Operation over the Keyboard

In order to get independent from the mouse or a touch screen, it is useful to configure a visualization in a way that allows pure keyboard operation:

Per default the following key (combinations) will work in online mode anyway (no special configuration necessary):

  • Pressing the Tabulator key selects the first element in the element list for which an input is configured. Each subsequent pressing of the key moves one to the next element in the list. Within tables you will jump to the next table field. Pressing the key while keeping the Shift key depressed selects the previous element. Depending on the target a simplified input handling may be possible.
  • The arrow keys can be used to change from a selected element to a neighbouring one in any direction.
  • The Space bar is used to execute an activity on the selected visualization element. If the element is one which has a text output variable or if it is a table field, a text input field will be opened which displays the text contents of the variable resp. the field. Pressing the Enter key writes in this value.

Additional key (combinations) for the online operation can be defined in the configuration dialog ‘Keyboard usage’. There also the keys Tab, Space and Enter can get assigned another functions than the above described standards.

The individual elements of references behave in Online mode identically to the corresponding ones in the visualization that is referenced. They will therefore react the same way as individual elements to inputs and operation by mouse and keyboard; the display of tooltips in references is also element-dependent. When processing the element list, as for instance when jumping from one input element to the next using the tabulator, the processing of all individual elements of a reference proceeds from the location of the reference in the element list before jumping to the next element of the list.

Note

Operation over the keyboard in online mode is of greatest significance, if the visualization should be used with IEC 61131-3 editor HMI or web visualization. In the web visualization a specific setting in webvisu.htm allows to keep effective the operation over the keyboard even if currently an entry field is opened.