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Solution Overview

What We'll Build

A tank farm monitoring system with:

• 3 tanks with level, temperature, and status
• Real-time data simulation
• Operational displays with gauges
• High/low level alarms
• Historical trending
• Simple reports

Copy-Paste Accelerator

One key productivity feature: After creating tags, you can copy and paste them directly to:

• Alarm configuration
• Historian setup
• Device points
• Display elements

Step 1: Create Solution Structure (3 min)

Create New Solution

1. Open Solution Center
2. Click New
3. Configure:
   • Name: TankFarmMonitor
   • Template: HeaderLayout
   • Product: FactoryStudio (or your license)
4. Click Create
5. Designer opens automatically

Create Asset Folders

1. Go to Unified Namespace → AssetTree
2. Create structure:

   TankFarm/
   ??? Tank1
   ??? Tank2
   ??? Tank3

Step 2: Configure Tags (5 min)

Create Basic Tags

Using simple types (no templates yet):

1. Go to Unified Namespace → Tags
2. Create these tags:

Tank 1 Tags:

1. Copy-Paste for Tank 2 and 3:
   • Select all Tank1 rows (Ctrl+Click)
   • Copy (Ctrl+C)
   • Paste (Ctrl+V)
   • Find/Replace: Tank1 → Tank2
   • Paste again and replace Tank2 → Tank3

Add Simulation

For testing without real devices:

1. Select Tank1_Level
2. In properties, set:
   • Min: 0
   • Max: 100
   • Simulation: Ramp
   • Period: 60 seconds
3. For temperatures:
   • Tank1_Temp: Random, 20-30°C
   • Tank2_Temp: Random, 20-30°C
   • Tank3_Temp: Random, 20-30°C

Step 3: Setup Alarms (3 min)

Copy Tags to Alarms

1. Go back to Tags table
2. Select level tags:
   • Tank1_Level
   • Tank2_Level
   • Tank3_Level
3. Copy (Ctrl+C)
4. Go to Alarms → Items
5. Paste (Ctrl+V)
6. Configure each row:

1. Copy first row, paste, modify for Tank2 and Tank3

Step 4: Configure Historian (3 min)

Copy Tags to Historian

1. Go to Tags table
2. Select all level and temperature tags
3. Copy (Ctrl+C)
4. Go to Historian → Tags
5. Paste (Ctrl+V)
6. Set intervals:
   • Level tags: 10 seconds
   • Temperature tags: 30 seconds

Storage Configuration

1. Go to Historian → Storage
2. Use default SQLite for testing
3. Set retention: 30 days

Step 5: Create Main Display (7 min)

Setup Display

1. Go to Displays → Draw
2. Create new display: Overview

Quick Tank Creation

For each tank:

1. Draw Rectangle (tank body)
   • Size: 200x300
   • Fill: Light gray
   • Border: Dark gray, 2px
2. Copy Tag to Display:
   • Go to Tags table
   • Select Tank1_Level
   • Copy (Ctrl+C)
   • Go back to display
   • Paste (Ctrl+V)
   • Text box appears with tag binding
3. Add Bargraph:
   • Draw rectangle inside tank
   • Double-click for properties
   • Dynamics → Bargraph
   • Expression: Tag.Tank1_Level
   • Direction: Bottom to Top
4. Add Values Display:
   • Add TextBox
   • Type: Level: #Tag.Tank1_Level# %
   • Copy, paste, change to: Temp: #Tag.Tank1_Temp# °C
5. Status Indicator:
   • Draw circle
   • Dynamics → FillColor
   • Expression: Tag.Tank1_Status
   • Limits: 0=Gray, 1=Yellow, 2=Green
6. Duplicate for Other Tanks:
   • Select all Tank1 graphics
   • Copy and paste twice
   • Use Replace (Ctrl+H): Tank1 → Tank2, Tank3

Step 6: Create Trend Display (3 min)

Add Trend from Historian

1. Create new display: Trends
2. Go to Historian → Tags
3. Select all configured tags
4. Copy (Ctrl+C)
5. Go back to display
6. Paste (Ctrl+V)
7. TrendChart automatically created with all historian tags

Configure Chart

1. Set time range: Last hour
2. Add navigation buttons to return to Overview

Step 7: Create Simple Report (3 min)

Production Report

1. Go to Reports → Text
2. Create new: DailyReport
3. Add content:

   DAILY TANK REPORT
   Date: @Info.Date@
   
   Tank 1: @Tag.Tank1_Level@ %
   Tank 2: @Tag.Tank2_Level@ %
   Tank 3: @Tag.Tank3_Level@ %
   
   Average: @Tag.Average@

4. Go to Scripts → Tasks
5. Create task to calculate average:

   csharp

   @Tag.Average = (@Tag.Tank1_Level + 
                   @Tag.Tank2_Level + 
                   @Tag.Tank3_Level) / 3;

Step 8: Test Solution (2 min)

Start Test Mode

1. Press F5 or click Run Test
2. Verify:
   • Levels changing (simulation)
   • Alarms triggering
   • Trends updating
   • Navigation working

Test Checklist

• All tags showing values
• Bargraphs animating
• Alarms at 90% and 10%
• Trend showing history
• Report generating

Step 9: Run Solution (2 min)

Start Runtime

1. Go to Runtime → Startup
2. Select Development profile
3. Click Run Startup

Open Clients

1. Web Browser: http://localhost
2. Mobile: Use tablet browser
3. Navigate through displays

Productivity Tips

Copy-Paste Workflow

The power of copy-paste:

1. Create once in Tags
2. Copy to Alarms, Historian, Points
3. Automatic binding when pasted to displays
4. Bulk operations with Find/Replace

Quick Duplication

For similar equipment:

1. Configure one completely
2. Copy all related items
3. Paste and Find/Replace names
4. Saves 70% configuration time

Direct Tag Dropping

Alternative to copy-paste:

1. Select tags in tree
2. Drag directly to display
3. Auto-creates appropriate control

Next Steps

Add Complexity Gradually

Now that basics work, add:

1. Device Connection (10 min)
   • Replace simulation with real PLCs
   • Map points to tags
2. User Security (10 min)
   • Add login screen
   • Configure permissions
3. Advanced Graphics (15 min)
   • Import P&ID backgrounds
   • Add animations
   • Create popups
4. Business Logic (15 min)
   • Calculate KPIs
   • Add recipes
   • Create schedules

Learning Resources

• Tutorial: Connecting to Devices
• Tutorial: Adding Scripts
• Tutorial: Security Configuration
• Video: Advanced Graphics

Troubleshooting

Tags not updating:

• Check simulation enabled
• Verify runtime started
• Look for typos in names

Copy-paste not working:

• Ensure compatible types
• Check column mapping
• Verify destination table

Alarms not triggering:

• Check limits are correct
• Verify tag values reaching limits
• Ensure alarm group enabled

This guide demonstrated building a complete solution using basic tag types and the copy-paste accelerator, providing a foundation for more complex applications while maintaining simplicity for beginners.