GE iFIX

OSDK Type Library Reference

Version 6.1
JANUARY 2020
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Table of Contents

OSDK Type Library Reference 1

Method Summary 1

AddChannel Method 2

Syntax 2

Remarks 2

AddDatablock Method 2

Syntax 2

Remarks 3

Add Device Method 3

Syntax 3

Remarks 3

CopyDevice Method 4

Syntax 4

Settings 4

DebugMessage Method 4

Syntax 5

ErrorMessage Method 5

Syntax 5

FileNew Method 5

Syntax 5

FileOpen Method 6

Syntax 6

Remarks 6

FileSave Method 6

Syntax 6

FileSaveAs Method 6

Syntax 6

Remarks 7

GetChannels Method 7

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. i

 Syntax 7

Remarks 7

GetDataBlocks Method 7

Syntax 7

Remarks 8

GetDevices Method 8

Syntax 8

Remarks 8

GetNameSpace Method 8

Syntax 9

Settings 9

GetProperties Method 9

Syntax 9

Settings 10

Remarks 10

GetPropertyData Method 10

Syntax 10

Remarks 11

InfoMessage Method 11

Syntax 11

IsBrowseSupported Method 11

Syntax 11

Settings 11

Poll Method 12

Syntax 12

Remarks 12

Quit Method 12

Syntax 12

Remarks 12

ReadData Method 12

Syntax 13

ii © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Settings 13

Remarks 14

RemoveChannel Method 14

Syntax 15

RemoveDataBlock Method 15

Syntax 15

RemoveDevice Method 15

Syntax 15

SetPropertyData Method 16

Syntax 16

Remarks 16

Start Method 16

Syntax 16

Stop Method 17

Syntax 17

Switch Method 17

Syntax 17

WarnMessage Method 17

Syntax 17

WriteData Method 18

Syntax 18

Settings 18

Remarks 19

Property Summary 19

Application Property 20

Syntax 20

ConfigFileName Property 20

Syntax 20

ConfigFilePath Property 20

Syntax 20

DefaultConfigFileName Property 21

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. iii

 Syntax 21

DefaultConfigFilePath Property 21

Syntax 21

FileSaved Property 21

Syntax 21

FullConfigFileName Property 22

Syntax 22

FullDefaultConfigFileName Property 22

Syntax 22

FullName Property 22

Syntax 22

Name Property 23

Syntax 23

Path Property 23

Syntax 23

Running Property 23

Syntax 23

Visible Property 23

Syntax 24

Settings 24

Example Summary 24

AddChannel Method Examples 25

AddDataBlock Method Examples 26

AddDevice Method Examples 27

Application Property Example 28

ConfigFileName Property Example 29

ConfigFilePath Property Example 29

CopyDevice Method Example 29

DebugMessage Method Example 30

DefaultConfigFileName Property Example 30

DefaultConfigFilePath Property Example 31

iv © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 ErrorMessage Method Example 31

FileNew Method Example 31

FileOpen Method Example 32

FileSave Method Example 32

FileSaveAs Method Example 32

FileSaved Property Example 33

FullConfigFileName Property Example 33

FullDefaultConfigFileName Property Example 33

FullName Property Example 34

GetChannels Method Example 34

GetDataBlocks Method Example 34

GetDevices Method Example 35

GetNameSpace Method Example 36

GetProperties Method Example 37

GetPropertyData Method Example 37

InfoMessage Method Example 38

IsBrowseSupported Method Example 39

Name Property Example 40

Path Property Example 40

Poll Method Example 40

Quit Method Example 41

ReadData Method Example 41

RemoveChannel Method Example 43

RemoveDataBlock Method Example 43

RemoveDevice Method Example 44

Running Property Example 44

SetPropertyData Method Example 45

Start Method Example 46

StopMethod Example 46

Switch Method Example 46

Visible Property Example 46

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. v

 WarnMessage Method Example 47

WriteData Method Example 47

Obtaining an Interface Pointer to the Server Object 49

Early Binding – at design time 49

Example 49

Late Binding – during run-time 49

OPC Client Only 49

IBrowseOPCServer Interface 49

IDriver Message 49

Sample Application 49

Sample Application Source Code 50

Index 57

vi © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 OSDK Type Library Reference

The OSDK Type Library Reference is intended for programmers who are proficient in the Microsoft®
Visual Basic® programming language.

The following sections provide more details on how to use the methods and properties associated with
the OSDK Type Library.

n Method Summary
n Property Summary
n Obtaining an Interface Pointer to the Server Object
n OPC Client Only

Method Summary

The following list contains the OSDK Type Library methods that are available.

AddChannel
AddDataBlock
AddDevice
CopyDevice
DebugMessage
ErrorMessage
FileNew
FileOpen
FileSave
FileSaveAs
GetChannels
GetDevices
GetDatablocks
GetNameSpace
GetProperties
GetPropertyData
InfoMessage
IsBrowseSupported
Poll
Quit
ReadData
RemoveChannel

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 1

 RemoveDataBlock
RemoveDevice
SetPropertyData
Start
Stop
Switch
WarnMessage
WriteData

AddChannel Method

Adds a channel object to the server configuration, optionally setting channel properties.

Syntax
Handle = object.AddChannel Properties PropertyData Errors
The AddChannel method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
Handle A long integer value specifying the channel object handle assigned by
the server.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Properties A string array specifying channel properties to set.

PropertyData An array specifying corresponding channel property data.

Errors A returned array specifying corresponding property setting errors.

Remarks
Any channel properties not specified will be set to a default value.

AddDatablock Method

Adds a datablock to the specified device's configuration, optionally setting datablock properties.

Syntax
Handle = object.AddDataBlock DeviceHandleProperties PropertyData Errors
The AddDataBlock method syntax has these parts:

2 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Part Description
Handle A long integer value specifying the channel object handle assigned
by the server.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

DeviceHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the device of

which to add the device.

Properties A string array specifying channel properties to set.

PropertyData An array specifying corresponding channel property data.

Errors A returned array specifying corresponding property setting errors.

Remarks
Any datablock properties not specified will be set to a default value.

Add Device Method

Returns the path specification for the application's executable file. Read only.

Syntax
Handle = object.AddDevice ChannelHandleProperties PropertyData Errors
The AddDevice method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
Handle A long integer value specifying the channel object handle assigned
by the server.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ChannelHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the channel to

which to add the device.

Properties A string array specifying channel properties to set.

PropertyData An array specifying corresponding channel property data.

Errors A returned array specifying corresponding property setting errors.

Remarks
Any device properties not specified will be set to a default value.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 3

CopyDevice Method

Copies or moves the specified device to the specified channel's configuration.

