About FactoryTalk View Machine Edition FactoryTalk View Machine Edition includes three components: FactoryTalk View Studio FactoryTalk View Machine Edition Station for Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP FactoryTalk View Machine Edition Station for the PanelView Plus and Windows CE runtime terminals
FactoryTalk View Studio FactoryTalk View Studio is a Windows-based software program for creating machine-level monitoring and control applications in Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP. These applications run on the PanelView Plus CE, PanelView Plus dedicated terminals, and on the Microsoft Windows 2000, 2003 and XP platforms. FactoryTalk View Studio contains the tools you need for creating all aspects of a human-machine interface (HMI), including real-time animated graphic displays, trends, and alarm reporting.
FactoryTalk View ME Station FactoryTalk View ME Station provides the runtime environment for the applications you designed using FactoryTalk View Studio. Related topics System requirements What's New in FactoryTalk View Machine Edition 5.00 Known issues Sample projects
System requirements Important The following are minimum and recommended requirements. For large or complex applications you should use computers with faster CPUs and more RAM. In any application, faster CPUs and more RAM will result in better performance. To run FactoryTalk View Machine Edition, the platform requirements are: Personal Computer (PC) Operating System Minimum Recommended Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 4 Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 4 Windows Server 2003 R2 Intel Pentium III, 930MHz, 512MB RAM Intel Pentium 4, 2GHz or faster, 1GB or more RAM For the latest information about later Windows operating systems and service packs, see the Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase Answer ID 20450. For the latest information about the software platforms supported by FactoryTalk View ME, see the Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase Answer ID 42682. FactoryTalk View Studio is tested and supported on operating systems installed from original Microsoft media only. Microsoft Vista is not officially supported with CPR9. Known issues exist, and it is not recommended that CPR9 or any prior release be installed on Vista. Official support of Vista is planned in an upcoming release.
What's New in FactoryTalk View Machine Edition 5.00 FactoryTalk View Machine Edition 5.00 includes the following enhancements: Product name changes - a number of products have been renamed to reflect Rockwell Automation's systemoriented software and Integrated Architecture. The following name changes are effective with FactoryTalk View Coordinated Product Release (CPR) 9: Former product name Rockwell Software RSView RSView Enterprise RSView Machine Edition RSView ME Station RSView ME RSView Studio RSAssetSecurity FactoryTalk Automation Platform VersaView CE ControlLogix Renamed Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk View FactoryTalk View FactoryTalk View Machine Edition FactoryTalk View Machine Edition Station FactoryTalk View ME FactoryTalk View Studio FactoryTalk Security FactoryTalk Services Platform PanelView Plus CE Logix5000 Anti-Virus software - All Rockwell Software products in this release, including FactoryTalk View Studio, have been tested using the latest anti-virus software. For more detailed information, refer to Rockwell Knowledgebase Answer ID 35330. Silent FactoryTalk Directory install - the FactoryTalk Directory Configuration Wizard has been redesigned to run without user interaction, installing the default settings that allow Windows-authenticated users to access FactoryTalk Machine Edition without having to log in again. Runtime Security enhancements - the User Accounts editor has been renamed to clarify its function, and now appears in the Explorer as Runtime Security. Also, the two tabs in the editor have been renamed, and A-P codes for Runtime 4.00 and later accounts can now be assigned to users within the editor, instead of in the FactoryTalk security dialog boxes. Adding RSLogix 5000 process faceplates - FactoryTalk View Machine Edition now includes a number of global object-based process faceplate displays for RSLogix 5000 instructions that are commonly used in process applications. These faceplates can be added to an application automatically, either when the application is created, or later. Global object parameters - let you customize each reference global object instance with a specific tag for that instance without having to break the link to the base object's tags and expressions. This means each reference object can have a unique data source, and still be able to be update with changes to other aspects of the global object. The technical note at Answer ID 32665 - RSView 4.00 Working with Global Objects, has additional information on how to use global objects. It also includes examples on how to work with the process faceplates. Parameter enhancements - provide support for embedded variables in title bars; literal numbers and strings in the embedded variable syntax; and display of right-most characters in embedded string variables. Tag Browser - tag folders as well as individual tags can now be selected in the left hand pane of the Tag Browser. This returns a partial tag identifier to the editor that launched the browser, thus creating a structure or backing tag that can be assigned to a process faceplate object.
