Configure runtime properties of the AlarmApp

The AlarmApp includes a subset of run-time properties whose values determine the visual aspects or functional behavior of the AlarmApp during run time. All properties are assigned default values that enable the AlarmApp to run immediately in a ViewApp with minimal configuration. For more information about configuring all AlarmApp properties, see Set AlarmApp properties.

The following screen shot shows the AlarmApp running in a ViewApp after accepting all default values assigned to the run-time properties listed on the Properties page of the Layout or ViewApp editors.

In the tabbed Properties area of the Layout or ViewApp editors, many AlarmApp properties include a user control to assign a static or dynamic value based on the type of binding between the property and its associated reference.

A check box to the right of some properties indicates the initial default value of a Boolean property. When the check box is selected, the property is set to true.

The AlarmApp shows two different types of properties in the Properties area of the Layout editor. The Run-Time Behavior properties are the native properties of the AlarmApp. This topic provides descriptions of these properties. The remaining properties are from the underlying .NET alarm control that are exposed and can be edited from the Layout script editor. .NET property groups are identified by the AlarmClientControl prefix in their titles that appear on the Properties page. For example, the AlarmClientControl.Accessibility title appears immediately beneath the Area Hierarchy group of properties.

Descriptions of .NET properties, methods, and events are easily accessible from the Microsoft Web site and are not described in System Platform documentation. For more information about the .NET properties that appear in the AlarmApp, see the .NET property descriptions at the Microsoft web site. At the time of writing, they could be found at: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.windows.forms.

To configure run-time properties of the AlarmApp

1. Open the Layout or ViewApp editor and show the items listed in the Toolbox tab.

2. Select AlarmApp from the Toolbox list to show its preview thumbnail.

   The Toolbox pathway to the AlarmApp is:

   _Default Content > 4. Apps > AVEVA OMI Apps > AlarmApp

3. Drag and drop the preview thumbnail on a layout pane.

4. Select the preview thumbnail on the pane and select the Properties grid.

   The Properties grid shows a list of AlarmApp run-time properties. The two screen captures shown below show the complete set of AlarmApp run-time properties and their assigned default values.

   The Content and Pane property fields, listed under the General in the Properties grid, show the assigned content type and the name of the pane in which the AlarmApp is placed.

5. Set values for the AlarmApp properties. The following tables describe AlarmApp run-time properties.

   Run-Time Behavior Properties

   Follow Current Context	Boolean value that determines if the AlarmApp shows alarms from the current area selection. Follow Current Context is enabled by default. Behavior is determined by the setting of the Only Show Alarms on Current Asset property. When Follow Current Context is disabled, no alarms related to the current area or asset are displayed within the AlarmApp grid at run time. The Only Show Alarms on Current Asset property does not have any effect if Follow Current Context is disabled. For more information about how the Follow Current Context property works with the Only Show Alarms on Current Asset property, see Follow Current Context property.
   Only Show Alarms on Current Asset	Boolean value that determines if the AlarmApp shows aggregated alarms for all assets contained in the currently-selected area, or if it shows only alarms for the currently-selected asset.When this property is enabled, only alarms for the currently-selected asset are shown, even if the the asset is an area. Note that this property only has an effect when Follow Current Context is enabled. Default: When this property is disabled and Follow Current Context is enabled, alarms related to the current area are displayed within the AlarmApp grid at run time. If the current asset is not an area, the AlarmApp grid traverses up the hierarchy to aggregate all alarms from the area, including other contained assets, that contains the selected asset. When both this property and Follow Current Context are enabled: only alarms related to the current asset are displayed within the AlarmApp grid at run time. Alarms for contained assets are not shown. This is the case, even if the current asset is an area. When Follow Current Context is disabled, this property has no effect.
   Navigate on Double Click	Boolean value that determines if the user must double-click on an alarm to to navigate to the asset that is in alarm. The default is true. If set to false, navigation by selecting an alarm is disabled. See also Show Navigate, below, under Command Bar.
   Use Description as Comment	Boolean value that determines if an attribute description is used as the default comment for an acknowledged alarm. False is the default value to not use the description as the default comment. When this property is enabled, the comment popup window states that if left blank, the attribute description is used as the default comment: This property is only applicable when an Ack Alarm command button is used. It has no effect when the shortcut (right-click) menu is invoked. If the "Use Default Ack Comment" checkbox in the Configuration dialog is checked, no comment popup window is shown. Instead, when alarms are acknowledged, the text entered in the Configuration dialog is sent as the comment.
   Group by Header	Boolean value that allows alarms to be grouped by column in the alarm grid when the AlarmApp is in historical mode.
   Show Grid	Boolean value that determines if the alarm grid shows row and column lines during run time. True is the default to show grid lines. The value set to the Show Grid property overrides the equivalent value set from the Configuration dialog.
   Show Heading	Boolean value that determines if each column of the alarm grid shows a heading during run time. True is the default value to show alarm grid headers.The value assigned to the Show Headers property overrides the equivalent property set from the Configuration dialog.
   Show Status Bar	Boolean value that determines if the status bar appears beneath the grid area of the AlarmApp during run time. True is the default to show the status bar.
   Show Context Menu	Boolean value that determines if a shortcut menu containing command options appears when users right-click in the alarm grid. True is the default to show a shortcut menu. For more information, see Show Context Menu property.
   Auto Scroll to New Alarms	Boolean value that determines if the alarm grid will automatically scroll to the bottom to view new alarms. When set to True, the alarm grid scrolls to the newest alarm.
   Flash UnAck Alarms	Boolean value that determines if unacknowledged alarms are shown in flashing text and background colors on the alarm grid during run time. True is the default to show unacknowledged alarms in flashing colors. For an example that shows a flashing unacknowledged alarm, see Flash UnAck Alarms property. Note: Flash UnAck Alarms only works at run time if the Client Mode property is set to Current Alarms (1) or Recent Alarms (2). The Configuration dialog will validate the setting and disallow enabling Flash UnAck Alarms if Client Mode is set to one of the historical modes (3, 4, or 5). The Property tab does not perform this validation.
   Requires Ack Signature	Boolean value that determines if a signature is required to acknowledge an alarm. The default is false (no signature required to acknowledge an alarm). When set to true, the Requires Ack Signature property overrides the corresponding value set in the Configuration dialog, and the user must provide a signature to acknowledge alarms.
   Ack Max Priority	Numerical value (1-999) that specifies the maximum priority of an alarm that requires an acknowledgement signature. Note: Ack Max Priority only works at run time if the Requires Ack Signature property is enabled. The Configuration dialog will validate that the property is enabled before it lets you set Ack Max Priority. The Property tab does not perform this validation.
   Ack Min Priority	Numerical value (1-999) that specifies the minimum priority of an alarm that requires an acknowledgement signature. Note: Ack Min Priority only works at run time if the Requires Ack Signature property is enabled. The Configuration dialog will validate that the property is enabled before it lets you set Ack Min Priority. The Property tab does not perform this validation.

