Defining Components

Groups > Group Manager Utility > Defining Components

Defining Components

Note: Although both rule-based views and component-based views are supported by CygNet, best practice recommends using rule-based views instead of component-based views. Rules provide a more comprehensive and fine-tuned way to create views.

A component-based view relies on components specified for each hierarchy level to indicate which facility records to include. Along with rules, components are one of the building blocks of navigation hierarchies. Components specify which attributes are used to filter facilities. Components can be device or facility attributes. Choose these attributes carefully to help ensure that the navigation hierarchy built from them organizes facilities in the most meaningful way. Attributes reside in the Facility Service (FAC) or Device Definition Service (DDS).

See the following subsections below for more information:

To Add a Component
To Link a Component
To Edit a Component
To Delete a Component
New Component Definition Entry Properties

For high-level information about components, see Groups Concepts.

To Add a Component

Note: For details about properties mentioned in the procedure below, see the following properties table below: New Component Definition Entry Properties.

Using the Group Manager utility, click Edit > Define New Component or right-click in the hierarchy pane and click Define New Component. The following dialog box appears:

New Component Definition Entry

Type a Component Description. If this field is left blank, the Component Description defaults to the attribute description.
Select the Component Type. Options are DDS Service Devices and FAC Services Facilities.
Select the Component Source. Select the service from the correct site.
Select the Device Category or Facility Category.
Select the Device Attribute or Facility Attribute.
If the Component Type is FAC Services Facilities, the Interpret Entry As drop-down menu becomes available. Select either Actual Value or Facility Tag.
To include facilities even if the Device Attribute or Facility Attribute value is blank, check Include facilities where selected attribute is blank.
When you are finished defining this component, click OK.
Continue adding new components to suit your needs.

To Link a Component

Note: This feature enables you to link components to a preexisting level in a component view as well as to create a component level that pulls data from more than one device (DDS) or facility service (FAC).

Using the Group Manager utility, select an appropriate preexisting level, right-click, and select Link Component to Level.
Select components:
- To select defined components, press Ctrl+Click to select all required components in the Select Components for This Level dialog box, and click OK.
- To select undefined components, click Add and follow the steps in To Add a Component above, then press Ctrl+Click to select all required components in the Select Components for This Level dialog box.

To Edit a Component

Using the Group Manager utility, double-click the component you want to edit.
Make required changes to the component. For information about component properties, see New Component Definition Entry Properties.

To Delete a Component

Important: Use caution when deleting a component. First determine where the component is used to ensure that you do not delete an important component used for grouping facilities.

Using the Group Manager utility, right-click the component you want to delete and select View Component References. The Component References dialog box displays information about component location(s) within hierarchies.

Component References

If you still want to delete the component, delete it by doing one of following actions:
- Right-click on the component and select Delete.
- Right-click on the component and select on the toolbar.
A confirmation dialog box appears. If you are certain you want to delete the component, click Delete.

New Component Definition Entry Properties

The following table lists and describes properties of the New Component Definition Entry dialog box.

Property	Description
Component Description	Free-form text field. If this field is left blank, the Component Description defaults to the attribute description.
Component Type	Two options are available: DDS Service Devices: Limits the Device Attribute selection to device properties that are stored in the DDS. FAC Service Facilities: Limits the Facility Attribute selection to attributes stored in the FAC.
Component Source	Name of the DDS or FAC from which attributes derive. The selection is dependent upon Component Type.
Device/Facility Category	The types of devices or facilities to include in the hierarchy. Device Category options are as follows: All Devices: Remote, communication, and import/export devices. Comm Devices: Communication devices. Import/Export Devices: Import/export devices. Remote Devices: Remote devices. Facility Category options are as follows: All Devices: Remote, communication, and import/export devices. All Facilities: All facilities stored in the Facility Service. This would include devices (remote, communication, import) and logical facilities. Comm Devices: Communication devices. Cvs-only Facilities: Facilities that are related to a Current Value Service (CVS) rather than a device. Import/Export Devices: Import/export devices. Remote Devices: Remote devices. Remote Facilities: Remote facilities.
Device/Facility Attribute	The attributes of devices or facilities to include in the hierarchy. You can add the same attribute twice, as long as the Component Description is unique. For example, you might want to add a table attribute and in one instance use the table entry and in the other instance use the table description. Device Attribute options are as follows: Device Category Device Class Device Description Device Enabled Device ID Device Manufacturer Device Model Device Type Facility Attribute options are as follows: Facility Contact Facility Location Facility Security App Facility Service Facility Site Facility Site Service Facility Type (description) Facility Type (entry)
Interpret Entry As	This option only appears if you selected FAC Services Facilities for your Component Type. Interpret Entry As options are as follows: Actual Value: Read the value that was entered for the attribute. Facility Tag: Read the value as a facility tag string (SITE.SERVICE::FacID.UDC). If the facility tag string is valid (that is, it resolves to a facility in the system), the component resolves to the description of the facility. Otherwise, the component interprets the attribute value as a string.
Include facilities where selected attribute is blank	When checked, the hierarchy includes devices or facilities for which the value of the selected attribute is blank.