Panel Editor
Panel Editor
Panel Editor
Panel Editor..............................................................................................................................13
Basic Panel Objects ...................................................................................................14
Installation 16
Installing QuickDesigner .........................................................................................................16
Basic Requirements ...................................................................................................17
Backing up and Restoring your data..........................................................................18
Installation Procedures ..............................................................................................19
Software Authorization..............................................................................................20
Moving the Product Authorization ............................................................................25
Starting QuickDesigner .............................................................................................29
Help Menu ...............................................................................................................................29
Product Authorization................................................................................................30
QuickDesigner Support Web Page ............................................................................31
QuickDesigner Home Page........................................................................................32
Online Knowledge Base ............................................................................................33
Offline Knowledge Base ...........................................................................................34
Panel Editor Manual ..................................................................................................35
Hardware Reference Manual .....................................................................................36
Troubleshooting Guide ..............................................................................................37
Quick Help.................................................................................................................38
Communication Help.................................................................................................39
Installation Notes .....................................................................................................................39
Answers to common technical Questions ..................................................................40
Understanding your data files....................................................................................41
Reinitializing your data files......................................................................................42
Quick Tour 43
Overview..................................................................................................................................43
Quick Project Setup ...................................................................................................44
New Project ...............................................................................................................45
Project Setup..............................................................................................................46
QUICKDESIGNER...................................................................................................50
Create a Panel ............................................................................................................51
Push Button Tag Variable..........................................................................................52
Pilot Light Tag Variable ............................................................................................53
Bezel ..........................................................................................................................54
States..........................................................................................................................55
Action ........................................................................................................................56
Tags ...........................................................................................................................57
Serial Download Panel ..............................................................................................58
QUICKMANAGER 60
QUICKMANAGER Window..................................................................................................60
Menu Bar ...................................................................................................................61
Tool Bar.....................................................................................................................62
Menu Buttons ............................................................................................................63
Project File List .........................................................................................................64
Tags 120
Alarms 143
Introduction to Alarms...........................................................................................................143
Bit and Word Address Tags.....................................................................................144
Alarms Configuration ............................................................................................................144
File menu ...............................................................................................................................145
File Menu Buttons ...................................................................................................146
File - Open ...............................................................................................................147
File - Save................................................................................................................148
File - Save As ..........................................................................................................149
File - Delete .............................................................................................................150
File - Import.............................................................................................................151
File - Export.............................................................................................................152
File - Configuration .................................................................................................153
File - Close...............................................................................................................154
Edit Menu ..............................................................................................................................154
Edit Buttons .............................................................................................................155
Edit - Add ................................................................................................................156
Maximum Alarms in a Project.................................................................................158
Edit - Delete.............................................................................................................159
Entering and Editing Alarm Messages ....................................................................160
Edit - Cut Message ..................................................................................................161
Edit - Copy Message................................................................................................162
Edit - Paste Message................................................................................................163
Edit - Free Form Addressing ...................................................................................164
Config Button ..........................................................................................................165
QUICKDESIGNER 197
QUICKDESIGNER Window .................................................................................................197
Menu Bar .................................................................................................................198
Button Bar................................................................................................................199
Status Bar.................................................................................................................200
Right Mouse Button.................................................................................................201
Creating a Panel .....................................................................................................................202
Tool Box ..................................................................................................................203
Mini Tool Box .........................................................................................................204
Dialog Box...............................................................................................................205
Sizing an Object.......................................................................................................206
Editing the Object ....................................................................................................207
Grouping objects......................................................................................................208
Object Tag Display ..................................................................................................209
Keypad Tag Display ................................................................................................210
Changing the Window View ...................................................................................211
Panel Preview ..........................................................................................................212
Menu Commands ...................................................................................................................223
File Menu.................................................................................................................224
Edit Menu ................................................................................................................229
Tools Menu..............................................................................................................232
View Menu ..............................................................................................................235
Options Menu ..........................................................................................................237
Settings Menu ..........................................................................................................238
Bitmap 273
Creating a Bitmap ..................................................................................................................273
Horizontal Justify ....................................................................................................275
Vertical Justify.........................................................................................................276
Options ....................................................................................................................277
Bitmap Statistics ......................................................................................................278
Import ......................................................................................................................279
Time/Date 457
Creating a Time/Date display.................................................................................................457
Setting the target display time and date ...................................................................458
Make Default ...........................................................................................................459
Help .........................................................................................................................460
Trend 475
Creating a Trend Display .......................................................................................................475
Face Plate.................................................................................................................476
Time Axis ................................................................................................................477
Scale Settings...........................................................................................................478
Pens..........................................................................................................................479
OK ...........................................................................................................................480
Cancel ......................................................................................................................481
Advanced .................................................................................................................482
Make Default ...........................................................................................................483
Help .........................................................................................................................484
Trend Graph Elements .............................................................................................485
Keypads 522
Keypads Overview.................................................................................................................522
Keypad Layout ........................................................................................................523
Keypad Names.........................................................................................................524
Assigning Keypads ..................................................................................................525
Keypads and Numeric Data Entry ...........................................................................526
Keypads and Alarms................................................................................................527
Simulating Panel Objects with Keypads..................................................................528
Keypad Assignments ...............................................................................................529
Viewing Keypad Assignments ...............................................................................530
240 PIXELS
40 PIXELS
The editor presents you with a group of panel object design tools. You simply select one of the tools
from the tool box and place it on the screen. Some objects require a PLC word or bit to make them
active. These objects are called Dynamic Objects. Some objects are for internal use, such as the GOTO
panel, text, legends, bitmaps, etc. These objects are called Static Objects. The pointer is a special tool,
used to select objects already on the screen.
In the beginner mode, the editor draws the object in a two cell field. The objects can be resized to suit
the panel design. In the following drawing, a Pilot Light object has been placed on the panel.
Once the object appears on the screen, an edit dialog box appears. In the case of the Pilot Light, you
can change the text size and color, change background and outline color, and assign a discrete bit in
PLC memory to control the light.
Each type of object can be customized to fit a wide range of applications. It therefore becomes very
easy to place an object on the screen, modify it for your application and load the project into a target
display.
Installing QuickDesigner
Click OK to start the Product Authorization program. You can also start this program from Quick
Manager by selecting Help/Product Authorization, or from the Start/Programs/Total Control
Products/Product Authorization menu selection.
The Product Authorization dialog appears as follows. The Key Code button is used for completing the
authorization process when the key code is received through e-mail.
Click the "Add" button to authorize a new product. You will be given several choices for the
authorization process.
If the Email option is chosen, the following data entry screen appears. You must enter all items marked
with an asterisk.
Click the Next button to continue. The next dialog is a summary of the items entered above. Press the
Back button to correct any information. Press the Authorize button to send the Email to Total Control
Products.
Note that the "Close" button is disabled until the email is sent.
Change the option to Authorize through a web site, then click Next.
To authorize through a Web Site, click the Finish button. You must have Internet access and be
configured properly for this option to work.
The default web browser will then open, to the TCP Authorization web site. The web page will
contain a data entry page (see the sample in the Product Authorization using Email section. After the
form is submitted, you will be told that your key code will be sent to you through Email.
You can use QuickDesigner software to create projects only for a limited time unless it is properly
authorized.
You will need the target site code to complete the move operation. The site code is found on the top
right corner of the Product Authorization dialog box. A reminder message is displayed.
Click OK to continue. The next dialog asks for the site code from the target device.
Click OK to continue. The next operation is to move the authorization to a floppy disk.
Insert a blank formatted floppy disk and click Next. A summary of the information appears.
Insert the authorization disk in your floppy drive and click Next.
Help Menu
The Help menu now has selections for Product Authorization, Web support pages, Knowledge Base
documents, user manuals and links to troubleshooting guides.
Installation Notes
Q: Your 'old' version of QUICK DESIGNER cannot get to its data files.
A: See 'Understanding your data files' in the next section.
The QUICK DESIGNER identifies the location of your data files by via database routing file. Now,
what is a 'database routing file', also known as a 'DRF' if you are so inclined. It is simply a text file,
which tells us where the data directory (see above) is located. If you looked into the database routing
file, you will see statements such as:
DBDPATH=C:\QUICK\DATA\
DBFPATH=C:\QUICK\DATA\
DBFPATH=C:\QUICK\DATA\
DBFPATH=C:\QUICK\DATA\
LOCKMAN=internal
Note that each item is assigned to (points to) the data directory 'C:\QUICK\DATA'. If you had
installed QUICK DESIGNER to the 'C:\BestPrgm' directory, you would see the follwing files in the
database routing file (DRF).
DBDPATH=C:\BestPrgm\DATA\
DBFPATH=C:\BestPrgm\DATA\
DBFPATH=C:\BestPrgm\DATA\
DBFPATH=C:\BestPrgm\DATA\
LOCKMAN=internal
The QUICK DESIGNER's default database routing file is 'MEDUSA.INI'. This file resides in your
installation directory. Each time the QUICK MANAGER (QMGR.EXE) program is executed, it looks
for this file to tell it where the data files are located.
If you decide to, or already, have data files in a different data directory (for example, you installed two
copies of the QUICK DESIGNER in different directories), you have two courses of action.
a) You may manually modify the the contents of the default database routing file (MEDUSA.INI) file
to point to the data directory you want to use, or
b) You may create an alternate database routing file (a .INI file in the MS-Windows directory) that
points to a different directory and use it instead. Use the QUICK MANAGER's menu: 'DATABASE -
Open' to select your alternate database routing file.
Note: Some versions of the QUICK MANAGER require you to 'close' the 'Projects' window, followed
by 'closing' the current database before you have access to the 'DATABASE - Open' feature.
* You may use the 'MS-Windows Notepad' to view the database routing file. For more information
about the 'MS-Windows Notepad' consult your MS-Windows documentation.
Overview
The Quick Tour section is designed to take you through a simple project using a Modicon PLC and a
QUICKPANEL jr. as the target display. This project contains the basic elements of all projects. You
can substitute your PLC type for those instances where Modicon is used. You will be shown most of
the dialog boxes but only a few require any input or changes.
We strongly suggest that you read the Quick Tour section and attempt a simple project. Make sure you
are able to design a simple panel and download it to the target display. When you have the target
display communicating with your PLC, then proceed to designing more panels. You should download
each panel and test it before designing the next.
Note that there are no projects listed in the window and several menu buttons and tools are greyed out
(inactive). Click the New button to display the New Project menu.
Type "PROJECT1" for the project name and press TAB to move the cursor to the Display device pull-
down selector (the down arrow to the right of the text field).
Select QUICKPANEL jr. 5" (QPJ) Color as the display device. If your target device is different,
select it from the display device list. This example assumes you are using the QUICKPANEL jr. 5"
color display.
Click OK and the Project Setup dialog will appear.
The next section of the Project Setup dialog box is labeled PLC & Protocols. This section is used to
select the PLC protocol and setup the communications for the display. There is only one choice for
the main serial interface port, which is designated SIO/CN1. Click on the down arrow located on the
right side of the PLC Type field to display a list of PLC types. Click on Modicon Modbus.
When you change protocols, the following prompt is displayed. The prompt reminds you that the
protocol you have just selected must be setup after the change. Click Yes to acknowledge the prompt.
The settings MUST match those of your PLC. The settings shown in the dialog box are default
settings and may not be correct for your project. When you start a real project, you may want to write
down the settings and verify they are the same as those on your PLC. Click OK.
Click the Protocol button to setup the optional parameters for a particular PLC type. These parameters
MUST also match those of your PLC. The settings shown in the dialog box are default settings and
may not be correct for your project. The Modicon Modbus dialog box is shown below. Click OK.
Click the System button to open the System Configuration dialog box.
For Detecting the Backlight status you can configure a Bit (Discrete) Type Tag -(Usually Internal Bit,
Temporary bit OR Output Discrete bit).
In project Setup menu, System dialog is used for specifying the tag which will contain the Backlight
Status Tag. After back light burns, specified registers bit will set to 1.
For Example – In case of GESNPx protocol we can configure %MBI#, %TBI#, %QI# discrete
register as Backlight status Tag. If Backlight burns Out the Specified Bit position will change the
status from 0 to 1. The modified bit value can be monitored using Ladder logic softwares like
Versapro.
While working with other protocols you can look for discrete type bit registers.
Usage of Back Light status Tag:
From Quick Manager project setup Dialog click on System Configuration button. That invokes the
above shown dialog. For eg: here you can enter %MBI1 as Back Light Status Tag. This %MBI1 is
initially set to 0 and will be downloaded onto the panel. When ever back light has failed the LED (this
is on the front side of the Quick Panel) will be turned to orange color. And this tag will be set to 1 by
the panel. Upon the back light failure if you monitor the %MBI1 using Versapro you can see a value
of 1.
Note: This bit will be set to 1 only once. When Backlight is failed the Panel objects on the panel
become inactive ie panel touch is disabled.
The watchdog is a register in your PLC that is periodically checked to determine if the communication
link is still operational. Each timeout period, the display sends a value to the watchdog register. The
PLC waits for a specified period, then checks the contents of the register. If there is a value in the
To set the password for a single panel, open the panel then go to the Settings menu and select Panel.
The Panel Settings dialog will appear. From the Password Level list box, select No Password,
Operator, Supervisor, or Master. More information about assigning passwords can be found at Define
Password Button on page 77 and Password on page 238.
You are now done with the Project Setup dialog so click the OK button to return to the
QUICKMANAGER dialog.
The panel editor window opens with a new panel ready to edit. The panel size depends on the type of
display you selected in the setup dialogs. It is a good practice to save the panel as soon as you start
working on it.
The first time you open the QUICKDESIGNER panel editor menu, the Tools menu may be placed on
the grid. Place the cursor over the title of the tool box (Tools), click and hold the left mouse button to
move the Tools menu off the grid.
Click the illuminated push button icon on the Tools menu or select the illuminated push button
from the Tools pull-down menu. The status line at the bottom of the screen will indicate which tool
you have selected. The illuminated push button is a combination push button and pilot light.
Move the arrow cursor into the grid area. A cross hair will appear with a small image identifying the
type of tool selected. Move the cross hair to the cell shown in the drawing and click the mouse. Note
the message in the status line at the bottom of the window.
BUTTON OFF
The Illuminated Push Button Settings dialog box will also appear.
Click the File menu and select Save from the pull-down menu, or click the save icon. When the
Save Panel dialog appears, type Panel1 for the file name.
Press TAB until the cursor is located in the Description window. Type SINGLE ILLUMINATED
PUSH BUTTON then click the OK button.
Click the File menu and select Exit. The QUICK MANAGER window will return.
If you select Tag Attributes or double click one of the tag names, the Tag Attributes dialog will appear.
Do not change any settings. Click OK to close the Tag Attributes dialog and return to the Tags dialog.
Click the Close button to exit Tags.
Click the Serial Download button or click the Download icon to download the new panel design
to the target display. The first operation that appears on the screen is the compiler (GPC), which
compiles the selected project into code the target device can accept. (Your compiler display may look
slightly different)
Below the bar graph will be a display device status information box which gives you some general
information about the display.
When the application download is complete, QUICK COURIER will close and the QUICK MANAGER
program will return. Since no default panel was selected, the panel with ID number 1 will be
displayed. If no default panel is selected and there is no panel with ID number 1, then the screen will
be blank except for the name of the protocol shown on the bottom.
If you had a real Modicon Modbus PLC attached to the QUICKPANEL jr. display, the push-button
would operate. Pressing the push-button would set OD0100 to a 1. In this tutorial, the ladder logic in
the PLC is written so that setting OD0100 to a 1 will cause OD200 to also be set to 1. The Pilot Light
tag variable for the push-button is tied to OD200, so it will go on. The push-button was selected to be
a toggle type button. Pressing the push-button again will cause OD0100 to be set to 0 and OD200 to be
set to 0. The pilot light section of the push-button will go out.
You had to read about ten pages of this tutorial in order to create your first push-button. It might have
taken you about ten minutes to complete the exercise. Now that you are familiar with the operations, it
should take you a minute or two to create another button or pilot light. Just think how much time and
QUICKMANAGER Window
QUICK MANAGER is used to set up a project file that contains the type of PLC used, the serial
communications attributes, and other information required for a project. From the manager window
you can jump to the panel editor, which is used to design panels. You can jump to the tag editor to add
or modify the tag list. You can jump to the alarm manager to setup the alarm processor. When you
have completed a project, you can click the download button to send the completed project to a target
display. The QUICK MANAGER window is shown below.
Title Bar
Menu Bar
Tool Bar
Menu Buttons
Status Bar
The items listed on menus are most often commands that represent actions you can tell the application
to carry out. Some menu items appear dimmed, some have check marks next to them, some may have
ellipses (...) after their names, and others may have key combinations listed across from them.
Windows applications all follow certain conventions when listing items on a menu. These
conventions signal that extra information about the menu commands will follow.
MENU CONVENTION DESCRIPTION
Dimmed command name The command is not available at this time.
An ellipsis after the name A dialog box will appear.
A check mark next to the name The command is active.
A key combination after the name A shortcut for this command.
A triangle at the right side The command leads to a cascading menu.
To choose an item from a selected menu, click the item name.
There are three ways to start a new project; click the New icon in the tool bar, select New from
the Project menu, or click the New button.
The New Project dialog box is shown below.
New Project Name
Enter the project name then use the TAB key to move to the Display device list box.
Display Device
Select a target display device by clicking the drop-down list box and selecting the target display type.
Click OK to continue.
The Project Setup dialog box can be selected in three ways; click the Setup icon in the tool bar,
select Setup from the Project menu, or click the Setup button.
Project Name
The Project Setup dialog box will display the name of the project to remind you of which project you
are working on. You can change the name of the project by deleting the old name and entering a new
name.
More Button
If you click the More button, the Additional Project Setup dialog box will appear. This dialog box is
used to enter the Author name and project notes.
The QuickPanel Mini 6" Monochrome display has a limited set of tools in the panel
NOTE design toolbox. See Tool Box on page 203.
Initial Screen
The Initial Screen is the first panel displayed when the power is cycled. See Initial Screen in the next
section.
