Create PI AF objects

With PI Builder you can enter the specifications for new PI AF objects in a Microsoft Excel worksheet, and then publish the worksheet to PI AF to create them. With the auto-fill features in Excel, you can easily create multiple objects with similar specifications. With the auto-fill features in Excel, you can easily create multiple objects with similar specifications. Follow this procedure to create:

• Elements

• Attributes

• Event frames

• Transfers

• Templates

• Models

• Categories

• Enumeration sets

• Reference types

• Units of measure

• Contacts

• Notification endpoints

• Security identities and mappings

Prerequisite: Before you create PI AF objects, you must Specify a database.

Follow this procedure to create PI AF objects:

1. In the worksheet, add the column headers for the values that must be specified to define the new objects.

   See Set column headers in a worksheet. For objects based on templates, include the Template column.

   Note: To create new objects from existing objects, retrieve those existing objects into your worksheet, and then change the name and any other attributes.

2. In each row, specify the values that define a new object.

   You must specify a unique name for each object. If you do not specify values for other attributes, PI AF will set those attributes to their default values.

3. Set the Selected(x) column to X for any object that you want to create.

4. Publish to PI AF:

   1. Click Publish to open the Publish Options window.

   2. From the Edit Mode list, select Create Only.

      With this choice, PI Builder will only create new objects. If a selected object with the same name already exists, PI Builder generates an error. You can also select Create and Edit; then, PI Builder will modify existing objects and create any objects that do not already exist. PI Builder uses the Name column to find existing objects with the same name.

   3. If you specified an attribute that references a PI point that does not yet exist, select the Create or update PI points check box to request that PI Builder automatically create the needed PI points.

      If you do not select this check box, you must use PI System Explorer or PI Builder to create or update PI points after PI Builder creates the PI AF objects.

   4. If you specified an attribute that references a category that does not yet exist, select the Automatically create missing categories check box to request that PI Builder automatically create the needed categories.

      If you do not select this check box and one or more categories do not exist, PI Builder will generate an error during publication.

   5. Click OK to publish the objects to PI AF.

      PI Builder automatically checks in the changes. The Publish Selected Objects window shows the operations completed.

   6. Click Close.