Link a user-defined keypad to an HMI numeric entry object

Why the keypad list stops at system default

Panel Manager holds the switch. Open it under Setup on the Function tab of the Navigation window and find the check box named Display Large Key Pad On Panels. Selecting it tells the panel to display a larger keypad than the default for entry objects such as Numeric Entry and Text Entry. Until it is checked, the keypad selection in a Numeric Entry object stays at system default even though the edited keypad sits saved in the user-defined keypad library.

Three things have to line up, and each is separate. The library holds the keypad. The check box makes library keypads visible to the objects. The object's properties assign one keypad to that object. A keypad reaches the screen when all three are done, which is why a keypad can exist, be enlarged, be saved, and still never appear in the list.

There is a route that skips the list. If you edit one of the built-in keypads and that keypad is the default one for the object, the object calls the edited keypad with no selection needed. Keep it in mind, because it decides which fix applies to your project.

Symptoms and what each one points to

• The keypad selection in the Numeric Entry object's properties shows only system default although a keypad was saved to the library. The panel option is off. Check Display Large Key Pad On Panels before touching any artwork.
• The user keypad now appears in the list but the panel still opens the old one. Either the object still has system default selected, or the updated project has not been transferred to the panel.
• You have resized keys several times and the list never changes. The list length depends on the option state and on the library, never on key size, so resizing cannot change what the object offers.
• Every key renders smaller than drawn on a high-resolution panel, in the editor and on the panel. That is display scaling, a different fault: fixing a numeric keypad that is too small on a high-resolution panel covers it.
• The panel has no touchscreen and operators enter values on a physical keypad. The virtual keypad options do not come into play; numeric entry object style for a non-touch HMI keypad is the job to read.

Turn on the option and assign the keypad

1. Open Panel Manager under Setup on the Function tab of the Navigation window.
2. Check Display Large Key Pad On Panels.
3. Open the keypad editor and confirm the enlarged keypad is saved in the user-defined keypad library. To start from an existing design, select a keypad, use the Copy/Paste buttons at the top of the Screen Navigator to make an editable copy, change the key sizes, and save the copy to the library.
4. Open the Numeric Entry object's properties and open its keypad selection. The saved keypad should now appear alongside system default. Select it for this object.
5. Save the project and transfer it to the panel, then test on the panel, not in the editor.

How big the keys should be

The check box turns the larger keypad on; the size you get is the size of the keypad it opens. You set that size in the keypad editor, building the pad from Key Button objects. Plan on a key target of at least 10 mm, because an adult fingertip pad is about 10 mm across. For gloved hands on a shop floor, go to 15 mm keys with 3 mm or more of spacing between them: a press that lands between two keys costs more time than a small key does.

Example: one numeric entry object listing a single keypad

The case: a first HMI project with one Numeric Entry object, an enlarged keypad already saved, and a list that still shows one option. The default keypad draws 10 mm keys; the keypad built for gloved operators draws 15 mm keys with 3 mm spacing. The inputs:

• Keypad list in the object's properties: 1 entry, system default. Read from the object's keypad selection.
• User-defined keypad library: 1 saved keypad, the enlarged 15 mm design. Read from the keypad editor.
• Panel option state: unchecked. Read in Panel Manager.
• Operator hand condition: gloved, so the target key size is 15 mm against the default 10 mm.

The rule in words: with the option off, the object's list holds system default only, whatever the library contains. With the option on, the list holds system default plus one entry for each keypad saved to the user-defined keypad library.

The arithmetic:

• Option off: 1 + 0 = 1 entry, and the only keypad reachable is the default with its 10 mm keys.
• Option on with 1 keypad in the library: 1 + 1 = 2 entries, so the 15 mm keypad becomes selectable.
• Key size gap for the gloved operator: 15 mm needed minus 10 mm default = 5 mm short on every key until the assignment is made.

The result: checking the box moves this object's list from 1 entry to 2 entries, and the object can now open the 15 mm keypad, closing the 5 mm gap per key for the gloved operator. The saved keypad adds nothing to the list before that.

The decision: if the list still shows 1 entry with the box checked, stop resizing keys. The keypad did not save into the user-defined keypad library; re-save it there, reopen the object's properties, and read the list again. If the list shows 2 entries and the panel still opens the 10 mm keypad, what remains is the selection in step 4 or the transfer in step 5.

One object or every object

Assigning a user keypad is a per-object selection. Editing a built-in default keypad changes every object that calls that default. Choose by scope. One screen needs bigger keys: build or copy a keypad into the user-defined keypad library and assign it object by object. Every numeric entry in the project should be bigger: edit the default keypad the objects use, then open each object once to confirm it calls the edited default.

Recommendation: Check Display Large Key Pad On Panels before editing any keypad artwork, because with the box off no amount of resizing changes what the object offers. Build the enlarged keypad in the user-defined keypad library and assign it per object when one screen needs bigger keys; edit the default keypad only when every object that uses it should change. Finish with a transfer and a test value entered on the panel itself.

Test on the panel

Reopen the object's properties after saving and check the user keypad is still the selected one. On the panel, open the numeric entry object, compare the keypad against the editor design, enter a permitted test value and check the value registers where the project sends it. Where an entered value goes on Enter is its own question; moving a numeric entry into PLC memory on Enter covers that. If the editor shows the assignment but the panel keeps the old keypad, verify the updated project was transferred to the panel you are testing, and stop changing key sizes until that is settled.

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