Initial Screen
This is the panel that will appear after a power cycle has occurred on the target display. When you first
begin a project, this list box will be empty. If you know the name of the power-up panel, enter it now.
You can come back to this dialog box after all your panels are completed. If you leave the Initial
Screen entry blank, the panel with ID #1 will be displayed. If no panel in the project has the ID #1,
then the screen will be blank except for the name of the protocol on the bottom of the display.
If the Initial Screen name does not match a name in the drop-down list box, the display
NOTE screen will go black after the panels are downloaded. Choose the initial screen name
from the list box to insure you have the correct name. Panel names are case sensitive.
Screen Saver Timeout
The screen saver feature will turn off the screen after a selected time period. Simply touch the screen
to turn the display back on. The first touch will not affect panel objects. Enter the timeout period in
minutes. The range is 0 to 255 minutes. A value of 0 (0=default) will force the screen to remain on.
Disable Beeper
The beeper sounds each time an active screen operator is touched. You can disable the beep by
checking the Disable Beeper checkbox. If you are developing a project in an office environment, it
would be courteous to turn the beeper OFF.
Keyboard Attached
If you have installed an optional keypad such as the HMI-KPN-201, click this checkbox. If the
display type you are using does not have an available keypad option, this dialog box message will
appear disabled (greyed out).
Port Selector
The port selector is a list box that indicates which port is currently being setup. This list box has only
one entry now, but may have more in the future. The main serial port is generally called the CN1 or
SIO port.
PLC Type
The PLC Type list box shows which protocol you selected for the current project. Click the down
arrow on the right side of the list box to view the entire list of protocols. Select a new protocol by
clicking on the desired name.
If you select a protocol different from the current protocol shown in the PLC Type list, the following
prompt is displayed. The prompt reminds you that the protocol you have just selected must be setup
after the change. Click Yes to acknowledge the prompt.
Make sure the target display and PLC have the same communication parameters. A
NOTE majority of interface problems are related to improper communication settings and
cables.
If you use Panel Trigger Tag, you should also select a Default Panel. If the Panel
NOTE Trigger Tag in your PLC is equal to 0 or an unused panel ID number, and you don't
use a Default Panel, the target display screen will be blank after downloading.
Panel Confirmation Tag
The Panel Confirmation Tag is an internal or PLC tag address that will contain the current panel ID
number. Whenever you select a new panel (using the GotoButton or Panel Trigger Tag) the Panel
Confirmation Tag address will be updated with the ID of the current screen.
The Panel Confirmation Tag functionality is only available on panels created with the panel editor.
The Numeric Data Entry Keypad panels, alarm panels, and any other panels that the program
generates, do not have the Panel Confirmation ability. Therefore, if the user is on panel 9 and presses a
To set the password for a single panel, start the panel editor then go to the Settings menu and select
Panel. The Panel Settings dialog will appear. From the Password Level list box, select No Password,
Operator, Supervisor, or Master.
The Store Project in QuickPanel button on the toolbar is normally enabled. When you open the
Project menu, you will notice a check mark next to Store Project in QuickPanel. This is the default
setting and indicates the option is enabled.
A project is a collection of information such as setup information for a QuickPanel display, setup for a
PLC, panel designs, tags, and alarms. Projects can be saved in *.prj format for future editing. Projects
are compiled for a unique QuickPanel display type, then downloaded to the display. The compiled file
cannot be recovered, however, a project file can be loaded along with the compiled file. By default, the
project is always stored along with the compiled file.
The memory required to save the project file should be about 10 to 15 percent of the downloaded file.
This means that for most applications, there will be room to store a project file. QPI and QPK
platforms have 1000K of storage, while the QPJ has 256K of storage. If you need more space for the
compiled file, disable the Store Project in QuickPanel option and download the file again. You can
disable the option by opening the Project menu and unchecking Store Project in QuickPanel or by
clicking the corresponding button on the tool bar.
Selecting Upload is the same as clicking the Upload Project button. The Upload Project button
is used to upload a project file from a QuickPanel. The project file must have been saved with the
downloaded file, otherwise an error message will appear. When the project file is uploaded, it is saved
the same way as an imported project. The project can then be edited using QuickDesigner software.
The file can be compiled and downloaded back to the QuickPanel or saved for other purposes.
Selecting Compile to File is the same as clicking the Compile File button. The Compile File
button will compile the current project and allow saving it to a selected directory. This allows saving
compiled files without having to download to a connected QuickPanel. You can then use the
Download File button to send a compiled file (*.cmp) to one or more QuickPanels. You can add the
current project file to the compile file by clicking the Download Project button before clicking the
Compile File button.
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Selecting Download from File is the same as clicking the Download File button. The Download
File button allows the user to select a compiled file (*.cmp) and send it to a QuickPanel. You do not
have to compile a file prior to a download, if a compiled version of the project is available. The current
download button will still support the standard compile and download operation.
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Click OK and a Print dialog box will appear. The dialog box will display the current Windows print
driver for your system. Use the Setup button to configure your printer. See the printer information in
Appendix B.
Project Information
A sample Project Information page is shown below.
PROJECT NAME
PROJECT INFORMATION
PROJECT: ABSLC500
Author: name
Created: date
Last Modified: date
notes:
Tag Information
All of the tags used for the project are sorted and printed by Tag Name. A sample is shown below.
Project name:
TAG INFORMATION
Tag Information Sorted by Tag Name
Name I/O Elements Type Size Scale Range Low Scale Range High
N7:100 N7:100 1 Integer 1 -32768.000000 32767.000000
B3:20/1 B3:20/1 1 Integer 1 0.000000 1.000000
~System_Second ~System_Second 1 Integer 1 0.000000 59.000000
Options Menu
Window Menu
Cascade, Tile and Arrange Icons are the standard window options for arranging your desktop. See the
Appendix for information about using Windows.
Help Menu
The on-line Help system gives you quick, easy-to-use information about the QUICK MANAGER and
QUICKDESIGNER features. To request Help:
• Choose a Help category from the Help menu. Some categories take you directly to the information
while others select the topic you want from a list of topics about the category you chose.
• Press F1 and choose an item from the main Help Index. You can also search for a topic using the
Search command.
• Click the Help button you'll find in many dialog boxes.
Once you enter the help system from any point, you can gain access to any other help topic by clicking
the Quick Help button at the top of the help screen.
Error Message
The QUICK MANAGER window appears similar to the one below, with many of the icons and option
buttons greyed out.
Note that the project database, named MEDUSA.INI, has been maximized in the QUICK MANAGER
window. This can be confirmed by the presence of the control buttons located to the right of the word
"Help."
The first step in unlocking the database is to close the database. Make sure no other tasks or users are
using the database. Click the control icon located to the left of the word "Project" to display the
control menu.
NOTE: If there is no control icon next to the word "Project", your project window has been
minimized. Click the maximize button to restore it.
Select Close from the control menu and the following dialog box will appear.
Click Yes to clear all locks on projects in the database. The Open dialog box is displayed.
Make sure "medusa.ini" is selected then click OK. When the locks are cleared, the following prompt is
displayed.
Select "medusa.ini" and click OK. When you select a project, the buttons will again be active.
Introduction to Tags
Tags are the names of control elements in your host device, either words or bits. For example, if you
have a pilot light, there must be a control element in your PLC that is used to turn the pilot light ON
and OFF. Since a pilot light has only two states, you can assume the control element is a bit. Bits have
specific names, such as B3:100 or IR2:B2. In this manual, the name of the control element is called a
tag. Therefore, every panel operator that is active requires a tag. The tag MUST be a legal tag name for
the selected PLC type. These tags are external to the display, which means the display will have to
read the tag information from the PLC. You can create internal tags, which are variables that are
controlled and contained within the display. There are internal tags with specific names, such as the
internal clock with the tag name ~System_Clock. Internal tags are explained in the next chapter on
page 137.
To select Tags, click the Tag icon or select Tags from the Components menu. The tag icon is
found in the tool bar and on the Tags button.
Selecting Tags will open the Tags window. This window allows adding new tags, viewing tag
attributes and deleting tags. Tags are the names of PLC variables and special internal variables. Each
PLC supported by QUICKDESIGNER has a dedicated chapter in the Communications manual.
Tag names are case sensitive. OR100 and or100 read the same data from the PLC but
NOTE each is a separate and distinct variable in the QUICKPANEL.
Tag Attributes-Names
This section of the Tag Attributes dialog box shows the name of the Tag. The Var name is for internal
use and cannot be changed.
Tag Attributes-Type
This section of the Tag Attributes dialog box indicates the type setting and other attributes of the tag
variable. The default setting for tags is Integer.
Set the type to Float when reading Floating Point variables. Set the type to String when reading
ASCII characters. The Text Display object will display text characters only when the tag type is set to
String. Selecting the String type will activate the Size entry box. The Size is used to select the number
of words to be read from the PLC. For example, if the starting address is DM100 and the length is 5,
then the last address read will be DM104.
If the tag variable type in your PLC is not a string type, you may get only one character for each
register location. PLC's that support string types will generate two characters for each register location.
A data file is automatically created when you create a Block Transfer file for Allen-Bradley Remote
I/O applications. The Number of Elements in the data file is the same as the number of words
selected for the Block Transfer.
Tag Attributes-Ranges
This section of the Tag Attributes dialog box indicates the ranges of the variable. The ranges are
automatically set for each tag type. By changing the scale ranges, you change the ratio of the input
value to the displayed value. In the following example, if you changed the Scale low to 0 and the Scale
high to 100, when the Input value is -32768 the displayed value would be 0, and when the Input value
is 32767, the displayed value would be 100.
The tag validation process is displayed in the Tag Validation Progress dialog box.
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
The import is possible in several comma-separated variable (*.csv, *.tcs) line formats. More than one
line format can be used in a file. The line formats are:
Line Format 1:
Tag Name
Example:
%RI200
Line Format 2:
TagName, Scale Low, Scale Hi, Input Low, Input High
Example:
%RI200, -200, -300, 0, 4095
Line Format 3:
Tag Name, Var Name, TadID, TagType, Tag Modifier, Tag Period, Scale Low, Scale High, Input
Low, Input High, Disk logging state, Internal Var Flag, ~EOR, 0
Example:
%RI100, %RI100, 0, Integer, , 0.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, 0, 0, ~EOR, 0
Line Format 4:
Tag Name, Var Name, TagType, Scale Low, Scale High, Input Low, Input High, Internal Var Flag
Example:
%RI100, %RI100, Integer, -32768.00, 32767.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, 0
Example file:
Comment lines begin with ‘#’ character
# This is an example file
%RI200,
%RI201,
%RI202, 100, 200, 300, 400,
%RI203,
# These tags used for temperature
%RI1001, %RI1001, 0, Integer, , 0.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, 0, 0, ~EOR, 0
%RI1002, %RI1002, 0, Integer, , 0.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, 0, 0, ~EOR, 0
%RI1003, %RI1003, 0, Integer, , 0.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, 0, 0, ~EOR, 0
# These tags used for pressure
%RI2001, %RI1001, 0, Integer, , 0.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, 0, 0, ~EOR, 0
%RI2002, %RI1002, 0, Integer, , 0.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, 0, 0, ~EOR, 0
%RI2003, %RI1003, 0, Integer, , 0.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, -32768.00, 32767.00, 0, 0, ~EOR, 0
Line Errors
There are certain illegal states possible when importing tags. They are:
• Invalid number of fields (must be 1, 5 or 14)
• Invalid field (text where number should be)
• Empty field (empty field for number is considered to be zero. Empty field for tag or var name is
considered to be an error)
If there is an error reported during tag import, you will see the following error:
The tag import process will then end. Please note that you will still be led through the tag validation
process, because if the import detects an error halfway through importing 100 tags, the first 50 will
already have been created and must be validated.
If you attempt to import a tag that already exists in the tag database but differs in its configuration, you
will be presented with the following options:
Tag Validation
Once the import is complete, the tag validation process will occur. This will ensure that all the tags
you imported have the correct configuration.
Following the Tag Validation, a report will be generated that gives the following information:
• Invalid Tag Types
• Invalid attempts to use arrays
These warnings will result in an error log being generated (c:\QDTagImp.txt). An example of the log
file is shown below:
• Address(%M00401) is not supported as type (UNSIGNED) for this device. Tag
(RSBIT_1) could not be created
• Tag (BPTCRD) has length (25). Arrays are not supported. Creating first element
only
Tag Mapping
When you import tags, a standard File selection dialog will appear giving three options: (*.tcs, *.snf,
*.tag). When you import from an SNF file, you will be prompted to map the PLC tag to a device.
This can be useful because each SNF file represents the tags for a single device. The result of
checking the Map To Device checkbox and selecting a reference, is that the Device reference (“_A”,
“_B”, etc) will be appended to the end of each tag.
This allows you to choose whether to map all the addresses in the file to a given CPU reference.
This feature will only be available for the following drivers:
GeSnp
GeSnpx
Ge Genius
If the mapping to a CPU reference causes a conflict with an existing tag (already exists but mapped to
a different reference), you will be warned on a per-tag basis and will be allowed the standard overwrite
options(yes, no, yes to all, no to all). If you elect not to overwrite a tag, then a new tag (mapped to the
appropriate reference) will be created.
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Click the Yes button to create the internal tag. You can read and write the internal tag in the same
manner as external PLC tags.
For System Hour, set the Numeric Data Entry tag name to ~System_Hour. You must type the tag
name exactly as shown, including the tilde at the beginning. Remember to enter the desired text in the
legend plate to identify the Numeric Data Entry tool as system hour. Set the Input Range Min and Max
values (1 to 12 for 12 hour display or 0 to 23 for Military display).
For System Minute, set the tag name to ~System_Minute and for System Second, set the tag variable
to ~System_Second. Remember to enter the desired text in the legend plates to identify system minute
and system second. Also remember to set the Input Range Min and Max values for minutes and
seconds.
For System Month, set the tag name to ~System_Month, for System Day set the tag variable to
~System_Day, and for System Year, set the tag variable to ~System_Year.
Save the panel and download it to the target display. Use the data entry operators to set the Time and
Date for your display. The target display maintains the system time and date between power cycles.
Introduction to Alarms
Alarms are messages that appear on the display in response to a specific condition in the host control
system. The alarm message informs the operator of a condition that requires immediate attention. A
typical alarm message is shown below.
DATE TIME MESSAGE ACK CLEAR
09/18 22:48 HIGH TEMPERATURE ALARM
There are two procedures involved in creating an alarm display. The first procedure is to configure the
alarm manager. You create a table of PLC address bits or words and enter the alarm text for each table
entry. The alarm manager reads data from the host and determines if an alarm condition exists.
You select the format for the alarm message, date stamp and time stamp. You can change the size and
format of the queues (buffer area) where the alarm messages are stored. When alarm messages exceed
the size of the queue, the oldest alarm messages are deleted. You can select a bit or group of bits in
your PLC that will be set when the alarm Acknowledge and Delete buttons are used. The alarm table
and configuration information are saved in an alarm file.
For each alarm condition, the alarm manager creates an alarm message string. The alarm manager adds
date and time stamps, add the alarm text from the alarm table, formats the entire alarm message, and
stores the alarm message in the Active Alarm queue (buffer area). The alarm manager keeps track of
when the alarm was acknowledged and cleared and stores this information in the Historic queue. The
alarm manager also tracks every alarm activity in a Logged Alarm queue.
Creating an alarm window is the second procedure required to view alarms. The alarm window is a
tool, similar to other tools, like pilot lights and push buttons. The alarm window is placed on a panel
and is used to view alarm information from a selected alarm buffer. If the operator touches the alarm
window, the alarm manager screen is displayed. This screen allows the operator to acknowledge one
or all alarms, clear one or all alarms, or view any alarm message stored in the alarm buffer.
This chapter is designed as a reference section. Before attempting to configure alarms, you should
follow the procedures in the Alarms Guided Tour on page 170.
This chapter will describe how to:
• Open the Alarms window
• Add a new word or bit alarm file.
• Assign words or bits in your host device as alarm elements.
• Setup the alarm message format.
• Configure the alarm manager so the Acknowledge and Del buttons set bits in the host.
• Connect a serial printer for printing alarm messages.
Alarms Configuration
To configure Alarms, click the Alarms button or select Alarms from the Components menu.
Selecting Alarms will open the Alarms window and the New bit alarms dialog. (See New bit alarms in
the Edit Menu section). The Alarms window is used to create and edit alarm files and configure the
alarm message and buffers. The Alarms window appears below.
The default setting for the window is Bit Alarms. Bit alarms are controlled by a bit going ON or OFF.
You can create a word alarm file by selecting New-Word from the File menu. Word alarms are based
on the value of the word.
See the Alarms Guided Tour on page 170 for an overview and guided tour.
NOTE
File menu
The file menu option is used to create new word or bit alarm files, to open existing alarm files, to save
new or edited files, to delete unwanted files, to configure alarm files or to close the alarms manager
window.
You can display the Configuration dialog box by selecting Configuration from the File menu or by
clicking the Config button. You can close the alarm window by selecting Close from the File menu or
by clicking the Close button.
Create an alarm file based on a bit or a word in the PLC. Bit alarms are controlled by a bit going ON
or OFF, while word alarms are based on the value of the word.
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
When using the export file feature, ALL alarm files are included in the export file.
NOTE
Edit Menu
You can create an alarm table or add new alarms by selecting Add from the Edit menu or by clicking
the Add button. You can delete elements from the alarm table by selecting Delete from the Edit menu
or by clicking the Delete button. Use Cut, Copy and Paste to edit alarm text. Select a bit alarm address
and the Bit option will toggle the State setting. Free Form Addressing allows editing the alarm
address.
It is more efficient to create alarms in a contiguous order. When alarms are scattered
NOTE through different areas of memory, the response time of the QuickPanel gets slower.
For example, if you enter IR3:B0 as the starting address and the number of bits as 5, the alarm
processor will create the following alarm table. The first entry is IR3:B0 with the State set to ON. That
means when IR3:B0 goes to a 1 (ON), an alarm will be generated. You can change the State condition
by double clicking the State field to change the ON to OFF.
