Short description
This function displays message texts and parameters of other blocks on the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display when IDEC SmartRelay is in RUN mode.
The IDEC SmartRelay FL1E device series supports many new message text features that IDEC SmartRelay FL1D devices and earlier did not support. You can choose, however, whether to use IDEC SmartRelay FL1E message text functions blocks with the new features or IDEC SmartRelay FL1D message text function blocks in your circuit program. This selection is on the File -> Message Text Settings dialog, along with other global settings. You cannot mix and match IDEC SmartRelay FL1D message text function blocks and IDEC SmartRelay FL1E message text function blocks in your circuit program.
Connection |
Description |
Input En |
A 0 to 1 transition at En (Enable) triggers the output of the message text. |
Input P |
P is the priority of the message text. 0 is the lowest, 127 the highest priority. Ack: Acknowledgement of the message text |
Parameter |
Text: Input of the message text Par: Parameter or actual value of another, already configured , which can be displayed numerically or as a bar graph (see "Visible parameters or actual values") Time: Shows the continuously updated time-of-day Date: Shows the continuously updated date EnTime: Display of the time of the 0 to 1 transition of the signal at input En EnDate: Display of the date of the 0 to 1 transition of the signal at input En I/O Status Names: Display of a input or output status name, for example "On" or "Off". Analog Input: Display of analog input value to the shown in message text and updated according to the analog time. |
Output Q |
Q remains set as long as the message text is queued. |
Settings
In addition to the function block inputs and the parameters of the message text, the following settings provide additional control over the display of message texts:
Character set selection: You can choose to compose a message text from characters from the primary character set or the secondary character set. You set the two character sets from either the "Msg Config" menu on the IDEC SmartRelay Base module, or by using the WindLGC File->Message Text Settings menu command.
Message destination: You can choose to display the message text on the IDEC SmartRelay Display, the Text Display, or both.
Tick settings: The message text can tick or not tick, meaning it can scroll on and off the display. The tick capabilites and your choices are described in more detail below.
Description of the function
With a 0 to 1 transition of the signal at input En, and with IDEC SmartRelay in run mode, the IDEC SmartRelay Display and/or Text Display displays your configured message text.
When the "Acknowledgement message" checkbox is not selected, the message text is hidden with a 1 to 0 signal transition at input En.
When the "Acknowledgement message" checkbox is selected, then after input En is reset to 0, the message text is displayed until acknowledged by pressing the OK button. The message text cannot be acknowledged as long as input En is high.
If several message text functions were triggered with En=1, the message with the highest priority (0 = lowest, 127 = highest) is displayed. This also implies that a new message text is only displayed if its priority is higher than that of previously enabled message texts.
If the circuit program uses Memory Marker M27, then whenever M27=0 (low) IDEC SmartRelay only displays message texts that are in the primary character set (Character Set 1). If M27=1 (high), then IDEC SmartRelay only displays message texts that are in the secondary character set (Character Set 2).
After a message text is disabled or acknowledged, the display automatically shows the previously active message text with the highest priority.
You can change between the display in RUN mode and the message texts by means of the and
buttons.
Particular characteristics to be noted when configuring
|
Block name area Here you can provide a name for the block |
|
Settings area Here you can configure the following settings:·
|
|
Tick area Here you define the tick parameters for the message text:
|
|
Message destination area Here you choose whether the target destination for the message is the IDEC SmartRelay Display, the Text Display, or both.
|
|
Message area Here you arrange the message text. The information that you enter in this area corresponds to what will be displayed on the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display. Above this area are additional buttons:
AI button: for placing an analog input value into the message area ON/OFF button: for specifying a digital value to be represented by one of two strings corresponding to the 0 state and 1 state, for example "OFF" and "ON". Edit manually button: for using the static editor to add, move, or delete message text elements without changing the position of any other elements |
|
Block area Here is where you select blocks from all of the blocks in the circuit program. You can subsequently choose parameters from these blocks to display in the message text. |
|
Block parameters area Here you can select the parameters to be displayed in the message text from the block that is selected in the Blocks area. |
|
Insert Parameter button This button is for inserting a selected block parameter into the message text. |
To arrange the message text
The message area shows a grid of four lines and character positions. The message text configuration area is 24 characters wide for Western European character sets or 16 characters wide for Asian character sets. Either way, the character width of each line is double that of the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display. Message lines that are longer than the width of the actual display can be set to "tick". In the message area, WindLGC indicates the region corresponding to the visible area of the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display in one color, and the region that can only be shown by using the message ticking feature in another color.
