Recipe Management
Recipes make it possible for a set of tags to be saved in the HMI panel to be downloaded at later time. The operator can download a saved recipe to the controller, which will start working with the new values. Recipe libraries consisting of recipes with different sets of parameters can be created, allowing reuse of large sets of parameters.
Recipes can be created during the design of the project or from the HMI panel.
Recipe data is stored in the HMI panel database. Recipe handling functions such as loading, storing, copying and deleting recipes are handled with actions.
Recipe data is not stored in a database during the design of the project. The recipe data is transferred to the target, and the database on the target is updated, if needed, at first startup of project which then might take longer time than normal.
This makes it possible to changea recipe without deleting any existing recipes when transferring the project to the target. The same applies for data loggers, changing the configuration of one data logger doesn't affect the other data loggers and recipes.
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Recipe Setup
Recipes consist of a set of recipe tags and of recipe data (values).
Adding a Recipe Manager
The recipe function is added to the project from the Insert ribbon tab. The recipe configuration pages are used to manage tag sets and values via the Tag Configuration tab and the Runtime Data tab.
Tag Configuration Tab
First add tags to be used by the recipe function from the tags configuration page. Then define a set of recipe items on the Tag Configuration tab of the Recipe function, and connect them to the tags you defined. The data type is already set in the configuration of the tags.
Runtime Data Tab
The actual recipes are created under the Runtime Data tab. Give the recipe a title, and type a value for each recipe item. A recipe can include a maximum of 256 items.
The recipe name has to be an alphanumeric string, beginning with a letter. Name strings can contain letters (a-z, A-Z), numbers (0-9), and underscore (‘_’) characters. Some system device names such as COM1 and AUX are invalid.
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Recipe Management in iX Developer
You can now import and export iX Runtime recipe files in iX Developer. Previously, this was only possible in the HMI panel.
Recipe Import
Click on the Import button on the Runtime Data tab and then the arrow to expand (figure 1) or simply right-click the recipe (figure 2).
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
To import the recipe, the default settings are: Recipe Runtime Data, Comma and Rename (see figure 3).
Refer to the Conversion Guide for information about legacy recipe import.
Figure 3.
Recipe Export
Click on the Import button on the Runtime Data tab and then the arrow to expand (figure 1) or simply right-click the recipe (figure 2).
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Figure 1.
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Figure 2.
To export the recipe the setting shall be Comma as delimiter (figure 3). This exports the runtime recipe to csv in iX.
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Figure 3.
Note
If a user wants to export a recipe csv file and modify it in Excel then the format of the csv file must match the csv format Excel uses. The format Excel uses depends on which region settings the user has in the OS. OS settings can be found at Control -> Region -> Additional settings.
So in iX when exporting/importing recipes from/to iX, the default delimiter is set to be the one used by the OS settings to make it work smoothly with Excel’s export/import functions of csv files. If the user chooses to change the delimiter and edit the exported data in Excel, then the recipe file cannot be imported back into iX reliably.
Recipes in the iX Panel
Some recipe actions can be performed by the operator in runtime.
Loading Recipes
Recipes can be transferred to the controller using a Load recipe action when the HMI panel is running. This means that the recipe values are transferred to the controller. A list of available recipes is displayed when the Load recipe action is activated. Select a recipe in the list and press Enter to make the controller run with the downloaded values.
Saving Recipes
The Save recipe action can be used when the HMI panel is running. Tags defined on the Tag Configuration tab are included in the recipe. Corresponding tag values are stored in the selected recipe file when Save recipe is performed. It is possible to define an explicit recipe, that will be overwritten if it already exists when performing the Save Recipe action.
Creating Recipes in the iX Panel
The Save recipe action is also used to create recipes in runtime. Instead of defining an explicit recipe to overwrite, the recipe data field is left open. In this case, the operator will be prompted to save the recipe with any name, or to overwrite an existing recipe.
Editing Recipes Offline
It is possible to edit existing recipes in the panel without transferring values to the controller, by setting the recipe tags in offline mode. Recipe tags in offline mode will not receive any data from the controller, and no values will be written to the controller.
In offline mode, the Load recipe and Save recipe actions will not affect values in the controller.
Internal tags may be used for recipes, but will not be affected by offline mode. Actions are used to start and end offline mode:
Action | Description |
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Start offline recipe editing | Sets the tags in the specified recipe in offline mode. A notification message is shown. |
End offline recipe editing | Sets the tags in the specified recipe in online mode, and the tags are updated from the controller. |
Click Recipe on the Insert ribbon tab. The Recipe configuration page opens in the desktop area.
Add recipe tags on the Tag Configuration tab of the Recipe configuration page and connect them to controller tags.
Add a recipe on the Runtime Data tab.
Create a screen with four buttons.
Connect two of the buttons to the Load Recipe and Save Recipe actions. Select the recipe title from the Runtime Data tab for Recipe Data.
Connect the other two buttons to the Start offline recipe editing and End offline recipe editing actions.
Run the project and test the functionality:
Click Start offline recipe editing. The tags are set in offline mode.
Click Load recipe. The tags are filled with data from the recipe.
Change the data.
Click Save recipe. The data in the tags is written to the recipe.
Click End offline recipe editing.
The tags are set in online mode and the values are updated with data from the controller.
Recipe Export
A recipe can be exported as a .csv file and saved to a USB stick, an external memory card or to the project files folder. The export is configured through the Export Recipe action available from the Recipe action group.
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Note
Recipe export is not supported during project simulation.
Recipe Export from an Operator Panel Target
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It is possible to select Export to the Project Files Folder, Export to USB, or Export to external memory card, and also to set another name of the export file.
It is also possible to select the requested delimiter in the .csv file (comma or semicolon).
Recipe Export from a PC Target
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It is possible to select Browse and Select an export path, Export to Path or the
Export to Project Files folder, and also setting another name of the export file.
The Browse and Select an export path option allows browsing for desired export destination in runtime. This may be useful if available folders in runtime are unknown when designing the project.
Select the Export to Path option when you want to set the path when designing the project. If the pre-defined path is not valid in runtime, the operator may browse the PC environment by clicking a browse button.
It is also possible to select the requested delimiter in the .csv file (comma or semicolon).
Recipe Import
A recipe that previously has been exported as a .csv file, can be imported back into recipe database. The import is configured through the Import Recipe action available from the Recipe Action group.
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Note
Recipe import is not supported during project simulation.
Recipe Import to an Operator Panel Target
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It is possible to import the csv file using the Import from USB, Import from external memory card or the Import from Project Files folder selections and also setting the name of the import file.
It is also possible to select the requested delimiter in the .csv file (comma or semicolon).
It can be selected whether to ignore the new data or replace the old data, if the recipe data already exists.
Recipe Import to a PC Target
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It is possible to select Browse and Select a path for import file, Import from path or Import from Project Files folder, and also setting the name of the import file.
The Browse and Select a path for import file option allows browsing for desired import destination in runtime. This may be useful if available folders in runtime are unknown when designing the project.
Select the Import from path option when you want to set the path when designing the project.
It is also possible to select the requested delimiter in the .csv file (comma or semicolon).
It can be selected whether to ignore the new data or replace the old data, if the recipes already exists.