Generate Display pages automatically from GIS or CAD files — GeoJSON, Shapefile, KML/KMZ, DXF, DWG.
Reference → Solution → Designer → Settings and Tools → Import Tags → GIS/CAD Display
The GIS/CAD Display Generator creates Display pages with symbols positioned at coordinates derived from GIS or CAD feature data. Unlike the tag importers, this wizard does not create tags or device points — it creates visual displays with symbols bound to tag names you have already imported (or will import separately).
Typical use: you have imported 400 solar inverters as tags using the GIS File Tag Importer, and now want a single-page overview display showing each inverter at its geographic location on the plant layout.
Access: Solution → Import Tags → GIS/CAD Display
Supported File Formats
Accepts every format supported by the two companion tag importers:
- GIS: GeoJSON (.geojson, .json), Shapefile (.shp, .zip), KML / KMZ (.kml, .kmz).
- CAD: DXF (.dxf), DWG (.dwg).
See GIS File Tag Importer and AutoCAD File Tag Importer for format-specific details on how features and attributes are extracted.
Generation Wizard
Step 1 — File Select
Browse for a GIS or CAD file. The wizard auto-detects the format and shows feature count, layer list, and attribute list.
Step 2 — Display Configuration
| Field | Purpose | Default |
|---|---|---|
Display Name Pattern | Template for generated display page names. Tokens: |
|
Group By Layer | When checked, one display page per layer. When unchecked, all features land on a single display. | Checked |
Default Symbol | Symbol library path used for every feature, e.g., HMI/Pumps/PumpSymbol | (required) |
Per-layer Symbol Overrides | Assign different symbols to specific layers. | (none) |
Symbol Width / Height | Pixel dimensions for each placed symbol | 40 x 40 |
Page Width / Height / Margin | Display page dimensions in pixels | 1920 x 1080, 40 px margin |
Engine | Rendering engine: Portable, WPF, or HTML5 | Portable |
Tag Name Pattern | Template for the tag name each symbol binds to (uses the same token syntax as the GIS/CAD Tag Importers) |
|
Label Property | Property on the symbol to which the tag name is bound | Tag |
Included Layers | Whitelist filter; empty = include all layers | (all) |
Step 3 — Generate
Progress bar with counters for displays created and symbols placed. Features without valid coordinates, or features on layers with no symbol assigned, are skipped with a log entry.
How Coordinates Become Positions
For GIS inputs (lat/lon): the wizard computes a bounding box from all imported features, then projects each feature's latitude/longitude onto the canvas so the full extent fits inside the page margins. Latitude is inverted (higher latitude = smaller Y) so north appears up on the display.
For CAD inputs (raw X/Y): the same bounding-box projection applies. Drawing units are preserved as relative positions.
When all features share the same coordinates (zero-area bounding box), a fallback range ensures the symbol still renders visibly at the canvas centre.
Example — Water Treatment Plant Overview
A KML file with four Folder layers (Intake, Treatment, Chemicals, Output), each containing Placemarks for process equipment. With Group By Layer checked, the wizard produces four Display pages — one per process area.
Suggested configuration
Display Name Pattern |
|
Group By Layer | Checked |
Default Symbol | HMI/Generic/StatusIndicator |
Per-layer Overrides | Intake to HMI/Pumps/PumpSymbol; Treatment to HMI/Tanks/TankSymbol |
Tag Name Pattern |
|
Engine | Portable |
Result: four new display pages in the Displays list, each with symbols positioned by latitude/longitude and bound to the corresponding tag names.
Notes and Limitations
- This wizard does not create tags. Symbols bind to tag names via the Tag Name Pattern, but the tags must exist (or be imported separately using the GIS File Tag Importer or AutoCAD File Tag Importer). At runtime, bindings to non-existent tags show no value — no error at import time.
- Line and polygon geometries are centroid-reduced to a single symbol position.
- Recommended dataset size: Canvas mode works well up to ~5,000 symbols per page. Larger datasets make the display editor sluggish.
- Re-running against an existing display name loads the existing display and adds new symbols. Existing elements are not removed.
- Engine choice is final at generation time.
See Also
- GIS File Tag Importer — create tags from the same files.
- AutoCAD File Tag Importer — create tags from DXF/DWG.
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