It is more efficient to create alarms in a contiguous order. When alarms are scattered
NOTE through different areas of memory, the response time of the QuickPanel gets slower.
For example, if you enter DM100 as the starting address and the number of words as 5, the alarm
processor will create the following alarm table. (Initial = 0, Step = 1)
The first entry in the above table is DM100 with a value of 0. That means when DM100 is equal to 0,
an alarm condition exists. Registers in a PLC are often reset to 0 during power cycles. You may not
want a value of 0 to produce an error condition. To prevent this situation, change the Initial setting in
the New Alarms dialog box to 1.
Next, click the Delete button or select Delete from the Edit menu, which will display the Delete
Alarms dialog box.
Message Format
The alarm text that appears in an Alarm Window will have the alarm message plus other options such
as a date stamp and a time stamp. The Message Format section is used to assign a starting column
number to each part of the total alarm message. The maximum number of characters that can be
displayed is dependent on the type of target display and the size of the text. The maximum number of
characters that can be displayed is also dependent on how many options are selected, such as the time
stamp. In any case, the maximum number of characters for just the alarm message is 80. Obviously, if
you are using a QuickPanel Jr., which can only display a maximum of 49 characters, then you must
design the layout for smaller alarm messages.
The following chart shows the MAXIMUM number of text characters that can appear in an Alarm
Window.
Display Model 5x7 7x9 11x16 16x32
Characters Characters Characters Characters
QUICKPANEL (QPK,QPJ,QPH) 49 37 23 18
QUICKPANEL (QPI) 103 77 47 38
QUICKPANEL (QPL) 124 95 57 46
Use a columnar tablet to help you design the alarm message panel. The column count begins at column
1. Remember to put a space between text elements for easier viewing. The date format can be 8
characters (mm/dd/yy) or 5 characters (mm/dd). The time stamp is 5 characters (12:00).
In the following example, the display type is a QUICKPANEL jr., which has a maximum 49 character
Alarm Window. The Date Format has been set to mm/dd (month/day). In this example, the format
allows for 25 characters in the message text (column 13 to column 37 = 25 characters).
Message Column: 13 (Start of Alarm Message)
Trigger Date Stamp Column: 1 (Enter a 0 if you do NOT want a Trigger Date stamp)
Trigger Time Stamp Column: 7 (Enter a 0 if you do NOT want a Trigger Time stamp)
Acknowledge Time Stamp Column: 38 (Enter a 0 if you do NOT want a Acknowledge Time stamp)
Clear Time Stamp Column: 44 (Enter a 0 if you do NOT want a Clear Time stamp)
DATE TIME MESSAGE ACK CLEAR
09/18 22:48 ALARM MESSAGE TEXT 22:50 22:52
The parallel port is a 14-pin Centronics compatible connector. The HMI-CAB-C99 cable can be used
to connect a display to a Centronics compatible printer.
1 1
2 2
14 PIN MALE
36PIN MALE
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
TO TCP DEVICE TO PRINTER 7 7
8 8
HMI-CAB-C99 9 9
TO PRINTER PORT 11 11
14 24
TO PRINTER
For Pin-out for Ethernet Series QuickPanel Printer Port – Contact factory for Cable
Alarm Messages stored in the QuickPanel queue are lost on a power cycle.
NOTE
HISTORIC ALARMS
09/19 13:30 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #1
09/19 13:25 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #2 13:26
09/19 13:20 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #3 13:21 13:23
Do NOT press the MODE button more than once. If you do, the panel will
CAUTION freeze and no further operations will be displayed. Press DONE to exit.
Once the buttons are activated, they can be used to view and modify the contents of the alarm queue.
The Up and Down buttons move the cursor. Remember that the alarm management page may only
show a portion of the messages in the queue. The Up and Down buttons allow scrolling the alarm
queue messages to the alarm page. Move the cursor to a message line and use the Ack button to
Acknowledge the alarm, or use the Del button to delete the message. Use Ack All to Acknowledge all
messages or Del All to delete all messages in the associated queue. Return to the panel where the
alarm window is located by pressing the DONE button.
HISTORIC ALARMS
09/19 13:30 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #1
09/19 13:25 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #2 13:26
09/19 13:20 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #3 13:21 13:23
To activate the small buttons on the bottom of the alarm management page, touch the
NOTE MODE button only ONCE. The DONE button is always active.
The small buttons on the bottom of the alarm management page can also be used to set a bit in a PLC,
so the PLC is notified when an alarm is acknowledged or erased. See Advanced Button in the next
section.
If you have installed the optional HMI-KPN-201 keypad, the alarm management page
NOTE will appear with an additional row of keypad assignments. See Keypads for details.
Advanced Button
The Advanced button is one of the option buttons in the Alarm Configuration dialog box.
Notification Tags
The small buttons on the bottom of the alarm management page (ACK, Del, etc.,) can also be used to
set a bit in a PLC, so the PLC is notified when an alarm is acknowledged or erased. To activate the
buttons for PLC notification, assign a tag variable to the button function. The notification tags are
configured in the Advanced Alarm Settings dialog box.
The notification tag buttons are Individual Acknowledge (ACK), Global Acknowledge (ACK ALL),
Individual Erase (DEL) and Global Erase (DEL ALL). Assign a notification tag the same way you
assign other tags. For example, the Allen-Bradley PLC-5 has bit addressing available in the format
B3:00/00. If you assign Individual Acknowledge (ACK) to B3:00/00, the bit will be set when the ACK
button is pressed and reset when the button is released.
Button Off
The buttons on the bottom of the alarm management page have two functions. The first function is to
allow you to scroll up and down through the alarms, acknowledge alarms, and delete alarms. The
second function is to set bits in the PLC if the button is assigned a notification tag variable.
When you check the Button Off checkbox next to a function, that function will not appear on the
alarm management page. For example, if you check the Button Off checkbox next to Global Erase, the
DEL ALL button will not appear on the alarm management page.
When the alarm management page appears, you must press the MODE button to activate the other
buttons (except DONE). When you check the Button Off checkbox next to the Mode button, the
MODE button does not appear on the alarm management page. Therefore, there is no way to activate
scrolling through the alarms, acknowledging alarms or deleting alarms. However, if you have
notification tags assigned to the buttons, they will still be enabled.
Introduction
The guided tour section is a step-by-step introduction to Alarms. It will introduce you to the
procedures needed to create an alarm display. The tour references a particular PLC in order to
demonstrate some of the procedures. If you take the tour, remember that the PLC variable names in the
text may be different than those used in your PLC. For example, the tour references IR3:B3 as a bit in
the image table. Your PLC will most likely use a different format for addressing bits.
The tour starts by assuming that you know how to use the QUICKDESIGNER software to create
projects, design panels, and download panels to a display. If you are not familiar with
QUICKDESIGNER, take the Quick Tour on page 16. All of the steps for a complete project are
included in the tour, but all steps are not discussed in detail.
As your tour guide, I will take you through the tour quickly, stopping to explain points of interest. You
can explore all the aspects of Alarms by going to the Alarms chapter on page 120. The first step of the
tour is to go to the Project Manager dialog and create a new project called Guided Tour and select
QUICKPANEL jr. 5" (QPJ) Color as the display device. In the Project Setup dialog, I selected Omron
for the PLC Type. Once you have completed the tour, you can go back and change the display type
and PLC to match your system configuration.
The QUICK MANAGER dialog box should look similar to the one below.
The QUICKDESIGNER software created the table starting at IR3:B0 and extending to IR3:B04, for a
total of 5 bit addresses. The State column indicates that the alarm is triggered when the bit is turned
On. Move the mouse cursor to the first empty space in the Message column and click the mouse. The
space is highlighted, indicating that you can now enter message text. Type in the alarm message and
use the Enter key to complete the operation. Enter the alarm messages shown in the next picture.
Alarm Configuration
The next step is to select the configuration options that determine how the alarm message is displayed
in the alarm window. Click the Config button to display the Alarm Configuration dialog box.
1 10 16 37 44
10/12/95.13:00.Alar m.Text..........13:02..13:05.
The Message Format section of the Alarm Configuration dialog box is used to select the starting
column number of each portion of the alarm message. If you leave the settings in the default condition,
the alarm message will appear on the display like the example.
Leave the Date format selection as mm/dd/yy. Leave the Time format set to 24:00. See the Internal
Tags on page 120 for information about setting the time and date.
The system queues hold the Active, Historic and Logged alarm messages and make them available to
the alarm window. The default size of each queue is ten messages. If you do not need one or more of
the alarm types, you can uncheck the boxes next to the queue name. When the number of messages
exceeds the size of the buffer, the oldest message is deleted. Each queue has a setup button for
changing the text size and color. If you are curious about what the Setup dialog looks like, click the
Active Queue Setup button. You can change the colors if you want, but for this tour, I left them set to
the default settings. Click the Cancel button in the Alarm Queue Configuration dialog box to return to
the Alarm Configuration dialog box.
The Notification Tags do not have to be set up now, so click Cancel and return to the Alarm
Configuration dialog box.
Click OK to return to the Alarms screen. Click the Close button and the following prompt appears.
Click Yes to display the Save Alarm dialog box. Enter the filename as Tour1 and the description as
Guided Tour 1.
Click OK to save the alarm file and return to the Quick Manager dialog box.
Click the Alarm Window tool and drag the alarm icon to the panel. Click the mouse over the
desired panel location and the Alarm Window will appear.
The Alarm Window Settings dialog box will appear next to the Alarm Window. Set the Queue to
Active, so that alarm messages from the Active Alarm queue will be displayed in the alarm window.
As new messages are triggered, they will scroll into the alarm window either from the top or the
bottom. The default setting of scroll up will show the latest alarm message on the bottom of the alarm
window. I prefer the Scroll Direction as Down, where the latest alarm message appears at the top of
the alarm window. Take your pick.
You can select the outline and bezel colors for the Alarm Window by clicking the Bezel button. The
touch color appears when the operator touches the alarm window.
You can change the alarm window title by clicking the Legend button. You can select the text color,
text size, background, and outline colors.
You can select the text color, background color, and text size of the alarm message as it will appear in
the alarm window by clicking the Text button. I will leave the color selections up to you. When you
are done, click the OK button to accept the changes and close the dialog box.
Select File/Save to save the panel using any name you like. Select File/Exit to exit the
QUICKDESIGNER program and return to the Project Manager.
Download the panel to the QUICKPANEL jr. When the download is complete, select the alarm panel.
My test PLC has a row of switches wired to inputs that correspond to the address settings in the alarm
table. When a switch is thrown, an alarm bit is set ON and the alarm message will appear in the alarm
window. The format of the alarm message will determine how it is displayed. A sample alarm window
is shown below.
Touch the alarm window to bring up the alarm manager page and the Active Alarm queue.
ACTIVE ALARMS
09/19 13:28 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #1
09/19 13:40 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #2
The alarm manager page looks different when you are using a keypad option. See Keypads, page
522and Keypad Assignment, page 233, for additional information.
You MUST touch the MODE button to activate the small buttons on the bottom of the panel. The
DONE button is always active. Press the Ack button to Acknowledge the alarm and the acknowledge
time stamp will appear. If there are multiple alarms, you can acknowledge all of them by pressing the
Ack All button.
You can delete individual or all of the alarms in the queue by using the Del or Del All buttons. Use the
Up and Down keys to move the cursor to different alarms. Press the DONE button to return to the
alarm panel. The alarm window will show if the alarm has been acknowledged. If the alarm is cleared
or deleted, the Active Alarm window will not show the alarm. However, the alarm message is stored in
the Historic and Logged alarm queues.
Introduction to QUICKCOURIER
QuickCourier is a software module that is responsible for sending or receiving data between your
computer and a QuickPanel display.
A download is defined as sending a file from the computer to the display. When you start a normal
download, all panels are tested for proper format. Any errors in the panels must be corrected before a
download operation can begin.
The panels, the alarm file, the PLC setup file, the display setup file, and any other files necessary to
create the project in the display are compiled into a download file. The file is then handed over to
QUICKCOURIER, which is responsible for communications with the display. You can download a
previously compiled file, which will be discussed later.
QUICKCOURIER sends a message from the selected COMM port to see if it can communicate with
the display. Once the communication link is established, it will determine the state of the display and if
it is ready to receive the download file. It checks for the correct type of display and identifies files that
were previously loaded. The QUICKCOURIER dialog displays prompts for the operator, indicating
the current operation or problems.
The download operation should begin automatically and continue without manual intervention. When
complete, the display will prompt the operator to select a panel or automatically display a selected
panel. QUICKCOURIER will detect the end of a successful download and automatically terminate.
Selecting Project/Store Project in Panel is the same as clicking the Store Project in Panel button.
The Store Project button is used to create a project file which is downloaded with the compiled file.
The default setting for the button is selected, which means every time you start a download, the project
is also sent. See also Store Project on page 79.
Selecting Project/Upload is the same as clicking the Upload Project button. The Upload Project
button is used to upload a project file from a QuickPanel. The project file must have been saved with
the downloaded file, otherwise an error message will appear. When the project file is uploaded, it is
saved the same way as an imported project. The project can then be edited using QuickDesigner
software. The file can be compiled and downloaded back to the QuickPanel or saved for other
purposes. See also Upload on page 81.
Selecting Project/Compile to File is the same as clicking the Compile File button. The Compile
File button will compile the current project and allow saving it to a selected directory. This allows
saving compiled files without having to download to a connected QuickPanel. You can then use the
Download from File button to send a compiled file (*.cmp) to one or more QuickPanels. See also
Compile to File on page 82.
Selecting Project/Download from File is the same as clicking the Download File button. The
Download from File button allows the user to select a compiled file (*.cmp) and send it to a
QuickPanel. You do not have to compile a file prior to a download, if a compiled version of the project
is available. The download button in the main menu will still support the standard compile and
download operation. See also Download from File on page 83.
Click the Download icon or the Download from File icon in the toolbar. You can also select
Download or Download File from the Project menu.
If you are upgrading to a new version software, you MUST download a new display
NOTE device executable file.
New factory units do not have a display device driver installed. When you apply power to a new unit,
it will display a message indicating it is ready to receive a display device executable file.
SIO/CN3
TO SERIAL PORT
HMI-CAB-C49
When the application download is complete, QUICKCOURIER will close and the QUICK MANAGER
program will return. If you have a default panel selected, the panel will be displayed when the
download is done. If no default panel is selected, the panel with ID number 1 will be displayed.
NULL
QUICKPANEL
Modem
Port 2 Modem Modem Adapter
HMI-CAB-C49 Cable
PC with QuickDesigner
On one side of the modem link, a PC is connected to the modem through a serial port. In this example
Port 2 is used. A communications program called HyperTerminal is used to establish modem
connections. QuickDesigner Panel Editor Software is used to send the project file to the modem.
On the other side of the modem link, a QuickPanel is connected to a modem with a HMI-CAB-C49
cable and a Null Modem adapter. You may also need a 25-pin to 9-pin adapter since the HMI-CAB-
C49 cable has a 9-pin header. Depending on your modem, you may also need gender changers.
Software Requirements
HyperTerminal is used to connect and configure the modems. This allows changing modem
parameters, and dialing the remote modem, while in the command mode. Once Hyperterminal
connects the modems, the program is disconnected to leave the modems ready for communications.
QuickDesigner uses a program called Courier to communicate with QuickPanels. Courier must be
forced to a fixed baud rate. This is done by editing the COURIER.INI file found in the Quick folder.
Change the AutoBaud setting to 9600. See the sample file below. Note that the Port setting is set to
serial port 2.
[Settings]
CourierWindow = 16 63
Port=2
AutoBaud=9600
Ethernet Courier
Panel Editor,GFK-2074 Ethernet Courier • 189
Ethernet Courier Download and Upload
The Ethernet Courier is a binary executable which is invoked upon selecting the Ethernet
Download/Upload option from the Project Menu from Quick Manager.
User need to select a project that needs to be downloaded serially and then click on the Ethernet
Download/Upload Menu.
ETHERNETCOURIER has the ability to read the display device status and determine which protocol
has been loaded. Once ETHERNETCOURIER reads the status, it can automatically download a new
application, including a new display device executable file if necessary.
User needs to specify the IP address of the panel. If the IP address is wrong a message box is prompted
to enter the right message.
The same application is invoked to upload a Quick Designer project from Quick Panel to Quick
Manager. Upon successfully retrieving the project from Quick Panel the Quick Manager asks for the
project name to be entered to store it in Quick Manager database.
Compact Flash
Introduction
Ethernet series panels are having a Compact Flash Hardware Interface. This is useful in transferring
data from one Quick Panel to another Quick panel. Quick Designer software provides an option to
The Backup data for download ( with Upload not Checked ) contains four files
GPBACKUP.INF……………………Information file with language settings
IPL.SYS ...........................................Same for all QP-Ethernet panels
MLD????.SYS ..................................Different for different QP-Ethernet panels
Bkxxxx.mem…………………………..Quick Designer project in Mem format. Only this
Only .mem format is understood by the QuickPanel to download. And this is required when
The Backup data for upload ( with Upload Only Checked ) contains two files
IPL.SYS ...........................................Same for all the QP-Ethernet panels
MLD????.SYS ..................................Different for different QP-Ethernet panels
In case of a Upload .mem file is not required. To upload the project from QuickPanel select
the Upload option from OFFLINE Menu. Before this make sure that you copy the
MLD????.SYS and IPL.SYS onto the Compact Flash Card. You can do this by using Upload
option of Compact Flash GUI.
Note: The CF Card adapter cannot be connected to a Windows NT machine. Windows 2000, ME, Win
98/95 can be used for connecting this device. This CF card is easily plug gable, no Hardware
installation is needed. Windows OS automatically detects this device.
QUICKDESIGNER Window
The QUICKDESIGNER window is used to create and edit panels for each project. To open the
QUICKDESIGNER window, select Panels from the Components menu, click the Panels button in the
QUICK MANAGER window or click the Panels icon on the toolbar. A QUICKDESIGNER
window similar to the one below will appear.
