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Build an operator display: The basics, Part 1

Operator displays present process information to operators in DeltaV Live and provide a means for operators to take typical actions affecting that part of the process, such as responding to alarms. If included in a display set, displays can allow operators to easily view related content and maintain situational awareness over some part of the process, through the display set's navigation hierarchy. Displays are built using graphic elements such as shapes and GEMs.

This topic covers the following procedures:
  1. Creating a new operator display
  2. Configuring the display properties
  3. Adding graphic elements to the display and working with those elements

Create a display

Displays are created, configured, and managed in Graphics Studio, then published and assigned for use on DeltaV Live-enabled Operator Stations and remote client sessions. You can create a display from either a blank canvas or a library template. In this exercise, we will be using a library template to create a layout.

  1. In the Explorer view, select the Graphics Explorer pane as the active pane.
  2. On the ribbon's Home tab, in the Graphics group, click New → Display → Level 1 Display.
    The new display opens as a document tab and becomes available for editing in the document editing area. It is also added to the Displays folder in the Graphics Explorer pane. Note that the display name defaults to Display1.
  3. In the Graphics Explorer pane, select Display1.
  4. Press F2 to activate the name field.
  5. Rename the display to DspPractice.
  6. Press Enter.

Configure the display properties

Use the Graphics Configuration pane to configure DspPractice's size, appearance, and events.

  1. In the Graphics Configuration pane, in the Information property group, enter Display Practice in the Title field.
  2. In the Description property, remove the word, Template, from the description.
  3. In the Background property group, observe that the Color property references a library standard called, S_DispBackColor.
  4. Click the diamond next to the Color field and select Set To Static Value from the context menu. Remember that setting the value back to a static value removes the reference and allows you to modify the value.
    1. Click the Color drop-down arrow and select a new color.
    2. Observe that the display background changes colors.
  5. Click the Color diamond again and select Browse for Standard.
    1. Use the Browse dialog's Search field to easily find the S_DispBackColor standard (enter some part of the name, such as DispBack).
    2. Double-click the standard in the Name list to populate the Color reference.
  6. Save the display.

Add elements to the display

In this exercise, we will add some commonly used graphic elements to our display and explore some things you can do with these elements. Elements are added to the document editing area from the Palette pane.

  1. If the Palette pane is not active, click the Palette pane tab.
  2. Add a rectangle element to the display (Rectangle1).
    1. Expand the Shapes palette.
    1. Scroll through the shapes until you find the Rectangle element.
    2. Drag and drop a rectangle element onto the editing canvas, in the display area.
    3. With Rectangle1 selected (note the white adorner circles around the rectangle), observe that the Graphics Configuration pane is populated with the Rectangle1 properties.
    4. Explore changing the rectangle properties, such as Fill Color, Fill Percent, Line Color, and Line Thickness.
  3. Add a line element to the display (Line1).
    1. From the Palette pane, drag and drop a line element onto the display.
    2. Select a Line1 endpoint and drag it to Rectangle1, hovering over the rectangle.
    3. Note the red connection points that appear. Attach the Line1 endpoint to a red connection point.
    4. Select the rectangle and move it around the display. Observe that the line endpoint remains connected to the rectangle.
  4. Add a new horizontal line to the display (Line2).
    1. From the Palette pane, drag and drop a second line element onto the display.
    2. In the Graphics Configuration pane, note the Line2 properties in the Line property group.
    3. Explore setting different values for these properties. For example: Arrow End Type = Normal, Arrow End Size = Medium, and so forth.
  5. Add a new vertical line to the display (Line3).
    1. From the Palette pane, drag and drop a third line element onto the display.
    2. Rotate Line3 by pressing the Shift key and rotating the line with the mouse. The Shift key forces the line to snap at 45-degree increments, according to the mouse direction.
    3. Set Line3's Crossover Effect property to Gap.
      The crossover effect is designed to automatically detect where lines intersect and show that intersection as a gap or jumper on the line that has the property enabled.
    4. Drag a Line3 endpoint to intersect with Line2 (use the Shift key to maintain a straight line). Observe the automatic gap that is created.
  6. Add a connector to the display (Connector1).
    The connector element is not available in the Palette pane, but is added to a display from the ribbon. If a display element is selected, a connector is added from the Format / Drawing Tools tab. If the display area is selected, a connector is added from the Insert tab. When adding a shape from the ribbon, use a 'select and click' rather than 'drag and drop' action.
    1. In the ribbon, select the connector shape and then click anywhere in the display.
    2. Observe that the connector element has similar properties to the line element. You can move the intermediate segment of the connector by adjusting the yellow adorner handle.
    3. Select a Connector1 endpoint and drag it to Rectangle1, hovering over the rectangle.
    4. Note the red connection points that appear. Attach the Connector1 endpoint to a red connection point.
    5. Select the rectangle and move it around the display. Observe that the connector endpoint remains connected to the rectangle.
  7. Add a data link to the display (Datalink1).
    One of the most common elements in a display is a data link. Data links show real-time data from DeltaV by connecting the display element to a DeltaV parameter.

    When adding elements to a display, If you do not know in which palette an element is located and want to find it quickly, you can use the Palette pane's search field to find it.

    1. Use the Palette pane’s Search field to easily find the data link element. Note that the Data Link element is in the Data palette.
    2. Drag a data link element onto the display.
  8. Configure Datalink1 as a numeric data link. (Various types of data links can be created, such as Numeric or Mode.)
    1. In the datalink's Graphics Configuration pane, find the Expression property (Basics tab > Data Source property group).
    2. Click on the ellipsis button to open the Browse dialog. Navigate to the desired DeltaV control parameter.
    3. When the dialog closes, note the parameter path appears in the Expression field.

      If the path is properly resolved, the expression indicates this status with blue color and a solid underline. If the path can not be resolved, the expression indicates this status with red color and a squiggly underline.

      Expressions cannot be resolved if they contain a typo or if the module is not present in the DeltaV system. In the image below, notice that the same path has been broken by introducing a typo.

  9. Change the data link type to Numeric.
    1. For the Type property, select Numeric.
    2. Note that once Numeric is selected, a new Decimal Places property appears under Type.
    3. Change the number of decimal places needed.
  10. Save the display.
  11. Add a button and configure its label.
    1. In the Palette pane, expand the User Entries palette.
    2. Drag a Button element onto the display.
    3. In the Graphics Configuration pane, select Button1's Text tab.
    4. In the Text property group, enter a label for Button1 in the Label property.
    5. Use the Font property to configure the label text.
  12. Add an button action that opens a faceplate.
    1. Select Button1's Interaction tab.
    2. In the Interaction property group, click the Add Action drop-down arrow and select Click as the trigger action.
    3. In the Click1 property, select Open Faceplate as the behavior.
    4. In the Tag property, enter the display tag, in quotes, for the faceplate you want to open. For example, "FIC-102".
    5. In the Interaction Area property group, select a width for the Interaction Area Border.
  13. Save the display.