---
task: Build a display in the Edit Module and check the saved file
version: R1.03
source: IM 36K10C50-01EN §1.2, §1.7, §2, §4.8.1; practiced on CI-Eng-Sample (display CIENG_Tank) 2026-10-01; display XML written by the sample generator and checked on desktop and web 2026-10-02 to 2026-10-06 (installed web client code, component definitions in DEPLOY\components)
status: verified
---

# Build a display (Edit Module)

The user draws; Claude gives the steps and checks the result. The sample displays
`examples/CI-Eng-Sample/displays/CIENG_*.xml` are not drawn but written by a generator
(`displays/generator/`); *Writing display XML directly* lists the rules they follow.

## Steps for the user

1. Start the Edit Module and log in.
2. *File > New Display*, name `<DisplayName>`; tick **HTML display** if it should also run in a
   browser (the editor then hides unsupported components and properties).
3. Add components from the component bar, for example:
   - **Text** — title.
   - **Number field** — in the Properties sheet click **Value**, open the connection dialog,
     *Items* tab, pick `<Section>.<Tag>`.
   - **Alarm Overview** — right-click > *Component Properties*; *Filter* tab for an ASA, section
     or tag filter; *Types* tab for current/historical.
   - **Trend** — component properties, pen 1 = `<Section>.<Tag>` (a new trend has 5 empty pens;
     the item must be in a storage group).
4. *File > Save* (or *Save with Revision Information*). Close the tab when done: an open
   display is locked (`<DisplayName>.lck`) and `jwuiutl` skips it.

## Check the saved file

Folder `%TLS_WAP_PATH%\cfg\operatorInterfaces\DEPLOY\displays\` (and with HTML mode also
`%TLS_WAP_PATH%\mobileoperator\operatorInterfaces\DEPLOY\displays\<DisplayName>.html`).

```
grep -n "<html>\|<width>\|<height>\|itemName\|itemId\|<source" <DisplayName>.xml
```

- `<html>true</html>` = HTML mode; `<width>`/`<height>` must be set for the HTML display.
- Item connections: `<itemName>` + `<itemId>` (node.group.number…); trend pens:
  `<source type="sourceID" uri="ci:/item/<item>"/>` (`uri=""` = empty pen).
- Write a fixed value with a button (verified in the HTML display, buttons *Manual* / *Auto* on
  the former `CIENG_Tank` and, since 2026-10-06, on `CIENG_Control`): `<button>` › `<data>` › `<action type="actionSetItemAttribute">` with
  `<event type="event" event="On action"/>`, `<filter type="filter"><value>1.0</value></filter>`
  and a `<connection>` with `<direction>2</direction>`, `<itemName>`, `<itemAttribute>ItemValue`
  (the factory popups use `ItemValueOW`, presumably the overwrite variant like `itmval -o`; not tested). The factory popup `AOG_SetNumberPV` uses the
  same action behind its *Apply* button.
- After the item is deleted and loaded again it gets a **new id**; the display still validates,
  but on 2026-10-01 the HTML display showed **0** and the popup `ITM-E-NO_MAIN, No main item
  found` for a number field whose stored `<itemId>` was stale, also in a fresh session. Deleting
  the `<itemId>` line (keeping `<itemName>`) and redeploying fixed it: the field binds by name.
  Sample displays therefore carry no `<itemId>`; for displays made in the Edit Module, reconnect
  or remove the ids after reloading items (ISS-052).

## Writing display XML directly (verified 2026-10-02 to 2026-10-06)

The Edit Module stores one element per component (`<text>`, `<number>`, `<rectangle>`, `<arc>`,
`<button>`, `<slider>` …, names as in `DEPLOY\components\*.xml`), its position as centre plus half
sizes, and the connections in `<data>`. Files written by hand or by a script load in the Edit
Module, the Operator Interface and the HTML display, if these rules are kept (sample generator:
`examples/CI-Eng-Sample/displays/generator/`):

| Topic | Rule (R1.03.00) |
|---|---|
| Text / number size | With `<keepOriginalSize>false` the HTML export **scales the text to its box** (e.g. `scale(0.98, 3.80)` in a 40 px box); with `true` it is drawn at its font size, centred on the box (tested 2026-10-06) |
| Rectangle rounding | `roundingX` / `roundingY` are a **fraction 0..1** of the half width / height; values above 1 draw an ellipse, on the desktop and on the web (tested 2026-10-06) |
| Arc angles | `startAngle` / `extentAngle` in degrees **clockwise** from 3 o'clock (screen y down), negative values allowed; the same on both clients, fixed or connected (tested 2026-10-06: 0/90 = lower-right quarter) |
| Click on a shape | event `Clicked b1` (buttons: `On action`), e.g. an *Open display* action on a rectangle (2026-10-02) |
| Item attributes for the web | `ItemValue`, `ItemDesc`, `ItemStatusMnemonic`, `ItemUpdTime` (epoch seconds), `ItemHHL` / `ItemHL` / `ItemLL` / `ItemLLL` (limits), `ItemName` (micro trend pens), list in the web client code; `ItemDescription` does not exist (sample faceplate and Control tab, 2026-10-06) |
| Showing a time | number field with `<asDateTime>true` connected to `ItemUpdTime`; a `dateTimeField` shows the value on the web only when editable (2026-10-02/06) |
| Server-side command | `<action type="actionExecuteCommand">` with `<command>` and `<onServer>true</onServer>` runs on the CI Server node as the service account `CIX_PROCESS`, also from the web; a user in the factory group `OPERATOR` may use it (tested 2026-10-06, sample live-data *Start*) |
| Alarm overview | `autoFit` true in a tab that is hidden while loading squeezes all columns to ~0 px on the web: set `autoFit` false and give `column<Name>Width`; `column…Visible` for `AlarmAttribute` is an array property (a plain value fails the HTML export with `ClassCastException`); the empty part of the list stays **white** on both clients (no property; web: `jquery.dataTables.css` forces it); web rows are 20 px at a 14 px font (2026-10-02/06) |

## Verified (CIENG_Tank, 2026-10-01)

Text `CI-Eng-Sample Tank 1`, number field on `TANK1.LEVEL` (live: 72 → 61), alarm overview
(no filter; listed the TANK1.LEVEL alarms), trend pen `TANK1.LEVEL` (legend
`CI-Eng-Sample.TANK1.LEVEL [CIENG_SCAN10S]` = highest-priority storage group). In the HTML
display the trend drew no line: a trend needs 50 visible pens to draw on the web (ISS-041;
workaround and all trend settings in `trend.md`). The sample file is now padded with
`add_trend_spares.ps1` (49 spares) and draws in the browser too. `CIENG_Tank` was replaced by the
generated `CIENG_*` displays on 2026-10-06; they carry no `<itemId>` and found the recreated items
after a full `remove.cmd` / `load.cmd` cycle in a fresh session (2026-10-06).