Global Connections editor - has been split into five tabs, each dedicated to a particular kind of global connection. Runtime RAM Usage - One of the global connection editor's tabs provides new connections that allow operators to monitor the amount of RAM being used by an application at run time. It is strongly recommended that these features be used during development and testing of applications that will run on PanelView Plus and PanelView Plus CE, to ensure that applications will not exceed the limitations of the hardware at run time. Runtime RAM usage can be monitored by clicking the Memory tab in the Global Connections editor. Follow the instructions in Help. File integrity checking - when a run-time application is started on a Windows CE, the run-time file and the log files are checked for corruption. If the integrity check fails, the user has the option to continue or to cancel the loading of the application. Running the application with corrupted files may result in unpredictable terminal operations. Integrity checking can be disabled by selecting File Integrity Check in the Terminal Settings dialog box. String spreadsheet editing - text strings for all languages supported by an application can be exported to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in one easy operation. You can also import text strings in one or multiple languages from an Excel spreadsheet to an application. Default language - each ME application now has a default language, not necessarily the initial language. Undefined strings are displayed in the default language instead of appearing as question marks. Enhanced language switching - application developers can view an application's user-defined text strings in up to 40 languages, and switch up to 20 languages dynamically at run time. As well, information, alarm and local messages now support language switching. RecipePlus - Delete and Rename functions have been added to the RecipePlus button's actions. Users can now delete and rename a recipe unit selected in the selector object. Runtime file to application file conversion - beginning with FactoryTalk Machine Edition 5.00, users can create a development file (also called a project file, or.med file) from a run-time file (.mer). This does not apply to.mer files made with earlier versions of RSView Studio. RIO bit series tag conversion - the new RSLinx alias BitArray data type allows the conversion of PanelView 1400e tags that could not previously be converted, to RSLinx RIO aliases. Firmware release information - for details of what is in each firmware upgrade, refer to Rockwell Knowledgebase Answer ID 33326. Help with PanelView 'e' migrations - A new document has been created to assist users in migrating their applications from PanelBuilder 1400e to FactoryTalk Machine Edition. Please refer to publication 2711P-QS001A-EN- P, Migrating PanelView Enhanced Terminal Applications, in the Rockwell Automation Literature Library. Related topics Known issues Sample projects
Upgrading to FactoryTalk View Studio 5.00 If you are upgrading from an earlier version of RSView Studio to FactoryTalk View Studio 5.00, you must uninstall earlier versions of RSView Machine Edition and certain other Rockwell products before upgrading. IMPORTANT: To successfully upgrade from RSView Enterprise 4.00 to FactoryTalk View 5.00, it is essential that you follow these steps in the order they are listed. Insert the FactoryTalk View product installation CD, if it is not already in the CD drive. If the install program does not start automatically, run setup.exe from the CD. When the CD opens, click Install FactoryTalk View Machine Edition. Click Uninstall RSView Machine Edition. The Uninstall RSView Enterprise dialog box opens, displaying two lists of products found on the computer that must be uninstalled before proceeding with the current installation. The lower pane lists other programs found on the computer that are FactoryTalk Services Platform dependencies. These programs must be uninstalled manually before proceeding. Uninstall these programs through Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add and remove programs. The upper pane lists products that are FactoryTalk View dependencies. These will be uninstalled automatically when you click OK. However, you must clear the lower pane before proceeding with the automatic uninstall. Once all the FactoryTalk Services Platform dependent programs have been uninstalled, click OK. If FactoryTalk Services Platform is one of the programs uninstalled, you may be asked to restart your system for changes to take effect. Click Yes to restart your system before proceeding with the installation of new products. In the FactoryTalk View Machine Edition window, click Install FactoryTalk Services Platform. Follow the instructions on the screen. When the installation finishes, you will be returned to the Install FactoryTalk View Machine Edition page. Wait for the FactoryTalk Directory Configuration Wizard to run before continuing. A window displays the progress of FactoryTalk Directory setup and the backup location of the FactoryTalk Directory settings from the previous installation. For FactoryTalk View Machine Edition applications, the FactoryTalk Directory location is automatically set to this computer (localhost). When the installation finishes, you will be returned to the Install FactoryTalk View Machine Edition page. To install both FactoryTalk View Studio and Machine Edition Station, click Install FactoryTalk View Machine Edition (complete). To install FactoryTalk View ME Station only, click Install FactoryTalk View Machine Edition Station only. The Installation Wizard opens. Follow the instructions on the screen.
