Creating a Hyperlink to an Alarms List

You can create hyperlinks to an Alarms List. This is useful when a Mimic needs to provide access to alarm data for multiple items.

To create a hyperlink to an Alarms List:

1. Display the Mimic that is to contain the new hyperlink. You need to display the Mimic in Design mode (see Displaying a Mimic).
2. Right-click on the Mimic object that you want to animate (the object that is to act as the 'trigger'). If the Mimic does not yet contain the object that you wish to use as the 'trigger', you will need to create the object (see Adding Objects to a Mimic) and then right-click on it.
   A context sensitive menu is displayed.
3. Either:
   • Select the Pick Action Wizard option to run the Pick Action Wizard.

   Or:

   • Select the Animations option to display the Animations window.
4. Use the Pick Action Wizard or Animations window to configure the hyperlink to the Alarms List:

   Pick Action Wizard:

   Set the pick action to work as a Hyperlink, then on the second 'page' enter the syntax for the Alarms List in the URL field. When you have entered the URL, proceed through the steps of the Pick Action Wizard in the same way as for other types of hyperlink (see Using the Pick Action Wizard to Create a Hyperlink).

   The syntax you need to use is:

   SCX:///<system>/AlarmList/<filter1>="<value1>"&<filter2>="<value2>"

   Where:

   • <system> is the name of your system. This can be omitted for relative links as required. Do not enter the angle brackets <>. If you want to include multiple systems, use the * character instead of the system name.

     If you use the * character to include multiple systems, you have to qualify each option with the system name as each system has its own filter. For example, System1.Area="Group 1"&System2.Area="Group 2".

   • <filter1> is the name of the first filter condition that you want to apply. You can use any of the following filter conditions: AlarmState, AOI, Assigned, Categories, MaxSeverity, MinSeverity, and Source. For more information on these conditions, see Alarm Filter String Syntax in the ClearSCADA Guide to Alarms.
   • <value1>—Represents the criteria that has to be met for the first filter condition. The value has to be enclosed in double quotation marks " ". Do not enter the angle brackets < >.
   • &—Use the ampersand character (&) to add another filter condition.
   • <filter2>—Represents the second filter. Do not enter the angle brackets < >.
   • <value2>—Represents the value for the second filter. The value has to be enclosed in double quotation marks " ". Do not enter the angle brackets < >.

   You can add extra filters and values by using the ampersand character &. For example, <filter 3>="<value3>"&<filter4>="<value4>" and so on.

   Example:

   The following entry filters the Alarms List so that it only shows alarms for a point named 'AI1' that is stored in a Group named 'Main Site' on a System named 'CentralPipeline'. The Alarms List only includes alarms that are within the severity range 200-800 (the meaning of these values is defined in the server configuration - see Alarm and Event Severities in the ClearSCADA Guide to Server Administration).

   SCX:///CentralPipeline/AlarmList/Area="Main Site"&Source="AI1"&MinSeverity="200"&MaxSeverity="800"

   Animations:

   1. On the Animations window, select the PickType property, then select the Edit button to display the Expression window.
   2. Enter the number that corresponds to the type of hyperlink you require. The numbers and types of hyperlink are explained in Using Animations to Create a Hyperlink.
   3. Select the OK button to confirm your entry and close the Expression window.
   4. On the Animations window, select the PickParam property, then select the Edit button to display the Expression window.
   5. On the Expression window, define the filter for the Alarms List using the following syntax:

      'SCX:///<system>/AlarmList/<filter1>="<value1>"&<filter2>="<value2>"'

      The syntax for the PickParam animation is exactly the same as the syntax required when using the Pick Action Wizard (see the description earlier in this section), except that the entry has to be enclosed in single quotation marks ' ' as it is an expression.

   6. Select the OK button to confirm your entry and close the Expression window.
   7. Close the Animations window.
      
5. Save the Mimic.
   

When the Mimic is displayed in Run mode, selecting the 'trigger' object will activate the hyperlink and display the Alarms List. The Alarms List will use the filter conditions that are defined in the URL field (on the Pick Action Wizard) or PickParam animation for the 'trigger' object.

Further Information

Default Alarm Filters: see Specify a Default Alarm Filter in the ClearSCADA Guide to Alarms.