# Passing a parameter in a tag path in Expression tags

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263>\
**Category:** Ignition\
**Tags:** designer, vision\
**Created:** [June 3, 2024, 7:06am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263 "2024-06-03T07:06:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Malhar\_Khairnar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Malhar\_Khairnar](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Malhar_Khairnar)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 7:06am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263/1 "2024-06-03T07:06:58Z")

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Hello Everyone,  
Might be a dumb question but is it possible to have `{[PLC]tag_Path/path/{some parameter}/Something.value}`  
Where the parameter will be the template custom property. I want to use this in the case of Signal Generator so there's no custom property for that.

Elaborating more:  
I have conveyor animation template in which I used Signal Generator for smoother effect using this guide [Component Animation](https://www.docs.inductiveautomation.com/docs/7.9/visualization-and-dashboards/understanding-components/component-animation). I have several conveyor based station and so I created a template for the conveyor +signal generator. I have two expression tags. One tag provides the following output: "Receive", "Loaded", "Unloaded". The other tag provides "Active", "Complete", "Incomplete". All outputs are string datatype. Currently I only care about "Receive" state. The conditions are like following:  
"Receive": "Active" \<-- Means conveyor running  
"Receive": "Complete" \<-- Receiving complete. Conveyor stop  
I want to run signal generator according to those conditions in order to have conveyor animation. There are several stations and each station has its own conveyor belt. Hence, I have several expression tags.

Now, how do I use those condition to run the signal generator component? This component is not flexible in terms of scripting as there are no custom properties option. I thought using Expression tag `{[PLC]tag_Path/path/{StationName}/Something.value}` I could pass "StationName" parameter which is custom property of the tamplate. Is there any other way to do this efficiently?

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**Author:** ![pascal.fragnoud](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pascal.fragnoud/32/24728_2.png) [@pascal.fragnoud](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pascal.fragnoud)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 8:40am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263/2 "2024-06-03T08:40:55Z")

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It's a bit unclear what you're asking exactly.  
Are you talking about a tag binding ?

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**Author:** ![Malhar\_Khairnar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Malhar\_Khairnar](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Malhar_Khairnar)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 9:10am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263/3 "2024-06-03T09:10:58Z")

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My bad let me make things more clear.

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**Author:** ![Hayden\_Watson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/hayden_watson/32/48792_2.png) [@Hayden\_Watson](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Hayden_Watson)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 9:44am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263/4 "2024-06-03T09:44:03Z")

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If you want an indirect tag in an expression you can use `tag()`, so it could be:

`tag([PLC]tag_Path/path/{StationName}/Something)` will return that indirect tags value

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**Author:** ![Malhar\_Khairnar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Malhar\_Khairnar](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Malhar_Khairnar)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 9:48am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263/5 "2024-06-03T09:48:27Z")

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yeah but using tag() causes performance issues.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pascal.fragnoud](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pascal.fragnoud/32/24728_2.png) [@pascal.fragnoud](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pascal.fragnoud)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 10:24am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263/6 "2024-06-03T10:24:10Z")

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> [@Malhar\_Khairnar](#):
>
> This component is not flexible in terms of scripting as there are no custom properties option

Do you mean you cannot add a custom property ? That seems odd to me. What component is it exactly ?

Using indirect tag bindings on custom properties for both tags, then using those in expressions, would be the best solution.

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**Author:** ![Malhar\_Khairnar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Malhar\_Khairnar](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Malhar_Khairnar)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 11:17am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263/7 "2024-06-03T11:17:01Z")

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That's signal generator component.  
 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/1/f/1f728f471815390aab45198e43333ff49693f200.png)

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**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 12:06pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/passing-a-parameter-in-a-tag-path-in-expression-tags/91263/8 "2024-06-03T12:06:48Z")

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If a component doesn't support custom props, and you need one, create the custom property on the container.

Nesting curly braces is completely unsupported. In a UI, the alternative approach is to move the subexpression to a custom property with an indirect binding. In expression tags-- **only** expression tags--you would use the `tag()` expression function.