This document provides a high-level overview of remote clients and their configuration using Mobile Access. It covers the prerequisites to run remote clients and how to deploy an HTML5-enhanced web interface for smartphones and tablets. Additionally, it outlines the key controls available in the Mobile Access web interface, such as Alarm, Process Values, Trend, and Screens.

NOTE: Internet Explorer is not a supported browser.

APPLIES TO

• AVEVA Edge HMI

EXPLANATION

Mobile Access allows you to remotely view AVEVA Edge runtime on a mobile device or in any HTML5 web browser. The configuration process involves setting up the Mobile Access web interface, which facilitates remote access using HTML5-enhanced web pages designed for smartphones and tablets.

To get started with Mobile Access, you must have the Mobile Access Runtime software installed on the runtime server, in addition to ensuring you have network connectivity and proper security measures. Once these requirements are in place, users can proceed to configure the Mobile Access web interface.

Mobile Access Web Interface

• Alarm Control: This control resembles the Alarm/Event Control screen object. It displays active alarms and allows users to acknowledge alarms.
• Process Values Control: Similar to the Symbols library, the Process Values control utilizes premade widgets like gauges and switches to visually represent project tag values. Users can interact with these widgets to change values during runtime, based on how they’re configured.
• Trend Control: This control operates similarly to the Trend Control screen object. It graphs process value changes over specified time durations. The control also maintains a history of these changes.
• Screens Control: The Screens Control allows users to access selected project screens from the web interface. Screens typically function the same as screens published in other remote clients, but limitations exist.

These controls are presented as green tiles within the Mobile Access web interface. When users click or tap on a tile, they are directed to a new page that provides access to the corresponding control.

IMPLEMENTATION

1. First, publish the screens as HTML to support mobile access. In AVEVA Edge Studio, close any opens screens. Then go to File -> Save All As HTML

2. A message appears asking you to enable the TCP/IP server if not already enabled. Click Yes.

3. If security is not enabled, a warning message appears. Click OK.

4. On the Project tab -> Web group -> Mobile Access. The Mobile Access Configuration screen appears.

5. At the bottom right, click Area Settings.

6. In the Trend and Process Values group, add a tag and choose a widget to be used in the Process Values control. This will display that tag during runtime in the chosen widget. You can access this at runtime by clicking the Process Values Mobile Access tile.

7. In the Screens group, choose a screen and define a label for it to be shown in the Screens control. This control presents project screens that you have selected to include in the web interface. You can access this at runtime by clicking the Screens Mobile Access tile.

8. To test it out, run any HTML5-compatible browser and enter http://<host-name-or-IP-address>/AVEVAEdge2020/?screen=<group-folder.sg-or-screen>

host-name-or-IP-address: name or IP address of the AVEVA Edge server

group-folder.sg-or-screen: the designated startup group or screen

8. The Logon window appears. Once logged-in, observe the Mobile Access interface.

The post Configuring Mobile Access in AVEVA Edge appeared first on Industrial Software Solutions.

Communication Drivers in AVEVA Edge allow you to configure the HMI to communicate with various external devices, such as PLCs and transmitters. AVEVA Edge comes with pre-installed drivers for a wide range of common and uncommon devices. This training document will explain what communication drivers are and how to configure them in Edge Studio, as well as how to configure the Driver sheet(s) associated with the driver(s) to define I/O tags.

This document will provide implementation steps for:

• Adding the Communication Driver
• Configure the Main Driver Worksheet

This document assumes understanding of creating tags in AVEVA Edge Studio.

APPLIES TO

• AVEVA Edge

EXPLANATION

In order to implement I/O Connectivity, you first add a Communication Driver, and then configure the Driver sheet(s).

Adding a Driver

To configure a communication driver, users must specify the necessary interface parameters and equipment addresses, linking them to project tags. There are two methods to add or remove a driver:

1. Through the Insert tab on the ribbon, in the Communication group, by clicking Add/Remove Driver.
2. By right-clicking the Drivers folder in the Project Explorer and selecting Add/Remove drivers.

