FactoryTalk View

Site Edition
User's Guide
Version 13.00.00

Rockwell Automation Publication VIEWSE-UM006P-EN-E - March 2022

Supersedes Publication VIEWSE-UM006O-EN-E - September 2020

User Manual Original Instructions

FactoryTalk View Site Edition User's Guide

Important User Information

Read this document and the documents listed in the additional resources section about installation, configuration, and
operation of this equipment before you install, configure, operate, or maintain this product. Users are required to familiarize
themselves with installation and wiring instructions in addition to requirements of all applicable codes, laws, and standards.
Activities including installation, adjustments, putting into service, use, assembly, disassembly, and maintenance are required to
be carried out by suitably trained personnel in accordance with applicable code of practice.
If this equipment is used in a manner not specified by the manufacturer, the protection provided by the equipment may be
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In no event will Rockwell Automation, Inc. be responsible or liable for indirect or consequential damages resulting from the use
or application of this equipment.
The examples and diagrams in this manual are included solely for illustrative purposes. Because of the many variables and
requirements associated with any particular installation, Rockwell Automation, Inc. cannot assume responsibility or liability for
actual use based on the examples and diagrams.
No patent liability is assumed by Rockwell Automation, Inc. with respect to use of information, circuits, equipment, or software
described in this manual.
Reproduction of the contents of this manual, in whole or in part, without written permission of Rockwell Automation, Inc., is
prohibited.
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Attentions help you identify a hazard, avoid a hazard, and recognize the consequence.

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Chapter 1
Getting started with Welcome to FactoryTalk View SE ..............................................................31
FactoryTalk View SE About FactoryTalk systems ........................................................................31
FactoryTalk Services Platform .............................................................31
Finding more information about FactoryTalk services ....................32
FactoryTalk View Site Edition software ...................................................32
FactoryTalk View SE features.............................................................. 34
Quick start: setting up the software you need ......................................... 35
Step 1: Plan the layout of the network ................................................ 35
Step 2: Install FactoryTalk Services Platform ....................................36
Step 3: Install FactoryTalk View SE.....................................................36
Step 4: Select the connectivity options ...............................................36
Step 5: Install the necessary activation keys ...................................... 37
Step 6: Set up the FactoryTalk Directory ........................................... 38
Exploring the InstantFizz application ..................................................... 38
Creating a FactoryTalk View SE application ........................................... 40
Step 1: Create the application ............................................................. 40
Step 2: Create a graphic display .......................................................... 41
Step 3: Test run the application in FactoryTalk View SE Client ...... 42

Chapter 2
Exploring FactoryTalk View About FactoryTalk View Studio ................................................................ 43
Studio Start FactoryTalk View Studio using a command ............................. 43
Command-line parameters and examples................................... 44
About FactoryTalk Security permissions ...........................................44
Opening an application in FactoryTalk View Studio ...............................44
Resolving access problems to the HMI Projects folder .....................45
Opening the InstantFizz application .................................................45
Parts of the FactoryTalk View Studio main window ...............................45
Workbook mode .................................................................................. 46
Showing and hiding items in the main window .............................. 46
Working in the Explorer window .............................................................47
Moving the Explorer window ..............................................................47
Opening and closing folders .............................................................. 48
Organize graphic displays .................................................................. 48
Opening component editors .............................................................. 48
Creating and modifying components ............................................... 49
Adding components to an application .............................................. 50
Naming components .......................................................................... 50
Using component names that contain spaces ............................. 51

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Avoiding names that conflict with commands or macros .......... 51

Deleting, removing, and renaming components .............................. 51
Restoring a component ................................................................ 52
Techniques for working in editors ........................................................... 52
Gaining quick access to common operations ................................... 52
Browsing lists and components ......................................................... 52
Supplying tag names........................................................................... 52
Selecting and building commands ..................................................... 53
Building expressions............................................................................54
Printing from FactoryTalk View SE ..........................................................54
Selecting a printer ................................................................................54
Printing at runtime ..............................................................................54

Chapter 3
Planning an application Understanding the process you are automating ..................................... 55
Planning the network layout ..................................................................... 55
Choosing a Windows domain or workgroup .....................................56
Windows workgroups ...................................................................56
Determining computers needed.........................................................56
Planning communications ....................................................................... 58
Determining how to access data ........................................................ 58
Collecting only the necessary data .............................................. 58
Monitoring and controlling alarms ..........................................................59
Planning an alarm monitoring and control system ..........................59
Advantages of using FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services .........59
Choosing device-based alarms .....................................................59
Choosing server tag-based alarms............................................... 60
Deciding when to use HMI tags ............................................................... 60
Designing the HMI tag database ....................................................... 60
Organizing HMI tags .................................................................... 61
Designing a dependable control system ................................................... 61
Planning how to secure the system .................................................... 61
Planning to use built-in system availability features ........................ 61
About redundant application servers .......................................... 62
Setting up the runtime application.......................................................... 62
Developing a hierarchy of graphic displays .......................................63
Creating templates to ensure consistency .........................................63
Planning the multi-monitor deployment ...........................................63
Applying visual design principles ...................................................... 64
Planning how to use trends ................................................................ 64
Planning runtime language switching ...............................................65
Designing a system that is easy to deploy and maintain ........................65

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Designing the application for multiple users ................................... 66

Designing applications for multiple monitors ....................................... 66
Integrating with other applications and customizing the system ........ 68

Chapter 4
Setting up the FactoryTalk About FactoryTalk Directory ..................................................................... 69
Directory FactoryTalk Directory in a networked system ................................... 69
FactoryTalk Directory in a FactoryTalk View SE application ........... 70
Local station applications .................................................................... 71
Network applications........................................................................... 71
Specifying the FactoryTalk Directory server location ............................ 72
Setting up FactoryTalk Directory for local station applications ......74
What happens if the Network Directory server is unavailable ...............74
Monitoring the Network Directory status ......................................... 75

Chapter 5
Setting up security About FactoryTalk Security services......................................................... 77
About the FactoryTalk Directory ......................................................... 78
Finding more information about FactoryTalk Security ................... 78
Gaining initial access to a FactoryTalk system ....................................... 78
About the All Users account.................................................................79
Logging users on to and off from FactoryTalk View SE ......................... 80
Logging on to the FactoryTalk Directory .......................................... 80
About single sign-on ..................................................................... 80
Logging on to FactoryTalk View Studio ............................................. 81
Logging on to a FactoryTalk View SE Client ...................................... 81
Logging on when the client starts up ........................................... 81
Changing the current user while the client is running.............. 82
Logging on a different user .......................................................... 82
Logging off the current user at runtime ..................................... 82
Changing the current user’s password at runtime .................... 83
Deciding how to secure a FactoryTalk View SE application .................. 83
Securing FactoryTalk View SE applications at runtime .................. 84
Securing FactoryTalk system resources ............................................ 85
Setting up FactoryTalk accounts in FactoryTalk View SE ...................... 86
Setting up accounts in the Runtime Security editor ........................ 86
Example: Setting up runtime access to HMI components ........ 88
Removing All Users from the Runtime Security list......................... 89
Specifying login and logout macros .................................................. 89
Removing Runtime Security accounts .............................................. 90
Setting up runtime security for HMI project components ..................... 91
Assigning security codes to commands and macros......................... 91

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About the Unspecified_Command .............................................. 92

Assigning security codes to graphic displays.................................... 92
Assigning security codes to OLE objects ........................................... 92
Assigning security codes to HMI tags ................................................93
Other ways to control runtime access to an application ........................ 94
Lock operators into the runtime environment ................................. 94
Use electronic signature to control user actions ...............................95
About FactoryTalk Security accounts .......................................................95
About the All Users account.................................................................95
Specifying which users can set up security ....................................... 96
Choosing the types of accounts to use ..................................................... 96
Using accounts that originate at the FactoryTalk Directory ........... 96
Using Windows-linked accounts ........................................................97
Using both types of user account ........................................................97
Creating group accounts .....................................................................97
Setting up user and computer accounts .................................................. 98
Creating computer accounts for network applications ................... 99
Setting up system-wide policies ............................................................. 100
Product policies ................................................................................. 100
Use HTTPS protocol.................................................................... 100
Add an HTTPS binding for your site ..........................................102
System policies ................................................................................... 103
Setting up security for FactoryTalk system resources........................... 104
Modifying FactoryTalk Security settings ......................................... 105
Specifying which actions users can perform ................................... 106
About explicit and implicit permission ...................................... 106
Organizing actions into groups ........................................................ 106
Understanding inherited permissions ................................................... 107
Breaking the chain of inheritance ....................................................108
Using explicit permissions to override inheritance ........................108
Performing secured tasks in FactoryTalk View SE ................................ 110
Example: Using the Common actions to set up security for user
groups ................................................................................................. 110

Chapter 6
Working with network About network distributed applications ................................................. 113
distributed applications Parts of a network distributed application ....................................... 114
About FactoryTalk systems ................................................................. 115
Finding more information about FactoryTalk services .................. 115
Key concepts ............................................................................................. 115
FactoryTalk Network Directory ........................................................ 115
FactoryTalk Security .......................................................................... 116

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About FactoryTalk Security permissions ................................... 116

HMI servers ........................................................................................ 116
HMI projects ....................................................................................... 116
HMI clients ..........................................................................................117
Areas .....................................................................................................117
Absolute and relative references ....................................................... 118
Absolute reference syntax ........................................................... 118
System availability ............................................................................. 119
About HMI server redundancy ...................................................120
Language switching ...........................................................................120
Creating network distributed applications ............................................120
Adding areas and servers .........................................................................120
Adding and deleting areas .................................................................120
Adding an HMI server ....................................................................... 121
Adding a data server .......................................................................... 122
Adding a Tag Alarm and Event Server.............................................. 122
Deciding when to use multiple servers ............................................ 122
Adding servers for redundant operation ................................... 123
Adding servers for load balancing .............................................. 123
Running multiple HMI servers ......................................................... 123
Providing HMI server names ...................................................... 123
Monitoring disk space on HMI servers ............................................ 123
Setting up HMI server properties ........................................................... 124
Changing the name of the host computer ....................................... 124
Choosing how the server starts ......................................................... 125
Starting the HMI server when the first client connects to it .... 125
Starting the HMI server when the operating system initializes
....................................................................................................... 125
Setting up HMI server redundancy .................................................. 125
Selecting the secondary server ................................................... 125
Replicating changes to the standby HMI server ....................... 126
Selecting startup and shutdown components ................................. 127
Starting and stopping HMI server components manually ............. 128
Monitoring the status of an HMI server................................................. 128
Deleting HMI servers ............................................................................... 129
Deleting HMI server project files...................................................... 129
Renaming and deleting network distributed applications ................... 129
Backing up and restoring network distributed applications ......... 130

Chapter 7
Working with network station About network station applications ........................................................ 131
applications Parts of a network station application ..............................................132

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About FactoryTalk systems ................................................................ 133

Finding more information about FactoryTalk services .................. 133
Key concepts ............................................................................................. 133
FactoryTalk Network Directory ........................................................ 133
FactoryTalk Security .......................................................................... 134
About FactoryTalk Security permissions ................................... 134
HMI servers ........................................................................................ 134
HMI projects ....................................................................................... 134
HMI clients ......................................................................................... 134
Areas .................................................................................................... 135
Relative references ............................................................................. 135
System availability ............................................................................. 135
Language switching ........................................................................... 136
Creating network station applications ................................................... 136
Adding areas and servers ......................................................................... 136
Adding and deleting areas ................................................................. 136
Adding an HMI server ....................................................................... 136
Adding a data server .......................................................................... 137
Adding a Tag Alarm and Event Server.............................................. 138
Providing HMI server names ...................................................... 138
Monitoring disk space on HMI servers ............................................ 138
Setting up HMI server properties ........................................................... 139
Starting and stopping HMI server components manually ............. 139
Monitoring the status of an HMI server................................................. 140
Deleting HMI servers ............................................................................... 140
Deleting HMI server project files...................................................... 140
Renaming and deleting network station applications .......................... 141
Determining where the application is located ....................................... 141

Chapter 8
Working with local station About local station applications............................................................... 143
applications Parts of a local station application .....................................................144
About FactoryTalk systems .................................................................145
Finding more information about FactoryTalk services .................. 145
Key concepts ............................................................................................. 145
FactoryTalk Local Directory .............................................................. 145
FactoryTalk Security .......................................................................... 145
About FactoryTalk Security permissions ................................... 146
HMI servers ........................................................................................ 146
HMI projects ....................................................................................... 146
HMI clients ......................................................................................... 146
Relative references ............................................................................. 146

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Language switching ........................................................................... 147

Creating local station applications ......................................................... 147
Importing a project into a new application ..................................... 147
Adding servers to a local station application ......................................... 147
Adding a Tag Alarm and Event Server.............................................. 148
Setting up HMI server properties ........................................................... 148
Selecting startup and shutdown components ................................. 148
Monitoring the status of an HMI server................................................. 149
Renaming, deleting, and copying local station applications ................ 149

Chapter 9
Setting up communications About data servers .................................................................................... 151
About FactoryTalk Live Data ............................................................. 152
Using multiple data servers in an application ................................. 152
Communicating with multiple controllers ................................ 152
Setting up communications in FactoryTalk View SE ............................ 153
About FactoryTalk Security permissions ......................................... 153
Adding FactoryTalk Linx data servers to an application ....................... 154
Setting up general properties ........................................................... 154
Setting up FactoryTalk Linx data server redundancy ..................... 155
Setting up support for FactoryTalk Alarms and Events .................. 155
Deleting a FactoryTalk Linx data server ........................................... 156
Setting up communications for FactoryTalk Linx ................................. 156
About the Primary and Secondary tabs ............................................ 156
Adding OPC data servers to an application............................................ 157
Setting up general properties ........................................................... 157
Setting up OPC data server redundancy .......................................... 158
Setting up advanced properties ........................................................ 159
Include extended information in the server cache file ............. 160
Synchronizing a data server’s cache ........................................... 160
Deleting an OPC data server ............................................................. 160

Chapter 10
Working with tags About data server tags, HMI tags, and client tags.................................. 161
Using direct referencing to eliminate duplication ........................... 161
Using the extended capabilities of HMI tags ................................... 163
Securing tag or device values ...................................................... 163
Scaling and offsetting values ...................................................... 163
Specifying minimum and maximum values ............................. 164
Storing values in memory ........................................................... 164
Reusing HMI tag names .............................................................. 164
Using tag data in a FactoryTalk View SE application ............................ 164

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Setting up data server tags ................................................................ 164

Setting up HMI tags........................................................................... 165
Specifying tag names where tag data is needed .............................. 165
Logging tag values.............................................................................. 166
Observing tag-related limits ............................................................. 166
About tag references ................................................................................ 166
Absolute references ............................................................................ 166
Relative references ............................................................................. 167
The home area .................................................................................... 167
Parts of the Tag Browser .......................................................................... 168
Viewing tags in folders ...................................................................... 168
Showing server names ....................................................................... 169
Finding tags in the home area .......................................................... 169
Searching for and selecting tags ............................................................. 169
Finding a tag or text string ................................................................ 169
Finding a list of all tags or text strings ............................................. 170
Finding tags with Tag Browser ..........................................................171
Selecting folders instead of individual tags ......................................171
Showing a tag’s properties .................................................................171
Filtering tags....................................................................................... 172
Creating, modifying, and importing HMI tags ............................... 172
Browsing for offline tags ......................................................................... 172
Browsing from FactoryTalk Linx ...................................................... 172
Browsing from other OPC servers .................................................... 173
Working with HMI tags ........................................................................... 173
HMI tag types ..................................................................................... 173
Data sources for HMI tags ................................................................ 173
Organizing HMI tags ............................................................................... 174
Naming HMI tags .............................................................................. 174
Grouping HMI tags in folders ........................................................... 174
Viewing tag statistics ......................................................................... 175
Parts of the Tags editor ............................................................................ 175
Accept and Discard buttons .............................................................. 176
Form and spreadsheet ....................................................................... 176
Query box ............................................................................................ 176
Folder hierarchy ................................................................................. 176
Creating, modifying, and deleting HMI tags ......................................... 177
Selecting data source for HMI tags......................................................... 178
Getting HMI tag data from a device ................................................. 178
Getting HMI tag data from memory ................................................ 179
Creating HMI tags without using the Tags editor................................. 179
Creating tags in a third-party application ....................................... 179

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Creating tags in other FactoryTalk View editors .............................180

Importing and exporting tags...........................................................180
Importing tags from a PLC database................................................180
Opening the Import PLC Tags dialog box ........................................180
Client tags ................................................................................................. 181
Working with client tags ......................................................................... 181

Chapter 11
Setting up FactoryTalk alarms About FactoryTalk Alarms and Events ....................................................183
Advantages in using FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services ....... 184
Finding more information about FactoryTalk Alarms and Events 185
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Help ......................................... 185
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events System Configuration Guide 185
Key concepts ............................................................................................. 185
Alarms and events .............................................................................. 185
Alarm servers ...................................................................................... 186
Level alarm .......................................................................................... 186
Level alarm limits ......................................................................... 186
Variable limits and alarm faults ................................................. 187
Deadband ..................................................................................... 188
Deviation alarms ................................................................................ 188
Digital alarms ..................................................................................... 189
FactoryTalk alarm and event displays .............................................. 189
Alarm and event summary .......................................................... 189
Alarm and event banner .............................................................. 189
Alarm status explorer .................................................................. 190
Alarm and event log viewer ......................................................... 190
Automatic diagnostic event summary ....................................... 190
Alarm priority and severity ............................................................... 190
Alarm class .......................................................................................... 191
Alarm states ........................................................................................ 191
Alarm tags ........................................................................................... 192
Alarm status tags ................................................................................ 192
Alarm messages .................................................................................. 192
Alarm audit, diagnostic, and history logs ........................................ 193
Summary of basic steps for setting up FactoryTalk alarms .................. 193
Setting up system-wide alarm and event policies ................................. 194
To modify system-wide alarm settings ............................................ 195
To modify severity settings for system events ................................. 195
Securing access to FactoryTalk alarm information ......................... 195
About FactoryTalk Security permissions ................................... 195
Working with Rockwell Automation Device Servers ............................ 195

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Setting up support for FactoryTalk Alarms and Events .................. 196

Specifying a device-based alarm source ........................................... 197
Working with Tag Alarm and Event Servers .......................................... 198
Setting up alarm priorities and history logging .............................. 198
Setting up FactoryTalk tag-based alarms ............................................... 199
Setting up status tags for tag-based alarms ..................................... 199
Setting up tag-based alarm messages ............................................. 200
Opening the Alarm Message Editor .......................................... 200
Modifying an existing alarm message ...................................... 200
Adding variables to alarm messages.................................................201
Using tag placeholders in alarm messages ................................201
Specifying tag update rates ...............................................................201
Setting up OPC UA alarm monitoring ................................................... 202
Enabling alarm and event in FactoryTalk Linx OPC UA Connector
............................................................................................................ 202
Setting up alarm and event history logging .......................................... 202
Defining an alarm and event log database...................................... 203
Enabling alarm and event history logging ...................................... 203
Setting up alarm and event displays ...................................................... 204
Setting up an alarm and event summary ........................................ 204
Setting up an alarm and event banner ............................................ 205
About the alarm and event banner at runtime ............................... 206
Docking a banner display to the runtime client window ........ 206
Setting up an automatic diagnostic event summary ..................... 207
Working with alarm sources in the Alarm Status Explorer ................. 207
Viewing alarm and event history logs.................................................... 208
Using tags to interact with alarms or obtain their status .................... 208
Using FactoryTalk alarm functions in expressions ...............................210
Retrieving information about the severity of alarms ......................210
Highest severity value of acknowledged alarms ....................... 211
Highest severity value of unacknowledged alarms ................... 211
Retrieving information about the number of alarms ..................... 211
Number of disabled alarms ......................................................... 211
Number of shelved alarms .......................................................... 211
Number of shelved alarms returned to normal ......................... 212
Number of suppressed alarms .................................................... 212
Number of suppressed alarms returned to normal .................. 212
Number of acknowledged alarms............................................... 212
Number of unacknowledged alarms .......................................... 213
Number of unacknowledged alarms returned to normal......... 213
Specifying the FactoryTalk alarm source in an expression ............ 213
Using absolute and relative references to alarms ..................... 213

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Using wildcards to specify multiple alarms ............................... 214

Using tag placeholders to specify the alarm name .................... 214
What happens if the alarm source becomes unavailable ................ 215
About controller status system alarms ....................................... 215
Importing and exporting alarms ............................................................ 215
About import and export formats ..................................................... 216

