How To Program RSView32 PDF

How To Program
RSView32
How to Program an HMI and SCADA System with

Rockwell Automations RSView32
By Neal Babcock
www.engineersandtechnicians.com
Copyright 2009 Modern Media
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 3
PLCs ............................................................................................................................... 4
Hardware......................................................................................................................... 5
SLC Rack..................................................................................................................... 5
SLC Power Supply ....................................................................................................... 5
SLC Processors ........................................................................................................... 6
SLC I/O Modules.......................................................................................................... 6
Ladder Logic ................................................................................................................... 7
The Dialect of PLCs ........................................................................................................ 7
Project Scope................................................................................................................ 11
Summarizing the Scope ................................................................................................ 19
Beginning the Project .................................................................................................... 20
Tags and the Tag Database.......................................................................................... 25
Digital Tags ................................................................................................................ 26
Timers ........................................................................................................................ 30
Analog Tags............................................................................................................... 32
Creating the Screens..................................................................................................... 36
Screen 1 System View ............................................................................................... 38
Designing the Master Layout ..................................................................................... 41
Color Blindness.......................................................................................................... 41
Designing the Header ................................................................................................ 43
The Navigation Menu ................................................................................................. 48
Screen 1 Content ....................................................................................................... 72
Pump Icons ................................................................................................................ 80
Agitator Motor ............................................................................................................ 83
Scales ........................................................................................................................ 84
Adding Piping............................................................................................................. 86
Review of the System View Display........................................................................... 88
Configuring the Menu................................................................................................. 91
Screen 2 - Agitator Process Run Time Display ............................................................. 95
Screen 3 - Valve Fault Time Delays .............................................................................. 99
Screen 4 - Maintenance Display ................................................................................. 101
Screen 5 - Alarms Display........................................................................................... 104
Alarm Setup ............................................................................................................. 109
Configuring a Tag to Trigger an Alarm..................................................................... 110
Screen 6 - Batch Log display ...................................................................................... 113
The Final Result .......................................................................................................... 118
Finishing Touches ....................................................................................................... 122
Trending ...................................................................................................................... 126
Tips and Tricks ............................................................................................................ 128
The Steps to a Successful and Profitable RSView Project.......................................... 131
How to Program RSView32

engineersandtechnicians.com
Introduction
The purpose of this book is to teach you how to design and program an HMI or a
SCADA system with RSView32.
There is a sample project included that contains a Project Scope. The Project Scope (or
Functional Specification, or whatever your company might call it) defines in detail how
the system is to operate when the project is finished.
You will learn how to take a Project Scope and turn it into a working RSView program.
It will show you the keystrokes and mouse movements that you need to know to use
RSView.
Finally, it provides a number of tips that will save you a bunch of time.
This book assumes you have a little background with PLCs perhaps you have worked
with other PLCs from other manufacturers or you have helped to install and wire PLCs.
Perhaps you are a Mechanical, Chemical or Process Engineer and you need to learn
how to use RSView32.
If you need a more thorough understanding of basic PLC concepts, you might want to
consider the Beginners Guide to PLC Programming How to Program a PLC
(Programmable Logic Controller). This ebook, along with the online tutorial, provides an
example of how to automate a drill press, while explaining all the basic concepts of PLC
programming that are necessary to write a solid PLC program.
It is available from Modern Media for $9.95. Visit
http://www.engineersandtechnicians.com/ if you would like to learn more about this
book.
For now, it should be enough to say that the PLC receives signals and information from
hardwired external devices, such as the position of a limit switch, the speed of a motor
or the numeric value of a weight sensor.
This information is linked from the PLC to RSView through tags. Tags are simply
memory locations to which both the PLC and RSView have access. Some tags are
created in RSView; most are created in the PLC.
Understanding tags and the manipulation of tags is a fundamental skill required for HMI
or SCADA programming.
We will also discuss the aesthetic appeal, or looks of HMI designs. This attribute is
often underrated. For the time being, just keep in mind that an HMI that looks good,
while still providing the functionality required, is easier for an operator to use. Because it
is visually appealing, screens and navigational paths will be easier to remember. Well
cover more of this later.
Rockwell Automation Technical Support

Unfortunately, we cant anticipate all the problems you might face as you are
troubleshooting a program on the factory floor. There are just too many variables. This
is why you must establish a relationship with your local Rockwell Automation technical
support team. Get to know them before you are in the final stages of a start-up and you
run into a problem. They are very helpful and they can save you hours of frustration.
Mnay Rockwell reps are not just technical support personnel; they are skilled engineers
that are responsible for running their own projects and writing and troubleshooting their
own programs. If you run into a problem, more than likely they have already seen it and
have come up with a solution.
Software
There are demos available for both RSView32 and RSLogix 500. Talk to your Rockwell
rep or visit rockwellautomation.com.
Installing the software and getting it to run can sometimes be an adventure in itself, but
once you have it running, it is usually stable.
PLCs
Nearly all the industrial equipment that you find in a modern manufacturing facility
shares one thing in common - computer control. The most commonly used controller is
the PLC, or the Programmable Logic Controller, using a programming language called
Ladder Logic. The language was developed to make programming easy for people who
already understood how switches, relay contacts and coils work. Its format is similar to
the electrical style of drawing known as the ladder diagram.
The most popular and most widely used manufacturer of PLCs is Rockwell Automation,
who produces the Allen-Bradley SLC series of PLCs. The MicroLogix and SLC families
of processors and I/O modules are all programmed using Rockwells proprietary
software known as RSLogix.

The SLCs are an older generation of Allen-Bradley

PLCs. They are being slowly replaced by the
ControlLogix and CompactLogix lines. However, the
SLCs are still very popular, as they are powerful PLCs
that still have many applications. In addition, there are
many plants that use SLCs that dont want to upgrade
to ControlLogix processors, because of training issues
and the higher initial cost.
RSLogix 500 is
the software used to
program the SLC family
of PLCs.
RSLogix 5000 is used for
the ControlLogix PLCs.
Rockwell has promised to support the SLC line until 2012, so you can expect to see
many SLCs for a few years to come.
Hardware
One of the nice things about Allen-Bradleys smaller PLCs is the relative simplicity of
assembling the hardware to create a system.
First, lets see what it takes to assemble an SLC 500 system. You only need to have a
few components: a rack, a power supply, a processor and some I/O modules.
SLC Rack
These come in four configurations, with varying capacity for installing the I/O modules.
1746-A4
1746-A7
1746-A10
1746-A13
4-Slot chassis
7-Slot chassis
10-Slot chassis
13-Slot chassis
A rack is a frame that holds the modules of an SLC 500 system. It is similar to the
motherboard and case in your personal computer. It provides a physical structure to
hold the modules that create a system, like your computers case. It also provides an
electronic back plane that allows modules to communicate and interact.
In an SLC system, the SLC 500 processor always resides in Slot 0, which is the first
slot.
SLC Power Supply
Power supplies come in varying capacities.

1746-P1
1746-P2
1746-P3
1746-P4
1746-P5
1746-P7
SLC Processors
There are five SLC 500 processors available:
SLC 5/01
SLC 5/02
SLC 5/03
SLC 5/04
SLC 5/05
The 5/01 is the most basic processor, with each succeeding model having more
capabilities. The most important difference is found in the SLC 5/05, which has the
capability of Ethernet communications.
SLC I/O Modules
There are an incredible amount of I/O (input/output) modules available for the AllenBradley SLC family. There are 4-20mA and 0-10VDC analog modules. There are digital
(also known as discrete) modules that work in a variety of voltage configurations and
capacities.

Ladder Logic
If you already understand how Allen-Bradley PLCs work, such as internal
memory addressing, hardwired I/O, data types, etc., you may skip this section.
Before we open RSLogix 500 and start programming, there are a few things you need
to know about PLCs in general. I have summarized the basic terms and techniques
required to work with ladder logic. It isnt a comprehensive summary, but if you are just
starting out, the information here book will be very helpful.
Every PLC programmer, no matter what skill level, must know the principles described
in this section and the Equivalent Logic section. There is simply no way around it.
To effectively write a program, or even edit one, the programmer must know how to
visualize the effects of the changes he will make.
In other words, you have to be able to look at the logic on paper and imagine how the
logic will work when it is entered into the PLC.
The Dialect of PLCs

Lets' define some terms and symbols:
INSTRUCTION RSLogixs command language is comprised of instructions. An XIC
(it looks like a normally open contact --] [-- ) is an instruction. A timer is an instruction. A
few of the most common instructions are described below.
BIT - an address within the PLC. It can be an input, output or internal coil, among
others.
In RSLogix 500, there are a couple of ways to show the address of a bit. The default is:
[type]:[word]/[bit]
For example, an address that references an output of an SLC 500 is O:5/0. That is:
O:5/0 means that it is a physical output.

O:5/0 means that it uses Slot 5 (the 6th physical slot) in the rack.
O:5/0 means that it is the first output on the card.
Remember that the first slot in an SLC 500 rack is Slot 0. That means a card that is
installed in the 6th physical slot is addressed as Slot 5.
Allen-Bradley PLCs, like many computers, always start with 0.
By the way, dont get the capital Os confused with zeroes.
RUNG - A section of the PLC ladder program that terminates in an output function of
some type. Just like in an electrical ladder diagram, a rung has some type of output that
is turned on or turned off by the preceding entities in the rung. The first rung in a ladder
program is always 0000.
HARDWIRED INPUT - a physical connection to the PLC from an input device (switch or
sensor, etc.).
Allen-Bradley uses the capital letter I to designate a hardwired input. An address that
describes an input on an SLC 500 is I:4/0.
Similar to the output structure,
I:4/0 means that it is a physical input.

I:4/0 means that it uses Slot 4 (the 5th slot in the rack).
I:4/0 means that it is the first input on the card.
Dont get the capital Is confused with ones.
HARDWIRED OUTPUT - a physical connection from the PLC to an output device (relay
or pilot light, etc.) As was said above, an address that references an output of an SLC
500 is O:5/0.
INTERNAL COIL
This is a programmable bit used to simulate a relay within the PLC. The internal coil has
no connection to the outside world. It does not connect to an output card. Internal coils
are used to store information. The contacts of this relay can then be used multiple
times in other parts of the program.

