of Enhanced charts. They are
the histogram, line/multiline, and XY charts.

Each chart provides you with a particular way to visualize your data. Histograms show the distribution of a
DataSet, while an XY chart illustrates the relationship between DataSets. Line/Multiline charts can help
you visualize a trend in your data over time.

Data Sources and Chart Types

Each type of chart requires that you use a particular database block type, as detailed in the following table:

Chart Type Database Block to Use

Line/Multiline Any
XY Any block, except SD, HS, ETR, SQT, SQD, or PA
Histogram HS

These blocks collect data according to how you configure them, and display the collected data in run mode.
The number of samples and other parameters are configured in the block, not through the WorkSpace.
Refer to the Database Block Reference for more information on configuring these blocks.

When you configure a data source for an Enhanced chart, you must use the appropriate tags. If you add a
data source using the Expression Builder, only the appropriate tags are available for selection. Similarly, if
you choose to enter your data source directly in the Data Sources list of the expression editor and it is not
the correct type of tag, you will receive an error message.

Understanding Line/Multiline Charts

A Line/Multiline chart displays a trend in data over intervals of time. It can display historical and real-time
data.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 7

 Line/Multiline Chart

If you choose to use a real-time data source for your line/multiline chart, be aware that when you view it in
run mode, the first data points will not be plotted until the time specified in the Chart Update Rate on the
General tab of the Enhanced Chart Customization dialog box has elapsed. Therefore, there will be a lag
time between when you open the chart in run mode and when the data is plotted; the first data point does
not immediately display. This applies to tag group substitution, as well.
Examples of Charts with Multiple Y Axes

The following figure shows an example of a Line/Multiline Chart with multiple Y axes.

Line/Multiline Chart with Multiple Y Axes

The next figure illustrates an example of a Line/Multiline Chart with stacked Y axes.

8 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Line/Multiline Chart with Multiple Y Axes, Stacked
Examples of Other Features Available in Line/Multiline Charts

Some of the other features that you can enable on a Line/Multiline charts are highlighted in the following
figure.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 9

The Quick Configure chart properties that can be modified in run mode are: Y Axes Style, Y Axes Always
Visible, and Plot Visible.

The following table outlines each of the features highlighted in the previous chart.

Screen Description
Area
When the Quick Configure option is enabled, you can move the cursor to the upper left
corner of the chart to display buttons to change the Y Axis Style to: Multiple, Stacked, or
Single.
When you select the Show Time Cursor as Tooltips option, it displays tooltips such as
these for the time cursor (the time cursor appears as the vertical black line in this fig-
ure).
Click on an item on this list (legend) to change the axes currently being viewed in the
chart.
When the Quick Configure option is enabled, you can click the Yes or No option in this
column to toggle the Plot Visibility setting for each data source.
When the Quick Configure option is enabled, you can click the Yes or No option in this
column to toggle the Y axis Always Visible property for each data source.
When the Quick Configure option is enabled, these two columns appear in the Legend.

10 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Understanding XY Charts

An XY chart allows you to visualize how two or more types of data, such as temperature and pressure, are
affected by one another. Using the chart, you can determine the type of relationship between two
DataSets.

In XY charts, you can use either real-time data or historical data, but not both on the same chart. The data
is refreshed and plotted based on the settings for the X axis.

XY Chart

The axis used as the data source is underlined in the data source legend. In the preceding illustration, the Y
axis is underlined, which indicates that the second data source added during configuration of the XY chart
was selected for the horizontal axis.

If you choose to use a real-time data source for your XY chart, be aware that when you view it in run
mode, the first data points will not be plotted until the time specified in the Chart Update Rate on the Gen-
eral tab of the Enhanced Chart Customization dialog box has elapsed. Therefore, there will be a lag time
between when you open the chart in run mode and when the data is plotted; the first data point does not
immediately display. This applies to tag group substitution, as well.

Understanding Histograms

A Histogram chart (also referred to as a Normal chart), is a bar graph that shows the distribution of a
DataSet.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 11

 The Histogram graphically shows the following:

l Center of the data – which is measured by mean, median, and mode.

l Spread of the data – how different the values are from the each other and from the middle.
l Presence of outliers – outliers are points on a chart that do not fall into the pattern.
l Presence of multiple modes in the data – the shape of the histogram may reveal multiple 'peaks'.

Histogram Chart

Working with Enhanced Chart Properties

The following sections describe how assign specific properties to Enhanced Charts:

l Applying Enhanced Chart Properties

l Naming an Enhanced Chart
l Entering an Enhanced Chart Description
l Defining Data Sources for Enhanced Charts

Applying Enhanced Chart Properties

There are several ways you can apply selected properties to your charts using the Chart Customization dia-
log box:

l Select a new data set in the Data Sources list.

l Click OK.
l Click Apply.
l Select the Apply to All Data Sources check box.

Each of these methods are described in the following table.

12 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Methods of Applying Properties
Use this To...
method...
Select a new Automatically apply properties based on the selected data source. This method takes pre-
data source cedence over other methods of applying properties: you do not have to click OK or Apply
in the Data to apply the data source property, and, if you click Cancel after you have selected a data
Source list source, the properties are still applied.
Click OK Quickly apply selected properties to your chart and close the Chart Customization dialog
box.

No matter which method you use to apply properties, you must click OK to close the dialog
box.
Click Apply View a property change immediately without closing the Chart Customization dialog box.
For example, if you want to change the color of a chart, change the color and click Apply.
The color of the chart will change while the Chart Configuration dialog box stays on your
screen.

You are not required to click Apply to apply properties to your chart.
Select the Apply properties to all data sources added to a chart. Refer to the Applying Properties to
Apply to All All Data Sources section below for more information.
Data Sources
NOTE: The Apply to All Data Sources check box applies only during the current con-
check box
figuration session. The default (that is, the check box is cleared) is restored the next time
you open the Chart Configuration dialog box.
Applying Properties to all Data Sources

iFIX allows you to easily define time, X and Y axis, grid, and legend properties for every data source you
add to your chart. You can do this by simply selecting the Apply to All Data Sources check box on the Time
tab on the Data Sources tab. For example, you may want all of the data sources in your chart to have the
same legend. To accomplish this, click the Legend tab and select the properties you want. Next, select the
Apply to All Data Sources check box. Exit the dialog box by clicking OK.

Naming an Enhanced Chart

The Name field allows you to enter a specific name for your chart. To change the name, enter an alternate
name in the Name field.

Entering an Enhanced Chart Description

The Description field allows you add a description for your chart. The description is a VBA property and can
be any name that will help you identify the purpose of the chart.

Defining Data Sources for Enhanced Charts

One of the most dynamic features of charts is the integration of both real-time and historical data in the
same chart, which lets you easily view all types of data in the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace. You need to define

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 13

the data sources you want to trend. The following sections show you how to select a data source and con-
figure its properties.

Adding Data Sources to Your Chart

Each data source must be defined. At the top of the Data Sources tab of the Chart Customization dialog
box is the Data Sources List area, which lists the data sources in Data Server.NODE.TAG.FIELD format.
NOTE: If you are adding a data source to an SPC (X-Bar, R-Bar, or S-Bar) Chart, you must use the SD block. For a his-
togram, you must use the HS block. For XY charts, you can use any block except SD, HS, ETR, SQT, SQD or PA.

There are many ways to add a new data source to your chart:

l Click Add in the Data Sources List area, and enter a data source in the field that appears.
l Double-click a blank field in the Data Sources List and enter a data source in the field.
l Click the Browse button to the right of the field to display the Expression Builder, which allows you
to search for global data sources through a data source browser. To learn how to use the Expres-
sion Builder and define data sources, refer to the Animating Object Properties chapter in the Creat-
ing Pictures manual. For more information on data sources, refer to the System Architecture
section of the Understanding iFIX manual.
l Write a VBA script. Refer to the Writing Scripts manual for more information.

For XY charts, you can only add two data sources, one for the X axis and one for the Y axis.

To modify an existing data source in the Data Sources list, double-click the data source and enter an altern-
ate data source. To change the order of the data source in the chart's legend, click the data source you
want to move in the Data Sources List area, and then click either the up or down arrow.

To delete a data source, select the data source from the list and click the Delete button.

Defining Data Properties

To control how the data is presented by the configured data source(s), you can define the data properties
for your chart. You can do this by selecting the properties you want on the Data tab on the Data Sources
tab. The following properties can be defined:

l High Limit – Displays the high limit value defined for the selected data source.
l Low Limit – Displays the low limit value defined for the selected data source.
l Fetch Limits – At run-time, automatically retrieves the low and high limits assigned to the selected
data source. If this option is selected, then the manually entered High and Low Limits will not be
considered.
l Show Gaps – Determines whether a blank space or a line is displayed to represent an area in a
plot where there is no data. This field is not available for XY charts.
l Interpolate Data – Causes the lines between plotted data to display as slopes, rather than flat
lines. This field is not available for XY charts.
l Maximum Display Points – Determines how many data points will be displayed for the data source
over a given span duration. This field is not available for XY charts.

14 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Historical Mode – Determines how iFIX selects data from a historical data source and displays it in
the chart, and determines what each displayed value represents. This field is not available for XY
charts.

The following table provides some examples of data properties applied to a chart.

Data Property Examples

Use this To...
property...
High Limit Specify high and low limit values for trending. To do this, enter the low and high limit values
you want to trend for the selected data source in the Low Limit and High Limit fields, respect-
Low Limit
ively.
Fetch Lim- Retrieve the limit range assigned to the data source at run time. For example, you may have
its a data source with limits that are unknown or prone to change in the configuration envir-
onment.

By selecting Fetch Limits, you can set the data source's high and low limits equal to that of
the data source at run time.
Maximum Determine how many data points display for the data source in the chart based on a set dur-
Display ation.
Points
For example, if the maximum points are 500, and the duration is 500 seconds, then the max-
imum number of points that the chart will maintain is 1 per second.

Selecting a Historical Display Mode

NOTE: This feature is not available for XY charts. The data is always interpolated.

Data sources displaying historical data offer additional flexibility in how the data is displayed by offering a
historical mode, available on the Data tab on the Data Sources tab. Select a mode from the Historical
Mode drop-down list. The display mode determines how iFIX selects data from a historical data source and
displays it in the chart, and determines what each displayed value represents.

Historical modes are directly related to Span Interval and Span Duration properties for the time group. The
Span Interval determines the range of data that the display mode uses to calculate the point of data that is
trended. Time group properties are further described in the Defining Time Ranges section.

The following table shows the different historical modes you can choose from, and how trending differs for
each mode.

Historical Modes
If you Then...
select this
mode...
Sample The last valid value found is trended, up to and including the start of the interval.
Avg The average of all valid data found during the interval is trended, starting at the beginning of
the interval, 12:00:00.
High The highest valid data point value found during the interval is trended, starting at the begin-
ning of the interval, 12:00:00.
Low The lowest valid data point value found during the interval is trended, starting at the begin-
ning of the interval, 12:00:00

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 15

 Interpolated The data is interpreted by assuming that the line between two values is a straight line. All
points along that line are estimated except the starting point and the ending point. Simple
linear interpolation is used to estimate the line. Available for Proficy Historian only.
Trend The raw data for the minimum and maximum values for each interval is returned.

Let's examine an example of a data source configured to display in sample mode. Assume that the fol-
lowing data is available for a data source and the Interval is set to 10 minutes.

Time Data Value

12:00:00 0.0
12:01:00 1.00
12:02:00 2.00
12:03:00 3.00
12:04:00 4.00
12:05:00 5.00
12:06:00 6.00
12:07:00 7.00
12:08:00 8.00
12:09:00 9.00

Using the above chart, the values are trended as indicated:

Avg – 4.5 is trended from 12:00:00 to 12:10:00.

High – 9.0 is trended from 12:00:00 to 12:10:00.

Low – 0.0 is trended from 12:00:00 to 12:10:00.

The value, 0.0 at 12:00:00 (the start of the interval), is trended for the duration of the interval, from
12:00:00 up to 12:10:00. If 0.0 is not a valid point, then the last valid value found prior to the start of the
interval is trended.

You can enter a data source more than once to display data in different modes. For example, if you trend
an Analog Input block, you can enter the block twice in the Data Sources List: once in Sample mode, and
again in Average mode.
NOTE: Sample mode is the fastest mode for displaying historical data. However, the average, high, and low modes
may provide more detailed data values for your application. The trend mode is the preferred mode for retrieving
data for plotting over long time periods.

Scrolling an Enhanced Chart

Plotting Ideal Curves

A chart's left-to-right scrolling functionality helps you easily determine how close your data is to a desired
value. It does so by letting you easily recognize ideal and actual curves in the same chart. An ideal curve is
an existing historical plot that represents an ideal condition in your process. The actual curve is a real-time
plot that represents current conditions. Depending on your process, it may be crucial that the actual curve
come as close as possible, if not exactly match, the ideal curve.

16 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 For example, let's say you want to plot real-time data so that it shows the proper variation in temperature
of a process, determined by a plot collected previously. Using multiple data sources and scrolling in iFIX
charts, you can view the real-time and historical data simultaneously to determine whether data that is
currently being fetched matches the ideal scenario.

iFIX charts give you the ability to monitor crucial fluctuations in data which, in many cases, can greatly
impact your process.

Scrolling an Enhanced Chart

To scroll an enhanced chart, use the Historical Line Chart Dynamo, available in the Dynamo Sets folder in
the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace system tree. Add the Dynamo to your picture and double-click it. The Historical
Line Chart Customization dialog box appears, which lets you make changes to the chart's properties.