The items listed on menus are most often commands that represent actions you can tell the application
to carry out. Some menu items appear dimmed, some have check marks next to them, some may have
ellipses (...) after their names, and others may have key combinations listed across from them.
Windows applications all follow certain conventions when listing items on a menu. These conventions
signal that extra information about the menu commands follows.
New To Exit
Open Undo Update Back
Library Zoom
Save Redo Cut To Front Out
Check Paste Delete Zoom
Copy Change In
Align
If you click the right mouse button while the cursor is in the grid area, a combination menu is
displayed. The options in this menu include: Undo, Redo, Paste, View, Panel, Grid and Preferences.
If you click the right mouse button while the cursor is over an object, a menu with most of the Edit
options will be displayed.
Point with the arrow cursor to the desired icon in the Tool box and click the mouse. When the cursor is
moved into the screen area, a cross hair will appear with a small image identifying the type of tool
selected. The example below is the Legend Plate tool. The status bar on the bottom of the window will
tell you which tool is selected.
LEG
END
Move the cross hair to the desired cell and click the mouse. Most objects will appear across two cells
as shown below.
If you want to size the object immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the
mouse button and drag the mouse to size the object. Release the mouse button and the object is sized.
A dialog box for the selected object will appear. The drawing tools work slightly different.
The object can be placed on the panel in several different modes, based on the selections in the
Settings/Preferences dialog box.
2. Move the cursor to one of the sizing handles (small boxes on corners and centers of edges). Sizing
handles in the centers of the edges allow sizing vertically or horizontally, while corner handles allow
diagonal sizing. The cursor will change to a double ended arrow when you are on top of a sizing
handle.
3. Click and hold the left mouse button and drag the sizing handle in the direction selected. Click the
mouse outside the dashed lines to deselect the object.
When sizing objects, the selections you make in the Grid Settings and Preferences dialog boxes will
affect how you can size objects. Changing the size of an object may affect the appearance of the text
within the object. Making objects too small may cut off or clip some of the text. See Text Cutoff on
page 215.
To make a small pilot light, turn off the "snap size to grid" option in the Grid Settings dialog box.
All objects (except draw objects) have outlines for resizing. When you select an object, the outline
first changes to a dashed outline and sizing handles appear. When you touch one of the sizing handles,
the object outline changes to solid lines. The solid outlines aid in sizing the object exactly the way you
want it.
0,0 (H,V)
PIXEL
319,239
Touch Grid
The touch screen is made up of cells that are 20 pixels on a side. The touch cells share the same
coordinate system as the display. The first touch cell uses the pixels from coordinate (0,0) to (19,19).
There is no physical display of the touch grid. You cannot change the number of pixels in a touch cell.
The drawing shows the first touch grid with only the outline pixels.
0,0
TOUCH CELL
19,19
Part Objects
There are two types of part objects: those associated with touch regions and those not associated with
touch regions. A push button is an example of an object associated with a touch region. A pilot light is
an example of an object not associated with a touch region. Part objects associated with touch regions
always occupy a complete touch cell. All touch objects must occupy a minimum of four touch cells.
Tiling Grid for Objects
The tiling grid is a series of cells used to assist the designer in placing objects on the display. The
tiling grid can appear as dots, lines or boxes. The cells appear only in the editor and not on the target
display. Objects can occupy more than one cell as the cells are simply used as a layout guide. The
default size of each cell is 80 pixels wide by 40 pixels high. The first cell origin point is located at
(0,0) and the opposite corner is located at (79,39).
The default cell size of 80 x 40 pixels corresponds to 8 touch cells. The drawing shows a tile cell of 80
x 40 pixels and 8 touch cells.
79,39
TILING CELL with TOUCH CELLS
80 x 40 TILING CELL (DEFAULT SIZE)
The next drawing shows the tile grid for the whole QUICKPANEL jr. display. The default setting of
80 x 40 pixels produces 24 cells. The default Preference setting of 'Auto size on create' forces an
object to be drawn on two cells ( 80 x 80).
0,0
80 x40
All input objects (pushbuttons, Numeric Entry, etc.) are forced to the touch area grid
NOTE whether the snap function is enabled or not.
Objects on the panel can be aligned to the grid using the snap feature. When moving an object, the
nearest grid line will be the snap point. If you turn off the snap position option, objects can be placed
close together and in some cases overlap.
Default Settings
The default settings for the tiling grid and snap are selected with the novice user in mind. These
settings make it easy to quickly design a panel. The user selects a part object from the tool box and
places it on the panel. The part snaps to a cell location and is drawn automatically. One mouse click
for a part object to be created, sized and placed on the panel. The grid and snap system allows the user
to create objects whose edges align and vertices intersect.
Text Justify
You can justify text in legends, states, data displays and Alarm windows. Previously the text was
automatically centered within the text field.
To change the justification of the text, click the appropriate radio button in the Justify box. The
following dialog box shows Justify set to the center position. The dialog box also shows the color
selection bars.
Text Size
The four text sizes are 5 x 7, 7 x 9, 11 x 16, and 16 x 32. The text size options will appear in the Text
Size section of many dialog boxes.
Text Cutoff
When entering text for legend plates, lenses, etc., you must allow for proper sizing of the text and the
panel object. You can change the text size and the size of the object to accommodate the desired text
display. In the following example, a legend plate on the left appears with 7 x 9 text. The center picture
shows the text enlarged to 11 x 16 and the object enlarged horizontally. Note that only the word
“LEGEND” appears. The rest of the text has been clipped. To see all the text, the object must be sized
vertically, as shown in the picture on the right.
All graphical tools that contain legends and lenses all output their wrapped text in a standard way. If
the text appears clipped (missing text) in the editor, it will be clipped on the panel at runtime.
Some users may find that, after upgrading to QuickDesigner 3.50, the text in some of their graphical
tools has vanished, both in the editor and at panel runtime. If you encounter this, it is most likely the
result of our Text Cutoff Fix. Please review the information in the Troubleshooting Guide found in the
Appendix.
Color Selection
Originally the QuickPanel supported only eight colors (BLACK, RED, GREEN, YELLOW, BLUE,
MAGENTA, CYAN, WHITE).
With the addition of the Series 3 QuickPanel, Quick Designer will now support 64 colors. That means
when you are using a Series 3 QuickPanel, and you click on one of the color options, a 64-color
palette will appear. The palette appears whenever a color selection combo box is clicked inside the
QuickDesigner software.
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8
R1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 WHITE (ColR1C8)
R2 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 TURQ (ColR2C8)
R3 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 WHEAT (ColR3C8)
R4 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 PALGRN(ColR4C8)
R5 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 ORANGE (ColR5C8)
R6 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 GOLD (ColR6C8)
R7 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 TAN (ColR7C8)
R8 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 KHAKI (ColR8C8)
WOOD (ColR8C7)
New
Click the New icon or select New from the File menu to start a new panel editing session.
Selecting New will display a blank panel ready for editing. The panel size is determined by the type of
display device you selected in the Setup dialog.
Open
Click the Open icon or select Open from the File menu to open an existing panel for editing. The
panel name is shown in the Name box and the panel identification number is shown in the Panel ID
box. If you entered a description of the file when it was saved, the text will appear in the Description
field.
Click the Save icon or select Save from the File menu to save the current panel using the file
name already assigned. Error checking is automatic each time you save a panel. For error information,
see Check on page 225and Resource Manager on page 225.
Save As
Save the current panel using a new file name. Enter the filename in the Name field. Move the cursor to
the Description field and enter a description. The Panel ID is the identification number that can be
used by a PLC to select a panel. When the ID number is written to the Panel Trigger Tag register in
the PLC the associated panel will be displayed. The Panel Trigger tag is selected in the Quick Panel
Configuration dialog box. See the QUICK MANAGER section. The system will automatically assign
the panel ID when the panel is created. You can change it to any number up to 8999. Panel ID
numbers must be unique within a project. Error checking is automatic each time you save a panel. For
error information, see Check on page 225and Resource Manager on page 225.
Check
Click the Check icon or select Check from the File menu to check the panel design for potential
errors. Errors are reported in a dialog box and you will have the option of ignoring one or all errors.
Error checking is automatic each time you save a panel. Make sure you ungroup all objects because
grouping causes false readings during error checking. See also Resource Manager.
Resource Manager
Each panel object is assigned a resource count. For example, a Pilot Light is assigned a resource count
of 1. The table of objects and associated resouces is shown below. Note the special condition for
Triggered Message Display objects.
QuickDesigner Graphical Object ESTIMATED Resource Use Per Object
Alarm Window 2
Ascii Entry 3
Bitmap 0
Note 1: Determining the resource usage for the TMSD involves some calculations. The general rule of
thumb is: “One resource will be consumed for every three addresses referenced in a TMSD”.
Most QuickPanels will support the following TMSD usage: 3 full TMSD per panel (16 states each, 4
addresses per state)
The user can increase the number of TMSD on their panel by reducing:
Number of states used per TMSD
Number of addresses referenced per state.
A more accurate resource usage calculation is the sum of the following two items:
ResourceUsage = 2 * (Number of States in TMSD) + 2;
ResourceUsage += 2/3 (Total Number of Address Referenced in the TMSD)
Each complete panel in a project is limited to a maximum number of resources. The type of
QuickPanel you are using for the project will determine the maximum number of resources allowed
for each panel. A list of QuickPanel models and maximum resources is listed below.
QUICKPANEL Type Max Allowed Resources Per Panel
QUICKPANEL 10.5" Color (QPI-2xxxx) 256
QUICKPANEL 10.5" Color (QPI-3xxxx) 256
QUICKPANEL 10.5" Color Video 256
QUICKPANEL 10.5" LCD Monochrome 256
QUICKPANEL 10.4” TFT Color(QPICxxxxxxx) 256
QUICKPANEL 12.1" Color TFT 256
QUICKPANEL 12.1” TFT Color(QPLCxxxxxxx) 256
QUICKPANEL 6" HandHeld Color 256
QUICKPANEL 6" HandHeld Monochrome 256
QUICKPANEL 9" EL Mono (QPI-2xxxx) 256
If too many resources are used, the following warning message is displayed.
To ensure the panel does not contain more than the maximum number of resources, use the following
procedures:
1. Save the panel often. You will receive a warning when the number of resources has exceeded the
maximum allowed.
2. Perform a resource check (File\Check) or click the Check (doctor bag) icon in PanelDesigner.
If you exceed the resource count, remove objects until the count is at or below the maximum. If you
attempt to download the project, a warning will appear when Courier starts.
Delete
Delete a panel from the list of panels for the current project.
Importing and Exporting Panels
If you create a custom panel for Project X and you want to use the identical panel for Project Z, the
panel can be exported to an external file format and later imported to a new project. The exported
panel objects have tag variables that are valid for Project X. When you are working on a different
project, the custom panel is first imported. The tag variables for each object must then be changed to
match the new project PLC type. The panel is then saved with the modified custom panel.
Procedure:
1. Go to the QUICKDESIGNER program and create a custom panel. Each object will have a tag
variable that is valid for the project PLC type. Save the panel.
2. Select Export from the file menu and export the panel using 8 characters or less. The file will be
given the *.pnl extension. Example: filename.pnl
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Export
Save the panel design in *.pnl format. When you import a panel with the *.pnl extension, save it with
your own panel name. For example, if you import PANEL1.PNL, save it immediately to the new panel
name of PANEL1.
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Exit
Quit the QUICKDESIGNER program.
The cursor position information box is located in the bottom, right corner of the screen. Move the
cursor to the desired position and click the left mouse button. The following dialog box appears. Select
Horizontal or Vertical alignment. Click OK and the object will be aligned to the selected coordinates.
Change (Alt+Enter)
Change the attributes of the selected object. You can also double click an object to display the
associated settings menu.
Change Object Tags (Ctrl+T)
Modify the Tag Attributes of a selected object or group of objects. The Modify Tag Attributes dialog
box appears.
You can edit the Address by clicking the name and typing a new name. Double click (F2) the name to
enter the edit mode. Use ESC to undo the edit mode. Select a different Address by clicking the down
arrow to display a list box.
The Prompt field is used to enter a description of the tag. The prompt will appear in any settings dialog
box where the tag is used. You can edit the Prompt text the same way you edit the Address text. The
example shows the Prompt text in the Pilot Light Settings dialog box.
Delete (Del)
Delete the selected object from the screen. Object is not placed on the clipboard.
to Background (Ctrl+B)
Selected panel objects can be moved from the foreground to the background.
to Foreground (Ctrl+F)
Selected panel objects can be moved from the background to the foreground.
Group Objects (Ctrl+G)
Two or more objects on the panel can be grouped together so that they will act as a single object.
You can use 'select all' to select all objects for grouping. You can select several objects by clicking and
holding the left mouse button as you draw a box around the objects. You can select multiple objects by
holding down the SHIFT key and clicking the objects you want grouped.
Items remain temporarily grouped only until the next object selection. Select 'Group Objects' from the
Edit menu (or use CTRL+G) to maintain the grouping.
Once you have grouped objects, you can use move, delete, library file, copy, etc. When objects are
grouped using the 'Group Objects' selection, they remain grouped until they are ungrouped by the
'Ungroup Objects' selection.
Circle, Rectangle, etc.), or the Select tool . All of the Parts and Drawing tools in the tools pull-
down menu are available as icons in the Tools pop-up menu box. The Keypad Assignments selection
is used with the Keypad option. See the Keypad section for additional information.
Parts
Parts include all the objects shown in the following list.
Draw
Draw tools include any tools used to create static pictures. You can use the drawing tools to create a
picture of an operation, process, or function. Pictures in BMP format can be added to panels to further
enhance the graphic image. Dynamic parts can be added to create a true interactive operator interface.
You can view all the keypad assignments by clicking the down arrow in the Key list box. A keypad
assignment list similar to the one below will appear. You can change the attributes of any simulated
operator by selecting the keypad from the list, then clicking the Attributes button. Note that simulated
operators are marked as Simulated. To change the attributes of normal operators assigned to keypads,
you must use the panel editor and double-click the operator.
You can assign a keypad to simulate a panel object, even though there is no panel object visible on the
screen. You can assign one of the keypads to simulate the following panel operators:
• Push Button
• Goto Panel Button
• Print Button
• Word Button
• Selector Switch
• Numeric Data Entry
The first operation is to select which keypad will be assigned to the simulated panel operator. Click the
down arrow in the Key list box then click an unassigned keypad.
Note that the Bezel, Legend, Make Default and Advanced options are disabled (grayed out). You only
have to enter the Panel Name and click the OK button.
When you download the project file to a QuickPanel (with the Keypads option) the keypads can
simulate a panel operator. For example, if you press the A0 keypad, which was selected to simulate a
Goto Panel, the panel name you selected will be displayed. This is the same operation as the GoTo
Panel Button, but without the panel operator taking up screen space.
Zoom In
This selection enables the zoom in tool. Click the mouse while the zoom tool is present to zoom to the
next level. Click and hold the mouse to draw a box around an area to zoom in. You can also use the
zoom in button on the toolbar.
Zoom Out 1:1
Resets the view to a standard 1:1.
Zoom to ...
This option allows selection of several zoom settings.
Preview
The preview mode produces a full-screen image of the panel at a 1:1 viewing ratio. This preview will
give you a good idea of what the panel will look like when it is viewed on the target display.
Object Tag Display
You can view the Object Tag by enabling the option in the View menu. The sample drawing shows the
tag name displayed in the upper left corner.
See RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON for more information about using the right mouse button to display
other menus.
Library Browser
Selecting Library Browser from the Options menu will display the Quick Designer Library window.
See Library Tour on page 244 and Library Browser on page 246.
Password
A panel can be assigned a password level as Operator, Supervisor, or Master. For example, several
panels are password protected to allow only authorized personel to change settings. A panel protected
with the password level of Operator will allow all of the users with Operator passwords to access the
panel. Users with Supervisor and Master passwords may also access the panel. A panel set to
Supervisor level will allow access to users with Supervisor and Master passwords, but will not allow
access to any users with Operator passwords. A user with a Master password can access any password
protected panel.
In the following sample password file, there are three users assigned Operator passwords, two users
assigned Supervisor passwords, and one user assigned the Master password.
Level Password User Name
Operator 12345 Bob
Operator 456 Dave
Operator 7778 Nick
Supervisor 9034 Susan
Supervisor 27752 Chuck
Master 911 Max
To set the password for a single panel, go to the Settings menu and select Panel. The Panel Settings
dialog will appear. From the Password Level list box, select No Password, Operator, Supervisor, or
Master.
To define the passwords for each password level, you must exit Panel Designer and return to Quick
Manager. Click the SETUP button, then click the SYSTEM button. Pressing the Define Passwords
button will display the Password Setting dialog box. See Define Password Button on page 77
Preferences
The QUICKDESIGNER is set up to allow the novice user to quickly design panels. Some of the
operations appear automatically, such as deselecting a tool after using it and automatically checking
the panel when the file is saved. Some of the automatic operations can be turned off. If you are a
beginner, most of the automatic operations are turned on. The intermediate level turns off a few of the
automatic operations. The Advanced level allows you to pick the automatic operations you prefer.
Preference Options
New at startup: opens a new panel when QUICKDESIGNER starts.
Auto size on create: If checked, the selected object will be a fixed size when created. For example, a
push button would be 80 x 80. Otherwise, the size of the selected object will be determined by the grid
size settings. Some objects have a minimum size (push buttons are 40 x 40) and cannot be made
smaller. Size also depends on whether the "snap size to grid" option in the grid dialog box is checked.
Tool de-select after use: when you are done using an object, the cursor will change to a pointer. If
this box is not checked, the cursor remains the same as the last object selected.
Check panel on save: The panel design is checked for errors when SAVE is selected.
Warning: Overlap Check: warns that objects are overlapped on the panel.
Panel settings on New: displays the Panel Settings menu when a New file is started. Allows selection
of black or white panels.
Change after object create: When an object is placed on the panel, a dialog box will appear. The
dialog box is used to change settings for the object. If the box is not checked, the object is placed on
the panel without the dialog box.
