# Options on the Message tab of the Alarm Setup editor

The following table shows the options on the Message tab of the Alarm Setup editor.

Options | Descriptions
Trigger filter | Select a filter option from the list to show alarm messages in the Alarm messages area: <none> - all alarm messages show. <Unassigned> - only unassigned alarm messages show. <AllTriggers> - only the <AllTriggers> alarm messages show. <AllTriggers> is a system-defined trigger and applies to all the triggers added on the Triggers tab of the Alarm Setup editor. A trigger to show only its alarm messages.
Sort by | Select an option from the list to sort the alarm messages by trigger names or messages.
Use Alarm Identifier | Select this check box to show the Alarm Identifier column in the Alarm messages area.
Clear all identifiers | Click this button to clear all the alarm identifiers assigned to the alarm messages.
Alarm messages | Specify alarm messages for triggers in this area.
Trigger | Select the trigger for which to define messages. If you are creating a message before setting up the trigger, select <Unassigned> from the Trigger list.
Trigger value | Enter a non-zero integer value or bit position. Bit positions start at 1. When the trigger’s value changes to this value, or when the bit in this position changes from zero to 1, the associated message is generated. This column cannot be blank.
Message | Enter the message, up to 256 characters, or right-click and select Edit String to include embedded variables in the message. To create a line break in the message, type \n. To show the character sequence in the message, type \\n. You cannot use tag placeholders (#n) in the variables that are embedded in an alarm message. PanelView Plus 7 Standard applications are limited to 500 alarm messages, and Compact Machine Edition applications are limited to 200 alarm messages. If a message uses an embedded variable to show the value of an alarm, and if that alarm is in alarm when the application starts up, the alarm banner will show question marks in place of the embedded variable. This is because the alarm system cannot determine when the alarm was triggered, and therefore cannot determine what the value of the variable was at that time. After the value has been reset to 0, the embedded variable value will show accurately the next time when the alarm is triggered.
Alarm Identifier | This column only shows when the Use Alarm Identifier check box is selected. Enter a value (1-32767) in this column to identify the alarm message. If this column is blank, the alarm identifier value is zero.
Display | Select this check box to open the alarm graphic display that is selected on the Advanced tab of the Alarm Setup editor when this alarm is triggered. The message is added to the alarm history and can be shown in any alarm list, alarm banner, and alarm status list objects even if this check box is clear and the graphic display is not opened. When the Bit trigger type is used, and multiple bits are triggered at the same time, the highest bit triggered message will be shown on the alarm banner display even if the Display check box of particular bits message is clear. Filtering alarms on the display object that opens automatically when alarms occur (specified on the Triggers tab) is not recommended. It is assumed that the user will want this display to register all alarms. If you filter alarms on this display for some reason, be sure to clear the Display check boxes for all the alarms that have been filtered out. Otherwise the display will open automatically when the alarm occurs because the Display option for the alarm is selected, but the alarm object (banner or list) will be blank, because the alarm that was triggered has been filtered out for that object.
Audio | For applications running on Windows 7 SP1, Windows 10, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2016 operating systems, select this check box to sound the run-time computer’s internal beeper when the alarm is triggered. The beeper beeps continuously, five seconds on and five seconds off, until the alarm is silenced.
Print | Select this check box to print the alarm message when this alarm is triggered. Be sure a printer is set up on the run-time terminal. You can print alarms in landscape mode with a line printer, but only one alarm is printed per page. If you set up alarm messages in multiple languages, all messages, trigger labels, and times are printed in the current application language.
Message to Tag | Select this check box to send the text of the message to the message connection specified on the Triggers tab when the alarm is triggered. If you set up alarm messages in multiple languages, make sure that the data source can receive the message in Unicode format or convert it into ASCII characters for all the languages you will use.
Background | Click this button to select a color for the background of the message text.
Foreground | Click this button to select a color for the message text.

## See also

Edit message strings

The Message tab of the Alarm Setup editor

Create an alarm message

Copy an alarm message

AlarmIdentifier