The SFC Editor (Sequential Function Chart) provides a graphical view of the step-and-transition sequence within a process, following the IEC 61131-3 GRAFCET standard. It visualizes how steps connect through conditions, making complex process flows easy to understand and edit.
Access: Open a module → Module Ribbon → Condition panel → SFC button.
⚠️ Important: Everything you do in the SFC Editor window will automatically update the steps and conditions in the Algorithm Design, and vice versa. Changes are always synchronized.
🔎 Overview
The SFC Editor renders the entire process as a directed graph where:
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Steps (phases) are shown as rectangular nodes with their step number and name
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Transitions (conditions of type Transition) are shown as labeled edges connecting steps
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Non-transition conditions (Continuous Action, Stored on Activation, etc.) are displayed directly alongside their parent step
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The graph supports parallel fork, parallel merge, and jump patterns for complex branching logic
🖥️ Window Layout
The SFC Editor window has the following areas:
|
Area |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Phases Panel (left sidebar) |
Shows a list of all steps in the current process with their numbers and names. Provides hover-based navigation and reordering. |
|
Process Selector (top bar) |
Dropdown to select which process to view/edit |
|
Toolbar (top bar) |
Controls for Lock, Snap, Grid, Linking settings, and Export |
|
Canvas (center) |
The dotted grid where the SFC graph is displayed and edited |
|
Minimap (bottom right) |
A small preview showing the overall layout and current viewport position |
📦 Working with Steps
Hovering a Step
When you hover over a step node on the canvas, action buttons appear:
|
Button |
Icon |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Connect |
Arrow down |
Creates a new transition (edge) from this step to another step |
|
Duplicate |
Two papers |
Duplicates the step |
|
Edit |
Pencil |
Opens the step editing view |
|
Delete |
Trash bin |
Removes the step |
Step Color Coding During Hover
When you hover over a step in the Phases Panel (left sidebar), the editor highlights the connections:
|
Color |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
🟠 Orange |
Steps that transition to the hovered step (parent/source steps) |
|
🟢 Green |
Steps that the hovered step transitions to (child/target steps) |
|
🔵 Blue |
The currently hovered step itself |
🔀 Working with Edges (Transitions)
Edges are the lines/arrows that connect steps. Each edge represents a transition condition.
Edge Hover Behavior
When you hover over an edge: the edge turns blue, the source step turns orange, and the target step turns green.
Edge Label Actions
When you hover over the small label on an edge, you see the condition text and action buttons: Create, Duplicate, Fork, Delete, Edit, and Link.
🔗 Linking (Off-Page Connectors / Teleports)
The Link feature works like an off-page connector in traditional P&ID drawings. It interrupts a long edge and replaces it with a pair of matching symbols.
Teleport Naming Settings
Click the Linking button in the toolbar to open the Teleport identifier settings window with: Naming mode, Prefix, Intermediary, and Suffix.
🧩 Condition Display in the SFC
Transition Conditions
Conditions of type Transition are displayed on the edges (lines/arrows) that connect steps.
Non-Transition Conditions
All other condition types are displayed directly next to their parent step as attached boxes.
|
Icon |
Condition Type |
|---|---|
|
✅ |
Continuous Action |
|
🔲 |
Continuous action with condition |
|
↑ |
Stored action on activation |
|
↓ |
Stored action on deactivation |
|
🏴 |
Action stored on event |
|
✏️ |
Custom |
🧩 Graph Elements — Advanced
Parallel Fork (Simultaneous Branches)
A parallel fork occurs when a single condition has multiple target steps that activate simultaneously.
Parallel Merge (Synchronization)
A parallel merge occurs when multiple transitions from different source steps converge on the same target step.
Jump Nodes (Teleports)
Jumps are visual shortcuts created by the Link feature.
Dangling Conditions
Conditions without any transition target assigned appear as a list on their parent step node.
⚙️ Toolbar Options
|
Button |
Icon |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Sidebar |
Menu |
Show or hide the Phases Panel (left sidebar) |
|
Lock |
Lock |
Activated: Only the selected object moves. Deactivated: Moving a step also moves its connected branches. |
|
Snap |
Magnet |
Activated: Objects snap to grid positions. Deactivated: Free movement. |
|
Grid |
Grid |
Shows or hides the dot grid in the background |
|
Linking |
Link |
Opens the Teleport identifier settings window |
|
Export |
Document |
Exports the chart to PDF |
📋 Phases Panel (Left Sidebar)
The Phases Panel on the left shows all steps in the current process with their number and name.
Features
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Hover a step to see visual connection highlights (orange = incoming, green = outgoing)
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Drag and drop steps in the sidebar to reorder them
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Right-click or hover action buttons to Edit, Duplicate, or Delete steps and their conditions
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The sidebar scrolls independently of the main canvas
📤 Exporting the SFC
PDF Export
Click the Export button (PDF icon) in the toolbar to generate a PDF of the current SFC chart.
Additional Export Options
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Visio export — The SFC can also be exported to Microsoft Visio format. See Export Dialogs to Visio for details.
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Condition export on P&IDs — Conditions can also be exported directly on the P&ID drawings via the Export feature in the Module Ribbon.
📖 Workflows
See the SFC Editor page for detailed step-by-step workflows on building SFC charts, navigating conditions, tracing process flows, and a CIP sequence pharma example.
🖱️ Keyboard and Mouse Interactions
|
Action |
How |
|---|---|
|
Pan |
Click and drag on empty canvas area |
|
Zoom |
Mouse wheel |
|
Select step |
Click on a step vertex |
|
Move step |
Drag a step vertex (behavior depends on Lock setting) |
|
Create transition |
Hover step → click Connect → drag to target step |
|
Edit condition |
Hover edge label → click Edit |
|
Delete transition |
Hover edge label → click Delete |
Note: Vertex positions are saved per-process and restored when you reopen the editor.
📚 Related Pages
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Algorithm Design — Conditions and algorithm editing
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Module Ribbon — Access the SFC Editor from the Conditions panel
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Process Design — Process and step management
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Build Condition Field — Condition expression builder
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Build Action Field — Action expression builder
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Dialog — Reusable operator interaction templates
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Export Dialogs to Visio — GRAFCET Visio export details
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Valve Phase Matrix — Complementary matrix view of valve states across phases
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Symbol Editor — Symbol definition editor