The following figure illustrates the controls available for date and time selection, as well as scrolling, in the
Historical Line Chart Dynamo.

iFIX Historical Line Chart Dynamo

Fast Backward – Scrolls the chart Backward – Scrolls the chart back
back 50% of the chart's duration 25% of the chart's duration

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 17

 Date Picker – Allows you to specify Time Picker – Allows you to specify
the date of the historical data the time of the historical data
Forward – Scrolls the chart forward Fast Forward – Scrolls the chart for-
25% of the chart's duration ward 50% of the chart's duration

Chart Configuration Considerations

There are some considerations to keep in mind when configuring the Historical Line Chart Dynamo.

l If you want to use a key macro, or a click event for the Historical Line Chart Dynamo, clear the
Selectable checkbox on the General tab on the Historical Line Chart Customization dialog box.
Otherwise, when you click on the Dynamo in run mode, the key macro or click event does not work
properly, because only the chart is selected, not the entire Dynamo. If you choose to leave Select-
able enabled, then make sure to add your key macros and click script events to both the line chart
and Dynamo objects.
l The Days Before Now and Duration Before Now fields, which are located in the Start Time area of
the Time tab, of the Data Sources tab, on the Historical Line Chart Customization dialog box, are dis-
abled. Any entry you make in these fields is disregarded. However, you can use the Fixed Date and
Fixed Time fields of the first data source listed in the Data Sources list to set the start date and
time. The Fixed Date and Fixed Time used for the first data source in the Data Sources list applies
to all data sources, causing all data sources to start on the same date and time on the chart.
IMPORTANT: Do not disable FixedDate and FixedTime in the Property Window or in VBA. If you disable
them, the chart will not work correctly.

l The initial date and time that appear on the chart in run mode are based on the start date and time
configured in the Start Time area on the Time tab of the Data Sources tab for the first data source
listed in the Data Sources list. While in configuration mode, if you use a method other than com-
pleting the Line Chart Customization dialog box to set the start date and time in the Date and Time
Picker fields, when you switch to run mode, the start date and time on the chart axis will not match
the date and time you configured. Instead, they will match the start date and time entered on the
Time tab for the first data source in the Data Sources List.
l If you use only real-time data sources, the chart does not scroll.

Using the Historical Line Chart Dynamo

Click the arrows on the bottom of the chart to scroll the chart in a particular direction. Depending on the
arrow selected you will move forward or backward either 25 or 50% of the chart's duration. The chart's
duration is set on the General tab in the Duration area of the Historical Line Chart Customization dialog
box.

You can use the date and time picker to specify exactly where you want your chart to begin. To choose a
date, click the Date Picker selection box arrow; on the calendar that appears, click on the desired date. To
choose a time, you can either enter the desired time directly in the Time Picker selection box, or use the
Time Picker selection box arrows to change the time.
NOTES:
l Changing the time using the Time Picker does not change the date displayed on the Date Picker. So, for
example, if you move the time from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m., the date remains the same in the Date Picker; it
does not advance one day.

18 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l When running the Historical Line Chart Dynamo with a Historical Update Rate set, the dates and times
displayed in the Date and Time Pickers are not automatically updated to reflect the new start time of the
chart upon refresh.
IMPORTANT:
l The Quick Dynamo Updater and Dynamo Updater Wizard are not available for the Historical Line Chart
Dynamo because it is not a true Dynamo object.
l If you use multiple historical data sources, the time period for the chart is the same for all sources. It is
based on the date and time selected using the Date and Time Pickers.

You can change the chart's scroll percentage using VBA scripts. For more information on using scripts to
scroll charts, refer to the Writing Scripts manual.

Changing the Appearance of an Enhanced Chart

The following sections describe how to customize the appearance of an Enhanced Chart:

l Adding a Title to an Enhanced Chart

l Changing the Refresh Rate for an Enhanced Chart
l Understanding Refresh Rates for Enhanced Charts
l Configuring the Legends for an Enhanced Chart
l Choosing a Border Style for an Enhanced Chart
l Choosing the Format and Precision of Data to Display for Enhanced Charts
l Defining a Grid for an Enhanced Chart
l Defining Time Ranges for an Enhanced Chart
l Configuring the X and Y Axis for an Enhanced Chart
l Choosing Fonts for Enhanced Charts
l Changing the Color Scheme of an Enhanced Chart
l Defining the Plotting Style for Enhanced Charts

Adding a Title to an Enhanced Chart

Adding a title to your chart will help you to see at a glance what type of information the chart contains.

The Main Title field allows you to enter a specific title for your chart. When you first add a chart to your pic-
ture the default title that appears is Chart Type. For example, if you add an X-Bar chart to your picture, the
title will read SPC X Bar. To change the name, enter the desired name in the Main Title field.
Additionally, you can add a subtitle to your chart, for further clarification of the chart information. To add a
subtitle, enter it in the Subtitle field on the General tab of the Chart Customization dialog box.

Changing the Chart Update Rate for an Enhanced Chart

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 19

 The chart update rate determines how quickly a chart updates the data plot in the run-time environment.
The faster the chart refresh rate, the slower the performance will be, as the chart needs to be redrawn
each time it is refreshed at the specified refresh rate.

You can specify a chart refresh rate for your chart by entering a rate, in seconds, in the Chart Update Rate
field, in the Appearance area on the General tab of the Chart Customization dialog box. For real-time data
sources, the refresh rate can be from 0.1 seconds to a maximum of 1800 seconds, or 30 minutes, and can
be entered in 0.1 second intervals. For historical data sources, the refresh rate can be from 5 seconds to a
maximum of 1800 seconds, or 30 minutes.

Understanding Refresh Rates for Enhanced Charts

There are a number of refresh rates that are involved with presenting data on a chart. In order to get the
best appearance from your charts, it is necessary to understand how the rates interact.

Type of Refresh Rate Definition

Block Scan Time The scan time, or the frequency of the interaction between the PLC
and the SCADA.
Real-time Data Refresh The frequency at which the database updates the information from
Rate the block. This rate should not be set to a higher value than the block
scan time value. This value is set on the Expression Builder dialog
box.
Chart Update Rate The frequency at which the chart retrieves data from the database.
This rate should not be set to a higher value than the real-time data
refresh rate. Doing so may result in flat line areas in your chart,
because the chart is retrieving data faster than the database is
receiving updates. This value is set in the Appearance area of the
General tab of the Chart Customization dialog box.

For XY charts, this update rate applies to both real-time and his-
torical data sources.
Historical Update Rate The frequency at which the chart retrieves historical data from the
Historian. This value is completely independent of the other three
refresh rates, which are interdependent. Because the historical
update rate is independent of the other refresh rates, when his-
torical data is plotted on a chart with real-time data, it will not
update in the same way. Its plotting behavior is best exemplified on
Standard Charts.

NOTE: This option does not apply to XY charts.

Configuring the Legends for an Enhanced Chart

The legend lets you quickly identify the information that the chart is plotting. In Enhanced Charts, charts
may display up to two legends, which include the plotting style and data source legends. To determine

20 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 which legends appear on your chart, select or clear the legend check boxes in the Miscellaneous area on
the Chart Style tab.

Plotting Style Legend

The plotting style legend, if enabled, appears at the top of the chart. For line/multiline charts, the plotting
style legend displays the color and point or line type for each data source. For SPC charts, including X-bar,
R-bar, and S-bar charts, the plotting style legend displays the color for the data source, the upper and
lower control limits, the upper and lower warning limits, and the bar value. For XY charts, the plotting style
legend displays the color and point, or line type for the Y axis data source.

Data Source Legend

The data source legend, if enabled, appears at the bottom of the chart. For line/multiline and XY charts, the
data source legend provides collection and error information for each data source. For SPC charts, includ-
ing X-bar, R-bar, and S-bar charts, in addition to the collection information, the upper and lower control lim-
its, the upper and lower warning limits, and the bar value also appear. To configure the data source
legend, click the Data Sources tab on the Legend tabbed page of the Chart Customization dialog box.

You can modify the data source legend. You can add or remove items from the legend, as well as change
the order of the items that appear. However, for XY charts, you cannot remove the axis indicators; they are
always present. To add or remove items from the chart's legend, click the Legend tab and select or clear
the property check boxes of the legend. The Order list of the Legend Column Widths area on the Chart
Style tab lets you display the items you select in any order in the legend (left to right). To change the num-
ber of characters permitted for each legend description, change the value in the corresponding field on
the Chart Style tab in the Legend Column Widths area.

Choosing a Border Style for an Enhanced Chart

You can choose the type of border you want for your chart. Your selection is applied to both the graph and
table.

To choose a border style, make a selection in the Border Style area on the Chart Style tab on the Chart Cus-
tomization dialog box.
NOTE: Settings chosen on the Chart Style tab override the settings chosen on the Color tab.

Choosing the Format and Precision of Data to Display for Enhanced Charts

With all Enhanced Charts, except for the XY chart, you can choose to display your data in a graph, a table,
or both. How you plan to use the data and who is looking at it will determine your choice of format for data
display. You can choose the format for your data in the Display area, on the Chart Style tab on the Chart
Customization dialog box.

You can also select a level of numeric precision, or the number of decimal points used for your chart.
However, decimal points do not appear on the chart, even if you specify a high level of precision unless
they are necessary. You can set the level of numeric precision in the Numeric Precision area, on the Chart
Style tab on the Chart Customization dialog box.

Defining a Grid for an Enhanced Chart

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 21

 The grid in your chart gives you a point of reference when data points move across the chart. iFIX gives
you precise control of both the horizontal and vertical axis of your grid. You can select whether to display
the grid, which axis to display, whether the grid is in front of the data, and the grid style.

To define a grid, click the Chart Style tab and select the desired options in the Grid Lines area.

Defining Time Ranges for an Enhanced Chart

For historical data sources only, you can assign a time range to data sources in the chart, using the Time
tab on the Data Sources tab on the Chart Customization dialog box. This allows you to examine data from
a specific period of time.

To define time ranges, click the Time tab on the Data Sources tab and enter the time ranges in the appro-
priate fields.
NOTE: Time range selection is available only for Line/Multiline and XY charts.

Configuring the X and Y Axis for an Enhanced Chart

You can configure an axis by clicking the Axis tab. There, you can specify the label for both axes.

For the Y axis, you can set the values including the minimum, maximum, or both, or have iFIX automatically
generate the Y axis range, by selecting the Use Data Source Limits field. If you choose to allow iFIX to auto
generate the Y axis range, you can enter a value in the padding field. This causes the chart to show values
that exceeds the maximum and minimum values, thus allowing some padding on either side of the range.
The padding is measured as a percentage of the total Y axis. For line charts only, you can choose to use
either linear or log values as the unit of measure. Optionally, you can choose to extend the Y axis tick
marks on the Chart Style tab.

For the X axis, on the Chart Style tab, you can select the label orientation. The X axis labels do not reflect
the actual time stamp of the data. The X axis time stamps are calculated based on the duration and/or
start time defined for the data source selected for the horizontal axis. The horizontal axis's data source
defaults to the one at the top of the list in the Data Sources List field on the Data Sources tab of the Chart
Customization dialog box. In run mode, you can change the data source selected for the horizontal axis by
clicking on another data source in the Chart Legend. The actual data time stamps appear in the Time
Cursor Legend.

For XY charts, you can configure the X axis to use either linear or log values as the unit of measure. You
can also choose to have iFIX automatically generate the X axis range, by clearing the Use Data Source Lim-
its check box. If you choose to allow iFIX to auto generate the X axis range, you can enter a value in the pad-
ding field.

Choosing Fonts for Enhanced Charts

You can choose the font type and face to use for your charts. The font size selections you make are applied
to all chart items including the title, sub-title, subset, points, axis labels, and table data.

You can also choose the display size of the fonts. However, when choosing a size, keep in mind that the
total area available for your chart does not change, even if the font size does. Therefore, the size you

22 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 choose for the font impacts the available area for chart display. For example, in the following table, the
large size font provides much less space on the chart for actual data display, than does the small size font.

For the following chart... the font size selected is...

small

medium

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 23

 large

To make your font choices, double-click your chart, and on the Chart Customization dialog box, click Font,
and choose your font size, face, and style.

Font Selection Considerations

The following suggestions will make your chart easier to read:

l Use the same font face for all chart elements.

l Apply only one font style to each chart element. For example, use only bold or italic for the title,
rather than both.
l Limit use of the italic style.

Changing the Color Scheme of an Enhanced Chart

You can view your chart in color, monochrome, or in monochrome + symbols. If performance is an issue,
you will probably want to view your chart in monochrome because it is less taxing on the system.

If you choose to view your chart in color, you can customize every color aspect of the chart's appearance.
The following illustration highlights each of the items you can customize, which include titles, legends, and
graphs.

24 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 iFIX Enhanced Chart with Color Customization
Desk Foreground Desk Background Shadow Color

Graph Foreground Graph Background Table Foreground

Table Background

Using Pre-Set Styles

For easy color-customization of your chart, you can use a pre-set style. Pre-set styles provide com-
prehensive color themes for your chart. There are twelve themes available in light, medium, or dark color

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 25

 combinations. Additionally, you can easily add gradient shades to your chart. In the following example,
Dark Inset was selected as the pre-set style. By applying a bitmap or gradient style to the Dark Inset, the
chart on the right results.

