Import from a FactoryTalk application

Use the Import Tool for FactoryTalk to import tags, screens, alarms, and device configurations from an application that was previously created with FactoryTalk View.

This tool is sold as an add-on for Studio, which means your software license must include the appropriate upgrade in order for the tool to be enabled in the project development environment. For more information, contact your software distributor.

If you are running Studio on a Windows computer that has User Account Control (UAC) enabled, you might experience issues while using this tool. To avoid these issues, run Studio as an administrator (that is, right-click the Studio program icon, and then click Run as administrator on the shortcut menu).

Depending on which items (for example, tags, screens, alarms) you actually want to import from the FactoryTalk application, you might need to use FactoryTalk View to export those items from the application to external files. You should have those files ready before you begin this task. For more information, consult the documentation for FactoryTalk View.

The Import Tool for FactoryTalk can import both Site Edition (SE) and Machine Edition (ME) applications, and it supports the following communication drivers: ABCIP, ABENI, ABKE, and ABTCP.

To import from a FactoryTalk application:

1. On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Tools group, click Import Wizard.

   The Import Wizard dialog box is displayed.

2. In the Source Type list, select AVEVA Edge Import Tool for FactoryTalk, and then click Next to proceed to the next page of the import wizard.

   The Import Tool for FactoryTalk dialog is displayed.

   

3. In the Options area, select whether to import items that appear to be duplicates of existing items in your AVEVA Edge project:

   Option	Description
   Do not import duplicate items	When this option is selected, the following items will not be imported in case there are already equivalents in the current project: Tags Database (that is, tags with the same name will not be imported) Screens (that is, screens with the same name will not be imported)
   Replace duplicates with imported items	When this option is selected, existing items in the current project will be replaced by items of the same name that are imported from the FactoryTalk application.

4. If you want to import tags from the FactoryTalk application:

   1. To the right of the Tag box, click Browse.

      A standard Windows file browser is displayed.

   2. Use the file browser to locate and select the .csv file that contains the tag information you exported from the FactoryTalk application, and then click Open.

      The location of the file is displayed in the Tag box.

   3. If you want to add a prefix to the names of the imported tags, in order to differentiate them from other tags in your AVEVA Edge project, select Use prefix and then type the prefix in the box.

5. If you want to import screens — including objects and animations — from the FactoryTalk application:

   1. To the right of the Screen(s) box, click Browse.

      A standard Windows file browser is displayed.

   2. Use the file browser to locate and select the .xml file that contains the screen information you exported from the FactoryTalk application, and then click Open.

      The location of the file is displayed in the Screen(s) box.

   For more information about which objects and animations are supported, see Import Tool for FactoryTalk User Manual.

6. If you want to import alarms from the FactoryTalk application:

   1. To the right of the Alarm box, click Browse.

      A standard Windows file browser is displayed.

   2. Use the file browser to locate and select the .csv file that contains the alarm information you exported from the FactoryTalk application, and then click Open.

      Note: At this time, the Import Tool for FactoryTalk can import alarm configurations only from FactoryTalk Site Edition (SE) applications.

      The location of the file is displayed in the Alarm box.

7. To import all other information including images and parameters from the FactoryTalk application:

   1. To the right of the FactoryTalk Application Folder box, click Browse.

      A standard Windows file browser is displayed.

   2. Use the file browser to locate and select the FactoryTalk application folder, and then click OK.

      The location of the folder is displayed in the FactoryTalk Application Folder box.

8. If you want to import one or more device configurations from the FactoryTalk application:

   1. In the Drivers area, select Import Drivers, and then click Configuration.

      The Device Configuration dialog is displayed.

      

   2. Click Add.

      The Device dialog is displayed.

      

   3. In the Device Name box, type the name of the device exactly as it is in the FactoryTalk application.

   4. In the Driver list, select a communication driver for the specified device.

      Option	Description
      ABCIP	Driver for Ethernet communication with Allen-Bradley devices using the CIP protocol
      ABENI	Driver for Ethernet communication Allen-Bradley devices using the AB-1761-NET-ENI Gateway Interface
      ABKE	Driver for serial communication with Allen-Bradley devices using the DF1 protocol
      ABTCP	Driver for Ethernet communication with Allen-Bradley devices using the DF1 protocol

   5. In the Station box, type the station ID of the specified device.

   6. Click OK.

      The specified device is added to the Devices list in the Device Configuration dialog box.

   7. Repeat these steps for each device configuration that you want to import.

   8. When you are done, click OK to close the Device Configuration dialog box.

9. Click Next to proceed to next page of the import wizard, which is common to all source types.

   For more information, see Import Wizard.