====Auto Linking====

Automatic linking allows you to set up [[bindings|data bindings]] quickly and easily, if your data-backend is consistent enough to allow it.

Before the system can function, you need to upload a text/CSV file containing **all of the valid points that ARDI could connect to**.

This is usually done by exporting a list from your SCADA system or historian.

You can upload/check on this list from the [[Auto-Linking Options]] page under **Administration**.

Next, you need to ensure your assets have valid [[types]], and finally you must have done the data-binding on at least one of your assets of each type.

===What It Does===

Auto-linking looks at your existing data bindings on assets with the same type(s). It then attempts to figure out if there's a common sequence or substitution it can do in your data bindings to automatically arrive at a valid data binding.

You can access the auto-linking system several ways...

==Auto-Link Per Asset==

You will find an **Auto-Link** button at the bottom of your list of properties when looking at the [[detail_page|asset details page]].

This will suggest some possible data links - check off the ones you'd like to apply and press **Apply These Links**.

==Auto-Link Per Property==

In **Tools | Reports** from the sidebar, you can access the //Unlinked Properties// report. This will allow you to automatically link a particular property across multiple assets.

Press **Auto Link**, check the boxes on the assets you'd like to update, and press **Apply These Links** to bind your data.

==Auto-Detecting Assets==

This is the //opposite// of auto-linking. Instead of using your list of assets and properties to find the appropriate data point, it looks through your list of data points to guess what **assets** you have available.

In effect, it looks for other assets with similar 'I/O signatures' to the assets you already have.

This is accessed via **Tools | Reports | Asset and Type Combinations**.

===How It Works - An Example===

1) You ask to auto-link the data on your asset. In this case, it's a temperature sensor with the following properties...

^Property^Value^
|Temperature|Unknown|
|ERN|TMP-124|

2) ARDI searches for a similar asset that has //already// been linked to live information. In this case, it finds a temperature sensor called **TMP-293**.

3) ARDI grabs the properties and data bindings for the asset.

^Property^Value^Bound To^
|Temperature|24.9 Degrees|PI Server - Sensors/TMP-293/Temperature|
|ERN|TMP-293|//Not Bound//|

5) It looks for any properties that appear in your data bindings - in this case, the //ERN// (**TMP-293**) has been found in the data binding for //Temperature//.

6) ARDI goes back to the original asset (**TMP-124**) and checks to ensure that it has the same property - in this case, it does.

7) ARDI suggests the new address, substituting **TMP-124** for **TMP-295**. 

8) If you've uploaded a set of valid addresses (via **Administration | Auto Linking Options**), the  address will be validated against the list to ensure that the point ARDI has assumed actually exists. This is highly recommended, as it helps avoid problems caused by inconsistent data backends.