   Configuration Properties

   Configuration

   Selecting the ellipsis displays the Configuration dialog box. All AlarmApp properties can be configured in the Configuration dialog box. However, properties that are shown in the Properties grid of the Layout or ViewApp editors should be configured in the tab. The settings in the Configuration dialog box will be updated to match the settings in Properties grid. With some minor exceptions, changing the settings with the Properties grid will also update the settings in the Configuration dialog box. For more information about assigning property values from the Configuration dialog box, see Set AlarmApp properties.

   Run-Time Values Properties

   Selected Row Tagname

   This is a read-only property that can be use to bind a View application namespace attribute or an Application Server attribute reference to the Selected Row Tagname. This is only applicable when a user selects the row (manual selection), not when the system selects the row. The selected row tagname appears in the alarm grid at run time. Although you can configure the reference as two-way (read-write), it functions as an output only (read-only) property at run time.

   Selected Row Asset

   This is a read-only property that can be used to bind a View application namespace attribute or an Application Server attribute reference to the Selected Row Asset. The selected row asset appears in the alarm grid at run time. Although you can configure the reference as two-way (read-write), it functions as an output only (read-only) property at run time.

   Appearance Properties

   Foreground

   Foreground color of text and and command buttons that appear in the Command bar. #FF000000 is the default foreground ground, which is black. Another foreground color can be selected by selecting the inverted triangle at the right of the Foreground data entry field to show a color picker. If the AlarmApp has been configured to show an area hierarchy tree view, the names of areas appear in the foreground text color.

   Background

   Background color of the Command bar that appears above the alarm grid. The default value is No color, which appears white. Another background color can be selected by selecting the inverted triangle at the right of the Background data entry field to show a color picker. The default background is no color. If the AlarmApp has been configured to show an area hierarchy tree view, the background color extends to the full area of the complete tree view.