To configure the content of a message text, follow these steps:
From the "Blocks" area, select the block whose parameters you want to output.
Drag and drop the parameters required from the "Block parameters" to the "Message Text" area. You can also use the "Insert " button to insert a parameter value.
In the "Message Text" area, you can add parameter data, time or date values from the block parameter area as required and enter text. To enter text, select the character set for the message text, and then type. You can also use the buttons above the message text area to add special characters, bar graphs, analog input values, and names for digital I/O states.
Message text character set
IDEC SmartRelay FL1E supports five character sets for messages. Of these, you can select two for the display of message texts with the File -> Message Text Settings menu command or from the "Msg Config" menu of IDEC SmartRelay. Of the fifty possible message texts that you can configure, you can select any number of them to be from the first language and any number from the second language. For example, you could configure fifty message text function blocks that have a single message text for Character Set 1. Alternatively, you could configure twenty-five message text function blocks, each of which has two message texts: one for Character Set 1 and one for Character Set 2. Any combination is valid such that the total does not exceed fifty.
The Message text dialog displays the character sets that are currently available for your message text, as configured in the message text settings. To use a character set, select the "Enabled" check box, and the button for the character set. Characters that you subsequently type will be from the character set that you enabled and selected. If you deselect the "Enabled" check box for a character set, WindLGC will prompt you for confirmation and then delete the message text, if it exists, that corresponds to that character set.
The character set of a message text is independent of the language setting for the IDEC SmartRelay Display menus. They can be different.
The IDEC SmartRelay Base module and Text Display support the Chinese character set (GB-2312) for the People's Republic of China. The devices use Microsoft Windows encoding for this character set. The Windows encoding allows the devices to display the same characters as shown in the WindLGC message text editor when you are using a Chinese emulator or a Chinese version of Microsoft Windows.
The Chinese character set requires a Chinese version of Windows or a Chinese emulator to properly display Chinese characters in the WindLGC message text editor. You must start the Chinese emulator before you open the the message text function block in WindLGC.
You can configure a message text to tick, or to not tick. Two types of message ticking exist:
Character by character
Line by line
Messages that tick character by character scroll off the characters of the message line one character at a time to the left with the additional characters scrolling in one at a time from the right. The time interval for the tick is specified by the TickTime message text setting.
Messages that tick line by line by line scroll one half of the message off the display to the left with the second half of the message scrolling in from the right. The time interval for the tick is ten times the TickTime parameter. The two halves of the message simply alternate on the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display.
The tick time is the interval of time by which a character or a line of text ticks off the screen. The tick time is a global message text parameter for all message texts.
Example: Tick Message Character by Character
The following illustration shows the configuration in WindLGC of a one-line, 24-character message text:
If you set this message to tick "character by character" with a tick interval of 0.1 seconds, then the initial appearance of this message line on the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display is as shown in this illustration:
After 0.1 second, one character of the message line ticks. The message appears as follows on the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display:
After the next 0.1 second, another character of the message line ticks. The message appears as follows on the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display:
Example: Tick Message Line by Line
The following example uses the same message configuration as the previous example:
If you set this message to tick "line by line" with a tick interval of 0.1 seconds, then the initial appearance of this message on the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display is the left half of the message as shown in this illustration:
After 1 second (10 x 0.1 second), the message ticks to show the right half of the message as shown in this illustration:
The screen display alternates between the two message halves every second.
You can configure each individual line of a message text to tick or not to tick at all. The "character by character" or "line by line" setting applies to all lines that you configure to tick. Select the check box beside a line number to enable ticking for that line.
Bar graphs
You can specify a bar graph representation for the actual value of any other function block in your circuit program. The bar graph can be horizontal or vertical on the IDEC SmartRelay Display or Text Display. You can configure up to four bar graphs per message text.
Use the bar graph button in the message text area to place a bar graph in the message text area. From the Bar Setting dialog you must provide the following information:
Block from your circuit program that the bar graph represents
Minimum and maximum value for the bar graph: IDEC SmartRelay will calculate the length or height of the bar graph by scaling the actual value between the minimum and maximum values.
