# Components

Sample OI Screen

# Working with Components

OI uses components to represent objects on an application's screen.

Components provide a broad range of functionality:

Some components are static,
some dynamically show tag values,
some allow operators to change tag values,
some open external viewers, and
others provide non-visual functionality such as writing to a database.

See the Component Reference for more information.

# OIB Tip: Copy and Paste Components

Component Copy and Paste

It can be useful to use copy and paste in OIB and a text editor. An example workflow would be:

create several components
copy components in OIB
open a blank document in Notepad
paste in Notepad
do a search/replace for tag-names in Notepad
copy the text in Notepad
paste back into OIB

This is useful when creating a large number of components that follow a pattern in their text, tags, or other properties.

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