RSTechED 2010

MI03 FactoryTalk VantagePoint: Build an

Information System on your Integrated
Architecture System

Presenter: Mark Yep

Rockwell Software

Copyright 2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc.

MI03 FactoryTalk VantagePoint: Build an

Information System on your Integrated Architecture

Contents
Before you begin......................................................................................................................................... 5
About this lab ................................................................................................................................................ 5
FactoryTalk Connector ............................................................................................................................... 7
Lab: Creating a FactoryTalk Connector ........................................................................................................ 7
FactoryTalk Live Data ............................................................................................................................... 13
Lab: Importing FactoryTalk Live Data Structures ....................................................................................... 13
Lab: Importing FactoryTalk Live Data Tags ................................................................................................ 23
Lab: Creating an Excel Report.................................................................................................................... 31
FactoryTalk Historian ............................................................................................................................... 37
Lab: Importing FactoryTalk Historian Tags ................................................................................................. 37
Lab: Creating a Trend Report ..................................................................................................................... 43
VantagePoint-Specific Tags..................................................................................................................... 47
Lab: Using a Calculated Tag to Evaluate Expressions............................................................................... 47
Logix Data Types ...................................................................................................................................... 53
Lab: Mapping a Logix Data Type ................................................................................................................ 53
Advanced Reporting ................................................................................................................................. 69
Lab: Using SQL Post-Processing in the Excel Add-In ................................................................................ 69

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Before you begin

About this lab

This lab provides a deep dive into FactoryTalk VantagePoint including connecting to FactoryTalk Live
Data, FactoryTalk Historian, and 3rd-party connections. View pre-configured reports and learn how to use
the tools to configure reports and trends. Gain additional skills on the analysis and reporting tools that are
part of the product offering.
This lab takes approximately 2 hours to complete.

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FactoryTalk Connector

Lab: Creating a FactoryTalk Connector

In this lab the participant will create a connection to a FactoryTalk Directory. As a result, information
defined in the FactoryTalk Directory will be exposed as potential data sources for VantagePoint to use.
The lab goes through the steps of creating the connector and browsing the directory namespace for
known Historian, Live Data, and Alarms and Events data sources. The participant will learn how a
connection is made to FactoryTalk sources in VantagePoint Manager.
Start VantagePoint Manager
1. Ensure you are on the VM-FTVPSVR virtual machine (VM) image. To check the name of the virtual
image you are currently on, minimize all open windows and you should see the virtual image name in
the background image used for the desktop. Stay on this VM image till you are asked to switch to the
other image.
2. Launch VantagePoint Manager (Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk
VantagePoint > Manager).
NOTE: You can also launch VantagePoint Manager from VantagePoint Portal.
To do this, first navigate to VantagePoint Portal. You can get to the Portal in one of two ways:

Launch Internet Explorer and browse to this URL - http://vm-ftvpsvr/VantagePointPortal/. Here,

vm-ftvpsvr is the name of the VantagePoint server. If it is different, replace accordingly.

Launch VantagePoint Portal from the Start menu (Start > Programs > Rockwell Software >
FactoryTalk VantagePoint > Portal).

Then, in VantagePoint Portal, select this menu item Tools > Manager.

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Create a FactoryTalk connector

1. In the model (tree-like structure on the left), navigate to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.

2. Right-click on the FactoryTalk node and select New > Item.

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3. In the User name field, enter ftvpadmin. In the Password field, enter ftvpadmin.
NOTE: The directory host name is set automatically depending on the settings in FactoryTalk
Administration Console.
If an existing login is used, the login user must be in the Administrators and FTHAdministrators
groups in FactoryTalk Security.

4. Click Next.

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5. Select the option No, thank you and click Finish.

View the FactoryTalk Connector

1. In the model, navigate to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.
2. Right-click on the localhost node and select Expand All.

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3. Navigate to System.Common.Connectors.FactoryTalk.ImportRules.DataTypes and expand the

DataTypes node. These are the Logix Data Types for which import rules have been defined. We will
come back to this topic in a later lab exercise.

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Notes

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FactoryTalk Live Data

Lab: Importing FactoryTalk Live Data Structures

In this lab the participant will import some FactoryTalk Live Data Structures. The lab goes through the
steps of browsing the selected Logix processor for system-defined structures (SDTs) and user-defined
structures (UDTs) and then importing them into VantagePoint as defined data type structures. This
information is then leveraged when creating or viewing reports that reference this structured data.
1. Launch VantagePoint Manager (Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk
VantagePoint > Manager).
2. In the model, navigate to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.
3. Right-click on the localhost node and select Import.