Chapter 12
Setting up language switching About language switching ....................................................................... 219
Text strings you can view in different languages at runtime ...............220
Specifying time, date, and numeric formats .................................. 220
Text strings you cannot view in different languages ..................... 220
Exported text that does not support language switching ........ 221
Text that cannot be exported ...................................................... 221
Text that is part of the FactoryTalk View software.................... 221
Text shown in FactoryTalk View SE system tags....................... 221
Text that is not visible at runtime ............................................... 221
Summary of steps for setting up language switching .......................... 222
About FactoryTalk Security permissions .........................................223
Setting up font support for Windows languages ..................................223
Selecting a language for a new FactoryTalk View application..............223
About the current application language .......................................... 224
Adding languages to an application ...................................................... 224
Setting up a default application language ............................................. 225
Showing undefined text strings in the default language .............. 225
Exporting application text strings ......................................................... 226
Troubleshooting export problems ....................................................227
Export file formats .............................................................................227
Excel spreadsheet file format......................................................227
Unicode text file format ............................................................. 228
Working with text strings exported to an Excel spreadsheet .............. 228
Maintaining the format of the spreadsheet .................................... 229
Modifying or translating text strings .............................................. 230
Working with duplicate text strings................................................ 230
Working with strings exported to a Unicode text file ........................... 231
File name and format......................................................................... 231
Opening a Unicode text file in Microsoft Excel ............................... 231
Saving a Unicode text file in Microsoft Excel ..................................232
Differences in format for Unicode files saved in Excel ...................232
Saving a Unicode text file in Notepad ..............................................232
File schema .........................................................................................232
Working with pairs of double quotes ............................................... 233

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Working with backslashes and new-line characters ....................... 234

Importing translated or modified text strings ...................................... 234
Troubleshooting import problems ................................................... 235
Common errors when importing Unicode text files.................236
Errors when importing Excel spreadsheet files ........................236
Common errors when importing local messages .................... 238
Switch application languages at design time........................................ 238
Setting up runtime language switching ................................................ 238
Using the Language command to switch languages ...................... 238
Support for multiple languages in the graphic libraries .......................239
Language support in new graphic libraries .....................................239
Using the graphic libraries in a multi-language application ......... 240

Chapter 13
Setting up FactoryTalk system FactoryTalk features that maximize system availability ...................... 241
availability Finding more information about system availability ..................... 242
Monitoring the status of application servers ........................................ 242
States for non-redundant and redundant servers .......................... 243
States for redundant servers only .....................................................244
What happens if a non-redundant HMI server fails .......................244
Monitoring the status of the Network Directory server........................245
What happens if the Network Directory server is unavailable .......245
Redundancy as part of a system availability strategy ........................... 246
Planning the layout of a redundant system .................................... 246
About FactoryTalk View SE system limits ........................................ 247
FactoryTalk View SE redundant component limits ................. 248
System sizing recommendations .............................................. 248
Activating FactoryTalk View SE in a redundant system ................ 249
Setting up redundant servers in FactoryTalk View SE .................. 249
Setting up a redundant HMI server pair ............................................... 249
Specify the Network Directory on the secondary computer ......... 250
Set up HMI server redundancy options .......................................... 250
Manually replicate changes to the standby HMI server.................. 251
Determining the Active HMI server in a redundant pair .................... 252
When an HMI server is ready to be active or standby.................... 252
Specifying On Active and On Standby macros ................................ 253
What happens if both servers become active ................................... 253
Switching the Active and Standby servers manually .............................254
About FactoryTalk Security permissions .........................................254
What happens when the primary HMI server fails ............................... 255
Failing over to the Standby secondary server .................................. 255
Switching back to primary, or staying with the Active server ........256

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Continuing to use the secondary server ....................................256

Switching back automatically to the primary server ................256
Notifying clients when switching back to the primary ...................256
Modifying HMI tag properties at runtime ............................................. 257
Modifying HMI tag properties .......................................................... 257
When HMI tag property changes take effect ............................ 257
Managing HMI data in an online redundant system ............................259
Centralize storage of diagnostic data ...............................................259
Determine which server will run events ..........................................259
Synchronize derived tags and data log files.....................................259
Monitoring network client and server connections ............................. 260
About network glitches ..................................................................... 260

Chapter 14
Logging system activity About FactoryTalk Diagnostics ............................................................... 263
Summary of steps for setting up Diagnostics.................................. 263
Finding more information ................................................................263
Key concepts ............................................................................................ 264
Destinations ...................................................................................... 264
Message routing ................................................................................ 264
Message categories ............................................................................265
Message severity ..........................................................................265
Message audience ........................................................................265
How tag writes are categorized ..................................................265
Setting up FactoryTalk Diagnostics in FactoryTalk View .................... 266
Setting up message routing ............................................................. 266
Logging to a central database........................................................... 266
Setting up message buffering .....................................................267
Tracking system events in the Diagnostics List .....................................267
Working with the Diagnostics List ...................................................267
Viewing messages in the Diagnostics List ...................................... 268
Viewing FactoryTalk Diagnostics logs ................................................... 268

Chapter 15
Creating graphic displays About graphic displays .............................................................................271
Importing and exporting graphic display XML files....................... 272
Organize graphic displays .................................................................272
About global object displays ..............................................................272
Working with global objects .......................................................272
Parts of the Graphics editor ..................................................................... 273
Viewing display contents in the Object Explorer ............................ 274
Viewing object properties in the Property Panel ............................. 275

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Techniques for working in graphic displays ..........................................276

Zooming in and out ...........................................................................276
Setting up a display grid ....................................................................276
Using the toolbars ..............................................................................276
Selecting objects ................................................................................. 277
Using shortcut menus to perform actions quickly .......................... 277
Techniques for working with graphic objects ........................................ 277
Copying objects .................................................................................. 277
Copying objects with multiple languages ................................. 278
Copying and pasting objects .......................................................279
Duplicating objects ............................................................................279
Resizing and reshaping objects ....................................................... 280
Arranging objects ............................................................................... 281
Stacking objects ........................................................................... 281
Aligning objects........................................................................... 282
Aligning objects top, middle, and bottom................................. 282
Aligning objects left, right, and center ...................................... 283
Spacing objects............................................................................ 284
Spacing objects vertically and horizontally .............................. 284
Flipping objects ................................................................................. 284
Rotating objects................................................................................. 285
Grouping objects ............................................................................... 285
Ungrouping objects .......................................................................... 286
Modifying grouped objects .............................................................. 287
Applying colors .................................................................................. 287
Applying pattern styles and colors ................................................... 288
Changing line properties .................................................................. 288
Naming graphic objects .................................................................... 289
Assigning tags and expressions to objects ...................................... 289
Adding tooltips to graphic objects ................................................... 290
Using tag substitution to replace text strings.................................. 291
Creating a background for a display ................................................ 291
Testing graphic displays ......................................................................... 292
Testing the appearance of objects in different states .................... 292
Creating and working with global object displays.................................293
Creating global object displays .........................................................293
Adding standard displays that contain reference objects.............. 294
About global object displays at runtime .......................................... 294
Adding PlantPAx Library of Process Objects to an application ............295
Working with faceplates in the Graphics editor............................. 296
Using objects from the graphic libraries ............................................... 296
Location of library files ..................................................................... 296

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Importing graphic files ........................................................................... 296

Using bitmaps in a FactoryTalk View application ...........................297
When to use a bitmap ....................................................................... 298
Using the Image Browser to import images ......................................... 298
Using placeholders to specify tag values ............................................... 300
Creating a tag placeholder................................................................ 300
Replacing tag placeholders using parameter files .......................... 300
Loading a parameter file with the initial client display ............ 301
Replacing tag placeholders using parameter lists ........................... 301
Setting up tag placeholders for global objects ....................................... 301
Defining tag placeholders for use in reference objects .................. 302
Modifying global objects that use tag placeholders........................ 304
Setting up the appearance and behavior ............................................... 304
Setting up the properties of a graphic display ................................ 305
Specifying the display type......................................................... 305
Allowing multiple running copies ............................................. 306
Caching displays ..........................................................................307
Setting up the title bar and other display attributes .................307
Scaling the graphic display .........................................................307
Showing the last known values of HMI tags............................. 308
Setting the update rate for tags ................................................. 308
Viewing screen statistics of a display ........................................ 308
Specifying the size of the graphic display ................................. 309
Preventing scroll bars on the main window ............................. 309
Specifying the display’s position ............................................... 309
Securing graphic display ............................................................. 310
Background color ......................................................................... 310
Using gradient style ..................................................................... 310
Tracking screens for navigation ................................................. 310
Setting up the runtime behavior of a graphic display ..................... 310
Specifying startup and shutdown commands............................311
Specifying colors for input objects ............................................. 312
Specifying the behavior of interactive objects ........................... 312
Specifying the behavior of objects with input focus ................. 312
Using both types of highlight in the same display .................... 312
Showing the on-screen keyboard ............................................... 313
Setting up displays to open more quickly ........................................ 313
Removing displays from the cache ............................................. 313
Changing the default display settings .............................................. 313
Docking displays to the FactoryTalk View SE Client window .............. 314
Command parameters for docking displays.................................... 314
About the appearance and behavior of docked displays ................. 315

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Table of Contents

Docking multiple displays in the same position ....................... 315

Running other displays in the available client area .................. 315
Closing docked displays..................................................................... 316
Printing displays at runtime ................................................................... 317

Chapter 16
Creating graphic objects Types of graphic objects ........................................................................... 319
About global objects ........................................................................... 320
Setting up the properties of graphic objects ......................................... 320
Setting up properties common to all objects ................................... 321
Creating different types of drawing objects .......................................... 321
Drawing a rectangle or square .......................................................... 321
Drawing a rounded rectangle ...........................................................322
Drawing a polyline or polygon ..........................................................322
Drawing an ellipse or circle ............................................................... 323
Drawing an arc or wedge................................................................... 323
Changing the properties of drawing objects ................................... 324
Creating text objects .......................................................................... 324
Choosing text fonts...................................................................... 324
Creating a panel ................................................................................. 325
Adding images into graphic displays ...................................................... 325
Placing images in graphic displays ................................................... 325
Adding images to an application ...................................................... 325
Importing images into graphic displays ..........................................326
Pasting images into graphic displays ...............................................326
Techniques for working with objects that use data ...............................326
Specifying tag names .........................................................................326
Determining which objects have input focus ..................................326
Using the keyboard to select objects that can take focus ................ 327
Removing objects from the tab sequence........................................ 328
Creating different types of push buttons .............................................. 328
Creating button push buttons...........................................................329
Setting up button properties ......................................................329
Creating momentary push buttons ..................................................330
Setting up momentary push button properties ........................330
Creating maintained push buttons .................................................. 331
Setting up maintained push button properties......................... 331
Creating latched push buttons .......................................................... 332
Setting up latched push button properties ................................ 332
Creating multistate push buttons..................................................... 333
Setting up multistate push button properties ........................... 333
About the runtime error state ........................................................... 334

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Creating interlocked push buttons ................................................... 334

Setting up interlocked push button properties ......................... 335
Creating ramp push buttons ............................................................. 335
Setting up ramp push button properties ................................... 336
Creating navigation push buttons .................................................... 336
Setting up navigation push button properties .......................... 337
Creating different types of data display and input objects ................... 337
Using input objects to retrieve and send data ................................. 338
Tag-related limits ......................................................................... 338
Updating tag values continuously .............................................. 338
Validating operator input ........................................................... 339
Shortcut keys for retrieving and sending data ............................... 340
FactoryTalk View commands for retrieving and sending data ..... 340
Parts of the on-screen keyboard ...................................................... 340
Creating numeric and string display objects ................................... 341
Creating numeric and string input objects...................................... 341
Creating different types of indicators .................................................... 342
Setting up states for indicators ......................................................... 342
Using the Least Significant bit to trigger states ........................ 342
Setting up connections for indicators .............................................. 342
Creating multistate indicators .......................................................... 343
Creating symbols................................................................................ 343
Creating list indicators ...................................................................... 343
Creating different types of gauges and graphs ...................................... 343
Using gauges to show limits.............................................................. 343
Changing a gauge’s fill color at different thresholds ................ 344
Using graphs to compare values ....................................................... 344
Changing a bar graph’s fill color at different thresholds .......... 344
Showing limits using scales with bar graphs ............................ 345
Creating gauges ................................................................................. 345
Creating bar graphs ........................................................................... 345
Creating scales ................................................................................... 345
Using key objects to simulate keyboard functions ................................ 345
Creating different types of key objects ............................................. 346
Setting up the auto-repeat function for selected keys .............. 346
Using the same set of keys with different graphic objects ............. 347
Creating different types of advanced objects......................................... 347
Creating arrows.................................................................................. 347
Creating tag labels..............................................................................348
Creating time and date displays .......................................................348
Creating display list selectors ...........................................................348
Setting up states for a display list selector ................................. 349

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Table of Contents

Creating Web Browser objects .......................................................... 349

Creating data grid objects ................................................................. 349
Providing operator instructions in local message displays .................. 349
Setting up local messages .................................................................. 349
Trigger values cannot be zero .................................................... 350
What is shown at runtime .......................................................... 350
Creating local message displays....................................................... 350
Creating and restoring recipes................................................................ 351
Creating a recipe object ..................................................................... 351
Restoring and saving recipe values at runtime ............................... 352
Creating control list selectors.................................................................. 353
Selecting states in a control list selector .......................................... 353
Using keys to scroll the list ................................................................ 354
Setting the Value tag .......................................................................... 354
Creating control list selectors ........................................................... 354
Creating piloted control list selectors ..................................................... 355
Selecting states in a piloted control list selector.............................. 355
Using keys to scroll the list ................................................................ 356
Controlling the list view .............................................................. 356
Selecting items directly or remotely ........................................... 356
Setting the Value tag .......................................................................... 356
Using Enter key handshaking to ensure the current value is read
....................................................................................................... 357
How the handshaking tags and settings interact ..................... 357
How the Handshake reset type option works............................ 357
Creating piloted control selectors..................................................... 358
Specifying the text and value for each state ..................................... 358
Setting up connections for a piloted control list selector ............... 358
Creating the Alarm and Event objects .................................................... 359
Creating global objects ............................................................................. 359
Creating reference objects................................................................ 360
Using placeholders to specify values for global objects................... 361
Adding global objects into the graphic libraries .............................. 361
Setting up the link properties of reference objects................................ 361
LinkAnimation ...................................................................................362
LinkConnections ................................................................................362
LinkSize ..............................................................................................362
LinkToolTipText .................................................................................362
LinkBaseObject................................................................................... 363
Link properties of grouped reference objects .................................. 363
Breaking links between reference and base objects ........................ 363
Working with OLE objects ....................................................................... 364

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Creating OLE objects ......................................................................... 364

Converting OLE objects ..................................................................... 364
Working with ActiveX objects ................................................................. 365
Attributes of ActiveX objects ............................................................. 365
Creating ActiveX objects ................................................................... 366
Setting up ActiveX objects to interact with FactoryTalk View ....... 366
Deploying ActiveX components automatically at runtime............. 366
Working with .NET Control objects ....................................................... 366
Attributes of .NET Control objects.................................................... 367
Creating .NET Control objects .......................................................... 367
Design and add custom .NET controls ............................................. 367
Working with Symbol Factory................................................................. 367
Using electronic signatures to authorize runtime changes..................368
Securing tag writes, commands, and downloads ............................ 369
Creating signature buttons ...............................................................370
Securing objects in graphic displays ................................................370
Tracking changes using FactoryTalk Diagnostics ...........................370

Chapter 17
Animating graphic objects About animation in FactoryTalk View .................................................... 371
Setting up animation for FactoryTalk View graphic objects ................. 371
Linking animation to tag values ....................................................... 372
Using tag placeholders ................................................................ 372
Linking animation to expressions .................................................... 372
Linking animation to actions ............................................................ 373
Determining start and end points for a range of motion ............... 373
Defining the range of motion ........................................................... 373
Applying animation to object groups ............................................... 374
Testing animation .............................................................................. 375
Viewing the animation applied to objects........................................ 375
Copying or duplicating objects with animation .............................. 375
About global objects and animation ................................................. 376
Creating effects using the different types of animation ....................... 376
Showing and hiding objects .............................................................. 376
Changing an object’s color ................................................................ 377
Example 1: Creating text that blinks .......................................... 378
Example 2: Creating an object that changes color .................... 378
Changing the level of fill in an object .............................................. 380
Moving an object horizontally in a display ..................................... 380
Moving an object vertically in a display........................................... 380
Rotating objects................................................................................. 380
Setting up rotation animation .................................................... 381

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Table of Contents

Changing the width of an object ....................................................... 381

Changing the height of an object ..................................................... 382
Setting up touch zones ..................................................................... 382
Creating a horizontal slider ............................................................. 382
Creating a vertical slider................................................................... 382
Creating a hyperlink for an object ................................................... 382
Animating OLE verbs ......................................................................... 383
Using index numbers to navigate to objects in a display ...................... 383
Checking an object’s index number.................................................. 383
How tab index numbers work ...........................................................384
Creating a tab sequence.....................................................................384
Changing index numbers .................................................................. 385
Associating objects and displays with keys ............................................ 385
Setting up object keys ........................................................................386
Setting up display keys ...................................................................... 387
Viewing the key list at runtime ........................................................ 388
Setting up object-specific commands using keys............................389
Animating ActiveX objects ..................................................................... 390
Connecting tags to an ActiveX object’s properties .......................... 391
About ActiveX object names........................................................392
Viewing an object’s methods ......................................................392
Connecting tags to an object’s methods ...........................................392
Using the Invoke command to call a method ............................392
Connecting tags to an ActiveX object’s events................................. 393

Chapter 18
Setting up navigation Designing a display hierarchy for an application ................................. 395
Setting up ways to move among displays .............................................. 396
Using commands to open, close, and switch displays..................... 396
Choosing display types with navigation in mind ............................398
Reducing display call-up time ...........................................................398
Setting up keys to run FactoryTalk View commands ............................ 399
General rules governing precedence ................................................ 399
Precedence and the F1 key ................................................................ 400
Precedence and embedded ActiveX objects .................................... 400
Precedence and embedded OLE objects.......................................... 400
Keyboard shortcuts ........................................................................... 400
About navigation buttons ....................................................................... 402
How navigation buttons work ......................................................... 402
Creating a navigation button ........................................................... 402
Viewing and clearing the navigation history .................................. 403

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 Table of Contents

Chapter 19
Creating expressions About expressions .................................................................................... 405
Where you can use expressions in FactoryTalk View SE ................ 405
Working in the Expression editor.......................................................... 406
Expression components ................................................................... 406
Checking the syntax of an expression ............................................. 407
Cutting, copying, and pasting expressions ..................................... 407
Formatting expressions .................................................................... 408
Using tag names and tag placeholders in expressions ......................... 408
Specifying the area with a tag name ................................................ 408
Using tag placeholders to specify tag values ................................... 408
Using constants in expressions .............................................................. 409
Using operators in expressions .............................................................. 409
Arithmetic operators......................................................................... 409
Relational operators .......................................................................... 409
Logical operators ................................................................................ 410
Bitwise operators ............................................................................... 410
Evaluation order of operators ........................................................... 411
Using built-in functions in expressions ................................................. 412
Math functions ................................................................................... 412
File functions ...................................................................................... 413
Time functions ................................................................................... 413
Tag functions ...................................................................................... 415
Security functions .............................................................................. 415
Language function ............................................................................. 416
FactoryTalk alarm functions ............................................................. 416
Automatic Diagnostics functions ..................................................... 417
FactoryTalk alarm names and device path in expressions ............. 417
Redundancy functions ....................................................................... 418
ThinManager functions ..................................................................... 418
Using if-then-else logic in expressions ................................................... 418
Nested if - then - else.......................................................................... 419

Chapter 20
Creating embedded variables About embedded variables ...................................................................... 423
Inserting embedded variables ................................................................ 423
Creating numeric embedded variables ..................................................425
Syntax for numeric embedded variables that use a tag value ....... 426
Syntax for numeric embedded variables that use a literal number
............................................................................................................ 426
Creating string embedded variables...................................................... 426
Syntax for string embedded variables that use a tag value............. 427

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Table of Contents

Syntax for string embedded variables that use a literal string ....... 427
Creating time and date embedded variables ........................................ 428
Syntax for time and date embedded variables................................ 428
How embedded variables are shown at runtime .................................. 429
Numeric embedded variables .......................................................... 429
String embedded variables ............................................................... 429
Time and date embedded variables ................................................. 430
How embedded variables are updated at runtime ............................... 430

Chapter 21
Setting up data logging About data logging .................................................................................... 431
Gathering tag data in data log models .............................................. 431
Using multiple data log models .................................................. 431
Data log storage formats ......................................................................... 431
How log file sets are named .............................................................. 432
ODBC database storage format and schemas ................................. 432
How ODBC tables are named ..................................................... 433
Format for ODBC float and string tables ................................... 433
Format for ODBC tag table ......................................................... 433
Creating data log models ......................................................................... 434
Specifying the storage format ........................................................... 434
Selecting the ODBC database format......................................... 435
Setting up log paths ........................................................................... 435
Setting up and managing data log files............................................ 435
Creating new file sets .................................................................. 435
Deleting file sets and ODBC database records .......................... 436
Specifying when to log data .............................................................. 436
Choosing the data to be logged ......................................................... 436
Logging data to ODBC data sources ....................................................... 436
Logging data to an existing ODBC data source ............................... 436
Creating a new ODBC data source ................................................... 437
Setting up security to log data to a remote computer ..................... 437
Creating new files at runtime ................................................................. 437
Using the DataLogNewFile command .............................................438
Switching log paths at runtime ...............................................................438
Setting up switching options ............................................................438
Switching back manually to the primary path ................................. 439
Using the DataLogSwitchBack command ................................. 439
Moving data from the secondary path ............................................. 439
Using the DataLogMergeToPrimary command ....................... 440
Logging on demand ................................................................................ 440
Using the DataLogSnapshot command .......................................... 440

