iFIX 6.

1
Understanding iFIX

GE Digital Proficy Historian and Operations Hub: Data Analysis in Context 1

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Table of Contents

Understanding iFIX 1

Reference Documents 1

Introduction to iFIX 1

iFIX Components 1

Using iFIX with Other GE Applications 2

GE Historian 2

GE Batch Execution 2

GE Plant Applications 3

View - Machine Edition 3

Enabling Technologies 3

OLE for Process Control (OPC) 3

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) 4

ActiveX 4

System Architecture 5

Understanding the iFIX Nodes 5

Nodes in iFIX 6

Universal Data Access 7

OLE, OPC, and ActiveX Support 7

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Support 8

I/O Drivers 8

Data Flow 8

Process Database 9

Scan, Alarm, and Control Program 10

Time-Based Processing 11

Exception-Based Processing 11

One-Shot Processing 11

Scheduler 11

Distributed Networking 12

Distributed Processing 12

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. i

 Sessions 12

Dynamic Connections 13

On Demand Data Transfer 13

File Storing and Sharing 13

Centralized Processing 14

Alarming 14

Types of Alarms and Messages 15

Alarm Routing 15

Operator and Application Message Routing 16

Security 16

Security Areas 16

Security Application 17

Security Configuration 17

Login 18

Using the iFIX WorkSpace 19

Understanding the iFIX WorkSpace 19

Starting the iFIX WorkSpace 19

In Configure Mode 19

In Run Mode 20

Command Line Parameters for Starting the iFIX WorkSpace 20

List of Command Line Parameters 20

Shut Down the iFIX WorkSpace with a VBA Script 22

Example 23

Understanding the System Tree 23

Understanding the Work Area 24

Using the Virtual Keyboard 25

Activating the Keyboard 26

To activate the virtual keyboard from the Windows Startup folder: 26

Locating Classic View Menu Commands in Ribbon View 27

Using the System Tree 31

Understanding System Tree Paths 32

ii © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Showing and Hiding the System Tree 33

Navigating the System Tree 33

Opening and Closing Folders 34

Right-Clicking the System Tree 35

Dragging and Dropping Files 35

Starting Applications from the System Tree 36

Understanding WorkSpace Environments 36

Displaying the WorkSpace Full-Screen 36

Enabling Environment Protection 37

Disabling Error Dialog Boxes 37

Disabling GE Historian Errors in the WorkSpace 37

To edit the filterederrors.ini file: 37

Examples 37

Historian Server Connection Time-out 38

Working with Documents 38

Opening Documents 38

Deleting and Renaming Documents 38

Using Word and Excel in the WorkSpace 38

Understanding Toolbars 39

Showing and Hiding Toolbars 40

Understanding Toolbar Owners 40

Customizing Toolbars 41

Docking Toolbars 41

Resetting Toolbars 41

Creating Toolbars 41

Creating Toolbars with VBA 42

Creating Buttons 42

Modifying Buttons 43

Sharing Toolbars and Toolbar Buttons 43

Using Experts and the Task Wizard 43

Locating Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 44

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 Locating Application Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 44

Locating CAD Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 45

Locating Chart Group Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 46

Locating Dynamo Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 46

Locating Edit Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 47

Locating Expert Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 47

Locating GE Web HMI Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 48

Locating Shapes Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 50

Locating Standard Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 50

Locating Toolbox Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 51

Locating Tools Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 53

Locating Utilities Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 54

Locating VisiconX Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View 55

Understanding the Ribbon 55

Ribbon Structure 55

Quick Access Toolbar and WorkSpace Button 56

Understanding the Quick Access Toolbar 57

Understanding the WorkSpace Button 58

Understanding KeyTips 58

The Ribbon at Run Time 58

The Ribbon in Full Screen Run Mode 59

Setting User Preferences 59

Understanding Picture, Shape, Drawing, and Standard Chart Preferences 60

Saving Back-up Files 60

Configuring Run-time Preferences 60

Changing the Start-up Environment 61

Animation Error Preferences 61

Choosing the User Interface 61

Customizing the Ribbon User Interface 61

Displaying the Visual Basic Editor 62

Multiple Monitors and iFIX 62

iv © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Valid Monitor Settings Example 62

Invalid Monitor Settings Example 63

Configuration in iFIX 63

WorkSpace Dialog Boxes 63

Add Server Dialog Box 64

Data Server 64

OPC Server 64

Machine Name 64

Set As Default Server 64

Button Properties Dialog Box 64

Bitmaps List Box 64

Preview 64

Category 64

Name 64

Description 65

Screentip 65

Edit Script 65

Configure the Proficy Historian Server(s) Dialog Box 65

Enable Historian Aliases for All Sessions 65

Alias Name/Server Name List 66

Set Default 66

Add Server 66

Modify 66

Delete 66

Alias Name 66

Server Name 66

User Name 66

Password 66

Close 66

Get Collectors 67

Collector Name List 67

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. v

 Set Default 67

Customize Toolbars Dialog Box 67

Toolbars Tab 67

Buttons Tab 67

Data Server Installer Dialog Box 68

Data Servers 68

OPC Server 68

Machine Name 68

Add 68

Remove 68

Modify 68

Expression Builder Dialog Box 68

FIX Database Tab 69

Pictures and Globals Tabs 70

Data Servers Tab 71

Alarm Counters Tab 73

GE Historian Tab 74

Find and Replace Dialog Box 75

Find Tab 76

Replace Tab 76

Get Project Dialog Box 77

Select Project 77

Project Destination 77

Get Options 77

SCU File 78

Base Path 78

Project Path 78

Import Toolbars Dialog Box 78

Toolbars Box 78

Owner 78

Import 78

vi © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Modify Server Dialog Box 78

Data Server 78

OPC Server 78

Machine Name 79

Set As Default Server 79

Multiple Command Script Wizard Dialog Box 79

Select Action to Append 79

Configured Actions 79

iFIX Project Backup Dialog Box 80

Project Backup Wizard Button 80

Backup Type 80

Project Restore Wizard Button 80

iFIX Project Backup Wizard 80

Custom Backup 80

Full Backup 81

iFIX Restore Wizard 81

Page 1 81

Page 2 81

Task Wizard Dialog Box 82

Task Categories 82

Tasks 82

Perform Task 83

Toolbars Dialog Box 83

Owner 83

Toolbars 83

Customize 83

Show ScreenTips On Toolbars 83

User Preferences Dialog Box 83

General Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 83

WorkSpace Options 84

Electronic Signature Options 85

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. vii

 Security Options 85

Expression Editor Options 85

Animations Data Error Defaults Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 85

Linear Animation Object Defaults 85

Format Animation Object Defaults 86

Lookup Animation Object Defaults 86

Shape Preferences Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 88

Color 88

Font 88

General 88

Pipe 89

Datalink – Remove Leading and Trailing Spaces 89

Text – Remove Leading and Trailing Spaces 89

Historical Datalink – Show Time Stamp with Data 89

Picture Preferences Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 89

Properties 90

Basic Animation Dialog 90

Create Picture Wizard 90

Picture Translation 90

Window Properties 91

Gradient 91

Thumbnail 91

Cache 91

Standard Picture Scaling 91

Standard Chart Preferences Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 92

Scroll Direction 92

Time Axis 92

Value Axis 92

Time Axis Span 92

General 93

Drawing Options Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 93

viii © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Geometry Helper Options 93

Graphics Connections 93

Environment Protection Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 94

Enable Run Time Environment Protection 94

WorkSpace Title and Menu Options 94

WorkSpace File Menu Accelerators 94

Other Options 94

Background StartUp Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 95

Background Task StartUp Schedules List Box 95

New Button 95

Delete Button 95

Move Up Button 95

Move Down Button 95

StartUp Pictures Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 95

StartUp Pictures List Box 95

New Button 96

Delete Button 96

Move Up Button 96

Move Down Button 96

Change Management Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 96

Enable Change Management Server Connection 96

Logon Info 96

Change Management Project Name 97

Require comments to check in and check out files 97

Electronic Signature Options 97

Web HMI Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 98

Web HMI Configuration 98

SSL Security 98

Export Configuration 98

Historian Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box 98

Configuration of Tags for Collection in GE Historian 98

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. ix

 How Do I... 98

Using the System Tree 99

Displaying a System Tree Path 99

To display a system tree path: 99

Showing and Hiding the System Tree 99

To show and hide the system tree: 99

Opening or Closing a Folder in the System Tree 99

To open or close a folder in the system tree: 100

Copying and Moving Objects 100

To copy or move an object: 100

Viewing Thumbnails 100

To view picture and Dynamo set thumbnails: 100

Working with Files 100

Creating Files 100

Creating a New Picture, Schedule, or Dynamo Set 101

To create a new picture: 101

To create a new schedule: 101

To create a new Dynamo Set: 101

Creating a New File 101

To create a new file: 101

Opening Files 101

Opening a File 102

To open a file: 102

Opening a Backup File 102

To open a backup file: 102

Opening Pictures Automatically at Run Time 102

To open pictures automatically at run time: 102

Saving and Deleting Files 103

Saving a File 103

To save a file: 103

Saving Files Automatically 103

x © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 To automatically save open documents when switching to the run-time environment: 103

Renaming Files 104

To rename a file: 104

Deleting Files 104

To delete a file: 104

Starting Applications and Experts 104

Starting iFIX Applications 104

To start an iFIX application: 104

Starting the Visual Basic Editor 104

To start the Visual Basic Editor from the iFIX WorkSpace: 104

Running Experts With the Task Wizard 105

To run Experts with the Task Wizard: 105

Configuring a Button 105

To configure a button: 105

Working with the WorkSpace Environments 105

Switching Between Environments 106

To switch between the configuration environment and the run-time environments: 106

Accessing Menu Commands While in Full Screen Run Mode 106

To access menu commands while in full screen run mode: 106

Setting up the WorkSpace's Start-up Environment 106

Starting the iFIX WorkSpace in the Run-time Environment 106

To configure the iFIX WorkSpace to start in the run-time environment: 106

Starting the iFIX WorkSpace in the Configuration Environment 106

To configure the iFIX WorkSpace to start in the configuration environment: 107

Setting the Display Options for the Ribbon in Run Mode 107

Viewing the Ribbon in Run Mode 107

To view the Ribbon in run mode: 107

Minimizing the Ribbon in Run Mode 107

To minimize the Ribbon in run mode: 107

Disabling the Ribbon Auto Hide Feature in Full Screen Run Mode 107

To disable the Ribbon auto hide feature in full screen run mode: 107

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. xi

 Enabling the Ribbon Auto Hide Feature in Full Screen Run Mode 107

To enable the Ribbon auto hide feature in full screen run mode: 108

Configuring Environment Protection 108

Enabling Environment Protection 108

To enable environment protection: 108

Disabling Environment Protection 108

To disable environment protection: 108

Customizing the Ribbon User Interface 108

Showing KeyTips 109

To show KeyTips: 109

Disabling KeyTips 109

To disable KeyTips: 109

Changing the WorkSpace Color Scheme 109

To change the WorkSpace Color Scheme: 109

Changing the ScreenTip Style 109

To change the ScreenTip style: 110

Adding Commands to the Quick Access Toolbar 110

To add commands to the Quick Access toolbar (method 1): 110

To add commands to the Quick Access toolbar (method 2): 110

To add commands to the Quick Access toolbar (method 3): 110

Moving the Quick Access Toolbar 111

To move the Quick Access toolbar (method 1): 111

To move the Quick Access toolbar (method 2): 111

To move the Quick Access toolbar (method 3): 111

Removing Commands from the Quick Access Toolbar 111

To remove commands from the Quick Access toolbar (method 1): 111

To remove commands from the Quick Access toolbar (method 2): 111

To remove commands from the Quick Access toolbar (method 3): 112

Resetting the Quick Access Toolbar 112

To reset the default commands on the Quick Access toolbar: 112

Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts 112

xii © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 To customize keyboard shortcuts: 112

Setting Preferences 112

Setting Monitor Preferences 113

To enable the use of multiple monitors: 113

Setting the iFIX WorkSpace User Interface 113

To set the iFIX WorkSpace User Interface: 113

Enabling Database Tag Collection by Historian 113

To enable database tag collection by Historian: 113

Setting Picture, Shape, Drawing, and Chart Preferences 114

Setting Picture Preferences 114

To set picture preferences: 114

Globally Translating Picture Text 115

To configure global picture language settings: 115

Enabling Picture Caching 115

To enable picture caching: 116

Setting Shape Preferences 116

To set shape preferences: 116

Setting Drawing Preferences 116

To set drawing preferences: 117

Setting Save Preferences 117

To set the save preferences: 117

Setting Standard Chart Preferences 117

To set standard chart preferences: 117

Setting Run-time Preferences 118

Displaying the WorkSpace Full-Screen 118

To display the WorkSpace at full-screen: 118

Running Schedules in the Background 118

To select the schedules you want to run in the background: 118

Setting OPC Connection Error Preferences 119

To set the OPC connection error preferences: 119

Selecting Data Sources and Building Expressions 119

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. xiii

 Browsing the Process Database 119

To browse the process database: 120

Building an Expression 120

To build an expression: 120

Filtering Data Sources 121

To filter data sources: 121

Remembering the Last Filter 121

To remember the last filter: 121

Specifying the Tolerance, Deadband, and Refresh Rate 121

To specify the tolerance, deadband, and refresh rate: 121

Using the GE Historian Tab 122

Sorting Fields in the Tag List 122

To sort a field in the tag list: 122

Applying a Filter to the Tag List 122

To apply a specified filter to the tag list: 122

Resetting Tag Filters 122

To reset filter specifications: 122

Managing Files and Nodes 122

Sharing iFIX Files 123

To share iFIX files: 123

Starting iFIX with an SCU File from a Different Path 123

To start iFIX with an SCU file from a different path: 123

Getting a Different iFIX Project from the Change Management Server 124

To get a different iFIX project from the Change Management Server: 124

To start iFIX with that project's SCU: 124

Creating a Factory Default Backup File 125

To create a factory default backup file: 125

Finding and Replacing Data 125

Finding Data in Pictures, Schedules, and Scripts 125

To find data in pictures, schedules, and scripts: 125

Replacing Data in Pictures, Schedules, and Scripts 126

xiv © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 To replace data in pictures, schedules, and scripts: 126

Using the Backup and Restore Wizard 126

Archiving Selected Files 126

To archive selected files, or create a new factory default file: 126

To create an archive of all your files: 127

Restoring Files From an Archive 127

To restore files from an archive: 127

Defining the Active Batch Execution Project 128

To define the active Batch Execution project: 128

Installing the GE Historian Server 128

Configuring GE Historian and iFIX 128

To configure GE Historian and iFIX: 128

Creating a Common Historian Server Configuration for All Users 130

To create a common Historian Server configuration (also known as global Historian ali-
asing): 130

Adding a Server to the GE Historian Server List 131

To add a server to the GE Historian server list: 131

Deleting a Server from the GE Historian Server List 131

To delete a server from the GE Historian server list: 131

Modifying a Server on the GE Historian List 131

To modify a server on the GE Historian server list: 132

Setting the Default GE Historian Server 132

To set the default GE Historian server: 132

Setting the Default Collector 132

To set the default collector: 132

Troubleshooting GE Historian and iFIX 133

Working with Toolbars 135

Showing and Hiding Toolbars 135

To show or hide toolbars: 135

Customizing Toolbars 135

Adding a Button to a Toolbar 136

To add a button to a toolbar: 136

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. xv

 Removing a Button From a Toolbar 136

To remove a button from a toolbar: 136

Arranging Buttons on a Toolbar 136

To arrange buttons on a toolbar: 136

Enabling and Disabling Toolbar Docking 137

To enable and disable toolbar docking: 137

Resetting Standard Toolbars 137

To reset a standard toolbar: 137

Creating Toolbars 137

Creating a Toolbar 137

To create a toolbar: 138

Deleting a Toolbar 138

To delete a toolbar: 138

Modifying Toolbar Properties 138

To modify a toolbar's properties: 139

Editing the Script of a Toolbar Button 139

To edit the script of a toolbar button: 139

Creating Buttons 139

Creating or Renaming a Category 140

To create or rename a category: 140

Deleting a Category 140

To delete a category: 140

Creating a Button 140

To create a button: 140

Deleting a Button 141

To delete a button: 141

Modifying Button Properties 141

To modify a button's properties: 141

Displaying a Toolbar 142

To display a toolbar: 142

Importing a Toolbar 142

xvi © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 To import a toolbar: 142

Installing a Third-Party OPC Server 142

Adding or Modifying an OPC Server 143

To add or modify an OPC server: 143

Deleting an OPC Server 143

To delete an OPC server: 143

Troubleshooting OPC Server Installations 143

To troubleshoot your OPC Server installation: 143

Setting up DCOM Support in the WorkSpace 144

To setup DCOM support in the WorkSpace: 144

System Functions 144

Basic Functions 145

HMI and SCADA Functions 145

Monitoring 146

Supervisory Control 146

Alarming 146

Control 147

Reporting Functions 147

Data Archiving 147

Reports 148

Open Architecture Functions 148

Application Functions 149

User Configuration Applications 149

System Applications 150

User Applications 150

Managing iFIX Nodes 150

Configuring the Local Computer 151

Sharing Files 151

Configuring the Picture Path 151

Finding and Replacing Data 151

Find Options 152

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. xvii

 Replace Options 152

Notes on Special Characters in Search Strings 152

Example: Finding and Replacing Data 152

To perform a whole word find and replace: 152

Using Wildcards 153

Finding and Replacing Data in Scripts 154

Using Find and Replace with User Globals 154

Backing up and Restoring Files 154

Overview of Files 154

Accessing the Backup and Restore Wizard 156

Overview of the Backup Process 156

To perform a custom backup: 156

To perform a full backup: 158

To create a new factory default file: 158

Overview of the Restore Process 160

To restore an archive: 160

To restore a factory default file: 161

Restore Destination Options 161

Destination Info 162

Restore File Options 162

Security File Option 163

Restore File Selection 163

Using the Command Line Options 163

Syntax for Backup 164

Syntax for Restore 164

Notes on the Syntax 164

Examples 165

Return Code 165

Using and Creating Factory Default Files 166

Files Included in the Factory Default Backup File 167

Sample BackupRestore.ini 173

xviii © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Specifying a Batch Execution Project 175

Using the Electronic Books 177

Accessing Information in Electronic Books 177

Electronic Book Buttons 177

Using the Table of Contents 178

Searching Electronic Books 179

To find a topic using the index: 179

To find a topic using full-text search: 179

Refining Your Search 179

Using Quotes to Define a Phrase 180

Searching with Wildcard Expressions 180

Defining Search Terms 180

Using Nested Expressions 180

Using Other Searching Methods 181

Determining Your Location within the Electronic Books 181

Printing Electronic Books 181

To print a single section: 181

To print a topic from the Search or Index tab: 181

Displaying or Hiding the Left Frame 181

Copying and Pasting Text from an Electronic Book to Another Application 182

To copy selected text in a topic: 182

To copy all of the text in a topic: 182

Using the Favorites Tab 182

To create a list of favorite Help topics: 182

Index 183

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. xix

 Understanding iFIX

The Understanding iFIX manual is intended for all iFIX® users. It provides an overview of the structure
and functions of iFIX, the iFIX WorkSpace, and the iFIX Help and electronic books.

Reference Documents
For related information on subjects discussed in this manual, refer to the following documents:

l Setting up the Environment

l Building a SCADA System
l Implementing Alarms and Messages
l Configuring Security Features
l Using Electronic Signatures
l Creating Pictures
l Writing Scripts
l Trending Historical Data
l Mastering iFIX

Introduction to iFIX

iFIX® is a Windows-based HMI/SCADA component of the GE family of software automation products.

Based on open, component-based technology, iFIX is designed to allow easy integration and inter-
operability between your plant floor and business systems. It includes functional and architectural fea-
tures that reduce the design time for automation projects, allow simple system upgrades and
maintenance, provide seamless integration with third-party applications, and increase productivity.

The SCADA portion of iFIX provides monitoring, supervisory control, alarming, and control functions. It
guarantees the absolute integrity of data and provides complete distributed networking capabilities.

The HMI portion of iFIX is the window into your process. It provides all the tools you need to develop pic-
tures that operators can use to monitor your process.

This manual covers several fundamental concepts in iFIX:

l For information on the structure and capability of iFIX, refer to the System Architecture and the
System Functions chapters.
l For information on the iFIX WorkSpace, refer to the Using the iFIX WorkSpace chapter.
l For information on managing your nodes, refer to the Managing iFIX Nodes chapter.
l For information on the electronic books, refer to the Using the Electronic Books chapter.

iFIX Components

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 1

 At the heart of iFIX is an enabling technology that provides a distributed architecture. iFIX is built on
standard technologies, such as ActiveX, OPC, VBA, and Component Object Model (COM), to provide
easy integration of third-party applications across wide area networks and the Internet. The iFIX platform
hosts a number of GE and third-party application components, some of which are illustrated in the fol-
lowing figure.

iFIX Platform
An important component of iFIX is the iFIX WorkSpace. This interface organizes all system com-
ponents into one integrated development environment (IDE). The iFIX WorkSpace allows you to nav-
igate through, access, and manipulate all the components of your system.

The iFIX WorkSpace includes two fully-integrated environments known as configuration and runtime.
The configuration environment provides all of the graphic, text, data, animation, and charting tools neces-
sary to create displays that are attractive, organized, and easy to use and understand. The run-time
environment provides the means necessary to view these displays in real-time. Switching between the
run-time and configuration environments allows you to quickly test changes to displays while real-time
alarming and data acquisition continue.

It is important to note that while you are in the configuration environment, there is no interruption to your
process. All the functions that control and monitor your system, such as alarming, reporting, and
scheduling, continue to run in the background. For more information on creating and viewing displays in
the iFIX WorkSpace, refer to the Creating Pictures manual.

Using iFIX with Other GE Applications

iFIX works with the following GE software applications, as well as many third-party applications.

GE Historian

GE Historian is a high performance data archiving system designed to collect, store, and retrieve time-
based information efficiently.

GE Batch Execution

GE Batch Execution is the high-performance automation application that lets you model your plant, man-
age recipes, execute batches, create electronic batch records, and generate reports based on any batch

2 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 process. With Batch Execution, you'll have the tools necessary to reduce cycle time, increase flex-
ibility, comply with regulatory demands, and track batch production.

GE Plant Applications

Equipment use and downtime are typically tracked and reported as key performance indicators in man-
ufacturing companies. GE Plant Applications allows you to accurately report equipment efficiency, and
extends your ability to analyze, understand, and address each source of downtime.

View - Machine Edition

The View - Machine Edition OPC Server can provide data directly into iFIX. You can display this data in
your iFIX pictures, as you would with any other OPC data.

Enabling Technologies

As the solutions required by end users and system integrators become more complex, it becomes
increasingly difficult to anticipate the individual needs of each customer. With this in mind, we incor-
porated the following industry-standard technologies into iFIX to provide a development environment
that you can tailor to meet your specific requirements:

l OLE for Process Control (OPC)

l Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
l ActiveX

OLE for Process Control (OPC)

OPC is a software standard designed to provide automation applications with easy access to industrial
plant floor data. We have led the development of OPC through our active role in the founding of the OPC
Task Force, a consortium of leading industrial automation suppliers formed to speed the development of
an OLE-based communication standard. The goal of OPC is to define a standard interface based on
Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM) technology that allows greater interoperability between
automation and control applications; control devices; and business and office applications.

Using OPC, the iFIX WorkSpace can communicate directly with any OPC server. You can add an OPC
server to your iFIX node using the Data Server Installer program. This utility, located in the Tools sub-
folder of your iFIX Windows program folder, lets you add, modify, and remove OPC servers from the list
of data servers available to iFIX. For more information about the Data Server Installer, refer to the Data
Server Installer Dialog Box topic.

If you need to communicate with a remote OPC server, specify the machine where the remote server
resides in the Machine Name field when you add an OPC Server using the Data Server Installer. Altern-
atively, you can also use the OPC Client driver to communicate with a remote OPC server. This driver
lets you communicate with any local or remote OPC server and store the information in the process data-
base.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 3

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)

VBA is a powerful scripting tool that is fully integrated into iFIX to let you quickly and easily automate
operator tasks and create automation solutions. VBA scripts can be as simple or complex as you need
them to be, allowing you to add custom functionality and extend iFIX as needed to accommodate your
automation strategy. Its powerful and easy-to-use development environment allows you to reuse exist-
ing Visual Basic code.

VBA replaces the scripting engine used in previous versions of FIX to provide a complete, integrated
development environment that is familiar to millions of developers already using Visual Basic. It
provides virtually unlimited power and extensibility for accessing other iFIX components and external
objects and data. The GE implementation of VBA provides:

l Access to all exposed properties, methods, and events for iFIX objects
l Support for multiple data sources, including the iFIX process database, any OPC server, prop-
erties of other objects, and SQL databases
l ODBC support
l Support for ActiveX controls
l Script Authoring Wizards and iFIX commands to help you write scripts for common tasks
l Secure Containment™ for third-party ActiveX controls

The iFIX WorkSpace provides access to the Visual Basic Editor (VBE), a built-in editor and debugger
that allows you to view, halt, suspend, and resume active scripts. In the VBE, you can write scripts for
all iFIX objects, create VBA forms, access any available data source, display objects using the Object
Browser, and debug your scripts. You can also use VBA to write scripts for toolbar buttons and write
scripts for entries in the Scheduler.

iFIX exposes a global library of common global subroutines that can be easily changed in one place. It
provides full support for thousands of commercially available objects and ActiveX controls.

This implementation of VBA includes a powerful find and replace feature, a high speed persistence fea-
ture that greatly reduces file retrieval time, and an enhanced cut and paste feature that copies all forms,
modules, and scripts associated with a selected object. These enhancements significantly reduce devel-
opment time and increase your system's overall performance. The unique architecture of iFIX has also
allowed us to dramatically increase the speed and performance of VBA.

ActiveX

ActiveX is a set of programming technologies created by Microsoft that enables software components
created in different languages to interact with one another in a networked environment. It evolved from
the OLE development standard, which in recent years has expanded far beyond the concepts of object
linking and embedding that formed the original acronym. iFIX is a container for ActiveX controls.

4 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Like OLE, ActiveX is built on the COM programming model to support the full integration of software
components. It supports Distributed COM (DCOM) for the transparent integration of those same com-
ponents across distributed networks, including the Internet and intranets. However, ActiveX has been
optimized for size and speed to allow developers to use subsets of the complex OLE interface to create
highly interactive applications. ActiveX allows any OCX (ActiveX control) developed by a third-party to
behave just like any object created by GE.

To protect your system from possible problems with ActiveX controls, iFIX provides Secure Con-
tainment. Unlike most systems that support ActiveX controls, if an ActiveX control crashes while iFIX is
running, it is sealed off and your system continues to run normally. With Secure Containment, there is
no loss of data or interruption to your control process.

System Architecture

This chapter describes the system architecture of iFIX. It includes information about:

l Understanding the iFIX Nodes

l Universal Data Access
l Scan, Alarm, and Control Program
l Scheduler
l Distributed Networking
l Alarming
l Security

Understanding the iFIX Nodes

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 5

 iFIX Node Types
A node is any computer running iFIX. An actual node can be any of the node types described in the fol-
lowing section. To learn more about iFIX nodes, refer to the chapter Managing iFIX Nodes.

Nodes in iFIX

There are several types of nodes available using iFIX.

Types of Nodes
Type Description
Local When working with a distributed iFIX system, local refers to the node on which you are cur-
and rently working and remote refers to any node that you need a communication link to access.
Remote
Stand When working with a centralized iFIX SCADA system, stand alone refers to a node that per-
Alone forms all functions. Stand alone nodes do not use a network.
SCADA A SCADA Server (or SCADA node) runs the data acquisition and management component of

6 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Server iFIX. Usually, a SCADA node resides on the plant floor and has direct connections to the pro-
cess hardware.
Blind A blind SCADA Server (or blind SCADA node) uses no graphics display. This configuration
SCADA frees up more of a computer's resources for data acquisition and network management func-
Server tions. Graphics can be viewed using an iClient.
Run- A run-time node does not let you modify graphic displays or the process database. Pre-con-
time figured files are installed on these nodes so that you can monitor the process, change process
settings, and acknowledge alarms.
iClient An iClient (or view node) is the most common type of node. View nodes display the real-time
graphics that come with iFIX. The term view node means that the node runs the graphics dis-
play program, but the node can run other applications, as well.
iClient The iClient Read Only has the same functionality as an iClient, except that you cannot write to
Read the iFIX database or to OPC servers. You also cannot construct SQL Insert or Update com-
Only mands in an iClient Read Only node. You can, however, write to a relational database. The iCli-
ent Read Only is similar in functionality to PlantTV® for FIX, with the added benefit of
leveraging the iClient features, such as the event scheduler, VBA, and ActiveX controls.

Universal Data Access

Typically, a plant is controlled through a network of sensors and controls connected to I/O devices, such
as programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Although this type of system provides the automatic control
that keeps the plant running, it is often difficult for plant personnel to see what's actually going on in the
control process at any time. iFIX solves this problem by making data from various sources available to
plant workers and managers in formats that are useful and easy to understand.

A data source includes the data you want to access and the information needed to get that data. The
data sources available with iFIX include tags, I/O addresses, object properties, historical data, picture
properties, VBA events, global variables, and expressions.

With the open architecture of iFIX, data can be accessed from a wide variety of sources using OLE,
OPC, ActiveX, and ODBC. With comprehensive client and server support for these object technologies,
iFIX is able to read data from and write data to the following sources:

l Third-party applications
l Other iFIX databases
l I/O drivers

It is this ability to access data universally that gives iFIX its remarkable power and versatility.

OLE, OPC, and ActiveX Support

iFIX includes comprehensive OLE, OPC, and ActiveX client and server support as the foundation for
providing an integrated plug and solve architecture. This technology is the primary mechanism that lets
you easily integrate third-party objects and controls into iFIX and embed iFIX objects into other applic-
ations.

OLE Automation server support allows you to expose the properties of iFIX components. For example, it
allows you to generate pictures without accessing the software's user interface.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 7

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Support

ODBC support allows iFIX to access data from a database using Structured Query Language (SQL) as a
standard language. Each database management system (DBMS) requires an ODBC driver, which is a
dynamic-link library (DLL) used to gain access to a data source.

Among the database management systems used by iFIX are Microsoft Access (local install only),
Microsoft SQL Server, and Oracle. Refer to the Using SQL manual and Writing Scripts manual for more
information on ODBC support.

I/O Drivers

GE provides a wide variety of high-performance I/O drivers that support best-selling and specialty I/O
devices. We also offer the OPC Toolkit, a plug-in component to iFIX that lets you easily write high per-
formance, reliable I/O servers that communicate between your process hardware and your iFIX, OLE
Automation, and OPC client applications.

High performance I/O drivers provide such capabilities as automatic communication error detection,
reporting, and recovery; built-in datascopes; and support for redundant communications. Receiving
information from third-party servers is also supported, but typically does not offer any of the high data
integrity of a high-performance I/O driver from GE.

Data Flow

The flow of process data is summarized as follows:

1. iFIX reads data from various data sources.

2. Internal iFIX database access functions read the data from local or remote databases and trans-
fer it to the requesting software applications. This transfer occurs without any operator inter-
action. For example, the Scan, Alarm, and Control (SAC) program processes the data and
transfers the data to the process database or the Historical Chart presents the data directly to
you.

Data may also be written to the data sources by executing these steps in reverse.

