Use Groups to Organize your Database

Groups allow you to organize your database items into hierarchies so that the items can be easily located. If Groups are not used, the database items will each be located on the root of a system—this makes it difficult to locate specific items.

By using Groups, you can structure your database items into logical areas so that users can easily locate the items they need.

In addition to the ‘normal’ Groups, there are also Group Templates and Group Instances. Before you attempt to use Groups to organize your database, you should refer to the Group Templates and Group Instances section as you may be able to use these features to reduce the amount of configuration required.

To use Groups to organize your database:

1. Add a Group.
2. Optionally configure the Group properties if the defaults are unsuitable:
   1. Configure the Identification details (see Defining Identification Details).
   2. Configure any custom pick actions that are required for the Group (see Using the User Methods Tab to Define Custom Actions).
   3. Define a Default Mimic for the Group (see Defining a Default View).
   4. Configure the Alarm Redirections (see Configure Alarm Redirections for an Item or Group in the ClearSCADA Guide to Alarm Redirection). The Alarm redirections apply to alarms that are raised for items within the Group, and so can be used to provide an additional alarm redirection cascade to alarm redirections for individual items.
   5. Save the configuration (see Saving Configuration Changes).
3. Place Database Items in a Group:

   Either:

   • Add Items to a Group.

   Or:

   • Move Items Between Groups.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 inclusive for each required Group.