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Import tags, channels, nodes, and device points from GIS data files — GeoJSON, Shapefile, and KML/KMZ files.

Reference → Solution → Designer → Settings and Tools → Import Tags → GIS File

Version 10.1.5+

Supported File Formats

Geometry handling

Point features use their coordinates directly. LineString, Polygon, and multi-part geometries are centroid-reduced to a single point — each non-Point feature is represented by the centroid of its vertices.

All coordinates are treated as WGS84 (lat/lon). If a Shapefile carries a .prj file with a different coordinate system, the file is read but coordinates are not reprojected — use a WGS84 export for now.

Import Wizard

Step 1 — File Select

Browse for a GIS file. The wizard auto-detects the format and displays a quick summary: feature count, list of layers, list of attribute names, coordinate system (when available).

Step 2 — Protocol

Coordinates are assumed to be WGS84 (latitude and longitude). Line and polygon geometry is reduced to its centroid. Elevation and Z values are ignored. Coordinate reprojection is not performed in 10.1.5.

Import Process

Open Solution → Import Tags → GIS File. The wizard has five steps.

Step 1. File Select

1. Click Browse and choose a file.
2. The parser is auto-detected from the extension. Step 1 runs a fast metadata scan and shows the feature count, distinct layer list, distinct attribute list, and coordinate system.
3. Review the summary. If the file is empty or unreadable, the error is shown here before you advance.

Step 2. Protocol

1. Select a Protocol from the list of registered device protocols.
2. Set the Channel Name Pattern and the Node Name Pattern using the naming tokens in the table below.
3. Set the Station Address Pattern for the node.

Step 3. Mapping

1. Set the Tag Name Pattern. Default is {Name}.
2. Choose the Tag Type (Analog, Digital, Text, and so on).
3. Map the Description Attribute to an attribute key from the source file.
4. Set the Address Pattern used to build each device point's address.
5. Pick Access Type (ReadOnly, ReadWrite, WriteOnly).
6. Set the Update Existing toggle. Default is on.
7. Optionally click Save Profile to reuse this configuration on future imports.

Step 4. Preview

The wizard shows the first 50 features with the resolved tag name, channel name, node name, and address. A duplicate-count banner warns if any resolved tag names already exist in the solution.

Step 5. Generate

Click Start. The wizard streams features from the source file into the device-creation pipeline and updates the counters live. Click Cancel to stop. Features already processed are kept.

Naming Tokens

Every pattern field (tag name, channel, node, address, description) supports the tokens below. Tokens are replaced per feature during generation.

Select the communication protocol (Modbus TCP/IP, OPC UA, Ethernet/IP, etc.) and configure channel and node naming patterns.

Step 3 — Mapping

Define how feature attributes become tag properties:

Step 4 — Preview

The first 50 resolved features are shown with their computed tag name, channel, node, and address. Any duplicate matches against existing tags are flagged at the top.

Step 5 — Generate

Progress bar with live counters. For large files (100K+ features), expect a few minutes — the pipeline uses bulk-mode DataTable operations optimized for high-volume imports.

Pattern Tokens

All pattern fields support these tokens:

Hierarchical tag names

Use a slash in the Tag Name Pattern to create asset-tree folder hierarchy:

• {Layer}/{Name} on a multi-layer KML produces tags nested under one folder per KML Folder.
• {Attr:area}/{Attr:device_id} produces tags nested by the area attribute.

Example — Solar Plant Inverters (GeoJSON)

A typical photovoltaic plant export: one Point feature per inverter with Modbus address and combiner-box grouping as attributes.

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "id": "1",
      "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [-43.172, -22.906] },
      "properties": {
        "device_id": "INV-001",
        "device_type": "SMA_SunnyHighpower_150",
        "modbus_address": "1",
        "combiner_box": "CB-A1",
        "area": "Block_A"
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "id": "2",
      "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [-43.173, -22.907] },
      "properties": {
        "device_id": "INV-002",
        "modbus_address": "2",
        "combiner_box": "CB-A1",
        "area": "Block_A"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Suggested mapping

Import Options

File Format Reference

GeoJSON

Nested objects under properties are JSON-stringified into a single attribute value. UTF-8 BOM is handled transparently.

Shapefile

Companion files (.dbf, .shx, .prj) must sit alongside the .shp in the same folder, or be packaged in a .zip. A missing .dbf is a hard error reported at Step 1.

KML and KMZ

Tutorial

Import 20 solar inverters from GeoJSON and verify the tags appear in Data Explorer.

1. Open a solution in Designer.
2. Open the Datasets module once so ModbusTCPIP is registered as a protocol for this solution.
3. Choose Solution → Import Tags → GIS File.
4. Click Browse, select solar_plant_inverters.geojson, and click Next. The summary shows 20 features, one layer, and five attribute keys.
5. Pick ModbusTCPIP. Set Channel Name Pattern to Inverters_Channel and Node Name Pattern to {Attr:device_id}. Click Next.
6. Set Tag Name Pattern to {Attr:device_id}, Tag Type to Analog, Description Attribute to inverter_model, Address Pattern to 40001. Click Next.
7. Review the preview grid. The first 50 rows show resolved names. Click Next.
8. Click Start. Wait for the counter to reach 20. Close the wizard.
9. Open Edit → Unified Namespace → Tags. The 20 new tags appear. Open Edit → Devices → Points. The 20 device points appear, linked to Inverters_Channel.

Edge Cases and Limitations

• Multi-part geometry. MultiPoint, MultiLineString, and MultiPolygon are reduced to a single centroid of the union. Topology is lost for these.
• Coordinate reprojection. All inputs are treated as WGS84. A non-WGS84 .prj is read but not acted on, so coordinates are used as given.
• Null-island guard. Features at exact (0,0) latitude and longitude are skipped by the display-generation pipeline. The device pipeline is unaffected and creates tags and points normally.
• Hierarchical tag patterns. Patterns such as {Layer}/{Name} are written as flat tag names in 10.1.5 without creating intermediate Asset Tree folders. Create the folder structure manually in Asset Tree if you need it.
• Out-of-scope formats. GeoPackage, File Geodatabase, WMS, WFS, and TopoJSON are not supported in 10.1.5.

Related Pages

• CSV files Tag Importer. The same pattern for CSV input.
• AutoCAD File Tag Importer. DXF and DWG input from engineering drawings.
• GIS/CAD Display Generator. Generate display pages from the same GIS or CAD files.

In this section...

Notes and Limitations

• Coordinate reprojection is not implemented. All inputs are assumed WGS84. Shapefiles with non-WGS84 .prj files are read but coordinates are not transformed.
• Line and polygon geometries are centroid-reduced. The original geometry is not preserved.
• Multi-geometry features (MultiPoint, MultiLineString, MultiPolygon) use the centroid of the combined geometry.
• KMZ with multiple .kml files uses the first file alphabetically.
• Re-import with Update Existing checked updates matching tags in place.

See Also

• AutoCAD File Tag Importer — for DXF / DWG drawings.
• GIS/CAD Display Generator — generate Display pages from the same file formats.
• CSV files Tag Importer — for tabular CSV imports.

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