A Genie is a graphic object (or group of related graphic objects) that you configure and save in a Genie library for reuse in your project. When configuring the Genie, you use a substitution for part of or all of an object’s expression. This means when you use the Genie, you only need to configure these substitutions and not all of the properties for the object or objects within the Genie.
In the illustration below observe how part of the expression in the ‘On Symbol When’ field has been substituted with %Plant%. The percentage symbols (%%) denote that "Plant" is a Genie substitution (see Defining Genie Substitutions).
When the Genie is pasted onto the graphics page a dialog will open, prompting you to configure the substitutions used in the Genie. The properties of a Genie can also be accessed by double clicking on the Genie.
In the illustration below observe how the field names in the Status Indicator match the 'substitutions' used when creating the Genie. For the Genie substitution ‘Plant’, an equipment reference is entered in the prompt.
During compilation the equipment, 'equipment.item' or variable tag you entered into the prompt replace each substitution in the Genie. When you reuse this Genie in the project, you can enter different references to customize each use of the Genie on a page.
Note: To display the properties of the objects in a Genie (instead of the Genie Properties), select the Genie and hold the Control (CTRL) key down and double-click the object. The object dialog will open with the properties of the object read-only.
See Also
Published June 2018