Object properties

Everything a task matches is an object with properties. A matched asset knows its
name, its template and its categories; an attribute knows its engineering units; an
event frame knows when it started and how long it has been running; every row knows its
own timestamp.

This page lists all of them, in one place, with what each one resolves to.

Two places you use them

The same properties, written two ways:

Where	How it is written	What comes back
A mapping column, or its table / document name	[a1.uom]: a token, in brackets	The resolved text in the cell
A condition	a1.uom: the bare words	A Python value

In a condition: a property of an object

A condition is Python. The whole line is code, so a key is simply an object and a
property is read off it with a dot: nothing marks where it starts, because everything
around it is code too:

keep = a1.name == 'Pump101' and a1.value > 40

a1 is the object, .name is its property, and what comes back is a Python value you
can compare, slice or test: a string, a number, a datetime, a list.

In a mapping: a token inside a dynamic string

A mapping cell is not code. It is a string that is rebuilt on every row, and it may
hold literal text, one token, or several, so the brackets are what say this part is a
token and the rest is text:

Value	Resolves to
[a1.uom]	bar
Line 3 · [e1.name]	Line 3 · Pump101
[e1.name]_[a1.uom]	Pump101_bar

Without the brackets there would be no way to tell Line 3 from a key called Line.
The same string builds the output's table name or document name, which is how
one run writes several targets; see
Table name and partitioning.

One consequence: a cell holding one token keeps that value's own
type, so [a1.value] can fill a double column. Add anything else: another token, a
space, a word, and the cell becomes text.

So the tables below carry both spellings: the token a mapping writes, and the expression
a condition writes.

A calculation is a different thing

A calculation does not read objects. Its script receives the
variables you declare (scalars, or timeseries dataframes) and assigns results
to output variables. Those results then become keys a mapping can name ([y1.value]),
which is the row for Calculation result below.

You do not have to type them

The mapping's Help button, beside Rebuild mapping, and the Conditions tab's
Example button open these same tables in the console. In the condition editor,
typing . after a key offers its properties with their data types.

The rules that catch people out

A property the key does not have resolves to nothing: an empty cell in a mapping,
None in a script, rather than raising an error. An element has no engineering
units, so asking for them is a fact about the model rather than a mistake.
It does mean a typo is silent, and it matters most in a mapping: a non-nullable
numeric column renders an empty cell as 0, which reads exactly like a measurement.

A token with no property means the obvious one. [a1] is the reading, [e1] the
name.

Properties are read-only in a script. Assigning to one raises.

A key whose name is not a valid Python word is reached through keys in a script:
keys['5'].

The properties

Scope

The row, page and run context. Available on every task, whatever its sources.

Property	Type	What it resolves to	In a mapping	In a condition
gmttime	datetime	this row's time, UTC; use this for naming	[scope.gmttime] → 2026-10-20 13:05:07	scope.gmttime = 2026-10-20 13:05:07
lcltime	datetime	this row's time, server-local	[scope.lcltime] → 2026-10-20 08:05:07	scope.lcltime = 2026-10-20 08:05:07
utcsec	number	this row's time, epoch seconds	[scope.utcsec] → 1792501507	scope.utcsec = 1792501507
utcmsec	number	this row's time, epoch ms	[scope.utcmsec] → 1792501507000	scope.utcmsec = 1792501507000
index	number	row index within the page	[scope.index] → 417	scope.index = 417
page	number	page number within the run	[scope.page] → 1	scope.page = 1

Tag

A channel variable: the tag or AF attribute it binds to.

Property	Type	What it resolves to	In a mapping	In a condition
value	object	the reading: the default if you name no property	[x1.value] → 42.7	x1.value = 42.7
lcltime	datetime	the reading's time, server-local	[x1.lcltime] → 2026-10-20 08:05:07	x1.lcltime = 2026-10-20 08:05:07
gmttime	datetime	the reading's time, UTC	[x1.gmttime] → 2026-10-20 13:05:07	x1.gmttime = 2026-10-20 13:05:07
utcsec	number	the reading's time, epoch seconds	[x1.utcsec] → 1792501507	x1.utcsec = 1792501507
utcmsec	number	the reading's time, epoch ms	[x1.utcmsec] → 1792501507000	x1.utcmsec = 1792501507000
name	text	the bound AF/PI object’s name, not the variable name	[x1.name] → BA:CONC.1	x1.name = 'BA:CONC.1'
description	text	the object’s description	[x1.description] → Reactor concentration	x1.description = 'Reactor concentration'
uom	text	engineering units, where the object has them	[x1.uom] → %	x1.uom = '%'
id	text	the object identifier: a PI PointID on a tag, an AF UniqueID on an attribute	[x1.id] → 9	x1.id = '9'

Attribute

A pattern attribute: its reading, and the AF facts about it.