In RSLogix, the B3 (binary) file is commonly used for all the internal coils. There are
many other words in other files that have bits you can use as internal coils, but we are
going to stick with the B3 file for our application.
B3:0/0 means that it references an internal Binary file

B3:0/0 means that it uses the first word in the table
B3:0/0 means that it is the first bit in the word.
Note that, unlike the Output and Input files, you have to use the file number in the
address. In this case, the default file number is 3.
TIMER
A timer is a programmable instruction that lets you turn on or turn off bits after a preset
time.
The two primary types of timers are TON for timer on delay and TOF for timer off
delay.
Timers in A-B SLC and MicroLogix processors use file 4 for their timers.
T4:0 means that it references an internal Timer file

T4:0 means that it uses the first timer in the table
The address T4:0 simply refers to the timer. Each timer has bits that turn on after the
timing function is complete. You can address this bit by simply putting a /DN after the
timer address. DN stands for done.
For example, if timer T4:0 is a TON (timer on delay), then the bit T4:0/DN will turn on
after the timer has reached its preset value.
COUNTER
A counter is a programmable instruction that lets you turn on or turn off bits after a
preset count has been reached.
There are different types of counters available in the RSLogix, but the CTU (counter up)
instruction covers everything we will talk about here.
Counters in A-B SLC and MicroLogix processors use file 5.
C5:0 means that it references an internal Counter file

C5:0 means that it uses the first counter in the table

The address C5:0 simply refers to the counter. Each counter has bits that turn on after
the counting function is complete. You can address this bit by simply putting a /DN
after the counter address. DN stands for done.
For example, if counter C5:0 is a CTU (counter up), then the bit C5:0/DN will turn on
after the counter has reached its preset value.
--] [-- Normally Open Contact
When used with a hardwired input, this instruction is off until there is a voltage applied
to the input. The bit address then goes high, or on, and the instruction becomes true. It
works the same way when it has the same address as an internal coil, except that the
coil must be turned on by logic in the program.
Allen-Bradley calls these normally open contacts XIC, or eXamine If Closed
instruction.
An XIC instruction can reference a hardwired input, a hardwired output, an internal coil
or a timer done bit, among others.
--]/[-- Normally Closed Contact
This is an inverted normally open contact.
When used with a hardwired input, this instruction is "true" until there is a voltage
applied to the input. It then goes low, or off, and becomes false.
It also can be used with an internal coil, becoming true when the coil is off and
becoming false when the coil is on.
Allen-Bradley calls these normally closed contacts XIO, or eXamine If Open
instructions.
-( )- Output Coil
When used with a hardwired output, this function is off until the logic in the program
allows it to turn on. It then becomes true, and will energize the device that is wired to
the respective output.
If it is used as an internal coil, it will toggle the instructions associated with it. That is, it
will close a normally open instruction and open a normally closed instruction.
Allen-Bradley calls these outputs OTE, or OutpuT Energize.
An OTE may be used with a hardwired output or an internal coil.
TRUE - A state that indicates an instruction is allowing logic to flow through it.

10
Also, if the logic in a rung turns on the output of the rung, then the rung is said to be
true.
FALSE - Without stating the obvious, this is the opposite of true.
OK, that was a lot to cover and for you to understand dont worry, this will start getting
easier.
Project Scope
We will use a batching operation as an example. Batching, as you may know, is the
term that describes the mixing of assorted ingredients to make a finished product.
There are techniques that are common to batching, whether you are making soap or
cake mix. We are going assume that the PLC program has been written that mixes a
hypothetical window cleaner. This program is named HYPERCLR_RSVIEW32. You will
find a printout of the program in the form of a PDF with the attachments you
downloaded with this book.
Someone has to define the batching procedure. Usually, a process engineer or a
chemical engineer does this. If the job of defining the project is done well, a document
called a Project Scope, or something similar, is generated.
It is extremely important that you clearly understand the entire process that is defined in
the scope. If you have any questions or concerns, you need to resolve those before you
begin programming. If you dont, then the responsibility of errors and omissions, and
perhaps the blame, may be placed on you.
If you bring up questions that result in changes to the scope, ask the originator to revise
the Project Scope. In fact, it is not uncommon for a Project Scope to undergo a number
of revisions.
If there is a change that is not documented in the scope, you should document it by
getting an email from the originator that explains the change. If nothing else, you want
to make sure you understand what the change involves.
For our project, the project scope is as follows.

11
Hyper-Glass Cleaner
Batching Project Scope
1. Goal
1.1. The goal of this project is to install a new automated batching system for
Hyper-Glass Cleaner.
2. Overview
3. Three ingredients (city water, ingredient QR and ingredient KM) are added in
specified amounts by weight to the Mixing Tank. After all the ingredients have been
added to the Mixing Tank, the mixture is blended by running the agitator for a
specified time. When the blending time is complete, the finished product is pumped
to the Filling Lines for bottling and final packaging.
4. With the exception of the E-Stop pushbutton, all operator control will be
accomplished by a touchscreen HMI.

12
5. System Components
Component
Valve AV-CW
Limit Switch LS-CW1
Limit Switch LS-CW2
Pump PUMP-QR
Valve AV-QR
Limit Switch LS-QR1
Limit Switch LS-QR2
Pump PUMP-KM
Valve AV-KM
Limit Switch LS-KM1
Limit Switch LS-KM2
Scales
Agitator MTR-MTA
Pump PUMP-MT
Valve AV-MT
Limit Switch LS-MT1
Limit Switch LS-MT2
Ultrasonic Level Sensor ULS-1
Function
Supplies city water to the Mixing Tank
Indicates when valve AV-CW is closed
Indicates when valve AV-CW is open
Pumps ingredient QR to the Mixing Tank
Supplies QR to the Mixing Tank
Indicates when valve AV-QR is closed
Indicates when valve AV-QR is open
Pumps ingredient KM to the Mixing Tank
Supplies KM to the Mixing Tank
Indicates when valve AV-KM is closed
Indicates when valve AV-KM is open
Provides the current weight of the
ingredients in the tank to the PLC
Blends the ingredients in the Mixing Tank
Pumps ingredient MT from the Mixing
Tank
Supplies the finished product to the Filling
Lines
Indicates when valve AV-MT is closed
Indicates when valve AV-MT is open
Indicates the level in the Mixing tank

13
6. Electrical Specifications
6.1.
The Ultrasonic Level Sensor ULS-1 provides a 0-10VDC signal to the PLC.
6.2.
The Scales provide a 0-10VDC signal to the PLC.
6.3.
All other input signals are 120VAC.
6.4.
All output signals are 120VAC. A dry contact type of output module is
required.
7. Detailed Sequence of Operations

7.1.
There are 5 steps in the Batching process:
7.1.1.
7.1.2.
7.1.3.
7.1.4.
7.1.5.
Add City Water

Add Ingredient QR
Add Ingredient KM
Mix the batch
Pump the batch to the filling lines
7.2.
To begin a new batch, the operator verifies that the system is ready and that
the Mixing Tank is ready to receive ingredients.
7.3.
The operator will then press the START BATCH pushbutton to begin the
batching process. The HMI indicates that the system is batching. No further
operator input is required.
NOTE: With the exception of the E-Stop pushbutton, all references in this
document to pushbuttons refer to pushbuttons shown on the HMI.
7.4.
Step 1 City Water
7.4.1.
Automatic valve AV-CW opens. The HMI displays the text ADDING
WATER.
7.4.2.
Valve AV-CW remains open until 1275 lbs. of City Water is in the
Mixing Tank. At that point, valve AV-CV closes.
7.4.3.
The open state of AV-CW is verified by limit switch LS-CW2. If LSCW2 is not made within a specified time after the valve was told to open, a

14
fault will be generated and the system will shut down. The HMI displays the
text ALARM.
7.4.4.
LS-CW1 will verify that the valve is closed within a specified time after
the valve was told to close. If the valve closure is not verified within the
specified time, a fault will be generated, the system will shut down and the
HMI displays the text ALARM.
7.4.5.
The time delays used in the Valve Fault detection logic are individually
adjustable in the HMI from 1 to 10 seconds.
7.4.6.
NOTE: All valves and their respective limit switches work in the
manner described above.
7.4.7.
After the City Water has been added, valve AV-CW closes. The HMI
no longer displays the text ADDING WATER.
7.5. Step 2 Ingredient QR
7.5.1.
Valve AV-QR is opened. After the valve position has been verified by
LS-QR2, PUMP-QR pumps 390 lbs. of ingredient QR into the Mixing Tank.
The HMI displays the text ADDING QR.
7.5.2.
After the ingredient QR has been added to the Mixing Tank, PUMP-QR
stops, valve AV-QR closes and the HMI no longer displays the text
ADDING QR.
7.6.
Step 3 Ingredient KM
7.6.1.
Valve AV-KM is opened. After the valve position is verified by LS-KM2,
PUMP-KM pumps 173 lbs. of ingredient KM into the mixing tank. The HMI
displays the text ADDING KM. This text is displayed while the pump is
running.
7.6.2.
After the ingredient KM has been added to the Mixing Tank, valve AVKM closes. PUMP-KM stops. The HMI no longer displays the text ADDING
KM.
7.7.
Step 4 Mixing
7.7.1.
After LS-KM1 indicates the valve has been closed, the agitator motor
MTR-MTA starts. The HMI displays the text BLENDING.
7.7.2.
The agitator runs for 3 minutes.

15
7.7.3.
After the agitator is finished, the HMI no longer displays the text
BLENDING.
7.8.
Step 5 Pump to filling lines
7.8.1.
Valve AV-MT will open. PUMP-MT turns on and pumps the entire
batch to the filling lines. The HMI displays the text PUMPING TO LINES.
7.8.2.
When the Ultrasonic Level Sensor ULS-1 indicates that the tank is
empty, PUMP-MT stops, valve AV-MT closes and the batching cycle is
complete. The HMI no longer displays the text PUMPING TO LINES and
the text SYSTEM READY is displayed.
8. Monitor Liquid Level
8.1.1.
During every phase of the batching process, the liquid level in the
Mixing Tank must be monitored by the PLC. If the level rises to greater than
95% of that Mixing Tanks capacity, the system will generate a fault and the
batching process must be halted. An alarm is indicated on the HMI.
9. Emergency Stop
9.1.1.
The operator may press the E-STOP pushbutton to stop the process
at any time.
10. HMI Specifications
10.1. General
10.1.1. The monitor is a touchscreen. With the exception of the E-Stop
pushbutton operator, all system control is performed with this monitor.
10.1.2.
The screens are to be designed to run at a resolution of 1024 x 768.
10.1.3.
Colors
10.1.3.1. All colors used on the HMI will adhere to the following RGB (red,
green, blue) values:
10.1.3.1.1.
10.1.3.1.2.
10.1.3.1.3.
10.1.3.1.4.
10.1.3.1.5.
10.1.3.1.6.
10.1.3.1.7.
Black (0, 0, 0)
White (255, 255, 255)
Gray (192, 192, 192)
Light Gray (224, 224, 224)
Red (240, 0, 0)
Green (0, 192, 0)
Yellow (255, 255, 0)
16
10.1.3.1.8. Blue (0, 102, 255)

10.1.3.1.9. Light Blue (102, 153, 255)
10.1.3.1.10. Teal (0, 255, 255)
10.1.4.
The screen background color is light gray.
10.1.5. The normal screen font is Arial 12, black. The minimum screen font is
Arial 10, black.
10.1.6. The status of the system is indicated on every screen. The font is Arial
18, bold, black.
10.1.7. If an alarm occurs, a yellow graphic with the text ALARM of sufficient
size is displayed to draw the attention of the operator. The font is Arial 16,
bold, red. A separate RESET button allows the operator to reset the alarm.
10.2. Equipment Symbols
10.2.1. All equipment symbols will be 3-D, shaded, and drawn from the
Graphic Libraries within RSView. Icons will be animated using colors to
indicate the state of the equipment.
10.2.2. The position and status of all valves are indicated by the fill color of the
respective valve icon. Valve icon colors are displayed as follows:
10.2.2.1. Closed: red
10.2.2.2. Open: green
10.2.2.3. Alarm: yellow
10.2.3. The status of all pumps and motors valves are indicated by the fill color
of the respective icon pump and motor icon colors are displayed as follows:
10.2.3.1. Stopped: red
10.2.3.2. Running: green
10.2.3.3. Alarm: yellow
10.3. Screen Descriptions
10.3.1. There are 6 screens in the system, described as follows:
10.3.1.1. Screen 1 - System View
10.3.1.1.1. An overall system view is shown, similar to the example
shown in this document.
10.3.1.1.2.
The Mixing Tank Weight is displayed numerically.

