Templates

Info

Templates are the basis for picture definition. It cares for the structured and consitent display on the screen. Each process picture and each process table is opened in the screen area defined by the linked template.

Info

Every picture is based on a template. If no template exists, a default template with the full screen resolution is automatically created.

The general window properties (position, size, styling and possibilities for manipulation at the runtime) are defined within the templates. The template technique offers the following advantages:

1.	Overview over all windows defined in a project
2.	Functions can be assigned to special templates (quit picture, unselect picture, hardcopy, etc.)
3.	A change in a template changes all pictures which are based on this template.

Interactive moving or enlarging can be suppressed within the terms of a secure process management. The process pictures and tables thus always appear in the accustomed size and at the predefined position on the monitor. The pictures within a template can be exchanged at will in online operation. In the Editor the templates are created in the Project Manager in the folder Pictures in the subfolder Templates. The context menu offers the entry Open new template. The new template can be defined in the properties window.

Positioning

Templates can either be opened at a position defined by you or in relation to the mouse position. You can configure the relative position (left, right, etc.).

Relative positioning

Relative positioning is especially useful for loading pop-ups, keyboard pictures (e.g. SETVALUEKBD) or command input pictures. Relative positioning is performed for all picture switches, set value actions with keyboard pictures and all command input pictures started manually by the user. It does not matter whether the action was triggered by a picture switch function, a set value function or directly via an element. Relative positioning is available for:

dynamic elements to which you can allocate a function
dynamic elements, which you can use to send a set value (buttons, combined elements)
Main and context menus
picture type specific funtion "Execute function" in the picture "Alarm information list"

A fixed screen position is used for all other pictures that are loaded automatically by the system, e.g. by the time control or a limit violation.

Relative positining also works for nested function calls, i.e. when "Picture switch" or "Set value" are triggered by a script.

If the picture would stand over the screen border, it is automatically positioned at the screen border. This also applies to multi-monitor management, where picture would rise into the neighboring monitor.

Example

In the entire project a header line with the company logo and the current time should be displayed on the top border of the screen. A template 'Header' is defined for this area. This template defines the size and position of the header line. At the bottom of the screen there should always be a button bar, so a template for the button bar is created. Inbetween there are the process pictures. For these the template 'Process picture' is created. All pictures created then are linked to one of these templates and in the Runtime opened in it. This has the advantage, that each button bar is always displayed in the same size and position. The same is true for the header line and the process pictures. If the screen arrangement should be changed, because e.g. the header line should become a footer linel, the changes for the position only have to be set in the templates, the pictures stay unchanged.

Info

The same template name must not be used in global and normal projects.