Syntax
Error=object.CopyDevice DeviceHandle, bstrName, ChannelHandlebMove
The CopyDevice method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
Error A long integer value specifying success or failure.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

DeviceHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the device to copy
or move.

bstrName A string expression that specifies the name of the device to copy or
move.

ChannelHandle A long integer value specifying the handle of the channel to add the
device to.

bMove A boolean expression specifying whether the device should be

moved.

Settings
The settings for bMove are:

Setting Description
True If the device is to be moved.

False If the Device is to be copied.

The settings for Error are:

Setting Description
0 The device was copied or moved.

1 The device was not copied or moved; the method failed.

DebugMessage Method

4 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Sends a debug message to the I/O Server event window.

Syntax
object.DebugMessage Message

The DebugMessage method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Message A string expression that specifies the text you want to display in the
I/O Server event window as a debug message.

ErrorMessage Method

Sends an error message to the I/O Server event window.

Syntax
object.ErrorMessage Message
The ErrorMessage method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Message A string expression that specifies the text you want to display in the
I/O Server event window as an error message.

FileNew Method

Creates an empty configuration.

Syntax
object.FileNew
The FileNew method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 5

FileOpen Method

Opens and loads the specified configuration file.

Syntax
object.FileOpen [= string]
The FileOpen method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

string A string expression that specifies a configuration file name.

Remarks
If the specified file does not exist, a new configuration file is created with the specified file name. If an
existing .csv file is specified, the file is imported.

FileSave Method

Saves changes to the file specified in the FullConfigFileName property.

Syntax
object.FileSave
The FileSave method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

FileSaveAs Method

Saves changes to the specified file.

Syntax
object.FileSaveAs [= string]
The FileSaveAs method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

6 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 string A string expression that specifies a configuration file name.

Remarks
A configuration file specified with the I/O Driver’s acronym as the extension will be saved as a reload-
able binary file, a “.csv” extension will be saved as a comma separated value text file, and a “.txt” exten-
sion will result in the server window’s log being written to a text file.

GetChannels Method

Returns all configured channels as handles and names.

Syntax
NumChannels = object.GetChannels ChannelHandles ChannelNames
The GetChannels method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
NumChannels A long integer expression specifying the number of channels
returned

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ChannelHandles A long integer array specifying the returned channel handles.

ChannelNames A string array specifying the returned channel names

Remarks
The handles and names retrieved with this method can be used in an application to populate a tree view.
The handles are used in methods such as SetProperyData and GetPropertyData.

GetDataBlocks Method

Returns all configured datablocks on the specified device as handles and names.

Syntax
NumDataBlocks = object.GetDataBlocks DeviceHandle DataBlockHandles DataBlockNames

The GetDataBlocks method syntax has these parts:

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 7

 Part Description
NumDataBlocks A long integer expression specifying the number of datablocks
returned.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

DeviceHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the device from
which to retrieve the datablocks.

DataBlockHandles A long integer array specifying the returned datablock handles.

DataBlockNames A string array specifying the returned datablock names.

Remarks
The handles and names retrieved with this method can be used in an application to populate a tree view.
The handles are used in methods such as SetProperyData and GetPropertyData.

GetDevices Method

Returns all configured devices on the specified channel as handles and names.

Syntax
NumDevices = object.GetDevices ChannelHandle DeviceHandles DeviceNames
The GetDevices method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
NumDevices A long integer expression specifying the number of devices returned.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ChannelHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the channel from
which to retrieve the devices.

DeviceHandles A long integer array specifying the returned device handles.

DeviceNames A string array specifying the returned device names.

Remarks
The handles and names retrieved with this method can be used in an application to populate a tree view.
The handles are used in methods such as SetProperyData and GetPropertyData.

GetNameSpace Method

8 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Returns the namespace type for the OPC server. Namespaces can be hierarchical or flat. The OPC Cli-
ent Tree Browser is an example of a hierarchical namespace; it has three levels off the root, server,
group, and item. A flat namespace is one that has only one level off the root.

Syntax
NameSpace = object.GetNameSpace(lChannelHandle)
The GetNameSpace method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
NameSpace An integer value that evaluates to a namespace.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

IChannelHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the OPC server
from which to retrieve the namespace.

Settings
The settings for NameSpace are:

Setting Description
0 Hierarchical namespace

1 Flat namespace

GetProperties Method

Returns all properties for the specified type of object.

Syntax
NumProperties = object.GetProperties ObjectType Properties
The GetProperties method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
NumProperties A long integer expression specifying the number of properties
returned in the Properties array.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ObjectType An integer expression specifying the type of object (channel, device

or datablock) to return properties for.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 9

 Properties A string array specifying the returned properties.

Settings
The settings for ObjectType are:

Setting Description
1 Driver object

2 Channel object

3 Device object

4 DataBlock object

Remarks
This method allows an OLE Automation controller to retrieve all exposed properties for each server
object. These property strings are used as properties in methods such as SetProperyData and GetProp-
ertyData.

GetPropertyData Method

Returns data for each specified property on the specified object.

Syntax
Errors = object.GetPropertyData ObjectHandleProperties PropertyData
The GetPropertyData method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
Errors A returned array specifying corresponding property retrieving errors.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ObjectHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the object (chan-
nel, device or datablock) to return property data for.

Properties An string array specifying device properties to return.

PropertyData An array specifying corresponding device property data.

10 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Remarks
When retrieving data for a single property, the property string may be specified as a string instead of a
one-dimensional array. In this case, PropertyData will be returned as a single VARIANT and not an
array.

InfoMessage Method

Sends an information message to the I/O Server event window.

Syntax
object.InfoMessage Message
The InfoMessage method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Message A string expression that specifies the text you want to display in the
I/O Server event window as an information message.

IsBrowseSupported Method

Returns if the OPC server supports browsing.

Syntax
Browsable = object.IsBrowseSupported(lChannelHandle)
The IsBrowseSupported method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
Browsable An integer value that indicates whether the OPC server supports
browsing.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

IChannelHandle A long integer value that evaluates to the handle of the OPC server
you want to browse.

Settings
The settings for Browsable are:

Setting Description

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 11

 0 The server does not support browsing.

1 The server supports browsing.

Poll Method

Polls all datablocks on the specified channel, device or datablock object.

Syntax
object.Poll ObjectHandle

The Poll method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ObjectHandle A long integer value specifying a server object handle received from
server methods such as AddChannel() or GetDevices().

Remarks
The Poll method can be used to demand poll datablocks on the server by configuring the datablocks with
a disabled poll time and calling Poll() with the appropriate datablock handle.
Quit Method

Shuts down the server.

