Term

Definition

Annotation

A note or message that can be added to a graph.  Annotations can be associated with specific OPC items or can be global.

Annotation Bar

The area at the top of a plot window within which tick marks are displayed to indicate the presence of an annotation.

Archives

Offline SDRs that contain time periods of specific interest for offline analysis.

Auditing

An in built configurable trace facility by which SapphireTrend components can be made to log their processing logic.  Typically this is only used when attempting to resolve configuration or application issues.

Base Freq

The maximum frequency at which data can be scanned into an SDR.

Base Time

The Base Time defines when the SDR executes relative to midnight.  The Base Freq then defines the comb points (the times when individual scans take place).  

Comb Point

The regular intervals at which data is to be scanned.  For a 5 second SDR with a Base Time of 0 seconds, the Comb Points would be at 00:00:00, 00:00:05, 00:00:10 etc.

CSV File

A Comma Separated file that can be used to load a 'static' plot file for review and analysis purposes.

DA OPC Server

An OPCServer that supports the Data Access interface.  Used for reading data in real-time.

Data Location (DL)

User friendly names for entities from which the Sapphire Collector can read data.  When items are added to an SDR the user must pick the DL from which the item can be read.  A DL can consist of one or more Data Sources.

Data Source

The generic term for a 'server' than can supply data to the Sapphire Clients for display.  Examples would be a Sapphire Collector, a DA OPC Server, an HDA OPC Server or a CSV file.  

Export Definition

The specification of what is to be exported (i.e. the required items, frequency and duration).  The specification also defines the format of output required.

Exports

ASCII data files generated via the Exporter Format Specification language for import into other applications.

HDA OPC Server

An OPC Server that support the Historical Data Access interface.  Used for recovering historical data about OPC items after the data has been collected.

Hot-key

An accelerator key used to shortcut routine operations.

Item

An OPC item is a fully qualified definition of a data item within an OPC Server.

Multiple Connections

A mode of operation in which a Sapphire Client can establish connections with more than one Data Source.

OPC

OLE for Process Control (OPC) is a standard which defines open connectivity in industrial automation and the enterprise systems that support industry.  Interoperability is assured through the creation and maintenance of open standards specifications.

Overview Mode

A tiled configuration of plot windows within stPro which allows a user to view a large number of trends each with a minimal set of controls enabled.

Performance Items

An optional set of items which can ben used to trend the performance of SapphireTrend and the PC upon which the Sapphire Collector is installed.  The DL for performance items is __PERF__.

Plot Controls

The name given to the controls that can be selecting enabled or disabled for each plot window.  Examples would be the Left Y-Axis, the Right Y-Axis and the Plot Time Scroll bar.  By disabling Plot Control the user can maximize plot acreage.

Plot File

The Plot file contains information relating to a specific plot window within an stPro Session.

Plot Synchronization

A quick method for setting the time period of all the plots to be the same as the active plot.

Preview Pane

Allows new data to be viewed for plots that of sufficient duration for Compression to be in effect.  This is achieved by adding a user configurable 'pane' on the right hand side of the plot to show new data as it arrives.

Radar Plot

A Graph Style allowing a large number of items to be viewed at one.  An excellent representation for detecting deviations from desired target values.

Sapphire Client

Sapphire clients are applications which connect to a Sapphire Collector and display  the process data that the Collector has read.   All data is read using a proprietary  Network API via TCP/IP.

Sapphire Collector

The Sapphire Collector is a windows service which is automatically started by the  Operating System on machine reboot.  The Collector organises the regular collection  of defined sets of OPC items at user specified frequencies.

Sapphire Data Partition (SDP)

An SDP can be considered as a circular buffer that defines the items that the user wishes to trend along with their values at given points in time.

Sapphire Data Repository (SDR)

A Sapphire Data Repository (SDR) can be considered as a container used to set the  base attributes by which a set of OPC data items will be scanned and stored within  the Sapphire Collector.

Scan Rate

The frequency at which a given OPC item is scanned from the underlying OPC Server.  The scan rate for an item is dependant upon which SDP is it within.

Scheduling

The process by which exports can be programmed for execution on an individual or reoccurring basis.

Selected Mode

Selected mode allows the user to specify one or more plots when can be viewed simultaneously with each plot being given the maximum possible plot acreage.

Session File

The Session File contains information about the setup of stPro application window.

stExporter

A Sapphire Client which executes as a background process and is run by the Sapphire Collector whenever an export is scheduled for execution.

stManager

A Sapphire Client with a specialist windows based interface for configuring, managing and monitoring the Sapphire Collector.

stOCX

A Sapphire Client  which allows individual full functionality trend plots to be embedded  within other applications.  A callable API is provided to allow programmers to tailor  the OCX to meet their requirements.

stPro

The premier Sapphire Client.  stPro is a world class trending  application providing multiple views of the process from within a single application.  It is optimized for both Plant Operators and Applications  Engineers.

stQuickTrend

A single trend window application with reduced controls for integration into Operator Consoles.

Systems Items

A set of Items that are automatically created within each SDP and can be used to analyze the performance of each SDP within the Sapphire Collector.  The DL for Systems Items is __SYSTEM__.

Targets

The Minimum and Maximum values for an OPC item before it is felt to be outside it's ideal range.  Used within Radar plots for alarming purposes.

Toolbars

stPro provides numerous toolbars, each of which can be enabled or disabled.   Each toolbar  contains icons for the functions that a user would typically access on a regular basis.

User Preferences

The stPro User Preferences are settings that are specific to an individual user.  By changing these settings users can configure stPro to reflect their personal preferences.

User Roles

The User Roles facility in Sapphire Trend provides an effective way to allocate the  same privileges to a group of users.

X-Y Line Graph

A Graph Style allowing OPC items to be plotted against each other.  Ideal for investigating correlations between variables.  Data pairs are connected with lines so that the time sequence of samples can be observed.

X-Y Scatter Graph

A Graph Style allowing OPC items to be plotted against each other.  Ideal for investigating correlations between variables.