You might choose to create all your tags at one time, and then develop the entire operator interface once all tags have been completed, or you might choose to develop your applications in incremental steps, drawing each tag as it is created. In either case, one of the basic principles of VTS application development is to configure the tag first and the drawing method second.

 

The following steps are common when drawing any tag:

1.   Open the page that the tag is to be drawn in.

2.   Click the Configure button to open the Tag Browser.

3.   Select the tag you wish to draw in the Tag Browser’s list of available tags.

4.   Click the Draw button. A dialog featuring the drawing methods inherent to the selected tag’s type will be displayed.

5.   Click on the drawing method you wish to use to draw the tag.

The dialog box will hide and a sample image for that drawing method will be attached to the cursor. 

6.   Click on the page approximately where you want to place the object.

The VTS Graphic Editor will open, providing access to all the ways that you can change the appearance of the drawing method.  See: The VTS Graphic Editor for instructions.

7.   Click the OK button.

You will be returned to the Tag Browser.

 

You can represent a single tag using as many drawing methods as you see fit. For example, you might draw an analog input tag using one of the meters and also place a numeric drawing method below the meter.

 

You may notice that your recently drawn tag displays a question mark. This symbol indicates that the questionable data flag has been set for this tag (as it is for all new tags that are created).   Flags for questionable and manual indicators are discussed in the later topics within this section.