# System startup and shutdown alarm display path **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Created:** [March 25, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/system-startup-and-shutdown-alarm-display-path/104126 "2025-03-25T00:06:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mdemaris](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/mdemaris/32/54639_2.png) [@mdemaris](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/mdemaris)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/system-startup-and-shutdown-alarm-display-path/104126/1 "2025-03-25T00:06:43Z")
Is it possible to give the system events a display path like `system` instead of an empty string? I would like to set some filters on our Alarm Journal so I can use a second Journal, but I feel that would filter out the system events. Unless it's possible to filter on an empty string? ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 3:30pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/system-startup-and-shutdown-alarm-display-path/104126/2 "2025-03-25T15:30:55Z")
Alarm journal where? System generated events have a creatively named `isSystem` property available you can use for filtering. ---
**Author:** ![mdemaris](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/mdemaris/32/54639_2.png) [@mdemaris](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/mdemaris)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/system-startup-and-shutdown-alarm-display-path/104126/3 "2025-03-25T15:56:28Z")
> [@paul-griffith](#): > > Alarm journal where? Gateway? Not sure what you mean. Can I use the `isSystem` property in the Alarm source or display path filters? I suppose I could use this `evt:System Startup` in the source filter. But, if I choose to use Source and Display path filtering, ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/8/4/84de5be3d0a4e229fd5835f1fd02c31f41a6919c.png) Is there a way to use both so that I could filter `where displaypath = 'Line1' OR source = 'system'`? If I am reading the filtering description properly, and the video is true, then each filter filters like this: `where displaypath = 'Line1' AND source = 'system'`. I want to be sure I understand exactly how I can filter alarm events to the Journal before I make changes, because we have only one Journal setup for the entire plant and I don't want to miss something critical! ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/system-startup-and-shutdown-alarm-display-path/104126/4 "2025-03-25T16:05:50Z")
Ah, okay, I wasn't sure if you were referring to one of the components in Vision/Perspective (which have access to the underlying objects to filter) or the raw component configuration. Moving this filtering to the components _might_ be your path forward. Most important thing first: > [@mdemaris](#): > > I want to be sure I understand exactly how I can filter alarm events to the Journal before I make changes, because we have only one Journal setup for the entire plant and I don't want to miss something critical! I'd highly recommend setting up a _new_ alarm journal (you can use the 'local' type) for testing, _before_ you touch your main configuration. That said: > [@mdemaris](#): > > If I am reading the filtering description properly, and the video is true, then each filter filters like this: `where displaypath = 'Line1' AND source = 'system'`. My understanding from the code (admittedly the description is a bit ambiguous) is that successive filters (comma separated) within a single property are OR-ed together. However, the source filter is AND-ed with the display path filter, and that is AND-ed with the display path or source filter. ---
**Author:** ![mdemaris](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/mdemaris/32/54639_2.png) [@mdemaris](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/mdemaris)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/system-startup-and-shutdown-alarm-display-path/104126/5 "2025-03-25T16:20:27Z")
I have a new Journal started, but I am not sure how to test it without making changes to the main Journal. Currently there are no filters on the main Journal, so, if I understand correctly, in order for the new Journal to capture anything, I would have to set filters on the main Journal so it doesn't take everything. Does that sound right? Now, if there were an option in the tag alarm properties to choose which Journal to use, that could be useful for development. With multiple Journals, would one Alarm table or Journal component be able to see alarms from all the alarm journals by default? ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/system-startup-and-shutdown-alarm-display-path/104126/6 "2025-03-25T16:22:54Z")
You don't pick journals like you pick history providers. _All_ alarm events are always delivered to all journals, and it is up to the journal's settings which events it wants to log or not. So if you have a second alarm journal configured with the same filters as the first, each new event that happens will be logged to both journals. On the individual journal table **components** you do have to pick a particular alarm journal to _query_ information out of. ---
**Author:** ![mdemaris](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/mdemaris/32/54639_2.png) [@mdemaris](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/mdemaris)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/system-startup-and-shutdown-alarm-display-path/104126/7 "2025-03-25T22:02:37Z")
Found it: [https://docs.inductiveautomation.com/docs/8.1/platform/alarming/alarm-journal](https://docs.inductiveautomation.com/docs/8.1/platform/alarming/alarm-journal) **Data Filters** The three data filter properties ( **Filter by Alarm Source** , **Filter by Display Path** , and **Filter by Display Path or Source** ) interact via logical AND, meaning an alarm must meet the criteria for all three for it to be logged in the Journal. Thus, if you supply values for all three Data Filter properties, then an alarm must match the configuration on all three properties. Example: If a journal has values for all three properties, and an alarm only meets the requirements for **Filter by Alarm Source** and **Filter by Display Path or Source** , but not **Filter by Display Path** , then the alarm will not be logged to the Journal. If you want to filter on both the Display Path and Source Path, you would want to use only one of the two following approaches: - Filter by Alarm Source and Filter by Display Path - Only use Filter by Display Path or Source It is recommended to avoid using all three properties simultaneously on the same Journal. ---
**Author:** ![mdemaris](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/mdemaris/32/54639_2.png) [@mdemaris](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/mdemaris)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/system-startup-and-shutdown-alarm-display-path/104126/8 "2025-03-26T00:00:08Z")
Also, just ran a test, using an empty string like `""` does not allow for capturing any alarms without a display path.