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Basic terms / What is what

Basic terms / What is what

Screen

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NavBar

The Navigation Bar (NavBar) is displayed at the top of every Flowbox page. It provides global navigation and quick access to key functions.

It contains:

  • Logo / Home button (far left): Returns the user to the home page.

  • NavBar Previews (next to the logo): Per-user configurable widgets displaying always-visible, context-independent information (e.g., live KPIs).

  • NavBar Buttons (right side): Quick-access buttons for actions like back, search, home, watchdog, event log, carousel, language selection, etc. Displayed buttons adapt dynamically to the current page context and the user’s access rights.

  • Menu (far right): Contextual menu showing the available navigation options, dependent on the current page.

Dashboard

The Dashboard is the main landing page of the Flowbox system. It serves as a configurable entry point and can be tailored to different visual layouts, such as:

  • Honeycomb menu

  • Map view

  • Floorplan view

  • Realm component overview

  • SCADA panel

  • Overview panel

This flexibility allows each installation to match the operational and visualization needs of the user.

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SideBar

The SideBar is displayed on the left side of the interface. Its content adapts depending on the page, site configuration, and user permissions.

  • Typical content includes a list of Realms, configuration items, or settings.

  • At the bottom is a blue toggler that allows switching between narrow and wide sidebar display.

  • The sidebar layout also automatically adapts to browser size (e.g., narrow view on mobile portrait mode).

 

Realm, Panel, Sub-panels

A Realm is a logical grouping of system components. For example: a Realm named Energy Consumption could contain sub-panels such as FVE, Electricity, Gas, Water, Others.

  • A Panel displays the main content of a Realm.

  • Sub-Panels allow breaking down complex Realms into smaller, topic-specific sections.

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Panel widget

A Panel Widget is the visualization of a single component within a panel.

  • Each component can be configured in different display modes (narrow, wide, with or without charts, etc.).

  • Clicking the left part of a component’s panel widget may open its Manage Panel.

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Manage panel

The Manage Panel provides detailed information and extended functions for a component.

  • It shows additional properties, parameters, or control options beyond what is visible in the standard widget view.

  • Example: A sensor’s widget may display current values, while the manage panel shows configuration options or advanced analytics.

    Example of component panel widget and its manage panel:

Panel widget

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Manage panel

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Panel widget

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Manage panel

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System parts

Component

The Component is the fundamental element of the Flowbox system. Each component belongs to exactly one Realm (though its widget can appear in multiple Realm panels).

Types of components include:

  • Device (e.g., sensor, multisensor, electricity meter, water meter)

  • Complex Device (e.g., photovoltaic inverter, AC unit, cogeneration unit, EV charger)

  • Virtual Device (e.g., virtual meter, dew point calculator, aggregated sensor data)

  • Gateway (e.g., Modbus, DALI, BACnet gateway)

  • Controller (PLCs)

  • Visualization (e.g., map, SCADA interface)

  • Graph / Analytics (e.g., compare chart, heatmap, Sankey diagram)

  • Control Component (e.g., control button, logic block, if-else command, script)

  • Reporter (e.g. chart reporter builder, automatic reports, LDS reporting etc.)

Property

Each component has properties, representing stored values or configuration items.

  • Categories of properties:

  • Measured values (e.g., temperature, consumption, voltage)

  • Configuration (e.g., name, alias, bus ID)

  • Properties can be stored in the history database for later visualization and analysis.

  • Example: An electricity meter may provide voltage_l1, current_l1, active/reactive power, frequency, cos phi, energy.

Data point

Every component has at least one data point (DAP).

  • A data point is counted when a component property is actively used, stored in history, or applied in system logic.

Examples:

  • A temperature/humidity/CO₂ sensor with values not stored/visualized = 1 DAP

  • The same sensor with all values stored in history = 3 DAPs

  • A virtual water meter aggregating five sources and storing consumption, flow, and cost = 3 DAPs

  • A compare chart visualizing 10 properties = 1 DAP (since it only visualizes existing data, without storing its own)