8 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Typical Data Flow Diagram

Process Database

The iFIX process database is a representation of the process created by linking together blocks of pro-
cess control logic. The process database consists of blocks and chains. A block (also called a tag) is a
coded set of process control instructions provided by GE that perform a specific task. Most blocks can
hold only one data point. Each block requires you to provide several parameters. In general, there are
two types of blocks:

Primary blocks – start a logical chain and provide the scheduling for the chain. Typically have a scan
time and handle all input and output from the database.

Secondary blocks – take data from the upstream block and perform some type of action or calculation.

A chain is a series of connected blocks that create a control or monitoring loop. For example, in a par-
ticular control loop, you need to read a data point, manipulate it with a standard formula, and write it out.
The chain that executes this control strategy might consist of an Analog Input block connected to a Cal-
culation block connected to an Analog Output block.

In iFIX, calculations needed for scaling or combining multiple I/O data points can also be handled dir-
ectly in the graphics dynamic links. The following figure displays both control strategies.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 9

 Database Control Strategies
For complete information on creating and maintaining a database, refer to the Building a SCADA System
manual.

Scan, Alarm, and Control Program

The Scan, Alarm, and Control program (SAC) is a system application that runs on a SCADA node. This
program is responsible for executing the logic of the database chains. SAC performs the following func-
tions:

l Retrieves data from various data sources

l Translates the data into the format expected by the database
l Checks the data against the alarm limits and generates alarm messages
l Executes the control logic
l Detects exceptions
l Makes requested writes to the database

Each database chain also contains the information that determines whether SAC processes the chain
based on time-based, exception-based, or one-shot processing. A node can perform both time-based

10 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 and exception-based processing simultaneously. This feature gives you the ability to use the best pro-
cessing strategy for each data point in your system.

Time-Based Processing

Most applications work by acquiring and calculating data at regular intervals, defined in seconds,
minutes, or hours. iFIX can perform any combination of time-based processing. This allows you to bal-
ance system resources between data that needs to be acquired quickly and data that can be acquired
over longer intervals.

SAC can perform time-based processing in:

l Subseconds (0.05 seconds to 0.95 seconds)

l Seconds
l Minutes
l Hours

The frequency with which SAC retrieves data is called the scan time. For more information on scan
times, refer to the Building a SCADA System manual.

Exception-Based Processing

Often, it is more efficient to process data after key events occur, such as the changing of a set point or
the closing of a contact. Processing that is triggered by events rather than time is known as exception-
based processing.

Exception-based processing is essential for true distributed SCADA applications that monitor a large
number of I/O devices. For example, an oil field may be monitoring pipelines through a large network of
remote terminal units (RTUs). The data from the RTUs changes infrequently, so there's no need to
acquire data at a fixed interval. However, when the data does change, oil field operators need to know
about it immediately. iFIX senses the changed value and processes it immediately.

SAC can perform exception-based processing on the following events:

l Data changes in the database.

l Unsolicited messages from the process hardware.
l Operator actions.
l Instructions from software applications.

One-Shot Processing

When the first block in a chain has a scan time of zero, SAC processes the chain only when the primary
block goes on scan. This is known as one-shot processing.

Scheduler

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 11

 There are certain tasks that you will want to perform at a specified time or interval or when a change
occurs in the process. To schedule these tasks, you will need to define the time or event that triggers the
action that you want to occur. The Scheduler is a iFIX application that runs in the foreground or back-
ground, monitoring the system and triggering actions based on timers or events. It can be run as a ser-
vice under Windows, allowing you to log in and out of a Windows node without affecting or triggering
scheduled events regardless of whether or not the iFIX WorkSpace is running.

The spreadsheet design of the Scheduler lets you easily create and edit schedules in the configuration
environment and view the status and statistics in the run-time environment. It provides you with the abil-
ity to create as many schedules as you need to organize your work logically and efficiently, and to run
multiple schedules at the same time. Within each schedule you can create as many tasks, known as
entries, as you need to run as often as you require. The Scheduler can trigger actions based on five
events. These events can use most available data sources as a trigger. Time-based entries are not tied
to data sources, and actions are triggered based on a monthly, daily, continuous, or one-shot basis.

Script Authoring Experts are provided for common events, such as opening a picture, running a report, or
closing a contact. These Experts prompt you for information pertinent to the operation, generate a Visual
Basic script, and tie the script to the appropriate event. For complete information on using the Scheduler,
refer to the Scheduler section in the Mastering iFIX manual. For more information on VBA scripting, refer
to the Writing Scripts manual.

Distributed Networking

iFIX networking design incorporates two basic principles: true distributed processing and on-demand
data transfer. The following sections provide more information on:

l Distributed Processing
l On Demand Data Transfer
l Centralized Processing

Distributed Processing

Many systems operate in a hierarchical fashion that leave individual computers vulnerable to system fail-
ures anywhere on the network. The architecture of iFIX allows plants to distribute critical functions
among all nodes on the network.

In a distributed processing network, each node independently executes the tasks assigned to it. One
advantage of this strategy is that nodes can be taken off-line without bringing the whole network down.
When a node looks for data from an off-line node, the networking application notifies the requesting
node, so that the node handles the missing data gracefully. Even though each node has integrity as an
independent station, nodes can also access data anywhere on the network. For example, an iClient can
display a picture with links to many different SCADA nodes without requiring additional configuration
work or the need to have a local copy of the database.

Sessions

With iFIX, you can selectively configure which nodes can access data from a SCADA node on the net-
work. A communication link between two nodes over a network is called a session. When a node

12 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 establishes a session with a SCADA node, data and alarms can be sent between the nodes. The fol-
lowing figure illustrates session communication.

Network Session
Dynamic Connections

You can also configure your node to automatically make connections online to remote SCADA nodes
that are not specifically configured on your node. These connections, called dynamic connections, are
described in more detail in the Configuring Remote Nodes section in the Setting up the Environment
manual.

On Demand Data Transfer

Most industrial automation software systems require every node that uses data from a SCADA node to
have a copy of the entire database stored locally. The resulting network traffic can use significant sys-
tem resources. To conserve system resources for local tasks, iFIX reads and writes data on demand
and only moves requested data over the network.

File Storing and Sharing

Using iFIX and the built-in file sharing capabilities of Windows, you can store data that is needed by sev-
eral nodes in one convenient location. Using the Windows Explorer, you can establish a networked drive
connection to any other node in your local network. Once established, you have instant access to any
shared files on that node, including databases, pictures, schedules, and other important iFIX files.
Access to shared iFIX files by other computers can be controlled by implementing Windows security fea-
tures. Refer to your Windows documentation for more information on file sharing and security.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 13

Centralized Processing

Some applications only need one node to perform the required functions. It is easy to convert a dis-
tributed node to a stand alone node or a stand alone node to a distributed node. iFIX operates just as
smoothly in a single computer environment as it does in a distributed computer environment. The fol-
lowing figure shows a distributed and centralized process.

Distributed and Centralized Processing

Alarming

iFIX has a sophisticated system for generating, displaying, and storing alarms and messages. You may
selectively route alarms and messages to the following:

l Any node on the network.

l Printers connected to a node.
l Disk-based files.
l Alarm summary displays.

14 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Alarm history windows.
l Relational databases.

For more information, refer to Alarm Routing.

On a local node, the programs that perform these alarm functions are called alarm tasks. iFIX also
provides built-in support for the following functions:

l Acknowledging remote alarms.

l Suspending alarms (for example, during startup).
l Delaying alarms.
l Triggering scripts based on alarms.
l Filtering alarms based on type, priority, sender, etc.

Types of Alarms and Messages

iFIX generates one type of alarm and four types of messages:

Block Alarm – database blocks generate alarms when block values fall outside pre-defined limits, when
a change of state occurs, or when communication errors occur.

Event Message– blocks can also send messages to printers and the alarm history file to indicate that an
event occurred at that block. These messages do not appear in operator displays and do not require
operator acknowledgment.

Operator Message– applications generate messages that create a history of important operator
actions. These include messages that are generated by electronic signatures.

SystemMessage– applications generate alarm messages that track system alerts and problems.

Application Message– applications, such as Recipe and Historical Collect, can also send messages to
printers and the alarm history file to provide records of activity on that application.

Alarm Routing

iFIX uses a selective alarm configuration based on alarm areas, which are physical or functional divi-
sions of your plant. An unlimited number of alarm areas are provided to serve as distribution points for
alarms and messages. Each of these alarm areas can be custom named to easily identify it within your
system. The first 16 alarm areas in iFIX are labeled A through P by default. Each alarm area can then be
routed to send alarms and messages to selected alarm destinations.

For example, suppose you have two production lines and want to show all the alarms generated on
these lines. You also want to show a separate alarm whenever the level of the tank in either production
line falls below a certain level. One way to do this is to create two separate alarm areas called LINES
and TANKS. Assign all the blocks that monitor these production lines to LINES and only the blocks that
monitor the tanks to TANKS, as shown in the following figure. If an alarm occurs on either line, but not in
the tanks, only NODE1 would receive the alarm.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 15

 Alarm Areas
For detailed information about alarm routing refer to the Implementing Alarms and Messages manual.

Operator and Application Message Routing

Operator and application messages can be independently routed to alarm areas. This feature allows you
to separate operator and application messages from alarms.

SCADA nodes act as alarm servers and distribute alarms and messages over the network. Other nodes
act as alarm clients and receive alarms. When you set up a SCADA node to distribute alarms over the
network, it sends the alarms and messages to every node that has a session established with it.

A non-SCADA node that generates operator messages and system alarms directs those messages to
its respective SCADA nodes.

Security

iFIX provides a powerful and sophisticated user-based security system which allows you to protect
against unauthorized:

l Access to iFIX applications.

l Access to critical application functions.
l Access to operator display files (pictures) and recipes.
l Write access to database blocks.

Security Areas

To protect database blocks from unauthorized writes, iFIX employs security areas. You can think of a
security area as a group of database blocks with the same security level. Operators with rights to a par-
ticular security area can write to any database block that is a member of that security area.

The following figure illustrates how iFIX uses security areas.

16 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Security Areas
In this example, there are two security areas known as LINE1 and LINE2. All four database blocks
shown belong to LINE1, but only the two database blocks on the right belong to LINE2. The Engineering
group is assigned rights to LINE1 and the Operations group is assigned rights to LINE2. Since all data-
base blocks belong to LINE1, the Engineering group can write to all four database blocks. The Oper-
ations group is assigned rights to LINE2, but not to LINE1. Therefore, the Operations group can only
write to the two database blocks on the right.

Security Application

The Security application consists of two parts: Security Configuration and Login. For complete inform-
ation on configuring security and logging in, refer to the Configuring Security Features manual.

Security Configuration

The Security Configuration program allows you to do the following:

l Enable or disable security on a node.

l Create and edit user and group accounts.
l Establish automatic login at startup.
l Assign users rights to use programs and program functions, as well as write access to database
blocks.
l Assign user names and passwords.
l Assign security area names.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 17

NOTE: You can assign security protection to individual pictures in the iFIX WorkSpace and recipes in Recipe
Builder.
Login

Once a node has security protection, operators must access the Login program and enter their user
name and password. After logging in, operators can access the protected features of the node to which
they have rights.

18 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Using the iFIX WorkSpace

The iFIX WorkSpace is your starting point for using iFIX. It provides an integrated and flexible con-
figuration environment that lets you create and modify documents for the local node. As part of this envir-
onment, the iFIX WorkSpace also launches and is integrated with iFIX applications, eliminating the need
to switch to other programs. Instead the iFIX WorkSpace provides a work area with all the necessary
tools to add a picture, create a schedule, or change a script.

Using the iFIX WorkSpace, you can also integrate ActiveX documents from other programs, such as
Word and Excel, with your iFIX files. Like iFIX documents, ActiveX documents appear in the work area
that the iFIX WorkSpace supplies. And if you create your own custom ActiveX documents, the
WorkSpace automatically displays the menus and toolbars that these documents define when you open
them.

You can display a hierarchical view of your files with the iFIX WorkSpace. This view serves as a nav-
igational tool to help you locate iFIX documents and acts as a launch pad for iFIX and third-party applic-
ations.

The iFIX WorkSpace also lets you access the Visual Basic Editor (VBE). This editor lets you integrate
Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) scripts into your iFIX files. By writing a VBA script, you can cus-
tomize and automate the behavior of iFIX. For example, you can write a script to handle custom run-time
data entry instead of using the data entry mechanisms provided with iFIX.

But the iFIX WorkSpace is not only a configuration tool. It also provides a run-time environment as well
that lets operators display and run your iFIX documents. This environment lets you enable security
restrictions that lock operators into a pre-defined set of pictures.

This chapter discusses how to use the iFIX WorkSpace and navigate the system tree. It also explains
the available options and describes the two iFIX WorkSpace environments.

Understanding the iFIX WorkSpace

Before you begin using the iFIX WorkSpace, you should understand certain key concepts. Within the
WorkSpace are the system tree and the work area.

Before you use either one, you should use the System Configuration Utility (SCU) to properly configure
the nodes on which you will use the WorkSpace. To learn more about the SCU, refer to the Setting up
the Environment manual.

Starting the iFIX WorkSpace

After you install and configure iFIX, you can begin using the iFIX WorkSpace.

In Configure Mode

By default, the WorkSpace starts when you start iFIX. This is because the WorkSpace is configured to
run as a startup task, by default. When the iFIX WorkSpace opens in the default mode, it starts in con-
figure mode.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 19

 You can also start the WorkSpace in configure mode by clicking Start and pointing to Programs, iFIX,
and then the iFIX WorkSpace.

Additionally, you can start the iFIX WorkSpace in configure mode using this command line:
WORKSPACE "C:\My Path\Filename.grf"

Use this command to open a specified picture on startup. For more information on configuring startup
tasks, refer to the iFIX Background Tasks section.

In Run Mode

You can start the iFIX WorkSpace in run mode by using additional command line parameters. For
example, here you use the /fo command to specify a picture that you want to open in run mode:
WORKSPACE /fo "C:\My Path\Filename.grf"

For more information, refer to the Command Line Parameters for the iFIX WorkSpace section.

Once you start the WorkSpace, you can toggle between configure mode and run mode by using the
Ctrl+W shortcut, or by clicking WorkSpace and then Switch to Run (or Switch to Configure) (Classic
view) or on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Switch to Run (or Switch to Configure) (Ribbon
view).

Command Line Parameters for Starting the iFIX WorkSpace

You can start the iFIX WorkSpace (WorkSpace.exe) in run mode, from a command line, by using the
parameters listed in the following table. To open a specific picture within the WorkSpace use the
/FileOpen or /FO command. Additionally, you can use other command line parameters to specify the
size of the WorkSpace window, and whether the menu and status bar display when the WorkSpace
opens. For example:
workspace /fo "C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\PIC\filename.grf" /WL 50 /WT 100 /WB 700 /WR 800 /MT n

Be aware that if you use these command line parameters to open an iFIX WorkSpace picture on startup,
the command line parameters override the settings defined in the StartUp Pictures tab of the User Prefer-
ences dialog box. These settings also override any configured Window Properties (Title Bar, Resizable,
Always on Top fields) in the Picture Preferences tab of the User Preferences dialog box. It does not
change the User Preferences; it just overrides them.
NOTE: Do not use startup commands after the iFIX Workspace is already running.

List of Command Line Parameters

The following table lists the command line parameters available for starting the iFIX WorkSpace.

iFIX WorkSpace Command Line Parameters

Parameter Alternative Description
/FileOpen file- /FO file- Opens a specified iFIX picture in run mode, where filename is
name name the path and file name of the picture you want to open.

Use the full path when specifying the picture name to open.
Use quotes to surround a path with spaces. For example:
workspace /fo "C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\PIC\-
filename.grf"

20 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 If you do not specify a file name, the Open dialog box appears
when the WorkSpace opens, so you can browse and select a
file to open.

NOTE: When you use the /FileOpen command line para-

meter, the WorkSpace starts up without using the settings
saved in the UserPreferences.ini file. Instead, the
WorkSpace starts with the attributes provided by the com-
mand line parameters of the /FileOpen command.
/WindowLeft num /WL num Indicates the x-coordinate of the screen's top left corner,
where num is the number of pixels between the left-side of
the desktop screen and the left-side of the Workspace win-
dow you open.
/WindowTop num /WT num Indicates the y-coordinate of the screen's top left corner, as a
positive number, where num is the number of pixels between
the top of the desktop screen and the top of the Workspace
window you open.
/WindowBottom /WB num Indicates the y-coordinate of the screen's bottom right corner,
num as a positive number, where num is the number of pixels from
the top of the desktop screen to the bottom of the Workspace
window you open.
/WindowRight /WR num Indicates the x-coordinate of the screen's bottom right corner,
num where num is the number of pixels from the left-side of the
desktop screen to the right-side of the Workspace window
you open.
/MenuAndTitleBar /MT (y|n) Indicates whether the WorkSpace hides or displays the main
(y|n) menu and title bars in the window when it opens.

Use y to show the title bar and menus. Use n to hide the title
bar and menus.
/StatusBar (y|n) /SB (y|n) Indicates whether the WorkSpace hides or displays the
status bar when it opens.

Use y to show the status bar. Use n to hide the status bar.
/Help /? Displays a help dialog with all the supported options for the
/FileOpen command.

For example, this command would display the help dialog

box:
workspace /?

Example

This example uses the command-line options to open the iFIX WorkSpace in run mode:
workspace.exe /FO "C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\PIC\ChartGroupDemo.grf" /WL 50 /WT 100 /WB 700 /WR 800 /MT n

In this example, the iFIX Workspace displays the picture's top left corner at 50 pixels across, 100 pixels
down. The width of the WorkSpace is 750 pixels (WindowRight - WindowLeft). The height of the
WorkSpace is 600 pixels (WindowBottom-WindowTop).

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 21

 The following figure illustrates the WindowTop, WindowLeft, WindowBottom, and WindowRight values
for this example.

Shut Down the iFIX WorkSpace with a VBA Script

When the iFIX WorkSpace is open in run mode, one way to close the WorkSpace window is through a
VBA command script using the Quit Method. This method is helpful when you restrict other portions of
the WorkSpace window, such as the title bar and menus, that you would normally use to exit the
WorkSpace application in run mode.

For instance, if environment protection is enabled with menu and title bar restrictions, you may want to
provide a button that closes the open WorkSpace window in run mode.

Another example would be from View, if you open a pop-up window of the iFIX WorkSpace in run mode
that does not include the menu or title bar. In this scenario, you may also want to include a button in your
picture that you can click to close the WorkSpace window.

Be aware that if security is enabled, the user profile should not restrict the "WorkSpace Runtime Exit"
feature. For more information about configuring security features, refer to the Application Features sec-
tion of the Configuring Security Features manual.
TIP: You can also close an open WorkSpace window in run mode by using the ALT+F4 keyboard shortcut,
provided your Environment Protection and security is configured to allow the user to shut down the
WorkSpace.

22 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Example

The following script uses the Quit method from a push button in an iFIX picture. The push button
includes a caption "Close Window" within the picture. When the Close Window button is clicked in run
mode, the script displays a message box indicating whether you want to close the WorkSpace. Click
Yes to close the WorkSpace window.
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
Dim lAccess As Long
Dim Msg, Style, Title, Response
Msg = "Are you SURE you want to exit the workspace?"
Style = vbYesNo + vbQuestion
Title = "Workspace Exit"
Response = MsgBox(Msg, Style, Title)
If Response = vbYes Then
Application.Quit 3
End If
End Sub

NOTE: It is not required to include a message box with a confirmation when you create this script. You can
use the Quit method without a message box.

Understanding the System Tree

Your main navigational tool for locating files is the system tree. This tool appears as a hierarchical dis-
play of folders, as the following figure shows. By opening and closing folders, you can locate and display
your documents in one step.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 23

 iFIX WorkSpace System Tree
The system tree also acts as a program launcher. By double-clicking an application in the system tree,
you can start any iFIX or third-party application.

Understanding the Work Area

The work area, shown in the following figure, is the window that displays your iFIX and ActiveX doc-
uments. Whenever you open a document, the iFIX WorkSpace displays the file in the work area and
automatically activates the tools needed to modify it.

24 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 iFIX WorkSpace
For example, when you double-click a picture, it appears in the work area window and all the tools asso-
ciated with modifying a picture become active. It's almost as if you started a separate graphics program
and opened the picture. This feature makes creating and modifying iFIX documents fast and easy
because you do not need to leave the iFIX WorkSpace or search for the appropriate application to
launch. All of the tools you need are built-in and ready to use.

Using the Virtual Keyboard

iFIX provides a virtual alpha-numeric keyboard that installs with iFIX installation. This keyboard allows
you to work in touch-screen environments or to use a mouse to enter passwords and other data. When
you activate the virtual keyboard, it is available by clicking the following button:

This button is on the right side of the current window's title bar. Clicking the button brings up the key-
board, as shown in the following figure.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 25

 Virtual Keyboard
To resize the keyboard and configure keyboard options:

l Use the SzUp and SzDn buttons to resize the keyboard to one of the twelve available sizes.
l Use the minimize button to dock the keyboard on the right side of the current application win-
dow's title bar.
l Use the Kybd, Help, Edit, Info, Num, Win, Mag, Macro and Calc buttons to toggle display of the
options.
l Click and drag any non-button area of the keyboard to move the keyboard on your desktop.
l Access the Help and the tutorial for the virtual keyboard, as well as general setup and con-
figuration information, through the Menu button on the keyboard.

To use the virtual keyboard, you must have a valid hardware key for iFIX 3.0 or higher. If you are using
Terminal Server, each licensed client has access to a copy of the virtual keyboard.
Activating the Keyboard

It is recommended that you activate the virtual keyboard by adding it to your Windows Startup folder.
To activate the virtual keyboard from the Windows Startup folder:

1. In your iFIX directory, right-click on the MYTSOFT.EXE file and select Copy.
2. In Explorer, navigate to the C:\Documents and Settings folder.
3. Drill down to the following folder:
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

4. Right-click the white space area of the Startup folder, and select Paste Shortcut.
5. If you want, rename the shortcut.
The next time you start your computer, the keyboard will activate automatically.
NOTES:
l If you want to start the virtual keyboard when you start iFIX on Windows XP machines, in the SCU in
the Task Configuration dialog box, add the Mytsoft2.exe application (startup mode Normal). The next

26 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 time you start iFIX, the My-T-Soft virtual keyboard appears.
l If you want to display the My-T-Soft startup screen when you start iFIX, in the SCU in the Task Con-
figuration dialog box, add the MTSOPEN.EXE application (startup mode Normal). The next time you
start iFIX, the My-T-Soft screen appears and you can click Run My-T-Soft to launch the virtual key-
board. Do not add MYTSOFT.EXE to the startup task list in the SCU. If you do so, errors display when
you start iFIX.
l For Windows XP, you can also use Mytsoft2.exe.
l The MTSTUTOR program can only be run as an Administrator. When logged on as another user,
including an Administrator with a different user name, you must right-click the shortcut and choose
"Run as Administrator."
l Be aware that if you try to run DVTKINST.EXE more than once a unzipping error message will appear.

Locating Classic View Menu Commands in Ribbon View

If you are switching from using Classic view to Ribbon view, you will notice that the location of many of
the commands is different. As an aid, use the following table to determine the locations of Classic view
menu items in Ribbon view.

Classic View Menu Item Ribbon View Location

File New Picture WorkSpace button, select New, or
Home tab, New group
Schedule WorkSpace button, select New, or
Home tab, New group
Dynamo Set WorkSpace button, select New, or
Home tab, New group
Others WorkSpace button, select New, or
Home tab, New group
Open WorkSpace button
Close WorkSpace button
Save WorkSpace button
Save As WorkSpace button
Print WorkSpace button
Recent File WorkSpace button, Recent Documents list
Exit WorkSpace button

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 27

 Edit Undo Home tab, Editing group
Cut Home tab, Clipboard group
Copy Home tab, Clipboard group
Copy as Bitmap Home tab, Clipboard group
Paste Home tab, Clipboard group, Paste list
Paste Special Home tab, Clipboard group, Paste list
Delete Home tab, Editing group
Duplicate Home tab, Editing group
Select All Home tab, Editing group
Find and Replace Home tab, Editing group
Animations Tools tab
Picture Home tab, Editing group, Properties list, or
Format tab, Picture group, Edit Picture
WorkSpace Switch to Run Home tab, WorkSpace group
System Tree Home tab, WorkSpace group, Show/Hide list, or
View tab, Show/Hide group
Status Bar Home tab, WorkSpace group, Show/Hide list, or
View tab, Show/Hide group
Toolbox Home tab, WorkSpace group, Show/Hide list
Visual Basic Editor Home tab, WorkSpace group, or
Tools tab
User Preferences Home tab, WorkSpace group, Settings list
Toolbars Home tab, WorkSpace group, Settings list
Full Screen Home tab, WorkSpace group

28 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Object Resize Right-click object
Rotate Right-click object
Fill Style Solid Format tab, Styles group, Fill Style gallery
Hollow Format tab, Styles group, Fill Style gallery
Horizontal Format tab, Styles group, Fill Style gallery
Vertical Format tab, Styles group, Fill Style gallery
Downward Format tab, Styles group, Fill Style gallery
Diagonal
Upward Diag- Format tab, Styles group, Fill Style gallery
onal
Cross Hatch Format tab, Styles group, Fill Style gallery
Diagonal Format tab, Styles group, Fill Style gallery
Cross Hatch
Gradient Format tab, Styles group, Fill Style gallery
Edge Style Solid Format tab, Styles group, Edge Style gallery
Dash Format tab, Styles group, Edge Style gallery
Dot Format tab, Styles group, Edge Style gallery
Dash Dot Format tab, Styles group, Edge Style gallery
Dash Dot Dot Format tab, Styles group, Edge Style gallery
No Edge Format tab, Styles group, Edge Style gallery
Inside Frame Format tab, Styles group, Edge Style gallery
Background Opaque Format tab, Styles group, Background Style gal-
Style lery
Transparent Format tab, Styles group, Background Style gal-
lery
Fade Type Linear Format tab, Styles group, Fade Type gallery
Reflected Format tab, Styles group, Fade Type gallery
Radial Format tab, Styles group, Fade Type gallery
Concentric Format tab, Styles group, Fade Type gallery
View Zoom 50% Format tab, Picture group, or
View tab, Zoom group
100% Format tab, Picture group, or
View tab, Zoom group
150% Format tab, Picture group, or
View tab, Zoom group
200% Format tab, Picture group, or
View tab, Zoom group
Zoom to Fit View tab, Zoom group
Default View View tab, Picture group, View list
Full View View tab, Picture group, View list
Fit Picture to Window View tab, Picture group, Window list
Fit Window to Picture View tab, Picture group, Window list
Update Window Location View tab, Picture group, Window list
Refresh View tab, Picture group, View list
Color Selections Format tab, Styles group
Property Window View tab, Window group
Screen Regions View tab, Picture group

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 29

 Insert OLE Object Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Object/Links list
Rectangle Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Rounded Rectangle Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Oval Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Line Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Polyline Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Polygon Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Arc Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Chord Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Pie Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Text Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes list
Chart Standard Insert tab, Charts group
Chart
Line Multiline Insert tab, Charts group
Chart
SPC - X-Bar Insert tab, Charts group
Chart
SPC - R- Insert tab, Charts group
BarChart
SPC - S-Bar Insert tab, Charts group
Chart
Histogram Insert tab, Charts group
Chart
Bitmap Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Object/Links list
Datalink Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Object/Links list
Pipe Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Object/Links list
Current Time Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Object/Links list
Current Date Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Object/Links list
Alarm Summary Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Object/Links list
Push Button Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Object/Links list
Portal Control Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Object/Links list

30 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Format Bring to Front Format tab, Arrange group
Send to Back Format tab, Arrange group
Group Format tab, Arrange group
Align Top Format tab, Arrange group, Arrange list
Bottom Format tab, Arrange group, Arrange list
Vertical Format tab, Arrange group, Arrange list
Center
Left Format tab, Arrange group, Arrange list
Right Format tab, Arrange group, Arrange list
Horizontal Format tab, Arrange group, Arrange list
Center
Flip Horizontal Format tab, Arrange group, Flip list
Vertical Format tab, Arrange group, Flip list
Space Horizontal Format tab, Arrange group, Space Evenly list
Evenly Vertical Format tab, Arrange group, Space Evenly list
Make Space Height Format tab, Arrange group, Make Space Even list
Even Width Format tab, Arrange group, Make Space Even list
Both Format tab, Arrange group, Make Space Even list
Snap to Grid Format tab, Arrange group, Grid list
Grid Settings Format tab, Arrange group, Grid list
Snap Objects to Grid Format tab, Arrange group, Grid list
Window Cascade View tab, Window group
Tile Horizontal View tab, Window group
Tile Vertical View tab, Window group
Close All View tab, Window group
Switch Windows View tab, Window group
Help iFIX Electronic Help button
WorkSpace Books
Help Glossary Help button
GE on the Home WorkSpace button, Options, Resources page
Web Tech Support WorkSpace button, Options, Resources page
Register WorkSpace button, Options, Resources page
iFIX Electronic Help button
WorkSpace Books
Help Glossary Help button
About WorkSpace button, Options, Resources page

Using the System Tree

The system tree provides a hierarchical view of the files on the local node. When you first start the iFIX
WorkSpace, the system tree shows the local node name at the top of the tree and the following folders
and applications:

System Description
Tree Item
Alarm His- Lets you display the last 200 alarms and messages received by the local com-

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 31

 tory puter.
Database Lets you create and modify process databases.
Manager
Documents Lets you create any Word and Excel documents. If you save these documents
folder in the Application path, they appear in the system tree. Only Word files with the
extension .DOC and Excel files with the extension .XLS appear.
Dynamo Contains Dynamo sets.
Sets folder
FIX Recipes Contains your control and master recipes.
folder
Globals Contains global variables, user-defined variables, and threshold tables.
folder
Help & Contains iFIX Help and electronic books.
Information
folder
Historical Lets you create historical collection groups.
Assignment
I/O Drivers Contains I/O drivers configured for the local node.
folder
Mission Con- Lets you monitor background tasks. These tasks include: Historical Collect,
trol I/O Control, Auto Alarm Manager, Alarm ODBC services, and the Scan, Alarm,
and Control (SAC) program.
Pictures Contains your pictures.
folder
Reports Contains reports generated by your reporting package.
folder
Schedules Contains your schedules.
folder
Security Contains the Security Configuration and Login programs. These programs let
folder you define your security configuration and login to the local node once security
is enabled.
System Con- Lets you configure the local node.
figuration

If your computer has Batch Execution or greater installed, you will also see the following items:

System Tree Item Description

Batch Execution Books Opens the Batch Execution electronic books.
Batch Execution Con- Lets you configure Batch Execution.
figuration
Batch Execution Equip- Contains your equipment database.
ment
Batch Execution Recipes Contains the Batch Execution procedures, unit procedures, and
operations.

Understanding System Tree Paths

32 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Associated with each application and folder in the system tree is an iFIX path. These paths show where
the files reside on your computer and are defined in the System Configuration Utility (SCU).

To learn how to change an iFIX path, refer to the Setting up the Environment manual.

Showing and Hiding the System Tree

By default, the system tree is docked on the left side of the screen. You can dock it on the other side of
the screen by dragging it. Likewise, if you want more screen space for your pictures and schedules, you
can set the system tree to float on top of your open documents by dragging it away from the sides of the
screen. You can resize the system tree while it floats by dragging its edges.