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4. Select the option I would like to import FactoryTalk Live Data tags and click Next.

5. Select the option I would like to import Logix controller structures as VanagePoint items and
click Next.

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6. In the tree structure, browse to the folder FTVP App > CLX1. The dialog should like the following
screenshot.

7. Click Next.

8. Click the ellipsis () button next to the Select a project file (.acd) for CLX1 field.

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9. Browse to the ACD file FTVP_Simulations_v1.ACD in the location provided to you by your
Instructor. Click Open.

10. Click Next.

11. The next dialog shows the known structures being used in the referenced control program. Remove
all selections by clicking the Unselect All button. Then check the ALARM_DIGITAL checkbox. See
screenshot below.

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12. Click the View Tags button.

13. Click Close.

14. Click Next.
15. Highlight the WC row by clicking on it.

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16. Click the View Tags button.

17. Click Close.

18. Now check the box in the WC row.

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19. Click Next.

20. Click Next.

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21. Click Finish. Upon completion of the import operation, you will see the following dialog.

22. Click OK.

23. All digital alarms have been imported as System-Defined Structures (SDTs). You can view these
items by browsing the model System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online. For example, you can navigate to
System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online.Program:CapperD.ALMD_Blocked.

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24. In the General tab on the right, note that the Item type property has the value
FTVP.StandardTypes.ALARM_DIGITAL.
25. All WC or workcells were imported as generic User-Defined Structures (UDTs). You can view these
workcells by browsing to this location System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online. For example, you can navigate to
System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online.Program:CapperD.WC_L.

26. In the General tab, note that the Item type property has the value
Connector.FactoryTalk.Logical.UDT.

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Notes

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Lab: Importing FactoryTalk Live Data Tags

In this lab the participant will import some FactoryTalk Live Data tags. The lab goes through the steps of
browsing the FactoryTalk Directory namespace for available FactoryTalk Live Data tags and then
importing them into VantagePoint. The participant will explore how to use the Import Wizard to import
data points available on a FactoryTalk connector.
1. Launch VantagePoint Manager.
2. In the model, navigate to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.
3. Right-click on the localhost node and select Import.
4. Select the option I would like to import FactoryTalk Live Data tags and click Next.

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5. Select the option I would like to import simple tags from Logix controllers and other data
servers and click Next.

6. You should see the dialog below.

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7. In the Tag Folders structure, browse to the following folder FTVP App > CLX1 > Online >
DispenserLine and click the > button. The dialog should like the following screenshot.

8. Similarly, add the following folders as well:

Program:CapperD

Program:CapperR

Program:FillerD

Program:FillerR

Program:LabelerD

Program:LabelerR

Program:PackD

Program:PackR

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9. The dialog should like the following screenshot.

10. Click Next.

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11. Click Finish. The import may take up to 4-5 minutes. Wait for the import to complete.

12. Click OK.

13. You will see the imported folder structure and the tags contained in them in this location
System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP App.CLX1.Online.
14. For example, click on System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online.DispenserLine to view the tags in this folder.

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15. A shortcut to the imported folder structure was created during the import. First refresh the view by
. Now browse to this location to view the shortcut
clicking on the Refresh button
MyEnterprise.FactoryTalk.Applications. You can, for example, view the DispenserLine folder by
navigating to MyEnterprise.FactoryTalk.Applications.FTVP App.CLX1.Online.DispenserLine.

Viewing the HistorizedTag Property

1. Continuing from the previous section, now click on
System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP App.CLX1.Online.Program:CapperD
to view the tags in this folder.

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2. Turn on filtering by clicking the filter icon

and filter on the text temperature. In the list view below,
you will see the tag Temperature1. Click on it.

3. On the right, select the Properties tab. Note that the HistorizedTag property is blank. Later when,
we import tags from FactoryTalk Historian, we will find that this property will be filled in automatically
with the Fully Qualified Name (FQN) of the corresponding FactoryTalk Historian tag.

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Notes

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Lab: Creating an Excel Report

In this lab the participant will create and publish a FactoryTalk VantagePoint Excel report using data
retrieved from the FactoryTalk Live Data structures imported in previous lab exercises.
The Excel report will display the current work order information for the Dispenser Line by retrieving the
live values of the tags previously imported.
1. Launch Excel (Start > Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Excel 2007).
2. In Excel, click on the Add-Ins tab in the ribbon. Select VantagePoint > Insert Function.

