# About global objects and global object displays

Global objects allow you to link the appearance and behavior of a graphic object to multiple copies of that object in the same application. When you make changes to the original object, the copies are changed as well.

Global objects are created on global object displays. You create global object displays in the Global Objects folder, the same way you create standard displays in the Displays folder. All of the objects and groups of objects on a global object display are global objects.

Global objects displays are saved with the extension .ggfx in \Users\Public\Public Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\HMI projects\<Application Name>\Global Objects.

When you copy and paste or drag and drop a global object onto a standard display in the Displays folder, the copy is called a reference object. The original global object on the global objects display in the Global Objects folder becomes its base object. Changes to the base object will be reflected in its reference objects the next time the displays containing the reference objects are opened. This is true both at design time and run time.

Tip: | All FactoryTalk View graphic objects can be global objects except ActiveX controls. These are unavailable from the Objects menu and Graphics toolbar when you are editing a global object display. When you add a standard display containing ActiveX controls to the Global Objects folder, the ActiveX controls will be deleted. You cannot convert objects on a global object display to wallpaper. When a global object display is open in the Graphics editor, the words '(Global Objects)' appear after the name on the title bar. A standard display created in the Displays folder, has the word '(Display)' in the title bar. You can copy a global object onto any number of displays, or multiple times onto a single display. Reference objects can only be linked to base objects within the same application. The global object displays added to an application do not count toward the maximum displays allowed by the activation. A global object display cannot be used as the initial display in a FactoryTalk View ME application, and cannot be selected from the Component Browser when creating a Display List Selector or Goto Display button. Library graphic displays cannot contain global objects. If an application including global objects is used to create a run-time file (.mer) for earlier versions of ME Station that do not support global objects, all reference objects that are linked to a valid base object will be converted into regular objects. If the base object does not exist, a validation error will be logged to FactoryTalk Diagnostics.

## See also

Create and add global object displays

Create global objects

Global object parameters

Keywords: global object, global object display