17
10.3.1.2. Screen 2 Agitator Process Run Time

10.3.1.2.1.1.
The agitator process run time is adjustable from 60
seconds to 360 seconds.
10.3.1.3. Screen 3 Valve Fault Detection Time Delays
10.3.1.3.1.1.1.
The time delays used in the Valve Fault
detection logic are individually adjustable from 1 to 10
seconds.
10.3.1.4. Screen 4 Maintenance
10.3.1.4.1.1.
Total runtime (in hours) for all motors is displayed.
10.3.1.5. Screen 5 Alarms

10.3.1.5.1.1.
An Alarm Screen is available to view all alarms. All
alarms and the status of each alarm are displayed. All alarm
events are logged and viewable for a period of 90 days.
10.3.1.5.1.2.
Valves are monitored for discrepancies. A
discrepancy occurs when a valve is commanded to open or
close, but the respective limit switch is not activated within the
specified time frame.
10.3.1.5.1.3.
The list of alarms is as follows:
10.3.1.5.1.3.1.
10.3.1.5.1.3.2.
10.3.1.5.1.3.3.
10.3.1.5.1.3.4.
10.3.1.5.1.3.5.
10.3.1.5.1.3.6.
10.3.1.5.2.
Valve AV-CW Discrepancy Fault

Valve AV-QR Discrepancy Fault
Valve AV-KM Discrepancy Fault
Valve AV-MT Discrepancy Fault
Mixing Tank Hi Level (above 95% of capacity)
Emergency Stop Activated
Screen 6 Batch Log
10.3.1.5.2.1.
The completion date and time of each batch is
recorded. This information is maintained for a minimum of 180
days.
10.3.1.5.3.
General
10.3.1.5.3.1.
The system name (Hyper-Glass Cleaner) is
displayed on each screen, using the company colors of blue
and light blue in the header. The navigation menu appears in
18
this area. All screens in the system are available from this
menu.
10.3.1.5.3.2.
The current batching step is displayed from all
screens.
10.3.1.5.3.3.
The current time and date is displayed on each
screen.
END OF HYPER-GLASS CLEANER BATCHING PROJECT SCOPE
Summarizing the Scope

So, what did we get from the scope? Lets summarize:
System Control
From an operational and programming standpoint, 1275 lbs. of water will be added to
the Mixing Tank. Then, 390 lbs. of QR will be added. The last ingredient is KM, of which
we will add 173 lbs.
After all the ingredients are in the Mixing Tank, we have to blend it.
After the batch is blended, we will the pump the finished product in the tank to the filling
lines.
We have to make sure all the valves open or close as commanded. If they do not, then
we need to shut down the process.
We need to make sure the level in the Mixing Tank doesnt get too high. If it does, we
must shut down everything.
We need to make sure that the respective valves for the pumps are open before we turn
on the pumps.
Though you may not do the PLC programming, it behooves you to understand the
process.

19
System Monitoring
From an HMI and SCADA standpoint, we see there are 6 screens required. The screen
resolution is 1024 x 768.
The monitor is a touchscreen. It would be best to have this monitor available to you
during development.
All colors are defined in term of RGB values. This is very helpful, and will save a lot of
headaches further on in the project, as there will be no conflicts over colors as long as
we stick with the RGB values we area given.
The icons that we will use on the screens are defined.
We will need to be able to change a few registers in the PLC through the HMI for the
agitator run time, valve fault times, etc.
Make sure that you clearly understand the scope of any project that is given. If
there are questions or gray areas, present these issues to your project manager
or your client before you begin development.
Beginning the Project

Before you start working on the HMI, you will need an electronic copy or a printed copy
of the PLC program, including a list of all of the data files and the list of tags.
The first thing we must do is to create the project.
It is also best if you are connected to the PLC already. The screens below assume that.
However, if you are not connected, you can skip some of these steps until later.
Begin by opening RSView32.
Click Start > All Programs > Rockwell Software > RSView32 > RSView32 Works
After RSView32 opens, click File > New
A dialog box will open. Make sure you choose your folder well; sometimes, you will run
into problems if you decide to mode the folder after you have started a project. There
are relative paths that RSView defines, so plan ahead. To be safe, you might want to
create a folder in your root directory that is dedicated to your project.
In this case, we will call our project hyperclr. Click on the New Folder icon
in the fields. Click Open.
and fill
20
This screen will appear.
Stretch the Project window down so that you may see more of the folders the window.

21
Double-click on the System
folder.

22
Double click on Channel.
Choose Network Type

These settings are dependant on how RSLinx is set up. In our case, the network type is
a DH-485. The Primary Communications Driver is AB_DF-1.
The default value of Channel 1 on the left is correct for our case. Also, this driver is the
Primary driver, so make sure Primary is checked in the Active Driver section.

23
Click OK.
Click Node
in the Project tree.
You can name a node pretty much anything your want. In our case, we will use 410.
Discuss this with the PLC programmer. Type 410 into the Name: field.
The channel we need to use for a direct serial connection is DH-485. Select that in the
dropdown box for Channel.
The Station: field refers to the station number of the PLC to which you are connected.
If RSLinx is running, you can click on the browse
the station number is 01.
button to find the PLC. In our case,
Select SLC 5 (Enhanced) for the processor in the Type field.

The default timeout value of 3.000 seconds is fine as is.
Click Accept and your screen should look like this:
Click Close.

24
These are all the basic settings you need to begin screen development. We will go over
the other functions in the Project tree later on.
Tags and the Tag Database

This is a very important section of this book. To fully understand how RSView functions
with a PLC, you must understand how tags work and how to manage and edit the tag
database.
There is a list of the tags used in this project in Excel format included with this book
called hyperclr-Tags.xls. Take a moment to look over this spreadsheet and understand
the attributes of each tag.
Tags are the links that connect RSView with the PLC; the tags are common to
both the PLC and RSView. The PLC and RSView have access to the values held
by the tags.
The value of the tag in RSView reads or writes the value of the bit (or the word) in the
PLC, and vice-versa.
When you define a tag that references a bit in the PLC, every time the bit in the PLC
turns on the tag value in RSView will change from 0 to 1.
Conversely, every time the bit in the PLC turns off, the tag value in RSView will change
from 1 to 0.
If you define an analog tag, such as the weight of the mixing tank in our example, as the
value of the word in the PLC changes, the value of the associated tag in RSView will
change.
You can also use RSView to send values to the PLC.
However, if the ladder logic is such that the value of the bit or word is determined by the
ladder logic, the value you send to the PLC will be overwritten. The PLC has priority.
We will cover this aspect later in the book.
Lets see how to create a tag and tie it to a bit in the PLC.
Look at the RSLogix printout for the Batching project. Find the section called RSLogix
500 Cross Reference Report - Sorted by Address. This section shows all the outputs,
inputs, internal bits, timers and words that we want to use to create tags in RSView.

25
Digital Tags
Lets start with Bit B3:0/0, which is the System Enable bit. As shown in Rung 0001, this
bit will turn on when the E-Stop is cleared and there is no System Fault.
We can create a tag that references this bit. Click on Tag Database
the Project tree. You will see a screen like this:
in
I like to use the Address Descriptor from the PLC program as the name. By doing it that
way, when you go back and forth from the PLC program to the RSView project, you see
the same names.
Type SystemEnable in the Name: field.
Notice that there is no space in the tag name. RSView does not allow this, or most other
special characters. To play it safe, use only alphanumeric characters, the underscore
(_) and the hyphen (-). Capitalize words to make it easy to read.
Tags come in three different types; analog, digital and string.

26
An analog tag refers to a numerical value. This can be a value from an analog input
card, a scaled value from an SCP instruction, a timer preset value or a timer
accumulated value, among others.
In our program, you would use this when creating a tag for the Tank Weight (word
N7:0), for example.
A digital tag refers to a binary value. This is used with any bit address, such as our
System Enable bit. It can also refer to an output, an input, a timer done bit or a timer
enabled bit.
String tags are ASCII strings or whole words. String tags are not used frequently.
Lets continue defining the SystemEnable tag.
Choose Digital as the type.
The Security attribute of the tag is shown as a dropdown menu. The security code lets
you restrict access to the tag to only those users who have access to the code assigned
to the tag. The default code (*) allows access to the tag to all users. You can leave the
default security setting as is.
Type System Enable in the description field. Some people wouldnt bother with adding
the description for this bit; after all, the Tag Name tells you the same thing. We will,
however, add descriptions for all of the tags.
The default values of Off and On are fine for this tag, as they are for most tags.
The default for the Data Source is Memory. In most cases, you will use Device, as
this tag references an address in the PLC.
Select Device.
A new set of fields appears. Click on the browse button
by the Node Name: field.
The only option that appears is Node 410. This node name appears because we
defined it earlier. Select that and click OK.
The default Scan Class: of A is fine.
Type in the address of the bit in the Address: field. It should appear just as it does in
the PLC program. For the System Enable bit, that address is B3:0/0.