3. We want the Current Value option so we will keep the default. Click Next.

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4. In the model, navigate to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP

App.CLX1.Online.DispenserLine.CustomerName.CustomerName[0].

5. Click on the tag CustomerName[0] in the items pane below and click the > button to select it.

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6. Similarly, select the following tags.

System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online.DispenserLine.OrderName.OrderName[0].OrderName[0]

System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online.DispenserLine.OrderNumber.OrderNumber[0]

System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online.DispenserLine.PartName.PartName[0].PartName[0]

7. Click Next.
8. Click Finish.

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9. Ensure the Add-Ins tab is still selected. Click VantagePoint > Publish.

10. In the dialog that appears, click Next.

11. Click Next again.
12. In the model browser on the left, select MyEnterprise.Public. On the right, for the Name field, enter
the text My Live Data Report.

13. Click Next.

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14. Check the Browse to published report option.

15. Click Finish.

16. In this lab exercise, we retrieved live data from a data source, in this case, FactoryTalk Live Data.
Similarly, we can retrieve data (e.g. live and historical data) from any of the data sources configured
in VantagePoint.

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Notes

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FactoryTalk Historian

Lab: Importing FactoryTalk Historian Tags

In this lab the participant will import tags defined in a FactoryTalk Historian server. The lab goes through
the steps of connecting to a FactoryTalk Historian server and importing the tag definitions into
VantagePoint. The participant will explore how FactoryTalk Historian tags are imported into VantagePoint
Manager.
Import FactoryTalk Historian Tags
1. Launch VantagePoint Manager.
2. In the model, navigate to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.
3. Right-click on the localhost node and select Import.
4. Select the option I would like to import FactoryTalk Historian tags and click Next.

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5. Check the Production Historian option and click Finish.

6. You will see the following dialog when the import has completed.

7. Click OK.
8. In the model, navigate to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Historians.Production
Historian.Tags.

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9. You should see all the Historian tags imported. Make sure filtering is turned off to see the complete
list of tags. If filtering is on, you can turn it off by clicking on the Filter button

again.

Correlation of a FactoryTalk Live Data tag with its corresponding FactoryTalk Historian tag
1. Navigate to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online.Program:CapperD to view the tags in this folder.
2. Turn on filtering and filter on the text temperature.

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3. In the list view below, you will see the tag Temperature1. Click on it.

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4. In the Properties tab on the right, note that the HistorizedTag property is no longer blank. This
property has been filled in automatically with the Fully Qualified Name (FQN) of the corresponding
FactoryTalk Historian tag. In this example, the tag FactoryTalk Historian tag is
System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Historians.Production
Historian.Tags.[CapperD.Temperature1]. You may have to close VantagePoint Manager and open
it again to refresh this property.

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Notes

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Lab: Creating a Trend Report

In this lab the participant will create a trend using historical data retrieved from some of the FactoryTalk
Historian tags imported in the previous lab.
The participant will create an ad-hoc Trend report to show a comparison of FillerDs temperature versus
FillerRs temperature by retrieving the historical values of the two tags.
1. Launch VantagePoint Trend (Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk VantagePoint
> Trend).
2. In Trend, navigate to this location in the model
System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Historians.Production Historian.Tags.
3. Select the filter icon

4. Enter temperature in the Name field.

5. The list of tags is filtered to only show tags that contain temperature in the tag name. Find the
following two tags in the tags list (below the model browser) and drag-and-drop them into the trace
window on the right.

System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Historians.Production Historian.Tags.
Program:FillerD.Temperature1

System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Historians.Production Historian.Tags.
Program:FillerR.Temperature1

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6. Click the Stack Y-axes button

. In the time bar, select Last 10 minutes from the drop-down list.
You should have something like the screenshot below.

Correlation of a FactoryTalk Live Data tag with its corresponding FactoryTalk Historian tag
We will now trend historical data for a FactoryTalk Live Data tag that is correlated with its corresponding
FactoryTalk Historian tag
1. In Trend, close the current trace window by clicking File > Close. Click No when prompted to save
changes.
2. Start a new trace window by clicking File > New.
3. In the model browser, click on System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP
App.CLX1.Online.Program:CapperD to view the tags in this folder.
4. Filter on the text temperature.
5. In the list view below, you will see the tag Temperature1. Drag it to the trace window.

