Quick Input+

Overview

When to use it

Use this symbol when you need to:

• Let operators start or stop equipment, or change a mode, with one click.
• Let operators type or nudge a setpoint and see the new value at once.
• Write a fixed value, such as a reset command, with one button.
• Warn operators, or stop them, when a number is outside its limits.
• Record a short note or a timestamp in a string or time attribute.

Choose Manual Data Entry+ to enter values for several data sources, check them, and write them together with one Save. Quick Input+ is for a single value that is written as soon as the operator acts.

Before you begin

• Use a writable PI Point or AF attribute, and make sure the operators have write permission for it. A calculated attribute is read-only and the control is disabled.
• Turn compression off on the PI Point. With compression on, the PI System can discard a written value that falls inside the compression deviation.
• Set Step to On for a numeric PI Point. With Step off, trends show interpolated values between the values your operators write.
• The symbol takes one data source. The data type decides which controls are offered: number, Boolean, enumeration set (digital), string, or time.

Add and set up the symbol

This quick start writes a number with a field.

1. Select Quick Input+ in the PI Vision symbol gallery, and drag a numeric PI Point or AF attribute onto the display.
2. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Quick Input....
3. Under Interactivity, select the first icon next to Type (3), named Input.
4. Keep Auto Save (1) ON, and set Delay (2) to the time the symbol waits after the last change before it writes.
5. Close the configuration pane.
6. Click the field, type a number, and press Enter. After the delay, the symbol writes the number and shows it with its unit.

Important: Writes are immediate. Pressing Enter in a field, moving a switch, or clicking a button changes data in the PI System. Test with a test point first.

Common tasks

Turn a state on or off

Use this for a Boolean point or a digital point with the two states True and False, such as a pump command.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Quick Input....
2. Under Interactivity, select the control next to Type (1). The icons are Switch, Segmented Button, Toggle Button, and Button.
3. Enter the words operators should see in True (2) and False (3). The defaults are ON and OFF.

The same point, shown by a switch, a segmented button, and a toggle button:

Operators click the switch, or the half of the segmented button they want. A toggle button shows only the current state and flips it on each click. The symbol writes the new state after the Delay. Clicking the half that is already lit writes nothing.

The Button type is different. It writes the fixed state you choose in Value, on every click, and ignores Auto Save. Turn on Reset after press to write the opposite state after the Delay [ms], for a momentary command.

Pick a state from a list

Use this for an enumeration set, a digital point with named states such as Manual, Auto, and Cascade.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Quick Input....
2. Under Interactivity, select the control next to Type (1): Dropdown, List, or Button.
3. For Button, choose the state in Value and enter the button label in Text.

A dropdown opens a list of the states. A list shows every state at once, and the current state is highlighted.

Selecting a state writes it after the Delay. When the symbol has multi-state colors (right-click it and select Configure Multi-State...), each state shows its color. A Button writes its fixed state on each click.

Set a number with a slider or stepper

Use this when operators should change a number in small steps and cannot type a value outside a range.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Quick Input....
2. Under Interactivity, select the Slider icon or the Step Input icon next to Type (1).
3. Enter Minimum (2) and Maximum (3), the range operators can reach.
4. Enter Increment (4), the size of one step.

The stepper has a minus button (1) and a plus button (2). The slider (3) shows its value to the left.

Each click on the stepper, or each move of the slider, changes the value by whole increments. The symbol writes once, the Delay after the last change. The stepper stops at Minimum and Maximum. In the number field, a typed value outside the range is written as the nearest limit, and a notice tells the operator.

Write only when the operator presses Submit

Use this when a stray click or a half-typed value must not reach the PI System, for example for a note or a setpoint that needs a second look.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Quick Input....
2. Under Interactivity, set Auto Save (1) to OFF.
3. Under Style, select Submit Button. Set Position, Size, Icon, Text, and Background.

Operators can now type or choose a value. Nothing is written until they select the submit button (2) or press Enter in a single-line field. The button stays dimmed while the control shows the stored value.

In a multiline text, Enter adds a line, so operators use the button.

Check a value against limits

Use this to catch a typing mistake in a number before it is written.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Quick Input....
2. Under Validate Input, set Enabled (1) to ON.
3. Set Limits (2) to Custom, and enter Max (3) and Min (4). Database uses the limits that the data source reports.
4. To block values outside the limits instead of only warning, set Prevent Entry Outside Limits (5) to ON.
5. Optionally, enter a Message (6) with guidance for the operator.

Without Prevent Entry Outside Limits, a value outside the limits opens a Limit Warning. Cancel returns the control to the stored value. Continue writes the value anyway.

With Prevent Entry Outside Limits, the dialog is titled Invalid Value. It offers only Cancel, and nothing is written.

Use the symbol

• Every control writes. The symbol shows the value that PI holds. When an operator changes it, the symbol writes the new value after the Delay. With Auto Save OFF, the operator selects the submit button instead. A value button always writes at once.
• Number field. Click it, type, and press Enter. Enter writes at once when Auto Save is OFF, and otherwise ends editing and the write follows after the Delay.
• Timestamp. On a live display, the value is written with the current time. On a display with a fixed end time, it is written at the display end time. See Time.
• Failed write. A notification shows the error, and the control returns to the stored value.
• While you edit the display, the controls do not react to clicks.
• No data source yet. A spinner covers the symbol until the data source loads.
• Hover the symbol to see the tooltip: label, value, and time, as configured.

There is no confirmation dialog. The nearest equivalents are the submit button and the limit dialogs.

Configure the symbol

Right-click the symbol and select Configure Quick Input.... The pane has the groups Interactivity, Time, Validate Input (numbers only), Style, and Tooltip.

Interactivity

Settings for a number:

Settings for other data types:

Time

Validate Input

Available for numbers. See Check a value against limits.

Style

Tooltip

Troubleshooting and limitations

Limitation: A write cannot be undone from the symbol. Writing an older or corrected value is a data change, so follow your site's procedure.

Limitation: The symbol writes one value to one data source. Use Manual Data Entry+ for several values.