REAL tag in function - curious transformation

Yes, the tooltip input method is unusual. However, it is just the simplest input method in Citect. You can use a popup message box with OK/Cancel buttons (Message function), a popup input box (Input function), popup keypad (FormNumpad function), download a customizable alphanumeric keypad from the Aveva website (log in before opening the link), or even make your own custom copy of the FormNumpad function with the buttons you want (which I've seen some people do). You can also do custom things like displaying the default value from one variable and writing the result to another, or writing custom logic to determine whether to accept the user's input. Other SCADA software that has easy checkboxes for input may not give you much or any options to customize the input popup or how the input value is used. That's where Citect gives you an advantage.

Yes, the tooltip input method is unusual. However, it is just the simplest input method in Citect. You can use a popup message box with OK/Cancel buttons (Message function), a popup input box (Input function), popup keypad (FormNumpad function), download a customizable alphanumeric keypad from the Aveva website (log in before opening the link), or even make your own custom copy of the FormNumpad function with the buttons you want (which I've seen some people do). You can also do custom things like displaying the default value from one variable and writing the result to another, or writing custom logic to determine whether to accept the user's input. Other SCADA software that has easy checkboxes for input may not give you much or any options to customize the input popup or how the input value is used. That's where Citect gives you an advantage.