EZTouch Software Frequently Asked Questions
Use "Ctrl-F" to search for specific words in this FAQ.
Question:
Can I change the Data Type of a Tag Name's assigned Address String (PLC Address)?
Answer
Yes, but only if the Tag is used on no more than one object. If it is currently used by more than one
object, you must:
a. assign the other objects to a new or different tag(s)—or delete those objects
b. change the data type of the PLC Address under Setup > Tag Database
c. re-assign the other objects to the original tag as necessary
FAQ ID: 527
Question:
Can the Tag Database be exported to DirectSOFT32 or other applications?
Answer
Yes, you must Have DSV4.0 or later and EZ Touch Edit V3.0 or later to do this. You can catually import Tags from DirectSoft too.
FAQ ID: 528
Question:
How do I convert a project from one panel size to another?
Answer
Converting a project created on a 6� panel to an 8� or 10� panel requires nothing more than opening the
project with the new size selected.
Converting from 8� or 10� to 6� size is best done by the following procedure:
- Select the Screen > Show 320x240 Rectangle.
- Move all the objects onto the new small 6� grid shown.
- Save the project.
- Open the project again, selecting the new panel size on the Project Information box.
FAQ ID: 529
Question:
Can I use the Power Up Screen selection (under the Project Attributes > General menu) and also use the Switch to Screen Number (under Project Attributes > PLC to Panel)?
Answer
Not exactly, because before the panel can actually display the Power Up Screen, it reads from the PLC
and displays the Switch to Screen Number.
FAQ ID: 530
Question:
Can I place objects anywhere on the screen?
Answer
There are two types of objects in EZTouch Editor. One is Touch Objects (pushbutton, switches,
numeric entry, etc.) and other is Display Objects (meter, bar graph, numeric display, line, circle, etc.)
Touch Objects will always snap to touchcells, however, Display Objects may be placed anywhere on the
screen.
FAQ ID: 531
Question:
What is a touchcell?
Answer
A touchcell is the physical area on the panel that defines user selection by touching. A Touch Object
can contain more than one touchcell, but cannot contain less than one touchcell. On all EZTouch
Panels, the size of a touchcell is 40x40 pixels. However, since the screen size differs, the physical size
of 40 pixels does as well. On the 6” panels, 40 pixels = 0.57”. On the 8” panel 40 pixels = 0.52”. On the
10” panel 40 pixels = 0.41”.
FAQ ID: 532
Question:
Can I use the floating point data type with all objects?
Answer
Yes,however, you must have EZ Touch Edit V3.0 or later.
FAQ ID: 533
Question:
Why do I not see all the discrete tags in a pushbutton object?
Answer
You may have defined tags as discrete but if the PLC addresses assigned to these tags are read only
addresses, then you will not see these tags. The reason is because a pushbutton writes discrete data to
the PLC address and if a tag is mapped to a ReadOnly PLC address, the pushbutton is not allowed to
write the data.
FAQ ID: 534
Question:
Can I use a label on a vertical radio button?
Answer
No, a label is not available for either vertical styled radio button or vertical styled tri-state button.
FAQ ID: 535
Question:
How does a radio button work?
Answer
A Radio button is assigned to a word (16 bit register) in the PLC. Each bit in the word (of this
associated tag) corresponds to an individual button of the radio button object. Only one button can be
ON at a time. So, turning one button ON automatically turns all other buttons OFF.
FAQ ID: 536
Question:
What is the initial state of objects when the project is written to the panel?
Answer
Once panel receives the project from the editor, it reads the PLC addresses associated with each tag
and reflects the PLC’s status on the objects. So, the status of objects would reflect corresponding
values in PLC addresses.
FAQ ID: 537
Question:
What will be the state of objects if they are mapped to internal tags?
Answer
Internal tags are initialized to OFF.
FAQ ID: 538
Question:
When I select a group of objects and try to move them, all the objects do not move. Why?
Answer
If you have selected a mix of touch and display objects and try to move this group, you will be able to
move only display objects. Remember, touch objects are always snapped to a touchcell, whereas
display objects are not necessarily snapped to touchcells. Try moving the touch objects first, then move
the display objects.
FAQ ID: 539
Question:
When I have objects at the boundary of the screen, I am not able to move the objects freely (vertically up/down or Horizontally left/right near the boundary). What can I do to correct this?
Answer
You can use the PC’s keyboard arrow keys to move objects up or down along the boundary line.
FAQ ID: 540
Question:
What is the maximum number of screens that a project can have?
Answer
The maximum possible is 999.
However, the panel's memory may limit the achievable maximum to a lower number of screens, depending on the complexity of bitmaps and objects used in the project and their memory usage.