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Combining logging ............................................................................ 441

Modifying existing data log models........................................................ 441
Changing log paths ............................................................................ 441
Making runtime changes without modifying the model ................442
Starting and stopping data logging ........................................................442
Ways to start data logging .................................................................442
Ways to stop data logging ................................................................. 443

Chapter 22
Setting up trends About trends ............................................................................................. 445
Creating TrendPro objects ...................................................................... 445
Setting up TrendPro properties ........................................................446
TrendPro interface .................................................................................. 448
Trace List ...................................................................................................449
Event list....................................................................................................449
Testing a trend ......................................................................................... 450
Changing the trend appearance............................................................. 450
Time Period page .............................................................................. 450
Chart page........................................................................................... 451
X-Axis page .........................................................................................452
Application page .................................................................................452
Retrieval page .....................................................................................452
Using templates for trend objects ........................................................... 453
Create a template ............................................................................... 453
Apply a template ................................................................................. 453
Working with trends at runtime ............................................................. 454
Add or delete traces at runtime ......................................................... 454
View data of traces ............................................................................. 454
Use cursors ......................................................................................... 454
Create time periods............................................................................ 455
Use shapes .......................................................................................... 456
Zoom and pan data ............................................................................ 456

Chapter 23
Setting up XY Plot About XY Plot ........................................................................................... 459
Creating XY Plot objects .......................................................................... 459
Setting up XY Plot properties........................................................... 460
XY Plot interface ...................................................................................... 462
Trace List ................................................................................................... 463
Testing XY Plot ......................................................................................... 463
Changing the XY Plot appearance ..........................................................464
Time Period page ...............................................................................464

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Table of Contents

Chart page...........................................................................................464
Application page ................................................................................. 465
Retrieval page .....................................................................................466
Using templates for XY Plot objects ........................................................466
Create a template ...............................................................................466
Apply a template ................................................................................. 467
Working with XY Plot at runtime ........................................................... 467
Add or delete traces at runtime ......................................................... 467
View data of traces ............................................................................. 467
Use cursors ........................................................................................ 468
Create time periods........................................................................... 468
Use shapes ..........................................................................................469
Zoom and pan data ............................................................................469

Chapter 24
Adding logic and control About logic and control ............................................................................ 471
Creating and using derived tags.............................................................. 471
Parts of the Derived Tags editor ....................................................... 471
Accept and Discard buttons ........................................................ 472
Form and spreadsheet ................................................................. 472
Checking the syntax of an expression ........................................ 472
How to use derived tags..................................................................... 472
Creating a derived tags component.................................................. 472
About the maximum update rate................................................ 473
Using multiple derived tag components .................................... 473
Modifying existing derived tag components ............................. 474
Starting and stopping derived tags processing ............................... 474
Starting derived tags in network and local station applications
....................................................................................................... 474
Starting derived tags in local station applications only............ 474
Stopping derived tags in network and local station applications
....................................................................................................... 475
Stopping derived tags in local station applications only .......... 475
Setting up FactoryTalk View SE events .................................................. 475
Parts of the Events editor .................................................................. 476
Accept and Discard buttons ........................................................ 476
Form and spreadsheet ................................................................. 476
Checking the syntax of an expression ........................................ 476
Creating an events component ......................................................... 476
About the maximum update rate................................................ 477
Using multiple events components ............................................ 477
Modifying existing event components ...................................... 477

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Starting and stopping events processing .........................................478

Ways to start events processing .................................................478
Ways to stop events processing ..................................................478
Creating and using macros ..................................................................... 479
Macro syntax ...................................................................................... 479
Specifying parameters in a macro .................................................... 481
Typing macro names that contain spaces ........................................ 481
Nesting macros .................................................................................. 481
Running macros ................................................................................ 482
Specifying user login and logout macros ........................................ 482
Creating client keys ..................................................................................483
Running client key components .......................................................483

Chapter 25
Managing recipes About recipes ............................................................................................ 485
About the RecipePro+ editor ................................................................... 485
The parts of RecipePro+ editor ........................................................ 486
Recipe edit table .................................................................................487
Toolbar commands ............................................................................487
Create, modify, or delete recipes .............................................................487
Refresh recipes ........................................................................................ 488
Import or export recipes ......................................................................... 489
Required security permissions ............................................................... 489
Migrate RSView32 RecipePro to FactoryTalk View SE RecipePro+..... 490

Appendix A
FactoryTalk View commands Using commands ..................................................................................... 491
How to use commands ...................................................................... 491
Using tag placeholders in commands ............................................. 492
Where commands run ....................................................................... 493
Using absolute and relative references ...................................................494
How relative references are resolved................................................ 495
Commands that take tags as parameters ......................................... 495
Commands that take HMI project components as parameters .....496
Creating symbols ......................................................................................496
Important guidelines ......................................................................... 497
Running and building commands .......................................................... 497

Appendix B
Scripts
Appendix C

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Table of Contents

Creating and deploying .NET Custom .NET control overview ............................................................... 501
controls Required knowledge ................................................................................ 501
Environment requirements .................................................................... 501
Creating custom Windows Forms controls ........................................... 501
Create a Windows Forms control in Visual Studio ........................ 502
Creating custom WPF controls ............................................................... 510
Create a WPF control in Visual Studio ............................................. 510
Importing and deploying the .NET control assembly ........................... 518
Import self-created .NET controls or third-party libraries ............. 519
Deploy .NET controls on multiple computers ................................. 519
Update .NET controls ............................................................................... 519
Delete .NET controls ................................................................................ 519
JSON support in VBA ............................................................................... 519
References ................................................................................................ 522

Appendix D
Setting up DDE communications Overview of DDE communications ........................................................ 523
for HMI tags Setting up an HMI server as a DDE client ............................................. 524
Creating an HMI tag that uses DDE ................................................. 524
Specifying Device as the data source ................................................524
Syntax for DDE addresses .................................................................524
Scanning for new tag values .................................................................... 525

Appendix E
Using the SE Client object model Customizing applications using VBA with FactoryTalk View.............. 527
and display code Summary of basic steps ..................................................................... 528
About procedures ............................................................................... 528
How VBA code runs .......................................................................... 528
Parts of the VBA IDE ................................................................................529
FactoryTalk View SE Client object model .............................................. 530
Finding information about FactoryTalk View SE Client objects ......... 530
Finding information about VBA ............................................................. 531

Appendix F
Importing and exporting XML About XML................................................................................................ 533
files Exporting graphics data to an XML file ................................................. 533
Modifying exported XML files ................................................................ 534
Saving XML files in Notepad............................................................. 534
Testing XML files ............................................................................... 534
Importing XML files................................................................................. 534
Error log file ........................................................................................ 535
Importing graphic display XML files ............................................... 535
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Graphic display XML file structure ......................................................... 535

Appendix G
FactoryTalk View
documentation Appendix H
KEPServer Enterprise Set DCOM configuration for KEPServer Enterprise ............................ 539
Legal Notices Legal Notices ............................................................................................ 543
Index

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 Chapter 1

Getting started with FactoryTalk View SE

This chapter describes:

• What FactoryTalk View Site Edition is.
• What a FactoryTalk system is.
• FactoryTalk View Site Edition software.
• How to set up the software you need.
• Running FactoryTalk View SE without activation.
• Exploring the InstantFizz application.
• How to start creating a new network distributed application.
Welcome to FactoryTalk FactoryTalk View Site Edition (SE) is an integrated software package for
developing and running human-machine interface (HMI) applications that
View SE
can involve multiple users and servers, distributed over a network.
In FactoryTalk View Studio, you can create network distributed, network
station, or local station applications that mirror your plant or process.
Use the editors in FactoryTalk View Studio to create and test the application
components you need. Then set up the FactoryTalk View SE clients to let
operators interact with the application after it is deployed.
Tip: The steps or illustrations in this manual may vary depending on your operating systems.

About FactoryTalk systems FactoryTalk View Site Edition provides all the tools you need to create
powerful, dependable process monitoring and supervisory control
applications.

FactoryTalk Services FactoryTalk Services Platform provides a set of common services (such as
diagnostic messages, health monitoring services, and access to real-time
Platform data) for all the FactoryTalk products and applications used in a control
system.
Using the FactoryTalk Services Platform, FactoryTalk products can share and
gain simultaneous access to resources such as tags and graphic displays that
you only need to define once in the system.
The FactoryTalk Services Platform installs behind the scenes during
FactoryTalk View SE installation. Following are the services the platform
provides:
• FactoryTalk Directory centralizes access to system resources and
names for all FactoryTalk products and components participating in

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Chapter 1 Getting started with FactoryTalk View SE
an automated control system. The FactoryTalk Network Directory
manages resources for FactoryTalk View SE network applications, and
the FactoryTalk Local Directory manages resources for FactoryTalk
View SE local applications. For more information, see Setting up the
FactoryTalk Directory on page 69.
• FactoryTalk Security centralizes user authentication and authorization
at the FactoryTalk Directory. For information about securing
FactoryTalk View SE applications, see Setting up security on page 77.
• FactoryTalk Live Data manages connections between data servers in
an application and FactoryTalk Live Data clients such as FactoryTalk
View SE clients. For information about data communications in
FactoryTalk View SE applications, see Setting up communications on
page 151.
• FactoryTalk Diagnostics collects and provides access to activity, status,
warning, and error messages generated throughout a FactoryTalk
system. For information about diagnostics in FactoryTalk View SE, see
Logging system activity on page 263.
• FactoryTalk Administration Console is a stand-alone tool for
developing, managing, and securing multiple FactoryTalk View
applications.
Note: You must use the FactoryTalk Administration Console to restore FactoryTalk View SE
network applications and to set up computer accounts, if necessary, after upgrading the
FactoryTalk Services Platform. Otherwise, FactoryTalk View Studio is the configuration
software for developing and testing FactoryTalk View applications.

FactoryTalk services installed with FactoryTalk View SE

The FactoryTalk Services Platform also supports FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events services, and software-based product activation. These services are
installed separately, during FactoryTalk View SE installation, rather than with
the FactoryTalk Services Platform.
For more information about FactoryTalk Alarms and Events and FactoryTalk
Activation, see the list of FactoryTalk View SE software below.

Finding more information This manual contains information about developing FactoryTalk View SE
applications, including information about how FactoryTalk View uses
about FactoryTalk services FactoryTalk services.
For additional, detailed information about FactoryTalk systems, services,
concepts, and components, see the FactoryTalk Help.

FactoryTalk View Site FactoryTalk View SE consists of several pieces of software you can use to build
network or local HMI applications, customized to your needs.
Edition software
Depending on the software packages you purchased, you will have installed
one or more of the following software components, from the FactoryTalk View
installation package.

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FactoryTalk Services Platform provides a set of common services (such as
diagnostic messages, health monitoring services, and access to real-time data)
for all the FactoryTalk products and applications used in a control system. For
an overview of FactoryTalk Services Platform, see FactoryTalk Services
Platform on page 31.
FactoryTalk View Studio is the design-time environment for FactoryTalk View
that provides the editors and tools you need to develop and test network
distributed, network station, and local station human-machine interface
(HMI) applications. It contains editors for creating complete applications,
and contains client and server software for testing the applications you create.
For information about FactoryTalk View Studio features, see Exploring
FactoryTalk View Studio on page 43.
You can also use FactoryTalk View Studio to set up FactoryTalk Security
services for the applications you develop. For more information, see Setting
up security on page 77.
Note: FactoryTalk View Studio is also the configuration software for developing FactoryTalk View ME
(ME) applications. For information about FactoryTalk View ME, see FactoryTalk View ME User’s Guide
and the ME Help.

FactoryTalk View SE Client is software for viewing and interacting with

FactoryTalk View SE local station, network station, and network distributed
applications at runtime. Use the FactoryTalk View SE Client Wizard to create
client configuration files that can be deployed to client host computers.
FactoryTalk View SE Server, also called the HMI server, stores HMI project
components (for example, graphic displays) and supplies them to clients. The
server also contains a database of tags, and performs historical data logging.
FactoryTalk View SE Server has no user interface. Once installed, it runs as a
set of headless Windows services that supply information to clients as they
request it.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events installs behind the scenes during FactoryTalk
View SE installation, and provides system-wide alarm monitoring and control
centralized at the FactoryTalk Directory. For runtime clients to receive
FactoryTalk device-based and tag-based alarm information, you need to set up
application servers to support FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services. For
details, see Setting up FactoryTalk alarms on page 183.
FactoryTalk Activation services provide a secure, software-based system for
activating Rockwell Software products and managing software activation
files. For information about activating FactoryTalk View SE software, see the
FactoryTalk View Site Edition Installation Guide.
FactoryTalk tools and utilities that support the operation of your FactoryTalk
View SE software. For an overview, see Chapter 1 of the FactoryTalk View Site
Edition Installation Guide.

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Chapter 1 Getting started with FactoryTalk View SE

FactoryTalk View SE FactoryTalk View SE provides the flexibility and features you need to create
powerful automation systems for your plant or process. For example, you can:
features
• Create local station applications for parts of the plant or process that
are self-contained, and are not related to other parts of the process.
• Create complex applications that mirror the layout of a plant or
process. A FactoryTalk View SE network distributed application can
contain several servers running on multiple computers, connected
over a network. Multiple client users can connect simultaneously to a
network distributed application.
• Open and modify network applications remotely using FactoryTalk
View Studio.
• Use the health monitoring and redundancy features built into
FactoryTalk and FactoryTalk View SE to support system availability at
runtime.
• Use FactoryTalk Security services to centralize the authentication and
authorization of system users at the FactoryTalk Directory.
• Create multi-language applications that support switching between up
to 40 different languages at runtime. In a network distributed
application, multiple clients can run in different languages
simultaneously.
• Modify HMI tags at runtime, and have changes take effect at
connected clients, without restarting the clients. In a redundant
network distributed application, changes made at the active HMI
server can be replicated to the standby server.
• Create a complete alarm monitoring system with FactoryTalk Alarms
and Events.
Using FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services, FactoryTalk View SE
applications can subscribe to and display device-based alarms,
programmed directly into Studio 5000® controllers.
• Customize alarm summaries and banners to provide specific alarm
data, rather than displaying alarms for the entire system.
• Create global objects in global object displays, and use copies of these
objects throughout an application. When you modify the original
object, all linked copies are also updated.
• Dock selected displays to an edge of the FactoryTalk View SE Client
window so they can be viewed in a fixed position, at all times.
• Use the FactoryTalk View SE Client Object Model, VBA, and
PowerShell scripts to extend the capabilities of FactoryTalk View SE,
and to share and interoperate with Windows programs such as
Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Excel.
• Create trends that show process variables plotted against time.
FactoryTalk View SE trends can display real-time or historical data,
with up to 100 pens (tags) in each trend.

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• Log data simultaneously to the FactoryTalk Diagnostics log and to
remote ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) databases to provide
various records of production data.
Quick start: setting up the The design of the automation and control system you plan to deploy will
determine which FactoryTalk View SE software components to install and set
software you need
up on network computers. Where you install the software also depends on the
type of application.
FactoryTalk View Studio Enterprise is the configuration software for
developing and testing FactoryTalk View SE network distributed, network
station, local station, and FactoryTalk View ME applications.
• To develop or run a Network Distributed application, you can install
different combinations of software on each computer, depending on
needs.
• To develop or run a Network Station application, you must install all
the necessary software components on one computer (except for data
servers). Network station applications can connect to data servers that
are located on different machines.
• To develop or run a Local Station application, you must install all the
necessary software components on one computer (except for OPC data
servers). Local station applications can connect to OPC data servers
that are located on different machines.
• To develop or run a View Machine Edition application, see FactoryTalk
View Machine Edition User’s Guide and ME Help.
Steps in this section describe the basic tasks involved in setting up the
software needed to develop and run local and network applications.
For detailed installation instructions, and for information about deploying
Site Edition network distributed, network station, and local station
applications for production, see FactoryTalk View Site Edition Installation Guide.

Step 1: Plan the layout of The layout of the network is particularly important to the design of a network
distributed application.
the network
The type and structure of the network can determine which roles
participating host computers will play, including whether any of the servers
will run as redundant pairs.
If you are planning a network application that uses more than 10 computers,
you must use a network domain controller. For network distributed
applications consisting of 10 computers or fewer, you can use a Windows
workgroup.
Note: Do not install FactoryTalk Directory, FactoryTalk View SE Server, or any other application
software on the same computer as the Windows domain controller. This configuration is not
supported.

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Step 2: Install FactoryTalk FactoryTalk View applications depend on FactoryTalk software, such as
FactoryTalk Directory, to run. During the FactoryTalk Services Platform
Services Platform installation, the FactoryTalk Network Directory and Local Directory are set up
automatically on the computer.
Tip: If you plan to run only the FactoryTalk Directory server on a computer without any dependent
software, install only the FactoryTalk Services Platform on the computer.

Step 3: Install FactoryTalk When you install the FactoryTalk View SE software, you can choose to install
all the components on one computer, or to install individual components on
View SE separate computers on the network.
To develop or run a local station application, you must install the FactoryTalk
Services Platform and all the FactoryTalk View SE software on one computer.
Tip: In a local application, only OPC data servers can be run on a separate computer.

To develop or run a network distributed or network station application, you

can install all the FactoryTalk View SE software, or just selected components,
on participating computers.
For example, you might install only the FactoryTalk View SE Client software
on computers run by operators. Similarly, to distribute server loads across the
application, you might install only the FactoryTalk View SE Server software on
server computers.

Step 4: Select the During the installation, you are prompted to select the connectivity options.

connectivity options
When to use FactoryTalk Linx
FactoryTalk Linx is a communication server built around FactoryTalk
technology to assist in developing and running your FactoryTalk View SE
applications.
For communications with Allen-Bradley local and remote devices, particularly
with Studio 5000 controllers, FactoryTalk Linx is the recommended data
communications software for FactoryTalk View applications.
FactoryTalk Linx now allows you to create redundant controller shortcuts and
to perform online tasks such as uploading and downloading Studio 5000
Logix Designer files.

When to use RSLinx Classic

RSLinx Classic is a 32-bit communication server that links Allen-Bradley
networks and devices to Microsoft Windows applications. These range from
device programming and configuration applications to HMI applications, to

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your own data acquisition applications using Microsoft Office, Web pages, or
Visual Basic.
RSLinx Classic also incorporates advanced data optimization techniques and
contains a set of diagnostics. RSLinx Classic is an OPC DA (Data Access)
Compliant Server and a DDE server.
For example, install and use RSLinx Classic to serve data through DH+ (Data
Highway +) networks, to support complex bridging and routing, and to
support unsolicited messaging from a controller to RSLinx.
RSLinx Classic also allows you to create alias topic shortcuts, and to perform
online tasks such as uploading and downloading Studio 5000 Logix Designer
files.

Communicating with third-party local and remote devices

For communications with non-Allen-Bradley local and remote devices,
FactoryTalk View SE supports OPC, a protocol used to connect to
communication devices via vendor-specific OPC servers.
OPC enables FactoryTalk View to act as a client to other OPC servers. This
means that FactoryTalk View can use third-party OPC servers to retrieve tag
values from third-party controller devices, such as Siemens or Modicon.
FactoryTalk View SE supports the OPC DA 2.05a, UA 1.02 and 1.03
specifications for exchanging data among automation or control applications,
field systems or devices, and business or office applications.

Step 5: Install the The types of product licenses you require depend on the software you have
installed, and how you intend to use it.
necessary activation keys
For information about the types of activation you might need, and how to
install activation keys, see the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Installation Guide.

Running FactoryTalk View SE without activation

The FactoryTalk View SE software you install must be licensed for full use.
If for some reason activation is unavailable, the software can run unlicensed
for a grace period of up to seven days. This provides time to correct any
problems, without disrupting critical applications.
If activation is restored within the seven days, normal operations will resume.
If activation remains unavailable when the grace period expires, the
FactoryTalk View SE software will run in demo mode.
When running in demo mode, there are some limitations.

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• You can run a local station FactoryTalk View application for up to two
hours.
• Remote clients cannot connect to a FactoryTalk View server.
Starting from FactoryTalk View version 10.00, some limitations are
eliminated. You can create or load over five graphic displays per HMI server
now. You can also fully use the Symbol Factory library without restriction.

