FMS Explorer Node Chooser Control

Using the Node Chooser Control

Node Chooser control icon The Node Chooser control is the primary data navigation control in FMS Explorer. The Node Chooser control stands alone as a control, but is also embedded in all other FMS Explorer controls (except the PPA control). It can be displayed or pinned to the side as desired. You can create up to eight instances of this control.

Use the Node Chooser control to select Nodes by setting parameters for group, Node category (where present), and/or a selected filter type, in order to filter the available Nodes down to a manageable number. From this filtered list, a selected Node can be set as the Session Node to manage how you are able to view the data. Other controls can then optionally display data for the selected Session Node automatically.

Use the context menu accessed from the Node choosers to view Node properties and details, or to execute FMS commands for a selected Node, directly from the control. Additionally, you can use the stand-alone chooser to set the Session Node, while the embedded choosers allow you to select Node(s) for display in the corresponding control.

Node Chooser Control

Note: Every component of the Node chooser control is not necessarily functional for every embedded Node chooser.

You must have proper security authorization to perform certain actions. See FMS Security for more information about configuring security access to Nodes.

See CygNet FMS Node Chooser Control for more information about configuring this control in CygNet Studio.

See FMS Explorer User Interface for more information about the FMS Explorer user interface.

Node Chooser Control

Set the following Node Chooser control filtering parameters to begin filtering data results and focusing on specific areas for analysis. The Chooser pane will display Nodes of eligible categories (dependent upon the Node types appropriate for each control), as filtered by your choices, in the Node chooser results list.

Node Chooser Filtering Parameters

Parameter

Description

Group

Optionally select whether to filter by a Group Node type.

Options are as follows.

All Nodes (default value)
General*
Station*
By Category**

*When configured General or Station group Nodes are saved in your system, those Nodes will be listed in the corresponding group filtering options.

**When defined group Node "category" values are saved in your system, those categories will be listed in the By Category group filtering options.

Note: The group "category" field is required for CygNet Dispatch integration but is otherwise optional; assigning a category can help further describe and filter group Nodes in your system. A group category can be assigned at Node creation by selecting a configured category from the drop-down list, or categories and category assignments can be created/edited via the Manage Groups dialog accessed from the Nodes menu. See Managing Group Nodes and Managing Group Categories for more information.

Refresh icon

Click to refresh the available Group list. If you have recently created/edited a group Node or group category, click refresh to view it in the selection list.

Node category

Select the Node category to display. Nodes of the category selected, that belong to the Group option selected, will be shown.

Options for Node category are as follows, depending on the control selected.

<Any>
Group
Device
Gas Device
Liquid Device
Accessory
Station
Station Group

The stand-alone Node Chooser (Navigation) control displays the Node category options: <Any>, Group, Device, Gas Device, Liquid Device, Accessory, and Station.

Chooser panes are embedded in other FMS controls for convenience, and display applicable Node category options according to each control, as follows.

Control Type	Control Name	Valid Node Categories
Summary	Dashboard	<Any>, Group, Device, Gas Device, Liquid Device, Station
Summary	Exceptions	<Any>, Group, Device, Gas Device, Liquid Device, Accessory, Station
Data	History Grid	Device, Gas Device, Liquid Device (periodic only), Station
Data	History Graph	Device, Gas Device, Liquid Device (periodic only), Station
Data	Configuration	Device (including Station Meter Nodes), Gas Device, Liquid Device
Data	Alarm	Gas Device (including Station Meter Nodes)
Data	Raw Data	Device, Gas Device (including station meters), Liquid Device
Reports	Reports	<Any>, Group, Device, Gas Device, Liquid Device, Accessory, Station
Admin	Close Period	Group, Device, Gas Device, Liquid Device, Station
Admin	Prior Period Adjustment	Note: The Prior Period Adjustment control displays PPAs for all Nodes with PPAs within a selected time window; as such, it does not utilize a Node chooser.
Admin	Balance	<Any>, Station Group (virtual or station), Liquid Device (supporting periodic history), Station (meter or group)
Admin	Jobs	<Any>, Group, Device, Gas Device, Liquid Device, Accessory, Station
Vision	Vision	Note: The Vision control is provided as a window into your CygNet SCADA or other data, allowing you to view a previously constructed CygNet Vision screen; as such, it does not utilize a Node chooser.

Filter

Enter Node filter text and select the filter element to use.

First type a partial string of known Node name/description/ID characters to populate the filter text box.

Wildcard values * (multiple character) and ? (single character) are supported.

Default value is * (multiple character wildcard) - all.

Note: Wildcards can be used only when filtering by Name or Desc, not when filtering by ID.

Then select a Node element to filter for results.

Options are as follows.

Name
Desc
ID - no wildcard support for this option

Nodes matching the filter, for the Node category selected, that belong to the Group option selected, will be shown.

Retrieve Nodes

Click to apply the selected filters and retrieve the results. You also have the option to apply the selected filters while ignoring the cache.

Options include Retrieve Nodes or Retrieve Nodes (Ignore Cache).

Note: Caching improves performance. The option to select Retrieve Nodes (Ignore Cache) is offered in the event that results are not as expected or that the cache isn't operating or updating quickly enough for the current requirement.

Node Chooser Results List

Results for retrieved Nodes are listed in columns by Node type icon, Node name and Node description. You can sort displayed results based on any of the following columns.

Column

Description

[Node icon]

Displays the icon indicating the Node type

Node icons are as follows.

