Clients Class Workbook_v5.0

The Visuals: PI ProcessBook, PI DataLink, and RtWebParts

Version 5.0


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Conventions

The following conventions are used throughout this book.

Bulleted List

Item 1

Item 2

Item 3

This represents different ideas on a topic.

Numbered lists

1. Item1

2. Item 2

3. Item 3

This represents a list of steps with a specific order to respect.

A bold font is to emphasize user interface element names, including names of buttons, dialog boxes, and

menu items; it also highlights processes, utilities, system components and modules.

A Consolas font is used for code or computer input by the user or output to the display, also for

filenames and path names and formulas.

A Consolas font with a border like the figure below represents a block of code.

' Variables / Objects.

Dim myvar as string

Myvar = …

A Consolas font with a border like the figure below represents a block of SQL query.

SELECT … FROM TABLE WHERE …

An italic font is used as placeholders for variables or information unknown that will be determined by

you, the reader.

An underlined blue font is used to report URL.

The content you will retrieve in this rectangle is important and requires your attention.

This image represents:

A group recap question to verify understanding of the

material;

A directed exercise (green);

A self-paced exercise (blue).





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Table of Contents

1. Introduction to the PI System ................................................................................. 1

1.1 PI Tags ............................................................................................................ 2

1.1.1 What Types of Data Can PI Store? (Point Types) ........................... 2

1.1.2 Common Tag Attributes .................................................................... 3

1.2 About PI Interface Nodes .............................................................................. 3

1.3 Why Does My Data Appear to Have “Holes”? ............................................. 3

1.4 Data Flow ....................................................................................................... 4

1.4.1 Exception Reporting .......................................................................... 4

1.4.2 Directed Exercise – Exception Testing ........................................... 6

1.4.3 Compression Testing ........................................................................ 7

1.4.4 Default Values for Exception and Compression ............................ 9

1.5 About the PI Server ........................................................................................ 9

1.6 Time and PI ................................................................................................... 11

1.6.1 Directed Exercise – PI Times .......................................................... 13

1.6.2 Group Recap Question.................................................................... 13

2. Common PI Dialog Windows and Concepts ....................................................... 15

2.1 PI Connection Manager ............................................................................... 15

2.1.1 Directed Exercise – Connect to a PI Server .................................. 16

2.2 Basic Tag Search ......................................................................................... 16

2.2.1 Directed Exercise – Tag Search ..................................................... 18

2.3 Advanced Search ......................................................................................... 18

2.4 Alias Search .................................................................................................. 19

2.5 Point Attributes and Point Values .............................................................. 20

2.5.1 Group Recap Question.................................................................... 21

2.6 Performance Equation Syntax .................................................................... 21

2.6.1 Conversion Factor and Totalizations ............................................ 22

3. PI ProcessBook Basics ......................................................................................... 24

3.1 PI ProcessBook Display .............................................................................. 24

3.1.1 Navigating within a ProcessBook Display .................................... 25

3.1.2 Navigating within a ProcessBook Trend ....................................... 28

3.1.3 Exercise – PI ProcessBook Basics ................................................ 29

3.2 Building a PI ProcessBook Independent Display with Static Elements. 36

3.2.1 Group Recap Questions.................................................................. 36

3.2.2 Exercise – Inserting Static Elements into Displays ..................... 37

4. PI DataLink Basics................................................................................................. 41





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4.1 DataLink Navigation .................................................................................... 41

4.1.1 Directed Exercise – PI and Excel Times ........................................ 44

4.2 Simple DataLink Queries ............................................................................. 45

4.2.1 Current Value ................................................................................... 45

4.2.2 Archive Value ................................................................................... 45

4.2.3 Retrieval Mode ................................................................................. 46

4.2.4 Tag Attributes .................................................................................. 47

4.2.5 Exercise – Activity Report .............................................................. 47

4.3 Multiple Value DataLink Queries ................................................................ 51

4.3.1 Compressed Data ............................................................................ 52

4.3.2 Sampled Data ................................................................................... 54

4.3.3 Timed Data ....................................................................................... 54

4.4 Arrays in PI DataLink ................................................................................... 54


4.4.2 Exercise – Operational Start Up ..................................................... 55

5. RtWebParts Basics ................................................................................................ 58

5.1 Introduction to RtWebParts ........................................................................ 58

5.2 Web Part Pages ............................................................................................ 58

5.2.1 Directed Exercise – Create a New Team Site ................................ 58

5.2.2 Document Library ............................................................................ 59

5.2.3 Web Part Pages ................................................................................ 59

5.2.4 Exercise – Basic SharePoint .......................................................... 60

5.3 Using and Configuring RtWebParts ........................................................... 65

5.3.1 RtGauge ............................................................................................ 65

5.3.2 Exercise – Configure the RtGauge ................................................ 65

5.3.3 RtValues ........................................................................................... 69

5.3.4 Exercise – Configure RtValues WebPart ....................................... 70

5.3.5 RtTimeSeries .................................................................................... 73


5.3.7 Exercise – Configure RtTimeSeries WebPart ............................... 73

6. More PI ProcessBook ............................................................................................ 76

6.1 Dynamic Elements ....................................................................................... 76

6.1.1 Trends ............................................................................................... 76

6.1.2 XY Plots ............................................................................................ 78

6.1.3 Exercise – Building Trends in ProcessBook ................................ 79

6.1.4 Bars, Values, Multi-State Objects and Buttons ............................ 82

6.1.5 Exercise – Inserting Dynamic Elements into Displays ................ 84





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6.2 Organizing Displays .................................................................................... 88

6.2.1 Viewing ProcessBook Workbooks ................................................ 89

6.3 Creating a New ProcessBook ..................................................................... 90

6.3.1 How to Create a Text Entry ............................................................. 90

6.3.2 How to Create a Display Entry ....................................................... 91

6.3.3 How to Link an Existing ProcessBook Element ........................... 91

6.3.4 How to Launch External Files, Applications, and Websites ....... 91


6.3.6 Exercise – Organize Your Displays ............................................... 92

7. More PI DataLink .................................................................................................... 97

7.1 Inserting a Trend .......................................................................................... 97

7.1.1 Exercise – Tank Level ..................................................................... 98

7.2 Calculated Data .......................................................................................... 100

7.2.1 Exercise – Daily Production ......................................................... 101

7.3 Filtered Data ............................................................................................... 104

7.3.1 Filtered Compressed Data ............................................................ 104

7.3.2 Filtered Sampled Data ................................................................... 104

7.4 Excel Conditional Formatting ................................................................... 105

7.4.1 Exercise – Production Level Report ............................................ 105

7.5 Expression Data ......................................................................................... 110

7.5.1 Exercise – Expression Calculation .............................................. 111

7.5.2 Exercise – Quality Control Report (Optional) ............................. 113

8. More RtWebParts ................................................................................................. 119

8.1 RtTrend ....................................................................................................... 119

8.2 RtTimeRange .............................................................................................. 119

8.2.1 Exercise – Configure and Export RtTrend .................................. 120

8.3 RtGraphic .................................................................................................... 122

8.3.1 SVG ................................................................................................. 122

8.3.2 RtGraphic uses PI ProcessBook SVG files ................................. 122

8.3.3 Exercise – Configure the RtGraphic WebPart ............................ 123

8.4 PI DataLink for Excel Services ................................................................. 125

8.4.1 Introduction to Excel Services ..................................................... 125

8.4.2 Publishing Reports in Excel Services ......................................... 126

8.4.3 Exercise – Configure DataLink for Excel Services .................... 126

9. PI Module Database ............................................................................................. 129

9.1 PI Module Database and PI ProcessBook ............................................... 130

9.1.1 Exercise – Module Relative ProcessBook Displays .................. 131





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9.2 PI Module Database and PI DataLink ....................................................... 135

9.2.1 Excel Tricks for Module Relative Reports ................................... 135

9.2.2 Exercise – Module Relative PI DataLink Reports ....................... 136

9.3 PI Module Database and RtWebParts ...................................................... 143

9.3.1 RtTreeView ..................................................................................... 143

9.3.2 Web Part Connections .................................................................. 144

9.3.3 Exercise – Making Connections ................................................... 145

9.3.4 Exercise – Configure the RtTreeView WebPart .......................... 148

10. Advanced PI ProcessBook ................................................................................. 152

10.1 PI Calculations in PI ProcessBook........................................................... 152

10.1.1 Exercise – PI Calculation Data Sets ............................................. 153

11. Advanced Calculations in PI DataLink .............................................................. 159

11.1 Advanced Calculated Data ........................................................................ 159

11.1.1 Directed Exercise – Event and Time Weighted Averages ......... 161

11.2 Time Filtered Data ...................................................................................... 161

11.2.1 Exercise – Operating Time with Time Filtered Data ................... 162

11.3 Other DataLink Functions ......................................................................... 165

11.3.1 Exercise – Advanced Calculated Data (Optional) ...................... 166

12. Advanced RtWebParts ........................................................................................ 169

12.1 RtActiveView .............................................................................................. 169

12.2 Other RtWebParts ...................................................................................... 170

13. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 171

13.1 Training ....................................................................................................... 171

13.2 vCampus ..................................................................................................... 171

13.3 Tech Support .............................................................................................. 171

13.4 Further Questions ...................................................................................... 172

14. Exercise – Global Recap Question .................................................................... 173





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1. Introduction to the PI System

The PI System collects stores and manages data from your plant or process. You connect

your data sources to one or more PI Interface Nodes. The Interface Nodes get the data from

your data sources and send it to the PI Server. Users get data from the PI Server and display it

with client tools (for example, PI ProcessBook, PI DataLink, and RtWebParts).

Figure 1

Data Sources: Your data sources are the instruments that generate your data. They

can be almost anything and they can connect to the Interface Nodes in a variety of

different ways. PI Performance Equations, PI ACE, and Totalizer are also data

sources.

Interface Nodes: Interface Nodes run PI interfaces. PI interfaces get the data from

the data sources and send it to the PI Server. Each different data source needs a PI

interface that can interpret it. OSIsoft has over 400 different interfaces. For more

information, see the About PI Interface Nodes section.

PI Server: The PI Server stores the PI data and acts as a data server for client

applications. You can also use the PI Server to interact with data that is not stored in

PI (external systems). For more information, see the About the PI Server section.

Clients: Operators, engineers, managers and other plant personnel use a variety of

client applications to connect to the PI Server to view plant data.

10101

00110

10011

DATA SOURCES MANUFACTURING CONTROL NETWORK DMZ CLIENT APPS / CORPORATE LAN

OTHER DATA

SOURCES

ANALYTICAL TOOLS

CLIENT APPS

PI INTERFACE

NODES

3RD PARTY HISTORIANS

RELATIONAL DATA

MANUAL DATA

PLC / INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS

SCADA / DCS

LIMS SYSTEM

PUMPS

VALVES

PRESSURE SENSORS

ACTUATORS

MOTORS

TRANSFORMERS

PI SERVER

NODES

WEB APPS

CLIENT APPS

CLIENT APPS

OTHER

SYSTEMSOTHER

SYSTEMS





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Figure 2

Figure 1 shows how the PI System architecture can be deployed at the site level and

integrates your manufacturing and corporate networks. However, Figure 2 shows how this

architecture can be expanded and built up to provide access across your entire enterprise

organization and tie together all of your manufacturing and business data.

1.1 PI Tags

What is a PI Tag? It is a unique storage point for data in the PI system. Here is a list of some

examples:

A flow rate from a flow meter (float or integer);

A controller‟s mode of operation (digital or discrete);

The batch number of a product (float, integer, or string);

Text comments from an operator (string);

The results of a totalizer or calculation (float or integer);

Memory usage of a server (float or integer).

1.1.1 What Types of Data Can PI Store? (Point Types)

There are the types of storage variable.

Digital: Discrete value (On/Off, Red/Black/Green)

Int16: Integer value, 16 bits (0 to 32767, acc: 1/32767)

Int32: Integer value, 32 bits (-2147450880 to 2147483647)

WIRELESS

MOBILE CLIENTS

MORE CLIENT APPS

APPLICATION SERVERS

PORTAL SERVERS

BUSINESS SYSTEMS

PI ENTERPRISE

SERVICES

ENTERPRISE

PI COLLECTIVE

SITE 1

SITE 2

SITE 3

ENTERPRISE DATACENTER BUSINESS NETWORK





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Float16: Scaled Floating Point number, 16 bits (acc: 1/32767 times range)

Float32: Floating Point number, 32 bits (single precision)

Float64: Floating Point number, 64 bits (double precision)

String: Text value up to 976 characters

Blob: Binary large object up to 976 bytes

Timestamps: Any Time/Date in the range 1-Jan-1970 to 1-Jan-2038

1.1.2 Common Tag Attributes

There are some common tag attributes that are often used in client tools. Most of these

attributes are used for display or informational purposes.

Attributes Description

Tag name Unique name of the PI point used to search for tags

Descriptor PI tag description, often used as a search criteria in place of the tag name (when the tag

name is not intuitive)

EngUnits Engineering units

PointType Type of variable stored, sometimes used to help in searching (for example when

looking for a string tag)

Zero and Span These define the minimum and maximum values and are used in a number of places.

Most obvious are the upper and lower boundaries of object like the trend, bar graph, or

multistate symbol.

Point source Allows grouping of PI tags by data interface (DCS, PLC, or other sources) and is

occasionally used in tag searching.

1.2 About PI Interface Nodes

OSIsoft provides specialized interface programs (interfaces) for each data source. These

interfaces typically run on a dedicated system, called an Interface Node, which connects

both the data sources and the PI Server. For historical reasons, Interface Nodes may also

sometimes be referred to as API Nodes or Data Source Nodes, Data Collection Nodes, or

PINet Nodes (VMS).

Interface Nodes can run multiple interfaces to multiple PI Servers. The interface node might

be a machine that is a part of the foreign data system, or a standalone dedicated interface

machine, or even a PI Server itself (PI to PI).

1.3 Why Does My Data Appear to Have “Holes”?

Often you will experience a situation where one of the following conditions will be true:





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You are watching a trend and you can see many values, but when the trend is

refreshed most of them disappear.

Figure 3– Before and After Compression

You query for historical data in Microsoft Excel. You are sure the device is being

scanned every ten seconds, yet you see an uneven recording of data (what appear to

be gaps in timestamps).

This is completely normal behavior. It is a result of two filters that are applied.

At the Interface level, a process called the Exception Test is applied. The Exception Test

filters all values that are considered noise. This means that insignificant changes, as defined

as those below the instrument‟s accuracy threshold, as set by the person creating PI Points,

and identical values, such as a valve that is reading OPEN over and over again, are not sent to

the PI Server.

Once data gets to the PI Server, it is displayed through the PI Snapshot Subsystem as Current

Value. As new values arrive, older values are passed to the historical archives. Before they

arrive in the PI Archive, the Compression Test is applied. The Compression Test further

reduces the impact on system resources by filtering values that are unnecessary to reproduce

the data in the future. For example, all of the points along a consistent slope would be

considered unnecessary, with the exception of the first and last points along the line. See the

example trends shown in Figure 3.Figure 3

1.4 Data Flow

The PI Server stores data in the form of events. Each event has a value and a timestamp that

indicates what time the value was collected. The interfaces collect data from the data sources

and typically use exception reporting, meaning that they pass significant events on to the PI

Server and discard the rest. If the buffering service is configured on the interface node, then

the events go through the buffering service. If the Interface Node cannot connect to the PI

Server, the buffering service holds the data until the PI Server connection is restored.

1.4.1 Exception Reporting

The object of exception reporting is for the interface to send you the data you are interested

in, rather than taxing the network connection by sending a lot of data that is not meaningful.

Exception reporting uses a simple deadband algorithm to determine whether to send events to

the PI Server. For each point, you can set exception reporting specifications that create the

deadband. The interface ignores values that fall inside the deadband.





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Figure 4

In the preceding illustration (Figure 4), values A, C, and D are reported to the PI Server.

Value A is the last reported value, values B and C fall within the exception deadband, but

value D falls outside the deadband, so the interface reports value D and the previous value, in

this case, value C.

The interface uses the point's ExcDev, ExcMin, and ExcMax attributes to decide whether to

report the new value to PI:

The ExcDev (or ExcDevPercent) attributes determine how much a point's value

needs to change before the interface sends it to the Server. For example, a 12 bit A/D

converter can never be more precise than 1 part in 4096, so if the instrument range is

0-1000 degrees, the ExcDev should be no smaller than 0.24 degrees.

The ExcMax attribute sets a limit on how long the interface can go without reporting

a value to PI. After the ExcMax time period, the interface sends the next new value

to PI, regardless of whether the new value is different from the last reported value.

The ExcMin attribute sets a limit on how frequently the interface can report values.

For example, if you want the interface to ignore all new values for ten minutes

before reporting a new value that passes the Exception Test to the PI Server, then

you would set the ExcMin attribute to ten minutes.

Note 1: Some interfaces do not support exception reporting. See the documentation for your interface to

determine whether it supports this capability.





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Note 2: ExcMin is typically set to 0. It is very rarely used.

1.4.2 Directed Exercise – Exception Testing

You are invited to watch what the instructor is doing or perform the same steps at the

same time to explore the different concepts presented in this chapter or section.

Problem Description

You want to determine from the raw data which values will pass the exception test and which

will be filtered out.

Approach

Consider the following parameters:

ExcDevPercent: 2

Span: 200

ExcMax: 180

The current snapshot value and timestamp are:

70.3 10:00:00

Which pass the exception test, not including previous values?





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1.4.3 Compression Testing

The Snapshot Subsystem uses Compression Testing to determine what events need to be

saved in the PI Archive. The point of compression testing is to store just enough data to

accurately reproduce the original data from the data source.

For example, in the following illustration all the events fall on the same straight line. In a

simple case like this, you do not actually need to store all the points on the line. If you store

just two points, you can exactly recreate the point value for any other time.





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Figure 5

The same principle applies to compressing real-world data. The PI Server uses a sophisticated

compression algorithm to determine which events it needs to keep in order to provide an

accurate data history. The CompDev, CompMin, and CompMax attributes allow you to

control the granularity of the compression algorithm.

The CompMin and CompMax attributes give you some control over how often the

PI Server should save a new value for a particular point.

CompDev and CompDevPercent allow you to decide how much a point's value

needs to change in order for PI to save it.





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1.4.4 Default Values for Exception and Compression

The default values for exception and compression are as follows:

ExcDevPercent = 1 (% of span);

ExcMax = 600 (10 minutes);

CompDevPercent = 2 (% of span);

CompMax = 28800 (8 hours);

Zero = 0;

Span = 100.

If you create a tag in the PI Server and do not specify values for exception and compression

specifications, the default values will be used. This should be avoided because the exception

and compression values for each tag should correctly reflect the desired tag values. This

could include:

Accuracy of the instrument;

Desired granularity;

Performance of the client applications.

As a starting point recommendation for these settings, we recommend setting the

Compression Deviation to the minimum change measurable by the instrument. The Exception

Deviation should be set to half of the Compression Deviation. It is important to note that

these are only starting point recommendations and you should be sure to inspect your data for

the desired resolution. In some cases, it is advisable to turn off exception and compression

entirely. This should not be done without careful consideration. To do this, set the Exception

Deviation and the Exception Maximum to 0. You can turn off Compression directly, although

it is recommend to leave compression on, and set the Compression Deviation to 0. If set

properly, the PI Server will archive values that reflect an accurate change in the device,

without wasting space on duplicating values or losing meaningful values.

It is rarely advisable to leave the tag defaults. If left to the defaults, and if the tag normally

moves through a very small range of values, it is possible to miss significant changes due to

the Exception Test removing these points. An example might be a temperature sensor, where

a change of 0.2 would be missed because it does not meet the default threshold of 1

engineering unit (or 1 percent of a span set to 100). An exception value of 0.1 might be more

appropriate (or an adjustment to the span).

It is just as bad to turn exception and compression off, as you will adversely affect the

performance of the system by archiving many values that are unnecessary. An example of

this would be a valve scanned every few seconds. With no exception or compression we

would record the value of OPEN to disk thousands and thousands of times unnecessarily.

While hard disk space is become cheaper, the more limiting factor is the speed of retrieval.

The latency due to spinning of the hard disk and network bandwidth limitations can severely

impede performance.

1.5 About the PI Server

The PI Server is the heart of your PI System. It gets the data and routes it in real time

throughout the PI System and your entire information infrastructure, making it possible for





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everyone to work from a common set of real data. Operators, engineers, managers, and other

plant personnel can connect to the PI Server and view manufacturing data from PI Data

Storage or from external data storage systems.

Data Flow in the PI Server

When the PI Server gets a new event from an interface or manual input program, it sends the

event to the Snapshot Subsystem. The Snapshot Subsystem holds a single value for each PI

point in memory. When a new value comes in, the PI Server sends the old value to the Event

Queue. The Snapshot Subsystem first performs compression testing on the value and either

discards it or sends it on to the Event Queue, depending on the result of the test.

What is the Snapshot?

The Snapshot Subsystem gets the new data from the Interface Node and holds the most recent

value for each point. This most recent value is called the Snapshot for that point.





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When a new event comes in, it becomes the Snapshot for that point. The PI Server evaluates

the previous Snapshot according to the compression specifications and either sends the new

value to the Event Queue or discards it.

These values in the Snapshot Subsystem are called Snapshot events or just Snapshots. The

collection of all the Snapshot values for all the points is the Snapshot database. Once a new

Snapshot value comes in for a point, the previous Snapshot value is sent to Compression

Testing. If it passes Compression Testing, as previously described, it is sent to the PI Archive

for permanent storage.

What are Out-of-Order Events?

An out-of-order event is an event that enters the Snapshot Subsystem with a timestamp that is

older than the current Snapshot value. The PI Server sends out-of-order events directly to the

Event Queue for archiving, without compression testing. These events are typically rare, but

it is important to know how the PI Server handles them.

1.6 Time and PI

The PI Server stores all values with a time that is converted to UTC (Universal Coordinated

Time), or what used to be called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This means that each day

has exactly 24 hours. Any adjustments for time, such as time zone or Daylight Saving Time

(DST), are made by the local machine clock of the user looking at the data.

Also, because the clients and PI Server know what time zone they are in, the data can be

viewed in either Server Time or Client Time. This is determined by a setting in the client

tool.





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It is important that all of the computers involved collecting data (PI Server, Interface Nodes,

etc.) have their operating system clocks set correctly. For most current interfaces using the

extended PI API, events are sent to the server with UTC timestamps. As a result, DST and

time zone differences are properly considered when storing data on the PI Server. If the PI

Interface is more than ten minutes ahead of the PI Server, the PI Server cannot handle the

time difference and discards the data because it is considered a future event.

Automatic DST changes will not cause a problem when all computers observe the same rules.

That is, all computers either change their clocks twice a year at the same time or they do not.

Note: Situations where some computers change their clocks when others do not can cause data loss.

Absolute Time (a specific point in time)

* : (NOW)

t : 00:00:00 on the current day (TODAY)

18-feb-05 16:00:00

This can be a either the Windows time format (configured in the Regional Setting dialog of

Microsoft Windows) or the PI Time format (dd-mmm-yy HH:mm:ss.00000)

Relative Time (time is offset from another time)

+ 8h : + 8 hours

Combined Time (using Absolute and Relative Times together)

t + 8h : today + 8 hours

If no date is specified the system will assume today. If no time is specified then the system

will assume midnight.

Common Abbreviations:

* = NOW

T = today at midnight

Y = yesterday at midnight

Monday or Mon = Monday at midnight (or another specified day or its first three letters)

Relative Time Units of Measure:

Hours (h)

Minutes (m)

Seconds (s)

Weeks (w)

Days (d)

Years (y)

Months (mo)





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There is no default time unit. Hour, Minute and Second intervals can use fractions (for

example +2.5h or -0.5m).