Dark Inset Selected Bitmap / Gradient Styles and Dark Inset

Selected

iFIX Enhanced Charts with Pre-Set Color Styles Applied

To customize your chart's colors, double-click your chart, and on the Chart Customization dialog box, click
Color, and choose your viewing style, graph attributes and style.

Color Selection Considerations

We recommend keeping the following suggestions in mind when making your chart color selections:

l If performance is an issue, avoid using color. Instead, view your charts in monochrome.
l Avoid the use of too many bright colors. It can make your chart unpleasant to look at. Instead, use
bright colors to highlight specific information, thus drawing attention where you want it.

Defining the Plotting Style for Enhanced Charts

Defining the plotting style for an enhanced chart includes choosing the type of line you want to use to plot
your data, selecting the data point type, choosing the color for the line, labels and data points, and adding
shadows to the data points, if desired. For line/multiline charts, you may also select the type of chart to
use.

All plotting style choices can be selected on the Plotting Style tab of the Chart Customization dialog box.

Working in the Run-time Environment for Enhanced Charts

The following sections describe how to configure Enhanced Charts for specific attributes in the run-time
environment:

26 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Defining Run-time Attributes for an Enhanced Chart
l Zooming in an Enhanced Chart
l Displaying Time Cursors in an Enhanced Chart
l Understanding Chart Time for Enhanced Charts
l Adjusting for Daylight Savings Time for Enhanced Charts
l Choosing Subsets for Line/Multiline Graphs
l Marking Data Points in an Enhanced Chart

Defining Run-time Attributes for an Enhanced Chart

You can assign certain attributes in the configuration environment to make the chart accessible when you
switch to the run-time environment. You can specify these attributes by selecting the appropriate check
boxes on the General tab page of the Chart Customization dialog box. The following table describes each
attribute.

Selecting Lets you...

the check
box...
Highlightable Highlight the object at run-time.
Selectable Select the object at run-time.
Example: Zoom in on an area of the chart.
Modifiable Modify the object at run-time.
Example: Modify chart properties using the Chart Configuration dialog box.
Expandable Expand or Contract the chart at run-time.
Example: Move the cursor to the upper right corner of the chart at run time. An Expand or
Contract button appears. The Expand button displays the chart in full screen; the Contract
button resets the chart to its original size and position. The hot keys 'E' and 'C' (upper and
lower case) can also be used to Expand or Contract the chart if it has focus.
NOTE: If a chart has the Thumbnail property set to true then when the chart is expanded the
Thumbnail property will be set to false. When the chart is contracted the Thumbnail property
will be set back to true.

Zooming in an Enhanced Chart

When a chart is selectable, you can zoom to an area of the chart by placing the cursor within the chart
area and clicking an area, or enclosing an area in a rectangle selector. When the cursor is in the chart
area, it becomes a magnifying glass. You can zoom to the horizontal, vertical, or both axes in the chart to
view specific data. To zoom out on the chart, press Z. Alternatively, you can use the right-click menu. Select
Chart Options and then Undo Zoom.

To enable zooming for your chart, on the General tab of the Chart Customization dialog box, select the
desired zooming capability.

Displaying Time Cursors in an Enhanced Chart

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 27

 You can choose to display time cursors in the run-time environment. The time cursor appears as a
crosshair, which moves as you move the mouse. The value of the time cursor is displayed in the legend.
For historical pens, the value at the point of the time cursor is displayed; for real-time pens, the current
value is always displayed.

To display the time cursor in the run-time environment, select Show Time Cursor on the General tab of the
Chart Customization dialog box. If you have chosen to display the time cursor as tool tips, clicking in the
plot area freezes the time cursor where clicked; clicking again frees the cursor.

Time Cursor

Time Cursor Values

Enhanced Chart with Time Cursor

NOTE: The chart must be selectable to view the time cursor at run time.

Displaying Hover Tool Tips in an Enhanced Chart

You can display tool tips in the run-time environment. When tool tips are enabled, placing the mouse
pointer over a point in the chart causes the value of the point, along with the time and date stamp for that
point, to display in a pop up box.

In the following figure, which depicts a line chart, the point, along with the time stamp appear in the pop up
box.

28 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Enhanced Line Chart with Tool Tips Enabled

In the following figure of an XY chart, the X and Y values for the point are displayed, as shown in the green
pop up box.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 29

 Enhanced Chart with Tool Tips

To display the tool tips in run mode, select Show Hover Tool Tip on the General tab of the Chart Cus-
tomization dialog box.

Displaying Data Point Labels in an XY Chart

You can display the labels for all data points in an XY chart in the run-time environment.

The following figure displays an XY chart where the values, or labels, for all of the data points are dis-
played. It also illustrates a second way to view the values for a single data point, the tool tip. The tool tip,
along with the time stamp, appear in the green pop up box. Enabling data point labels allows you to read
all of the points' values at once. And, the values continue to display for as long as the chart is displayed in
run mode. To check the value of a single point, you can use the tool tip. The value of the selected data point
does not continue to display after you move the tool tip away from it.

30 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 XY Chart with Data Points Labels

To display the data points labels in run mode, select Include Data Labels in the Miscellaneous area on the
Chart Style tab of the Chart Customization dialog box.

Data Source Limit Symbols

If your chart uses data source limit symbols to demarcate the axes limits, the Data Point Labels will use
those too. In the following figure, the Tool Tips display the actual value; the Data Point Labels do not.
Instead, the labels reflect the same substitution as the data source limits; the zeros and the data source
limit symbol are implied. For more information on data source limit symbols, refer to Understanding
Enhanced Chart Data Source Values Symbols.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 31

 Data Point Labels with Data Source Limits Symbol

Understanding Chart Time for Enhanced Charts

The relationship between the following fields must be considered when you use a fixed start time and date
in a chart:

l Lock Time
l Time Zone (Proficy Historian only)
l Adjust for Daylight Savings Time (Proficy Historian only)

iFIX charts save time as Coordinated Universal Time (or UTC time). When you switch to the run-time envir-
onment, UTC time is read from the picture file containing the chart, and is then converted to local time
before the chart fetches data from the historical file. Therefore, when you configure a chart, time is
entered and displayed in local time. However, the time saved within the chart is in UTC time, which allows
the data to be displayed independently of specific time zones.

The following examples help explain the concept of using time zones and daylight saving.

Example 1: No Features Enabled

In this example, pictures are created and saved in Eastern Standard Time (EST). The Duration Before Now
is set to 01:00:00, Days Before now is set to 0, and the current time is 10:00 a.m.. You get these results
when you open the picture in the indicated time zone:

EST – displays data from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

CST – displays data from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. local time.

32 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Example 2: Lock Time Feature is Enabled

In this example, pictures are created and saved in EST. The Lock Time is selected, the Duration Before Now
is set to 01:00:00, Days Before now is set to 0, and the current time is 10:00 a.m. You get these results
when you open the picture in the indicated time zone:

EST – displays data from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. local time.

Example 3: Using Server Time Zone (Proficy Historian only)

A picture configured to use the server time zone can be opened on any client machine in any time zone
and will always show the same plot of data.

Example 4: Displaying Data from Multiple Time Zones (Proficy Historian only)

You have some points in the Proficy Historian archive that contain data from Mountain Standard Time
(MST) and some from Pacific Standard Time (PST). You want to create a chart to display the events that
occurred in each time zone at 10:00 a.m. Rather than being required to know the exact time zone location
of each point and then choosing explicit time zones, you can select the tag time in the Time Zone field and
set the Fixed Time at 10:00 a.m.

The UTC time feature of iFIX charts allows you to easily view and analyze a data plot, no matter where you
display the data.

Adjusting for Daylight Savings Time for Enhanced Charts

If you are a Proficy Historian user, you have the option to adjust for daylight saving time. If you choose to
adjust for daylight saving time, verify that Adjust for Daylight Savings Time is selected on the Time tab on
the Data Sources tab when you add a DataSet to an iFIX Enhanced chart.
Before allowing automatic Daylight Saving Time to be used in a production environment, you should test
your application under each of the following scenarios for proper behavior:
l While in Standard Time.
l While in Daylight Time.
l During the transition from Standard Time to Daylight Time.
l During the transition from Daylight Time to Standard Time.

Choosing Subsets for Line/Multiline Graphs

On an Enhanced Line/Multiline Chart, you can analyze a subset of the data presented in the graph. This is
accomplished by selecting the number of data sources you want to analyze per graph from the Scrolling
Subsets area on the Subsets tab of the Chart Customization dialog box. You may also select a data source,
which will be present on all subset graphs by selecting it from the Baseline Subsets to Graph area.

After you have configured your subsets, you can view the results in run mode, where you can scroll
through each of the subset graphs.

Marking Data Points in an Enhanced Chart

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 33

 If you want a very precise depiction of the data, you can mark each of the data points. This way, in addition
to viewing the data in a smoothed line, you can see each of the individual data points.

You can view the data points on an enhanced chart by selecting Mark Data Points in the Miscellaneous
area on the Chart Style tab of the Chart Customization dialog box.

Performance Considerations and Limitations for Enhanced Charts

We recommend the following measures to keep your system's performance acceptable:

l Limit your charts to no more than 10 data sources per chart.

l Limit your charts to no more than 5 charts per picture.
l Avoid using the Snapshot feature if you are using an older CPU or lower end graphics card. In such
a situation, the power necessary to create a full-screen Snapshot will cause other system pro-
cesses to have very limited access to resources and may limit their performance.
l As a last resort, use the Monochrome Viewing Style.
l Do not use Classic Historian. Classic Historian is not supported for Enhanced Charts.
l The Bring to Front and Send to Back right-mouse functionality for the Enhanced Chart objects only
applies when working with other Enhanced Chart objects. You cannot use the Bring to Front and
Send to Back right-mouse functionality for Enhanced Charts and other objects and Dynamos. For
example, you can bring a Line Chart in front of/behind another Line Chart or XY Chart, for instance.
But, you can't bring that same chart in front of/behind a rectangle or Dynamo, for example.

Exporting Data from an Enhanced Chart

Enhanced Charts allow you to export the data from a chart to a variety of formats. You can export the data
to either picture or text/data format. If you choose to export the chart data to a picture format, such as
EMF or JPG, you can choose the export size of the document, as well as the export location – the clipboard,
a printer, or a file. If you choose to export the chart data to a text/data format, you can choose to export to
the clipboard or a file.

When the data is exported, it can be used in a variety of ways and for multiple purposes, including further
statistical analysis in Excel or for PowerPoint presentations.

If you export the chart data in a text/data format, the first row or column of the exported data represents
the X axis and the second row or column represents the Y axis. Whether the axes are displayed in a row or
column depends on the Export Style you select on the Export dialog box.
NOTE: Data exported from a Line/Multiline chart is interpolated. This is because the data is interpreted by assum-
ing that the line between two values is a straight line. All points along that line are estimated. The data shown on
the chart is processed and not the raw representation. However, if your Line/Multiline chart uses Trend for its his-
torical mode, the chart's raw values are exported instead of the interpolated data.

Working with Standard Charts

The following sections describe how to modify many of the properties of a Standard Chart:

34 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Working with Standard Chart Properties
l Defining General Standard Chart Properties
l Changing the Appearance of a Standard Chart
l Animating Standard Chart Properties
l Working in the Run-time Environment

Working with Standard Chart Properties

The Chart Configuration dialog box allows you to select and modify various properties for your charts. This
dialog box contains two tabs: General and Chart. Properties selected from the General tabbed page apply
to the entire chart. For example, you can enable run-time interaction in the entire chart (for zooming and
pen selection, for example) by selecting the Highlightable and Selectable options.

Properties accessed from the Chart tabbed page, on the other hand, are applied per pen, unless you select
the Apply to All Pens check box. The following section describes the methods of applying properties to your
chart.

Applying Standard Chart Properties

There are several ways you can apply selected properties to your charts using the Chart Configuration dia-
log box:

l Select a new pen in the Pen List.

l Click OK.
l Click Apply.
l Select the Apply to All Pens check box.

Each of these methods are described in the following table.

Methods of Applying Properties

Use this To...
method...
Select a Automatically apply properties based on the selected data source. This method takes pre-
new pen in cedence over other methods of applying properties: you do not have to click OK or Apply to
the Pen apply the pen property, and, if you click Cancel after you have selected a pen, the properties
List are still applied.
Click OK Quickly apply selected properties to your chart and close the Chart Configuration dialog box.

No matter which method you use to apply properties, you must click OK to close the dialog
box.
Click Apply View a property change immediately without closing the Chart Configuration dialog box. For
example, if you want to change the foreground color of a chart from gray to white, change
the color and click Apply. The color of the chart will change while the Chart Configuration dia-
log box stays on your screen.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 35

 You are not required to click Apply to apply properties to your chart.
Select the Apply properties to all pens added to a chart. Refer to the Applying Properties to all Pens sec-
Apply to All tion below for more information.
Pens check
box
Applying Properties to all Pens

iFIX allows you to easily define time, X and Y axis, grid, and legend properties for every pen you add to your
chart. You can do this by simply selecting the Apply to All Pens check box on the Chart tabbed page. For
example, you may want all of the pens in your chart to have the same legend. To accomplish this, click the
Legend tab and select the properties you want. Next, select the Apply to All Pens check box. Exit the dialog
box by clicking OK.

Defining the Pen Type

One of the most dynamic features of charts is the integration of both real-time and historical data in the
same chart, which lets you easily view all types of data in the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace. You need to define a
pen for each data source you want to trend. Before you can add a pen to your chart, however, you must
specify a data source for that pen. The following sections show you how to select a data source and con-
figure additional pen properties.