Syntax
object.Quit
The Quit method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Remarks
The Quit method can be used to explicitly issue a shutdown request to the server. If the server is con-
nected to a FIX client or clients, this method will return an error.

ReadData Method

12 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Returns the polled data for the specified datablock.

Syntax
Data = object.ReadData DataBlockHandle RequestedDataType ItemOffset SubItemOffset Count Sig-
nalConditioning HighEgu LoEgu TimeStamp Quality

The ReadData method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
Data An array or expression specifying the datablock’s polled data.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

DataBlockHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the datablock

from which to retrieve polled data.

RequestedDataType An integer expression specifying the returned data’s data type.

ItemOffset A long integer expression specifying the offset of the desired data
from the start of the datablock.

SubItemOffset An integer expression specifying the offset of the desired data

from the start of the data item.

Count A long integer expression specifying the number of consecutive

data items to return.

SignalConditioning An integer expression specifying the signal conditioning to apply

to the returned data.

HighEgu A single expression specifying the high Engineering Units value to

be used for signal conditioning.

LoEgu A single expression specifying the low Engineering Units value to

be used for signal conditioning.

TimeStamp An array or expression specifying the returned timestamp of the

data.

Quality An array or expression specifying the returned quality of the data.

Settings
The settings for RequestedDataType are:

Setting Description
1 Not specified (VT_EMPTY)

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 13

 2 2-byte signed integer (VT_I2)

3 4-byte signed integer (VT_I4)

4 4-byte real (VT_R4)

5 8-byte real (VT_R8)

The settings for SignalConditioning are:

Setting Description
0 None (No Signal Conditioning)

1 12BN (12 Bit Binary with No Alarming)

2 12AL (12 Bit Binary with Alarming)

3 15BN (15 Bit Binary with No Alarming)

4 15AL (15 Bit Binary with Alarming)

5 LIN (Linear Signal Conditioning)

6 3BCD (3 Digit Binary Coded Decimal)

7 4BCD (4 Digit Binary Coded Decimal)

8 13BN (13 Bit Binary with No Alarming)

9 13AL (13 Bit Binary with Alarming)

10 8BN (8 Bit Binary with No Alarming)

11 8AL (8 Bit Binary with Alarming)

Remarks
The RequestedDataType settings are of type VARTYPE (an enumeration type used in VARIANT,
TYPEDESC, OLE property sets, and safe arrays) and represent the minimum supported for this server.
See your I/O Server documentation for more details regarding this setting.

The SignalConditioning settings represent the minimum supported for this server. See your I/O Server
documentation for more details regarding this setting.

The TimeStamp part is returned as a Time value. The Quality part is returned as an integer representing
OLE for Process Control (OPC) Quality flags. Please reference the OLE for Process Control Version 1.0
Specification for more information.

RemoveChannel Method
14 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.
 Removes the specified channel from the server configuration.

Syntax
object.RemoveChannel ChannelHandle
The RemoveChannel method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ChannelHandle A long integer value specifying a channel object handle received from
a server method such as AddChannel().

RemoveDataBlock Method

Removes the specified datablock from the specified device’s configuration.

Syntax
object.RemoveDataBlock DeviceHandle DataBlockHandle
The RemoveDataBlock method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

DeviceHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the device from
which to remove the datablock.

DataBlockHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the datablock to

remove.

RemoveDevice Method

Removes the specified device from the specified channel’s configuration.

Syntax
object.RemoveDevice ChannelHandle DeviceHandle
The RemoveDevice method syntax has these parts:

Part Description

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 15

 object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ChannelHandle A long integer value specifying a channel object handle received from
a server method such as AddChannel().

DeviceHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the device to

remove

SetPropertyData Method

Sets data for each specified property on the specified object.

Syntax
Errors = object.SetPropertyData ObjectHandleProperties PropertyData
The SetPropertyData method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
Errors A returned array specifying corresponding property setting errors.

object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ObjectHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the object (chan-
nel, device or datablock) to set property data for.

Properties A string array specifying device properties to set.

PropertyData An array specifying corresponding device property data.

Remarks
When setting data for a single property, the property string may be specified as a string instead of a one-
dimensional array, and the property data value may also be specified as a single VARIANT instead of a
one-dimensional array.

Start Method

Starts server polling.

Syntax
object.Start
The Start method syntax has these parts:

16 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Stop Method

Stops server polling.

Syntax
object.Stop
The Stop method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Switch Method

Switches the specified channel or device object to/from backup.

Syntax
object.Switch ObjectHandle
The Switch method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ObjectHandle A long integer value specifying a server object handle received from
server methods such as AddChannel() or GetDevices().

WarnMessage Method

Sends a warning message to the I/O Server event window.

Syntax
object.WarnMessage Message
The WarnMessage method syntax has these parts:

Part Description

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 17

 object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Message A string expression that specifies the text you want to display in the
I/O Server event window as a warning message.

WriteData Method

Writes the specified data to the specified datablock.

Syntax
object.WriteData DataBlockHandle ItemOffset SubItemOffset SignalConditioning HighEgu LoEgu
Data
The WriteData method syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

DataBlockHandle A long integer expression specifying the handle of the datablock to

write to.

RequestedDataType An integer expression specifying the returned data’s data type.

ItemOffset A long integer expression specifying the offset from the start of
the datablock to write to.

SubItemOffset An integer expression specifying the offset from the start of the
data item to write to.

SignalConditioning An integer expression specifying the signal conditioning to apply

to the data.

HighEgu A single expression specifying the high Engineering Units value to

be used for signal conditioning

LoEgu A single expression specifying the high Engineering Units value to

be used for signal conditioning.

Data An expression specifying the data to write.

Settings
The settings for SignalConditioning are:

Setting Description

18 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 0 None (No Signal Conditioning)

1 12BN (12 Bit Binary with No Alarming)

2 12AL (12 Bit Binary with Alarming)

3 15BN (15 Bit Binary with No Alarming)

4 15AL (15 Bit Binary with Alarming)

5 LIN (Linear Signal Conditioning)

6 3BCD (3 Digit Binary Coded Decimal)

7 4BCD (4 Digit Binary Coded Decimal)

8 13BN (13 Bit Binary with No Alarming)

9 13AL (13 Bit Binary with Alarming)

10 8BN (8 Bit Binary with No Alarming)

11 8AL (8 Bit Binary with Alarming)

Remarks
The SignalConditioning settings represent the minimum supported for this server. See your I/O Server
documentation for more details regarding this setting.

Only one item may be written at a time with this method

Property Summary

The following list contains the OSDK Type Library properties that are available.

