# Set up fill animation

Use the Fill option on the Animation menu to change the fill level in an object when an expression or tag value changes. The object's fill level is proportional to the minimum and maximum values specified for the expression. For example, if the value of the expression is halfway between its minimum and maximum values, the object will be half full.

You can attach fill animation to drawing objects only. The exceptions are the image and panel objects, which only support visibility animation.

## To attach fill animation to an object

1. Select the object.
2. Choose Fill from the Animation menu, or click the Fill tab in the Animation dialog box.
3. Create an expression that will evaluate to a number at run time.
4. Specify minimum and maximum values for percent fill.
5. Indicate the fill direction and whether only the inside is to vary or not.
6. Select the method to use to calculate the expression's minimum and maximum values.
7. Specify a range of values for the expression.

   Tip: | You can use the Object Explorer to search for objects in your display that have animation. Open the Highlight Settings box and select the kind of animation you want to highlight. If you add fill animation to a group as well as to individual objects within the group, the object's fill animation will be applied first and then the group fill animation will be added to it.

## Options

- Expression

  Type a tag name or an expression that will evaluate to numeric values at run time. An expression is a mathematical or logical equation that returns a value. It can contain tag names, constants, and mathematical, relational, logical, and bitwise operators. A tag name can be used as an expression. When you use a tag name, the minimum and maximum expression values default to the tag's minimum and maximum values.

- Expression range
  - Use tag's min and max property values

    If you have specified a tag in the Expression box, click this button to use the tag's minimum and maximum values to define the range of values for the expression. If your expression contains more than one tag, the minimum and maximum values for the first tag will be used for the animation.

  - Use constant

    To use constant numeric values to define a range of values, click this button and specify values for minimum and maximum.

  - Read from tags

    To define the range of values using one tag's value for the minimum and another tag's value for the maximum, click this button and then specify a tag for minimum and another for maximum. Using this option, when the display opens and animation for an object is started, the tags' values are read once to set the minimum and maximum values. The tags are not read again after the display is opened, nor are the minimum and maximum values for the animation changed, even if the tag values change.

- Fill (Percent)

  The default values for this are 0 and 100, which means that when the expression returns the minimum value, the object will be empty and when it returns its maximum, the object will be completely full.

  - At Minimum

    Type the percent the object is to be filled when the expression evaluates to its minimum value. The default is 0.

  - At Maximum

    Type the percent the object is to be filled when the expression evaluates to its maximum value. The default is 100.

- Fill Direction

  Select Left, Right, Up or Down for the fill direction. For example, if you choose Left, the object will fill from the right to the left side.

- Inside Only

  When you check this box the outline of the object remains constant while the inside fill varies.

## See also

Attach animation to graphic objects

Using the Expression editor

Tag names with animation

Drawing objects

Object Explorer

Highlight Settings dialog box