When the system tree is docked, you can only resize its width, as the following figure shows.

Resizing the System Tree

If resizing the system tree does not give you the space you need, you can hide the tree completely.

Navigating the System Tree

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 33

 You can move up and down the system tree by selecting items with the mouse or by using the following
keys:

Use To...
the...
Up arrow Move up the system tree.
key
Down Move down the system tree.
arrow
key
Page Up Move up through the system tree quickly. If you have resized the system tree, you can move
key over the visible portion of the system tree with the Page Up key.
Page Page down through the system tree quickly. If you have resized the system tree, you can
Down move over the visible portion of the system tree with the Page Up key.
key
Left Close a folder.
arrow
key
Right Open a folder.
arrow
key
Home Move to the top of the tree.
key
End key Move to the bottom of the tree.

Opening and Closing Folders

Opening and closing folders is similar to using Windows Explorer, as the following figure shows:

34 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Right-Clicking the System Tree

You can right-click any item in the system tree to display a pop-up menu. The contents of the menu
depends on the item you select. For example, the pop-up menu of the Picture folder lets you create a
new picture and display the folder's path. The pop-up menu of a rectangle, on the other hand, lets you
edit the object's scripts, change the object's properties, and modify the object by cutting, copying, past-
ing, deleting, and duplicating it.

Dragging and Dropping Files

With the iFIX WorkSpace, you can copy and move objects by dragging and dropping them into open doc-
uments. In general, you can drag an object, such as a Dynamo object, from an open picture, an open
Dynamo set, or the system tree and drop it into:

l An open picture.
l An open Dynamo set.
l A user-defined global file.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 35

 For more information on Dynamo objects, refer to the Creating Pictures manual. For information on user-
defined variables and the global page, refer to the Writing Scripts manual.

Starting Applications from the System Tree

You can start any application in the system tree by double-clicking its icon. The iFIX WorkSpace starts
the associated application and, when possible, displays the application in the workarea. In some cases,
the application opens in its own window on top of the iFIX WorkSpace.

Understanding WorkSpace Environments

The WorkSpace provides both a configuration and a run-time environment. The configuration envir-
onment provides all necessary development tools, including access to toolbars and the files in the sys-
tem tree. In addition, any process-monitoring background tasks that may be running, such as your I/O
drivers, Historical Collect, and enabled alarm services, continue to run while the configuration envir-
onment is active.

The run-time environment, on the other hand, is designed for operators. With this environment, operators
can display pictures and monitor your process. Typically, the run-time environment is configured to
restrict operator access to other parts of iFIX by hiding menu bars and disabling the ability to task
switch.

You can toggle between the two environments to test and run your pictures and schedules. As you
switch environments, the status bar updates. In the configuration environment, the text Configure
appears. When you switch to the run-time environment, the text changes to Run.

Documents open in one environment remain open even when you switch to the other environment. For
example, if you have two pictures and one schedule open in the configuration environment, these files
remain open when the run-time environment becomes active. If you close one of the pictures in the run-
time environment and switch back, the picture that you closed is now closed in the configuration envir-
onment. The other picture and the schedule both remain open.

You cannot switch to the configuration environment in the iFIX WorkSpace while a script is running. Sim-
ilarly, you cannot exit the application. Once the script completes, you can switch environments and exit
normally.

The same restrictions apply to scripts running in pictures. You cannot close a picture until all running
scripts complete.

Switching to the run-time environment also hides the system tree, if it is displayed, and your toolbars.
Switching back reverses the process.
NOTES: To improve performance, close unnecessary, open documents before switching between envir-
onments to test a picture.

Displaying the WorkSpace Full-Screen

You can display the WorkSpace full-screen in either or both of its environments. Displaying the
WorkSpace full-screen lets you see the exact same scale and display sizes that operators will exper-
ience.

36 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 When you display the WorkSpace full-screen, it hides its menu bar and any docked toolbars. Floating
toolbars remain visible. The WorkSpace also hides the system tree in the configuration environment if it
is docked. In the run-time environment, the system tree and all toolbars are always hidden.

Enabling Environment Protection

You can restrict operator access to the menu bar and pop-up menus, and prevent task switching by
enabling environment protection. Once enabled, environment protection takes effect when you switch to
the run-time environment.

For a detailed description of environment protection and how to enable it, refer to the Setting Up the
Environment manual.

Disabling Error Dialog Boxes

If an error occurs in the run-time environment, an error dialog box displays requiring user intervention.
You can disable error dialog boxes for particular errors by editing the FILTEREDERRORS.INI file in the
Local path. For example, you may want to suppress the error dialogs when network sessions are lost. In
order to do this, add the error codes you want filtered in the INI file as follows:
;To add an error code to be filtered increment the count and set
;the Error equal to the return code

[ErrorCodes]
Count = 4
Error1 = 1620
Error2 = 1914
Error3 = 1915
Error4 = 8517

In this example, all typical network session errors are suppressed.

After you edit the FILTEREDERRORS.INI file, restart the WorkSpace to ensure your changes take
effect.

Disabling GE Historian Errors in the WorkSpace

To suppress the GE Historian errors, you need to edit the filterederrors.ini file found in the C:\Program
Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\local path and add the Historian error codes you want filtered.
To edit the filterederrors.ini file:

1. Add a new section [iHistErrorCodes] if it is not already present in the .ini file.
2. Add a new key Count = the number of error codes you want to suppress.
3. Add a new key iHistError and set it equal to the return code.

Examples

If you want to suppress two Historian errors, you would modify the filterederrors.ini file as follows:
[iHistErrorCodes]
Count =2
iHistError1 = -3

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 37

 iHistError2 = -2

If you want to suppress additional errors, increment the key value of Count as follows:
Count = 3

Add a new iHistError3, and set it equal to the error code.

Historian Server Connection Time-out

During a failed write attempt to the GE Historian Server, the iFIX WorkSpace becomes inactive. You
can control how long this lasts by setting the number of seconds you allow for the connection time-out.
The default is 90 seconds.

To configure the time-out, add this setting to the FixUserPreferences.ini file in the iFIX Local folder:
[Historian]
TimeoutSecs=10

Here, the time-out is set to 10 seconds. The valid range is 5 to 300 seconds, though not enforced.

Working with Documents

Once the iFIX WorkSpace starts and the system tree appears, you can create and open documents.
The iFIX WorkSpace Standard toolbar provides buttons for creating new pictures, schedules, and
Dynamo sets. In Classic view, you can create other types of ActiveX documents with the New com-
mand from the File menu. Or, in Ribbon view, you can access these functions by clicking the
WorkSpace button and selecting New.

Opening Documents

To open a document, double-click the document's icon in the system tree. The iFIX WorkSpace activ-
ates the associated tools or starts the required application depending on the selected document.

If you want to open a document that is not in the system tree, click the Open button from the Standard
toolbar (Classic view) or click the WorkSpace button and click Open (Ribbon view) and select the file
you want to open.

Deleting and Renaming Documents

You can delete or rename any closed document in the system tree by right-clicking it and selecting
Delete or Rename from the pop-up menu.

When you rename a document, the iFIX WorkSpace prompts you for the new name. Once you enter a
name, it appears in the system tree.
IMPORTANT: Only 31 characters are allowed when renaming (and naming) files in the Documents folder in
the system tree in the iFIX WorkSpace.

Using Word and Excel in the WorkSpace

38 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Using the iFIX WorkSpace, you can integrate documents from Word and Excel with your iFIX files.
When you open the documents, they appear in the iFIX WorkSpace.

In Classic view, you can perform all of the functions associated with each application directly in the
WorkSpace. However, in Ribbon view, there are some limitations. They include:

l Global commands, which are those that apply to any open document, such as Print, are not
accessible. However, all formatting commands are available.
l When working in Full Screen mode, you must have a picture open so that you can activate it,
which allows you to access the WorkSpace menu and keyboard shortcuts.

Understanding Toolbars

With the iFIX WorkSpace, you can customize the toolbars provided with iFIX. You can also create cus-
tom toolbars and toolbar buttons, and share them among multiple computers. This section explains how
to complete these tasks.
NOTES:
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l In Ribbon view, toolbars cannot be docked.
l In Ribbon view, if you open a MS Word or Excel document in the WorkSpace, some of the menu items
associated with those documents will not appear in the WorkSpace. If you need to edit an MS Word or
Excel document, we recommend that you do in so in Classic view.

Toolbars provides buttons for common operations. For example, the Standard toolbar, shown in the fol-
lowing figure, lets you create, open, and print documents.

iFIX WorkSace Standard Toolbar

The Application toolbar also lets you complete common tasks. The buttons on this toolbar allow you to
launch iFIX applications without the system tree and to access information from the iFIX electronic
books and the GE web site.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 39

 Application Toolbar
The other WorkSpace toolbar, the Utilities toolbar, lets you complete common database operations
without Database Manager, as the following figure shows. You can update the connection between a pic-
ture's I/O points and the process database. This process is called resolving your pictures..

Utilities Toolbar

Showing and Hiding Toolbars

You can show or hide any toolbar by selecting or deselecting it from the Toolbars dialog box in the con-
figuration environment. Switching to the run-time environment hides all toolbars displayed in the con-
figuration environment.

Understanding Toolbar Owners

All toolbars are owned by an application or a document. The toolbar's owner defines when the toolbar
appears. For example, WorkSpace toolbars appear while the WorkSpace runs, picture toolbars appear
only while the WorkSpace displays one or more pictures, and Scheduler toolbars are available when you
open a schedule. If you switch from a picture to a schedule, the WorkSpace hides the picture toolbars
and displays the Scheduler toolbars.
NOTE: Picture toolbars are available to all pictures and Scheduler toolbars are available to all schedules.
You cannot assign specific toolbars to individual pictures or schedules.

40 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Customizing Toolbars

The iFIX WorkSpace provides toolbars with buttons that provide access to frequently-used functions,
such as creating pictures and starting iFIX applications. You can customize the toolbars by arranging or
removing these buttons as needed. Typically, you should remove buttons that you do not need. For
example, if you set up a workstation dedicated to creating pictures and Dynamo objects, you may want
to remove the New Schedule button from the Standard toolbar.

Once you remove a button, you can always add it back. Adding a button requires you to select a toolbar
category. A toolbar category is a logical grouping of buttons. For example, the Standard category con-
tains the buttons on the Standard WorkSpace toolbar and the CreateObjects category contains the but-
tons on the Shapes toolbar.

The iFIX WorkSpace provides many toolbar categories from which you can select buttons. These cat-
egories cannot be renamed or deleted. Likewise, the buttons in these categories cannot be modified or
deleted. However, you can modify any button you add to a toolbar. The WorkSpace treats the added but-
ton as a copy of the original and lets you modify the new button in the toolbar with the Visual Basic
Editor. Any changes to the copy do not affect the original.

Docking Toolbars

In addition to adding, removing, and arranging buttons, you can customize a toolbar by enabling or dis-
abling a toolbar's docking option. When enabled, this option lets you dock a toolbar by dragging it to any
edge of the screen. To keep the toolbar floating regardless of its screen position, you can disable the
option.
NOTE: In Ribbon view, toolbars cannot be docked.

Resetting Toolbars

You can restore any standard iFIX toolbar to its default state using the Reset button. Typically, these
toolbars should be reset if you have customized the standard toolbars and you want to undo these
changes. When you reset a toolbar, the WorkSpace:

l Deletes any custom buttons you have added.

l Adds any standard buttons you have deleted.
l Resets the toolbar's docking option back to its default state. This means if you reset a toolbar
that has the docking option disabled, the WorkSpace enables the option.
l Moves the toolbar back to its default screen position. Consequently, if you reset a floating toolbar
that is docked by default the toolbar, the WorkSpace docks the toolbar when you reset it.
NOTE: Resetting a standard toolbar does not affect any custom toolbar you have created.

Creating Toolbars

While you can customize the toolbars supplied with the iFIX WorkSpace, you cannot modify their prop-
erties. In addition, WorkSpace toolbars cannot be renamed or deleted. To eliminate these restrictions,
you can create your own toolbars.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 41

 Creating a toolbar is similar to customizing one. Both tasks require you to click and drag the buttons you
want onto your toolbar. However, when you create a toolbar, you also define its properties. These prop-
erties include the toolbar's owner and name.

The owner identifies the document or application that owns the toolbar. This owner must be active for
the toolbars it owns to appear. For example, picture toolbars appear while you have one or more pictures
open. If you subsequently open a schedule, the WorkSpace hides the picture toolbars and shows the
Scheduler toolbars. The iFIX WorkSpace, pictures, and schedules are the available owners.

A toolbar name conforms to VBA naming conventions. These rules require the first character to begin
with a letter, prohibit the use of a space, period (.), exclamation mark (!), or the characters @, &, $, # in
the name. The name is limited to 31 characters. In addition, toolbar names cannot match the name of
any other toolbar, category, picture, schedule, or Dynamo set.

However, it is possible to create a toolbar with the name of a closed document. Similarly, you can save
a picture or schedule with the name of a hidden toolbar. When either situation occurs, the WorkSpace
can only open one of these items at a time. For example, if you open a picture named ALARMS.GRF,
the WorkSpace cannot show a toolbar named Alarms. You must close the picture first. Once the toolbar
is displayed, you cannot open the picture until you hide the toolbar.
Creating Toolbars with VBA

iFIX does not contain the automation interfaces necessary to create toolbars. Do not use VBA to create
toolbars in the WorkSpace. Doing so causes unpredictable results.
NOTE: The WorkSpace saves the position of top left corner of the each floating and docked toolbar on the
screen. If you move a toolbar outside the 800x600 portion of the screen, you may not be able to see it if you
reduce the screen resolution or move the toolbar to another computer. Consequently, it is recommended that
you keep your toolbars within the 800x600 portion of your screen.

In addition, the iFIX WorkSpace does not wrap docked toolbars. Consequently, if you dock a large toolbar, it
appears as a long line of buttons. Depending on the toolbar's size, some buttons may not be visible and may
move other toolbars beyond the visible portion of the screen.

Creating Buttons

You can create custom buttons with the iFIX WorkSpace. Typically, these buttons provide custom fea-
tures. For example, you could create a button to launch a custom application.

Creating a button requires you to create a category for it. Remember, categories supplied with the iFIX
WorkSpace cannot be modified.

You can create a new category by entering a name for it. Like toolbar names, category names must con-
form to VBA conventions. These rules require that the first character begin with a letter, prohibit the use
of a space, period (.), exclamation mark (!), or the characters @, &, $, # in the name, and limits the name
to 255 characters. In addition, category names cannot match the name of another toolbar, category, pic-
ture, schedule, or Dynamo set.

However, it is possible to create a category with the name of a closed document. Similarly, you can
save a picture or schedule with the name of an existing category. When either situation occurs, the
WorkSpace can only display one of these items at a time. For example, if you open a picture named
OVERVIEW.GRF, the category Overview does not appear in the WorkSpace category list. To display
it, close the picture. When you finish modifying the category, you can re-open the picture.

42 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 You can make button categories appear in the Task Wizard by including the text "tasks" to the end of the
name. For example, a category called Sample displays in the Task Wizard when you create a category
with the name SampleTasks; the category's buttons also appear as tasks you can perform.

Once you create a category, you can add custom buttons to it. Each button you add has properties that
you can configure. These properties include the button's name, description, and ScreenTips. You can
also edit the button's script. For more information on writing scripts for custom buttons, refer to the Writ-
ing Scripts manual.
Modifying Buttons

When you drag a button to a toolbar, the iFIX WorkSpace duplicates the button and its properties.
However, no association exists between the two buttons. As a result, if you modify either button, the
other is not updated. However, if you modify the button in the category, all future buttons you create with
it will contain your changes.

Sharing Toolbars and Toolbar Buttons

You can share any custom toolbar among your iFIX nodes. Using the WorkSpace, you can share them
by:

l Importing a toolbar's TBX file.

l Copying a toolbar category's TBC file.

Typically, you import a toolbar when you want to add toolbars created by a toolbar developer but you do
not want others to reuse the toolbar's buttons. Copying a toolbar category, on the other hand, is done
when you want to create one or more toolbars locally from the buttons in the toolbar category.

Each TBX and TBC file defines a toolbar or a toolbar category, respectively. These files reside in the
Local path on the source computer. You can share the TBX and TBC files by copying them to the target
computer's Local path. When sharing toolbars, you must subsequently import the TBX file with the
WorkSpace. Toolbar files (*.TBX, *.TBC, *.XBT, ASSOCIATION.DAT) saved as read-only cannot be
used in the iFIX WorkSpace.
NOTE: If you use a toolbar button to launch a custom ActiveX control, the OCX must be installed and
registered on the target computer.

Using Experts and the Task Wizard

iFIX provides many Experts that automate the configuration of objects in pictures or the creation of an
object's script. For example, the Foreground Color Expert can dynamically change the foreground color
of an object. The Enable Alarm Expert, on the other hand, adds a script to the selected object. The script
enables alarms for the data source you specify.

You can access many Experts from picture toolbars (Classic view) or on the Tools tab in the Animations
and Tasks/Experts group (Ribbon view) or the Toolbox. However, with the Task Wizard, you can
access every Expert through an easy-to-use menu that does not require toolbars. Consequently, if your
toolbars occupy valuable screen space, you can hide them without losing functionality.

You can also use multiple Experts to create a scripted command sequence with the Multiple Command
Script Wizard. The script can be triggered by a mouse click on an object, a Scheduler entry, or a key-
board macro.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 43

 For more information on Experts, the Task Wizard, and the Multiple Command Script Wizard, refer to
the Creating Pictures ebook.

Locating Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

In Ribbon view, all functions, with the exception of Translation and Migration, are available directly from
the Ribbon. This makes the use of toolbars, in Ribbon view, virtually unnecessary.

The following sections detail the locations of the various toolbar functions in Ribbon view.

l Application Toolbar
l CAD Toolbar
l Chart Group Toolbar
l Dynamo Toolbar
l Edit Toolbar
l Expert Toolbar
l GE Web HMI Toolbox Toolbar
l Shapes Toolbar
l Standard Toolbar
l Toolbox Toolbar
l Tools Toolbar
l Utilities Toolbar
l VisiconX Toolbar

Locating Application Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the various Application functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Application toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Function Ribbon View Location

Key Macro Editor Applications tab, Utilities group
Tag Group Editor Applications tab, Utilities group
Database Manager Applications tab, Process Database group
Historical Trend Assign Not available

44 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 System Configuration Utility Applications tab, System & Security group
Security Configuration Utility Applications tab, System & Security group, Security
list
Security Login Applications tab, System & Security group, Security
list
Mission Control Applications tab, Utilities group
Alarm History Applications tab, Utilities group
Cross Reference Tool Applications tab, Utilities group, Utilities list
Electronic Books Help button
GE Home Page WorkSpace button, Options, Resources page
Technical Support WorkSpace button, Options, Resources page
Silence Alarm Horn Applications tab, Utilities group, Utilities list
Startup Profile Manager Applications tab, Utilities group, Utilities list
OPC UA Configuration Applications tab, System & Security group

Locating CAD Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the CAD toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the CAD toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 45

 CAD Extend Lines Format tab, Picture group, Drawing Tools list
Trim Lines Format tab, Picture group, Drawing Tools list
Convert Lines to Format tab, Picture group, Drawing Tools list
Polyline
Make Lines Hori- Format tab, Picture group, Drawing Tools list
zontal
Make Lines Vertical Format tab, Picture group, Drawing Tools list
Convert Lines and Format tab, Picture group, Drawing Tools list
Polylines to Pipe
Modify Pipe Format tab, Styles group, Pipe Styles gallery
Add Connection Point Format tab, Picture group, Drawing Tools list
Delete Connection Format tab, Picture group, Drawing Tools list
Point
Line Connector Tool Format tab, Insert group, Connectors list
Right Angle Line Con- Format tab, Insert group, Connectors list
nector Tool
Pipe Connector Format tab, Insert group, Connectors list

Locating Chart Group Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the Chart Group toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Chart Group toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

Chart Group Apply Chart Group Tools tab, Charts Group, Chart Groups list
Wizard to Chart
Apply Chart Group Tools tab, Charts Group, Chart Groups list
File
Configure Chart Tools tab, Charts Group, Chart Groups list
Group Files

Locating Dynamo Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the Dynamo toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Dynamo toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.

46 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

Dynamo Build Dynamo Tools tab, Dynamos Group, Dynamos list
Quick Dynamo Tools tab, Dynamos Group, Dynamos list
Updater
Dynamo Updater Wiz- Tools tab, Dynamos Group, Dynamos list
ard
Convert Dynamo Tools tab, Dynamos Group, Dynamos list
Sets
Quick Dynamo Con- Tools tab, Dynamos Group, Dynamos list
verter
Dynamo Converter Tools tab, Dynamos Group, Dynamos list
Wizard

Locating Edit Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the Edit toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Edit toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

Edit Copy Home tab, Clipboard group
Cut Home tab, Clipboard group
Paste Home tab, Clipboard group, Paste list
Undo Home tab, Editing group

Locating Expert Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the Expert toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Expert toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 47

 Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location
Expert Fill Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Rotate Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Position Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Scale Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Visibility Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Edge Color Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Foreground Color Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Background Color Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Data Entry Expert Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group
Create Picture Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Picture list
Open Picture Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Close Picture Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Replace Picture Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Open Digital Tag Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Close Digital Tag Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Toggle Digital Tag Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Acknowledge Alarm Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Alarm Horn Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list

Locating GE Web HMI Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The Web HMI group is available in Ribbon View and allows you to select to:

l Toolbox - toggles the display of the GE Web HMI Toolbox.

l Export Picture - lets you select one or more pictures to export to a folder for later viewing in Web
HMI.
The following table details the location of the GE Web HMI Toolbox toolbar functions in Ribbon View.
For more information this toolbar function, refer tothe Creating High Performance Picturees e-book.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the GE Web HMI Toolbox toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

48 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Web HMI Object Selection Tool Not available
Toolbox Cut Home tab, Clipboard group
Copy Home tab, Clipboard group
Paste Home tab, Clipboard group, Paste list
Rectangle Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Rounded Rectangle Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Oval Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Chord Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Polygon Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Pie Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Arc Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Line Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Polyline Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Line Connector Tool Insert tab, Connectors group
Right Angle Line Connector Insert tab, Connector group
Text Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Datalink Stamper Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Bitmap Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Color Format tab, Styles group
Toggle Grid Format tab, Arrange group, Grid list
Space Evenly Vertical Format tab, Arrange group, Space Evenly list
Space Evenly Horizontal Format tab, Arrange group, Space Evenly list
Align Top Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Left Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Bottom Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Right Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Horizontal Center Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Vertical Center Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Group Format tab, Arrange group
Ungroup Format tab, Arrange group
Bring to Front Format tab, Arrange group
Send to Back Format tab, Arrange group
Set Layer Format tab, Picture group, Layers list
Display Layers Format tab, Picture group, Layers list
Fill Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Rotate Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Foreground Color Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Visibility Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Undo Home tab, Editing group

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 49

Locating Shapes Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the Shapes toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Shapes toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

Shapes Object Selection Tool N/A
Rectangle Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Line Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Oval Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Arc Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Rounded Rectangle Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Polygon Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Polyline Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Chord Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Pie Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Pipe Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Text Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Chart Insert tab, Charts group
Bitmap Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Datalink Stamper Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Alarm Summary Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Push Button Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Variable Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
OLE Object Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Timer Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Event Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Time Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Date Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list

Locating Standard Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the Standard toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:

50 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Standard toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

Standard Open WorkSpace button
Close WorkSpace button
Save WorkSpace button
Print WorkSpace button
Open Picture Folder Home tab, WorkSpace group
New Picture Home tab, New group
New Schedule Home tab, New group
New Dynamo Set Home tab, New group
Full Screen Home tab, WorkSpace group
Switch to Run Home tab, WorkSpace group
Visual Basic Editor Home tab, WorkSpace group
Task Wizard Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Tasks/Experts dia-
log box launcher

Locating Toolbox Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the Toolbox toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Toolbox toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbox Function Ribbon View Location

Object Selection Tool Not available
Cut Home tab, Clipboard group
Copy Home tab, Clipboard group
Paste Home tab, Clipboard group, Paste list
Time Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Date Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Rectangle Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Rounded Rectangle Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Oval Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 51

 Chord Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Polygon Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Pie Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Pipe Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Arc Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Line Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Polyline Insert tab, Shapes group, Shapes gallery
Text Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Push Button Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
OLE Object Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Datalink Stamper Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Alarm Summary Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Variable Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Timer Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Event Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Chart Insert tab, Charts group
Bitmap Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list
Color Format tab, Styles group
Font Format tab, Font group
Toggle Grid Format tab, Arrange group, Grid list
Space Evenly Vertical Format tab, Arrange group, Space Evenly list
Space Evenly Horizontal Format tab, Arrange group, Space Evenly list
Align Top Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Left Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Bottom Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Right Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Horizontal Center Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Vertical Center Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Group Format tab, Arrange group
Ungroup Format tab, Arrange group
Bring to Front Format tab, Arrange group
Send to Back Format tab, Arrange group
Set Layer Format tab, Picture group, Layers list
Display Layer Format tab, Picture group, Layers list
Foreground Color Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Fill Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Rotate Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Position Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Scale Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list
Visibility Expert Tools tab, Animation group, Animations list

52 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Create Picture Expert Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Picture list
Open Picture Expert Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Close Picture Expert Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Replace Picture Expert Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Commands list
Refresh Rate Expert Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Picture list
Data Entry Expert Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group
VisiconX Data Control Insert tab, VisiconX group, VisiconX list
VisiconX Grid Control Insert tab, VisiconX group, VisiconX list
VisiconX List Box Control Insert tab, VisiconX group, VisiconX list
VisiconX Combo Box Con- Insert tab, VisiconX group, VisiconX list
trol
Undo Home tab, Editing group
Historical Data Link Insert tab, Objects/Links group, Objects/Links list

Locating Tools Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the Tools toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Tools toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 53

 Tools Align Top Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Left Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Bottom Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Right Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Align Horizontal Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Center
Align Vertical Center Format tab, Arrange group, Align list
Group Format tab, Arrange group
Ungroup Format tab, Arrange group
Bring to Front Format tab, Arrange group
Send to Back Format tab, Arrange group
Space Evenly Ver- Format tab, Arrange group, Space Evenly list
tical
Space Evenly Hori- Format tab, Arrange group, Space Evenly list
zontal
Color Format tab, Styles group
Font Format tab, Font group
Toggle Grid Format tab, Arrange group, Grid list
Set Layer Format tab, Picture group, Layers list
Display Layer Format tab, Picture group, Layers list
Refresh Rate Expert Tools tab, Tasks/Experts group, Picture list

Locating Utilities Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the Utilities toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the Utilities toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

Utilities Add Database Block Applications tab, Process Database group, Blocks
list
Modify Database Applications tab, Process Database group, Blocks
Block list
Database Save Applications tab, Process Database group
Database Reload Applications tab, Process Database group
Resolve Files Application tab, Utilities group, Utilities list
Export Picture Application tab, Utilities group, Utilities list
Find Mouse Coordin- Application tab, Utilities group, Utilities list

54 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 ates
Save Files with Application tab, Utilities group, Utilities list
Thumbnail Prefer-
ences

Locating VisiconX Toolbar Functions in Ribbon View

The following table details the location of the VisiconX toolbar functions in Ribbon view.
NOTES:
l The following table includes only the default functions available on the VisiconX toolbar.
l Although hidden by default, you can access and use toolbars in Ribbon view. To access a toolbar in
Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Toolbars.
l You can also open a toolbar from the WorkSpace tree, by opening the Project Toolbar Files folder and
double-clicking the toolbar you want to open.

Toolbar Function Ribbon View Location

VisiconX VisiconX Data Con- Insert tab, VisiconX group, VisiconX list
trol
VisiconX Grid Control Insert tab, VisiconX group, VisiconX list
VisiconX List Box Insert tab, VisiconX group, VisiconX list
Control
VisiconX Combo Box Insert tab, VisiconX group, VisiconX list
Control

Understanding the Ribbon

Beginning with iFIX 5.0, you can choose either Classic view or Ribbon view for your user interface.

The Ribbon contains all of the commands associated with the menus in Classic view, as well as almost
all of the options previously only available on the toolbar. Not only does this make toolbars almost unne-
cessary in Ribbon view, it makes the Ribbon easier to use than Classic view.

Ribbon Structure
The Ribbon is organized in tabs. Each tab contains groups, as the following figure illustrates.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 55

 iFIX Ribbon - Tabs and Groups

Tabs – includes the following:

l Home
l Insert
l Tools
l Format
l View
l Applications
l Administration
Groups – for the illustrated tab, includes the following:
l Clipboard
l WorkSpace
l New
l Editing

Quick Access Toolbar and WorkSpace Button

The Ribbon has a customizable Quick Access toolbar, which allows you to easily access the com-
mands you use most often with just the click of the mouse. The Quick Access toolbar is located in the
upper left corner of the toolbar, as seen in the following figure.

56 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 iFIX Ribbon - WorkSpace Button and Quick Access Toolbar

WorkSpace button
Quick Access Toolbar – default commands include the following:
l Switch modes
l Save
l Activate Visual Basic Editor
l Full Screen
l Create a new picture

The WorkSpace button, illustrated in the preceding figure, provides access to commands as well as
options for customizing the user interface.

Understanding the Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access toolbar provides a way to quickly execute frequently used commands. The Quick
Access toolbar is customizable, allowing you to add as many or as few commands to the toolbar as you
want.

In the following figure, commands have been added to the Quick Access toolbar, indicated by the num-
ber one. Typically, the five default commands that appear on toolbar are those listed in the toolbar list,
indicated by number two.

iFIX Ribbon - Quick Access Toolbar

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 57

 Commands added to the Quick Access Toolbar
Customize Quick Access Toolbar list. Commands that appear on the Quick
Access Toolbar by default are listed above the command separator.

To use the commands on the Quick Access toolbar, click the desired command on the toolbar or click
the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list and click one of the default commands listed there.

Understanding the WorkSpace Button

The WorkSpace button, located in the upper left corner of the WorkSpace, provides access to com-
mands located on the File menu in Classic view, such as New, Open, and Save. It also provides access
to further options, such as ways to customize the user interface in Ribbon view, or contact Technical
Support.

Understanding KeyTips

In Ribbon view, KeyTips replace underlined menu letters as indicators of keys to press to invoke a com-
mand. They appear when you press the ALT or F10 key.

The following figure the illustrates KeyTips. Each KeyTip corresponds to the command, tab or button to
which it is closest.

To access a command, tab or button, press <ALT>+<KeyTip>. For example, to access the Admin-
istration tab using the KeyTips illustrated in the following figure, you would press <ALT>+<D>.

iFIX Ribbon - KeyTips

The Ribbon at Run Time

In run mode, you can access the Ribbon, which displays the Historical tab and the Global Time Control,
as seen in the following figure. By default, the Ribbon is minimized in run mode, which allows for a larger
display area for pictures. To display the Ribbon, click the Historical tab.

58 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 The Ribbon in Run Mode
If the Ribbon is hidden and you want to use the Global Time Control or any other feature available on the
Ribbon at run time, you only need to clear the Minimize the Ribbon option on the Quick Access Tool list
while in run mode, as illustrated in the following figure.

The Minimize the Ribbon Option for the Ribbon in Run Mode
The Ribbon in Full Screen Run Mode

While in full screen run mode, the Ribbon is not visible, by default. However, you can use the Alt key to
display it. Clicking on a picture causes the Ribbon, if it is visible, to return to a non-visible state. To
always display the Ribbon when in full screen run mode, clear the Minimize the Ribbon options on the
Quick Access Tool list while in run mode, as illustrated in the following figure.

