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.

Which builds can read an export New in 1.0.4

An export carries a compatibility floor, and a build older than that floor refuses the document rather than importing it with the wrong understanding. The floor belongs to the export format itself and moves only when the shape of an exported item changes — not every time the product releases — so an export from a newer build normally still imports into an older one.

The same rule, measured per artifact, governs backup archives and view packs.

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