# Interactive objects

Use interactive objects in your displays to allow the operator to monitor and control a machine or process. Interactive objects initiate an action or show the current state of a process by interacting with the data source, project, or run-time computer.

- Many of the objects in FactoryTalk View Machine Edition allow the operator to interact with the data source. For example, you can use a gauge to dynamically reflect a value in a programmable controller at run time, or use a maintained push button to set a value at an OPC server.

  The objects that interact with the data source use connections (tags or expressions) to write or read data. Write connections send numeric or string values to the data source. Read connections read numeric or string values from the data source. Some objects, such as the interlocked push button, use read-write connections. For these objects, the data can flow in both directions.

- Objects such as login buttons and goto display buttons allow the operator to interact with the project, initiating actions such as logging in and changing graphic displays.
- An example of an object that interacts with the run-time computer is the time and date display, which displays the current system date and time.

All of the graphic objects are interactive except the drawing objects and the scale object.

Tip: | To see examples of how to use interactive objects in your graphic displays, look through the sample graphic displays in the Graphics Library. The samples also show how to set up the different objects to interact with each other. When you need to position multiple buttons close together, use touch margins to make sure the operator does not press the wrong button by mistake.

## To create an interactive object

1. In the Graphics Display editor, select the object from the Objects menu or Object Toolbox.
2. Drag the mouse to position and draw a rectangle the general size and location you want the object to be.
3. Double-click the object to open its Properties dialog box.
4. In the Properties dialog box, specify how the object looks, its behavior, and connections.

## See also

Use drawing objects

Create gauges

Create Maintained Push buttons

Create Interlocked push buttons

Create Login buttons