Tag templates
- Last UpdatedJul 29, 2025
- 3 minute read
- PI System
- Interfaces
Tag templates specify how the interface creates and updates PI tags based on incoming data. For example, the following template creates one tag per unit for state change events:
Tag[1].Name=BESName:[UNIT].Event.[EVENT]
Tag[1].Descriptor=[UNIT] [EVENT]
Tag[1].EngUnits=[EU]
Tag[1].Value=[DESCRIPT]|[EVENT]|[PVAL]|[EU]|[AREA]|[PROCESSCELL]|[UNIT]|[PHASEMODULE]|[USERID]
Tag[1].Type=string Tag[1].UnitAlias=Event.[EVENT]
Tag[1].Trigger=[EVENT,value="State Change"]
Tag template settings
The following table lists valid settings for tag templates. The timestamp for tag events is taken from the triggering event.
ANNOTATION
Annotate the tag using a string.
Valid Placeholders
-
[AREA]
-
[BATCHID]
-
[COMMENT]
-
[DESCRIPT]
-
[EU]
-
[EVENT]
-
[OPERATION]
-
[PHASE]
-
[PHASEMODULE]
-
[PROCEDURE]
-
[PROCESSCELL]
-
[PVAL]
-
[UNIQUEID]
-
[UNIT]
-
[UNITPROCEDURE]
-
[USERID]
-
[@.value="Exact Field"]
-
[#.value="Field Mask"]
-
[!.value="Example"]
-
[?.value="Tag"]
-
[*.value="Unit"]
ANNOTATION2
Annotate the tag using a name/value object.
Valid Placeholders
-
[AREA]
-
[BATCHID]
-
[COMMENT]
-
[DESCRIPT]
-
[EU]
-
[EVENT]
-
[OPERATION]
-
[PHASE]
-
[PHASEMODULE]
-
[PROCEDURE]
-
[PROCESSCELL]
-
[PVAL]
-
[UNIQUEID]
-
[UNIT]
-
[UNITPROCEDURE]
-
[USERID]
-
[@.value="Exact Field"]
-
[#.value="Field Mask"]
-
[!.value="Example"]
-
[?.value="Tag"]
-
[*.value="Unit"]
DESCRIPTOR
Specifies how the descriptor field of the tag is populated.
Valid Placeholders
-
[AREA]
-
[BATCHID]
-
[COMMENT]
-
[DESCRIPT]
-
[EU]
-
[EVENT]
-
[OPERATION]
-
[PHASE]
-
[PHASEMODULE]
-
[PROCEDURE]
-
[PROCESSCELL]
-
[PVAL]
-
[UNIQUEID]
-
[UNIT]
-
[UNITPROCEDURE]
-
[USERID]
-
[@.value="Exact Field"]
-
[#.value="Field Mask"]
-
[!.value="Example"]
-
[?.value="Tag"]
-
[*.value="Unit"]
EU
Specifies the engineering units for the tag.
Valid Placeholders
-
[AREA]
-
[BATCHID]
-
[COMMENT]
-
[DESCRIPT]
-
[EU]
-
[EVENT]
-
[OPERATION]
-
[PHASE]
-
[PHASEMODULE]
-
[PROCEDURE]
-
[PROCESSCELL]
-
[PVAL]
-
[UNIQUEID]
-
[UNIT]
-
[UNITPROCEDURE]
-
[USERID]
-
[@.value="Exact Field"]
-
[#.value="Field Mask"]
-
[!.value="Example"]
-
[?.value="Tag"]
-
[*.value="Unit"]
NAME
Specifies how the tag is to be named.