Step 6: Set up the The FactoryTalk Directory centralizes access to resources and components,
such as graphic displays and tags, for all FactoryTalk products participating in
FactoryTalk Directory a control system.
FactoryTalk Directory centralizes access to application resources and
components, such as graphic displays and tags, for all FactoryTalk products
participating in a control system.
FactoryTalk Local Directory (also called the Local Directory) manages
applications that are confined to a single computer, for example, FactoryTalk
View SE local station applications. The Local Directory must reside on the
same computer as the local station application.
FactoryTalk Network Directory (also called the Network Directory) manages
FactoryTalk View SE network distributed applications, and network station
applications. All of the client and server computers participating in a given
network distributed application, or network station application must point at
the same Network Directory.
Both directories are configured on the computer, when you install the
FactoryTalk Services Platform. To use the Local Directory as part of a local
application, no further setup is required.
To use the Network Directory as part of a network application, you must set
up all participating computers to point at the same Network Directory
computer. For more information, see Setting up the FactoryTalk Directory on
page 69.

Exploring the InstantFizz The InstantFizz application shipped with FactoryTalk View SE is a fully
functional example of a network distributed application.
application
To explore the FactoryTalk View SE development and runtime environments,
open the InstantFizz application in FactoryTalk View Studio and launch the
SE client.
Tip: Before running the client, you need to download the control logix project IF2_DEMO.ACD to a
programmable controller or a SoftLogix controller. The project is located at: C:\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\SE\HMI Projects\InstantFizz_HMI.

To open the InstantFizz application:

1. Select Start > FactoryTalk View Studio.

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2. In the Application Type Selection dialog box, select View Site Edition
(Network Distributed) and click Continue.
3. In the Existing tab, select InstantFizz and click Open.
In the following illustration, the plant overview display is open in the Graphics
editor. For information about working with FactoryTalk View Studio and the
editors, see Exploring FactoryTalk View Studio on page 43.

To test a display in FactoryTalk View Studio:

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
display you want to test, and then click Open.
2. On the View menu, click Test Display. To stop testing, on the View
menu, click Edit Display.

To run the InstantFizz client:

Open C:\Users\Public\Documents\RSView Enterprise\SE\Client and
double-click the IF_Client_1920x1080.cli file to run the application.

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You can use the buttons and touch zones provided to navigate through the
application, view alarm summaries and so on. There is a Learning Mode that
highlights features in blue boxes as you navigate throughout the application.
To enable these feature highlights, on the menu, select More... > Learning
Mode. To hide, select More... > Demo Mode.

Creating a FactoryTalk You can also create a simple, new application to exercise some of the
development and runtime features of FactoryTalk View SE. Following are
View SE application some steps to get you started.

Step 1: Create the First, create the application itself, and then add at least one HMI server.

application FactoryTalk View SE Server, also called the HMI server, stores HMI project
components (for example, graphic displays) and supplies them to clients. The
server also contains a database of tags, and performs historical data logging.
FactoryTalk View SE Server has no user interface. Once installed, it runs as a
set of headless Windows services that supply information to clients as they
request it.

To create a network distributed application:

1. Select Start > FactoryTalk View Studio.
2. In the Application Type Selection dialog box, select the application
type and click Continue.
3. In the New/Open Site Edition Application dialog box, click the New
tab.
4. Type the name and description, select a default language, and click
Create.
The default language shown in the New tab is the operating system
language. You can accept the default or, in the Language list, select any
language that Windows supports. For more information, see Setting
up language switching on page 219.

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To add an area to the application:

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
application and select New Area.
2. In the New Area dialog box, specify a name and description and click
OK.

To add an HMI server:

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
application or an area name, select Add New Server, and then select
HMI Server.
2. In the Add HMI Server Wizard, in the Select Operation window, click
Create a new HMI server.
3. (optional) To add the PlantPAx Library of Process Objects including
HMI faceplates, global objects, images, tags, and macros, click Add
PlantPAx Library of Process Objects.
4. Click Next.
5. Type a name and description for the HMI server, specify the host
computer if applicable, and click Finish.
For information about other options in the Select Operation window, see
Adding an HMI server on page 136.

Step 2: Create a graphic Adding an HMI server to an application also creates the HMI project, which
contains all of the editors and productivity tools you need to create and
display modify application components.
For a list of editors and their functions, see Opening component editors on
page 48. For instructions about using the editors, click Help in the editor
dialog boxes.
This example uses the Graphics editor to create a graphic display, and then
add a graphic object to that display.

To create a display
• In the FactoryTalk View Explorer window, expand the HMI server and
the Graphics folder, right-click Displays and select New.

To add a graphic object to the display

1. In the Toolbox, select Drawing > Rectangle. For information about
using the Graphics editor, see Creating graphic displays on page 271
and Creating graphic objects on page 319.
2. Drag the mouse to draw the approximate size that the rectangle is to
be.

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Step 3: Test run the In FactoryTalk View Studio, you can only test one graphic display at a time. To
test navigating among displays, run the application in a FactoryTalk View
application in FactoryTalk SE Client.
View SE Client To run the new application you just created, create a FactoryTalk View
SE Client configuration file that specifies:
• The type and name of the application the client will connect to.
• The display to run initially, when the client starts. This can be the new
display you just created.
Tip: While you are developing an application, it is recommended that you test run the
application in a FactoryTalk View SE Client at various stages. That way, you can resolve
issues that might occur only at runtime.

To create and run an SE Client configuration file:

1. Select Start > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk View Site Edition
Client.
2. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Wizard, click Create a FactoryTalk
View SE Client configuration file, and follow the on-screen
instructions. For details about options in the wizard, click Help.
3. When complete, click Run. The graphic display you specified to run
initially will open in the FactoryTalk View SE Client window.
When you are finished testing, use the close button on the client’s title bar to
close the client window.

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 Chapter 2

Exploring FactoryTalk View Studio

This chapter describes:

• What FactoryTalk View Studio is.
• How to open an application in FactoryTalk View Studio.
• Parts of the FactoryTalk View Studio main window.
• Working in the Explorer window.
• Techniques for working in editors.
• Printing from FactoryTalk View SE.
About FactoryTalk View FactoryTalk View Studio is the design-time environment for FactoryTalk View
that provides the editors and tools you need to develop and test network
Studio
distributed, network station, and local station human-machine interface
(HMI) applications. It contains editors for creating complete applications,
and contains client and server software for testing the applications you create.
You can also use FactoryTalk View Studio to set up FactoryTalk Security
services for the applications you develop. For more information, see Setting
up security on page 77.
Tip: Optionally, you can use the FactoryTalk Administration Console to develop, manage, and secure
multiple applications. However, you cannot use the FactoryTalk Administration Console to create or
modify HMI servers and HMI project components.

To start FactoryTalk View Studio, do one of the following:

• Select Start > FactoryTalk View Studio.
• Use the command-line. For details, see Start FactoryTalk View Studio
using a command on page 43.
Start FactoryTalk View You can start FactoryTalk View Studio using a command.
Studio using a command
To start FactoryTalk View Studio using a command
1. In Windows Run command, enter a command with the following
syntax:
(64-bit OS) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Rockwell
Software\RSView Enterprise\VStudio.exe" /o
/type:application_type /app:application_name
[/lang:startup_language]
where C: is the drive to which FactoryTalk View is installed.
2. Press Enter.

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Command-line parameters The following table shows the parameters used in the command to start
FactoryTalk View Studio. Command-line parameters are case-insensitive.
and examples However, if a specified value includes a space, be sure to enclose the value in
quotation marks (for example, "value with spaces").
Parameters Descriptions
/O Starts FactoryTalk View Studio.
/Type:value Specifies the application type. The value is one of:
• sed – SE Network Distributed
• sen – SE Network Station
• sel – SE Local Station
• med – Machine Edition
/App:value Specifies the application to be opened.
/Lang:value Specifies the startup language. The value is a Locale ID in Decimal.

The following examples show how to use the commands.

• To start FactoryTalk View Studio for SE and open the InstantFizz
application in default language, type the following command:
"C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\RSView
Enterprise\VStudio.exe" /o /type:sed /app:InstantFizz
• To start FactoryTalk View Studio for SE and open the FTViewDemo
application in French (France), type the following command:
"C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\RSView
Enterprise\VStudio.exe" /o /type:sed /app:FTViewDemo
/Lang:1036

About FactoryTalk Security If FactoryTalk Security services are used to secure parts of an application, to
perform certain tasks, users must have the necessary security permissions.
permissions
For example, to create or modify the properties of an application, you must at
least be allowed the Common actions Read, List Children, Write, and Create
Children, at the FactoryTalk Directory that manages the application.
If you receive a FactoryTalk Security message while trying to perform such a
task, contact your system administrator about permissions you might require.
For an overview of FactoryTalk Security services, see Setting up security on
page 77.

Opening an application in When you start FactoryTalk View Studio, the Application Type Selection
dialog box opens. You can select:
FactoryTalk View Studio
• View Site Edition (Network Distributed) to create or open a
FactoryTalk View SE network application (also called a network
distributed application).
• View Site Edition (Network Station) to create or open a FactoryTalk
View SE network station application.
• View Site Edition (Local Station) to create or open a FactoryTalk
View SE local application (also called local station application).

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• View Machine Edition to create or open a FactoryTalk View Machine
Edition application. For information about developing machine-level
applications, see FactoryTalk View Machine Edition User’s Guide.

To open an existing application:

1. Select Start > FactoryTalk View Studio.
2. In the Application Type Selection dialog box, select the application
type and click Continue.
3. On the Existing tab, select the application and click Open.
Tip: If the existing application is not set up to support multiple languages and the <Select a
Language> is shown in the Language list, you must select a language before you can open
the application. For more information, see Setting up language switching on page 219.

Resolving access problems If you have problems accessing the HMI projects folder, you might have to
change your permissions. To open an application in FactoryTalk View Studio,
to the HMI Projects folder users need Windows read and write access to the folder that contains the
HMI projects.
A Windows user in the Power Users category might not have write access.

To set up write access for Power Users:

1. In Windows Explorer, right-click the HMI Projects folder, and then
select Properties.
Tip: The default path for the HMI projects folder is C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\RSView
Enterprise\SE\HMI projects.
2. In the Security tab, select Power Users from the list of group or user
names.
3. In the Permissions list under the list of names, beside Full Control,
select the Allow check box.
Opening the InstantFizz To familiarize yourself with the FactoryTalk View Studio development
environment, you can open the InstantFizz application that is installed with
application
FactoryTalk View SE.

To open the application:

1. Select Start > FactoryTalk View Studio.
2. In the Application Type Selection dialog box, select View Site Edition
(Network Distributed) and click Continue.
3. In the Existing tab, select InstantFizz and click Open.
Parts of the FactoryTalk The following illustration shows an overview of the main FactoryTalk View
Studio window.
View Studio main window

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Many elements are common Windows elements and are not described here.
The following are described because of their importance when using
FactoryTalk View Studio.
Item Name Description
1 Menu bar Contains the menu items for the active window. Each editor has its own set of menus.
2 Toolbar Contains commonly used menu items providing quick access to the items without opening the menu.
All FactoryTalk View editors use the standard toolbar. The Graphics editor has additional toolbars that are shown when
you open a graphic display, a global object display, or a library.

3 Explorer window The main tool for working in FactoryTalk View Studio. Provides access to the editors that you use to set up an application
and create its components.
4 Workspace The blank area of the FactoryTalk View Studio window. You can drag icons to the workspace from the Explorer to open
editors and graphic displays.
5 Toolbox It is a searchable toolbox containing graphic objects.
Right-click objects to add frequently used ones to Common Objects or to show the objects in a list view. Type the object
name in the search box, and objects are filtered as you type.
6 Object Explorer Shows a list of all the objects on the current graphic display. Clearing the check box of an object hides it from the
graphic display.
Grouped objects are listed as expandable items in the tree, with a + icon.
7 Diagnostics list Shows messages about system activities. You can specify the types of messages to show in the Diagnostics List, move
the list, resize it, and clear the messages in it.

Workbook mode Workbook mode provides a different way to switch between open windows in
the FactoryTalk View Studio workspace.
In workbook mode, windows are tabbed, making them easy to identify and
select.
To switch between workbook and normal modes, from the View menu, choose
Workbook Mode.

Showing and hiding items in

the main window

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To show or hide elements of the main window (except the menu bar), select
items on the View menu: if there is a check mark beside an item, the item is
visible; if there is no check mark, the item is hidden.

In this example, the Status Bar is visible and the Standard toolbar is visible,
while the rest is hidden.

Working in the Explorer The Explorer tree is the main tool for working in FactoryTalk View Studio. It
provides access to the editors you use to set up an application, and to create
window and modify its components.

Moving the Explorer window To undock the Explorer, use one of these methods:
• Click the Explorer’s title bar, and then drag the window. To prevent the
Explorer from docking automatically, press and hold the Ctrl key as
you drag.
• Double-click the Explorer’s title bar. This makes the Explorer float. You
can then drag it to a new position, or double-click the title bar again to
automatically dock it.
• Right-click the Explorer’s title bar, and then select whether you want to
make the Explorer float or hide it.

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As long as it is undocked, you can resize the Explorer. To do this, click an edge
or corner of the window, and then drag until it’s the size you want.

Opening and closing folders The Explorer uses folders to organize editors.

To open or close a folder, use one of these methods:

• Click the + or – symbol beside the folder’s icon.
• Double-click the folder.
• Click the folder, and then press Enter to open or close the folder,
depending on its current state.
Organize graphic displays You can organize graphic displays with folders in FactoryTalk View Studio.

To organize graphic displays in folders

1. In the FactoryTalk View Explorer window, expand the HMI server and
the Graphics folder, right-click Displays and select New Folder.
2. In the Save dialog box, enter a name for the folder and click OK.
3. Create displays in the folder, or drag and drop displays to the folder.
The created folders are logical ones that do not have representation in
an HMI project file structure on a hard drive or impact runtime display
navigation.

Opening component editors Use the editors in FactoryTalk View Studio to create or modify application
components. Editors are represented by icons in the Explorer window, or by
items in menus.
To open an editor, use one of these methods:
• Double-click on one of the components in an application (for example,
a display).
• Drag the editor’s icon from the Explorer to the workspace.
• Right-click the editor’s icon, and then click New or Open.
Tip: If the editor can create multiple components, the shortcut menu contains New. If the
editor can only open a single component, the menu contains Open.
• From the Tools or Settings menu, select the editor you want to open.
Following is a list of FactoryTalk View SE editors and their functions. If you
can open an editor from the FactoryTalk View Studio menu bar, the name of
the menu is noted.

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To do this Use this editor
Set up runtime security accounts for FactoryTalk View, assign security codes to users Runtime Security (Settings menu)
and groups, and assign login and logout macros.
Assign security codes to FactoryTalk View commands and macros. Runtime Secured Commands (Settings menu)
Specify the type of system activity to be logged and where, when, and how it will be Diagnostics Setup (Tools menu)
logged.
TIP: The settings you specify in this editor apply only to the computer you are using.
Add languages to an application, set up a default language, and export and import text Languages (Tools menu)
strings.
Create server-side script with Windows PowerShell. Scripts
Open a command line to run FactoryTalk View commands and macros. Command Line
Create HMI tags. Tags
Create graphic displays and global object displays, or open the graphic libraries to use Graphics (Displays, Global Objects, or Libraries icon)
the library objects.
Add images to an application that are to be used repeatedly in graphic displays. Images
Create parameter files, to specify tags whose values will replace tag placeholders in Parameters
graphic displays at runtime.
Create multiple recipes, with ingredients, tag sets, and data values stored together in a RecipePro+
recipe file.
Create local message files containing trigger values, and the corresponding messages. Local Messages
Create tags whose values are derived from other tags, or from functions. Derived Tags

Create events, which are expressions that trigger FactoryTalk View commands or Events
macros.
Create macros to run series of FactoryTalk View commands. Macros
Re-map the FactoryTalk View SE Client keyboard to run FactoryTalk View commands. Client Keys
Create data log models to specify where, when, and how selected tag values will be Data Log Models
logged.

Creating and modifying The Explorer manages components that represent physical files located in
folders under the application directory.
components
Display components are created using the Graphics editor.

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To display components associated with a particular editor:

Use one of these methods:
• Click the + sign beside the editor’s icon.
• Double-click the editor’s icon.
• Click the editor’s icon, and then press Enter.
Components created with the editor are shown under the editor’s icon in the
tree.

To create a component:
Use one of these methods:
• Drag the editor’s icon into the workspace.
• Right-click the editor’s icon, and then click New.

To open a component:
Use one of these methods:
• Double-click the component.
• Drag the component into the workspace.
• Right-click the component, and then click Open.
Adding components to an 1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
editor’s icon and select Add Component into Project.
application 2. In the Add Component into Project dialog box, locate the existing
component you plan to add and select Open.
Tip: You can also drag and drop components from the Windows Explorer and from the
FactoryTalk View Studio window.

When you use this option, you create a copy of the file in the application.
To select several consecutive components, click the first component you want
to select, press the Shift key, and then click the last component. To select
several individual components, press the Ctrl key, and then click each
component.

Naming components When you name a component in FactoryTalk View Studio, the file name is
created on disk automatically. The component name shown in the Explorer
window becomes part of the file name.
FactoryTalk View supports long file names with a maximum limitation of 260
characters including spaces. When considering a filename, you need to keep
in mind four characters for the extension (.gfx) and all the characters
necessary for the path leading to the file. The remainder would be the number
of characters, including spaces, you can use for a file name.
Different files will be dependent on the path where they reside.

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For example, including spaces, there are 115 characters in the following path
and file name, as the limit is 260, leaving 145 additional characters, including
spaces, allowable:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView
Enterprise\SE\HMI Projects\InstantFizz_SE\Gfx\cip
overview.gfx

Another example path is shown below, it is based on saving a macro:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView
Enterprise\SE\HMI Projects\InstantFizz_SE\Mcr

That is 108 total characters just for the path, 260 - 108 = 142. The filename can
be up to 142 characters including spaces and allowing 4 characters for the
extension.

Using component names Component names can contain spaces, like the graphic display name in the
previous example. When using component names with spaces in commands,
that contain spaces you might need to enclose the component names in double quotes ( " " ).
For example, to load a parameter file with spaces in its name, you would type
the following Display command:
Display Screen1 /P"Bottling Line 1"

Tip: For information about the command syntax for specific FactoryTalk View commands, see the
FactoryTalk View Site Edition Help.

Avoiding names that To avoid problems when issuing commands and macros, do not give macros
the same names as commands. For example, instead of giving a macro the
conflict with commands or name Display, to avoid confusion with the Display command, name the
macros macro DisplayScreen instead.

Deleting, removing, and In FactoryTalk View Studio, when you:

renaming components • Delete a component, the component and the corresponding physical
file are deleted.
• Remove a component, the component is removed from the Explorer
window, but the physical file is not deleted.
• Rename a component, the component and the physical file are both
renamed.

To delete a component and file:

In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window:
• To delete one component, right-click the component, and then select
Delete.
• To delete multiple components, hold Ctrl or Shift to select the
components, and then press Delete.

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To remove a component:
In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
component you want to remove, and then select Remove.

To rename a component:
1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
component you want to rename, and then select Rename.
2. Type the new name, and then click OK.
Restoring a component If you rename a physical file in Windows Explorer, you will no longer be able
to open the corresponding component in FactoryTalk View Studio. You must
remove the component, and then add the renamed file back into the
application.

To restore a component after changing the physical file name:

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
component, and then select Remove.
2. Right-click the icon of the editor used to create the component you
want to restore, and then select Add Component into Project.
For example, to restore a graphic display, right-click the Displays icon.
3. Find and select the renamed physical file, and then click Open.
Techniques for working in Many of the editors you will use to develop a FactoryTalk View application
have similar features, that require similar information. Knowing about these
editors
features saves time.

Gaining quick access to Shortcut menus provide quick access to actions you perform frequently, in
different environments.
common operations
In the Explorer, everything in the tree hierarchy has a shortcut menu, except
the folders. In the Graphics editor, graphic displays and objects in the displays
have shortcut menus.
To open a shortcut menu, position the pointer over an icon, graphic display,
or object, and then right-click.

Browsing lists and The Browse button is beside fields that require input. For example, instead of
typing information in a text box, you can click the Browse button to open:
components
• A list containing valid entries for the text box.
• A dialog box or browser, such as the Tag Browser, in which you can
search for and select a valid entry.
• An editor, in which you can create a valid entry.
Supplying tag names Tags are stored in devices, data servers, and in the HMI tag database.

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To supply a tag name, use one of these methods:
• Type the name of the tag. You do not have to create the tag in order to
use its name, but be sure to create the tag later, or errors will be
reported at runtime.
• Click the Browse or Tags button (whichever is available) to open the
Tag Browser, where you can select or create a tag.
For more information about tags, see Working with tags on page 161.

Selecting and building You can use FactoryTalk View commands to interact with and control
application components. Most commands accept parameters for added
commands precision and control.
You can set up keys and graphic objects to run commands at runtime. You can
also run commands from the HMI server’s command line, or create a list of
commands in a macro, and run the macro in places where the commands are
required.
Use the Command Wizard for assistance with selecting and building
commands. For information about specific FactoryTalk View commands, click
Help.