Click Yes when you see the following message: The FactoryTalk View installation will automatically terminate all Rockwell Software processes. All Rockwell Software products should be shutdown before installation to ensure data integrity. Do you wish to proceed? 0. If you are upgrading from version 1.5 or earlier, you are asked whether to move existing run-time application files to a new location. Click Yes or No. You are prompted to activate the product you are installing. If EvRSI activation is present from a previous installation, clear the Install FactoryTalk Activation Server check box, and then click Finish. If you are installing FactoryTalk View Studio for the first time, ensure that Install FactoryTalk Activation Server is checked, and then click Finish. The FactoryTalk Activation Server install wizard opens. Follow the on-screen instructions, and then click Finish. When the FactoryTalk Activation Server installation is complete, the FactoryTalk Activation Tool opens and starts the Rockwell Software Activation wizard. Follow the on-screen instructions to download your activations via the Internet. Once the activations have been acquired, use the FactoryTalk Activation Tool to view and configure your activations. Click Help in the Activation Tool for more detailed instructions, or click the Windows Start button and select All Programs > Rockwell Software > Utilities > Activation Help. When the FactoryTalk View Machine Edition installation is complete, RSLinx Enterprise installation begins automatically. Follow the on-screen instructions. At the end of the RSLinx Enterprise installation, you will see a screen with two check boxes, one for activation and one for release notes. To return to the Install Machine Edition page without installing activation or reading the release notes, clear both these check boxes and click Finish. If activation is present from a previous installation, clear the Install FactoryTalk Activation Server check box, and then click Finish. If you have removed the activation, or if you are installing RSLinx Enterprise for the first time, leave the Install FactoryTalk Activation Server check box checked. The FactoryTalk Activation Wizard will automatically begin the new FactoryTalk activation process. See the FactoryTalk Activation help for details. (Click the Windows Start button, point to All Programs > Rockwell Software > Utilities > Activation Help.) 6. At the end of the FactoryTalk View installation process you will see this message: You must restart your computer to complete installation of FactoryTalk View. Please ensure you restart before running FactoryTalk View. Click Yes to restart now. Click No to wait to restart until after you have installed RSLinx Enterprise. Unless you intend to install an optional program, (RSLinx Enterprise or Classic),
click Yes. If your application requires communications not supported by RSLinx Enterprise, you have the option of installing RSLinx Classic (formerly known as RSLinx for RSView), either alone or with RSLinx Enterprise. Click Install RSLinx Classic and follow the instructions on the screen. In the FactoryTalk View Machine Edition window, click Exit to close the install program. Restart your computer before running FactoryTalk View Studio. Related topics FactoryTalk View Machine Edition What's New in FactoryTalk View Machine Edition 5.00
Known issues Installing Internet Security software FactoryTalk View Studio and FactoryTalk View ME Station cannot be installed or run if third party internet firewall software is enabled on the same computer. Before installing or running FactoryTalk View Machine Edition, configure your internet firewall to allow the following.exe files to access the internet: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Rockwell\Rsvchost.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Rockwell\RnaDirServer.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Rockwell\VStudio.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Rockwell\RNADirMultiplexor.exe C:\Program Files\CommonFiles\Rockwell\RNADiagnosticsSrv.exe C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\RSLinx Enterprise\SLinxNG.exe Before installing or running FactoryTalk View ME Station, the following.exe files must be allowed internet access: C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\RSView Enterprise\MEMacroEditor.exe C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\RSView Enterprise\MERuntime.exe C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\RSView Enterprise\TagSrv.exe After configuring your firewall software to allow these files internet access, restart your computer to put the changes into effect. FactoryTalk View Studio and PanelBuilder 1400e If you are installing both PanelBuilder 1400e software and FactoryTalk View Studio on the same machine, be sure to install PanelBuilder 1400e first. If FactoryTalk View Studio is installed before PanelBuilder 1400e, the PanelBuilder software will open, but new applications cannot be created and old applications cannot be opened.
