Add a Tag Manually

About this task

Typically, you add tags to Historian by browsing the data source. If you need to add a tag manually, use the following procedure.

Whenever you add tags, delete tags, or modify certain tag properties, the following collectors reload only the modified tag(s) without restarting the collectors.

OPC Collector
iFIX collector
Calculation collector
Simulation Collector
Server to Server Collector
PI Collector
PI Distributor

The dynamic collector update feature ensures that any modifications to the tag configuration do not affect all the tags in a collector. Tags that stop data collection may record zero data and bad quality without restarting the collector. Tags that do not stop data collection do not record bad data samples to the collection.

By default, the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option is enabled, which allows a tag to stop and restart data collection without restarting the collector. If you disable the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option, any changes you make to the tags do not affect collection until after you restart the collector. To enable or disable the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option, select Advanced on the Collector Maintenance page.

To restart the collector you must stop and start the collector service or executable. Restarting the collector stops and restarts the tag(s) collection and may record bad data samples to the collection. All the collector configuration changes done within a 30 second time frame are batched up together. To collect the modified data faster, update/modify a small set of tags at a time.

Note: When updating large sets of tags at the same time, best practice is to disable the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option and restart the collector after modification.

Procedure

Select the Add Tag Manually link in the Tag Maintenance page.
The Add Tag Manually window shown in the following figure appears.
Select a collector from the drop-down list in the Collector Name field. This associates the new tag with a specific collector.
Enter the Source Address and Tag Name in the appropriate fields.
Select the data store in the Data Store field.
Select a Data Type from the drop-down list.
If the tag is an Array tag, select the Is Array Tag option.
For fixed string data types only, enter a value in the field adjacent to the Data Type field.
Select Seconds, Milliseconds, or Microseconds in the Time Resolution field.
Select OK to add the tag.

Note: If you manually add a Server-to-Server tag, set the Time Adjustment field for the tag to the Adjust for Source Time Difference option after you add the tag. The Time Adjustment field is located in the Advanced section in the Tag Maintenance page. This field applies only to Server-to-Server tags that use a polled collection type.