Application
ConfigFileName
ConfigFilePath
DefaultConfigFileName
DefaultConfigFilePath
FileSaved
FullConfigFileName
FullDefaultConfigFileName
FullName
Name

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 19

 Path
Running
Visible

Application Property

Returns the Application object. Read only.

Syntax
object.Application
The Application property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ConfigFileName Property

Returns the active configuration file name. Read only.

Syntax
object.ConfigFileName
The ConfigFileName property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

ConfigFilePath Property

Returns the path specification for the active configuration file. Read only.

Syntax
object.ConfigFilePath
The ConfigFilePath property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

20 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

DefaultConfigFileName Property

Sets or returns the default configuration file name.

Syntax
object.DefaultConfigFileName [= string]

The DefaultConfigFileName property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

string A string expression that evaluates to the server default configuration

file path.

DefaultConfigFilePath Property

Sets or returns the default path specification for configuration files.

Syntax
object.DefaultConfigFilePath [= string]
The DefaultConfigFilePath property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

string A string expression that evaluates to the server default configuration

file path.

FileSaved Property

Returns the saved state of the configuration file. Read only.

Syntax
object.FileSaved
The FileSaved property syntax has these parts:

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 21

 Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

FullConfigFileName Property

Returns the file specification for the active configuration file, including path. Read only.

Syntax
object.FullConfigFileName
The FullConfigFileName property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

FullDefaultConfigFileName Property

Returns the file specification for the default configuration file, including path. Read only.

Syntax
object.FullDefaultConfigFileName
The FullDefaultConfigFileName property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

FullName Property

Returns the file specification for the application, including path. Read only.

Syntax
object.FullName
The FullName property syntax has these parts:

Part Description

22 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Name Property

Returns the name of the application. Read only.

Syntax
object.Name
The Name property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Path Property

Returns the path specification for the application's executable file. Read only.

Syntax
object.Path

The Path property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Running Property

Returns a value indicating whether the server is started or stopped. Read only.

Syntax
object.Running
The Running property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

Visible Property

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 23

Sets or returns a value indicating whether the main server window is visible or hidden.

Syntax
object.Visible [= boolean]
The Visible property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to the Driver object.

boolean A boolean expression specifying whether the server window is visible

or hidden.

Settings
The settings for boolean are:

Setting Description
True Server window is visible.

False Server window is hidden.

Example Summary

The following list contains the OSDK Type Library methods that are available.

AddChannel Method Examples

AddDataBlock Method Examples
AddDevice Method Examples
AddProperty Method Example
ConfigFileName Property Example
ConfigFilePath Property Example
CopyDevice Method Example
DebugMessage Method Example
DefaultConfigFileName Property Example
DefaultConfigFilePath Property Example
ErrorMessage Method Example
FileNew Method Example
FileOpen Method Example
FileSave Method Example
FileSaveAs Method Example

24 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 FileSaved Property Example
FullConfigFileName Property Example
FullDefaultConfigFileName Property Example
FullName Property Example
GetChannels Method Example
GetDataBlocks Method Example
GetDevices Method Example
GetNameSpace Method Example
GetProperties Method Example
GetPropertyData Method Example
InfoMessage Method Example
IsBrowseSupported Method Example
Name Property Example
Path Property Example
Poll Method Example
Quit Method Example
ReadData Method Example
RemoveChannel Method Example
RemoveDataBlock Method Example
RemoveDevice Method Example
Running Property Example
SetPropertyData Method Example
Start Method Example
StopMethod Example
Switch Method Example
Visible Property Example
WarnMessage Method Example
WriteData Method Example

AddChannel Method Examples

This example adds a channel object to the server, specifying some properties.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 25

 ‘ Create and return reference to Driver object
Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Set up channel properties and data

vProperties = Array(“PrimaryPort”, "BackupPort", “PrimaryBaud", "BackupBaud")
vPropertyData = Array(“COM1”, “COM3”, “9600”, “9600”)
vErrors = Empty

‘ Add the channel

lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors
This example adds a channel object to the server with default properties.
Dim objDriver as Object
Dim lChanHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add the channel, passing empty parameters

lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

AddDataBlock Method Examples

This example adds a datablock object to the server, specifying some properties.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle, lDevHandle, lDbHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

26 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 ‘ Add a device
lDevHandle = objDriver.AddDevice lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Set up datablock properties and data

vProperties = Array(“PrimaryPollTime”, “Description")
vPropertyData = Array(“1:00:00”, “Alarms”)
vErrors = Empty

‘ Add a datablock
lDbHandle = AddDatablock lDevHandle vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

This example adds a device object to the server with default properties.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle, lDevHandle, lDbHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Add a device
lDevHandle = objDriver.AddDevice lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Add a datablock
lDbHandle = objDriver.AddDatablock lDevHandle vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

AddDevice Method Examples

This example adds a device object to the server, specifying some properties.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lDevHandle, lChanHandle As Long

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 27

 Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Set up device properties and data

vProperties = Array(“PrimaryStation”, "BackupStation", “Description")
vPropertyData = Array(“1”, “11”, “Gas well #121167”)
vErrors = Empty

‘ Add a device
lDevHandle = objDriver.AddDevice lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

This example adds a device object to the server with default properties.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lDevHandle, lChanHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Add a device
lDevHandle = objDriver.AddDevice lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

Application Property Example

This example sets the objDriverApp variable to the Driver Application object:

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim objDriverApp as Object

28 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 ‘ Create and return reference to Driver object
Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")
objDriverApp = objDriver.Application

ConfigFileName Property Example

This example sets the Text property of a TextBox control to the server’s configuration file name.

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Get and set text

txtText1.Text = objDriver.ConfigFileName

ConfigFilePath Property Example

This example sets the Text property of a TextBox control to the server s configuration file path.

Dim objDriver as Object

Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

Get and set text

txtText1.Text = objDriver.ConfigFilePath

CopyDevice Method Example

This example copies a device object from one channel to another.

Dim objDriver As Object

Dim lChanHandle, lDevHandle As Long
Dim lChanHandle2, lDevHandle2 As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors
Dim Err As Long

' Create and return reference to Driver object

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 29

 Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.OPCDrv")

'Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel(vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors)

'Add a device
lDevHandle = objDriver.AddDevice(lChanHandle, vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors)

'Add second channel

lChanHandle2 = objDriver.AddChannel(vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors)

'Copy Device object from the first channel

Err = objDriver.CopyDevice(lDevHandle, "TargetDeviceName", lChanHandle2, False)

DebugMessage Method Example

This example sends a debug message to the server.

