The program settings do not depend on the type of data source. The settings feature a number of options to customize the appearance and behavior of the program. To access the settings, go to Edit menu in the main window.

 

View Options

 

Fig. 3. View Options.

 

Run Minimized - when you launch Datatag Link, the main window will stay minimized in the taskbar or will be minimized as an icon in the system tray.

 

Minimized in System Tray - the main window will be automatically minimized, and the icon will be placed next to the clock.

 

Always On Top - the main window will always be on top of other programs on the desktop.

 

Main Window View - allows you to customize the data display window (font type, background, color).

 

Move Last Updated Item on Top - when this option is enabled, with each data transaction the corresponding link of tags will move to the top of the list for three seconds. This makes it easy to monitor progress when there are many tags in the list.

 

Highlight Last Updated Item - when this option is enabled, with each transaction, a line in the list will be highlighted by a custom color for three seconds. The color may be different depending on the data sending source.

 

Protocol File

 

A log file records user-defined types of program messages that may occur while the program is running.

 

Fig. 4. Log file.

 

File - use this field to specify a log file path.

 

Log Errors, Warnings, and Other Messages - here you can specify the types of messages that will be recorded in the log file.

 

Limit Protocol Size (Kb) - defines the maximum size of the log file. Once the set limit is exceeded, the program will start writing to a new file.

 

Windows Service

 

Using a Windows Service enables you to:

 

•Automatically launch the program when Windows starts, even before the user logs in.

•Run the program in the background. In this mode, a general user will not be able to close the program.

•When run as a service, it is possible to configure restart settings in the case of errors.

 

Attention: To be able to change the configuration or any settings of the service (start, stop, pause, resume), you must launch the program as an administrator. When using Windows Vista, you must run the program with elevated permissions (right-click on the icon - Run as administrator).

 

Fig. 5. Windows service.

 

Install - install a service into the operating system.

 

Delete - stop and delete a service.

 

Start, Stop, Restart - functions that are used to manage a service status

 

It is also possible to manage a service using the command line.

 

Security

 

Fig. 6. Security.

 

This tab enables you to selectively password protect certain actions with the program. Enable the Password Protect option, set a password, and select the restricted actions from the list.

 

Change Program Settings - refers to any changes in the program configuration.

 

Start/Pause - the function enables you to start / stop data transmission using the button in the main window of the program.

 

Exit - shuts down the program. The function does not affect the program operation when it is running as a background service.

 

User logout - if the program is running on the desktop, it will block attempts to terminate the user session, which may cause the program to stop. In this case, you will have to shut down the program manually and then end the user session.

 

Transactions Log

 

These options are used to configure saving of the transaction history to a CSV file.

 

Fig. 7. Transaction log.

 

Folder - used to specify a folder path where CSV files will be created. If the path is not specified, saving transactions to a file will be disabled.

 

Create a New Log File - the function allows you to select a mode of creating new log files, depending on the amount of data transmitted.

 

Limit Number of Log Files - when the option is enabled, the program will automatically delete old log files at the time of creating a new log file.

 

Transaction File Format

 

A transaction file has a fixed format that corresponds to the CSV format. See an example of records below:

 

"Timestamp";"Sender";"Server";"Item";"DataType";"Value"

"2022-04-15 15:14:16.382";"MODBUS";"127.0.0.1";"node1.node2.tag2";11;TRUE

 

Timestamp - timestamp of data transmission in the computer's time zone.

 

Sender - a source of the data sender.

 

Server – an ID of the recipient's server, if it is available in the settings.

 

Item – a tag ID on the recipient server.

 

DataType – a numeric ID of the data type value.

 

•1 - Null.

•2 - Smallint (I16).

•3 - Integer  (I32)

•4 - Single (F32)

•5 - Double (F64)

•6 - Currency (F64)

•7 - Date

•8 - String

•11 - Boolean  (TRUE or FALSE)

•16 - ShortInt (I8)

•17 - Byte (U8)

•18 - Word (U16)

•19 - LongWord (U32)

•20 - Int64 (I64)

•21 - Uint64 (U64)

 

Value - transmitted value.