To open the Command Wizard, use one of these methods:

• Click the Browse button beside a text box where a command is
expected, for example, in the Press action text box for a button object,
or in the Command Line.
• Double-click in a box where a command is expected or in the Macros
editor.
• In the Command Line, Runtime Secured Commands editor, Events
editor, and Macro editor, from the Edit menu, select Commands.

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Building expressions Many editors use expressions to compute values based on tags and functions.
Expressions can be complex logical expressions, or they can be tag names.
For more information, see Creating expressions on page 405.

Printing from FactoryTalk From each FactoryTalk View SE editor, you can print selected items or the
editor’s entire contents.
View SE

To print selections:
1. Select the item you want to print, for example, a record in an editor’s
spreadsheet.
2. From the File menu, select Print.
3. Under Print Range, select Selection.

To print the entire contents of the window:

1. From the File menu, click Print.
2. Under Print Range, click All.
Selecting a printer You must install a printer before you can select it.
FactoryTalk View can print to a network printer. For information about
installing and setting up printers, see your Windows documentation.

To select a printer:
1. In any FactoryTalk View editor, from the File menu, choose Print
Setup.
2. If you do not want to use the default printer, specify another printer.
3. Choose the appropriate orientation and paper options.
Tip: Print Setup settings apply to the development computer only. If the application will run
on a different computer, you must also set up a printer on that computer.

Printing at runtime To print graphic displays at runtime, use the PrintDisplay command.
To let an operator print specific displays, provide a way to run the command
for these displays. For example, create a button object, display key, or client
key using PrintDisplay as the press action.
When you use the PrintDisplay command, FactoryTalk View prints the entire
display, including parts that are covered by other displays. To print an image
of whatever shows on a specified monitor, use the ScreenPrint command.
For more information about the commands, see the FactoryTalk View Site
Edition Help.

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 Chapter 3

Planning an application

This chapter describes:

• Understanding the process you are automating.
• Planning the layout of the network.
• Planning communications.
• Planning how to monitor and control alarms.
• Deciding when to use HMI tags.
• Designing a dependable control system.
• Setting up the runtime application.
• Designing a system that is easy to deploy and maintain.
• Integrating with other applications, and customizing the system.
Understanding the process To design an effective control system using FactoryTalk View Site Edition, it
you are automating is important to understand the process you are automating.
Gather information from a variety of sources, and pay attention to details that
might affect the overall performance of the system. To get planning
underway:
• Talk to operators and other experts who will use the system, to get
their input about ways to optimize plant operations.
• Talk to management and information systems staff, to find out what
they need to support planning and design decisions.
• Break up the process into its constituent parts. This will help you
visualize how parts of the automated system might be distributed over
a network.
• Identify the process variables you need, and their locations in the
programmable controllers or devices.
• Determine which types of data servers the system will use.
• Determine which processes will generate alarms, and how to monitor
alarms.
• Determine which parts of the process should be secured, and the most
efficient ways to restrict user access.
• Assess the need for redundancy in different parts of the system.
Planning the network layout The layout of the network is particularly important to the design of a network
distributed application.
For information about installing the FactoryTalk View SE software, and about
system requirements that might affect the network design, see FactoryTalk
View Site Edition Installation Guide.

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Choosing a Windows For network applications consisting of more than 10 computers, the use of a
domain controller is strongly recommended, but not required. The following
domain or workgroup domain controllers are supported:
• Windows Server 2012
• Windows Server 2012 R2
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2019
Note: Do not install FactoryTalk Directory, FactoryTalk View SE Server, or any other
application software on the same computer as the Windows domain controller. This
configuration is not supported.

Windows workgroups For network distributed applications consisting of 10 computers or fewer,

FactoryTalk View SE can be used in a Windows workgroup network
environment.
When setting up security for applications in a Windows workgroup, it is
recommended that you use the FactoryTalk Directory user accounts. This
simplifies account management, by centralizing security services at the
FactoryTalk Directory.
For information about user accounts, see Setting up security on page 77.

Determining computers You can develop and then test a network distributed application on a single
computer. However, network application components are usually distributed
needed over a network, on multiple computers.
For information about installing the FactoryTalk View SE software, and about
system requirements that might affect the network design, see FactoryTalk
View Site Edition Installation Guide.
This example of a distributed system includes a FactoryTalk Directory server,
FactoryTalk View SE server and client, FactoryTalk Linx data server, and
FactoryTalk View Studio for application development and configuration.

Depending on needs, a network distributed application deployed for

production typically involves the following computers:
• One computer running the FactoryTalk Network Directory server

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FactoryTalk Directory centralizes access to application resources and
components, such as graphic displays and tags, for all FactoryTalk
products participating in a control system.
FactoryTalk Network Directory (also called the Network Directory)
manages FactoryTalk View SE network distributed applications, and
network station applications. All of the client and server computers
participating in a given network distributed application, or network
station application must point at the same Network Directory.
For more information, see Setting up the FactoryTalk Directory on
page 69 and Working with network distributed applications on page
113.
• One or more redundant pairs of computers running FactoryTalk View
SE Server
The HMI servers in an application store HMI project components,
such as graphic displays, and serve the components to application
clients.
HMI servers also perform historical data management (logging), and
contain a database of tags.
The FactoryTalk View SE Server software must be installed on
computers that are to run HMI servers. For redundant HMI servers,
the software must be installed on both primary and secondary (or
backup) HMI server computers.
For more information about redundant HMI servers, see Setting up
FactoryTalk system availability on page 241.
• One or more redundant pairs of computers running FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events Server
• One or more redundant pairs of computers running data servers
Clients communicate through data servers, which provide access to
information in devices and other OPC data servers. For information
about data servers in a FactoryTalk View SE application, see Setting up
communications on page 151 and Working with network distributed
applications on page 113.
Tip: If you use an OPC data server instead of FactoryTalk Linx, it is recommended that you run
the data server on its own, dedicated host computer.
• One or more engineering workstations running FactoryTalk View
Studio
FactoryTalk View Studio is configuration software for developing and
testing FactoryTalk View SE applications.
For information about FactoryTalk View Studio features, see Exploring
FactoryTalk View Studio on page 43.
Tip: FactoryTalk View Studio is also the configuration software for developing FactoryTalk
View ME (ME) applications. For information about FactoryTalk View ME, see FactoryTalk View
ME User’s Guide and the ME Help.
• One or more operator workstations running FactoryTalk View
SE Client

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The FactoryTalk View SE Client software provides a runtime
environment for operators to interact with FactoryTalk View SE
network distributed, network station, and local station applications.
For details about setting up FactoryTalk View SE Clients, see the
FactoryTalk View Site Edition Help.
• One or more maintenance computers running FactoryTalk View SE
Administration Console
The FactoryTalk View SE Administration Console is software for
administering FactoryTalk View SE applications after they are
deployed.
Use the sub-set of editors available in the Administration Console to
make minor changes to an application without installing FactoryTalk
View Studio.
Tip: SE Administration Console will close automatically after being open for two hours.

Planning communications To plan communications for the control system, gather information about:
• The types of controllers or devices in the production line, and the
software that is available for communicating with them. This will help
determine the number of data servers the application needs.
• How the application will access and collect data in the controllers and
devices.
• Which systems need to be redundant, to minimize disruptions to
clients in the event that communications are interrupted. This will
help determine the number of redundant data server pairs the
application needs.
For more information, see Setting up communications on page 151.

Determining how to access To access values in programmable controllers or devices, you can use data
server tags, HMI tags, or a combination of both.
data
For many purposes, you can access the values in controllers or devices
directly, using a data server in the application. For some purposes, you will
need to use tags from an HMI server’s tag database.
To determine which method is most appropriate, you need to know what
kinds of controllers or devices you are using, and how the application will
communicate with the controllers or devices.

Collecting only the Design the control system so only essential data is collected. This will reduce
the processing power required for data collection, and help control the
necessary data amount of traffic on the communication channel or network.
You should also consider data collection requirements when designing the
layout of the programmable controller data tables and the tag database.

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Ideally, to decrease network traffic and optimize system response, tag
addresses should reference contiguous blocks of programmable controller
data tables.

Monitoring and controlling Alarms are an important part of most plant control applications because they
alert operators when something goes wrong.
alarms
An alarm can signal that a device or process has ceased operating within
acceptable, predefined limits, or it can indicate breakdown, wear, or a process
malfunction. Often, it is also important to have a record of alarms and
whether they were acknowledged.
In FactoryTalk View SE, you can use FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services,
to centralize the distribution of alarm information from various devices in
your application, to runtime clients and logs.
For more information about alarm monitoring and control, see Setting up
FactoryTalk alarms on page 183.

Planning an alarm Before deciding on the types of alarm monitoring and control to use in your
system, plan:
monitoring and control
• What conditions will trigger alarms.
system • How operators will be notified of those alarms.
• What information alarm messages should contain.
• What actions will occur in response to those alarms.
• Which alarms will require additional actions that can be supplied
using FactoryTalk View commands.
Advantages of using FactoryTalk Alarms and Events offers a single, integrated set of alarm
information, distributed through supporting alarm servers. This means that
FactoryTalk Alarms and
all clients in a FactoryTalk system can receive a consistent view of
Events services device-based, tag-based, and OPC UA alarm activity.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services are also integrated with FactoryTalk
Security services. This means you can set up FactoryTalk system users and
computers with different levels of access to alarm sources and data.
The decisions you make about setting up alarm monitoring and control will
depend on the design of your FactoryTalk View SE application, the types of
devices the application requires, and the processes you need to monitor for
alarms.

Choosing device-based Use FactoryTalk device-based alarm monitoring with Studio 5000 controllers
that have been programmed using pre-built alarms or alarm instructions.
alarms
Tip: For a list of Studio 5000 controllers that support FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services, see
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Help.

If you use device-based alarms, you only have to program alarms or alarm
instructions once, in the controller: there is no need to create alarm
definitions for HMI tags.

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Since alarm detection takes place in the controller, processing is faster, time
stamps are more accurate since they come from the controller, and alarm
states are preserved more reliably.
FactoryTalk View SE Clients receive device-based alarm data by way of
Rockwell Automation Device Servers (FactoryTalk Linx) that you add to a
FactoryTalk View SE application. For details, see Working with Rockwell
Automation Device Servers on page 195.

Choosing server tag-based FactoryTalk tag-based alarms are set up by specifying alarm conditions for
tags in devices that do not have built-in alarm detection.
alarms
Use tag-based alarms to include these devices in an integrated FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events system.
You can set up tag-based alarms for tags in older programmable controllers
(PLC-5 or SLC 500), for tags in third-party devices communicating through
OPC data servers, or for HMI tags in an HMI server’s tag database.
If you prefer not to set up built-in alarm detection, you can also set up
tag-based alarms for Studio 5000 controllers that do support device-based
alarms.
FactoryTalk View SE Clients receive tag-based alarm data by way of Tag Alarm
and Event Servers that you add to a FactoryTalk View SE application.
For details, see Working with Tag Alarm and Event Servers on page 198, and
Setting up FactoryTalk tag-based alarms on page 199.

Deciding when to use HMI Use HMI tags in an application to provide extended capabilities, such as:

tags • Scaling or offsetting a value before sending it to a programmable

controller or device.
• Security features that prevent unauthorized changes to a tag’s value.
• Flexible addressing. HMI tags do not require hard-coded physical
addresses or device-specific variable names. This means you can re-use
an application with other devices, simply by changing the physical
addresses the tag names are mapped to.
• Descriptive tag names, which you cannot create in some controllers or
OPC servers.
For more information about HMI tags, see Working with tags on page 161.

Designing the HMI tag Before creating an HMI tag database, take the time to plan it. A good design
helps reduce the maintenance time, and can improve device-to-FactoryTalk
database View response time.
Collect the following information:
• Process flowcharts (or process and instrument diagrams)
• A list of programmable controller data table or register addresses for
the application

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Organizing HMI tags Before creating the HMI tags, plan how to organize them:
• Develop naming conventions for the HMI tags. Choose names that are
familiar and logical to everyone. This makes troubleshooting easier.
• Group related HMI tags in ways that make most sense for the
application. For example, group all similar devices, or group related
areas of the plant floor.
To group related HMI tags, you can create folders in the Tags editor.
For greater organization, create nested folders.
Tip: Do not place all HMI tags in the root folder of the database. HMI tags contained in nested
folders do not contribute to the total number of tags in the root folder. It is recommended
that you limit the number of tags in any folder to less than 1000.

Designing a dependable Planning which parts of the control system to secure and which to make
redundant will help you design a more dependable, available system.
control system

Planning how to secure the When planning how to secure the control system, consider:

system • The types of users or groups of users that require access to different
areas of the plant, or parts of the control system.
Tip: Planning security for groups of users is recommended, to simplify management of users
with common security needs.
• Who will have administrative privileges, for example, to set up security
for the system.
• Whether and when users must log on to the system, or change their
passwords.
• Which HMI project components to secure, for example, to prevent
accidental changes to graphic displays, or to control who can write to
certain HMI tags.
• Whether to restrict access to computers in certain areas of the plant.
For more information, see Setting up security on page 77.

Planning to use built-in A complete FactoryTalk system consists of all the networks, devices, and
software applications you have deployed, to monitor and control your plant or
system availability features process.
Helping to ensure that the system can provide data in a secure and predictable
fashion depends on a number of variables.
To minimize data loss and down time, and to help ensure that critical parts of
your system are always available to connected clients, FactoryTalk View SE
provides the health monitoring and redundancy features.
• Server status monitoring of non-redundant and redundant application
servers.
• Disconnected operation. For example, connected clients can continue
to run when the FactoryTalk Directory becomes unavailable.

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• Redundant application servers. In a network distributed application,
you can set up redundancy for application servers. These include
FactoryTalk View SE Servers (also called HMI servers), FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events servers, Device Servers (FactoryTalk Linx), and OPC
data servers (RSLinx Classic or other data servers that comply with the
OPC DA 2.05a, UA 1.02 and 1.03 specification).
• Support for online changes to HMI tags. For information about this
feature, see Modifying HMI tag and alarm properties at runtime on
page 257.
• Save project online edits to both primary and secondary servers. For
information about setting up redundancy options, see Set up HMI
server redundancy options on page 250.
• Network connection monitoring on each computer (clients and
servers) in the system. For information about this feature, see
Monitoring network client and server connections on page 260.
For more information, see Setting up FactoryTalk system availability on page
241.

About redundant In theory, the ideal redundant solution includes at least one backup copy of
everything—hardware, software, networks, and so on. In practice, this is
application servers seldom feasible, or even necessary.
Before setting up redundancy, plan:
• Which components in the system need to have backups—in other
words, decide how much redundancy is necessary.
• Where (on which computers) to locate backup systems.
• The network layout, and calculate the processing load expected for
each computer. This information can help you plan which parts of an
application can share hardware.
In a FactoryTalk View SE network distributed application, you can set up
redundant pairs of HMI servers, Alarms servers, and data servers. For more
information, see Setting up FactoryTalk system availability on page 241.
In addition, you can set up FactoryTalk View SE to send data log and activity
log information to an ODBC-compliant database automatically. You can also
set up an HMI server to buffer data locally if the database becomes
unavailable.
For information about:
• data logging, see Setting up data logging on page 431.
• activity logging, see Logging system activity on page 263.
Setting up the runtime When designing graphic displays, decide on the best ways for users to
navigate through the application. To assist with navigation:
application
• Develop a hierarchy of displays.
• Plan the multi-monitor deployment.
• Create display templates.

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• Apply visual design principles that help users interact with the
displays.
For more information about working with graphic displays and objects, see
Creating graphic displays on page 271 and Creating graphic objects on page
319.

Developing a hierarchy of Well-organized graphic displays present information clearly and consistently
and guide users through the system.
graphic displays
A hierarchy is a series of graphic displays that provide progressively more
detail as users move through them. Design the hierarchy to meet the needs of
all application users, including managers, supervisors, and operators.
Before designing individual graphic displays, plan:
• An application-wide hierarchy of displays that includes overviews and
menus.
• How users will navigate through the hierarchy.
• Which displays to dock inside the FactoryTalk View SE Client window.
For more information, see Setting up navigation on page 395.

Creating templates to To maintain consistency in the appearance of graphic displays in an

application, present the same information and basic functions in the same
ensure consistency places on each display. This makes it easier for users to find similar elements
as they navigate from display to display.
Tip: Use global objects to make templates easier to distribute and maintain. For information about
global objects, see Creating graphic displays on page 271.

To ensure uniformity, develop displays with common elements that act as

templates. Each time you develop a new display, start with a copy of the
appropriate template. For example, a template might contain:
• The company logo.
• A title.
• The date and time.
• Navigation buttons.
Planning the multi-monitor FactoryTalk View SE supports the automatic and dynamic management of
multi-monitor deployment for HMI application displays. This provides you
deployment
more screens to view more information about process operations from a
single workstation.
FactoryTalk View SE multi-monitor deployment offers the following
advantages:
• The monitor configuration is defined per client and can be unique per
operator station.
• A client configuration can support individual configuration of up to six
monitors per HMI client.
• HMI displays can be displayed on the specific pre-configured monitors
or dynamically based on the relative location of originating request.

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• Applications can span multiple monitors. You can easily drag the HMI
content from one monitor to another.
For more information about how to design new applications or migrate
existing applications for multi-monitor deployment, see Designing
applications for multiple monitors on page 66.

Applying visual design When designing graphic displays, apply visual design principles that help
operators and increase their efficiency. Consider employing the following
principles important principles.

Consistency
• Be consistent in the use of symbols and color.
• Be consistent with button labels and button placement.
When you design several displays, place the same kinds of buttons in
the same positions. For example, if there is a Start button in a certain
position in one display, don’t put a Stop button in the same position in
the next display.

Clarity
• Use symbols that are easily recognizable. For example, use the
conventional ISA symbols for tanks and valves, such as the symbols
found in the Symbol Factory library.
• Do not overload the display with information.
• Use standard, clear terminology, and avoid abbreviations or acronyms
that the user might not understand.
• Use colors with recognizable meanings. For example, in Europe and
North America the colors red and green often mean stop and start.
Keep color meanings consistent by assigning red only to Stop buttons,
and green only to Start buttons.
• Use high-contrast color combinations, such as light text on
dark-colored backgrounds.

Usability
• If you’re designing for a touch screen, place important buttons where
they will not be blocked by a pop-up window. Users can’t press a
covered button.
Also ensure that buttons are large enough and spaced far enough apart
for users to touch them easily, even when wearing work gloves.
• Ensure there is always a clear way to move between displays.
Planning how to use trends When designing trends, consider how they will be used in the application. For

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 Chapter 3 Planning an application
example, a trend might be used to:
• Analyze process trends.
• Monitor production efficiency.
• Archive process variables to ensure compliance with government
regulations.
Based on such considerations, you can determine which tags need to be
plotted on the same trend, from a data log model, against time, or against
another tag.
For more information, see Setting up trends on page 445.

Planning runtime language When designing an application that will support multiple languages,
consider:
switching
• How operators will switch between languages at runtime.
For example, you can create buttons that run the Language command
when pressed, for each language the application supports.
• Whether operators will need to switch languages. If so, ensure that
they have sufficient security privileges to open graphic displays that
contain language switching buttons.
• Displaying the different languages consistently and effectively in
graphic displays.
For example, if you use a caption to identify a button set up to switch
to French, the caption will change whenever a language switch occurs.
To avoid this, use an image of the French flag on the button, instead.
For more information, see Setting up language switching on page 219.

Designing a system that is FactoryTalk View SE includes tools and features that can help you create
applications that are easier to use and maintain. For example, you can:
easy to deploy and maintain
• Create global objects and distribute copies of the objects throughout
the application. When you modify the global object, the changes are
applied to all linked copies.
For more information about global objects, see Creating graphic
displays on page 271.
• Create special graphic displays to help deployment and maintenance
personnel test an application, for example, to troubleshoot
communications problems.
• Link parts of an HMI application to logic in programmable controllers,
using the OpenRSLogix5000 command.
For example, you can link actions performed in FactoryTalk View SE to
Sequential Function Charts (SFCs) in Studio 5000 Logix Designer, to
help operators track the state of processes that are running in the
plant.
For details about using the OpenRSLogix5000 command, see the
FactoryTalk View Site Edition Help.

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Chapter 3 Planning an application

Designing the application Behavior that is appropriate in a single-user environment might not be
appropriate for multiple users.
for multiple users
When designing a network distributed application, consider issues such as
the following:
• If a graphic display that is to run on several clients uses a shutdown
macro to stop a derived tags file, closing the display on any of the
clients will stop derived tags processing.
Since derived tags processing occurs at the HMI server, this would
affect all clients that require the derived data. For more information
about derived tags, see Adding logic and control on page 471.
• Since tag values are obtained globally, across a network distributed
application, do not use them to store local information. For example, if
you use a tag value to indicate the last display shown, all clients
connected to the application will receive the same tag value.
Designing applications for An application designed for a single monitor can be deployed to an operator
multiple monitors station with multiple monitors without additional engineering.

A single monitor can be configured to be a multi-display area. This allows you

to easily take advantage of very large resolution monitors without third party
drivers or special hardware.