Dim objDriver As Object

Dim objIMessage As IDriverMessage

' Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.OPCDrv")

'get reference to IDriverMessage

Set objIMessage = New OPCServer

'Send a debug message to the server

objIMessage.DebugMessage ("Debug message")

DefaultConfigFileName Property Example

This example sets the Text property of a TextBox control to the server’s default configuration file path
and then sets the server’s default configuration file name to a new value:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

30 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")
‘ Get text
txtText1.Text = objDriver.DefaultConfigFileName
‘ Set text
objDriver.ConfigFileName = “Test.itk”

DefaultConfigFilePath Property Example

This example sets the Text property of a TextBox control to the server’s default configuration file path
and then sets the server’s default configuration file path to a new value:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")
‘ Get text
txtText1.Text = objDriver.DefaultConfigFilePath
‘ Set text
objDriver.ConfigFileName = “C:\ConfigurationFiles\Test”

ErrorMessage Method Example

This example sends an error message to the server

Dim objDriver As Object

Dim objIMessage As IDriverMessage

' Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.OPCDrv")

'get reference to IDriverMessage

Set objIMessage = New OPCServer

'Send an Error message to the server

objIMessage.ErrorMessage ("Error message")

FileNew Method Example

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 31

 This example creates an empty server configuration:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Create new configuration

objDriver.FileNew

FileOpen Method Example

This example opens the specified server configuration file.

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Open configuration file

objDriver.FileOpen “TestConfig.itk”

FileSave Method Example

This example saves the current server configuration:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Save configuration file

objDriver.FileSave

FileSaveAs Method Example

This example saves the server configuration as a file type determined by the value of an OptionButton
control:

Dim objDriver as Object

32 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 ‘ Create and return reference to Driver object
Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")
If optFileType.Value = True
‘ Save configuration file as binary
objDriver.FileSaveAs “TestConfig.itk”
Else
‘ Save configuration file as csv
objDriver.FileSaveAs “TestConfig.csv”

FileSaved Property Example

This example checks the FileSaved property and prompts the user if the file needs to be saved. This
may be typical of a client application’s shutdown code.

‘ Check if file is dirty

If objDriver.FileSaved = False Then
‘ Prompt user
If MsgBox(“Save configuration file?”, vbOKCancel) = vbOK Then
‘ Save config file
objDriver.Save

FullConfigFileName Property Example

This example sets the Text property of a TextBox control to the server’s full configuration file name:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object
Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")
‘ Get and set text
txtText1.Text = objDriver.FullConfigFileName

FullDefaultConfigFileName Property Example

This example sets the Text property of a TextBox control to the server’s default configuration file spe-
cification:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object
Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")
‘ Get text

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 33

 txtText1.Text = objDriver.FullDefaultConfigFileName

FullName Property Example

This example sets the Caption property of a form to the full application name:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object
Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")
‘ Set Caption property
frmForm1.Caption = objDriver.FullName

GetChannels Method Example

This example returns the configured channels for the driver object and displays them in two TextBox
Control arrays.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lNumChans, i As Long
Dim vChannelHandles, vChannelNames

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Get configured channels

lNumChans = objDriver.GetChannels(vChannelHandles, vChannelNames)

‘ Display them
For i = 1 To lNumChans
txtText1(i) = vChannelNames(i - 1)
txtText2(i) = vChannelHandles(i - 1)
Next i

GetDataBlocks Method Example

This example returns the configured datablocks for a device and displays them in two TextBox Control
arrays.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lNumChans, lNumDevs, lNumDBs i As Long

34 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Dim vChannelHandles, vChannelNames, vDeviceHandles, vDeviceNames, vDataBlockHandles,
vDataBlockNames

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Get configured channels

lNumChans = objDriver.GetChannels(vChannelHandles, vChannelNames)

‘ Get configured devices on first channel

lNumDevs = objDriver.GetDevices(vChannelHandles(0), vDeviceHandles, vDeviceNames)

‘ Get configured datablocks on first device

lNumDBs = objDriver.GetDataBlocks(vDeviceHandles(0), vDataBlockHandles, vDataBlockNames)

‘ Display them
For i = 1 To lNumDBs
txtText1(i) = vDataBlockNames(i - 1)
txtText2(i) = vDataBlockHandles(i - 1)
Next i

GetDevices Method Example

This example returns the configured devices for a channel object and displays them in two TextBox Con-
trol arrays.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lNumChans, lNumDevs i As Long
Dim vChannelHandles, vChannelNames, vDeviceHandles, vDeviceNames

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Get configured channels

lNumChans = objDriver.GetChannels(vChannelHandles, vChannelNames)

‘ Get configured devices on first channel

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 35

 lNumDevs = objDriver.GetDevices(vChannelHandles(0), vDeviceHandles, vDeviceNames)

‘ Display them
For i = 1 To lNumDevs
txtText1(i) = vDeviceNames(i - 1)
txtText2(i) = vDeviceHandles(i - 1)
Next i

GetNameSpace Method Example

Dim objDriver As Object

Dim objBrowseServer As IBrowseOpcServer
Dim lNumChannels As Long
Dim pvChannelHandles, pvChannelNames
Dim nNameSpace, nIsBrowseSupported as Integer
Dim x as Integer

' Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.OPCDrv")
'get reference to IBrowseOpcServer
Set objBrowseServer = New OPCServer

' Get the number of channels

lNumChannels = objDriver.GetChannels(pvChannelHandles, pvChannelNames)
If lNumChannels <> 0 Then
For x = 0 To lNumChannels - 1 Step 1

' Check if browse is supported

nIsBrowseSupported = objBrowseServer.IsBrowseSupported(pvChannelHandles(x))

'Get the namespace for the server

nNameSpace = objBrowseServer.GetNameSpace (pvChannelHandles(x))

Next x
End If

36 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 pvChannelHandles = Null
pvChannelNames = Null

GetProperties Method Example

This example gets the exposed properties for the driver object and displays them in a TextBox Control
array.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lNumProps, i As Long
Dim vProperties

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Get driver object properties

lNumProps = objDriver.GetProperties(1, vProperties)

‘ Display them
For i = 1 To lNumProps
txtText(i) = vProperties(i - 1)
Next i

GetPropertyData Method Example

This example returns a property data value for a channel object.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Setup the VARIANTs

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 37

 vProperties = “Name”
vErrors = Empty

‘ Set the property data

vErrors = objDriver.SetPropertyData lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData

‘ Display the retrieved data

txtText1.Text = vPropertyData

This example returns multiple property data values for a channel object.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Setup the VARIANTs

vProperties = Array( “PrimaryBaud", "BackupBaud", "BackupPort")
vErrors = Empty

‘ Set the property data

vErrors = objDriver.SetPropertyData lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData

‘ Display the retrieved data

txtText1.Text = vPropertyData(0)
txtText2.Text = vPropertyData(1)
txtText3.Text = vPropertyData(2)

InfoMessage Method Example

38 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 This example sends an information message to the server.

