Tag Window

Help Contents

Introduction

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

Tag Window

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

You can use folders Folder Icon 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:

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

Tag Window Menu

The Tag Window Menu allows you to:

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:

TagFolderTag Database
Tag context menu Folder context menu Tag database context menu

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:

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 Standard folder icon You can use a Standard Folder to organize your tags. Use Standard Folders to group related SCADA tags together.
Template Template folder icon 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 Linked folder icon 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:

CommandDescription
Add new Template Folder Adds a new template folder.
Add new Linked Folder Prompts you to select a Template Folder then creates a Linked Folder attached to the Template Folder. Note: You need to have created at least one Template Folder to use this command.
Link to Template Folder This command only applies to Standard Folders. The command prompts you to select a Template Folder then changes the Standard Folder to a Linked Folder.
Unlink from Template Folder This command only applies to Linked Folders. The command changes a Linked Folder to a Standard Folder. The contents of the folder are not changed by this command.
Change to Standard Folder This command only applies to Template Folders. The command changes the Template Folder to a Standard Folder. All Linked Folders that refer to the Template Folder are automatically unlinked.
Change to Template Folder This command only applies to Standard Folders. The command changes the Standard Folder to a Template Folder.

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:

DriverVersionFeatures Provided
Core 1.0 SCADA and HMI Graphic Pages. Trends.
I/O Data Point Tags. Internal and calculated data point tags. Alarm Tags. IEC 61131-3 Programs
Allen Bradley 2.2 Tags to interface to Allen Bradley PLC Devices.
BACnet 3.78 Tags to interface to a BACnet device.
DNP3 3.46 Tags to interface to a DNP3 outstation or an RTU.
File 1.6 Tags to read data files and associate I/O Data Point Tags with values in the file.
Idec Micro 2.1 Tags to interface to Idec Micro PLC Devices.
Message Services 3.23 Alarm routing. Text report generation. SMTP Email connector.
Mitsubishi Melsec 1.1 Tags to interface to Mitsubishi Melsec PLC Devices.
Modbus 1.0 Tags to interface to Modbus Devices.
Modbus Slave 3.10 Provide a Modbus service to other software.
MQTT 3.22 Message Queuing Telemetry Transport driver.
ODBC Client 1.2 Read data from ODBC compatible databases.
Omron 1.0 Tags to interface to Omron PLC Devices.
OPC Client 1.3 Tags to interface to OPC Data Access Servers.
Random 1.0 Update tags from a random number generator.
Siemens S7 1.4 Tags to interface to Siemens S7 PLC Devices.
SNMP Client 1.3 Read data from, and write data to, an SNMP Agent.

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 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:

Copying tags or folders

You can copy a tag or folder three different ways:

Delete a Tag

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

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:

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:

Event TypeDescription
All All types of event.
Authentication Events that relate to a user logging in or logging off.
Configuration Events that relate to configuration changes.
Tag Command Events that relate to Tag Commands.

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:

To add password protection to a tag:

  1. Do one of the following to open the tag in the editor:
  2. Click File then Set Access Password to open the Set Access Password dialog:
    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:
  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:

When creating a backup you have two options:

Backup OptionDescription and When to Use
Configuration Copies only the configuration to the backup file. Use this option when creating a backup to deploy on a production system. When this type of backup is restored on the production system, the production system will retain its existing data.
Configuration and Data Copies configuration and Data to the backup file. Use this option for disaster recovery. When this type of backup is restored, the tags are initialized using the data in from the backup.

To back up configuration to a file:

  1. Right-click the Tag Database Tag database icon.
  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 Tag database icon 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:

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 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:

CommandDescription
Edit Graphic Opens the tag in the Graphic Editor.
Applies to:
Edit Trend Plot Opens the tag in the Plot Editor.
Applies to:
Edit Value Duration Plot Opens the tag in the Plot Editor.
Applies to:
View Trend Plot Opens a temporary trend plot for the tag.
Applies to:
View Value Duration Plot Opens a temporary value duration plot for the tag.
Applies to:
Open in Operator Interface Opens the tag in the Operator Interface.
Applies to:
View Data Log Opens a live Data Log showing the data sent and received on the channel.
Applies to:
Edit Calculation Opens a Text Editor allowing you to edit a calculation.
Applies to:
Edit Program Opens a Text Editor allowing you to edit a program.
Applies to:
View Code Listing Displays the compiled code of a program or calculation.
Applies to:

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.