The design software's docked Property List writes one property value to every object you select, so Font Size and BackColor changes across a bank of lights or thumbwheels take 2 edits instead of 1 per object. Open it with F4, drag-select the group, set each shared property once, then click through the objects to confirm every value took.
Changing the font on a bank of indicator lights one dialog at a time is slow, and it is unnecessary. The HMI design software already carries the multi-object editor: the Property List. This docked window shows the properties of the current selection and writes each value to every object in it. Select the whole bank, set Font Size once, set BackColor once, and the screen is done. This page walks through opening the window, selecting the group, writing the values, proving every object took them, and setting up the next screen so the edit happens only once. The names below, Property List, F4, Font Size and BackColor, are the names to look for in your own design software's manual.
Can the design software edit several objects at once?
Yes. The docked Property List writes one value, such as Font Size or BackColor, to every object you have selected, so a bank of 6 indicator lights takes 1 edit for the whole bank. The per-object dialog is built for 1 object: open it, change the value, confirm, open the next. Six objects through dialogs means 6 rounds of that. The Property List stays open beside the screen and targets the whole live selection, so the same 2 values arrive in 2 actions. The idea that this needs alternative programming software for the panel is the wrong turn. It costs more time than the manual edit, and the editor already open on the bench has the feature built in.
What do you need before the multi-object edit?
You need 4 things: the project open on the screen holding the objects, the Property List docked in the design window, a selection of objects that share the property, and the target values decided in advance.
- The project open on the screen that holds the objects, because a group edit reaches only the screen you are editing.
- The Property List window docked in the design workspace.
- A selection worth editing: same-type objects, or any objects that share the property, such as
Font SizeandBackColoron thumbwheels and indicator lights. - The target values written down first, the size and the color, so the group edit is one pass.
Selection comes in the 2 flavors the manuals name: graphical, dragging the mouse over the objects on screen, and logical, picking them from the screen's object list. Design packages that document multi-object editing name a Properties panel working beside a List panel. If your software names its panels differently, its manual's multi-object editing section gives the local names.
How do you open the Property List?
Open it from View > Window > Property List, or press F4, then click 1 object so the list populates with that object's properties, Font Size and BackColor among them.
- Menu:
View > Window > Property List - Keyboard:
F4
Verify the window before editing anything. Click a single object on the screen, and the list should populate with that object's properties. An empty list means the window is not attached to the active screen; click an empty part of the edit area, then click the object again. A single-object click also gives you the baseline, the current values you are about to overwrite.
How do you select the whole group of objects?
Drag the mouse over a rectangle that encloses every object you want to change. The Property List then shows only the properties the selected objects have in common, which is exactly what a group edit needs.
Start the drag from empty space so the rectangle corners land outside the outermost objects. Release, and count the selection handles on screen against the objects you meant to pick. Two things can narrow the list under a multi-selection:
- Mixed object types: the list keeps only what every selected object supports. If
Font SizeorBackColoris absent, 1 object in the rectangle does not carry it; drop that object from the selection and edit it on its own. - Overlapping objects: when objects sit on top of each other or inside frames, the drag can pick up neighbors you did not want. Selecting from the object list, the logical method, avoids that.
How do you write Font Size and BackColor once for the group?
With the group still selected, set Font Size from its drop-down arrow and pick BackColor from its dialog. Each value writes to every selected object in 1 action, so 2 edits cover the whole selection.
- Drag-select the bank and count the selection handles against the objects you meant to pick.
- Click the drop-down arrow on the
Font Sizeproperty and pick the size. Every selected object redraws at that size as the value lands. - Click the
...button on theBackColorproperty, pick the color in the color dialog, and confirm. - Set any further shared property the same way while the selection is still live.
- Between edits, touch nothing on the screen canvas: a click on empty background drops the selection, and the next change lands on nothing or on a single object.
- If the selection drops early, reselect the group and repeat only the property that did not take.
Example: how much editing does one group edit save?
A screen with 6 thumbwheels needs Font Size 36 and a new BackColor on each one. Done object by object that is 12 dialog edits; through the Property List it is 2.
- By hand: 6 objects × 2 properties = 12 rounds of open dialog, change value, confirm.
- Through the list: all 6 selected, 1 edit for
Font Size+ 1 edit forBackColor= 2 edits.
