GHT-200008A

How to Display a Variable on an HMI Screen

Variables can be displayed on a CIMPLICITY® HMI screen in the following ways:

• Use the drag-and-drop feature from the ToolboxST* application
• From CimEdit, use the Drag Variables To Screen option.
When using the drag-and-drop feature from a variable grid or the Select a Variable dialog box in the ToolboxST application,
a simple text object is created in the CimEdit window with the text expression set to the value of the variable. You can
also drag a variable to a custom, user-defined, CIMPLICITY-linked screen object. If the file HMIBlockMappings.xml
exists in the ToolboxST application’s HMIScreens folder, the entry for $Variable defines the custom screen object on
the screen when you drag a variable to a CimEdit window. The value of the variable is assigned to the screen object’s
varname variable.

Example:

HMIBlockMappings.xml file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

<root>

<Blocks>

<Block Name="$Variable" HmiScreenObj="variableDisplay"

HMILinkSource="C:\GEWorkstationST\HMIFiles\Library\ScreensObjects\General\
tp_WorkstationST_objects.cim" />

</Blocks>

</root>

This document is distributed for informational purposes only. It is furnished to its customer solely to assist in the installation, testing,
operation, and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced nor shall its contents be
disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Energy.

GHT-200008A Display a Variable on an HMI Screen 1

 The CIMPLICITY screen object variableDisplay
contains the variables varname. When you drag a
variable to a CIMPLICITY window, the variable name
(Name) is assigned as the Value of the varname.

In this example, the variableDisplay screen object is a group of three text objects containing the three expressions:
{varname}.Point_ID, {varname}, {varname}.Description.

The Properties dialog box

General tab displays the
Object type (Group) and
the assigned group Object
Name (variableDisplay).

The WorkstationST application’s integration with CIMPLICITY Advanced Viewer was enhanced by adding a Drag
Variables To Screen shortcut menu item to CimEdit. This allows you to easily browse for ToolboxST variables and add
them to the CimEdit window without opening the ToolboxST application. This feature is only available with CIMPLICITY
V7.5 Advanced Viewer. To enable this feature, the WorkstationST* HMI feature must be enabled, configured for HMI
Graphics without a project, and downloaded to the computer.

2 GHT-200008A Display a Variable on an HMI Screen

¾ To drag a variable to the CimEdit window

‹ From CimEdit, right-click to display the shortcut menu.

Select Drag Variables

To Screen. The Select
a Variable dialog box
displays.

GHT-200008A Display a Variable on an HMI Screen 3

 The drop-down menu allows browsing by
variable name or browsing by alias name.

From the Select a

Variable dialog box,
you can drag one or
more variables to the
CimEdit window by
selecting the variable
row header.

You can also drag a

variable's attribute to
the CimEdit window by
selecting the attribute
row header. When the
cursor is positioned in
the CimEdit window, it
changes to a + sign to
indicate a valid drop.

Note Variables can be configured with an alias property (alias name) in the ToolboxST application. The HMI
screens can then use the alias name to refer to the variable.

4 GHT-200008A Display a Variable on an HMI Screen

 The variables display as text
objects in the CimEdit window.

The default drag-and-drop operation creates a simple text object in the CimEdit window with the text expression set to the
value of the variable. This default text object can be changed to a user-defined custom text object. The above example
displays a custom user-defined $Variable object.

GHT-200008A Display a Variable on an HMI Screen 5

¾ To verify object properties
1. From CimEdit, right-click on the object to display the shortcut menu.
2. Select Properties. The Properties – Object dialog box displays.

Select the Text tab and

verify the variable and/or
attribute displays in the
String property and
Expression property boxes.

For further assistance or technical information, contact the nearest GE

Sales or Service Office, or an authorized GE Sales Representative
© 2009, General Electric Company, All rights reserved.

* Trademark of General Electric Company.

CIMPLICITY is a registered trademark of GE Fanuc Automation North America, Inc.

Issued: 090824
Revised: 090828