Tag Window

1. Fernhill SCADA
2. Help
3. Configuration Tool
4. Tag Window

Introduction

You can use the Tag Window to browse and configure the Tags in the Fernhill SCADA database:

Icons are used to indicate the type of tag. For example:

• A digital tag is indicated by a green label icon.
• A trend plot is indicated by a plot icon.

You can use folders to organize tags in a suitable hierarchy for your project.

To select an entry in the Tag Window, click the tag with the left mouse button. When a tag is selected:

• The status of the tag is displayed in the Tag Status Tab of the Status Views Window.
• The configuration properties of the tag are displayed in the Properties Window. To change the configuration of the tag enter new values in fields of the Properties Window.

Right-clicking an entry in the Tag Window opens the Tag Window Menu.

Tag Window Menu

The Tag Window Menu allows you to:

• Add, or Move, or Copy, or Delete tags in the Fernhill SCADA database.
• Manage Tag Names.
• Find References to a Tag.
• Manage Linked Folders.
• Run an Autodetect Wizard to detect devices and automatically configure tag(s) for those devices.
• Run a Configuration Import Tool to import configuration from a file or another product.
• Show the Events, or Show the Alarms associated with tags.
• Open the Graphic Editor to edit the contents of a Graphic Page Tag.
• Open the Plot Editor to configure a Data Plot Tag.
• View a Data Log of a Channel Tag.
• Send Tag Commands, for example: Write Value to write a new value to a tag.
• Open the Operator Toolbar Editor. Use this editor to change the toolbar on the Operator Interface.
• Download Log Files associated with a Tag.

To access these functions, right-click an entry in the Tag Window. The Tag Window menu commands vary depending on whether you click a tag, a folder, or the tag database:

Tag	Folder	Tag Database

The top of the Tag menu may contain additional commands. For example, when you open the menu for a Graphic Page Tag these commands are available:

• Edit Graphic
• Open in Operator Interface

For more information see Additional Tag Menu Commands later on in this article.

Folder Types

In Fernhill SCADA, you can use Folders to organize your tags in a logical structure.

There are three types of folder:

Folder Type	Icon	Use
Standard		You can use a Standard Folder to organize your tags. Use Standard Folders to group related SCADA tags together.
Template		A Template Folder is a template from which you can create Linked Folders. Tags in Template Folders are not active. For more information see the Fernhill SCADA concepts page: Linked Folders.
Linked		A linked folder references a Template Folder. Changes to the Template Folder are automatically copied to any Linked Folders attached to the Template Folder. For more information see the Fernhill SCADA concepts page: Linked Folders.

Linked Folders provide a way to reduce the work needed to create a SCADA application that has duplicate equipment. For more information see Linked Folders.

Linked Folders Menu

The linked folders Menu provides commands to manage Template Folders and Linked Folders:

To find out more see the Fernhill SCADA concepts page Linked Folders.

Add New Tags

You can use the Add new tag commands to add tags to folders. The New Tag menu has two submenus. The first submenu allows you to select the driver. The second submenu allows you to select the tag type supported by that driver. Each driver guide provides further information about the tags provided by that driver:

Note: The Version column gives the version of Fernhill SCADA required to support the corresponding driver.

Tag Names

When you create a new folder, or a new tag, Fernhill SCADA automatically generates a new name. You can change the name if you do not want to keep the automatically generated name.

You can change a tag name using any of these methods:

• Press Return on a highlighted tag
• Press F2 on a highlighted tag
• Click Rename on the Tag Window menu.

Press Return to complete the name change, or press ESC to cancel the name change.

Tag names can contain any characters except: period (.), double quote("), asterisk (*), colon (:), less than (<), greater than (>), question mark (?), backslash (\), vertical bar (|).

When you rename a tag, Fernhill SCADA will update references to the tag.

Moving tags or folders

You can move a tag or folder two different ways:

• Method 1: Use Cut and Paste to move a tag or folder:
  1. Right-click the tag or folder you want to move and select Cut.
  2. Right-click the target folder and select Paste.
• Method 2: Use Drag and Drop to move a tag or folder:
  1. Select the tag or folder you want to move.
  2. Drag the selected tag or folder to the new target folder.

Copying tags or folders

You can copy a tag or folder three different ways:

• Method 1: Use Copy and Paste to copy a tag or folder:
  1. Right-click the tag or folder you want to copy and select Copy.
  2. Right-click the target folder and select Paste.
• Method 2: Use Drag and Drop to copy a tag or folder:
  1. Select the tag or folder you want to copy.
  2. Holding the Ctrl key down, drag the selected tag or folder to a new folder.
• Method 3: Use Export and Import to copy a tag or folder:
  1. Right-click the tag or folder you want to copy and select Export configuration....
  2. Enter a suitable name for the file and click Save.
  3. Right-click the destination folder and select Import configuration...
  4. Choose the file you created in step 2 and click Open.