27
The screen should look like this:
Click Accept.

28
The tag is now displayed as the first, and only, tag in the database.
Click Next and you may continue adding tags.

I would like to note that it is possible export the Documentation Database from RSLogix
and import it into RSView.
However, this is a complex process and requires Excel to manipulate the file that is
exported from RSLogix. It is a time consuming process that is beyond the scope of this
book. Depending on the number of tags that you have to import, it could be worthwhile
to go through that process.
For the time being, we will simply add the remaining tags manually. If you have an
electronic copy of the Cross Reference, use copy and paste (CTRL-C and CTRL-V) to
enter the information into the tag database. This will speed up the process and eliminate
typographical errors.
RSView32 is a bit stubborn with tags that have already been defined. Once you have
accepted a tag, you cannot go back and change its name.

29
If you have a tag that has the wrong name, the easiest way is to duplicate the tag,
rename it using the correct name and then delete the original tag. This can only be done
if you have not used the tag elsewhere in the project.
To do this, highlight the tag you would like to correct.
Click on the Duplicate Tag
button.
Type in the correct name and click Accept.

Highlight the tag with the wrong name and click on the Delete Tag
button with caution there is no Undo.
button. Use this
As you are entering tags in the database, make sure your tag names are correct
before you accept the tag. Double-check the tag names for accuracy and typographical
errors.
To add a new tag, click on the Insert Row

remainder of the internal bits (B3:x/x).
button. Enter all the tags for the
Add the tags for all of the inputs (I:x/x) and outputs (O:x/x) in the same way.
Timers
Timers offer a number of possibilities with RSView. We can create digital tags to look at
the enable bits (EN) and the done bits (DN) just like any other digital bit. However, we
can also create analog tags to look at the preset (PRE) value of the timer and the
accumulated (ACC) value of the timer.
Lets start by creating tags for the digital parts of timer T4:0. Look at the cross reference
printout and you will find that T4:0 is the timer used to determine the Agitator Run Time.
The address of the enable bit for this timer is T4:0/EN. As you will recall, this bit turns on
when the preceding logic in the rung is true and the timer is enabled.
To add this tag, click on the Insert Row
button. Type AgitatorRunTimeTimerEN in
the Tag Name field. The timer word in the tag may seem a bit redundant, but you will
see later on how important it is to identify this tag as a timer.

30
Choose Digital as the type.

Type Agitator Run Time Timer Enabled in the description field.
The default labels of Off and On are fine for this tag.
In the Data Source section, choose Device as the type. The Node Name is 410, as it is
for all the tags in this project. The default value of A in the scan class is fine.
Type T4:0/EN in the address field.
Your screen should look like this.
Click Accept.
Now we can create the digital tag for the done (DN) bit of the timer. The easiest way is
to duplicate the tag we just made.
Click the Duplicate Tag
button.
Change the tag name to read AgitatorRunTimeTimerDN.

Change the description to read Agitator Run Time Timer Done.
31
Change the address to T4:0/DN and click Accept.

Analog Tags
We can now create our first analog tag.
We want to look at the preset (PRE) value of timer T4:0. As you may recall, the preset
value is the value that the timer must reach before the done bit turns on.
This is the value that, according to the scope, we have to make available in the HMI so
that it can be adjusted.
By creating a tag now, later on we can set up a field in one of our RSView screens that
references this tag. That allows someone to change how long the agitator motor will run.
Start by duplicating the tag we just made. Click the Duplicate Tag
button.
Type AgitatorRunTimeTimerPRE in the Name field.

Type Agitator Run Time Timer Preset for the description.
Choose Analog as the type. You will see some new options appear.

32
You can limit the range of minimum and maximum values that the end user can specify.
The project scope says that the range must be adjustable from 60 seconds to 360
seconds.
Since the time base for timer T4:0 is 1.0 seconds, enter 60 for the minimum and 360
for the maximum.
Type the units in which the tag value is measured. In this case it is seconds. This text
label is for display only. It has no other effect.
The default setting for the data type can be left alone. RSView will automatically assign
a data type based on the address specified in the Data Source.
For the Data Source type, choose Device. The Node Name is 410.
Type in T4:0/PRE for the address. Your screen should look like this.
Click Accept.
Though it is not required by the scope, if we wanted to watch the timers progress when
the agitator is running, we would need a tag that shows the timers accumulated value.

33
Start by duplicating the tag we just made. Change the fields to make it look like the
screenshot below.
Click Accept.
You might wonder why the minimum value was left at 60, since the accumulated value
of the timer will certainly start at zero. That is because the minimum and maximum
values for an analog tag do not affect the value that RSView reads from the PLC. In
other words, it doesnt matter what the min/max values are; RSView will still read and
display whatever value is in the timers accumulated word.
We will set up the Valve Fault Timers in the same way. Start by duplicating the Agitator
Run Time Timer Preset tag.
Name the new tag CityWaterValveAV-CWFaultDelay.
Put City Water Valve AV-CW Fault Delay in the Description field.
Change the minimum value to 1 (as stated in the Project Scope).
Change the maximum value to 10 (again, as stated in the Project Scope).
Change the address to T4:1/PRE and click Accept.
Duplicate the tag Agitator Run Time Timer Done. Use this to create a tag for Valve
AV-CW fault timers done (DN) bit. Name this tag CityWaterValveAV-CWFault
In a similar manner, create tags for all the valve fault timers.
The last tags we have to create are the analog tags for the Mixing Tank Weight and the
Mixing Tank Liquid Level.
34
Start by creating a new tag by inserting a row. Click the Insert Row
button.
Name the tag WeightOfMixingTankPounds.

Choose Analog for the type.
Enter the description Weight of Mixing Tank (lbs.).
Use 0 for a minimum value and 2200 for a maximum value, since the maximum
capacity of the tank is 2200 lbs.
The default value for Scaling, Offset and Data Type are appropriate.
Units are pounds.
Choose Device for the Data Source type. The Node Name is 410 and the Scan
Class is A.
The address we want to use is the result word of the SCP instruction we used in the
SLC program. That address is N7:0.
Either create a new tag or duplicate the one you just made for the Liquid Level. Since
this is a percent full value, set the minimum to 0, the maximum to 100 and the units to
%.

35
The address is N7:1. It will look like this when you are done.
You have completed a major phase of this project. Entering the tags is a tedious, but
necessary, part of the process. It starts to get a little more interesting from this point on.
Creating the Screens

Before you start creating screens in RSView, you will need to have a general idea of
what will be on each screen. Spend a few minutes sketching out the screens on a full
size note pad this will help you visualize the entire project and save time as you
generate the screens in RSView.
As you develop the screens, it is much faster if you set your monitor resolution higher
than the resolution required by the project. This lets you see the whole window of the
screen you are developing, without having to constantly use the scroll bars.
Lets review the HMI Screens section of the scope to find out how many screens we will
need. I have created a table the shows the scope requirements on the left and the
required RSView screen on the right. This is another way of dissecting the scope to
make sure we catch everything.

36
Scope Requirements
An overall system screen is shown at start
up.
Screen Name
System View
Valve icon colors are displayed as follows:
System View
Closed: red
Open: green
Alarm: yellow
Pump icon colors are displayed as follows:
System View
Stopped: red
Running: green
Alarm: yellow
The Mixing Tank weight is displayed.
System View
The agitator run time is adjustable from 60

seconds to 360 seconds.
Agitator Process Run Time
Adjust the time delays used in the Valve

Fault detection logic, from1 to 10 seconds.
Valve Fault Detection Time Delays
Total runtime for all motors is displayed.
Maintenance
An Alarm Screen is available to view all

alarms and alarm history.
Alarms
A log screen will show the completion time

of each batch.
Batch Log
The current batching step is displayed

from all screens.
(all screens)
A navigation menu, located at the top, is

available on every screen.
(all screens)
The current time and date is displayed on

each screen.
(all screens)

37
Screen 1 System View

In the Project window, expand the Graphics folder. Double-click on Display.

38
A new window with an untitled display is created. Right-click on the new window and
select Display Settings.
This will appear:
Many of the default values are fine, but we need to set a few. Some of them you may
want to set for ease of development, such as the title bar.
Display Type:
It is less confusing for the operator if you use Replace. This keeps windows from
getting stuck behind other windows.
Allow Multiple Running Copies:
For our application, there is no need for this.
Cache After Displaying:
In large applications, this could help speed things up. It will consume extra RAM on the
PC that is running RSView, though.

39
Title Bar:
You want to leave this on during development, with the System Menu and Minimize
Buttons enabled.
However, at runtime (when RSView is actually running in a live plant environment), you
will probably disable this, as it allows more access than the operators need.
Check Size to Main Window at Runtime and Show Last Acquired Value.
Size:
Specify the correct size of the monitor.
Resize:
Check Allow Display to be Resized. This will compensate for minor hardware
variations and make sure that the screen will resize to fill the monitor.
Position:
In most cases, set this to 0, 0.
Security Code:
Leave as is for the time being.
Background Color:
Though it is not obvious, the third square from the upper left is the proper shade of gray.
It would be beneficial to you have a good graphics editor, such as a lite

version of PhotoShop. Become proficient enough to sample colors so that you can
verify the RGB values of the colors you use.
Click OK to close accept the values and close the window.

Save the display as System View.

40
Designing the Master Layout

There are certain screen elements that will be common to every screen, as indicated by
the scope. These are the batching step, the current date and time and the navigation
menu.
You have to consider a number of factors when designing the master layout.
Elements of the master layout must be consistent from screen to screen. For example, if
you have decided on a header size of 1024 x 128, originating from coordinates 0, 0,
then each screen needs to conform to that size and position. That appears obvious, but
I am amazed at how many times this is ignored.
RSView32 uses a modified Cartesian coordinate system to define position.

The origin (0, 0) is located in the top, left corner of the screen.
As you go to the right, the X value increases.
As you go down, the Y value increases.
For example, a stated position of (100, 250) is 100 pixels to the right and 250
pixels down from the origin.
Even if a header is misplaced by one pixel, it will appear to jump when you are going
from screen to screen. This is undesirable and certainly not very professional.
The overall size of the header is important, usually with smaller being better. Dont let it
overwhelm a screen. Besides, a large header will make things difficult as you try to add
content (valve icons, pump icons, etc.) to your screen. You will run out of room.
It may be useful to talk with a graphic designer during this process. They have studied
graphic layouts and designs, and may offer some good advice.
However, on the other hand, realize that sometimes graphics designers focus too much
on looks and sacrifice functionality. Dark gray text on a light gray background may be
artistically appealing, but it is much more important for the operator to be able to read
the display from 10 feet away. Use your good judgment.
Color Blindness
Before we get too far into our master layout, lets think about color blindness, as it is
prevalent among many men. Though our project scope did not address this, as
designers we must take this into consideration.
41
There are a couple of ways to get solve this problem. We could use icons that have
different shapes, depending on whether they are on or off. In addition to being a
different color, a pump icon that is off could have a round hole cut out in the middle,
such as is shown below.
Here is what the pumps shown above might look like to a person who is colorblind.
The black dot in the middle of the pump that is off will be appreciated.
Another option is to add text. Not only does this help the person who might be
colorblind, it obviously confirms the state of the equipment to those even with true color
vision.
Since the scope states that we must use standard RSView icons, we will use text to
define the state of the equipment.