1.6.1 Directed Exercise – PI Times



Problem Description

Determine the times indicated in the table below:

Abbreviation Answer

* - 30m

y + 8h

Tuesday – 2d

Express the following times in valid PI timestamps:

Abbreviation Answer

Today at 6:00 AM

Monday at 6:30 am

12 hours ago

1.6.2 Group Recap Question

The following questions are intended to reinforce key information presented in this

chapter or section. The answers can be found after the questions.

Questions

1. What are the four parts of OSIsoft‟s PI System?

2. What are the two filtering tests that each event can go through before being archived in the PI

Server?

3. Which of the following are invalid PI times?

a. 4 6

b. 22 22:





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c. t-1.5d

d. y-1y

e. *-Monday

f. 09-Jun-06 22:45:35.0943

Answers

1. The Interfaces, the Server, the Analytics, and the Visuals

2. Exception and Compression

3. c. Half days are not allowed in PI Times.

e. Combined times do not allow the use of two absolute times.





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2. Common PI Dialog Windows and Concepts

There are three dialog boxes that are used in one way or another in every PI application that

you will use. They are common because they address functions that are used regardless of the

specific application. They involve:

Connecting to a PI Server or Collective;

Searching for Tags;

Query for Tag Attributes / Values.

Some applications will use different formats, but they all accomplish the same functions. For

example, the Tag Search function on PI WebParts (formerly RtWebParts) is based on

different web architecture and thus looks slightly different.

2.1 PI Connection Manager

The PI Connection Manager is invoked from most applications and will control what PI

Server(s) you can communicate with.

When the dialog box is invoked it will display all of the PI Servers that have been configured

from that machine.

Note: The first time a PI application is installed a default PI Server is selected. This is why, even if you

have never configured a PI Server at least one should appear in your PI Connection Manager.

In this dialog box you can add and remove connections to PI Servers, add PI Server Aliases,

change your default server, or change the user you are currently logged in as.





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You will need to know the following when you need to connect to a PI Server:

IP Address or Host Name;

Username;

Password (if any).

2.1.1 Directed Exercise – Connect to a PI Server



Problem Description

You are new to the PI System and need to familiarize yourself with the methods to connect to

the corporate PI Server.

Approach

Part A

1. Click Start > Programs > PI System > About PI-SDK

2. Open up the PI Connection Manager. The instructor will give you the name of a PI Server and the

credential to use.

Part B

Use the Cleanup Connections utility to remove duplicate entries to the same physical server,

orphaned aliases and unresolved entries.

2.2 Basic Tag Search

Tag Search is one of the most common functions that users will perform. Every piece of data

that is displayed in a display or report or web part will come from a PI Tag.





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Most of the tag searches will be filtered in one of three ways:

Tag Mask

This can also be called Tag Name. If your organization has a convenient naming convention

or you are very familiar with the tags in your plant, then you are all set. However, most

people do not have that luxury. Most of us have to use some other criteria.

Descriptor

Descriptor is not a required tag attribute, but it is the one that many people use to find their

tags. For example, a temperature tag might be TC365674A.pv but the descriptor might be

read as Reactor 65 Operating Temp. The downside to searching by Descriptor is that it

is comparing text strings, and so can be fairly intensive on your computer processes.

Point Source

Point Source can be extremely helpful, but it does require certain knowledge of the PI System

and how the interfaces have been set up. Each device interface will be labeled with a specific

Point Source. So if you know what device you want data from, but you are not sure what the

tag names are, you can bring up a list of all of the tags that are associated with that device.

You can find the Point Sources in the PI System Management Tools->Interface List, the .bat

file or in the PI Interface Configuration Utility. If you do not have access to these, ask your PI

System Manager if they have a list.

Variations

Remember that wildcards can be used in any of the above searches.

Use * to replace any number of characters like in this example: flow* = flow_meter1, flow_meter2, flow_meter3

Use ? to replace one character like in this example: tank?_level = tankA_level, tankB_level





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Note 1: Search criteria are not case sensitive, but are case preservative.

Note 2: Search criteria can be combined like in this example where we look for Tag Mask: = flow* and Point Source = o

2.2.1 Directed Exercise – Tag Search



Problem Description

You need to familiarize yourself with the principles of tag searching.

Approach

Try some tag searches using different criteria (e.g., all tags that begin with BA, all tags with

an S, etc.).

2.3 Advanced Search

Advanced Tag Search allows almost limitless flexibility for tag searches. You can set and

combine very specific criteria on the properties, history, and even behavior of the points you

wish to find.





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For the advanced search, the user constructs his or her SQL query. There is no guarantee that

the query will be syntactically correct. However, the search criteria are much more flexible

than with the Basic Search. Any point attribute from Point Class Classic can be used to

restrict the search and there are various methods to search by value. Example SQL queries are

shipped with the Tag Search Dialog. These queries can be viewed by clicking on the

Favorites button and browsing to the desired example under the Examples folder.

2.4 Alias Search

For facilities that have organized data into modules, this is a great way to search for that

unknown tag name that corresponds to the more familiar Module/Alias structure. We will go

deeper into this topic later when we discuss the PI Module Database.





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2.5 Point Attributes and Point Values

All of the information that is required to gather data from a

particular data source is stored within the context of a PI point

by means of Point Attributes. Certain Point Attributes can be

used to store numeric information such as integers and floating-

point numbers, and other attributes can be used to store character

string information, such as the name (or tag) of the point. For

example, if a measurement needs to be read from a particular

device in a network, the IP address needs to be stored in one of

the point attributes.

You can always get the current values of any tag by using this feature.

By this point in the class you should know how to connect to a PI Server and perform Tag

Searches.





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2.5.1 Group Recap Question



Questions

1. What information needs to be specified when creating a new connection to a PI Server?

2. What are the two wildcard characters available in a Tag Search?

3. Which of the following PI Tag Attributes are not default filtering search criteria in a Basic Tag

Search?

a. Point Type

b. Tag Name

c. Zero

d. Point Class

e. Point Source

f. Typical Value

Answers

1. The PI Server name, the connection type, the default user, and the port number.

2. The * for any number of characters and the ? for a single character.

3. c. and f.

2.6 Performance Equation Syntax

Performance Equations are special tags in the PI Server that perform calculations using PI

Tags as the data source and store that information in another tag. These Performance

Equation tags require a specific syntax, known as the Performance Equation Syntax. This

syntax is important because, while it originated with the Performance Equation tags, it is now

used in multiple places. These include ProcessBook Calculation Datasets, DataLink

Expressions, and RtWebParts PI Calculation Datasets. They are also used in filter

expressions, found throughout these client tools.

The three rules of Performance Equation Syntax are:

Numbers and mathematical operators are written as is: 10, 0.125, 34.56, +, -, *, /, ^

Tag names and timestamps, whether absolute or combined time format, are written

in single quotes: 'cdt158', 'temp_tank_1', 'FIC5821.PV', „*‟, „T+6h‟, ‟13-Jun-2009‟

Strings are written in double quotes: "This is a string"

There is also a rich library of mathematical functions available. These are the typical

mathematical functions like sin(), cos(), log(), exp(), abs(), etc. Aside from the mathematical

functions, there are also many PI functions that apply specifically to PI data. These include

things like:





Page 22

PctGood() Percent of time tag has good values.

Range() Range of min to max.

StDev() Time-weighted standard deviation.

TagAvg() Time-weighted average.

TagMean() Event-weighted average.

TagMax() Maximum value in period.

TagMin () Minimum value in period.

TagTot() Time integral over a period.

An expression can use If-Then-Else, relational and logical operators.

Syntax: IF expr0 THEN expr1 ELSE expr2

Example: IF 'Tag1' >= 50 AND 'Tag2' < 125 THEN “under limit” ELSE “good”

Notes: You must include the IF, THEN and ELSE keywords. The NoOutput() PE function can be used in

the THEN or ELSE clause. It is possible to nest if-then-else expressions.

For a complete list of built-in functions that can be used, consult the PEReference.chm

document. It is available at http://techsupport.osisoft.com. Search for "performance

equations" in the search box at the upper right of the screen. See the file "PI 3 Performance

Equations Help File" in the search results. You will also find it in

\\pipc\help\pereference.chm.

2.6.1 Conversion Factor and Totalizations

The conversion factor is a multiplier used to change a number from one unit of measure to

another.

Ex: 1000 g per kg, 2.54 cm per inch, 24 hours per day, 1440 minutes per day

Because PI is not aware of engineering units, it assumes that rate tags are in terms of units per

day. Typically, this assumption is inaccurate as many tags are measured in terms of units per

second, units per minute, or units per hour. When using the Total function in Calculated

Data, a conversion factor is used to correct PI's assumption that the data is in units per day.

The conversion factor is equal to 1.0 when the source data are in units per day.

Rate tag Assumption of Conversion

engineering units the PI Server Factor

Units / day Units / day 1

Units / hour Units / day 24

Units / minute Units / day 1440

Units / second Units / day 86400

http://techsupport.osisoft.com/





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Example: For a flow measured in m³ per min, a conversion factor of 1440 must be supplied.

This is because the PI server assumes all inputs to totalizations are expressed in units per day,

and 1440 represents the conversion between the actual rate tag (units per minute) and the rate

that PI assumes (units per day). This is independent of the interval of the proposed

totalization. For example, the conversion factor of an 8 hour totalization of a rate tag

measured in of units per minute is still 1440.

22gallons1day

1440min*

1440min

1daymin*3*

day

gallon1

1440min

1daymin*2*

day

gallons5

min1440

day1min*3*

day

gallons3PI_Total

gallons22min3*min

gallon1min2*

min

gallons5min3*

min

gallons3alNormal_tot

The total computed by PI must be multiplied by a factor of 1440

When the calculation mode is Total and part of the archived data within the range is bad, the

reported value is equal to the calculated total value divided by the fraction of the time period

with good archived data. This data normalization is equivalent to the assumption that for the

bad data time range, the tag value takes on the average value of the entire range. However,

this assumption may not be valid when a large fraction of the time range contains bad data.

Therefore, we recommend that you always look at the percent good value before using the

calculation result.

Since a conversion factor is after all, just a simple multiplication, you can supply a

conversion factor that does double duty by converting for both the rate and the engineering

units, so for example, if the rate tag is in thousands of gallons per minutes and you want the

answer in gallons (not thousands of gallons) then you can use the conversion factor of

1,440,000 (which is simply 1440 * 1000).





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3. PI ProcessBook Basics

PI ProcessBook is a rich environment that allows the creation of dynamic, graphical displays.

Displays can contain a wide range of information including real-time data, historical data, PI

data, and relational or other non-PI data. ProcessBook is also a development environment for

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). These features allow a wide variety of options to be

configured and customization to be performed.

PI ProcessBook uses the standard Windows type environment that makes functions accessible

from menus and toolbars. There are two modes of operation within ProcessBook, Run Mode

and Build Mode.

Run Mode allows you to:

Default;

Allows you to browse PI ProcessBook (Workbook) elements;

Visualize previously created displays;

Change to Build Mode at any time by selecting Tools > Build or by clicking on the

Build icon in the Drawing toolbar.

Build Mode allows you to:

Build or edit PI ProcessBook (Workbook) elements;

Add or modify elements within an existing display;

Change mode by selecting Tools > Run or by clicking on the Run icon in the

Drawing toolbar.

3.1 PI ProcessBook Display

A PI ProcessBook Display is the main unit for the presentation of data, both PI and non-PI

data. A display can contain a variety of individual items representing your operating

environment. These include static elements for pictorial representations, dynamic elements to

display real-time data, buttons to house VBA coding or other applications, and OLE objects.

ProcessBook Displays may be an independent file (extension .PDI or.SVG) or housed within

a ProcessBook Workbook (extension .PIW), to be covered later. Here is an example of what a

ProcessBook Display can look like:





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3.1.1 Navigating within a ProcessBook Display

There is a Status Bar at the bottom of the display window. This Status Bar shows several

pieces of information about the display(s) that is open. It shows whether the data being

displayed is using the Time Zone for the PI Server or for the Client Time (1). It shows the

Layers of displays that are open (2). It shows a Status Report that displays whether the

dynamic in the display(s) is receiving good data (3). A green circle indicates all dynamic

elements are good. If the circle is red, at least one dynamic element is in a Bad Data state. To

find out which element(s) is in error, you can double-click on the Status Report icon to open a

pane displaying a list of all dynamic elements and their individual states. Finally, there is an

icon representing the Default Line, Fill, and Background color for an element(4).

Hovering the mouse cursor over a dynamic element presents the Tooltip Statistics, which

presents the statistics for the longest time range specified by an element in your display.

These Statistics are the average, minimum, maximum, count, range, and population standard

deviation.





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If the data source is unavailable, Trends show nothing, Dynamic Values show No Data,

Trend Cursors show No Data, Bar Graphs show diagonal lines, and Multi-state Symbols

show the user defined Bad Data color.

It is possible to view the Details about a dynamic element by going to View>Details or right-

clicking and selecting Show Details and Annotations. You can choose Data, Statistics, or

Point Attributes. If you select Data, you can view snapshot and compressed data, and

annotations from a dynamic element selected on your display. If you have write privileges to

the specified point, it is also possible to write an annotation directly from the display. By

choosing Statistics, you can view the same statistics as the Tooltip Statistics, but without

having to hover the cursor. And selecting Point Attributes allows you to see the list of

attributes and values for the selected point. Data, Statistics or Point Attributes can be

exported to a file or copied to the clipboard.





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It is also possible to navigate between PI ProcessBook Workbooks and Displays using the

Navigation Toolbar in ProcessBook 3.2. This toolbar, shown below, allows you to easily

open recently opened Workbook and Display files from the drop down menu, use the forward

and backward arrows to switch between displays rapidly, set a Home Workbook or Display,

and to Bookmark several of your favorite displays. This toolbar should hopefully be intuitive

as it is reminiscent of a web browser navigation toolbar.

Below the Navigation Toolbar is the Playback Toolbar, shown below. This lets you easily

scroll through the time range of your entire display. You can manually change the time range

included by clicking and dragging the end markers individual, or you can slide the whole

time range by clicking and dragging from somewhere in the middle of the time range. Finally,

there is a play, stop, and fast-forward button that provide control very similar to a DVR or





Page 28

other recording device. This allows you to scan the display quickly for an event that

happened in the past.

3.1.2 Navigating within a ProcessBook Trend

In Run mode, there are two ways to create a trend.

1. In the current window, select one or many values.

2. Then click on the Trend button, and draw a rectangle to display the trend.

Or:

1. For a trend in a new window, select one or many values.

2. Then click on the Ad-Hoc Trend button to create an Ad-Hoc Trend. It is possible to save this new

window as a Display using File>Save.

Certain functions can be used in Run mode only. A full screen trend is activated by double-

clicking on the trend in the display in Run mode. Double-click again to deactivate it and

return to the full ProcessBook display.

You can zoom in and out on a trend by clicking the cursor and drawing a rectangle to

represent the boundaries of the area over which you would like to zoom in on. This will

temporarily change the x- and y-axes. You can also manually change the vertical axis by

selecting the View>Trend Scale or by double-clicking on the vertical axis. This will open a

pop-up window where you can choose one of three options for the vertical scale. The

Autorange option scales to the minimum and maximum of the tag over the specified time

range. The Database option scales to the zero and span of the tag. Finally, you can select the

Absolute option, which lets you specify the exact minimum and maximum you would like

displayed. These three options for scaling are common within the trends in our client tools,

and they will be seen again. You can use the Revert button to go back to your original

configuration.

There are also buttons provided on each trend for zoom options. The magnifying glasses

either halve or double the time range currently shown. The arrows move forward or backward

one unit in time as currently shown.

In the example above, the plus magnifying glass will halve the time range specified, in this

case taking it from 8 hours to a time range of 4 hours. The minus magnifying glass will

double the specified time range, in this case going from 8 hours to 16 hours. The forward and

backward arrows will move the trend forward and backward in time, in this case an amount





Page 29

of 8 hours. Finally, there is also a Revert button provided to return the trend to its original

configuration.

Finally, you can use the menu or toolbar to change the time range of the trend. To change it

from the toolbar, use the Change Time Range icon. To change the time range from the

menu, you must select View> Time Range. Either of these will open a pop-up window that

allows you to specify the start time (the From parameter) and end time (the To parameter) in

either PI Absolute or Combined time. It is important to note that for your trend to receive

automatic updates that the end time must be now (*) and that the time range must be 24 hours

or less. In the toolbar, there is a scroll bar that lets you scroll forward and backward in time.

This is especially useful if you are looking for a significant event, but are unsure at what time

the event occurred. This way you can just scroll until you find it.

Trend cursors are static indicators that display the timestamp and value(s). You can have

multiple trend cursors per trend, and they can display values for multiple traces (tags). To

activate a cursor, just click on the edge of the trend and drag to the point of interest on the

trend. You can also set them manually from the toolbar by clicking on the Trend Cursor

icon.

Traces can be shown or hidden by clicking on the tag name in the legend or by right-clicking

on Trend > Trend Traces. Traces can be shown or hidden individually or all at once.

Changes made in View mode are temporary. To make any changes permanent, you must be

in Build mode and save the display.

3.1.3 Exercise – PI ProcessBook Basics

The following exercise is intended to reinforce key information presented in this

chapter or section. The answer can be found at the end of the exercise.

Objectives

Familiarize yourself with the Common Dialog Windows;

Familiarize yourself with the PI ProcessBook environment;

Learn how to manipulate a trend display using an existing ProcessBook file;

Find data, statistics and annotations related to tags.

Problem Description

Open the PI ProcessBook application and establish a connection to a PI server given to you

by your instructor.

PI Server

Username

The default workbook PIDEMO.PIW opens. Open the Main Column Bottom display and

familiarize yourself with the different windows, options and functions. Within the four





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different sections below, you will explore all those essential items and will be able to fulfill

the objectives.

A. The PI ProcessBook Environment:

1. Open the different top bar menus to have a taste of the different functions available;

2. Observe the different toolbars that contain the same functions you just saw in the menus;

3. Maximize the Main Column Bottom display.

B. The common dialog windows:

1. Open the Connections window and connect to your PI server (hint: Use the File menu);

2. Open the Tag Search window and find all tags that begin with the letter b, all tags that contain

the word reactor in their descriptor and all tags that have a value of zero (hint: Use the Tools

menu).

C. The Trend display:

1. Maximize the Crude Charge trend;

2. Zoom in and out of the trend;

3. Change the time scale to 1 day;

4. Go backward and forward in time by one or by several time periods;

5. Find when the maximum value was attained for the current time range (Hint: Use the Trend

Cursor);

6. Revert back to the original time scale;

7. Highlight the trace of the trend;

8. Hide the trace of the trend and then make it appear again.

D. The details and annotations:

1. Point the mouse directly on the trend trace and wait until you can observe the ToolTip yellow

window;

2. Point other symbols from the display and wait until you can observe the ToolTip yellow window;

3. Right-click on the trend and click Show Details and Annotations;

4. Observe the Data, Statistics and Point Attributes for the trend;

5. Validate the timestamp you just found for the maximum value;

6. Refresh the Data displayed;

7. Save the Statistics to a file;

8. Copy the Point Attributes and paste them in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet;

9. Add an annotation to the latest value to indicate an out of range value.

Try to do this exercise on your own before proceeding to the step-by-step solution.





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Step-by-Step Solution

A. The PI ProcessBook environment

1. Open PI ProcessBook Application.

2. Click on the Refinery tab.

3. Double-click on the Main Column Bottom display.

4. Open the top bar menus: File, Edit, View, Insert, Tools, Draw, Arrange, Window and Help.

5. Stop your mouse on some of the different icons of the toolbars to observe those with the same

functions that are present in the menus you just opened.

6. Maximize the Main Column Bottom display window by clicking on the ( ) button located on

the upper-right corner.

B. The common dialog windows

1. The Connections window





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· Open the Connections window by selecting File > Connections.

· Select Server > Add Server… to add a PI server.

· Enter the PI server name in the Network Node field and the user name in the Default User

Name field.

Note: Remember that they were specified to you by your trainer

· Leave the Port Number to the 5450 value

· Click on the OK button to add the specified PI server.

· Check the checkbox beside the PI server you want to connect to. If you are prompted for a

password, enter the one that will be specified by the trainer.

2. The Tag Search window

· Open the Tag Search window by clicking on the ( ) button or by selecting Tools > Tag

Search.

· Enter b* in the Tag Mask field and click on the Search button to get all the tags beginning

with the letter b.

· Click on the first tag of the result list. Then, press and maintain the Shift key and click on the

second tag of the list. The first two (2) tags will be selected. Click on the Pt. Attr button to

access the attributes of those tags. You can move from one tag to the other with your keyboard

arrow keys.

· Write * in the Tag Mask field and *reactor* in the Descriptor field, then press on the Search

button to find all the tags containing the string “reactor” for their descriptor attribute.

· Erase the data in the Descriptor field and enter 0 (zero) in the Value field, then click on the

Search button to find all the tags with a snapshot value of 0.





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Note: The more criteria you use for your tag search, the more effective you will be in finding exactly the

tag(s) you need.

C. The trend display

1. In Run mode, maximize the Crude Charge trend to take the entire display window by double-

clicking within the trend. To return to the original time scale, double-click within the trend again.

2. Display a section of the trend display. Click and drag the pointer diagonally to draw a rectangle.

This area will be magnified when you release the mouse button. To return to the original time

scale, use the View > Revert or use this button ( ).

3. Modify the time range by using the View > Time Range and set it to 1 day to now (*-1d and *).

4. Use the time forward and backward buttons ( ) to scroll the time range forward or

backward on the trend. Try to playback the last week of data by clicking six (6) times on the

Move backward in time button and then return to the current time by using the Move forward

in time.

5. Return to the original time scale (See step 2).

6. Use a Trend Cursor to find when the maximum value of the last day occurred ( ).

7. Return to the original time scale (See step 2).

8. Alter the Y-axis scale of a trend by double-clicking on the Y-axis. Use the Trend Scale dialog

box to change the vertical scale for the tag in the trend. You do not have to be in Build ( )

mode to edit the trend.

9. Move the mouse cursor over the SINUSOID trace or the SINUSOID tag label in the legend area

and click to hide this trace. You can notice that when the mouse cursor is over the trace or the tag

label are highlighted. Click again to display them again.

D. The details and annotations

1. Maximize the Crude Charge trend.

2. Point the mouse directly on the trend

trace and wait until you can observe the

ToolTip yellow window.

3. Minimize the trend.

4. Point the mouse directly on any other

symbols and wait until you can observe

the ToolTip yellow window.

5. Right-click on the trend and click Show Details and Annotations. The Show Details and

Annotations window will appear on the right. The Data option should be presented to you.





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6. Observe the Data, Statistics and Point Attributes for the selected tag by changing the Option

field.

7. Validate if the maximum value you have found in part C is the same returned by the Statistics

window.

8. Refresh the tag‟s data from Data option by clicking on the Refresh Data button ( ).

9. Choose the Statistics option and click on the Save to file button ( ). Enter the filename and

choose the extension: .TXT or .CSV.

10. Using the Windows Explorer locate the file you just saved and open it.

11. Open a blank MS Excel spreadsheet.

12. Choose the Point Attributes option and click on the Copy to clipboard button ( ). Switch to

MS Excel application, select the cell which will receive information and select right-click >

Paste. The Point Attributes information will be copied from the clipboard to MS Excel.

13. Choose the Data option. Select the last event in the data grid by clicking on it once. The

Annotations section will no longer be grayed out.

14. Click in the Value field of the first row and enter: This value is out of range.

15. Click in the drop-down list of the Value Type field and choose String. Leave the description field

empty.

16. Click on the Save all changes button to save the annotation with the event.

17. You can try to visualize the annotation from the trend object. An annotation takes the

representation of a white sheet above the trace area as shown in the figure below. If you move

your mouse cursor over and leave it there for a moment you can read the added comment.





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18. Exit PI ProcessBook without saving.