   Command Bar Properties

   Show Command Bar	Boolean value that determines if a Command bar appears above the alarm grid area during run time. True is the default to show a Command bar. The Command bar displays large command buttons that are suitable for touch screen devices. By setting the Show... properties that follow to True, the Command Bar can display the following command buttons: For more information about the Command bar, see Show Command Bar property.
   Show Navigate	Boolean value that determines if a navigate command button is shown in the Command bar. The default is true. When true, a user select an alarm from the alarm grid and press the navigate command to move to the asset that is in alarm. See also Navigation on Double Click, above, under Run-Time Behavior.
   Show Ack Selected	Boolean value that determines if the Show Ack Selected command button appears on the Command bar. When users select one or more alarms from the grid and select the Show Ack Selected command, the selected alarms are acknowledged.
   Show Ack All	Boolean value that determines if the Show Ack All command button appears on the Command bar. True is the default to show the Show Ack All command. After users select the Show Ack All command during run time, all alarms are acknowledged.
   Show Ack Visible	Boolean value that determines if the Show Ack Visible command button appears on the Command bar. True is the default to show the Show Ack Visible command. After users select the Show Ack Visible command during run time, only those alarms that are visible in the Alarm grid are acknowledged.
   Show Requery	Boolean value that determines if the Requery command button appears on the Command bar during run time. True is the default to show the Requery command. After the Requery command is selected, the AlarmApp requeries the historical database and shows the refreshed alarm data.
   Show Connect	Boolean value that determines if the Show Connect command button appears on the Command bar during run time. False is the default to hide the Show Connect command. When set to True and users select the Show Connect icon, a request is submitted to connect the AlarmApp to the historical alarm database.
   Show Disconnect	Boolean value that determines if the Show Disconnect command button appears on the Command bar during run time. False is the default to hide the Show Disconnect command. When set to True and users select the Show Disconnect command, a request is submitted to disconnect the AlarmApp from the historical alarm database. The Show Disconnect command requires a pre-configured Historian connection.

   Alarm Mode Properties

   Alarm Query

   Alarm Query is a read-write property to get or set an alarm query dynamically at runtime. It can be used to bind a reference to a ViewApp namespace attribute or to an application object attribute. This query overrides the query configured in the Configuration dialog. If you select the ViewApp context via a Navigation App (NanOsecOnd or NavBreadcrumbControl), or if the context is set by using the MyViewApp.Navigation namespace, the focus of the Alarm Query grid will not change unless the Follow Current Context property is enabled. Conversely, changing the Alarm Query will not change the navigation context or change the context of the ViewApp. The only way to change the focus of the Alarm Query at run time is through direct user interaction. You cannot, for example, add a script that will link the actions. For more information about query syntax, see Alarm queries. You can bind an external reference of string type to the Alarm Query. Users can modify the Alarm Query property at runtime. The Alarm Query is overridden at run time if Follow Current Context is enabled in the alarm property grid. If the Alarm Query run time property is disabled, the Alarm Query Configuration dialog value is used as the default.

   Client Mode

   Read/Write integer value (1-5) that determines the type of alarm data shown in the AlarmApp. The Client Mode property can dynamically bind to a namespace reference or to an attribute. When assigned a value, the Client Mode property overrides the client mode value specified in the Configuration dialog box. The following Client Mode integer values determine the type of alarm data shown in the AlarmApp. 1 = Current Alarms, which is the default 2 = Recent Alarms and Events 3 = Historical Alarms 4 = Historical Events 5 = Historical Alarms and Events For more information about specifying the type of alarm data to be shown in the AlarmApp, see Client Mode property.

   Area Hierarchy Properties

   Show Area Hierarchy	The area hierarchy tree view is used to filter alarms by area (within the navigation hierarchy of the ViewApp), without changing the context of the ViewApp. Show Area Hierarchy is a Boolean value that determines if the area hierarchy tree view appears within the AlarmApp. False (default value) hides the area hierarchy tree view. If you select the ViewApp context via a Navigation App (NavTreeControl or NavBreadcrumbControl), or if the context is set by using the MyViewApp.Navigation namespace, the focus of the Alarm Query grid will not change unless the Follow Current Context property is enabled. Conversely, changing the Alarm Query will not change the navigation context or change the context of the ViewApp. The only way to change the focus of the Alarm Query at run time is through direct user interaction. You cannot, for example, add a script that will link the actions. For more information about query syntax, see Alarm queries.
   Show Alarm Indicator	Boolean value that determines if an alarm indicator appears beneath an area name shown on the area hierarchy of the AlarmApp. True is the default to show alarm indicators.
   Hover Color	Background color that appears when the user hovers directly over an area hierarchy node with a mouse. The default Hover Color value is #FFD3D3D3, which is light gray.
   Selection Color	Selection color that appears when the user selects an area shown in the area hierarchy node. The default Selection Color value is #FFA9A9A9, which is dark gray.
   Font Size	Specifies the font size of area names that appear in the area hierarchy within the AlarmApp. The default font size is 14 points.
   Font Family	Specifies the font family of area names that appear in the area hierarchy within the AlarmApp. Segoe UI is the default font.

   Event Handlers Property

   Available Events

   Lists all available events of the AlarmApp from a list that appears by double-clicking on the data entry field. Select one or more events from the list to create event handlers that can be used in scripting.For more information about AlarmApp event handler scripts, see Write an event handler script.