42
Designing the Header

The scope says, The system name (Hyper-Glass Cleaner) is displayed on each
screen, using the company colors of blue and light blue in the header. The navigation
menu appears in this area. All screens in the system are available from this menu.
If the System View display is not open, click on the Project window, open the
Graphics folder and click once on Display (double-clicking will create a new, untitled
display).
All the display graphics files are displayed to the right. Double-click on System View.
Click on the rectangle icon
from the toolbar. As with other Windows programs, you
may also find the same command by using the dropdown menus at the top of the
screen it is your choice.
Click and drag to form a rectangle at the top of the display. Dont worry about getting it
exactly the right size, as we will adjust it.
Right-click on the rectangle and choose Attributes > Fill Color.

43
The basic color palette appears.
Click on Define Custom Colors >> .

Type the RGB values specified in the scope for blue (Red 0, Green 102, Blue 255) into
the RGB fields. Click Add to Custom Colors

44
By default, RSView places a border around most objects, such as rectangles, circles
and polygons. In some cases, this is undesirable. Right-click on the rectangle and
choose Attributes > Line Color
Click on the blue custom color and click OK.
Using the grid and turning on snap helps place objects accurately on the screen. From
the View dropdown menu, choose Grid Settings. The default setting is 10 pixels. This
will be fine for now. Select Snap to Grid. This limits the placement of handles to the
points of the grid.
You will find that when placing or resizing some objects, you will have to turn snap off.

45
Re-size the rectangle by using the handles on the corners and sides of the rectangle.
Click and drag until the rectangle fills the top section of the screen.
It should look something like this.
Unfortunately, RSView does not offer the option of specifying the height, width and
position of a graphic, except by using animation, which is only seen at runtime. You just
have to pull the handles around until the graphic fits.
Adding the System Name
Select the Text
button from the toolbar. The cursor changes to a horizontal bar.
Click on the blue header and type Hyper-Glass Cleaner.
Change the font color and size by clicking on the Select
on the text you just entered. Choose Attributes > Font.
button and right-clicking
The standard Windows font selector window appears.

46
Lets try Bold 12 to start.

To add the light blue company color, select the blue header graphic. Copy and paste it
by pressing CTRL-C, then CTRL-V. Of course, you can also use any other Windows
technique for cutting and pasting.
Drag it down and change the fill color. Create a new custom color with the RGB value of
102, 153, 255. Select the next blank square under the Custom Colors area and click
Add to Custom Colors. Do this carefully, as you may inadvertently overwrite existing
custom colors.
Also, change the line color to light blue.
Adjust the height of your new light blue rectangle to be about half the existing height.
Move it to the top of the display.
In the process, you probably covered the text Hyper-Glass Cleaner. The text is not
showing because it is behind your new light blue rectangle.
Select the light blue rectangle. From the drop-down menu, choose Arrange > Send to
Back.
Now the text should appear, but the light blue rectangle is gone. Select the original blue
rectangle and send it to the back.

47
That process may seem a bit convoluted, but you will find yourself rearranging elements
frequently to get them to appear properly.
The screen should look something like this.
Clearly, the text is too small. The size can be changed by selecting it and dragging the
handles. This is convenient for getting a rough idea, but I would not leave it like that. At
runtime, text that was sized this way may be displayed improperly. Stretch it and distort
it all you want, but always use the Attributes > Font menu for the final sizing.
In placing this text, you will find that the snap function is too limiting finer resolution is
needed. Also, trying to place the text with a mouse is difficult.
From the View menu, de-select Snap On.
Select the text, but leave the cursor inside the selected area. You can then use the
arrow keys to move the element a pixel at a time.
The Navigation Menu
There is certainly a wide range of options when it comes to creating navigation menus.
Navigation, or how we get from screen to screen, comes in many forms; some methods
are good and some are not so good. I have a few principles that I feel are important.

48
Navigation should be obvious. If the user has to stop his train of thought and search
for the button or element that needs to take him to where he wants to go, there is a
problem.
Multiple paths to the same destination are OK. If the user can get to the alarms
screen by clicking the alarm button, but also get to it by clicking on a valve in alarm, that
is totally acceptable. In fact, multiple navigational paths add value to an HMI, simply
because not every one thinks the same.
Always try to provide immediate feedback to the user after a navigation link is
clicked. Most times, having the cursor change to an hourglass is sufficient.
Make it immediate obvious to the user that he has reached the screen he was
seeking. For example, you might put a title on each screen.
Keep the navigation menu consistent from screen to screen. The button, or link,
that takes you to Maintenance section, for example, should always be in the same
place.
User testing is critical to creating good navigation. This is the single most important
step in designing the navigation for an HMI. When you have enough screens developed
so that the navigation is in place, grab some co-workers and ask them to individually
look at your design. Put them in front of your computer and let them poke around your
system.
Here is the key to successful user testing dont provide any instruction; just watch.
Take note of where they click, and how long it takes them to get where they want to go
Remember that it is not the users job to learn your thought process so that they
can use your system. It is your responsibility to create an HMI that
accommodates the users thought process.
For example, if you see a test user pause for more than a couple of seconds, trying to
find where to click, that is a problem. If they have to ask you how to navigate to a given
screen, that is a big problem.
Granted, our design is relatively simple. Chances are that few people will have a
problem navigating a system with only six screens. In larger systems, however, user
testing is obviously even more important.
If someone has a problem with your navigation technique, dont try to defend your
design. Just fix it. More likely than not, if one of your test users has a problem, then
somebody in your customers plant will have the same problem.

49
Using Pushbuttons for Navigation

This application will run on a touch screen. Since we have just a few screens, a row of
pushbuttons in the header should be appropriate.
We have six screens, so we need six pushbuttons positioned in the header. Click on the
Button
icon in the toolbar. Click and drag in the header. When the button size is
about right, release the mouse button and the Button Configuration window appears.
The General tab lets us decide what style of button to use.

Checking the Capture cursor box keeps the cursor on the button after the mouse
button has been pressed. Leaving the box unchecked allows the user to change his
mind and move the cursor off of the button with the mouse button still pressed.
The Highlight features places a rectangle around the button at runtime when it has
focus. Leaving it checked is usually desirable.
The Index number indicates the order that this button will be selected when the user is
using the Tab key. This wont be an issue for us.
The Action tab is the section that defines the programming behind the button; that is,
what we want to happen when the button is pressed. We will come back and address
that later. Right now, we need to concentrate on getting the layout finished.

50
Click on the Up Appearance tab. Type System View into the text field.
Click OK.

51
The screen should look like this.
Select the button and make 5 copies of it. Roughly place the buttons in a row beside the
original button.
One at a time, right-click on each button and change the text in the Up Appearance
text box to the screen names, as follows:
Agitator Process Run Time
Valve Fault Detection Time Delays
Maintenance
Alarms
Batch Log

52
The screen looks like this.
We have a problem. The text wont fit in the Agitator Process Run Time and Valve
Fault Detection Time Delays buttons.
We have some options. We could make the font smaller, and perhaps make buttons
taller. We could use abbreviations in the text.
We could shorten the length of the other buttons, and lengthen the buttons in which the
text wont fit.
The only way to really solve the problem is to try these options and see which one
works out the best.

53
After working with the design for a while, you might come up with something like this:
An exception had to be made in the case of the Valve Fault Detection Time Delays
button. There simply was not enough room to include the word detection. In a real
world situation, I would make it a point to discuss this with the client or customer and get
his approval.
The background color of the pushbuttons in RSView can be specified in the Button
Configuration window for each. However, the color palette that appears does not
include the custom colors that we made earlier. To get the background color of the
button to match the blue specified in the scope, you must use a background bitmap for
the button.
First, make a bitmap of the RGB color you need. I used PhotoShop, but you can use
any image editor. The size is not too important, as RSView will scale it to fit the button.
100 pixels by 50 pixels is fine.

54
Click the Import button and find the bitmap you made. Your custom bitmap is now part
of your button.

55
Time and Date

The current batching step, the time and the date has to be displayed on each screen.
RSView has a special function to display the time and date.
Click on the Numeric Display
button. Click and drag to form rectangle in the
upper right corner of the System View display.
This window appears.
Click on Tags.
A list of all the user-defined tags (the ones we created earlier) appears.
Double-click on the folder icon in the upper right to expand the folder. A system folder
appears. Open it.

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Scroll in the list of system tags until you find system\Time.
Highlight it and click OK.

We are taken back to the Numeric Display window.
Youll see that we could have simply typed the tag name into the Expression field.
Create a numeric display field for the date in the same way. This time, though, use the
tag system/Date. Also, select Left in the Justification area.
Align the two fields on the display.

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A note about time and date fields: it takes some tweaking to get them to display
properly. At runtime, when you are actually connected to a PLC, make sure that
everything shows properly.
Batching Step
We have to display the batching step in which the system is currently operating.
The batching steps, including the state of the system being ready to batch, from the
scope, are:
System Ready
Add City Water
Add Ingredient QR
Add Ingredient KM
Mix the batch
Pump the batch to the filling lines
Since all of these messages will appear in the same area of the screen, it is preferable
to have the messages about the same length. Lets change Pump the batch to the
filling lines to Pump batch to filling. Chances are that the plant personnel call that area
Filling, anyway. This is another point that should be discussed with, and approved by
the client.
We will adjust the tense to the present:
System Ready
Adding City Water
Adding Ingredient QR
Adding Ingredient KM
Mixing Batch
Pumping Batch To Filling
This is the text we will use to show the status messages of the system.
Click on the Text button in the tool bar, pick a place on the screen and type System
Idle. Change the font to Arial 18 Bold Black. We can always adjust it later.
Copy and paste the text element five times. Change the text in the copies to match the
remaining states of the system.
Use the Rectangle button on the toolbar to make a rectangle that is large enough for the
longest message to fit in. In this case, that message is Pumping Batch To Filling.
Change the line color to black and the fill color to white. Again, dont worry about getting
the size exactly right we will tweak it later.

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Your screen should look something like this.
Our goal is to place all of the messages in the rectangle and, through the Animation
function of RSView, control the visibility of each message. Depending on the state of the
system, only one message at a time will be visible. The remainder of the messages will
not be seen.

