Easy Data Entry

GraphWorX64 can be easily used to make screens designed for data entry. Historically, users had to press a key such as Enter to submit a value to a data entry field. This was designed so that users would not accidentally write an incomplete value to a PLC, but it could make entering a lot of data painful. The intuitive behavior to simply click into the next field would cause the loss of data.

Now, process points can be configured to submit their value when the focus changes, eliminating the need for the Enter key, and removing the possibility that typed data could be accidentally lost.

These are advanced properties, so make sure you are in Advanced Mode (View menu > Application Mode > Advanced) before attempting to make changes.

To set the default behavior for every process point on your display, select the document/canvas (i.e. deselect all objects), go to the Properties panel, and set DataEntryLostFocusWritesValue in the Runtime section. True means that when the process point loses focus it'll submit the current value to the data source, and false means that the Enter or Tab key must be used to submit the value - losing focus will erase any value entered.

The default value for new displays is false (consistent with the behavior prior to this feature's addition), but this can be changed on the Preferences panel under New This Display Default Settings.

Individual process points can use their own value for DataEntryLostFocusWritesValue. This property can be found on the Dynamics panel and is only visible when DataEntry is set to true. The default value is Default, which means this process point will follow the configured behavior on the document.

ICONICS highly recommends not using this feature for process points connected to live equipment. It can lead to accidental submission before a value is completely typed, which can damage equipment.