Bulk Import & Export

Building a plant model one tag at a time does not scale past a demo. QUBIQ imports and exports the whole namespace — folders, tags, bindings and alarm definitions — as a portable document.

The document is portable by design

The import/export document contains no database identifiers:

• A tag is identified by its path and name, not a UUID.
• Connections are referenced by name (connection_name, storage_connection_name), resolved to the target system's connections on import.
• If a connection of that name does not exist on the target, the binding is imported unbound rather than being silently dropped.

The consequence: a namespace exported from a development gateway imports cleanly into production, where the same logical connections have different internal identifiers.

What an item carries

Each item is a folder or a fully-specified tag:

Group	Fields
Identity	name, path (breadcrumbs), is_folder
General	data_type, description, unit, enabled, writable, write_level, source
Scaling	raw_low, raw_high, eng_low, eng_high, invert_scaling, clamp_scaled
Quality	quality_default, deadband, stale_after_ms
History	enable_history, store_interval_ms, storage_connection_name
Display	format_string
Binding	connection name, protocol type, address, polling mode, sampling rate, protocol config
Alarms	Full alarm definitions — mode, setpoints, priority, message, deadband, delays, latch, ack

An export is therefore a complete, faithful backup of the model — not just a list of names.

Importing

Import in the namespace panel (needs Bulk import tags). Supply the document and a target parent node; each item's path is interpreted relative to that parent, so the same document can be imported into Site1 or Site2 without editing.

Import is handled by a dedicated service so a large import does not block the interface.

Typical sources

Source	How
A previous QUBIQ export	Direct — this is the round-trip case.
A spreadsheet of instrument tags	Transform into the item shape. One row per tag, with the path split into breadcrumbs.
A PLC symbol table	Export from the PLC vendor's tool, map columns to properties.
An OPC-UA server	Browse the address space and import the discovered nodes.
A Sparkplug plant	Sparkplug birth certificates already carry names, types and units — import them directly.

Before importing

1. Create the connections first, with the same names the document references.
2. Import into a scratch folder on the first attempt and inspect the result.
3. Check data types — a spreadsheet with everything as float will produce booleans that never quite work.
4. Import in stages for very large models: one area at a time is easier to verify and easier to undo.

After importing

• Look for unbound tags in the binding statistics — usually a connection-name mismatch.
• Spot-check quality on a handful of tags per connection.
• Confirm alarm definitions came across, and that they are enabled on their tags.

Exporting

Export in the namespace panel (needs Export the namespace) exports the tree (or a subtree) as the same document.

Use it for:

Purpose	Notes
Promoting a model from development to production	Combined with matching connection names
Version control	The document is text; commit it and diff releases
Templating a standard line	Export one line, edit the paths, import as the next
Review	Reading 2,000 tags as a document beats clicking through a tree

For a full-system backup including users, connections and projects, use Backup & restore instead.

Other bulk operations

Operation	Permission
Bulk delete nodes	Delete tags and folders
Bulk update nodes	Edit tags and folders
Bulk delete tags	Manage tags
Copy a subtree	Create tags and folders
Move a node	Edit tags and folders
Rename a node	Edit tags and folders

Copy takes flags for what to bring along: children, the tag configuration, the binding. Copying a folder with children and tags but without bindings is the fast way to template a second identical line and then point it at a different PLC.

Bulk delete is immediate

There is no namespace trash. Export first — an export is a one-request insurance policy against a mis-selected subtree.

Import or UDT?

Use bulk import	Use a UDT
A one-time migration from an existing system	Equipment repeated across the plant
Tags from a spreadsheet with no repeating structure	Anything you would copy and edit
Bringing in a vendor's supplied tag list	A standard you will change and re-apply later

They compose well: import the one-off instrumentation, model the repeated equipment as UDTs.

Next

→ Pipelines