Working with Layers
ThingTech’s powerful reporting begins with Thing Layers (or Filters) which are created, edited and managed in the Visualization screen in the application. The purpose of a Thing Layer is to provide a list of Things that meet specific criteria (Data Attributes or Location) for users to monitor and take action to remedy exemptions on those Things in real-time.
A Thing Layer is an advanced filter that produces a data set according to the user’s (or group of users’) unique requirements. The ThingTech application is deployed with standard Thing Layers and most users will have access to pre-built Thing Layers via the Thing Layer Library. Additionally, Admins will follow the Thing Layer Wizard to create new or edit existing layers.
Thing Layers
Thing Layers or Filters are created, edited and generally managed in the Visualization screen in the application. The purpose of a Thing Layer or Filter is to provide a list of Things that meet specific criteria (Data Attributes or Location) so users can monitor and take action to remedy exceptional situations in real-time.
A Thing Layer is, essentially, an advanced filter that produces a data set according to the user’s (or group of user’s) unique requirements. The ThingTech application is deployed with standard Thing Layers, so most users will access pre-built Thing Layers via the Thing Layer Library. However, for Admins will follow the Thing Layer Wizard to build new or edit existing layers.
Searching for Thing Layers
The Thing Layer Library categorizes all saved layers under the respective Thing category to which it pertains, in the left-hand sidebar of the ‘Visualization’ tab. All Layers can be searched by keyword in the search bar, with pre-text ‘Filter …’ beneath the Thing Layers section title and is identified by the red arrow in the following figure. Any partition of the Layer Library can be expanded to view which Layers live within that Thing category.
Quick Searching the Layers
A ‘Quick Search’ can be performed on the Thing Layer Library by selecting a Thing category, a search area in which to look, and by entering additional keywords in a textbox.
Thing categories are Accounts, Equipment, Orders, Phones, and Vehicles.
Search areas are Everywhere, Current Map View, and Within a Saved Shape.
After a user begins to search for a Thing, the magnifying glass will turn green when results are available. The user can continue to narrow the search or press the magnifying glass for all results that meet the partially entered search term. After a quick search, the data results are presented in a ‘Temporary Layer’ in under the ‘Active Layer’ list. After the temporary layer is closed, is removed from the user interface and is NOT saved in the Thing Layer Library.
Active Thing Layers
Once a Thing Layer has been applied, then it will be listed on the left side content box, under ‘Active Thing Layers’. If an asset has been selected for tracking, then a temporary Thing Layer is created and applied to the Map View and also listed under Active Layers. Each Active Layer’s default map settings may be modified while it is active to alter the visualization by selecting the arrow to the right of the Active Thing Layer and modifying the default options.
Working with Thing Layers
After selecting a Thing Layer, data is loaded to the Visualization console and users may interact with the Map View, Grid View, and Graph View to monitor and act on the insights provided.
Map View
The Map View provides location mapping and tracking features. Mapping functionality includes:
● Zoom In / Out
● Turn on Real-Time Weather Radar Overlay
● Turn On Save Geofences or Draw New Geofence
● Turn on Google Street View
● Toggle to Satellite View
● Toggle to Terrain View
● Search for all Things on Map
● Expand to Full Screen Map View (press ESC to return)
Grid View
The Grid View is designed to searching, viewing, monitoring, and acting on your Thing Layer data. Features include:
● Turn On/Off data columns using the ‘Eyeball’ button in top right corner
● Group data grid by any column by dragging above Grid
● Sort the data grid by any column or multiple columns to order the data in ascending or descending order
● Search by any column or multiple columns using the ‘Filter’ row beneath column headers.
● Click any green Hyperlinked records to drill into the Detail Record for further review
● Select one or many Things in order to initiate an Action on the Thing(s)
● Adjust the Grid / Graph drawer to Full Grid, Partial Grid, or No Grid view using arrows in top left of Grid / Graph drawer
● Initiate Actions on select Thing(s). Action Include:
Switch to Graph: This action can only be taken on a single Thing at a time. The interface presents the Graph configured for the Thing Layer. See Graph View for more details.
Zoom to Extents: Select one or many Things and Zoom the Map to the extents of all selected Things.
Show Perimeters: Select one or many Things that possess a Perimeter - i.e. Geofence tied to the current Location of the Thing and show on Map.
Track: Select up to four (4) Things at once to view the last 15 minutes of location and activity of the Thing. After selecting ‘Track’ users may further adjust timeframe using the time selector in the bottom right corner of the application.
Export: Select one or many Things to export the data grid to Excel.
Custom Action: Select one or many Things (depending on the configuration of the Custom Action) to execute the Custom Action. See Custom Actions for more details.
Sync Grid to Map: Turn on ‘Sync Grid to Map’ mode whereby any searching within the Grid will auto-adjust and zoom the map to the extents of the records in the grid. Note: This Action does not require the selection of Things in the data grid.
Timeline: Toggle Timeline Up/Down at bottom of screen.