Adding Pens to Your Chart

Each pen that you enter must be defined by a data source. At the top of the Chart tabbed page of the Chart
Configuration dialog box is the Data Source area, which lists the pen names in Data
Server.NODE.TAG.FIELD format. By default, a sample pen is displayed in the pen list with the correct syntax
you must use to address a data source.

There are two ways you can add a new pen to your chart:

1. Modify the existing sample pen by double-clicking it and entering the data source in the syntax illus-
trated in the sample.
2. Delete the existing sample pen by double-clicking it, highlighting it and pressing <Delete>, and do
one of the following:
l Click the Add Pen button in the Pen List area, and enter a data source in the field that
appears.

l Double-click a blank field in the Pen list and enter a data source in the field.

36 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 You can also click the Browse button to the right of the field to display the Expression Builder, which allows
you to search for global data sources through a data source browser. To learn how to use the Expression
Builder and define data sources, refer to the Animating Object Properties chapter in the Creating Pictures
manual. For more information on data sources, refer to the System Architecture section of the Under-
standing iFIX manual.

iFIX also gives you the ability to add pens to your chart in the run-time environment by writing a VBA script.
Refer to the Writing Scripts manual for more information.
NOTE: Whatever method you use to add pens to your charts, do not add more than 25 pens. Doing so may cause
your chart to disappear.

To modify an existing pen in the pen list, double-click the pen and enter an alternate data source. To
change the order of the pens in the chart's legend, click the pen you want to move in the Pen List area, and
then click either the up or down arrow.

To delete a pen, double-click the pen from the list and click the Delete button.

Defining Data Properties

To control how the data is presented by the configured pen(s), you can define data properties for each pen
in your chart. You can do this by simply selecting the properties you want on the Chart tabbed page. The
following properties can be defined:

l High Limit – Displays the high limit value defined for the selected data source.
l Low Limit – Displays the low limit value defined for the selected data source.
l Fetch Limits – At run-time, automatically retrieves the low and high limits assigned to the selected
data source.
l Maximum Display Points – Determines how many data points will be displayed in the chart over a
given span duration.
l Show Line – Displays the trend line for the selected data source.
l Constant Line – Displays a constant horizontal line at the current value of the pen.
l Show Gaps – Determines whether a blank space or a line is displayed to represent an area in a
plot where there is no data.

The following table illustrates some examples of data properties applied to a chart.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 37

 Data Property Examples
Use this To...
property...
High Limit Specify high and low limit values for trending. To do this, enter the low and high limit values
you want to trend for the selected data source in the Low Limit and High Limit fields, respect-
Low Limit
ively.
Fetch Lim- Retrieve the limit range assigned to the data source at run-time. For example, you may have
its a data source with limits that are unknown or prone to change in the configuration envir-
onment.

By selecting Fetch Limits, you can set the pen's high and low limits equal to that of the data
source at run-time.
Maximum Determine how many data points displayed in the chart based on a set duration.
Display
For example, if the maximum points are 500, and the duration is 500 seconds, then the max-
Points
imum number of points that the chart will maintain is 1 per second.
Selecting a Historical Display Mode

Pens displaying historical data offer additional flexibility in how the data is displayed by offering a historical
mode, available on the Pen tab of the Chart Configuration dialog box. Select a mode from the Historical
Mode drop-down list. The display mode determines how iFIX selects data from a historical data source and
displays it in the chart, and determines what each displayed value represents.

Historical modes are directly related to Span Interval and Span Duration properties for the time group. The
Span Interval determines the range of data that the display mode uses to calculate the point of data that is
trended. Time group properties are further described in the Defining Time Ranges section.

The following table shows the different historical modes you can choose from, and how trending differs for
each mode.

Historical Modes
If you Then...
select this
mode...
Sample The last valid value found is trended, up to and including the start of the interval.
Avg The average of all valid data found during the interval is trended, starting at the beginning of
the interval, 12:00:00.
High The highest valid data point value found during the interval is trended, starting at the begin-
ning of the interval, 12:00:00.
Low The lowest valid data point value found during the interval is trended, starting at the begin-
ning of the interval, 12:00:00
Interpolated The data is interpreted by assuming that the line between two values is a straight line. All
points along that line are estimated except the starting point and the ending point. Available
for Proficy Historian only.

Let's examine an example of a pen configured to display in sample mode. Assume that the following data
is available for a pen and the Interval is set to 10 minutes.

Time Data Value

38 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 12:00:00 0.0
12:01:00 1.00
12:02:00 2.00
12:03:00 3.00
12:04:00 4.00
12:05:00 5.00
12:06:00 6.00
12:07:00 7.00
12:08:00 8.00
12:09:00 9.00

Using the above chart, the values are trended as indicated:

Avg – 4.5 is trended from 12:00:00 to 12:10:00.

High – 9.0 is trended from 12:00:00 to 12:10:00.

Low – 0.0 is trended from 12:00:00 to 12:10:00.

The value, 0.0 at 12:00:00 (the start of the interval), is trended for the duration of the interval, from
12:00:00 up to 12:10:00. If 0.0 is not a valid point, then the last valid value found prior to the start of the
interval is trended.

You can enter a data source more than once to display data in different modes. For example, if you trend
an Analog Input block, you can enter the block twice in the Pens list box: once in Sample mode, and again
in Average mode.
NOTE: Sample mode is the fastest mode for displaying historical data. However, the average, high, and low modes
may provide more detailed data values for your application.

Defining General Standard Chart Properties

The General tab on the Chart Configuration dialog box lets you specify basic chart properties such as a title
and color, as well as scroll and display options. Properties selected from the General tab apply to the
entire chart.

The following sections describe these properties:

l Naming a Chart
l Entering a Chart Description
l Attributing a Help Context ID
l Scrolling a Chart

Naming a Standard Chart

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 39

 The Name field allows you to enter a specific name for your chart. When you initially add a chart to your
picture, the default name appears as Chart1. To change the name, enter an alternate name in the Name
field.

Entering a Standard Chart Description

The Description field allows you add a description for your chart. This can be any name that will help you
identify the purpose of the chart.

Attributing a Help Context ID

If you have created your own help files, you can attribute a help context ID by entering a value in the Help
Context ID field. When you switch to the run-time environment, you can select the chart and press F1 to
get help on the chart.

For more information on creating help files, refer to the Creating the Help File section of the Mastering iFIX
manual.

Scrolling a Standard Chart

The first thing you must do in order to scroll a chart is determine the direction of the scroll. The scroll dir-
ection determines whether the data on the chart plots left-to-right or right-to-left. You can specify a scroll
direction for the chart by selecting the appropriate option button in the Scroll Direction area of the General
tabbed page.

The following figure illustrates a chart configured with both a real-time and historical pen, with a right-to-
left scroll.

40 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 For a left-to-right scroll, you can also assign a reset value by entering a value in the Reset field. When the
data plot reaches the right edge of the chart, a reset occurs and the pen fetches new data. The data and its
time shifts according to the reset percentage. For example, if you enter a reset value of 50, the data plot
will shift back one-half of the chart's time axis when it hits the right edge.

To scroll the chart, use the Historical Dynamo, available in the Dynamo Sets folder in the Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace system tree. To use the Historical Dynamo, add the Dynamo to your picture and double-click it.
The Chart Configuration dialog box appears, which lets you make changes to the chart's properties. Click
the Left and Right arrows on the bottom-left and bottom-right of the chart to scroll the chart in a particular
direction.
NOTE: The Quick Dynamo Updater and Dynamo Updater Wizard are not available for the Chart Dynamo, and
other pre-canned Dynamos that were available before iFIX 4.5. This is because they are not true Dynamo objects.

You can also configure AutoUpdate to scroll the chart forward automatically.

You can change the chart's scroll percentage using VBA scripts. For more information on using scripts to
scroll charts, refer to the Writing Scripts manual.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 41

Plotting Ideal Curves

A chart's left-to-right scrolling functionality helps you easily determine how close your data is to a desired
value. It does so by letting you easily recognize ideal and actual curves in the same chart. An ideal curve is
an existing historical plot that represents an ideal condition in your process. The actual curve is a real-time
plot that represents current conditions. Depending on your process, it may be crucial that the actual curve
come as close as possible, if not exactly match, the ideal curve.

For example, let's say you want to plot real-time data so that it shows the proper variation in temperature
of a process, determined by a plot collected previously. Using multiple pens and scrolling in iFIX charts, you
can view the real-time and historical data simultaneously to determine whether data that is currently
being fetched matches the ideal scenario.

First, configure both a real-time and a historical pen. Then, for example, assign a green color property for
the real-time pen, and a red color property for the historical pen. Then specify a left-to-right scroll with a
reset value of 50. When you switch to the run-time environment, you can watch the real-time pen follow
the ideal curve. When the data reaches the right edge of the chart, the data is reset and the plot resumes
in the middle of the graph. You do not have to manually position, change the shape of the chart, or leave
the run-time environment.

Thanks to the real-time monitoring of all types of data in a scrollable format, iFIX charts give you the ability
to monitor crucial fluctuations in data which, in many cases, can greatly impact your process. The following
figure illustrates a chart plotting both a real-time and historical pen with a left-to-right scroll. Notice how
easy it is to evaluate the ideal curve.

42 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Scroll direction also appears in the Standard Chart Preferences tabbed page of the User Preferences dia-
log box. If you change the scroll direction in Standard Chart Preferences, you change the default value for
all new standard charts. To access this dialog box, select User Preferences from the WorkSpace menu
(Classic view) or on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, in the Settings list, click User Preferences (Rib-
bon view), and click the Standard Chart Preferences tab. For more information on the User Preferences
dialog box, refer to the Setting User Preferences section of the Understanding iFIX manual.

Changing the Appearance of a Standard Chart

You can easily change how a chart looks by selecting specific properties in the Chart Configuration dialog
box. These can include attributes such as color, refresh rate, and transparency, or pen styles such as a
marker type.

The following sections describe how to change the appearance of a chart by modifying many of the avail-
able chart and pen properties:

l Changing a Chart's Foreground or Background Colors

l Changing the Refresh Rate

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 43

 l Defining Pen Styles
l Defining Time Ranges
l Configuring the X and Y Axis
l Defining a Grid
l Configuring the Legend

Changing a Standard Chart's Foreground or Background Colors

A chart object is comprised of two rectangular areas: the chart area (where the trends are drawn), and the
area around the chart. You can select or change the color of the foreground or background colors using
the General tab on the Chart Configuration dialog box. To do this, click either the Foreground Color or Back-
ground Color field in the Appearance area and select a color from the Select Color dialog box.

We offer the following recommendations for choosing your colors:

l Use darker colors for the background and a lighter color for the foreground, so that the chart data
in the foreground is easier to read.
l Apply a dark pen line color that contrasts well with yellow, so that you can easily read the data on a
tool tip in the run-time environment. (The tool tip appears as a yellow box.) Refer to the Displaying
Time Cursors and Tool Tips section for information on the tool tip feature.
l Create a transparent chart. The following section shows you how to apply the transparency prop-
erty to your chart.

For more information on this dialog box and the different ways you can color objects, refer to the Working
with Color section in the Creating Pictures manual.

Making the Chart Transparent

A transparent chart is clear, allowing objects displayed behind the chart to be visible. By clicking the Trans-
parent check box in the Appearance area, you instantly create a gray-on-white transparent chart, with a
red legend, X and Y axes, data source, and description. The figure that follows illustrates a transparent
chart.

44 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 The Transparency property also appears in the Standard Chart Preferences tabbed page of the User
Preferences dialog box. To enable or disable the Transparency property for all new standard charts, select
or deselect the Transparent check box. To access the Standard Chart Preferences dialog box, select User
Preferences from the WorkSpace menu (Classic view) or on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, in the
Settings list, click User Preferences (Ribbon view), and click the Standard Chart Preferences tab.

Changing the Refresh Rate

The refresh rate determines how quickly a chart updates the data plot in the run-time environment. The
faster the refresh rate, the slower your performance will be, as the chart needs to be redrawn each time it
is refreshed at the specified refresh rate.

You can specify a refresh rate for your chart by entering a rate, in seconds, in the Refresh Rate field. The
refresh rate can be from 0.1 seconds to a maximum of 1800 seconds, and can be entered in 0.1 second
intervals.

Defining Pen Styles

iFIX lets you determine how the pens in your chart look, giving you complete control over the appearance
of your chart. On the Pen tabbed page of the Chart Configuration dialog box, you can define the following
pen styles:

l Line Style – Applies a style to the pen's plot line.

l Line Color – Applies a color to the pen's plot line.
l Line Width – Specifies the width of a pen's plot line.
l Marker Style – Applies a style to the pen's marker type.

Each of these styles are described in the following sections.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 45

Applying Line Styles

With iFIX, you can use any line style that you use in any other object. To apply a line style, simple select it
from the Line Style drop-down list. Available line styles are:

l Solid – Applies a solid pen line style.

l Dash – Applies a dashed pen line style.
l Dot – Applies a dotted pen line style.
l DashDot – Applies a dash-dot combination line style.
l DashDotDot – Applies a dash-dot-dot combination line style.

The following figure illustrates each of these line styles in a chart.

Selecting a Line Color

To select a line color for a pen, click the Line Color field and choose a color from the Select Color dialog
box. Line colors also apply to the X and Y axis and to the legend. For more information on using this dialog
box, refer to the Working with Color section of the Creating Pictures manual.
Selecting a Marker Style

In the Marker Style field, you can select a shape or character to represent the pen marker in your chart.
Markers are particularly useful for printing to a black and white printer. Using the drop-down menu, you
can select from the following marker styles:

l None – Applies a solid line marker to the pen.

l Rectangle – Applies a rectangle marker to the pen.

