Import data points

If you want to create or update multiple data points in bulk, you can import them from an external file. On the data point list, click on More at the top right and then on Import Data Points.

In the following dialog, you can choose the desired import format, depending on your data source:

• Avelon Data Point List

• BACnet Engineering Data Exchange (EDE)

• OPC UA Nodes

Avelon Data Point List

Import data points from a previously exported data point list. Existing data points will be updated with the information from the imported file based on the ID column. This workflow allows you to export existing data points, make changes to them in your preferred spreadsheet application, and then import the updated data points back into the system.

To export data points in the first place, select them in the data point list by clicking on the checkboxes on the left of the respective data point. Then click on More at the top right and on Export Data Point List.

The data point list export file contains the following columns:

System Name

The system name of the data point, which is a unique identifier used by the system to reference the data point.

ID

The unique identifier that is used to reference the data point in the database.

Alarm Enabled

Indicates whether alarms are enabled for this data point (true) or not (false).

Visible

Indicates whether the data point is visible in the data point sidebar (true) or not (false).

Present Value

The current value of the data point.

Unit

The unit of measurement for the data point’s value, specified with the unit symbol (e.g. °C for degrees Celsius, kWh for kilowatt-hours or m³ for cubic meters).

Date and Time

Date and time of the last measurement.

Tags

A comma-separated list of tags assigned to the data point.

Label Czech

The label of the data point in Czech.

Label German

The label of the data point in German.

Label English

The label of the data point in English.

Label Italian

The label of the data point in Italian.

Label French

The label of the data point in French.

External ID

The external identifier of the data point, used for integration with external systems.

Notes

Additional notes or comments about the data point.

Bus Address

Identifies the exact location of the data point on the respective bus or protocol. The format varies depending on the bus or protocol (see :ref: Bus address <bus-address>).

BACnet Engineering Data Exchange (EDE)

Import data points from a BACnet EDE file with layout version 2.3, which is a standardized format for exchanging engineering data in BACnet-based systems. New data points will be created and existing data points will be updated with the information from the imported file based on the identifier of the BACnet object (object ID, object type, instance).

A full documentation of the EDE file format is available on www.big-eu.org/resources.

Note that the following properties are mandatory for the import of BACnet objects via EDE:

• Key name

• Device object instance

• Object name

• Object type

• Object instance

Other properties like the description or unit code can be helpful as well.

OPC UA Nodes

Import a CSV file containing the OPC UA nodes for which you want to create or update data points.

This import option requires an “OPC UA” license on the respective Beetle.

After you’ve selected the import file, you’ll have to specify a few details before you can start with the reconciliation:

Server

Select the OPC UA server to which the nodes in the import file belong.

If you haven’t created an OPC UA server yet, you can do so by clicking on the Manage Server Connections button.

Column assignments

In this section, you can specify which column in the imported file corresponds to which OPC UA attribute.

Node ID

Mandatory. The node ID of the OPC UA node, consisting of the namespace index, the identifier type, and the identifier:

Example: ns=2;s=Temperature for a string identifier or ns=2;i=1234 for a numeric identifier.

Node ID of parent node

The node ID of the parent node is used if you want to generate system names or descriptions for data points that are composed of the browse or display name of the imported OPC UA node and its ancestors.

Browse Name

The system-facing identifier used by software clients to navigate and discover the address space programmatically.

Display Name

The human-readable name of the node, which can be used for display purposes in user interfaces.

Description

A textual description of the node, providing additional context or information.

Unit

The unit of measurement for the node’s value, if applicable. Can be specified with the unit symbol (e.g. °C for degrees Celsius or kWh for kilowatt-hours.).

By default, the system assumes that the imported file only contains a subset of all OPC UA nodes of your project. This allows you to create or update data point at a later point in time without having to upload the entire list of OPC UA nodes every time. For this reason, existing data points will not be deleted by default if they are missing in the imported file. If you want to delete all existing data points that are not included in the imported file, you can enable the option Delete data points whose identifier is missing in the Options sidebar on the right during the reconciliation process. Note that this option is not available when importing OPC UA nodes from an external file. You can use the data point reconciliation wizard in Objects on the Network instead, though.