Configuring Drivers

Users can configure communication drivers using two interfaces provided by AVEVA Edge:

1. Main Driver Sheet: This interface offers a simple way to set up communication between project tags and device addresses. It automatically groups tags for optimal runtime performance but does not allow individual control over scanning time.
2. Standard Driver Sheets: These sheets provide additional fields to control communication, allowing users to manage the scanning time of individual tags.

Main Driver Sheet

The Main Driver Sheet is automatically inserted into the driver folder when adding a driver to the project. It consists of two areas:

• Header area (top section): Contains parameters affecting all tags configured in the Body area.

• Body area (bottom section): Used to define the relationship between project tags and their corresponding field equipment addresses.

The Header area parameters allow users to add descriptions, enable/disable communication, and monitor read/write commands. The Body area parameters include project tag names, equipment station numbers, field equipment addresses, communication directions, and scan conditions.

Standard Driver Sheets

Users can create multiple Standard Driver Sheets for each driver. These sheets provide more granular control over communication triggers and commands. The number of rows in a Standard Driver Sheet is limited, with the maximum block size supported by the driver protocol affecting the practical limit.

It consists of two areas:

• Header area (top section): Contains parameters that affect all the tags configured in the Body area of this worksheet

• Body area (bottom section): Used to define the relationship between tags in the project and their field equipment address

IMPLEMENTATION

Adding the Communication Driver

For the purposes of this training document, we will be using the Modbus driver, MOTCP.

1. Open AVEVA Edge Studio and close any open windows. Then, go to the ribbon’s Insert tab and find the “Communication” group. Click on Add/Remove Driver.

2. The Communication Drivers dialog box will appear.

3. Scroll through the list of Available drivers and select the MOTCP driver. Click on Select. The MOTCP driver will be added to the Selected drivers list.

5. Click OK to close the Communication Drivers dialog box.

Configure the Main Driver Worksheet

1. In the Project Explorer, go to the Global tab, expand the Project Tags folder, and right-click Datasheet View. Then, select Open to access the Project Tags worksheet.

2. First we will create some tags that we’ll use in our Read/Write Completed/Status fields for triggering and reading the Driver Sheet. Create the following tags in the Project Tags worksheet:

3. Close the Project Tags worksheet. In the Project Explorer, go to the Comm tab -> Drivers folder, ->  MOTCP folder. Right-click MAIN DRIVER SHEET and click Open to access the MOTCP – MAIN DRIVER SHEET worksheet.

4. In the Read Completed field, enter “bReadComplete,” and in the Read Status field, enter “iReadStatus.” Then, in the Write Completed field, enter “bWriteComplete,” and in the Write Status field, enter “iWriteStatus.”

5. You would then create any I/O tags by adding them to the rest of the driver worksheet. You can refer to the Main Driver Sheet section for more information on the specific fields.

The post Configuring I/O Connectivity in AVEVA Edge appeared first on Industrial Software Solutions.

This training document provides an introduction to Tags and Classes in AVEVA Edge.  Tags are essential elements within a project, serving as variables to store data from communication with plant I/O devices, calculations, and user input. Classes play a vital role in organizing tags and creating complex structures.

This document will explain both concepts and provide implementation steps on:

• Creating Project Tags
• Creating Class Tags

APPLIES TO

• AVEVA Edge

EXPLANATION

Tags

Tags offer versatile functionality, including displaying information, manipulating screen objects, and controlling runtime tasks. Tags are organized into categories on the Global tab of the Project Explorer, which includes Project Tags, Shared Tags, and System Tags.

• Project Tags
  • Created during project development, project tags encompass various types, including screen tags, field equipment read/write tags, control tags, and auxiliary tags used for mathematical calculations.
• Shared Tags
  • Created in a PC-based control program and then imported into AVEVA Edge’s tags database. Modification of shared tags must be done in the original PC-based control program and reimported into the Tags database.
• System Tags
  • Predefined tags with predetermined functions used for AVEVA Edge supervisory tasks, such as holding the current date and time. Most system tags are read-only and cannot be edited or removed from the database.

