Canvas > Using Canvas Controls and Objects > Alarm Grid > Alarm Grid Properties

Alarm Grid Properties

Property icon The Alarm Grid supports the following properties, which are available via the Properties pane and the Canvas script editor. Click next to any property name in the Properties pane to see a short description for the selected property.

See Accessing Screen Objects for more information about how to view control objects in script in the Canvas application.

Categorizing, Sorting, and Finding Properties

You can click Categorize (Categorize), click Alphabetize (Alphabetical within Category) or click Search (Search) within the properties using the features located immediately above the properties list. The search box is useful to help locate a property when an object contains many properties. For clarity, when you enter a search term, items matching your entry string remain displayed and non-matching items are temporarily hidden. Clear the search box to display the full properties list again.

You can expand and collapse each property category by clicking Down arrow or Up arrow next to the group name or simply clicking anywhere in the category heading.

Alarm Grid Control Properties

The following tables describe the property names visible in the Properties pane user interface (UI) and the corresponding script property name.

UI Property Script Property Description
Name Type Style

Name

ControlName

The Name property specifies the unique identifier for this control. Valid characters are A-Z, 0-9, and underscore (_). Spaces are not allowed. Names cannot start with a number. The default value is the object name and the numeric instance. The control's Name is also displayed on the Controls view of the Screen pane.

Type

ControlType

The read-only Type property displays the type for the control: Chart, Grid, Heat Map, Object Container, Tag Chooser, View, etc. … The control's Type is also displayed on the Controls view of the Screen pane.

Style

 

The Style property defines the style sheet applied to an object on a screen. A style sheet consists of a predetermined list of properties and property values configured for a particular control type.

  • Click Down arrow to reveal a drop-down menu of predetermined styles configured for the selected control.
  • Select a desired style and its properties will be applied to the control.
  • Alternately, you can create a new style based on other property values configured for the control.
  • Or you can select <None> to remove subscription to any style.

Styles are created in two ways:

  • In the control's Properties pane. Click Add a new style (Add a new style based on this control) next to the Style property, after you have configured property values in the Properties pane. See Add a new style based on a control for more information.
  • In the Canvas Settings in the Backstage view. The default style for any control is configured in the Backstage view. See Manage style sheets in the Backstage view for more information.

Tip: You can also change a control's Style on the Controls view of the Screen pane.

LocationBack to top

Height

Height

The Height property specifies the height of the control (or screen).

Tip: You can also change the height of a control using the Settings pane (click on the Settings icon (Settings) to the right of the control in design mode) or on the Controls view of the Screen pane.

Horizontal resize mode

HorizontalResizeMode

The Horizontal resize mode property specifies whether and how the control dynamically moves or resizes horizontally when the screen is resized in run mode. Options include:

  • None — No resizing occurs.
  • Shift — The object will shift horizontally.
  • Expand — The object will expand or shrink horizontally the same number of pixels as the screen.
  • Proportional — The object expands or shrinks proportionally to the screen.

The default value is None.

Layer

Layer

The Layer property specifies the layer for this control. Layers are used to show, hide, and edit multiple controls on one layer without affecting controls on another layer.

  • Type the name of the layer into the Layer field.
  • All layers are listed on the Layers pane, where you can show and hide layers for the screen in design mode and run mode.

Tip: You can also edit a control's Layer on the Controls view of the Screen pane.

 

Note: Layer visibility can be controlled at runtime via the AddLayer, HideLayer, and ShowLayer methods on the Screen object.

Vertical resize mode

VerticalResizeMode

The Vertical resize mode property specifies whether and how the control dynamically moves or resizes vertically when the screen is resized in run mode. Options include:

  • None — No resizing occurs.
  • Shift — The object will shift vertically.
  • Expand — The object will expand or shrink vertically the same number of pixels as the screen.
  • Proportional — The object expands or shrinks proportionally to the screen.

The default value is None.

Visible

IsVisible

The Visible check box indicates whether the control is visible in run mode.

Tip: You can also change a control's Visible setting on the Controls view of the Screen pane.

Width

Width

The Width property specifies the width of the control (or screen).