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6. Clear the text in the filter field and turn off filtering by clicking the filter icon.

7. In this lab exercise, we retrieved and analyzed historical data from a data source, in this case,
FactoryTalk Historian. Similarly, we can analyze data from any of the historical data sources (e.g.
third-party historians) configured in VantagePoint. Also, just like the Excel report we published in an
earlier lab exercise, we can also publish this Trend report so that it is accessible to users at other
client workstations.

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Notes

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VantagePoint-Specific Tags

Lab: Using a Calculated Tag to Evaluate Expressions

A calculated tag is a tag whose value is the result of evaluating an expression. The expression can
include references to other tags, as well as constants and functions in shared libraries. In this lab you will
create a calculated tag to evaluate an expression.
Create a Calculated Tag
1. Launch VantagePoint Manager.
2. In the folder MyEnterprise.Public, create a new folder using your own name. We have used Tony
Stark as an example. Then, navigate to MyEnterprise.Public.<Your Name> and create a new
folder there called Calculated Tags.

3. Right-click the Calculated Tags folder and select New > Item.

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4. In the Types tab at the bottom of the dialog, select the Core.Tag shortcut (you may have to scroll
down a bit to see the shortcut). Then, at the top, expand Core.Tag. Expand
Connector.Incuity.Calculation.Tag. Select the discrete tag item
Connector.Incuity.Calculation.DIscreteTag and click the Create button at the bottom of the dialog.

5. In the next dialog, enter PumpIsRunning for the Name and Tracks when extruder pump is running for
the Description.

6. Click Edit Expression. This opens the Expression Editor.

7. In the Expression Editor, click the If button.

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8. Highlight the text condition in the expression. Then click Item Value.

9. In the model browser dialog, navigate to MyEnterprise.Samples.Production.Chicago

Plant.Lines.Line 1.Equipment.Extruder001.
10. Select the Start Command property and then click OK.

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11. The Expression Editor should resemble the following image. Click OK.

12. Click Test Expression to evaluate your expression.

13. Click Close in the Test Results dialog, then click OK in the Expression Editor dialog.

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14. Select the Properties tab. This is where you can enter a display value for the results of your
expression. Enter the text Pump is running in the True message field and Pump is stopped in the
False message field. Then click Create.

15. Launch Trend.

16. Navigate to MyEnterprise.Public.<Your Name>.Calculated Tags. Select the PumpIsRunning tag
and drag it onto the trace area. You can also double click the tag to place it on the trace area.
17. Turn on discrete shading. You can do this by selecting an area in the trend then right-clicking and
selecting Properties > Trace. In the Properties dialog, check Enable shading checkbox (in the
Discrete tags section) and click OK. Your trend should look similar to the following screenshot.

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Notes

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Logix Data Types

Lab: Mapping a Logix Data Type

Certain Logix Data Types such as User-Defined Types (UDTs) and some System-Defined Types (SDTs)
or Predefined Types are not known to VantagePoint when VantagePoint is first installed. That is, there
are no import rules defined in VantagePoint for these Data Types. When these Data Types are imported,
they will be mapped to a generic VantagePoint Type (Connector.FactoryTalk.Logical.UDT) and Instances
of these different Logix Data Types will not be distinguishable from each other in VantagePoint.
To preserve the uniqueness of these Logix Data Types, corresponding VantagePoint Types can be
created and import rules can be defined to map each Logix Data Type to an equivalent VantagePoint
Type. The import rule would specify the VantagePoint Type we want to map the Logix Data Type to, and
the members of the Logix Data Type which are to be mapped to the properties of the VantagePoint Type.
Once the import rule is created and the structures (instantiated Logix Data Types) are imported, all
Instances of these Logix Data Types, for which import rules have been defined, will become available as
Instances of the specified Types in VantagePoint. Users can then leverage this in the model when
creating template reports against these Types.
In this lab, the participant will map a UDT called WorkOrder to a VantagePoint Type called
RSSamples.WorkOrder.WorkOrder.
View the UDT and Structure in RSLogix 5000
1. Switch to the VM-FTSOURCES virtual machine (VM) image.
2. Launch RSLogix 5000 (Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > RSLogix 5000 Enterprise Series
> RSLogix 5000).
3. Click on File > Open then navigate to C:\RSLogix 5000\Projects.
4. Select the file FTVP_Simulations_v1.ACD and then click the Open button.

