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Coding works best on desktop or with an external keyboard.
Display Tag Value in Graphic - Citect-scada Typing CST Test
Display Tag Value in Graphic — Citect-scada Code
Read a tag and display it in a numeric text object in a graphic.
REAL level;
level = TagReadReal("TankLevel");
SetLabelText("TankLevelLabel", NumToStr(level, 2));Citect-scada Language Guide
Citect SCADA (now AVEVA Plant SCADA) is a high-performance industrial SCADA system designed for reliable real-time monitoring, process control, alarming, and visualization in manufacturing, energy, utilities, and infrastructure environments.
Primary Use Cases
- ▸Large-scale industrial SCADA monitoring
- ▸Water/wastewater plant control
- ▸Manufacturing visualization & alarming
- ▸Energy and substation monitoring
- ▸Redundant distributed control systems
Notable Features
- ▸High-performance Cicode scripting
- ▸Fast alarming & trending engine
- ▸Multi-server redundant architecture
- ▸Native drivers for many PLC brands
- ▸Powerful native HMI/graphics builder
Origin & Creator
Originally created by Citect Pty Ltd in Australia in the late 1980s; later acquired by Schneider Electric and rebranded as AVEVA Plant SCADA.
Industrial Note
Widely used in mining, water utilities, manufacturing, oil & gas, and large distributed SCADA systems with high redundancy and massive I/O counts.
Quick Explain
- ▸Citect SCADA provides real-time monitoring, alarming, trending, and control.
- ▸Uses a highly scalable client-server architecture.
- ▸Supports distributed servers for redundancy and load balancing.
- ▸Includes a powerful graphics system for HMI/SCADA screens.
- ▸Integrates easily with PLCs via drivers like Modbus, OPC, and vendor-specific protocols.
Core Features
- ▸SCADA graphics designer
- ▸Real-time trending & history
- ▸Alarming and event management
- ▸Redundant server & I/O architecture
- ▸Cicode scripting for automation logic
Learning Path
- ▸Learn Citect project structure
- ▸Practice graphics building
- ▸Understand tag database & I/O drivers
- ▸Master Cicode scripting
- ▸Learn redundancy & clustering
Practical Examples
- ▸Monitoring pumps and valves in water plants
- ▸Factory production line dashboards
- ▸Mining conveyor status and alarms
- ▸Power substation monitoring
- ▸Oil & gas pipeline flow visualization
Comparisons
- ▸Citect vs WinCC: Citect stronger in redundancy; WinCC easier for Siemens PLCs.
- ▸Citect vs FactoryTalk View: Citect scales better for large systems.
- ▸Citect vs VTScada: VTScada more modern UI; Citect stronger for complex plants.
- ▸Citect vs Ignition: Ignition easier modern web SCADA; Citect stronger legacy utilities.
- ▸Citect vs Wonderware InTouch: Citect better for large server architectures.
Strengths
- ▸Extremely scalable for large systems
- ▸Reliable and proven over decades
- ▸Strong redundancy and failover support
- ▸Flexible with scripting and customization
- ▸Stable performance under heavy I/O loads
Limitations
- ▸UI/graphics builder feels older compared to modern HMIs
- ▸More configuration steps than modern low-code SCADA tools
- ▸Driver setup sometimes requires manual tweaking
- ▸Not as easy for beginners without SCADA background
- ▸License cost can be significant for large I/O bases
When NOT to Use
- ▸Small SCADA systems under 200 tags
- ▸Web-first SCADA deployments
- ▸Low-budget micro-PLCs
- ▸No Windows servers allowed
- ▸Projects requiring very modern UI animations
Cheat Sheet
- ▸F7 -> Compile Cicode
- ▸Use TagWrite()/TagRead() in Cicode
- ▸Use clusters for distributed systems
- ▸Use Process Analyst for trends
- ▸Check Kernel for runtime diagnostics
FAQ
- ▸Is Citect web-based? -> No, client-server desktop-based.
- ▸Does it support OPC UA? -> Yes.
- ▸Can it run redundant servers? -> Yes, fully supported.
- ▸Is SQL database needed? -> Optional, for logging.
- ▸Does it work with any PLC? -> Supports most major brands.
30-Day Skill Plan
- ▸Week 1: Tags, I/O, graphics basics
- ▸Week 2: Alarms & trends
- ▸Week 3: Cicode scripting
- ▸Week 4: Redundancy setup
- ▸Week 5: Advanced clustering & multi-site SCADA
Final Summary
- ▸Citect SCADA is a robust, scalable industrial SCADA platform.
- ▸Excellent for large plants and distributed systems.
- ▸Strong redundancy, alarming, and trending.
- ▸Highly customizable through Cicode.
- ▸Trusted in utilities, manufacturing, and heavy industries.
Project Structure
- ▸Graphics pages
- ▸Tag database
- ▸Cicode scripts
- ▸Alarm configuration
- ▸Communications and I/O devices
Monetization
- ▸SCADA engineering services
- ▸Plant-wide monitoring system sales
- ▸Custom HMI design
- ▸Alarm/trend analytics solutions
- ▸Maintenance & support contracts
Productivity Tips
- ▸Use templates for graphics
- ▸Modularize Cicode functions
- ▸Use Process Analyst for trends
- ▸Organize tags using clusters
- ▸Use graphics libraries effectively
Basic Concepts
- ▸Tags - data variables linked to PLC I/O
- ▸I/O Devices - PLC or other controllers
- ▸Cicode - scripting language for logic
- ▸Pages - HMI/SCADA visual screens
- ▸Cluster - distributed SCADA system groups