Tip: You can also change the width of a control using the Settings pane (click on the Settings icon (Settings) to the right of the control in design mode) or on the Controls view of the Screen pane.

X

X

The X property specifies the location of the control along the horizontal axis. Use the up, down, left, and right arrow keys to nudge a control by 1 pixel. Arrow moves a control by 1 pixel. Ctrl+Arrow moves a control by 10 pixels. Ctrl+Shift+Arrow moves a control by 100 pixels.

Tip: You can also change the location of the control using the Settings pane; click on the Settings icon (Settings) to the right of the control in design mode.

Y

Y

The Y property specifies the location of the control along the vertical axis. Use the up, down, left, and right arrow keys to nudge a control by 1 pixel. Arrow moves a control by 1 pixel. Ctrl+Arrow moves a control by 10 pixels. Ctrl+Shift+Arrow moves a control by 100 pixels.

Tip: You can also change the location of the control using the Settings pane; click on the Settings icon (Settings) to the right of the control in design mode.

Z index

ZIndex

The Z index property is used to determine the order in which controls are layered on top of each other. Controls with higher values will draw on top of those with lower values. The newest control added to a screen will always have the highest value and will be the top layer. Two or more controls can be on the same index (layer).

Tip: You can also change the Z index of a control using the Settings pane (click on the Settings icon (Settings) to the right of the control in design mode) or on the Controls view of the Screen pane.

ScriptBack to top

Include in script

 

The Include in script check box indicates that the control will appear in the objects collection of the screen (if scripting is enabled). To optimize performance, best practice dictates that you only include the controls you need to manipulate via script. Other controls should be excluded. When you add an event to a control, it will be automatically added to script and the Include in script property (and the In Script check box on the Controls view) will be set to True.

Tip: You can also change the Include in Script setting on the Controls view of the Screen pane.

GridBack to top

Alarm filter

AlarmFilter

The Alarm filter property is used to limit the data that is presented in the alarm grid by configuring alarm filtering rules. Click Open dialog box to open the Alarm Filter dialog box, where you can create a custom alarm filter rule. The filter rule is displayed in the property label; you do need to open the Alarm Filter dialog box to edit the rule.

Alarm icon column

IconColumn

IconColumn.ColorSource

IconColumn.Ranges

IconColumn.ShowIcon

The Alarm icon column property is used to indicate whether a column and icon will be displayed as the first column of the alarm grid. A customizable icon can be configured to change color based on point state and change image based on alarm priority. Icons will display only when there is an unacknowledged alarm. Click Open dialog box to configure the column, the icon color source, the associated priority ranges, and the icon image used for each priority in the Alarm Priority Icon Ranges dialog box.

Configure Icon Color Source, Alarm Priority Ranges, and Custom Icon

  1. To enable the alarm icon, do the following depending on the control you are configuring:
    • Alarm Grid — Click Show Alarm Icon Column on the Alarm Priority Icon Ranges dialog box, accessible from the Alarm icon column property
    • Detail Control — Click Show alarm icon in the Properties pane
    • Tile View — Click Show alarm icon in the Properties pane
  2. Select the source of the icon's color from the Icon color source drop-down menu, which lists the point states of the associated alarm. Options include:
    • SingleColor — Specifies that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state single color (%pointstatesinglecolor%). This is the default value.
    • ForegroundColor — Specifies that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state foreground color (%pointstateforecolor%)
    • BackgroundColor — Specifies that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state background color (%pointstatebackcolor%)
  1. Click New icon to add a new icon to the list of priorities. Configure the desired priority and associated icon for each range:
  1. Lowest Priority — Type a value to represent the lower end of the priority range. If you are using the CygNet Standard Point Scheme, the total valid range is 0 to 99, with 0 being the lowest and 99 the highest.
  2. Priority Range — This read-only column will automatically update to display the range based on the low value you entered, up to the bottom of the next configured range. For example, 0-24, 25-49, 50-74, 75-99 to represent four ranges from 0 to 99.
  3. Icon — There are three options for icon usage:
  1. Default icon — Use the default icon provided in Canvas.
  2. Custom icon without dynamic alarm color — Optionally, supply a custom icon that does not display alarm color. This could be as simple as different shapes and colors that represent the different alarm priority ranges. For example, a blue circle for 0-49, a yellow warning triangle for 50-74, and a red octagon for 75-99, etc. The custom icon must be a Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg) file.
  3. Custom icon with dynamic alarm color — Optionally, supply a custom icon that will also include a substituted alarm color somewhere inside the image.

