Importing files

Especially for systems already in production, a common scenario is to have most displays - or even all of them - already developed using the same tool. As much as one would want to have them ported to a web-native application, redrawing everything in another tool can be very time-consuming task.

For that reason, WEISS provides methods to facilitate the import of existing displays from other tools, reducing the manual effort required to recreate them in a web-native environment.

Warning

An imported display should be treated as a starting point to save time and effort. Always test it with the intended IOC and review the complete display before making it available to operators.
For now, WEISS supports importing displays from CS-Studio/Phoebus only. Other tools will be considered in future updates.

From CS-Studio

WEISS currently supports importing Phoebus Display Builder files (.bob), the display format used by modern CS-Studio installations. The importer converts the display into WEISS widgets so you can continue editing it in the browser or use it right away.

Make sure you have things ready

Open the display you want to import in CS-Studio/Phoebus and check that it works as expected. The extension accepted is a .bob file only, so check that it is also saved on this format.

Be sure to have all image files or embedded displays used by your OPI at hand, as they will also need to be uploaded or imported.

Import the display

With the WEISS app running, login as a “Developer” and create a new file with the desired name. Click Import in the application header, select From CSS/Phoebus, and choose the .bob file from your computer. Before the import starts, WEISS will show a warning that the result may require validation. Confirm the message to continue. The converted widgets will be added to the current OPI.

If the display uses pictures, upload the corresponding .svg, .png, .jpg, or .jpeg files to the same repository. Make sure the paths used by the imported Image widgets match the paths of the uploaded files.

For embedded displays, import each referenced .bob file using the same proccess as the main display. Make sure the path on the main display matches the location of the imported files.

Important

Not all Phoebus widgets and features are supported. The unsupported widgets will be substituted by a dashed outline as placeholder, and a warning will be shown. Check next section for details on supported widgets and features.

Review the conversion

The goal of this tool is to reduce the manual effort required to recreate already existent displays, but does not eliminate the need for checking and validating your OPI in WEISS. Manual adjustments may be needed, especially for more complex widgets or rules.

The current widget support is:

Phoebus type	WEISS widget	Status
label	TextLabel	✅
textupdate	TextUpdate	✅
textentry	InputField	✅
action_button	ActionButton / NavigationButton	✅ map based on action type
bool_button	ToggleButton	✅
combo	SelectionBox	✅
spinner	Spinner	✅
scaledslider	Slider	✅
led	BitIndicator	✅
multi_state_led	MultiStateLED	✅
byte_monitor	MultiBitIndicator	✅
progressbar	ProgressBar	✅
rectangle	Rectangle	✅
ellipse	Ellipse	✅
picture	Image	✅
embedded	EmbeddedDisplay	✅ .bob path rewritten to .opi.json
group	Group	✅
navtabs	NavigationTabs	✅ per-tab colors not supported
xyplot	GraphXY	✅
stripchart	GraphY	✅
checkbox	—	🔶 not implemented
choice	—	🔶 not implemented
meter	—	🔶 not implemented
linearmeter	—	🔶 not implemented
tank	—	🔶 not implemented
thermometer	—	🔶 not implemented
array	—	🔶 not implemented
image	—	🔶 not implemented
tabs	—	🔶 not implemented
slide_button	—	🔶 not implemented
thumbwheel	—	🔶 not implemented
radio	—	🔶 not implemented
table	—	🔶 not implemented
polyline	—	🔶 not implemented
template	—	🔶 not implemented
3d viewer	—	🔶 not implemented
fileselector	—	❌ not planned
text-symbol	—	❌ not planned
symbol	—	❌ not planned
scrollbar	—	❌ not planned
databrowser / waterfallplotwidget	—	❌ not planned
arc	—	❌ not planned
polygon	—	❌ not planned
webbrowser	—	❌ not planned

Rules and scripts are currently not implemented for the imported displays and need to be added manually using the WEISS interface.

Test, commit, and deploy

After checking PV names and macros, switch to Runtime mode and verify that the imported widgets connect to their PVs and the display behaves as expected.

When the OPI is ready, you can then commit and deploy it using the workflow described in the first web OPI tutorial.