# How the Alarm buttons work at run time

The Alarm buttons work with the alarm system at run time.

## Acknowledge messages

- When the operator presses the Acknowledge Alarm button, the current alarm is acknowledged and the Ack connection is set to the alarm trigger value at the data source. The value is held as long as the operator presses the button, or for the notification hold time, whichever is longer. Then the connection's value is reset to zero. Assign the Ack connection and specify the hold time in the Alarm Setup editor.

  If the hold time for any alarm is still in effect and the operator presses Acknowledge Alarm, the button press is ignored.

  If the button's Send press to property is set to Object With Focus, and the current object with focus is not an alarm list or alarm banner, the button press will have no effect.

  If the button's Send press to property is set to Linked Object, pressing the button will not change input focus to the linked object. Whatever object has input focus on the display will continue to have input focus.

- When the operator presses the Acknowledge All button, all unacknowledged alarms in the system are acknowledged, and the "Acknowledge all value" (specified in the Alarm Setup editor) is sent to the Ack connection. The value is held as long as the operator presses the button, or for the duration of the notification hold time, whichever is longer. Then the connection's value is reset to zero. Assign the Ack connection and specify the hold time in the Alarm Setup editor.

  If the hold time for any alarm is still in effect and the operator presses Acknowledge All, the button press is ignored.

## Silence alarms

- When the operator presses the Silence Alarms button, any audible signal triggered by an alarm is silenced. The Silence connection is set to 1 for as long as the operator presses the button or for the notification hold time, whichever is longer. Then the connection's value is reset to zero. Assign the Silence connection and specify the hold time in the Alarm Setup editor.
- If the hold time for any alarm is still in effect and the operator presses Silence Alarms, the button press is ignored.

Clear messages

- When the operator presses the Clear Alarm History button, all alarms in the alarm history are cleared. If there is an unacknowledged alarm whose trigger has the Use ack all value check box checked and the Ack connection assigned, the operator is prompted to acknowledge the unacknowledged alarms before clearing the messages from the alarm history. If the operator chooses to acknowledge the alarms, the "Acknowledge all value" is sent to the Ack connection before clearing the messages. If the connection is not assigned, or if the operator chooses not to acknowledge alarms, all messages are cleared immediately.
- Pressing the Clear Alarm History button also closes the Current Alarm Display. To prevent the Current Alarm Display from closing, go to Terminal Settings > Alarms and set the Close Alarm Display When Newest Alarm Acknowledged option to No.

## See also

Create Alarm buttons

Create alarm lists

Create alarm banners

Alarm list

The Triggers tab of the Alarm Setup editor