To create a customized alarm

  1. Create (or purchase) your own icon. The icon must be a Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg) file. The properties of the SVG image are defined its XML definition.
  2. Edit the SVG XML in a text editor and add the string "alarm-highlight" to the XML class defining the element of your custom icon that you want to have filled using the color specified in the Icon color source from above. For example, <circle id="Alarm" class="st2 alarm-highlight" cx="8" cy="8" r="5.5"/>
  3. Save the file to a known location where it can be accessed by Canvas.
  4. Click Open dialog box to browse for the icon file. Click OK to select.
  1. Click Delete icon (Delete row) to remove a selected row as necessary.
  2. Click New icon again to add another priority range and repeat the steps described above.
  1. Click OK to accept the priority order, ranges, icon and close the dialog box. Click Cancel to close the dialog box without modification.

Note: You can override the default point state colors for this element by creating a custom color palette. See Configuring Color Palettes and Color palette for a screen or object for more information.

CygNet Help:

For more information about alarm priority, see the Alarm Priority, Alarm Priority Category, and Alarm Category topic in the CygNet Help:

For more information about point state attributes, see the Point State Definitions topic in the CygNet Help:

Color configuration

ColorConfiguration

The Color configuration property is a control-level property that governs all color settings for the columns in the Alarm grid. Click Down arrow to reveal a set of color options where you can specify the source of the color to be used for the background, text, border, and the alarm acknowledgment options for all columns. The Color configuration box consists of the following options, which are described below:

  • Background color
  • Text color
  • Border color
  • Display alarm acknowledgment

Color configuration: Background color

ColorConfiguration.BackgroundSource

ColorConfiguration.BackgroundSelfColor

The Background color property specifies the color used for the background of the grid cell. The color can be explicitly configured (using <Self>) or it can be sourced from the point state of the associated alarm.

  • Source — Click Down arrow to reveal four options:
    • <Self> — Select <Self> to explicitly configure the color. When <Self> is selected a Color field is automatically displayed beneath the Source field and must be configured.
    • SingleColor — Select SingleColor to specify that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state single color (%pointstatesinglecolor%)
    • ForegroundColor — Select ForegroundColor to specify that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state foreground color (%pointstateforecolor%)
    • BackgroundColor — Select BackgroundColor to specify that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state background color (%pointstatebackcolor%)
  • Color — Only displays if the Source is <Self>. Click Down arrow to explicitly specify a color using the color picker.

Note: You can override the default point state colors for this element by creating a custom color palette. See Configuring Color Palettes and Color palette for a screen or object for more information.

Color configuration: Text color

ColorConfiguration.TextSource

ColorConfiguration.TextSelfColor

The Text color property specifies the color used for the text of the grid cell. The text color is sometimes known as the foreground color. The color can be explicitly configured (using <Self>) or it can be sourced from the point state of the associated alarm.

  • Source — Click Down arrow to reveal four options:
    • <Self> — Select <Self> to explicitly configure the color. When <Self> is selected a Color field is automatically displayed beneath the Source field and must be configured.
    • SingleColor — Select SingleColor to specify that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state single color (%pointstatesinglecolor%)
    • ForegroundColor — Select ForegroundColor to specify that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state foreground color (%pointstateforecolor%)
    • BackgroundColor — Select BackgroundColor to specify that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state background color (%pointstatebackcolor%)
  • Color — Only displays if the Source is <Self>. Click Down arrow to explicitly specify a color using the color picker.

Note: You can override the default point state colors for this element by creating a custom color palette. See Configuring Color Palettes and Color palette for a screen or object for more information.

Color configuration: Border color

ColorConfiguration.BorderSource

ColorConfiguration.BorderSelfColor

The Border color property specifies the color used for the border of the grid cell. The color can be explicitly configured (using <Self>) or it can be sourced from the point state of the associated alarm.