The Quick Access Tool list in Full Screen Run Mode

Setting User Preferences

The iFIX WorkSpace provides several options that you can configure. These options include:

l Picture, shape, drawing, and standard chart preferences. Refer to the Understanding Picture,
Shape, Drawing, and Standard Chart Preferences section for more information.
l Save preferences. Refer to the Saving Back-up Files section for more information.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 59

 l Run-time preferences. Refer to the Configuring Run-time Preferences section for more inform-
ation.
l The iFIX WorkSpace's start-up environment. Refer to the Changing the Start-up Environment
section for more information.
l OPC connection (animation error) preferences. Refer to the Animation Error Preferences section
for more information.
l Monitor preferences. Refer to the Multiple Monitors and iFIX section for more information.

Understanding Picture, Shape, Drawing, and Standard Chart Preferences

Picture preferences include the default size and background color, and whether the picture includes a
title bar, system bar, and the ability to resize. You can also specify whether your pictures will use a gradi-
ent fill, will save a thumbnail, can be cached, and can be auto scaled.

Shape preferences let you specify the default colors of new objects in a picture and default styles, such
as fill and edge style. If the fill style is Gradient, you can specify fade type. You can define default pipe
properties, and the default font name, point size, and styles.

Drawing preferences let you specify the line extension and line trimming options and whether or not to
display connection nodes on objects.

Standard Chart preferences let you select the defaults for Standard Chart objects only. These defaults
include the number of ticks per axis, the number of labels per axis, the direction in which the chart
scrolls, and the length of time the chart displays. To learn more about all picture, shapes, drawing, and
chart preferences, refer to the Creating Pictures manual.

Saving Back-up Files

Each time you save a file, the iFIX WorkSpace copies the previous version to a back-up subfolder and
saves the new version. If a back-up file already exists for the current file, the new back-up replaces it.

Back-up subfolders reside inside the system tree folders but do not appear in the system tree. For
example, the Pictures back-up subfolder resides inside the Pictures folder and contains back-ups of
modified pictures.

Depending on the amount of free disk space you have and the size of your pictures, you may want to dis-
able the back-up option to save space.

Configuring Run-time Preferences

The iFIX WorkSpace has several run-time preferences, which include:

l Saving your open documents automatically when you switch to the run-time environment. Using
this feature, you can toggle between the two environments without worrying about saving your
changes. By default, this option is disabled. If you enable it and you want to test a change to a pic-
ture or schedule without saving the modification, you must disable the preference before

60 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 switching to the run-time environment. If you do not, the WorkSpace automatically saves the
change.
l Displaying the iFIX WorkSpace full-screen. This feature provides maximum screen space for cre-
ating and displaying pictures. When you display the WorkSpace full-screen, it hides its menu bar,
system tree, and any docked toolbars. Floating toolbars remain visible.
l Opening specific pictures automatically when the iFIX WorkSpace starts in the run-time envir-
onment. Use this option to define the specific files you want to open automatically for your oper-
ators.
l Opening specific schedules you want to open in the background. Use this option to indicate the
specific files you want the FixBackgroundServer task to load on start-up.

Changing the Start-up Environment

The start-up environment option lets you specify the environment in which the iFIX WorkSpace starts.
By default, the iFIX WorkSpace starts in the configuration environment.

However, when you have finished configuring each node, you may want to configure the iFIX
WorkSpace to start up in the run-time environment automatically.

Animation Error Preferences

Each animated object in a picture uses OPC protocols to receive data and report errors. The animation
error preferences define the default error strings and values that the object uses when an error occurs.
For example, by default, when a communication error occurs, Data links display the text "@@@@".

You can customize the animation error defaults by entering new values in the Animations Data Error
Defaults tab. By changing the defaults, you make the default error messages more intuitive for your
industry. For example, when a communication error occurs, you can have Data links display the fol-
lowing text by entering it into the Comm field of the Format Animation Object Defaults area:
Cannot communicate with server

Choosing the User Interface

The iFIX WorkSpace provides two options for user interfaces. They are:

l Classic view – this user interface was the only one available prior to iFIX 5.0. It uses a number of
toolbars in addition to menu driven commands.
l Ribbon view – this user interface is available beginning with iFIX 5.0. Almost all functions pre-
viously available in Classic view via the toolbar can now be accessed on the Ribbon, without
opening or importing toolbars.

Customizing the Ribbon User Interface

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 61

 In Ribbon view, you can customize the look and feel of the user interface. Customization choices
include:

l Changing the color scheme of the WorkSpace.

l Determining how ScreenTips are displayed.
l Customizing the Quick Access toolbar.
l Creating and customizing keyboard shortcuts.
l Deciding whether or not to show KeyTips.

Displaying the Visual Basic Editor

You can write Visual Basic for Applications scripts for any picture, toolbar button, schedule, or iFIX
object. Using VBA gives you complete control over your process automation solution because it lets you
create custom scripts and automate iFIX for your needs.

You can begin writing scripts by displaying the Visual Basic Editor. The VBE provides access to all the
available methods, properties, and events for your iFIX objects.

You can display the VBE in many ways, such as by selecting Visual Basic Editor from the WorkSpace
menu (Classic view) or on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Visual Basic Editor (Ribbon
view), or right-clicking an object and selecting Edit Script from the pop-up menu, and creating a schedule
and clicking VB Editor from the Add Event Entry or Add Timer Entry dialog box.

To learn how to use the VBE, refer to its online Help. To learn how to write scripts for iFIX objects, but-
tons, pictures, and schedules, refer to the Writing Scripts manual. For information on iFIX methods, prop-
erties, and events, refer to the iFIX Automation Interfaces Help file.

Multiple Monitors and iFIX

The iFIX WorkSpace supports the use of multiple monitors for displaying pictures in an expanded (or
independent) and spanned (or stretched) space. You must configure your video driver (following the
instructions from your hardware vendor) to enable your desktop space to be expanded (or independent)
or spanned (or stretched) for all your monitors.

For multiple monitors to work properly with iFIX, you must have the identical resolution set on all mon-
itors. The primary monitor (Monitor 1) should always be set to the topmost, and leftmost area in the Win-
dows Display Properties dialog box.

Valid Monitor Settings Example

The following figures display valid dual monitor settings for the iFIX WorkSpace, as shown in the Win-
dows Display Properties dialog box:

62 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Invalid Monitor Settings Example
The following graphics display invalid dual monitor settings the iFIX WorkSpace, as shown in the Win-
dows Display Properties dialog box:

Configuration in iFIX
When using expanded (or independent) display settings, in the User Preferences dialog box on the Gen-
eral tab, select the Extend WorkSpace to support multiple monitors check box and click OK. Be aware
that if you later disable this user preference, the WorkSpace shrinks to one monitor (Monitor 1), but it
does not move any child windows back into the single monitor view. The child windows remain in the
same location. To view the child windows again, change the picture’s WindowLeftPercentage and Win-
dowTopPercentage to 0 to get them back into the Monitor 1 area.

For help with opening pictures across multiple monitors, you can use the Track Mouse Coordinates Tool
in the iFIX WorkSpace. For more information, refer to the Using the Find Mouse Coordinates Tool sec-
tion in the Creating Pictures e-book. This tool whelp you quickly locate the coordinates of the upper left
corner where you want a picture to open.

WorkSpace Dialog Boxes

The WorkSpace application includes the following dialog boxes (listed in alphabetical order):

l Add Server Dialog Box

l Button Properties Dialog Box
l Customize Toolbars Dialog Box
l Data Server Installer Dialog Box
l Expression Builder Dialog Box
l Find and Replace Dialog Box
l Get Project Dialog Box
l Import Toolbars Dialog Box
l Modify Server Dialog Box

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 63

 l iFIX Project Backup Dialog Box
l iFIX Project Backup Wizard
l iFIX Restore Wizard
l Task Wizard Dialog Box
l Toolbars Dialog Box
l User Preferences Dialog Box

Add Server Dialog Box

The Add Server dialog box displays the following items:

Data Server

Specifies a name for the OPC driver. This name identifies the driver to iFIX and is used in data sources
to access the selected OPC driver. Make sure the name you enter contains no spaces and is not
already used by another data server.

OPC Server

Specifies the OPC driver you want use.

Machine Name

Specifies the local computer name, or the remote computer name that the OPC Server resides on.

Set As Default Server

Select this check box to set the current OPC server as the default server. iFIX will use this server when
you do not explicitly enter a server name in a data source.

Button Properties Dialog Box

The Button Properties dialog box displays the following items:

Bitmaps List Box

Displays a list of bitmaps in the iFIX Local path. You can select one of these bitmaps for the button or
you can select a custom bitmap of your own by browsing to it. If you select a custom bitmap, the image
can be no more than 20 x 20 pixels and use no more than 16 colors.

Preview

Displays a preview of the bitmap highlighted in the Current Directory bitmap list.

Category

Specifies the current category.

Name

Specifies the name of the button you are configuring. You can edit this name by entering the text you
want.

64 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Description

Lets you enter a text description for the button you are configuring. This text appears on the Buttons tab
when you select the button.

Screentip

Lets you enter a text description of up to 128 characters for the button you are configuring. This text
pops up when you place the cursor over the button.

Edit Script

Lets you open the Visual Basic Editor, and enter or edit the current button's script.

Configure the Proficy Historian Server(s) Dialog Box

The Configure the GE Historian Server(s) dialog box displays the following items. Be aware that you
must restart the iFIX Workspace to apply changes from this dialog box.

Enable Historian Aliases for All Sessions

Select this check box to create a common Historian Server configuration that can be used across mul-
tiple Windows user accounts. The common Historian server configuration is available in any session
type including: iClient, iClientTS, and Webspace clients. When the option is disabled, you can create a
custom Historian Server configuration for each Windows user.

For example, say you are logged into Windows with a user account named “Joe” and you save the His-
torian Server configuration with the option enabled. Then, you log in with a user account called “Tom”
and start iFIX and the WorkSpace. The WorkSpace will be able to use the Historian Server configuration
you created earlier, even though you are logged in with a different user account. Conversely, if you are
logged in to Windows as “Joe” and you save the Historian Server configuration with the option disabled,
when you log in as “Tom” and start iFIX and the WorkSpace, you will need to create the Historian Server
configuration. This Historian Server configuration will only be available when the “Tom” user account is
logged in to Windows.

There are some special considerations when iFIX runs in a Terminal Server environment. When iFIX
runs in an iClientTS session, there is another option, TSCommonHistConfig*, that comes into play.
When the “Enable Historian aliases for all sessions” option is enabled, it overrides the TSCom-
monHistConfig option. When it is disabled, when iFIX run as an iClientTS it uses the common Historian
Server configuration if TSCommonHistConfig is enabled; it uses the user-based Historian Server con-
figuration if TSCommonHistConfig is disabled.

WebSpace client sessions use the common Historian sSrver configuration that was created on the
WebSpace server. WebSpace client sessions are not affected by the “Enable Historian aliases for all
sessions” or TSCommonHistConfig options.

The following table summarizes how the “Enable Historian aliases for all sessions” and TSCom-
monHistConfig options work in different session types:

iFIX is Run- and the and the TSCom- the Historian Server con-
ning as an... “Enable His- monHistConfig option* is… figuration is…
torian aliases
for all ses-
sions” option

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 65

 is…
iClient enabled enabled or disabled common
iClient disabled enabled or disabled user-based
iClientTS enabled enabled or disabled common
iClientTS disabled enabled common**
iClientTS disabled disabled user-based
Webspace Cli- enabled or dis-
enabled or disabled common
ent abled

* The TSCommHistConfig option is configured in the [Historian] section of the FixUserPreferences.ini

file.

** When using iFIX in a Terminal Server environment with “Enable Historian aliases for all sessions” dis-
abled and TSCommonHistConfig enabled, take care to save the Historian Server configuration from the
Terminal Server console. Changes made to the Historian Server configuration from an iClientTS session
will be saved as user-based.

Alias Name/Server Name List

Lists the alias and server name of the configured Historian.

Set Default

Use this button to set the server selected in the Alias Name/Server Name list as the default Historian
server.

Add Server

Use this button to add a Historian server.

Modify

Use this button to modify server characteristics.

Delete

Use this button to delete the selected server from the Alias Name/Server Name list.

Alias Name

Enter the alias name in this field. This field is unavailable if the default server is selected. Do not use spe-
cial characters, such as @, $, a period (.), or #, in this field.

Server Name

Enter the server name in this field.

User Name

Enter the user name for the Historian server.

Password

Enter the password for the Historian server.

Close

Use this button to close the Configure the GE Historian Server(s) dialog box.

66 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Get Collectors

Use this button to populate the Collector Name list.

Collector Name List

Lists only the collectors that use iFIX EDA, which includes the following :

l iFIX Native Collector

l OPC EDA Collector
l iFIX OPC Collector
NOTE: The Collector Name List only displays local collectors, even if you set a remote server as the default
server.

Set Default

Use this button to set the collector in the Collector Name list as the default.

Customize Toolbars Dialog Box

The Customize Toolbars dialog box displays the following items:

Toolbars Tab

Item Description
Owner Lets you select a toolbar owner. Only active owners appear in the list.
Toolbars Lets you show and hide the selected toolbar.
Enable Docking for Lets you enable or disable toolbar docking.
Selected Toolbar
Show ScreenTips Lets you enable or disable text descriptions for every button on every tool-
on Toolbars bar. When enabled, you can display a description by placing the cursor
over a button.
Add Toolbar Lets you create a toolbar.
Modify Properties Lets you modify the properties of the selected toolbar. Toolbars supplied
with iFIX cannot be modified.
Delete Toolbar Lets you delete the selected toolbar. Toolbars supplied with iFIX cannot
be deleted.
Reset Lets you reset the selected toolbar to its default state. Any buttons
removed from the toolbar and supplied by default are added back. All but-
tons not supplied with the toolbar are removed. Resetting a toolbar
affects toolbars supplied with iFIX; toolbars you create are not affected.
Import Lets you import custom toolbars shared among your iFIX nodes or cre-
ated by a toolbar developer.

Buttons Tab

Item Description
Categories Lets you select a toolbar category.
Add Category Lets you add a toolbar category.
Rename Category Lets you rename the selected toolbar category. Categories supplied with

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 67

 iFIX cannot be renamed.
Delete Category Lets you delete the selected toolbar category. Categories supplied with
iFIX cannot be deleted.
Buttons Area Drag and drop a button from this group box onto a toolbar, or double-click
a button in the toolbar to edit the VBA script.
Description Displays a description of the selected button.
Add Button Lets you add a button to the selected category.
Modify Button Lets you modify the selected button's properties. You cannot modify a
button supplied with iFIX.
Delete Button Lets you delete the selected toolbar button. Buttons supplied with iFIX
cannot be deleted.

Data Server Installer Dialog Box

The Data Server Installer dialog box displays the following items:

Data Servers

Displays the available OPC servers and lets you select the server you want to modify or delete.

OPC Server

Specifies the OPC driver of the selected server.

Machine Name

Specifies the local computer name, or the remote computer name that the OPC Server resides on.

Add

Use this button to add (install) an OPC server.

Remove

Use this button to delete the selected OPC server.

Modify

Use this button to modify the selected OPC server.

Expression Builder Dialog Box

The Expression Builder dialog box displays the following items:

NOTE: If a tab is not displayed, you can click the Available Data Sources drop-down to select the applic-
able one that you want to bring into view. The following figure illustrates where the Available Data Sources
drop-down appears in the Expression Builder dialog box.

68 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 FIX Database Tab

Item Description
Node Names List Displays a filtered list of SCADA servers that the local node is com-
Box municating with. By default, all SCADA servers are displayed.
Node Names Filter Specifies the current SCADA server filter. You can edit the filter or
select one from the list. You can also include in the filter the wildcards ?
(to represent a single character) or * (to represent two or more char-
acters).
Node Names Filter Use this button to update the list of nodes based on the current SCADA
Button server filter.
Tag Names List Box Displays a filtered list of database blocks (tags) on the selected SCADA
server. By default, all blocks are displayed.
Tag Names Filter Specifies the current block name filter. You can edit the filter or select
one from the list. You can also include in the filter the wildcards ? (to rep-
resent a single character) or * (to represent two or more characters).
Tag Names Filter Use this button to update the list of blocks based on the current block fil-
Button ter.
Field Names List Displays a filtered list of fields available from the selected block. By
Box default, all blocks are displayed.

You can receive help on any field displayed in this list box by using the
Block Field Reference and selecting the field's block from the list that
appears.
A_* Button Use this button to change the block field filter to display all A_ fields and
selects the A_CV field, if available.
F_* Button Use this button to change the block field filter to display all F_ fields and
selects the F_CV field, if available.
E_* Button Use this button to change the block field filter to display all E_ fields and
selects the E_CV field, if available.
Block Field Filter Specifies the current block field filter. You can edit the filter or select
one from the list. You can also include in the filter the wildcards ? (to rep-
resent a single character) or * (to represent two or more characters).
Block Field Filter Use this button to update the list of fields based on the current block
Button field filter.
Current Expression Specifies the current expression. You can enter the expression directly
Box or build it by making selections from the other fields and buttons on the
tabbed page.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 69

 Valid Characters: all alphanumeric characters, hyphen (-), underscore
(_), exclamation point (!), less than (<), greater than (>), pound (#), per-
cent (%), dollar sign ($), ampersand (&), forward slash (/), backslash (\),
pipe (|), opening bracket ([), closing bracket (]), and single quote (').

If a single quote (') or a backslash (\) is a literal part of the addressing

string syntax, it must be preceded by a backslash (\) in order for the
character to be passed to the server as part of the address. For
example, to enter a tag with the name 'TEST', you would enter the data
source FIX32.THISNODE.\'TEST\'.F_CV.
Tolerance Specifies the current connection's rounding factor. Typically, iFIX uses
this value when comparing a process value to a target value. If the pro-
cess value is within the specified tolerance, iFIX assumes the two val-
ues are equal. For example, if the target value is 1.0, the tolerance is
0.1, and the current value of a data source is 0.8, iFIX does not assume
the two values are equal because the data source is not within the spe-
cified tolerance. The value must be within the range 0.9 to 1.1 to equal
the target value. Seven digits of precision are allowed for accuracy.
Deadband Specifies the maximum fluctuation you want for the current connection
before iFIX updates it. By entering a dead band value, you create a +/-
dead zone around the connection's current value. As long as the value is
within this range, iFIX does not update the value. However, once the
value exceeds the maximum or minimum dead band, the value is
updated. Seven digits of precision are allowed for accuracy.
Refresh Rate Specifies the rate at which iFIX updates the current connection. iFIX
updates the connection no faster than the specified speed. For speeds
less than 1 second, iFIX updates no faster than once every 50 mil-
liseconds. For speeds greater than 60 seconds, iFIX updates no faster
than once every 60 seconds.
Check Syntax But- Use this button to check the syntax of your expression. A valid expres-
ton sion displays the message "Syntax check successful!" An error mes-
sage appears if the syntax is invalid.
Mathematical Func- Use this button to show or hide a keypad of numbers, and mathematical
tions Button and Boolean operators you can use in your expressions.

Pictures and Globals Tabs

Item Description
Objects List Box Displays a list of the open pictures (Pictures tab) or the global objects
(Globals tab) available on this node. By expanding a picture or the user
globals, you can display a filtered list of objects in the pictures or in the
User Globals folder.
Object Filter Specifies the current filter for the selected item. You can edit the filter or
select one from the filter list. You can also include in the filter the wild-
cards ? (to represent a single character) or * (to represent two or more
characters).
Object Filter Button Use this button to update the item list based on the current filter.
Properties List Box Specifies the properties for the currently selected picture or object.

NOTE: If you have created an object-to-object connection, such as the

fill percentage of one tank to another, or created a connection to a data

70 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 source, the animated properties display in boldface.
Properties Filter Specifies the current property filter. You can edit the filter or select one
from the list. You can also include in the filter the wildcards ? (to rep-
resent a single character) or * (to represent two or more characters).
Properties Filter But- Use this button to update the list of properties based on the current prop-
ton erty filter.
Current Expression Specifies the current expression. You can enter the expression directly
Box or build it by making selections from the other fields and buttons on the
tabbed page.

Valid Characters: all alphanumeric characters, hyphen (-), underscore

(_), exclamation point (!), less than (<), greater than (>), pound (#), per-
cent (%), dollar sign ($), ampersand (&), forward slash (/), backslash (\),
pipe (|), opening bracket ([), closing bracket (]), and single quote (').

If a single quote (') or a backslash (\) is a literal part of the addressing

string syntax, it must be preceded by a backslash (\) in order for the
character to be passed to the server as part of the address. For
example, to enter a tag with the name 'TEST', you would enter the data
source FIX32.THISNODE.\'TEST\'.F_CV.
Tolerance Specifies the current connection's rounding factor. Typically, iFIX uses
this value when comparing a process value to a target value. If the pro-
cess value is within the specified tolerance, iFIX assumes the two val-
ues are equal. For example, if the target value is 1.0, the tolerance is
0.1, and the current value of a data source is 0.8, iFIX does not assume
the two values are equal because the data source is not within the spe-
cified tolerance. The value must be within the range 0.9 to 1.1 to equal
the target value.
Deadband Specifies the maximum fluctuation you want for the current connection
before iFIX updates it. By entering a dead band value, you create a +/-
dead zone around the connection's current value. As long as the value
is within this range, iFIX does not update the value. However, once the
value exceeds the maximum or minimum dead band, the value is
updated.
Refresh Rate Specifies the rate at which iFIX updates the current connection. iFIX
updates the connection no faster than the specified speed. For speeds
less than 1 second, iFIX updates no faster than once every 50 mil-
liseconds. For speeds greater than 60 seconds, iFIX updates no faster
than once every 60 seconds.
Check Syntax But- Use this button to check the syntax of your expression. A valid expres-
ton sion displays the message "Syntax check successful!" An error mes-
sage appears if the syntax is invalid.
Mathematical Func- Use this button to show or hide a keypad of numbers, and mathematical
tions Button and Boolean operators you can use in your expressions.

Data Servers Tab

Item Description
Data Servers Box Displays a list of the SCADA servers collecting historical data for the
local node (Historical tab) or the third-party OPC servers that support
browsing (Data Servers tab). By expanding a node, you can display a

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 71

 filtered list of the historical values being collected or the I/O points
being monitored. Refer to the Entering Data Source Syntax section in
the Creating Pictures electronic book for additional information about
using third-party OPC servers.
Data Servers Filter Specifies the current filter for the selected item. You can edit the filter or
select one from the filter list. You can also include in the filter the wild-
cards ? (to represent a single character) or * (to represent two or more
characters).
Data Servers Filter Use this button to update the item list based on the current filter.
Button
Current Expression Specifies the current expression. You can enter the expression directly
Box or build it by making selections from the other fields and buttons on the
tabbed page.

Valid Characters: all alphanumeric characters, hyphen (-), underscore

(_), exclamation point (!), less than (<), greater than (>), pound (#), per-
cent (%), dollar sign ($), ampersand (&), forward slash (/), backslash (\),
pipe (|), opening bracket ([), closing bracket (]), and single quote (').

If a single quote (') or a backslash (\) is a literal part of the addressing

string syntax, it must be preceded by a backslash (\) in order for the
character to be passed to the server as part of the address. For
example, to enter a tag with the name 'TEST', you would enter the data
source FIX32.THISNODE.\'TEST\'.F_CV.

Note on Tag Group Substitution and your Expression

If you use tag group substitution and the object of your substitution is
an element in an OPC server address that includes double quotes sur-
rounding its data items, it is recommended that you add single quotes
surrounding the tag group symbol. For example, the following sub-
stitution for the PDS driver will fail:

'PDS.<Item Project=@PRJT@ Device="Device1" id="%R00001"

dataType="VT_12" FGUSpan="0.00" EGULow="0.00"/>'

However, the modified string ("'@PRJT@'") in this example, is one

that will resolve properly:

'PDS.<Item Project="'@PRJT@'" Device="Device1" id="%R00001"

dataType="VT_12" FGUSpan="0.00" EGULow="0.00"/>'
Tolerance Specifies the current connection's rounding factor. Typically, iFIX uses
this value when comparing a process value to a target value. If the pro-
cess value is within the specified tolerance, iFIX assumes the two val-
ues are equal. For example, if the target value is 1.0, the tolerance is
0.1, and the current value of a data source is 0.8, iFIX does not assume
the two values are equal because the data source is not within the spe-
cified tolerance. The value must be within the range 0.9 to 1.1 to equal
the target value.
Deadband Specifies the maximum fluctuation you want for the current connection
before iFIX updates it. By entering a dead band value, you create a +/-
dead zone around the connection's current value. As long as the value

72 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 is within this range, iFIX does not update the value. However, once the
value exceeds the maximum or minimum dead band, the value is
updated.
Refresh Rate Specifies the rate at which iFIX updates the current connection. iFIX
updates the connection no faster than the specified speed. For speeds
less than 1 second, iFIX updates no faster than once every 50 mil-
liseconds. For speeds greater than 60 seconds, iFIX updates no faster
than once every 60 seconds.
Check Syntax But- Use this button to check the syntax of your expression. A valid expres-
ton sion displays the message "Syntax check successful!" An error mes-
sage appears if the syntax is invalid.
Mathematical Func- Use this button to show or hide a keypad of numbers, and math-
tions Button ematical and Boolean operators you can use in your expressions.

Alarm Counters Tab

Item Description
Node Names List Displays a filtered list of SCADA servers that the local node is com-
Box municating with. By default, all SCADA servers are displayed.
Node Names Filter Specifies the current SCADA server filter. You can edit the filter or
select one from the list. You can also include in the filter the wildcards
? (to represent a single character) or * (to represent two or more char-
acters).
Node Names Filter Use this button to update the list of nodes based on the current SCADA
Button server filter.
Alarm Area Tag Displays a filtered list of alarm areas on the selected SCADA server.
Names List Box Also displays the alarm counter (ALARMCOUNTERS) tag. By default,
all areas are displayed.
Alarm Area Tag Specifies the current area name filter. You can edit the filter or select
Names Filter one from the list. You can also include in the filter the wildcards ? (to
represent a single character) or * (to represent two or more characters).
Alarm Area Tag Use this button to update the list of areas based on the current area fil-
Names Filter Button ter.
Alarm Counter Field Displays a filtered list of fields available from the selected area. By
Names List Box default, all fields are displayed.
A_* Button Use this button to change the field filter to display all A_ fields.
F_* Button Use this button to change the field filter to display all F_ fields.
Alarm Counter Field Specifies the current area field filter. You can edit the filter or select
Names Filter one from the list. You can also include in the filter the wildcards ? (to
represent a single character) or * (to represent two or more characters).
Alarm Counter Field Use this button to update the list of fields based on the current field fil-
Names Filter Button ter.
Current Expression Specifies the current expression. You can enter the expression directly
Box or build it by making selections from the other fields and buttons on the
tabbed page.

Valid Characters: all alphanumeric characters, hyphen (-), underscore

(_), exclamation point (!), less than (<), greater than (>), pound (#), per-
cent (%), dollar sign ($), ampersand (&), forward slash (/), backslash (\),
pipe (|), opening bracket ([), closing bracket (]), and single quote (').

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 73

 If a single quote (') or a backslash (\) is a literal part of the addressing
string syntax, it must be preceded by a backslash (\) in order for the
character to be passed to the server as part of the address. For
example, to enter a tag with the name 'TEST', you would enter the data
source FIX32.THISNODE.\'TEST\'.F_CV.
Tolerance Specifies the current connection's rounding factor. Typically, iFIX uses
this value when comparing a process value to a target value. If the pro-
cess value is within the specified tolerance, iFIX assumes the two val-
ues are equal. For example, if the target value is 1.0, the tolerance is
0.1, and the current value of a data source is 0.8, iFIX does not assume
the two values are equal because the data source is not within the spe-
cified tolerance. The value must be within the range 0.9 to 1.1 to equal
the target value.
Deadband Specifies the maximum fluctuation you want for the current connection
before iFIX updates it. By entering a dead band value, you create a +/-
dead zone around the connection's current value. As long as the value
is within this range, iFIX does not update the value. However, once the
value exceeds the maximum or minimum dead band, the value is
updated.
Refresh Rate Specifies the rate at which iFIX updates the current connection. iFIX
updates the connection no faster than the specified speed. For speeds
less than 1 second, iFIX updates no faster than once every 50 mil-
liseconds. For speeds greater than 60 seconds, iFIX updates no faster
than once every 60 seconds.
Check Syntax But- Use this button to check the syntax of your expression. A valid expres-
ton sion displays the message "Syntax check successful!" An error mes-
sage appears if the syntax is invalid.
Mathematical Func- Use this button to show or hide a keypad of numbers, and math-
tions Button ematical and Boolean operators you can use in your expressions.

GE Historian Tab
NOTE: This tab only appears if the data source selected permits historical data.

Item Description
Servers Displays a selection list of servers.
Display Collector Allows you to select whether Collector names are displayed.
Name Check Box
Node Names List Displays a filtered list of SCADA servers that the local node is com-
Box municating with. By default, all SCADA servers are displayed.
Tag Names List Box Displays a filtered list of database blocks (tags) on the selected
SCADA server. By default, all blocks are displayed.
Description List Box Displays a filtered list of descriptors of the selected SCADA server. By
default, all descriptions are displayed.
Collector Names Displays a filtered list of Collector Names for the selected SCADA
List Box server. By default, all Collector Names are displayed.
Filter fields Displays four drop-down lists that you can use filter what displays in the
tag list. Any combination of four filters can be selected at one time:

l Node - Specifies the current node name for the SCADA server
you want to filter on. Leave it set to All (*), or enter a node name

74 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 or expression to filter by.
l Tag - Specifies the current description filter. Leave it set to All
(*), or enter a tag name or expression to filter by.
l Description - Specifies the current description filter. Leave it set
to All (*), or enter a tag description or expression to filter by.
l Collector Type - Specifies the current collector type filter. You
can select a collector type from this list, such as: All, Cal-
cEngine, File, iFIX, LabData, Manual, OPC, Other, Server-
ToServer, and Simulation. The default is All.
l Engineering Units - Specifies the engineering units filter. Leave
it set to All (*), or enter a type of units or expression to filter by.
l Data Type - Specifies the current tag name filter. You select a
data type from the list, such as: All, Double Float, Double
Integer, Scaled, Single Float, or Single Integer.

For all fields, except Collector Type and Data Type, when building a fil-
ter expression, you can include a wildcard ? (to represent a single char-
acter) or * (to represent two or more characters) in the filter.
Apply Filter Button Use this button to apply the selected filter to the item list.
Reset Filter Button Use this button to reset the item list based on the current filter.
Filtered Tag Count Displays the number of tags found that meet filter criteria.
Maximum Count Displays the maximum number of tags that the search can return from
GE Historian.
Current Expression Specifies the current expression. You can enter the expression directly
Box or build it by making selections from the other fields and buttons on the
tabbed page.

Valid Characters: all alphanumeric characters, hyphen (-), underscore

(_), exclamation point (!), less than (<), greater than (>), pound (#), per-
cent (%), dollar sign ($), ampersand (&), forward slash (/), backslash (\),
pipe (|), opening bracket ([), closing bracket (]), and single quote (').

If a single quote (') or a backslash (\) is a literal part of the addressing

string syntax, it must be preceded by a backslash (\) in order for the
character to be passed to the server as part of the address. For
example, to enter a tag with the name 'TEST', you would enter the data
source FIX32.THISNODE.\'TEST\'.F_CV.
Check Syntax But- Use this button to check the syntax of your expression. A valid expres-
ton sion displays the message "Syntax check successful!" An error mes-
sage appears if the syntax is invalid.

