Set up vertical motion for objects

Use the
Vertical Position
 option on the
Animation
 menu to move an object vertically as a tag value or the results of an expression change. The vertical position of the object is proportional to the value of the expression. For example, if the value of the expression is halfway between its minimum and maximum values, the vertical position of the object will be halfway between its minimum and maximum vertical offset positions.
You can attach vertical position animation to drawing objects only. The exceptions are the image and panel objects, which only support visibility animation.
To set up vertical motion for an object
  1. Select the object.
  2. Choose
    Vertical Position
    from the
    Animation
     menu or click the
    Vertical Position
     tab in the
    Animation
    dialog box.
  3. Select a tag or create an expression that will evaluate to a number at runtime to determine the position of the object.
  4. Specify the vertical offset for the object when the expression evaluates to its minimum and maximum values. You can also use the Object Smart Path feature to set these values.
  5. Select the method to use to calculate the expression's minimum and maximum values.
  6. Specify a range of values for the expression.
Options
  • Expression
    Type a tag name or an expression that will evaluate to numeric values at runtime. An expression is a mathematical or logical equation that returns a value. It can contain tag names, constants, and mathematical, relational, logical, and bitwise operators. A tag name can be used as an expression. When you do this, the minimum and maximum expression values default to the tag's minimum and maximum values.
  • Expression range
    • Use tag's min and max property values
      If you have specified a tag in the Expression box, click this button to use the tag's minimum and maximum values to define the range of values for the expression. If your expression contains more than one tag, the minimum and maximum values for the first tag will be used for the animation.
    • Use constant
      To use constant numeric values to define a range of values, click this button and specify values for minimum and maximum.
    • Read from tags
      To define the range of values using one tag's value for the minimum and another tag's value for the maximum, click this button and then specify a tag for minimum and another for maximum. Using this option, when the display opens and animation for an object is started, the tags' values are read once to set the minimum and maximum values. The tags are not read again after the display is opened, nor are the minimum and maximum values for the animation changed, even if the tag values change.
  • Vertical Offset (Pixels)
    Vertical offset determines the object’s position on the screen. The
    At Minimum
    and
    At Maximum
    boxes determine where the object is to be at the expression's minimum and maximum values.
    • At Minimum
      Type the starting position of the object in pixels, or drag the object to its start position then click the check box. The offset value, in pixels, will reflect the object's new position.
    • At Maximum
      Type the ending position of the object in pixels, or drag the object from its start to its finish position, then click the check box. The offset value, in pixels, will reflect the object's new position.
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