Automatic resizing of moved attribute elements on a graphical representation of a control object
View Patent ↗Enhancements to a strategy object editor for creating and modifying control strategies for process control systems (both distributed and discrete) is described. The improvements include: supporting a set of graphical depictions for individual control object (modified by an appearance object editor), drag and drop connections for declarations that connect control strategies to other control strategies, GUI-based designation of object execution order, automatically applied line styles based upon connection data type, and automatic modification of elements within an appearance object to accommodate a moved attribute.
1. A method for editing a graphical depiction corresponding to a control object, via a graphical representation editor, wherein a display space of the graphical depiction is divided into a set of non-overlapping sub-spaces containing attribute display elements, and wherein the sub-spaces have differing display properties, the method comprising the steps of:
dragging and dropping an attribute display element from a previous sub-space into a new sub-space within the display space of the graphical depiction of the control object;
determining, by the graphical representation editor, current display properties of the attribute display element; and
adjusting at least the display properties of the attribute display element to accommodate current display properties of the new sub-space.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the properties changed on the attribute display element is a dimension.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the properties changed on the attribute display element is an attribute display orientation.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the properties changed on the attribute display element is a location of a connection on the attribute display element.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising confirming that an attribute type for the attribute display element is compatible with the new sub-space.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting a display property of the new sub-space to accommodate a property value limit for one of the display properties of the attribute display element.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
second dragging and dropping a currently displayed attribute display element from the display space of the graphical depiction; and
presenting a confirmation dialog box in response to the second dragging and dropping step, thereby ensuring that the currently displayed attribute display element is not inadvertently removed from the graphical depiction.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
adding a new attribute display element to the graphical depiction by performing a set of steps comprising:
selecting, by a user, a desired sub-space within the display space of the graphical depiction; and
presenting a filtered list of attribute types allowed to be added to the control object.
9. A computer-readable medium including computer-executable instructions for editing a graphical depiction corresponding to a control object, via a graphical representation editor, wherein a display space of the graphical depiction is divided into a set of non-overlapping sub-spaces containing attribute display elements, and wherein the sub-spaces have differing display properties, the computer-executable instructions facilitating performing the steps of:
dragging and dropping an attribute display element from a previous sub-space into a new sub-space within the display space of the graphical depiction of the control object;
determining, by the graphical representation editor, current display properties of the attribute display element; and
adjusting at least the display properties of the attribute display element to accommodate current. display properties of the new sub-space.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein at least one of the properties changed on the attribute display element is a dimension.
11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein at least one of the properties changed on the attribute display element is an attribute display orientation.
12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein at least one of the properties changed on the attribute display element is a location of a connection on the attribute display element.
13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 further comprising computer-executable instructions for confirming that an attribute type for the attribute display element is compatible with the new sub-space.
14. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 further comprising computer-executable instructions for adjusting a display property of the new sub-space to accommodate a property value limit for one of the display properties of the attribute display element.
15. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 further comprising computer- executable instructions for facilitating carrying out the steps of:
second dragging and dropping a currently displayed attribute display element from the display space of the graphical depiction; and
presenting a confirmation dialog box in response to the second dragging and dropping step, thereby ensuring that the currently displayed attribute display element is not inadvertently removed from the graphical depiction.
16. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 further comprising computer- executable instructions for facilitating carrying out the step of:
adding a new attribute display element to the graphical depiction by performing a set of sub-steps comprising:
selecting, by a user, a desired sub-space within the display space of the graphical depiction; and
presenting a filtered list of attribute types allowed to be added to the control object.