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5. In the tree view window on the left, browse to the folder Data Types > User Defined and select
WorkOrder.

6. Double-click WorkOrder. Note the list of Members and also the Data Type of each Member.

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7. In the tree view window, right-click on the WorkOrder node and select Monitor Tags.

8. Note that WO_DB contains an array, of size 10, of the data type WorkOrder.

9. Expand WO_DB. Note that the Data Type of WO_DB[0] is WorkOrder. Click on the plus sign (+)
next to WO_DB[0] to expand this node. Note the Data Types of each of the members and also the
values.

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View the Type in Type Builder

1. Switch back to the VM-FTVPSVR virtual machine (VM) image.
2. Launch Type Builder (Start > Programs > Rockwell Software > Rockwell Software VantagePoint
> Type Builder).
3. Click File > Open and open the Type Package RSSample.WorkOrder.itp provided to you by your
Instructor.
4. Note that the Type RSSamples.WorkOrder.WorkOrder has been created with properties that
correspond to the members of the Data Type.

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5. Note also that Members of the Logix Data Type that are of the Data Type STRING have
corresponding Type properties that of the Sub Data Type Core.StringTag. For INT, it is
Core.IntegerTag.
NOTE: As a reference, here is a list of the recommended VantagePoint SubData Types to use when
creating VantagePoint Types to match a given Logix Data Type.
Native Logix Data Types
STRING
INT, SINT, DINT
REAL
BOOL

VantagePoint SubData Types

Core.StringTag
Core.IntegerTag
Core.FloatTag
Core.DiscreteTag

Import the Type Package in VantagePoint Manager

1. Launch VantagePoint Manager.
2. Click File > Import Type Package and import the Type package file RSSamples.WorkOrder.itp we
just viewed.
View the Mapping Rule Definitions
1. If the instance view is not selected, click View > Items.
2. Navigate to System.Common.Connectors.FactoryTalk.ImportRules.DataTypes and expand the
DataTypes node.

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3. Import Rules have been defined for the Data Types you see listed. Note that currently no Import Rule
has been defined for the Logix Data Type WorkOrder.
Specify the Mapping WorkOrder
1. Right-click on the DataTypes node and select New > Item.
2. In the Name field, enter WorkOrder and click the Create button.

3. Below the WorkOrder Instance, right-click on the MappingRule node and select Assign Item.

4. Click the New button at the bottom of the dialog.

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5. Select Connector.FactoryTalk.MapType. Click Create.

6. In both the Name and ItemType fields, enter RSSamples.WorkOrder.WorkOrder.

7. Click Create.
8. Below Mapping Rule, right-click on the Members node and select New > Item.

9. In the Name field, enter CustomerName. In the PropertyName, enter Customer Name Note that
there is a space between the words Customer and Name. In the Type field, enter STRING. The
dialog should look exactly like the screenshot below.

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10. Click Create.

11. Repeat steps 8 to 10 and create rules for all Members in the table below. Note that we have already
created the rule for the first Member in the list. Pay special attention to the spaces between words
and for the last Member Name, to how the Property Name Order Quantity is different compared to the
Member Name OrderQty.
Member Name
CustomerName
PartName
OrderName
OrderNumber
OrderQty

Property Name
Customer Name
Part Name
Order Name
Order Number
Order Quantity

Type
STRING
STRING
STRING
INT
INT

12. The list of Members should look like the following screenshot.

Import the Logix DataType WorkOrder

1. Navigate to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.

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2. Right-click on localhost and select Import.

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3. Click Next.

4. Click Next.
5. In the tree browser, select FTVP App > CLX1.

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6. Click Next.

7. Click Next.
8. Note that WorkOrder is shown in the list. This indicates that we now have an import rule defined for
this Data Type. Check the WorkOrder checkbox. Checking this checkbox means that we want this
Data Type to be imported. Also, note that the VantagePoint Type is
RSSamples.WorkOrder.WorkOrder.

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9. Click Next.
10. Click Next.
11. Click Next.
12. Click Finish.
13. Click OK when the import is complete.
14. Browse to System.Sources.FactoryTalk.localhost.Applications.FTVP App.CLX1.Online.WO_DB
and expand the WO_DB node to view the imported structure.