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 Chapter 3 Planning an application
To design applications for the multi-monitor deployment, in the SE client
configuration file, enable the multi-monitor option and configure each
monitor accordingly. For more information about FactoryTalk View SE Client
Wizard, see FactoryTalk View SE Help.

Example 1: Migrate existing applications for multiple monitors

1. In the FactoryTalk View SE Wizard, open the existing configuration
file.
2. In the Advanced settings page, select Multi-monitor and configure
each monitor accordingly, such as monitor size, monitor layout and
initial displays.
Tip: If needed, specify a navigation display as the initial display for each monitor. This helps
navigate between different displays.
3. Save and test the client configuration file.

Example 2: Design new applications for multiple monitors

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, design and develop your applications.
2. If needed, in the Display command, use the /M and /position
parameters to specify the monitor and window position where a
display is shown. For more information about the Display command,
see FactoryTalk View SE Help.
3. In the FactoryTalk View SE Wizard, create a client configuration file
and specify the startup components.
4. In the Advanced settings page, select Multi-monitor and configure
each monitor accordingly, such as monitor size, monitor layout and
initial displays.

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Chapter 3 Planning an application
5. Save and test the client configuration file.
Integrating with other If you regularly require data from programs such as Microsoft Excel, or
Microsoft SQL Server, consider using the FactoryTalk View SE Client object
applications and
model and display code with VBA to integrate these applications with
customizing the system FactoryTalk View SE.
You can also use the FactoryTalk View SE Client object model to customize the
control system in the following ways:
• Create custom alarm events. You can write alarm detection algorithms
using PLC logic, and then create events in FactoryTalk View SE to
respond to the algorithms.
• Validate operator input. Use VBA logic to validate the operator’s input,
for example, to ensure that the value an operator enters in a numeric
input object falls within 10 percent of the value of another numeric
input object.
• Create custom forms for operators. You can use VBA to create custom
forms, for example, pop-up dialog boxes that an operator can interact
with at runtime.
You can also use VBA logic to validate operator input, for example, to
ensure that the value an operator enters in a numeric input object falls
within the correct range of values.
• Design intuitive graphic displays. Use the FactoryTalk View SE Client
object model to provide ActiveX controls with data, for use in graphic
displays.
For example, use list boxes or combo boxes in graphic displays to allow
an operator to select options such as recipe items.
• Manipulate the FactoryTalk View SE Client window. Write VBA code
to arrange graphic displays based on the size of the FactoryTalk View
SE client window. This allows you to adapt an application dynamically
to various desktop sizes and resolutions.
• Send custom messages to the Diagnostics log. Send specific messages
to the Diagnostics List and Diagnostics log, to record operation
conditions and events through VBA code.
• Access HMI tag database. The FactoryTalk View SE Client object model
allows you to manage HMI tags and tag values through VBA code.
• Secure the system. The FactoryTalk View SE Client object model allows
you to obtain security information about who is using the system, and
to use the security information and events to control access to the
system.
For example, you can restrict a user’s access to a graphic display by
creating code that opens the graphic display only when the user is
logged in with a particular security code.

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 Chapter 4

Setting up the FactoryTalk Directory

This chapter describes:

• What the FactoryTalk Directory is.
• Using the FactoryTalk Directory in a networked system.
• How to specify the location of the FactoryTalk Network Directory
server.
• What happens if the Network Directory server is unavailable.
About FactoryTalk FactoryTalk Directory centralizes access to application resources and
components, such as graphic displays and tags, for all FactoryTalk products
Directory
participating in a control system.
Like a telephone directory or electronic address book, the FactoryTalk
Directory provides a lookup service for the parts of an application, so that they
can find each other on a single computer or over a network.
Application components can be stored in their original environments and
made available to all clients, without the need for duplication.
FactoryTalk View Site Edition applications use two types of FactoryTalk
Directory:
• FactoryTalk Local Directory (also called the Local Directory) manages
applications that are confined to a single computer, for example,
FactoryTalk View SE local station applications. The Local Directory
must reside on the same computer as the local station application.
• FactoryTalk Network Directory (also called the Network Directory)
manages FactoryTalk View SE network distributed applications, and
network station applications. All of the client and server computers
participating in a given network distributed application, or network
station application must point at the same Network Directory.
Both the Local and the Network Directory are installed with the FactoryTalk
Services Platform. For more information, see the FactoryTalk View Site Edition
Installation Guide.

FactoryTalk Directory in a FactoryTalk Directory is one of a set of FactoryTalk common services, used by
FactoryTalk View Site Edition and other Rockwell Automation software
networked system products.
An automation and control system that uses FactoryTalk services, and
integrates FactoryTalk products and components, is known as a FactoryTalk
system. A complete FactoryTalk system consists of all the networks, devices,

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Chapter 4 Setting up the FactoryTalk Directory
and software applications you have deployed, to monitor and control your
plant or process. Helping to ensure that the system can provide data in a
secure and predictable fashion depends on a number of variables.
For an overview of FactoryTalk services, see About FactoryTalk systems on
page 115.
The following illustration shows how a FactoryTalk View SE application might
be deployed in a networked FactoryTalk system, along with the Network
Directory, FactoryTalk Linx, and RSLogix software.

In the illustration, computers hosting FactoryTalk View SE Clients and

FactoryTalk View Studio software use the Network Directory to find
computers hosting FactoryTalk View SE Servers.
This lets clients gain access to various application services and components,
such as FactoryTalk View graphic displays and data log models.
The FactoryTalk View SE Servers in the system use the Network Directory to
find FactoryTalk Linx, to gain access to data on network devices (for example,
PLC-5 and Studio 5000 devices), and to update the graphic displays.

FactoryTalk Directory in a In FactoryTalk View Studio, when you create or open an application, the
FactoryTalk Directory that manages the application is represented at the top
FactoryTalk View SE of the Explorer tree, as shown in the these illustrations:
application

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Item Description
1 Host computer
2 Application
3 Area
4 HMI server
5 HMI project components and editors
6 FactoryTalk system settings

For a local station application (shown on the left), the Explorer displays a Local
icon and the name of the Local Directory’s host computer. For a network
distributed application or a network station application, the Explorer displays
a Network icon and:
• LOCALHOST, if the Network Directory server is located on the same
computer as FactoryTalk View Studio.
• The host computer name, if the Network Directory is located on a
different computer.
Local station applications In a FactoryTalk View SE local station application, the Local Directory,
FactoryTalk View SE Server, and FactoryTalk View SE Client all must be
installed and run on the same computer.
If necessary, you can add one FactoryTalk Linx data server, or one FactoryTalk
Tag Alarm and Event Server, which also must be installed locally. In a local
station application, only OPC data servers can be installed on other
computers.
For more information, see Working with local station applications on page
143.

Network applications Network applications include:

• Network distributed applications

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Chapter 4 Setting up the FactoryTalk Directory
For more information, see Working with network distributed
applications on page 113.
• Network station applications
For more information, see Working with network station applications
on page 131.
A network application can be one of several managed by the same Network
Directory, or it might be the only application using the directory server.
Tip: Each computer on the network can connect to only one computer running the Network Directory
software. You cannot connect a single computer to multiple FactoryTalk Directory servers.

Multiple applications, one Network Directory computer

A single Network Directory can manage multiple applications that represent
different control systems, all hosted on the same network. This means you can
run multiple applications managed by the same Network Directory
simultaneously, each application controlling a different facility.
Application users can be members of different domains. If you are not using
domains, all of the computers that connect to the network distributed
application must be in the same Windows workgroup.
Tip: The collective limits of applications (including HMI servers, data servers, components, etc.)
cannot exceed the system limits. For more information, see System sizing recommendations on page
248.

Multiple applications, multiple Network Directory computers

A network can also contain more than one computer running the Network
Directory software. This is useful for running multiple network distributed
applications that:
• Are separated by a slow network, for example, a wide-area network
(WAN).
To do this, set up one Network Directory at each site on either side of
the WAN.
• Do not need to share data with each other.
Specifying the FactoryTalk For FactoryTalk View SE network applications, you need to decide which
computer will host the Network Directory server.
Directory server location
You can run the Network Directory server on the same computer as other
FactoryTalk View software components, or you can run it alone, on a
dedicated computer.
Note: Do not install FactoryTalk Directory, FactoryTalk View SE Server, or any other application
software on the same computer as the Windows domain controller. This configuration is not
supported.

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 Chapter 4 Setting up the FactoryTalk Directory
After installing FactoryTalk View SE, and before you run FactoryTalk View
Studio, the FactoryTalk View SE Client, or the FactoryTalk View SE
Administration Console, you must use the FactoryTalk Directory Server
Location Utility to specify:
• Localhost on the computer running the Network Directory server.
• The name of the computer running the Network Directory server, on
every other computer that is to participate in the application.
For information about deploying all the parts of a network distributed or
network station application, see the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Installation
Guide.

To specify localhost on the Network Directory server computer:

1. On the computer hosting the Network Directory server, select Start >
Rockwell Software > Specify FactoryTalk Directory Location.
2. You are prompted to log on. Type your name and password, and then
click OK.
To use the FactoryTalk Directory Server Location Utility, you must log
on as a user with administrative privileges at the Network Directory
and in Windows, on the computer where the utility is running.
3. In the FactoryTalk Directory Server Location Utility, if localhost is
shown under Computer hosting directory server, click OK.

If localhost is not shown, click the Browse button.

4. In the FactoryTalk Directory Server Configuration dialog box, click
This computer, and then click OK.

5. Click OK.

To specify the directory location on application computers:

1. In the notification area, click the FactoryTalk Directory icon.
2. The notification shows the connection state.

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Chapter 4 Setting up the FactoryTalk Directory
Tip: To use the FactoryTalk Directory Server Location Utility, you must log on as a user with
administrative privileges at the Network Directory and in Windows, on the computer where
the utility is running.
3. In the FactoryTalk Directory Server Location Utility, click the Browse
button.

4. In the FactoryTalk Directory Server Configuration dialog box, click

Remote computer, type the name of the Network Directory server, and
then click OK.

To find and select the Network Directory server computer, click the
Browse button.
5. Click OK.
Tip: To specify a remote computer as the Network Directory server, you must log on as a user
with administrative privileges at the Network Directory and in Windows, on the remote
computer.
6. Repeat steps 1 to 5 on each computer that is to participate in the
network distributed application.
Setting up FactoryTalk For FactoryTalk View SE local station applications, you do not need to do
anything to set up the Local Directory, as the location is set to localhost
Directory for local station
automatically, during installation of the software.
applications
For information about deploying all the parts of a local station application,
see the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Installation Guide.

What happens if the The Network Directory server cannot be made redundant. Instead, if the
Network Directory becomes unavailable while client computers are connected
Network Directory server is to an application, the clients continue to run, using a local cache of directory
unavailable information.
There is no need to restart previously connected clients; they will continue to
resolve tag addresses, read and write tag values, acknowledge alarms, and
open graphic displays, even if the tags and displays the clients require were
never used before.
While the Network Directory is unavailable, you cannot modify the structure
of any dependent application.

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 Chapter 4 Setting up the FactoryTalk Directory
For example, you cannot add areas or servers to the application, create new
security accounts, or change system security policies.
When the Network Directory is available again, all dependent clients in the
system resume using the directory automatically.

Monitoring the Network FactoryTalk Directory centralizes access to application resources and
components, such as graphic displays and tags, for all FactoryTalk products
Directory status participating in a control system.
FactoryTalk Network Directory (also called the Network Directory) manages
FactoryTalk View SE network distributed applications, and network station
applications. All of the client and server computers participating in a given
network distributed application, or network station application must point at
the same Network Directory.
In the Log On to FactoryTalk dialog box, you can view the current status of the
active Network Directory server:
• (Connected) means all FactoryTalk products and components
participating in a FactoryTalk system located on the current computer,
are connected to and communicating with the Network Directory
server computer.
• (Read-only) means FactoryTalk system participants on the current
computer are disconnected from the Network Directory server and are
retrieving information from a local cache.
• (Unknown) means the connection status is temporarily unknown, for
example, because the system is starting up and waiting to determine
which server is active, or is unable to determine the current status.

To check the status of the Network Directory server:

1. In the notification area, click the FactoryTalk Directory icon.
2. The notification shows the connection state.

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 Chapter 5

Setting up security

This chapter describes:

• What FactoryTalk Security services provide.
• Gaining initial access to a FactoryTalk system.
• Logging users on to and off from FactoryTalk View SE.
• Deciding how to secure a FactoryTalk View SE application.
• How to set up FactoryTalk accounts in FactoryTalk View SE.
• How to set up runtime security for HMI project components.
• Other ways to control runtime access to an application.
• Working with FactoryTalk Security accounts.
• Choosing the types of accounts to use.
• How to set up user and computer accounts.
• How to set up system-wide policies.
• Setting up security for FactoryTalk system resources.
• Understanding inherited permissions.
• Performing secured tasks in FactoryTalk View SE.
About FactoryTalk Security For FactoryTalk products like FactoryTalk View SE, the FactoryTalk Directory
stores information about which users are allowed access to the parts of a
services
control system.
FactoryTalk Security uses this information to provide two basic services:
• User authentication verifies the user’s identity, and whether a request
for service actually originated with that user.
• User authorization verifies the user’s request to access a software
resource, based on the access rights and privileges defined for that
user.
For example, when a FactoryTalk View SE network distributed application
user logs on to FactoryTalk View Studio, FactoryTalk Security services verify
the user’s identity first.
If authentication succeeds, security services check permissions assigned to
the user, to authorize actions performed on secured parts of the application.
In a network distributed application, security services also check whether the
user is allowed to perform authorized actions on the current computer.
In addition, FactoryTalk Security services manage system-wide policies, such
as how often users must change their passwords, or whether users can back
up and restore applications. For more information about these policies, see
Setting up system-wide policies on page 100.

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Chapter 5 Setting up security

About the FactoryTalk FactoryTalk Directory centralizes access to application resources and
components, such as graphic displays and tags, for all FactoryTalk products
Directory participating in a control system.
• FactoryTalk Local Directory (also called the Local Directory) manages
applications that are confined to a single computer, for example,
FactoryTalk View SE local station applications. The Local Directory
must reside on the same computer as the local station application.
• FactoryTalk Network Directory (also called the Network Directory)
manages FactoryTalk View SE network distributed applications, and
network station applications. All of the client and server computers
participating in a given network distributed application, or network
station application must point at the same Network Directory.
FactoryTalk Security settings are stored separately for a Local Directory and a
Network Directory, even if both are in use on the same computer.
This means that you must set up security permissions twice—once for the
Local Directory and once for the Network Directory—to give one user access
to a local station and a network distributed application on the same computer.
For more information about the FactoryTalk Directory, see Setting up the
FactoryTalk Directory on page 69.

Finding more information For information about FactoryTalk Security from a FactoryTalk system
perspective, and for detailed setup instructions, see the FactoryTalk Security
about FactoryTalk Security System Configuration Guide or FactoryTalk Services Platform Help.
• In FactoryTalk View Studio, select Help > Online Books > FactoryTalk
Security System Configuration Guide.
• In FactoryTalk View Studio, select Help > Contents > FactoryTalk
Services Platform Help.
You can open FactoryTalk Services Platform Help by clicking Help in dialog
boxes used to set up security for FactoryTalk resources.

Gaining initial access to a When you install FactoryTalk View SE, during installation of the FactoryTalk
Services Platform, the Local Directory and the Network Directory are set up
FactoryTalk system on the computer.
As part of directory configuration, these FactoryTalk user groups are created:
• Windows Administrators is a group linked to Windows users with
administrative privileges on the computer.
• Administrators is a group for FactoryTalk users with administrative
privileges.

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 Chapter 5 Setting up security
The following illustration shows where to find these groups in FactoryTalk
View Studio. The Windows Administrators group belongs to the FactoryTalk
Administrators group. Both groups are created during FactoryTalk Directory.

By default, the Windows Administrators group belongs to the FactoryTalk

system Administrators group.
This means that Windows users with administrative privileges on the local
computer have full access to local and network applications, including the
ability to set up security for the FactoryTalk system.

About the All Users account During FactoryTalk Services Platform installation, an account named All
Users is created automatically, at the Local Directory and the Network
Directory.
When you create a local or a network distributed or network station
application, an All Users account is also added automatically to the Runtime
Security list for the application. By default, the account is allowed all runtime
security codes.
All of this means that initially, after the FactoryTalk View SE software is
installed, any FactoryTalk system user you create will be able to open, create,
or modify an application in FactoryTalk View Studio, or run an application in
the FactoryTalk View SE Client.
To retain full access for all users, nothing further is required.
To restrict access to the FactoryTalk system for selected users and computers,
you need to remove the All Users account, create FactoryTalk security
accounts for the users and computers you plan to secure, and then give users
the appropriate security permissions.
For more information, see Deciding how to secure a FactoryTalk View SE
application on page 83.
Tip: The All Users account is visible in the Runtime Security editor, but not in the User Groups folder
that contains other FactoryTalk group accounts. For information about removing All Users from
Runtime Security and from the FactoryTalk Directory, see Removing All Users from the Runtime
Security list on page 89 and About the All Users account on page 79 respectively.

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Chapter 5 Setting up security

Logging users on to and off After the FactoryTalk View SE software is installed, all users have full initial
access to network and local applications on the computer.
from FactoryTalk View SE
There is no need to log on, to run FactoryTalk View Studio, the FactoryTalk
View SE Administration Console, or a FactoryTalk View SE Client. The current
Windows user is automatically logged on to FactoryTalk View SE.
However, you do need to log on and off to change users, or to gain access to
secured parts of the FactoryTalk system.
The following sections describe how to log on to and off from FactoryTalk
View SE software components, and the FactoryTalk Directory.

Logging on to the To log on to the FactoryTalk Directory in the current Windows session, you
can:
FactoryTalk Directory
• Open or run a FactoryTalk View SE application in the FactoryTalk View
SE Client, FactoryTalk View Studio, or the FactoryTalk View SE
Administration Console.
• Use the Log On to FactoryTalk tool.

To open the Log On to FactoryTalk tool:

Select Start > Rockwell Software > Log On to FactoryTalk.
For more information about logging on to the FactoryTalk Directory, see
FactoryTalk Services Platform Help.

About single sign-on Single sign-on is a FactoryTalk Security policy that allows one user access to
multiple FactoryTalk products without having to log on to each product
separately.
Single sign-on is set up as a system policy, and is enabled by default.
As long as single sign-on is enabled, and there is a user logged on to the
FactoryTalk Directory, that user’s credentials are checked first when a
FactoryTalk product is started.

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 Chapter 5 Setting up security
If FactoryTalk Security services authorize the single sign-on user, there are no
further requests to log on in the current Windows session.
Tip: An exception is the Specify FactoryTalk Directory Location tool. To use the tool, or to specify a
remote computer as the Network Directory server, you must log on as a user with administrative
privileges. For details, see Specifying the location of the FactoryTalk Directory server on page 72.

For more information about single sign-on and other FactoryTalk

system-wide policies, see FactoryTalk Services Platform Help.

Logging on to FactoryTalk To log off the current user in FactoryTalk View Studio, or in the FactoryTalk
View SE Administration Console, from the File menu, select Log Off
View Studio <UserName> (where UserName is the name of the current user).
When logging off, you must close the currently open application.
After logging off the current user, from the File menu, you can click Log On to
log on a different user.
Tip: If single sign-on is enabled, changing the FactoryTalk View Studio user does not change the
FactoryTalk Directory user. To change the current directory user, you must use the Log On to
FactoryTalk tool. For details, see Logging on to the FactoryTalk Directory on page 80.

Logging on to a FactoryTalk Following installation of the FactoryTalk View SE software, the All Users
account is automatically added to the Runtime Security list and allowed all
View SE Client runtime security codes.
This gives any FactoryTalk View SE Client user permission to run a client,
open displays, write to tags, and execute commands and macros.
In a secured FactoryTalk system, you must remove the All Users account, add
users to the Runtime Security list, and then give the users the security
permissions needed to run an application. For more information, see
Removing All Users from the Runtime Security list on page 89, Setting up
accounts in the Runtime Security editor on page 86, and Performing secured
tasks in FactoryTalk View SE on page 110, respectively.

Logging on when the client If single sign-on is enabled, when the FactoryTalk View SE Client starts up,
the client will attempt to log on the current FactoryTalk Directory user.
starts up
If there is no user logged on to the FactoryTalk Directory, the client will
attempt to log on the current Windows user if that user is set up as a
FactoryTalk Windows-linked user.

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Chapter 5 Setting up security
If the Windows-linked user is not authorized to run the application, you will
be asked whether another user would like to log on. To open the FactoryTalk
View SE Client Login dialog box (shown in the following illustration), click
Retry.

To force all users to log on when a FactoryTalk View SE Client starts up, you
can disable single sign-on. For details, see FactoryTalk Services Platform Help.

Changing the current user To allow users to log on to a FactoryTalk View SE Client at runtime, provide
them with a way to run the Login (or Logout) command.
while the client is running
For example, in a graphic display, include a button that has the Login
command as the press action. When the current user clicks the button, the
FactoryTalk View SE Client Login dialog box will open.
Tip: If single sign-on is enabled, changing the FactoryTalk View Studio user does not change the
FactoryTalk Directory user. To change the current directory user, you must use the Log On to
FactoryTalk tool. For details, see Logging on to the FactoryTalk Directory on page 80.