Tag Properties

Tag properties are metadata associated with each project tag, providing various configurations during project runtime. They go beyond simple variable storage, offering functionalities like alarm conditions, quality assessment, unit conversion, access to individual bits, historical data storage, and more. The tags can be configured and modified in the the Datasheet View.

• Tag Name
  • Must be unique and comply with specific naming rules. Names can include uppercase and lowercase letters, accented forms, standard numerals, and the underscore character.
• Data Type
  • Identifies the type of data the tag will receive, which include Boolean, Integer, Real, or String.
• Scope
  • Determines whether a tag resides on the project server or on each remote client station. Server scope affects the entire project, while local scope affects only the station where the change was made.
• Array Tags
  • Tags can be single values or arrays of values. Array tags group multiple tags with the same name but unique array indexes. They are used for simplifying configurations, multiplexing, and saving development time. Each array position (including the
    position 0) counts as one tag for licensing restrictions because each position has an independent value.
• Indirect Tags
  • Support indirect access to tags in the database by pointing to other database tags. Indirect tags save development time by avoiding duplicate tags and logic. You can create an indirect tag by entering the @ symbol in front of the tagname: @TagName

Not all tag properties are shown by default in Datasheet View. To show/hide additional columns for other tag properties, you can right-click anywhere in the datasheet and choose the desired properties:

• Name (cannot be hidden)
• Size (shown by default)
• Type (shown by default)
• Description (shown by default)
• Scope (shown by default)
• More Columns:
  • Startup
  • Min
  • Max
  • Unit
  • Retentive Value
  • Retentive Parameters
  • Dead Band
  • Smoothing
  • UA External Availability (shown by default)
  • I-Value
  • I-Alarm
  • I-Historian

Classes

Classes are compound tags that offer encapsulation within the Tags database. Basic tags are designed to receive a single value, whereas classes are designed to receive multiple values. Class-type tags provide sets of values for their members, simplifying configurations and organizing repetitive groups of variables.

Defining a Class

The Classes folder contains project classes and their respective members. To create a class, you define its members and their types. Class members are variables that store values for objects with specific characteristics. This is particularly useful for projects with repeating groups of variables. A Class icon appears in the Tag List subfolder when you create a class folder in the Project Tags folder.

Once a class and it’s members have been defined, you can access the members of a class using the following syntax: TagName.MemberName.

Class Member Properties

The following class member properties are editable:

• Name
  • Name for the member or member property. Must begin with a letter and can be up to 255 characters.
• Type
  • The data type for the member, which include Boolean, Integer, Real, or String. Members of a class cannot be another class type.
• Description
  • A description of the member for documentation purposes.

IMPLEMENTATION

Creating Project Tags

There are two possible methods for creating a tag. Both will both noted below.

1. First, we will create just a single tag. In AVEVA Edge Studio, click the Insert tab and select Tag from the “Global” group. Alternatively, go to Project Explorer -> Global Tab -> right-click Project Tags -> Insert Tag.

2. The New Tag dialog appears. Enter a Name for your tag (example: “TestTag”).

3. Provide a Description (example: This is a Test Tag).

4. Click OK. Observe the new tag in the Project Tags -> Tag List in Project Explorer.

5. To create multiple tags, go to Project Explorer -> Global tab ->  expand Project Tags -> right-click Datasheet View -> Open.

6. Here, you can enter multiple tags in the Project Tags worksheet.

Creating Class Tags

There are two possible methods for creating a class. Both will both noted below.

1. In AVEVA Edge Studio, click the Insert tab and select Class from the “Global” group. Alternatively, go to Project Explorer -> Global Tab -> right-click Classes -> Insert Class.

2. The Insert Class dialog appears. Enter a Name for your class (example: “TestClass”).

3. Click OK. The Class worksheet appears in the workspace.

4. Here, you can configure members of your class. Configure a few as an example.

5. Close the Class worksheet. Go to Project Explorer -> Global tab ->  expand Project Tags -> right-click Datasheet View -> Open.

6. The Project Tags worksheet appears. Create a new Class tag. Here is an example:

Name: TestClassTag

Array Size: 0

Type: TestClass

Description: TestClass tag

The post AVEVA Edge Tags and Classes Overview appeared first on Industrial Software Solutions.