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Working with DataGrid Tables

Most tabs in FactoryStudio display information in a table. All tables use the same method to manipulate, copy, paste, and import data.

Editing Tables

Most configurations from the Edit menu (such as tags, alarms, and users) are stored in tables. In most tables, you can add and edit information the same way. 

To add a new table item (row):

• Click the first column of the insertion row. The insertion row is the first row of the table and has an asterisk  next to it.

After you click a column in the row, the * becomes a pencil icon, showing that you are now editing that row. 

You can do one of the following for you column you selected:

• If the column is a text field, enter the information.
• If the column is a selection field, click the same spot again and select items from the drop-down list or pop-up window that displays.
• Press Tab to move through the columns in the row.

To edit an existing table row, click the column in the row that you want to change and do one of the following:

• If the column is a text field, enter the new information. The system overwrites the text that was in the field. To change part of the text, click again and make your changes.
• If the column is a selection field, click again and select items from the drop-down list or pop-up window that displays.

More than one person can edit a project at the same time. The system saves all changes to the project server and propagates the changes to other users. If two users modify the same configuration table or document, the changes from the last person who saves would overwrite any previous changes. 

Tooltips and Validation

Throughout FactoryStudio, fields and buttons have tooltips that contain information about the field or button. Tooltips appear when you move your cursor over the related field or button. Some tooltips include an example that can help you.

The system also validates whatever you enter into most fields, especially in tables. Validation rules may check that the input is in a correct format, that values are within the appropriate range, and other factors. The exact rules depend on the specific item. If you see a red outline around the table cell, the entry is not valid.

Sorting, Filtering, and Grouping

Information in many tabs is shown in tables that you can sort, filter, and group. By default, items in a table are listed in the order in which you created them.

To sort a table:

• From any table, click the column heading you want to use to sort. The items now sort in ascending alphanumeric order based on that column.

• Click the column heading again to sort in descending alphanumeric order.
• Click the column heading again to return to the default order.

To filter a table:

• From any table, hover over the column heading you want to use to filter.
• An arrow for a drop-down list displays next to the column heading.

• Click the arrow to see the list of items in the column.

• Select the items you want to include in the filter.
• To remove the filter, click the drop-down list and click (Clear Filter).

To group items in a table:

• From any table, drag a column heading to the area above the columns to group the table by the column you moved.

• To remove the grouping, drag the column name back to the column headers area.

Adding and Removing Columns

Tables in FactoryStudio display a default set of columns. Every table has additional columns that you can display, and you can remove any of the default columns. You can also change the order of the columns.

To add or remove a column:

• From any table, right-click in the column heading area.
• A list of all available columns for that table displays. Columns with a check mark next to them currently display in the table.
• Select or deselect columns in the list.
• Click outside the list to close it.
• To change the order of the columns, drag a column heading to a new location.
• To reset the columns to the default, click  Reset Grid to Default Settings.

Common Column Definitions

Several common columns are available in most tables. These columns are defined below.

Copying and Pasting Rows

You can copy and paste rows into and from tables in FactoryStudio. The smart copy/paste functions let you copy rows from one table to another within FactoryStudio. For example, you can copy tags and paste them into the Historian tab or the Items tab under Alarms. You can also copy and paste to and from a spreadsheet. In addition, you can import a comma-separated values (.csv) file into any table. Column headings must match the table you are importing into. The best way to ensure that the headings match is to copy rows into a spreadsheet first, then edit the spreadsheet. 

Copying and Pasting Within FactoryStudio 

To copy rows to another tab in FactoryStudio:

• From any table, select one or more rows.
• Right-click and select Copy Selected Rows.
• Go to another tab in FactoryStudio.
• Right-click and select Paste Rows.

Copying and Pasting To or From a Spreadsheet 

To copy rows to a spreadsheet:

• From any table, select one or more rows.
• Right-click and select Copy Selected Rows.
• The copy automatically includes all available column headings for the tab you are in.
• Go to a spreadsheet and paste.

To paste rows from a spreadsheet:

• Set up the spreadsheet columns by following the copy steps above.
• Enter the information you want.
• Copy the information, including the headings, from the spreadsheet.
• From the corresponding table, right-click and select Paste Rows.
• The paste automatically places the data into the corresponding columns. Any empty cells are ignored.

Importing Data 

• Create the data in a spreadsheet. If you are creating tags or other objects, you can name the objects as needed. If you are populating other columns, the data in the columns must match what FactoryStudio expects.
• Save the file as a .csv.
• From the corresponding table in FactoryStudio, click  Import from a CSV file.
• Navigate to the .csv file and select it.
• Click Open.

The system imports the data into the table. 

Productivity Tools

This section explains FactoryStudio's major tools and features that are included to assist with common tasks. 

Intellisense 

The Intellisense feature presents a list of valid objects according to the characters you type into a specific input field and a list of the valid entries for that field. You can insert a selected item from that list by pressing enter, space, the dot key, or another symbol key. All the input fields that use tag names or object names, either in the datagrids or in the drawing tools, are enabled through Intellisense. The Intellisense fields have built-in tooltips and validation. Putting the mouse over a field will present the expected entries to that field. When you have an invalid input, the border of the field will become red and the tooltip will show the error. 

Refactoring

Refactoring is the procedure of changing the definition of tag names or object names (such as alarm groups, device nodes, etc.) after the symbolic name is already in use in the application. Thanks to the centralized SQL configuration, FactoryStudio allows you to rename any object by simply typing the new name in the configuration table where that object is defined. All the references to that object will remain valid, using the new name with no actions required. For instance, to rename a tag that is already being used all across the project, just go to Edit-Tags-Objects and rename it. The same applies to Edit-Alarms-Groups, members of templates, or any named object in the system. 

Cross Reference

You can view how many times each object is used in the project, and you can view a list of objects that are not used in the project. 

There are three distinct ways to select the object for which you want a cross reference.

1. Do one of the following:

• • From a table that has the object you want to find, select the object. For example, select the tag you want to find elsewhere in the project. The Find field in the toolbar auto-populates with the name of the selected tag.
  • In the Find field of the toolbar, enter the type of object (tag), followed by a . (period), followed by the name of the object (the tag name in this case). As you type in the field, the system matches the first entry to objects in the system. After the first period, all objects of that type will be listed.
  • Next to the Find field, click .... The Select Object window displays with a list of all the object types. When you select an object type, the names of that type will display.

2. Click Find or, from the Select Object window, click OK. The search results will display in the Find window at the bottom of the page.

3. Double-click any row in the find results to go to that item.

4. To close the results pane, click Find window at the bottom of the page.

• Go to Run > Tools > UseCount.

The table lists the number of references to every object in the system. To view objects that are not used, click the UnusedObjects tab. For a complete cross-reference of all objects, click the CrossReference tab.

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