Manual Entry Forms
What is a Manual Entry Form?
A manual entry form is a structured interface in Factry Historian that allows users to manually input data, either as part of an event or directly as time-series data.
These forms are used when data cannot be collected automatically, but is still important for operational insight, traceability, or reporting.
Why does it matter?
Not all critical process information comes from machines. Older equipment, for example, is often insufficiently instrumented. Manual entry forms allow you to:
- Record lab results or operator observations
- Add reasons to downtime events or process transitions
- Digitize paper logs
- Ensure traceable, timestamped input that becomes part of the Historian’s dataset
With manual entry forms, this source of data is no longer scattered or lost. It becomes part of the structured, queryable data layer in the platform.
How does it fit in the system?
Factry Historian supports two types of manual entry forms: Event Forms and Asset Property Forms.
Event Forms
These forms are used to add manual data within the context of an event. They are tied to the event’s time window and linked to the asset and event type.
You can use them to, for example:
- Add a root cause or reason code
- Fill in operator comments
- Enter periodic values during a long-running event (e.g. lab samples during a production run)
There are two subtypes:
- Simple: A single value for a property, captured once for the event (e.g. a final quality check)
- Periodic: Multiple values captured over time within the event duration (e.g. lab samples during the run)
Grouping of Properties
Event forms can group related event properties visually and functionally. This helps structure complex forms into logical sections.
Example groups in a batch form:
- Process values
- Temperature (collected automatically at first, but editable)
- Lab values
- Moisture
- Viscosity
- pH
- Quality check
- Approved (yes/no)
Grouping improves readability, guides users through the form, and enforces consistency across similar event types.
Asset Property Forms
These forms are used to input time-series data in the context of an asset. Each submission results in one or more values being written to the time-series database with a timestamp, similar to data collected via collectors.
You typically use them to, for example, record manual readings from equipment that is not network-connected.
These values are available in dashboards, queries, and calculations just like any other measurement or calculation.
Example
Event form. An operator enters:
- Root cause: "Material jam" (by selecting from a dropdown)
- Comment: "Foreign object in hopper" (by typing)
- Moisture readings: 11.2%, 10.9%, 11.0% (entered at different timestamps during the event)
All this data is stored as part of the event’s structured properties and can be queried in panels, dashboards and reports just like with automatically generated event data.
Asset property form. A utility manager enters:
- Asset Property: BOD (which is an asset property linked to the WaterPurification.BOD measurement on the manual collector).
- Value: 6.8 mg / L
- Timestamp: 2025-08-15 14:00
This value is written as a point on the WaterPurification.BOD measurement using this timestamp/value pair and can be displayed in the Water Purification performance dashboard.
When you use it
Use event forms when:
- Adding human input to an ongoing or completed event
- Manually creating, editing and completing an event
Use asset property forms when:
- Recording timestamped values that are not tied to a specific event
- Capturing data that should be available alongside sensor measurements in dashboards or reports
Traceability: Audit Logging and Rollback
All manual form submissions in Factry Historian are audit logged. This includes:
- Who submitted or modified the form and form fields
- When the change was made
- What fields were changed and their original values
This ensures full traceability, whether for compliance, investigation, or change tracking.
In addition, Factry Historian supports rollback of manual changes. If a value was entered incorrectly or modified later, you can:
- View the full change history
- Revert to a previous version
- Restore original or earlier values where necessary
This makes manual data entry a safe and reversible operation, not a blind overwrite.
Common misconceptions
- Manual forms do not store unstructured notes. Each form field maps to a measurement or an event property in Factry Historian.
- Asset property forms and event forms are not interchangeable. Their use depends on whether the data is tied to an event or stands on its own.
- Data entered manually is still treated as part of the system’s traceable, queryable dataset.
Best practices
- Choose the right form type based on context. Use event forms for contextual data and asset property forms for standalone data.
- Use validation rules to enforce ranges, formats, and required fields.
- Avoid mixing too many unrelated fields in the same form. Instead, group forms by use case or operational area.
More information
- Configuring a manual entry formConfiguring a manual entry form