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Right-click on the System Ready text and choose Animation > Visibility.
The Animation window appears. As you can see, there are a number of attributes that
we can change with animation. This is a powerful function of RSView and we will use it
frequently throughout our project.
You can change the position of an element, the fill percentage (to make your own bar
graph, for example), the color, the width, the height or define a command that is
executed when the element is clicked.
You can define just a tag to initiate the animation or write a complex Boolean
expression. In this case, we will just define a tag.

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Click on the Tags button. Scroll to the SystemReady tag.
Click OK.
The tag SystemReady appears in the Expression box.

When a tag appears just by itself, as it does in this case, it really forms the expression
SystemReady = 1. In other words, the expression is true when the bit in the PLC that
is assigned to SystemReady is on.
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You could amend the expression to say SystemReady = 1 and RSView would respond
the same.
Note the Expression True State section and you will see that we have a choice of
Invisible or Visible. What is checked in this box is what will happen when the
expression is true. We want our text to be visible when the SystemReady bit is on, so
we will leave Visible checked.
Click Apply and then click Close.
In a similar fashion, add animation to the remainder of the text messages. Adding City
Water is attached to the tag BatchStep1. Adding Ingredient QR is tied to
BatchStep2, and so on.
Now we have to align all of the messages and put them in the rectangle.
Select the rectangle. From the top menu, choose Arrange > Send to Back. We want to
make sure that all of the messages are in front of the box so that they are not hidden.
Click and drag the cursor so that you have selected all the messages and the rectangle.
From the top menu, choose Arrange > Align Center. This will re-position all the
elements so that all of their centers are on the same point.

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It now appears that the rectangle is a bit too tall. Resize it to a more appropriate aspect
ratio and your screen looks like this. Also, lets move it to the upper right section of the
screen.
Yes, it looks like a mess; at runtime, though, they will sort themselves out.
Alarm Indication
If there is a fault, or alarm, we want to make it very clear to the operator. Lets add a text
box to the header in bright colors that people will be able to see from across a room.
Draw a rectangle in the header area between the Hyper-Glass Cleaner text and the
time display. Change the line color (border) of the rectangle to red. Change the fill color
to yellow.
Put the text ALARM inside of the rectangle. Change the font size to 16 and the color to
red. Select both the text and rectangle and align the centers of the elements using the
drop down menu as we did with the batch step messages.
We will use animation to make this visible when a fault is detected in the PLC. We want
the box and the text to be invisible if there is no alarm. If there is an alarm, we want
them both to be visible.

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We could set the animation for both elements individually to accomplish that. However,
RSView will let us group objects together. That way, we only have to assign one
animation to the group.
Select both the rectangle and the text by clicking and dragging a selection box around
the two elements. From the top menu, choose Arrange > Group. You will see that now
only one set of re-sizing handles appear around the group.
Right-click on the rectangle or text and chose Animation > Visibility. Click on the Tags
button and choose SystemFault. Click Apply and then Close.
If for some reason you have to change an attribute of the group, such as the fill color of
the rectangle, you will have to Ungroup the group, edit the elements, re-group them
and re-animate it.
Here is how the alarm rectangle might look.

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Resetting the Alarm

Since the SystemFault bit is latched on in the PLC when there is an alarm, we need a
way to clear the alarm. In looking at the PLC program, we see that the ResetAlarm bit
will accomplish that.
We can make an object to do just that. In an effort to use objects from the standard
RSView library, we will use a pushbutton from there.
In the Project window, open the Graphics folder. Click on the Library icon. In the
right side of the window, scroll down to the Buttons Industrial display and open it.
This display appears.
Lets use the style in the lower left hand corner.

Simply click and drag the Stop button onto your System View display. We will need
to change the color of the button and the text, so the object will have to be ungrouped.
Select it and use the top menu (Arrange > Ungroup) to achieve this.
Select the red circle and change it to black, which is the typical standard color of a reset
button.
Edit the text to say RESET.

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Select all the elements of the pushbutton and align the middles of the elements. Group
the elements.
Now we can animate the button to reset the fault logic in the PLC. Right click on the
new button and choose Animation > Touch.

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This window appears.
We have the option of a Press Action, a Repeat Action and a Release Action. In
this case, all we care about is press and release.
Click on the button with the dots to the right of the Press Action box. The Command
Wizard window appears. Open the System folder. Open the Tag Database folder.
Click on the Set command, as we want to write a value to a tag.
Click next

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Type a 1 in the Set to Value or Label field. Check the Verify box.
We have configured this pushbutton to set the ResetAlarm tag to 1 when the button is
pressed. Also, RSView will verify that the bit in the PLC was set to 1.
Since we want this to be a momentary action, we will configure the Release Action to
change the value to 0 when we release the button.
In the Release Action field, use the same method we used to configure the Press
Action, except set the value to 0.

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The window looks like this.
If we were to have chosen a normal RSView pushbutton instead of a graphic, we could

have used the built-in Momentary On (Press 1, Release 0) function of the Button
Configuration window. Graphic elements dont provide such a direct option, though the
end result is the same.

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Start Batch and Stop Batch Pushbuttons

We will use the same method to create the Start and Stop pushbuttons for the system.
Select the Reset pushbutton, copy it and paste it twice.
Select the top pushbutton, and click Arrange > Ungroup from the top menu.
You will get a message saying that Un-grouping will delete animation from this group.
Do you wish to continue?
Click Yes.
Right-click on the black circle in the button. Choose Attributes > Fill Color from the
menu. Fill the circle with the specified green color.
Edit the text to say Start.

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Select all the individual elements of the push button and align them on center (Arrange
> Align Center.
Put the elements in one group.
As we did with the Reset button, animate the group with touch. Use the StartBatch
tag. Since we also want this to be a momentary switch, set the Press Action to &Set
StartBatch 1 /V and the Release Action to be &Set StartBatch 0 /V.
Repeat the steps with the other copy of the Reset button. Use the red specified in the
scope (240,0,0,). Associate the touch animation with the StopBatch tag.
How we position and arrange our buttons is important. Typically, the stop button is
located at the lower right of any arrangement. The reset button would be placed first,
since if there is an alarm, nothing will work until the alarm is reset.
Of course, the client or customer has the final say. Here is how our display looks so far:
This completes the master layout. As we add the details of the individual screen design,
we may find that we will have to alter the master layout slightly. We wont concern
ourselves with that until a problem arises.

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Screen 1 Content
We will use the layout provided with the scope as a guide to create the content for the
System View screen.
Lets start with the larger elements first. We need three tanks; one for ingredient QR,
one for ingredient KM and the mixing tank.
In the Project window, open the Graphics folder. Click on Library. On the right side
of the window, scroll down to Tanks and double-click on it. Choose the tank pictured
below, since this most matches the type of tanks that already exist in the system.
The graphic is going to be a bit large for our layout, so you can use the re-sizing
handles to make it smaller.
Copy the graphic and paste it twice. Re-size the copies to make them reasonably match
the basic dimensions of the existing QR and KM tanks.
Label the tanks.

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Open the Valves display in the Library folder of the Project window and drag the
valve into the System Display window, as shown below.
We are going to add the limit switches, text and animation to one valve first. Then we
can make copies to use for the remaining valves.
Zoom in on the valve by using the Zoom In button on the toolbar. Draw a small
rectangle near the valve to use for a limit switch, as shown in the sample screen from
the scope. Set the fill color and the line color to gray.
Click the Line
button on the tool bar and draw a line from the rectangle to the
valve. Select both the rectangle and the line and make a copy. From the Arrange dropdown menu, choose Flip Horizontal. Move the copy to the right side of the valve.
Add the text that is required for valve AV-CW. The device name AV-CW is in the
normal screen font size of number 12, as defined by the scope. The limit switch names
use the smaller font size of number 10.

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Now we need to animate the valve. Each valve will be displayed in one of 3 states;
open, closed or alarm.
The valve will be green in the open state, red in the closed and yellow in the alarm
state.
The PLC program already has tags available that we can use to determine what state
the valve is in.
Start by copying just the valve body of the graphic. Type CLOSED just below the
graphic in Arial black, size 10. Align the centers of the text and the graphic.

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Select the graphic and change the fill color to red. You should have something like this.

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Make two more copies. Change the color of the first copy to green and change the text
to OPEN.
Change the color of the second copy to yellow and change the text to ALARM.
Align the centers of the respective text and valve graphic, and then group the valve with
its text. This is how your screen should look.
You might wonder why we need to leave the gray icon in place, as we will only have
three states of the valve. Some valves are slow, and it takes a while for the valve to
make the transition from one state to another. That means there could be moments
where the valve is neither open, closed nor in alarm. That means that none of the red,
green or yellow icons would be shown. Well, we dont the valve to disappear from the
screen, so we will leave the gray valve graphic in place.
Some designs consider the transition from open to close, or vice versa, as another state
and use another color icon, such as orange, to indicate this state. That was not
specified in the scope, so we will just leave the gray icon in place.

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Animate the visibility of the closed group using the tag CityWaterValveAVCWClosedLS-CW1.
When the limit switch LS-CW1 is actuated, this tag will be on and the graphic will be
visible.
Animate the open valve graphic in a similar way using the tag CityWaterValveAVCWOpenLS-CW2.
Animate the alarm valve graphic with the tag CityWaterValveAV-CWFault.
The trick now is to place all of the valve graphics exactly on top of the original gray
graphic, making sure that there is not even a pixel difference as they are aligned. Before
you start, though, make sure that the yellow alarm graphic has priority. If you look at the
logic in the PLC program, you will see that it is possible that the valve could be in alarm,
yet also be actuating the closed or open limit switch. In that case, we want to the alarm
state to be shown.
Make sure that the alarm graphic is in front by selecting it and choosing Arrange > Bring
to Front from the top menu.

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When you are done, the valve will look like this.
At runtime, the graphics will sort themselves out and only the correct one will be shown.

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Make three copies of the entire valve composition. These copies will become the
graphics for valves AV-QR, AV-KM and AV-MT. Change the text as appropriate. To
animate the graphics, you will have to drag the different colored valve icons off of the
gray valve icon and apply the animation. When the animation is complete, align all of
the icons as you did with valve AC-CW.
Place the new valves near the corresponding tanks. Your screen should look like this.

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Pump Icons
Open the Pumps graphic from the standard graphics library.
Select the pump icon that matches the icon shown in the scope and drag it to your
display. It is much too large, so use the handles to resize it.
Lets start by making this the icon for the KM pump (PUMP-KM). Add the identifying text
to the pump. Add the text identifying the state of the pump (ON). Copy the graphic to
another area of the screen.
We wont need an alarm state for the pump, as the scope did not request this. We will
also not need to have a gray icon, as the pump will only be either on or off.
Change the fill color of the running pump icon (ON) to green. Make a group from the
icon and the ON text. Animate the visibility if the group to be visible when tag
RunKMPumpPUMP-KM is true.