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3.2 Building a PI ProcessBook Independent Display with Static Elements

To create a new ProcessBook file use File > New or the New icon. From here, you can create

new ProcessBook Displays, ProcessBook Workbooks, or ProcessBook Entries. For now, we

will focus on Independent Displays and return to Workbooks and Entries later. The easiest

ways to conceive of ProcessBook Displays are that they are individual sheets, similar to

memos. Workbooks are entire books that are composed of many of these sheets, but to put

these sheets in the book, we need to create individual Entries. Again, more will be covered on

Workbooks and Entries later.

A display can contain a wide variety of elements, both static and dynamic. To add any of

these elements to a display, you must be in Build mode, and then select the desired element.

Draw it on the display and define its configuration when prompted. For now, we will focus

on the static elements.

The static objects available include shapes, lines, and text boxes. ProcessBook does come

with its own Symbol Library that includes many familiar process symbols. These include

things like tanks, values, and heat exchangers. If this Symbol Library is insufficient, you can

also import graphics from files. This provides you greater options for customization. The

majority of the static elements have options similar or identical to many Paint programs.

Things like grouping, alignment, stacking, rotation, and attachments. Just like these Paint

programs, you can do multiple object selection by clicking and dragging, using the Control

key, or using the Shift key.

The symbol library button allows access to a rich library of symbols. To access the symbol

library, use the Symbol Library icon from the toolbar or Draw> Symbol Library from the

menu. Similarly, to import an image file into a display, use the Graphic button in the toolbar

or select Draw > Graphic from the menu.

3.2.1 Group Recap Questions



Questions

1. What two user interface elements allow you to change the start time and end time of a Trend or XY

Plot in Run mode?

2. Which one of these statements is false:

· In Run mode, both the vertical scale and the time scale of a trend element can be changed.

· After changing the display in Run mode, the modifications will be saved if we do not use the

Revert function before saving the file.

· The status report will indicate all tags used in the display that are in error and their associated

ProcessBook elements.

3. What type of information can be stored within an annotation?





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Answers

1. The scroll bar and the One time period forward – backward functions.

2. The second statement is false. Any changes done in Run mode are temporary and will not change

the original configuration of the display. Those changes will not be saved.

3. Integer, float, string, array, file, etc.

3.2.2 Exercise – Inserting Static Elements into Displays



Objectives

Learn to add static elements to your displays.

Problem Description

The goal is to represent a process as a schematic to make it easy for all personnel to identify

its components. Drawing tools are available to create schematics. In this exercise, you are to

create a simple schematic to represent a tank, an agitator and a valve as presented in the

figure below.

Approach

Create a ProcessBook independent display file called Exercise PB2.PDI. To make it easier to align items,

you can activate the Snap to Grid option by selecting Arrange > Snap to Grid.

Add the following items to the display:

One tank from the Symbol Library. You can use any tank you wish.





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One horizontal pipe from the Symbol Library going into the tank and one pipe

going out. If you wish you can draw one long pipe and set the tank over it, so it

appears to pass behind it.

One text box labeling the tank Stirred Tank. Place this near the tank. You may wish

to alter the color and size of the text for visibility.

One mixer from the Symbol Library. Place this over the tank.

One valve from the Symbol Library. Place this over the pipe, so it appears that the

valve is in line with the pipe flow.

There are many possible solutions – yours does not have to look exactly like this. Feel free to improvise

and be creative with your display.






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1. Create a new PI ProcessBook independent display using the following steps:

· Click on File > New.

· A new screen appears with three choices:

· ProcessBook (.piw) File;

· ProcessBook Entry;

· ProcessBook Display (.pdi) File.

· Select ProcessBook Display (.pdi) File and name it Exercise PB2.

· Click on the OK button. A new screen will appear with the name Exercise PB2.

· Save this ProcessBook with the name Exercise PB2.PDI.

2. It can be easier to arrange and align objects when the grid is activated. Select Arrange > Snap to

grid option.

3. Draw the tank by selecting Draw > Symbol Library. Once this option is selected, use the left button

of the mouse to select the area where you want to draw the symbol. Select the tank category, then a

tank symbol.

4. Click on Options if you want to change the color or fill pattern of the tank. Note that the color can

only be changed if the fill mode is Shaded, Solid or Hollow.





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5. Draw the pipes by selecting Draw > Symbol Library. Once this option is selected, use the left

button of the mouse to select the area where you want to draw the symbol. Select the pipes category,

then a horizontal pipe symbol. Stretch to fit. Repeat if necessary for the second pipe.

6. Draw the agitator by selecting Draw > Symbol Library. Once this option is selected, use the left

mouse button to select the area where you want to draw the symbol. Select the mixers category, then

a mixer symbol. Click on Options if you want to change the color or fill pattern of the tank.

7. Add a Text item by selecting Draw > Text. Write in the tank: Stirred Tank.

8. Draw the valve by selecting Draw > Symbol Library. Once this option is selected, use the left

button of the mouse to select the area where you want to draw the symbol. Select the valves

category, then a symbol. Click on Options if you want to change the color or fill pattern of the tank.

9. Save the display and exit the display.





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4. PI DataLink Basics

PI DataLink is an OSIsoft add-in for Microsoft Excel (and Lotus 1-2-3). This add-in lets you

import data from the PI System into a spreadsheet for further analysis. As the name implies, it

provides a link between the PI Server and spreadsheet programs running on Microsoft

Windows platforms. With PI DataLink, a user running Microsoft Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 can

exchange information directly with the PI System databases. This feature, combined with the

functionality of the spreadsheet programs themselves, make PI DataLink a powerful and

easy-to-use tool for gathering, analyzing, and reporting PI data. DataLink does this by

providing functions to query the PI Server for current and historical values, as well as

calculated data. You can also use DataLink to create trends involving PI and non-PI data.

And like PI ProcessBook, PI DataLink can tie into the PI Module Database for an alternate

way to find tags, which will be covered later.

It is important to note that DataLink 4.X and later is fully compatible with Excel 2007 and

uses the new Ribbon functionality, introducing a new Ribbon called PI. Older versions of

DataLink and version DataLink 4.X are still compatible with older versions of Excel, but the

functions will be presented in a menu format instead. The visuals provided are all for Excel

2007 and DataLink 4.X.

It is also important to note that PI DataLink is an add-in for Excel. For versions of DataLink

3.X and less, this means that even after installing the PI DataLink software, you must still

locate the add-in and manually add it in to Excel. The add-in is located in \\PIPC\Excel.

By default, the PIPC directory is in Program Files, but this is customizable, so you will need

to know where it is on each machine. For versions 4.X and later, the add-in is automatically

installed during the installation process.

4.1 DataLink Navigation

You can change all of the settings for DataLink by going to the Settings icon in the Resources

section of the PI ribbon.





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1. Sets how tags selected in the Tag Search dialog window are copied onto the spreadsheet: Columns

(default) or Rows

2. Sets various display functions within PI DataLink reports. None are used by default.

3. Sets the Number and Time formats used by PI DataLink.

4. Sets the method and Interval for the Automatic Update function.

Note 1: The Calculate option means that values are only recalculated for DataLink functions that

reference Excel time functions and not times in PI time format. The Full Calculate option must be used

to recalculate both DataLink functions based on Excel time functions and on PI time format.

Note 2: The default of 0 for the Interval is considered Auto, which is a 5 second interval.

There are also several helpful tricks for each section on the PI Ribbon. You can hover the

mouse over a function to cause a description to appear. If you need more assistance, there is





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DataLink Help documentation available from the Help icon in the Resources section. Many

of the functions have a small triangle near them, which expands a menu to give you preset

functions with specific points in time for you to query. Just click on one of the desired

options to use it.

Because PI DataLink is a set of additional functions within Microsoft Excel, DataLink

queries can use either the PI Time format of using absolute and combined times, or it can use

the Excel time format, which is itself a set of functions. Most people who are familiar with

the PI Time format find it easier to use it in these queries and calculations, but many people

in an organization are not necessarily familiar with this time format, and thus use the Excel

Time format. Any time that can be expressed in the PI Time format can also be expressed in

the Excel time format. For example:

Excel Time PI Time Time signified

=TODAY() T Today at 00:00:00

=Today() – 1 Y Yesterday at 00:00:00

=NOW() * Now

=Now() - 3/24 *-3h 3 hours ago

Note: These Excel functions are in units per day.

Unlike other client tools, PI DataLink does not automatically update as new PI data is

available in the Snapshot. There are a few different ways to update your spreadsheet. You can

press the F9 key to recalculate Excel dynamic time functions and the Current Value function.

It does recalculate other PI DataLink functions based on these functions. The other way to

recalculate your spreadsheet is to press CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+F9 simultaneously. This key

combination does everything that F9 does and also recalculates other PI DataLink functions

based on relative PI time, such as 'Monday', '*', '*-3h'. With PI DataLink version 4.1.1, there

is a new Automatic Update button that can be configured to use either option. To configure

which option and the refresh rate, go to the Settings icon in the Resources section of the PI

Ribbon as previously discussed.

There are two other tools that should look familiar from the Common Dialogs section

previously discussed. The first is the PI Connection Manager dialog window. This can be

opened from the Connections icon in the Tools section of the PI Ribbon. As previously

described, this is how you manage your connection(s) to your PI Server(s). The second is the

Tag Search dialog window. This is found from the Tag Search icon in the Tools section of the

PI Ribbon. This tool returns a list of tags that you found during your search. This is useful to

use to retrieve a list of tag names for cell references for later PI DataLink queries.

OSIsoft recommends that it is best practice to build your spreadsheet using references to cells

for the Tag Name, Start Time and End Time and any other desired parameters. This allows

you to change your functions easily and see how the PI data or calculations change

accordingly.





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4.1.1 Directed Exercise – PI and Excel Times



Problem Description

Fill in the table converting the desired times into PI and Excel times

Approach





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4.2 Simple DataLink Queries

4.2.1 Current Value

The first DataLink function we will discuss is the Current Value (=PICurrVal). This function

retrieves the Snapshot value for a tag. No timestamp is provided to the query, as it is always

assumed to be now (* in PI time or =NOW() in Excel time). When you click the Current

Value icon in the Single Value section of the PI Ribbon (or select it from the menu in older

versions of PI DataLink), a configuration pane opens. You will need to provide it with the PI

Server name and the Tagname. It should be noted that the PI Server defaults to the default

server you specified in the PI Connections Manager, but any PI Server you are connected to

can be specified, either in a cell reference or selected from the drop-down menu in the

selection pane. The Tagname can also be a cell reference. This can be quite useful for

building a single display that easily transitions between sets of data for various tags. Finally,

you must specify the Output Cell where you would like the PI data to be written in the

spreadsheet. Below this Output Cell designation are radio buttons that allow you to choose if

and how the timestamp is displayed. The default is for no timestamp to be shown.

4.2.2 Archive Value

The other DataLink function that returns a single value is the Archive Value (=PIArcVal).

This function retrieves an archived value at a specific timestamp. Similar to the Current

Value function, this function requires you to set the PI Server, Tagname, and Output Cell,

and timestamp location. You must additionally, however, provide a Timestamp in the past.

This timestamp may either be in Excel time or PI time, and additionally may be a cell

reference to a cell containing either of those. The one additional piece of information required

is the Retrieval Mode, which prompts a discussion of those modes.





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4.2.3 Retrieval Mode

When you request a value from the PI Archive, there are several options for how it is returned

to you. The first is Exact Time. This will only retrieve a value from the PI archive for the

specified time if and only if an archived value exists at that exact time. Previous and Next

retrieves, respectively, the previous or next compressed event from the timestamp specified.

If a compressed event does exist at the exact timestamp, it is retrieved. The Previous Only

and Next Only retrieval modes will retrieve the same compressed events, except if there is a

compressed event at that exact timestamp. In this case, it is ignored and the previous or next

compressed event is retrieved. The two remaining options are Interpolated and Auto. These

two retrieval modes behave very similarly. The Interpolated retrieval mode behaves as you

would expect and interpolates a value at the exact timestamp you specified, with an error

margin based on your compression settings for that tag. The Auto retrieval mode, which is

the default, has the exact same behavior for any tag in which the Step attribute is turned to

Off. When the Step attribute is turned to On, then the retrieval mode behaves as the Previous

retrieval mode. The graphic below demonstrates the difference in the Auto retrieval mode

based on the Step function being On or Off.





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4.2.4 Tag Attributes

Because it is possible to retrieve interpolated values, it is important to know the Exception

and Compression attributes for the tag(s) you have retrieved. It is possible to retrieve these

attributes, and any other attributes, for a tag using the Tag Attributes function (=PITagAtt).

The Tag Attributes function is in the Tag Information section of the PI Ribbon. Like the

other DataLink functions discussed, you must specify a PI Server and the tag(s), or cell

references to this information. You must then select the Tag Attribute you would like to

retrieve, or a cell reference with the Tag Attribute listed. Finally, you must specify the

Output Cell.

4.2.5 Exercise – Activity Report



Objectives

Learn to extract single values and Tag Attributes from the PI database using the following

functions:

Current value;

Archive value;

Tag attributes.

Problem Description





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You need to build a basic activity report using data collected in your PI Server. You want this type of

report to show values from the production plant floor before morning meeting. This report will show

current values and ones from a specified time every morning.

Approach

We will use the Current Value, Archive Value and Tag Attributes features to fill in a template of an

activity report. Remember that we should base our PI DataLink queries on cell references whenever

possible. Open the file Exercise_DL1_Template.xls and fill in data into all of the fields. Note all of the

tags used in this example have engineering units.






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1. Open the file Exercise_DL1_Template.xls.

2. Select on the cell B7.

3. On the Ribbon, click on PI > Tag Attributes.

4. In the task pane click in the Tagname(s) field.

5. Click and drag through cells A7 through A11 to select the cell range.

6. In the Attributes drop-down select descriptor.

7. Click on the OK button.

8. Select the cell C7.

9. Repeat Steps 3 – 7 instead selecting engunits in the Attributes drop-down.

10. Select on the cell D7.

11. On the Ribbon, click on PI > Current Value.



14. Select the time at left radio button.


16. Select on the cell B19.

17. On the Ribbon, click on PI > Archive Value (not on the drop down menu).



20. In the task pane click in the Timestamp field.

21. Select the cell D14.

22. In the Retrieval Mode drop down list select

interpolated.

23. Select the time at left radio button.


25. Repeat steps 17 – 24 for the columns to the

right, changing the Retrieval Mode to the

appropriate selection from the heading (e.g.,

change the Retrieval Mode drop down list to

previous for the Previous column, etc.).





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Note 1: Notice that you can use the PI Datalink functions without the dialog box. Simply type in the

formulas as follows:

Tag attribute:

Syntax =PITagAtt("tagname","NameOfAttributeYouWant","PIServer")

Example =PITagAtt($A$7,"descriptor",)or =PITagAtt("sinusoid","units",)

Current Value:

Syntax =PICurrVal("tagname",Outcode, "PIServer")

Example =PICurrVal($A$7,1,)

Archive value:

Syntax =PIArcVal("tagname","Date",Outcode, "PIServer", Mode)





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Where Mode = "interpolated" or "previous" or "next"

Example =PIArcVal($A$7,$D$13,1,, "Interpolated")

Exact Time Value:

Syntax =PIExTimeVal("tagname","Date","PIServer")

Example =PIExTimeVal($A$7,$H$25,)

Note 2: We have seen that it is possible to enter a formula by entering one tag at a time. However, it is

possible to save time by selecting a range of cells instead of a single cell or using the copy/paste function

of MS Excel. You must edit the formula and remove any unnecessary $ characters (absolute cell

references) before using MS Excel copy/paste function.

Note 3: Note the impact of the point type and step attributes when you use archive value. For digital tags,

the interpolated and previous values are equal and have the same timestamp because no interpolation is

possible between states.

4.3 Multiple Value DataLink Queries

There are three types of queries you can perform to return multiple values. They are

Compressed Data, Sampled Data, and Timed Data. Compressed Data returns all of the

values that were actually archived during the specified time range. This means that you will

only retrieve the events that passed Exception and Compression Testing. If an event was

filtered out due to these tests, you will not see them. Sampled Data retrieves values evenly

spaced in time. These values are interpolated from the archived values. As such, you may

miss maxima and minima in your overall trends, but each data point is a valid interpolation

(or exact match) of your actual trend at that timestamp. See the graphic below for a clearer

picture. Finally, there is Timed Data, which retrieves interpolated (or exact match) events

that match a series of timestamps. This is most often used when comparing the Compressed

Data of one tag with the Timed Data values of another tag to determine correlation between

variables.





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4.3.1 Compressed Data

The Compressed Data function (=PICompDat) is in the Multiple Values section of the PI

Ribbon. There are two different ways to query for information. You can either choose a

Time Range, or a Number of Values. To choose between these two, there is a radio button.

The default selection is Time Range.

As should be expected, you must specify the PI Server and Tag(s), either explicitly or by

cell reference. You must then provide the Start Time and End Time. One should note that if

you switch the timestamps for Start and End Times, the data will be returned in reverse

order.

The next field is optional and is the Filter field. We will return to this field later. There is an

associated check box that will show or hide the filtered data zone(s).

The next drop down menu is how to treat data at the beginning and end of the time range.

Similar to the options for retrieving a single archived point, retrieving multiple values can be

obtained differently. These differences, however, occur only at the boundaries. The default





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choice is Inside, and will retrieve events that only fall within the specified time range.

Outside will retrieve all of the events inside the time range specified, plus one more event

before and after, respectively, of the time range specified. The exception is if the end time

specified is now (* or =NOW()), then no future events can be retrieved. Interpolated will

return compressed events within the time range specified, plus an interpolated event at the

exact timestamps of the start and end time specified. As before, Auto has the same behavior

as Interpolated for all tags with the Step attribute turned Off, but will retrieve data with the

behavior of Inside for all tags with Step turned On. You then need to specify an Output

Cell.

There are several optional checkboxes that will affect what is displayed, none of which are

selected by default. The first is Hide Count. When this box is unchecked, the top line of your

results will return the number of events that were found within that time range. When this box

is checked, this line is not displayed and only the results are shown. The Timestamps

checkbox determines if only the tag values are returned, or if the corresponding timestamp is

also retrieved. Quality bits and annotations will return additional fields if there are any

annotations or quality bits associated with the compressed events within the time range

specified. Finally, there is a pair of radio buttons that determine if the results are returned in

rows or columns.





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The Number of Values option for this query behaves similarly, but rather than a specific

time range, you will specify a Start Time and the Number of Values that you would like to

retrieve. You can also check the box to have this go backwards, rather than forwards in time.

4.3.2 Sampled Data

Sampled Data (=PISampDat) is also found in the Multiple Values section of the PI Ribbon.

As stated before, this function retrieves evenly spaced interpolated values from the archive.

Much like the Compressed Data query, you must specify PI Server, Tag(s), Start Time,

End Time, and Output Cell. You have the optional parameters of a Filter Expression (to be

covered later) and timestamp display. The main difference is the Time Interval field. This

field requires a PI Time that will be used to divide the time range you specified into discreet

timestamps at which data events will be interpolated.

4.3.3 Timed Data

The final Multiple Value query is the Timed Data function (=PITimeDat), which is also in

the Multiple Values section of the PI Ribbon. This function retrieves sampled data

synchronized with an array of time values. Again the PI Server, Tag name, Data retrieval

mode, and Output Cell must be specified. In this case, the times used to retrieve events must

be a range of cells, rather than a hardcoded time. This is typically done by querying one tag

for events, and then using those timestamps to find the values for other, related tags.

4.4 Arrays in PI DataLink

The Multiple Value functions just discussed actually return an array of values and

timestamps. These values can change in size based on the tag used, the time range specified,

and exception and compression settings. Therefore, it can be necessary to resize the array.

There are two signs that you should resize the array. First, if you have too few values in the

array and you have the “Display #N/A instead of Blanks” option checked in your Settings,

then you will see the appropriate rows and columns displaying the #N/A message. If you

have too many values, you will receive the message “Resize to show all values” at the

bottom of the array. If you need to resize the array, there are three options available. First,

you can manually resize the array by selecting the new cell range for the array and pressing

F2. Then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER simultaneously. Another method to resize the array

is via the dialog window. You should right-click on a cell in the array, select the name of the

function in the contextual menu, do the modifications in the dialog window, and then click on

OK. Finally, you can right-click on a cell in the array and select the Recalculate (Resize)

PIDL Formula option.





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Questions

1. What is the advantage of having PI DataLink reports using cell references containing Excel

dynamic time functions instead of PI time?

2. What are the three ways to resize an Excel array generated with a PI DataLink function?

3. Using one of the Compressed Data functions, what additional information will be provided if the

Show Value Attributes and Show Annotations options are checked?

Answers

1. The PI DataLink functions will be refreshed when the Excel spreadsheet is Calculated. To refresh PI

Time functions, a Full Recalculate must be performed.

2. Manually (select new array, press F9, press CTRL-SHIFT-ENTER), selecting the Recalculate

(Resize) PIDL formula option from the right click menu, or going back into the PI DataLink

function dialog and clicking the OK button.

3. For each one of the retrieved archived values, the questionnable, substituded and annotated flags

will be retrieved if the Show Value Attributes option is checked. If the Show Annotation option is

checked and there is an annotation to the value, it will also be retrieved.

4.4.2 Exercise – Operational Start Up



Objectives

Learn to retrieve process data using the Compressed Data function.

Problem Description

You need to compare the values stored in the PI Server that relate to the startup of a piece of equipment in

your facility. You want to determine if there is any deviation between startup operations by examining

today and comparing it to the same time period from the day before. The tag you want to use as a metric

is CDT158. Your shift begins at 6:30 am in the morning and you want to gather the first 30 values

beginning at that time for today and yesterday, and do some quick math to determine the deviation. A ten

percent deviation in a positive or negative direction will be considered over / under range. All other

outcomes will be considered nominal.





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Approach

We need to create a spreadsheet that will show the first 30 values today using the tag

CDT158. We want to compare these values to the previous day‟s starting 30 values. Open the

file Exercise_DL2_Template.xls and fill in data into all of the fields. Both queries are using

the Compressed Data (Start Time / Number) query. Use cell references for all of the dialog

box fields. The formulas used to compare the two queries are found in the upper right portion

of the spreadsheet. They both have a single quote inserted before the equal sign so MS Excel

will treat them as strings and not formulas. You can copy and paste the contents and then

remove the leading single quotes.






Page 57



2. Select cell A10.

3. On the Ribbon, Click PI > Compressed Data.

4. In the task pane select the Number of Values radio

button.


6. Click on cell B3.

7. In the task pane click in the Start Time field.


9. In the task pane click in the Number of Values field.


11. In the task pane select the Show Timestamps check box.


13. Select on cell D10.

14. Repeat steps 4-13 but modify the Start Time field for the

today‟s start time (cell B4).

15. Select cell K3.

16. In the Formula Bar select all except the single quote at

the beginning of the expression.

17. Paste the expression without the single quote into cell

G10.

18. Propagate the result down to cell G39 by dragging the cell

by the lower-right corner (cursor will change to a black

cross).

19. Select on cell K6.

20. In the Formula Bar select all, except the single quote at

the beginning of the expression.

21. Paste the expression without the single quote into cell

I10.

22. Propagate the result down to cell I39 by dragging the

cell‟s handle at the lower-right corner.





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5. RtWebParts Basics

5.1 Introduction to RtWebParts

RtWebParts is a set of OSIsoft‟s third party web parts for Microsoft‟s SharePoint server.

RtWebParts pages have these features:

No local installation is required;

No direct connection to the PI Server is required;

Requests and renders data from several data sources (not limited to only PI data);

Repository for files and documents;

Accessible from any computer with internet access and the SVG viewer plug-in.

Because of these features, RtWebParts is considered a thin client. This makes it much more

accessible to members of your organization and means that fewer people need a working

knowledge of PI, while maintaining the visibility of your PI data. You can view your data

from anywhere at any time. The advantages of RtWebParts pages are that you can share files

and documents in online Document Libraries, making it so there is only one version of the

truth because everyone views same data. It also increases team collaboration and

productivity.

