Schematics

Draw your system with symbols, show live values on it, and connect valves to hardware.

A schematic draws your system with symbols for tanks, valves, pumps, and sensors. Each symbol can show the latest value of a channel, and an operator can click a valve or a button to command hardware. Use a schematic as the operator view of a test stand.

To try one, download the example schematic and drop it on the panels area of the Console.

Create a schematic

1. Click in the tab bar, or press Ctrl+T (Cmd+T on macOS).
2. Select Schematic.

You can also run the “Create schematic” command from the command palette. The new schematic opens with editing on.

Turn editing on and off

Move the pointer over the schematic to show its controls in the top right. Click

(Enable editing) to add, move, and configure symbols. Click (Disable editing) to stop.

A schematic opens with editing on the first time you open it in a window. Turn editing off before an operator uses it. While editing is on, a click selects a symbol and does not command hardware.

You cannot turn on editing while you have control of the schematic. Open the component toolbar and click Release control and enable editing.

Add symbols

1. Turn on editing.
2. Press V to open the component toolbar, then select the Symbols tab.
3. Search for a symbol, or select a group: General, Vessels, Valves, Pumps, Flowmeters, Process, Safety, or Fittings.
4. Click a symbol to add it at the center of the schematic, or drag it to a position.

To draw your own symbol, see custom symbols.

Connect symbols

Move the pointer over a symbol to show its handles. Drag from one handle to a handle of a different symbol to draw a connection line.

Show a live value

1. Add a Value symbol from the General group.
2. Select it, then open the Properties tab of the component toolbar.
3. On the Telemetry tab, select the Channel.

The symbol shows the latest value of the channel. To set the number format and when the value shows as stale, see the Telemetry tab.

Connect a valve to hardware

1. Add a valve, a switch, or a button.
2. Select it, then open the Control tab of its properties.
3. Under Command, select the Channel that the Console writes to when an operator clicks the symbol.
4. Under State, select the Channel that reports the position of the valve.

To command the valve, turn off editing and click the valve. To take and release control, and to see what each symbol writes, see manual control.

Show the device state on a setpoint

A Setpoint, Text input, or Select symbol shows the last value written to its command channel. To also show the value that the device reports, give the symbol a state channel:

1. Select the symbol, then open the Control tab of its properties.
2. Under Command, select the Channel that the Console writes to when an operator clicks Set.
3. Under State, select the Channel that reports the value of the device.

The reported value shows under the field. For a text input, the State list shows only string, json, and bytes channels. To send a value, see manual control.

Select and arrange symbols

While editing is on, the controls have two modes: Select and Pan. In Select mode, drag a box to select every symbol inside it. Hold Ctrl (Cmd on macOS) or Shift and click to add a symbol to the selection or remove it.

With two or more symbols selected, the Properties tab shows:

• Arrange -> align, rotate, and, with three or more symbols, space them evenly.
• Colors -> the Stroke, Fill, and Text colors. The Selection swatches list each color in use. Change a swatch to recolor every symbol that uses it.
• Each settings group that a selected symbol has, such as Label, Staleness, or Number format. A change applies only to the symbols that have the group.

To group symbols, select them and press Ctrl+G. Double-click a symbol in a group to select it alone.

Change the type of a symbol

1. Turn on editing and select one or more symbols.
2. In the header of the component toolbar, click Change next to the symbol name.
3. On the Symbols tab, click the new symbol.

The new symbol keeps the label, channels, and colors that it accepts. A label that still shows the default name of the old symbol changes to the name of the new symbol. One undo reverses the change for the whole selection. To stop without a change, click Cancel.

You cannot change a group, or a symbol in a locked group.

Link to other views

Use an Off page symbol from the General group to open a different schematic, line plot, log, or table of the same project.

1. Add an Off page symbol and select it.
2. Under Navigation, select the Page to open.
3. Set Click mode to Single or Double.

When editing is off, a click or double-click on the symbol opens the page in a tab.

Reference

Component toolbar

Press V or double-click the schematic to open the component toolbar. The header has

(Export layout) and (Copy link). See share.

Only users with permission to edit the schematic see the tabs Symbols, Properties, and Control.

Navigate the canvas

Click (Fit view to contents) to show every symbol. Hold Ctrl (Cmd on macOS) and click an empty part of the schematic to do the same.

Properties tabs

The Properties tab shows different tabs for each kind of symbol.

Style tab

A solenoid valve also has Normally open, which swaps its open and closed look. A custom symbol has State overrides. See custom symbols.

Telemetry tab

Control tab

Valves, pumps, switches, setpoints, text inputs, selects, and other actuators have these fields:

On a setpoint, text input, or select, the state channel sets the value under the field.

A button has these fields:

A button has no label at first. Set one under Label on the Style tab. For what each mode writes, see manual control.

Options tab

A state indicator shows the option that matches the value of its channel. Click Add option to add one, then give it a name, a value, and a color. The value must match exactly. When no option matches, the symbol shows Unknown. Two options cannot have the same value.

Redline tab

A value symbol can change its background color when the value passes a threshold. See redlines.

Schematic control settings

The Control tab of the component toolbar applies to the whole schematic, in this Console window only.

Keyboard shortcuts

These work while editing is on. On macOS, use Cmd for Ctrl.

Right-click the schematic for the same actions in a menu.

Troubleshooting

A valve does nothing when I click it

Fix

See Control troubleshooting for the causes and their fixes.

I cannot turn on editing

Cause

You have control of the schematic.

Fix

1. Open the component toolbar.
2. Click Release control and enable editing.

The component toolbar has no Symbols tab

Cause

You cannot edit the schematic.

Fix

• You do not have permission -> ask an administrator for access.
• The schematic is a snapshot -> a snapshot cannot change. Open the schematic that the snapshot came from.

A value shows the stale color

Cause

No new sample arrived within the Timeout on the Telemetry tab.

Fix

Check that a task or a script writes to the channel.