		Gas Meter Device Node
		Station Meter Node
		Chromatograph Device Node
		Liquid Device Node
		Accessory Node
		General Group Node
		Station Group Node

Click on the column header above the icons to sort the display (in ascending or descending order) based on Node type.

Node Name

Lists the names of the Nodes that meet the selected filters

Click on the column header to sort the display (in ascending or descending order) based on Node Name.

Node Desc

Lists the descriptions of the Nodes that meet the selected filters

Click on the column header to sort the display (in ascending or descending order) based on Node Desc.

Setting the Session Node

You can use the stand-alone Node Chooser control to set a selected device or group Node as the "Session Node." Other FMS Explorer controls will then automatically display data for the Session Node when the Use Session Node option is selected in their Options pane. The embedded Node chooser in other FMS Explorer controls can still be used to select and view data for a Node other than the Session Node, if Use Session Node is not selected in its options.

See Session Node for more information about options for setting the session Node.

To Set the Session Node from the Stand-Alone Node Chooser Control

The following table lists multiple options for setting the Session Node from the stand-alone Node Chooser control.

Note: You can also set the Session Node from the data grid context menus of several other FMS Explorer controls. See Session Node for a list.

Option	Description
[double-click]	To set one Node as the Session Node, double-click to select it within the stand-alone Node Chooser control.
Ctrl+Shift+S	To set one Node as the Session Node, click to select it within the stand-alone Node Chooser control, and then press Ctrl+Shift+S. See Session Node for additional usages of this keyboard shortcut from the Controls menu. See Using Keyboard Shortcuts for additional keyboard shortcuts used in FMS Explorer.
Set as Session Node	To set one Node as the Session Node, click to select it within the stand-alone Node Chooser control, and then click Set as Session Node.

Option

Description

[double-click]

To set one Node as the Session Node, double-click to select it within the stand-alone Node Chooser control.

Ctrl+Shift+S

To set one Node as the Session Node, click to select it within the stand-alone Node Chooser control, and then press Ctrl+Shift+S.

See Session Node for additional usages of this keyboard shortcut from the Controls menu.

See Using Keyboard Shortcuts for additional keyboard shortcuts used in FMS Explorer.

Set as Session Node

To set one Node as the Session Node, click to select it within the stand-alone Node Chooser control, and then click Set as Session Node.

Columns

Columns can be reorganized for the most efficient viewing of data in the following ways.

Hover over a column edge to display an icon to reset column width. Drag the column to the desired width.
Click on a column header to sort the displayed data based on that field, in either ascending or descending order.

Context Menu

Right-click on a Node name in the Node Chooser to access the following options. Options applicable to the selected Node will be enabled.

Option	Description
Apply changes	Note: This option appears only for embedded Chooser panes in FMS controls; it does not appear for stand-alone Node Chooser navigation controls. Click Apply changes to apply your Node selection(s) for display in the control. Multiple Node selection is available in the embedded Node choosers for Dashboard, Exceptions, History Graph, and Close Period controls. Use Shift+Click or Ctrl+Click to make multiple Node selections from the retrieved Nodes list, and then click Apply changes. Note: If selections have been made on the Options pane, but not applied, those selections will also be applied when you click Apply changes on the Chooser pane.
View Node properties	This option appears for all Node types. Click View Node properties to access the Properties dialog box to view properties for the selected Node. See Viewing and Editing Node Properties for more information.
View polling device	Note: This feature is currently available only in 32-bit versions of the software. Note: This option appears only for device Nodes (Gas Meter or Chromatograph). Click View polling device to access the FMS Polling Device dialog box, to view the SCADA device ID and facility ID, the DDS data groups, and the communication data bytes for the SCADA polling device linked to the selected device Node. This option is also available directly from the data grid context menus of the Dashboard and Exceptions controls. See Viewing and Editing SCADA Polling Device for more information.
View polling FAC	Note: This feature is currently available only in 32-bit versions of the software. Note: This option appears only for device Nodes (Gas Meter or Chromatograph). Click View polling FAC to view the Properties dialog box for the SCADA polling facility linked to the selected device Node. See Viewing and Editing SCADA Polling FAC for more information.
View reporting FAC	Note: This feature is currently available only in 32-bit versions of the software. Note: This option appears only for station group and station meter Nodes (a Gas Meter Node set to also function as a station). Click View reporting FAC to view the Properties dialog box for the SCADA reporting facility linked to the selected station Node. See Viewing and Editing SCADA Reporting FAC for more information.
View associated FAC	Note: This option appears only for Accessory Nodes (a non-meter-specific Node primarily used for scheduling jobs in conjunction with CygNet Dispatch). Click View associated FAC to view the Properties dialog box for the facility associated with the selected Accessory Node. See Accessory Node for more information.
Execute FMS command	Click Execute FMS command to access a list of configured FMS commands, or a <Quick Command> option. Note: To select multiple Nodes for FMS command execution, use Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click. See Running Node Commands from a Node Chooser for more information.

Running Node Commands from a Node Chooser

Existing Node commands or a <Quick Command> can be run directly from any Node Chooser control for a selected Node.

To Run a Node Command from a Node Chooser

In the Node Chooser, right-click on the Node Name against which you want to run a command to access the context menu.
On the context menu, click Execute FMS command to access a list of available FMS commands, including a <Quick Command> option.
Continue from step 3 of Running Node Commands for either configured commands or a <Quick Command>.