46 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Oval – Applies an oval marker to the pen.
l Diamond – Applies a diamond marker to the pen.
l Character – Applies a character to represent a pen marker. If you select this option, the character
field to the right of the Marker Style drop-down list is enabled. Enter any alphanumeric keyboard
character in the field.

Defining Time Ranges

Using the Time tab of the Chart Configuration dialog box, you can assign a time range to each pen in the
chart. This allows you to compare data from different time periods on the same chart, which in turn aides
in plotting ideal curves versus actual curves. You can specify one global time period for all pens in a chart,
or select a separate time period for each pen.

To define time ranges, click the Time tab and enter the time ranges in the appropriate fields on the Time
tabbed page. Refer to the following table for the correct entry and format for each field.

Time Range Fields and Formats

In the Enter... In the format...
field...
Fixed A specific date on which to start the display. MM/DD/YYYY
Date (month/day/year)
Days The number of days prior to today to start the display. For example, if 999 (maximum value)
Before you want to define a time group to display data collected two days
Now before the current date, enter 2.
Fixed A specific time to start the display, based on a 24-hour clock. For HH:MM:SS
Time example, enter 14:00:00 for a starting time of 2 P.M. (hour:minutes:seconds)
Lock TimeLocks the current time, even if you change the time zone in the Date and
Time Properties dialog box in the Control Panel. This field is only avail-
able when you designate a specific time to start the display using the
Fixed Time field.
Duration The duration prior to the current time to start the display. The minimum HH:MM:SS
Before duration for a display is 0 seconds; the maximum is 23 hours, 59
Now minutes, and 59 seconds.
Time The time zone to associate with the start time. You can select an explicit
Zone time zone, the client time zone, the server time zone, or the tag time
zone. The default time zone is that of the client machine. This field is only
available when Proficy Historian is being used.
Adjust for Adjusts the time when the zone you selected is experiencing daylight
Daylight saving if you selected the Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving
Savings changes check box in the Control Panel. This field is only available when
Time Proficy Historian is being used.

NOTE: Before allowing automatic Daylight Saving Time to be used in a

production environment, you should test your application for proper
behavior.
Duration The duration for the display, which determines how much data to dis- Days: DD
play on the X axis. The minimum duration for a display is 1 second; the
Time: HH:MM:SS

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 47

 maximum is 99 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.

Using Proficy Historian, the minimum duration for a display is 1 second;

the maximum is 999 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.

The span duration also appears in the Standard Chart Preferences

tabbed page of the User Preferences dialog box.

NOTE: The Duration must be evenly divisible by the Interval or unpre-

dictable results may occur in the chart. The Chart tab does not allow you
to configure a duration that is not evenly divisible by the Interval.
Span A time interval between the samples taken from the Historical Collect Time: HH:MM:SS
Interval data file. The interval cannot be greater than half the Duration value.
Time (with mil-
When the Span Interval is 0, the time interval between data samplings is liseconds):
determined automatically based on the span duration divided by the HH:MM:SS:MS
maximum number of display points.

The span duration also appears in the Standard Chart Preferences

tabbed page of the User Preferences dialog box.

You can display milliseconds only if you are using Proficy Historian.

NOTE: The Span Duration must be evenly divisible by the Span Interval.
Configuring a Span Duration that is not evenly divisible by the Span Inter-
val can cause unpredictable results in the chart.

You can also dynamically change the limits of the time axis using a VBA script that changes in the Start
Time and End Time properties of a chart. To enable this feature, select the Allow Reset of Axis Limits check
box on the X-Axis tab. When you select this control, you enable the time axis to be reset after you right-
click to zoom out in a chart. If you want to configure all charts to behave this way, select the Allow Time
Axis Reset check box in the WorkSpace's user preferences.

To apply a global time period to all pens in a chart, select the Apply to All Pens check box. For more inform-
ation on applying properties to all pens, refer to the Applying Properties to all Pens section.

Configuring the X and Y Axis

iFIX charts allow you to configure both the X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) axis so that you can customize your
display. For example, let's say you want to plot an Analog Input block, AI1, with values ranging from 0 to
100 with a one-minute duration (represented as a red pen line with a rectangle marker). You also want to
plot another Analog Input block, AI2, with values from 0 to 200 with a two-minute duration (represented as
a blue pen line with an oval marker). You can view both plots at the same time and, if the chart is select-
able, you can switch between pens by either clicking the plot line or by clicking the text in the legend. This
is illustrated in the following figure.

48 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 You can configure an axis by clicking the X-axis or Y-axis tab. On both tabs you can choose whether to dis-
play the axis or axis labels, and you can specify the title name, the axis color, and the number of labels and
ticks. For the X axis, you can also select whether to display the date.

To specify a title name, enter a title of up to 255 characters in the Title field. To specify a color, click the
Label Color field and select a color from the Select Color dialog box.

To specify the number of labels in your chart, enter a number in the Number of Labels field. The maximum
number of labels you can have is 21. Similarly, to specify the number of ticks per axis, enter a number in
the Number of Ticks field. The maximum number of ticks you can have is 21.

The default values for ticks and labels appears in the Standard Chart Preferences tabbed page of the User
Preferences dialog box.

Defining a Grid

The grid in your chart gives you a point of reference when data points move across the chart. iFIX gives
you precise control of both the horizontal and vertical axis of your grid. To define a grid, click the Grid tab.
Both the Show Horizontal Grid and Show Vertical Grid areas let you select whether to display the grid, the

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 49

 number of lines in the grid, and the grid color and style. For the horizontal axis, you can also select
whether to scroll the grid when you select a scrolling option.

To select a number of lines for the grid, enter a number in the Number of Lines field. The maximum num-
ber of lines you can have in your grid is 21. To select a color for your grid, click the Grid Color field and
select a color from the Select Color dialog box.

To select a grid style, select a style from the Grid Style drop-down list. You have the same types of styles
for your grid as you do for your pen line styles (Solid, Dashed, Dotted, Dash-Dot, and Dash-Dot-Dot).

Configuring the Legend

The legend lets you quickly identify the information that the chart is plotting. The legend appears at the bot-
tom of the chart and provides collection and error information for each trended data source. Each legend
displays in the pen color assigned to the pen's data source. To configure a legend, click the Legend tab on
the Chart tabbed page of the Chart Configuration dialog box.

You can modify the legend to appear in various configurations. For example, if you want to change the
length of the data source description, select the Description check box in the Items area and enter the
number of characters that represents the length of the description. To change the order of the pens in the
chart's legend, click the pen you want to move in the Pen List area, and then click either the up or down
arrow.

To configure the legend, click the Legend tab and select or deselect the properties of the legend. The Order
area of the Legend tab lets you display the items you select in any order in the legend (left to right).

Animating Chart Properties

Chart properties can be animated just like other iFIX objects. For example, you can animate the chart's
foreground color, pen color, and value axis. To animate chart properties, right-click the chart and select
Animations from the pop-up menu. The Animation dialog box lets you change property settings and add
animations to those properties. For more information on animating object properties, refer to the Anim-
ating Object Properties chapter of the Creating Pictures manual.

Working in the Run-time Environment

To view the data in a chart, click the Switch to Run button on the Standard toolbar (Classic view) or on the
Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Switch to Run (Ribbon view). In order to control your charts in the
run-time environment, you must assign specific attributes in the configuration environment.

These attributes are detailed in the following sections:

l Defining Run-time Attributes

l Zooming
l Displaying Multiple Values and Times
l Displaying Time Cursors and Tool Tips

50 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Understanding Chart Time
l Adjusting for Daylight Saving Time

Defining Run-time Attributes

You can assign certain attributes in the configuration environment to make the chart accessible when you
switch to the run-time environment. You can specify these attributes by selecting the appropriate check
boxes on the General tabbed page of the Chart Configuration dialog box. Refer to the following table:

Chart Attributes
By selecting the You activate the Which lets you...
check box... property...
Highlightable IsControllable Highlight the object at run-time so it can be modified.

Example: Determine which object in a picture can be selected

or modified.
Selectable IsSelectable Select the object at run-time.

Examples: Zoom in on an area of the chart; display a time

cursor tool tip on a pen.
Modifiable IsModifiable Modify the object at run-time.

Example: Modify pen properties using the Chart Configuration

dialog box.

Zooming

When a chart is selectable, you can zoom to an area of the chart by placing the cursor within the chart
area and clicking an area, or enclosing an area in a rectangle selector. When the cursor is in the chart
area, it becomes a magnifying glass. You can zoom to the horizontal, vertical, or both axes in the chart to
view specific data. To zoom out on the chart, right-click the mouse while the cursor is in the chart area.

Depending on the options you enabled, the chart is restored to its original magnification or to the mag-
nification set by the HiLimit and LoLimit properties (on the Y-axis) and the Start Time and End Time prop-
erties (on the X-axis). The following table summarizes the options to set or clear to achieve the effect you
want.

To... Do this...
Restore the chart to its original mag- Clear the following check boxes:
nification.
l Allow Reset of Axis Limits (on the x-axis and y-axis tabs
of the Chart object).
l Allow Time Axis Reset (on the Standard Chart Prefer-
ences tab of the User Preferences dialog box).
l Allow Value Axis Reset (on the Standard Chart Prefer-
ences tab of the User Preferences dialog box).
Reset the range of the time axis to the Select one of the following check boxes:

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 51

 Start Time and End Time properties. l The Allow Reset of Axis Limits check box (on the x-axis
tab of the Chart object).
l The Allow Time Axis Reset check box on the Standard
Chart Preferences tab of the User Preferences dialog
box.
Reset the range of the value axis to the Select one of the following check boxes:
HiLimit and LoLimit properties.
l The Allow Reset of Axis Limits check box (on the y-axis
tab of the Chart object).
l The Allow Value Axis Reset check box on the Standard
Chart Preferences tab of the User Preferences dialog
box.

Displaying Multiple Values and Times

In your chart, you may have pens with different high and low limits and time scales. You may want to see
these differences in the run-time environment. By default, iFIX lets you view a given pen's value and time
axis by clicking the pen line, clicking the pen's legend, or setting the current pen using VBA scripts.

If you don't need to view the value of a specific pen, select the Show Multiple Values check box on the Gen-
eral tabbed page. The chart will be displayed with all of the pen's axes in a stacked fashion. Similarly, if you
wish to view specific time scales for your pens, deselect the Show Multiple Times check box. To view mul-
tiple time scales, select the Show Multiple Times check box.

The following figure illustrates a chart with two pens configured with different time and value ranges and
their axes.

52 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Displaying Time Cursors and Tool Tips

In iFIX you can choose to display time cursors in the run-time environment. The time cursor appears as a
gray bar in the center of the chart that you move left and right by clicking the cursor and dragging it with
the mouse. The value of the time cursor is displayed in the legend. For historical pens, the value at the
point of the time cursor is displayed; for real-time pens, the current value is always displayed. To display
the time cursor in the run-time environment, select the Show Time Cursor check box on the General
tabbed page.

Another run-time feature of charts is the time cursor tool tip. When you click on a point in a pen line where
that line crosses the time cursor, the current time and value of that point is displayed in a yellow-colored
box. The tool tip is a convenient way to determine plot values in the run-time environment. Every pen in the
chart has its own tool tip. To display the tool tip in the run-time environment, select the Show Time Cursor
ToolTips check box on the General tabbed page.
NOTE: The chart must be selectable to view the time cursor and tool tip at run-time.

The following figure illustrates a chart configured with two real-time pens, a time cursor, and tool tip for
each pen.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 53

Understanding Standard Chart Time

The following fields affect the time displayed in the chart when you use a fixed start time and date:

l Lock Time
l Time Zone (Proficy Historian only)
l Adjust for Daylight Savings Time (Proficy Historian only)

iFIX charts save time as Coordinated Universal Time (or UTC time). When you switch to the run-time envir-
onment, UTC time is read from the picture file containing the chart, and is then converted to local time
before the chart fetches data from the historical file. Therefore, when you configure a chart, time is
entered and displayed in local time. However, the time saved within the chart is in UTC time, which allows
the data to be displayed independently of specific time zones.

The following examples help explain the concept of using time zones and daylight saving.

Example 1: No Features Enabled

In this example, pictures are created and saved in Eastern Standard Time (EST). The Fixed Time is set to
09:00:00, the Duration Before Now is set to 01:00:00, and Days Before now is set to 0. You get these

54 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 results when you open the picture in the indicated time zone:

EST – displays data from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

CST – displays data from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. local time.
Example 2: Lock Time Feature is Enabled

In this example, pictures are created and saved in EST. The Fixed Time is set to 09:00:00, the Lock Time is
selected, the Duration Before Now is set to 01:00:00, and Days Before now is set to 0. You get these res-
ults when you open the picture in the indicated time zone:

EST – displays data from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. local time.

CST – displays data from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. local time.
Example 3: Developing for Remote Deployment (Proficy Historian only)

When you use the Time Zone and Adjust for Daylight Savings Time fields, the pictures you create are inde-
pendent of the time zone in which you draw them. This independence gives you more control of the beha-
vior of a picture when it is opened.

In this example, pictures are created and saved in EST, but deployed to a computer in Pacific Standard
Time (PST). If you want the picture to show 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PST when opened, you must select the
explicit PST time zone in the Chart tab and set the start time to 9:00 a.m. You must also select Lock Time
check box.