Size 36 gives letters roughly 0.5 in of capital height on the panel, which the FHWA planning figure of 30 ft of viewing distance per inch of letter height puts at readable from about 15 ft. If the operator stands 6 ft from the panel, the size passes with margin to spare.
The gap widens with the bank. A second screen with 12 indicator lights needing the same 2 values takes 24 dialog rounds by hand, and still 2 edits through the list, because 1 pass covers the whole selection however many objects it holds. Where the values differ across the screen, the list still pays: select the lights that share each value and edit per group, which is 1 edit per distinct value on the screen.
How do you check the change took on every object?
Click every edited object in turn and read Font Size and BackColor in the Property List. All values must match what you set, and any object that kept its old value was outside the selection.
| Symptom after the edit | Likely cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| One object keeps the old value | It was outside the selection | Select it alone and set the same value in the Property List |
Font Size or BackColor missing from the list |
One selected object does not support that property | Split the selection by object type and edit each type as its own group |
| Label text clips at the new size | The frame is smaller than the bigger letters need | Widen or raise the frame, or step the size down for the group |
| The list stays empty | Nothing selected, or the window is not docked to the active screen | Reselect the objects and reopen the list with F4 |
Clipped text gets a fuller diagnosis for dialog boxes in fixing HMI dialogs clipped by legacy Windows fonts; the font-versus-frame arithmetic is the same on an HMI object.
A group edit reaches only the selection on the screen you have open, so open every other screen that uses the same object types and repeat the select-and-edit there. Save the project, transfer it to the panel, and read the edited bank on the display, because fonts and colors read differently on a monitor than on the panel glass. If the reason for the edit is reading distance, size the text from the distance first: the FHWA planning figure is 30 ft of viewing distance per inch of capital letter height, so a 1 in capital reads from 30 ft, and 20 ft per inch is the safer figure when people read while walking past, which puts the same 1 in letter at 20 ft.
How do you stop repeating the same edit on every screen?
Copy one correctly formatted object as the starting point for the next screen. New objects then start with the right Font Size and BackColor, and the group edit is needed only for corrections.
Format one object the way the screen should look, verify it against the panel, and make copies of it for the rest of the bank. The same habit scales up 2 levels: building reusable HMI objects with grouping and a user library turns one verified object into a library part, and designing reusable HMI equipment panels for operators takes the whole screen as the reusable unit. When the bulk change you need is a data type rather than a color, changing an HMI tag data type without rebuilding every object applies the same selection-first thinking to tags.
Recommendation: For any repeat format change across a bank of 4 or more objects on one screen, drag-select the bank and write Font Size and BackColor through the Property List; open the per-object dialog only for the odd object whose property the list leaves out.
Questions
Can I edit properties for objects that sit inside a group?
A drag across grouped objects usually grabs the group frame, and the Property List then shows the group as one object with the group's properties. Either click the member directly or ungroup first, run the multi-object edit, and regroup afterwards. Whether members can be selected inside a group without ungrouping depends on the version, so check the manual's grouping or selection section. The ungroup, edit, regroup sequence always works.
Why does Font Size 36 not take on a numeric display?
Some analog numeric objects auto-size their font to the object frame when the frame is resized, and their documentation notes that the Font control of the Home ribbon does not adjust the size on those objects. Set the size through the numeric object's own properties, and switch the auto-size behavior off if the manual shows the option. After any group edit that includes a numeric display, check that object first, because it is the type most likely to keep its old size.
Can properties be copied between objects of different types?
Some design packages build this into the property grid: copy all or selected properties from one object, then paste them onto one or more objects of a different type. It is the tool to look for when a mixed selection leaves the common-property list empty. Where the version has no property-copy feature, split the selection by object type and run one group edit per type through the Property List.
How do I keep the format consistent across the whole project?
The Property List edits only the selection on the screen you have open, so screen-by-screen edits are part of the job. Keep one reference screen holding a known-good example of every object type at its final font size and color, and compare each new screen and each later revision against it. Copying verified objects forward keeps the format from drifting.
What if the Property List ignores a multi-object selection?
Confirm the basics first: press F4 with one object selected and check that the list populates, then reselect a group of same-type objects and read the list again. If single-object edits work and the multi-selection stays empty, record the software version and the object types involved, and raise it through the vendor's documented support channel. Do not add unofficial programming tools to a production panel to work around it.
Planning information, not legal or engineering advice. Rules differ by place: check codes and permits with your local authority and your licensed trades.