  • Source — Click Down arrow to reveal four options:
    • <Self> — Select <Self> to explicitly configure the color. When <Self> is selected a Color field is automatically displayed beneath the Source field and must be configured.
    • SingleColor — Select SingleColor to specify that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state single color (%pointstatesinglecolor%)
    • ForegroundColor — Select ForegroundColor to specify that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state foreground color (%pointstateforecolor%)
    • BackgroundColor — Select BackgroundColor to specify that the source of the icon's color corresponds to the alarm's point state background color (%pointstatebackcolor%)
  • Color — Only displays if the Source is <Self>. Click Down arrow to explicitly specify a color using the color picker.

Note: You can override the default point state colors for this element by creating a custom color palette. See Configuring Color Palettes and Color palette for a screen or object for more information.

Color configuration: Display alarm acknowledgment

ColorConfiguration.BackgroundBlink

ColorConfiguration.TextBlink

ColorConfiguration.BorderBlink

The Display alarm acknowledgment property enables the cell or text tool's background, text, and border to blink when the associated point is in alarm. Check each box to configure the:

  • Background — The background of the cell or text tool will blink when the associated point is in alarm
  • Text — The text in the cell or text tool will blink when the associated point is in alarm
  • Border — The border of the cell or text tool will blink when the associated point is in alarm

If none of these options are selected, no visual indication of a point in alarm will be presented. However, if the point is in alarm, an Acknowledge alarm option will be available from the context menu in run mode.

Column configuration

ColumnDefinitions

ColumnDefinitions.Count

ColumnProperties

ColumnTypes

The Grid Column Configuration dialog box contains all properties required to configure columns in your grid. There are five types of columns that can be configured in an alarm grid: an Alarm icon column (configured separately), an Alarm column, a Facility column, a Generic column, and a Point column. The number of defined columns is listed on the property label once defined.

You can create your own columns or select from 11 default columns: four Alarm columns (Alarm Priority, Alarm Acknowledge, Primary Value, Timestamp), and seven Point columns (Alarm Condition, SiteService, Long Point ID, Primary Units, Description, Facility ID, Uniform Data Code).

Notes:

  • Color configuration for all types of alarm grid columns is handled in the Color configuration property.
  • Alarm icon column configuration is handled in the Alarm icon column property.

Column Order

Once defined, columns can be easily reordered by selecting, then dragging and dropping the item to a new location.

Column Types

Type of Column Description

Alarm

An alarm column presents data for a point by an alarm attribute. The property sheet displays Common and Alarm properties.

Facility

A facility column presents data for a point by a facility attribute. You can choose to resolve the facility to a relative facility if desired. The property sheet displays Common and Facility properties.

Generic

A generic column can display any kind of scripted data of your choosing using C# or VB.NET at run-time. First configure the column in Canvas and then reference the column by name to pull in CygNet or other values. A generic column can be used to discover data defined in a supporting script. If the column is defined, but no data is defined, then the column is hidden by default.

The cells in a generic column can be configured to be editable in run mode, so that, for example, users could make quick data changes to facilities in a grid format. Changed values are not saved anywhere but in the grid, but they can be saved or otherwise manipulated via script.

The property sheet displays only Common properties.

Point

A point column presents data for a point by UDC and point attribute. You can choose to resolve the point to a relative facility if desired. The property sheet displays Common and Point properties.

  • Click Open dialog box to open the Grid Column Configuration dialog box.
  • Click Use default columns to add 11 default columns: Alarm Priority, Alarm Acknowledge, Alarm Condition, SiteService, Long Point ID, Primary Value, Primary Units, Timestamp, Description, Facility ID, and Uniform Data Code.
  • Click Add column Down arrow to add a new, blank Alarm, Facility, Generic, or Point column to your grid. Complete the column configuration to suit your needs using the properties described below. The Alarm properties are only available to Alarm columns; the Common properties are shared by all column types; the Facility properties are only available to Facility columns, and the Point properties are only available to Point columns.
  • Click Down arrow in circle to expand the property group. Click Up arrow in circle to collapse the property group.