5.2 Web Part Pages

A web part page is a special type of Windows SharePoint Services page that contains web

parts. A web part page contains WSS zones. A single web part or multiple web parts are

located within a zone. These web parts can be WSS web parts, RtWebParts, or other third

party web parts. Each zone is configured independently. These zones can be configured to

pass parameters between them to create interactive web part pages. Overall, the display

environment offered by SharePoint and RtWebParts is highly configurable and can be

tailored to your specific needs.

5.2.1 Directed Exercise – Create a New Team Site



Problem Description

You need a new Team Site for the Web Part Pages that you will be building during the

remainder of the course.

Approach





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Create a new Team Site with the same permissions as the parent.

5.2.2 Document Library

A Document Library is an online storage location for Web Part pages and shared documents

and files. The documents stored here can be used as a central point for users needing to view

and edit this material. It can also be used to link these documents to specific web parts for

display purposes. We will cover this in more detail later.

To create a new Document Library, click on the Site Actions drop-down menu in the upper

right corner and select the Create link. This will open a new web page with several choices

for the page you are going to create. Click on the Document Library link in the left column

of the Create page and name the library. It should be noted that SharePoint and RtWebParts

both support multiple document libraries. There is no default document library, so when

selecting a library, they are presented in alphabetical order. Finally, click on the Create button

to create your library.

You can open a document library by clicking View All Site Content on the Top Bar menu

and then clicking the document library name in the Document Libraries section. If you

chose to add the document library to the Quick Launch bar, you can also click the document

library name there to open it.

5.2.3 Web Part Pages

Web Part Pages are where you will add and configure various web parts. It is similar to

ProcessBook, where the Team Site in Web Parts is analogous to a ProcessBook Workbook

and the Web Part Pages are analogous to the ProcessBook Entries. To create a new Web Part

Page, click on the Site Actions drop-down menu in the upper right corner and select the

Create link. This will open a new web page with several choices for the page you are going

to create. Click on the Web Part Page link in the right column of the Create page and name

the page. You can change which layout you use for this Web Part Page. While this is

configurable, for the demonstrations and exercises, we will be using the default Web Part

Page layout. Select which Document Library you would like to store this Web Part Page.

Finally, click on the Create button to create your library.

Once a web part page has been created, you can start adding web parts to the zones. Adding

web parts is a lot more intuitive in SharePoint 2007. To add, modify, change layout, or delete

web parts you must be in Design mode. You enter Design mode, click Site Actions> Edit

Page. An Add a Web Part button will be available for each web part zone to which you can

add web parts. In Edit mode, click the Add a Web Parts button for the zone you want to

insert the web part into. You can then select one or many Web Parts. Click OK.

Now that you have a web part page with web parts added to zones, you must configure the

web parts. To configure a web part, go to the upper right corner of the specific web part (title

bar) and click the downward triangle (Web Part menu). Select the Modify Web Part

command. The configuration pane is displayed on the right side of the page. From here, the

configuration of each web part varies. We will go into the RtWebParts configuration shortly.





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5.2.4 Exercise – Basic SharePoint



Objectives

Navigate a SharePoint site;

Create a web part page;

Insert and modify web parts in a web part page.

Problem Description

You are new to SharePoint. You have your own team site, but you need to be familiar with how to get

around.

Approach

Close your browser if it is open to your Team Site. Open a browser and login in to the SharePoint server

using the credentials given by the instructor earlier. Navigate to your Team Site using one of the methods

used in class. Use the Create function to add a new Document Library. Call this Document Library:

ProcessBook Files. Add links to the default Links web part to the following URLs:

www.osisoft.com;

www.cnn.com;

www.microsoft.com;

One of your classmate‟s team sites (you will have to navigate to one of their sites

and copy the URL from the Address Bar in the browser).

Extra Credit

Replace the image in the upper right of your home page with another icon or image. You will have to:

Copy an image to your desktop (make sure before you upload it that it is a correct

size - double-click to open it and resize if necessary);

Upload it to your Shared Documents Library;

Copy the URL;

Edit the web part and add the URL.


http://www.osisoft.com/

http://www.cnn.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/





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1. Navigate to your SharePoint Team Site.

2. Click on the Site Actions > Create. The menu is located on the upper right side of the page.

3. Click on Document Library at the top of the left hand column.

4. Enter information regarding the name and the layout of the document library page.

· Enter ProcessBook Files as page name;

· Leave the other default settings;

· Click on the Create button to validate your selection.





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5. On your site, click on the Add New Link link.

6. Add a website URL from the list.





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7. Add a description. This is what displayed on your web page, e.g.

“CNN” would be displayed for www.cnn.com.

http://www.cnn.com/





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Extra Credit Step-by-Step Solution

1. Find an image on the internet and save it to your desktop

(Right-click > Save Picture As…).

2. Resize the image as necessary. The size of the image

displayed is how it will appear on your webpage.

3. Click on Shared Documents on your website.

4. Click on the Upload Document link.

5. Browse to your picture and click on the Open button.

6. Click on your uploaded picture.

7. Copy the URL to your clipboard (Right-click > Copy

Shortcut).

8. Navigate back to your home page.

9. Click on Site Actions > Edit Page.

10. In the Site Image box, click on the Edit > Modify

Shared Web Part link.

11. Paste the URL of your picture to the image link.


13. Click on the Exit Edit Mode link.





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5.3 Using and Configuring RtWebParts

RtWebParts are third party web parts that can be used to display processes, documents and

information for effective team collaboration based on Microsoft SharePoint technology. The

special features of the web parts included in RtWebParts are that they can request and render

data from RtBaseline (PI, relational, and web service data sources) and that they

update/refresh automatically.

The following configuration section applies to all RtWebParts:

Time Range

Selected Data

Appearance

Layout

Advanced

The RtWebParts Tag Search is similar to PI smart clients tag search. Advanced and default

search modes can be toggled by hitting the More/Less link in the upper right corner.

5.3.1 RtGauge

The simplest RtWebPart is the RtGauge. The RtGauge web part displays an analog style

gauge with a pointer that indicates the real-time value of the configured data point with

respect to the scale around the perimeter. Hovering over the gauge causes a tooltip to appear

indicating the displayed real-time value. Only one data point can be represented per gauge.

Many gauges can be added to the web part in horizontal or vertical format. The following

configuration section applies specifically to the RtGauge part:

Format

Legend

Zone and Scale

You can open an Ad hoc Trend of the tag over the time range specified in the RtGauge

configuration by selecting the Ad hoc Trend option from the RtGauge web part menu.

5.3.2 Exercise – Configure the RtGauge



Objectives

Familiarize yourself with configuring a web part.

Problem Description





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You are new to RtWebParts. You have your own team site, but you are not sure how to use it.

You want to try to configure a simple web part, and have selected the RtGauge web part.

Approach

Create a new page in your Team Site called Exercise_R2. If you are not already in Edit

Mode, select Edit Page from the upper right page menu. Add an RtGauge web part to any

zone. Click on the upper-right menu icon for that web part and select Modify Shared Web

Part. Add the tags BA:CONC.1, BA:LEVEL.1, and BA:TEMP.1. Configure each of the tags

separately based on the table below.

Tag Configuration

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3

BA:CONC.1 Color Green Red

Label Normal High

Range 80% 20%

BA:LEVEL.1 Color Blue Orange

Label Normal High

Range 90% 10%

BA:TEMP.1 Color Blue Green Red

Label Cold Normal Hot

Range 20% 70% 10%

Orient the RtGauges horizontally and quit Edit mode.






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1. Navigate to your SharePoint Team Site.

2. Click on Site Actions > Create. The menu is located on the upper right side of the page.

3. Click Web Part Page in the far right column.

4. Enter information regarding the name and the layout of the web part page

· Enter Exercise_R2 as page name;







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5. Add web parts to the newly created web part page.

· Click on the Add a Web Part button located on the header zone.

· Choose the RtGauge Web Part (scroll down).

· Click on the Add button.

6. In the RtGauge web part, click Edit > Modify Shared Web Part.

7. In the edit pane, click the Tag Search icon.

8. In the Name mask field, enter BA* and then click on the Search button.





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9. Double click on the listed tags or select the tags and click on the Add button.

10. Click on the OK button at the bottom of the window.

11. In the Modify Shared Web Part pane on the right

· Select the tag BA:CONC.1.

· Change the number of zones to 2.

· Change Zone 1 color to Green.

· Change the Label to Normal.

· Change the Total Scale Percentage to 80.

· Select Zone 2.

· Change Zone 2 Label to High.

· Change Zone 2 Color to Red.

· Change Zone 2 Total Scale Percentage to 20.

· Repeat for the remaining two (2) tags.

· Note that the default setting for the gauge is

horizontal.

12. Click on the OK button at the bottom of the edit

pane.


5.3.3 RtValues

The RtValues web part presents single events and can be configured to present summary

values such as the average, minimum, maximum, or standard deviation. This data is updated

automatically and can be sorted by clicking on the column title. Clicking on a Dataset will

open an ad hoc trend, as will selecting Ad hoc Trend in the RtValues web part menu.

In the RtValues configuration, the Table Columns section is used to add and remove

columns from the web part. If you are displaying values for a large number of tags, the

Number of Rows to Display parameter can be adjusted to specify the number you show at

one time. The additional rows are hidden, but can be paged through by using the arrow

navigation at the bottom right corner of the RtValues web part. Formatting templates can be

created and selected in the Behavior Settings dropdown. Template creation is part of the





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RtWebParts User and Administration class and is beyond the scope of this course. For now,

we will leave this with the default. The Summary Parameters section is used to configure

the Calculation Interval, Interval Type, Sync Time and Conversion factor (which is only

applicable to Totalizations). You can also choose to use the web part time range and to

display the summary settings.

There are three types of Intervals that can be chosen. The first is type Fixed. If you have an

average that is being calculated over an hour and it is scheduled on the hour, then the Fixed

Interval will only display the last fully run hour and will not update during the hour. The

second Interval type is Running. Using the same calculation as before, this Interval type will

begin the average calculation at the top of the hour and continuously update the average over

the course of the hour as new data becomes available. The final Interval type is Moving.

Again using the concept of an hour average, this Interval type will calculate the average over

the last hour, or, expressed in PI Time, *-1h to *.

5.3.4 Exercise – Configure RtValues WebPart



Objectives

Configure the RtValues web part.

Problem Description

You understand how to configure a basic web part. You want to try the RtValues web part.

Approach

Create a new page in your Team Site called Exercise_R3. Add one RtValues web part to any zone. Add

all of the tags that begin with BA: to the data area. In the selected columns choose DataSet, Time, Value,

Interval Minimum, and Interval Maximum. The Calculation Interval should be set to 24h and the sync

time to 00:00:00 (this will give yesterday‟s statistics). You want to display the Summary Settings in the

web part. Click on the OK button and on the Exit Edit Mode link.






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1. On your SharePoint webpage, click on Site Actions > Create.

2. Click on Web Part Page.









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4. In one of the zones, click on the Add Web Part button.

5. Check the RtValues web part, click on the Add button.

6. In the RtValues web part, click Edit > Modify Shared Web Part.

7. In the Modify Shared Web Part pane on the

right:

· Click the Tag Search icon.

· In the Name mask field enter BA* and click

on the Search button.

· Hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard

and select all tags in the list and then click

on the Add button.

· Click on the OK button.

· In the Available Columns area, select

Interval Minimum.

· Click the down arrow just below the list.

· Repeat with Interval Maximum.

· In the Selected Columns area, select the

Current State column.

· Click the up arrow just above the Selected

Columns area.

· Repeat with Dataset.

· Select the entries in the Selected Columns

area and use the up and down arrows just

below to arrange the items in the specified

order.

· Under Summary Parameters in the

Calculation Interval field enter 24h.

· Check Display Summary Settings box.







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5.3.5 RtTimeSeries

The RtTimeSeries web part presents columns and rows of time series (archived) data. The

configuration of this web part is nearly identical to that of the RtValues previously presented.

The biggest difference is that this web part uses the time range specified as the bounds of the

data that it retrieves.

It should be noted that data contained in the RtTimeseries and RtValues tables can also be

exported to Excel by selecting the Export to Excel>Open option from the web part menu.

Note: It is a known issue that the Export to Excel>Save function does not work. The work around is to

use the Export to Excel>Open and then save the opened Excel spreadsheet.



chapter or section. The answers can be found at the end of this document.

Questions

1. True or False: To obtain their values, the RtWebParts are connecting directly to a PI server.

2. True or False: If you need to display four gauges on your page, you need to insert and configure four

RtGauge web parts.

Answers

1. False, the RtWebParts connect to RtBaseline. It is RtBaseline that maintains a connection to the PI

server(s) and also to the external data sources.

2. False, a single RtGauge web part can be configured to display multiple gauges.

5.3.7 Exercise – Configure RtTimeSeries WebPart



Objectives

Familiarize yourself with configuring an RtTimeSeries web part.

Problem Description





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You want to see historical data for a tag.

Approach

Create a new page in your Team Site called Exercise_R4. Add one RtTimeSeries web part. Configure it to

show the last 4 hours of data for the tag CDT158.






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5. Check the RtTimeSeries web part, click on the Add button.

6. In the RtTimeSeries web part, click Edit > Modify Shared

Web Part.


· Change the value in the Start Time field to *-4h.


· In the Name mask field enter CDT158 and click on the

Search button.

· Double click on the listed tags or select the tags and

click on the Add button.

· Click on the OK button in the Tag Search window.

8. Click on the OK button at the bottom of the edit pane.






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6. More PI ProcessBook

6.1 Dynamic Elements

Dynamic Elements are ProcessBook objects that are linked to PI data and that update in real-

time. The following Dynamic Elements can be added to a display:

Trend

XY Plots

Bar Graphs

Dynamic Values

Multi-State Objects

Hovering the mouse cursor over an object presents an Identifying Tooltip. The Tooltip

shows the object's associated tag's current value. If the object is multi-state, it also presents

the current state.

Data Favorites is a way to store a persistent list of the tags you reference the most often. It is

accessed by View> Data Favorites. This allows you to configure dynamic elements by

dropping a Datasource from the list onto the display or element. You specify if you would

like to create a Bar, Trend, Dynamic Value or XY Plot elements when a data reference is

dropped. Additional traces are added when dropped onto an existing Trend or XY Plot. You

can also create multiple items at a time.

The Data Favorites pane consists of two sections, the Search and Favorites sections. The

Search section is where you can search for tags based on tag mask or use the Tag Search icon

to open a dialog for increased search options. When the tags are listed, you can drag and drop

individual tags into your Favorites section, or you can select one or multiple tags, right-click,

and then select Add to Favorites. The list of Data Favorites is local to the machine only. So

to propagate a consistent list of Data Favorites across multiple physical machines, it is

possible to import and export your list of Data Favorites to and from a file. Simply right-click

in the Favorites section and choose the appropriate action. You can import favorite tags from

any applications supporting drag and drop like Excel, Word, etc.

6.1.1 Trends

To build a trend in a display, you must first be in Build mode. There are then three different

ways to build a trend. You can just drag and drop the Data Favorite with the Trend option

selected. Alternatively, you can use the menu option by selecting Draw > Trend or use the

toolbar by clicking on the Trend icon. Then draw a rectangle with the mouse to define the

size of the trend. A design window with four different tabs allows configuration of the trend:

General;

Display Format;

Trace Format;

Layout.





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Under the General Tab you will name the trend under Plot and select PI tags or Data Sets to

display using the Tag Search or Data Sets buttons. There is a maximum of fifty traces by

default, but this setting can be changed. You can adjust the vertical axis to use a single,

multiple, or logarithmic scale. You can also add a regression line in the form y=mx+b,

where m is the slope and b is the y-intercept. The scale Minimum and Maximum can be set

to use the Database, which uses the tag‟s zero and span to determine minimum and

maximum, Autorange, which uses the minimum and maximum values recorded over the

specified time range, or User Defined, where the user can specify an absolute range.

You will also need to specify the Start and End times. There are several predefined time

ranges provided in a drop down menu, but you can also enter your own PI Time, whether it is

an absolute or a combined time. You also have three choices as to how the timestamp is

displayed: full, partial, or relative timestamp.

When you first build the trend, you can create more than one trend at a time using the

New/Delete options. Each time you click the New button, it will add an entire other trend,

rather than add an additional trace to the existing trend. You can use the drop down menu of

Plot Names to cycle through the different trends and configure each one separately.

Under the Display Format tab, you get to customize how the trend is displayed. You can use

the radio buttons to set whether the trend tracks horizontally (default) or vertically. There are

a number of checkboxes that control the Legend and Display. The choices are:

Tag name (right side, default);

Description (under the trend);

Value (right side, default);

Engineering units (right side, default).

Title (upper left corner, default);

Vertical axis scale inside (default);

Grid (default);

Markers (indicates PI archived values).

The sample window at the bottom allows you to view the selected options. According to the

space available for a trend, some elements might not show even if they were selected. In Full

Screen mode, all options are automatically displayed.

The Trace Format Tab is used to define pens, text, axis and background:

Color;

Marker type;

Line style ;

Line thickness.

Again, the sample window allows you to view the selected options.

The Layout tab is only available during trend creation. This tab allows the user to define the

respective position of different trends when multiple trends are created at once. To add a new

trend in the current window, use the New Plot tool in the General tab. A preview is shown

on the building screen. Click on the zone to update the display.





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Note: The trends that were built in this method are no longer connected in any way and can be edited and

moved independently.

You can also use the toolbar to quickly set the Trend:

Font

Font size

Font style

Trend background

Use the Format paintbrush to copy the formatting properties to another trend. Double-clicking

the Formatting Paintbrush button allows you to apply formatting to more than one symbol.

To turn off the formatting paintbrush selection, click the button again or press the ESC key.

6.1.2 XY Plots

XY Plots, also known as Scatter Plots, are used to show relationships between value sets. It is

a powerful tool to graphically show the correlation between two or more tags.

Values on the horizontal scale (x-axis) represent the values of a PI point rather than time. To

create an XY Plot, you again must be in Build mode. You can then drag and drop from the

Data Favorites pane with XY Plot as your default dynamic element. Or you can go through

the Draw>XY Plot menu or the XY Plot icon on the toolbar. This action will open up a new

dialog similar to the Trend configuration dialog.

In the Define XY Plot dialog box the first tag you select will become the base for the plot

(the radio button will be selected). The base will be set at the position of the x-axis. The

second and any additional tags will be represented against the y-axis. You can change the tag

used as the base tag by selecting a different tag‟s radio button.

Under Data Retrieval Methods, you can select whether you will use the interpolated values,

or the actual recorded values. If you select interpolated values, you will have to specify an

interval to use as the sampling rate.

All tags you select to participate in the XY Plot whose radio buttons are blank will be

represented along the y-axis. You have a number of options for data retrieval. As with the

base tag, if you select interpolated, you will have to specify an interval to use as the sampling

rate. Your data retrieval method applies to individually selected tags in the Tags in Plot List

(unless Use for all Y tags is checked). The default data retrieval method is Synchronize.

To use multiple time ranges, select Recorded or Interpolated. In this case, data is paired by

position in the point list. If Interpolated is selected for the X Tag as well, the interval value

for the Y tag defaults to the one for the X tag. When Recorded is the retrieval mechanism,

the results are not skewed by minor timestamp differences.

To pair values by time, rather than by list position, choose one of these retrieval methods:

Synchronize, Match, Match or Previous, or Match or Next.

Match: This option will find the point for the y-axis corresponding to the exact

timestamp for the x-axis.





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Match or Previous: This option will find the point for the y-axis corresponding to

the exact timestamp for the x-axis. If there is none, it will find the value that is the

closest but at an earlier timestamp.

Match or Next: This option will find the point for the y-axis corresponding to the

exact timestamp for the x-axis. If there is none, it will find the value that is the

closest but at a later timestamp.

Synchronize: This option will synchronize data found for the x-axis with data for

the y-axis using the timestamps for the x-axis data.

Synchronize and Match use different PI SDK value retrieval methods. Synchronize uses

TimedValues. Match uses RecordedValues and then uses the ones where the timestamps

match.

Synchronize is disabled for ODBC and Custom Data Sets. If Synchronize or any of the

Match selections are chosen, the start and end times for that tag are set to the ones for the x-

axis tag.

Statistics are available for XYPlots. To access the Statistics Window, double-click on the top

part of the XY plot element.

You can always edit a Trend or XYPlot after it has been created. Select a trend, and click on

Edit > Selected Item or Double-click on the trend in Build mode.

6.1.3 Exercise – Building Trends in ProcessBook



Objectives

Build trends.

Familiarize yourself with the different trend building options.

Problem Description

You are now ready to create a trend with PI tags. You will need a new display in your workbook to do

this. Make sure you create the display inside your workbook.

Approach

Create a ProcessBook independent display file called Exercise PB3.PDI. The goal of this exercise is to

build a trend similar to the figure below using the following steps:

Add a trend containing the SINUSOID tag. Use the trend item from the tool bar.

(Hint: Make sure you are in build mode)

Make the trend show the last 5 days of values;

Label the trend so the title reads Exercise PB3.

If the time permits, add a second trend showing all of the tags that begin with the letters BA:.





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1. Create a new PI ProcessBook independent display using the following steps:

· Click on File > New.

· A new screen appears with three choices:




· Select ProcessBook Display (.pdi) File and name it Exercise PB3.

· Click on the OK button. A new screen will appear with the name Exercise PB3.

· Save this ProcessBook with the name Exercise PB3.PDI.

2. In Build mode, use the Trend tool ( ). Drag diagonally to create a rectangular area to contain the

trend. When you release the mouse button, the Trend definition dialog box is displayed.

3. Enter the following information in the General tab:

· Type the trend name in the plot box: Exercise PB3 - Trend;

· Use the Tag Search button to locate and select the SINUSOID tag. To facilitate the query, use a

mask like SIN*;





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· Specify the time range to display the last 5 days in the plot time section by setting the style to

Full time stamp, the Start field to *-5 Day and the End field to *;

· Click on the OK button to create the trend.

4. Save the trend object by saving the display using File > Save.

5. Optionally repeat the steps above except in the Tag Search find all tags with a tag mask of BA:*.

Leave the remainder of the options to their defaults.

6. Save the trend object by saving the display using File > Save.

6.1.4 Bars, Values, Multi-State Objects and Buttons

A Bar Graph shows the current value of a tag as compared to a specified range of values.

For example, a bar may be used to see the inventory in a tank going up or down, as the value

changes. The range of values can be the maximum and minimum values specified in the point

attributes, or a bar can be designed to show a specific range of values. For example, if a tag‟s

specified value is between 0 and 100 but it typically falls between 0 and 30, a bar can be

designed to show that range. However, if the value is outside the range of the bar, the bar will

appear to be the same value as one of the limits of the bar. The start of the bar scale may be

within the limits of the bar itself. This lets you display deviations from a standard or target

value. Bad values are shown with hash marks across the entire bar.

To place a Bar on your display, you must be in Build mode. Then you can access it by going

to Draw> Bar Graph or Bar Graph button on the toolbar. Bar Graphs can be horizontal or

vertical and can use customized colors. The minimum and maximum values of the Bar are

based on the PI point's zero and span attributes by default. They can also be based on a user-

defined minimum and maximum. Bar Graphs are unscaled, but you can use a scale from the

“Scales” category in the symbol library and text labels to create a custom scale.

A Value is the reading obtained at a particular moment in time for a tag in the PI database. A

value is shown as a number or a digital state string. The tag name and timestamp may also be

shown. The timestamp is the timestamp from the PI Server. A Dynamic Value shows the tag's

current or past value. Past values are displayed based on the end time of the lowest order

Trend in your display.

The PI Server uses three point types or value types, any of which may be used with a

Dynamic Value:

Real or floating point values can be positive or negative and have decimals.

Integer values are positive integers.

Digital values are strings describing discrete states such as On or Off.





