Configuring and Assigning Symbols

In its simplest form, a symbol is a graphic made up of drawing elements on the graphic canvas in the Graphics Editor. Each drawing element has a series of associated properties that can be used to customize the element. When you drag-and-drop a symbol onto a graphic a symbol instance is created.

In practice, a symbol is a reusable graphic image that represents a piece of equipment, floor, or any component or entity. A symbol can also represent a command on a graphic.

Select the topic related to your task:

Create a Symbol

Information

NOTE:
You must have Graphic Editor Application rights to create, edit, or delete a symbol. Graphic Editor level access is defined by the Security application.

You want to create a new symbol.

System Manager is in Engineering mode.

In the System Browser, select Application View.

Select Graphics.

From the File menu, select New Symbol.

A blank, tabbed symbol template displays in the Graphics Editor work area.

Draw, design, and assign evaluations and mappings to the symbol as necessary.

Click Save .

The Save dialog box displays.

From the Project folder, navigate to the appropriate library and click the associated Symbols folder.

Enter a name in the Name field, and click Save.

The symbol is saved in the designated Symbols folder in two file formats: PNG and .CCS. The symbol can be previewed in the Graphics Library Browser.

Create and Configure a Symbol for a Custom Data Point

Scenario: You want to display one or more properties for 50 points of the same point type. For example, you want to view the object name, present value, and units of data points that have these three properties in common. You will create a reusable symbol that displays the three properties of a custom data point and then associate a data point to each symbol instance.

In our example, we are using a text element.

To create the custom symbol, select the procedure below:

From the File menu, select New Symbol.

A blank, tabbed symbol template displays in the Graphics Editor work area.

Click a drawing element and then draw a shape on the canvas to represent the data point information block, for example a rectangle.

To format the drawing element, select it on the canvas, and from the Property View, format the shape as needed. In this example, do the following:

Expand the Rectangle property, and set the Radius X and Radius Y properties to: 10. The rectangle corners are rounded.

Expand the Colors property, and in the Background field, type: gray. The rectangle background changes to gray.

From the ribbon on the Home tab, in the Elements group, click the Text element, and then draw a text box in the rectangle. Repeat this action, until you have three text boxes. Format and organize the text boxes as needed.

For each Text property, do the following:
a. In the Property Viewer, expand the Text property, and in the Text field, type the name of the data point property. For example, Object_Name.
b. From the Evaluation Editor, in the Property field, make sure Text is selected from the drop-down menu, and in the Expression field, type: {*};.Property_Name
In our example, for the Object Name property enter the star substitution as follows: {*};.Object_Name
c. Repeat the procedure for each property you want to display in the information block. In this example, the remaining properties are: Units ({*};.Units) and Present Value ({*};.Present_Value)

Click Save As .

Navigate to the library where you want to save the symbol and in the Name field, type a name for your symbol.

Click Save.

You can now drag the symbol from the library and drop it on the graphic and associate a data point with it. For more information, see Adding Data Points and Symbols to a Graphic Using the Library Browser.

Create a Customized HQ Symbol

You can customize any existing HQ symbols so that they display a regional or customized version of that symbol in your project graphics.

In System Browser, select Management View.

Expand the Project node.

Navigate to System Settings, and then expand the Libraries folder.

Expand the L1-Headquarter library folder, and navigate to the Symbols library that contains one or more symbols you would like to create a customized symbol for.

Select the Graphics tab.

The symbols in the symbol libraries display in the Library Browser.

Click the symbols you want to create a customized symbol for.

Click Customize.

Click OK.

The symbols are added to the Symbols folder and display in the Graphics Editor.

Modify the symbol as required for your region.

Click Save.

The updated symbol is now saved in the Regional Symbol folder, and the original symbol remains in the original library folder with Localized Symbol displayed in the upper left-hand corner of the symbol thumbnail image.

Assign a Data Point to a Symbol Instance on a Graphic

Information

NOTE:
You must have Graphic Editor Application rights to create, edit, or delete a symbol. Graphic Editor level access is defined by the Security application.

