Export Modbus Poll tags to Ignition
You found the registers you need with Modbus Poll. Typing them into Ignition one tag at a time is the slow part. Export to SCADA writes an Ignition tag file with one OPC tag per value, already pointed at the Modbus driver, so you import it once and the tags appear in the Tag Browser.
Availability. Export to SCADA was added to the Modbus Poll and BACnet Explorer source after Modbus Poll 1.3.5 and BACnet Explorer 1.2.1 were prepared. It is in the open source repository on GitHub and ships with the next app update; if you do not see the button in the app yet, you are on a build from before that update. It needs Pro.
1. Export from Modbus Poll
- Connect to the device and add the read blocks you want (name, start address, count, type, area).
- In the blocks panel on the right, click Export to SCADA. This is a Pro feature.
- Pick Ignition tags (JSON) as the format.
- Set the device name. This must match the name of the device in Ignition, because every item path starts with it, for example
[PM5560 meter]. - Read the notes in the yellow box, then click Save file.
2. Add the Modbus device in Ignition
In the Gateway, go to Connections, Devices, and create a Modbus TCP device. Use the same name you typed in the export dialog, the device IP address and the port. Leave Zero-based Addressing switched off: the export uses the one-based Ignition addresses (HR1 is holding register 0, the same register as 40001).
3. Import the tags
In the Designer, open the Tag Browser, right-click the folder where the tags should go and choose Import Tags, then Direct (on versions before 8.1.15 the menu item is just Import Tags). Pick the JSON file and choose a collision policy. The tags appear inside a folder named after the device.
What the file contains
{
"tags": [{
"name": "PM5560 meter",
"tagType": "Folder",
"tags": [{
"name": "Voltage_3000",
"tagType": "AtomicTag",
"valueSource": "opc",
"dataType": "Float4",
"opcServer": "Ignition OPC UA Server",
"opcItemPath": "[PM5560 meter]3.HRF3001",
"engUnit": "V"
}]
}]
}The item path has the unit ID in front (3.), so several devices behind one gateway IP can share one Ignition device. The letters after it say how to read the register:
| Modbus Poll type | Area | Ignition address | Tag data type |
|---|---|---|---|
| int16 | holding, input | HR, IR | Int2 |
| uint16 | holding, input | HRUS, IRUS | Int4 |
| int32 | holding, input | HRI, IRI | Int4 |
| float32 | holding, input | HRF, IRF | Float4 |
| float64 | holding, input | HRD, IRD | Float8 |
| bit | coil, discrete | C, DI | Boolean |
Input registers and discrete inputs are marked read only. A scale other than 1 becomes linear scaling on the tag.
Word order
Ignition has one setting for this on the device, not on the tag. If Modbus Poll shows correct values with the CD AB order selected, tick Reverse Word Order on the Ignition device. Ignition has no setting for bytes swapped inside each register (BA DC), so the export warns you when that is selected.
BACnet Explorer
BACnet Explorer exports the browsed object list the same way. The paths use the BACnet driver form, for example ns=1;s=[AHU-1]AnalogInput1.Present_Value, so the Ignition remote device must have the name you typed in the dialog.
Export your Modbus Poll tags to a SCADA
Read the registers you care about in Modbus Poll, then use Export to SCADA in the blocks panel (Pro) to write the tag list for Ignition, Kepware, Node-RED, RustRED, Home Assistant or Voltrus SCADA.
Get Modbus Poll