Symbols

Symbols are a collection of graphics objects that can be used to represent a particular component of a system, from a simple switch to a complex piece of machinery such as a mixer or a tank. They are useful where a component needs to be represented multiple times across a project’s graphics pages.

The appearance of a symbol will usually look like the physical piece of equipment it represents so that its meaning is immediately clear to an operator. You can also animate symbols so that they indicate the current operational state of the associated piece of equipment.

You can use symbols in the following ways:

• Paste a symbol to a graphics page, template, Genie, Super Genie or another symbol (see Paste a Symbol)

• Paste a collection of symbols to a page as a "symbol set" that changes appearance in response to condition changes (see Add a Symbol Set)

• Save a graphics object or grouped graphics object to a library as a symbol, allowing it to be reused (see Save a Symbol to a Library)

• Link a symbol to a library symbol so that any changes to the library are automatically instantiated (see Paste a Symbol).

A comprehensive range of symbols are installed with Plant SCADA. These symbols are stored in several libraries in the "Include" system project. To browse the symbols associated with the active project, use the Libraries view in the Visualization activity (see Browse Libraries in Plant SCADA Studio).

Note: To display the properties for one of the grouped objects that form a symbol, hold the Control (CTRL) key down and double-click the specific object. Alternatively, you can use the Goto Object tool, accessible via the Tools menu (see Locate an Object).

See Also

Create a Symbol

Open an Existing Symbol