Data points are assigned to symbol instances on a graphic in order to display real-time values.

In the Graphics Editor, you are in Design mode and have a graphic open that contains one or more symbol instances.

You have selected the symbol instance you want to assign the data point to.

In System Browser, select Management View.

Select Project > Field Networks > Hardware.

Navigate to the data point you want you assign to the symbol instance.

Drag-and-drop the data point over the symbol instance on your graphic.

In the Properties View, the Symbol Instance > Object Reference property is highlighted and the data point address displays.

(Optional) Update the Symbol Instance > Precision and Unit properties, as needed.

(Optional) From the Home tab, in the Modes group, click Test to switch modes and verify that you can see the live values from the data point on the graphic.

The symbol instance displays the current value of the data point.

Repeat with each symbol instance as needed.

Associate a Symbol with an Object Model

In System Browser, select Management View.

Select Field Networks > [device].

From the Object Configuration tab, double-click the text Object Model.

The Models and Functions tab displays.

Click the Models and Functions tab, and then scroll down to the Symbols section.

In System Browser, select the Manual Navigation check box.

Navigate to the Symbol Library folder where the symbol you want to associate to the object model is saved.

Right-click the Symbol folder, and from the menu that displays on right-click, select Send to Secondary Pane.

The Symbol Browser displays in the secondary pane, and displays the symbols from the folder you selected in System Browser.

Drag the symbol you want to associate to the object model and drop it into the Symbols section of the Models and Functions tab.

The symbol is now associated with the object model.

To make the symbol the default symbol of the object model, right-click the symbol in the Symbols pane, and from the menu that displays on right-click, select Set as Default.

Click Save .

You have now associated the symbol with object model, and made it the default symbol for the object model, as well.

Associate a Symbol with an Object Type

You want to associate a symbol with a data point or object model, so that any instance of that object model on a graphic, displays the associated symbol.

System Manager is in Engineering mode.

In System Browser, selected Management View.

Select System Settings > Libraries.

Navigate to and expand the system library that the object model is associated with, for example, BA.

The associated library objects display.

Expand the Specific Devices objects tree and then select the appropriate system library block.

Expand the Object Models folder.

Click the object model you want to associate a symbol to.

From the Models and Functions tab, expand the Symbols section.

Do one of the following:

Open a second instance of Desigo CCby clicking Summary Bar’s Activate System Manager .

From the second instance of the software:
a. In System Browser, select Management View.
b. Select System Settings >Libraries folder.
c. Navigate to the appropriate symbols folder.
Or

Open an instance of Microsoft Windows Explorer and navigate to the appropriate symbols library in the \\GMSProjects\Project\Libraries folder.

Click the symbol you want to associate with the object model, and then drag-and-drop the symbol to the Models and Functions Symbols section.

The symbol displays in the symbols section.

To make the symbol the default symbol, right-click the symbol and select Set as Default.

The symbol is now the default symbol that will display when this object type is used on a graphic.

Delete a Customized Symbol

You have a customized symbol you want to delete. Deleting the customized symbol does not affect the original symbol.

System Manager is in Engineering mode.

Navigate to the appropriate library where the customized symbol is located.

If you place the mouse over the original symbol, the tooltip lists the locations of the customized symbols, or, if you use the Library Browser List View to display the symbols, the Customized column, displays the location of any customized symbols.

Click Delete .

Click Yes.

The customized Symbol is deleted from the library, and the original Symbol no longer displays Customized .

Delete a Symbol

A symbol can only be removed from a project by deleting it from the [CustomerProjects] folder.

Information

NOTE:
If there are existing symbol instances with references to the deleted symbol, the symbol instance displays a reference error:

Navigate to the x:\yyyyyCustomerProjects folder, until you locate the Symbols folder that contains the symbols you want to delete.

Right-click the symbol you want to delete, and select Delete from the menu that displays on right-click. You can also use the SHIFT key to delete multiple symbols.

The symbol is deleted from the project completely.

Modify an Existing Symbol

Information

NOTE:
You must have Graphic Editor Application rights to create, edit, or delete a symbol. Graphic Editor level access is defined by the Security application. Of you do not have the appropriate access rights, the symbol will open in Read-Only mode .

