Modify Tag Parameters

By default, the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option is enabled, which allows a tag to stop and restart data collection without restarting the collector. All collector configuration changes done within a 30 second time frame are batched up together. To collect the modified data faster, update/modify a small set of tags at a time. When updating large sets of tags at the same time, best practice is to disable the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option and restart the collector after modification.

If you disable the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option, any changes you make to the tags do not affect collection until after you restart the collector. To enable or disable the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option, select Advanced on the Collector Maintenance page.

CAUTION: Restarting the collector stops and restarts data collection and may record bad data samples to the collection.

Collectors that Reload instead of Restarting

Whenever you modify tag parameters, the following collectors reload only the modified tags without restarting the collectors.
  • OPC Collector
  • iFIX collector
  • Calculation collector
  • Simulation Collector
  • Server to Server Collector
  • PI Collector
  • PI Distributor

Tag Properties that Cause Tag Collection to Stop and Restart

Changes to the following tag properties cause tag collection to stop and restart, assuming the On-Line Tag Configuration Changes option is enabled.
  • Collector Name
  • Collector Type
  • SourceAddress
  • Spare 1-5
  • Data Type
  • Collection Interval
  • Collection Offset
  • Collection Disabled/Enabled (CollectionDisabled in SDK)
  • Collection Type
  • TimeStampType
  • Calculation Dependencies (in SDK) or Calculation Triggers (in Historian Administrator) (Applies to Server-to-Server and Calculation collectors only.)

Tag Properties that Do Not Cause Tag Collection to Stop and Restart

Changes to the following tag properties do not stop and restart tag collection. The collectors use these new values immediately if the On-Line Tag Configuration Changes option is enabled.
  • High Engineering Units
  • Low Engineering Units
  • Input Scaling
  • High Scale
  • Low Scale
  • Collector Compression
  • Collector Deadband Percent Range
  • Collector Compression Timeout