RollTagger User Manual

1. What is RollTagger?

RollTagger is an operator-facing application for tracking individual rolls of material (paper, film, foil, textile, etc.) as they run through winding equipment. While a roll is being made ("rewind") or later unwound, the application reads position/speed/diameter data from the machine's encoders (or a built-in simulator, for training/demo use) and displays it live. Operators tag quality events — defects, splices, quality checks — as they happen, and those same tags automatically resurface as alerts when the roll is later unwound, letting the unwind operator anticipate and react to known issues. Rolls can be handed off between machines/stations (e.g. a rewinder feeding a slitter feeding an unwinder) with their full history intact, and the system keeps a queue of work waiting to be processed at each station.

Each physical machine/station runs its own copy of RollTagger with its own local database — there's no central server to log into. You use it by opening a web browser to that station's address.

2. Core concepts

3. Getting started

Open a browser to the station's address (e.g. http://<device-ip>:5000). There is no login — the Dashboard loads directly. The header shows a connection-status dot, the device's mode badge (Rewind Only / Unwind Only), a language selector, and icon buttons for Settings, Discovery, and Pairing.

If this is a fresh install, the app runs in read-only mode until a license is activated (see §11) — you can view the Dashboard and settings, but can't start sessions, tag events, or import/export until a valid license key is entered.

4. Running a roll (Dashboard)

The Dashboard is the main screen you'll use during production.

4.1 Starting a session

1. Make sure the machine toggle shows Active (click it if it shows Idle — this is a simple green/gray status toggle, not the actual start button).
2. Click Start. If your device is in rewind mode, this begins a brand-new roll: a Roll ID is generated automatically (or pulled from the Input Queue if a roll is already waiting there — see §7). If your device is in unwind mode, Start pulls the next roll waiting in the Input Queue.
3. The six metric cards (Length, Speed, Diameter, Rotations, Thickness, Tags) begin updating live, and the roll map below them starts drawing.

Your device's mode (rewind-only or unwind-only) is fixed in Settings → Hardware Settings — you don't choose rewind vs. unwind per session; it follows the station's configured role.

4.2 Stopping a session

Click Stop. This finalizes the session's measurements and moves the roll into the Output Queue (or attempts to hand it off automatically to a paired device, if configured — see §8).

4.3 Tagging a quality event (rewind mode)

1. Click Tag Event.
2. Pick the event type: Defect, Splice, Quality Check, Marker, or Other.
3. Pick a severity: Critical, Warning, or Info. Each severity has a default action (Stop / Slow / Skip) that will later fire automatically when this same point in the roll is reached during unwind — the modal shows you which action applies as you pick severity.
4. Adjust the position if the tag needs to reflect a point slightly ahead of or behind where the sensor currently reads (useful if there's a physical delay between where a defect is spotted and where it's actually tagged).
5. Optionally add a lane number (for multi-lane/slit product), an external link (e.g. a reference to an inspection image), and free-text notes.
6. Click Create Event. A confirmation toast shows the recorded position.

Events are color-coded throughout the app: red = Critical, amber = Warning, blue = Info.

You can only tag quality events while in rewind mode and while the machine is running — during unwind, tagging is disabled because unwind is meant to replay the rewind's events, not create new ones.

4.4 Reacting to upcoming events (unwind mode)

As the roll unwinds, an Upcoming Events panel lists tagged events as the read head approaches them, within a configurable alert distance. For each one you can Stop Motion, Slow Motion, or Skip Event; once paused or slowed you'll see Resume / Normal Speed controls to continue. If you don't act, the event's configured default action (from when it was originally tagged) fires automatically once the position gets close enough.

A Wind Verification card also appears during unwind, showing Overall Status (OK / Warning / Critical) and a scrollable log of recent wind-by-wind checks — a Warning or Critical status means the unwound length/diameter is drifting from what was recorded during the original rewind (possible slippage or missing material).

4.5 Repositioning ("Zero Out")

If the tracked position drifts from reality (e.g. after a manual adjustment to the roll), use Zero Out (unwind mode) to resynchronize. You can resync by picking an existing tagged event as the reference point, entering a manual position, entering a wind number, or entering a known diameter.

4.6 Reviewing past rolls

From the Queue Management screen (§7) or View History, clicking a completed roll opens it on the Dashboard in Review Mode (a blue banner appears). In this mode you can add, edit, or delete events retroactively, and edit the roll's metadata (Roll ID, Job ID, Product Type, Notes, target length/thickness, linked Production Order). Click Back to Live to return to the current live session.

5. Exporting and importing rolls

5.1 Export

Open the Export dialog (from the event table toolbar in Review Mode) and choose:

• Events Only, Roll Profile / Measurements, or Full Session Report — as CSV or JSON, for reporting/analysis.
• .rtag Device Handoff — a signed package (includes an integrity check) meant to be imported by another RollTagger station. This is how a roll's full history (events, measurements, lineage) travels with it between machines.

5.2 Import

Open the Import dialog (from unwind mode) and either:

• Load from File — browse to a .rtag file (e.g. one emailed or copied from a USB drive) and click Import Roll, or
• Load from Devices — pick a paired device from a live list, browse its Output Queue, and click Load to pull a roll directly over the network.

The same "Upload from File" and "Load from Network" actions are also available directly from the Input Queue tab in Queue Management.

