Organize (PA)

This page describes project navigation and explains how to add, move, rename, duplicate, edit, and delete items in navigation.

Project navigation is the hierarchy of information in a project. The hierarchy is displayed as a Project Tree, and items in the hierarchy are called nodes. To add nodes to the Project Tree, you use the Navigation Builder.

The following image shows the Project Tree and Navigation Builder.

These are some important concepts about creating navigation.

A project’s navigation can contain the following kinds of nodes:

• Location nodes—For example, these nodes can represent campuses, buildings, or floors.
• Device nodes—For example, these nodes can represent VAV units or AHUs.
• Reports module—This node is used to generate reports.
• Alarms module—This node is used to view alarms.
• Schedules module—This node is used to view and edit events.
• Page Include modules—These nodes allow you to include a DGLux5 page or external web page in your project.

Device nodes are different from all other node types, in that each device node must be assigned to a device template. A device template is a data-driven graphic that you design once and reuse for multiple devices.

When you create a new template, you must set a master device for the template. This step is necessary because device templates make use of a concept known as relativization. Relativization converts a data metric’s absolute path to a relative path and then makes changes to the non-relative part of the path. This process allows the same data metrics, such as damper position and temperature, to be used for different devices in different instances of a template.

Only the master device’s metrics are available to the relativization process. For any non-master device, only metrics that match the master device’s metrics can be used. Therefore, when you set a master device for a template, you might want to choose the device that has the most metrics. See also: Bindings

The following interactions open the Navigation Builder:

• Click Organize on the home page, as shown in the following image.

  

• Choose the Manage Navigation tab at the top of the screen, as shown in the following image.

  

This section shows you how to add, rename, move, duplicate, edit, and delete nodes. It also contains a reference for node properties.

A location node represents location content in your project. A module node represents other content such as reports, alarms, schedules, and external content.

To add a location or module node to your project:

• In the Navigation Builder, choose the Navigation tab or the Module tab, and drag a location node or a module node into the Project Tree, as shown in the following image.

  

  The node is added to the Project Tree.

To create a new device template and also add some device nodes associated with it:

1. In the Navigation Builder, choose the Template tab, and drag the New Template node onto the Project Tree, as shown in the following image.

   

   A Template Node dialog appears.

2. Specify a name for the new template, as shown in the following image.

   

3. Optionally, add an icon for the new template. See Navigation Node Properties.

4. Under Device Selection, select some devices that will use this template, as shown in the following image.

   

5. To specify a master device, click the key icon next to that device.

   Note

   Next to each device, a green or red bar shows the number of metrics that match the master device, followed by the total number of metrics.

6. Click Add.

   The device nodes appear in the Project Tree, and the new template appears in the Navigation Builder.

To add device nodes using an existing device template:

1. In the Navigation Builder, choose the Template tab.

2. Drag the template’s node from the Navigation Builder to the Project Tree.

   A Template Node dialog appears.

3. Specify the device or devices that you want to add.

4. Click Add.

   The device nodes appear in the Project Tree.

You can rename a node in two ways.

To rename a node via the Project Tree:

1. Double-click the node name.
2. Type a new name, and press Enter or Return.

To rename a node via the Node Editor:

1. To open the Node Editor, right-click the node and choose Edit.
2. Enter the new name, and click Apply.

You can move a node in two ways.

You can move nodes and change their hierarchy levels via drag and drop. To control node hierarchy levels, you use a blue line indicator that appears when you begin dragging a node. If the blue line is vertically centered on the target node, the dragged node becomes a child of the target node. If the blue line is aligned above or below the target node, the dropped node becomes a sibling of the target node.

The following image shows an example of adding a location node that will be a child of the target node.

The following image shows an example of adding a location node that will be a sibling of the target node.

To move a node via drag and drop:

1. Begin dragging the node.
2. Watch the blue line indicator, and drop the node when the blue line is aligned where you want it.

The following interactions move a node up or down without changing its hierarchy level:

• Right-click the node, and choose Up or Down.
• Select the node, click the Menu icon, and choose Up or Down.

When one or more nodes are selected, the following interactions sort the nodes alphabetically:

• Right-click a selected node, and choose Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.
• Click the Menu icon, and choose Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.

When one or more nodes are selected, the following interactions duplicate the selected nodes:

• Right-click one of the selected nodes, and choose Duplicate.
• Click the Menu icon, and choose Duplicate.

To edit one or more nodes:

1. In the Navigation Builder, select the node or nodes that you want to edit.
2. To open the Node Editor pop-up, right-click a selected node and choose Edit.
3. Use the Node Editor to edit properties. See Navigation Node Properties.

4. Click Apply.

   Your changes are saved.

When one or more nodes are selected, the following interactions delete the selected nodes:

• Right-click one of the selected nodes, and select Delete.
• Click the Menu icon, and choose Delete.

The following navigation node properties can be edited.

This section shows you how to preview, duplicate, edit, and delete device templates. It also contains a reference for device template properties.

See also: How to Create a Device Template and Add Device Nodes.

If you have started designing a device template graphic, you can use the Navigation Builder to preview the device template with the master device’s data.

To preview a device template:

1. In the Navigation Builder, choose the Template tab.

2. Hover over the device template, and click the Settings icon, as shown in the following image.

   

3. Choose Preview.

When you duplicate a device template node in the Navigation Builder, you also duplicate the graphical device template associated with that node.

To duplicate a device template:

1. In the Navigation Builder, choose the Template tab.

2. Hover over the device template, and click the Settings icon, as shown in the following image.

   

3. Choose Duplicate.
4. Specify the path for the master device of the new template, if the path is different.

In the Navigation builder, you can edit a device template’s name, icon, or master device path. See Device Template Properties.

To edit a device template:

1. In the Navigation Builder, choose the Template tab.

2. Hover over the device template, and click the Settings icon, as shown in the following image.

   

3. Choose Edit.
4. Edit the device template properties. See Device Template Properties.

You can delete a device template from the Navigation Builder.

To delete a device template:

1. In the Navigation Builder, choose the Template tab.

2. Hover over the device template, and click the Settings icon, as shown in the following image.

   

3. Choose Delete.

The following device template properties can be edited.