# About global connections

Global connections are connections that apply to your entire runtime application. Global connections allow the data source to control or interact with your application at runtime.

Use global connections to:

- Update the date and time at the data source using the runtime terminal’s date and time.
- Update the date and time on the runtime terminal using the data source date and time.
- Notify the data source of the current display number.
- Notify the data source when a display is printed.
- Change the display on the runtime terminal remotely (from the data source).
- Close On Top displays
- Apply parameter files or parameter lists to the tag placeholders in the changed displays.
- Print the current display from the data source.
- Run up to five macros from the data source, when a tag or expression result changes.
- Set the intensity of the backlight on a MobileView, PanelView Plus 7, PanelView Plus 6, PanelView Plus, PanelView Plus Compact, or PanelView Plus CE terminal.
- Monitor runtime RAM usage for troubleshooting purposes.

The use of each global connection is optional.

## See also

Set up global connections

Causes of run-time errors for global connections

data source

Keywords: global connection