Dim objDriver As Object

Dim objIMessage As IDriverMessage

' Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.OPCDrv")

'get reference to IDriverMessage

Set objIMessage = New OPCServer

'Send an information message to the server

objIMessage.InfoMessage ("Information message")

IsBrowseSupported Method Example

Dim objDriver As Object

Dim objBrowseServer As IBrowseOpcServer

Dim lNumChannels As Long

Dim pvChannelHandles, pvChannelNames
Dim nNameSpace, nIsBrowseSupported as Integer
Dim x as Integer

' Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.OPCDrv")

'get reference to IBrowseOpcServer

Set objBrowseServer = New OPCServer

' Get the number of channels

lNumChannels = objDriver.GetChannels(pvChannelHandles, pvChannelNames)

If lNumChannels <> 0 Then

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 39

 For x = 0 To lNumChannels - 1 Step 1

' Check if browse is supported

nIsBrowseSupported = objBrowseServer.IsBrowseSupported(pvChannelHandles(x))

'Get the namespace for the server

nNameSpace = objBrowseServer.GetNameSpace (pvChannelHandles(x))

Next x
End If

pvChannelHandles = Null
pvChannelNames = Null

Name Property Example

This example sets the Caption property of a form to the application name:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Set Caption property

frmForm1.Caption = objDriver.Name

Path Property Example

This example sets the Caption property of a form to the path specification of the application:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Set Caption property

frmForm1.Caption = objDriver.Path

Poll Method Example

40 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 This example demand polls all datablocks on a device.

Dim vHandles, vNames

Dim lNumBlocks, x As Long

‘ Get datablock handles

lNumBlocks = GetDataBlocks(lDeviceHandle, vHandles, vNames)
For x = 0 To lNumBlocks
objDriver.Poll(vHandles(x))
Next x

Quit Method Example

This example prompts the user to shut down the server.

‘ Prompt user
If MsgBox(“Shutdown server?”, vbOKCancel) = vbOK Then

‘ Exit server
objDriver.Quit

ReadData Method Example

This example reads data from the server in response to a CommandButton click.

Private Sub cmdReadData_Click()

Dim i As Long
Dim lDBHdl As Long
Dim lItemOffset, lSubItemOffset, lCount As Long
Dim vTimeStamp, vQuality, vData As Variant
Dim nDataType, nSigCond As Integer
Dim sngHighEgu, sngLowEgu As Single

‘ Get the datablock handle from a TreeView

lDBHdl = VBClient.GetHdlFromKey(VBClient.TreeView1.SelectedItem.key)

‘ Get the data type from a TextBox

nDataType = CInt(txtDataType)

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 41

‘ Get the item offset from a TextBox
lItemOffset = CLng(txtItemOffset)

‘ Get the subitem offset from a TextBox

lSubItemOffset = CLng(txtSubItemOffset)

‘ Get the count from a TextBox

lCount = CLng(txtNumItems)

‘ Get the signal conditioning from a ComboBox

nSigCond = cmbSigCond.ListIndex

‘ Get the high EGU from a TextBox

sngHighEgu = CSng(txtHiEgu)

‘ Get the low EGU from a TextBox

sngLowEgu = CSng(txtLowEgu)

vData = objDriver.ReadData(lDBHdl, nDataType, lItemOffset, lSubItemOffset, lCount, _

nSigCond, sngHighEgu, sngLowEgu, vTimeStamp, vQuality)

' Display results in TextBox arrays (set up for 150 maximum)

For i = 0 To 149
If i <= UBound(vData) Then
txtData(i) = vData(i)
txtTime(i) = vTimeStamp(i)
txtQuality(i) = vQuality(i)
Else
txtData(i) = Empty
txtTime(i) = Empty
txtQuality(i) = Empty
End If
Next i

42 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 End Sub

RemoveChannel Method Example

This example adds and removes a channel from the server configuration.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Manipulate channel here

‘ Remove channel object

objDriver.RemoveChannel lChannelHandle

RemoveDataBlock Method Example

This example removes a datablock from the server configuration.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle, lDevHandle, lDbHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Add a device
lDevHandle = objDriver.AddDevice lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Add a datablock
lDbHandle = objDriver.AddDatablock lDevHandle vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 43

 ‘ Manipulate datablock here

‘ Remove datablock object

objDriver.RemoveDataBlock lDevHandle lDbHandle

RemoveDevice Method Example

This example removes a device from the server configuration.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle, lDevHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Add a device
lDevHandle = objDriver.AddDevice lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Manipulate device here

‘ Remove device object

objDriver.RemoveDevice lChannelHandle lDevHandle

Running Property Example

This example sets the Value property of an OptionButton control to the running state of the driver:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")
‘ Get running state
optRun.Value = objDriver.Running

44 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

SetPropertyData Method Example

This example sets a property data value on a channel object.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Setup the VARIANTs

vProperties = “Enabled”
vPropertyData = “0”
vErrors = Empty

‘ Set the property data

vErrors = objDriver.SetPropertyData lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData

This example sets multiple property data values on a channel object.

Dim objDriver as Object

Dim lChanHandle As Long
Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")

‘ Add a channel
lChanHandle = objDriver.AddChannel vProperties vPropertyData vErrors

‘ Setup the VARIANTs

vProperties = Array( “PrimaryBaud", "BackupBaud", "BackupPort")

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 45

 vPropertyData = Array( “9600”, “9600”, “COM3”)
vErrors = Empty

‘ Set the property data

vErrors = objDriver.SetPropertyData lChanHandle vProperties vPropertyData

Start Method Example

This example starts server polling in response to a CommandButton click.

Private Sub Command1_Click ()

‘ Start polling
objDriver.Start
End Sub

StopMethod Example

This example stops server polling in response to a CommandButton click.

Private Sub Command1_Click ()

‘ Stop polling
objDriver.Stop
End Sub

Switch Method Example

This example switches all channels to/from their respective backup channels.

Dim vHandles, vNames

Dim lNumChans, x As Long

‘ Get channel handles

lNumChans = GetChannels(vHandles, vNames)
For x = 0 To lNumChans
objDriver.Switch(vHandles(x))
Next x

Visible Property Example

46 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 This example sets the Value property of an OptionButton control to the server’s visibility state and then
sets the server window to the visible state:

Dim objDriver as Object

‘ Create and return reference to Driver object
Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.ITKDrv")
‘ Get visibility
optVisible.Value = objDriver.Visible
‘ Set visibility
objDriver.Visible = True

WarnMessage Method Example

This example sends a warning message to the server.

