🚀 New Features & Enhancements
Actual‑Value Visualization in DataFrame Creator
You can now switch DFC plots from normalized values to engineering units.
- Toggle between Normalized and Actual Values directly in the visualization.
- When plotting actual values, SharpBot automatically:
- Groups signals across up to two Y‑axes
- Chooses appropriate ranges based on signal scale
- Makes it much easier to visually compare SP vs PV or other signals with different magnitudes.
Smarter Z‑Score Handling
Several improvements were made to normalized plots:
- Hovering over points now shows both Z‑values and original data values.
- Extreme Z‑value spikes caused by very small standard deviations are automatically limited.
- Normalized charts now remain readable even when setpoints stay constant for long periods and then change suddenly.
Automatic Time Axis Creation for PI Data
Working with PI data just got simpler:
- A new button in the PI Client dialog automatically inserts a
Time_srow. - Prevents duplicate insertion if the row already exists.
- During simulation:
- Time is updated automatically by SharpBot
- PI tag values continue to be pulled from the live connection
This removes the need for manually creating placeholder time arrays.
Improved Logging in C# Code Blocks
C# user code can now reference the block number directly:
- A permanent variable
BNis available inside C# code blocks. - Logging calls like
LogInfo(BN, message)now compile cleanly and correctly reference the owning block.
đź› Bug Fixes & Stability Improvements
PI Data Visualization Reliability
- Fixed an issue where DFC visualization failed when using PI connections.
- Root cause was identified using a simulated PI server and fully resolved.
Live Data Output Creation
- Resolved a bug where DFC outputs were not created when starting with live data unless a default input option was manually unchecked.
- Live‑data workflows now create outputs correctly by default.
Simulation Dialog Usability
- Simulation setup dialogs are now resizable, ensuring OK/Cancel buttons remain accessible even at high screen scaling (e.g., 150%).
Canvas Zoom Control
- Scroll‑wheel zooming is now disabled to prevent uncontrollable magnification.
- Scrollbar movements are timed so canvas updates occur after scrolling stops, resulting in smoother interaction—especially on touchpads.
Parameter Estimation Improvements
- Transfer functions now default to block number = -1, preventing automatic parameter estimation unless explicitly enabled.
- Fixed instability in the new unconstrained parameter estimator:
- Division‑by‑zero conditions are now detected and logged
- Infinite values are ignored so estimation can continue safely
These changes improve robustness while maintaining the estimator’s strong fitting performance.