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Change the fill color of the stopped pump icon (OFF) to red. Make a group from the icon
and the OFF text. Animate the visibility if the group to be invisible when tag
RunKMPumpPUMP-KM is true.
Make two copies of the pump for PUMP-QR and PUMP-MT. Change the text and the
animation appropriately.

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Your screen should now look something like this.

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Agitator Motor
Open the Motors Reliance display from the graphics library. Select and drag the motor
that matches the icon shown in the scope. As with the pumps, create a green icon and a
red icon, label and animate as required.

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Scales
The last primary element we need to add is a display for the scales, showing the actual
weight of the tank.
From the top menu, click Objects > Advanced Objects > Numeric Display. This is the same
type of display we used for the date and time.
Click Tags and select the tag WeightOfMixingTankPounds. Set the field length to 4.
Create a black rectangle, as is shown in the scope. Change the font color of the
numeric display to red and center in the rectangle. Adjust the font size as necessary.

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Draw a line from the numeric display to the tank, and you screen should look like this.

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Adding Piping
Open the Pipes 3 graphic from the library.
Use the smaller set at the bottom of the graphic. Place the pipes as necessary. You
may have to change the length, but dont try to get the pipes to mate up exactly with
the other elements. It goes much more quickly if you leave the pipes a bit long and
simply send them to the back, behind the element to which you are connecting.

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After adding the piping, rearranging the icons and adjusting of fonts, here is what we
have.
The final decision on how the elements look is, of course, up to the client or your
supervisor.
By the way, the frame for the RESET / START / STOP buttons is actually a standard
RSView pushbutton. It was stretched to fit and then a bitmap was created. It helps to
segregate the control buttons, and give the operator a sense that he is using a
traditional pushbutton station.

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RSView lets you simulate, to a point, what the display will look like at runtime. Click the
Test Run
button and the display looks like this.
As you can see, there are a number of graphic elements that are shown improperly, or
not shown at all. If we had a PLC connected, and these elements were still shown
incorrectly, we would know that these elements have some sort of problem associated
with them. Perhaps an element is associated with a tag that is improperly addressed in
the PLC. At any rate, each of these elements would need to be investigated to find the
problem.
In a case where there are many problems and we know that we should be
communicating with a PLC, the first place we would check is the primary configuration
to make sure we have any connection at all with the PLC.
This test mode is handy for checking the navigation buttons. RSView will find and
display all the screens, even if it is not connected to the PLC.
Click the Normal
button to return to the normal editing mode.
Review of the System View Display

Now it is a good time to get some feedback from the client.
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It is a good idea to create a mock-up showing the system in normal operation, and
another mockup showing what the system looks like when there is an alarm. This helps
people to easily visualize how the screens will change.
If you dont have access to the PLC, which would allow you to show the different
conditions, then create a copy of your System View display. Save this display as
System View Review Normal. Save another as System View Review Alarm.
Do what you have to do to create a mock-up, such as deleting the date and time
numeric displays and creating a mock time and date using plain text. Put the valves and
motors in a state that is reasonable. All you need are screenshots to print and present
to the client.
In reality, this would be the first step you would take in a project, especially if you did not
have a sample screen supplied with your scope. For the purpose of this book and
learning how to program RSView, however, making a mock-up first seemed counterproductive and would have probably been confusing.
Remember, as you work with RSView in the real world, do not to go very far in your
design before you have official approval. At this point, if your client or supervisor
decides that they dont like the looks of your valve icon, for example, it would take a fair
amount of time to replace all of those.

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Here is how a mock-up showing normal operation might look.

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Here is a mock-up with the system in alarm.
Configuring the Menu

After your client, customer or supervisor approves of the mock-ups, work can begin on
the other displays. First, however, we will configure the display menu. To be efficient,
we want to do this just once.
There are a couple of ways to do this. First, lets look at the foolproof, guided method.
Open the System View display and save it as Agitator Process Run Time.
Save this display as Valve Fault Time Delays.
Save this display as Maintenance.
Save this display as Alarms.
Save this display as Batch Log.
Now we have files for all of the displays we will have in our system. This is necessary to
complete the configuration for the menu using the guided method.

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Close the Batch Log display and open System View.

Right-click on the System View button and choose Edit Button. After the button
configuration window appears, click on the Action tab.
Click the Command radio button.

Click the button to the right of Press Action.

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Under the Command Categories on the left, choose the Graphics, Graphic
Displays, Navigation folder.
Click Next.
Click on System View and then click Finish.

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Now you might notice that all we really had to do was type Display System View to
configure the press action.

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Use whichever method you like to compete the menu configuration. Just make sure that
you overwrite the other displays (that is, save as Agitator Process Run Time, Valve
Fault Time Delays, Maintenance, Alarms and Batch Log) with the properly configured
menu.
Screen 2 - Agitator Process Run Time

Display
The scope says that the agitator process run time is adjustable from 60 seconds to 360
seconds.
Open the Agitator Process Run Time display. Clean off all of the graphics that applied
to the system view so that the display looks like this.
Click on the Numeric Input button

on the toolbar. Draw a rectangle on the display.
When you release the mouse, the Numeric Input window appears.

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Click on the dotted button beside the Tag Name field. Choose
AgitatorRunTimeTimerPRE. This is the preset value of the agitator run time timer. This
is the value, in seconds, that determines how long the agitator runs.
Change the field length to 3, as 360 seconds is the maximum time allows.
Center justification will work best for this field.
Click OK.

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We need to make sure that the operator can only enter values from 60 seconds to 360
seconds. This is called range limiting.
In the Project window, click on System, then on Tag Database. Scroll down to the
AgitatorRunTimeTimerPRE tag.
Make sure that the Minimum field is 60, and that the Maximum field is 360. At
runtime, if the operator were to try to enter a number outside of that range, RSView
would not accept it and the previously entered value would be maintained.
Close the Tag Database window.

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Lets finish this display by putting some descriptive text around the numeric input field.

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Screen 3 - Valve Fault Time Delays

Open the Valve Fault Time Delays display. To save some time and maintain
consistency, copy the numeric input field and the associated text from the Agitator
Process Run Time display.
Copy the numeric display so that there are a total of 4 fields. Arrange them in a table to
your liking. It might look something like this.
Right-click on the numeric input field for the city water valve. Click on the button to
see a list of the tags.
There is no tag that exists for the city water valve fault time delay, so we will create one.
We know that the timer exists by looking at the PLC program in LAD 4 FAULTS. The
timer for the city water valve fault is T4:1. We want to access and alter the PRE value of
the timer.

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Click the New Tag button in the Tags window.
Type in the information as follows:
In a similar manner, create the tags for the preset values of the remaining timers.
At runtime, the current values of the timers preset value will be shown. The operator
may change the value in a range anywhere from 1 second to 10 seconds.

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Screen 4 - Maintenance Display

Create a table copying and pasting the table from the Valve Fault Time Delays display.
Change the text appropriately so that the table looks like this.
Click on the numeric display button and draw a rectangle in the square to the right in the
QR Pump row.
The Numeric Display window appears. We have not defined the tags for the motor
runtime hours, so click on the Tags button, and then the New Tag button.
Note the LAD 5 RUNTIMES file in the PLC program. Counters are used to keep track
of the total run times of the motors. The actual hours are stored in the accumulated
(ACC) register of the respective counter.

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Define the new tag for the QR pump as shown below.
Click OK.

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Create numeric displays for the remainder of the motors. Your screen should now look
like this.
Close the Maintenance display.

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Screen 5 - Alarms Display

From the Project window, open the Alarms display.
From the top menu, click Objects > Advanced Objects > Alarm Summary. Draw a
rectangle that fills the screen as much as possible without overlapping any existing
graphic elements.

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Right-click on the alarm summary area. Choose Alarm Summary Object > Open.
The top menu in RSView has changed to accommodate editing the alarm summary.
Click on Insert > Tag Name and click near the upper left corner of the alarm summary
window. Your screen should look like this.
There are a number of fields we can add to the summary, as shown below:

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We will add a few of the basics, so that our summary looks like this.
The text in the boxes above the line represents the field titles that will be shown at
runtime. You can change them to read whatever you would like.
You can also set the width of each field.

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We are going to alter these to suit our needs.

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You can also specify which buttons appear in the button bar. Choose Format > Buttons
from the top menu.
Ack means that the alarm will be acknowledged when the button is pressed. To
silence the alarm means that the alarm sound made by the computer will be silenced.
Execute and identify have to do with macros; we have no use for those here. Filter
and sort allow the operator to display only certain alarms, or allow the alarms to be
sorted by any field.

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Alarm Setup
In the Project window, open the Alarms > Alarm Setup window.
The Setup tab shown below allows you to set the path for the log file, among other
things.

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The File Management tab lets you set some alarm file parameters.
Be aware that these files can grow very large over time. They have been known to fill a
hard drive, which of course causes other problems.
Configuring a Tag to Trigger an Alarm
The last things we need to do are select and configure the tags we want to include in
our alarm list.

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Open the Tag Database from the project window. Scroll down to the
CityWaterValveAV-CWFault.
Click on the checkbox beside the Alarm button.

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Under Alarm Type, we can select the alarm to trigger when the tag turns on, off,
changes, changes to on or changes to off. The changes types differ from a normal
on or off in that these are considered out-of-alarm immediately after the change of
state.
For our purposes, we can simply leave the default setting as they are. Click OK.
If you ever need to reconfigure the alarm parameters for a given tag, just click on the
Alarms button.
Configure the alarm parameters for the following tags, as listed in the scope.
- Valve AV-QR Discrepancy Fault
- Valve AV-KM Discrepancy Fault
- Valve AV-MT Discrepancy Fault
- Mixing Tank Hi Level (above 95% of capacity)
- Emergency Stop Activated
In the case of the Emergency Stop Activated alarm, we will use the
E-STOPClearedPB3 tag and set the alarm to trigger when the tag is off.

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Screen 6 - Batch Log display

The scope says that the completion date and time of each batch is recorded. This
information is maintained for a minimum of 180 days.
The first thing we have to do it setup our data log. In the Project window, open the
Data Log folder and click on Data Log Setup.
After this window opens, type Batch Log in the description.
Use the Path tab to set the path to your log file.
Click on the File Management tab. We want only one file, so choose Never under the
Start New Files section.

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Click on the Log Triggers tab. Select the On Change option, since we want the
system to record every time our chosen tags change state.

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Select the Tag in Model tab. Click on the button to the right of the Tag(s) to Add
field. Individually select the BatchStart and BatchComplete tags. Click the Add
button so that your screen looks like this.
Click OK and save the file.