Object de-select after use: When you are done working with an object, it remains selected, indicated
by a dashed line around it. Checking this box will de-select the object after using it.
Contents
If you click on Contents, the QuickDesigner help screen is displayed.
Getting Started
Getting started has been reduced to provide only a message box about the best way to get started using
QuickDesigner.
IO Addressing Guide
Clicking the IO Addressing Guide will display the Tag variable table for the PLC protocol selected in
Setup. You will also be able to get to the Tag table if you enter an invalid tag name for any panel tool.
A Tag Name Error dialog box will appear and remind you that the tag name is invalid. Click the Help
button in the Tag Name Error dialog box to display the tag table.
About QUICKDESIGNER
Clicking the About option will display the splash screen for QuickDesigner. This screen will show
important information about the software. The 'System Info' button is used to display information
about the QuickDesigner software or Windows.
Library is a feature that allows storing an object or group of objects in a database. Each library (you
can have more than one) contains folders of neatly stored objects and groups of objects.
Summary of Features
When you create your favorite object, like a pilot light or selector switch, you can save the object in a
named library folder. Later, when you want to make a copy of the object, the library feature allows for
fast and easy selection and transfer of the object to your panel. You can create templates for panels and
store all the objects as one file in a folder. You can design a complete panel and store it in a folder in
the library.
This tour will demonstrate how to create objects and store them in a library.
Create a new project and open QUICKDESIGNER. Select Options and click Library Browser to open
Quick Designer Library.
Select Exit from the Library menu to exit the Quick Designer Library.
The first object to create is a legend plate. In this example, all legend plates will have the same
appearance but different text. Here is an example of a simple legend plate.
To save the legend plate in a library, click the legend plate to select it, then select Store Library Object
from the Edit menu. The Transfer Library Object dialog box appears.
The selected object will be displayed in the Source box on the left side of the dialog box. The right
side of the dialog box determines the destination. Select the Legends folder (created earlier) and type
in the name of the object. There is an additional text input box for a description of the object. Click
OK when done.
The Transfer Library Object dialog box closes and the Quick Designer Library window stays open.
Select the Legends folder and the legend plate with a description should appear.
The Library function supports Drag-and-Drop, so that you simply select the object in the library by
clicking and holding down the mouse button, then drag the object from the library to the panel. Once
the object is on the panel, the setting dialog for that object will appear.
The custom legend plate can be placed on any panel by opening the Library Browser, selecting the
folder, then dragging and dropping the desired object.
Quick Designer also supports grouping objects. You can select multiple objects that will act as a single
object for moving, sizing, and other editing operations. The grouping can be temporary, as when you
select multiple objects with the SHIFT key or by drawing a box around objects with the mouse.
Objects that are temporarily grouped can be made permanently grouped by selecting Group Objects
from the Edit menu. Grouped objects can also be stored and retrieved in the Library.
Library
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Open
Open a new Library database. Enter the file name and select the destination drive and directory. The
default library file name extension is *.mdb. Click OK to complete the operation.
Long file names are supported, beginning with QuickDesigner version 3.50.
NOTE
Exit
Close the Quick Designer Library dialog box.
Edit
View
Browser Properties
Allows changing the properties of the Library Browser. The properties are arranged in a file box
format. The tabs are: Drag 'n Drop, Appearance, and Text Colors.
Folder
Object
Adjust Size
Select Adjust Size to display sizing handles on the object below the cursor. Use any of the handles to
proportionally size the objects in the folder.
Cut Object
Removes the object below the cursor and places the object on the clipboard. The Delete Object
Confirmation dialog box is displayed.
Copy Object
Copies the object below the cursor to the clipboard.
Transfer Object
Transfers the object below the cursor to the selected library and folder. Displays the Transfer Library
Object dialog box.
Delete Object
Deletes the object below the cursor from the folder. The object is NOT placed on the clipboard. The
Delete Object Confirmation dialog box is displayed.
Properties
Displays the Object Properties dialog box.
To create a line segment, move the cross hair to the point where you want to begin drawing a line.
Click and HOLD the left mouse button. Move the mouse so that the cross hair is now at the second
point of the line. Release the left mouse button to complete the line. A small box appears on each end
of the line. This small box is called a NODE.
NODE
Note that the polyline tool is still active and you can continue to draw additional line segments or add
segments to existing lines. You can add segments to existing lines ONLY when the nodes are visible.
To add additional segments to the line shown above, move the cross hair over a node, click and hold
the left mouse button, move the cursor to a new point and release the mouse button.
You can continue to add line segments to create a polygon. A true polygon is a closed figure bounded
by three or more sides. The last leg of a polygon must connect to the node of the first leg so that the
figure is closed. The drawing shows the sequence of adding segments to create a filled polygon.
Insert mode adds a node between the current node and the next node in a counter clockwise direction.
Append mode adds a node between the current node and the next node in a clockwise direction.
Delete mode removes the selected node.
Open polygon removes the line segment between the current node and the next node in a clockwise
direction. Removing a segment from a polygon converts it to a polyline. This menu option appears
when you select a polygon and changes to Close polygon when you are working with a polyline.
Close polygon adds a line segment between the ends of a continuous polyline to form a polygon. This
menu option appears when you select a polyline and changes to Open polygon when you are working
with a polygon.
About Tool is an information box about the polyline tool.
HORIZONTAL
VERTICAL DIAGONAL
Line Style
Solid, dashed, dotted, dash-dot, dash-dot-dot, none.
Filled/Unfilled
Check the Filled box to fill the polygon with color.
Line Color
Select the color of the polyline and polygon outline. See Appendix D for Color Information.
Fill Color
Select the color for the inside of the polygon. See Appendix D for Color Information.
OK
Click the OK button to apply the information in the settings menu and close the menu.
Cancel
Cancel all changes to the Line/Polyline/Polygon Settings dialog box and exit the dialog box.
Make Default
If you decide that you want to have all Line/Polyline/Polygon objects appear the same way, you can
click the Make Default button in the Line/Polyline/Polygon Settings menu. The current settings in the
Line/Polyline/Polygon Settings menu will be saved. The next time you create a Line/Polyline/Polygon,
the saved settings will automatically be applied.
Help
Click the Help button to gain access to help files relating to Line/Polyline/Polygon Settings.
Creating Text
The text tool is used to add text to a panel. Click the text icon on the tool bar.
To add text, move the cross hair cursor to the desired cell and click the left mouse button. The Text
Settings dialog box appears. The Text Settings dialog box can also be displayed by double clicking the
text.
Text
Enter the text you want to appear in the Text display.
Text Color
Select the color of the text. See Appendix D for Color Information.
Text Size
Select the size of the text characters.
OK
Click the OK button to apply the information in the settings menu and close the menu.
Cancel
Cancel all changes to the Text Settings dialog box and exit the dialog box.
Make Default
If you decide that you want to have all Text objects appear the same way, you can click the Make
Default button in the Text Settings menu. The current settings in the Text Settings menu will be saved.
The next time you create Text, the saved settings will automatically be applied.
Help
Click the Help button to gain access to help files relating to Text Settings.
Creating a Bitmap
The bitmap tool is used to place a bitmap image on a panel. The bitmap can be created using Windows
Paintbrush or imported from another bitmap source. The bitmap becomes a static image on the
panel. The following picture is a sample bitmap.
Move the cross hair to the cell where you want the bitmap to appear and click the mouse. If you want
to size the bitmap immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the mouse button
and drag the mouse to size the bitmap. Release the mouse button and the bitmap is sized.
An empty bitmap frame, similar to the picture below will appear.
If you import a 256 color bitmap to a display that supports only 8 colors, the colors
NOTE will be mapped to the RGB Color map found in Appendix D.
Each object on a panel requires a small amount of memory. The panel can contain any combination of
panel objects. Bitmaps that take a lot of memory will limit the number of objects you can place on a
panel.
Creating a Circle
The circle tool is used to draw filled or unfilled circles. Click the circle icon on the tool bar.
To create a circle, move the cross hair cursor to the desired cells and click the left mouse button. If
you want to size the circle immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the
mouse button and drag the mouse to size the circle. Release the mouse button and the circle is sized.
The Circle Settings dialog box appears. The Circle Settings dialog box can also be displayed by double
clicking a circle.
The dialog box allows changing the line style and color, selecting filled or unfilled circles, and
selecting the circle fill color. The line style can be solid, dashed, dotted, dash-dot, dash-dot-dot, and
none.
Creating a Rectangle
The rectangle tool is used to draw filled or unfilled rectangles. Click the rectangle icon on the tool bar.
To create a rectangle, move the cross hair cursor to the desired cells and click the left mouse button. If
you want to size the rectangle immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the
mouse button and drag the mouse to size the rectangle. Release the mouse button and the rectangle is
sized. The Rectangle Settings dialog box appears. The Rectangle Settings dialog box can also be
displayed by double clicking a rectangle.
Line Style
Solid, dashed, dotted, dash-dot, dash-dot-dot, none.
Filled/Unfilled
Check the Filled box to fill the rectangle with color.
Line Color
Select the color of the rectangle outline. See Appendix D for Color Information.
Fill Color
Select the color for the inside of the rectangle. See Appendix D for Color Information.
OK
Click the OK button to apply the information in the settings menu and close the menu.
Cancel
Cancel all changes to the Rectangle Settings dialog box and exit the dialog box.
Make Default
If you decide that you want to have all Rectangle objects appear the same way, you can click the Make
Default button in the Rectangle Settings dialog box. The current settings in the Rectangle Settings
dialog box will be saved. The next time you create a Rectangle, the saved settings will automatically
be applied.
Help
Click the Help button to gain access to help files relating to Rectangle Settings.
FAN
STOP
Move the cross hair to the top of the two cells where you want the legend plate to appear and click the
mouse. If you want to size the legend plate immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click
and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the legend plate. Release the mouse button and
the legend plate is sized.
The following legend plate dialog box will appear.
The legend plate allows you to provide text information to the operator. The legend plate differs from
the text tool in that the legend plate allows multiple lines of text and options for outline and
background color. The justify radio buttons justify text to any area of the legend plate.
FAN FAN
STOP STOP
Move the cross hair to the top of the two cells where you want the push button to appear and click the
mouse. If you want to size the push button immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click
and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the push button. Release the mouse button and
the push button is sized.
The following Push Button Settings dialog box will appear. The Bezel and Legend buttons will display
additional dialog boxes.
BEZEL COLOR
TOUCH COLOR
BEZEL TOUCH
BEZEL
BEZEL OUTLINE
The Advanced Button is enabled when you select Keyboard Attached in the Touch
NOTE Screen Configuration dialog in Setup.
Clicking the Advanced button will display the Advanced Settings Dialog box. The Push Button
operation can be assigned to an external keypad. See Keypads, page 522 and Keypad Assignment,
page 233, for additional information. Once a keypad is assigned, you can disable the touch screen by
checking the Touch disable box. If you leave the touch disable box unchecked, then the touch screen
and the keypad can both operate the push button.
POWER
ON
Move the cross hair to the top of the two cells where you want the illuminated push button to appear
and click the mouse. If you want to size the illuminated push button immediately, move the cross hair
to the desired cell, click and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the illuminated push
button. Release the mouse button and the illuminated push button is sized.
The following Illuminated Push Button Settings dialog box will appear. The Bezel and States buttons
bring up additional dialog boxes. Note also there is a tag setting for the Push Button and one for the
Light (lens).
OUTLINE
LENS
TEXT
BEZEL OUTLINE 1234567
BEZEL COLOR
TOUCH COLOR
OUTLINE
LENS
TEXT
BEZEL OUTLINE 1234567
BEZEL COLOR
TOUCH COLOR
The Advanced Button is enabled when you select Keyboard Attached in the Touch
NOTE Screen Configuration dialog in Setup.
Clicking the Advanced button will display the Advanced Settings Dialog box. The Illuminated Push
Button operation can be assigned to an external keypad. See Keypads, page 522 and Keypad
Assignment, page 233, for additional information. Once a keypad is assigned, you can disable the
touch screen by checking the Touch disable box. If you leave the touch disable box unchecked, then
the touch screen and the keypad can both operate the button.
PRINT PRINT
SCREEN SCREEN
Move the cross hair to the top of the two cells where you want the print button to appear and click the
mouse. If you want to size the print button immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click
and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the button. Release the mouse button and the
button is sized.
The following Print Button Settings dialog box will appear. The Bezel and Legend buttons will display
additional dialog boxes.
BEZEL COLOR
TOUCH COLOR
BEZEL TOUCH
BEZEL
BEZEL OUTLINE
The Advanced Button is enabled when you select Keyboard Attached in the Touch
NOTE Screen Configuration dialog in Setup.
Clicking the Advanced button will display the Advanced Settings dialog box. The Print Button
operation can be assigned to an external keypad. See Keypads, page 522 and Keypad Assignment,
page 233, for additional information. Once a keypad is assigned, you can disable the touch screen by
checking the Touch disable box. If you leave the touch disable box unchecked, then the touch screen
and the keypad can both operate the button.
Move the cross hair to the top of the two cells where you want the word button to appear and click the
mouse. If you want to size the word button immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click
and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the word button. Release the mouse button and
the word button is sized.
The Word button will appear similar to the one below.
The Word button dialog box appears next to the word button.
BEZEL COLOR
TOUCH COLOR
BEZEL TOUCH
BEZEL
BEZEL OUTLINE
The Advanced Button is enabled when you select Keyboard Attached in the Touch
NOTE Screen Configuration dialog in Setup.
Clicking the Advanced button will display the Advanced Settings dialog box. The Word Button
operation can be assigned to an external keypad. See Keypads, page 522 and Keypad Assignment,
page 233, for additional information. Once a keypad is assigned, you can disable the touch screen by
checking the Touch disable box. If you leave the touch disable box unchecked, then the touch screen
and the keypad can both operate the button.
OFF ON ON
The circular pilot light consists of two round lens and a legend plate. The legend plate contains a text
message. The lens can be different colors and the legend text can change in sync with the lens. The
legend plate background color and outline colors are selectable but do not change.
OFF LENS + ON LENS + LEGEND PLATE = CIRCULAR PILOT LIGHT
The Pilot Light requires a PLC variable that will be monitored to determine when to display the OFF
state and when to display the ON state.
Click the Pilot Light icon on the Tools menu.
Move the cross hair to the top of the two cells where you want the Pilot Light to appear and click the
mouse. If you want to size the Pilot Light immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click
and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the Pilot Light. Release the mouse button and
the Pilot Light is sized.
The following Pilot Light Settings dialog box will appear.
STANDARD
LENS COLOR
OUTLINE
PILOT LIGHT
TEXT
The local message display can be used to show multiple messages or conditions by assigning each
message to a variable word or bit. The local message display can be expanded to cover several cells so
that the local message display becomes a simple alarm message center.
Click the local message display icon on the Tools menu.
Move the cross hair and local message display image to the top of the two cells where you want the
local message display to appear and click the mouse. If you want to size the local message display
immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the mouse button and drag the
mouse to size the local message display. Release the mouse button and the local message display is
sized.
The following Local Message Display dialog box will appear.
The Erase previous state checkbox is used to compile all empty states into black rectangles with a
black outline. When this feature is checked, it will use a lot of panel memory. See the Erase State
section for details.
To make a blank state, enter one or more spaces in the state. States should not be
NOTE completely empty.
The State Settings dialog box will indicate the current state number and the control condition for that
state. The following drawing shows the states are controlled by the PLC Value set to Bit.
If the PLC Value was set to Word, the state dialog box would appear similar to the following.
Select which fields will be specified in the import file format. Fields not specified will be set to the
default values shown in the table below. You can change the default values by using the Save to
Default button. Use the Restore Default button to reset the default values to the original settings.
Default values are:
Text Size, 5x7
Text Justify, Center
Text Color, White
Text Flash, Off
Lens Color, Black
Lens Flash, Off
Outline Color, White
Outline Flash, Off
In the following text file, only the STATE and TEXT fields are used. The default values are used
where no field is specified.
0,"State 0"
1,"State 1"
2,"State 2"
Color Selection
Originally the QuickPanel supported only eight colors (BLACK, RED, GREEN, YELLOW, BLUE,
MAGENTA, CYAN, WHITE).
With the addition of the Series 3 QuickPanel, Quick Designer will now support 64 colors. That means
when you are using a Series 3 QuickPanel, and you click on one of the color options, a 64-color
palette will appear.
R2 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 TURQ (ColR2C8)
R3 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 WHEAT (ColR3C8)
R4 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 PALGRN(ColR4C8)
R5 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 ORANGE (ColR5C8)
R6 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 GOLD (ColR6C8)
R7 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 TAN (ColR7C8)
R8 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 KHAKI (ColR8C8)
WOOD (ColR8C7)
Once you have selected a layout format for the text file, click the Save to Default button. This will
save the format for the next time you import a *.lmd file.
Delimiter
A delimiter is a character that separates items in a file. The most common is a comma separated file,
similar to the following example.
Bears,dogs,cats,lions,sheep,whales,elephants
Items can also be separated by Tabs, periods, exclamations, pound, dollar, percent, etc. Items can also
be listed in one column with no separators. Design the format of the text file so that it is easy to read
and edit.
1st Line in File:
The first line of the imported file is shown in this section. You can use this line to check the layout
settings for proper format. The path and file name are listed next to the section title.
Save to Default
Saves the current selections in the Define Attributes Values dialog box as the new default values.
Restore Default
Changes all selections in the Define Attributes Values dialog box to the default values.
Default Fields
Select which fields will be specified in the export file format. Fields not specified will be set to the
default values shown in the table below. You can change the default values by using the Save to
Default button. Use the Restore Default button to reset the default values to the original settings.
See also the Color Index Numbers and the 64-Color Grid on page 360.
Selected Fields
Each field in the Default Fields section that is checked will appear in the Selected Fields section. You
can change the sequence of the fields by clicking a field name, then use the up and down arrows to
change its position in the list.
Sample Contents
The Sample Contents section contains a sample of what the first group of selected fields might look
like.
