Initialization file reference

The initialization (.ini) file stores configuration information for an interface instance. This file is generated and updated by the PI Event Frames Interface Manager configuration tool. To enable you to control access to these files, initialization files are stored under the ProgramData folder.

Note: Prior to release 4.x, initialization files were stored in the interface installation directory.

To ensure a correctly configured .ini file, use the PI Event Frame Interface Manager configuration tool. Do not edit the .ini file manually.

The information in this appendix is intended for troubleshooting purposes, to enable you to understand the contents of the .ini file.

The .ini file is divided into the following sections:

• Command-line parameters: Defines basic interface settings.

• Simple switches: Defines connection settings.

• Source templates: Specifies the settings required to connect to the data source, and events to be skipped (filtered).

• Recipe templates: Defines how data is recorded at each level of the batch hierarchy.

• Tag templates: Defines how tags are created and updated based on incoming data from the data source.

• Property templates: Define how PI properties or event frame attributes are created based on incoming data from the data source.

• Translation templates: Maps text from the data source language to the target language for the PI System.

• DCS Link templates: Define rules for linking event frames created by different interfaces.

In defining settings for templates, you can use the following wildcards to compose expressions:

• # - single digit numerical value (0-9)

• @ - single alphabetic character (a-z, A-Z)

• ? - any single character

• ! - repeat previous mask symbol

• * - any number of characters