Create a data point type

Opening the DP-type Editor

Data point types are created with the DP-type Editor. With the editor you can define the structure of data points by creating nodes (type struct) and leaves and define the data types of the leaves.

Data point types determine the structure of WinCC OA data points.

The data point types contain the structure of system components to be represented in the form of data points in the process control system. Data point types have different levels of tree structures. A summary of available element types, plus detailed descriptions of data formats are given under Data Types as well as in the Reference Tables.

Open the DP-type Editor from the context menu of the PARA tree view. The context menu is opened by clicking with the right mouse button on a free space in the PARA-TreeView. Via the context menu you can create a new data point type. By clicking on an existing DPT with the right mouse button you can edit or delete it.

CAUTION: If you change a data point type, note that if you rename a node and create new nodes, the former name of the renamed nodes cannot be used for the new nodes. If you want to use the same name for new nodes, delete the old node first and then create a new node.
Note: The creation of a data point type in distributed systems only works in the own system!
Figure 1. Invocation of the DP type editor for creating resp. editing or deleting from the PARA tree

The DP-type editor is opened via the Creating data point type and a new DPT can be created. A summary of available element types, plus detailed descriptions of data formats are given under Data Types as well as in the Reference Tables. An existing DPT can be changed via the Edit data point type .(add node, change the data point of a leaf). The entry Delete data point type deletes the selected DPT from the system after security check. The further entries of this context menu are to be used in relation to mass configuration. For detailed information, read the chapter Mass configuration, basics.

Layout of the DP-type Editor

The figure below shows the DP type Editor.

All data point types are shown in the tree. You can enter a new name at the marked point (at "NewDpType") in order to add a new data point type.

Note: Elementnames must only contain following characters: 0...9, A...Z, _, a...z! Not permitted characters are: dot ".", colon ":", semicolon ";", comma ",", right or left square brackets "[ ]", right or left curly brackets "{ }", blanks, tabulator "/t", question mark "?", asterisk "*", backslash "\", slash "/", percent sign "%", callsign "!", right or left brackets "( )" dollar symbol "$", the commercial at symbol "@", quotation marks "", single quotation marks ', down arrow ","""","%7C","*","%25","@" "|" and all other special characters except for underline "_", "<" and ">".

The OK button saves the changes made in the DP-type Editor.

You can use Cancel to close the DP-type Editor without changing the data point types

Each data point type has its own symbol in the tree. The following list contains all symbols and meanings:

  • 29 = int, dyn_int, int_array
  • 5,7 = float, dyn_float, float_array
  • 01 = bool, dyn_bool, bool_array
  • 'c' = char, dyn_char, char_array,
  • +6 = unsigned, dyn_uint, unsigned_array
  • 64 = long, dyn_long, long_array
  • +64 = ulong, dyn_ulong, ulong_array
  • 1111 = bit64, dyn_bit64, bit64_array
  • 111 = bit32, dyn_bit32, bit32_array
  • AD = string, dyn_string, string array
  • time symbol = time, dyn_time, time array
  • DP = dyn_dpid, dpid array, dpid
  • Flag symbol = langString dyn_langString, langString array

The data point type langString cannot be archived.

  • Bubble symbol= blob, dyn_blob, blob array
  • Directory symbol = struct
Figure 2. The DP-type Editor - creating a new data point type

You can open the context menu of the Data point-type Editor by clicking the right mouse button. The context menu is shown in the figure below.

Figure 3. The context menu of the Data point type Editor

Editing a node

You can add nodes, rename or delete them. Please see Figure "The DP-type Editor - creating a new data point type".

You can change the data type of a node using Element type. This menu option lets you assign other data formats to end nodes (leaves). See Figure above ("The context menu of the Data point type Editor").

You can also add sub nodes to the nodes. The sub nodes are also called data point elements. See the figure further below.

CAUTION: If you use AC data point types when creating a DP type. Consider the following. If you create a data point type in the PARA module. Then create a node for the data point type and select the AC data point type for the element option "Embed AC Type". You have to create a master data point for the new created data point type for which the AC type is used!
CAUTION: If the data type of a data point element, for which the configuration already took place, is changed, its configs and addresses get lost due to the changed ID.

A summary of available element types, plus detailed descriptions of data formats are given under Data Types as well as in the Reference Tables.

Editing a DP type

You can save, copy and delete a DP type (= the structure).

Note: After changing a data point type all existing configs must be newly applied!

The following figure shows a new data point type. The data point type consists of nodes "default", "newNode", "response" and "state" as well as of elements "position" and "malfunction".

Figure 4. The DP-type Editor with a new created node

Figure DPT element formats: Changing the node - or element type