Save To Default
Saves the current selections in the Define Attributes Values dialog box as the new default values.
Restore Default
Changes all selections in the Define Attributes Values dialog box to the default values.
Do not confuse alarm messages in a Local Message Display with alarm messages
NOTE created by the Alarm tool
The TMD works by displaying a message based on the status of PLC bit variable(s). For each
displayed message, the user can choose to relate up to four Bit variables with three different logic
functions (AND, OR, XOR).
Click the triggered message display icon on the Tools menu.
Move the cross hair and triggered message display image to the top of the two cells where you want
the triggered message display to appear and click the mouse. If you want to size the triggered message
display immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the mouse button and drag
the mouse to size the triggered message display. Release the mouse button and the triggered message
display is sized.
The following Triggered Settings dialog box will appear.
Additional Errors:
Message present without Tag0 present (improper message)
State without previous state (missing state)
State Number 0 – 16
Text Size (5x7, 7x9, 11x16, 16x32)
Text Justification (UL, UC, UR, CL, CC, CR, BL, BC, BR)
Text Color (See 64-Color Grid)
Text Flash State (ON, OFF)
Lens Color (See 64-Color Grid)
Lens Flash State (ON, OFF)
Outline Color (See 64-Color Grid)
Outline Flash State (ON, OFF)
Message text string Up to 255 characters
First Bit State (ON, OFF)
First Bit Name Internal or PLC tag
Operation 1 (AND, OR, XOR)
Second Bit State (ON, OFF)
Second Bit Name Internal or PLC tag
Operation 2 (AND, OR, XOR)
Third Bit State (ON, OFF)
Third Bit Name Internal or PLC tag
Operation 3 (AND, OR, XOR)
Fourth Bit State (ON, OFF)
Fourth Bit Name Internal or PLC tag
An example of the file format for TMD files is shown below. (*.tmd file extension)
0,5x7,UL,INDRED,ON,PURPLE,ON,TURQ,ON,"Message0",OFF,BIT0,AND,ON,BIT1,AND,OFF,BIT2,AND,ON,BIT3
1,7x9,UC,DKRED,OFF,LWNGRN,OFF,INDRED,OFF,"Message1",ON,BIT0,AND,OFF,BIT1,AND,ON,BIT2,OR,OFF,BIT3
2,11x16,UR,RYLBLU,ON,SPRGRN,ON,FUSCH,ON,"Message2",OFF,BIT0,AND,ON,BIT1,OR,OFF,BIT1,XOR,ON,BIT2
3,16x32,CL,PLUM,OFF,GRN3,OFF,DKPINK,OFF,"Message3",ON,BIT0,AND,OFF,BIT1,OR,ON,BIT1,AND,OFF,BIT3
4,5x7,CC,WHEAT,ON,PLUM,ON,MNTGRN,ON,"Message4",OFF,BIT0,OR,ON,BIT1,XOR,OFF,BIT2,OR,ON,BIT0
5,7x9,CR,RCHBLU,OFF,DKGOLD,OFF,PRPL2,OFF,"Message5",ON,BIT0,OR,OFF,BIT1,XOR,ON,BIT2,XOR,OFF,BIT1
6,11x16,BL,SKYBLU,ON,FSTGRN,ON,ORCHID,ON,"Message6",OFF,BIT0,OR,ON,BIT1,AND,OFF,BIT3,AND,ON,BIT2
7,16x32,BC,SLTBLU,OFF,DKGRAY,OFF,DKPLMG,OFF,"Message7",ON,BIT0,OR,OFF,BIT1,AND,ON,BIT3,OR,OFF,BIT3
8,5x7,BR,BLUE,ON,CYAN,ON,MAGENTA,ON,"Message8",OFF,BIT1,XOR,ON,BIT2,OR,OFF,BIT0,XOR,ON,BIT0
9,7x9,UL,BLU2,OFF,CYAN2,OFF,PURPLE,OFF,"Message9",ON,BIT1,XOR,OFF,BIT2,OR,ON,BIT0,AND,OFF,BIT1
10,11x16,UC,RYLBLU,ON,SPRGRN,ON,FUSCH,ON,"Message10",OFF,BIT1,XOR,ON,BIT2,XOR,OFF,BIT1,OR,ON,BIT2
11,16x32,UR,DKPRPL,OFF,MNTGRN,OFF,MDMAG,OFF,"Message11",ON,BIT1,XOR,OFF,BIT2,XOR,ON,BIT1,XOR,OFF,BIT3
12,5x7,CL,SKYBLU,ON,MDGRN,ON,PALMAG,ON,"Message12",OFF,BIT1,AND,ON,BIT3,AND,OFF,BIT2,AND,ON,BIT0
13,7x9,CC,BLU4,OFF,OLVGRN,OFF,STLBLU,OFF,"Message13",ON,BIT1,AND,OFF,BIT3,AND,OFF,BIT2,XOR,OFF,BIT1
14,11x16,CR,SEAGRN,ON,GRN4,ON,PLPINK,ON,"Message14",OFF,BIT1,AND,ON,BIT3,OR,OFF,BIT3,XOR,ON,BIT2
15,16x32,BL,CDTBLU,OFF,GRN5,OFF,GREY,OFF,"Message15",ON,BIT1,AND,ON,BIT3,OR,ON,BIT2,AND,OFF,BIT0
There are a couple of issues that must be considered when creating an TMD file. They are:
Any bits that are used must be fully defined (State and Name).
Any two bits must be joined with an operation (AND, OR, XOR)
Color Index Numbers
The Local Message Display and the Triggered Message Display allow importing and exporting text
files that contain color descriptions. Colors can be specified by their color name or by their index
number. The index numbers are laid out on a grid that corresponds to the color palette. The index
number grid is shown below. The index numbers can be cross-referenced to the 64-color grid so you
can match Color Index numbers to a Color name.
R2 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 TURQ (ColR2C8)
R3 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 WHEAT (ColR3C8)
R4 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 PALGRN(ColR4C8)
R5 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 ORANGE (ColR5C8)
R6 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 GOLD (ColR6C8)
R7 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 TAN (ColR7C8)
R8 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 KHAKI (ColR8C8)
WOOD (ColR8C7)
TEXT
TEXT
Editing
If the image you paste to the current state does not fill the entire window, it will be forced to a position
determined by the Justify selection.
Cut will remove the contents of the current state. Copy will duplicate the contents of the state to the
clipboard. Paste will copy the contents of the clipboard to the current state. If the image you paste to
the current state does not fill the entire window, it will be forced to a position determined by the
Justify selection. Remove will remove the selected state. The Library button opens the library
browser. Select an object from the library and copy it to the clipboard or drag it to the current state.
Use the library to store state images prior to creating the Local Image Display.
The Erase previous state checkbox allows you to choose if the state displayed in the local image
display is erased when a new state becomes active. In effect, each state is a separate picture.
The Erase previous state checkbox is used to compile all empty states into black rectangles with a
black outline. When this feature is checked, it will use a lot of panel memory. See the Erase State
section for details.
Move the cross hair and Selector Switch image to the top of the two cells where you want the Selector
Switch to appear and click the mouse. If you want to size the Selector Switch immediately, move the
cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the Selector
Switch. Release the mouse button and the Selector Switch is sized.
The following Selector Switch Settings dialog box will appear.
The Advanced Button is enabled when you select Keyboard Attached in the Touch
NOTE Screen Configuration dialog in Setup.
Clicking the Advanced button will display the Advanced Settings dialog box. The Selector Switch
Button operation can be assigned to an external keypad. See Keypads, page 522and Keypad
Assignment, page 233, for additional information. Once a keypad is assigned, you can disable the
touch screen by checking the Touch disable box. If you leave the touch disable box unchecked, then
the touch screen and the keypad can both operate the button.
TEXT TEXT
Move the cross hair and Goto Panel button image to the top of the two cells where you want the Goto
Panel button to appear and click the mouse. If you want to size the Goto Panel button immediately,
move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the
Goto Panel button. Release the mouse button and the Goto Panel button is sized.
The following Goto Panel Button Settings dialog box will appear.
BEZEL OUTLINE
BEZEL COLOR GOTO PANEL
TOUCH COLOR
1234567
LEGEND PLATE OUTLINE
LEGEND PLATE BACKGROUND
LEGEND PLATE TEXT
The Advanced Button is enabled when you select Keyboard Attached in the Touch
NOTE Screen Configuration dialog in Setup.
Clicking the Advanced button will display the Advanced Settings dialog box. The Goto Panel Button
operation can be assigned to an external keypad. See Keypads, page 522 and Keypad Assignment,
page 233, for additional information. Once a keypad is assigned, you can disable the touch screen by
checking the Touch disable box. If you leave the touch disable box unchecked, then the touch screen
and the keypad can both operate the button.
MOTOR MOTOR
SPEED SPEED
123.45 123.45
Move the cross hair and the Numeric Data Display image to the top of the two cells where you want
the Numeric Data Display to appear and click the mouse. If you want to size the Numeric Data Display
immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the mouse button and drag the
mouse to size the Numeric Data Display. Release the mouse button and the Numeric Data Display is
sized.
The following Numeric Data Display dialog box will appear.
LGND TEXT
LEGEND
BACKGROUND
LGND
DATA TEXT
LEGEND OUTLINE
LGND
DATA TEXT
DATA TEXT
BACKGROUND
COLOR
MOTOR MOTOR
SPEED SPEED
123.45 123.45
Move the cross hair and the Numeric Data Entry image to the top of the two cells where you want the
Numeric Data Entry to appear and click the mouse. If you want to size the Numeric Data Entry
immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the mouse button and drag the
mouse to size the Numeric Data Entry. Release the mouse button and the Numeric Data Entry is sized.
The following Numeric Data Entry Settings dialog box will appear.
MOTOR MOTOR
SPEED SPEED
123.45 123.45
LGND
DATA TEXT
LGND TEXT
LEGEND
BACKGROUND
LGND
DATA TEXT
. LEGEND OUTLINE
MOTOR MOTOR
SPEED SPEED
123.45 123.45
55 55
Minimum >>> 0 Minimum >>> 0
BK BK
1 2 3 +/- SP 1 2 3 +/- SP
4 5 6 . Enter 4 5 6 . Enter
7 8 9 0 Done 7 8 9 0 Done
The Advanced Button is enabled when you select Keyboard Attached in the Touch
NOTE Screen Configuration dialog in Setup.
The Numeric Data Entry Button operation can be assigned to an external keypad. See Keypads, page
522, and Keypad Assignment, page 233, for additional information. Once a keypad is assigned, you
can disable the touch screen by checking the Touch disable box. If you leave the touch disable box
unchecked, then the touch screen and the keypad can both operate the button.
If your PLC supports text variables, the PLC register will be read as two text
NOTE characters. Otherwise the PLC register will be read as a single text character.
TEXT TEXT
MESG MESG
ABCDE ABCDE
Move the cross hair and the Text Display image to the top of the two cells where you want the Text
Display to appear and click the mouse. If you want to size the Text Display immediately, move the
cross hair to the desired cell, click and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the Text
Display. Release the mouse button and the Text Display is sized.
The following Text Display dialog box will appear.
The Tag variable type must be set to String. See Tag Attributes section.
NOTE
12:59 AM 12:59 AM
Click the Time icon on the Tools menu.
Move the cross hair and time image to the top of the cell where you want the time to appear and click
the mouse. If you want to size the time display immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell,
click and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the time display. Release the mouse button
and the time display is sized.
The following Time Display Settings dialog box will appear. You can select a Time display or a Date
display. Selecting Time will display the Time Options and selecting Date will display the Date
Options.
The text size can be changed , and the text can be justified by clicking one of the Justify radio buttons.
The text color, lens color, and outline color can be modified.
See Appendix D for Color Information.
The default settings for time are hours and minutes, in 12 hour format. You can add seconds to the
clock display by checking the Seconds box. Military time is displayed in 24 hour format. For example,
2:30PM would be 1430 hours.
The default setting for date is Dd/Mm/Yyyy
For System Hour, set the Numeric Data Entry tag name to ~System_Hour. You must type the tag
name exactly as shown, including the tilde at the beginning. Remember to enter the desired text in the
legend plate to identify the Numeric Data Entry tool as system hour. Set the Input Range Min and Max
values (1 to 12 for 12 hour display or 0 to 23 for Military display).
For System Minute, set the tag name to ~System_Minute and for System Second, set the tag variable
to ~System_Second. Remember to enter the desired text in the legend plates to identify system minute
and system second. Also remember to set the Input Range Min and Max values for minutes and
seconds.
For System Month, set the tag name to ~System_Month, for System Day set the tag variable to
~System_Day, and for System Year, set the tag variable to ~System_Year.
Save the panel and download it to the target display. Use the data entry operators to set the Time and
Date for your display. The target display maintains the system time and date between power cycles.
Move the cross hair to the top of the two cells where you want the bar graph to appear and click the
mouse. If you want to size the bar graph immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell, click and
hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the bar graph. Release the mouse button and the bar
graph is sized.
The following Bar Graph Settings dialog box will appear. Note the Face plate, Scale, and Simulate
buttons, which when pressed will display the associated dialog box.
See Appendix D for Color Information.
Any variable assigned to a Bar Graph MUST be a 16 bit integer type variable.
NOTE
212.0
T
E BARGRAPH WITH
M NO FACEPLATE AND SCALE
P
0.0
TICKS
BAR COLOR BAR COLOR
BACKGROUND
COLOR
To add more alarm ranges, click the up arrow button to the right of the Alarms number box. Each
increase will add another Value box and Color selection button. In the following example, there are
four ranges selected and each range has a different color and value setting. The ranges are : 0 to 5, 5 to
10, 10 to 15, and 15 to 20. The minimum and maximum range values cannot be changed in this dialog
box. You can change them in the Scale Settings dialog.
Use caution when selecting the value for the alarm range. A short review of Bar Graphs is necessary
before we discuss alarm values.
You can set the Min and Max scale values to show the full value of the tag variable or some portion of
it. For example, if the tag variable has an actual value of 0 to 65535, you can go to the Scale Settings
dialog box and set the Min to 0 and the Max to 65535 to display the full variable range. See Figure 1.
If you set the Min to 0 and the Max to 200, then the bar graph will display only the range of the
variable from 0 to 200. See Figure 2.
Variable = 65535 65535 Variable = 65535 200
200
Variable = 0 0 Variable = 0 0
Figure 1 Figure 2
The bar graph is divided into 100 segments which represent 1 percent of the range value. For example,
if the Min and Max scale range is 0 to 200, then each increment of the bar graph is 1 percent, or 2.
Each time the variable increases by 2, the bar graph will show a change.
The alarm values operate by changing colors at the 1 percent points. In the previous example, the
alarm values can change colors at 2, 4, 6, 8, etc.
If you set the value for changing colors to 5, it will not work since the changes can only occur at the 1
percent increment points. The bar can change color at 4 and 6, but not at 5. The range value must be
divided by 100 to arrive at the true change points. For example, if the Min is set to 0 and the Max is set
to 500, then 1 percent of the range is 5. The alarm values in this case can be set to change at
increments of 5.
When you download a bargraph, the background fill color is always black.
NOTE
To add a trend display to a panel, click the trend icon in the floating Tools menu. The Trend
Graph Settings dialog box appears. Each of the buttons controls a major section of the Trend Graph
design.
Orientation refers to the direction the trend will be displayed. The number of samples determines how
many data points will appear on the screen. The sample rate determines how often a new sample is
taken. Background color is the color behind the trend display.
A sample trend operator is shown below.
There is a limitation when using large trend displays on a 10.5" color and 9" Mono displays. In some
cases, a trend display 8 cells wide by 12 cells high, with a sample rate of 1 second, would appear to
lockup a panel. When the trend display was reduced to 8 cells wide by 8 cells high, the panel updated
normally. If you experience this problem, reduce the sample rate from 1 second to 2 seconds or more,
or reduce the size of the trend display.
To select the faceplate colors, click the Face plate button. Select the desired colors and click OK.
The following example illustrates a display with a time axis. There are 250 samples and the time axis
tick marks are set to 25 samples.
Uncheck Draw Scale Legend to remove scale legend from the Trend display.
Enter the Text and select the Text Size to appear on the trend. Text is vertical for left-to-right and
right-to-left trends, and horizontal for top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top graphs. Blank spaces are
ignored.
Enter the Scale Range, enter Min (minimum) and Max (maximum) values. The Min and Max values
are for the display only and this setting does not automatically scale the input variable. Use the Pens
button to setup the input and scale ranges. Number Size refers to the numbers on the scale. Select the
number of Digits and Decimal Positions. A decimal position is the number of digits to the right of the
decimal point. The decimal point counts as a digit.
Tick marks are placed next to the trend to delineate the graph into equal segments. Select the number
of tick marks for the display.
Select the Scale Color and click OK to complete the trend.
You can have up to eight pens for each trend display, up to a maximum of 20 pens for
NOTE an entire project.
To add a new pen, click New and the next available default pen name appears. Remember that the
name can be changed.
Select the line style and pen color, then click OK.
You can edit the values for the ranges by clicking the Edit button. These
CAUTION values represent the Min and Max values for the tag variable assigned to the
pen. Once you edit these values, they are changed for any other panel object
that may use the same tag variable. However, if you change the tag attributes
through the Tag editor, you will not change the Input Range and Scale Range
settings in the Pen Setup.
An Alarm Window consists of a legend and multiple lines of alarm text. Touching the alarm window
operator causes the alarm manager page to appear. Please refer to the Alarms Guided Tour on page
170 and Alarms on page 142 for more information.
Move the cross hair to the top of the two cells where you want the Alarm Window to appear and click
the mouse. If you want to size the Alarm Window immediately, move the cross hair to the desired cell,
click and hold the mouse button and drag the mouse to size the Alarm Window. Release the mouse
button and the Alarm Window is sized. An Alarm Window similar to the one below will appear.
Historic Alarms
This type of alarm operates in the same fashion as the active alarm with an important exception.
