PanelView Plus – Twenty Five Things You Need To Know, Part 3

Twenty Five things you need to know about using the PanelView Plus and View Studio

Part 3 of 5

Exporting and Importing Tags

11) ViewStudio HMI Tags can be exported and imported

ViewStudio HMI tags can be exported and imported to / from CSV files using the “Tag Import/Export” utility that comes with FactoryTalk ViewStudio.

Browsing for Tags

12) SLC-500 and PLC-5 users can browse online through RSLinx Enterprise

SLC-500 and PLC-5 users can browse for tag addresses online through RSLinx Enterprise, but not offline. And while you can directly reference these legacy PLC tags from graphic objects, creating HMI tags with descriptive tag names often eases development and troubleshooting of displays.

For a step by step video guide on how to browse for SLC and PLC tags check out our video below:

• http://www.theautomationblog.com/flashback-episode-8-factorytalk-view-hmi-tag-address-browsing/

 13) RSLogix 5000 users can both “online” and “offline” browse for tags

RSLogix 5000 users can both “online” and “offline” browse for tags through RSLinx Enterprise.

To offline browse, the RSLogix 5000 file must reside on the same PC as ViewStudio (files on network shares are not supported,) and they must be referenced in the RSLinx Enterprise Local (aka Design) configuration’s “offline file” section.

Note: In early versions of ViewStudio (and by some accounts in v7 as well,) to get offline tag browsing to work you also need to have a Local (aka Design) communication path for your PLC configured and applied to your shortcut (even if no PLC is attached to your system.)

For a step by step video guide on how to browse for Logix tags check out our video below:

• http://www.theautomationblog.com/flashback-episode-10-factorytalk-view-logix-tag-browsing/

14) Showing Server Names in the Tag Browser

When browsing for Tags, you can right click on the root folder and select “show server names” to display tag folders beneath their source – this helps to better distinguish between different Data Servers and HMI tags.

15) Refreshing the Tag Browser

When browsing for Tags, if you’ve recently added new tags or shortcuts and don’t see them in the list, right click on root folder and select “refresh all folders.”

Update: Version 7 has also added a refresh button under the folders list which has the same function.

NOTE: Links to all of the articles in this series are below

• Everything you need to know about the PanelView Plus, Part 1
• Everything you need to know about the PanelView Plus, Part 2
• Everything you need to know about the PanelView Plus, Part 3
• Everything you need to know about the PanelView Plus, Part 4
• Everything you need to know about the PanelView Plus, Part 5

Well that’s it for today’s article and five more things you need to know before using a PanelView Plus. Come back tomorrow to find out what the next five are.

And for more articles about the PanelView Plus, check out our PanelView Plus Blog Index.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Shawn Tierney

I'm a lifelong Technology Enthusiast who started programing in the early 80's on the new Apple II and VIC-20 personal computers. After earning a degree in Electronics, I worked as a Certified Automation Specialist for 25 years before leaving to focus on teaching at The Automation School, as well as publishing industry news and product how-to’s at The Automation Blog.

Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

• 2024 Podcast Audience Polls: Vote before January 8th! - December 18, 2024
• All 2024 Audience Choice Polls: Vote before December 31st! - December 18, 2024
• Position Guided Vision (P232) - December 18, 2024