If your plant policy is to automatically adjust for Daylight Saving Time and you have selected Automatically
Adjust for DST in the Control Panel time settings, then you should select the Adjust for Daylight Savings
Time check box in Chart tab.
Example 4: Developing for Multiple Time Zone Deployment (Proficy Historian only)

You can share pictures across time zones by using the client time zone setting in the Chart tab.

In this example, pictures are created and saved in EST, but deployed to a computer in EST in the client time
zone. The Lock Time is selected. When the picture is opened in CST, PST, or EST, it is always displayed as
9:00 a.m. local time.
Example 5: Using Server Time Zone (Proficy Historian only)

A picture configured to use the server time zone can be opened on any client machine in any time zone
and will always show the same plot of data.
Example 6: Displaying Data from Other Time Zones (Proficy Historian only)

You are investigating an event that occurred at 3:30 Central Standard Time (CST) and your computer is in
PST. Rather than open a chart with a 1:30 start time in PST, you can select the explicit central time from the
Time Zone field and set the Fixed Time at 3:30
Example 7: Displaying Data from Multiple Time Zones (Proficy Historian only)

You have some points in the Proficy Historian archive that contain data from Mountain Standard Time
(MST) and some from PST. You want to create a chart to display the events that occurred in each time zone
at 10:00 a.m. Rather than being required to know the exact time zone location of each point and then
choosing explicit time zones, you can select the tag time in the Time Zone field and set the Fixed Time at
10:00 a.m.

The UTC time feature of iFIX charts allows you to easily view and analyze a data plot, no matter where you
display the data.

Adjusting for Daylight Saving Time

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 55

If you are a Proficy Historian user, you have the option to adjust for daylight saving time. If you choose to
adjust for daylight saving time, you must:

1. Select the Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes check box in the Date/Time sec-
tion of the Control Panel on all Proficy Historian collector, Proficy Historian server, and iFIX client
computers.
2. Select the Adjust for Daylight Savings Time check box on the Time tab when you add an historical
pen to an iFIX chart.

Before allowing automatic Daylight Saving Time to be used in a production environment, you should test
your application under each of the following scenarios for proper behavior:

l While in Standard Time.

l While in Daylight Time.
l During the transition from Standard Time to Daylight Time.
l During the transition from Daylight Time to Standard Time.

56 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Using the Chart Group Wizard with Standard Charts

The Chart Group Wizard™ is designed for users who create or work with charts to monitor processes. The
Chart Group Wizard offers you a flexible approach to charting data. You can use the Chart Group Wizard
to design and save multiple pen configurations in a chart group file. Operators can apply a saved chart
group file to a chart and track its data, and then apply a different chart group file to the same chart and
track different data. The Chart Group Wizard eliminates the need to clutter a picture with multiple chart
objects and re-configure pen definitions to monitor different data.

For example, a manufacturing process may have these three process types:

l Temperature-sensitive
l Flow-dependent
l Fill-dependent

Using the Chart Group Wizard, you might create these chart group files to accommodate this man-
ufacturing process: one that defines pens that track real-time and historical temperature-related data;
one that tracks flow-related data; and one that tracks fill-related data. You need only one chart to display
the data configured for each chart group file. You apply a chart group file to the chart to display its data,
and you then apply a different chart group file to monitor different data.

Displaying and Using the Chart Group Toolbar

Before using the Chart Group Wizard, you must import the Chart Group toolbar from the WorkSpace, if it
is not already visible in the WorkSpace.
NOTE: Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in Ribbon
view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.

To display the Chart Group toolbar:

1. In the WorkSpace system tree, double-click the Project Toolbar Files folder, and then the Toolbars
folder.
2. Double-click the ChartGroupToolbar item to display the toolbar. The Chart Group toolbar should
now display in the WorkSpace.

After importing the toolbar, the Chart Group Toolbar appears when you open a picture. The toolbar con-
tains the three buttons shown in the following figure.

Chart Group Toolbar

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 57

 The following table describes the purpose of each button on the Chart Group toolbar.

Chart Group Toolbar Buttons

Use this button... Which can be accessed in Rib- To...
bon view...
Apply Chart From the Tools tab, in the Apply or remove the ability to use the Wizard on selec-
Group Wizard To Charts group, click Chart ted charts in run mode.
Chart Groups.
Apply Chart From the Tools tab, in the Apply a default chart group file to a chart when a pic-
Group File Charts group, click Chart ture opens on an object's Click event.
Groups.
Configure Chart From the Tools tab, in the Invoke the Chart Group Wizard that you use to work
Group Files Charts group, click Chart with chart group files in configuration and run mode.
Groups.

Before You Begin Working with the Chart Group Wizard

This section provides information you need to know before working with the Chart Group Wizard. In this
section you'll learn about charts and pens and chart group files. You'll also be introduced to the demon-
stration picture available to you when you import the Chart Group Wizard.

Refer to the following topics for more details:

l Understanding Charts and Pens

l Understanding Chart Group Files

Understanding Charts and Pens

You must understand the concept and use of charts and pens to fully understand how to effectively use the
Chart Group Wizard. A chart is an object that lets you display real-time and historical data. iFIX charts are
multi-pen; they allow you to configure multiple pens in one chart to plot different data trends. Each pen is
defined by its data source and can be uniquely configured to draw a trend line with its own color, line style,
time range, marker style, and data limits.

A pen can plot three types of data:

l Real-time
l Historical
l T-data (data obtained from a trend block of a real-time data source)

The type of data you plot determines the pen type, which determines the appropriate properties for the
pen. For example, the Days Before Now property is appropriate for an Historical pen, but is not appro-
priate for a real-time pen.

For more complete information on charts and pens, refer to the Using Charts to Analyze Process Trends
chapter.

58 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Understanding Chart Group Files

A chart group file is a collection of pens configured in the Chart Group Wizard. When you use a chart
group file, you save your pen configurations as .CSV files in the C:\Program Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX\HTR
subdirectory. Each pen has its own data source and configurations, such as color, line style, and limits. You
can create a chart group file independently of a chart. You can extract pen configurations from existing
charts and create a chart group file from that configuration.

You can use chart group files in both configuration and run mode. In configuration mode, you can:

l Create, open, delete, and save chart group files.

l Apply a chart group file to a chart when a picture opens or when you click an object.
l Apply options that determine which functionality is available to you in run mode.

You can perform the same actions in run mode as in configuration mode. You can additionally perform
these actions in run mode:

l Apply or associate a chart group file with a chart.

l Apply a chart group configuration to a chart without associating a chart group file with the chart.

You can open chart group files in other applications, such as Microsoft Excel™, to view and modify the file
contents.

Defining Pens in a Chart Group File

To define a pen, you should know how to use the Expression Builder, understand what data sources are,
and know how to define them. Refer to the following sections for more details:

l Adding, Modifying, Deleting, and Re-Ordering Pens

l Setting Pen Styles
l Setting Pen Properties
l Historical Mode Options
l Applying Changed Pen Configurations to a Chart

For additional information, refer to the Creating Pictures and Understanding iFIX manuals.

Adding, Modifying, Deleting, and Re-Ordering Pens

The Pen List area displays the pen data sources. Use the four buttons on the Pen toolbar to add, delete,
and re-order the pen sequence in the list box. The Pen toolbar is shown in the following figure.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 59

 Pen Toolbar
Adding and Editing Pens

To add a pen, you can perform any one of these actions:

l Click the Add button.

l Double-click the default pen syntax definition, Fix32.Node.Tag.Field.
l Double-click directly below the last pen in the Pen list.

To clear all pens from the Pen List before adding new pens, click New. If you have already modified the
existing pens, the Chart Group Wizard prompts you to save your changes before it clears the Pen List.
Double-click an existing pen to modify its data source.

The Expression Builder appears each time you add a pen. Click the down arrow to display a drop-down list
of the ten most-recently defined pens in your iFIX system. Click the Browse button to select a new data
source for the pen.
Deleting Pens

You can delete a pen, as long as at least one pen remains defined to a chart group file. If the file contains
only one pen, re-configure the pen or delete the file if the you no longer need the information.

To delete a pen from a Pen List, select the pen and then click the Delete button, located above the Pen List.

The Chart Group Wizard does not prompt you to verify that you want to delete the pen; it removes the pen
from the Pen List. If you decide not to delete the pen, close the Chart Group Configuration dialog box
without saving your changes.
Reordering Pens

The order of the pens in the Pen List determines the order of pens listed in the chart key and the default
labels that appear on the X-axis and Y-axis of the chart in run mode.

After adding two or more pens to a chart group file, you may want to change the order of the pens in the
Pen List. To change the order of a pen in the Pen List, select the pen and then click the Up arrow to move it
up in the list or the Down arrow to move it down.

Setting Pen Styles

You can set individual line styles to distinguish each pen in your chart. The Pen Style area in the Configure
Chart Group dialog box contains these properties:

Line Style - determines what type of line to display, such as solid, dashed, or dotted. To choose a line style,
select one from the drop-down list box.

60 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Line Color - sets a color for the line. To select a color, click the Line Color field and select a color from the
Select Color dialog box. These colors also apply to the X- and Y-axis and legends in the chart.

Marker Style - sets a shape or character that represents the pen marker in your chart. Markers are con-
venient for discerning shapes and characters if you print your charts on a non-color printer. To select a
marker, choose one from the drop-down list box. If you choose the Character option, enter a character
in the Marker Character field.

Line Width - sets the width of the pen's plot line. The default line width is 1.

Setting Pen Properties

Once you add pens to the chart group file, you can set individual properties for each pen. For historical
pens, you can also select an option to use common time settings for each pen.

Setting Time-Related Pen Properties

The Time area of the Chart Group Configuration dialog box sets time-related properties for the selected
pen. These properties depend of the type of pen: Real-time or Historical.

The Duration pen property is the only property that you can set for Real-time pens. It also applies to his-
torical pens and is used by the Historical Mode property. The Duration property sets the time duration for
the chart. Enter a duration value in this format:
dd:hh:mm:ss

For historical pens, you can assign a time range to each pen or specify one global time period. Applying dif-
ferent time ranges to the pens lets you compare data from different time periods, which helps to plot ideal
curves rather than actual curves.

The following table describes fields in the Time area that pertain to historical pens.

Historical Time Property Fields

Option Description
Apply Time Applies a common time period to all historical pens. When you select this option,
to All His- you receive a message indicating that you are about to overwrite existing time
torical Pens properties for your historical pens.
Time Before Specifies the number of days and hours before the current time to start the dis-
Now play. Select a value from the drop-down list or enter a value, in this format:
dd:hh:mm:ss

where the variables represent the number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds
before the current time.
Fixed Start Specifies a specific date and time on which to start the display. Enter a date and
Time time, using this format:
mm/dd/yyhh:mm:ss AM |PM
Duration The duration for the display, which determines how much data to display on the X
axis. The minimum duration for a display is 1 second; the maximum is 99 days, 23
hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.

Using Proficy Historian, the minimum duration for a display is 1 second; the max-

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 61

 imum is 999 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.

Enter a value in the following format:

dd:hh.mm.ss
Interval A time interval between the samples taken from the Historical Collect data file.
The interval cannot be greater than half the Duration value.

When the Span Interval is 0, the time interval between data samplings is determ-
ined automatically based on the span duration divided by the maximum number of
display points.

Enter a value in the following format:

dd.hh.mm.ss
Display mil- Allows you to enter milliseconds into the interval field. If you select this option,
liseconds enter a value for the interval in the following format:
dd.hh.mm.ss.ms
Time Zone: The time zone to associate with the start time. You can select an explicit time zone,
the client time zone, the server time zone, or the tag time zone. The default time
zone is that of the client machine. This field is only available when Proficy Historian
is being used.
Adjust for Adjusts the time when the zone you selected is experiencing daylight saving if you
Daylight Sav-selected the Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes check box in
ing Time the Control Panel. This field is only available when Proficy Historian is being used.
Setting Properties Related to Data Limits

Data limit properties control how data is presented by the selected pen. The default, Fetch Limits, auto-
matically retrieves the low and high limits assigned to the data source. These assigned limits appear as
dim values in the High limit and Low limit boxes.

To override the default values, clear the Fetch Limits check box and enter high and low limit values in the
respective fields.

Historical Mode Options

You use the Historical Mode options in conjunction with pens that display historical data. The display mode
determines how iFIX selects data from an historical data source, displays it in the chart, and indicates what
each displayed value represents.

The Historical Mode options are directly related to the Duration time property, as the duration determines
the range of data used to calculate the data point plotted for the interval. The options in the Historical
Mode drop-down list box are described in the following table.

Historical Mode Types

Option Description
Sample The pen plots the last valid value, up to and including the start of the interval.
Avg The pen plots the average of all valid data found during the interval, starting at the
beginning of the interval, 12:00:00.
High The pen plots the highest value found during the interval, starting at the beginning of
the interval, 12:00:00.

62 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Low The pen plots the lowest value found during the interval, starting at the beginning of the
interval, 12:00:00.

Applying Changed Pen Configurations to a Chart

You can use the Apply button in the Chart Group Configuration dialog box to apply the pen configurations
displayed in the Pen List to the chart without associating a chart group file with the chart. The Apply button
applies the pens to the chart and closes both the Chart Group Configuration dialog box and the Chart
Group File dialog box, returning you directly to the WorkSpace in run mode.

To apply the current pen configurations without associating a chart group file with the chart, modify the
current Pen List and click Apply.

