Alarms and events
Simple alarm and event functions can be easily implemented in TouchWin. It is useful to distinguish between alarms and events. Alarms are intended to alert the user to the need for action in the event of deviations from the normal state. In contrast, events can also be purely informative.
Various objects are available in TouchWin for alarms and information about events, which are described in more detail below:
- Window alarm
- Lights
- Alarm displays
- meters
- Tanks
- Alarm List
- Real Time Event List
- Historical Event List
- Function Fields
Alarm window
Alarm windows work in a similar way to pop-up windows. However, they are always opened by an event in the center of the screen and have an Ok button to close the alarm window. Alarm windows can only be called up via bits, so the alarm conditions should be generated in the controller. The text of the alarm window can be customized and any graphic elements can be used. This allows additional information to be added to the alarm window.
Another particularly useful function is to display the alarm window again after a configurable time if the alarm condition persists. This allows the operator to be informed that action is still required.
Lights
Lights and operable lights (lamp buttons) are ideal for displaying alarms. The display can be freely configured. The Twinkle function can also be used to draw the operator's attention to the light. This allows the light to flash in the On or Off state, depending on which state is not normal.
Alarm displays
Alarm displays are displays for numerical values that are also shown flashing via an upper and lower limit. The limits can be configured in the Range tab. Here too, attention should be drawn when limits are exceeded or not reached.
Meters
The meters (instruments) show a numerical value in an analog display. Here too, upper and lower limits can be set as warning and alarm limits, which are marked yellow and red on the scale. The meters do not have a flashing function.
Tanks
Tanks also have an alarm function with which the fill level flashes if the limit values are exceeded or not reached.
Alarm list
The alarm lists are simple lists with a configurable number of lines. Alarm lists represent configurable alarm messages. Under Alarm, you can add an alarm message by right-clicking on the table. Trigger is a bit. If the trigger bit is positive, the message is displayed in the alarm list in the order in which the states occurred. A time stamp is not displayed, nor is an acknowledgement provided.
The message can be freely configured and composed of several of the following components:
- Text - simple static text
- Variational text - a dynamic text whose content depends on any value of a variable
- Data - a numerical value from a variable
The various components can be added by right-clicking on the message, even multiple times.
Real Time Event List
The Real Time Event element displays various states in a list with configurable lines. An event is a positive bit for which a text is specified. The real time event element is simpler than the alarm list and can also be used to provide information about states.
Historical Event List
The Historical Event Element represents events with a time stamp. Events are positive or negative edges of a bit. The timestamp is only displayed to the minute. The events are stored in Flash. The list can be navigated using the event buttons that we have already seen in the trends. There are actions for scrolling (Previous Page, Next Page, Previous Item, Next Item) and the Ok action is used for acknowledging. The timestamp of this acknowledgement is shown in the third column. The Reset action deletes all events from the table.