Microsoft Operating Systems and Service Pack Compatibility with FactoryTalk View Studio Some Microsoft operating system service packs and hot fixes are not compatible with FactoryTalk View. To find out if there are any problems with a particular Microsoft update, please refer to Answer ID 20450 in the Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase. Microsoft Vista is not officially supported with CPR9. Known issues exist and it is not recommended that CPR9 or any prior release be installed on Vista. Official support of Vista is planned in an upcoming release.
Opening remote help files Windows Server 2003 SP1 and R2, and security updates 896358 and 840315 to nearly all Windows operating systems, include changes to reduce security vulnerabilities in HTML Help. As a result, topics in compiled help (.chm) files do not display when the help file is opened from a network shared folder on a remote computer. This affects most online Help and release notes for Rockwell Software products. Workarounds: Open the help files from the installation CD or copy them to a folder on your local computer. If you want the help files to be accessible from a network directory (shared folder), use the Registry Editor to modify certain registry entries. Microsoft does not recommend you do this, but has provided the steps in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 896054: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896054.
ActiveX controls Before migrating applications that contain the ActiveX controls SBCP or ME_CustomPopUp, from RSView ME to FactoryTalk View Machine Edition, you must first update these controls to their latest versions. The latest versions are available in the Rockwell Knowledgebase as File Attachments. For SBCP, see Answer ID 32292; for ME_CustomPopUp, see Answer ID 33400. Failure to update the ActiveX controls will cause FactoryTalk View Studio to crash with a reference to the control.
Alarms When a triggered alarm is displayed in the Alarm Status List, if the alarm message includes an embedded variable, the message will not display correctly. It will show the embedded variable syntax instead of interpreting the embedded variable and displaying the result. When an ME application running on a PanelView Plus or PanelView Plus CE terminal is reading alarm messages from a ControlLogix controller, the alarm messages are displayed in the Alarm History and saved to disk at 30-second intervals. Recording of alarm messages in the alarm history may pause while the save occurs, and new alarm messages generated during the pause may be lost. The duration of the pause varies with the amount of alarm message traffic. For example, saving 10,000 alarm messages may take about 10 seconds. To avoid losing messages, for the present, users are advised to use the Handshake control with each alarm trigger in the Machine Edition application. As well, new ladder logic is needed so that the ControlLogix controller writes a single trigger value, waits until it receives the Handshake from the terminal, and then writes the next trigger value.
Application Manager If a Machine Edition application is created on a computer whose operating system is in one language, (such as the English version of Windows), and is later restored into another operating system language (such as the German version of Windows), unexpected errors may arise if the application name is more than 16 characters long. See Answer ID 42498 in the Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase for more information. When you enter a new application name in the Application Manager, do not exceed the maximum length of 32 characters. The Enter a new name for the application text box allows you to enter up to 100 characters without warning or notification. However, when you attempt to complete the operation, if the application name exceeds the maximum 32 characters allowed by FactoryTalk View Studio, errors and warning messages will appear. If a Machine Edition application is closed, but FactoryTalk View Studio remains open, the Application Manager does not recognize the application as being closed. Until another application is opened or View Studio is closed, the Application Manager cannot delete or copy the closed application.
Audit Message logging Audit messages cannot be logged to the ODBC database at run time. To see audit messages in ODBC, users must specify that audit messages be logged as information messages. In ME Station Configure mode, choose Terminal Settings > Diagnostics Setup > Audit Message Logging. Then choose Information only.
