How To Use Group Components In The NB HMI

Introduction

This article is intended to explain how to use the Group Components feature in NB-Designer.

What are Group Component(s)

Group Component is a software feature in NB-Designer that enables the user to group multiple components to be easily used as template for other projects or for multiple usages in the same project.

How to use Group Component(s)

This section describes how to add a new or edit a group and import/export libraries.

Add a new group

In order to add a new group please follow the steps as described below:

  1. Select the designated components to be included within the group component on the screen.
  2. Press the right mouse button and select 'Group Components'.
'Use Group Component' is used to select a Group Component that are required to be implemented in the NB-Designer project. To save the selected components as a re-usable group, please select 'Save Group Component'.
  1. Select 'Save Group Component' as shown below.

 

  1. A pop-up window shall appear as shown below.

  1. By selecting 'Save Group Components' the selected components are saved in the selected library --libraries are explained in another section of this article--.
In order to modify an existing Group Component please save the group of components using a different name as the original file name.
Delete a group

Please follow the steps given below to understand how to delete a Group Component from a specific library.

  1. Press the right mouse button and select 'Group Components'.
  2. Select 'Use Group Component' as shown below.

  1. Select the Group Component that needs to be deleted in the designated library as shown below.
All Group Components within a specified library can be deleted by selecting 'Delete All Group Components'.

 

Group Component Libraries

The previous section briefly mentioned libraries, NB-Designer supports having libraries for Group Components that can be easily re-used for other NB-Designer projects or export libraries to another NB-Designer that is installed on a different Operating System.

The Group Component Libraries are folders located in the NB-Designer directory that contains Group Components templates. After successful installation of NB-Designer, one default Group Component is installed; resp. keyboard. The library 'keyboard' contains multiple versions of different layouts such as Hexadecimal and Numeral keyboards as shown below.

New libraries can be easily created by selecting 'New Library' in 'Edit Group Components Library' window as shown below.

The library name does not recognize capital letters therefore the letters shall be automatically changed to non-capital instead.

The new library is added to the list of selectable libraries to use and save as shown below.

Additional options available for libraries are: export, import and delete.

Export / Import Group Component Libraries

Group Component Libraries can be easily exported or imported via the 'Edit Group Components Library' window as shown below:

NB-Designer shall provide a message in attempt of an export or import of a library file has been executed. An export summary message box in NB-Designer is shown below.



  

Selecting 'Place Group Component' results in adding the Group Component on the active NB screen using coordinates: x = 0 and y = 0. Therefore it is possible that multiple groups are put on top of each other.

 

The Address number is stored within the Group Component however the Area / Variable allocation is not stored e.g. CIO_bit 3.08 is changed to LB 56 (please note the converting from hexadecimal to decimal value).

 

External assigned Word- or Bit Addresses (e.g. CIO_bit 0.00) to objects in the group component are not re-used in another instance of the group component. All external addresses are set to default address allocation e.g. bit addresses are set to LB 0. Internal addresses <e.g. LW, LB, etc.> are not affected.

 

Sample(s)

The attached .zip file contains a Cyrillic keyboard that is designed as 'Group Component' to be used in NB-Designer projects. Please adjust the Cyrillic keyboard group component sample according your project needs.

Please note that the group component 'Cyrillic keyboard' sample in this article uses LW 9076 to address capital characters for the 'CapsLock' and 'Shift' feature.

Link:
http://www.myomron.com/index.php?action=kb&print=1662


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