Instead of erasing the alarm message when the trigger event is cleared, the alarm message is modified
with the format and the color specified in the configuration table. A common practice is to change the
alarm clear message to green.
Logged Alarms
This type of alarm simply copies each alarm event message to a queue using the format and color
specified for the alarm. Each alarm event is listed on a separate line.
The Advanced Button is enabled when you select Keyboard Attached in the Touch
NOTE Screen Configuration dialog in Setup.
Clicking the Advanced button will display the Advanced Settings dialog box. The Alarm Button
operation can be assigned to an external keypad. See Keypads, page 522, and Keypad Assignment,
page 233, for additional information. Once a keypad is assigned, you can disable the touch screen by
checking the Touch disable box. If you leave the touch disable box unchecked, then the touch screen
and the keypad can both operate the button.
Analog Meter
The new Meter tool allows creation of two analog meters. Since the meters share several common
dialog boxes, they are combined into one tool. The default shape for a meter is the 180 degree meter
shown below. You can click the filled checkbox to fill the area from the min value to the current value.
TEMP TEMP
UNFILLED FILLED
The 360 degree meter is shown below. You can click the filled checkbox to fill the area from the min
value to the current value.
TEMP TEMP
UNFILLED FILLED
When you select the 360 meter, the Orientation list box appears. The 360 degree meter can be selected
to have the starting point (min setting) at the top of the meter or the bottom. The bar on the meter face
moves clockwise from the min value to the max value.
Tag Variable
A "tag" variable name must be assigned to the numeric meter operator. This tag will be a word in the
PLC memory that the target display can read.
TEMP TEMP
UNFILLED FILLED
Shape
Select either the 180 or the 360 meter. If you selecthe 360 meter, the Orientation list box appears.
Orientation
Selecting the 360 meter causes the Orientation dialog to appear.
Scale
The Scale Settings menu is used to customize the meter. Enter the Text and select the Text Size to
appear on the meter legend. You can have only ONE row of scale text.
Enter the Scale Range, Min (minimum) and Max (maximum) values. Number Size refers to the
numbers on the scale. Select the number of Digits and Decimal Positions. A decimal position is the
number of digits to the right of the decimal point. The decimal point counts as a digit.
Tick marks are placed around the meter face to delineate the meter into equal segments. Select the
number of tick marks for the meter.
Select the Scale Color and click OK to complete the meter.
Simulate
Simulate allows viewing the meter as the data value is changed between the minimum and maximum
values with the scroll bar.
Colors
Click the ASCII Data Entry icon on the Tools menu. Move the cross hair and the ASCII Data
Entry image to the cells where you want the ASCII Data Entry to appear and click the mouse.
The following ASCII Data Entry Settings dialog box will appear.
Tag Variable
A "tag" variable name must be assigned to the ASCII Data Entry. This tag will be a word in the PLC
memory that the target display can read and update. A list of valid PLC tags can be found by clicking
the QUICK HELP button and locating your PLC type in the PLC Drivers section.
The ASCII Data Entry tool has the option of displaying several ASCII characters. Each PLC word
variable can store two ASCII characters. Therefore, if you are going to read/write more than two
characters, you must ensure there are additional PLC registers available to accommodate the extra
characters. For example, if you intend to use 10 characters, you must make 5 word registers available
in the PLC. The tag variable described above is the starting address of the 5 word registers.
Tags can be edited by clicking the panel object and selecting Change Object Tags (Ctrl+T) from the
Edit menu. This will display the Modify Tag Address dialog box. Tag prompts can be added in the
Modify Tag Attributes dialog box. You can also add or edit tag prompts by double clicking above the
tag field. For more information about changing tag attributes, click the Quick Help button to jump to
the main help screen. Follow the path from QuickDesigner, Menu commands, Edit menu, to Change
Object Tags.
Bezel
The Bezel portion of the ASCII Data Entry is used to give a visual indication to the operator that the
button was pressed. The Bezel Color changes to the Touch Color when the button is pressed. The
outline color remains constant whether the push button is pressed or not pressed.
LGND
DATA TEXT
Legend Plate
The legend plate allows you to provide text information to the operator about the meaning of the
current ASCII characters being displayed. You can change the Text Size by clicking one of the Text
Size radio buttons. Justify text by clicking one of the Justify buttons. Select a solid or flashing color
for the text, the legend background, and the legend outline. Click OK to apply the changes and return
to the settings dialog.
LGND TEXT
LEGEND
BACKGROUND
LGND
DATA TEXT
LEGEND OUTLINE
LGND
DATA TEXT
DATA TEXT
BACKGROUND
COLOR
Cancel
Cancel all changes to the ASCII Data Entry Settings dialog box and exit the dialog box.
Make Default
If you decide that you want to have all ASCII data entry buttons appear the same way, you can click
the Make Default button in the ASCII Data Entry Settings dialog box. The current settings in the
ASCII Data Entry Settings dialog box will be saved. The next time you create a ASCII Data Entry
button, the saved settings will automatically be applied.
Help
Click the Help button to gain access to help files relating to ASCII Data Entry Settings.
The following drawings are for displays larger than 6". The default selection is all CAPS. You can
select lower case (a-z), symbols (SYM), or numbers (NUM). As you press a keypad, the ASCII
characters will be displayed in the Enter value field. Pressing the Done keypad will move the ASCII
characters to the Current value field and to the PLC register.
A B
C D E F G a-z
H I J K L SYM
M N O P Q NUM
R S T U V Enter
BK
W X Y Z SP Done
This is a picture of the numeric keypad (NUM).
1 2 3 4 A-Z
5 6 7 8 a-z
9 0 + - SYM
* / % # Enter
BK
< > = SP Done
This is a picture of the symbols keypad (SYM).
Click the Hardwired Jog button icon on the Tools menu. Move the cross hair to the top of the
two cells where you want the Hardwired Jog button to appear and click the mouse.
Note: This Hardwired jog button is not supported on QP-Ethernet series panels.
INPUT CIRCUIT
COM
560 Ohm
DC24V
DIN
5.6K Ohm
OUTPUT CIRCUIT
12 DC24V
1 DOUT
LOAD
330pF
DC24V
14 COM
22 Ohm
Pin 8 Pin 1
Pin 15 Pin 9
Input Circuit
BEZEL
BEZEL OUTLINE
Simple Button
The elements of the simple button are shown below. The simple button is similar to the standard
button except it has no bezel. The simple button is a legend plate and text. The text color, legend plate
background color and legend plate outline colors can be changed. There are several text sizes
available. The simple button has more room for text characters than the standard button.
Circular Button
The elements of the circular button are shown below. The circular button consists of a bezel and
legend plate. The bezel is the circular section in the center of the button. The ring around the bezel is
the touch indicator. The touch indicator can be one color when the button is idle and a different color
when the button is touched. The bezel color, the touch color and the bezel outline color can be
changed. The legend plate contains the text and the background. The text color, legend plate
background color and legend plate outline colors can be changed. There are several text sizes
available.
BEZEL TOUCH
BEZEL
BEZEL OUTLINE
OFF
LGND TEXT
LEGEND
BACKGROUND
OFF
LEGEND OUTLINE
OK
Click the OK button to apply the information in the settings menu and close the menu.
Cancel
Cancel all changes to the Hardwired Jog Button dialog box and exit the dialog box.
Help
Click the Help button to gain access to help files relating to Hardwired Jog Button Settings.
Video Inputs
The Video QuickPanel has the standard serial, printer and tool ports. It also has three NTSC BNC
video inputs. The following drawing shows the location of the ports and input connectors.
The video source must be NTSC. The video output from a camcorder or VCR is usually an RCA
phono plug type connector. An easy way to connect these video sources is by adding an RF adapter to
the Video QuickPanel. A typical phono plug to BNC connector can be found at a local Radio Shack
under the part number 278-254. Also, many computer stores sell BNC cables for use in networks.
These cables can be used to connect video signals that require BNC style connectors.
Video Display
To add a video operator to a panel, select the video icon from the floating tools menu. Move the
cursor to the panel area where the video will appear and click the mouse. The video will be displayed
in a 300W x 200H area, along with operator buttons and legend data. A sample video display with two
buttons is shown below.
VIDEO DISPLAY (0)
BUTTON(0) BUTTON(1)
In the Video shows only in objects of this color mode, the video will be seen only when an object of
the selected color is in front of the video display (the object must be placed in the foreground). For
example, if you create a push button with a red legend plate and the selected color is red, then the
video will only be shown on the legend plate. The video will not appear on parts of the push button
that have a different color.
In the Objects of this color appear through video mode, any object of the selected color will appear on
the video display. For example, if you create a push button with a green bezel, and the selected color is
green, then the bezel part of the button will be seen on the video display.
In order for objects to work with transparency, they must be placed in the foreground,
NOTE or in front of the video display.
The background and outline sections are shown in the next drawing.
VIDEO DISPLAY (0)
OUTLINE COLOR
BACKGROUND COLOR
BUTTON(0) BUTTON(1)
In the next drawing, two buttons have been selected. Pressing button 0 will display legend plate 0, and
button 1 will display legend plate 1. You can customize the title for each legend plate.
VIDEO DISPLAY (0)
OUTLINE COLOR
BACKGROUND COLOR
TITLE
BUTTON(0) BUTTON(1)
The Buttons No. information box displays the assigned button number. The Channel No. list box
selects the video source for the assigned button. Each button can select from CH0, CH1, or CH2.
Although the spin controls allow selection of CH3, it is not used in this product.
Keypads Overview
The keypad option adds external keypads that surround the touch screen. The keypads are used in
place of the touch screen or along with the touch screen. For example, instead of touching the
QuickPanel screen to activate a Push Button, you can press an external keypad. You can also assign an
external keypad to simulate a push button, selector switch, goto panel button, numeric data entry, print
button or word button. Simulating operators saves screen space.
QUICKPANEL jr.
L3 R3
1 2 3
L2 R2 4 5 6 BK
SP
ENTER
7 8 9
L1 R1
+/- 0 . DONE
T0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 A0 A1 A2 A3
A4 A5 A6 A7
B0 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5
Keypad installation information can be found in the Hardware Reference manual, part number 800-
1000-082. The Keypad option must be installed in order to use the keypad assignments.
The following panel operators (ones with a bezel) can be assigned to external keypads:
• Push Button
• Illuminated Push Button
• Numeric Data Entry (with external numeric keypad)
• Selector Switch
• Word Button
• Goto Panel Button
• Print Button
• Alarms
The addition of external keypads to the standard touch screen allows several options. For example, a
Push Button can:
• work normally without using an external keypad.
• be assigned to an external keypad.
• work normally and with an external keypad.
• be simulated by a keypad but not appear on the touch screen.
The diagram below shows the physical layout of the keypads. The keypad designations are
PERMANENTLY assigned, but the physical legends can be changed to suit your application. That is,
L3 will always be in the same location, but the legend for L3 can be changed. Some of the keypad
designations do not appear on the keypads. They are included in the drawing for reference. The
unmarked keypads are T0, B0, T5, B5, and A0 through A7.
QUICKPANEL jr.
L3 R3
1 2 3
L2 R2 4 5 6 BK
SP
ENTER
7 8 9
L1 R1
+/- 0 . DONE
T0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 A0 A1 A2 A3
A4 A5 A6 A7
B0 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5
The keypads are divided into Reserved keys and Programmable keys.
The first series of keypads are the ones on the LEFT and RIGHT sides of the display. The keypads are
designated L1 for LEFT 1, R2 for RIGHT 2, and so on.
The next series of keypads are two rows of keypads below the display. The top row of keypads are
designated T0 for TOP 0, T1 for TOP 1, B0 for BOTTOM 0 and so on.
The final group of programmable keypads are located below the numeric keypads and are designated
A0 through A7.
The numeric keypads, including the blank keys above the numeric keypads cannot be assigned and are
designated as Reserved.
You can assign a keypad to a button by clicking the Advanced button in the settings dialog. Shown
below is the Advanced button in the Push Button Settings dialog.
Clicking the Advanced button displays the Advanced Settings dialog box. In the following example,
the Push Button was assigned to keypad A2. Once a button is given a Key Assignment, the Touch
disabled checkbox becomes active. A button object can be connected to the touch screen and the
keypad simultaneously. If you check the Touch disabled checkbox, the touch screen will be disabled
for the button and the button will only work with the assigned external keypad.
A list of all keypad assignments can be displayed by going to the Tools menu and selecting Keypad
Assignments.
If you disable the touch screen for the Numeric Data Entry operator you cannot activate the Numeric
Data Entry button by touching the screen. The only way to activate the button is by pressing the
assigned keypad. The shortened version of the data entry screen is displayed. The external numeric
keypads are used to enter data.
ACTIVE ALARMS
09/19 13:28 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #1
09/19 13:40 ALARM TEXT MESSAGE #2
The first operation is to select which keypad will be assigned to the simulated panel operator. Click the
down arrow in the Key list box then click an unassigned keypad.
Next, select one of the operators to simulate by clicking a button in the Key Assignment area. When
you click one of the simulate keys, the rest of the buttons will be grayed out.
Click the Attributes button to open the settings dialog for the selected item. In this example, clicking
the Attributes button will open the Goto Panel settings dialog. Enter the Panel Name and click the OK
button.
Now when you press the A0 keypad, the panel name you selected will be displayed. This is the same
operation as the Goto Panel Button, but without the panel operator taking up screen space.
The keypad tag is displayed in the bottom left corner of the operator and provides a quick visual check
to see which panel operators have keypads assigned.
Character Map
The QuickPanel has a built-in character set. Many of the special characters available in the character
set cannot be entered directly from the keyboard.
To enter a special character, locate the character and the associated code in the table below. The Code
column shows which key or key combinations to use to insert the associated character. For example, if
the Code is Alt+0129, then press and hold the Alt key while entering 0129 from the Numeric keypad.
Make sure the NUM LOCK key is ON so the keypad functions as a Numeric keypad.
The following table shows the character map for a QP2. (This table has embedded fonts.)
Note 1. The character created with Ctrl+| is not available as a printable font. The two characters shown
in the box can be combined to create a character similar to what is displayed on the QuickPanel.
Note 2. The character created with Alt+0208 is not available as a printable font. The character shown
is similar to what is displayed on the QuickPanel.
The Project Setup dialog box can be selected in three ways; click the Setup icon in the tool bar,
select Setup from the Project menu, or click the Setup button.
.
From the Setup dialog box, click the Print button. The Print button brings up the printer setup dialog
box. Select the printer protocol (or driver) type from the list box. The current selections are:
NEC PR201 24 DOT (Dot Matrix)
EPSON ESC/P 24-Pin [High Quality] (Dot Matrix)
EPSON ESC/P 24-Pin [High Speed] (Dot Matrix)
HP LaserJet II (Laser)
Other printers may work if they are compatible to one of the printer drivers in the list box.
Laser printers may not print alarms until the print page buffer is full. Dot matrix
NOTE printers will print alarms as they are triggered.
Screen prints are activated by placing a Print Screen tool on any screen or by using the
NOTE Print Trigger tag in the System Configuration dialog box.
HMI-CAB-C49
Installation Issues:
1. During the installation of QuickDesigner, the error message appears “Severe!, *.dll is in
use…close down all program …”
a. This usually occurs when QuickDesigner is being installed on a computer that has other software
packages running in the background. These other software packages may be using some Windows *.
DLLs that are needed by the QuickDesigner installation program. MSOffice is a big culprit because
although the MSOffice programs are not running, the MS Offfice group icons are usually running and
can be found at the top right corner of the computer screen. Close the icon bar then restart the
installation procedure.
b. Any Windows based software package that is running during the QuickDesigner installation should
be shut down also.
Windows 95/NT—Press Ctrl+Alt+Del keys to bring up the Close Program box. Select those
programs that are currently running then press the End Task button.
Windows 3.1/3.11—Press Ctrl+Esc keys to bring up the Task List. Select those programs that are
currently running then press the End Task button.
2. During the installation from the CD, a message appears stating “This movie requires the
following Xtras: DirectOS-Rx32, Sound import/exportx32, MIX32X32”
This message may then be followed by another message that reads:
“Script error handler not defined…..”read#…”
a. If this issue occurs, manually load the software by selecting the CD drive, then double-click the
install folder. Select the disk 1 folder from the install folder and click the Setup.exe file. This will
launch the InstallShield for the QuickDesigner 3.x installation.
3. After installing the software, QuickDesigner is launched from the icon and the message
“The following database cannot be found:
c:\directory name\Medusa.ini
“Unable to open database c:\directory name\Medusa.ini
a. The QuickDesigner directory name that was given during the installation was more than 8 characters
long. The software should be reinstalled under a directory name that is 8 characters or less (ex.
c:\Quick or c:\xxx\Quick3).
b. If the complete path name given during the install was more than 47 characters, then this error will
occur. (ex. c:\develop\projects\plc\interface\programs\tcp\software\quick)
2. When trying to enter the Panels area of QuickDesigner, the message “Cannot open....”
Close QuickDesigner software. Go to File Manager (Win 3.x) or Explorer (Win 95) and delete the file
QMGR.INI from the installed QuickDesigner directory (usually c:/quick#). Go back to
QuickDesigner and then open the Panels area.
5. After importing a project that has an alarm file, some or all alarms no longer appear in the
alarm window when triggered.
The alarm tags did not get created in the tag database. Alarm tags must be created manually in the tag
database with the same syntax as the alarm addresses (example: Alarm database tag = “TODD”, the
address in the tag database must be “TODD” also and not “Todd”, “todd”, etc.).
6. When importing a bitmap image onto a panel, the error message appears saying “Bitmaps
with more than 16 colors are not supported!”
a. The bitmap that is being imported was saved as a 24 or more color bitmap. Go back to the bitmap
editing software where the bitmap was created or edited (Paintbrush can be used as well). Open the
bitmap that is to be imported into QuickPanel. Then select the Save As... feature of your software
package. Under the List Files of Types box, select *. bmp 16 colors or *.bmp monochrome. Now the
bitmap picture can be imported into QuickDesigner. This is a limitation of QuickDesigner versions
3.32 and below.