  • Click Delete series(Delete column) to remove a column from your grid.
  • See To configure column definitions for more information.

Column configuration: Alarm properties (Alarm columns only)

Alarm attribute

 

The Alarm attribute property specifies the alarm attribute that will be displayed in the column. Click Down arrow to reveal a drop-down menu of available CygNet alarm attributes supported by the alarm grid:

  • Alarm Condition
  • Set / Reset State
  • Alarm Hidden
  • Alarm Suppression State
  • Point State
  • Reported Time
  • Alarm Priority Highest
  • Alarm Priority Highest Since Ack
  • Alarm Priority Highest Category
  • Alarm Priority Highest Category Desc.
  • Alarm Priority Highest Since Ack Cat.
  • Alarm Priority Highest Since Ack Cat. Desc.
  • Facility Tag (CAS)
  • Alarm Priority
  • Primary Value
  • Secondary Value
  • Alarm Acknowledgment Status

Value format

 

The Value format property specifies the format for the point's value using any of the valid .NET standard or custom numeric format strings. The value format applies to a point's Value, Primary Value, and Alternate Value properties. The default value format is #,##0.00, which corresponds to 123,456,789.12. Formats use # and 0, with a period (.) as the decimal separator and comma (,) as the thousands separator. Add additional zeros to show more decimal places.

Date and time format

 

The Date and time format property specifies the format for a point's timestamp using any of the valid .NET standard or custom numeric format strings. The date and time format applies to a point's Timestamp, Last Verified Change Timestamp, and Last Questionable Change Timestamp properties. Use this property to override the default format, which is configured on the Settings page of the Backstage view. The default format is YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS.fff, which corresponds to 2019/01/01 10:20:30.0001. All timestamps are local client time.

Note: You can also use the Microsoft .NET Standard Date and Time Format Strings to define the text representation of a date and time value in Canvas. For example, "d" is the short date pattern and corresponds to 1/1/2019, "F" is the full date/time pattern and corresponds to Monday, January 1, 2019 1:45:30 PM.

Column configuration: Common properties (All column types (Alarm, Facility, Generic, Point))

Name

 

The Name specifies the name that appears in the column header.

Type

 

The Type property is a read-only text box that shows the column Type: Generic, Facility, Point, or History.

Visible

 

The Visible check box indicates whether to display the column in run mode.

Width

 

The Width property specifies the width of the column in pixels. Set the value to 0 to auto size the width.

Text alignment

 

The Text alignment property specifies the text alignment for the column. The options are Left, Right, Center, and Justify. The default value is Left.

Read only (Generic columns only)

IsReadOnly

The Read only property indicates whether the cells in a Generic column are editable.

Sort numerically (all columns except History)

 

The Sort numerically property specifies whether this column can be sorted numerically. In run mode, clicking a column header moves between the three states: sort ascending, sort descending, and unsorted. A small arrow indicates the sort order.

Note: Any column with mixed string and numeric data (like the Value column of the Alarm Grid) will be sorted as a string.

Column configuration: Facility properties (Facility columns only)

Facility attribute

 

The Facility attribute property specifies the facility attribute that will displayed in the column. Click Down arrow to reveal a drop-down menu of all available CygNet facility attributes categorized by type:

  • Facility: General Attributes (The default value is Facility Description.)
  • Facility: Text Attributes
  • Facility: Table-driven Attributes
  • Facility: Yes/No Attributes

Click Down arrow to expand each category and select the desired facility attribute.

Column configuration: Point properties (Point columns only)

Point attribute

 

The Point attribute property specifies the point attribute that will be displayed in the column. Click Down arrow to reveal a drop-down menu of all available CygNet point attributes categorized by type:

  • Current Values (The default value is Value.)
  • Point: General
  • Point: Alarm
  • Point: Point Reference
  • Point: Application
  • Point: Scaling
  • Point: Hyperpoint
  • Point: Alarm (Scheme 0)
  • Point: History
  • Current Value Status Bits

Click Down arrow to expand each category and select the desired point attribute.