Graph View
The Graph View is designed for analyzing Time-Series data for anomalies and diagnosis. The Graph is accessed from the Grid View by selecting a single Thing and clicking the ‘Graph’ icon in the Action bar. Graphs may be pre-configured as part of the Thing Layer or configured on the fly by adding Graphs to the page and / or adding Metrics to the Graphs. Additional functionality includes:
● Display of Thing the Graph pertains to
● Popup display of all location and detail values of all Metrics across all Graphs configured for the Layer. The popup display is invoked by hovering over data points on the Graph.
● Add Graph to page by scrolling to bottom and selecting ‘Create New Chart’
● Remove Graph from page by clicking ‘X’ in top right corner of Graph.
● Add / Remove Metrics to / from the graph by selecting the ‘red x’ or ‘green plus’ at the bottom left of the Graph.
● Adjust Timeframe using the Time Selector in the bottom right corner of the screen.
● Adjust the Grid / Graph drawer to Full Graph, Partial Graph, or Fully Collapsed view using arrows in top left of Grid / Graph drawer
Standard Actions
ThingTech provides a set of Standard Actions that users may initiate to further research, diagnose, and remediate exceptional situations. Your ThingTech deployment may also include a set of Custom Actions configured specifically for your business and workflows. See Custom Actions or talk to your Administrator for more details.
Standard Actions may be initiated from the Visualization console - more specifically from the left Action Bar in the Grid Drawer or from the Info Window popup on the Map View.
Show Full Details
Users may have a need to further research the details of a Thing by reviewing the detailed data attributes or related records such as Rules, Messages, or Events. To do so, users may drill into the Detail Record of any Thing by clicking on the Hyperlink in the Grid View or clicking the ‘Show Full Details’ button in the Info Window. To go back to the Visualization console, the user selects ‘Go Back’ from the Detail View.
Zoom to Asset
To Zoom to a Thing or Things, select one or many Things in the Grid View and press ‘Zoom to Extents’ . The Map will adjust to the extents of all selected Things.
Show Perimeter
A Perimeter is a Geofence that is based on the current location of a Thing - even if it is mobile. To show perimeters on the map, select the ‘Show Perimeter’ button. Note: Not all Things have been configured with Perimeters. Discuss with your Administrator or contact ThingTech Support.
Track
When monitoring Time-Series data - either live or historically - it is often helpful to view it over various time ranges as well as in several contexts. To do so, users will need to select a Thing or Things and select the ‘Track’ action, which will put the ThingTech application into ‘Tracking Mode’.
Tracking Mode provides the following features:
● Removal of other Things from the map and automatically ‘Zoom to Extents’ of the Thing(s) being Tracked
● Historical data set will be activated for the lesser of 1.) The duration of your active browser session or 2.) Fifteen (15) minutes.
● Render Breadcrumb, Routelines, and Events on Map based on Thing Layer settings. Note: Settings are set by default in the Thing Layer manager but can be updated by any user for that session only by accessing the layer through ‘Active Layers’.
● Activation of Time Selector in bottom right corner of screen for additional manipulation of Timeframe either via Relative and Absolute values.
● Activation of Timeline at bottom of screen which can also be used to manipulate the Timeframe of the data set. Users can
● Ability to animate the data set on the Map display by selecting the ‘Play’ button
Export
Any data contained in the data grid and time series data nested in the data grid can be exported to an excel file by using the Export function on the Action Bar.
Sync Grid with Map
Some users may find it helpful to sync grid searching with the Map results. To do so, users can turn on ‘Sync Grid to Map’ mode whereby any searching within the Grid will auto-adjust and zoom the map to the extents of the records in the grid. Note: This Action does not require the selection of Things in the data grid.
Show Timeline
When in Tracking Mode or viewing Time Series data, users can toggle the Timeline component Up/Down at bottom of screen. Note: The Time Selector remains tucked in the bottom of the screen to remind the user of the current timeframe of the data they’re viewing.
Creating a New Thing Layer
To create a new layer, click ‘Create New Layer’ in the top left portion of the console and follow the steps in the Wizard.
Step 1: Name
To start, give your Thing Layer a name.
Step 2: Select Thing
Select the Thing you wish to Visualize. Note: Only Classes marked as ‘Things’ will appear as an option in the drop down.
Step 3: Filter
The user may wish to build layers that filters out specific Thing records based on specific data attributes of the Things. To do so, select the field on the Thing selected you wish to filter by. Select an operator and type or choose the value of the field you wish to INCLUDE in the data set.
Notes:
A user may select multiple filters. However, the filter logic is AND so if multiple filters are included the intended results will need to meet all the filter parameters.
Dates can be used as filter options. When dates are selected, the user is presented with the standard ThingTech time selector. Users can select a Relative or Absolute date/time range.
Relative: Allows user to select a defined time frame in the past or in the future from right now.
Absolute: Allows user to select specific dates in the past.
