In 7.9 when I imported tags from OPC, I could right click all those tags and select “Create Data Type from tags”.
Now in 8+ thats not possible anymore.
You can now just create a data type, copy the tags you want into the data type, and paste it while the datatype is selected.
However:
When you export the datatype as tags so you can edit it with notepad++ or similar tools, and then import it again, all the opc items paths are considered as strings and not a function. To make them bind correctly you have to edit each tag and then click “commit”.
Only then the path (which are complemented with udt parameters) gets completed.
In 7.9 it worked just fine.
Is there a way to make this easier?
Im dealing with HVAC/AHU units that consists of 500+ tags, and I got like 11 different vendors that I need to complete.
Clicking 500+ tags manually x 11 is abit pita when it worked flawlessly in 7.9
In 8.0, the “Create Type” functionality can now be found in the popup prompt when dragging selected tags from OPC Browser into the Data Types folder:
As for editing the OPC item paths in a text editor, any UDT tag props which are to be parameter bindings on import must be modified to include "bindType": "parameter" as part of its object. Otherwise as you’ve seen, they’ll be treated as values when the modified json tag file is imported.
Depending on the complexity of the parameter bindings you’d like to replace, you may find it easier to export the UDTs as xml instead, in which case boundValueType="parameter" would be added to the tag prop like so:
So this functionality is a step backwards from the old method of right clicking on a folder and creating a data type.
I’ve just been searching for how to do this, so that straight away is not good design.
Dragging from OPC is all well and good if you are only using elements from one udt in the OPC browser, but many times we use multiple elements in a single UDT, building it in a folder first and then right clicking on create UDT based on folder was simple and obvious.
Now I have to create a UDT and then paste the contents in? Which I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t have come upon this thread.