8. A “Raima Data error ## 0err0” occurs during the development and/or downloading process of
a QuickDesigner application.
This indicates that there is some corruption in the Quick Manager’s database. The database should be
restructured to eliminate the Raima data error.
a. If there are other projects in the Quick Manager list besides the application that caused the error try
to export each project one at a time. If the project that is causing the problem allows access to the
panels, then open each panel and export them out individually (refer to Import/Export of the section of
the Panel Editor manual on how to export panels). Also export any alarm file that may have been
created.
NOTE: Do not export panels or alarm file into the default c:\quick# directory else they will be
erased during the restructuring process.
b. Close down the QuickDesigner software. Go to Explorer or File manager and under the
QuickDesigner software directory, select the subdirectory Data. The file Clean200.bat should be listed
in this subdirectory. Double-click the clean200.bat file to restructure the Quick Manager database.
NOTE: This will delete all projects and other additional items that were added to the Quick#
directory!
c. Once the database has been restructured, you may import the applications and/or project
components (panels, alarms, etc.) back into QuickDesigner.
9. When importing alarms, the message “ Alarm import error: Unable to overwrite an existing
alarm file in the DB.”
An alarm file already exists in the project database with the same alarm file. Choose File from the top
menu, then select Delete. Delete the alarm file in the database that has the same alarm file as the one
you are importing. Then select File again, then Import. Choose the alarm file that you want to import.
If you wish to keep the existing alarm file, then it must be renamed. Go to File Manger or Explorer
and change the name of the *.alm file. Then go back to QuickDesigner and import the new file.
11. When trying to print copies of the project’s screens from the Reports submenu, the only
thing that prints is a line of text for the screen and the rest of the page is blank or has ASCII
characters.
Usually, this problem is caused by the video resolution setting of your computer’s monitor. Lower the
video resolution of the monitor to about 640x480 resolution and 256 colors. This usually corrects the
print problem.
13. How do I place pictures of the QuickPanel screens into other software packages (MS Word,
PowerPoint, WordPerfect, etc.).
To copy a picture of a QuickPanel screen into other software packages, open the screen you wish to
copy. Then on your keyboard, press Alt+Print Scrn buttons to copy a picture of your computer’s
screen to the Windows Clipboard. The picture can now be pasted into a graphics editor program
(PaintBrush, Paint, Paint Shop Pro, etc.) to be edited.
14. After upgrading to QuickDesigner 3.50 and higher versions, the text in some of the graphical
tools has vanished, both in the editor and at panel runtime.
One of the major upgrades to QuickDesigner 3.50 was a complete re-work of both the editor and
panel runtime appearance of our graphical tools. In the past, these tools have not always appeared the
same in the editor as they do on the panel. This made it difficult for our users to correctly design their
QuickPanel projects without having to constantly test them by downloading them to the panels.
In QuickDesigner 3.50, we tried to address the issue of text output, specifically the issues where the
text could appear in the editor, but did not appear when downloaded to the panel. An example of this
is shown below.
This issue was most commonly found by users that attempted to shorten (reduce in height) things like
legend plates, local message displays, etc) so that they could fit as many of them on the panel as
possible.
In order to address this issue, we adopted a standard for wrapped text output, and made all of the
“problematic” graphical tools adhere to it. Those tools which are not generally shortened were not
included in the fix. A summary of the text cutoff status of our graphical tools is shown below:
2. After downloading a project, the screen buttons are not completely drawn and/or the pilot
lights do not show up or they appear as white squares.
a. The QuickPanel is not communicating with the PLC. Make sure the QuickPanel is connected to the
PLC
b. Make sure you are using the correct communications cable for the PLC protocol that your project
specifies.
Communications
1. After downloading a project to the QuickPanel, the message “PLC not Responding 02:FE”
appears at the bottom of the QuickPanel. The communications cable is also connected to the
PLC.
a. Check the communications cable part number to the part number specified for the PLC protocol that
is in the Communications manual. The communications cable that is being used may not be the correct
part number
b. The communications cable that is being used was not built correctly. Check the cable pin-outs
with the corresponding cable diagram in the Hardware manual or the Communications manual under
the corresponding PLC protocol section.
c. Check the communications settings for the QuickPanel in the Port section under the Setup menu.
Sometimes the baud rate, parity, or data bits are set different on the PLC port versus the SIO/CN1 port
on the QuickPanel. The QuickPanel’s communication port settings can be found under the Setup
menu then under Port.
2. When changing from one screen to another, a PLC communications error message appears
“PLC Comm Error (02:xx)”
This typically happens when a tag on the QuickPanel screen contains a PLC address that does not exist
in the PLC. Create ladder logic in the PLC that contains the addresses used in the QuickPanel
application. For some PLCs, the addresses can be added directly to the memory area of the PLC.
3. The QuickPanel screen has a message at the bottom of the screen that reads “PLC Not
Connected (02:FF), but the communications cable is connected to the QuickPanel and the PLC.
a. Make sure the correct communications cable is being used. This can be checked by looking up the
cable part number in the Communications manual under the specific PLC protocol.
4. The message “PLC comm. error 02:xx” appears on the QuickPanel screen.
a. Sometimes this means that the Panel Trigger Tag address under the Setup--System menu is an
internal or invalid tag. Select the project then go to Setup. Then select the System button. Delete the
Panel Trigger Tag address then say OK to accept the changes. Click OK to exit Setup. Next go to the
Tags menu. Delete the Panel Trigger tag address from the tag list. Close the tag database. Go back to
Setup then System and retype the Panel Trigger Tag address. Click OK. Re-download the project.
b. The QuickPanel unit is not physically connected to the PLC it has been set up for. The
communications cable is missing or the wrong cable is attached.
c. If you are using QuickPanel to communicate with more than one PLC on a network protocol
(tag_PLCNODE) and one or more PLCs are not on the network. Check the your PLC address(es) and
make sure that QuickDesigner application is setup appropriately.
d. The QuickPanel is connected to the PLC, however one or more communication parameters are not
set correctly (baud rate, parity, data bits, etc.). Make sure the PLC communications port is set up the
same as the QuickPanel’s communication port. QuickPanel parameter can be checked by going to
Setup and Port and/or Protocol in the QuickDesigner software.
e. This means that there are one or more Tag addresses on the currently displayed screen that does not
have a reference in the PLC. For example, your PLC ladder program only has variables up to 15, but
the push-button on the QuickPanel screen is trying to send/receive information at address 25. The
PLC program has to be changed to accommodate addresses up to 25.
5. After downloading an application, some or none of the screen objects (pushbuttons, pilot
lights, numeric entry, etc.) appear to be communicating with the PLC.
The tags for these non-communicating objects appear to be internal (does not look for a PLC
connection). To resolve this issue, the tag variables for the project must be validated. To validate the
tag addresses, go to the Tags database. Select the menu item Tools which is located at the top of the
screen along the menu bar. Under Tools, select Validate Tags. Any tags that are not valid tag
addresses for the protocol selected in Setup will be listed in the Internal Tags box.
7. After importing a Remote I/O application, the block transfers no longer works even after
revalidating the tags.
The block transfer files are usually created as internal. Revalidating the tags will not correct this
problem. Under the project’s Setup menu then the Protocol submenu, delete the block transfers by
disabling (deselecting) each block transfer file. Say OK to the change and close the Protocol area. Go
back into the Protocol area and recreate the block transfer files again. Once all the files are created,
click OK and exit Setup. These new block transfer files should now function as they once did.
8. A QuickPanel gets a PLC Comm Error 02:xx or only partial communications occurs on some
panels when using Modbus protocol.
a. The Modbus protocol groups address request into groups of 8 in order to maximize communications
between the QuickPanel and the PLC. A PLC communications error will occur when the number of
groups on a panel exceed 8 (i.e. OR100-110= group 1, OD113-115 = group 2, ID1-10= group 3, OD1
= group 4, etc.). To resolve this issue, an .ini file can be created to set the grouping number to 0 so
that all tags on a panel will be read as 1 group.
NOTE: This ini setting may cause QuickPanel communications to slow down.
b. Create an ini file called PCO.INI under the C:\Quick# directory (this can be done in Notepad). In
that file create the group [Modicon Modbus]. Under this group, type the line GroupGapSize=0. This
will enable the QuickPanel to read and write values to the PLC without grouping.
1. The GoTo buttons do not change screens when pressing the GoTo button(s) on the
touchscreen.
Check to make sure the GoTo button contains the name of an existing panel. Because panel names
are case sensitive, select a panel name from the drop-down list in the GoTo object.
2. After downloading an application, the GoTo buttons do not change screens and the message
“PLC Comm Error 02:xx” appears at the bottom of the screen.
a. This is usually caused by an invalid Panel Trigger Tag address. Make sure the panel trigger tag
address under System in the Setup menu has been programmed in the PLC.
b. The panel trigger tag address may be regarded as an “Internal Tag” by QuickDesigner and is
therefore not communicating with the PLC. Delete the Panel trigger tag address from the System
menu (found under Setup). Then go to Tag and delete the address from the database. Go back to
Setup and under System, type in the panel trigger tag address (can use the previous tag if desired).
Re-download the application after changes are made.
3. When selecting a Numeric Entry object to input data, the data entry screen appears for 1
second but before data could be entered, the QuickPanel switched back to the original panel.
The PLC ladder logic is forcing the QuickPanel to display a screen using the panel trigger tag. When
an internal screen number (usually in the 4,000 range) is sent to the panel trigger tag, it is immediately
overwritten by the PLC ladder logic.
a. Use a One-Shot instruction in the rung of ladder logic that changes the panel id number for the panel
trigger tag.
Compiling
1. When downloading an application, the compiler stops, then gives the error message:
GPC:LockG STOP Null GMB! OK.
a. This is usually caused by some object on a panel that requires some text characters but does not
have any (usually Text object). Check the panel name and the object type where the compiler stopped.
This usually indicates the where and what of the problem. Once the panel name and the object have
been identified, click OK. Then cancel the compiler. Go to the panel and delete the object or double
click on the object and type in some text characters.
b. Sometimes the actual text object that is causing the problem is difficult to find because the panel is
completely covered with operator devices. If this is the case, then individually select each object (hold
down the shift key as you select each object) and then group them (Edit Menu). Once the objects have
been grouped, Cut (Edit menu or Scissors icon) the entire grouped object. Go to the Edit menu and
choose Select All. This should identify any Text objects that may have been hidden. Delete the empty
Text box. Then Paste (Edit menu or Glue jar icon) the grouped object and place it back on the screen.
2. When compiling a project, the message (!) No state is specified in the ‘xxxx’ tool and the
compiler would not build it. OK” appears.
This is a message that explains that the object described in the message will not be sent to the
QuickPanel after downloading because there were no states specified for the object.
3. During the compile portion of a download of a project, a message appears during the initial
compile setup:
“ Fatal error creating download file. S1 file exhausted. Project tags/targets more than the 64
device and/or address combination allowed. Limit the number of devices or narrow address/file
ranges used.”
Usually happens for an Allen-Bradley network protocol (or other network protocols). This means the
number of files addressed (i.e. N7:... where 7 is the file number), the number of devices addressed in
the application (i.e. N7:0_3, where 3 is the device address number or node number), or a combination
of the two exceed a total of 64. The number of files or devices must be reduced so that it does not
exceed 64 total.
4. During the compile part of the download, an error appears which says that the compiler could
not find the shape files to build “?????” object. Followed by another message that says cannot
locate files .taf, .dbl., and .log.
a. This message is usually caused by a conflict with the Lantastic network software. If you are using
this network software (especially in Win 95), it must be disabled before proceeding with the
download.
5. During the compile stage of a download, the compiler stops and gives the message:
“Maximum tag count exceeded for this panel”
This means that there are too many object resources being used on the panel. Go to the panel where
the compiler stopped. Click the “ medical bag” icon and check the resource count. The resource
count for each panel type is described in the Resource Manager section of this manual.
Downloading
1. When downloading an application to a QuickPanel, Quick Courier prints the message “Your
project has not been compiled for this display device. Go to the project Setup, press the System
button to change the Compilation setting.”
If using QuickDesigner Advanced software, the compilation section does not exist under the Setup
menu’s System button. It automatically assumes you are downloading to a Qpx-2 QuickPanel. If the
model number of the QuickPanel begins with QPx-1 then you must either use the QuickDesigner
Standard software package or use a QuickPanel model number QPx-2.
2. During the download, the Quick Courier message box says, “Determining display device...”.
Then after some time the software asks you to “Turn the Unit Off..” Then after turning unit
back on, the compiler goes on to ask you to “Turn the unit off” again, then on again, then off
again, etc.
a. Check the cable that is being used for downloading. The cable should be HMI-CAB-C49.
b. Check the Com port that is being used. Make sure that it is not being used by some other software
package. Also check the comm. port’s IRQ (interrupt) settings. Some other installed device may be
using that comm. port’s setting (Com 1 IRQ = 4 and Com 2 IRQ = 3). This can be done under the
Windows Control Panel then select Ports.
c. The HMI-CAB-C49 download cable may be damaged. Try another download cable to see if the
download will continue.
d. Make sure that the incoming power to the QuickPanel unit is sufficient. This is usually an issue with
the 24 VDC unit.
e. Exit out of the download then exit out of QuickDesigner software. Go to Windows Notepad then
open the file Courier.ini that is found in the directory where QuickDesigner was loaded (usually
c:\quick?). Change the Autobaud from the 38400 default to 9600.
3. When downloading, the Courier gives the message “Error changing baud rate...”
a. Select the Update Device Executable box. Then de-select it to restart the download. The software
may not have been able to change the baud rate correctly during the initial download.
b. Exit out of the download then exit out of QuickDesigner software. Go to Windows Notepad then
open the file Courier.ini that is found in the directory where QuickDesigner was loaded. Change the
Autobaud from the 38400 default to 9600.
4. When downloading, Quick Courier comes up with a message that says that “There are no
comm. ports available for download” and/or there are no comm. port selections available in the
drop down list.
a. Close down any software packages that may be using the comm. port for communications. Allen-
Bradley’s INTERCHANGE software is a usual suspect in this instance. If INTERCHANGE has been
5. The application load portion of the Quick Courier download fluctuates between two
percentage values (i.e. 99%....94%....99%), then gives the message “Application Download
Aborted.”
a. This usually means that the application that is being downloaded is too large for the QuickPanel
unit. Exit the download then go back to the application and eliminate unnecessary objects in the
Panels area. Bitmap graphs are the biggest culprit of excessive memory use.
6. During the initializing process of the QuickDesigner software, a message appears: “Error
initializing memory!”
a. This is usually a problem when an attempt at downloading to the QuickPanel was abruptly
interrupted such as the download cable becoming disconnected or the power to the QuickPanel or
computer during the download process was turned off. On the QuickPanel, press three corners of the
touch screen (top two corners and one of the bottom corners). NOTE: If the two top corners are
pressed simultaneously, a contrast adjustment bar will appear at the bottom of the screen. Press
a top and bottom corner first, then press the last top corner. A menu bar should appear. Press
Offline. Then select Initialize. Then choose Initialize Memory. The QuickPanel will ask you for a
password. Type 1101, then press Start. With the QuickPanel Jr. hardware, you must press the
password entry box to get a numeric keypad to appear. Type in the password 1101and press Set.
Then press Start. The memory should be initializing. Once the memory has been erased, try the
download again.
b. Changing the AutoBaud rate in the courier.ini file can also be useful in this situation. The
QuickPanel may be missing the initializing signal from the QuickDesigner software because the baud
rate is a little high. Go to Notepad (Windows text editor) on your computer and open the Courier.ini
file. Change the Autobaud rate from its current setting to 9600 (usually the default setting is 38400).
Save the changes then go back to QuickDesigner and try the download again. You may notice an
increase in download time because of this change.
1. When using a Text Display tool with the GE SNP protocol, the characters in the text display
object does not display correctly. The characters of each word is switched (i.e. waters becomes
awetsr).
The GE SNP protocol reads the low byte of the word address then the high byte that shows up on the
QuickPanel as inverted. To correct this problem, press one of the top corners of the screen, one of the
bottom corners, then the other top corner at the same time (follow the above sequence). A menu bar
should appear at the bottom of the screen. Press Offline, then press System Environment Setup.
Under System Environment Setup, choose Character String Data Setup. Change the current
number (1) to a 2. Press Set. Go to Main then press Run. The character should now be read
correctly. NOTE: This change is not retentive. Once the unit is reset or another download has
occurred, this procedure must be done again to read the character values correctly.
2. After importing a project from one QuickDesigner software package to another, some or all of
the objects (tag addresses) on the panel do not appear to communicate with the PLC. There are
no messages on the QuickPanel that indicate a communications error.
a. Go to the Tags area of the project, then select Tools from the top menu and select Validate. This
will determine if there are any internal tags used in the program. If the tags were marked as internal,
then this validation process should correct those tags that are valid so that they communicate with the
PLC.
b. If re-validating did not work, purge the tag database of all tags. Then go to each panel, open it, and
go to File--Save As and save the panel with the original panel id and name. This will regenerate the
tags in the tag database as new.
Color Selection
Originally the QuickPanel supported only eight colors (BLACK, RED, GREEN, YELLOW, BLUE,
MAGENTA, CYAN, WHITE).
With the addition of the Series 3 QuickPanel, Quick Designer will now support 64 colors. That means
when you are using a Series 3 QuickPanel, and you click on one of the color options, a 64-color
palette will appear. The palette appears whenever a color selection combo box is clicked inside the
QuickDesigner software.
If you load a color project from an 8 color unit into a monochrome unit, Red, Green and Blue will be
converted to Black, and Yellow, Magenta, and Cyan will be converted to white.
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8
R1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 WHITE (ColR1C8)
R2 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 TURQ (ColR2C8)
R3 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 WHEAT (ColR3C8)
R4 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 PALGRN(ColR4C8)
R5 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 ORANGE (ColR5C8)
R6 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 GOLD (ColR6C8)
R7 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 TAN (ColR7C8)
R8 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 KHAKI (ColR8C8)
WOOD (ColR8C7)