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You can add one by going to View> Dynamic Value or the Value button in the toolbar. The

configuration choices are very simple:

Show or not the tag name (and where)

Show or not the timestamp (and where)

Show or not the engineering units

A Multi-State symbol is one that changes color to reflect changes in value for a particular

tag. Any object except a trend, graphic, button, or OLE object can be made a Multi-State

symbol by assigning a tag to it.

You determine the number of value ranges, and the colors assigned to each range. As the

value of the tag changes, the Multi-State symbol changes color to reflect the current value.

You can make a symbol seem to disappear by setting a state color to the background color or

to a color of none. For alarms or other purposes, you can set a state color to blink. After you

have drawn a symbol or copied one from the Symbol Library, select it with the Build mode

pointer. Select Edit > Multi-State or click the Multi-State Symbol button. The Multi-State

Symbol dialog box is displayed. In the Tag Name field, type the name of the tag you want to

assign to the symbol or click the Tag Search button to use the Tag Search feature. Select the

number of states for the symbol. If the number of states is not entered, the number defaults to

two. For digital tags, the number of states is automatically set to the number of defined states

for that tag. If desired, select a color that will be used when the information is bad from the

Color For Bad Data drop-down list. In the State field, choose State 1. In the adjacent

Values fields, a range of values for this state is displayed. The total range of the tag is

automatically divided by the number of states. If desired, you may change the range for this

state by manually entering new values. The total amount must equal exactly 100% when

entered manually. You can also click the Blink checkbox to make the color blink. For digital

tags, the state name is shown in these boxes. Select the color that will be used for the state

from the Color drop-down list.

Buttons are elements that create a link to other applications, such as a calculator or word

processor, or other ProcessBook workbooks or displays. They give you the ability to navigate

to the desired information quickly, efficiently, and logically can mean the difference between

an application that is useful and one that frustrates the user. There are two types of navigation

when using PI ProcessBook, and they are not exclusive.

Using the Workbook hierarchy;

Command Buttons within displays.

For example, if you find you work often with a particular display and frequently need to

update a report with the information you have been monitoring, you can add a Button that

automatically will open a spreadsheet program. You also can use a Button to connect to

frequently used displays, other ProcessBook workbooks, or Web sites.

Adding a Button is accessed by Draw> Button or the Button icon. You can configure the

Button to launch any operating system command, recognized file type, or any VBA-

developed macro. It can also be used for an internal navigation scheme.





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6.1.5 Exercise – Inserting Dynamic Elements into Displays


chapter or section. The answers can be found at the end of the exercise.

Objectives

Bar Graph;

Value of a PI Tag;

Multi-State Symbol;

Command Button.

Problem Description

Dynamic elements allow displaying changes of operating conditions in time, which facilitates the

understanding of the use of dynamic elements in schematics. With this exercise, you use the display

created in Exercise 2 and save it under Exercise PB4.PDI, add a level indicator and an alarm display (low

and high). Modify the design of the tank so that it graphically shows the level.

Approach

You need to edit the display entry in your ProcessBook display from Exercise 2 to contain the items

found in the list below (all items can be found in the Draw Menu). Try to use the Data Favorites add-in

to speed up the creation of dynamic elements.

One Dynamic Value indicating the level in the tank. You will use the tag

BA:LEVEL.1. Place that near the tank. You may wish to alter the color and size of

the text for visibility.

One Bar Graph to indicate visually the level in the tank. You will use the tag

BA:LEVEL.1. Place that over the tank body and make it slightly smaller than the

tank. This might be easier if you activate the Snap to Grid option by clicking on

Arrange > Snap to Grid. You will have to experiment with the Forward and

Backward options in the Arrange Menu to get the tank on the bottom, the bar

graph, and the mixer to display all at once.

Two Multi-state Symbols will act as visual alarms for high and low level. You will

use the tag BA:LEVEL.1 as the triggering tag. To do this, add two small circles or

squares to the display, off to one side of the tank. They will have the following

parameters:

The upper circle/square will be green if the value is below 50 and red if above

50.

The lower circle/square will be green if the value is above 10 and red if below

10.

One Multi-state Symbol will act as visual indicator of the valve position. You will

use the tag BA:ACTIVE.1. The valve itself will be a multi-state symbol with the

following parameters:





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Green if the state is ACTIVE

Red if the state is INACTIVE

Optional (time permitting)

Insert a command button in your display from the button icon. A configuration

dialog box appears. In the text item, enter Calculator. Select Operating system

command as its type. Finally, in the action item, enter the command line that will

start the calculator (Typically: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CALC.EXE or

C:\WINNT\system32\calc.exe).

Save the display by selecting File > Save.

One possible configuration example of this is shown below.






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Step-by-Step Solution With Data Favorites

1. Open the display created in Exercise 2.

2. Click on View > Data Favorites to make the window add-in appears.

3. Enter this Search Mask: BA:* and click on the left green arrow button ( ).

4. Locate the BA:LEVEL.1 tag from the result list and drag and drop it in the Favorites area.

5. Click on the drop-down list of the Default Symbol of the Data Favorites windows and choose

Value.

6. From the Favorites area, drag and drop the BA:LEVEL.1 tag into the blank display. Write Level (%)

above the value by selection Draw > Text.

7. Add a low and high visual alarm.

· By selecting Draw > Ellipse first, draw two small circles, they will be activated to become visual

alarms;

· In Build mode, select the high-level circle and then click on Multi-State button ( ). Select

BA:LEVEL.1 tag. Set the number of states to 2. Define the limit of the first state to <= 90. Set the

color of the first state to green, and second state to red;

· Repeat the same thing to add the low-level alarm using the same tag. Set the number of states to

2. Define the limit of the first state at <= 10. Set the color of the first state to red and second state

to green.

8. Create a bar graph to replace the tank.

· Click on the drop-down list of the Default Symbol of the Data Favorites windows and choose

Bar.

· From the Favorites area, drag and drop the BA:LEVEL.1 tag into the blank display.

· Resize the bar and make it the same size as the tank body. This might be easier if the option from

Arrange > Snap to Grid is not activated;

· Set the bar graph‟s parameters. Select the BA:LEVEL.1 tag. Keep the default values of upper and

lower limits, and the start value. Click on the OK button to complete the bar graph configuration;

· In Build mode, right-click on the Bar Graph and choose Format Color. Choose the proper fill

color. Use None for the background and line color.

9. Move the agitator drawing on the bar graph. Use Arrange > Bring to front option to move the

agitator out from under the bar graph.

10. Add a calculator command button by selecting Draw > Button. In the Define Button dialog box,





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put in a name for the button: Calculator. In the action item, enter the command line that will start the

calculator. You will find the calculator (calc.exe) in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 or

C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32 according to the operating system used.

11. Save your display with the Save as option under the name: Exercise PB4.





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Step-by-Step Solution without the use of Data Favorites

1. Open the display created in Exercise 2.

2. Insert a level indicator. Select Draw > Value to insert the BA:LEVEL.1 tag value. Write Level (%)

above the value by selection Draw > Text.

3. Add a low and high visual alarm.

· By selecting Draw > Ellipse first, draw two small circles, they will be activated to become visual

alarms;

· In Build mode, select the high-level circle and then click on Multi-State button ( ). Select

BA:LEVEL.1 tag. Set the number of states to 2. Define the limit of the first state to <= 90. Set the

color of the first state to green, and second state to red;

· Repeat the same thing to add the low-level alarm using the same tag. Set the number of states to

2. Define the limit of the first state at <= 10. Set the color of the first state to red and second state

to green.

4. Create a bar graph to replace the tank.

· Use Draw > Bar to create a bar graph. Draw a rectangle over the tank body and make it the same

size as the tank body. This might be easier if the option from Arrange > Snap to Grid is not

activated;

· Set the bar graph‟s parameters. Select the BA:LEVEL.1 tag. Keep the default values of upper and

lower limits, and the start value. Click on the OK button to complete the bar graph configuration;

· In Build mode, right-click on the Bar Graph and choose Format Color. Choose the proper fill

color. Use None for the background and line color.

5. Move the agitator drawing on the bar graph. Use Arrange > Bring to front option to move the

agitator out from under the bar graph.

6. Add a calculator command button by selecting Draw > Button. In the Define Button dialog box,

put in a name for the button: Calculator. In the action item, enter the command line that will start the

calculator. You will find the calculator (calc.exe) in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 or

C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32 according to the operating system used.

7. Save your display with the Save as option under the name: Exercise PB4.

6.2 Organizing Displays

A ProcessBook Workbook is a collection of individual displays of data and analysis. It

organizes data from the PI Server and other sources in the same workspace. A ProcessBook

Workbook can organize OS Commands, Hyperlinks to files or URLs, or a linked display. A

Workbook and its displays are stored in a single file (.piw). They are useful because you can

allow easier sharing of displays across the enterprise and manage displays by tasks or by

roles. There are fewer files to manage and they incorporate other needed content.

Use any of these procedures to open a ProcessBook Entry from either Book view or Outline

view of a ProcessBook:

Click on the Entry title, then on the New button to activate the selected entry into a new

window or click on the entry title, then on the Open button to open the entry into the last

window you used. If none are open, a new window will open.





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With the Run mode pointer, double-click on the entry. The entry will open and will appear

within an existing window, if possible. Click and drag the entry title to an unused area in the

application work area and release the mouse. This opens a new window in addition to the

already opened windows. If you drag the item on top of an open item, it will close that item

while opening the one that you dragged.

To use the keyboard instead of the mouse, use CTRL+F6, to select the ProcessBook. Then

use the up or down arrow keys to select the entry title. Press Enter. If you have more than

one window open, it will replace the open windows with the new display. Pressing ALT+N is

the same as clicking the New button.

If the entry is a Display, Linked Display, or Linked ProcessBook, the entry is opened and

the contents are displayed on your work area. If the entry is an Operating System

Command, the command is executed or the application is started.

Notes: If you click on an Operating System Command more than once, it may or may not open an

additional copy of the application, depending on the application. Displays re-open in the same position,

size, and shape as they were saved.

6.2.1 Viewing ProcessBook Workbooks

PI ProcessBook has 2 view modes, Book View and Outline View. Book view resembles a

binder with tabs and pages. Each page contains displays. Clicking on the tab along the right

side of the ProcessBook displays the first page of that group of displays. Select this view

from View > Book.

Outline view lists all the items in a hierarchy on a single page that can be scrolled up and

down. The hierarchy has 10 levels. In Book view, level 1 creates a new tab and levels 3 to 10

are displayed on level 3.

Select View > Outline to display a ProcessBook as an outline. When you are in Outline

view, an additional toolbar is added to the active ProcessBook window. You may need to

resize the window so that all the buttons are visible. Use the horizontal and vertical scroll bars

to see all the displays in the outline.

Sections of the outline can be collapsed or expanded to help you view the list of displays in a

meaningful manner. Any display with a plus sign to its left can be collapsed or expanded by

clicking on the plus sign, allowing you to hide or show additional displays that are

subordinate to the selected display.

Alternatively, highlight a section and use the plus and minus buttons on the Outline toolbar

to collapse or expand it. Use the arrows to move an entry left, right, up, or down. When

collapsed, subordinate displays are not visible and the plus sign to the left of the display

changes from hollow to solid.

Use the numbered buttons on the Outline toolbar to collapse the outline to a specific level.

For example, click on 3 to collapse the outline so that only levels 1, 2, and 3 are visible.

These buttons affect the entire outline, rather than a selected heading or level. Click All to

view all 10 levels.





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6.3 Creating a New ProcessBook

In Build mode, select File > New > ProcessBook (.piw) File option button;

Type the title of the ProcessBook in the ProcessBook Name text box;

Click on the OK button. A new ProcessBook is displayed. If you entered a name in the name

text box, the name is shown in the title bar of the ProcessBook, otherwise it shows Untitled.

Notes: An asterisk (*) beside the name of the file in the title bar means that the document has not been

saved or has been modified since the last save.

The next step in creating a ProcessBook is to add individual entries. By arranging and

combining displays and other entry types, you can create a complete working environment

for plant personnel. You can add the entry titles to the ProcessBook and then complete the

detailed design of the entries later.

There are five specific types of entries:

Text entries: provide headings or to provide static information. Useful for

organizing PI ProcessBook documents by adding titles;

Display entries: page that can contain different objects (trends, process mimics,

etc.);

Linked Display entries: link with a display, internal or external, to the current PI

ProcessBook. A Linked Display allows you to link a display title in a ProcessBook

to an entry elsewhere in the ProcessBook or in another ProcessBook. This means

that you create and store only one copy of the entry;

Linked ProcessBook entries: link to another PI ProcessBook document;

Operating System Command entries: open another application. The icon will

usually represent the application. If that icon is not available, the default icon is the

running man.

6.3.1 How to Create a Text Entry

Text entries are common for titles and section headings. If used as the first level, they appear

as tabs in Book view. They are also useful for storing any static information you want

associated with that Workbook. To create a new Text Entry, follow the steps below.

Inside a ProcessBook, select File > New. The New dialog is displayed. The default creates a

new ProcessBook entry. The name of the ProcessBook is shown at the bottom of the dialog.

Click on the OK button. The Define ProcessBook Entry dialog is displayed. In the Label

field, type the entire text of the entry. There is no limit to the number of characters you may

use, but for headings, you should try to be as brief and descriptive as possible. Select Text

from the Type radio buttons. Enter the Level at which you want to position the entry in the

ProcessBook hierarchy of entries. Type a number between 1 and 10 or click the up and down

arrows. If it is the first entry in the ProcessBook, the level is automatically set to 1 and cannot

be changed. Click on the OK button. The entry is added to the ProcessBook. Finally, click on





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the Save button. If you are creating several entries in one session, you may wait to save until

the last one is entered.

6.3.2 How to Create a Display Entry

A Display is the main element of a ProcessBook Workbook. It behaves just like the

standalone Displays previously mentioned in which you can combine static and dynamic

elements that relate to one or many data sources. To create a Display Entry, follow these

steps. Inside a ProcessBook, select File > New. The New dialog is displayed. The default

creates a new ProcessBook Entry. The name of the ProcessBook is shown at the bottom of

the dialog. Click on the OK button. The Define ProcessBook Entry dialog is displayed.

Type the entry title in the Label text box. The entry in the Type selection is Display. Enter

the Level at which you want to position the entry in the ProcessBook hierarchy of entries.

Click on the OK button. The entry is added to the ProcessBook and a blank display is

opened. If the entry is at level 1 and you are in Book view, a tab is created. Click on the Save

button. If you are creating several entries, you may wait to save until the last one is entered.

6.3.3 How to Link an Existing ProcessBook Element

It is not uncommon to have independent Displays or even Workbooks that have information

applicable to many different areas. To take advantage of this fact, you can link ProcessBook

Elements together, giving you an easy way to navigate between all of your data. It

accomplishes this by referencing to objects that already exist. To add a Link, follow these

instructions. Select File > New or Display > Insert when in build mode. Enter the name of

the ProcessBook (Label). Select the type (Linked / OS Command). Select the hierarchical

level (Level). Under Browse, select ProcessBook file and browse to the location of the file.

Click on the OK button. Click on the Save button. If you are creating several entries, you

may wait to save until the last one is entered.

6.3.4 How to Launch External Files, Applications, and Websites

It is also possible to create links to other files and applications outside of ProcessBook.

Examples may include applications like Notepad or the Calculator, or files such as DataLink

reports in Excel. You can even enter website URLs to link to desired websites. Select File >

New or Display > Insert when in build mode. Enter the name of the ProcessBook (Label).

Select the type (Linked / OS Command). Select the hierarchical level (Level). Under

Browse, select All files or Applications, as appropriate, and browse to the location of the file

or application. For websites, just enter the URL. Click on the OK button. Click on the Save

button. If you are creating several entries, you may wait to save until the last one is entered.





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chapter or section. The answers can be found at the end of this document.

Questions

1. When creating a new ProcessBook entry in a workbook, what option needs to be set to display that

entry as a separate tab?

2. Name the five dynamic elements that can be created in a ProcessBook display.

Answer

1. The level of the entry need to be set to 1.

2. The Trend, XY plot, Bar Graph, value and any Multi-state Symbol are all dynamic elements.

6.3.6 Exercise – Organize Your Displays


chapter or section. The answers can be found at the end of the exercise.

Objectives

Learn how to build and modify a PI ProcessBook;

Understand the PI ProcessBook entries hierarchy;

Use the Book and Outline views to visualize and modify a PI ProcessBook.

Problem Description

You need to organize existing displays from your organization to give one access point for

users. You want to publish only the path to this ProcessBook file (workbook) to facilitate the

deployment and security management from the enterprise‟s IT/IS group.

Approach

Create a ProcessBook file called Exercise PB5.PIW and follow these instructions:

Insert a text separator that will appear as a tab in book view and name it Exercises

Book

Create a display named Plant Status that will be put at level 2

Create a linked display to Exercise PB4.PDI that will be put at level 3 and name

it Batch Reactor.





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Create a linked ProcessBook to PIDEMO.PIW file that will be put at level 2 and

name it External Plant. The file PIDEMO.PIW is located under the

PIPC\Procbook\en folder.

Create a link to call the calculator from PI ProcessBook. Browse to select the

calc.exe file from the c:\windows\system32 directory for Windows XP/ME/2003.

This entry will be at level 2.

Modify the hierarchy to follow these instructions.

Leave the text separator as the first item at level 1

Second item is External Plant at level 3

Third item is Plant Status at level 3

Fourth item is Batch Reactor at level 2

Fifth item is Calculator at level 3






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E. Create the ProcessBook

1. Select File > New.

2. A new screen appears with three choices:




3. Select ProcessBook (.piw) File and name it Exercise PB5.

4. Click on the OK button. A new screen appears with the name Exercise PB5.

5. Save this ProcessBook with the name Exercise PB5.PIW.

F. Insert a Text type entry on level 1 and name it Exercises book using the steps below.

1. In Build mode, select Insert > Text. A new screen appears in which you must supply additional

information.

2. Type a label like: Exercises book.

3. As this is your first entry, its hierarchy level is 1 and it may not be modified.

4. Click on the OK button. A title corresponding to Exercise book appears in the ProcessBook file

created earlier.





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G. Insert a Display type entry on level 2 and name it Plant Status.

1. In Build mode, select Insert > Display. A new screen appears in which you must supply

additional information.

2. Type a label named Plant Status.

3. Choose a hierarchy level of 2.

4. Click on the OK button. This will create and open a display. You can add a trend into it or simply

close it by selecting File > Close.

5. Save the display; it will be saved inside the Exercise PB5.PIW ProcessBook file. A title on the

second hierarchy level corresponding to Plant Status appears in the PI ProcessBook file created

earlier.

H. Add a Linked Display type entry on Level 3 and name it Batch Reactor.

1. To link a display from another ProcessBook file, the file must be opened (open the file Exercise

PB4.PDI).

2. In Build mode, select Insert > Link / OS Command. A new screen appears in which you must

supply additional information.

3. Type a label name Batch Reactor.


5. Press the arrow next to the Browse button and select Display Search and select the Exercise PB4

display. (Hint: Do not forget to open the ProcessBook where the display resides.).

6. Click on the OK button. This will link the display and open it. You can close it by selecting File

> Close. A title on the third hierarchy level corresponding to Batch Reactor appears in the PI

ProcessBook file created earlier.

I. Insert a Linked ProcessBook type entry on level 2 and name it External Plant.



2. Type a label named External Plant.


4. Press the arrow next to the Browse button and select ProcessBook file. Browse to and select the

PIDEMO.PIW ProcessBook (this file is located under the PIPC\Procbook\en folder).

5. Click on the OK button. This will link the ProcessBook and open it. You can close it by selecting

File > Close. A title on the second hierarchy level corresponding to External Plant appears in the





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ProcessBook file.

J. Insert an Operating System Command type entry on level 2 and name it Calculator.



2. Type a label named Calculator.


4. Press the arrow next to the Browse button and select Applications. Browse to select the calc.exe

file from the c:\winnt\system32 directory for Windows NT4/2000, or

c:\windows\system32 directory for Windows 95/98/XP/ME/2003.

5. Click on the OK button. This will create the OS command and open the calculator. You can close

it by selecting File > Close. A title on the second hierarchy level corresponding to Calculator

appears in the PI ProcessBook.

K. Modify your PI ProcessBook.

1. Change the order in which the entries appear and modify the hierarchy to follow these directives:

· Leave the text separator as the first item at level 1

· Second item is External Plant at level 3

· Third item is Plant Status at level 3

· Fourth item is Batch Reactor at level 2

· Fifth item is Calculator at level 3

2. In Build mode, select View > Outline.

3. Use the four arrows located in the upper left corner of the window. The signs + and – are used to

expand or collapse the hierarchy level of the selected entry. Numbers 1 – 9 are used to display

different levels of hierarchy in the PI ProcessBook.





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7. More PI DataLink

7.1 Inserting a Trend

You can create trends similar to ProcessBook Trends in your DataLink reports. These Trends

can be based on PI data and/or data from the worksheet. These Trends have the option to

update automatically. You can also modify scales and appearance and zoom in a part of the

trend in much the same way you can within ProcessBook. To insert a Trend, select the Trend

icon in the Tools section of the PI Ribbon.

The Trend Control is an ActiveX control that can be inserted onto any Excel spreadsheet. The

trend can display data from both the spreadsheet and a PI Server tag. To create a trend, a

trend wizard is provided to make inserting trends easier, which allows you to define the data

source(s) and how they are displayed. There are two sources of data that the Trend Control

can plot: Worksheet Data and PI Data.

To use Worksheet Data, you must specify the cell range of the data by typing it manually or

selecting it with the mouse. For ease of use with PI DataLink functions, the Include all cells

in array option is specified as the default, in which case you need choose only one cell of the

array. The Stepped option plots the data in a stepwise manner, much as the Step attribute for

a point. To use PI data, you must specify the tag name by typing it manually, searching for it

using the Search… button, or using a reference to a cell. You then click on the Add button.

The last screen of the Trend Wizard is to configure the trend title and the placement of the

trend. If a new worksheet is selected, the trend is placed on a blank worksheet at the top left

corner. If the existing worksheet option is specified, then the cell where the trend is to be

placed must be specified.

Quick changes can be made to the trend by selecting some of the items on the right-click

menu. The right-click menu allows the user to temporarily modify the scales and the time

frame, revert to the original scales and time frame, permanently modify the scales and the

time frame, add a scroll bar for the time frame, add markers, change the trend's appearance,

add or remove traces, and delete, move, or resize the trend. Using the Change Scale… item

allows you to change both trend time range and Y-axis scale. If a change in the scale is

deemed undesirable, the Revert option can be selected to undo the changes made. The

Revert option always reverts back to the settings defined in the Trend Wizard.

To scroll through time, scroll bars can be enabled with the Scroll Bar option. The scroll bar

appears at the bottom of the trend. Again, the Revert option can be used to undo changes

made by the scroll bar. To change the format of the trace or the trend itself, use the Format…

option. For instance, this option can be used to change the color or line thickness of a trace.

Also it can be used to add legends to the trend. Define Trend… and Define Trend Time

Range… bring back the Trend Wizard screens.





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7.1.1 Exercise – Tank Level



Objectives

Learn to use the Insert Trend function with data from MS Excel worksheet and PI

data.

Problem Description

You have some production limit specifications and you want to be able to see how the previous day‟s

production measured up against those limits. The production tag you need to use is CDT158 and the

limits are as follows:

Upper Limit 225

Target Rate 150

Lower Limit 75

Approach

Use a PI Trend in MS Excel to display real-time data alongside MS Excel data. We could use MS Excel‟s

graphing capability. However, we would not be able to automatically refresh the graph. Open up

Exercise_DL3_Template.xls and use this template to construct the desired comparison trend.






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1. Open the file

Exercise_DL3_Template.xls.

2. Select cell B7.

3. On the Ribbon, Click PI > Insert

Trend.

4. Select the Data from PI radio

button.

5. Select cells C2 for the Tag name

field.

6. Click on the Add -> button; it will

add the tag data to the trend.

7. Select the Data on worksheet

radio button.

