Browse a device

Enter on a row of the device table opens the browser. It reads the device and lists its objects; nothing is written.

Three panes

• The device card, top left: name, vendor and vendor ID, model, firmware and application software versions, protocol version and revision, how many services and object types it supports, Max APDU, segmentation and Database_Revision.
• The object list, bottom left: the device’s Object_List, grouped by object type with a count per type, and each object’s name after its label. Names are read only for the objects on screen, never for the whole list, and kept for the session: scrolling reads the names of the rows that come into view, … marks a name still being read, - one the device refused, and a dim ? one that timed out, which is asked for again when the device next sends an I-Am. r on the card or the list reads the device again, and asks again for the names it refused.
• The properties, on the right: the selected object’s properties, once you read it.

From 120 columns wide the panes sit side by side. Below that only the focused pane is shown, with a bar naming the panes, and Tab moves to the next one. The focused pane has a coloured border. Tab and Shift-Tab change the focus at any width.

Read an object

Move to an object in the list and press Enter. The browser reads it and fills the property pane. r reads it again; Esc goes back to the device table.

Each object is read with one ReadPropertyMultiple. If the device refuses that, the browser falls back to one ReadProperty per property. An Object_List too big for one reply is read an element at a time. The browser keeps at most one request outstanding per device, and --max-rate N caps the requests a second across all devices (default 20; 0 for no cap). A property the device won’t return shows its error in place, in kebab case like the property names: the code alone when it is the property’s or the object’s own error, such as (read-access-denied) or (unknown-property), class / code for any other class, such as (resources / no-space-to-write-property), and the reason of a reject or abort, such as (rejected: unrecognized-service).

Status flags and badges

The first line of the property pane sums up the object’s Status_Flags in text, so the state doesn’t depend on colour:

Badge	Meaning
[ALM]	In alarm
[FLT]	Fault
[OVR]	Overridden
[OOS]	Out of service
normal	None of them

Here the analog input is out of service with a reliability of OPEN_LOOP, so its Present_Value is not coming from the sensor. Read Reliability and Event_State next to the badges before trusting a value.

Priority arrays

A commandable object, such as an analog output, binary output or multi-state output, also shows its 16 command priorities, Relinquish_Default and Present_Value. The slot in control is marked with >, and the title names it. Below 120 columns the priority array is a pane of its own, after Properties in the Tab order, so the properties keep the whole width; from 120 columns it sits under the properties, and from 160 beside them.

Each slot is labelled with its usual role: 1 and 2 for life safety, 5 for critical equipment, 6 for minimum on and off times, 8 for manual operator, and the others site defined. The highest-priority slot that holds a value, the lowest number, drives Present_Value; when every slot is empty, Relinquish_Default does (Clause 19.2). In this example a value at priority 14 sits under the one at 10 and takes over when 10 is relinquished.

Trend Log and Schedule objects

A Trend Log shows its logging properties: Log_Enable, Log_Interval, Buffer_Size, Record_Count, Total_Record_Count, Stop_When_Full, the logged property and the start and stop times.

A Schedule shows Present_Value, Schedule_Default, Weekly_Schedule, Exception_Schedule, Effective_Period, the list of properties it writes and Priority_For_Writing.

The browser shows these as properties; it has no log-buffer table or weekly calendar view. Constructed values, such as a Weekly_Schedule, a Recipient_List or a property reference, are decoded; a value that doesn’t decode is shown as its raw encoded form. To read a trend log’s records, use the one-shot bacnet read-range command.

Filter the objects

/ filters the object list as you type: by type, such as binary, by instance, or by a name already read (it reads none). The title shows how many objects match. Enter keeps the filter and Esc clears it.

From the browser

• a watches the open object’s Present_Value; see Watch points.
• w and n write and relinquish, inside an armed write session; see Write safely.

Sources and release scope

These pages describe v0.15.0. Source review is not a claim of hardware qualification.

Device browser reference · Browser source · Browser view.

CONTINUEWrite safelyArm a time-boxed session, preview each write, and revert from the ledger.→