Newbie at AHMI and Visual Studio

[gvinson]

Hello, I just am getting started and so far so good.  Was able to put up a panel meter and get it communicating with my PLC.   Where is the best place to get documentation on the various components in the toolbox?  For example, I have no idea what the datasubscriber does and would like to know more about it and it's properties. 

Thanks!

[hektop]

There is a Tips & Tricks under the general category, there you can find some useful Information. In there I found this article that talks about DataSubscribers hope it helps.

http://advancedhmi.com/forum/index.php?topic=1119.0

[Archie]

A good place to start with documentation is the BasicLabel Training manual available on the main web site. Although its main focus is the BasicLabel, many of the principles apply to all controls. Understanding the concept of the ComComponent and how the PLCAddress properties work, go a long way in better understanding the software.

[gvinson]

Thanks Archie!  I downloaded the basic label pdf and it was very helpful.  In my project I need buttons that when pressed send a specific value to the PLC.  For example I will need a start button that when pressed it sends a 62 to the PLC.  Can this be done with the "Meter and Buttons" components?  Also are there any components in your library that function like mult-state indicators?  For example I would like to show a state of a PLC register with a label that reads the value out of a register and displays the state with text.  If 62 = start, 63 = off, 68 = idle, then I would like the indicator to display a message based on what value is in the register. 

Thanks for your help!

[Archie]

In my project I need buttons that when pressed send a specific value to the PLC.  For example I will need a start button that when pressed it sends a 62 to the PLC.  Can this be done with the "Meter and Buttons" components?  Also are there any components in your library that function like mult-state indicators?  For example I would like to show a state of a PLC register with a label that reads the value out of a register and displays the state with text.  If 62 = start, 63 = off, 68 = idle, then I would like the indicator to display a message based on what value is in the register. 

The BasicButton has a property of OutputType, set that to WriteValue, then set the ValueToWrite property

The MessageDisplayByValue will display messages based on a value from the PLC. There is an IniFile property that lets you specify a text file or you can hard code them into Messages

[gvinson]

Thanks Archie!!  A couple of more questions:  Is there a way to link a basic label to a property field?  I would like to have the user input the Communication IP address in from the form via a label that would the be linked to the ModbusTCP1 PLC  IP address property.  Also, I need to read a string of characters from consecutive registers in the PLC.  Is there a way to do this from the available library components without writing code?

[Darrell]

Ive done this with a bevel Button Display , I think with the help from someone on this forum, Click the button to force a value and then displayed the value in a label so I knew it changed ,

Private Sub BevelButtonDisplay28_Click_1(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles BevelButtonDisplay28.Click
        'Writes the value from Button into the PLC address
        Try
            EthernetIPforSLCMicroCom1.Write("N27:7", 16383)
        Catch ex As System.Exception
            System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
        End Try
    End Sub


value to write might be a nice addition to this button

Darrell