Dim objDriver As Object

Dim objIMessage As IDriverMessage
' Create and return reference to Driver object
Set objDriver = CreateObject("Intellution.OPCDrv")
'get reference to IDriverMessage
Set objIMessage = New OPCServer
'Send a Warning message to the server
objIMessage.WarnMessage ("Warning message")

WriteData Method Example

This example writes data to the server in response to a CommandButton click.

Private Sub cmdWriteData_Click()

Dim i As Long
Dim lDBHdl As Long
Dim lItemOffset, lSubItemOffset As Long
Dim vData As Variant
Dim sngHighEgu, sngLowEgu As Single
Dim nSigCond As Integer

‘ Get the datablock handle from a TreeView

lDBHdl = VBClient.GetHdlFromKey(VBClient.TreeView1.SelectedItem.key)

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 47

‘ Get the item offset from a TextBox
lItemOffset = CLng(txtItemOffset)

‘ Get the subitem offset from a TextBox

lSubItemOffset = CLng(txtSubItemOffset)

‘ Get the signal conditioning from a ComboBox

nSigCond = cmbSigCond.ListIndex

‘ Get the high EGU from a TextBox

sngHighEgu = CSng(txtHiEgu)

‘ Get the low EGU from a TextBox

sngLowEgu = CSng(txtLowEgu)

‘ Get the data from a TextBox

vData = txtData
objDriver.WriteData(lDBHdl, lItemOffset, lSubItemOffset, nSigCond, sngHighEgu, sngLowEgu,
vData)
End Sub

48 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Obtaining an Interface Pointer to the Server Object

There are two different ways to obtain an interface pointer to the server object:

Early Binding – at design time

Using the Class name, declare an object as the class type. The driver class name, as shipped, is
ITKServer.

Example
Public iDrv AsNew ITKServer

Late Binding – during run-time

Declare a generic object, then use the CreateObject function to obtain the interface pointer.

Public iDrv As Object

Set iDrv = CreateObject(“Intellution.ITKDrv”)

Early binding has better performance, but late binding allows more diversity.

OPC Client Only

The following topics apply only to the OPC Client driver.

iBrowseOPCServer Interface
iDriverMessage Interface
Sample Application

IBrowseOPCServer Interface

Lets the OPC Client determine if browsing on the OPC server. If browsing is supported, the interface
lets the OPC Client browse the server for item ids and access paths.
NOTE: You can only use the IsBrowseSupported and GetNameSpace methods from this interface. The other
methods are for internal use and not supported for third-party development.

IDriver Message

Lets the driver send messages to the I/O Server’s event window. Visual Basic applications can also use
this interface to send messages to the event window.

Sample Application

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 49

 To assist you in creating a Visual Basic application, we supply source code for a sample application.
This source code shows you how to:

l Add a channel, device, and datablock to the driver configuration.

l Retrieve properties from a channel, device, and datablock.
l Copy a device.
l Delete a channel.
l Poll for data.
l Handle data returned from a poll of the server.
l Write data to a datablock.
l Start and stop the server.
l Determine if the server is running.
l Show and hide the server window.
l Send messages to the server window.
l Shut down the server.
l Read and modify the default configuration file name and path.
l Open and save a driver configuration file.

To review the source code, click the See Also button.

Sample Application Source Code

''THIS DEMO PROVIDED THE USE OF THE FOLLOWING METHODS OR PROPERTIES OF

'THE IDRIVER INTERFACE AND IDRIVERMESSAGE INTERFACE OF THE OPCDRV:

'

'FileOpen, FileSave, AddChannel, AddDevice, AddDataBlock, GetChannels,

'GetDevices, GetDataBlocks, CopyDevice, RemoveChannel, GetPropertyData,

'SetPropertyData, Poll, Quit, ReadData, WriteData, Start,Stop,

'DefaultConfigFileName, DefaultConfigFilePath,FileSaved, Running, Visible

'InfoMessage, DebugMessage

'

Dim objDriver As Object

Dim objMessage As IDriverMessage

Dim vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors

Dim Err As Long
Dim lNumChans, lNumDevs, lNumDataBlks As Long
Dim vChannelHandles, vChannelNames
Dim vDeviceHandles, vDeviceNames
Dim vDataBlockHandles, vDataBlockNames

50 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Dim szFileName As String
Dim szPath As String

Dim lChanHandle1, lChanHandle2 As Long

Dim lDevHandle1, lDevHandle2 As Long
Dim lDataBlkHandle1 As Long
Dim vData As Variant
Dim vQuality As Variant
Dim i As Long
Dim szEnabled, szDisabled As String

Dim szServerName As String

Dim szProgID As String
Dim szItemID As String
Dim szChannel1, szChannel2 As String
Dim szDevice1, szDevice2 As String
Dim szDataBlk1, szDataBlk2 As String
Dim szConfigFileName As String

'Initialize the string

szEnabled = "1"
szDisabled = "0"
szServerName = "Intellution.OPCDrv"
szProgID = "SIMOPC.SIMOPC.2"
szChannel1 = "MyChannel1"
szChannel2 = "MyChannel2"
szDevice1 = "MyDevice1"
szDevice2 = "MyDevice2"
szItemID = "FLOAT_0"
szDataBlk1 = "MyDataBlock1"
szDataBlk2 = "MyDataBlock2"
szConfigFileName = "Fix.OPC"

'Create and return reference to Driver object

Set objDriver = CreateObject(szServerName)

'Get Configure file name

szFileName = objDriver.DefaultConfigFileName

'get the path to the configure file

szPath = objDriver.DefaultConfigFilePath

'check if this is the file we needed

If szFileName = szConfigFileName Then

'do nothing

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 51

Else

'open the configuration file

objDriver.FileOpen (szPath + szConfigFileName)

End If

'Display the Server Window if it is not visible

If objDriver.Visible = 0 Then

objDriver.Visible = 1

End If

'get reference to IDriverMessage

Set objMessage = New OPCServer

'Get Channel Information

lNumChans = objDriver.GetChannels(vChannelHandles, vChannelNames)

'Check if the channel exists

For i = 0 To lNumChans - 1
If vChannelNames(i) = szChannel1 Then
'Remove the channel

Err = objDriver.RemoveChannel(vChannelHandles(i))

End If
Next i

'Add a new channel to the server

'Set up channel properties and data

vProperties = Array("ProgID", "Name", "Enabled")

vPropertyData = Array(szProgID, szChannel1, szEnabled)
vErrors = Empty

lChanHandle1 = objDriver.AddChannel(vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors)