Valid Placeholders
-
[AREA]
-
[BATCHID]
-
[COMMENT]
-
[DESCRIPT]
-
[EU]
-
[EVENT]
-
[OPERATION]
-
[PHASE]
-
[PHASEMODULE]
-
[PROCEDURE]
-
[PROCESSCELL]
-
[PVAL]
-
[UNIQUEID]
-
[UNIT]
-
[UNITPROCEDURE]
-
[USERID]
-
[@.value="Exact Field"]
-
[#.value="Field Mask"]
-
[!.value="Example"]
-
[?.value="Tag"]
-
[*.value="Unit"]
PHASEALIAS
Configures the naming convention for the phase module alias generated by the interface. The unit alias refers to the AF asset representing the phase module associated with the incoming event.
Valid Placeholders
-
[AREA]
-
[BATCHID]
-
[COMMENT]
-
[DESCRIPT]
-
[EU]
-
[EVENT]
-
[OPERATION]
-
[PHASE]
-
[PHASEMODULE]
-
[PROCEDURE]
-
[PROCESSCELL]
-
[PVAL]
-
[UNIQUEID]
-
[UNIT]
-
[UNITPROCEDURE]
-
[USERID]
-
[@,value="Exact Field"]
-
[#,value="Field Mask"]
-
[!.value="Example"]
-
[?.value="Tag"]
-
[*.value="Unit"]
TRIGGER
Specifies the event that causes the interface to generate or update the tag. To define a trigger, specify an expression composed of a placeholder and value. When the interface detects the specified value in the placeholder, it generates or updates the tag.
You can specify multiple triggers for a single tag. If you specify the triggers on a single line, the tag is generated only when all the conditions are met (logical AND). If you specify the trigger expressions on separate lines, the tag is generated when any of the conditions is met (logical OR).
Valid Placeholders
-
[AREA]
-
[BATCHID]
-
[COMMENT]
-
[DESCRIPT]
-
[EU]
-
[EVENT]
-
[OPERATION]
-
[PHASE]
-
[PHASEMODULE]
-
[PROCEDURE]
-
[PROCESSCELL]
-
[PVAL]
-
[UNIQUEID]
-
[UNIT]
-
[UNITPROCEDURE]
-
[USERID]
-
[@.value="Exact Field"]
-
[#.value="Field Mask"]
-
[!.value="Example"]
-
[?.value="Tag"]
-
[*.value="Unit"]
TRANSLATE
To translate the value according to the translation map that you define, set to TRUE.
Valid Placeholders
-
TRUE
-
FALSE
TYPE
Specifies the data type for the tag. To configure the interface to evaluate the data and assign the data type accordingly, specify AUTO.
Valid Placeholders
-
STRING
-
FLOAT
-
INTEGER
-
AUTO
UNITALIAS
Configures the naming convention for the unit alias generated by the interface. The unit alias refers to the AF asset representing the unit associated with the incoming event.
Valid Placeholders
-
[AREA]
-
[BATCHID]
-
[COMMENT]
-
[DESCRIPT]
-
[EU]
-
[EVENT]
-
[OPERATION]
-
[PHASE]
-
[PHASEMODULE]
-
[PROCEDURE]
-
[PROCESSCELL]
-
[PVAL]
-
[UNIQUEID]
-
[UNIT]
-
[UNITPROCEDURE]
-
[USERID]
-
[@.value="Exact Field"]
-
[#.value="Field Mask"]
-
[!.value="Example"]
-
[?.value="Tag"]
-
[*.value="Unit"]
VALUE
(Required) Specifies the value to be stored in the tag. To compose the value, you can use free text plus valid placeholders.
Valid Placeholders
-
[AREA]
-
[BATCHID]
-
[COMMENT]
-
[DESCRIPT]
-
[EU]
-
[EVENT]
-
[OPERATION]
-
[PHASE]
-
[PHASEMODULE]
-
[PROCEDURE]
-
[PROCESSCELL]
-
[PVAL]
-
[TAG]
-
[TIME]
-
[UNIQUEID]
-
[UNIT]
-
[UNITPROCEDURE]
-
[USERID]
-
[@.value="Exact Field"]
-
[#.value="Field Mask"]
-
[!.value="Example"]
-
[?.value="Tag"]
-
[*.value="Unit"]