maxVUE Editor – Parameter Expansion

Understanding Parameterization
In maxVUE, when you create an animator control, such as the Single Point Value
Control, you must define a Read Point Identifier, such as FIC101.PV. During runtime, the
control then retrieves the value for that point reference from the real-time system and
displays the value in the control. Parameterization makes it easier to create display
groups and displays that may be reused for many different display applications as they
occur.

Parameter expansion is the process by which maxVUE recognizes that a string has been
parameterized, finds the definition for that parameter, and substitutes that definition for
the parameter string.

When you use parameters, you may create display groups and displays using standard
controls that do not contain specific point references. Instead, point references are made
by parameters, such as %Param1% (a Group Parameter used in “this” display) or
%DP1% (a Display Parameter used in the “next” display) that can be defined differently
for each display group or display.

You may create a display group once and use it many times on one display. The point
value referenced in the control in the group would be defined using a parameter, such as
%Param1%.Out. Then each instance of the group would define %Param1%
differently. For more details, please refer to the Using Group Parameters section.

You may also create a display once and use it many times in many places. If you define
subsystems using hierarchical identifiers, for instance, you will probably find yourself
creating similar displays for multiple hierarchical groups. You may create a main menu
consisting of buttons labeled Mill1, Mill2, etc., which may open displays representing
different hierarchical groups in your plant. The displays may be identical except for the
point references. Instead of creating two or more identical displays and hard-coding the
internal point references, using Parameterization, you only need create the display once
and insert parameters, such as, %Param1% or %DP1%, in place of specific point
references, titles, descriptions or captions. At runtime, maxVUE expands the parameters
it finds and inserts the actual values.

For example, navigation for one button may be defined as “Mills\Mills.MN” Dp1=1 and
another as “Mills\Mills.MN” Dp1=2. Controls in display groups of the Mills display may
use %Param1% in the point reference and the groups definition of %Param1% may
include the display parameter %Dp1%. The same display is called, but the display
parameter definition results in a different Mill’s information being displayed. The
display parameter definition is maintained when using the Last Button. For more details,
please refer to the Using Display Parameters section.
Parameter Types

A parameter is a string of characters typically delimited at the beginning and end by the
'%' character. Everything in between becomes the parameter that will be expanded.
maxVUE currently uses these parameter types:

Group
Display
Software Back Plane
Nested
Unit ID
A–Z

Group Parameter

A Group parameter will have the form %ParamY% where Y is a number from 1 to 10.
When a Group Folder contains parameters, you assign the definition of its parameters
when the Group is instantiated on a Display at edit-time. To utilize a Group Folder
parameter, edit the Group Property Sheet Page. Enable the required parameters, enter
values for them and enter text that describes the parameter. The check in the "Enabled"
box indicates a value is required for this parameter (e.g. a maxDNA animator control
within the Group Folder has a read point identifier property containing %ParamY%). See
Using Group Parameters.

Display Parameter

A display parameter has the form %DpX%, where x is a number between 1 and 10. A
Display may or may not include display parameters. When it does, values are passed to it
when it is activated at run-time. You define display parameters when you configure a
display for display navigation using the Display Navigation Property Sheet. See Using
Display Parameters.

Software Backplane

The Local Status Server is the repository for Software Backplane parameters and their
values that are local to this station. They are accessible via the Software Backplane. An
example of a local service id is the currently selected point. As with Group Parameters,
the service ids are delimited by the "%" character. For example, an animator that is set up
to show the output value for the currently selected point will define its point identifier as
%_SEL_PT.TAGNAME%.OUT.

The maxVUE Runtime container will save any expanded values of the service ids
required for the life of a display. This insures that their values will be constant to the
animator control on that display. The maxVUE Editor will save the expanded parameter
while a display is in Test mode, and then clear it.
Note: A "%" symbol is an illegal character in (any part of) a point's name, but may be
used in an attribute name.

Nested Parameters

Nested parameter expansion is useful when you want to use the result of one expansion
to complete a second expansion, such as first expanding to get a tagname and then using
that value to expand the description for that tagname. The syntax for a nested parameter
is “%{parameter}”. An example of nested parameter usage is:

%{%{Param1}.desc}

where “Param1” is expanded first and then that result is used to retrieve its associated
“desc” attribute. The expansion processing expands the inner-most parameter inside a
“%{xxx}” string and keeps processing until it gets to the outer-most parameter.

Multiple nested expansions may be used in one instance. For example:

%{%{Param1}.tagname} - %{%{Param1}.desc}

will expand to show the tagname for Param1 followed by the description of Param1.

Unit ID

The “@” symbol may be used to parameterize names: “@%Param1%”

Often multi-unit systems contain very similar configurations between units. In this case,
it may be advantageous to re-use display sets between the two units. The configuration
of the similar units may be such that the only difference between tagnames in the two
units is a single digit character, such as “1” for Unit 1 and “2” for Unit 2.