8. Select the First element is trace

name check box.

9. In the Cell range containing data

field, select the cell range

containing the data (dates, limit

names and limit values). Click on

the Add-> button.

10. Click on the Next button.

11. For the Start time and End time,

click on the ( ) button and

select cells C4 and C5,

respectively.

12. Click on the Next button.

13. Click on the Finish button.

14. Right-click on the trend object.

15. Select Export Data from the contextual menu.

16. In the dialog box select cell J2.

17. Check the Use Trace Name as heading check box.





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19. The result should look similarly to the figure below.

7.2 Calculated Data

The Calculated Data function (=PIAdvCalcDat) returns a single calculated value or evenly

spaced calculated values from the PI Server. Calculation modes are: Total (time-weighted),

Minimum, Maximum, Standard deviation (time-weighted), Range, Average (time

weighted), Mean (non-time-weighted).





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To retrieve a single calculated value, do not specify an interval and the PIAdvCalcVal()

function is used. To retrieve evenly spaced calculated data, the specified interval, in relative

PI Time format, determines the spacing of the calculation and the PIAdvCalcDat() function is

used.

You must supply the PI Server name or cell reference, Tag name or cell reference(s) to a list

of tags, and the start and end times for the calculation. The Time Interval is optional and

refers to how often the calculation will be performed. When a Time Interval is specified, the

show start time and show end time options become available. If no Time Interval is

specified, the calculation will only be performed once over the specified time range. The

conversion factor is typically only applicable to the Total calculation mode and will be

discussed in further detail below.

Check show pctgood if you want DataLink to display the percentage of the time range that

contains good value. We recommend that you always look at the percent good value before

using the calculation result. The percent good value is normally returned to the right of

calculated value cell. Timestamp(s) are returned when the calculation mode is Minimum,

Maximum, or Range.

7.2.1 Exercise – Daily Production



Objectives

Learn to extract calculated values using Calculated Data function.

Problem Description

You are the production manager and want to create a report showing last week‟s daily production totals.

In this report, you want to display the total production, average, minimum and maximum and standard

deviation for that week. Also, you would like to present this data on a daily basis.

Approach

We will use the built-in PI Calculated Data functions to show the above statistics for the entire week

(using no time interval) and each day of the week (using a time interval of 24h). Use the file






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Exercise_DL4_Template.xls to organize and display this data.





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2. Select cell B16.

3. On the Ribbon, Click PI > Calculated Data.

4. Make sure the PI Tag radio button is selected near the top of the task pane.





9. In the task pane click in the End Time field.


11. In the Calculation Mode drop-down select total.

12. Enter 1440 in the Conversion Factor field for the total calculation mode only. For all other

calculation modes leave this field to one or 1.


14. Repeat steps 3-14 for columns C through G using the appropriate selection for Calculation Mode

(e.g., select Average in column C). When you get to column G, make sure the show percent good

check box is checked.

15. Select cell A20.


17. In the task pane make sure the PI Tag radio button is selected.






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24. In the task pane click in the Time Interval (optional) field.


26. In the Calculation Mode drop-down select total.

27. Enter 1440 in the Conversion Factor field for the total calculation mode only. For all other

calculation modes leave this field to one or 1.

28. For column A only, check the show end time check box to fill the Time stamp column.


30. Repeat steps 16-30 for columns C through G using the appropriate selection for Calculation Mode

(e.g., select Average in column C). When you get to column G, check the show percent good check

box to fill the Pct Good column.

7.3 Filtered Data

We will now revisit the Multiple Value functions that we previously discussed, but now we

will include filter expressions. Before, these fields were optional. Now we will discuss how

they work. The functions are for Compressed Data (=PICompFilDat or =PINCompFilDat)

and Sampled Data (=PISampFilDat).

7.3.1 Filtered Compressed Data

This function returns compressed values from the PI Server, based on a start time and an end

time. The number of data points retrieved for the given time period is returned in the first cell.

If the time range option is chosen and a filter expression is not specified, the PICompDat()

function is called. Otherwise, the PICompFilDat() function is called. If the number of values

option is chosen and a filter expression is not specified, the PINCompDat() function is called.

Otherwise, the PINCompFilDat() function is called.

If a filter expression is specified, the specified range of compressed values are retrieved from

the PI Server while a given filter expression is true. If the Mark as filtered option is selected,

a Filtered status is returned for each group of values that does not satisfy the filter

expression.

7.3.2 Filtered Sampled Data

This function gathers evenly spaced, sampled values from the archive. If a filter expression is

not specified, the PISampDat() function is called. Otherwise, the PISampFilDat() function is

called.

If a filter expression is specified, the specified range of compressed values are retrieved from

the PI Server while a given filter expression is true. If the Mark as filtered option is selected,





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a Filtered status is returned for each group of values that does not satisfy the filter

expression.

Note: When using a cell reference for your Filter Expression, be sure that if the Filter Expression begins

with a timestamp or tag name that you use two single quotes. The first single quote is used in Excel to

identify a text string, rather than a value, and will not be seen by the filter expression.

7.4 Excel Conditional Formatting

This topic is not specific to PI DataLink, but the Conditional Formatting found in Excel

2007 can give your DataLink reports a great look and a comprehensive perspective. It is

useful to compare values extracted from PI. Conditional Formatting is found in the Home

Ribbon in the Styles section.

7.4.1 Exercise – Production Level Report



Objectives

Learn to use the Filter Expression option of the Sampled Data function to

constrain the values that are extracted.

Combine PI values with Excel conditional formatting for more intuitive reports.

Problem Description

As a quality control manager, you want to examine the tank level of product over the last 12 hours for a

tag that does not report many values due to its lack of volatility, and thus it has a high compression rate

on the PI Sever. Since there are only a few values passing through the compression test, it is better to

perform a Sampled Data query rather than a Compressed Data query.

The tag you will use is SINUSOID. You want to build a report that will filter out mean tank levels, which

is defined as a level between 30 and 80. You want to use red conditional formatting to know when the

tank is in danger of overflowing, defined as the highest 10% of values. You are also interested in the

times of low product level, defined as the lowest 20% of values, which should be highlighted in green.

For all values returned, data bars should be used to visually show the overall level of the product in the

tank. Then change the upper and lower limits to 75 and 25, respectively, to test your report.

Approach

Use PI Datalink‟s Sampled Data function to get evenly spaced data. Since we only want to see data that

are outside of the norm, we will apply filters to show high values, low values, and a list including both.

Use the file Exercise_DL5_Template.xlsx as a template to design this report.





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Note: The MS Excel Today() function returns the serial number of the current date. The serial number is

the date-time code used by Microsoft Excel for date and time calculations. Microsoft Excel stores dates as

whole number of days starting at 1900. Dates and times are values and therefore can be added, subtracted,

and included in other calculations.

Syntax: =TODAY()

Example: =(Today() –10 + 16/24) is today minus 10 days at 4 PM

When you enter a date in Microsoft Excel 97 and you enter only two digits for the year, Microsoft Excel

enters the year as follows: The years 2000 through 2029 if you type 00 through 29 for the year. For

example, if you type 5/28/19, Microsoft Excel assumes the date is May 28, 2019.The years 1930 through

1999 if you type 30 through 99 for the year. For example, if you type 5/28/91, Microsoft Excel assumes

the date is May 28, 1991.






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1. Open the file Exercise_DL5_Template.xlsx.

2. Select cell A8.

3. On the Ribbon, Click PI > Sampled Data.

4. In the task pane, make sure the PI Tag radio button is selected.

5. In the task pane, click in the Tagname(s) field.


7. In the task pane, click in the Start Time field.


9. In the task pane, click in the End Time field.


11. In the task pane, click in the Time Interval field.


13. In the task pane, click in the Expression Filter field.


15. Check the mark as filtered check box.

16. Check the show timestamps check box.


18. Select all of the cells that contain data in column B.

19. On the Ribbon, Click Home > Conditional Formatting > Data Bars > Blue Data Bar. You should

have a data area scaled with blue bars.





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20. Click on Conditional Formatting >

Top/Bottom Rules > Top 10%... 21. Click on the OK button.

22. Click on Conditional Formatting >

Top/Bottom Rules > Bottom

10%... 23. Change the number to 20%.






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7.5 Expression Data

PI Expressions behave much the same way that PI Performance Equations do. They follow

the same expression syntax and can use one or many PI Tags as the data source(s). The

benefit to PI Expressions is that they only calculate on demand. However, the downside is

that, unlike Performance Equations, there is no history of these calculations stored on the PI

Server, so it is more difficult to see historical trends.

There are a number of options available for calculating expressions that contain tags.

Expression calculations can be performed for one specific time in the past using the Archive

Value function (=PIExpVal), for evenly spaced data using the Sampled Data function

(PIExpDat), or for a specific list of timestamps using the Timed Data function

(=PITimeExpDat). Expression calculations can also be performed to obtain statistics or totals

on an expression using the Advanced Calculated Data function.

The difference between PI Calculated Data and PI Expressions is shown in an example

below. The PI Calculated Data computes the maximum of the tag over each 24 hour period

for the last 168 hours (7 days). The PI Expression computes the maximum of the tag for the

most recent 8 hours, every 24 hour period for the last 168 hours (7 days). If the time interval

in the PI Expression was changed to 1 day, the results of both expressions would be identical.

Now please do Exercise 7.5.1 Expression Calculation: Calculate the current value of an

expression and use Excel's Conditional Formatting to make your PI DataLink reports more

useful.





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7.5.1 Exercise – Expression Calculation



Objectives

Learn to carry out a calculation for the current value of an expression;

Use MS Excel‟s Conditional Formatting to make your PI Data Link reports more

useful.

Problem Description

As a Shift Team Leader in a bottling plant, you want to produce a real time report that shows the average

speed of the bottle filler for the past hour. You also wish to compare this average to the average of the 3

hours before, to know whether you are positively impacting production speed for your shift or not. The

speed of the bottle filler is measured by the tag SINUSOID.

Approach

Using the built-in function TagAvg, calculate and display the average for the filler speed tag (SINUSOID)

for the last hour. Using the built-in functions Sgn and TagAvg, calculate whether your hourly production

rate is better or worse than that for the three hours prior. Use MS Excel‟s conditional formatting to get a

quick view of your performance. Use the file Exercise_DL6_Template.xls as a template for this report.






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2. In cell B9, Enter this expression: TagAvg('sinusoid', '*-1h', '*')

3. In cell B16, Enter this expression: SGN(TagAvg('sinusoid','*-1h','*')-

TagAvg('sinusoid','*-4h','*-1h'))

4. Select the cell B11.

5. On the Ribbon, Click PI > Archive Value.

6. In the task pane select the PI Expression radio button.

7. In the task pane click in the Expression(s) field.


9. Enter * (PI abbreviation for the now timestamp) in the

Timestamp field.


11. Select on cell B18.


13. In the task pane select the PI Expression radio button.



16. Enter * in the Timestamp field.


18. Select cell H2 in its upper left hand corner.

19. On the Ribbon, Click Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Equal To…

20. Select Custom Format… from the with drop-down option.

21. Choose a green color for the filling of the cell.


23. Repeat steps 20 – 24 while in the same Conditional Formatting window but for the association

between the red color and value -1.





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24. Press CTRL+Shift+Alt+F9 to refresh the spreadsheet.

7.5.2 Exercise – Quality Control Report (Optional)



Objectives

Learn to apply complex filters to extract archived values;

Learn to synchronize data extraction;

Learn to extract the maximum value of a time range using the Calculated data

function;

Use MS Excel‟s Conditional Formatting to make your PI DataLink reports more

useful.

Problem Description

As the person in charge of the quality control of the process, you want to easily identify when specific

characteristics of the process exceed quality threshold values. The process you analyze takes place in





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seven (7) phases. During three (3) phases of the process, the monitoring of physical characteristics is

critical at the phase change; these phases are Phase1, Phase3 and Phase5. The physical characteristics

give indication of the quality of the product made in the reactor.

The physical characteristics are the electrical conductivity which is measured by the expression:

'BA:CONC.1' / 100 and the temperature is measured by the expression: 'BA:TEMP.1' * 10. The

threshold value for electrical conductivity should not overcome 0.45 Siemens/cm, and temperature in the

reactor should not overcome 500 degree Celsius.

Also, it is necessary to determine the conductivity and temperature maximums of the day and find when

these values occurred.

You need to build your report to make it easier to analyze in a short period of time. You decide to put red

visual indicators when threshold values are exceeded and blue indicators when everything is normal. You

need to be able to locate any high values of the day using the MS Excel Conditional Formatting.

Approach

We will use the Compressed Data function with a filter expression to retrieve when the different critical

phases took place during the day. The filter expression will contain many criteria tied together with an

OR logical operator.

The Archive Value function will be used to retrieve physical characteristic measurements as the phases

change. We will use the built-in PI Calculated Data function to show the conductivity and temperature

peak of the day. Use MS Excel‟s Conditional Formatting to get a quick view of your performance. Use

the file Exercise_DL7_Template.xls as a template for this report.






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2. In cell B4, enter the tag name 'BA:PHASE.1

3. In cell B5, enter the expression: ''BA:CONC.1' / 100.

4. In cell B6, enter the expression: ''BA:TEMP.1' * 10.

5. In cell B9, build the filter expression to use. Enter the expression: ''BA:PHASE.1'="Phase1" OR 'BA:PHASE.1'="Phase3" OR 'BA:PHASE.1'="Phase5"

6. Select cell A12.

7. On the Ribbon, Click PI > Compressed Data.







14. In the task pane click in the Filter Expression (optional) field.


16. Check the hide count option to remove the number of values extracted.

17. Check the show timestamps option.


19. To extract the conductivity measurement at the phase‟s change, we need to use the individual

timestamps returned by the Compressed Data function as input timestamps for the Archive Value

function. Let us start by selecting cell C12.


21. Select the PI Expression radio button in the task pane.




25. Click on cell A12.


27. Select cell C12. In the Formula Bar, localize the second argument (this will be a cell reference) and

click on the text forming the cell address.

28. Press on the F4 key on the keyboard two (2) times. This will transform the absolute cell reference

into a row relative cell reference. It means the dollar sign in front of the row position will be

removed. You will then see a reference like Sheet1!$A12 instead of Sheet1!$A$12.

29. Propagate the result down to cell C150 by dragging the cell‟s handle at the cell‟s lower-right corner.





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30. To extract the temperature measurement at the phase‟s change, we need to use the individual

timestamps returned by the Compressed Data function as input timestamps for the Archive Value

function. Let us start by selecting cell D12.






36. Click on cell A12.


38. Select cell D12. In the Formula Bar, localize the second argument (this will be a cell reference) and

click on the text forming the cell address.

39. Press on the F4 key on the keyboard two (2) times. This will transform the absolute cell reference

into a row relative cell reference

40. Propagate the result down to cell D150 by dragging the cell‟s handle at the lower-right corner.

41. To extract the conductivity peak we need to use the Calculated Data function and put the result on

cell F13; select cell F13.








49. In the task pane click in the Filter Expression (Optional) field.


51. In the Calculation Mode drop-down select maximum.

52. Check the show min/max time option.


54. To extract the temperature peak we need to use the Calculated Data function and put the result on

cell F17; select cell F17.








62. In the task pane click in the Filter Expression (Optional) field.


64. In the Calculation Mode drop-down select maximum.

65. Check the show min/max time option.


67. We need to make this report more appealing for the verification; we will use the Conditional

Formatting capabilities of MS Excel to make it through. Select cell range from C12 to C150.

68. On the Ribbon, click Home > Conditional Formatting > Data Bars > Blue Data Bar





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69. Be sure to keep the cell C12 to C150 range selected.

70. On the Ribbon, click Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cell Rules > Greater Than

71. Enter the value 0.49 in the Format cells that are GREATER THAN field.


73. Choose a blue color for the filling of the cell.


75. Select cell range from D12 to D150.

76. On the Ribbon, click Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cell Rules > Between

77. Enter the value 0 and 500 in the Format cells that are BETWEEN fields.


79. Choose a green color for the filling of the cell.


81. Be sure to keep the cell D12 to D150 range selected.

82. On the Ribbon, click Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cell Rules > Greater Than

83. Enter the value 500 in the Format cells that are GREATER THAN field.


85. Choose a red color for the filling of the cell.


87. The resulting report should look similar to the one presented below.





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8. More RtWebParts

8.1 RtTrend

The RtTrend web part provides data visualization using an interactive trend graph updating in

real-time. This is very similar to the Trend in ProcessBook and DataLink. The web part

supports trend cursors and zooming. The configuration panel includes Time range selection,

Data selection, Vertical scale, Trends properties and formatting, and Time Scale. The default

time scale values use a full timestamp format, but other timestamp formats are available:

Full timestamp displays the start time at the origin and the end time at the far end of

the time scale.

Partial timestamp displays evenly spaced date or time units along the time scale

axis, as space permits. For example, an eight-hour plot may display individual hourly

time values along the time scale. The current date and time appear in the upper right

corner.

Relative timestamp displays time unit offsets from the End Time. Using the

previous example, the scale would be labeled -1 to -7 moving from the end to the

beginning of the time scale axis. The units are displayed in the middle of the scale,

with current date and time displayed in the upper right corner of the trend.

Select the Export to Excel option from the RtTrend web part menu. Data contained in the

RtTrend web part (original configuration or zoomed in area) will be exported in an Excel

spreadsheet.

Note: The Export to Excel > Save is currently a known bug. This should open a save dialogue box to

save the file without opening it, but this is not currently the case. This should be updated in the next

release. In the meantime opening the file and then saving is a simple work around.

8.2 RtTimeRange

RtTimeRange web part makes an implicit connection to other RtWebParts and it allows the

user to change the start and end times for other web parts on the page. The buttons next to the

text fields open a calendar dialog box for selecting a date and time or timestamps can be

directly entered in the fields. Both PI and Windows time formats are supported. By default,

when you edit the RtTimeRange web part, it will affect all RtTrends on the same page. These

connections can be made explicitly, rather than implicitly. We will cover making explicit

connections later.





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8.2.1 Exercise – Configure and Export RtTrend



Objectives

Familiarize yourself with configuring a RtTrend web part;

Familiarize yourself with export capabilities of the RtTrend web part.

Problem Description

You want to see a trend with data and so you will create a page and use the RtTrend web part. You also

want to use the RtTimeRange web part to control the trend. Finally, you want to export the value to

Microsoft Excel.

Approach

Create a new page in your Team Site called Exercise_R5. Add one RtTrend and one RtTimeRange web

part to any zone. Add the tag CDT158 to the data area of the RtTrend web part. Exit the edit mode and

test the web part interaction by changing the time in the RtTimeRange web part to a Start Time of *-24h

and notice the effect on the RtTrend. Click on the upper-right menu icon for the RtTrend web part and

select Export to Excel > Open. Once the file is opened, save it to your desktop. Re-open the file and

verify the contents.






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3. Enter information regarding the name and the layout of the Web Part Page





5. Check the RtTimeRange box then click on the Add button.

6. In a different zone, click on the Add a Web Part button.

7. Check the RtTrend box, and then click on the Add button.

8. On the RtTrend Web Part, click Edit > Modify Shared Web Part.



· In the Name mask field enter CDT158.

· Double click the tag or select the tag and click on the Add button.

· Click on the OK button to close the Tag Search window.



12. In the RtTimeRange web part, change the value in the Start Time field to *-24h, click on the Apply

button.

13. To Export the file, click the down arrow in the upper right corner of the RtTrend and select Export

to Excel > Open. Once the Excel spreadsheet has opened, save the file to your desktop.





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14. Reopen the saved Excel file and verify the content.

8.3 RtGraphic

8.3.1 SVG

Scalable Vector Graphics is an Adobe graphic file format that enables dynamic generation of

high quality graphics from real time data. PI ProcessBook 2.2 and higher has an SVG add-in

that allows the conversion of ProcessBook files into the SVG type and vice-versa. The SVG

Viewer can also be downloaded from: http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/main.html

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a graphic file format and web development language

based on XML. SVG enables Web developers and designers to create dynamically generated,

high-quality graphics from real-time data with precise structural and visual control. With this

powerful technology, SVG developers can create a generation of Web applications based on

data-driven, interactive, and personalized graphics.

Because it is based on XML, SVG content can be linked to back-end business processes such

as e-commerce systems, corporate databases, and other rich sources of real-time information.

You can create web-based applications, tools or sophisticated user interfaces with common

Web scripting and programming languages such as JavaScript, Java, and Microsoft Visual

Basic.

Source: http://www.adobe.com/svg/overview/svg.html

8.3.2 RtGraphic uses PI ProcessBook SVG files

The RtGraphic presents ProcessBook displays that are saved in an SVG format. They are then

shared in a document library, making it easier for users to share files. The SVG files that you

want to display in RtGraphic web parts must be uploaded to a SharePoint document library.

PI ProcessBook SVG files do not support VBA Scripting, SQC, and Batch trends. The

RtActiveView web part must be used to maintain all of the functionality of PI ProcessBook

PDI displays, which will be covered later.

This section of the RtGraphic Configuration tool provides the ability to search for SVG

files and select one for display. There is also a button to configure a web part connection that

sends a path to a file. The section is expanded by default, but can be collapsed by clicking its

collapse button (-). This tool part contains two main sections, Selected File and XSL

Transform.

The Select File field shows the full path to the SVG file to display in the web part. The path

may be a UNC path to a file share or an absolute or relative URL. Typically, we recommend

uploading the SVG file to the SharePoint Server in one of the Document Libraries associated

with the site and use the URL to the file in that library. The contents of the field can be

changed by typing or by selecting a different file from the File Search dialog box.

The XSL Transform File text field accepts a URL to an XSLT file. By using an XSLT in an

RtGraphic web part, the user can enhance an SVG file that is authored in PI ProcessBook

without permanently altering its contents. The transformation logic can include pattern-based

http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/main.html

http://www.adobe.com/svg/overview/svg.html





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substitution to change tags or server names, adjust the visual representation of a display, or to

attach JavaScript logic to specific elements.

SVG Displays created in ProcessBook can be edited in the smart clients by:

Edit in PI ProcessBook option in the document library menu;

Launch Analysis Tool in the RtGraphic web part menu.

If you have PI ProcessBook installed on your local machine and you have access to the

PI Server on which the data in the RtGraphic web part relies, it is possible to perform what is

known as a Roundtrip in ProcessBook. This involves launching the SVG file in

PI ProcessBook, making any desired additions, edits, or deletions, and then saving the SVG

file. You can then save it directly the Document Library, or save the file locally and re-upload

it. The RtGraphic should be automatically updated with the changes you made in

ProcessBook. You may have to refresh the screen so that it renders again.

8.3.3 Exercise – Configure the RtGraphic WebPart



Objectives

Familiarize yourself with using PI ProcessBook displays in web parts.

Problem Description

You have some PI ProcessBook displays that your users would like to preserve in web parts.

Approach

Create a new page in your Team Site called Exercise_R6. If you are not already in Edit Mode, select Edit

Page from the upper right page menu. Add one RtGraphic web part to any zone. Minimize the browser

window and open PI ProcessBook. Select the display Main Column Bottom and open it. Use the Save As

function and save it to your desktop in the .SVG file format. Go back to your browser and navigate to the

ProcessBook Files Document Library you created earlier. Upload the .SVG file there. Finally, go back to

the page you created for this exercise and configure the RtGraphic web part to display your .SVG file.






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1. Before you begin, minimize your browser and open PI ProcessBook. The default workbook

PIDEMO.PIW should open. If it does not, navigate and open that workbook.

2. On the Refinery tab, open Main Column Bottom.

3. Select File > Save As… and save the file to your desktop as a Scalable Vector Graphics (.SVG) file.

4. Close the PI ProcessBook application.

5. Return to your Team Site in your browser and navigate to your document library ProcessBook Files

that you created earlier.

6. Select Upload and use the Browse button to select the Main Column Bottom.svg on your

desktop. Upload the file to the library.

7. Click on Site Actions > Create.


9. Enter information regarding the name and the layout of the

Web Part Page.




