This topic summarizes the steps involved in drawing a symbol. For step-by-step procedures, click here.
Choose the symbol table
Before you create the symbol, select the relevant symbol table in the List of symbol tables palette. To create a new symbol table, open the Tables menu and choose New Symbol Table. The new table, initially called NoName, appears in the list. To change its name, open the Symbol menu and choose Properties. Go to the Table Properties tab and rename the table.
Monochrome or multicolor symbol ?
The next step is to decide whether the symbol should be monochrome (b/w) or multicolor. If you choose Multicolor, select the Transparent color which will be the transparent background when you start drawing the symbol.
Choose symbol size
The individual symbols can have different sizes. The size of the symbols is measured in number of pixels (width * height). The smallest symbol size is 8 * 8 and the largest 128 * 128. The default size of a new symbol is 40 * 40. You can view the symbol size of the current symbol in the status bar.
To change the symbol size, select the symbol and choose Symbol Size in the Symbol menu.
Draw the symbol
Now you can start drawing the symbol by first selecting the desired color and then choosing the relevant drawing tools. Note that you can activate more tools by choosing Special Draw Tools in the View menu.
For details about the drawing tools, click here.
For a step-by-step example of how to create a multicolor symbol, click here.
Symbol data and symbol mask
A symbol in IGSS consists of two parts: a data part and a mask part. When you create a new symbol, you start drawing the data part. This is the symbol as it appears in the Supervise program in its normal state.
The symbol mask is used when the symbol blinks during a state of alarm or when data collection is stopped on the object (passive object). While the object is in alarm state, the symbol will blink with the alarm color alternating between the data part and the mask part. If an object is set passive, the symbol mask will assume the color set for passive objects. In the Format menu, choose Set Colors to define this color.
Typically, you will draw the data part first and then choose Edit ® Edit Mask. Again in the Edit menu, choose Data to Mask. Expand the mask so that it takes up more space than the data part. A practical approach is to add an extra pixel around the existing symbol to create an outline effect. The outline will then blink during the alarm state.
In the symbol browse pane, you can see the mask behind the symbol.
Preview the symbol
On the Symbol Preview tab of the properties dialog box, the symbol can be previewed. Initially, it appears in its normal state. Test the alarm state by selecting the Test Blink check box and selecting the relevant alarm color under Test Blink Color.
