Remove unrecognized sections in the INI file
- Last UpdatedJan 28, 2025
- 3 minute read
- PI System
- PI Connector for UFL 1.3.2.139
- Connectors
The [INTERFACE], [PLUG-IN], and [SETTING] sections of the UFL interface INI file are no longer recognized. PI Connector for UFL ignores them. The individual definitions either have moved to the connector’s administration pages or were omitted entirely. The following sections summarize what is and what is not supported by the connector.
Section [INTERFACE]
The concept of plug-ins as implemented by the UFL Interface has been redesigned. PI Connector for UFL still works with files in Windows directories and introduces a new communication channel based on a REST (REpresentational State Transfer) web service. Users choose one of these two options on the connector’s administration page.
Reading data through a serial line or through POP3 servers, is not possible with PI Connector for UFL.
Section [PLUG-IN]
As stated in the previous paragraph, support for the Serial and POP3 plug-ins has been removed. The following table lists only those definitions that apply to the ASCIIFiles plug-in and explains which of the corresponding settings are used and where they can be found.
|
Keyword |
UFL Interface |
PI Connector for UFL |
|---|---|---|
|
ERR |
File extension to be assigned to files that caused errors during processing. The default error suffix is ERR. |
Erroneous lines get stored in files that conform to the following name pattern: yyyymmdd.err. The files are placed in: %PROGRAMDATA%\OSIsoft\PI Connectors\UFL.ConnectorHost\Output. |
|
IFM |
Mask of the input files to be processed. When the interface runs as NT service and the data files reside on a network drive, use UNC paths to specify the location. |
Input moved to the connector's data source configuration page - the Address field. |
|
IFS |
Specifies the order in which input files are processed. |
Files can only be sorted by their names. |
|
NEWLINE |
Specifies line-end characters. |
Input moved to the connector's data source configuration page - the Newline field. |
|
PFN |
Prepend File Name. When set, include filename as the first line in the input stream. |
The __STREAMINFO string variable contains the file name along with the creation and modification timestamps. For more details, see the Predefined variables section under Learn about functions and operators. |
|
PFN_PREFIX |
Used with the PFN keyword, precedes the filename with specified text. |
N/A |
|
PURGETIME |
Specify the amount of time to wait before purging processed data files. |
For more details on how to change this setting, see: Configure purge time/output path/REST channel authentication. |
|
RBP |
Rename Before Processing. |
N/A |
|
REN |
Specifies the extension to be assigned to successfully-processed input files. |
For more details on how to change this setting, see: Configure purge time/output path/REST channel authentication. |
|
WORDWRAP |
Breaks input line into lines of specified length. |
Input moved to the connector's data source configuration page - the WordWrap field. |
Section [SETTING]
The definitions in this section have been modified or omitted as shown in the following table:
|
Keyword |
UFL Interface |
UFL Connector |
|---|---|---|
|
DEB |
Debug level. |
The individual debug levels, as implemented in UFL interface, are no longer supported. In the Diagnostics page, tab Log Configuration, users can specify various log-levels. The output of the Print() function goes to the Windows Event Log, when the Informational level option is selected. |
|
LOCALE |
Specifies how the interface transforms the string representation of numbers to the native numeric form. |
Input moved to the connector's data source configuration page - the Locale field. |
|
MAXLOG |
Maximum number of log files. |
N/A |
|
MAXLOGSIZE |
Maximum size of log files in MB. |
N/A |
|
MSGINERROR |
Specify the path and filename for the log file containing lines that were not successfully processed. |
Erroneous lines get stored in files that conform to the following name pattern: yyyymmdd.err. The files are placed in: %PROGRAMDATA%\OSIsoft\PI Connectors\UFL.ConnectorHost\Output. |
|
OUTPUT |
Specify the path and filename for the interface log file, which contains debugging output. |
For more details on how to change this setting, see: Configure purge time/output path/REST channel authentication. |
PI Specific Settings
The following settings are not recognized by the PI Connector for UFL.
MSG(n).EPC = "Data Type"
MSG(n).DigitalSet = "DigitalSet"
If left in place, they will be ignored.
The syntax of StoreInPI( Tag, , Timestamp, Value, Status, Flag, Annotation), as is known from UFL Interface, has remained; however, there are two exceptions:
The Annotation parameter is not recognized. Annotations are not supported by the connector at all; hence, if left in place, this parameter will be ignored.
The second parameter to StoreInPI( Tag,Alias,Timestamp,Value,,) function is interpreted differently. In case of UFL Interface it pointed to the /ALIAS definition found in extended descriptor (of PI points with the given PointSource); whereas with PI Connector for UFL, this parameter is employed in subsequent calls to StoreElement() functions. There it is used as a name of the dynamic AF attribute referencing a PI point created by the preceding call to StoreInPI() function.