Tip: If you are saving this filter for future use it is most likely that you will be recommended that you use a Relative value. Using an Absolute date may cause the Thing Layer to return no results or unexpected results when executed in the future.
Step 4: Location
The user may wish to build a layer that filters for Things that are currently in specific Geofences. To do so, a user may:
Select one or many of the saved Geofences within the ThingTech system.
Draw a new Geofence directly within the Thing Layer Wizard. To do so, select ‘Create Custom’. Doing so, will enable the location searching and drawing tools on the map within the Wizard. Search and Draw the shape that contains the area you wish to search within and press next.
The resulting data set will only return Things that are within the defined Geographic area.
Tip: ThingTech supports several standard Thing classes. Each is mapped according to the following location fields even if additional, custom location attributes are added to the Thing class.
Vehicle: Last Known Location
Equipment: Last Known Location
Assets: Last Known Location
Employee: Last Known Location
Account: Location
Order: Location
Step 5: Display Fields
Users are required to define which data attributes from the Thing, related IoT Messages, and / or related IoT Events they wish to display. Data attributes are selected using the drop down selector. Once selected, the user can define where, within the Visualization console the data will appear. The options are: Grid, Window, and Graph.
Notes:
Fields are presented with the same labels from the Thing detail screen.
Fields from the related Message and Event classes are marked as such.
It is important to select the correct fields from the correct Class to achieve the desired visualization and data set. Keep in mind that Message and Event data is time-series data - meaning it is streaming in real-time and will update over time. Some fields on the Thing record are summary fields that update with the last value from the streaming Message and Event data feeds. Fields that are time-series fields will default to only being viewable in the Graph. Time-series data can not be displayed in the Grid or Info Window.
Step 6: Chart Configuration
To configure Graphs the user will configure within Step 6.
Notes:
Multiple Graphs can be configured with separate data points by clicking ‘Add New Chart’.
Any fields that are time-series and have been selected in Step 5, may be added or removed from a Graph or added to a separate Graph.
In addition to graphing the data value over time, the user can optionally enter up to two (2) constant values. Adding constant values will create a ‘band’ on the resulting Graph to illustrate to the viewer of the Graph the acceptable thresholds of the value.
Tip: When building Graphs, keep data that is measured against the same y-axis grouped together. Doing so will result in an easier to read Graph. The resulting Graph will render with only one (1) y-axis and it will be based on the first value in the list for each Graph.
Step 7: Map Styles
User can control how their Thing data is mapped in the resulting data set. Options include iconography and color of mapping icons. Users have two (2) options:
Static: Map all records the same way.
Color by Field: Map records based on any data attribute of the Thing record.
If mapping via the Static option, users will be presented with the option to select an Icon and Color for all records in the data set.
If mapping via the Color by Field option, users are prompted to select the field that will differentiate the icon and color styling. After selecting the proper field, users are presented with a list of the field values. User can select:
The speed with which the default pulsing icon will pulse based on the field value.
The icon to display within the standard circular icon based on the field value.
The color of the icon based on the field value.
Note: Only fields with pre-defined values (i.e. picklist fields or standard system generated fields) are available for the Color by Field option.
Note: The same color, icon, and pulse rate can be applied to multiple options.
Step 8: Default Options
Additional Thing Layer settings can be adjusted in Step 8:
Clustering On/Off: Will render a cluster showing the number of Things on the map with a color-coded donut chart icon when Things are close in proximity. Recommended to default to On.
Heat Mapping On/Off: Will render a heat map of all Things on the map. Recommended to default to Off.
Show Asset Names: Will append the Thing icon with the Name of the Thins within the icon. Recommended to default to On.
Breadcrumbs: After the ‘Track’ action is selected (i.e. in Tracking Mode), the map will display all GPS Message points on the map.
Route lines: After the ‘Track’ action is selected (i.e. in Tracking Mode), the map will display the inferred Route line of the Asset between Breadcrumb points. The Route line will ‘snap to road’ to indicate the actual roads traveled. This feature is recommended for mobile asset (i.e. Vehicle) location tracking.
Events: After the ‘Track’ action is selected (i.e. in Tracking Mode), the map will display all system generated Events on the map. Note: Events are only generated after configuration of the Rule engine.
Notes:
All mapping options can be adjusted by each user when viewing the Thing Layer.
Clustering and Heat Mapping are mutually exclusive features. If one is enabled, the other is automatically turned off.
Tip: If the Thing Layer data set returns only one result and Clustering is On, the Thing may not show up on the map. Turn Clustering Off to view it on the map.
Finally, in some cases, devices may report different message types that contain different sets of data in each message. Depending on the desired visualization, it may be advantageous to filter OUT specific message types. To do so, select the ‘Choose Messages to Filter’ and / or’ Choose Events to Filter’ options from the drop downs. The options presented will be the total set of Message and Event types for your IoT deployment. Note: Any options that are select will be REMOVED from the resulting data set.
When complete, press Next and Save the Thing Layer.