Communications If you are using remote OPC servers at runtime, and if the remote OPC server fails, data on the clients will appear to be valid, but will not update. Animations will not wire-frame, date displays will not show asterisk and strings will not show questions marks. Tags that use an RSLinx remote OPC server will show a value in the Numeric Display object even when there is no communication, (for example, when the Ethernet cable has been disconnected from the CE terminal), instead of showing asterisks and logging an error message to Diagnostics. If you connect to ControlLogix via Ethernet, there is no additional support for other Allen-Bradley devices or network hops through bridging modules to DH+ or RIO networks. When you double-click an.mer file to run it, it does not automatically overwrite the communications file. If the terminal has no communication configuration, or if a different.mer with a different communication configuration has been running on the terminal previously, the application you are running will not communicate. To avoid this, load the application through ME Station the first time you run it. At the prompt "Do you want to replace the terminal's current communication configuration with the application's communication configuration?", click Yes. When opening applications created with earlier versions of Machine Edition in FactoryTalk View Studio, be sure the application's IP addresses do not contain a leading zero. RSLinx Enterprise interprets a leading zero to mean an octal notation. For example, the IP address 131.200.13.111 is valid, but 131.200.013.111 is not. Before importing, open the application's Nodes.csv file in Notepad and make sure all the IP addresses are in the correct format.
Data Logging If you are running your application on Windows 2000 and logging data to a custom path, make sure that the specified folder already exists. If it does not, an error will be displayed stating that the system cannot find the path specified. If communication to a custom path fails while data is being written to the data log, data logging will stop and will not resume until the application is shut down and restarted. Data log models will not accept shortcut names that contain spaces. The device shortcut must be a single word (NEW_SHORTCUT) without spaces. See Answer ID 29680 in the Rockwell Knowledgebase for more information.
Diagnostic error messages Diagnostic error messages may appear truncated if they are too long for the diagnostics window. To ensure that error messages are displayed in full, use the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer to display these messages on the desktop terminal and at design time. For applications that run on Windows CE terminals, configure the FactoryTalk Diagnostics Viewer to accept messages from Windows CE devices. In FactoryTalk Studio's Tools menu, click Diagnostics Setup, and then select Message Routing in the left hand pane. The check box for this option appears below the Message categories. Click Help in the Message Routing pane for more details.
Embedded Variables Embedded variables do not support tag names, direct references or device shortcut names that contain spaces. Embedded variables are not loaded until the text in the graphic object they are associated with is displayed. If an object with an embedded variable has visibility animation, the embedded variable will not be activated until the object becomes visible. If the object later becomes invisible, the embedded variable will remain active. For example, if a display containing objects with both visibility animation and embedded variables opens with the objects invisible, and if the connection between the embedded variable and its tag is broken, Diagnostics will not register communication errors for the object until it becomes visible. If it later becomes invisible, the communications errors will still be logged. This also means that if one or more states of a multistate indicator include embedded variables, the variables will not become active until those states are displayed.
Edit menu The Delete Row(s) menu item in the Edit menu does not delete multiple selected rows in certain spreadsheet editors. If you select multiple rows in the Information Messages, Local Messages, Macros, and Alarm Setup (Messages tab) editors, and then choose Delete Row(s) from the Edit menu, only one row will be deleted. To delete multiple rows, right-click in the editor and use the Delete Row(s) item in the context menu.
FactoryTalk View Studio Characters in FactoryTalk View Studio Component Names Names for the following FactoryTalk View Studio components do not support extended ASCII characters or UNICODE characters: applications, HMI servers, data servers, HMI tags, RSLinx Enterprise shortcuts, FactoryTalk View Studio application files (.med), and all FactoryTalk View application components, including graphic displays, parameter files, macro files, events files, derived tag files and data log files.