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15. Below WO_DB, select WO_DB[0] and view its properties in the Properties pane on the right. First,
note that the Type is RSSamples.WorkOrder.WorkOrder. Also, all Properties such as Customer
Name, Part Name, etc. have been automatically populated with the relevant tags to match the way
these Work Orders were configured in the .ACD controller program. The same is true for
WO_DB[1], WO_DB[2], etc.

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16. In this lab exercise, we mapped a Logix Data Type to a VantagePoint Type. The real benefit of this is
that we are further able to create Template reports such as the one below. On the left, the list box
was automatically populated with all Work Orders items found in the VantagePoint system. The
report on the right was built once and can now be generated against any Work Order by selecting it
on the left and clicking the Generate Report button.

17. To view a similar example on your system, launch the Portal (Start > Programs > Rockwell
Software > FactoryTalk VantagePoint > Portal).
18. In the Portal, select Reports > MyEnterprise.
19. In the model browser on the left, click on
MyEnterprise.Samples.Extruders.Reports.ExtruderDashboard. This is an example of a Template
dashboard.

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20. Click on the Parameters tab see screenshot below for its location on the screen. You can change
the Extruder selection and click the Generate Report button to apply your selection. Note that the
Template dashboard on the right was built once but can now be used with any Extruder in the
VantagePoint system.

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Notes

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Advanced Reporting

Lab: Using SQL Post-Processing in the Excel Add-In

SQL post-processing allows deeper analysis of time-series data. Examples include determining the
duration of a state (e.g. batch, process order, condition, fault code) and frequency of occurrences (e.g.
the number of times a fault code occurred).
Using a Pre-Defined Query
A user wants to determine the duration of process orders on a production line. Specifically, the user
wants to know when work started on a specific process order and how much time was spent on each
process order.
1. Close Excel and launch Excel again.
2. Click Add-Ins > VantagePoint > Insert Function.

3. Select History and click Next.

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4. Browse to the tag System.Sources.Simulator.Line 2.Tags.ProcessOrder and click the > button to
select the tag.

5. Click Next.
6. Select Last 1 hour.

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7. Click Next.
8. Uncheck the Skip advanced options checkbox.

9. Click Next.
10. Click Next.

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11. First, check the Apply SQL Post Processing checkbox. Then select Time In State query, returns
Start, End, Duration (seconds), Tag Value in the query templates drop-down list.

12. Click Test.

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13. Click Next.

14. Click Finish.

15. Now we will change the formatting of columns A and B to display as a date and time. Select columns
A and B by clicking on column A and dragging to column B.

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16. Right-click on either column A or column B, select Format Cells.

17. Select Date and 3/14/01 1:30 PM.

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18. Click OK.

19. Note that this ad-hoc report shows you the amount of time, in seconds, during which the value of the
tag stayed the same. Also, the start and end date times are provided for each duration. You may
want to consider ignoring the first and last rows in the record set as it would not contain the entire
duration of a given tag value.
Use a Custom Query
A user wants to determine the speed a line was running at when a certain piece of equipments downtime
code was 6 (lets say the code represents when the equipment is running but in a faulted state) and also
the orders being processed at the time. The user then wants to see only the orders being processed
when the line speed was above 250 units/second.
1. Close Excel and launch Excel again.
2. Click Add-Ins > VantagePoint > Insert Function.
3. Select History and click Next.

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4. Browse to the folder System.Sources.Simulator.ProcessVariability.Tags. Select the following tags

by clicking on these tags while holding down the control key and then clicking the > button:

Downtime

MachineSpeed

ProcessOrder

5. Click Next.

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6. Select Last 1 hour.

7. Click Next.
8. Select the Wide data format. Uncheck the Skip advanced options checkbox.

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9. Click Next.
10. Click Next.
11. Check the Apply SQL Post Processing checkbox. Select TagName based #TimeSeriesName
query in the query templates drop-down list. Click Test.

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12. Modify the SQL statement to the following. Click Test.

SELECT * FROM #TimeSeriesName
WHERE Downtime = 6

13. Now modify the SQL statement to the following. Click Test.
SELECT * FROM #TimeSeriesName
WHERE Downtime = 6
AND CAST(MachineSpeed AS FLOAT) > 250

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14. Click Finish.

15. Select column A and change the formatting to date and time (right-click and select Format Cells,
then select Date and 3/14/01 1:30 PM).

16. Note that this ad-hoc report shows you the orders being processed when the equipment was running
under fault conditions (Downtime = 6) and when the line speed was abnormally high (greater than
250).

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