Find and Replace Dialog Box

The Find and Replace dialog box displays the following items:

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 75

Find Tab

Item Description
Find What Specifies the text you want to search for (the search string).
Match Case Select this check box to limit your search to only the values that match the
exact case of the search string.
Whole Word Only Select this check box to limit your search to only whole words that match the
search string. A whole word is any text delimited by a carriage return, a line
feed, a space, a hyphen (-), a semi-colon (;), a colon (:), a comma (,), a period
(.), an underscore (_), an exclamation point (!), quotation marks ("), an apo-
strophe ('), or the following characters: (, ), {, }, [, ].
Data Source Only Select this check box to limit your search to only data sources that match the
search string.
Include Scripts Select this check box to expand your search to include the scripts associated
with the current picture or schedule.
Find Button Use this button to display any value that matches the search string. On the
Replace tab, only values you can modify appear. These values can be picture
and scheduler properties, or property values of objects in your pictures.
Match List Displays the properties and property values that match the search string after
you click the Find button.

On the Replace tab, a preview of the replaced text also appears when you
click Replace Preview. You can jump to the current picture, schedule, or one
of the objects in the list by double-clicking it.
Stop Button Use this button to stop the search or replace in progress.
Go To Button Use this button to jump to the object, picture, or schedule selected in the
Match List list box. Before jumping, the iFIX WorkSpace closes the Find and
Replace dialog box. If you jump to an object, the iFIX WorkSpace selects it
after the dialog box closes.

Replace Tab

Item Description
Find What Specifies the text you want to search for (the search string).
Replace With Specifies the text you want to substitute for the search string.
Match Case Select this check box to limit your search to only the values that match the
exact case of the search string.
Whole Word Only Select this check box to limit your search to only whole words that match the
search string. A whole word is any text delimited by a carriage return, a line
feed, a space, a hyphen (-), a semi-colon (;), a colon (:), a comma (,), a period
(.), an underscore (_), an exclamation point (!), quotation marks ("), an apo-
strophe ('), or the following characters: (, ), {, }, [, ].
Data Source Only Select this check box to limit your search to only data sources that match the
search string.
Include Scripts Select this check box to expand your search to include the scripts associated
with the current picture or schedule.

76 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Find Button Use this button to display any value that matches the search string. On the
Replace tab, only values you can modify appear. These values can be pic-
ture and scheduler properties, or property values of objects in your pictures.
Replace Selected Use this button to replace only the property value you select from the Match
List box.
Replace All Use this button to replace all property values found.
Replace Preview Use this button to display the results of replacing all property values in the
Match List list box.
Match List Displays the properties and property values that match the search string. On
the Replace tab, a preview of the replaced text also appears when you click
Replace Preview. You can jump to the current picture, schedule, or one of
the objects in the list by double-clicking it.
Stop Button Use this button to stop the search or replace in progress.

Get Project Dialog Box

The Get Project dialog box displays the following items:

Select Project

Select a project name from the drop-down list. The names in this list represent iFIX project names that
you can retrieve from the Change Management Server.

Project Destination

The path that the project was last checked in with. Change this path if it is the same as your local iFIX
path.
IMPORTANT: Do not get a project directly into your local iFIX path. Doing so copies over your existing iFIX
files, which may create problems the next time you start iFIX. If you try to get a project to your local iFIX path,
an error message appears.
TIP: If you later want to start iFIX with the SCU associated with this project, open the SCU, and modify the
path configuration (the base and NLS paths should point to the local install, while the project path should
point to folder you copied the files to). You also should modify the startup tasks, network configuration, SQL
tasks, and local startup definition so that the appropriate paths point to the local iFIX install. Save the SCU
and restart iFIX to start iFIX with this new SCU.

Get Options

Item Description
Delete all existing Select this check box to delete all existing files in the path you specify,
files under Project and replace them with the ones in this project. If you select this check
Destination box, it is strongly recommended that you select the Initialize Project
Destination with iFIX Default Files check box.
Initialize Project Select this check box to restore your iFIX files to the factory default set-
Destination with tings before retrieving the iFIX files from this project. If you do not select
iFIX default files this check box, you can get the files, but you will not be able to run them
in iFIX.

Selecting this check box helps your project to run properly if the path is dif-
ferent from the default one listed when you select the project. It is highly

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 77

 recommended that you leave this check box selected.

SCU File

Shows the SCU name of the currently selected project. If you change the project destination, be sure to
take note of this name; you will need to locate it in the SCU to update it.

Base Path

Shows the base path of the currently selected project. This is the main iFIX folder. Other iFIX folders are
usually subdirectories of the base path.

If you change the project destination, be sure to take note of this path; you will need to change base path
in the SCU to the local base path.

Project Path

Shows the project path of the currently selected project. This path includes project specific application
files, such as pictures, databases, and tag groups. The default value for the Project Path is the base
path.

If you change the project destination, be sure to take note of this path; you will need to change the pro-
ject path in the SCU to the destination path.

Import Toolbars Dialog Box

The Import Toolbars dialog box displays the following items:

Toolbars Box

Lets you select the toolbar you want to import.

Owner

Lets you select an owner for the toolbar you are importing.

Import

Lets you import the selected toolbar.

Modify Server Dialog Box

The Modify Server dialog box displays the following items:

Data Server

Specifies a name for the OPC driver. This name identifies the driver to iFIX and is used in data sources
to access the selected OPC driver. Make sure the name you enter contains no spaces and is not
already used by another data server.

OPC Server

Specifies the OPC driver you want use.

78 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Machine Name

Specifies the local computer name, or the remote computer name that the OPC Server resides on.

Set As Default Server

Select this check box to set the current OPC server as the default server. iFIX will use this server when
you do not explicitly enter a server name in a data source.

Multiple Command Script Wizard Dialog Box

The Multiple Command Script Wizard lets you use one or more command Experts to build a sequence of
actions that can be triggered by a mouse click on an object, a Scheduler entry, or a key macro.

The Multiple Command Script Wizard dialog box displays the following items:

Select Action to Append

The Select Action to Append drop-down list contains pre-defined Experts that you can add to your com-
mand sequence. When you select an action from the list, its associated Expert launches. After you con-
figure the Expert for use in the sequence, it will appear in the Configured Actions list box.
NOTE: If the Expert you want to append is already displayed in the drop-down list, you can click the Append
action button to launch the Expert.

Configured Actions

Append action button

Click this button to open the Expert currently displayed in the Select Action to Append list.

Delete a selected action button

Click this button to delete a selected action.

Delete all actions button

Click this button to delete all actions in the Configured Actions list box.

Up/Down buttons

Click the Up or Down button to move a selected action up or down in the Configured Actions list box.

Show/Hide action details button

Click the Show or Hide button to display or hide the details of all actions in the Configured Actions list
box.

Modify selected action button

Click this button to modify the selected action.

Launch VB Editor

Click this button to launch the Visual Basic Editor.

Configured Actions List Box

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 79

 The Configured Actions list box displays the command or sequence of commands that have been con-
figured for the selected object. You can click the plus symbol next to a command to expand it and dis-
play its configured properties.

iFIX Project Backup Dialog Box

the iFIX Project Backup dialog box displays the following items:

Project Backup Wizard Button

Use this button to copy iFIX data and configuration files from the local node to a compressed archive
file.

Backup Type

Custom Backup

Allows you to select specific files within the project path to backup.

Full Backup

Select to backup all files, including security files, within the project path.

Project Restore Wizard Button

Use this button to copy iFIX data and configuration files from a compressed archive file to the local
node.

iFIX Project Backup Wizard

the iFIX Project Backup Wizard displays the following items:

Custom Backup

Page 1

Item Description
Backup Type Specifies the type of backup you selected.
Node Specifies the name of the local node from which you are backing up files.
Project Path Specifies the path on the local node from which you are backing up files.
Backup File Option Select the types of files you want to back up.
Include Security Files Select to backup security settings. This option is only enabled when security
In Archive files are found on the system.
Backup Notes Displays notes about the backup. You cannot edit this field.

Page 2

Item Description
Backup File Allows you to specify the path and name of the archive file to save. You can enter any
Path and valid file name and path, including a network path. The Wizard automatically appends
Filename the .FBK extension to the name you enter.

80 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Browse But- Lets you select the path and file name of the archive file by browsing to it.
ton

Full Backup

Item Description
Backup File Allows you to specify the path and name of the archive file to save. You can enter any
Path and valid file name and path, including a network path. The Wizard automatically appends
Filename the .FBK extension to the name you enter.
Browse But- Lets you select the path and file name of the archive file by browsing to it.
ton

iFIX Restore Wizard

the iFIX Restore Wizard displays the following items:

Page 1

Backup Filename To Restore

Specifies the name of the archive file you want to copy files from and the path to it.

Browse Button

Lets you select the path and file name of the archive file by browsing to it.

Page 2

Backup Type

Displays the type of archive you are restoring (Custom, Full, or Factory Default), and displays the loc-
ation of the archive file.

Restore Destination Options

Item Description
Use the Cur- Select this option to restore files into the current project path.
rent SCU
Use SCU Select this option to restore files into the project path specified in the archived SCU.
File From
NOTE: When you select the Use SCU File from Archive option, be sure check the
Archive
default iFIX path configurations in the SCU in each of your iFIX projects after you restore
your files. For example, if you installed the latest version of iFIX to a 64-bit path (C:\Pro-
gram Files (x86)\GE\iFIX), and your previous picture files were installed to a 32-bit path
(C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX), you will need to make sure you update these paths in
the SCU to 64-bit.
Create a Select this option to restore files to a new project path with a default sub-project path.
New Project To modify the default sub-project paths, refer to the BackupRestore.ini or user-specified
ini file.

Optionally, once you have restored the file, you can create a new SCU file and point to
these new paths.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 81

 SCU File Specifies the path and name of the local node's current SCU file.
Node Specifies the name of the local node.
Project Path Specifies the project path of the local node. You can change the project path by over-
writing the existing SCU file on the local node and entering a new path. The wizard uses
the path in this field to restore its files, creating any non-existent relative paths defined in
the archive file.
View Project Click to display the configured paths for the restored files within the project.
Path Con-
figuration

Restore File Options

Item Description
Delete All Existing Select this check box to delete all existing files under the selected project path
Files Under Target before restoring a Custom or Full backup file. This option will not delete exist-
Path Before The ing security files or the current SCU file loaded in local startup.
Restore
Restore Default iFIX Select this check box to restore default iFIX files before restoring your backup
Files Before Restoring files. For Custom and Full restores, the default iFIX files are restored from the
Your Backup Files FactoryDefault file.

To modify the default settings, modify the FactoryDefault definitions in the

BackupRestore.ini file.
Leave Current Secur- Select this option to maintain the current security settings and ignore security
ity Settings Alone overwrites in the backup files during the restore.
Replace Existing Select this option to replace the current security settings with the security set-
Security Files With tings in the archived files.
Archived Files
Delete Existing Secur- Select this option to delete all existing security files from the current iFIX sys-
ity Files And Disable tem and disable security upon restore. This field also displays the current
Security status of security (Enabled or Disabled).

Restore File Selection Box

Select the types of files you want to restore.

Task Wizard Dialog Box

The Task Wizard dialog box displays the following items:

Task Categories

Specifies a task category. Each category contains Experts related to the category name. For example,
the Database category contains Experts that let you create and modify database blocks.

Tasks

Lets you select and run an Expert.

82 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Perform Task

Use this button to run the selected Expert.

Toolbars Dialog Box

The Toolbars dialog box displays the following items:

Owner

Lets you select a toolbar owner. Only active owners appear in the list.

Toolbars

Lets you show and hide the selected toolbar.

Customize

Lets you:

l Create, import, and delete toolbars.

l Create, arrange, and delete toolbar buttons.
l Create, rename, and delete toolbar categories.

Show ScreenTips On Toolbars

Lets you enable or disable text descriptions for every button on every toolbar. When enabled, you can
display a description by placing the cursor over a button.

User Preferences Dialog Box

Click a link below for more information about the tabs featured in the User Preferences dialog box.

l General Tab
l Animations Data Error Defaults Tab
l Shape Preferences Tab
l Picture Preferences Tab
l Standard Chart Preferences Tab
l Drawing Options Tab
l Environment Protection Tab
l Background StartUp Tab
l StartUp Pictures Tab
l Change Management Tab
l Web HMI Tab
l Historian Tab

General Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 83

The General tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
WorkSpace Options

Item Description
Start Select this check box to indicate that the iFIX WorkSpace starts in the run-
WorkSpace time environment. Clear this check box to indicate that the iFIX WorkSpace
In Run Mode starts in the configuration environment.
Auto Save Select this check box to automatically save open documents when the iFIX
Documents WorkSpace switches to the run-time environment.
When Switch-
ing From Con-
figure To Run
Full Screen In Select this check box to display pictures in the run-time environment with the
Run Mode maximum screen space possible. When the iFIX WorkSpace displays full-
screen in the run-time environment, the menu bar is hidden. The system tree
and all toolbars are always hidden in this environment.
Always Select this check box to automatically copy the previous version of a file to a
Create back-up folder each time you save a new version. If a back-up file already
Backup Copy exists, the new back-up file replaces it.
Fire Select this check box to configure the Data Change event of an event object to
DataChange fire only when there is new data after the initialization.
Event On
Actions such as switching from the Configuration environment to the Run-time
Startup
environment while an iFIX schedule is open will cause the DataChange event
to trigger accordingly.

If you select this option, iFIX fires the event when initializing the event object
at the time you open a picture and switch to run mode. Clear this check box if
you want events to fire only if the data source truly changes.
Extend Select this check box if you plan to use multiple monitors with your iFIX dis-
WorkSpace plays.
to Support
Multiple Mon-
itors
Enable Rib- Select this check box to use the Ribbon user interface in the iFIX WorkSpace.
bon User Clear this check box to use the Classic user interface in the iFIX WorkSpace.
Interface
Zoom To Fit In run mode, select this check box to suppress the scroll bars and to show the
in Run Mode entire picture in the current picture window. Only pictures using Enhanced
Coordinates that are opened in Run mode will honor this setting. If you do not
want to apply this setting to a specific picture, then a script change under the
picture initialization code is required. For more information, refer to the
ZoomToFit Method section in iFIX Automation Reference e-book.
Enable High Select this check box to create high performance GE Web HMI graphics for
Performance export to GE Web HMI, or to create high performance iFIX pictures that use
HMI Graphics the High Performance color set and the high performance settings for shapes
and picture creation. For more information, refer to the Creating High Per-
formance Pictures e-book.

84 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Electronic Signature Options

Item Description
Perform Com- Specifies the name of the table that contains predefined perform comments
ments Table for the Electronic Signature dialog box.
Name
Create Default Use this button to create a new table containing predefined perform com-
Perform Com- ments for the Electronic Signature dialog box.
ments Table
Verify Com- Specifies the name of the table that contains predefined verify comments in
ments Table the Electronic Signature dialog box.
Name
Create Default Use this button to create a new table containing predefined verify comments
Verify Com- for the Electronic Signature dialog box.
ments Table
Custom ActiveX Specifies the ProgID for the custom ActiveX control you want to use to
Control ProgID replace the standard electronic signature ActiveX control used to capture
user names and passwords for signatures.

When the Electronic Signature dialog box opens, it checks this field for a
ProgID. If no ProgID is found, the standard Esignature ActiveX control is
displayed. If a ProgID is found, the Electronic Signature dialog box attempts
to create the custom ActiveX control. However, if creation of the control
fails, a message is displayed stating that the custom control could not be
created and the standard Esignature ActiveX control is displayed instead.

Security Options

User Accounts Disabled Message

Specifies the message that appears from the Electronic Signature dialog box when a user account is no
longer valid.
Expression Editor Options

Remember Last Filter

Select this check box so that the last filter used in the Expression Builder dialog box is remembered.
This is useful if you frequently use the same or similar information when building your expressions.

Animations Data Error Defaults Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The Animations Data Error Defaults tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
Linear Animation Object Defaults

Item Description
Configuration Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation fails to receive data because the specified data source
could not be found. You can define your own defaults for each type of anim-
ation by entering a new value into each field.
Out of Ser- Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
vice or lookup animation fails to receive data because the specified I/O point is off
scan. You can define your own defaults for each type of animation by entering

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 85

 a new value into each field.
Unknown Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives an undefined error. You can define your own
defaults for each type of animation by entering a new value into each field.
Uncertain Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives questionable data. This data may be out of range
or may be the result of combining good data with uncertain data. You can
define your own defaults for each type of animation by entering a new value into
each field.
Comm Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives a network error. You can define your own defaults
for each type of animation by entering a new value into each field.
Device Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation fails to receive data because an OPC device did not
respond. You can define your own defaults for each type of animation by enter-
ing a new value into each field.

Format Animation Object Defaults

Item Description
Configuration Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation fails to receive data because the specified data source
could not be found. You can define your own defaults for each type of anim-
ation by entering a new value into each field.
Out of Ser- Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
vice or lookup animation fails to receive data because the specified I/O point is off
scan. You can define your own defaults for each type of animation by entering
a new value into each field.
Unknown Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives an undefined error. You can define your own
defaults for each type of animation by entering a new value into each field.
Uncertain Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives questionable data. This data may be out of range
or may be the result of combining good data with uncertain data. You can
define your own defaults for each type of animation by entering a new value into
each field.
Comm Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives a network error. You can define your own defaults
for each type of animation by entering a new value into each field.
Device Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation fails to receive data because an OPC device did not
respond. You can define your own defaults for each type of animation by enter-
ing a new value into each field.

Lookup Animation Object Defaults

Numeric Table Entries

Item Description
Configuration Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation fails to receive data because the specified data source

86 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 could not be found. You can define your own defaults for each type of anim-
ation by entering a new value into each field.
Unknown Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives an undefined error. You can define your own
defaults for each type of animation by entering a new value into each field.
Comm Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives a network error. You can define your own defaults
for each type of animation by entering a new value into each field.
Out Of Ser- Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
vice or lookup animation fails to receive data because the specified I/O point is off
scan. You can define your own defaults for each type of animation by entering
a new value into each field.
Device Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation fails to receive data because an OPC device did not
respond. You can define your own defaults for each type of animation by enter-
ing a new value into each field.
Uncertain Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives questionable data. This data may be out of range
or may be the result of combining good data with uncertain data. You can
define your own defaults for each type of animation by entering a new value into
each field.

String Table Entries

Item Description
Configuration Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation fails to receive data because the specified data source
could not be found. You can define your own defaults for each type of anim-
ation by entering a new value into each field.
Unknown Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives an undefined error. You can define your own
defaults for each type of animation by entering a new value into each field.
Comm Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives a network error. You can define your own defaults
for each type of animation by entering a new value into each field.
Out Of Ser- Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
vice or lookup animation fails to receive data because the specified I/O point is off
scan. You can define your own defaults for each type of animation by entering
a new value into each field.
Device Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation fails to receive data because an OPC device did not
respond. You can define your own defaults for each type of animation by enter-
ing a new value into each field.
Uncertain Specifies the default OPC error values that iFIX returns when a linear, format,
or lookup animation receives questionable data. This data may be out of range
or may be the result of combining good data with uncertain data. You can
define your own defaults for each type of animation by entering a new value into
each field.

Color Table Entries

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 87

 Item Description
Configuration Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
default color that iFIX displays when a lookup animation fails to receive data
because the specified data source could not be found.
Unknown Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
default color that iFIX displays when a lookup animation receives an undefined
error.
Comm Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
default color that iFIX displays when lookup animation receives a network error.
Out Of Ser- Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
vice default color that iFIX displays when a lookup animation fails to receive data
because the specified I/O point is off scan.
Device Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
default color that iFIX displays when a lookup animation fails to receive data
because an OPC device did not respond.
Uncertain Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
default color that iFIX displays when a lookup animation receives questionable
data. This data may be out of range or may be the result of combining good
data with uncertain data.

Shape Preferences Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The Shape Preferences tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
Color

Item Description
Fade Color Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
default shape fade color.
Foreground Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
Color default shape foreground color.
Background Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
Color default shape background color.
Edge Color Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose the
default shape edge color.

Font

Item Description
Font Specifies the default font for text objects.
Name
Font Size Specifies the default size of text objects.
Font Specifies the default text object style. The text can be regular, bold, italics, or bold
Styles italics.

General

Item Description

Edge Style Specifies the default shape edge style. Edges can be solid, transparent, dotted,
or dashed.

88 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Edge Width Specifies the default shape edge width. You can enter any width from 0 to 255
pixels.
Hit Test Specifies the minimum distance the cursor can be from an object before high-
Size lighting the object. You can enter any distance from 0 to 255 pixels.
Blend Per- Specifies how much of the fade color, in a percentage, will be mixed with the fore-
cent ground color. The higher the percentage, the more the fade color is visible.

Fill Style Specifies the default shape foreground fill style. Fills can be solid, transparent,
gradient, or a pattern.
Background Specifies whether the default shape background is opaque or transparent.
Style

Fade Type Specifies the default fade type for shape objects. Fade types can be linear, con-
centric, radial, or reflected.

Pipe

Item Description
Thickness Specifies the default thickness for pipe objects. You can enter any value from 10
to 300.
Elbow Specifies the default elbow style for pipe objects. Elbow styles can be round or
Style square.
Start Cap Specifies the default start cap for pipe objects. Start caps can be round, square,
horizontal-diagonal, or vertical-diagonal.
End Cap Specifies the default end cap for pipe objects. End caps can be round, square,
horizontal-diagonal, or vertical-diagonal.

Datalink – Remove Leading and Trailing Spaces

Select this check box to indicate whether iFIX should remove extra spaces when Data links are dis-
played in the run-time environment. This check box is selected by default, which means that all blank
spaces before and after data within Data links will be stripped out. Also, note that this option only
applies to Data links that display ASCII (A_) or Raw Format data. If you change this option, you must
restart the WorkSpace for the change to take effect.
Text – Remove Leading and Trailing Spaces

Select this check box so that leading and trailing spaces are removed from text objects that you add to
the WorkSpace. This setting only applies to text entered after you change the setting; it does not change
existing text entries.

By default, this check box is selected.

Historical Datalink – Show Time Stamp with Data

Select this check box to specify that the Historical Datalink include the time stamp with the data. The
time stamp appears only at run-time.

By default, this check box is selected.

Picture Preferences Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The Picture Preferences tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 89

Properties

Item Description
Window Size Specifies the default window size for pictures. You can create windows
full size, half the height or width of the screen, or a quarter of the screen.
Automatically Select this check box to enable the Document Width and Document
Determine Docu- Height fields to allow you to define your own coordinate system that differs
ment Size from the default logical coordinate system of 4:3 horizontal to vertical res-
olution. You should not change this setting unless you are familiar with the
coordinate system used for measuring picture height and width. Other-
wise, objects may not animate as expected.
Document Height Specifies the default picture height in logical units or postscript points.
Document Width Specifies the default width for pictures in logical units or postscript points.
Highlight Timeout Specifies the length of time an object remains highlighted at run-time.
Interval When the specified interval expires, the highlight disappears. You can
enter the time in hundredths of a second.
Grid Interval Specifies the number of pixels between grid points.
Background Color Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose
the default picture background color.
Fade Color Use this button to open the Select Color dialog box where you can choose
the default picture fade color.

Basic Animation Dialog

Item Description
Prompt On Delete Select this check box to be prompted to confirm the deletion of an anim-
ation in the Basic Animation dialog box and the Command Expert dialog
box.
Always Show Select this check box to display the Basic Animation dialog box when you
Basic Animation double-click an object or select Animations from an object's right-click
Dialog menu.

If this check box is cleared, the Advanced Animations dialog box appears.

Create Picture Wizard

Show Picture Wizard From New Picture Menu

Select this check box to display the Create Picture Wizard. If this check box is cleared, the Create Pic-
ture Wizard is unavailable.
Picture Translation

Item Description
Translate Pic- Select this check box if you want to replace the text strings in all of your pic-
ture On Open tures with a selected language file (if it exists) when you open them in the run-
time environment.

If this check box is selected, the TranslateOnOpen and LanguageDesired prop-

erties on each picture's Properties window cannot be changed.

If this check box is cleared, you can configure the TranslateOnOpen and Lan-
guageDesired properties at the individual picture level.

90 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Language Specifies the language that all of your pictures' text strings will appear in when
the pictures are opened in run mode. This field is available only when the Trans-
late Picture on Open check box is selected.

Window Properties

Item Description
Title Bar Select this check box to indicate whether your pictures appear with or without title bars.
System Menu Select this check box to indicate whether you are creating pictures with or without a
System menu, or Maximize, Minimize, and Close buttons.
Resizable Select this check box to indicate whether you can or cannot resize pictures.
Always On Select this check box to indicate that your pictures will automatically float on top of all
Top other open documents. Typically, this feature is used to create detail pictures that you
always want to display on top of other pictures.
Grid Enabled Select this check box to indicate whether or not the grid in pictures is automatically dis-
played.
Snap To Grid Select this check box to indicate whether or not your pictures will automatically align
objects to the grid.
Click And Select this check box to indicate whether or not your pictures show or hide visual cues
Stick Enabled as to which objects can be selected and which object is currently selected.

Gradient

Enable Gradient

Select this check box to enable the Gradient fill style. The default fade type for the picture is linear. You
can change the picture's fade type in the Edit Picture dialog box.
Thumbnail

Save Thumbnail

Select this check box to save a thumbnail of each picture you create.
Cache

Item Description
Enable Pic- Select this check box to enable picture caching, which reads and opens previously
ture Cache opened pictures from memory. Clear this check box to indicate that picture files will be
opened from the disk drive.
Cache Size Specifies the number of pictures (from 1-99) you want in the cache.

Standard Picture Scaling

Disable Auto Scale Feature

Select this check box to override the logical units to pixel ratio (Logical Coordinate System) when chan-
ging the resolution of your screen. This may be helpful for multiple monitor configurations.

For the Enhanced Coordinate System, Auto Scale calculates the picture window size percentages
based on the resolution of the window with the current view of the picture. Disabling this feature will cal-
culate the window sizes based on the resolution where this picture was last saved.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 91

Standard Chart Preferences Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

NOTE: The following options apply only to Standard Charts.

The Standard Chart Preferences tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
Scroll Direction

Item Description
Scroll Right To Left Select this option to set the default scroll direction for all charts to a right-to-left
scroll.
Scroll Left To Right Select this option to set the default scroll direction for all charts to a left-to-right
scroll.
Reset Specifies the percentage of the chart that moves when the plotted data reaches
the left edge of the chart. For example, when you enter 25 into this field, the
chart shifts right 25% along its time (X) axis and continues plotting data.

Time Axis

Item Description
Number Of Ticks Specifies the default number of ticks to display on your chart's time (X) axis.
You can enter any value from 0 to 20 into this field.
Number Of Labels Specifies the default number of labels to display on your chart's time (X) axis.
You can enter any value from 0 to 20 into this field.

Value Axis

Item Description
Number Of Ticks Specifies the default number of ticks to display on your chart's value (Y) axis.
You can enter any value from 0 to 20 into this field.
Number Of Labels Specifies the default number of labels to display on your chart's value (Y) axis.
You can enter any value from 0 to 20 into this field.

Time Axis Span

Item Description
Duration Days Specifies the amount of data your charts display along their time (X) axes. You
can enter any value from 0 to 999 days in the Days field. In the Time field,
enter the time in hours, minutes, and seconds. You can enter any time up to
23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.
Duration Time Specifies the amount of data your charts display along their time (X) axes. You
can enter any value from 0 to 999 days in the Days field. In the Time field,
enter the time in hours, minutes, and seconds. You can enter any time up to
23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.
Interval Time Specifies the default interval between the data points on your charts. In the
Time field, enter the time between data points in hours, minutes, and seconds.
You can enter any time up to 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.

The interval cannot be greater than half the duration. If you enter zero, iFIX auto-
matically calculates the interval as the duration divided by the number of dis-

92 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 play points.

General

Item Description
Allow Time Axis Select this check box to control changes to the limits on the X (time) axis in a
Reset chart. Initially, the limits are set to match the time specified on the Time tab of
the Chart Configuration dialog box. However, when you select this check box,
you enable the time axis limits of your chart to be reset after you right-click the
object to zoom out. The chart resets the time axis limits to the values of the
Start Time and End properties.
Allow Value Axis Select this check box to control changes to the limit on the Y (value) axis in a
Reset chart. Initially, the limits are set to match the High and Low limits specified on
the Pen tab of the Chart Configuration dialog box. However, when you select
this check box, you enable the value axis limits of your chart to be reset after
you right-click the object to zoom out. The chart resets the value axis limits to
the values of the HiLimit and LoLimit properties.
Transparent Select this check box to create a chart with a transparent background.

Drawing Options Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The Drawing Options tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
Geometry Helper Options

Item Description
Always Extend Lines Specifies that the selected lines will always extend to the intersection
point when the Extend Lines button on the CAD Toolbar is used.
Extend Only When The Exten- Specifies that the selected line will be extended to the intersection
sion Is Shorter Than Half The point only when the extension is shorter than half the line being exten-
Line ded.
Extend Only When The Exten- Specifies that the selected line will be extended to the intersection
sion Is Shorter Than X Pixels point only when the extension is shorter than the defined value.
Always Trim Lines Specifies that the selected lines will always be trimmed at the inter-
section point when the Trim Lines button on the CAD Toolbar is used.
Trim Only When The Trimmed Specifies that the selected line will be trimmed at the intersection
Area Is Shorter Than X Pixels point only when the trimmed area is shorter than the defined value.

Graphics Connections

Always Show Connection Nodes

Select this check box to indicate that the connection nodes are always displayed on the shapes in a pic-
ture. If this check box is cleared, the connection points are not visible, but can be displayed using one of
the following methods:

l Select a connector and move it towards the shape to anchor it to a certain connection point on the
shape.
- Or -

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 93

 l Select the shape and click either the Add Connection Point button or Delete Connection Point but-
ton on the CAD Toolbar.

Environment Protection Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The Environment Protection tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
Enable Run Time Environment Protection

Select this check box to enable environment protection for the local node. When enabled, you can
select the specific options that you want to restrict access to. These options take effect when you
switch to the run-time environment.
WorkSpace Title and Menu Options

Item Description
Disable Title Bar And Select this check box to hide the WorkSpace menu bar and title bar at
Menu Bar run-time.

NOTE: In Ribbon view, if this option is selected, the Title Bar takes on
the appearance of Classic view, rather than Ribbon view.
Disable Menu Bar Select this check box to hide the WorkSpace menu bar and title bar at
run-time.
Disable Select this check box to disable the WorkSpace menu at run-time.
"WorkSpace" Menu
Pulldown

NOTES:
l When WorkSpace is running with the Ribbon in full screen mode and you enable the Run Time Envir-
onment Protection and Disable Title bar and Menu Bar options, the Ribbon bar will be displayed when
the Alt key is pressed. This will allow access to the Historical tab with Global Time Control. All other
menus will be removed or disabled and the WorkSpace cannot be dragged, minimized, or closed
using the Ribbon bar.
l The historical tab with Global Time Control can be removed by modifying the DyanmicRibbon.ini file in
the iFIX install ADDON folder and setting [StandardTabs] Historical=0. If the tab is removed and no
other tabs are visible on the run mode Ribbon (because you also enabled the enable the Run Time
Environment Protection and Disable Title bar and Menu Bar options) , the Ribbon bar will not display
when the Alt key is pressed.

