User guide

External control user guide
March 27, 2015 Version 1.7.2.0 11
Controlling NWare controls
In order to work with NWare controls using an external protocol like RATC, each control must
be assigned a control alias. Once an alias has been assigned, you can write values to the
control and read values from the control via a TCP/IP or serial connection, depending on the
protocol you are using.
Note: When you specify an alias, NWare will check to see if that alias is already in use by
another control. If it is, a warning will be displayed. If you click Yes, the control alias will be
moved over from the old control to the new control. If you click No, the alias will not be
moved. If you want to control multiple controls using the same alias, assign the alias to one of
the controls and then use control wiring to connect them together in the project.
The external control system connects to the node hosting the project in order to access its
controls. The controls are available via all of the nodes used in the project, so you can connect
to any node in order to access a control. For redundancy support, however, we recommended
that, rather than using a single node to access all the controls, you arrange for your system to
failover to an alternative node should the original become unavailable.
Specifying a control alias on control properties
1. Right-click the control, and then click Control Properties.
2. Click the Wiring tab.
3. In the Control Alias box, type the alias that will be used to identify the control.
In the example below, a control alias called Button1 has been assigned to a control.
4. Click OK.
NWare will check to see if that alias is already in use by another control. If it is, a warning
will be displayed. If you click Yes, the control alias will be moved over from the old
control to the new control. If you click No, the alias will not be moved.
Specifying a control alias using Inspector
1. If the Inspector tab is not shown in the NWare window, switch on Inspector.
2. Click the control you want to assign an alias.
3. Click the Inspector tab.
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the properties list.
5. Double-click in the box next to alias.