A chart without an associated chart group file displays <no file> in the Chart Group File field of the Chart
Group Configuration dialog box.

If you create a new chart group file and want to save the file as well as apply it to the selected chart, click
the Save As button.

How the Chart Group Wizard Works in Configuration Mode

The Chart Group Wizard provides many charting options in configuration mode. You can use any of these
three methods to create a chart group file:

l From inception.
l From an existing chart group configuration.
l From an existing chart group file.

You can use the Chart Group Wizard in configuration mode to:

l Apply the Chart Group Wizard to one or more charts in a picture to enable the operator to access
the Wizard in run mode.
l Create, modify, save, and delete chart group files.
l Apply a default chart group file to a chart when a picture opens or on an object's Click event.

When you create a chart group file from an existing chart configuration, you can retain pen data sources
that you know work for your process environment. The ability to extract existing pen configurations adds
convenience when you implement the Chart Group Wizard in your iFIX configuration.

Applying the Chart Group Wizard to a Chart

You must use configuration mode to apply the Chart Group Wizard to one or more charts in your picture,
or to remove it from one or more charts. If your picture contains multiple charts, you may want to apply
the Chart Group Wizard to all or a subset of the charts in one operation.

When you apply the Chart Group Wizard to a chart, you can then invoke it when you double-click the chart
in run mode. This enables you to use the Chart Group Wizard in run mode to:

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 63

 l Select a chart group file to apply to the chart.
l Select a chart group file to apply pen configurations to the chart.
l Create and manage these chart group files.
NOTE: If you apply the Chart Group Wizard to a chart, be sure to clear the Modifiable check box on the General
tab of the Chart Configuration dialog box. By clearing this check box, the double-click event invokes the Chart
Group Wizard in run mode, rather than the Chart Configuration dialog box.

NOTE: If you do not select a chart, the Chart Group Wizard displays a message reminding you to first select a
chart before trying to apply or remove the Chart Group Wizard.
Considering When to Apply the Chart Group Wizard

You may want to consider which charts should have Chart Group Wizard functionality in run mode before
applying the Chart Group Wizard to all the charts in your picture. You may not know the best pens to apply
to a chart. The operator, who typically monitors the system, may have a better idea of what to track to find
problems. You may consider giving the operator the opportunity to choose a chart group file to apply to a
chart and the ability to modify and save chart group file configurations. If you want tighter control on what
is monitored in your system, you can implement security options, which are described in Preventing Run-
time Changes to Chart Group Files.

You may also want to add configuration properties to the chart that are only available through standard
configuration, in the Chart Configuration dialog box. For more information, see Applying Chart Properties.

Determining if Chart Group Wizard is Applied to a Chart

Use either of these methods in configuration mode to determine if the Chart Group Wizard is applied to a
chart:

l Expand the system tree for the chart object. If the Chart Group Wizard is applied to the chart, the
variable string object, `FileName' exists.
l Edit the script for the chart object by selecting the chart object. Right-click and select Edit Script. A
chart that has the Chart Group Wizard applied contains the following script for the Double-Click
event:
CGW_OpenChartGroupForm

To determine which charts have the Chart Group Wizard applied, double-click the chart in run mode. The
charts that have the Wizard applied display in the Chart Group File dialog box.

Configuring and Applying Chart Group Files

The steps that follow explain how to configure and apply chart group files.

To configure and apply chart group files:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, click the Configure Chart Group Files button on the Chart
Group toolbar.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Tools tab, in the Charts group, click Chart Groups, and then click Configure
Chart Group Wizard.

64 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 2. Define a pen configuration that you want to save and apply to charts.
3. In the Chart Group Configuration dialog box, click Save.
4. Enter a file name.
5. Click OK.
6. Configure as many chart group files as needed.
7. Insert a chart in a picture. Ensure that the chart is selected.

Applying a Chart Group File to a Chart

When you switch from configuration to run mode, a chart that has the Chart Group Wizard applied
appears blank until you associate a chart group file with the chart. In some cases, the application
developer may have already defined a default chart group file for the chart; in this case, the chart may
automatically begin plotting data when you open the picture or when you click an object.

Use the following steps to apply the Chart Group Wizard to a chart in configuration mode, and then to
apply a chart group file to the chart in run mode.
To apply a chart group file:

1. Select a chart to apply the Chart Group Wizard to.

2. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, click the Apply Chart Group Wizard to Chart button on the
Chart Group toolbar.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Tools tab, in the Charts group, click Chart Groups, and then click Apply Chart
Group Wizard to Chart.
3. Click the Apply Chart Group Wizard to Chart option.
4. Click OK. This applies the Chart Group Wizard to the selected chart.
5. Switch to run mode and double-click the chart. The Chart Group File dialog box appears.
6. Select one of the chart group files you created.
7. In the Chart Group File dialog box, click Apply. This applies the chart group file to the chart.

Creating and Managing Chart Group Files

You can create and manage chart group files from the Chart Group File dialog box, as indicated in the fol-
lowing table.

Creating And Managing Chart Group File

Click... To...
New Create a new chart group file.
Add Folder Add a folder to the C:\Program Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX\HTR directory.
Delete File Delete a selected chart group file.
Edit File Modify an existing chart group file.
Save Save a new or modified chart group file.
Save and Apply Save a new or modified chart group file and apply it to the chart.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 65

 The New and Edit File button invokes the Chart Group Configuration dialog box, where you can add,
modify, and delete pens. You cannot modify and save existing chart group files if the application developer
set options in configuration mode that protect the files from any changes. Refer to Defining Pens in a Chart
Group File for more information about defining pens.

Applying a Default Chart Group File to a Chart

A chart group file is typically not associated with a chart until the operator applies the chart group file in
run mode. When you switch from configuration to run mode, a chart that has the Chart Group Wizard
applied appears blank until you associate a chart group file with the chart. If the application developer has
already defined a default chart group file for the chart, it may automatically begin plotting data when you
open the picture or when you click an object.

However, you may want to assign a default chart group file to a chart in configuration mode, which is
applied automatically in run mode. Assigning a chart group file ensures more control at run time. For
example, as an application developer, you can remove Chart Group Wizard functionality from a chart and
then assign a specific chart group file to the chart in run mode.

You can automatically apply a chart group file to a chart when:

l A picture opens.
l The operator clicks an object, including the chart itself

You can also let the operator make the chart and chart group selections at run time.

Displaying the Name of a Chart Group File

You may want to display the name of the chart group file associated with a chart to allow operators to
determine which chart group file they applied.
To display the name of a chart group file without scripting:

1. Insert a chart in your picture and apply the Chart Group Wizard to it.
2. Insert a data link in your picture.
3. Enter the FileName variable object's InitialValue property as the data link's data source. For
example, MyPicture.Chart1.FileName1.InitialValue.
4. Switch to run mode and apply a chart group file to the chart with the Chart Group Wizard. The
name of the chart group file you applied appears in the data link.
To display the name of a chart group file with scripting:

1. Insert a chart in your picture and apply the Chart Group Wizard to it.
2. Insert a text object in your picture.
3. Position the cursor on the text object and click the right mouse.
4. Select Edit Script to register the text object in VBA.
5. Enter the following script below the CGW_OpenChartGroupForm on the chart's double click event:
Text.Caption = FileNameX.InitialValue

where Text is the name of your text object and X is the number of the FileName variable.

66 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Preventing Run-time Changes to Chart Group Files

The Chart Group Wizard allows operators to configure chart group files in run time. However, for security
reasons or to retain tighter control over process monitoring, you may want to limit which activities oper-
ators perform against chart group files in run mode.

Specifically, you can allow operators to apply a chart group file to a chart in run mode, but limit their ability
to create a chart group file or modify and save existing chart group files.

Saving Chart Group Files

When you save a chart group file, you also save one or more pen configurations that you can apply in run
mode to track different aspects of your process environment. The system file is saved in the C:\Program
Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX\HTR directory as a .CSV file. You have the option of saving the file in this directory
or in a folder that you add to the directory. Use folders to organize your chart group files logically.

The Chart Group Wizard also lets you create and save multiple chart group files in one session of the Chart
Group Configuration dialog box. When you click OK in the Chart Group File dialog box, the Chart Group
Configuration dialog box reappears. You can continue to create, edit, and save chart group files before
closing the dialog box.

How the Chart Group Wizard Works in Run Mode

The Chart Group Wizard gives operators the flexibility to apply different chart group files and pen con-
figurations to charts. Depending on settings applied to a chart group file in configuration mode, operators
may also create, modify and delete chart group files.

To apply chart group files to a chart in run mode, the chart must have the Chart Group Wizard applied to it
in configure mode. Refer to Applying the Chart Group Wizard to a Chart to review how to create charts
and define pens.

Double-click a chart with the Chart Group Wizard applied to it to access the Chart Group Wizard. The
Chart Group File dialog box appears. You can select a chart group file to apply to a chart, and you can
apply the pen configurations without actually associating the chart with a chart group file.

Depending on how the applications developer configured the Chart Group Wizard, you can also create,
modify, save, and delete chart group files. These capabilities allow you to target and select only the data
you must monitor with the freedom to apply and save different pen configurations.

Using Scripting with the Chart Group Wizard

This section shows how you can use one exposed method to apply a chart group file to a chart and how to
use scripting with other exposed methods to perform various tasks, such as applying the Chart Group Wiz-

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 67

 ard to a double-click event. A list of properties used by the Chart Group Wizard and a series of examples
of using the Chart Group Wizard are also provided.

Refer to the following topics for more details:

l Applying a Chart Group File Through Scripting

l Applying the Chart Group Wizard Through Scripting
l Properties Defined Through the Chart Group Wizard

Applying a Chart Group File Through Scripting

The Chart Group Wizard lets you apply a chart group file to a chart through the following exposed method:
CGW_ApplyFileToChart

For example, you might include push buttons in your picture, where the Click event for each button applies
a different chart group file to a chart. The demo picture, ChartGroupDemo, provides an example of this.

You can also apply a chart group file to any event of an object. For example, you can use the CGW_
ApplyFileToChart method in a script for a rectangle's Mouse Down event. The Mouse Down event can
apply a chart group file to a chart that plots the fill percentage of the rectangle and causes an alarm to
sound when the value exceeds defined limits.

The following example shows code from the ChartGroupDemo picture for the first push button. This script
uses the CGW_ApplyFileToChart subroutine to apply the ChartGroup1.csv file to the Chart2 object.
'Procedure: CommandButton1_Click()
'Purpose: To initialize the variable strHTCPath to the FIX '
'iFIX HTC Path, then Apply the Chart Group
'File "ChartGroup1.csv" to the Chart "Chart2"
'
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
Dim strMyChart As String
Dim strHTCPath As String

strHTCPath = System.FixPath(htc_path)
strMyChart = strHTCPath & "\ChartGroup1.csv"
CGW_ApplyFileToChart strMyChart, "Chart2"
End Sub

Applying the Chart Group Wizard Through Scripting

The Chart Group Wizard provides an exposed method that lets you apply the Chart Group Wizard to a
chart through scripting. The following code example applies the Chart Group Wizard to the Double-click
event of Chart1:
Private Sub Chart1_DblClick()
CGW_OpenChartGroupForm
End Sub

The CGW_OpenChartGroupForm method opens the Chart Group File form. This method has an optional
parameter for entering a chart name. If you want to apply a chart group file to a specific chart on an

68 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 object's Click event, you can enter the following code on the object's Click event; in this example, the object
is a command button:
Private Sub Commandbutton1_Click()
CGW_OpenChartGroupForm "Chart1"
End Sub

Properties Defined Through the Chart Group Wizard

The Chart Group Wizard reads pen data sources associated with existing charts and some pen properties,
which it can save in a chart group file. The Chart Group Wizard saves only those properties defined
through the Chart Group Wizard. These properties include pen styles, such as color and line style, data lim-
its, and time-related properties, as listed in the following table.

Properties Defined Through The Chart Group Wizard

Time Properties Data Properties Pen Properties
DaysBeforeNow Data source MarChar
Duration HiLimit MarkerStyle
EndTime LoLimit PenLineColor
FixedDate HistoricalSampleType PenLineWidth
FixedTime FetchPenLimits
StartTime
TimeBeforeNow

You can configure properties for the chart that you cannot configure through the Chart Group Wizard. To
configure these properties, double-click the chart to open the Chart Configuration dialog box. You can con-
figure these chart properties:

l Properties on the General tab.

l Properties on the X-axis, Y-axis, Grid, and Legend tabs on the Chart tab.
l The Show Line, Constant Line, Show Gaps, and Maximum Display Points properties on the Pen tab
of the Chart tab.

Refer to Applying the Chart Group Wizard Through Scripting for a sample script of toggling between the
Chart Configuration dialog box and the dialog boxes invoked by the Chart Group Wizard.

Examples of Using the Chart Group Wizard

This section provides examples of how you can use the Chart Group Wizard to understand process trends
in the iFIX environment. The examples show how you can:

l Apply the Chart Group Wizard to a chart to use in run mode.

l Modify a pen definition and save it in a chart group file.
l Modify a chart group file in run mode, and then apply and save the changes.
l Apply a chart group file to a chart on an object's Click event.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 69

Each of these examples is based on the sample picture, ChartGroupDemo.grf, provided when you install
iFIX.
Example 1: Applying the Chart Group Wizard to a Chart
The Chart Group Wizard is applied to Chart1 in the ChartGroupDemo.grf demo picture.
To apply the Chart Group Wizard:

1. Select Chart1 in configuration mode.

2. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, click the Apply Chart Group Wizard to Chart button on the
Chart Group toolbar.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Tools tab, in the Charts group, click Chart Groups, and then click Apply Chart
Group Wizard to Chart.
3. Select the Apply Chart Group Wizard option.
4. Click OK.