WorkSpace File Menu Accelerators

Item Description
Disable "WorkSpace" Select this check box to disable both the Open (Ctrl+O) and Print
File Menu Accel- (Ctrl+P) WorkSpace file menu accelerators while in the Run-time envir-
erators onment.
Disable Open Accel- Select this check box to disable the Open (Ctrl+O) WorkSpace file
erator menu accelerator while in the Run-time environment.
Disable Print Accel- Select this check box to disable the Print (Ctrl+P) WorkSpace file
erator menu accelerator while in the Run-time environment.

Other Options

Item Description

94 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Disable <Ctrl> <Alt> Select this check box to disable the <Ctrl><Alt><Delete> key
<Del> sequence at run-time, thereby restricting operators from accessing
the Task Manager, changing their password, logging off, or shutting
down the computer.
Disable Task Switch- Select this check box to disable run-time task switching through
ing <Alt><Tab> and the Start button.

NOTE: The Shift + F10 key macro does not work if you select this
option.
Disable VBE Access Select this check box to allow you to restrict access to the Visual
Basic Editor at run-time. If access is not restricted, the editor appears
when a compilation or run-time error occurs, allowing you to correct
the error. When you restrict access, the iFIX WorkSpace suppresses
the Visual Basic Editor even if an error occurs.

Background StartUp Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The Background StartUp tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
Background Task StartUp Schedules List Box

Displays the schedules configured to automatically load in the background task when the background
task is started. By double-clicking in the list, you can enter or edit any scheduled entry. You can also
select the schedule you want to add by browsing to it with the Browse button.
New Button

Use this button to add a schedule (Background Startup tab) or a picture (Startup Pictures tab) to the
start-up list by entering its name and path. You can also select the file by browsing to it with the Browse
button.
Delete Button

Use this button to delete the selected file from the start-up list.
Move Up Button

Use this button to move the selected file up in the start-up list.
Move Down Button

Use this button to move the selected file down in the start-up list.

StartUp Pictures Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The StartUp Pictures tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
StartUp Pictures List Box

Displays the pictures you want to open automatically when the iFIX WorkSpace starts in the run-time
environment. By double-clicking in the list, you can enter or edit any entry. You can also select the pic-
ture you want to add by browsing to it with the Browse button.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 95

 New Button

Use this button to add a schedule (Background Startup tab) or a picture (Startup Pictures tab) to the
start-up list by entering its name and path. You can also select the file by browsing to it with the Browse
button.
Delete Button

Use this button to delete the selected file from the start-up list.
Move Up Button

Use this button to move the selected file up in the start-up list.
Move Down Button

Use this button to move the selected file down in the start-up list.

Change Management Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The Change Management tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
Enable Change Management Server Connection

Select this check box to if you want to enable iFIX to connect to the Change Management Server. With
this option selected, right mouse menu items for Change Management become available in the iFIX
WorkSpace.
NOTE: You cannot edit the fields in this dialog box if security is disabled, or after you connect to the Change
Management Server.

Logon Info

Item Description
Change Management Enter the name of your Change Management Server. For instance, if your
Server server is named MYSERVER, enter MYSERVER in this field.
Test Connection Click to test a connection to the Change Management Server. After you supply
login credentials for the Change Management Server, a message box appears
indicating whether a connection can be made.

NOTE: If you do not have iFIX security Change Management application priv-
ileges, you will receive an error message when you click Test Connection. For
more information refer to the Overview of iFIX Configuration Steps in the
Change Management and iFIX ebook.
Logon at WorkSpace Select this check box to log in to the Change Management Server when you
Startup start the iFIX WorkSpace.

Clear this check box if you only want to login to the Change Management
Server from the right-click menu. (In the system tree, right-click the node name,
select Manage, and then click Logon.)

TIP: If you have a very large iFIX project, it is recommended that you clear this
check box. Otherwise, for large projects, it may take several extra minutes for
the iFIX WorkSpace to start up.
Prompt For User Select this check box if you always want a dialog box requesting login cre-

96 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Name And Password dentials to appear when you logon to the Change Management Server.
At Logon
Clear this check box if you want to allow for automatic logon.

NOTE: For an automatic logon to work, the user name and password must be
identical on both the Change Management Server and in iFIX. If the user name
and password does not match in both applications, or the iFIX user you are
logged in as is not defined as a user on the Change Management Server (or
vice versa), after an error message, the Logon dialog box appears, even with
this check box cleared.

Change Management Project Name

Enter the name of the Change Management project folder you want to open after you logon. Files you
check out or check in will reside in this project folder.
Require comments to check in and check out files

Select this check box if you want to require that the user enter a comment when checking out or check-
ing in a file. If you require comments, the OK button (found in the Check Out and the Check In dialog
boxes) does not become available until you enter a comment.
Electronic Signature Options

Item Description
Perform Comments Specifies the name of the table that contains predefined perform comments for
Table Name the Electronic Signature dialog box used with Change Management actions in
the iFIX WorkSpace.

This table name can be the same as the one you use for iFIX Performed By
electronic signatures, as defined on the General tab. Or, you can enter another
table with perform comments applicable only to the Change Management
Server.
Create Default Per- Use this button to create a new table containing predefined perform comments
form Comments Table for the Electronic Signature dialog box that appears with Change Management
actions in the iFIX WorkSpace.
Verify Comments Specifies the name of the table that contains predefined verify comments for
Table Name the Electronic Signature dialog box used with Change Management actions in
the iFIX WorkSpace.

This table name can be the same as the one you use for iFIX Verfied By elec-
tronic signatures, as defined on the General tab. Or, you can enter another
table with verify comments applicable only to the Change Management Server.
Create Default Verify Use this button to create a new table containing predefined verify comments
Comments Table for the Electronic Signature dialog box that appears with Change Management
verify actions in the iFIX WorkSpace.
None Select this option if no iFIX electronic signature is required to perform a Change
Management function from the WorkSpace.
Perform Only Select this option if an iFIX Performed By electronic signature is required to per-
form a Change Management function from the WorkSpace (in addition to the
Change Management Server login).
Perform And Verify Select this option if a Performed By and Verified By electronic signature is

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 97

 required by iFIX in order to perform a Change Management function from the
iFIX WorkSpace (in addition to the Change Management Server login).
Allow Continuous Use Select this check box to allow the operator to repeatedly sign for successive
actions by supplying only a password, when electronic signatures are enabled.
Continuous use applies only to the person performing an action and does not
affect the person verifying an action.

Web HMI Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The Web HMI tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
Web HMI Configuration

Item Description
Server Name Enter the network name of your Web HMI Server.
Port Enter the port number you want to communicate with Web HMI. By default, the
port is port 443.
User Name Enter the user name to connect to the Web HMI Server.
Test Connection Use this button to test your connection to the Web HMI Server.

SSL Security

Item Description
Require Trusted Con- Select this option if a trusted connection is required to export or publish pic-
nection tures.
View Certificate Select this option to view your trusted certificate.

Export Configuration

Item Description
Mimic Export Path Enter that path where you want Web HMI to look for your exported pictures.
Publish to Web HMI Select this option to publish your iFIX pictures to Web HMI. If the Publish to
Web HMI option is not selected, pictures are only exported and not published to
Web HMI. By default, this option is disabled.

Historian Tab - User Preferences Dialog Box

The Historian tab of the User Preferences dialog box displays the following items:
Configuration of Tags for Collection in GE Historian

Use this option to configure all tags in your currently loaded database for collection by Historian. Col-
lection begins when the Collector starts.

How Do I...

The following sections explain how to use the iFIX WorkSpace:

98 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Using the System Tree
l Working with Files
l Starting Applications and Experts
l Working with the WorkSpace Environments
l Setting Preferences
l Selecting Data Sources and Building Expressions
l Managing Files and Nodes
l Working with Toolbars
l Installing a Third-Party OPC Server

Click a section above for steps on how to use or configure this part of the iFIX WorkSpace.

Using the System Tree

The following sections provide steps on how to use the system tree in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Displaying a System Tree Path

l Showing and Hiding the System Tree
l Opening or Closing a Folder
l Copying and Moving Objects
l Viewing Thumbnails

Displaying a System Tree Path

To display a system tree path:

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace system tree, right-click any folder or document. A pop-up menu appears.
2. From the pop-up menu, select Properties or File Properties.

Showing and Hiding the System Tree

To show and hide the system tree:

From the WorkSpace menu in the iFIX WorkSpace, select System Tree. If the system tree was
hidden, the iFIX WorkSpace displays it. If the system tree was visible, the program hides it.

Opening or Closing a Folder in the System Tree

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 99

 To open or close a folder in the system tree:

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace system tree, click the plus sign to open (expand) a folder.
2. Click the minus sign to close (collapse) a folder.

Copying and Moving Objects

To copy or move an object:

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, open the source and target picture or Dynamo set.
2. Click, drag, and drop the object into the target to move it. Using the system tree, click, drag, and
drop the object's name over the target's name to move it.
3. Hold the Control key down and drag and drop the object to copy it.

You can also copy and paste, or cut and paste objects when the source and destination do not appear on
the screen simultaneously.

Viewing Thumbnails

To view picture and Dynamo set thumbnails:

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace system tree, click the plus sign to open (expand) both the Dynamo Sets
and the Pictures folders.
2. Place the mouse pointer over a Dynamo set or picture file name. The thumbnail, if it exists,
appears.
NOTES:
l Windowless OLE objects will not display in thumbnails.
l Not all thumbnails appear in a uniform location; some may be centered while others appear in the
upper left hand corner.

Working with Files

The following sections provide steps on how to work with files in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Creating Files
l Opening Files
l Saving Files

Creating Files

The following sections provide steps on how to create files in the iFIX WorkSpace:

100 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Creating a New Picture, Schedule, or Dynamo Set
l Creating a New File

Creating a New Picture, Schedule, or Dynamo Set

To create a new picture:

In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, click the New Picture button on the Standard toolbar to
create a picture.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click the WorkSpace button, select New and then click Picture.
The Create Picture Wizard appears. Use this wizard to set sizes, locations, and properties of
your new pictures.
NOTE: If a single untitled picture appears when you click the New Picture button, the Create Picture
Wizard has been disabled. Enable it by selecting the following check box on the Picture Preferences
tab of the User Preferences dialog box: Show Picture Wizard from New Picture Menu.

To create a new schedule:

In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, click the New Schedule button on the Standard toolbar
to create a schedule.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click the WorkSpace button, select New, and click Schedule.

To create a new Dynamo Set:

In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, click the New Dynamo Set button on the Standard tool-
bar to create a Dynamo Set.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click the WorkSpace button, select New, and click Dynamo Set.

Creating a New File

To create a new file:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the File menu, select New, and then Others.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click the WorkSpace button, select New, and click Others.
2. From the New FIX Object list box, select the document type.

Opening Files

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 101

 The following sections provide steps on how to create files in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Opening a File
l Opening a Back-up File
l Opening Pictures Automatically at Run Time

Opening a File

To open a file:
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the Standard toolbar, click the Open button.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click the WorkSpace button and then Open.
2. Select the file you want to open.
TIP: You can also open a file from the system tree by expanding a folder and double-clicking the file
you want to open.

Opening a Backup File

To open a backup file:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the Standard toolbar, click the Open button.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click the WorkSpace button and then Open.
2. Select the path containing your backup file.
3. Double-click the backup file you want to open.
4. From the File menu, select Save As.
5. Rename the backup file and save it in the iFIX Picture path.

Opening Pictures Automatically at Run Time

To open pictures automatically at run time:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.

102 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 2. Click the Startup Pictures tab.
3. Click the Add button and enter a file name (GRF files) for the picture you want to load when the
iFIX WorkSpace enters the run-time environment. Optionally, click the Browse button to locate
the file.
4. Repeat step 3 until you have added all the files you want to load at run time.
5. Select a file and click the Delete button to remove any pictures you no longer want to load at run
time.
6. Double-click any existing entry to modify it, as needed.

Saving and Deleting Files

The following sections provide steps on how to save and delete files in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Saving a File
l Saving Files Automatically
l Renaming a File
l Deleting a File

Saving a File

To save a file:
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, on the Standard toolbar, click the Save button.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click on the Application button, and then Save.
2. If you are saving a new file, the iFIX WorkSpace prompts you for a file name. To save the new
file, enter a name and a file type for the file.

Saving Files Automatically

To automatically save open documents when switching to the run-time environment:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Select the Auto Save Documents when Switching from Configure to Run check box.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 103

Renaming Files

To rename a file:
1. In the iFIX WorkSpace system tree, right-click a closed file.
2. From the pop-up menu, select Rename.
3. Enter the new name when prompted.

Deleting Files

To delete a file:
1. In the iFIX WorkSpace system tree, right-click a closed file.
2. From the pop-up menu, select Delete.

Starting Applications and Experts

The following sections provide steps on how to start applications and Experts in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Starting an iFIX Application

l Starting the Visual Basic Editor
l Running Experts with the Task Wizard
l Configuring a Button

Starting iFIX Applications

To start an iFIX application:

l In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, on the Application toolbar, click the button for the applic-
ation you want to start.
-Or-
l In Ribbon view, on the Applications tab, select the application you want to start.
-Or-
l Double-click the application from the iFIX WorkSpace system tree.

Starting the Visual Basic Editor

To start the Visual Basic Editor from the iFIX WorkSpace:

In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, on the Standard toolbar, click Visual Basic Editor.

104 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 -Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Visual Basic Editor.

Running Experts With the Task Wizard

To run Experts with the Task Wizard:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, select an object from the current picture and click the
Task Wizard button on the Standard toolbar.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Tools tab in the Tasks/Experts group, click the Tasks/Experts dialog box
launcher.
2. Select a category from the Task Category list.
3. In the Tasks list box, double-click the specific task or Expert you want to complete.
NOTE: If you want to specify multiple commands for the object, select Multiple Commands Expert from the
Command category to open the Multiple Command Script Wizard.

Configuring a Button

To configure a button:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab in the WorkSpace group, click Setting, and then click Toolbars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Buttons tab.
4. Select the category for the button you want to modify.
5. Click Modify Button.
NOTE: You can only modify buttons in user-created categories.
6. From the Bitmaps area, select the bitmap for the button. If you want to use your own bitmap,
browse for it and select it. Make sure the image size is no more than 20 x 20 and uses no more
than 16 colors.
7. In the Name field, enter the button's name.
8. In the Description field, enter text describing the button.
9. In the ScreenTip field, enter the button's ToolTip.
10. Click Edit Script to launch the Visual Basic Editor.
11. Write a script for the button.

Working with the WorkSpace Environments

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 The following sections provide steps on how to work with environments in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Switching Between Environments

l Setting the WorkSpace's Start-up Environment
l Configuring Environment Protection

Switching Between Environments

To switch between the configuration environment and the run-time environments:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace configuration environment, click Switch to Run on the
Standard toolbar.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Switch to Run.
2. In the run-time environment, select Switch to Configure from the WorkSpace menu.
TIP: You can also use the shortcut, Ctrl+W to switch between environments.

Accessing Menu Commands While in Full Screen Run Mode

To access menu commands while in full screen run mode:

l Press the Alt key.

Setting up the WorkSpace's Start-up Environment

The following sections provide steps on how to use the start-up environment for the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Starting the iFIX WorkSpace in the Run-time Environment

l Starting the iFIX WorkSpace in the Configuration Environment

Starting the iFIX WorkSpace in the Run-time Environment

To configure the iFIX WorkSpace to start in the run-time environment:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Select the Start WorkSpace in Run Mode check box.

Starting the iFIX WorkSpace in the Configuration Environment

106 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 To configure the iFIX WorkSpace to start in the configuration environment:
1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Clear the Start WorkSpace in Run Mode check box.

Setting the Display Options for the Ribbon in Run Mode

The following sections explain how to set the display options for the Ribbon in run mode:

l Viewing the Ribbon in Run Mode

l Minimizing the Ribbon in Run Mode
l Disabling the Ribbon Auto Hide Feature in Full Screen Run Mode
l Enabling the Ribbon Auto Hide Feature in Full Screen Run Mode
Viewing the Ribbon in Run Mode

To view the Ribbon in run mode:

l On the Quick Access toolbar, while in run mode, from the Customize Quick Access Tool list,
deselect Minimize the Ribbon.
Minimizing the Ribbon in Run Mode

To minimize the Ribbon in run mode:

l On the Quick Access toolbar, while in run mode, from the Customize Quick Access Tool list,
select Minimize the Ribbon.
Disabling the Ribbon Auto Hide Feature in Full Screen Run Mode

To disable the Ribbon auto hide feature in full screen run mode:
1. Press the Alt key to view the Quick Access toolbar.
2. On the Quick Access toolbar, from the Customize Quick Access Tool list, clear Auto Hide the
Ribbon.
Enabling the Ribbon Auto Hide Feature in Full Screen Run Mode

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 To enable the Ribbon auto hide feature in full screen run mode:
1. Press the Alt key to view the Quick Access toolbar.
2. On the Quick Access toolbar, from the Customize Quick Access Tool list, select Auto Hide the
Ribbon.

Configuring Environment Protection

The following sections provide steps on how to configure environment protection in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Enabling Environment Protection

l Disabling Environment Protection
Enabling Environment Protection

To enable environment protection:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Environment Protection tab.
3. Select the Enable Environment Protection check box.
4. Select the options you want to enable.

Disabling Environment Protection

To disable environment protection:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Environment Protection tab.
3. Clear the Enable Environment Protection check box.

Customizing the Ribbon User Interface

The following sections provides steps on how to customize the Ribbon user interface.

l Showing Keytips
l Disabling Keytips
l Changing the WorkSpace Color Scheme

108 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Changing the Screentip Style
l Adding Commands to the Quick Access Toolbar
l Moving the Quick Access Toolbar
l Removing Commands from the Quick Access Toolbar
l Resetting the Quick Access Toolbar
l Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts

Showing KeyTips

To show KeyTips:

NOTE: The following procedure applies only to Ribbon view.

1. Click the Application button and then on the Application menu, click Options.
2. If not already selected, in the Navigation pane, click Popular.
3. Select Show KeyTips.
4. Click OK.

Disabling KeyTips

To disable KeyTips:

NOTE: The following procedure applies only to Ribbon view.

1. Click the Application button and then on the Application menu, click Options.
2. If not already selected, in the Navigation pane, click Popular.
3. Deselect Show KeyTips.
4. Click OK.

Changing the WorkSpace Color Scheme

To change the WorkSpace Color Scheme:

NOTE: The following procedure applies only to Ribbon view.

1. Click the Application button and then on the Application menu, click Options.
2. If not already selected, in the Navigation pane, click Popular .
3. From the Color Scheme list, select the desired color scheme .
4. Click OK.

Changing the ScreenTip Style

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 To change the ScreenTip style:

NOTE: The following procedure applies only to Ribbon view.

1. Click the WorkSpace button in the upper left corner of the application, and then on the application
menu, click the Options button.
2. If not already selected, in the Navigation pane, click Popular.
3. From the ScreenTip style list, select the desired ScreenTip style.
4. Click OK.

Adding Commands to the Quick Access Toolbar

There are three methods you can use to add commands to the Quick Access toolbar.
NOTE: The following procedures apply only to Ribbon view.

To add commands to the Quick Access toolbar (method 1):

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, in the Ribbon, right-click the command you want to add to the Quick
Access toolbar.
2. Click Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
To add commands to the Quick Access toolbar (method 2):

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, on the Ribbon, click the Application tab.

2. Right-click an empty portion of the Ribbon, and select Customize Quick Access Toolbar. The
Customize dialog box appears.
3. In the Choose Commands From list, select the category that contains the command you want to
add the to the Quick Access toolbar.
4. In the Commands list, for each the command you want to add to the Quick Access toolbar, select
it and then click Add.
5. Repeat Step 4 until all desired commands are added.
6. To change the order of which the commands appear on the Quick Access toolbar:
a. Click the command to move.
b. Use the up or down arrow to move the command in the desired direction.
c. Repeat steps a and b until commands are in the desired order.
7. Click OK.
To add commands to the Quick Access toolbar (method 3):

1. Right-click the Quick Access toolbar, and select Customize Quick Access Toolbar. The Cus-
tomize dialog box appears.
2. In the Choose Commands From list, select the category that contains the command you want to
add the to the Quick Access toolbar.
3. In the Commands list, for each the command you want to add to the Quick Access toolbar, select
it and then click Add.
4. Repeat Step 3 until all desired commands are added.

110 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 5. To change the order of which the commands appear on the Quick Access toolbar:
a. Click the command to move.
b. Use the up or down arrow to move the command in the desired direction.
c. Repeat steps a and b until commands are in the desired order.
6. Click OK.

Moving the Quick Access Toolbar

There are three methods you can use to move the Quick Access toolbar either above or below the Rib-
bon.
NOTE: The following procedures apply only to Ribbon view.

To move the Quick Access toolbar (method 1):

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, click the Quick Access toolbar.

2. Click the available command: either Show Quick Access Toolbar Below the Ribbon or Show
Quick Access Toolbar Above the Ribbon.
To move the Quick Access toolbar (method 2):

1. Click the Application button and then on the Application menu, click Options.
2. In the Navigation Plane, click Customize.
3. To show the Quick Access toolbar below the Ribbon, select Show Quick Access Toolbar Below
the Ribbon.
4. To show the Quick Access toolbar above the Ribbon, deselect Show Quick Access Toolbar
Below the Ribbon.
5. Click OK.
To move the Quick Access toolbar (method 3):

1. Click Expand on the Quick Access toolbar. .

2. Click the available command, either Show Below the Ribbon or Show Above the Ribbon.

Removing Commands from the Quick Access Toolbar

There are three methods you can use to remove commands from the Quick Access toolbar.
NOTE: The following procedures apply only to Ribbon view.

To remove commands from the Quick Access toolbar (method 1):

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, on the Quick Access toolbar, right-click the command you want to
remove.
2. Click Remove from Quick Access Toolbar.
To remove commands from the Quick Access toolbar (method 2):

1. Click the Application button and then on the Applications menu, click Options.
2. In the Navigation pane, click Customize.

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 3. In the list of commands in the box on the right, click the name of the command to remove and
click Remove.
4. Click OK.
To remove commands from the Quick Access toolbar (method 3):

1. Click Expand on the Quick Access toolbar.

2. Click More Commands.
3. In the list of commands in the box on the right, click the name of the command to remove and
click Remove.
4. Click OK.

Resetting the Quick Access Toolbar

To reset the default commands on the Quick Access toolbar:

NOTE: The following procedure applies only to Ribbon view.

1. Click the Application button and then click Options.
2. In the Navigation pane, click Customize.
3. Click Reset.
4. Click OK.
5. Click OK.

Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts

To customize keyboard shortcuts:

NOTE: The following procedure applies only to Ribbon view.

1. Click the Application button and then on the Application menu, click Options.
2. In the Navigation pane, click Customize.
3. Click Customize.
4. In the Categories list, click the category that contains the command for which you want to create
a shortcut.
5. In the Commands list, click the name of the command for which you want to create a shortcut.
Any shortcut keys that are currently assigned appear in the Current Keys box.
6. Click in the Press New Shortcut Key box and press the desired keyboard shortcut. The com-
bination appears in the Press New Shortcut Key box.
7. In the Set Accelerator for list, choose the desired option.
8. Click Assign.
9. Click OK.

Setting Preferences

112 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 The following sections provide steps on how to set preferences in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Setting Monitor Preferences

l Setting Picture, Shape, Drawing, and Chart Preferences
l Setting Run-time Preferences
l Setting the WorkSpace's Start-up Environment
l Configuring Environment Protection

Setting Monitor Preferences

To enable the use of multiple monitors:

IMPORTANT: You configure the overall monitor settings for your computer, before you can configure
iFIX to display multiple monitors.
1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Select the Extend WorkSpace to support multiple monitors check box.
4. Click OK.

Setting the iFIX WorkSpace User Interface

To set the iFIX WorkSpace User Interface:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the General tab.
3. To enable Ribbon view, select the Enable Ribbon User Interface check box.
4. To enable Classic view, clear the Enable Ribbon User Interface check box.
5. Click Ok.
6. Restart the WorkSpace for changes to take effect.

Enabling Database Tag Collection by Historian

To enable database tag collection by Historian:

NOTES:

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 l Enabling this feature causes all of your database tags to be collected by Historian.
l During database reload, if an iFIX tag already exists in Historian, the information is read from His-
torian, not iFIX; the update in the iFIX database contains the Historian fields.
l You can enable collection, one tag at a time, on the Historian tab of the database block itself. For more
information, see Enabling or Disabling Block Collection by Historian.
l This feature does not work if you have a run-time only license for iFIX.
1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Historian tab.
3. Select Automatically Configure Tags for Collection in Historian.
4. Click OK.
5. Restart the WorkSpace and reload the database for changes to take effect.

Setting Picture, Shape, Drawing, and Chart Preferences

The following sections provide steps on setting picture, shape, drawing, and chart preferences in the
iFIX WorkSpace:

l Setting Picture Preferences

l Globally Translating Picture Text
l Enabling Picture Caching
l Setting Shape Preferences
l Setting Drawing Options
l Setting Save Preferences
l Setting Standard Chart Preferences

Setting Picture Preferences

To set picture preferences:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Picture Preferences tab.
3. From the Window Size list, select the default window size.
4. In the Window Properties area, select the window properties you want to enable.

114 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 5. If you are familiar with the Logical or Enhanced Coordinate System of measuring picture height
and width, clear the Automatically determine document size check box. Then, in the Document
Height and Document Width fields, enter, in logical units or postscript points, the default height
and width for your pictures.
6. In the Highlight Timeout Interval field, enter the length of time, in seconds, that an object in your
picture should stay selected.
7. In the Grid Interval field, enter the space, in pixels, between grid points for your pictures.
8. Click the Background Color button and choose the default picture background color.
9. Click the Fade Color button and choose the default picture fade color.
10. In the Gradient area, select the Enable Gradient check box.
11. In the Thumbnail area, select the Save Thumbnail check box.
12. In the Basic Animation Dialog area, select from the following options:
l Prompt on Delete – Prompts you to confirm the deletion of an animation in the Basic
Animation dialog box and the Command Expert dialog box.
l Always Show Basic Animation Dialog – Displays the Basic Animation dialog box when
you double-click an object or select Animations from an object's right-click menu. If this
check box is cleared, the Advanced Animations dialog box appears.
13. Enable picture caching.
14. In the Create Picture Wizard area, select the Show Picture Wizard From New Picture Menu
check box. If this check box is cleared, the Create Picture Wizard is not available.
15. If you use the Logical Coordinate System, select the Disable Auto Scale Feature check box to
override the logical unit-to-pixel ratio when changing the resolution of your screen.
16. If applicable, set global language settings.

Globally Translating Picture Text

To configure global picture language settings:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Picture Preferences tab.
3. Select the Translate Picture on Open check box.
4. From the Language list, choose the language you want all picture text strings to appear in,
provided that you add translations to an exported CSV file.
TIP: Confirm that the applicable font is set on the Shape Preferences tab of the User Preferences dia-
log box before you switch to run mode, and change it, if necessary.
5. Open your pictures in run mode. The displayed text strings are automatically translated into the
selected language.
Enabling Picture Caching

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 115

 To enable picture caching:
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Picture Preferences Tab.
3. Select the Enable Picture Cache check box.
4. Enter a number from 1 to 99 to indicate the number of pictures to be cached. This number rep-
resents preload and run-time pictures.

Setting Shape Preferences

To set shape preferences:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Shape Preferences tab.
3. In the Color area, click each button and select the shape's fade, foreground, background, and
edge colors.
4. In the Font area, select the default font, size, and style for text objects.
5. From the Edge Style and Fill Style lists select the default shape edge and fill styles, respectively.
6. In the Edge Width field, enter the default edge thickness, in pixels.
7. From the Background Style list, select the default background style.
8. In the Hit Test Size field, enter the minimum distance, in pixels required to select an object.
When the cursor is within the specified distance, iFIX selects the object.
9. From the Fade Type list, choose the default fade type.
10. In the Blend field, enter how much of the fade color, in a percentage, will be mixed with the fore-
ground color.
11. In the Thickness field, enter the default thickness for pipe objects. You can enter any value from
10 to 300.
12. From the Elbow Style list, choose the default elbow style for pipe objects.
13. From the Start Cap and End Cap lists, choose the default start and end caps for pipe objects.
14. Select the Remove Leading and Trailing Spaces check box to indicate that iFIX should remove
extra spaces when Data Links are displayed in the run-time environment.

Setting Drawing Preferences

116 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 To set drawing preferences:
1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Drawing Options tab.
3. In the Extend Options area, select the default option for extending line objects to an intersection
point.
4. In the Trim Options area, select the default option for trimming line objects to an intersection
point.
5. Select the Always Show Connection Nodes check box to display the connection nodes when
using the LineConnector Tool, the Rightangleline Connector, or the Pipe Connector.

Setting Save Preferences

To set the save preferences:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Select the Always Create Backup Copy check box to automatically create a backup copy each
time you save a file. Clear the check box to disable the option.

Setting Standard Chart Preferences

NOTE: You can only set preferences for Standard Charts.

To set standard chart preferences:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Chart Preferences tab.
3. From the Scroll Direction area, select the scroll direction.
4. If you choose a Left to Right scroll, in the Reset field, enter the percentage of the chart to repaint
when the plotted data reaches the left edge of the chart.

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 5. In the Time Axis and Value Axis areas, enter the number of ticks and labels for the X and Y axes,
respectively.
6. In the Duration area, enter the length of time the X axis spans.
7. In the Interval area, enter the length of time between plotted data points.
8. Select the Allow Time Axis Reset check box to enable the time axis limits of your chart to be
reset after you right-click the object to zoom out. The time axis limits are reset to the values of the
Start Time and End properties.
9. Select the Allow Value Axis Reset check box to enable the value axis limits of your chart to be
reset after you right-click the object to zoom out. The value axis limits are reset to the values of
the HiLimit and LoLimit properties.
10. Select the Transparent check box to make the chart's background transparent. Clear the check
box to make the background opaque.

Setting Run-time Preferences

The following sections provide steps on how to set run-time preferences in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Displaying the WorkSpace Full Screen

l Hiding the Historical Datalink Timestamp
l Running Schedules in the Background
l Defining OPC Connection Error Preferences

Displaying the WorkSpace Full-Screen

To display the WorkSpace at full-screen:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Select the Full Screen in Run Mode check box.
Running Schedules in the Background

To select the schedules you want to run in the background:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.

118 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 2. Click the Background Startup tab.
3. Click the Add button and enter a file name (EVS files) for the schedule you want to run when iFIX
starts. Optionally, click the Browse button to locate the file.
4. Repeat step 3 until you have added all the files you want to run in the background.
5. Select a file and click the Delete button to remove any schedules you no longer want to run in the
background.
6. Double-click any existing entry to modify it, as needed.

Setting OPC Connection Error Preferences

To set the OPC connection error preferences:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Click the Animations Data Error Defaults tab.
3. In the Linear Animation Object Defaults area, enter the default numeric values to use when an
error occurs scaling a value.
4. In the Format Animations Object Defaults area, enter the default strings to display in a Data link
when an error occurs.
5. In the Numeric Table Entries and the String Table Entries areas, enter the default numeric and
string values to use when an error occurs in a lookup table.
6. In the Color Table Entries area, click each button and select the color to use when an error occurs
in a lookup table.

