Templates/DP lists, basics

Templates/DP lists in the context of WinCC OA mass configuration are ASCII files created in V 3 resp. V4 format. The format in the ASCII Manager defines the structure of the file when exported from the database. The user can choose which format should be used when exporting a template/DP list.

If you resize the PARA module and then select a data point type the whole selected line is marked blue and no templates or DP lists (V3/V4) can be created for all data point types. If you want to create templates or DP lists for all data point types, restart the PARA module.

Features of a template and a DP list:

• Template: A master data point is provided with PowerConfigs. A template is created in the PARA module and involves the generation of an ASCII file. This file contains the master data point (format V 3) resp. the single elements of the master data point (format V 4) in one line, with the associated dynamic attributes divided into columns (there are no fixed attributes in the file when a template is exported). There is one template for each data point type when generating with the format V 3. In the format V 4 several different types of data points can be contained in the file.

• DP list: A DP list has exactly the same structure as a template (in consideration of the chosen format when exporting). A DP list can be generated as follows:

  1. Enter data in a generated template (create a a new line for each data point and set the parameters of the dynamic attributes). Importing the edited file creates the new DPs with the values defined for the dynamic attributes.

  2. If pre-configured data points containing PowerConfigs already exist in the system for a data point type, then a DP list can be exported from the PARA module. Thus is useful for documentation purposes.

Features of formats V 3 and V 4:

• V 3 (1 data point per line): When exporting with this format, a data point per line is saved into the file. The dynamic attributes on the single elements of the data point are divided into columns (fixed attributes are not taken into account in the file). The number of columns in the file is not restricted because a data point can show several elements. Data points with specific configurations can be created or deleted in the PowerConfigs with this format.

• V 4 (1 data point element per line): There are three essential differences between the format V 4 and V 3. The format V 4 can be used clever when creating a project where a data point list from a PLC programmer is available (structure is similar to that of the data point list). When exporting this format a data point per line is saved in the file. The dynamic attributes on the single elements of the data point are divided into columns (fixed attributes are not taken into account in the file). Also configs that are not configured (OPC addresses, smoothing) are exported. There is a difference between V 4 and V 3 in the limitation of the column number. This means that the maximum possible number of columns in the file is identical to the dynamic attributes of PowerConfigs defined in WinCC OA. In order to prevent inconsistency in the system when importing a modified template/DP list in format V 4, no data point elements can be deleted. Furthermore the changeable values of dynamic attributes are displayed via comment columns.

The templates/DP lists can be edited in an Editor or using Excel (see also Excel tools, basics). They provide another option for integrating a large number of pre-configured data points in a project. The following pages (Creating a template, Creating a DP list) contain examples of working with templates/DP lists and different formats.

The PARA module is used for generating these ASCII files. The files are saved by default with the extension .ascii in the directory <proj_path>/dplist. The ASCII Manager in WinCC OA is used for exporting and importing the files. The ASCII Manager chapter contains more information on the ASCII Manager. The maximum file size of WinCC OA DB-exports in format V 4 is 65000 lines due to a restriction of the MS Excel import function. In order to get all the data exported, WCCOAascii creates multiple files inserting a sequence number in the output file name, for example, instead of a single file "DP.ascii" multiple files named "DP_1.ascii", "DP_2.ascii" ... are created.