FAQ ID: 541
Question:
What is the maximum number of alarms that a project can have?
Answer
The maximum is 999, but there is no limit to how many times each alarm can be used in the panel.
FAQ ID: 542
Question:
What is the maximum number of messages I can have in the Message Database?
Answer
You can define a maximum of 999 messages in the Message Database.
FAQ ID: 543
Question:
Can I insert a 640x480 bitmap on a screen?
Answer
The maximum size of a bitmap that can ever be placed on a screen is 640x480 on a 8” or 10” panel.
But, the compressed size of bitmap is also a limitation. The EZTouch panel uses an RLE (RunLength
Encoding) algorithm to compress bitmaps for storage. If this compressed bitmap size exceeds 64K
bytes, you cannot place the bitmap on the screen.
FAQ ID: 544
Question:
Is it possible to find out whether the compressed bitmap size is less than 64K before trying to insert the bitmap?
Answer
No, the only sure way to know is to try. An error message will alert you immediately if the 64K size is
exceeded. Using fewer colors (like 256 vs. 24 bit) will help prevent this problem.
FAQ ID: 545
Question:
Is there a limit to the number of objects that can be placed on a single screen?
Answer
No, not exactly, but the maximum memory size of a screen is 128K bytes.
FAQ ID: 546
Question:
Will a line graph continue to trend if you are not on that screen?
Answer
Yes it will. The Line graph is the only part that updates even when the screen is not visible.
FAQ ID: 603
Question:
Will any touch panel display info from a 0-20mA device?
Answer
The only way is if the 0-20mA signal is connected to an analog card in a PLC that the touch panel supports.
FAQ ID: 604
Question:
Will the EZ-Touch panels be able to communicate to MUSHOSHITO PLCs ?
Answer
The only way is if the MUSHOSHITO PLC can communicate via Modbus protocol.
FAQ ID: 605
Question:
Does the EZ Touch panel have Boolean Expressions?
Answer
No, not at this time.
FAQ ID: 606
Question:
Does the EZ Touch panel have an Opto 22 driver?
Answer
Not at this time.
FAQ ID: 607
Question:
Will EZ Touch communicate to DSDATA?
Answer
No. Not at this time.
FAQ ID: 608
Question:
Does EZ Touch work with Think N Do 5.2 and earlier versions?
Answer
Yes.
FAQ ID: 639
Question:
With EZ Touch Editor can you put more than 1 button in the same location?
Answer
No.
FAQ ID: 667
Question:
When I open a project in EZ Touch Edit I cannot see the whole screen and I do not have any scroll bars. What could be wrong?
Answer
Check the Windows display properties and make sure your fonts are set to SMALL. If not, change it.
FAQ ID: 668
Question:
Can I scale my Numeric Display and Numeric Input Objects in the EZ Touch software?
Answer
Yes you can.
FAQ ID: 669
Question:
Will my EZ Touch software work with ThinknDo Studio versions 6.0 and 6.1 ?
Answer
Yes, but you must have EZ Touch version 1.01 or later. You can download free Maintenance Releases from our website.
FAQ ID: 670
Question:
Can the EZTouch access the ASCII table in the AB SLC5/03?
Answer
No.
FAQ ID: 725
Question:
What do I need to setup in EZ Touch Edit so I can change screens with my PLC?
Answer
Open an existing EZ Touch project or start a new one. Once you have an editing screen open choose SETUP>Project Attributes select the (PLC to Panel tab) notice the Item Switch to Screen Number (word). Assign a Variable memory address to this Tag (I.E. v2000 or N7:0 if using AB PLCs). Now all you have to do is move the number of the screen you wish to go to, to the assigned Variable memory location and the screen will automatically change.
Note:
If you are changing screens with the Switch to screen (WORD) in the EZ Touch software you will need to change the value in the register to a Value of a screen that does not exist ( I.E. 999) a few seconds after the screen changes to the desired screen. If you do not change the value in the register the panel will not change to a different screen if the value in the Switch to screen (WORD) has not changed. For example: If I tell the screen to go to screen 5 then change to another screen using pushbuttons on the screen, and something happens that would normally warrant the screen changing to screen 5 again. The screen will not change to screen 5 because the value 5 is already in the register and the screen will only change when it sees a change in the value in the (Switch to screen WORD register).
FAQ ID: 866
Question:
Where do I find the License Agreement for the EzTouch Software?
Answer
It was saved on your PC when you installed the software.
- Right click the EzTouch Edit Icon on your deskstop
- Select 'Properties'
- Select 'Find Target'
- Look in the directory for 'license.txt'
- Double click the file and it will open in you text editor
FAQ ID: 1253