10. In one of the Web Part Zones, click on the Add a Web

Part link.

11. Check the RtGraphic web part, click on the Add button.

12. In the RtGraphic web part, click Edit > Modify Shared

Web Part.

13. Click Browse and select your .SVG file. You may have to

use the folder navigation buttons (in the upper left corner of

the browse window) to travel up one level and into a

different document library.







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Optional part Step-by-Step Solution

1. Select Edit > Launch in PI ProcessBook to open the file from the web server.

2. You will have to re-enter your credentials.

3. Edit the display file and save the changes.

4. Close the PI ProcessBook application.

5. Refresh your SharePoint page to observe the changes.

8.4 PI DataLink for Excel Services

Excel Services is brand new server technology that is included with Office 2007. The

downside to Excel historically is that it is not easy to share and that it was difficult to reuse

the data. Excel Services has been introduced to make life easier when it comes to leveraging

important Excel spreadsheets on a large scale. In summary, Excel Services will make it

simple to manage, share, and control spreadsheets.

This new technology is truly a thin client (no downloads) way to share the output of Excel

files without the need for any client Excel components to be present and loaded on the client

machine. It represents an innovative way to share the contents and calculations in a controlled

manner to end users.

These server-side Excel files can also be used as the basis on which consumers can build

custom applications based on the data and calculations inside of an Excel document by taking

advantage of the newly introduced set of Web services that expose the Excel spreadsheets

data.

8.4.1 Introduction to Excel Services

Excel Web offers a web view that displays data and charts from an Excel Workbook, has a

similar "look and feel" to Microsoft Office Excel, such as sheet tabs, outline buttons, and

drop-down arrows, and allows you to edit a few cells from the spreadsheet. It provides

browser-based access to spreadsheets that you can incorporate spreadsheets in portals and

dashboards. You can limit access to spreadsheets either for regulatory and audit concerns or

to protect intellectual property in spreadsheets. It also eliminates “multiple versions of the

truth”, or many copies of the same spreadsheet that are out of sync with each other by sharing





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them via online document libraries. It also allows you to leverage servers to offload long-

running calculations from desktop machines.

An Excel Web Access Web Part is also available which allows embedded Excel reports into

existing Portal pages. Interaction with other Web Parts is available through the use of

connections, covered later.

8.4.2 Publishing Reports in Excel Services

Similar to the way you must save and upload an SVG file to a Document Library to display

your independent ProcessBook Displays, you must publish the Excel file to a Document

Library to use it in a Web Part. The Excel Services are installed only with Microsoft Office

SharePoint Server (MOSS), not WSS or SPS.

8.4.3 Exercise – Configure DataLink for Excel Services



Objectives

Familiarize students with using DataLink reports in a web page.

Problem Description

Your manager wants to be able to see reports on the intranet. You decide to use PI DataLink

for Excel Services to post live PI DataLink reports in a web page.

Approach

Open a spreadsheet containing data from the PI DataLink Compressed Data (Start

Time/Number) function (Exercise_DL5_Solution.xlsx if you do not wish to create your

own) and publish it on the SharePoint Server.

Create a new page in your Team Site called Exercise_R7. If you are not already in Edit

Mode, select Edit Page from the upper right page menu.

Add one EWA (Excel Web Access) web part to any zone on the page. Configure the web part

to use the spreadsheet that you just uploaded to your document library.

Note: The DataLink spreadsheet must be uploaded to the same Document Library as the Web Part Page is

stored.





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1. Navigate to your Team Site in your browser and navigate to your document library Shared

Documents.

2. Select Upload and use the Browse button to select ProductionReport_Completred.xls from your

system (C:\class\). Upload the file to the library.

3. Click Site Actions > Create.

4. Click Add Web Part Page.

5. In the Name field enter Exercise_R7.

6. In one of the Web Part Zones, click Add a Web Part, and then click OK.

7. Check the Excel Web Access (EWA) box, click Add.

8. Click Edit > Modify Shared Web Part.

9. Browse for your workbook you uploaded.

10. Click OK.

11. Click OK to close the edit panel.





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9. PI Module Database

Each PI Server has its own PI Module Database (PI MDB). The PI MDB is used to organize

an enterprise's information streams into logical sub-areas. The path to a certain area is called

a context. If the context (plant, unit, etc) is changed, the referenced PI points will change

without having to search again for their tag names. The structure of the PI Module Database

allows the information to be stored hierarchically in relation to a physical model, a business

model or an application model. Each module has:

Configurable information – PI Properties

Linked tags – PI Aliases

Dated versions - Revision number, Version number, Effective Date, Obsolete Date

and Query Date

System assigned information – UniqueID, Owner, Parent list, etc.

Sub-Modules with the same characteristics – PI Modules

PI Properties are collections of named values that can store information related to a PI

module. A PI Property has a Name and a Value. PI Properties can also be hierarchical. The

Value can be nearly any type: string, numeric, date, etc. PI Properties are used to store

information about a module, example:

Serial number

Installation date

Name of the technician who performed the installation

PI Aliases let you configure common names, the Alias, to access real time information

through references to PI tags.





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You can search for PI Tags by browsing the PI Module Database tree structure or by

specifying search criteria. You can filter by context, module name, or alias. The result pane

shows the underlying tags for the aliases found. To access this feature, you must go to the

Alias tab in the Tag Search dialog window.

9.1 PI Module Database and PI ProcessBook

PI ProcessBook is able to tie into the PI Module Database to create Module Relative

Displays. It can help you build displays when you have redundant units.

Problem

A site has 100 units, such as wind turbines, AMI meters, valves, or pumps; each unit is

exactly the same with the same types of tags and properties. It is necessary to build a display

and monitor each one. You would prefer to not have to build 100 displays or to manage the

navigation between them.

Solution

Define the units as modules in the PI Module Database with the PI Tags referenced as PI

Aliases. You can also build in any additional PI Properties that you may want to reference.

First, select a “template” unit. Design the display using aliases from the “template”. Shift the

context from one unit to another. One display can be used to monitor all 100 units.

To add modules to a display, you must first be in Build mode. Then go to Tools > Module

Context > Add Module. Choose the modules that you wish to be included in the display.





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They will then be available in that display for reference. To add the aliases to a Dynamic

Element, you need to do the following:

Click Module Context in the dropdown list beside the Tag Search button.

You will see a list of all the aliases and properties defined in the current context.

Choose the item you want to display and click OK.

You have just created one display for multiple units. You can even configure the PI Module

Database and the display to show the current context being used with a value symbol.

ProcessBook 3.2 still ties in to the Module Database. However, it can also be used to create

Element Relative Displays (ERDs) that are based on AF Elements and Attributes instead of

Module Contexts and Aliases. The ProcessBook 3.2 release is meant to be a bridge between

MDB and AF. The process for creating ERDs is similar to creating MRDs, so we will not go

into it further at this time.

9.1.1 Exercise – Module Relative ProcessBook Displays



Objectives

Create a ProcessBook display that is driven by PI Module Database Aliases and

Properties instead of tag names.

Problem Description

There are two identical reactors in your lab. You want to create one display to view process information

for any given reactor instead of two separate displays. Use the existing PI Module Database structure to:

Display the values of Temperature, Level and Concentration of the chosen reactor;

Display the Height and Radius properties;

Trend the Temperature alias for the chosen unit.

Approach

Open PI ProcessBook and create a dynamic, module database driven display named Exercise

PB 6 using the two reactors. In a new display, add the two modules to the Available Modules

control via the Tools Menu. Add a tank to the center of the display for visual appeal. You can

select any tank from the Symbol Library. Then add 5 dynamic values and one trend. The

dynamic values should show the Temperature, Level and Concentration aliases and the

Height and Radius properties. The trend should show the Temperature alias. The completed

display may look similar to the one beside. Test the display by selecting between the

modules. You should notice that the values will change.





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1. In PI ProcessBook, create a new display named Exercise PB 6.

2. Using the Symbol Library, insert a symbol to represent a reactor.

3. Next, you need to add the appropriate modules. To do this go to Tools > Module Context > Add

Module, you will then be prompted to select the module contexts you wish to use in the current

display. Browse to the Reactor Section and move both Reactor 1 and Reactor 2 over to the Selected

Modules frame. Your window will look similar to this one.

4. Click on the OK button. Notice that the module contexts that you have selected will appear on the PI

ProcessBook screen.

5. Now using the Dynamic Value button from the toolbar, insert the values for the three (3) Module





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aliases (Temperature, Level and Concentration) near the reactor symbol. For each Dynamic Value,

configure the alias by selecting Module Context from the drop-down menu that is beside the Tag

Search button. You should then get a window that looks similar to the one below.

6. After selecting the Alias you want click on the OK button. Now, click on the drop-down menu under

Tag: and choose Top. You will see this string as name of the object: Alias.|Temperature where we

normally see a tag reference. Click on the OK button and you will see that the Alias gets translated

by the PI Server and only the final tag value is displayed. The value display options can be changed

just like any other tag.

7. Repeat for the Level and Concentration aliases, and also for the properties Height and Radius.

8. Draw a small trend on the screen and instead of a tag; insert a module reference for temperature

related symbol. You can either type in Alias.|Temperature or you can do a search as in Step 4.

Define the rest of the trend as usual and click on the OK button to complete the configuration. Note

the | symbol is obtained by pressing Shift+\

9. Back on the display make sure you are in Run mode. You can now click between modules and PI

ProcessBook will seamlessly resolve tag names (including the one in the trend definition) and

property values based on the current context.





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9.2 PI Module Database and PI DataLink

PI DataLink can also connect to the PI Module Database and retrieve information about

module names, contexts, aliases, and properties. You can retrieve a Module Path, an Alias, or

a Property by using the Module Browse function. Select the type of object (Module, Alias, or

Property) you want to retrieve from the PI Module Database. This function provides little

useful information on its own, but when combined with the other Module Database functions,

you can build Module Relative Reports. The Alias to Tag function (=PIAliasToTag)

retrieves the tag associated with PI Aliases. You must provide both the Alias and the Context

to retrieve the PI Tag. You can either browse for this information or use a cell reference. The

Alias and Module Path provide by the Module Browse function is great for populating the

cells for these cell references. Similarly, you can use the Property to Value function

(=PIPropertytoValue) to retrieve the values of PI Properties.

To build a Module Relative Report, follow these steps:

1. Retrieve the aliases, properties and the current context. Get this information with PI Module

Database function. Copy the Module Path and output these values to cells to be used as cell

references.

2. Retrieve the tag names and property values. Alias and Property functions retrieve tag names and

property respectively. Use cell reference for aliases, properties and module path.

3. Set Cell References. Build your PI DataLink report making cell references to the tag names.

4. Change the current context and see the tag name(s) and properties change. The column showing tag

name(s) can be hidden.

9.2.1 Excel Tricks for Module Relative Reports

Data validation is useful to build pre-formatted reports. It constrains input answer in a cell to

criteria:

Integer numbers only





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Decimal numbers only

Date and/or time

Items chosen from a list

In the Excel 2007 Ribbon go to Data > Data Tools > Data Validation to launch the Data

Validation dialog box. Cannot combine text and references to cells in PI DataLink dialog

boxes

You cannot nest a cell reference inside an expression inside a PI DataLink formula. The PI

DataLink program cannot follow a cell reference in an expression. So you must use the

concatenate function in order to build the expression, and then have PI DataLink read the

expression. It is possible to join up to 30 text items using the Concatenate Excel function. The

text items can be text strings, numbers, or single-cell references. The & operator can be used

instead of the Concatenate function to join text items.

Items can be:

Text

Numbers

References to cell

We recommend using the Data Validation and Concatenate functions to build Module Paths

(contexts). This allows you to easily change the context. If you have built your spreadsheet

using cell references, all of your Aliases and Properties will update automatically. This has

the added advantage that all of the “back-end” mechanics of the call can be hidden in the

spreadsheet, giving the end user a clean, visually appealing experience.

9.2.2 Exercise – Module Relative PI DataLink Reports



Objectives

Understand the structure of the PI Module Database, and how to dynamically access

properties and aliases;

Reduce the time required to produce and execute PI DataLink reports by basing them

upon module contexts.

Prerequisites

The file MDBStruct.xlsx or MDBStruct.xls, which contains the necessary MDB

structure, must have been exported prior to start this exercise.

Problem Description





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You want to create a PI Datalink report to monitor in real time the temperature, level and concentration of

two similar reactors. You want this report to be based on your PI Module Database so that you only have

to create one report to view data for both reactors.

Approach

A PI Module Database (MDB) structure has already been defined by your System Administrator. First

you will need to become familiar with its structure. You can browse through it from the PI > Module

Database… We will use the Reactor Section Module. We have provided the file named

Exercise_DL8_Template.xls for you to use as a template if you wish. Add the three (3) aliases to the

spreadsheet. You can either type in the names Temperature, Level and Concentration or you can perform

a search using the PI DataLink Module Database… function. Then add the labels for properties Height

and Radius under the dimensions heading. Somewhere above the aliases and properties insert the Module

Database Path into one of the cells. Again you can perform a search using the PI DataLink Module

Database… function. In PI DataLink, you cannot resolve a Current Value from an alias so you must

resolve the tag names first. Use the PI DataLink Alias… function in the cells next to the alias names to

resolve. Use cell references for the alias names and module path. To the right of the tag names you can

resolve for Current Value. By using the cell references correctly, changing the Module Path cell to the

other reactor should update the tag names and also the current values. Resolve the properties as you did

the aliases using the PI DataLink Properties… function. Again, you can test by changing the module

path cell to the other reactor. The property values should update. Finally, MS Excel will perform a

calculation to determine the mass of a component in the chosen reactor, based on the real-time data and

the reactor‟s physical properties. This calculation will determine our valuable stuff in the reactor. If we

assume that our reactor is cylindrical, the formula for its total volume is expressed by

Π x r2 x h

Where r is the radius and h is the height. Since the level is a percentage of the total, we

multiply the formula by the level (L) to get the volume of liquid, resulting in:

Π x r2 x h x L

Since our radius and height are both in meters, our volume will be in m3. The concentration

(C) is in kg/1000L, and there are 1000L in 1 m3 (if we assume the density of water). To find

the total kg of valuable stuff the formula is:

π x r2 x h x L x C

In MS Excel, the way we will represent this is with the following formula:

=PI()*J8^2*J7*F8*F7/100

The great feature of MDB is that you only need to input once what properties and aliases you are looking

for. You will hide the properties and the tag names, since all you want are the final numbers.





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2. We will begin by exploring briefly the structure of the MDB defined by your System Manager.

a. One the Ribbon, click PI > Module

Browse

b. In the MDB window, click on the Module

radio button.

c. In the MDB viewing window, click on the

local server (or the server specified by your

instructor) and continue until you see the

hierarchical structure as shown here (you

may have more or fewer entries in your

MDB; we will only be working with

Reactor Section).

3. Next, click on the Alias radio button. Now, instead of showing the modules, you will also be able to

see the Aliases that have been mapped to tags for each module. Remember that the name of the alias

is only a reference. Tags being referenced do not need to be shown to you, the end user.

4. Next, click on the Property radio button. Similar to aliases, you can see which properties have been

defined for given modules. Remember that properties are not tag-dependent. They can be changed

but it is generally through the System Manager that we would request this change.

5. Close the MDB window once you are comfortable with the structure, by clicking on Cancel button.

6. The first step is to build a drop-down list containing the context path to the Reactor 1 and Reactor 2

modules in the MDB.

a. In cells I26 and I27 enter \Reactor Section\Reactor1 and \Reactor Section\Reactor2,

respectively. You will then refer to this cell when calling PI DataLink function using the MDB to

identify the reactor to use in the spreadsheet calculations.

b. Click on cell B4. Then, on the Ribbon, click Data > Data Validation.

c. Inside Validation Criteria window, in the Allow drop-down list, select List. Then, in the Source,

input the two contexts from MDB for the reactors (=I26:I27)

d. Cell B4 should now be a drop-down list that you can use to select either one of the reactors.





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7. For each reactor, the System Manager has defined the following aliases and properties:

8. We will reference all of these by their module

name (this is like a nickname). Starting with

your cursor in cell B6, go to the Ribbon and

click PI > Module Browse.

a. On the menu that pops up, click on the

Alias radio button.

b. Browse through the entries down to

Reactor 1 (your reference module).

c. Select the alias Temperature.

d. Uncheck copy module path and click on

the OK button.

e. In cell B6, the text Temperature appears.

f. Repeat step 8 for cells B7 (Concentration)

and B8 (Level). All of the necessary alias

names are in the sheet.

Aliases

Temperature

Concentration

Level

Properties

Height

Radius





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9. Similarly, we will import the properties that

we will need to carry out the calculation later.

a. Click on cell I7, then, on the Ribbon click

PI > Module Browse.

b. Click the Property radio button and

browse through to Reactor 1.

c. Click on the property Height.

d. Be sure that copy module path is

unchecked and click on the OK button.

e. In cell I7, the text Height appears.

f. Repeat step 9 for cell I8 (Radius). The

required property names will now be on

your sheet.

10. Now we will bring in the Tag names and

Property values. Click on cell C6, then, on the

Ribbon, click PI > Alias to Tag.

a. For the Alias reference, select B6. The

module path is what is produced by the

dropdown list, which is in cell B4. The

output cell is C6 and you will not want the

name of the server to appear.

b. When your dialog box resembles the one

shown here, click on the OK button. In cell

C6, the corresponding tag for the

Temperature alias for the selected reactor

will show.

c. Repeat these steps for the Concentration

and Level aliases.

d. Similarly we want to bring in the values of

the properties that the System Manager has

defined for these reactors (namely, their

radius and height). Click on cell J7, then,

on the Ribbon, click PI > Property to

Value.





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e. To retrieve the correct property/properties,

make a reference to cell I7, a.k.a. the name

of the property (Height). The module path

will once again be B4 (output from the

dropdown list) and the output cell will be

J7.

f. When your dialog box looks like the one

here, click on the OK button.

g. Repeat these steps for the Radius property.

Now the values of these properties appear

on the sheet and are ready to use for

calculation.

11. We simply need to use a Current Value for the tag names that PI DataLink has translated from

MDB. As we did before, select cell F6 and, on the Ribbon, click PI > Current Value. In the Tag

Name(s) field highlight cells C6:C8. Click the OK button.

12. With the data we have brought in from the PI Server using the MDB, we are going to carry out a

calculation in Excel. We want to find out how much of our valuable stuff is in the reactor. If we

assume that our reactor is cylindrical, the formula for its total volume is expressed by

π x r2 x h

Where r is the radius and h is the height. Since the level is a percentage of the total, we multiply the

formula by the level (L) to get the volume of liquid, a.k.a.

π x r2 x h x L

Since the radius and height are both in meters, the volume will be in m3. The concentration (C) is in

kg/1000L, and there are 1000L in 1 m3 (if we assume the density of water). To find the total kg of

valuable stuff the formula to use is:

π x r2 x h x L x C

In MS Excel, the way we will represent this is with the following formula, entered in cell F10:

=PI()*J8^2*J7*F8*F7/100

For the reactor selected, the desired product mass will be shown in cell F10.

13. We can hide a lot of the sheet now. Try selecting the entire column C by right-clicking on the mouse

and selecting Hide from the menu. Repeat for columns D, E, I, J, and K.





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14. Now try changing the reactor in

the drop down list. The numbers

update automatically because

the referenced tags change. This

is called changing “contexts”.

The resulting sheet will look

like the figure below.

9.3 PI Module Database and RtWebParts

The RtTreeView web part is a navigational control that is most typically used to set the

context for a web part page by providing data to other web parts. Currently the only data

source for RtTreeView is the PI Module Database.

9.3.1 RtTreeView

The RtTreeView is typically used to display a subsection of the PI Module Database. Its

size and appearance are configurable in the RtTreeView> Properties tool part. It can be

connected to other RtWebParts to provide the context, Aliases, or Properties.

Data associated with an RtTreeView can be sent to other connected web parts as follows:

Web Part Type of data sent

RtTrend Dataset name or query parameters.

RtGauge Dataset name.

RtGraphic URL to SVG file.

RtActiveView URL to PDI file.

RtTable Query parameters.

Although RtTreeView does not implement consumer interfaces for web part connections,

you can specify a tree node to be selected when the web part page is loaded. Include the

RtTreeView_SelectedNodeTag parameter in a URL string used to access the web part page.

The effect is to dynamically set the web page context via preconfigured connections when it

opens using data available from the RtTreeView web part.

Notes: An RtTreeView web part must be included on the page in order to accept this parameter, and the

target node must reside under the currently configured root node, but need not be visible by default.

MDB Chemical Company

\Reactor Section\Reactor 2

Temperature 150.94 °C

Concentration 79.62 kg/1000L

Level 0.31 %

Mass of Valuable Stuff 15.27 kg

\Reactor Section\Reactor 2





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The RtTreeView_SelectedNodeTag parameter value specifies an absolute path to a PI

Module Database node that is case-sensitive. Special characters can be encoded by

converting space ( ) to %20 or percent character (%) to %25.

For example, the URL can be written in both ways for identical result:

http://localhost/Shared Documents/RtTreeView.aspx?RtTreeView_SelectedNodeTag=\\qaPI

WebParts\%OSI

or

http://localhost/Shared%20Documents/RtTreeView.aspx?RtTreeView_SelectedNodeTag=\\q

aPI WebParts\%25OSI

Data associated with a node can be sent to other connected web parts. Data assigned to the

node is sent to other, connected web parts on the page using web part communication. The

name of the module, as well as its path in the PI Module Database, is always passed via web

part communication. In addition, any PI Properties matching those found in the module

indicated in the Template for PI Properties to Use field are passed. If the Include Aliases

check box is selected, any PI Aliases associated with the clicked node are also passed.

Add properties to the module that will be used to send the data. To be able to send Properties,

a path to a typical Properties Definition must be entered. To be able to send Aliases, the

Include Aliases option must be selected. When selected, this builds a list of resolved PI

Aliases found when a module is read from the PI Module Database. The list of semicolon-

delimited tags sent may differ for each module selected in the tree. This parameter is not

affected by the PI Aliases Template Node setting.

The number of node levels to be read for the initial page load from the PI Module Database,

relative to the configured root node. The default value is 2. If the Maximum Number of

Levels to Display is greater than this value, additional nodes are loaded when the tree view is

expanded in the web part. The number of node levels shown expanded for the initial page

load relative to the configured root node. The default value is 2. Additional levels are

collapsed, and can be expanded once the page has loaded, up to the Maximum Number of

Levels to Display. The maximum number of node levels to display at any time in the web

part, relative to the configured root node. Modules beyond the maximum level cannot be seen

in the web part, even if the visible modules are fully expanded. The default value is 8.

An absolute or site-relative URL location for stored image files used as tree view icons. A

module can specify a fully qualified URL to an image file as a PI Property, or a simple file

name, in which case the URL is used to resolve the icon location. The default value is read

from the image Directory setting in the PIPC\RtWebParts\web.config file on the web server.

9.3.2 Web Part Connections

Using simple menus and dialog boxes, you can connect Web Parts together by passing data

between them and synchronizing their behavior. For example, if you have a List View Web

Part of Contacts with a column that has a hyperlink to a picture of the contact and the Image

Web Part on a Web Part Page, you can connect the two Web Parts together. Each time you

select a row in the List View Web Part of Contacts, you can see the picture displayed in the

Image Web Part.





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All RtWebParts, except the RtTreeView, are designed to use the client-side event-based

mechanism for receiving changes. These web parts and any others that support SharePoint

web part connection interface can be specifically configured to use the Start Time and End

Time parameters from the RtTimeRange web part. This web part provides data to other,

connected web parts, but does not accept values from other web parts.

To establish a connection between Web Parts, you must do the following:

1. On the Web Part Page title bar, click Site Actions> Edit Page. The Connections selection in the

Web Part menu only appears while in Edit mode.

2. Decide which two web parts you want to connect. You can create or modify the same connection

starting from either web part.

