Create element templates

Create and configure an element template to ensure consistent definitions for elements in your asset structure.

1. In the Library browser, right-click the Element Templates collection and click New Template.

2. Adjust and assign settings on tabs to configure the element template. PI System Explorer provides defaults for all required settings, but you can configure settings yourself. The settings include:

   Option	Description
   Base Template	You can base the template on an existing template. Select the base template from the list. For more information on base templates, see Base and derived templates.
   Type	You can base the template on an element type. Select the element type from the list. For more information on element types, see Element types used in models.
   Categories	Optional. You can organize objects by grouping them into categories. To browse available categories or to create a new category, click . See Object categorization.
   Default Attribute	Optional. Select a default attribute from the drop-down list. See Default attributes.
   Naming Pattern	Optional. You can enter a text string, or click to choose from the following substitution parameters to define a naming pattern. %TIME:yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.fff% The current local time of the object using the specified formatting. If no formatting is specified, the default formatting is used. The formatting uses standard format strings supported by the DateTime.ToString method, as described in Format strings for time substitution parameters. %UTCTIME:yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.fff% The current Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time of the object using the specified formatting. If no formatting is specified, the default formatting is used. %TEMPLATE% The name of the object's template. %@Attribute% The value of the object's attribute, represented by the path. You can also use other naming pattern substitution parameters. For example, if you want an element path included in the naming pattern, enter %ELEMENTPATH% as a substitution parameter. For a complete list of naming pattern substitution parameters, see Naming patterns. Each element derived from the template will have a unique, identifiable name. To ensure that new elements created from the template have an incremental number, enter * at the end of any pattern you enter here. If left blank, PI System Explorer uses the element template Name field and adds an asterisk to add an incremental number as needed. Some substitution parameters may not be applied when a derived element is created. To ensure a derived element's name fully reflects the naming pattern, right-click the element and click Reevaluate Naming Pattern. Note: The name generated by the naming pattern must be less than the maximum name length of 260 characters.
   Allow Extensions	Select this checkbox to enable additional attributes (as well as ports) to be defined for an element, beyond those defined in its template. See Learn about extensions. Note: Categories, analyses and notifications are not affected by whether the Allow Extensions check box is enabled.
   Base Template Only	Select this checkbox to assign the Base Template Only (BTO) property to an element template. Elements cannot be derived directly from BTO templates. For more information, see Base and derived templates.
   Extended Properties	This link is an advanced feature. For more information, see Storage of application-specific information.
   Location	Click this link if you wish to set up location attribute traits for the element. However, you can also set them on an attribute if you prefer. Note that you can only assign one set of location attributes per element. For more information, see Attribute traits.
   Security	Click this link if you wish to set up custom access permissions to the element template beyond those already established at the server and database level. For more information, see Configure security for objects.

3. Use the Attribute Templates tab to create an attribute template for each property or data item for the template. See Create attribute templates.

4. If you are creating a model, use the Ports tab to specify ports, which define end-points for connections between elements within a model. See Understand process models in PI AF.

5. Optional. Use the Analysis Templates tab to create an analysis template for the element template. For more information, choose from the following:

   • To create an expression analysis template, see Create an expression analysis template.

   • To create a roll up analysis template, see Create a rollup analysis template.

   • To create an event frame generation analysis template, see Create an event frame generation analysis template.

   • To create an SQC analysis template, see Create an SQC analysis template.

6. Optional. Use the Notification Rule Templates tab to select or create a notification rule template for the element template. For more information, see Create a notification rule template.

7. To save your work, press CTRL+S or click Check In.