FactoryTalk View Machine Edition run time Log in If a login using the login button fails, no message appears to the user, even though an error is logged to FactoryTalk Diagnostics. Reasons for login failure may be any of the following: The user name or password is not valid. The user's account is disabled. The user logging in has not been granted Read or List Children permission. The user must be allowed Common\Read and Common\List Children permission for both the FactoryTalk Local Directory and for the application. Application permission can be inherited from the FactoryTalk Local Directory. When an.mer is created, each Windows-linked user account is verified and its security identifier (SID) is used to get the latest account name. Windows CE uses this account name for login purposes. If, for some reason, a user account name is blank - perhaps the domain controller could not be accessed at the time the runtime file was created, or a referenced account does not have trust in the domain - log-ins for that user on the Windows CE terminal will fail. If this occurs, the reason for the blank name must be corrected - verify that the domain controller is connected, for example, or resolve the trust issue - and then recreate the runtime file. Displaying arcs and ellipses on Windows CE Because of a limitation in the Windows CE operating system, arcs and ellipses that look fine on the desktop may appear ragged when displayed on the Windows CE terminal at run time. To avoid this, do not use arcs or ellipses with a line width greater than 1 pixel in applications intended to run on PanelView or Windows CE terminals. Runtime printing You can print alarms in landscape mode with a line printer, but only one alarm is printed per page. Runtime startup tests On a PanelView or Windows CE terminal, selecting the following option produces an error message in red: Terminal settings > Startup options > Startup tests > Select tests > CF External This message can safely be ignored. It does not indicate that the CF card has failed. This test is intended for use at time of manufacture only.
Global object parameters in Machine Edition 3.20.00 applications Global object parameters are not supported in versions of View Studio prior to 5.00. When a runtime file (.mer) is created for version 4.00, from a 5.00 application that includes a base global object with a defined parameter, an error message appears and the.mer file is not created. This is the expected behavior. However, if a runtime file for version 3.20 or earlier is created from the same 5.00 application, no error message appears. While the resulting file can be run on Machine Edition Station, this is not recommended, since this functionality is not supported in 3.20 or earlier, and unexpected results may occur.
Graphic displays Copying and pasting objects with default language strings - if you have chosen to display undefined strings in the default language (in the Language Configuration dialog box), when you copy and paste objects with strings in the default language, the duplicated objects will contain the default language strings. The duplicated objects should have undefined strings. Display of floating point values - Graphic objects that display floating point values, such as numeric displays and input objects, will show only 5 decimal places. The 5th decimal place will be rounded if necessary. Rounding floating point values - floating point values are not presently rounded according to the 'banker's algorithm' as stated in Help. If the number after the decimal is.5, the value is rounded up regardless of whether the number before the decimal is odd or even. Graphic displays, images, and graphic libraries that have the same name cannot be opened at the same time. Windows CE line styles - Windows CE does not currently support line styles that use dot, dot-dash, or dot-dashdash. If you select these line styles, they will be converted to dash on the terminal. Objects that have rounded corners and use a wide line width (greater than 10) will not display the rounded corners on Windows CE platforms. Animating Courier font - If you are applying width or vertical position animation to text that uses Courier New font, the text will not animate properly. We recommend selecting another font. Graphics XML Objects in XML change size - If a display that includes an arc, wedge, rounded rectangle and/or polygon object is exported as an XML file and then re-imported, the size of the object may increase, even though no changes were made to the object's attributes in the XML file before importing. Language strings in import and export of graphic displays - the Graphics Import Export Wizard does not support language switching. When an application's graphic displays are exported using the Graphics Import Export Wizard, the strings in the displays are exported in the application's current language. When the displays are imported, the strings that were exported are imported into the application's current language. If the application's current language has changed since the displays were exported, the imported strings will overwrite the strings in the new current language with the strings in the language that was exported. For example, your application has two languages, French and English. If you open it in English and then export a display, only the English strings are exported. If you then open the application in French, and import the XML file of the display, the English strings will overwrite the French strings.
Importing PanelView Projects PanelBuilder 1400e projects should not use the L modifier with HMI tags or direct references that have a bit address. If a PanelBuilder 1400e project whose HMI tags or direct references include bit addresses that use the L modifier, (for example, "I:010/3 L4"), is imported and converted, display objects may display only asterisks.
