Behavior of windows with Smart Symbol while conversion

Conversion mechanism

During conversion of a window to an Industrial Graphic, the window's content is first checked. If it includes a smart symbol, then two graphics are created. One graphic, named in the format SmartSymbol_<name of the smart symbol>, includes only the smart symbol and acts as a template. This graphic is referenced using a custom property to the same tag as the original smart symbol. The second graphic is created with the name of the window and includes all the window content including the smart symbol (SmartSymbol_<name of the smart symbol>). When smart symbol references are overridden in the window before conversion, the smart symbol in this graphic uses a custom property to reference the overridden tag.

After converting a window that contains a smart symbol into an Industrial Graphic, any changes to the smart symbol template must be made within the converted graphic named SmartSymbol_<name of the smart symbol>, which serves as the template. Note that modifications to the original smart symbol used in the window prior to conversion will not be reflected in the converted graphic.

Example:

Suppose there is a smart symbol named Boiler referenced to the tag Temp. This smart symbol is used in a window called Plant1 and is linked to a different tag, Temp1. The same smart symbol is also used in another window, Plant2, linked to yet another tag, Temp2, and so on. When the Plant1 window is converted to an Industrial Graphic, two graphics are created: one named SmartSymbol_Boiler, which is referenced to the original tag Temp and serves as the template, and a second graphic named Plant1. The Plant1 graphic includes the SmartSymbol_Boiler graphic along with other window elements and is referenced to the overridden tag Temp1. Similarly, when Plant2 is converted, a graphic named Plant2 is created, which also contains the SmartSymbol_Boiler graphic and is referenced to the overridden tag Temp2. After conversion if you want to change the graphic, you must make the changes in SmartSymbol_Boiler so that the changes are propagated to Plant1 and Plant 2.

Override tags propagation

An overridden tag is retained and displayed in the converted Industrial Graphic. If the smart symbol is referenced to a tag and then overridden with another tag reference, during conversion of the window to an Industrial Graphic it will reference the Industrial Graphic to the overridden tag.

For example: If a symbol is referenced with Tag1 and then overridden with another tag named Tag2, then after converting the window to an Industrial Graphic, the Industrial Graphic is referenced to Tag2.

Override text propagation

Overridden text is retained and displayed in the converted Industrial Graphic. If the smart symbol includes text and then gets overridden with another text entry, during conversion of the window to an Industrial Graphic it will include the overridden text in the Industrial Graphic.

For example: If a symbol includes a text "Button" and then overridden with another text "Switch", then after conversion of the window to an Industrial Graphic, the Industrial Graphic will include the text "Switch".

UDT instance members support

The Smart Symbol dialog operates seamlessly with UDT instance members, with override support fully preserved.

Industrial Graphic creation

A single reusable Industrial Graphic is created per Smart Symbol, and overrides are applied at the window level. During bulk import, if the same Smart Symbol is used in multiple windows, the Industrial Graphic created for the first instance is reused in all other windows that use the same Smart Symbol. Direct tag references are replaced with Custom Properties in the converted Industrial Graphic to eliminate redundant Industrial Graphics. Since the maximum length for a custom property is 32 characters, any tag name longer than 32 characters will be shortened, and a unique name will be populated using a specific algorithm .

For example: If a Smart Symbol reference is Tag1, the converted Industrial Graphics creates cpTag1 (with the same data type) and animations, scripts, and expressions reference cpTag1.

Limitations of Smart Symbol conversion

The following list explains the limitations of the conversion process:

• If you rename the Industrial Graphic equivalent to a SmartSymbol, window conversion creates a new Industrial Graphic.

• If you rename the SmartSymbol, window conversion creates a new Industrial Graphic with the new SmartSymbol name.

• If you delete the SmartSymbol, window conversion fails if the window only contains this SmartSymbol.

• If the SmartSymbol template does not exist, the content of its SmartSymbol instance will be missing after window conversion. For example, if a SmartSymbol template (SS1) is embedded in a window (W1) along with other content, and the SS1 template is deleted from the SmartSymbol library, then after converting W1, the content of the SmartSymbol instance will not be available.

• If you update the SmartSymbol, window conversion updates the existing Industrial Graphic equivalent of the SmartSymbol.

• When the SmartSymbol is referenced with a tag name longer than 30 characters, a unique custom property name is automatically generated.

• The InTouch Real tag is mapped to a double custom property.

• If the SmartSymbol is referenced with a tag containing special characters for example, Tag@2, it will not resolve correctly after conversion.

• If the Industrial Graphic (equivalent to a SmartSymbol) is modified and the SmartSymbol is converted again, the equivalent Industrial Graphic is updated again.

  Example:

  • If a SmartSymbol named SS1 is embedded on window W1 and then converted to Industrial Graphics, it creates SmartSymbol_SS1 and W1 as the two symbols.

  • If SmartSymbol_SS1 is modified by adding or deleting content, then, if SS1 is embedded on a new window W2 and converted, it modifies the already created SmartSymbol_SS1.