Virtual Objects Overview

You can manually create virtual objects using Object Configurator, or configure virtual objects in bulk through the import of a configuration file. For instructions, see Configuring Virtual Objects.

Object Configurator rights define the access permission to create and delete objects in a Desigo CC system. For more details about access permission for objects, see Object Configurator in Application Rights.

Virtual objects are made up of a property and a command:

  • Value: property in which the concerned information is stored. See the following table for details about data types that can be stored based on the object model.
  • Write: command available for the Value property that allows other scripts or other Desigo CC functions to write the concerned value.
  • WriteInternal: command available for the Value property that allows other scripts or other Desigo CC functions to write the concerned value. The execution of this command is not recorded in the History Database.

 

Virtual Object

Data Type

Simple Data Type

Virtual Analog

GmsReal

Yes

Virtual Binary

GmsBool

Yes

Virtual BitString

GmsBitString

Yes

Virtual BitString 64

GmsBitString64

Yes

Virtual Combination

-

No

Virtual DateTime

PvssTime

Yes

Virtual Duration

GmsDuration

Yes

Virtual Folder

-

No

Virtual Integer

GmsInt

Yes

Virtual Integer 64

GmsInt64

Yes

Virtual Multistate

GmsEnum

Yes

Virtual String

PvssString

Yes

Virtual Unsigned

GmsUint

Yes

Virtual Unsigned 64

GmsUint64

Yes

Note that:

  • For many of these objects, you can customize the display of Value, in the Details expander of the Object Configurator. For example, it is possible to specify the unit of a Virtual Analog by changing the value attributes at the point level.
  • The parameter for Virtual Binary can be one of the following: 0/1, "True"/"False" (strings) or true/false (keywords).
  • For Virtual BitString and BitString 64, when storing the values, it is necessary to pass the decimal value that corresponds with the bitmask. Consequently, the result of the read operation is the decimal value, possibly to convert again into string or bit for later use.
  • The Virtual Combination is a combination of simple data types.
  • For the Virtual Multistate, when storing the values, it is necessary to pass the numeric value that corresponds with a specific textgroup item, previously configured.

For an example of use, see Write, Read, and Print to Console Virtual Datapoints.

When the execution of a script starts, the script will check whether all the necessary virtual objects (global variables) exist; if not:

  • In Engineering mode, the technician is informed by an error of type Warning in the Script Editor (Error List expander). If any required virtual object is missing, then it can be created in the scripts library (see Create the Missing Objects Required by a Library Script).
  • In Operating mode, the operator is not informed, and the script is executed anyway but it may not work properly.

 

To prevent Desigo CC failure, be careful not to store too much data (at megabyte level) in an individual virtual object.

Virtual Objects in Distributed Systems

In distributed systems, a script of a certain system can store information in a virtual object that belongs to another system.