Delete a Tag

You can delete a tag or folder in two different ways:

• Method 1: Use Cut to delete the tag or folder:
  • Right-click the tag or folder you want to delete and select Cut.

  Note: This method places a copy of the configuration on the clipboard. If you want to undo this action, use the Paste command to restore the configuration.

• Method 2: Use Delete to move a tag or folder:
  1. Right-click the tag or folder you want to delete and select Delete.
  2. Click Yes on the Confirm Tag Delete dialog.

  Note: This method permanently deletes the tag or folder and cannot be undone.

Delete Unused Historic Tables

When you delete a Data Point Tag with historic storage enabled, the historic data table is retained. Over time the Historian may contain many historic data tables that are no longer referenced by Data Point Tags.

Use the "Delete Unused Historic Tables" command to remove historic data tables that are no longer referenced by Data Point Tags.

Find References to a Tag

Relationships exist between tags, for example:

• The Analog Level Alarm Tag has a reference to an Analog Data Point Tag.
• Data bindings on a Graphic Page Tag can refer to any tag.
• A pen on a Trend Plot Tag can refer to a Data Point Tag.

As a project grows, it can become increasingly difficult to keep track of the relationships between tags. To find out where a tag is referenced:

1. Right-click the tag in the Tag Window.
2. Select Find references.
3. Click a link in the Tag References tab of the Status Monitor Window.

Show Events

The Fernhill SCADA Server stores a log of events and user actions in the Event Log. You can use the Show Events menu to display these types of events:

Adding Password Protection to a Tag

You can add a password to certain tag types to protect your work. Once a password has been added, all users must enter the password to open the tag in the editor.

Password protection is supported on these types of tag:

• Trend Plot Tag
• Value Duration Plot Tag
• Calculated Data Point Tags
• IEC 61131-3 Program Tag
• IEC 61131-3 Program Library Tag

To add password protection to a tag:

1. Do one of the following to open the tag in the editor:
   • Double-click the tag.
   • Right-click the tag and select an edit option.
2. Click File then Set Access Password to open the Set Access Password dialog:
   
3. Enter your password once and then again to confirm it.
4. Click OK to close the Set Access Password dialog.
5. Click File then Save to save the document with password protection.

Removing Password Protection from a Tag

To remove password protection from a tag:

1. Do one of the following to open the tag in the editor:
   • Double-click the tag.
   • Right-click the tag and select an edit option.
2. Enter the access password and click OK.
3. Click File then Remove Access Password.
4. Click File then Save.

Backup and Restore

You can back up the tags in a Fernhill SCADA database to a backup file (.fhsbak). A backup file can be used for:

• Disaster recovery. You can restore the Fernhill SCADA database from a previous backup.
• Rollback configuration. When working on a large project, you can back up your work to a backup file to provide snapshots of progress. If at a later stage you decide to want to abandon some work, you can restore a previous backup file.
• Production System Deployment. You can use a backup file to transfer configuration from a development system to a production system.

When creating a backup you have two options:

To back up configuration to a file:

1. Right-click the Tag Database .
2. Select Backup followed by the type of backup you want to create.
3. Enter a suitable file name.
4. Click Save.

To restore configuration from a file:

1. Right-click the Tag Database entry in the tag window and select Restore.
2. Select a suitable file name and click Open.
3. In the Restore from backup warning dialog click Yes.

The initial state of a tag following a restore depends on:

• Whether the backup included the tag data, and
• Whether the tag existed in the database before the restore operation.

If the backup included tag data, the initial data for the tag is taken from the backup. Otherwise, if the tag existed in the database before the restore operation, the initial data is taken from the previous database. Otherwise, the tag is initialized as if it was new.

Download Log Files

Some tag types have associated log files. For example:

• The Fernhill SCADA Server log files are available from the Database Root Tag.
• Communication channel log files are available from a Channel Tag.

The log files provide information, which can be useful when diagnosing faults.

The Download Log Files command retrieves the log files from the server and stores these compressed into one ZIP file.

To download the log files:

1. Right-click the Database Root Tag or a Channel Tag.
2. Select Download Log Files....
3. In the Save As dialog, enter a suitable file name.
4. Click Save.

When complete, the saved zip file will open in Windows Explorer.

Additional Tag Menu Commands

For some tag types, the Tag Menu provides additional commands:

Further Information

Properties Window

For information about configuring the properties of tags.

Status Monitor Window

For information about monitoring tag status, finding tag references or finding code errors.

Fernhill SCADA Configuration Tool

To learn about other features the Fernhill SCADA Configuration Tool.

Glossary

For the meaning of terms used in Fernhill SCADA.

Fernhill SCADA Version 4.1 (20231126.1). Copyright © 2012-2023 Fernhill Software Ltd: All rights reserved.