The Graphics Editor it open and you have an existing symbol and you want to modify.

To modify an existing symbol do one of the following:

In the Graphics Editor, navigate to the Graphics Library Browser, and right-click the symbol you want to edit. Click Edit from the menu that displays on right-click.

Navigate to the appropriate symbol instance on an open graphic and right-click the instance. Click Edit from the menu that displays on right-click.

In all cases, the symbol opens in the Graphics Editor workspace and is available for editing.

Make any modifications to the symbol.

From the ribbon, click .

From the Reload dialog box, click Yes.

The symbol is updated in the Graphics Library Browser and all changes are saved.

Modify Elements in a Symbol Instance

A symbol instance is made up of one or more elements. If the element has a unique ID number associated with it, it can be selected on the canvas and modified. If the element does not have a unique ID number associated with it, it cannot be selected or modified within the symbol instance.

You have a symbol instance on the canvas and you want to modify one or more elements within the symbol instance.

Press SHIFT and select the element in the symbol instance you want to modify.

The element is active, instead of the entire symbol instance.

Make your changes, such as resize, add color, change color, etc.
NOTE: When you select the symbol instance, Revert to Default displays just outside the Symbol Instance. If you move your cursor over the arrow, it lists all the changes made to the elements within the symbol instance. To go back to the default state of the symbol instance, right-click and select Revert to Default. All changes to the symbol instances are cleared.

Click Save .

Replace Symbol Instances

When you right-click a symbol instance on the canvas, you can view and replace the selected symbol instance with a symbol from the same object model or function library. Using the symbol style filter from the ribbon, you can determine which symbols will be displayed for you to choose from.

You have a symbol instance on the canvas and you want to replace it with another symbol from the same object model or functions library.

Select Option > Symbol Options group, click the arrow of the drop-down menu to select a style for the symbols you want to view.

(Optional) Click the symbol filter so that it is enabled (icon background is gray) to display the symbols from both the object model and the function libraries. If unselected, only the symbols from the function library display. If however, there are no associated symbols in the function library, only then will the symbols from the object model display.

Right-click the symbol instance on the canvas that you want to replace.

With your mouse, hover over Symbol Instance, and then hover over Replace.

The symbol library with the associated symbols display.

Click the symbol in the library you want to replace the symbol on the canvas with.

The symbol on the canvas is updated and replaced with the selected symbol from the library.

Save a Graphic or Symbol

A logical view has been created.

You have a graphic or symbol open in the Graphics Editor and would like to save your changes.

From the File menu, click one of the following:

Save: Saves the active graphic or symbol with the current name.

Save As: Displays the Save As dialog box. Enter a Name for the graphic or symbol and navigate to the directory you where you want to store the graphic.

Save All: Saves all the open graphics and symbols with their current names and storage locations.

Set the Customization Level

System Manager is in Engineering mode.

In System Browser, select Management View.

Expand the Project node.

Select System Settings.

In the Extended Operations tab, from the Customization Level property dropdown menu, select Region, and then click Apply.

The Apply successful confirmation displays.

Use a Symbol Instance

You want to modify the originating symbol of a symbol instance.

Navigate to the symbol instance on the graphic canvas you want to modify.

Right-click the Symbol Instance.

Select Symbol Instance and then Edit.

The originating symbol opens and displays as a tabbed graphic in the work pane.

Use the Symbol Style Filter

The symbol style filter allows you to select a symbol style to use for the ensuing symbols instances you drag from System Browser and drop onto the canvas. When you select a style, the symbol associated with that style in the function associated with the data point displays. If that style symbol does not exist, the next similar style is taken. For more information on style and symbol selection, see Symbols Styles and Function.

From the Options tab, in the Symbol Options group, select one of the options from the Symbol Style Filter drop-down menu. The available options are project-specific.

The style chosen displays in the Style menu.

Drag the object or symbol from System Browser or from the Library Browser and drop it on the active canvas.

The correct symbol associated with the style you selected for the object function displays on the canvas.