Create PI AF tables

You create a table profile so that attributes can obtain their values from an internal or external table.

1. In the Library browser, right-click the Tables collection and click New Table.

2. In the General tab, enter a Name and Description for the table.

3. Optional. Assign one or more categories to the table. Enter table category names directly, separated by a colon, or click and select them from the Categorize window.

4. Decide how DateTime values should be stored in the table. By setting the value for the table overall, you need not specify it every time you create a table lookup data reference.

   1. In the Time Zone field, select a time zone from the list.

   2. Select or clear the Convert To Local check box. Choose from the following options:

   • To convert DateTime values to the local time, select the Convert To Local check box.

   • To display DateTime values in the time zone selected in the Time Zone field, clear the Convert To Local check box.

   Note: When a client application queries the table, the time zone in which DateTime values are displayed depends on whether the Convert To Local check box is selected. PI System Explorer uses this setting to determine the precise DateTimeMode to use in a Microsoft .NET data table, as described in Conversion settings for time zones.

5. In the Cache Interval field, enter the amount of time until the table's cached data is automatically refreshed. From the list, choose whether the value is in seconds, minutes, hours, or days. The default value is zero, which indicates a manual refresh.

   Note: Automatic refreshing is disabled if the table has changes that have not been saved to the server.

   Note: With manual refreshes, you refresh table data by right-clicking the table in the Library browser and clicking Refresh. Otherwise, table data that is being queried by client applications is refreshed only when the application is restarted. For example, when PI System Explorer is opened or whenever the Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) application pool recycles the client (the default is every 29 hours).

6. Check in your work.

   Note: The Connection and Query fields are read-only. PI AF populates these fields when you link to or import an external table.

Define and populate the table in one of three ways:

• Manually define and populate the table in PI System Explorer. First, create column definitions on the Define Table tab, as described in Create table column definitions. Next, enter data on the Table tab, as described in Populate tables manually.

• Import a table from outside the PI AF server. See Access to Microsoft Access.

• Link to a table outside the PI AF server. See Access to Microsoft Access.