DDS Button

The DDS Button is a DDS-aware control that can be used to get and send data group transaction data (data group element Ids (DEIDs)) from a remote device for display on a Canvas screen.

By default, data group transaction records are saved only in the DDS for a short time, unless you've mapped one or more data group elements from a data group to UDCs and points for retention in the UIS and historicization in the VHS. Canvas supports three DDS-based controls that can read and write data group transactions:

• DDS Button
• DDS Edit Box
• DDS Text Tool

These DDS-based controls are an efficient way to create transaction-based screens for displaying and manipulating data group information for remote devices. Use these controls to implement a scriptless solution for creating screens where data is encapsulated in a transaction, but not mapped to a CygNet point. For example, you could make a lift management screen for plungers or other device types in your CygNet environment.

The DDS Button takes advantage of Canvas' sending and receiving model and can receive its facility from any sender on the Canvas screen, for example, a Tag Chooser or a CygNet Grid, or any other facility sender. The source facility configured for (or passed to) the DDS Button is used to determine the associated remote device, and from the remote device, the device type can be ascertained. Then based on the resolved device type, the configured data group (type and ordinal) is used to issue the appropriate transaction request to the remote device and complete the operation at runtime.

The DDS Button supports two transaction types, Get and Send. When a user clicks a DDS Button the following actions will happen, depending on the configuration:

• Get — Poll the remote device associated with the configured facility, retrieve the requested transaction data, and then populate any linked DDS Text Tools and/or DDS Edit Boxes with the specified data element Id.
• Send — Send any edited data element Ids in a linked DDS Edit Box down to the remote device.

The DDS-based controls can be used as a template, meaning they are multiple device-type aware. For example, Device Type A may have a data group called "BasicPoll", but Device Type B may have a similar data group called "Status." In the case where the data group "function" is the same, but the name is different, the controls can handle this difference. The normalization process (handled in other controls via UDC specification) is handled via the Device type specification:

• The DDS Button control supports configuration of Device type, Data group type, and Ordinal.
• The DDS Edit Box controls support configuration of Device type, and Data element Id. The display type is assumed to be the DEID Value.
• The DDS Text Tool controls support configuration of Device type, and Data element Id, and Display type (Value or Description).

Several other configurable properties are supported, including:

• The control's color elements can be set to one of the following options: a) automatically follow the selected application theme regardless of the underlying color palette used via <Auto>, or b) be explicitly configured via <Self>.
• Colors displayed in the control can be overridden when a custom color palette is selected for the screen.
• Font sizing, text styling, and text weighting are also configurable.
• Buttons also support the addition of an image.
• The mouse cursor that appears when the mouse hovers over the control is configurable.
• This control supports tooltips, which can be displayed as tokenized text, a Canvas object, or the tooltip can be scripted to retrieve and display values for related points or CygNet notes.

The button shares many properties, events, and methods with the standard Canvas Button control.

DDS Button, DDS Edit Box, and DDS Text Tool Example

The following images show an example of the DDS-based controls.

Sample Read DDS Button and DDS Text Tools

This example screen shows a Tag Chooser, a Get DDS Button, and eight DDS Text Tools. Other controls include some regular Text Tools and a Shape. The DDS Button is receiving its facility (Keeney Plunger) from the Tag chooser on the left. The Get DDS Button is configured to do a Get transaction (Read) for the Lift Control data group from the associated facility. Each DDS Text Tool is configured to receive the data group (LiftCtrl) from the DDS Button and display a specified data element Id (ValveOpen, DelayTime, MaxLift, etc.) and its value when the Get DDS Button is clicked.

 

Sample Read and Write DDS Buttons and DDS Edit Boxes

This example screen shows a Tag Chooser, a Get DDS Button, a Set DDS Button, and eight DDS Edit Boxes. Other controls include some regular Text Tools and a Shape. The two DDS Buttons are receiving their facility (Keeney Plunger) from the Tag chooser on the left. The Get DDS button on the left is configured to do a Get transaction (Read) for the Lift Control data group from the facility. The Set DDS Button on the right is configured to do a Send transaction (Write) for the Lift Control data group from the facility. Each DDS Edit Box is configured to Get the data group (LiftCtrl) from the Get DDS Button and display a specified data element Id (ValveOpen, DelayTime, MaxLift, etc.) and its value when the DDS Button is clicked. When any DDS Edit Box is edited the new data element Id value is written to the remote device when the Set DDS Button is clicked.

 

CygNet Explorer Data group tab and View Data dialog boxes showing the Data Elements Ids that were retrieved or edited in the screen above

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