Orientation of the bar graph: horizontal or vertical
Width or height of the bar graph, in character spaces
Example:
Consider a bar graph in a message text with the following characteristics:
Configured bar graph length: 4 character spaces
Orientation: Horizontal
Configured minimum value: 1000
Configured maximum value: 2000
Actual value: 1750
The resulting bar graph will be 3 character spaces long.
Text representation of digital I/O states
You can assign names such as "On" or "Off" to the two states of a input or output. With the IDEC SmartRelay FL1E series, you can display this name of a digital I/O state in a message text. The maximum number of characters for a state name is eight for Western language character sets; for Asian language character sets the number of characters is four. Use the ON/OFF button in the message text area to define names for the two states of a input or output to be used in the message text.
Within a single message text, you can configure up to four digital I/O state name displays.
Within one circuit program, a maximum of 20 I/O state names can be used in message text function blocks.
Display of remaining timer time
With the IDEC SmartRelay FL1E series, you can display the remaining time of a timer in a message text. Prior to this feature you could display the current elapsed time of a timer and the timer parameters.
When placed in a message text, the remaining time will show the time that remains before the timer expires. For timers with multiple timer values (for example on-delay time, off-delay time), you can display the remaining time of each one in a message text.
Display of analog inputs
You can also select analog inputs to be displayed in a message text. Use the AI button in the message text area to select a specific AI to place in the message text area.
If you have analog inputs in a message text, the global message text setting for the Analog input filter timer specified how often the message text is updated with current values. The refresh time choices are 100 ms, 200 ms, 400 ms, 800 ms, and 1000 ms. If you have more than one analog input in a message text, the refresh rate applies to them all.
Static editor (Edit manually)
WindLGC provides a static editor for message texts that can help when you need to reposition text elements. For example, it has a recycle bin area where you can temporarily move message text elements in order to rearrange the position of elements on the display area. You can move elements up, down, left, or right without changing the position of any other elements.
To use the static editor, click the "Edit manually" button above the message text area. You will also be prompted to edit manually if you try to place or move elements in the message area that have a position conflict with existing elements.
Simulation mode
|
FL1A-FL1B: Maximum number of message texts: 5 Not supported: message ticker, bar graphs, analog inputs, I/O status names, and remaining timer time. FL1C-FL1D: Maximum number of message texts: 10 |
Copying and pasting text characters
Whenever you enter characters into the message text area or into the I/O status name text edit area, you can use the keyboard shortcuts for copy (Ctrl-c) and paste (Ctrl-v). You can copy and paste characters between any document on your computer, text in a message text, text in an I/O status name, or text in the Text Display Power-up screen text edit area. WindLGC verifies that any characters to be pasted are valid for the selected character set. Only character entry areas of text messages, I/O status names, and the Text Display Power-up screen support copy and paste. You cannot, for example, copy and paste bar graphs, function block parameters, or anything other than text characters of the selected character set.
You cannot use Ctrl-x to cut characters for pasting, except from a document on your computer. WindLGC does not support the cut operation from the message text, I/O status name, or Text Display Power-up screen editing dialogs.
Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to message text function blocks:
Up to 50 message text functions are available.
Up to 32 total bar graphs in message texts are available.
WindLGC supports all of the defined features for message texts. When programming directly on the IDEC SmartRelay device, you can only program a limited number of the message text features. See the IDEC SmartRelay manual for a description of message text programming from the IDEC SmartRelay device.
Each message line can contain 24 characters (Western language character sets) or 16 characters (Asian language character sets). Within a message text the following limitations apply:
- Maximum number of parameters: 4
- Maximum number of bar graphs: 4
- Maximum number of I/O status names:4
- Maximum number of time/date values: 4
- Maximum number of analog inputs: 2
Particular characteristics to be noted when configuring
The message text can be configured in the block properties dialog. You can enter up to four lines for each message text (the text display of the IDEC SmartRelay Display and Text Display has four rows) and set the priority. You can move to the next line using the cursor keys or the mouse. Hit the [ENTER] key to confirm all your entries in the block properties dialog and to close the dialog.
You can also specify the actual values of other blocks in the text lines. To do so, select the relevant block from the Block dialog. A Parameter dialog opens to display a list of all parameters available for the selected block. The block parameter you select in this dialog is written to the selected text line. The actual parameter value is now included when you call the message text.
Set the "Acknowledge message" attribute to specify whether a message is be acknowledged before it is closed.
Simulation mode