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Version 2026.21

Trend Chart ​

Plots one or more tags' historical values over a selectable time range.

In Studio ​

In Studio, double-click Trend Chart in the Components category of the Components panel. It is added to the open view, where you can drag it into place.

When to use ​

Use Trend Chart to show how a process value changed over time. For a single current reading, use Value Display, Gauge, or Tank instead.

Properties ​

PropertyTypeDefaultDescription
TitleStringTrendThe chart title, shown when Show Title is true.
Show Legendtrue, falsetrueShows or hides the pen legend.
Legend Positionbottom, topbottomWhere the legend renders relative to the plot: bottom (default) or top.
Show Gridtrue, falsetrueShows or hides the background grid lines.
Refresh (s)Number30How often, in seconds, the chart re-queries the historian for new data. The chart clamps this to a minimum of 5 seconds regardless of what is entered.
Left Axis LabelString(none)Legacy left-axis label. Superseded by the axes configured in the Pens section; kept so a project saved before named axes existed still renders correctly. Leave the Pens section's axes as authored rather than editing this field on a new chart.
Left Axis UnitString(none)Legacy left-axis unit — see Left Axis Label.
Left Axis MinString(none)Legacy left-axis minimum — see Left Axis Label. Blank means auto-scale.
Left Axis MaxString(none)Legacy left-axis maximum — see Left Axis Label. Blank means auto-scale.
Right Axis LabelString(none)Legacy right-axis label — see Left Axis Label.
Right Axis UnitString(none)Legacy right-axis unit — see Left Axis Label.
Right Axis MinString(none)Legacy right-axis minimum — see Left Axis Label.
Right Axis MaxString(none)Legacy right-axis maximum — see Left Axis Label.
Default PresetString(none)The time-range preset the chart opens on, e.g. 1h. Resolved against the full built-in preset table even if Presets restricts which ones the toolbar offers, so a hidden toolbar can still start on a preset nobody can click to.
PresetsString(none)Comma-separated list of preset labels to offer in the toolbar, a subset of the built-in 5m/15m/1h/4h/12h/24h/3d/7d table (a custom duration like 30m or 8h is also accepted). Blank offers all of them.
Show Toolbartrue, falsetrueShows or hides the preset/range toolbar.
Show Titletrue, falsetrueShows or hides the title bar. When false, or when Title is blank, no header renders at all.
Allow Operator Editstrue, falsetrueLets operators adjust the chart while viewing it: hide or show a pen, move it to another axis, remove it, override an axis range, or change the time window. On by default. The changes last only for that operator's session — they are never saved to the project, and a project reload discards them. Off also fixes the time window, since the toolbar presets are one of those edits.
Explorer: Tag Treefalse, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Shows a tag tree beside the plot; clicking a tag adds or removes a pen on the focused plot, and a tag can be dragged onto a plot. Off by default.
Explorer: Historized Tags Onlytrue, falsetrueTrend Explorer panel. When true (default), the tag tree lists only tags that have history. Only matters when Explorer: Tag Tree is on.
Explorer: Stacked Plotsfalse, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Lets the operator stack several plots (up to 6) that share one crosshair and time scale, each with its own axes. Off by default.
Explorer: Live / Historyfalse, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Adds a Live / History switch. Live keeps the window moving to now, refreshing at the Refresh interval. History holds the window where the operator put it. Off by default.
Explorer: Range Brushfalse, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Adds a range strip under the plot for dragging and resizing the visible window over a wider overview. Off by default.
Explorer: Pen Tablefalse, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Adds a table of the pens with the value at the cursor and the minimum, maximum and average over the visible window, plus plot, axis and show controls. Off by default.
Explorer: Export (CSV, PNG)false, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Adds export of the chart as CSV or PNG. Off by default.
Range StartString(none)Start of a fixed time window, in epoch milliseconds. Bind it, with Range End, to a Date / Time Range's start and end. When both are set and Range Start is earlier, that window is used instead of the presets.
Range EndString(none)End of the fixed time window, in epoch milliseconds. See Range Start.
Explorer: Compare (yesterday, last week)false, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Adds a Compare menu (Off, Yesterday, Last week). The same window from a day or a week earlier is drawn as a dashed gray ghost of each pen. Not available while batches are aligned. Off by default.
Explorer: Start Compared Tooff, day, weekoffThe comparison a new chart starts with: off (default), day or week. The operator can change it only when Explorer: Compare is on.
Explorer: Align Batchesfalse, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Adds Align batches, which overlays several runs aligned to their start, so the x axis is the time since each run began. Runs come from the history of a batch or run tag, or from a typed list of start times. Off by default.
Explorer: Alarm Eventsfalse, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Draws the journal and active alarms of the plotted tags on the plot as shapes in the alarm priority color, hollow once acknowledged, with a toggle per plot. Off by default.
Explorer: Timeline Notesfalse, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Adds shared timeline notes, shown with author and time. Notes are stored on Nexus per project and need a signed-in session. Off by default.
Explorer: Saved Charts and Linksfalse, truefalseTrend Explorer panel. Lets a signed-in operator save the chart under a name, reopen it later, and copy a link that reopens the same pens, plots and range. Saved charts are stored on Nexus per project. Off by default.

Binding ​

This component has no single value binding.

Trend Chart has no single value binding — each pen (see Pens below) binds its own tag path for its historical data.

Pens ​

A chart's pens are not schema properties — there is no Properties-panel row for them. They are edited in Studio's own Pens section of the Properties panel, using + Add Pen. Each pen has:

FieldDescription
ColorThe pen's trace color.
TextThe pen's legend label. New pens are named "Pen 1", "Pen 2", … in order added.
Tag PathThe historized tag this pen plots.
Line StyleThe trace line style.
Y AxisWhich axis (left, right, or a named axis you have added) this pen's values are scaled against.
Stroke WidthThe trace line thickness.
Show DotsMarks each historized sample with a dot in addition to the connecting line.

Trend Explorer ​

The properties starting with Explorer: each switch on one panel, and all of them are off. With all off, the chart is the plain trend chart described above. Turning any one on makes it the Trend Explorer, with the toolbar, the plot and whichever panels you chose. An operator's Explorer choices (plots, pens, range) last for the session only. The notes and saved charts panels need a signed-in session.