The Local Status Server variable “_Display.UnitId” is used for @ expansion. This
variable should be set before opening a display that uses this expansion.

Note: for multi-monitor stations, this value is unique per monitor. A technique which
has worked well for migration systems that use Unit Id parameterization, is to assign the
Unit ID once in the Logo display. The operator selects a unit on the Logo display and
must navigate through the Logo display to switch units. This value is not maintained as
part of the Last Button processing.

A–Z

The Local Status Server is the repository for Software Backplane parameters that may be
referenced by the syntax:
%A%, %B%, …%Z%

These values are set by writing to “_Display.A, _Display.B,… _Display.Z”.

Note: for multi-monitor stations, these values are the same for all monitors. These values
are not maintained as part of the Last Button processing.

Using Group Parameters

Parameterization lets you create display Groups that don't contain specific point
references. Instead, point references are made by parameters that can be defined
differently for each use of the Group.

To make a Group that uses parameters:

1. Right-click on the background of the display to open the context Edit menu and
select Create New Group – Empty from the Group menu.
2. You are prompted to specify a name for the new group. Type in a group name or
accept the default name and click ok.
3. Click the Layers button from the toolbar and select the graphics folder you
just created.
4. Right-click to bring up the Edit menu again and click Select Target group from
the Group menu. A red asterisk appears on this folder indicating that it is the
current folder for editing. All static and animated objects that are now placed on
the screen will be put in this folder.
5. Select an animator control and place it on the screen. Define the control properties
for the animator control, but instead of specifying a point name (such as
fic101.ao), enter a parameter string such as %Param1%.ao or %DP1%.ao. You
may specify parameter strings 1-10, (i.e. %Param1%, %Param2%, …
%Param10%, or %DP1%, %DP2%, … %DP10%.)
6. After you have specified the Control’s parameters, click the Layers toolbar button
to open the Layers dialog box and select the Graphics Folder.
7. Right-click to access the Edit menu and select Edit Group Parameters from the
Group Menu. This will present you with the Parameters Property Sheet.
8. Click the Enabled checkbox to enable the Parameter Name that you have used in
the control in this Group.
9. Enter the point name to be used with the Parameter in the Parameter Assignment
field and a description for the parameter. At this point, a parameter may be
defined to be another parameter such as %DP1%. At run-time, maxVUE will
continue parsing the parameterized name until it has been resolved.

Note: This Group may be copied and pasted to another display. In the new
display, a different point name may be assigned to the Group by following steps
6-9.
Using Display Parameters
Access the Display Navigation page to turn a display object (drawing object or animator
object) into a navigation button, and to define display parameters. On this page you
specify a path name for the display you want the object to open and display parameters
that the target display should reference. Display parameters may be used to reference
specific points defined in the parent display or elsewhere. A parameter is a string of
characters delimited at the beginning and end by the '%' character. Everything in between
becomes the parameter that will be expanded.

A display parameter has the form %DpX%, where x is a number between 1 and 10. A
Display Parameter may be defined in terms of another display parameters (as in
DP1=%DP1%), or in terms of a Group parameter (as in DP3=%param1%), or may be a
specific name (as in DP2=FIC101).

Note: to use a drawing object as a display navigation button, you must first define a
border scheme for it.

To specify display navigation and define display parameters:

1. Click the screen object to select it and right-click the mouse to bring up the pop-
up Edit menu.
2. Select Properties from the menu to access the Property Sheet display.
3. Select the Display Navigation tab, if it is not already selected.
4. Select one of the two Left button-click options. The first option lets you call a
display with a single click, while the second option lets you call a display with a
double click. A single Right button-click may also be defined by following steps 5
and 6 below.
5. Enter the (partial) path name for the target display you wish to access using the
display button, such as "Mills\Mills.MN". Click Browse to select the path name
from a directory list.
6. To add a display parameter definition, press the spacebar to add a blank space and
type a parameter string such as, DP1=%Param1%, DP2=FIC101.

Rules for Parameter Expansion

There are certain rules that are followed during the process of expanding parameters:
The spelling of all parameter strings including “ParamN” and “DpN” is case
insensitive. You may use any mixture of upper and lower case letters when specifying
these strings.
A dot after the second “%” will stop parameter expansion. If you need to do further
parameter expansion (such as when using Wrapper Calculations), you need to include
the dot within percent signs: “=%param1%%.%Out + %param2%.Out”
 The “%” symbol is used in some attribute names, such as “Out%”. A percent may be
surrounded by “%” if it should be ignored in parameter expansion:
“=%param1%%.%Out%%% + %param2%.Out”
A parameter is expanded only once for the life of the display. An example of the
behavior of this is on control pop-ups that use %_Sel_Pt.Tagname% expansion. You
may change the selected point after opening its pop-up, and it will keep showing
information for the selected point when it was opened, not for the newly selected point.
The @ expansion is unique per monitor (on multi-monitor stations).
The A – Z expansion is common for all monitors on a multi-monitor station.