Logging on a different user To log on a different user, in the FactoryTalk View SE Client Login dialog box,
type the user name and password of the user that wants to log on, and then
click OK.
Tip: FactoryTalk user accounts that have the same name, whether the accounts are in the current
domain or from another domain, must log in using the syntax domain\user name.

Logging off the current user To allow the current FactoryTalk View SE Client user to log off from the client
at runtime, provide a way to run the Logout command.
at runtime
For example, in a graphic display, include a button that has the Logout
command as the press action. When the current user logs off, the following
events occur:
1. All currently running displays close.
2. The current user’s logout macro runs, and the user is logged off.
For information about user macros, see Specifying login and logout
macros on page 89.
3. If the FactoryTalk View SE Client is using an activation key, the key is
released and made available for other clients to use.
4. The FactoryTalk View SE Client Login dialog box opens, to let another
user log on.

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Tip: You can set up the FactoryTalk View SE Client to log off the current user automatically,
after a period of inactivity. For details, click Help in the FactoryTalk View SE Client Wizard.

Changing the current user’s To allow the current FactoryTalk View SE Client client user to change their
password at runtime, provide them with a way to run the Password
password at runtime command.
For example, in a graphic display, include a button that has the Password
command as the press action. When the current user clicks the button, the
Change Password dialog box opens.

To change a password:
In the Change Password dialog box, type the current password followed by the
new password (twice), and then click OK.
Tip: Whether a FactoryTalk user needs to change passwords, and how often, is set up as a system
security policy. For details, see FactoryTalk Services Platform Help.

Deciding how to secure a As part of designing a complete FactoryTalk control system, consider
how—and to what extent—you want to secure parts of the system.
FactoryTalk View SE
You might decide that you only need to secure FactoryTalk View SE
application applications at runtime; or, you might decide that you need to secure all the
FactoryTalk system resources your application uses.
Make the decision based on what is appropriate for the application and its
users. For example, consider:
• The roles that the different users, software, computers, and network
devices are to play in the FactoryTalk View SE application, and in the
entire FactoryTalk system.
Keep in mind that security settings held at the FactoryTalk Network
Directory apply to all FactoryTalk products participating in a single
network application.
• The types of user groups you want to set up accounts for.
Setting up group accounts is recommended, to simplify management
of multiple users with similar needs. For more information, see
Creating group accounts on page 97.
• Whether some user groups should have access to resources only from
specific computers, or groups of computers.
• Which user groups should be able to create and modify application
components.
• Which user groups should be able to set up security for the application.
For example, decide who is allowed to create or modify user accounts,
or set up system-wide security policies.

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• Which system-wide security policies are appropriate for the entire
control system.
For example, you might require users to change their passwords
periodically, or force users to log on every time they start FactoryTalk
View Studio or a FactoryTalk View SE Client.
• Which user groups should be able to run applications in the
FactoryTalk View SE Client and, in a network distributed application,
which parts of the application users should have access to.
• Which HMI project components—FactoryTalk View commands and
macros, graphic displays, OLE objects, or HMI tags—you need to
secure at runtime.
The choices you make will determine the setup tasks you need to perform.

Securing FactoryTalk View FactoryTalk View SE manages runtime access to applications and to
FactoryTalk View commands and macros, graphic displays, OLE objects, and
SE applications at runtime HMI tags.
These are the tasks involved in setting up runtime security for a FactoryTalk
View SE application:
• In the Runtime Security editor:
• Add the FactoryTalk user and group accounts you want to secure.
• Assign FactoryTalk View security codes (A-P) to the accounts you
add.
• Remove ALL USERS from the list of Runtime Security accounts.
Note: To run an application in the FactoryTalk View SE Client, users and groups in the
Runtime Security list must have at least one FactoryTalk View security code (A-P), in
addition to the Common actions Read and List Children. For more information about
FactoryTalk security permissions, see Performing secured tasks in FactoryTalk View SE
on page 110.
• In FactoryTalk View SE editors, assign FactoryTalk View security codes
(A-P) to the HMI project components you want to secure.

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You perform these tasks in FactoryTalk View Studio, as shown in following
illustration.

Item Description
1 To set up runtime security accounts for an application,
from the Settings menu, select Running Security.
2 To assign security codes to FactoryTalk View commands
and macros, click Runtime Secured Commands.
3 You can also double-click the Runtime Security icon in the
Explorer window.
4 In the Tags and Graphics editor, assign security codes to
HMI tags, graphic displays, and OLE object verbs.

For details, see the following:

• Setting up FactoryTalk accounts in FactoryTalk View SE on page 86
• Setting up runtime security for HMI project components on page 91
• Other ways to control runtime access to an application on page 94
Securing FactoryTalk FactoryTalk Security services manage access to system resources such as the
FactoryTalk Directory, the application itself, areas within the application, and
system resources
participating users, computers, and devices.
These are the tasks involved in securing access to these FactoryTalk system
resources:
• Remove ALL USERS from the FactoryTalk Local or Network Directory.
• Create FactoryTalk accounts for the users, groups, and computers you
want to secure.
• Assign security permissions to FactoryTalk user and group accounts.

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• Set up system-wide security and product policies.
For more information, see the following:
• About FactoryTalk Security accounts on page 95
• Setting up user and computer accounts on page 98
• Setting up system-wide policies on page 100
• Setting up security for FactoryTalk system resources on page 104
• Understanding inherited permissions on page 107
• Performing secured tasks in FactoryTalk View SE on page 110
For comprehensive information and setup instructions, see FactoryTalk
Services Platform Help.

Setting up FactoryTalk To secure a FactoryTalk user’s access to FactoryTalk View SE application

components at runtime, you must set up runtime security for the user by:
accounts in FactoryTalk
• Adding the user’s FactoryTalk account to the Runtime Security list.
View SE • Giving the account at least one FactoryTalk View security code (A-P).
Optionally, you can also specify login and logout macros for Runtime Security
accounts. For more information, see Specifying login and logout macros on
page 89.
After setting up Runtime Security accounts, you can set up the HMI project
components you want to secure. For more information, see Setting up
runtime security for HMI project components on page 91.

Setting up accounts in the When you add a user or group account to the Runtime Security list, you are
creating a reference only, to an existing FactoryTalk security account.
Runtime Security editor
If you want to add a user that does not exist, you must create the FactoryTalk
account first, and then add the account in the Runtime Security editor.
For information about creating FactoryTalk accounts, see Setting up user and
computer account on page 98.
If you are running multiple applications managed by the same Network
Directory, you have to add FactoryTalk accounts to each application
separately.
In a network distributed application containing multiple areas, all of the areas
share the same Runtime Security accounts list.

To open the Runtime Security editor:

In FactoryTalk View Studio, from the Settings menu, select Runtime Security.
You can also double-click the Runtime Security icon in the Explorer window.

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To add users, or to view or modify security codes for the selected account,
click Security Accounts.

To add users and assign security codes to them:

1. In the Runtime Security editor, click Security Accounts.

Items Description
1 Set up security codes by user or action.
2 List of user groups with levels of access to securable HMI
project components.
3 To add FactoryTalk users or groups, click Add.
4 To assign security codes to the selected user or groups,
select the Allow check boxes.

2. In the Security Settings dialog box, in the Permissions tab, select the
User option.
If you prefer to set up permissions by assigning user accounts to the
selected security code, select Action.

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3. Click Add, select the user or group account to add, and then click OK.
Tip: If you are setting up security for a network application, you must select a computer
account with the user account, before you can click OK.
4. In the Runtime Security list, select the account you just added.
5. Select the Allow check box beside the FactoryTalk View Security Codes
that you want to explicitly allow for the selected account.
To select all of codes A to P, select the Allow check box beside All
Actions, or the check box beside the FactoryTalk View Security Codes
heading.
6. Select the Deny check box beside the FactoryTalk View Security Codes
that you want to explicitly deny for the selected account.
Tip: You can also deny a security code by clearing the Allow check box. If you do this, keep in
mind that an explicit Deny always takes precedence, even over an explicit Allow. This is
important if the account you are setting up security for belongs to more than one group.
For example, if John Doe belongs to one group that allows codes ABC, and to another group
that explicitly denies code B, then John Doe will only allow codes A and C. For more
information, see Understanding inherited permissions on page 107.
7. Repeat steps 3 to 6, for each user or group account you want to set up
with Runtime Security.
Example: Setting up Only users assigned the necessary FactoryTalk View security codes can run
runtime access to HMI secured commands, open secured graphic displays, or write to secured HMI
tags at runtime.
components
In this example, three user groups are added to the Runtime Security
accounts list, and given the following security codes:
• The Supervisors group is allowed security codes A through P.
• The Operators group is allowed security codes B, C, and E.
• The Visitors groups is allowed Security B.
Then, the following HMI project components are given security codes:
• A graphic display named Overview has security code B.
• A graphic display named Boiler has security code C.
• The DisplayClientClose command has security code D.
• An HMI tag named BoilerTemp has security code E.
This means that members of:
• The Supervisors group have full runtime access.
• The Operators group can open the Overview and Boiler graphic
displays, and can write to the BoilerTemp tag. Members cannot run the
DisplayClientClose command.
• The Visitors group can only open the Overview graphic display.
If a user belongs to more than one group, the security codes allowed or denied
each group are combined for that user.

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For example, if John Doe belongs to one group that is allowed codes A and B,
and to another group that is allowed C and D, then he is allowed A, B, C, and
D.
Or, if John belongs to one group that allows A, B, C, and D, and to another that
explicitly denies B, then John is allowed only A, C, and D.

Removing All Users from Following installation of the FactoryTalk View SE software, all FactoryTalk
users have full runtime access to network and local applications on the
the Runtime Security list computer.
The All Users account is added automatically to the Runtime Security list, for
each network or local application you create. To set up runtime security for
individual user or group accounts, you must remove the All Users account.
Tip: You cannot remove the All Users account, until you add at least one other account to the Runtime
Security list.

Removing All Users from the Runtime Security list does not delete the
corresponding account from the FactoryTalk Directory.
This means that parts of the control system will remain unsecured for all
users, even after the account is removed. For example, all users will still be
able to create and modify applications in FactoryTalk View Studio.
To restrict access to FactoryTalk system resources, you must also remove All
Users from the FactoryTalk Directory. For details, see About the All Users
account on page 79.

To remove the All Users account from the Runtime Security list:
1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
Runtime Security icon, and then click Open.
2. In the Runtime Security editor’s accounts list, select Security
Accounts.
3. In the Security Settings dialog box, select the ALL USERS account, and
then click Remove.
Specifying login and logout You can assign a login and logout macro to any user or group account listed in
the Runtime Security editor. The macros will run when the user (or users) log
macros
on to or off from the application at runtime.
Any macro component containing any FactoryTalk View command can be a
login or logout macro. For example, a login macro might contain a command
to open a specific graphic display, and a logout macro might contain
commands to redefine sensitive keys.
In a network distribution application, a login or logout macro will only run in
the area where it’s located. For example, if you specify a login macro located in
the Bottling area, when the user logs on to the a FactoryTalk View SE Client,
the macro will run only if the Bottling area is the client’s home area.

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Tip: In a network distribution application, when browsing the login or logout macro, only the macros
from the first created HMI server are shown. To use macros from other HMI servers, enter the
commands contained within them directly in the Login Macro or Logout Macro box.
You specify the client’s home area when you select components for the client configuration file. For
more information, click Help in the FactoryTalk View SE Client wizard.

Items Description
1 Type a macro name, or click the Browser button to find and
select a macro for the selected account.
2 In the accounts list, square brackets [] indicate a user
group.

For more information about logging on and off at runtime, see Logging users
on to and off from FactoryTalk View SE on page 80.
For information about creating macros, see Adding logic and control on page
471.

To assign a login or logout macro to a user account:

1. In the Runtime Security editor, click the name of the user or group
account you want to set up with a login or logout macro.
2. Enter a Login or Logout Macro name, and then click Accept.
To find and select a macro in the Command Wizard, click the Browse
button.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each account you want to have a macro, and
then click Close.
Tip: If the macro’s name contains spaces, you must enclose the name in quotes.

Removing Runtime Security Removing a user or group account from the Runtime Security list does not
delete the corresponding FactoryTalk account from the Network or Local
accounts Directory.

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However, if you delete a user or group from the FactoryTalk Directory, and the
account exists in the Runtime Security list, it will be removed automatically
the next time you save changes in the Runtime Security editor.
You can also remove Runtime Security accounts manually.

To remove accounts from the Runtime Security list:

1. In the Runtime Security editor, click Security Accounts.
2. In the Security Settings dialog box, select the user or group account
you want to remove, and then click Remove.
Setting up runtime security FactoryTalk View SE manages runtime access to FactoryTalk View commands
and macros, graphic displays, OLE objects, and HMI tags.
for HMI project components
You set up security for these HMI project components in FactoryTalk View
Studio, in their respective editors.

Assigning security codes to In the Runtime Secured Commands editor, you can create a list of the
commands and macros to be secured, and then assign a security code to each.
commands and macros
Only users or groups assigned the same security code as a particular
command or macro will be able to run the command or macro at runtime.
Note: Do not restrict access to the Login command.

To assign security to commands and macros:

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, double-click
Settings > Runtime Secured Commands.
2. In Runtime Secured Commands editor, in the Secured Commands
dialog box, click Next until the first empty line in the spreadsheet is
highlighted and the Command field is cleared.
3. In the Command field, type the name of the macro or command you
are setting up security for, or click the browse button (...) to open the
Command wizard and select one.
4. Type a description to provide further information about the macro or
command.
5. Beside the Security Code field, click the down arrow to display the list
of codes, then click one to select it.
6. Click Accept to add the command and its information into the Secured
Commands spreadsheet.
7. Repeat steps 2 through 6 to continue setting up security codes for
commands. When you are finished, click Save to save the changes to
the secured commands list and exit from the Secured Commands
editor.

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For details about options in the Runtime Secured Commands editor, click
Help.

About the In the Runtime Secured Commands editor, the first record in the Commands
list is called Unspecified_Command.
Unspecified_Command
Any commands or macros that are not listed as secured commands will use
the security code selected for the Unspecified_Command.
Initially, the security code is the asterisk ( * ), which means that any user that
has at least one security code will have access to any unspecified commands or
macros.
If you leave the security code for the Unspecified_Command as the asterisk,
you have to list all the FactoryTalk View commands and macros you want to
secure, in the Runtime Secured Commands editor.

Assigning security codes to In the Graphics editor, you can set up security for graphic displays. You can
assign a security code while you are creating a graphic display, or you can
graphic displays assign it later.
Only users or groups assigned the graphic display’s security code will be able
to open the display at runtime. Users must have at least one security code
assigned to them, to open graphic displays assigned an asterisk (*).

To assign security to a graphic display:

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, double-click the
graphic display that you want to secure.
2. Right-click in the display, and then select Display Settings.
3. In the Properties tab of the Display Settings dialog box, in the Security
Code list, select a security code other than the asterisk (*), and then
click OK.

Assigning security codes to In the Graphics editor, you can set up security for a graphic object with OLE
OLE objects verb animation.
Only users or groups assigned the OLE verb’s security code will be able to

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activate or modify the OLE object at runtime. Users must have at least one
security code assigned to activate OLE objects assigned an asterisk (*).
Note: Once an OLE object is activated, there is no way to control what an operator can do within the
associated program. Therefore, the only way you can secure the program is by assigning security to
the OLE object verb in FactoryTalk View.

To assign security to an OLE object:

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, double-click the
graphic display containing the OLE object that you want to secure.
2. Right-click the OLE object, select Animation > OLE Verb.

3. In the OLE Verb tab, select the verb that you want to secure.
4. In the Security list, select a security code other than the asterisk (*).
5. Click Apply.
Assigning security codes to In the Tags editor, you can set up security for an HMI tag, to prevent users
from writing to the tag.
HMI tags
Only users or groups assigned the tag’s security code, will be able to change
the tag’s value at runtime. Users must have at least one security code assigned,
to change the value of tags assigned an asterisk (*).
Tip: You cannot assign a security codes to data server tags. To prevent users from changing the
value of a data server tag, map its address to an HMI tag, and then secure the HMI tag.

To assign security to an HMI tag:

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
Tags icon, and then click Open.

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2. In the Tags editor, select the HMI tag that you want to secure.

3. In the Security list, select a security code other than the asterisk (*).
4. Click Accept.
Other ways to control To further restrict access to a FactoryTalk View SE application at runtime, you
runtime access to an can prevent users from leaving the FactoryTalk View SE Client environment.

application You can also use the FactoryTalk View signature button in an application, to
control selected user actions.

Lock operators into the To lock operators into the runtime environment, you can do one or more of
the following:
runtime environment
• Limit the ability to manipulate graphic displays, by removing the title
bar or minimize and maximize buttons from selected displays.
To do this, in the Display Settings dialog box, clear the check boxes of
Title Bar, Minimize Button, and Maximize Button. For details, see
Creating graphic displays on page 271.
• Limit the ability to manipulate the client window by removing the title
bar, or minimize and maximize buttons from the client.
To do this, in the FactoryTalk View SE Client wizard, clear the check
boxes of Show title bar, and Show system menu and close button. For
details, click Help in the FactoryTalk View SE Client wizard.
• Prevent switching to other applications. To do this, in the FactoryTalk
View SE Client wizard, select the check box, Disable switch to other
applications. For details, click Help in the FactoryTalk View SE Client
wizard.
• Restrict access to the desktop, using the Desklock tool.
To open Desklock, select Start > Rockwell Software > DeskLock. For
details about using DeskLock, click Help within the tool.

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Use electronic signature to To further secure commands, graphic objects, and tags, use built-in signature
functions on the graphic objects or use the signature button.
control user actions
With electronic signature, you can control operator actions at runtime, such
as:
• Setting the value of a tag.
• Running a command.
• Downloading values to programmable controllers or devices.
For more information about the signature button, see Creating graphic
objects on page 319.

About FactoryTalk Security Every user and group of users requiring access to any secured part of a
FactoryTalk View SE application, must have an account set up at the Network
accounts Directory or Local Directory that manages the application.
For a network distributed application, you can also set up accounts for
computers, or groups of computers, in the application.
Since user and computer accounts are stored at the FactoryTalk Directory, the
accounts you create for a FactoryTalk View SE application are available to any
FactoryTalk product using the same directory.
FactoryTalk Security settings are stored separately for a Local Directory and a
Network Directory, even if both are in use on the same computer.
This means that you must set up security permissions twice—once for the
Local Directory and once for the Network Directory—to give one user access
to a local station and a network distributed application on the same computer.

About the All Users account During FactoryTalk Services Platform installation, an account named All
Users is created automatically, at the Local Directory and the Network
Directory.
This means that initially, after the FactoryTalk View SE software is installed,
any FactoryTalk system user you create will be able to open, create or modify
an application in FactoryTalk View Studio.
To restrict access to FactoryTalk system resources for selected users and
computers, you need to remove the All Users account, create accounts for the
users and computers you want to secure, and then give the accounts the
appropriate security permissions.
Removing All Users from the FactoryTalk Directory also removes the account
at all levels of the directory hierarchy, including any application the directory
manages, and the directory System folder.
This means that all users will no longer have full access to all parts of the
control system.
Note: Before removing the All Users account from FactoryTalk Directory, ensure that you have
created at least one other account, that has permission to set up security for the directory. For more
information, see Specifying which users can set up security next.

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To remove the All Users account from the FactoryTalk Directory:

1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the
directory node, and then select Security.
2. In the accounts list, select ALL USERS, and then click Security
Accounts.
3. In the Security Settings dialog box, select the ALL USERS account,
click Remove, and then click OK.
Tip: If you remove All Users from the FactoryTalk Directory, the corresponding account in the
Runtime Security editor will also be removed. To avoid unexpected results before removing
the All Users account, ensure that you have set up the necessary runtime accounts.

Specifying which users can When setting up security, one of the first things you should do is ensure that
only a group of authorized, trusted users is able to change security settings at
set up security the FactoryTalk Directory.
You can do this by allowing only members of the Administrators group
permission to perform the Configure Security action on the FactoryTalk
Directory.
The Administrators group is created automatically, for both the FactoryTalk
Network Directory and Local Directory, during FactoryTalk Services Platform
installation. To give individual users administrative permissions add them to
the Administrators group.
Tip: A Windows Administrators group is also created and added automatically to the FactoryTalk
Administrators group. This means Windows administrators on the computer can also set up security.
For more information, see Gaining initial access to a FactoryTalk system on page 78.

For information about setting up security permissions, see Setting up

system-wide policies on page 100. For details about adding users to a group,
see FactoryTalk Services Platform Help.

Choosing the types of In FactoryTalk View Studio, you can create user and user group accounts that:

accounts to use • Originate at the FactoryTalk Directory.

