Session Node

The concept of the Session Node works hand-in-hand with the Session options to define a working Session in CygNet Measurement. The Session Node is key to effective and expedient management of measurement data for analysis. The Use Session Node option appears in multiple locations throughout FMS Explorer. You can use the Session Node option to quickly navigate between data views while using multiple controls, optionally synchronized to display data from the same (Session) Node.

A Session Node is an existing Node, of any Node type, that you designate as the Node for the current working Session. Once the Session Node is set, you can optionally use it to apply to multiple controls of your choice, across FMS Explorer. You can then switch back and forth between controls, using the same settings, without resetting your options. You can also quickly switch out of using the Session Node, to view data for another Node, and then quickly switch back.

Setting the Session Node

Choosing a Node and then setting it as the Session Node will apply that setting to all controls that have the Use Session Node option selected. Once set by any method, the name of the selected Session Node will also populate the Node name text box on the Session menu. The Session Node selection can therefore be verified on the Session menu at any time.

Locations from which you can set the Session Node include the Session menu and several locations in the Controls menu (Navigation, Summary, or Admin controls). You cannot set the Session Node from Data or auxiliary controls.

Set a Node as the Session Node in FMS Explorer, using one of the following methods.

To Set the Session Node from the Session Menu

On the Session menu, do the following to set the Session Node.

• Type the Session Node name directly into the Node text box. Press Enter.

See Using the Session Menu for more information.

To Set the Session Node from the Controls Menu

On the Controls menu, you have several additional options to set the Session Node.

• In the Navigation (stand-alone Node Chooser) control, do one of the following.

• Double-click the desired Node name in the retrieved Nodes list.
• Click to select the desired Node name in the retrieved Nodes list, and then click Set as Session Node.
• Click to select the desired Node name in the retrieved Nodes list, and then press Ctrl+Shift+S to use the keyboard shortcut.

• In the Summary (Dashboard, Exceptions) or Admin (Close Period, Prior Period Adjustment, Balance, or Jobs) controls, do one of the following.

• Right-click on the desired Node name within the data grid to access the context menu, and then click Set as Session Node.
• Click the desired Node name within the data grid to select it, and then press Ctrl+Shift+S to use the keyboard shortcut.
• In the Dashboard control only, double-click the desired Node name in the data grid.

See Using the Controls Menu and Using Keyboard Shortcuts for more information.

Using the Session Node

Most controls that allow you to select Nodes can be configured to run using the Session Node (all Summary, Data, and Admin controls except Close Period, PPA, and Jobs). Data for the Session Node will then automatically be displayed in any FMS Explorer controls that have selected the Use Session Node option, once you Refresh or Apply the control settings. This option can be selected or cleared at will, to allow easy navigation between data views of the Session Node and data views for other Nodes of interest.

To Select Using the Session Node from Controls

On the Controls menu, there are several locations from which you can select/clear use of the Session Node.

• On the Options pane of a Data (Alarm, Configuration, History Graph, History Grid, and Raw Data) control, click to select/clear the check box to Use Session Node. Data controls are set to select the Use Session Node option by default. If you do not want to use the Session Node, click the check box to clear it, and then select the desired Node(s) on the Node chooser.
• On the Options pane of a Summary (Dashboard, Exceptions) or Admin (Balance; not applicable to Close Period, PPA, Jobs) control, click to select/clear the check box to Use Session Node. The Dashboard, Exceptions, and Balance controls are set to clear the Use Session Node option by default. Click the check box to use the Session Node, or select the desired Node(s) manually on the Node chooser pane.

When Use Session Node is selected, the embedded Node chooser for the control will be hidden. Then, once you initially Refresh or Apply the control settings, data displayed for the control will be automatically updated to the new Session Node data whenever the Session Node changes.

Session Node Security Applications

FMS Explorer stores the Session Node's security application value when the Session Node is first designated, but it does not check for security changes again until a new Session Node is designated. Therefore, if you set a Node as the Session Node and subsequently change the security application properties for that Node, the security change will not be effective until you reselect and reset the Session Node.

Security for the menu ribbon buttons is checked by security application (e.g. "FMS" by default). The menu ribbon button is enabled for the selected Node when the security application is met, and disabled when the security application is not met. There is a default security application for the Measurement application, but each Node in the system can define a separate security application as part of its properties. Consequently Nodes can have different security applications.

See FMS Security for more information about configuring security access for Nodes (component-level security).