Controls Editor

The controls editor allows you to view and manage all Controls defined in your system.

Navigation

From the [Home] tab on the ribbon, click the Controls tool.

Note: Refer to Editing Controls from the Property Editor for another way to access the Control Editor.

Overview

The Controls Editor has three main areas:

Toolbar: The area along the top of the window provides the following tools: New, Delete, Copy, Paste, Edit Composite, Control Sets, Zoom, Find, Columns, Wizard, Import, Export, and Help.
Table: The main area of the window provides a tabular list of all controls defined in the system. See the Editing controls in the table section below for more information.
Status bar: The area along the bottom of the screen provides status and some quick-filter options.

Creating a new control

Click the New toolbar button to add a new control.
Fill out the condition fields (to specify when something should happen):
1. In the If Type column choose System or Element.
  1. If you chose Element use the If Element field to interactively select an element from the drawing (e.g., a Tank).
2. Specify the If Setting, If Operator, and If Value.
  
  Note: To define a composite condition (an advanced condition that uses AND/OR logic), click the dropdown for the Edit Composite toolbar button and choose Edit If Condition.
Fill out the Action fields (to define what happens when the condition is met):
1. Use the Then Element field to interactively select an element from the drawing (e.g., a Pump).
2. Specify the Then Setting, and Then Action.
  
  Note: To define a composite action (an action made up of multiple regular actions), click the dropdown for the Edit Composite toolbar button and choose Edit Then Action (or Edit Else Action).

Note: Use the Control Wizard to quickly create pump on/off controls based on tank water levels.

Note: New controls will automatically be included in the active Control Set. This applies to controls that are created using Duplicate or the Control Wizard as well.

Editing controls in the table

The controls table provides the same powerful tabular editing features as seen throughout the application. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of the controls editor.

Focus Cell: Click a cell or use the arrow keys to navigate around the table. The cell that currently has focus has a thicker border.
Edit Field: An edit field will be shown when clicking in an editable cell (a cell with a white background). Press [Esc] to hide the edit field, press [F2] to show the edit field.
Copy [Ctrl + C] and Paste [Ctrl + V]: You can copy a selected range of cells and paste those values elsewhere in the table. You can also copy and paste data back and forth with Excel.

Note: When pasting data, press [Esc] to hide the edit control so it won’t interfere.

Note: When pasting data, some non-editable cells can be assigned values. For example, you can copy the Element ID from one row to another to assign the Element.
In Active Control Set column: The active status shown in the In Active Control Set column cannot be edited directly. Select the desired row(s) and right-click Edit Control Sets to quickly update the status using the Control Sets Editor Dialog.

Note: Hover the mouse over the In Active Control Set column to see which Control Set is active (the active Control Set is the one associated with the active Scenario).
Zooming: In addition to the Zoom tool, you can double-click in the row-header area to Zoom to a control. Refer to the Zoom section in the Controls Editor- Toolbar topic for more information.
Sorting: Right-click any column to Sort the table.
Filtering: Right-click any column to Filter the table.

Note: When filtering any of the Value columns (which can contain mixed types), values will be treated as numbers or strings depending on the filter criteria you specify. If you Filter by "Value Contains 9", values will be treated as strings (so you can search for a tank level that contains the number 9). If you Filter by: Value < 21, values will be treated as numbers.

Note: When filtering by any of the Value columns, rows with blank values will be excluded from filter results (e.g., composite conditions or actions).

Note: The Status Bar along the bottom of the form provides additional quick filter capabilities (which work in conjunction with the active filter).

Controls Editor - Toolbar

Controls Editor – Status Bar

Controls Editor – Customize Column Visibility Dialog

Controls Editor - Columns

Edit If Condition Dialog

Edit Then/Else Action Dialog

Editing Controls from the Property Editor

Parent topic: Controls