Wonderware InTouch tags to Ignition UDTs: turning flat tags into templates
An InTouch export gives you thousands of flat tags such as P101_RUN, P101_FLT and P102_RUN. Import them into Ignition as they are and you have the same thousands of flat tags. This guide shows how to spot the repeated equipment, decide what becomes a UDT and what stays a plain tag, and import in the right order.
What a UDT buys you
Ignition's manual page on UDTs describes them as parameterized data templates. You define the members once, create instances from the definition, and a change to the definition reaches every instance. Parameters are configured on the definition, and an instance can override their values. The parameters page shows the common use: replace the part of an OPC item path that differs between machines with a parameter written as {CompressorNum}.
Step 2: decide what becomes a UDT
A rule of thumb, not Ignition's: make a UDT when several pieces of equipment have the same members and their addresses follow a rule. Keep one-off tags, plant-wide flags and memory tags as plain tags in folders. Two facts from the manual shape the decision:
- An instance cannot gain members. It can only override properties of the members its definition has. A pump with an extra member needs a second definition that inherits from the first, as the manual's inheritance section describes, or that member stays a plain tag.
- Renaming a definition after instances exist leaves orphaned instances, so settle the type names before the first import.
Step 3: write the address rule as a parameter
Compare the OPC item paths of two pieces of equipment. If only a number differs, that number becomes the parameter. If addresses step by a fixed amount, the parameters page documents {Name+offset} for a base address plus an offset and {Name|format} for formatting, so one base address can serve every member. When the addresses follow no rule, a UDT means typing every address into every instance anyway; leave that equipment as plain tags.
Values that differ between instances, such as an alarm setpoint, are overrides on the instance.
Step 4: import in the right order
The manual's tag export and import page says exporting an instance does not include its definition, and recommends importing UDT definitions before importing any instances. It also warns that, as of 8.1.8, importing UDT definitions with the Overwrite collision policy removes any members not in the import file. Re-importing a revised definition therefore needs the complete member list. Since 8.1.15, Import Tags > Interactive opens a tool for editing tags before they go in.
For a small area, you can also build one UDT in the Designer: select existing tags, right-click and choose Create Data Type from Selected, add the parameters, and use the Multi-Instance Wizard for the instances. A spreadsheet pivot and these steps are enough for one area or a few hundred tags.
Option: TagBridge for a whole plant
Disclosure. Atesen Software, which publishes this guide, makes TagBridge. Steps 1 to 4 work without it.
TagBridge is a browser-based converter for InTouch DBDump and iFIX Database Manager CSV exports. Repeated names such as P101_RUN, P101_FLT and P102_RUN are proposed as UDT definitions with parameters and instances. Nothing becomes a UDT until you accept the proposal, and rejected ones are exported as plain tags. It exports Ignition 8.1 and 8.3 tag JSON as UDT definitions, tags, or both in one file, with a report of every decision. Import the definitions first, as above. The tag database is converted in your browser and never uploaded.
Good to know. It converts the tag database only. Screens, scripts, indirect tags, rate-of-change alarms and iFIX logic blocks are not converted, and the report lists them. Review each proposal, and check a few alarms and scaled tags on a test gateway before commissioning. For the full conversion, see the InTouch to Ignition checklist.
Price. In US dollars, with checkout by Paddle. The free mode shows the full preview, UDT proposals and report, and exports up to 200 distinct tags in total. Project is $299 once for one tag database of up to 5,000 distinct tags, Project Unlimited is $599 once, and Integrator is $1,490 a year for any number of databases.
Which route fits
- One area or a few hundred tags: a pivot table, Create Data Type from Selected and the Multi-Instance Wizard.
- A plant with many repeated machines and addresses that follow rules: a converter that proposes the types, so you review instead of find.
- Equipment with no address pattern: plain tags in folders.
Atesen Software is independent. AVEVA, InTouch and Wonderware are trademarks of AVEVA Group Limited or its subsidiaries; GE and iFIX are trademarks of their respective owners; Ignition is a trademark of Inductive Automation, LLC. TagBridge is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by AVEVA, GE or Inductive Automation. The Ignition 8.1 manual pages were checked on 23 October 2026; menus can change between versions.
Questions about this guide: support@atesensoftware.com.