Selecting Data Sources and Building Expressions

The following sections provide steps on how to select data sources and build expressions in the iFIX
WorkSpace:

l Browsing the Process Database

l Building an Expression
l Filtering Data Sources
l Specifying the Tolerance, Deadband, and Refresh Rate
l Using the GE Historian Tab in the Expression Builder Dialog Box

Browsing the Process Database

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 To browse the process database:

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, open a dialog box that displays a Data Source field. For instance, double-
click a datalink to display the Datalink dialog box, or open an Expert dialog box to add a basic
animation.
2. Click the Browse button to the right of the Data Source field. The Expression Builder dialog box
appears.
3. Click the FIX Database tab.
4. From the Node Names, Tag Names, and Field Names list boxes, respectively, select the
SCADA server, block, and field you want. If a list box has many entries you do not want to dis-
play, filter the data source.
5. Enter the tolerance, deadband, and refresh rate for this connection.

Building an Expression

To build an expression:

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, open a dialog box that displays a Data Source field. For instance, double-
click a datalink to display the Datalink dialog box, or open an Expert dialog box to add a basic
animation.
2. Click the Browse button to the right of the Data Source field. The Expression Builder dialog box
appears.
3. Click the tab that contains the items you want to use in your expression, as follows:
l To include a data source in an expression, click the node, block, and field from the FIX
Database tab.
l To include properties of picture objects, click the Pictures tab.
l To include historical data, click the Historical tab.
l To include global objects, click the Globals tab.
l To include I/O points from third-party OPC servers, click the Data Servers tab.
NOTE: Not all tabs are available for all objects.
3. Expand the list to display the items you want and select them. If a tab has many entries you do
not want to display, filter the data source.
4. If you want to combine two expressions, click the Mathematical Functions button and an operator
button followed by a numeric value or another expression.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4, moving from tab to tab until you have included all the items you want in
the expression.
6. Enter the tolerance, deadband, and refresh rate for this connection.
7. Click the Check Syntax button to verify that your expression is valid. A valid expression displays
the message "Syntax check successful!". An error message is displayed for an invalid expres-
sion.

120 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 NOTE: If you have created an object-to-object connection, such as the fill percentage of one tank to
another, or created a connection to a data source, the animated properties display in boldface in the
Properties list of the Pictures tab for the selected object.

Filtering Data Sources

To filter data sources:

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, open a dialog box that displays a Data Source field. For instance, double-
click a datalink to display the Datalink dialog box, or open an Expert dialog box to add a basic
animation.
2. Click the Browse button to the right of the Data Source field. The Expression Builder dialog box
appears.
3. Click the tab you want to display.
4. Enter the text you want to display, including any wildcards, in the Filter field.
5. Click the Filter button.

Remembering the Last Filter

To remember the last filter:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click User
Preferences.
2. Select the Remember last filter check box on the General tab. The most recently used filter(s)
used on the Expression Builder dialog box will be remembered.

Specifying the Tolerance, Deadband, and Refresh Rate

To specify the tolerance, deadband, and refresh rate:

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, open a dialog box that displays a Data Source field. For instance, double-
click a datalink to display the Datalink dialog box, or open an Expert dialog box to add a basic
animation.
2. Click the Browse button to the right of the Data Source field. The Expression Builder dialog box
appears.
3. Click the FIX Database tab.
4. In the Tolerance field, enter the maximum allowable rounding factor for the data source or expres-
sion you are building. If the value of the data source or expression is within the tolerance of a tar-
get value, iFIX assumes the two values are equal.
5. In the Deadband field, enter the maximum fluctuation you want for the data source or expression.
If the value of the data source or expression exceeds the maximum or minimum deadband, iFIX
updates the object with the new value.
6. In the Refresh Rate field, select how often to update the data source or expression, in seconds.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 121

Using the GE Historian Tab

The following sections provide steps on how to use the GE Historian tab when working with the iFIX
WorkSpace:

l Sorting Fields in the Tag List

l Applying Filters to the Tag List
l Resetting Tag Filters

Sorting Fields in the Tag List

To sort a field in the tag list:

1. Click the appropriate field header name (Node, Tag, Description, or Collector Name). An arrow
appears. The up arrow indicates that the field is sorted in ascending order. The down arrow indic-
ates that the field is sorted in descending order.
2. Click the field header name again to reverse the sort order.
NOTE: By default, the fields are sorted in ascending order by the node name.

Applying a Filter to the Tag List

To apply a specified filter to the tag list:

1. Enter your filter criteria in the appropriate filter drop-down box (Node, Description, Tag, or Col-
lector Type).
2. Select the Apply Filter button.

Resetting Tag Filters

To reset filter specifications:

Select the Reset button.

Managing Files and Nodes

The following sections provide steps on how to manage files and nodes in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Sharing Files
l Starting iFIX with an SCU file from a different path
l Getting a Different iFIX Project from the Change Management Server
l Creating a Factory Default

122 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Finding and Replacing Data Overview
l Using the Backup and Restore Wizard Overview

Sharing iFIX Files

To share iFIX files:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, click the System Configuration Utility button on the tool-
bar.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Applications tab, in the System & Security group, click SCU.
2. Click the Paths button on the SCU toolbox.
3. In the appropriate field(s, enter the network path(s) you want to use. For example, enter a network
path in the Picture field, such as C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\PIC, to change the Picture
path.
4. Copy all the files in the shared paths from your local node to your file server.

Starting iFIX with an SCU File from a Different Path

To start iFIX with an SCU file from a different path:

NOTE: The following steps describe how to modify an SCU file with a path outside the install path, so
that you run it in iFIX.
1. Shut down iFIX.
2. On the Start menu, point to Programs, iFIX, and then System Configuration to open the SCU.
The SCU window appears.
3. From the SCU Configure menu, click Paths. The Path Configuration dialog box appears.
4. In the Path Configuration dialog box, change the base path and NLS path to point to the local
install path. Change the project path to point to the project destination folder, if it does not already
do so.
5. From the SCU Configure menu, click Tasks. The Task Configuration dialog box appears.
6. In the Task Configuration dialog box, change the path of the configured tasks to the local install
path, make sure that you include the same command line options.
7. From the SCU Configure menu, click Network. The Network Configuration dialog box appears.
8. In the Network Configuration dialog box, confirm the information is correct and make changes if
necessary.
9. From the SCU Configure menu, click SQL, and then click Configure SQL Tasks. The SQL Task
Configuration dialog box appears.
10. In the SQL Task Configuration dialog box, make sure that the Primary and Secondary paths are
correct, if used.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 123

 11. From the SCU Configure menu, click Local Startup. The Local Startup Definition dialog box
appears.
12. In the Local Startup Definition dialog box, change the path to the folder you copied the project to
with the get command.
13. From the SCU File menu, click Save.
14. Restart iFIX.

Getting a Different iFIX Project from the Change Management Server

To get a different iFIX project from the Change Management Server:

1. From the iFIX WorkSpace system tree, right-click the node name, point to Manage, and then
click Get Other Project. The Get Project dialog box appears.
NOTE: The Manage right-click menu is unavailable if you are not logged into the Change Man-
agement Server from iFIX.
2. In the Select Project drop-down list, select a project name.
3. In the Project Destination field, if the path is the same as your local iFIX install, enter a different
path. By doing this, you prevent the get command from overwriting your current iFIX project files.
By default, the path in the Project Destination field is set to the path that the project was last
checked in with.
4. If you want to delete any existing files before you get the project files, select the Delete all exist-
ing files under Project Destination check box.
5. If you want to copy iFIX default files into the folder before retrieving the project, select the Ini-
tialize Project Destination with iFIX default Files check box. It is recommended that you leave
this check box selected. Otherwise, you will not be able to run the project you get in iFIX.
6. Click Get. A status box appears as the iFIX project files are copied to your local computer.
7. If you want to start iFIX using the SCU from the project you just got, follow the steps below.
To start iFIX with that project's SCU:

NOTE: These steps start iFIX with an SCU from a different path (a path outside the install path).
1. Shut down iFIX.
2. On the Start menu, point to Programs, iFIX, and then System Configuration to open the SCU.
The SCU window appears.
3. From the SCU Configure menu, click Paths. The Paths Configuration dialog box appears.
4. In the Path Configuration dialog box, change the base path and NLS path to point to the local
install path. Change the project path to point to the project destination folder, if it does not already
do so.
5. From the SCU Configure menu, click Tasks. The Tasks Configuration dialog box appears.
6. In the Task Configuration dialog box, change the path of the configured tasks to the local install
path, make sure that you include the same command line options.
7. From the SCU Configure menu, click Network. The Network Configuration dialog box appears.

124 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 8. In the Network Configuration dialog box, confirm the information is correct and make changes if
necessary.
9. From the SCU Configure menu, click SQL, and then click Configure SQL Tasks. The SQL Task
Configuration dialog box appears.
10. In the SQL Task Configuration dialog box, make sure that the Primary and Secondary paths are
correct, if used.
11. From the SCU Configure menu, click Local Startup Paths. The Local Startup Definition dialog
box appears.
12. In the Local Startup Definition dialog box, change the path to the folder you copied the project to
with the get command.
13. From the SCU File menu, click Save.
14. Restart iFIX.

Creating a Factory Default Backup File

To create a factory default backup file:

From the command line, enter

BackupRestore.exe /FactoryDefault [/l=<user ini file>]

NOTE: You can modify the BackupRestore.ini file to create user specific defaults. For more inform-
ation, refer to the BackupRestore.ini file.

Finding and Replacing Data

The following sections provide steps on how to find and replace data in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Finding Data
l Replacing Data

Finding Data in Pictures, Schedules, and Scripts

To find data in pictures, schedules, and scripts:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the Edit menu, select Find and Replace.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find and Replace.
2. In the Find What field, enter the text you want to locate.
3. Select one or more of the following check boxes to set the appropriate options:
l Select the Match Case check box to do a case-sensitive search.
l Select the Whole Word Only check box to locate whole words that match the search
string.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 125

 l Select the Data Source Only check box to locate only data sources.
l Select the Include Scripts check box to locate the search string in the scripts associated
with the picture or schedule.
4. Click Find.

Replacing Data in Pictures, Schedules, and Scripts

To replace data in pictures, schedules, and scripts:

1. Using the Find and Replace dialog box, find the data you want to replace.
2. Click the Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box.
3. In the Replace With field, enter the text you want to substitute for the search string.
4. Click one or more of the following buttons to replace the values as needed:
l Click Replace Preview to view the results of replacing all the property values found
without changing them.
l Click Replace Selected to replace the value selected from the Match List list box.
l Click Replace All to replace all the property values found.

Using the Backup and Restore Wizard

The following sections provide steps on how to use the Backup and Restore wizard in the iFIX
WorkSpace:

l Archiving Selected Files

l Restoring Files From an Archive
l Defining the Archive iBatch Project

Archiving Selected Files

To archive selected files, or create a new factory default file:

1. From the iFIX submenu, open the Backup & Restore Wizard:
a. From the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, iFIX, Tools, and then Backup and
Restore Wizard.
b. From the iFIX submenu, choose Backup & Restore Wizard. the iFIX Project Backup dia-
log box appears.
NOTE: To run the Backup and Restore wizard with the Factory Default option, run the application with
the /FactoryDefault command line option. For instance, in the Run dialog box, type: backuprestore.exe
/FactoryDefault. In Factory Default mode, the Custom and Full Backup options are unavailable.

126 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 2. Select the Custom Backup or Factory Default Backup option and click the Project Backup Wiz-
ard button. the iFIX Project Backup Wizard appears.
3. From the Backup File Option list, select the check box(es) for the types of files you want to
archive. To archive all your files, select the Backup the Entire System check box.
4. If you have Security files and want to add those to your archive file, select the Include security
files in archive check box.
5. Click Next and specify the path and archive file to use. You can also click the Browse button to
locate the path and file.
6. Click Finish to archive the selected files.

To create an archive of all your files:

1. From the iFIX submenu, select the Backup & Restore Wizard as follows:
a. From the Windows Start menu, point to Programs then point to iFIX.
b. From the iFIX submenu, choose Backup & Restore Wizard. the iFIX Project Backup dia-
log box appears.
2. In the Backup Type area, select the Full Backup option and click the Project Backup Wizard but-
ton. the iFIX Project Backup Wizard appears.
3. Enter the path and archive file to use. You can also click the Browse button to locate the path and
file.
4. Click Finish to archive the selected files.

Restoring Files From an Archive

To restore files from an archive:

1. Shut down iFIX if it is running.
2. From the iFIX submenu, select Backup & Restore Wizard as follows:
a. From the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, iFIX, Tools, and then Backup and
Restore Wizard.
b. From the iFIX submenu, choose Backup & Restore Wizard. the iFIX Project Backup dia-
log box appears.
3. Click the Project Restore Wizard button. the iFIX Restore Wizard appears.
4. Click the Browse … button and select the archive file from which to restore files.
5. Click Next and select the appropriate Restore Destination Option.
The corresponding destination information displays in the Destination Info fields.
6. To perform a clean restore and delete all files before restoring the archive, select the Delete all
existing files under target project path before the restore option.
7. To restore the iFIX files to their default state before restoring your archive, select the Restore
default iFIX files before restoring your backup files option.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 127

 8. If security files are located in the archive, select to leave the security settings alone, replace
existing security files with archived files, or delete all existing security files and disable security.
9. Select the check box(es) of the specific files you want to restore or select the Restore the entire
system check box to restore all files in the archive.

Defining the Active Batch Execution Project

To define the active Batch Execution project:

1. From the system tree, double-click the Batch configuration icon. The Batch Configuration dialog
box appears.
2. Click the Project tab.
3. In the Active Project field, enter the name of the project or click the Create New Project button
and enter the name of the project in the dialog box that appears.
4. Click OK.
5. Restart the iFIX WorkSpace.

Installing the GE Historian Server

The following sections provide steps on how to install and use the Historian server in the iFIX
WorkSpace:

l Configuring GE Historian and iFIX

l Creating a Common Historian Server Configuration for All Users
l Adding a Server to the GE Historian Server List
l Deleting a Server from the GE Historian Server List
l Modifying a Server on the GE Historian List
l Setting the Default Collector
l Setting the Default GE Historian Server
l Troubleshooting GE Historian and iFIX

Configuring GE Historian and iFIX

You must shut down Historian services and licensing prior to installing iFIX and Historian. To use the
integrated GE Historian features in iFIX, you must install Historian.
To configure GE Historian and iFIX:

After the iFIX and Historian installs, do the following:

128 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 1. Restart your computer. Manually start the GE Historian Archiver through the Windows Service
Control Panel, if it is not already running.
2. Confirm that the Collectors installed. To do so:
a. On the Start menu, click Programs, GE Historian, and then Historian Administrator. The
Historian Administrator program starts.
b. Log into the Historian Administrator.
c. Click Collectors.
d. Verify that all of your collectors appear in the Collectors area, especially the iFIX collector.
3. Start iFIX, the WorkSpace and the iFIX collector.
4. Classic view only: Insert the GE Historian toolbar. To do so:
a. In the WorkSpace system tree, double-click the Project Toolbar Files folder, and then the
Toolbars folder.
b. Double-click GE Historian. The GE Historian toolbar displays in the WorkSpace.
5. In iFIX, change Historians. To do so:
a. In Classic view, on the GE Historian toolbar, click Change Historian.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Administration tab, in the GE Historian Group, click Configure His-
torian, and then click Change Historian.
b. Select Historian, and then click OK.
c. To ensure a common configuration across all Windows accounts, select the "Enable His-
torian aliases for all sessions" option.
d. Close and restart the WorkSpace.
6. Configure the Historian Server. To do so:
a. In Classic view, in the GE Historian toolbar, select Configure the Historian Server.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Administration tab, in the GE Historian Group, click Configure His-
torian, and then click Configure Historian Server.
b. Click Get Collectors. The Collector Name list is populated.
c. Select the iFIX collector, and then click Set Default.
d. Click Close.
e. Restart the WorkSpace.
7. In the iFIX Database Manager, add the blocks that you want to start collecting on. To do so:
a. In the Database Manager, in Classic view, on the Database Manager's toolbar, click
Open.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click the Main Button, and then click Open.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 129

 b. Double-click the SCADA server you want to connect to. The database displays.
c. Double-click in a blank cell in the spreadsheet. The Select a Block Type dialog box
appears.
d. Select the type of block you want to add and click OK. The block's dialog box appears.
e. Complete each tab. Use the GE Historian tab to enter the information from Historian, and
then click Save.
f. Repeat Steps C-E for each block you want to add.
g. Save your database. In Classic view, on the Database Manager's toolbar, click Save.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click the Main Button, and then click Save.
NOTE: For instructions on modifying blocks, see Modifying Blocks.
8. After approximately two minutes, in the Historian Administrator, check that your tag was added.
To do so:
a. On the Start menu, click Programs, GE Historian, and then Historian Administrator. The
Historian Administrator program starts.
b. Log into the Historian Administrator.
c. Click Tags.
d. Verify that all of your tags appear in the tags area.
NOTE: The confighist.txt file is the log file in the iFIX LOCAL folder. Use this log file to
troubleshoot if your tags do not get added to Historian.
9. Verify your configuration. To do so:
a. Add a historical data link to your picture. In Classic view, from the Toolbox, click His-
torical Datalink.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Insert tab, in the Objects/Links group, click Objects/Links, and
then click Historical Datalink.
b. Switch to run mode. In Classic view, from the WorkSpace menu, select Switch to Run.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Switch to Run.
c. View the last value collected in the data link.
NOTE: There will be a delay of approximately two minutes between data updates.

Creating a Common Historian Server Configuration for All Users

To create a common Historian Server configuration (also known as global Historian aliasing):

1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, go to the Applications tab.

2. Click Configure Historian and then Configure Historian Server. The Configure the Proficy His-
torian Server dialog box appears.

130 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 3. Select the "Enable Historian aliases for all sessions" option.
4. Close the dialog box to save your settings. An information message appears.
5. Click OK to continue.
6. Restart iFIX Workspace to apply your change.

Adding a Server to the GE Historian Server List

To add a server to the GE Historian server list:

1. In Classic view, locate the GE Historian toolbar and then click the Configure iHistorian Server
button, which is the third of the four buttons.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Administration tab, in the GE Historian group, click Configure Historian,
and then click Configure Historian Server.
3. Click Add Server.
4. In the Alias Name field, enter an alias.
5. In the Server Name field, enter a server name.
6. If required, in the User Name and Password fields, enter a user name and password, respect-
ively.
7. Click Add Server.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Close.

Deleting a Server from the GE Historian Server List

To delete a server from the GE Historian server list:

1. In Classic view, locate the GE Historian toolbar and then click the Configure iHistorian Server
button, which is the third of the four buttons.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Administration tab, in the GE Historian group, click Configure Historian,
and then click Configure Historian Server.
3. From the Alias Name/Server Name list, select the server to delete.
4. Click Delete.
5. Click Close.

Modifying a Server on the GE Historian List

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 131

 To modify a server on the GE Historian server list:

1. In Classic view, locate the GE Historian toolbar and then click the Configure iHistorian Server
button, which is the third of the four buttons.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Administration tab, in the GE Historian group, click Configure Historian,
and then click Configure Historian Server.
3. From the Alias Name/Server Name list, select a server to modify.
4. Click Modify.
5. Click Close.

Setting the Default GE Historian Server

To set the default GE Historian server:

NOTE: You must select a default Historian server. Otherwise, Historian will not work correctly in the
WorkSpace.
1. In Classic view, locate the GE Historian toolbar and click the Configure iHistorian Server button,
which is the third of the four buttons.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Administration tab, in the GE Historian group, click Configure Historian,
and then click Configure Historian Server.
3. From the Alias Name/Server Name list, select a server.
4. Click Set Default. The selected server is set as the default Historian server.

Setting the Default Collector

To set the default collector:

1. In Classic view, locate the GE Historian toolbar and then click the Configure iHistorian Server
button, which is the third of the four buttons.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Administration tab, in the GE Historian group, click Configure Historian,
and then click Configure Historian Server.
3. Click Get Collectors.
4. From the Collector Name list select a collector.
5. Click Set Default. The selected collector is set as the default Historian collector.
NOTES:
l For iFIX 5.1 automatic collection, you must select the iFIX collector.
l If you are upgrading your system, set your existing collector as the default collector.

132 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l If you have redundant servers, for each server, set the primary server's collector as the default
collector. For more information about redundancy and Historian, refer to the Historian and
Enhanced Failover section.
l Because this feature only supports collectors that read data from iFIX, the collectors available
for selection are limited to the following:
l iFIX Native Collector
l OPC Collector reading from Intellution.OPCEDA or Intellution.OPCiFIX OPC servers

Troubleshooting GE Historian and iFIX

The following table lists some specific troubleshooting information for configuring GE Historian and iFIX.

Scenario Solution/Explanation
I reloaded my database. I Verify that:
have a tag named AI1; I
l The default Collector is configured.
have set Enable Col-
lection on this tag and l A connection exists between iFIX and Historian.
updated the necessary
l You have configuration privileges.
Historian fields. However,
the tag does not seem to There are a number of reasons why tags are not collected. If
be collected. none of the preceding reasons seem to be the cause, check the
confighist.txt file and review the error log. Also, check the alarm
history information.
I have a tag named GE Historian always configures tags using the following format
Fix.AI1.F_CV in Historian for the tag name:
already collecting. What
NodeName.TagName.F_CV.
will happen if I reload or
import a database and the Hence, if you are already collecting a tag with the same name,
database already contains when you:
a tag named AI1?
Reload – at the time of reload, iFIX will detect that there is
already another tag with the same name being collected and all
the information from Historian for that tag will be updated in the
iFIX block named AI1.

Import or Add – When importing or adding a tag to the database,

the tag from Historian will be overwritten with the tag of the same
name from the iFIX database.
I do not want to install Never do the following:
integrated Historian, and
l Select the Automatically Configure Tags for Collection
want to continue using His-
in Historian on the Historian tab of the User Prefer-
torian as I did before.
ences dialog box.
l Use GE Historian fields in the iFIX Database Manager
to configure anything in Historian.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 133

 I want to use both We recommend avoiding this practice. Use the feature that best
products simultaneously accommodates the collection requirements of the particular tag.
to configure tags.
If you decide to use both products at once, changes made in iFIX
take precedence and will overwrite settings made using His-
torian Administrator.

If you are using Historian Administrator, do not use iFIX block

fields for those tags.
I just upgraded. What will All of the database blocks will be upgraded to include all of the
happen to my database new fields and they will be initialized to default values for His-
blocks? torian fields. Additional considerations:

l By default collection is not enabled

l If some of the blocks are already being collected, they
will receive the information from Historian for the col-
lection fields at the time of reload.
I have configured redund- iFIX always adds tags to the primary collector, so if you have col-
ant SCADA nodes. How lector redundancy configured correctly, there should be no prob-
does this feature affect my lem.
configuration?
I selected the Auto- Since at reload time information from Historian is updated in
matically Add Tags for Col- iFIX, this option will not take effect for your existing tags; you
lection check box. I have will have to update them manually. The log in configHist.txt will
some tags already con- show that the tag already exists and in the Database Manager
figured for collection in His- you can see that the tag has pulled up information from His-
torian. What will happen to torian.
my tags?
My Collector list is empty. In the Task Configuration dialog box of the SCU tool, add the col-
lector. Let the collector run at least one time on your system.
My database does not con- Check the confighist.txt file, located in the Local folder, to
tain all of the tags I added. determine if you exceeded the licensed tag collection amount. If
so, you may need to purchase more tags.
There is a long time When using iFIX and Historian together, and the Collector is run-
between when changes ning, there is approximately a two minute delay between when
are made in the database changes are made and when they appear.
and when they appear.
I reloaded my database When you reload the database, all of the new database tags are
and some tags seem to added to Historian. In addition, all of the tags from the previous
have disappeared from database are hidden from Historian. It may seem as though
Historian. What those tags are deleted, but they are not.
happened?
I decided to uninstall His- To correct this, register COMDLG32.ocx.
torian. Now I get the error
message "Could not load
an object..." when I open
WorkSpace.
On the Configure the GE The Get Collectors and Set Default buttons are unavailable in

134 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Historian Server dialog iFIX if you are attempting to configure the default collector on a
box, the Get Collectors View node.
and Set Default buttons
are unavailable.
I have configured my His- Historian servers need to be configured for each operating sys-
torian Servers. However, tem user. For example, let's assume you configured the His-
when I log in to iFIX, there torian server while you were logged in as Administrator. If you
are no servers listed. did not configure the Historian server for all other Windows
users, the servers you configured for the Administrator will not
display, because they are not configured for any other user.
Make sure to configure Historian servers for all operating system
users.

Working with Toolbars

The following sections provide steps on how to work with toolbars in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Showing and Hiding Toolbars

l Customizing Toolbars Overview
l Creating Toolbars Overview
l Creating Buttons Overview

Showing and Hiding Toolbars

To show or hide toolbars:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Select the owner for the toolbars you want to show or hide.
3. Select the check box of each toolbar you want to display and clear the check box for each toolbar
you want to hide.

Customizing Toolbars

The following sections provide steps on how to customize toolbars in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Adding a Button to a Toolbar

l Removing a Button from a Toolbar

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 135

 l Arranging Buttons on a Toolbar
l Enabling and Disabling Toolbar Docking
l Resetting Standard Toolbars

Adding a Button to a Toolbar

To add a button to a toolbar:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Buttons tab and select the category for the button you want to add.
4. Click, drag, and drop the button you want to add onto the toolbar.
NOTE: The buttons in the Scheduler category are for internal use only.

Removing a Button From a Toolbar

To remove a button from a toolbar:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars .
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click, drag, and drop the button you want to delete off of the toolbar.

Arranging Buttons on a Toolbar

To arrange buttons on a toolbar:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click, drag, and drop the button to its new location on the toolbar.

136 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 NOTE: The buttons in the Scheduler category are for internal use only.

Enabling and Disabling Toolbar Docking

To enable and disable toolbar docking:

NOTE: In Ribbon view, toolbars cannot be docked.
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Select the owner of the toolbar you want to modify.
4. Select the floating toolbar you want to modify. If the toolbar is hidden, select the toolbar's check
box to display it.
5. Select the Enable Docking for Selected Toolbar check box to enable docking. To disable dock-
ing, clear the check box.

Resetting Standard Toolbars

To reset a standard toolbar:

1. In Classic view, from the iFIX WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, in the Settings list, click Toolbars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Select the toolbar you want to reset and click Reset. If the button is grayed out, the toolbar is sup-
plied with iFIX.

Creating Toolbars

The following sections provide steps on how to create and work with toolbars in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Creating a Toolbar
l Deleting a Toolbar
l Modifying Toolbar Properties
l Editing the Script of a Toolbar Button

Creating a Toolbar

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 137

 To create a toolbar:
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Toolbars tab.
4. Click Add Toolbar.
5. Enter a name for the toolbar.
6. Select the toolbar's owner from the Owner list. If the owner you want does not appear:
a. Close the Customize Toolbars dialog box.
b. Open a document of the associated type. For example, open a picture to select Picture as
an owner.
7. Repeat steps 1 through 6.
8. Add buttons to the toolbar.
9. Edit each button's script as needed.

Deleting a Toolbar

To delete a toolbar:
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Toolbars tab.
4. Select the owner of the toolbar you want to delete from the Owner list. If the owner you want does
not appear:
a. Close the Customize Toolbars dialog box.
b. Open a document of the associated type. For example, open a picture to select Picture as
an owner.
c. Repeat steps 1 through 4.
5. Select the toolbar you want to delete.
6. Click Delete Toolbar.

Modifying Toolbar Properties

138 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 To modify a toolbar's properties:
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Toolbars tab.
4. Select the toolbar's owner from the Owner list. If the owner you want does not appear:
a. Close the Customize Toolbars dialog box.
b. Open a document of the associated type. For example, open a picture to select Picture as
an owner.
c. Repeat steps 1 through 4.
5. Select the toolbar you want to modify.
6. Click Modify Properties.
7. Change the toolbar's name and owner as needed.

Editing the Script of a Toolbar Button

To edit the script of a toolbar button:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Double-click the button you want to modify from a toolbar or click the Buttons tab and double-
click the button.
4. Click Edit Script to open the Visual Basic Editor. Edit the button's script with the VBE.

Creating Buttons

The following sections provide steps on how to create button in the iFIX WorkSpace:

l Creating or Renaming a Category

l Deleting a Category
l Creating a Button
l Deleting a Button
l Modifying a Button's Properties

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 139

 l Displaying a Toolbar
l Importing a Toolbar

Creating or Renaming a Category

To create or rename a category:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Buttons tab.
4. Click Add Category or Rename Category and enter a category name.
Category names can be up to 31 letters long. You cannot include numbers, a space, period (.),
exclamation mark (!), or the characters @, &, $, # in the name. In addition, category names can-
not match the name of any other toolbar, category, picture, schedule, or Dynamo set.
NOTE: You can rename user-created categories only.

Deleting a Category

To delete a category:
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Buttons tab.
4. Select the category you want to delete.
5. Click Delete Category.
NOTE: You can delete user-created categories only.

Creating a Button

To create a button:
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-

140 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 In Ribbon view, on the Home tab in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Buttons tab.
4. Select the category you want to assign the button to.
5. Click Add Button.
6. Configure the button.
NOTE: You can create buttons for user-created categories only.

Deleting a Button

To delete a button:
1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Buttons tab.
4. Select the category for the button you want to delete.
5. Select the button and click Delete Button.
6. Click OK when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.
NOTE: You can delete buttons only from user-created categories.

Modifying Button Properties

To modify a button's properties:

1. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click the Buttons tab.
4. Select the category for the button you want to modify.
5. Click Modify Button.
6. Configure the button.
NOTE: You can modify buttons only in user-created categories.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 141

Displaying a Toolbar

To display a toolbar:
1. Open the iFIX Workspace.
2. In the WorkSpace system tree, double-click the Project Toolbar Files folder, and then the Tool-
bars folder.
3. Double-click the name of the toolbar you want to display. The toolbar should now display in the
WorkSpace.

Importing a Toolbar

To import a toolbar:
1. Copy the toolbar file (.TBX) you want to import to the Local path of your computer.
2. In Classic view, in the iFIX WorkSpace, from the WorkSpace menu, select Toolbars.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in the WorkSpace group, click Settings, and then click Tool-
bars.
3. Click Customize.
4. Click Import.
5. From the Toolbars list box, select the file.
6. From the Owner list, select the owner. If the owner you want does not appear:
a. Close the Customize Toolbars dialog box.
b. Open a document of the associated type. For example, open a picture to select Picture as
an owner.
c. Repeat steps 1 through 6.
7. Click Import.

Installing a Third-Party OPC Server

The following sections provide steps on how to install and use a third-party OPC server in the iFIX
WorkSpace:

l Adding or Modifying an OPC Server

l Deleting an OPC Server
l Troubleshooting OPC Server Installations
l Setting up DCOM Support in the WorkSpace

142 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Adding or Modifying an OPC Server

To add or modify an OPC server:

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, iFIX, Tools, and then Data Server Installer.
2. Click Add or double-click the data server you want to modify.
3. In the Data Server field, enter an OPC data source name. Make sure the name is not already in
use.
4. From the OPC server list, select an OPC driver.
5. In the Machine Name field, enter the local or remote computer name where the OPC Server
resides.
6. Select the Set as Default Server check box to make the server the default.
NOTE: You must have rights to write to the registry in order to perform this task.

Deleting an OPC Server

To delete an OPC server:

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, iFIX, Tools, and then Data Server Installer. The Data
Server Installer dialog box appears.
2. Select the OPC server you want to delete.
3. Click Remove.
NOTE: You must have rights to write to the registry in order to perform this task.

