Working with Honeywell TDC EB Files

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Thread Starter

EMesher

Hi,

I am looking for a way to convert an EB file to excel update the file with new tags and save the updates back into the EB file. Do anyone have any suggestions or know of any tools that could help?

Thanks in advance.
 
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DamnAsparagusFarmer

You don't give us any information as to why you're doing this, so here's a few ideas. This can be [and has been] done any number of ways from MS Word, MS Excel, database, etc.

The reality is it really depends on your situation as to whether it makes sense to do this at all. Suppose you want to add 50 tags to a system, and you have access to the system. It would be much, much faster to reconstitute, edit, and save 50 tags than to screw around with any programmed, automated solution. Believe me. I've done it. Armed with a list of tags you want to enter (with addresses already identified), you can manually enter 50 tags in 2 hours. You'll spend much longer creating a spreadsheet-based tool. Remember that each type of point (AI, AI T/C, AI RTD, AO, etc.) will have a different set of "unique" parameters which must be correct before you can re-load a list of points in an edited EB file.

Also note that the "extra spaces" and field length of each of the HW fields is absolute and unforgiving. You would have to ensure that whatever you output from Excel is "fixed" with respect to these.

I did a system many years ago in which I used MS Excel (tag list with unique parameters) and MS Word (EB file template) and then used the MS Word Mail Merge to substitute all the unique parameter values. Probably spent 2 weeks to create/download a few hundred tags. It was fun, and I learned a lot. But I probably could have manually entered the same list at the console in 2 [long, painful] days.
 
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