Value format

 

The Value format property specifies the format for the point's value using any of the valid .NET standard or custom numeric format strings. The value format applies to a point's Value, Primary Value, and Alternate Value properties. The default value format is #,##0.00, which corresponds to 123,456,789.12. Formats use # and 0, with a period (.) as the decimal separator and comma (,) as the thousands separator. Add additional zeros to show more decimal places.

Date and time format

 

The Date and time format property specifies the format for a point's timestamp using any of the valid .NET standard or custom numeric format strings. The date and time format applies to a point's Timestamp, Last Verified Change Timestamp, and Last Questionable Change Timestamp properties. Use this property to override the default format, which is configured on the Settings page of the Backstage view. The default format is YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS.fff, which corresponds to 2019/01/01 10:20:30.0001. All timestamps are local client time.

Note: You can also use the Microsoft .NET Standard Date and Time Format Strings to define the text representation of a date and time value in Canvas. For example, "d" is the short date pattern and corresponds to 1/1/2019, "F" is the full date/time pattern and corresponds to Monday, January 1, 2019 1:45:30 PM.

Grid properties continued...

Facility sender mode

 

FacilitySender

FacilitySource

FacilityTagListFilter

GridFacilitySenderMode

The Facility sender mode property determines which mouse-click actions will send facilities to other controls. Options include:

  • None — No facilities are sent.
  • Single click — A single click will send facilities to another control.
  • Double click — A double click will send facilities to another control.
  • All facilities — All facilities in the grid will be sent to another control.

The default value is None.

Sending and receiving facility tags

Some controls on the same screen allow for the sending of facility tag information from one control to another.

  1. On the sending control configure the Facility sender mode property to send facility tag information to another control on the same screen.
  2. On the receiving control configure the Selection mode property (in either CygNet connection or Point configuration section) to Facility tag and select the Facility Source to the sending control.
  3. On the receiving control configure a display tag that associates to a facility property, e.g. %FacilityTag%.

Selection mode

SelectionMode

SelectionUnit

SelectedRow

SelectedRows

The grid controls offer three selection modes, which determine how many grid units may be selected in run mode. The grid units are determined by the Selection unit property. Options include:

  • Single — Only one item can be selected at a time.
  • Multiple — Items are added to the selection when they get clicked and get removed when they get clicked again.
  • Extended — Items are added to the selection only by combining mouse clicks with the Ctrl key or Shift key.

The default value is Single.

In script, use SelectionMode with the SelectAll method and SelectedRows property (read-only) to aid in multi-row selection:

  • SelectAll method — If the SelectionMode property is Multiple or Extended, SelectAll will select all rows in a grid and SelectedRows will return the matching DataRow objects. SelectAll will not obviously change the selection if SelectionMode is Single.
  • SelectedRows property (read-only) — SelectedRows will be restricted to a single row if SelectionMode is Single. Otherwise SelectedRows can contain multiple rows to be retrieved via script.

CygNetBack to top

SiteService

SiteService

SiteService.DisplayString

SiteService.DomainSiteService

SiteService.DomainSiteService.DomainId

SiteService.DomainSiteService.Service

SiteService.DomainSiteService.Site

SiteService.DomainSiteService.SiteService

SiteService.DomainSiteService.SiteService.Service

SiteService.DomainSiteService.SiteService.Site

SiteService.IsBroadcastSourced

SiteService.IsSelfSourced

SiteService.SiteService

SiteService.Source

SiteServiceSender

The SiteService property specifies the source SiteService for the whole alarm grid. Options include:

  • Source — Options include <Self> or Screen.
    • <Self> — Select <Self> to explicitly configure the SiteService for this control. A SiteService selector is displayed:
      • SiteService — The SiteService property specifies the Common Alarm Service for which the Alarm grid is to display data. Click Open dialog box to select a service using the Select Service dialog box.
    • Screen — Select Screen to inherit the SiteService from the screen for this control. By default, the sender is the Screen control if no other senders have been configured.
GenericBack to top

String

String

The String property specifies a generic string property that can be used when scripting this control. Type a string and reference it in your script as necessary.

Yes/No

YesNo

The Yes/No property specifies a generic Boolean yes/no property that can be used when scripting this control. Click the check box to enable the property and reference it in your script as necessary.


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