Working with Themes

In the Global Aliasing Configurator , the parameters for themes are set up in the Themes tree control, as shown in the figure below. Note that themes are not required for using global aliasing.

When configuring themes, you can:

- Create new themes.
- Define theme values.
- Specify a default theme value for each theme.
- Enable or disable themes and theme values.
- Add themes and theme items to the Theme Browsers.
- Determine how themes and theme items are displayed and described in the Theme Browsers.

Configuring Themes and Theme Values

First create a theme, then define its values.

To Create a Theme:

Right-click on Themes in the tree control of the configurator and select Add Theme, as shown below.

The Theme Folder Context Menu

-OR-

Select Themes in the tree control of the configurator, then click on the Add Theme button, shown below, in the Edit section of the Home ribbon of the Workbench.

Add Theme Button

This opens the New Theme properties window in the right side of the Workbench, as shown below. Enter a Theme Name. In the Properties section, you can elect to Enable Theme by clicking on the nearby checkbox. For Description, you can opt to Display in Alias Browser and/or Use this Display Name (once this is checked, you can enter the Display Name in the now activated nearby text entry field). When you have finished making changes, click the Apply button.

Theme Properties

All of the properties other than the name (which much be unique) are optional. The Display Name property is particularly valuable when the assigned name is long and difficult to enter properly. The name should have a first character that is a letter or an underscore; the last character in the name can be a number. Try to keep the name should be as short as possible to maximize the efficiency of the Global Aliasing Engine Server.

Note. Of particular importance in the Theme Property pane is the Enable Theme check box. Themes are only available to other programs through the Global Aliasing Server and appear in the Unified Data Browser only when Enabled is enabled.

To Define a Theme's Values:

Once you have created the theme, you can define theme values for it.

From the tree in the navigation pane in the Project Explorer, right-click your selected theme, then select Theme Value, as shown below.

Add Theme Value from Tree Explorer

-OR-

Click on your selected theme, then click on the Add Theme Value button, shown below, in the Edit section of the Home ribbon in the Workbench.

Add Theme Value Button

The Theme Value properties window appears in the right side of the Workbench. Enter a Theme Value Name.

Theme Value Properties

In the Properties section, note the Default Theme check box. A check mark here indicates that the alias value that gets assigned to that particular theme value will be the default value for its global alias. For most themes, you will want to identify one theme value as the default so that, during runtime, when no value is selected, the global alias resolves to a value in all instances. Tips for easily identify the default include: always choosing the first theme value as the default, or including the word DEFAULT in the theme value's name, or using some other way to make it easy to identify the default value.
You can elect to Enable Theme Value by clicking on the nearby checkbox.
Specify whether you want the value to appear in the Alias Browser. If you don't want the value to be made a available for use, remove the check mark from the Display in Alias Browser check box.
In the Use this Display Name field, you can specify a name to appear for the value in the Theme Browser. For example, if the value 1 represents the building on Main Street, you can type Main Street in this field so that Main Street appears in the browser, but the value 1 is used for the theme.
When you are done, click Apply. The value gets added to the tree view, under the theme.

Once you have defined a theme, you can define the global aliases that will be associated with that theme, along with the alias values that get used with that theme. A theme, however, is not required for defining a global alias. For more information, refer to Working with Global Aliases.

To Edit a Theme:

Right-click the theme in the tree explorer and select Edit or Edit on a new tab as highlighted below.

Editing a Theme

-OR-

Click on a Theme in the tree explorer then click on the Edit or Edit on a new tab button, shown below, in the Edit section of the Home ribbon in the Workbench.

Edit Buttons

Make your changes in the properties pane as you would for a new Theme; then click the Apply button.

The same right-click menu also allows you to copy, cut, paste, or multiply themes theme and theme values. The Global Aliasing Server allows other users to change themes at any time, so if you want to work with the latest values, use the Refresh or the Refresh Parent commands.