6. Labeling

Under a completed session on the Dashboard, click Generate Label to open a preview showing the Roll ID, material, parent roll, length, job/production order, and splice/defect counts. From there, Load QR Code renders a scannable code, and Download PDF produces a printable 4"×6" label.

7. Queue Management

Queue Management (/queue) has three tabs:

• Input Queue — rolls waiting to be processed here. Drag to reorder, switch between compact and detailed views, upload a .rtag file, or load a roll from a paired device's Output Queue. Clicking a card opens that roll in Dashboard Review Mode. When you click Start on the Dashboard with an empty active session, the next roll here is pulled automatically (FIFO).
• Production Orders — a queue of planned production tickets. You can batch-add multiple rolls against one order (specify Number of Rolls), manage the full Production Orders list (Create/Edit with ID, status, priority, quantity, material, customer, and ISA-95 location fields), or bulk-upload orders from a CSV/JSON file.
• Output Queue — completed rolls awaiting disposition. Each card shows a Ready/Consumed badge and, for completed rewind rolls, a material-balance summary. Use Assign to Device + Release to Device to hand a roll off to a paired station, or Unassign to cancel that assignment.

8. Device discovery and pairing

• Discovery (/discovery) shows all RollTagger devices visible on the network (via automatic broadcast or a manual scan), with stats on how many are online, in rewind mode, or unwind mode. Use the search box and Equipment Class/Status filters, and toggle between grid and list views.
• Pairing Management (/pairing) lets you review Suggestions (candidate devices to pair with, each showing compatibility checks for mode, network reachability, encoder setup, and version) and click Pair; view Current Pairings with an Unpair option; and manage Pairing Rules — which equipment classes should automatically pair with each other, and at what scope (Process Cell, Area, Site, or globally). A Trigger Auto-Pairing button re-runs the matching logic on demand.

Pairing is what populates the "paired devices" list you assign/release rolls to from the Output Queue.

9. Production data & master records

The Management page provides simple CRUD screens for Products, Customers, and Operators — reference data used elsewhere (e.g., a Production Order's Material and Customer fields). The standalone Production Orders page offers the same order management as the Queue Management tab, plus a live Material Balance (Balanced/Unbalanced badge, yield %) per order.

Device Config lets you set this station's ISA-95 identity (Equipment ID, Equipment Class, Equipment Level) and its place in the location hierarchy (Enterprise/Site/Area/Process Cell/Unit) — this identity is what discovery and pairing use to find and validate compatible neighbors.

10. Settings

Reached via the gear icon or /settings:

• User Settings — language (9 available: English, Français, Deutsch, Español, Italiano, Português, 中文, 日本語, हिन्दी), theme (Light/Dark/Auto), unit system (Metric/Imperial), and decimal-place display preferences for each measurement type.
• Hardware Settings — device mode (Rewind Only / Unwind Only), material path delay, default action execution distance, auto-transfer toggle and routing mode, paired devices, encoder hardware settings (port, baud rate, slave IDs, poll interval) or simulator parameters, and the I/O Configuration panel for mapping digital/OPC UA/MQTT signals to event types and output actions.
• Operational Settings — Roll ID and Production Order ID formats, alert-distance thresholds, wind-verification enable/thresholds, material tracking toggle, and measurement-comparison alarm rules.
• System Settings — data cleanup/retention period, and an "Exports & Backups" section where device settings are automatically exported to XML on save, with a Download Latest Export button. (This backs up configuration, not individual roll data — use .rtag export, §5.1, to preserve a specific roll's history.)
• Licensing Settings — see §11.

Note: the Empty Queue Behavior setting currently only supports "Auto-Generate" — the "Prompt" and "Pull from Backlog" options are visible but marked not-yet-implemented in the UI.

11. Licensing

RollTagger uses a Keygen-based license. Go to Settings → Licensing:

1. Enter your License Key and click Activate License. This validates against Keygen and registers this machine (shown via its fingerprint).
2. If your site has no internet access, use Offline Mode: click Export Activation Request to produce a file to send to your vendor, then Import License Certificate once you receive the signed certificate back — no network call is required for this path.
3. License Actions lets you re-validate or deactivate the current license (freeing up a machine slot on your license if you need to move it to different hardware).

Without an active license, the app runs read-only — you can view dashboards, settings, and history, but can't start sessions, tag events, or import/export.

12. Typical operator workflow (end-to-end example)

1. Rewind station: operator confirms the machine is Active, clicks Start, and a new Roll ID (e.g. R-000456) is generated.
2. As the roll winds, the operator spots a defect and clicks Tag Event → Defect → Warning → Create Event.
3. At the end of the roll, the operator clicks Stop. The roll lands in the Output Queue.
4. The operator clicks Release to Device, sending the roll to the paired unwind station (or exports a .rtag file if the stations aren't network-paired).
5. Unwind station: the roll appears in the Input Queue (or is imported via file/network). The operator clicks Start, pulling it in automatically.
6. As the roll unwinds, the previously tagged defect appears in the Upcoming Events panel as the read head approaches it; the operator (or the configured default action) slows or stops the line at that point.
7. Every 10 winds, Wind Verification confirms the unwind is tracking the original rewind data.
8. At completion, the session records final consumption/material-balance figures against the original rewind roll, closing the loop.

13. Multi-language support

Use the language selector in the Dashboard header, or set it permanently in User Settings. RollTagger does not auto-detect your browser's language — it defaults to English until you explicitly choose otherwise, and remembers your choice on this device.