• Refer to Windows users and groups. These are called Windows-linked
user accounts.
You can modify the properties of the accounts you create. You can also delete,
disable, or reactivate them. For details, see FactoryTalk Services Platform
Help.

Using accounts that When a user that originates at FactoryTalk Directory attempts to access
system resources, FactoryTalk Directory determines whether the user’s name
originate at the FactoryTalk and password are valid, and whether the account is active or locked out.
Directory Use this type of user or group account when you want to centralize security
administration without relying on a Windows domain, or when the security
needs of the Windows network differ from those of the control network.
For example, you might consider FactoryTalk accounts when:

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• Using a Windows workgroup, instead of a Windows domain.
• All operators share the same Windows account to gain access to a
computer.
• The computer is always logged on under a particular Windows
account. In this case, separate accounts allow different operators to
gain different levels of access to the control system, independent of
their access to Windows.
• The computer automatically logs on to the Windows network after
restarting, so it can run control programs automatically.
For more information, see FactoryTalk Services Platform Help.

Using Windows-linked When a Windows-linked user attempts to access system resources,

FactoryTalk Directory relies on Windows to determine whether the user’s
accounts name and password are valid, and whether the account is active or locked out.
Use this type of user or group account when the security needs of the
Windows network match those of the control system. For example, you might
consider Windows-linked accounts when:
• The control system is located in its own domain, perhaps separate
from business systems, and user accounts and passwords can be
shared between Windows and FactoryTalk software programs.
• Operators can log on and off computers with their own Windows
accounts, and the software programs they use start automatically.
For more information, see FactoryTalk Security Help.

Using both types of user If you decide to use both types of FactoryTalk Security user account in an
application, remember that Windows-linked accounts only refer to accounts
account that already exist at the Windows domain.
This means that you cannot convert an original FactoryTalk account to a
Windows-linked account, nor can you add a FactoryTalk account to a
Windows-linked user group.

Creating group accounts Whichever type of FactoryTalk Security account you decide to use, when
setting up security for a FactoryTalk View SE application, it is recommended
that you create group accounts and set up access permissions for them first.
Using group accounts makes it easier to assign and manage permissions for
multiple users with the same security needs. Rather than assigning
permissions to each user separately, you can create accounts for new users,
and then add these users to the appropriate groups.
Later, if you want to change an individual user’s permissions, you can move
the user’s account to a different group. You can also change permissions for
several individual users at once, by modifying the group that the users belong
to.
Tip: You can add Windows-linked groups to FactoryTalk groups. The Windows Administrators group is
added automatically to the FactoryTalk Administrators group during FactoryTalk Directory
installation. For more information, see FactoryTalk Services Platform Help.

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Setting up user and In FactoryTalk View Studio, create user accounts in the Users and Groups sub
folder of the System folder.
computer accounts
The following illustration shows where to find this folder in the Explorer
window.

To create a new user group:

• In the Users and Groups folder, right-click the User Groups folder,
select New > User Group.
For details about options in the New User Group dialog box, click Help.

To create a new user:

• In the Users and Groups folder, right-click the Users folder, select New
> User.
For details about options in the New User dialog box, click Help.

To create a Windows-linked group:

• In the Users and Groups folder, right-click the User Groups folder,
select New > Windows-Linked User.
For details about options in the New Windows-Linked User dialog box,
click Help.

To create a Windows-linked user:

• In the Users and Groups folder, right-click the Users folder, select New
> Windows-Linked User.

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For details about options in the New Windows-Linked User dialog box,
click Help.
Tip: Windows-linked accounts refer to existing Windows accounts. If you want to create a
new Windows user or group, you must do so in Windows. For details, see Windows help.

Creating computer For FactoryTalk View SE network applications, in addition to specifying

which users have access to system resources, you can specify the computers
accounts for network
where they have access.
applications
You do this by creating computer accounts, and then associating the user
accounts with a computer or group of computers, when you set up security
permissions.
If you do not want to associate user accounts with specific computers, you can
use the All Computers account when setting up permissions. This account is
created automatically at the Network Directory.
In FactoryTalk View Studio, create computer accounts in the System folder, in
the Computers and Groups folder.
The following illustration shows where to find this folder in the Explorer
window.

Tip: The Computers and Groups folder does not exist for a local station application. You cannot
create computer accounts for applications that are confined to a single computer.

To create a new computer:

• In the Computers and Groups folder, right-click the Computers folder,
and then select New Computer.
For details about options in the New Computer dialog box, click Help.

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To create a new computer group:

• In the Computers and Groups folder, right-click the Computer Groups
folder, and then select New Computer Group.
For details about options in the New Computer Group dialog box, click
Help.
Setting up system-wide In FactoryTalk View Studio you can set up product and system policies that
policies determine general characteristics of the system.
These specifications are stored at the FactoryTalk Directory and, like all
settings in the System folder, apply to all FactoryTalk View products managed
by a single Local Directory or Network Directory.
The following illustration shows you where to find the Policies folder in the
Explorer window.

Product policies Product policies are sets of features that you can secure for the individual
products in a FactoryTalk system.
In FactoryTalk View SE, you can set up product policies for using HTTPS
protocol or custom web sites under Internet Information Services. For more
information about the custom web site, click Help in the FactoryTalk View SE
Custom Website Setup tool.
For more information about product policies, see FactoryTalk Services
Platform Help.

Use HTTPS protocol For secure communication, HTTPS protocol is recommended.

If the HTTPS protocol is enabled, all FactoryTalk View SE client and server
components will use HTTPS for communication with the default port number
443.
If you select to use trusted certificates only, make sure that:
• The certificate is issued to the computer name.
• The certificate is trusted on each SE client and server computers.

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Note: Computers of a redundant server pair need to trust each other's certificate.
Add the certificate to the local machine certificate store, instead of current user certificate
store. Otherwise, some features such as redundancy may not work correctly. For more
information about certificate stores, see Microsoft Docs at
http://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/install/local-machine-and-curr
ent-user-certificate-stores.
• The web page https://computername/RSViewSE can be correctly opened,
where computername is the name of the SE server computer.
For more information about managing trusted certificates, see Microsoft
TechNet at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754841(v=ws.11).aspx.
Before using HTTPS, on the SE server and SE Studio computers, make sure to
configure the HTTPS binding for your website in IIS.
Tip: If you change to enable or disable the HTTPS policy, restart all server and client computers to
take effect.
The HTTPS Protocol policy takes precedence over the Custom Website policy. If you enable HTTPS, we
recommend that you disable the Custom Website policy.

You can enable the HTTPS protocol using the FactoryTalk View SE Website
Setup tool or changing the Product Policies for HTTPS in FactoryTalk Services
Platform.

To enable the HTTPS protocol with Website Setup tool

1. From any computer connected to the FactoryTalk Directory, open the
FactoryTalk View SE Website Setup tool, and then in HTTPS protocol,
click Enable.
2. (optional) To use trusted certificate only, select the Use trusted
certificate only check box.
3. Restart all computers connected to that FactoryTalk Directory.

To enable the HTTPS protocol with FactoryTalk Product Policies

1. From any computer connected to the FactoryTalk Directory, open the
FactoryTalk Administration Console.
2. Select System > Policies > Product Policies > FactoryTalk View SE >
HTTPS Protocol.

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3. Change the Use HTTPS property to Enabled.

FactoryTalk View SE provides the Client Install Portal feature that you can use
to install SE clients through the web browser in a distributed system. The web
page may not be opened if you enable HTTPS on the IIS server and your client
is on another computer. You need to configure the client to access the server.
To do this, export the server certificate and import the certificate to the client
computer. For detailed instructions on exporting and importing server
certificates, see Microsoft TechNet. For more information about the Client
Install Portal feature, see FactoryTalk View Site Edition Installation Guide.

Add an HTTPS binding for Before you begin, make sure that:

your site • You have the certificate you want the site to use for Secure Sockets
Layer (SSL).
• Microsoft Windows update KB3140245 is installed. For more
information about the update, see Microsoft Support at
http://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/3140245.

To add an HTTPS binding for your site

1. On the computer that hosts the website, from Control Panel, select
Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. In the Connections pane, click the server node in the tree.
3. On the Server Home page, double-click Server Certificates.
4. In the Actions pane, select an action to manage the certificate.
5. Follow the instructions to finish the configuration. For more
information about server certificates, see Microsoft TechNet at
http://technet.microsoft.com/library/831637.aspx.
6. In the Connections pane, click Default Web Site in the tree.
7. In the Actions pane, click Bindings.
8. In the Site Bindings dialog box, click Add.

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9. In the Add Site Binding dialog box,
• From the Type list, select https.
• From the IP address list, select All unassigned or the IP address of
the website as needed.
• In the Port field, type another port number if needed.
• From the SSL certificate list, select the certificate that you want the
site to use.
10. When finished, click OK.
For more information about adding a binding to a site, see Microsoft TechNet
at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ac19cc3c-7be9-44ef-8ea6-3af39fe69a7b.

System policies In a FactoryTalk View SE application, you can set up the following system
policies. Local station applications do not contain Health monitoring policies
or Live Data policies because these apply only to network distributed
applications.
• FactoryTalk Alarms and Events settings include how to send audit
messages to the alarm and event history log, whether to send
suppressed alarms to the alarm history log, options for buffering
events, and severity ranges associated with each priority category.
• Application Authorization settings determine which applications are
authorized to access the FactoryTalk Directory.
• User rights assignment settings determine which users can backup
and restore FactoryTalk Directory contents, manually switch the Active
and Standby servers in a redundant server pair, or modify the security
authority identifier.
• Health monitoring policy settings define system availability
parameters. These include how often the system checks network
connections to remote computers, and how long a network disruption
can last before the system determines that communications have
failed.
Note: Changing health monitoring policy settings can result in unexpected behavior. For most
networks, the default policy settings provide the best results.

• Live Data policy settings determine which communications protocol

will be used in a FactoryTalk system distributed over a network.
Note: Changing live data policy settings can result in unexpected behavior. Do not change the
settings in a running production system. For changes to take effect, all computers on the
network must be shut down and restarted.
• Audit policy settings determine what security information is recorded
while the system is in use. This includes whether FactoryTalk
Diagnostics logs an audit message when a user attempts an action and
is allowed or denied access.
• Security policy settings determine general characteristics of security
accounts and passwords. This includes whether single sign-on is
enabled, and how many invalid logon attempts are allowed before an
account is locked out.

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For details about setting up system policies, see FactoryTalk Services Platform
Help.

Setting up security for FactoryTalk Security manages security for system resources including the
FactoryTalk Directory, the application, areas within the application and their
FactoryTalk system contents, and the System folder and its contents.
resources In FactoryTalk View Studio, set up user access to these resources by
right-clicking their folders or icons in the Explorer window, and then
selecting Security. The following illustration shows which resources you can
secure in this way:

Item Description
1 Set up access to FactoryTalk Directory.
2 Set up access to the application.
3 Set up access to areas in the application.
HMI servers always inherit permissions set up for the
parent area. You cannot set up access to an HMI server
separately.
4 Set up access to the System folder, or any of its subfolders.
In this way, you can specify which users can set up system
policies, or create user and computer accounts.

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Modifying FactoryTalk Use the Security Settings dialog box to add the users or groups of users that
are to have access to the resource, and then allow or deny permission to
Security settings perform the actions that define levels of access.
When setting up permissions for a network distributed application, you can
associate users and groups of users with specific computers or groups of
computers.
This means you can determine not only who has access to system resources,
but from which computers.

To open the Security Settings dialog box:

In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the folder or
icon for the resource you want to secure, and then select Security.
For details about options in the Security Settings dialog box, click Help.
Tip: The Security Settings dialog box in the illustration is for a network application. The Computers
column does not exist in the dialog box for local station applications.

To assign FactoryTalk Security permissions to users:

1. In the Permissions tab, select the User option for viewing permissions.
You can also set up permissions by selecting the Action option. This
means that you select an action and then specify which users or groups
of user can perform the action.
2. Click Add, select the user or group of users to add, and then click OK.
Tip: For a network application, you must associate the user or group of users with a
computer, or group of computers, before you can click OK.
The user or group of users you added should be selected (highlighted)
in the Users list, in the Permissions tab.
3. To explicitly allow permission to perform an action, for the selected
user or group of users, select the Allow check box beside the action.
You can also select the Allow check box beside:
• All Actions, to select all the actions that apply to this resource.
• A category of actions, such as Common, to select all the actions in
the category.
4. To explicitly deny permission to perform an action, for the selected
user or group of users, select the Deny check box beside the action.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each user or group of users you are setting up
with permissions.
6. Click OK.
Any users that are not set up with permissions are removed from the
list.

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Chapter 5 Setting up security
For details about assigning permissions, see FactoryTalk Services Platform
Help.

Specifying which actions To secure access to a system resource, you specify which users or groups of
users have permission to perform actions on the resource.
users can perform
In the previous illustration of the Security Settings dialog box, the Operators
group has permission to perform the Common actions Read and List
Children, at the FactoryTalk Network Directory.
This means that members of the Operators group are allowed to run
applications managed by the directory, in a FactoryTalk View SE Client. For
more information about what the Common actions allow, see the example on
Performing secured tasks in FactoryTalk View SE on page 110.

About explicit and implicit Selecting the Deny check box for an action denies permission explicitly. If you
do this, keep in mind that an explicit Deny takes precedence over an explicit
permission Allow. This is important if the account you are setting up security for belongs
to more than one group.
For example, if a user belongs to one group that is allowed to delete
applications, and belongs to another group that is explicitly denied that
permission, then the user will not be allowed to delete applications.
Alternatively, you can clear the Allow check box for an action, to implicitly
deny permission to perform the action.
In this case, if a user belongs to one group that is allowed to delete application,
and belongs to another group that is implicitly denied that permission, then
the user will be allowed to delete applications.

Organizing actions into To assign more than one action to a user or group of users in a single step,
you can organize actions into groups. For example, you can group actions
groups according to:
• Roles or jobs (operator, supervisor, maintenance engineer, and so on).
• The equipment user have access to (hoppers, mixers, ovens, and so on)

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When you add an action group, it is shown in the Explorer window under the
Action Groups folder, and in the Security Settings dialog box under User
Action Groups, as shown in the following illustration. The newly added group,
Line Operator Actions, is shown in the Explorer window and the Security
Settings dialog box.

You allow or deny permission to perform an action group, just as you allow or
deny permission to perform a single action. For information about assigning
permissions, see Specifying which actions users can perform on page 106.

To add an action group:

In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click the Action
Groups folder, and then click New Action Group.

For details about options in the New Action Group dialog box, click Help.

Understanding inherited Inheritance means that any security settings you define at the FactoryTalk
Directory, extend to all system resources that the directory manages. These
permissions resources include the application and areas within the application, plus the
System folder and its subfolders.
Inheritance allows you to define basic levels of access for a broad set of users,
across a FactoryTalk system. You can then refine security settings for selected
users as necessary, by overriding permissions inherited by the lower-level
resources.
In a FactoryTalk View SE application, an HMI server always inherits the
permissions assigned to the area, in which it resides. You cannot set up access
to an HMI server separately.
However, the chain of inheritance that starts at the FactoryTalk Directory
does not extend to a user’s ability to access certain HMI project components at
runtime.

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To restrict access to specific FactoryTalk View commands and macros, graphic
displays, OLE objects, or HMI tags, you must secure these components
separately, within the FactoryTalk View SE application.
For details, see Setting up runtime security for HMI project components on
page 91.
Tip: To secure individual HMI tags at runtime, assign security codes to them in FactoryTalk View. To
control access to tags in general, including HMI and data server tags, allow or deny permission to
perform the Tag action Write Value.

For more information about how inheritance works, see FactoryTalk Services
Platform Help.

Breaking the chain of You can override inherited permissions by breaking the chain of inheritance.

inheritance
To break the chain of inheritance:
• In the Security Settings dialog box for the resource, select the check
box, Do not inherit permissions.

You are prompted to choose one of these options, instead of inheriting

permissions:
• Copy the inherited permissions and make them explicit for the
resource.
• Remove all inherited permission from the resource.
Tip: Breaking the chain of inheritance applies to the resource, not to the user or group of
users selected in the Security Settings dialog box.
If you choose to copy inherited permissions, the change is applied to all listed users that
have any inherited permissions. If you choose to remove all inherited permissions, all listed
users that have only inherited permissions are removed from the Security Settings dialog
box.

Using explicit permissions You can also override inheritance by allowing or denying explicit permission
to perform actions on selected resources.
to override inheritance
For example, in the table of Example: Using the Common actions to set up
security for user groups on page 110, the Supervisors group has permission to
perform all Common actions, except for Configure Security, at the
FactoryTalk Network Directory.

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In the Security Settings dialog box for the application, inherited permissions
set up at the FactoryTalk Directory for the Supervisors group show as gray
check marks, as in the following illustration.

Items Description
1 Explicit allow
2 Explicit deny
3 Gray check marks indicate inherited permission to perform
those actions.

To extend or further restrict this group’s access at the application level, you
might make the following explicit changes, to override the inherited
permissions:
• Select the Allow check box beside the Configure Security action.
Explicitly allowing the Configure Security action on the application
means that Supervisors can set up security for the application, add
Runtime Security accounts and assign security codes to those users,
and secure HMI project components.
• Select the Deny check box beside the Delete action.
Explicitly denying the Delete action on the application means that
Supervisors are prevented from deleting applications.
The changes are reflected in the Effective Permissions tab, as shown in the
following illustration.

Items Description
1 Check mark means Configure Security is allowed.
2 No check mark means Delete is denied.

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When setting up permissions, or overriding inherited permissions, keep these
rules of precedence in mind:
• Explicit Deny takes precedence over explicit Allow.
• Explicit Allow takes precedence over implicit Deny.
Tip: When you use explicit permissions (Allow or Deny) to override inheritance on a particular
resource, these permissions become the ones that are inherited by lower-level resources.

Performing secured tasks To perform certain tasks in FactoryTalk View SE, users must have the security
permissions needed for access to the FactoryTalk Directory, application, or
in FactoryTalk View SE area where the task is to be authorized.
For information about:
• How to assign permissions to users, see Specifying which actions users
can perform on page 106.
• How inherited permissions work, see Understanding inherited
permissions on page 107.
Some of the tasks FactoryTalk View SE users can perform require additional
permissions. For information about permissions related to:
• Switching the Active and Secondary servers in a redundant pair, see
What happens if both servers become active on page 253.
• Enabling or disabling, suppressing or unsuppressing, or
acknowledging FactoryTalk alarms, see Setting up FactoryTalk alarms
on page 183.
In the Security Settings dialog box, you might also see actions for other
FactoryTalk products, for example, FactoryTalk Linx. For details about
product-specific actions, see the product documentation.

Example: Using the The following table shows how a system administrator might assign the
Common actions to four groups of FactoryTalk View users—Administrators,
Common actions to set up Engineers, Supervisors, and Operators—to give them appropriate levels of
security for user groups access to a network distributed application.
Tip: In addition to the Common actions listed, each group in this example is allowed the Tag action
Write Value, which governs general access to HMI and data server tags.
You can also set up runtime security for individual HMI tags. For details, see Assigning security codes
to HMI tags on page 93.

For information about overriding inherited permissions, see Understanding

inherited permissions on page 107.
To set up this level of access For this group Set up these permissions at the And then override inherited
Network Directory permissions

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 Chapter 5 Setting up security
Full access. Administrators Allow Common actions: No changes.
This includes the ability to: • Configure Security Retain inherited permissions at all
• Create applications • Create Children lower-level resources.
• Add areas and servers • Delete
• Create HMI project components • List Children
• Set up permissions for all resources the FactoryTalk • Read
Directory manages • Write
• Create new user accounts Allow Tag action:
• Add Runtime Security accounts • Write Value
• Secure HMI project components
For a complete list of tasks users with full access can
perform, see the previous table in this example.
Same access as Administrators, except members of Engineers Allow Common actions: Explicitly deny these Common actions
this group cannot: • Same as Administrators on the Users and Groups folder (in the
• Set up security for the Users and Groups sub folder Allow Tag action: System folder):
of the System folder. • Write value • Configure Security
• Create users at the FactoryTalk Directory. • Delete
However, members of this group can add Runtime • Create Children
Security accounts, assign security codes to them, and Retain all other inherited permissions.
use the Runtime Secured Commands editor.
Runtime access (see Operators group, next), plus, Supervisors Allow Common actions: Explicitly allow these Common actions
members of this group can: • Read on the application:
• Modify existing applications. • List Children • Delete
• Modify HMI server properties. Tag action: • Write
• Create HMI project components. • Write Value • Create Children
Retain all other inherited permissions.
Runtime access. Members of this group can only: Operators Allow Common actions: No changes.
• Load existing applications. • Read Retain all inherited permissions at
However, members of this group cannot modify HMI • List Children lower-level resources.
server properties, nor view HMI project components. Allow Tag action:
HMI servers show in the Explorer window as locked. • Write Value
• Run applications in the FactoryTalk View SE Client.
• Write to tags at runtime.
IMPORTANT: to restrict access to individual HMI tags,
in the Runtime Security editor, assign security codes
to this group.

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