Property	Type	What it resolves to	In a mapping	In a condition
value	object	the reading: the default if you name no property	[a1.value] → 42.7	a1.value = 42.7
lcltime	datetime	the reading's time, server-local	[a1.lcltime] → 2026-10-20 08:05:07	a1.lcltime = 2026-10-20 08:05:07
gmttime	datetime	the reading's time, UTC	[a1.gmttime] → 2026-10-20 13:05:07	a1.gmttime = 2026-10-20 13:05:07
utcsec	number	the reading's time, epoch seconds	[a1.utcsec] → 1792501507	a1.utcsec = 1792501507
utcmsec	number	the reading's time, epoch ms	[a1.utcmsec] → 1792501507000	a1.utcmsec = 1792501507000
id	text	AF UniqueID: the same value as guid, not a second identifier	[a1.id] → A3F0C1E2-...	a1.id = 'A3F0C1E2-...'
name	text	the object name	[a1.name] → Pressure	a1.name = 'Pressure'
path	text	full path	[a1.path] → \\AF01\Plant\Pump101|Pressure	a1.path = '\\AF01\Plant\Pump101|Pressure'
description	text	description	[a1.description] → Discharge pressure	a1.description = 'Discharge pressure'
template	text	AF template	[a1.template] → PumpAttribute	a1.template = 'PumpAttribute'
categories	text	AF categories	[a1.categories] → Process	a1.categories = ['Process']
uom	text	engineering units	[a1.uom] → bar	a1.uom = 'bar'
datatype	text	value type	[a1.datatype] → Double	a1.datatype = 'Double'

Element

A matched asset. Facts only: an element carries no reading.

Property	Type	What it resolves to	In a mapping	In a condition
id	text	AF UniqueID: the same value as guid, not a second identifier	[e1.id] → E77B12D4-...	e1.id = 'E77B12D4-...'
name	text	the object name	[e1.name] → Pump101	e1.name = 'Pump101'
path	text	full path	[e1.path] → \\AF01\Plant\Pump101	e1.path = '\\AF01\Plant\Pump101'
description	text	description	[e1.description] → Feed pump, line 1	e1.description = 'Feed pump, line 1'
template	text	AF template	[e1.template] → Pump	e1.template = 'Pump'
categories	text	AF categories	[e1.categories] → Rotating; Critical	e1.categories = ['Rotating', 'Critical']

TimeFrame

An event frame: its facts, its span, and how far into it a row sits.

Property	Type	What it resolves to	In a mapping	In a condition
id	text	AF UniqueID: the same value as guid, not a second identifier	[tf1.id] → F21C88A0-...	tf1.id = 'F21C88A0-...'
name	text	the object name	[tf1.name] → BATCH-1743	tf1.name = 'BATCH-1743'
path	text	full path	[tf1.path] → \\AF01\Plant\BATCH-1743	tf1.path = '\\AF01\Plant\BATCH-1743'
description	text	description	[tf1.description] → Production batch	tf1.description = 'Production batch'
template	text	AF template	[tf1.template] → S88Procedure	tf1.template = 'S88Procedure'
categories	text	AF categories	[tf1.categories] → Production	tf1.categories = ['Production']
persist	text	persistence setting	[tf1.persist] → None	tf1.persist = 'None'
startutcmsec	number	frame start, epoch ms	[tf1.startutcmsec] → 1792497170000	tf1.startutcmsec = 1792497170000
startutcsec	number	frame start, epoch seconds	[tf1.startutcsec] → 1792497170	tf1.startutcsec = 1792497170
startgmt	datetime	frame start, UTC; use this for naming	[tf1.startgmt] → 2026-10-20 11:52:50	tf1.startgmt = 2026-10-20 11:52:50
startlcl	datetime	frame start, server-local	[tf1.startlcl] → 2026-10-20 06:52:50	tf1.startlcl = 2026-10-20 06:52:50
endutcmsec	number	frame end, epoch ms: 2050-01-01 while the frame is open	[tf1.endutcmsec] → 2524608000000	tf1.endutcmsec = 2524608000000
endutcsec	number	frame end, epoch seconds: 2050-01-01 while open	[tf1.endutcsec] → 2524608000	tf1.endutcsec = 2524608000
endgmt	datetime	frame end, UTC: 2050-01-01 while the frame is open	[tf1.endgmt] → 2050-01-01 00:00:00	tf1.endgmt = 2050-01-01 00:00:00
endlcl	datetime	frame end, server-local: 2050-01-01 while open	[tf1.endlcl] → 2049-12-31 19:00:00	tf1.endlcl = 2049-12-31 19:00:00
durationmsec	number	how long the frame ran, ms: elapsed so far while open	[tf1.durationmsec] → 4337000	tf1.durationmsec = 4337000
durationsec	number	how long the frame ran, seconds	[tf1.durationsec] → 4337.0	tf1.durationsec = 4337.0
duration	text	how long the frame ran, as 01:00:00 or 1.01:01:01	[tf1.duration] → 01:12:17	tf1.duration = '01:12:17'
elapsedmsec	number	time since this frame started, at the row, ms	[tf1.elapsedmsec] → 4337000	tf1.elapsedmsec = 4337000
elapsedsec	number	time since this frame started, at the row, seconds	[tf1.elapsedsec] → 4337.0	tf1.elapsedsec = 4337.0
elapsed	text	time since this frame started, at the row, as [d.]hh:mm:ss	[tf1.elapsed] → 01:12:17	tf1.elapsed = '01:12:17'

Calculation result

A value the script assigned. It has no other property.

Property	Type	What it resolves to	In a mapping	In a condition
value	number	the computed value: a calc output has no other property	[y1.value] → 88.4	y1.value = 88.4

Where each kind comes from

Kind	Where its keys come from
Scope	Always present. No source declares it.
Tag	The Channels tab: each channel variable you declare
Element, Attribute	The asset pattern the task runs over
TimeFrame	The TimeFrame pattern, when event frames are a source
Calculation result	The Calculation tab's output variables

What's Next

• Mapping: columns built out of these tokens
• Conditions: a filter written out of these properties

Related

• Calculation: declared variables and their results, which a
  mapping can then name
• Tasks: the pipeline all of this sits inside