User Guide

Program Methodology—PPCL Rules
Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. 1-5
• If you need to enter more characters, enter an ampersand (&) at
the end of the line and continue entering characters on the next
line.
• The maximum number of characters allowed on a total of three
lines of code is 198 characters (including the ampersands and
line numbers).
Pre-APOGEE Firmware
When entering program lines through a pre-APOGEE field panel
MMI port, the maximum number of characters per line is 72.
• If you need to enter more characters, enter an ampersand (&) at
the end of the line and continue entering characters on the next
line.
• The maximum number of characters allowed on both lines of
code is 144 characters (including the ampersand).
Maximum Number of Characters per Comment Line
When entering comment lines through an APOGEE field panel HMI
or MMI port, the maximum number of characters per line is 81 (not
including the line number or operator C).
Creating a Notepad at the Field Panel
A PPCL program containing only comment lines can be used as a
notepad for the field panel. This allows you to record information
regarding activities, modifications, a to-do list, special instructions to
follow-up personnel, or general notes.
• The comment lines can be added and viewed from any
HMI/MMI or front-end device.
• The program can be archived for historical purposes.
Since a PPCL program that contains only comment lines is not
executed, it does not affect system performance.
NOTE: Only field panels containing Firmware Revision 2.6/2.6.1
and later support a notepad at the field panel with PPCL
comment lines.
APOGEE PPCL User’s Manual
1-6 Siemens Building Technologies, Inc.
Defining Points in a PPCL Program
• All physical and virtual points used in the program must be
defined in the point database.
• Point names that begin with numbers must be prefixed with the at
(@) character.
• Point names that are greater than 6 characters must be enclosed
in double quotes.
• Point names that use characters other than A-Z or 0-9 must be
enclosed in double quotes.
Example
560 ON(B2SFN,”BUILDING1.AHU01.SFAN”)
• The first point (B2SFN) does not require quotes.
• The second point (BUILDING1. AHU01.SFAN) is greater than six
characters and requires quotes.
Rules for Naming Points
Use the following rules to establish a point naming convention that
provides meaningful information.
APOGEE Firmware
• Valid names are from 1 to 30 characters.
• Acceptable characters include: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, spaces ( ), periods
(.), commas (,), dashes (-), underlines (_), and apostrophes (').
• Do not use the following characters in point names: & ? * [ ] { } %
• Only use a colon (:) in a point name when working with subpoints.
BACnet Firmware
• Valid names are from 1 to 30 characters.
• Acceptable characters include: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, spaces ( ), periods
(.), commas (,), dashes (-), underlines (_), and apostrophes (').
• Do not use the following characters in point names: & ? * { } %