Echelon IzoT Commissioning Tool - Manual (Page 110)

2. Under Device, select the device to which you want to assign the virtual functional block from the
Name list
3. Under Functional Block, select Virtual Functional Block from the Name list. This option only
opens in the list if the device supports a virtual functional block
4. Click Finish.
Adding a Message Tag SmartShape to a Virtual Functional Block
You can add a message tag SmartShape to the virtual functional block of a device that supports
message tags. Message tags are similar to network variables except that they do not have pre-defined
types. They are used for standard data transfer mechanisms such as the L
ON W ORKS file transfer
protocol and the L ON W ORKS data log transfer protocol. In addition, they are used as a proprietary
interface to devices such as factory calibration interfaces. There are no restrictions in regards to
connecting message tags such as having compatible types as there are for network variables.
To add a message tag SmartShape to a virtual functional block, follow these steps:
1. Drag an input or output message tag SmartShape ( ) from the IzoT Commissioning Tool Basic
Shapes stencil onto the virtual functional block. The Choose a Message Tag dialog box opens.
2. Select one or more message tag SmartShapes to add to the virtual functional block from the list of
available message tags. If you select multiple message tags, additional SmartShapes will
automatically be added to the virtual functional block. To select all of the listed message tags,
click Select All.
3. Click OK. The selected message tag SmartShapes appear on the virtual functional block
SmartShape in the appropriate position.
Tip: You can change the name or position of a message tag SmartShape in the same manner as a
network variable SmartShape. See Changing Network Variable Name and Changing Network
Variable Position for how to do this.
Deleting Message Tag SmartShapes
You can remove message tag SmartShapes from one or more virtual functional blocks in the same
manner as network variable SmartShapes. See Deleting a Network Variable SmartShape in the next
section for how to do this.
Creating Network Variables
Network variables allow a device to send and receive data over the network to and from other devices.
Network variables are data items (such as temperature, the state of a switch, or actuator position
94 Designing Networks