KEPServer If a PanelView 400 or 600 terminal whose application includes Kepware, is upgraded over an RSLinx Enterprise network, the KEPServer tags will not work. To avoid this problem, use a firmware upgrade (Compact Flash) card to upgrade any PanelView 400/600 terminals running Kepware. If an application running on a PanelView Plus terminal uses KEPServer as the OPC Data Server, a conflict is created with the Serial DF1 driver installed by default with RSLinx Enterprise. This produces the following recurring error message: DF1: Failed to open COM2: as it may be already in use by another application. To stop the error message, remove the default Serial DF1 driver. For detailed instructions, see Answer ID 32449 in the Rockwell Knowledgebase. If a runtime application (*.mer) that contains a KEPServerEnterprise project file is converted to a design time application, the location of the project file is not displayed to the user. The project file is saved to this location in Windows 2000: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\HMI Projects\<application name>\kepserver and to this location in Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\HMI Projects\<application name>\kepserver
Language Switching Spanish (Traditional Sort) cannot be saved in the Languages field of the Properties dialog for a language switch button. To save Spanish (Traditional Sort), make the selection in the Property Panel instead of in the Properties dialog.
Parameter file names Parameter file names cannot contain the "!" character. If a parameter file name includes this character, no error message will appear when the parameter file is saved, but it will not be possible to create the runtime file (.mer) for the application.
PIDE_Autotune Faceplate Clicking the disabled ramp buttons for the Process Type selection or the disabled interlocked push buttons for the Gains selection will cause an erroneous Factory Talk Diagnostic error to be logged. The FactoryTalk diagnostic error message may look similar to the following: SpinDownDisabled_Button unable to write to unassigned control. For more information, see Answer ID 32714 in the Rockwell Knowledgebase.
Tags HMI String Tags - HMI string tags that use data types Integer (N) and Binary (B) cannot be written to or read. HMI string tags using the ASCII (A) data type can be used if the modifier"lx" is appended to the address, (where x specifies the number of 16-bit words to read or write, and not the number of bytes). There must be no space between the address and the appended length modifier. If you import a legacy application, you will need to modify the addresses of any string tags unless they already use the string (ST) data type. For example, string displays, string input objects and the alarm message connection may require this modification. If an HMI tag's Maximum property is increased, the change is not effective until FactoryTalk View Studio has been closed and reopened. If the property value is decreased, the change is recognized immediately. Do not use the L modifier with HMI tags or direct references that have a bit address.
Trending If trend pens are configured with the maximum buffer size of 32,767 records, the entire allocated program memory on a CE terminal will be consumed in a matter of a few hours, resulting in an "out of memory" error. This requires a reboot of the terminal before the application can continue. To avoid this situation, set the buffer for extra data well below the theoretical maximum.
Uninstalling RSView ME Station on PanelView Plus CE terminals Do not attempt to uninstall FactoryTalk View Machine Edition Station using the Windows menu item at Start>Programs>Rockwell Software>Uninstall FactoryTalk View ME Station 4.00.0. The uninstall process does not finish, and the terminal will have to be restarted. Use the Firmware Upgrade Wizard and the Firmware Upgrade Packets (*.fup files) to change your FactoryTalk View ME Station installation.
