Using Templates in CBAS 20

Let’s say you are programming a new Computrols system and the AHUs or VAVs are the same or similar to the ones in another building you had already programmed and installed. Perhaps you are doing a remodel in the same building of a floor and the VAV boxes are the same configuration as another floor. Whether the controllers are our protocol, BASNet, or a third-party protocol like OPTO, BACnet, or Modbus, CBAS has a solution to make this easy for you.

Templates

BASnet controllers include 8X through 64X, 8-LX through 64-LX, UNI-B, and UNI-C.

The best thing about BASNet Templates is that they not only contain the point configurations and names, but they also contain Schedules and Logic as well as “On Controller” RS-485 channels complete with controllers and points. 

Here’s how to make a template in Real Mode or Editor Mode.

Go to Hardware View, Controller Channel (or other BASNet 485 channel) then Controllers. 
Click a controller then the “Save Controller Database as a Template” button.
First, you will be prompted to enter a description of the template. 
Click OK and enter a brief description of the template contents.
Right-click or ESC then you will be prompted to enter a name for the Template. 
Click OK, then you will see the New Point screen like below. 

Click the New Point field and change the name or leave the original as desired.
When finished, click or press Enter and the Template will be saved in C:\CBAS20\Templates\[controller type].

There is a folder for each type of controller, so browse to that path if you want to copy that template to another site. I recommend that you zip that specific template folder before copying it to your flash drive. Don’t forget to unzip it after placing it in the same path on the other site’s computer.

To apply this Template to a new controller, Add a controller of the same type in Hardware View. This is done in Editor Mode. 

When adding a BASnet Controller you are given choices of how to add the points:

You can add a blank controller or copy from an existing controller in your currently open database, but in this case, choose to Use A Template…

Click Add Controller Now and you will be taken to the folder containing Templates for the type of controller you are adding. 

Choose your Template then click Next and you will see the next screen where you can change the point name prefixes.

In the field labeled “Find”, type in the current point prefix as seen on the list. In this case, AHU-56.

In the “Replace” field, type what you would like to change it to. In this case, AHU-58.

Click the “Replace All” button and you will see them change. If you scroll down and see other point names, you can repeat these steps before moving on.

Like I said before if you have an On Controller channel in the Template, those point names can be changed too.

Or you might want a Template with no prefixes in the point names. You can leave the Replace field blank and that removes the prefix, but make sure to add a space after the prefix in the Find field or you will get a leading space at the beginning of the point names.

Click Finish and the controller will be added with those point names.

If the points list is not quite perfect for the new AHU or VAV you are programming, then you can delete points, rename points and add new points to make it right. Also change Schedules, PIDs, and Logic as needed. Then you can make another Template out of that configuration.

Next month we will continue with exporting and importing points on third-party controllers.