Trouble configuring DeltaV.AlarmSummary activex (?) object on a custom faceplate

Our site has used custom faceplates for nearly all common modules for 15 years & migrated them all from Fix32 to iFix, etc. Today I am attempting to add an "Alarm Summary" object like the one on the factory (frs) faceplates and I can't figure out how to get it to behave the way (I think) it does on the standard one. It could be some secret stealth bit of code I'm missing in the "initialize" or "activate" section of the script . . .

What I want is for the faceplate's alarm summary to only load active alarms for the specific module associated with the faceplate. There's a tab on the "properties" dialog box where one selects an option (I don't recall the exact wording) like "present context only" which one would think would do the trick. But instead I'm getting the entire alarm summary for all the areas associated with the station.

I've checked my configured properties versus the factory faceplate and even copied the frs faceplate alarm summary over to the custom faceplate, to no avail. Am I correct to expect I can filter only the alarms from the module in question on the faceplate's "mini" alarm summary? Can anyone help me with what I'm missing here?

Thanks, John

  • I found that this has solved the problem for me before if I understand the issue right. This line must be added to the CFixPicture_LoadedTagGroup script: frszSetASCContext Me, ps_nm.CurrentValue.
  • In reply to jasonbum:

    So, this line of VB gets the alarm summary object to be restricted to the module context. Thanks for the quick reply / suggestion.

    Update: So there is some VB code that copies over with the DVCtrlAlmSum when it's copied from a factory faceplate. While the usual esoteric (documented somewhere?) procedure calls are invoked e.g. "frszASGetColorTableEntries", none of these are there when the summary is inserted as an OLE object. Custom priority colors (and perhaps some other necessary functionality) won't display correctly without them.

    We are using this to give operators two-click access to alarm help. Anyone have a cleaner way of getting a clickable "Alarm Help" target to appear on a module faceplate, other than using the alarm summary (DVCtrlAlmSum) OLE object?

     

  • In reply to John Rezabek:

    Hi John,

    You are correct that the function that needs to be present is "frszSetASCContext Me, ps_nm.CurrentValue". The function "frsz" indicates that it is present in the global file and "z" indicates a hidden procedure. Therefore you will not be able to view the actual code behind this function easily.

    This function basically sets the filtering to the current module name which gets populated in the ps_nm variable present on the faceplate.

    Regards,

    Purnendu

    Purnendu Saptarshi

    Automation Engineer | Skellig Automation US LLC | Greater Boston Area, MA