What is an OPC Tag?

An OPC Tag is a symbolic name that can be applied to the spreadsheet cell of an In-Sight sensor or emulator. The tag can be visible to OPC clients so they can access the In-Sight spreadsheet cell data.

In the context of the In-Sight OPC Classic Server, two types of OPC Tags exist: Job Tags and Sensor Tags.

An OPC Tag can represent the following data types:

  • Boolean
  • Floating point
  • Integer
  • Text string
Note: Text strings are sent to the OPC client in the Unicode representation of the text.  A text string is decoded using the OPC language set via the Options menu in the Configuration Editor.

OPC Tag Naming Rules

OPC Tag names must adhere to the following rules:

  1. Tag names may not start with a numerical digit.
  2. Tag names may not contain spaces.
  3. Tag names may not be equivalent to spreadsheet cell names or have the form of spreadsheet cell names. For example:

    a0

    Invalid tag name (equivalent to a spreadsheet cell name)

    G213

    Invalid tag name (equivalent to a spreadsheet cell name)

    c9100

    Invalid tag name (has a form similar to a spreadsheet cell name)

    10window

    Invalid tag name (starts with a numerical digit)

    MyTag

    Valid tag name

    AcqCounter_A0

    Valid tag name

    _a0

    Valid tag name

    A0_Counter

    Valid tag name

  4. Tag names may not be equal to any of the predefined Sensor Tag names used by the In-Sight OPC Classic Server.
  5. Each OPC Tag name within a job file must be unique; duplicate tag names are not allowed.
  6. Tag names are case-sensitive. If you create an OPC Tag from within In-Sight Explorer, the corresponding OPC Tag referenced from the In-Sight OPC Classic Server must use the exact same upper and lower case characters. If the two names do not match exactly, a Configuration Error will result.
Note: An In-Sight spreadsheet cell may have only one OPC Tag associated with it.

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