Refer to Applying the Chart Group Wizard to a Chart for more details.
Example 2: Modifying a Pen Definition
The ChartGroupDemo.grf demo picture uses three chart group files:

l ChartGroup1.csv
l ChartGroup2.csv
l ChartGroup3.csv

You can modify these files in either configuration or run mode. Click the Configure Chart Group Files but-
ton on the Chart Group toolbar (Classic view) or on the Tools tab, in the Chart Groups group, in the Chart
Groups list, click Configure Chart Group Wizard (Ribbon view). The Chart Group Configuration dialog box
appears, allowing you to create or modify chart group files.

To modify a chart group file in run mode, double-click Chart1, which has the Chart Group Wizard applied to
it. The Chart Group File dialog box appears, allowing you to apply, create, or edit a file.

Modify chart group files and their pen configurations in the Chart Group Configuration dialog box, as
shown in the following figure. In this example, the Marker Style for the second pen has been changed to
Rectangle Marker. ChartGroup1.csv is the open file and the Marker Style for the second pen has been
changed from a Rectangle to an Oval. Click Save to save your changes.

Select ChartGroup1.csv in the Chart Group File dialog box and click the Edit File button. The ChartGroup
Configuration dialog box opens.

70 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Modifying a Pen Definition

When you associate this chart group file with a chart in run mode, the marker style set here displays as a
rectangle.

You can make many other changes in this dialog box, including adding and deleting pen definitions and sav-
ing the file under another name.
Example 3: Applying a Chart Group File in Run Mode
The Chart Group Wizard is applied to the ChartGroupDemo.grf demo picture. In run mode, Chart1appears
empty until you apply a chart group file to it. To apply a chart group file to a chart in run mode, double-click

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 71

 the chart. The Chart Group File dialog box appears. Click Apply, and then select a chart group file to apply
to the chart.

The following figure shows the results of Chart1when you apply a chart group file to it. When you click the
first command button, the ChartGroup1.csv file is applied to it.

Example 4: Applying a Chart Group File on an Object's Click Event

The Chart Group Wizard is not applied to Chart2 in the ChartGroupDemo.grf demo picture. This is evident
as the expanded System tree for the Chart2 object does not display the variable object FileName.

However, Command buttons, 1, 2, and 3 are configured to apply a chart group file to Chart2 based on their
respective Click event. The Visual Basic script for each of these buttons uses the exposed Chart Group Wiz-
ard method, CGW_ApplyFileToCha to automatically apply a file to a chart. Refer to Applying a Chart
Group File Through Scripting for more information on automatically applying a file to a chart.

Before the chart can display detail, you must open the Chart Group Configuration dialog box, set the
Marker Style to Oval Marker for the second pen listed in the ChartGroup2.csv file, and then switch to run
mode.

Chart Group Wizard Dialog Boxes

The Chart Group Wizard includes the following dialog boxes (listed in alphabetical order):

l Apply Chart Group File Dialog Box

l Apply Chart Group Wizard Dialog Box
l Chart Group Configuration Dialog Box
l Chart Group File Dialog Box

Chart Group Configuration Dialog Box

72 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 The Chart Group Configuration dialog box displays the following items:

Chart Group File

Identifies the path and name of the chart group file currently associated with the chart. If no chart group
file is associated with the chart, the label displays <no file>.

Pen List

Allows you to add a pen to the chart group by double clicking a blank field in the list; this allows you to
select a data source for the pen.

Time

Item Description

Apply Time to Lets you apply common time properties to all historic pens in the Pen List.
All Historical
Pens

Time Before Specifies the number of days and hours before the current time to start the
Now display. Select a value from the drop-down list or enter a value in this
format:

ddd:hh:mm:ss

where the variables represent the number of days, hours, minutes, and
seconds before the current time.

Fixed Start Specifies whether to designate a specific date and time to start the display.
Time

Duration Specifies the time duration for the chart. Enter a value in this format:

dd:hh:mm:ss

For historical pens, you can assign a time range to each pen or specify one
global time period. Applying different time ranges to the pens lets you com-
pare data from different time periods, which helps to plot ideal curves
rather than actual curves.

Interval Allows you to set the interval.

Display Mil- Specifies whether the application displays milliseconds.

liseconds

Time Zone Allows you to specify the time zone.

Adjust for Specifies if the application will automatically adjust for Daylight Saving
Daylight Sav- Time.
ing Time

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 73

Pen Style

Item Description

Line Style Allows you to assign a style to the pen's plot line. You can apply these pen
line styles:

l Solid – solid.
l Dashed – dashed.
l Dot – dotted.
l DashDot – dash-dot combination.
l DashDotDot – dash-dot-dot combination.

Line Color Applies a color to the pen's plot line.

Line Width Allows you to specify the width of a pen's plot line.

Historical Allows you to determine how iFIX selects data from an historical data
Mode source and displays it in a chart, and determines what each displayed value
represents. The options are:

l Sample – The last valid value found is plotted, up to and including the
start of the interval.
l Avg – The average of all valid data found during the interval is plot-
ted, starting at the beginning of the interval, 12:00:00.
l High – The highest valid data point value found during the interval is
plotted, starting at the beginning of the interval, 12:00:00.
l Low – The lowest valid data point value found during the interval is
plotted, starting at the beginning of the interval, 12:00:00.

Marker Style Allows you to specify a style for the pen's marker type. You can specify
these types of pen markers:

l No Marker – no marker.
l Rectangle – rectangle marker.
l Oval – oval marker.
l Diamond – diamond marker
l Character - character marker, as designated in the Marker Char-
acter text box.

Marker Char- Applies the character you enter as the marker style for the line. You activ-
acter ate this dialog box by selecting Character from the Marker Style drop-down
list box.

74 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Data

Item Description

Fetch Links Specifies whether to automatically retrieve the low and high limits assigned
to the selected data source.

Low Limit Allows you to enter the low limit value for the selected data source.

High Limit Allows you to enter the high limit value for the selected data source.

Open File

Lets you select a chart group file to modify or apply to a chart.

New

Click to clear the pens displayed in the Chart Group Configuration dialog Pen List and create a new chart
group file.

Save

Click to save the current pen configurations. If a chart group file is already open, this saves the open file. If
a chart group file is not open, this invokes the Chart Group File dialog box, where you can save the file
under a new name or overwrite an existing file.

Save As

Click to invoke the Chart Group File dialog box, where you can save a new chart group file or overwrite an
existing one.

Apply Pens

Closes this dialog box and applies your changes to the pen configurations on the chart.

Chart Group File Dialog Box

The Chart Group File Dialog Box displays the following items:

Chart Group File Path

Identifies the current path for the display of chart group files and folders.

Chart Group File Tree

Lets you select a chart group file or folder.

Save As Read Only

Check this box to save the chart group file as a read-only file. When you select this option, you can read,
but you cannot modify the chart group file in run time.

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 75

 File Name

Lets you enter a file name for a chart group.

Add Folder

Allows you to add a folder to the C:\Program Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX\HTR folder for storing charts.

Delete File

Allows you to delete a chart group file.

How Do I...

The Chart Group Wizard help provides information for:

l Getting Started
l Working with Chart Group Files in Configuration Mode
l Working with the Chart Group Wizard in a Chart
l Working with Chart Group Files in Run Mode
l Defining Pens
l Using Scripts with the Chart Group Wizard

Getting Started

To get started with the Chart Group Wizard, refer to the following sections:

l Making the Chart Group Toolbar Visible

l Using the Chart Group Configuration Dialog Box
l Using the Chart Group File Dialog Box
l Using the Apply Chart Group File Dialog Box
l Using the Apply Chart Group Wizard Dialog Box

Working with Chart Group Files in Configuration Mode

The following sections explain how to work with Chart Group Files in Configuration mode:

l Creating a Chart Group File from Inception

l Creating a Chart Group File from an Existing Chart Configuration
l Creating a Chart Group File from an Existing Chart Group File
l Saving a New Chart Group File
l Creating Folders for Storing Chart Group Files

76 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Applying a File When a Picture Opens
l Applying a File On an Object's Click Event
l Preventing Changes to Chart Group Files in Run Mode
l Using the Apply Chart Group File Dialog Box
l Deleting Chart Group Files
l Modifying a Chart Group File in Configuration Mode

Modifying a Chart Group File in Configuration Mode

To modify a chart group file in Configuration mode:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, click the Configure Chart Group Files button on the Chart
Group toolbar.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Tools tab, in the Charts group, click Chart Groups, and then click Configure
Chart Group Wizard.
2. In the Chart Group Configuration dialog box, click Open File.
3. In the Chart Group File dialog box, select a file to edit and click OK.
4. Add, modify, and delete pen configurations in the Chart Group Configuration dialog box, as needed.
5. Click Save to save the changes.

Working with Chart Group Files in Run Mode

For steps on work with Chart Group Files in run mode, refer to the following sections:

l Applying a Chart Group File to a Chart

l Applying Pen Configurations to a Chart in Run Mode
l Creating a Chart Group File
l Modifying a Chart Group File
l Saving a Chart Group File
l Saving and Applying a Chart Group File
l Editing Chart Pens Without Applying a File
l Deleting a Chart Group File
l Using the Chart List Dialog Box

Defining Pens

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 77

 In the Chart Group Wizard, you can perform the following pen tasks:

l Adding a Pen
l Deleting Pens
l Reordering Pens
l Defining Pen Properties

Using Scripts with the Chart Group Wizard

The following sections describe how to use scripts with the Chart Group Wizard:

l Applying the Chart Group Wizard Functionality through Scripting

l Applying a Chart Group File through Scripting

78 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Index displaying SQL data 3

displaying time cursors 53

displaying tool tips 53

A
entering a description 40
Adding pens 59
naming 39
adjusting for daylight saving time 55
object 1
animating 50
plotting real-time versus historical data 3
chart properties 50
properties 35
applying
reading time 54
chart group file 69
scrolling 40
chart group file in run mode 67
specifying a scroll direction 40
chart group file through scripting 68
working in the run-time environment 50
chart group file to a chart in run mode 65
zooming 51
Chart Group Wizard through scripting 68
chart group file
default chart group file 66
about 58

applying the default 66

C
applying through scripting 68
CGW_ApplyFileToChart method 68
applying to a chart in run mode 65
CGW_OpenChartGroupForm method 63
file location and type 58
Chart
modifying 77
attributing a help context ID 40
modifying example 69
changing the appearance 43
on Click event example 69
changing the refresh rate 45
preventing run-time changes 67
configuring the legend 50
saving 67
configuring the x and y axis 48
Chart group file
defining a grid 49
saving 65
defining a time range for each pen 47
Chart group file, applying 63
defining pens 36
changes without saving 63
defining run-time attributes 51
Chart Group Wizard
described 1
about 56
displaying multiple times 52
applying through scripting 68
displaying multiple values 52

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 79

 before you begin 58 display mode

configuring and applying 64 choosing for a data source 36

examples of using 69 Double-click event 68

FileName system tree string 63 applying Chart Group Wizard 68

functionality in run mode 67 Duration property 61

toolbar 57
F
Chart Group Wizard methods 63
Fetch Limit property 61
CGW_ApplyFileToChart 69
FileName system tree string variable 63
CGW_OpenChartGroupForm 64
Fixed Start Time property 61
Chart properties 39

animating 50 G
applying 35
grid 49
applying to all pens 35
defining for a chart 49
defining 39

Click event 66 H

color, changing in a chart 44 Help context ID 40

Configuration mode 63 attributing to charts 40

applying default chart group file 66 historical data

Chart Group Wizard functionality 63 plotting in a chart 3

configuring and applying chart group files 64 Historical mode property 62

Historical pen properties 61

D

Data limit properties 62 L

data properties Legend, configuring for a chart 50

defining for a pen 36 Line color property 60

Data Sources 72 Line style property 60

daylight saving time 55 Line width property 60

adjusting for 55
M
defining 49
marker style
Chart grid 49
choosing for a pen 45
deleting 36
Marker style property 60

80 © 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Methods 64 viewing chart data 50

CGW_ApplyFileToChart 68 run mode 67

CGW_OpenChartGroupForm 64 applying chart group file 67

Modifying 59 Chart Group Wizard functionality 67

chart group files in Run mode 65 Run mode 65

chart group files, preventing 67 Chart Group Wizard functionality 67

modifying and applying a pen 63 creating and managing chart group files 65

modifying chart group files 77

S

P Saving chart group files 65

pen 58 in Configuration mode 67

concepts 58 in Run mode 65

data limit-related properties 61 saving the chart group file 67

managing 59 Selecting multiple charts 63

modifying and applying 63 SQL 3

style properties 60 displaying data in a chart 3

time-related properties 61
T
types 58
Time Before Now property 61
Pen 45
time range 47
choosing a line color 45
defining for each pen in a chart 47
choosing a marker style for a chart 45
Toolbar 57
defining a data source for a chart 36
tooltips 53
defining a time range for a chart 47
transparent chart 44
defining for a chart 36

defining styles for a chart 45 U

Universal Coordinate Time 54

R
using Chart Group Wizard 69
real-time data, plotting in a chart 3
examples 69
Real-time pen properties 61

refresh rate 45

run-time environment 50

defining attributes for a chart 51

© 2016 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 81