GHT-200008

How to Display a Variable on an HMI Screen

Variables can be displayed on a CIMPLICITY® HMI screen in the following ways:
*
• Use the drag-and-drop feature from the ToolboxST application.
• From CimEdit, use the Drag Variables To Screen option.
When using the drag-and-drop feature from a variable grid or the Select a Variable dialog box in the ToolboxST
application, a simple text object is created in the CimEdit window with the text expression set to the value of the
variable. You can also drag a variable to a custom, user-defined, CIMPLICITY-linked screen object. If the file
HMIBlockMappings.xml exists in the ToolboxST application’s HMIScreens folder, the entry for $Variable defines
the custom screen object on the screen when you drag a variable to a CimEdit window. The value of the variable is
assigned to the screen object’s varname variable.
Example:
HMIBlockMappings.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<root>
<Blocks>
<Block Name="$Variable" HmiScreenObj="variableDisplay"
HMILinkSource="C:\GEWorkstationST\HMIFiles\Library\ScreensObjects\General\tp_W
orkstationST_objects.cim" />
</Blocks>
</root>

The CIMPLICITY screen object variableDisplay

contains the variable varname. When you drag a
variable to a CIMPLICITY window, the variable name
(Name) is assigned as the Value of the varname.

In this example, the variableDisplay screen object is a group of three text objects containing the three expressions:
{varname}.Point_ID, {varname}, {varname}.Description.

This document is distributed for informational purposes only. It is furnished to its customer solely to assist in the installation, testing,
operation, and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced nor shall its contents be disclosed
to any third party without the written approval of GE Energy.
 The Properties dialog box
General tab displays the
Object type (Group) and the
assigned group Object
Name (variableDisplay).

The WorkstationST application’s integration with CIMPLICITY Advanced Viewer was enhanced by adding a Drag
Variables To Screen shortcut menu item to CimEdit. This allows you to easily browse for ToolboxST variables and add
them to the CimEdit window without opening the ToolboxST application. This feature is only available with
CIMPLICITY V7.5 Advanced Viewer. To enable this feature, the WorkstationST* HMI feature must be enabled,
configured for HMI Graphics without a project, and downloaded to the computer.
h To drag a variable to the CimEdit window
From CimEdit, right-click to display the shortcut menu.

Select Drag Variables

To Screen. The
Select a Variable
dialog box displays.

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 From the Select a Variable
dialog box, you can drag one
or more variables to the
CimEdit window by selecting
the variable row header.

You can also drag a variable’s

attribute to the CimEdit window by
selecting the attribute row header.
When the cursor is positioned in the
CimEdit window, it changes to a +
sign to indicate a valid drop
operation. Release the mouse
button.

The variables display as text objects

in the CimEdit window.

The default drag-and-drop operation creates a simple text object in the CimEdit window with the text expression set to the
value of the variable. This default text object can be changed to a user-defined custom text object. The above example
displays a custom user-defined $Variable object.

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 To verify object properties
1 From CimEdit, right-click on the object to display the shortcut menu.

2 Select Properties. The Properties – Object dialog box displays.

Select the Text tab and

verify the variable and/or
attribute displays in the
String property and
Expression property boxes.

g
For further assistance or technical information, contact the nearest
GE Sales or Service Office, or an authorized GE Sales Representative.

© 2008, General Electric Company, All rights reserved.

* Trademark of General Electric Company.
CIMPLICITY is a registered trademark of GE Fanuc Automation North America, Inc.

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Issued: 081216