3. From either the Consumer (the Web Part receiving the data) or Producer (the one providing the data)

Web Part, click the Web Part menu, and then move the cursor over Connections.

4. From the connection type submenu, select the type of connection you want to create or modify, such

as Provide Row To or Filter Data With.

5. From the available Web Parts submenu, select the web part for which you want to create or modify

a connection.

Some web parts require editing in the configuration panel to complete the connection. In the

configuration pane for RtWebParts, click on the Connection button (lightning bolt) to

complete the connection.

9.3.3 Exercise – Making Connections



Objectives

Familiarize yourself with connecting web parts.

Problem Description

You understand that you can pass data from one web part to another. You want to create a web page

where you can see a list of tags, but drill down to view the recent history for any one of them. You decide

to use the RtValues web part to list some tags and want to pass selected tag names to the RtTimeSeries

web part.

Approach

Create a new page in your Team Site called Exercise_R8. Set the page in Edit Mode. Add one RtValues

and one RtTimeSeries web parts to any zone. Modify the settings of the RtValues web part by selecting

Modify Shared Web Part. Perform a tag search on tags that begin with CD and add them to the data

area. In the selected columns choose: DataSet, Time, Value, and Current State. Add the values for

Interval Maximum and Interval Minimum and click on the OK button.





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For the RtValues web part pass the parameter of Tag Name to the RtTimeSeries web part. Test the web

part interaction by clicking on a tag name in the RtValues web part and observe the RtTimeSeries web

part. Below is a sample illustration.






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5. Check the RtValues box, click on the Add button.

6. On the RtValues Web Part, click Edit > Modify Shared

Web Part.



· In the Name mask field enter CD*.

· Double click the desired tags or select them and click

on the Add button.

· Click on the OK button to close the Tag Search

window.

· In the Selected Columns choose DataSet, Time,

Value, and Current State.

· Add the values also for Interval Maximum and

Interval Minimum.



9. Check the RtTimeSeries box, click on the Add button.

10. In the RtValues web part, click Edit > Connections > Provide Parameters to > RtTimeSeries.

11. On the RtTimeSeries Web Part, click Edit > Modify Shared Web Part.





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· Click the on Connections icon.

· In the Connected web parts dialog box, click RtValues

in the Name area and Tag Name in the Connection

field area.



15. Select different tag names in the RtValues web part and observe the behavior of the RtTimeSeries

web part.

9.3.4 Exercise – Configure the RtTreeView WebPart



Objectives

Familiarize yourself with creating Module relative web pages.





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Problem Description

Your manager wants you to create a page where he can change tags displayed in an RtTrend for the

different units in your plant without going into configuration mode. (If the required module structure is

not built on your PI Server, you will need to build it according to the file MDB_MyPlant.xls)

Approach

Create a new web part page called Exercise_R9. On that page place one RtTreeView web part and one

RtTrend web part. Use whatever zone you wish.

Define the Root Node as being the MyPlant module and the other nodes as being Unit1.

Define the connection to the RtTrend.

Configure the RtTrend to receive the Alias Tag List from the RtTreeView.

Test your links by selecting each unit from the RtTreeView. The data should change.






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3. Enter information regarding the name and the layout of the Web Part Page





5. Check the RtTreeView and RtTrend boxes, and then click on the Add button.

6. On the RtTreeView Web Part, click Edit > Modify Shared Web Part.


· Click the Browse button and select your server.

· Open the PI Module Database tree to expand the structure you

just built.

· Drag the MyPlant module into the Root Node.

· Drag the Unit1 module into each of the other three areas.



9. In the RtTreeView web part, click Edit > Connections > Provide Parameters To > RtTrend.





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10. In the RtTrend web part, click Edit > Modify Shared

Web Part.

· In the edit pane, click the Connections icon.

· In the Connected web parts dialog box, click

RtTreeView in the Name area and Alias Tag List in

the Connection field area.



13. Test the page by selecting different pumps in RtTreeView and observing the behavior of the RtTrend

web part.





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10. Advanced PI ProcessBook

Data Sets provide a means of displaying some data that was originally derived from raw

process values or other relational data.

Datasets can be:

A PI Calculation (summary or expression)

ODBC Data

AF Data

AF2 Data

We will only be covering the PI Calculation Data Set, as the other topics are more advanced

and covered in other classes offered by OSIsoft.

10.1 PI Calculations in PI ProcessBook

A PI Calculation Data Set uses the PI Performance Equation (PE) syntax. The main

differences between PI Calculations and PI Performance Equations are that PI Performance

Equations are continuously calculated, typically based on Snapshot events, and the results

stored in a PI Tag so that a history is available. PI Calculations, conversely, are calculated on

demand, with the results being displayed, but no history being recorded. They also use only

Archived data, which can differ from Snapshot data due to your Compression settings, and so

may not provide as high a resolution as a PI Performance Equation. PI Calculation Data Sets

results must be used in a dynamic element to be viewed. Data Sets will automatically

calculate the expression itself, statistics on the expression, and statistics on a single point.

When you add a tag name or an expression, PI ProcessBook automatically adds a number of

standard calculations, using the interval and sync times you used in the definition panel.

The Stepped Plot is used for calculations as the default. You normally do not wish to

interpolate between calculations. Tag Name can be typed or searched. Interval is the period

to examine. Sync Time is used to offset from other calculations for timing or load balancing.

When you define a dynamic element you can specify a PI Calculation Data Set instead of the

common use of a tag. Just click the drop-down arrow next to the Tag Search button and you

are presented with the PI Calculation Data Sets dialog box. Select a Data Set and the desired

column (calculation).

1. In PI ProcessBook go to Tools > Data Sets… > New > PI Calculation

2. Define the calculation by using a PE equation.

3. Set Calculation Interval by using a predefined interval or set a custom interval.

4. Set the Column Name.

5. Define the Refresh Interval.

Elements which include data from a data set are updated automatically. Many elements of a

ProcessBook can use the same Data Set simultaneously. Different ProcessBooks can include

the same Dataset. Modification of a data set will only affect elements of the current

ProcessBook (.PIW) and display (.PDI). It is important to verify which elements use a Data





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Set prior to modifying it. The Show Use button of the Data Sets screen shows the list of

elements using a given Data Set.

10.1.1 Exercise – PI Calculation Data Sets



Objectives

Learn how to use dynamic elements based on data sets;

Learn how to obtain statistics from PI data archives;

Learn how to define equations with PI points.

Problem Description

You need to see displays not of raw data but showing the results of particular calculations. In one

calculation you need to see a 30 minute running average for CDT158. Also show the interval maximum

and minimum and display all with the live process value.

In a second calculation you want to create a display to illustrate the mixing of two

ingredients: CDT158 and BA:LEVEL.1. Your calculation will solve for the percent of Product

A (CDT158). You will show this graphically in a display. The approaches to solve each

problem with sample illustrations are on the next sections.

Problem Part A Approach

In the ProcessBook file (.piw) you created earlier in Exercise 11, add a new display entry called Exercise

PB7A. Add a new trend on the average value for the last 12 hours. The trend shows stair step trace. Also,

add the live process value to the trend. Label the trend CDT158 Calcs. The figure below illustrates the

resulting trend.






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Problem Part B Approach

Two different products (A and B) feed a tank. You want to illustrate in a trend the product

percentage used per 30 minutes. The synchronization of the calculations starts at 00:00:00

AM (every 30 minutes starting at midnight). The trend will show the results for the last 8

hours in a stair step trace. Use the tag name CDT158 as product A and BA:TEMP.1 as

product B. Define a column named %Product A for the results of the calculation. Use the

following expression: 'CDT158'*100/('CDT158'+'BA:TEMP.1')

Place the trend in a new display entry named Exercise PB7B in the ProcessBook created in

Exercise 11. Add a tank (static drawing and bar object) that will show the two products at the

inlet and the usage percentage of product A at the outlet. The figure below illustrates the

resulting display and schematic.





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Step-by-Step Solution for Part A

1. Create a new display type entry titled Exercise PB7A in the ProcessBook file you created in Exercise

11 and open it.

2. Create a data set by following Tools > Data Sets > New > PICalculation.

3. Enter the following parameters in the PI Calculation Data dialog:

· Name: LEVEL

· Description: TANK LEVEL

· Refresh interval: 1 min

· Step Plot: yes

· Server: select a server

· Tag name: CDT158

· Interval: 1 h

· Synchronization: 00:00:00

4. Build a new trend named Tank level. Click on PI Calculation from the dropdown menu to select the

curves.

5. Select the data set you just created. Select the Average, Minimum and Maximum columns by holding

down the ctrl key. Return to the Define Trend dialog by clicking on the OK button.





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6. Set the plot time:

· Start: *-12h

· End: *

7. Set the display and trace formats as you

want and click on the OK button.

8. Add the percent good values by selecting

Draw > Value.

9. Click on the PI Calculation button from

the dropdown menu and choose the

PctGood column.

10. Set the value‟s format to General; select

a tag name position from the drop-down

list and click on the OK button.

11. Save the display and the ProcessBook

file.





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Step-by-Step Solution for Part B

1. First a trend symbol will be added; in the ProcessBook file of Exercise 11, create a display type entry

named Exercise PB7B and open it.

2. Create a data set by following Tools > Data Sets > New > PICalculation.

3. Enter the following parameters in the PI Calculation Data dialog:

· Name: PERCENT_PRODA

· Description: % Product A

· Refresh interval: 1 m

· Step Plot: yes

· Server: select a server

· Expression: 'CDT158'*100/('CDT158'+'BA:TEMP.1')

· Interval: 30m

· Synchronization: 00:00:00

· Column: %ProductA

4. Create a new trend named % Product A. Click on PI Calculation on the dropdown menu.

5. Choose the data set PERCENT_PRODA and select the column %ProductA. Return to the Define

Trend dialog.

6. Set the plot time:

· Start: *-8h

· End: *





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7. Set the display and trace formats as you want and click on the OK button.

8. A tank symbol will be added; draw a tank with two inlet pipes and an outlet one.

9. Type the products‟ names and add the CDT158 tag value as product A and the BA:TEMP.1 tag value

as product B.

10. Type %ProductA = at the tank‟s outlet and add the value and the timestamp of column %ProductA

of the Product A data set.

11. Save the display and the ProcessBook file.





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11. Advanced Calculations in PI DataLink

11.1 Advanced Calculated Data

Advanced Calculated Data (=PIAdvCalcDat) returns a single calculated value or evenly

spaced calculated values from the PI archive. Calculation modes are: total, minimum,

maximum, standard deviation, range, average and count.

If a filter expression is specified, the requested summaries on the source point are calculated

for the time ranges where the expression evaluates to true. To retrieve a single calculated

value, do not specify an interval. To retrieve evenly spaced calculated data, the specified

interval determines the spacing of the calculation.

Please consult PI DataLink's online help for more details about the parameters:

Expression sampling modes for the filter expression;

Expression sampling modes for expression to be summarized;

Expression sampling interval;

Calculation basis;

Minimum percent good parameters.

There are three (3) expression sampling modes for sampling the filter expression:

Pt. Compressed (default) – Evaluates the filter expression at the timestamp of any

compressed value of the source point;





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Exp. Compressed – Evaluates the filter expression at the timestamp of any

compressed values of any tags in the filter expression;

Interpolated – Evaluates the filter expression at evenly spaced sampling intervals.





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There are two (2) expression sampling modes for sampling the expression to be summarized:

Compressed (default) – Evaluates the expression at the timestamp of any

compressed values of any tags in the expression;

Interpolated – Evaluates the expression at evenly spaced sampling intervals.

11.1.1 Directed Exercise – Event and Time Weighted Averages



Problem Description

Perform an event-weighted average that evaluates the filter expression at the timestamp of

every compressed value of the source point. Then perform a time-weighted average that

evaluates the filter at the timestamp of every compressed value of any of the tags in the filter

expression.

11.2 Time Filtered Data

The Time Filtered Data function (=PITimeFilter) dialog box returns the amount of time for

which a given expression is true over a specified time range. The Expression must still follow





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the PI Performance Equation Syntax. The user can specify multiple time ranges as evenly

spaced intervals as in the Calculated Data dialog box.

Note: If you can enter the expression into a cell on the worksheet and refer to it in the dialog box, begin

the expression with a single quote so that Excel will interpret the expression as a string.

Argument Explanation

Expression (string) The calculation expression.

Stime (string) The start time in PI time format

Etime (string) The end time in PI time format

Interval (string) The time interval in PI time format

Timeunit (string) Unit of time for the result to be displayed. Valid entries are:

s, h, m, d

Outcode (integer) An output code such as 0, 1, 2, or 3.

PIServer (string) The PI Server.

11.2.1 Exercise – Operating Time with Time Filtered Data



Objectives

Calculate an operating time with the Time Filtered function.

Problem Description

As the person in charge of the maintenance program, you want to know the operating time for a specific

pump. Find the amount of time the pump was ACTIVE using the function Time Filtered. This method

performs the calculation in a single step; saving the step of doing the filtering with the IF function in MS

Excel. It returns the amount of time that an expression is true.

The operating status is measured by the tag BA:ACTIVE.1.

Approach





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The Time Filtered function returns the amount of time that an expression is true. Use the results to

perform an analysis of the time that your machine state was ACTIVE. The report should allow the user to

select the time unit to display. Use the file as Exercise_DL9_Template.xls a template for this report.






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17. For data validation steps write this time unit: seconds in cell I2, and minutes in cell I3, and

hours in cell I4, and days in cell I5.


2. In cell B7, enter the expression: ''BA:ACTIVE.1' =

"Active".

3. Select cell A10.

4. On the Ribbon, Click PI > Time Filtered.









13. In the task pane click in the Time Units field.

14. Press the ( ) button then click on cell C9.

15. Select the show start time check box.






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18. Select cell C9.

19. On the Ribbon, click Data > Data

Validation.

20. In the dialog box, in the Allow

drop-down list, select List.

21. In the Source field below, select

the cell range you just created

(=$I$2:$I$5).


11.3 Other DataLink Functions

The PointID to Tag function (=PIPointIDToTag) allows the user to always make reference

to a specific point ID and not the tag name. This is very useful when tag names are expected

to change frequently.

The Attribute Mask to Tag function (=PIAttributeMasktoTag) allows the user to always

have a fresh list of tags based on the specified attribute masks. It allows you to return a list of

PI Tags that meet a certain set of search criteria. This is very similar to doing a Basic Tag

search through the PI SDK, but this allows you to build in cell references into your DataLink

report and search for tags without having to open the Tag Search specifically. Again, this is

useful when you have tags that change names often, or when you want to build a highly

interactive report.





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11.3.1 Exercise – Advanced Calculated Data (Optional)



Objectives

Learn to perform operations on tags using Advanced Calculated Data.

Problem Description

As the section head of a small sawmill, you are responsible for the quality and the quantity of board that

is produced. You wish to create a PI DataLink report to help your weekly analysis of shift performance.

The tag BA:CONC.1 represents the length of board produced and each archived value represents another

full board. Boards under 5 feet long are considered scrap. This means they should not be included as

production. Accounting has determined that scrap production costs $2.00 for every foot.

The plant starts up on Monday at 8:00 am and goes idle at 4:00 pm on Friday. Shifts are 8 hours long and

run 24 hours per day.

Produce a report for last week, by shift, of the following:

The number of boards produced, excluding scrap;

The average board length produced, excluding scrap;

The cost of scrap.

Approach

We will combine a number of functions in the Advanced Calculated Data. We want to determine how

many boards were produced (each archived event represents one board produced) and the average length

of the boards produced (using an event-weighted expression). These calculations should be done if the

boards were over a certain length. Then, we will run a calculation to determine how much production was

lost to scrap. All of this will be done per interval, which coincides with shift schedule for all last week.

Use the file as Exercise_DL10_Template.xls a template for this report.






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16. Expand the Advanced area.

17. In the Calculation Basis drop-down select event-weighted.

18. Check show start time check box.




22. In the task pane click in the Filter Expression (optional)

field.


24. In the Calculation Mode drop-down select Average.


26. Select on cell D16.

27. On the Ribbon, click PI > Calculated Data.

28. Click on PI Expression radio button in the task pane.









2. Select cell A16.

3. On the Ribbon, click PI > Calculated Data.

4. Select the PI Tag radio button in the task pane.









13. In the task pane click in the Filter Expression (optional)

field.


15. In the Calculation Mode drop-down select Count.





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37. In the task pane click in the Filter Expression (optional) field.


39. In the Calculation Mode drop-down select Total.

40. Expand the Advanced area.

41. In the Calculation Basis drop-down select event-weighted.


Common Module

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording,

or otherwise, without the prior written permission of OSIsoft, Inc.


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12. Advanced RtWebParts

12.1 RtActiveView

PI ActiveView is a rich viewing tool for live and historical data from a variety of sources. It

presents displays of live data from the PI Server as well as information from ODBC sources

(via ADO or VBA). PI ActiveView can be deployed on the Internet or within a corporate

Intranet. PI ActiveView displays may also be inserted as ActiveX controls in existing

spreadsheets or other reporting tools used in your environment. The displays of live data,

called PI Display Documents, are prepared from displays built in the PI ProcessBook

application.

While a user is viewing a PI Display Document in the browser, the display will automatically

be updated with new data that reaches the PI Server. Dynamic symbols such as trends, bars,

or values, will update just as they would in PI ProcessBook. Certain VBA scripting in a

display is also available in RtActiveView.

In addition to basic PI ProcessBook displays, developers may use displays built with the PI

BatchView and PI SQC add-ins to PI ProcessBook.

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RtActiveView is a client application that allows users to post pdi files to their Intranet. There

are a few rules to using RtActiveView that each user and developer has to keep in mind. One

is that the application will not open a ProcessBook workbook. You must break your

workbook out into individual component display (.pdi) files and insert them as Objects within

HTML (hypertext markup language) files. These can be either .htm files, .asp files, or any

variation on that web standard.

You can do this manually or you can use a utility that OSIsoft includes in every

RtActiveView installation. This utility is a small application written in VBA that performs

these tasks. It is possible to find it in: .\PIPC\ACVIEW\WebDev\EXPORT.PDI

Because RtActiveView connects directly to the PI Server, it does require a direct connection

through port 5450 and a local installation. This does mean that RtActiveView is a smart

client, not a thin client. Thus, we find it usually better suited to a company‟s intranet

environment, rather than a full web deployment.

Note: Linked ProcessBook buttons do NOT work with RtActiveView. You must remove them from PI

ProcessBook before you create your display files.

The configuration process for the RtActiveView WebPart is the same as for the RtGraphic.

The primary difference is that the file now is a .PDI file instead of a .SVG file. However, you

still follow the same procedure to upload the file to a SharePoint Document Library and link

the file to the appropriate webpart.

12.2 Other RtWebParts

There are two other specialty RtWebParts that we should mention. The RtBatchTable

interfaces with PI Batch to display batch data. This web part is really only useful if you have

licensed our PI Batch software.

The RtMessenger interfaces with Windows Office Communicator to display who in your

organization is online.

These specialty web parts are covered in more depth in our other training options such as our

RtWebParts User and Administration class and in some of our online webinars.

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13. Conclusion

13.1 Training

The OSIsoft Training page is located at http://training.osisoft.com. From here you can see our

current training offerings and upcoming events. There are currently 5 Ways to Learn about

PI, with additional methods coming shortly.

Live training webinars are offered regularly for customers who are enrolled in the Software

Reliance Program (SRP). We have both the “Show Me the Value” webinar series which

provides new and exciting business ideas, and the “Show Me How” webinar series that

provides technical knowledge on a very specific topic.

13.2 vCampus

vCampus is a subscription-based, online offering that consists of providing everything people

need to develop applications on the PI System. Focusing on 'doing it right', this community-

oriented program provides resources such as:

Full development PI System;

Community experience with discussion forums and blogs;

Online library;

Technical, interactive webinars.

vCampus is intended to facilitate and encourage communication around PI programming and

integration between OSIsoft partners, customers and employees. Please consult our

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section at http://vcampus.osisoft.com/content/FAQ.aspx

or contact us at [email protected] for more details.

13.3 Tech Support

We recommend visiting the Tech Support site, http://techsupport.osisoft.com, often. From

here you have many options. You can download anything your company is licensed for using

the Download center. You can view our Engineering plan to get information about the most

current releases and predicated release dates and features for new version or products. You

can login and view your support calls, both currently open and previously closed. You can

also search through our Knowledge Base to try and troubleshoot any issues you may be

having on your own.

The phone number and email address for OSIsoft Technical Support:

phone: (01) 510 297-5828

e-mail: [email protected]

Before you contact Tech Support, it is helpful to have certain information readily available.

The OSIsoft engineer will ask the name of the product, the version number, and the computer


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platform. Determine the PI version and build numbers using the Operation > Version option

in PI SMT. Alternately, you can learn the version of almost all PI executables (including

interfaces) by invoking the executable with the –v parameter from a command prompt. Here

is an example:

cd \pipc\bin

bufserv -v

Get computer platform (CPU type, operating system, and version number) as follows:

On Windows, right-click on My Computer icon and select Properties tab.

On UNIX, type uname -a

Note the time that the difficulty started, and be prepared to report the contents of the message

log at that time. The message log is found in the Operation > Message Log Viewer option in

SMT. You will likely also need the PIPC log covering the applicable timerange. This log is

located in \\pipc\dat.

13.4 Further Questions

For questions about Licensing, if you are in the US, you can find your salesman listed at

http://www.osisoft.com > Contact Us > US Sales. If you are outside the US you can find

your salesman listed at http://www.osisoft.com > Contact Us > International Sales.

For questions about existing Support Issues, you should call technical support at 510 297-

5828 or visit http://techsupport.osisoft.com > My Support > My Calls.

For questions about unresolved training issues, contact your instructor or email

[email protected].

For all other questions, please contact our Customer Service group via email at

[email protected].




mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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14. Exercise – Global Recap Question

The following exercise is intended to reinforce key information presented throughout

this course.

Objectives

Review the main functionalities of PI ProcessBook, PI DataLink and RtWebParts.

Understand and use the relationships between the software.

Problem Description

Your company has extended the production plant with brand new machinery. In order to give

access to the plant data to your coworkers, you need to implement new material using the

PI ProcessBook, PI DataLink and RtWebParts.

Some of the data will only be used by operators who are experienced with PI ProcessBook

and like its flexibility. You will need to create a few displays for them and organize them

adequately. Other data requires a more numerical analysis and you prefer using PI DataLink

to analyze it. Finally, other data are of interest for the whole plant staff and you chose to

distribute it using RtWebParts so that everyone will be able to access the data using their web

browser.

Approach

Here are the items that should be implemented so that your users can have an efficient access

to the data of the new section in the plant:

PI ProcessBook files with the following characteristics:

A standalone display showing a pump picture and two tags related to it,

BA:ACTIVE.1 and B A:CONC.1.

A ProcessBook containing a link to the display mentioned above, an embedded

display (described below) and a URL link to the OSIsoft technical support

website.

The embedded display showing a tank image and a scaled bar graph with its

level. This display will be module relative by using the context provided by your

instructor.

PI DataLink and Excel report with the following characteristics:

A cell showing the current state of a piece of machinery using tag CDM158.

A table with the latest 10 values of tag CDT158.

A PI trend based on values of the above table.

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The table should use conditional formatting to highlight the lowest 10% of values

to help the users visualize the report.

RtWebParts page with the following properties

An RtGauge web part showing the key performance indicator (KPI) represented

by tag sinusoidu

A text web part explaining in 1 sentence how the users can pull an ad hoc trend

of the current electrical consumption using the RtGauge.

An RtTimeSeries web part showing the history of the last 10 minutes of the tag

BA:TEMP.1.

An RtGraphic web part containing the display previously created in ProcessBook

An Excel Web Access web part containing the PI DataLink report previously

created.

Note: This recap exercise can be performed in various ways, no Step-by-Step solution is provided so you

can design your own solution. Please consult your instructor if you have any questions.