Chapter 4
Installing and Using the FieldPoint Software
©
National Instruments Corporation
4-19
FieldPoint FP-1000/1001 User Manual
compatibility, copy the supplied
.obj
file from the compiler folder (for
instance,
/CVI/FieldPoint/borland/FieldPoint.obj
) with which you
would like compatibility to the
/FieldPoint
subdirectory of the CVI
directory.
Using the FieldPoint OPC Server
OPC (OLE for Process Control) is an industry standard device interface
specification that provides interoperability between field devices such
as FieldPoint and application software packages. The FieldPoint OPC
server, like the other FieldPoint interfaces, imports the I/O Items that
you configured in FieldPoint Explorer and makes them available as
OPC Items to an OPC client, a software program designed to
communicate with OPC servers. The FieldPoint OPC server allows any
application written as an OPC client to access the FieldPoint hardware
over the serial port. Because OPC is based in part on Microsoft’s
DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model), it is even possible for
an OPC client on one computer to access FieldPoint hardware
connected to the serial port of another computer if the two computers
are networked together.
OPC clients may differ in the features they offer and their presentation
of the OPC interface for the FieldPoint OPC server. You should refer to
the documentation on using the OPC client features of your application
for detailed instructions on how to access an OPC server. However, the
basics steps involved are similar for most OPC client applications.
Follow these steps to start using the FieldPoint OPC server:
1.
Open the FieldPoint OPC server,
National
Instruments.OPCFieldPoint
.
This server was registered with Windows when you installed the
FieldPoint software. OPC Clients should be able to show you a list
of available registered servers, but you may have to type this name
in yourself. The OPC client may automatically connect to the server
when you select it, but if you are given the option to explicitly
connect to the FieldPoint OPC server, you should do so.
2.
Create a group.
Groups are a collection of I/O items. Some OPC clients may not
give you the option of creating groups, or they may be created for
you.