Upgrading PanelView Plus Terminals When upgrading any PanelView Plus or PanelView Plus CE terminal to CPR9 over a network, a message may appear, warning that there is not enough free space on the terminal's internal storage card to complete the upgrade. The message directs the user to Answer ID 38353 in the Rockwell Knowledgebase, and also offers some suggestions for working around the issue. These suggestions include: Use a firmware upgrade card instead of the network to perform the upgrade. Use the terminal's File Management option to remove unnecessary.mer and log files from the \Storage Card directory. If you are installing KepWare drivers, be sure only the drivers you require are selected. Run the.mer file from the \Storage Card2 location; this requires less space on the internal \Storage Card. Work with Rockwell Automation Technical Support to modify the RSView ME application and generate a smaller MER file. When upgrading PanelView Plus terminal firmware from CPR7 to CPR9 using a Compact Flash Card, a screen with the following message in several languages may appear briefly after the Finalizing Card window closes, before the Update Complete window displays: Machine Edition may be corrupted. Do you want to download Firmware? This message does not persist, and may be safely ignored. Do not press F1 or F2, or the installation may fail. Related topics System requirements What's New in FactoryTalk View Machine Edition 5.00 Sample applications
Sample applications There are five installed sample applications with FactoryTalk View Studio. There are two versions of each sample (except Objects 5 Screen Demo and BizBikes), designed for two different screen resolutions. A FactoryTalk View Machine Edition Station run-time (.mer) file has been created for each application. If you selected the defaults when installing FactoryTalk View Studio, the following sample applications can be found at: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\HMI projects. BizBikes.ME This is a simple application that records some production data. It includes some RSLogix 5000 files (*.acd) that can be loaded on either ControlLogix or SoftLogix processors to animate the project. Malthouse This is a more complex sample application. There is an RSLogix5000 file (*.acd) included that can be loaded on either ControlLogix or SoftLogix processors to animate the project. Baggage This is another complex sample application that includes an RSLogix 5 file (*.rsp) and RSLogix 500 file (*.rss). Objects This sample application demonstrates most of the machine-level objects available in FactoryTalk View Studio. This project does not require an RSLogix file. Objects 5 Screen Demo This sample application is only available in 640 x 480 resolution. This sample can be used to demonstrate FactoryTalk View Machine Edition without product activation. Related topics System requirements What's New in FactoryTalk View Machine Edition 5.00 Known issues
PanelView Plus CE Add-ons For a list of application software and devices that are not supplied by Rockwell Automation, but have been tested with the PanelView Plus CE terminal, please see Answer ID 26732 in the Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase.
Data Execution Prevention (DEP) settings What is DEP? Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is a security feature that is supported by both hardware and software and intended to prevent the execution of malicious code in the Microsoft Windows XP (Service Pack 2) and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Service Pack 1 and R2) operating systems.
DEP Settings The DEP settings determine which applications and components are covered by DEP protection. They apply to both hardware-supported and software DEP features. On computers with the necessary hardware capabilities, hardware-supported DEP features are enabled for the same set of applications and components as the software DEP features. The following table explains the possible DEP settings and if those settings are supported by Rockwell Software products. Rockwell Software recommends that you use the default DEP settings unless you have a specific reason to change them. DEP Setting AlwaysOn OptIn OptOut AlwaysOff Description Full DEP protection for the entire system (all applications and components, no exceptions). DEP-enabled only for Windows system components and for applications that explicitly opt in. This is the default setting for Microsoft Windows XP (Service Pack 2). DEP-enabled for all processes except those that explicitly opt out. This is the default setting for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Service Pack 1 and R2). DEP protection is disabled for the entire system (all applications and components, no exceptions). Note: Rockwell Software does not recommend using this setting, since it will make your system more vulnerable to malicious code. Supported by Rockwell Software Products? No Yes Yes Yes
Changing DEP settings To change the DEP settings 1 Select Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance Settings > Data Execution Prevention. The setting, Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only, corresponds to the OptIn setting. The setting, Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select, corresponds to OptOut setting. Keep the following in mind: You must be an administrator of your computer to change these settings. You must reboot the computer for the DEP setting changes to take effect.
Hardware DEP Settings Hardware DEP uses the processor to mark memory so that code cannot be executed from data regions. When code attempts to execute in these marked areas, the processor generates an exception. If you are using Microsoft Windows XP (Service Pack 2) or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Service Pack 1 and R2) operating systems, the offending program is terminated. Hardware DEP is also enabled as the factory default setting. This feature is turned on or off in the computer BIOS settings. To determine if your hardware supports DEP, refer to the hardware manual or contact your hardware manufacturer. For additional information, see the Microsoft Knowledge base article at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875352. Related topics What's New in FactoryTalk View Machine Edition 5.00 Known issues