Tech Note 509

Avoiding Duplicate Tags in the Tagname Dictionary

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Topic#: 002236
Created: November 2007
Updated: July 2009

Introduction
Many InTouch® runtime issues are the direct result of duplicate tags in the InTouch Tagname Dictionary. Common symptoms include the
following:

WindowMaker crashes when user is browsing Tagname Dictionary or clicks a button in the Tagname Dictionary, such as <<, >> or
Select. The most common error message is similar to Assertion error, dbsrch.c line xx.

WindowViewer crashes with assertion error message, either when it starts or when running.

With the Retentive Value or Alarm Enable Retentive options enabled (checked), tag retentive values cannot be maintained even
retentive.* files have been deleted and regenerated.

Tag assignments for historical trend pens are not kept when WindowViewer™ is restarted.

Not enough memory for DCT (AVLAdd) error message appears at WindowViewer startup

FIGuRE 1: MEmORY ERROR At StARtuP

To verify duplicate tags exist in your InTouch application, use the Tagname Browser of the Tagname Dictionary to browse the tag list.

Application Versions
All InTouch Versions including 10.0 with no patches (see the following note).

Note: The tagname.avl will only be created for versions up to InTouch 10.0 but if you have created an application with InTouch version
10.0 Patch01 and later, you will not see the tagname.avl file in the application folder. However if you have migrated an older
application which had tagname.avl to the latest InTouch version then you will still see the tagname.avl in the application folder. If you
delete the tagname.avl after InTouch version 10.0 Patch01 then this file will not be re-created.

How Duplicate Tags Are Created

Duplicate tags in Tagname Dictionary are the result of inappropriate operation procedures during multiple InTouch application merges or
tagname imports.

In WindowMaker™, when a tag is referenced (in an animation link, script or historical Trend pen), it is then checked for availability
against the tagname.avl file. This file maintains a complete list of tagnames created in Tagname Dictionary (tagname.x and
tagname.ndx).

If the referenced tag happens to be missing in tagname.avl, but exists in tagname.x and tagname.ndx, it means that WindowMaker
allows you to create a new duplicate tag in Tagname Dictionary. The result is a duplicate tag, which exists in both the tagname.x and
tagname.ndx files.

To prevent duplicate tags, tagname.avl should always be synchronized with tagname.x and tagname.ndx. However, with inappropriate
operation procedures, tagname.avl file can be out of synch with tagname.x and tagname.ndx.

Duplicate Tag Creation Scenario

The following information is provided to explain how a duplicate tag could be created. The steps are not intended to be used, but to
assist in identifying best practices in this context.

1. Create a new InTouch application and open it with WindowMaker.

2. Create a new tag (e.g. tag1, Memory Real) in the Tagname Dictionary.

3. Save the application and exit WindowMaker.

4. Save the tagname.avl file in the application folder in a different location and start WindowMaker.

5. Create a second new tag (e.g. tag2, Memory Real), save the InTouch application and exit WindowMaker.

6. Copy the stored tagname.avl (in step 4) file back to the application folder and override the existing one.

7. By now, tagname.avl will have only tag1 in the list, but tag1 and tag2 exist in the tagname.x and tagname.ndx files

8. Start WindowMaker, create a new window, and create an animation link on the window with tag2,

9. Click OK. WindowMaker prompts you to define tag2 or cancel. When you click OK, then Save, a duplicate tag2 is created in the
Tagname Dictionary. The duplicate exists in the tagname.x and tagname.ndx files.
 FIGuRE 2: DuPLICAtE TAGs In TAGnAmE DICtIOnARY

How To Fix and Avoid Creating Duplicate Tags

To fix the duplicate tags, please follow Technote 112 Recovering a Corrupted InTouch Application to recover the application.

To avoid the occurrence of duplicate tags, it is always a good practice to delete tagname.avl file after any operations on the InTouch
application before starting WindowMaker, such as importing new tags, windows and scripts. WindowMaker recreates a new tagname.avl
file if it is not available in the folder.

Best Practice Recommendations

1. Never copy an old tagname.avl file back into the Application folder.

2. Never merge two or more applications by combining files from different folders, such as copying or moving tagname.avl,
tagname.x and tagname.ndx files from another folder.

3. After importing new tags, or deleting existing tags, always delete the tagname.avl file and restart WindowMaker or
 WindowViewer.

C. He
Bindya Shah

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