'Send an info message to Server Window

objMessage.InfoMessage ("New Channel Added")

'Add a device to the channel

52 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 'Set up device properties and data

vProperties = Array("Name", "Enabled", "Description")

vPropertyData = Array(szDevice1, szEnabled, "My First Device")
vErrors = Empty

lDevHandle1 = objDriver.AddDevice(lChanHandle1, vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors)

'Send an info message to Server Window

objMessage.InfoMessage ("New Device Added")

'Add a DataBlock to the device

'Set up DataBlock properties and data

vProperties = Array("Name", "ItemID")

vPropertyData = Array(szDataBlk1, szItemID)
vErrors = Empty

lDataBlkHandle1 = objDriver.AddDataBlock(lDevHandle1, vProperties, vPropertyData,vErrors)

'Send an info message to Server Window

objMessage.InfoMessage ("New DataBlock Added")

'Enable the datablock

vProperties = Array("Enabled")
vPropertyData = Array(szEnabled)
vErrors = Empty

vErrors = objDriver.SetPropertyData(lDataBlkHandle1, vProperties, vPropertyData)

objMessage.InfoMessage ("DataBlock Enabled")

'Get driver status information, if not started, start the driver

If objDriver.Running = 0 Then

objDriver.Start

End If

'Write data to the datablock

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 53

vData = "15.00"

Err = objDriver.WriteData(lDataBlkHandle1, 0, 0, 0, 0#, 0#, vData)

objMessage.DebugMessage ("WriteData() is called")

'Poll the device

objDriver.Poll (lDevHandle1)

'Read data back from the server

vData = objDriver.ReadData(lDataBlkHandle1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, vQuality)

objMessage.DebugMessage ("ReadData() is called")

'Create a second channel

'Get Channel Information

lNumChans = objDriver.GetChannels(vChannelHandles, vChannelNames)

'Check if the channel exists

For i = 0 To lNumChans - 1
If vChannelNames(i) = szChannel2 Then

'Remove the channel

Err = objDriver.RemoveChannel(vChannelHandles(i))

End If
Next i

'Set up channel properties and data

vProperties = Array("ProgID", "Name", "Enabled")

vPropertyData = Array(szProgID, szChannel2, szEnabled)
vErrors = Empty

lChanHandle2 = objDriver.AddChannel(vProperties, vPropertyData, vErrors)

'Copy Device object from the first channel

Err = objDriver.CopyDevice(lDevHandle1, szDevice2, lChanHandle2, False)

'Get device infor from channel2

lNumDevs = objDriver.GetDevices(lChanHandle2, vDeviceHandles, vDeviceNames)

54 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 For i = 0 To lNumDevs - 1
If vDeviceNames(i) = szDevice2 Then
lDevHandle2 = vDeviceHandles(i)
End If
Next i

'check if the device is enabled, if not, enable it

'Enable the datablock

vProperties = Array("Enabled")
vPropertyData = Empty
vErrors = Empty

vErrors = objDriver.GetPropertyData(lDevHandle2, vProperties, vPropertyData)

If vPropertyData(0) = szEnabled Then

'disable ths device

vPropertyData = Array(szDisabled)

vErrors = objDriver.SetPropertyData(lDevHandle2, vProperties, vPropertyData)

End If

'Enable the device

vProperties = Array("Enabled")
vPropertyData = Array(szEnabled)

vErrors = objDriver.SetPropertyData(lDevHandle2, vProperties, vPropertyData)

'Get DataBlocks information

lNumDataBlks = objDriver.GetDataBlocks(lDevHandle2, vDataBlockHandles, vDataBlockNames)

For i = 0 To lNumDataBlks - 1
'Enable every datablocks

vErrors = objDriver.SetPropertyData(vDataBlockHandles(i), vProperties, vPropertyData)

Next i

'save the configuration file

If objDriver.FileSaved = 0 Then

objDriver.FileSave

objMessage.InfoMessage ("Configuration file saved")

End If

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 55

'Stop the driver

objDriver.Stop

'ShutDown

objDriver.Quit

56 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Index F

FileNew method 5

FileNew Method Example 31

A
FileOpen method 6
AddChannel method 2
FileOpen Method Example 32
AddChannel Method Examples 25
FileSave method 6
AddDataBlock method 2
FileSave Method Example 32
AddDataBlock Method Examples 26
FileSaveAs method 6
AddDevice Method Examples 27
FileSaveAs Method Example 32
Application property 20
FileSaved property 21
Application Property Example 28
FileSaved Property Example 33

C FullConfigFileName property 22

FullConfigFileName Property Example 33

ConfigFileName property 20
FullDefaultConfigFileName property 22
ConfigFileName Property Example 29
FullDefaultConfigFileName Property
ConfigFilePath property 20
Example 33
ConfigFilePath Property Example 29
FullName property 22
CopyDevice Method 4
FullName Property Example 34
CopyDevice Method Example 29
G
D
GetChannels method 7
DebugMessage Method 4
GetChannels Method Example 34
DebugMessage Method Example 30
GetDataBlocks method 7
DefaultConfigFileName property 21
GetDataBlocks Method Example 34
DefaultConfigFileName Property Example 30
GetDevices method 8
DefaultConfigFilePath property 21
GetDevices Method Example 35
DefaultConfigFilePath Property Example 31
GetNameSpace method 8

E GetNameSpace Method Example 36

GetProperties method 9
ErrorMessage Method 5
GetProperties Method Example 37
ErrorMessage Method Example 31
GetPropertyData method 10

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 57

 GetPropertyData Method Example 37 RemoveDevice Method Example 44

Running property 23
I
Running Property Example 44
IBrowseOpcServer interface 49

IDriverMessage Interface 49 S

InfoMessage Method 11 sample application 49-50

InfoMessage Method Example 38 SetPropertyData method 16

IsBrowseSupported method 11 SetPropertyData Method Example 45

IsBrowseSupported Method Example 39 source code for sample application 50

Start method 16
N
Start Method Example 46
Name property 23
Stop method 17
Name Property Example 40
Stop Method Example 46

P Switch method 17

Switch Method Example 46

Path Property Example 40

pointer to the server object in Visual Basic 48

V
Poll method 12
Visible property 23
Poll Method Example 40
Visible Property Example 46
Property property 23
W
Q
WarnMessage Method 17
Quit method 12
WarnMessage Method Example 47
Quit Method Example 41
WriteData method 18

R WriteData Method Example 47

ReadData method 12

ReadData Method Example 41

RemoveChannel method 14

RemoveChannel Method Example 43

RemoveDataBlock method 15

RemoveDataBlock Method Example 43

RemoveDevice method 15

58 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.