We are going to take a shortcut here. To create the data log file, we actually have to
connect to a PLC and put RSView in runtime. However, during development, you may
not have that option.
We will use a file that was created in another project and modified in Excel to make it
match our current batching project.

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Open the Batch Log display. Click on the OLE

button. Click and drag until you
get a window that is as large as possible. When you release the mouse button, this
screen appears.

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Click on Create from File and navigate to the file you want to use. In our case, this is
the end result.
The whole idea here is that we can create a data log file and then use the OLE feature
of RSView to display it. There is no doubt that it will take some tweaking to get it to work
properly in a real world situation.

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The Final Result

Lets take a look at how the screens look in actual operation.

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119

120

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Finishing Touches
We still have some configuration changes to make so that RSView will start properly.
In the Project window, open the System folder.

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Click on the Startup icon.
The Preferences tab provides a number of options revolving around how many
standard Windows features will be shown when RSView starts.
Typically, since most applications are on a factory floor with minimum security, nearly all
of the features are disabled, as shown above.
Title Bar
Check this box to display the name of the application in the title bar at the top of the
window. This usually isnt very important and just consumes real estate on the screen.
Menu
Check this box to display the system menu at the top of the RSView32 window at
runtime. If this is disabled (check box is cleared), the Maximize Button option in the
Display Settings - Properties tab is grayed out. In our application, there is no need for
this.

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Activity Bar
Check this box to display the activity bar at the bottom of the screen. Again, in our
application, this is not necessary.
Minimize Button
Check this box to display a minimize button in the top right hand corner of the window.
Maximize Button
Check this box to display a maximize button in the top right corner of the window.
Control Box
Check this box to display a control menu box in the upper left corner of the window.
When this button is clicked it displays the control menu that allows the user to
manipulate the window. We dont want to give the operators access to this.
Project Manager
Check this box if you want the Project Manager to be displayed at runtime.
Disable
Ctrl-Alt-P (Project Manager)
Check this box to disable the key sequence that will turn on the display of the Project
Manager.
It is important to remember that if the Project Manager box is not checked, you can
press Ctrl-Alt-P to toggle the Project Manager at runtime if you have not disabled the
key sequence. Under some conditions, this is the only way to open the Project
Manager window. It may the only way you can edit the displays or the program
configuration.
Switch to other Apps
Checking this box will prevent users from switching to another application. Checking this
option also disables Ctrl-Alt-Esc, Alt-Tab, Alt-Esc and Alt-F4.

124
Click the Startup tab.
Set the parameters as shown for our project.

The Initial Graphic field determines which graphic will appear when RSView first starts
with runtime.
Automatically Starting RSView on Bootup
Usually, a computer is dedicated solely to RSView. With that being the case, you can
start the RSView project with the command line like the following:
"C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\RSView\rsview32.exe" "c:\hyperclr\hyperclr.rsv" /R
Make a shortcut with the appropriate path and project name for your computer and put
the command line in the Target field of the shortcuts properties. Then, add the
shortcut to your Windows startup folder.

125
Trending
RSView provides a lot of flexibility with its trends. You can set up a trend in just about
any way you would like.
There is a very elaborate trend available in the Trends display of RSViews library.
This trend has three variables, with the actual values shown in the box just below the
graph. As you might expect, the red value corresponds with the red line, the green value
with the green line and yellow with yellow.
The unique part of this graph is the array of buttons and arrows below and to the right of
the graph. A trend that is created from the menu (Objects > Advanced Objects > Trend)
would only contain the graph.

126
You can right-click on the graph area and choose Edit Trend. This window appears.
The Pen Configuration tab shows these options.

127
The example above shows that the trend is graphing seconds, minutes and hours of the
system clock. We could add any tag we like, whether analog or digital. Colors, scales
and times frames can all be adjusted.
Trends, though, tend to consume a fair amount of computer memory, and may affect
the performance of your system.
Tips and Tricks

Leave the Control in the PLC
Keep in mind, that although you can change bits and control the process with RSView,
avoid that if you can. If the PC that is running RSView fails, the whole process could be
halted.
Copy and Paste First
When you need a new piece of text, or a new graphic such as a rectangle, look to see if
you can copy an existing object. It is almost always much faster to copy something and
then change it to make it what you need, as opposed to going to the toolbar and
starting from scratch.
Make Sure You Know The Screen Resolution Of The Display On Which The
Project Will Be Shown, And That It Is Documented
RSView will adapt to minor changes in screen resolution, but big variations can cause
problems.
Dont Expect To See Rapid Changes To Be Visible In RSView
Due to the communication speed, sometimes bits in the PLC turn on and off so quickly
that RSView is not able to catch them. Sometimes, there can be a lag of 2 or 3 seconds.
Formulas can be included in expressions
For example, we could animate the color of the text in the Scales display of our
System View graphic.
Put this expression in the Color section of the Animation window.
LiquidLevelOfMixingTankPercent > 90
Select a color, such as yellow, and the text will change to yellow when the tag value is
greater than 90.
Expressions can use logical operators, arithmetic operator and a variety of functions.
Here is the list of functions available in RSView:
128
This function:
SQRT(expression)
returns this value:

the square root of the expression
LOG(expression)
the natural log of the expression
LOG10(expression)
the base ten log of the expression
SIN(expression)
the sine of the expression in radians
COS(expression)
the cosine of the expression in radians
TAN(expression)
the tangent of the expression in radians
ARCSIN(expression)
the arc sine of the expression in radians
ARCCOS(expression)
the arc cosine of the expression in radians
ARCTAN(expression)
the arc tangent of the expression in radians
SIND(expression)
the sine of the expression in degrees
COSD(expression)
the cosine of the expression in degrees
TAND(expression)
the tangent of the expression in degrees
ARCSIND(expression)
the arc sine of the expression in degrees
ARCCOSD(expression)
the arc cosine of the expression in degrees
ARCTAND(expression)
the arc tangent of the expression in degrees
TIME("time")
1 (true) if the time specified is the current time.
BEFORE_TIME("time")
1 (true) if the expression is evaluated before the

specified time.
1 (true) if the expression is evaluated after the
specified time.
AFTER_TIME("time")
INTERVAL("interval")
1 (true) if the specified time interval has elapsed.
FILE_EXISTS("file")
1 (true) if the specified file exists.
FREE_BYTES(drive)
the number of bytes free on the specified drive

129
To Reposition An Object
Click the object to select it.
Use the Arrow keys to move the object to its new position:
Press an Arrow key to move the object and cursor 1 pixel in the specified direction.
Press Shift-Arrow key to move the object 10 pixels in the specified direction.
Press Ctrl-Arrow key to move the object 50 pixels in the specified direction.
To Change The Size Of An Object While Maintaining Its Proportions
Select the object.
Grab a corner of the object.
Hold down Shift and the left mouse button as you drag the handle.
When the object is the desired size, release the left mouse button and then release
Shift.
To Create A Perfect Square Or Circle
Select the rectangle or ellipse object.
Grab a handle then press and hold Ctrl.
Hold down Ctrl and the left mouse button as you drag the handle.
When the object is the correct shape and size, release the mouse button and then
release Ctrl.

130
The Steps to a Successful and Profitable

RSView Project
We all want to create a project as accurately and efficiently as possible. If the steps
shown below are followed, then an RSView program can be completed with maximum
accuracy and minimum cost.
Of course, the real world will throw curveballs and changes to you. As a result, you will
have to go back and re-work certain aspects of your design.
Ideally, though, this is how things should work:
1. Get a clear and concise scope that defines the project in as much detail as
necessary.
2. If the scope is not clear, write emails and document any clarifications or changes
to the scope.
3. Understand the scope fully. Get your head inside the process that you will be
representing with RSView.
4. Make sure that the PLC program is finished and that all necessary tags have
been defined by the programmer.
5. Create mock-ups of your screens and get client or supervisor approval before
you do any real programming or configuration.
6. Test your navigation on your co-workers. Humbly accept their input and make
any changes necessary.
7. Test your design on the actual PLC that will be used in the project before you
take it into the field.
I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

131
THE FOLLOWING ARE TRADEMARKS OF ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC.

Allen-Bradley
ControlLogix
CompactLogix
MicroLogix
PanelView
RSLinx
RSLogix
RSView32
RSLogix 5000
SLC 500
THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER OF THIS BOOK IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC.
Disclaimer
THE AUTHOR INTENDS THIS DOCUMENT TO BE ADVISORY ONLY. ITS USE IN INDUSTRY OR TRADE IS
STRICTLY VOLUNTARY.
THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED BY THE VENDOR AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE VENDOR OR ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE
LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR
OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS DOCUMENT, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Courtesy of Rockwell Automation, Inc.

132

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How To Program

How to Program an HMI and SCADA System with

How to Program RSView32

Rockwell Automation Technical Support

How to Program RSView32

The SLCs are an older generation of Allen-Bradley

How to Program RSView32

How to Program RSView32

The Dialect of PLCs

O:5/0 means that it is a physical output.

I:4/0 means that it is a physical input.

How to Program RSView32

B3:0/0 means that it references an internal Binary file

T4:0 means that it references an internal Timer file

C5:0 means that it references an internal Counter file

How to Program RSView32

How to Program RSView32

How to Program RSView32

How to Program RSView32

How to Program RSView32

The Scales provide a 0-10VDC signal to the PLC.

All other input signals are 120VAC.

7. Detailed Sequence of Operations

There are 5 steps in the Batching process:

Add City Water

Step 1 City Water

How to Program RSView32

The agitator runs for 3 minutes.

How to Program RSView32

Step 5 Pump to filling lines

The screens are to be designed to run at a resolution of 1024 x 768.

10.1.3.1.8. Blue (0, 102, 255)

The screen background color is light gray.

The Mixing Tank Weight is displayed numerically.

How to Program RSView32

10.3.1.2. Screen 2 Agitator Process Run Time

Total runtime (in hours) for all motors is displayed.

10.3.1.5. Screen 5 Alarms

The list of alarms is as follows:

Valve AV-CW Discrepancy Fault

Screen 6 Batch Log

END OF HYPER-GLASS CLEANER BATCHING PROJECT SCOPE

Summarizing the Scope

How to Program RSView32

Beginning the Project

This screen will appear.

How to Program RSView32

Double-click on the System

How to Program RSView32

Double click on Channel.

Choose Network Type

How to Program RSView32

in the Project tree.

button to find the PLC. In our case,

Select SLC 5 (Enhanced) for the processor in the Type field.

How to Program RSView32

Tags and the Tag Database

How to Program RSView32

How to Program RSView32

How to Program RSView32

The screen should look like this:

How to Program RSView32

Click Next and you may continue adding tags.