Objectives
This article provides details for the use of Unicode characters in NB HMI applications.
Introduction
Unicode is a computing industry standard for interpreting and representing text for most of the world's writing systems. The Unicode character set includes over 110,000 characters and various symbols that are used in many different languages.
To learn more about Unicode, visit the Unicode website at www.unicode.org.
The NB HMI is capable of displaying and interpreting certain Unicode characters such as A, Ω, and 龥. The NB HMI supports the GBK character set, generally Chinese, English, Japanese and common symbols (see attachment). This article will detail Unicode use with the NB HMI in the following sections.
Content
The NB HMI supports the GBK Unicode character set (see attachment). A text display object will display a Unicode character if the read address contains a hex value defined in the GBK character set.
Check the Unicode box and bitmap font selection to interpret hexadecimal values as Unicode characters in the text display object settings as shown below.
Various hex values and respective Unicode character displays are show below for example.
A value of 0041 hex will display the character A.
A value of 03A9 hex will display the character Ω.
A value of 9FA5 hex will display the character 龥.
When Bitmap Font and Unicode are selected simultaneously for the Text Input property, you can use the Function Key to input a Unicode character to the text input component. One bitmap font is prepared for each character.
Create several function keys with key button set to Unicode. Copy-paste the specific character to input, such as A, Ω, 龥, etc.
Also, make an Enter key to input the character to the Text Input.
As a result, the Function Key will input the specified Unicode character to the Text Input after the enter key is pressed.
In the following example, a CP1L-EM PLC is connected via Ethernet to the NB HMI. The read/write address for Unicode character display and input is assigned as D0. See attachment for a complete NB project file.
Summary
The NB HMI is capable of displaying and inputting several Unicode characters. Understanding the capabilities of this function can improve usability and increase the overall quality of the NB application.
*These details and references were created with NB-Designer v1.3. Newer versions may operate and function differently. Ask your local Omron representative for more details.
References
Helpful resources to reference characters and their associated hex codes can be found at the following links:
http://www.unicode.org/charts/
