Actions

Functional explanation

An action is what happens when an operator clicks an object on a page. Actions are configured per object in the design environment, in the Actions section of the object context. An object can hold several actions: they are listed in the order they run, and the arrows next to each row move an action up or down in that order. All actions of one object run when the object is clicked.

Actions are available on the Button, Label, Square, Circle, Knob, Polygon, Polyline, Image and SVG objects.

Selecting an action shows only the settings that action uses. The None action is a configured row that does nothing, and is the value a new row starts with.

The actions on this page are page actions, triggered by an operator. Alarms, Events and Schedules have their own action list, which is configured on those pages and covers unattended actions such as Send Email and Sample Group.

Variable Actions

These actions write to the variable named in the Variable setting. The operator needs write rights for that variable. Variable names are used exactly as configured, so a name such as Pump1_Speed, a device-embedded name such as PLC1.Pump1_Speed, or a Local variable name such as Counter are all valid entries.

Navigation and Popups

These actions change what the operator is looking at. They run in the browser and do not write to a variable.

Popup Configurator

Configure on an OpenPopup action opens the Popup Configurator. It selects the symbol shown in the popup and how it is placed, and it fills in the replacers of that symbol so one master serves every unit.

The replacer table lists the replacers defined by the master under Label and Replacer. Enter the value for this popup under Replacement. Default shows the value the master defines, which is used when a Replacement is left empty.

On a page with Fit Mode Fluid the popup always opens inside the browser window, because a Fluid page has no zoom or pan to reach it otherwise. A popup that fits opens at its configured position. A popup that would open outside the visible part of the page, for example past the right edge on a phone or above the window after scrolling down, moves just far enough to be fully visible. A popup wider than the window is scaled down to the window width, and a centered popup is also scaled down to the window height. The rest of any other tall popup is reached by scrolling the page. Popups that are open when the window is resized or a phone is rotated follow the same rules.

For a menu or a dialog on a Fluid page, set Top and Left to center.

Scripts

Three actions run something on the server or in the page. Execute Script runs a Python script on the server, Execute Report renders a report, and Execute PageScript runs a function in the page script in the browser.

A typical operator screen for a report on demand uses three objects. Two Date Time Pickers write the window into two Local variables, for example ReportStart and ReportEnd, which are named as Start var and End var in the Report Settings with period source variables. A Button carries the Execute Report action with Report set to the report. A Document Viewer with Document Path set to System.ReportFile_Daily_Production_Report shows the result as soon as the run finishes.

For a run that needs values the template does not hold, use Execute Script instead and call RunReport from the script, which accepts an explicit period and parameter values. See the Report Designer article.

Recipes

These actions work with the recipes configured on the Recipes page. A recipe is addressed by its name.

Session and Language

System Actions

Two-Stage Commands

Three actions drive a command that is issued in two steps, which is used where a command point is armed at the remote station or IED before it is executed. They apply to an IEC104 or IEC61850 variable whose Command Mode is Select before operate (operator). The IEC104 and IEC61850 articles describe the full flow and the variables that report the armed state.

These are page actions, because the point stays reserved while the operator decides. A write from a Python script, a schedule, an alarm action or a gateway performs both steps in one call.

Rights, Signatures and Audit Trail

An action that writes a variable runs for operators who have write rights for that variable. Object Control Access decides in addition which user groups may operate the object itself.

With compliance mode enabled, the electronic signature keys apply to the actions that change the process. Variable.Write covers Set, Reset, Toggle, Momentary On, Set Value and Execute Command on a variable that has Signature Required selected; the write rights and the value range are checked before the dialog opens. Device.Restart covers Restart Device. Recipe.Download covers Load Recipe and Transfer Recipe. The operator signs in the dialog that opens, and the action runs once the signature is accepted. Select Command and Cancel Selection run without a signature, so the signature is asked at the moment the command is executed.

Actions an operator triggers are written to the Audit Trail with the user name, the object of the action and, for a write, the value before and after. Actions triggered by an alarm, an event or a schedule are written to the event history instead.