Troubleshooting OPC Server Installations

You can add third-party OPC servers into iFIX by installing them with the Data Server Installer. The
Data Server Installer can be accessed from the Start menu by pointing to Programs, iFIX, Tools, and
then Data Server Installer. If you have difficulty accessing data from the OPC server, use the following
steps to troubleshoot.
To troubleshoot your OPC Server installation:

1. From the Start menu, select Run and enter Regedit.

2. Open the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FIX32\DataSources.
3. Ensure that each subkey in the DataSources folder represents an OPC server installed into iFIX,
and that it contains the following:
(Default) = "DataSourceName"
DefaultServer = 0 (1, if server is the default)
OpcAccessPath = ""
OpcDataSource = "AnyString"
OpcProgID = "ProgID"
OpcServerMachineName = ""

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 143

 For example, the subkey for the FIX OPC server appears as follows:
(Default) = "FIX32"
DefaultServer = 1
OpcAccessPath = ""
OpcDataSource = "Intellution OPC EDA Server"
OpcProgID = "Intellution.OPCEDA"
OpcServerMachineName = ""

Setting up DCOM Support in the WorkSpace

To setup DCOM support in the WorkSpace:

1. If necessary, install the driver:

a. Insert the I/O Drivers and OPC Servers CD into your CD-ROM drive. The CD spins up
and the Driver CD splash screen appears.
b. Click the Install Driver button.
c. Select the driver name from the menu. For example for the MBE driver, select MBE - Mod-
bus Eithernet v7.x.
d. Click the Install Now button.
2. Run the Data Server Installer. You can launch this application from the Start menu by pointing to
Programs, iFIX, Tools, and then Data Server Installer. The Data Server Installer dialog box
appears.
3. Click Add to add an OPC server. The Add Server dialog box appears.
4. Enter an OPC data source name in the Data Server field. For example, for the MBE driver, you
might enter MBESOURCE in this field.
5. Select the OPC server from the drop-down list in the OPC Server field. For example, for the MBE
driver you would select Intellution.MBEOPC.
6. In the Machine Name field, enter the local or remote computer name where the OPC Server
resides.
7. Click OK to save your changes.
8. Configure the server from the iFIX program group. For example, for the MBE driver, select the
MBE PowerTool option.

System Functions

iFIX provides real-time data to plant personnel and to other software applications throughout a plant.
This real-time data presentation is the key to more efficient use of resources and personnel, and ulti-
mately, to more automation.

SCADA functions include:

144 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Basic Functions
l HMI and SCADA Functions
l Reporting Functions
l Open Architecture Functions
l Application Functions

Basic Functions

iFIX performs basic functions that enable specific applications to perform their assigned tasks. The two
most basic functions are data acquisition and data management. The following figure illustrates the
basic functions of iFIX.

iFIX Basic Functions

Data acquisition is the ability to retrieve data from the plant floor and process that data into a usable
form. Data can also be written to the plant floor, thereby establishing the critical two-way link required by
control software. iFIX uses OPC to request and utilize plant floor data. OPC is a client/server model with
a common interface that allows iFIX to communicate with standard objects, methods, and properties.
For additional information on OPC, refer to the OLE for Process Control (OPC) section.

iFIX requires no proprietary hardware to acquire data. It communicates directly with I/O devices already
in place through a software interface called an I/O driver. In most cases, iFIX can work with the I/O hard-
ware installed in your plant. Even if your plant has I/O devices from different manufacturers on the same
network, I/O drivers can access and work with all of them.

We currently offer an extensive catalog of I/O drivers that support best-selling and specialty I/O devices.
We also offer the OPC Toolkit, a development tool that allows you to quickly and easily write high per-
formance, reliable OPC enabled I/O servers. Any server written with the toolkit can talk to OLE auto-
mation or OPC client applications. The toolkit includes an online training session, online help, and
universal OLE Automation interfaces. Servers written with the OPC toolkit are open, reliable and high
performing servers that incorporate multi-threading, queue-based messaging, and event-based pro-
cessing.

Once data is acquired, it is manipulated and channeled according to requests from your application soft-
ware. This process is known as data management.

HMI and SCADA Functions

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 145
 One of the most important goals of automation is to use plant resources more efficiently. Traditionally,
plant floor operations have been monitored and controlled through control room panels. iFIX can enhance
or replace many of these traditional control room functions, including:

l Monitoring
l Supervisory Control
l Alarming
l Control

The following figure illustrates the HMI and SCADA functions.

HMI and SCADA Functions

Monitoring

Monitoring is the ability to gather and display real-time plant-floor data to all relevant personnel. Powerful
numeric, text, and graphical formats are available to make real-time data more accessible, easier to
read, and easier to understand.

Supervisory Control

Supervisory control is the ability to monitor real-time data coupled with the ability to change set points
and other key values directly from your computer.

With iFIX, you can easily control who has access rights to this data and which data points can be
changed.

Alarming

146 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Alarming is the ability to recognize exceptional events within your process and immediately report those
events to the appropriate personnel. Alarms are generated based on the control limits you establish and
can be reported in a variety of ways.

For additional information refer to the Implementing Alarms and Messages manual.

Control

Control is the ability to automatically apply algorithms that adjust process values and thereby maintain
those values within set limits. Control goes one step beyond supervisory control by removing the need
for human interaction.

iFIX includes continuous control, batch control, and statistical process control capabilities. It can be
used to control your whole process or part of your process.

Reporting Functions

Real-time data is only one level of information processing. Many plants require the ability to report or
store real-time data for later analysis. iFIX allows you to use any third-party reporting application that
supports ODBC queries to create reports based on critical system and process information. The fol-
lowing figure illustrates the reporting functions.

Data Analysis Functions

Data Archiving

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 147

 Any data point in the system can be sampled and stored in data files at operator-specified rates. This
archived data represents a powerful tool for process optimization and correction.

At any time, the data can be retrieved from the data files to create trend displays of historical data. Man-
agers and engineers can use this data to examine the events leading up to a critical event after address-
ing more immediate problems.

Reports

Detailed reports are important tools for reviewing the performance of a process. They allow you to
quickly grasp the relationships between specific pieces of manufacturing process data so that you can
make effective decisions. Using any third-party reporting application that supports ODBC queries, you
can create customized reports based on iFIX real-time and historical data. When you use iFIX real-time
data, you generate the report with current data extracted from the iFIX database. When you create a
report using iFIX historical data, you generate the report based on data gathered over a period of time.

For example, suppose you are the production manager of a cookie factory. At the end of each shift you
want to generate a customized report that shows the amount of down time on each production line. You
would use the Scheduler to request this report at certain times using iFIX historical data. In addition, if a
failure occurs on a particular line you want to have your system automatically generate a report showing
the tank level of each ingredient, the state of the mixer and dropper, and the temperature of the oven at
the time of the failure. When a failure occurs, the requested iFIX real-time data is extracted from the iFIX
database and displayed in a report. The data in this report can then be analyzed to help prevent future fail-
ures.

Open Architecture Functions

Many plants have unique needs that can be solved through access to real-time data. iFIX provides read
and write access to any data point in the system. This open architecture allows you to use custom and
third-party applications to resolve your unique automation needs. The following figure illustrates the open
architecture functions.

148 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Open Architecture Functions
The iFIX architecture also allows you to write scripts that provide key real-time data. Visual Basic® for
Applications is integrated directly into iFIX to allow you to quickly and easily develop scripts that interact
with plant-floor data. For more information, refer to the Writing Scripts manual.

Application Functions

iFIX is a multi-tasking system. Each node can run several different applications simultaneously. Intern-
ally, critical programs have priority access to system resources and applications may be preempted to
respond to a more critical resource request.

All iFIX applications can be classified into three types:

l User configuration applications

l System applications
l User applications

User Configuration Applications

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 149

 User configuration applications allow you to create the instructions and logic that monitor and control
your process. These applications create configuration files. When started, system applications read the
configuration files and use the information found here to execute the assigned tasks.

The Event Scheduler is an example of a user configuration application. In the Event Scheduler, you
define the event that triggers an action (for example the time of day or a change in your process) and the
action that you want to occur. Once the event is scheduled, the action automatically triggers when the
event occurs. No further interaction is required.

System Applications

System applications work with your process in real-time. These applications receive instructions from
configuration files and require little or no interaction. In general, system applications have priority access
to system resources.

Historical Collect is an example of a system application. Once started, it retrieves data and stores it in
the Historical Data directory defined in the SCU. It requires no interaction and the system can be con-
figured to automatically start Historical Collect when iFIX starts up.

User Applications

User applications are programs that you interact with in order to work with the process or process data.
User applications also create and use configuration files.

The Alarm Summary Object (OCX) is an example of a user application. It requires you to interact with
the system by manipulating the Alarm Summary Object that is embedded in your picture.

Some programs may serve as more than one kind of application. For example, the Database Manager is
a user configuration application for creating process databases. However, Database Manager also acts
as a user application because it allows you to display real-time data in spreadsheet form.

Managing iFIX Nodes

This chapter explains how to manage your iFIX nodes with the iFIX WorkSpace by backing up and
restoring your files. The chapter also describes other management tasks you can complete with the
WorkSpace, such as configuring the local computer, finding and replacing data in iFIX, and specifying
the active Batch Execution project.

Refer to the following sections for more information:

l Configuring the Local Computer

l Sharing Files
l Finding and Replacing Data
l Backing up and Restoring Files
l Specifying a Batch Execution Project

150 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Configuring the Local Computer

Your main tool for configuring your computer for use with iFIX is the System Configuration Utility (SCU).
This program lets you configure the computer's:

l Network connections.
l Alarm routing and destinations.
l SCADA and I/O driver options (for SCADA servers only).
l Security options (when iFIX is running).
l iFIX paths.
l Start-up tasks.
l Alarm area configuration.

To learn more about the SCU, refer to the Setting up the Environment manual.

Sharing Files

Using iFIX, you can share files among your nodes by placing these files on a file server and changing the
local node's paths. The files you share depend on your configuration; you may want to share operator dis-
plays or schedules. Frequently, the alarm area database is shared to ensure that all SCADA servers
have access to an identical set of alarm areas. Likewise, sharing your security files ensures that oper-
ators can log in from any node.

The path you specify for sharing files also depends on your configuration. You can specify any mapped
network drive, such as Z:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\ALM.
NOTE: iFIX stores different types of files in the paths it uses. For example, the Picture path holds pictures,
user globals, color tables, and named colors. Sharing this path gives access to all these files.

The iFIX pictures are not backwards compatible for earlier versions of iFIX. If you use multiple versions
of iFIX, store your pictures locally or use a separate shared pictures path for each version of iFIX.

Configuring the Picture Path

If you are using a shared PIC directory on a drive other than the one on which iFIX is installed, you must
enter the full path in the SCU.

For example, if you want to use a shared PIC directory on the G:\drive, you must enter G:\PIC in the
SCU. If you enter G:\, your WorkSpace will not open correctly.

Finding and Replacing Data

Many process environments are expansive, and may include pictures or schedules that reference many
sources of data for operations in different locations throughout your plant. If you need to reroute certain
data to another node, or globally change a data source throughout a plant, you can do so quickly, without
disrupting operation or using valuable resources by finding and replacing data.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 151

Finding data locates values of picture and schedule properties that match the search string. It also loc-
ates property values of objects in your pictures. The search string you enter indicates the data you want
to locate and optionally replace. Any property value that matches this text appears on the Find tab. On
the Replace tab, only values you can modify appear.
Find Options
You can select any of the following options when finding data:

Match Case – Finds text that matches the exact case of the search string.

Whole Word Only – Finds only whole words that match the search string. A whole word is any text
delimited by a carriage return, a line feed, a space, a hyphen (-), a semi-colon (;), a colon (:), a
comma (,), a period (.), an underscore (_), an exclamation point (!), quotation marks ("), apostrophe
('), parenthesis ( ), braces { }, or brackets [ ]. This means that a typical data source, such as
Fix32.MIXER1.AI1.F_CV contains five words.

Data Source Only – Finds only data sources that match the search string.
NOTE: If a data source used to animate an object has its Data Conversion type set to Object, the data source
is ignored during all Find operations.

Include Scripts – Finds text in the scripts associated with the current picture or schedule.
Replace Options
When replacing data, you can select from the following options:

Replace Selected – Replaces only the property values you select.

Replace All – Replaces all property values found.

Replace Preview – Displays the results of replacing all property values in the Replace Value With
column.
NOTE: You cannot undo a Find and Replace operation and the text you enter as the replacement string
appears exactly as you enter it.
Notes on Special Characters in Search Strings
When you use wildcard characters such as the * or ? character in your search string, text containing the
following special characters will not be found even if it satisfies the search criteria:
" ' ( ) * + ; ? @ ^ ' { } ~

For instance, if you want to locate joe@company.com and enter j*com as your search string in the Find
What field, the joe@company.com term is not found, since the text includes a special character (@).
Example: Finding and Replacing Data
Assume you want to replace all of the tags in a picture from MIXER.AI_VALVE_OPEN to MIXER.AI_
VALVE_CLOSED. One way you can change these value is to perform a whole word find and replace.
To perform a whole word find and replace:

1. On the Edit menu, click Find and Replace.

2. In the Find What field, enter MIXER1.AI_VALVE_OPEN.
3. Click the Replace tab, and enter MIXER1.AI_VALVE_CLOSED in the Replace With field.

152 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 4. Click Replace Preview to view the resulting values in the Replace Value With column.
5. Click Replace All.

If you find and replace a tag which returns numeric data only, such as F_CV, with a tag that returns non-
numeric data, such as A_CUALM, Data links that are connected to this tag will no longer appear to
update. For example:

If you With... Then the Replace will...

replace...
F_CV A_CV Works for analog tags where the A_CV is simply a string con-
taining a number.
A_CV F_CV Work without errors.
F_CV A_MODE Not work.
F_CV A_CV and then A_ Not work because the tag was originally a number.
MODE

Using Wildcards

One of the most powerful options you have when finding and replacing data is the ability to include wild-
cards in search strings and the replacement text you enter. You can enter any of the following wildcards:

* – Finds zero or more characters.

? – Finds any single character. For example, the search string TAN? locates the string TANK. It also loc-
ates the string TANKS.

When replacing data, the wildcard only lets you substitute one character for the wildcard. For
example, if you replace TAN? with TANZ, the resulting strings are TANZ and TANZS.

\ – Finds wildcard characters in the search string. For example, \* locates an asterisk (*) in the property
values being searched.

To make your searches more effective, use these guidelines:

l If the search string has wildcard characters, the replacement string must have the same wildcard
characters or none at all.
l If the search string has no wildcard characters, the replacement string cannot have any wildcard
characters.
l Do not use * and ? in the same search string.

The table below details some examples of using wildcards with Find and Replace.

Find and Replace Wildcard Examples

Property Value Search String Replacement Text Modified Value
NODE1.AI1 N*.A* M*.B* MODE1.BI1
NODE1.AI1 *.AI1 NEWNODE.A NEWNODE.A
NODE1.AI1 *.* N2.A2 N2:A2
NODE1.AI2 NOD*.AI* BE*.CO* BEE1.CO2
MIXER1.AI3 MIXER1.A?? MIXER1.D?? MIXER1.DI3
*Alarm Area Mixer* \*Alarm Area Mixer\* -Alarm Area Mixer- -Alarm Area Mixer-

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 153

Finding and Replacing Data in Scripts

By default, finding and replacing data in the iFIX WorkSpace does not search in the scripts associated
with the current picture or schedule. However, you can search in event scripts by selecting the Include
Scripts check box. Declarations, forms, class modules, and other scripts are not searched by iFIX. To
search in these scripts, use the Visual Basic Editor (VBE). For more information on using the VBE, refer
to its online Help.

iFIX lets you add find and replace capabilities to your scripts using the FindReplace interface in the
FixScriptGlobal object. Refer to the Writing Scripts manual and the iFIX Automation Interfaces Help file
for more information.

Using Find and Replace with User Globals

In order to use the Find and Replace command on User Globals, you must right-click the User icon in the
Globals folder in the system tree, and select Find and Replace from the menu. You cannot perform a
Find and Replace on User Globals by selecting Find and Replace from the Edit menu (Classic view) or
on the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find and Replace (Ribbon view). That menu belongs to the
active document only.

Note that the Find and Replace dialog box displays the name of the document being searched in its title
bar. For example, if you perform a Find and Replace on User Globals, Find and Replace User appears in
the title bar.

Backing up and Restoring Files

To help you manage your iFIX files, use the iFIX Backup and Restore feature. Access this feature
through the Backup and Restore Wizard or from the command line. Command line parameters are avail-
able to automate backup or restore operations in scripting or external programs.

With this feature, you can backup your entire iFIX system or portions of it. You can later use these
backed up files to restore your iFIX system, or specific parts of it. Additionally, you can restore your iFIX
system to the factory default settings and files – a clean restore. This feature is helpful in configuring new
computers with the same configuration, or in disaster recovery.

Overview of Files
A Custom Backup of iFIX includes a subset of the following files:

l SCU files
l Configuration files
l Pictures and Dynamo sets
l Process and alarm area databases
l I/O driver configuration files and exported databases
l Alarm files

154 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 l Historical configuration and data files
l Tag groups
l Application files
l Toolbars
l Schedules
l Global definition files and named colors
l Chart group wizard files
l Startup profiles
l FIX32 picture and key macro files
l Security files
l Master and control recipes

A Full Backup includes all of your iFIX files in the following folders:

l ALM path (*.*)

l APP path (*.*)
l HTR path (*.*)
l HTRDATA path (*.*)
l LOCAL path (*.*)
l PDB path (*.*)
l PIC path (*.*)
l RCC path (*.*)
l RCM path (*.*)
IMPORTANT: A Full Backup includes version dependent files. Do not restore a Full Backup from one version
of iFIX to another version. Instead, use the Custom Backup option if you want to restore specific files from one
version of iFIX to another.

Be aware that you can even backup and restore application files across multiple iFIX projects using the
Project Path concept. For more information about modifying the project path, refer to the Best Practices
for Managing Multiple iFIX Users section.
IMPORTANT:
l To backup and restore driver configuration files, you must add the driver in the SCU's SCADA Con-
figuration dialog box. To add the I/O driver, from the SCU Configure menu, click SCADA. In the I/O
Driver Definition area, click the browse (...) button to select the I/O driver name, and then click Add.
l Be aware that configuration files for 7.x series drivers saved outside of the iFIX database directory will
not be backed up with the Backup and Restore Wizard. If you installed iFIX to the default location, the
path to the iFIX database directory is: C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\PDB.
l Be sure check the default iFIX path configurations in the SCU in each of your iFIX projects after you
restore your files. For example, if you installed the latest version of iFIX to a 64-bit path C:\Program
Files (x86)\GE\iFIX), and your previous picture files were installed to a 32-bit path (C:\Program Files
(x86)\GE\iFIX), you will need to make sure you update these paths in the SCU to 64-bit.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 155

 Accessing the Backup and Restore Wizard
To access the Backup and Restore wizard, click the Start button and point to Programs, iFIX, Tools,
and then Backup and Restore Wizard. You can also access the application by locating and running the
BackupRestore.exe file in the iFIX folder, which is the folder where you installed iFIX. If you want to
restore files, you must shut down iFIX before running the Backup and Restore wizard. Otherwise, iFIX
should be running.

The following figure shows the main screen that appears when you open the Backup and Restore Wiz-
ard.

Backup and Restore Wizard

Overview of the Backup Process

The Backup and Restore Wizard allows you to perform the following types of backup:

l Custom Backup – Allows you to select the specific files within the project path to backup.
l Full Backup – Archives all files, including security and INI files within the project path. This
includes all files in the APP, HTR, HTRDATA, LOCAL, PDB, PIC, RCC, and RCM folders.
l Factory Default Backup – Allows you to create a new factory default backup file. The Factory
Default is a set of default iFIX files used to perform a clean restore. A standard Fact-
oryDefault.IFD file is provided with the iFIX product. You can create a new, customized one, and
save it under another name or the same name, using this option.

The steps below explain how to perform a backup with the Backup and Restore Wizard. For steps on
how to use the command line, refer to the Using the Command Line Options section.
To perform a custom backup:

1. In the Backup and Restore Wizard main screen, select the Custom Backup option.
2. Click the Backup button. The following figure appears.

156 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Backup and Restore Wizard - Custom Backup
3. Verify that the Backup Source Info is correct. For more information about modifying the project
path, refer to the Best Practices for Managing Multiple iFIX Users section.
4. In the Backup File Option section, select the specific files or folders that you would like to back
up.
5. Optionally, select the Include security files in archive option to backup all of your security files.
NOTE: If the Backup and Restore wizard does not detect any security files in the project path, the
Include security files in archive option does not appear.
6. Click the Next button.
7. Enter a backup file name and path into the field or browse to select one.
NOTE: By default, this archive and path is C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\Pro-
jectBackup\nodename.FBK; however, you can specify any local path and file name. If you want to use

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 157

 a network path, you must use a mapped network drive. For instance, \\MyServer\folder will not work,
but a network drive mapped to Y:\folder (where Y:\ is the map to \\MyServer) would work.
8. Click the Finish button to begin archiving your selected files.
To perform a full backup:

1. In the Backup and Restore Wizard main screen, select the Full Backup option.
2. Click the Backup button.
3. Enter a backup file path and filename into the field or browse to select one.
NOTE: By default, this archive and path is C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\Pro-
jectBackup\nodename.FBK; however, you can specify any local path and file name. If you want to use
a network path, you must use a mapped network drive. For instance, \\MyServer\folder will not work,
but a network drive mapped to Y:\folder (where Y:\ is the map to \\MyServer) would work.
4. Click the Finish button to begin archiving all of your files.
To create a new factory default file:

1. Start the Backup and Restore Wizard with the /FactoryDefault option. For example:
BackupRestore.exe /FactoryDefault

Refer to the Using the Command Line Options section for more information on /FactoryDefault
startup options.
2. In the Backup and Restore Wizard main screen, select the Factory Default option.
NOTE: The Full Backup and Custom Backup options are unavailable when you start the Backup and
Restore Wizard in Factory Default mode.
3. Click the Backup button. The following dialog box appears.

158 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Backup and Restore Wizard - Factory Default Backup
4. In the Backup File Option section, select the specific files or folders that you would like to back
up.
NOTE: The Include security files in archive option is not available for a Factory Default backup.
5. Click the Next button.
6. Enter a backup path and file name into the field, or browse to select one.
NOTE: By default, this archive and path is C:\Program Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX\Pro-
jectBackup\nodename.ifd; however, you can specify any local path and any file name. Most likely, you
will want to leave the original Factory Default file, and save the file under another name. If you want to
use a network path, you must use a mapped network drive. For instance, \\MyServer\folder will not
work, but a network drive mapped to Y:\folder (where Y:\ is the map to \\MyServer) would work.
7. Click the Finish button to begin archiving your selected files.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 159

 TIP: If you enter a new name in step 7, you may want modify the [WizardSettings] section of
BackupRestore.ini file to point this custom Factory Default file. For more information, refer to the Using
and Creating FactoryDefault Files and the Sample BackupRestore.ini sections.

Overview of the Restore Process

You can restore your archived files to any computer that has iFIX installed. Prior to restoring the files,
you can select the individual types of files you want to restore or you can restore the entire archive.

The Backup and Restore Wizard includes the following restore features:

l Ability to select a specified destination for the restored files, as well as the individual files you
want to restore.
l Ability to delete all existing files under a target project path before performing a restore. This
action removes any existing application files in the destination paths, with the exception of the
security files.
l Ability to restore the iFIX factory defaults of your original install before restoring the backup files.
l Option to retain the current SCU security settings for the restore, replace the SCU settings with
the ones in the archive, or create a new project requiring the input of a new project folder to com-
plete the restore.

The steps below explain how to perform a restore with the Backup and Restore Wizard. For steps on
how to use the command line, refer to the Using the Command Line Options section.
To restore an archive:

1. In the Backup and Restore Wizard main screen, select the Restore button.
2. On the first page of the wizard, enter the backup file name to restore or click browse to select
one.
By default, backup files are stored in the C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\ProjectBackup folder.
3. Click Next to continue. The following dialog box appears, allowing you to select the appropriate
restore options.

160 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 iFIX Restore Wizard
4. Select the required options and click Finish.
To restore a factory default file:

1. Start the Backup and Restore Wizard with the /FactoryDefault command line option. For
example:
BackupRestore.exe /FactoryDefault

Refer to the Using the Command Line Options section for more information on /FactoryDefault
startup options.
2. In the Backup and Restore Wizard main screen, select the Restore button.
3. On the first page of the wizard, enter the file name of the factory default backup or click browse to
select one.
To restore iFIX with the standard factory defaults, select the FactoryDefault.IFD file. If you
installed iFIX to the default location, you can find this file in the C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX
folder.
4. Click Next to continue.
5. Select the required options and click Finish.
Restore Destination Options

The Restore Destination Options allow you to select whether you restore the files to the current project
path, the project path specified in the archived SCU, or into a separate new project path. The Create
New Project option does not modify the existing SCU settings.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 161

If you select to use the SCU file from the archive, this overwrites the SCU file on the target computer.
Typically, you would only want to overwrite an SCU file if the target computer does not have an SCU
file, or if you want to restore the target computer to its previous state.

If you choose to overwrite an existing SCU file, be sure to verify that the computer's hardware key sup-
ports all of the enabled SCU options and the software for these options is installed. For example, if
SCADA support is enabled, verify that the hardware key has SCADA support and that the SCADA soft-
ware is installed on the target node. You should also verify that the path for each start-up task, listed in
the Task Configuration dialog box, is correct.

You can modify the node name and project path stored in the archived SCU file when you select to over-
write the existing SCU file. The Node field defines the node name stored in the archived SCU file; the
Project Path field defines the project path.

When the restoration process begins, the wizard reads the text in the Node and Project Path fields to
determine where to restore the files you selected. Next, the wizard restores the files using the relative
paths stored in the selected SCU file. The wizard creates any non-existent paths.
NOTE: If multiple SCU files exist in the archive when you are restoring files, iFIX copies all existing SCU files
to the Local path. The SCU file that was in use continues to be used by the system.

If you choose to Create a New Project, files are restored to a new project path with a default sub-project
path. To modify the default sub-project paths, refer to the BackupRestore.ini or user-specified .INI file.

Optionally, once you have restored the file, you can create a new SCU file and point to these new paths.
Destination Info

The Destination Info section of the Restore screen displays the SCU file, node, and project path that the
archive will be restored to. To display the configured paths for the restored files within the project, click
the View Project Path Configuration button. The configured paths are determined by the destination
option you selected. If you selected:

Use the current SCU – the paths are determined by the SCU file currently loaded.

Use SCU from archive – the paths are determined by the SCU file in the archive. You can modify the
node name and project path. Sub-project paths are determined by the SCU file in the archive and can-
not be modified.

Create a new project – the project path is determined by user input. Sub-project paths are determined
by the .INI file settings. Refer to the BackupRestore.ini file for more information.
Restore File Options

To perform a clean restore, the Backup and Restore wizard allows you to delete all existing files or to
restore default iFIX files before restoring the archive.

Select the Delete all existing files under target project path before the restore option to delete all existing
files before restoring a Custom or Full backup file. This option will not delete existing security files or the
current SCU file loaded in local startup.

Select the Restore default iFIX files before restoring your backup files option to return the files to their
default state before performing a restore. For Custom and Full restores, the default iFIX files are restored
from the FactoryDefault file.

To modify the default settings, modify the FactoryDefault definitions in the BackupRestore.ini file. For
more information, refer to the BackupRestore.ini file.

162 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Security File Option

If the Restore Wizard locates any security files in the archive that you are restoring, you can select from
the following options:

Leave the current security settings alone – Select this option to maintain the current security settings
and ignore security overwrites in the backup files during the restore.

Replace existing security files with archived files – Select this option to replace the current security
settings with the security settings in the archived files.

Delete all existing security files and disable security – Select this option to delete all existing security
files from the current iFIX system and disable security upon restore. This option also displays the cur-
rent status of security (Enabled or Disabled). If you select this option, ensure that the Restore default
iFIX files before restoring your backup files option is also selected to use the active iFIX project.

The restore destination for security files is determined by the presence of security files in the current
iFIX system and the archive. The following table shows the sample configurations and the determined
destination:

Are security files present in current Are security files Destination of restored
iFIX configuration? present in archive? security files:
1 No No N/A
2 No node.dov Target local path
3 No Display.dov Target local path
4 node.dov node.dov Target local path
5 node.dov Display.dov Target local path
6 Display.dov node.dov Target local path
7 Display.dov Display.dov Current global security
path

NOTE: In the previous table, node.dov denotes that local security settings related to a single project are
found. Display.dov denotes that global security settings are found.

In the 2nd and 3rd configurations shown in the table, the security files are restored to the target local
path. The user receives no warning message.

In the 4th and 5th configurations, the security files are also restored to the target local path. A warning
message displays the current security path and the new security path. As node.dov relates to a specific
single project, if the current path is not equal to the target path, the existing security settings remain and
the archived security settings are restored to a new project path. If the current path is equal to the target
path, the existing security files are deleted and then the archive is restored.

In the 6th configuration, the global security settings are removed and the security files are restored to the
target local path. A warning message appears displaying the current security path and the new security
path.

In the 7th configuration, security files are restored to the current global security path. A warning mes-
sage displays, alerting the user that the current security path is the same as the new security path and
will be overwritten.
Restore File Selection

Once you select the appropriate restore options, select which specific files you would like to restore to
the project path. If you would like to restore all files, select the Restore the entire system check box.

Using the Command Line Options

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 163
You can also run the Backup and Restore utility from the command line. This is especially useful if you
want to automate the backup and restore operations through scripting or external programs.

The syntax for the BackupRestore.exe command line is as follows:

Syntax for Backup
BackupRestore.exe
[/FactoryDefault]
/B=<file name with full path>
[/F]
[/P=<project path> or /P=UseINI]
[/BackupSec]
[/S or /Y]
[/I=<ini file name>]

Syntax for Restore

BackupRestore.exe
[/FactoryDefault]
/R=<file name with full path>
[/A]
[/A=<project path> [/N=<node name>] [/X]]
[/P=<project path> or /P=UseINI]]
[/C]
[[/RestoreSec] or [/DelSec]]
[/S or /Y]
[/I=<ini file name>]
Notes on the Syntax

l The brackets ( [ ] ) indicate that a parameter is optional. The brackets are not part of a command;
if a bracketed option is desired, type only the text that is inside the brackets, and not the brackets
themselves.
l Italics are used to represent the information that the user must supply to run the command. The
information in italics is not typed exactly as it appears. Instead, the user enters the information
specific to the italicized expression.

The following table lists the command line options available for BackupRestore.exe.

Available Command Options

Command Description
Option
/F Specifies a Full Backup of all files within a project path, including security files.
/FactoryDefault Performs a factory default backup or restore.
/P Specifies the source project path for the Backup or the destination project path for the
restore.
/P=UseINI Specifies the source project path for the Backup or the destination project path for the
Restore. Allows you to specify the full path for all sub-project paths within the INI file
settings.
/A Uses the archived SCU file to determine the destination project path of the Restore.
/A=<project Specifies the destination project path for the Restore, and sets it to the extracted SCU
path> file.
/N=<node Specifies the node name of the node you want to restore. Used with the /A option.
name>
/X Specifies that you do not want to rename the current node name with the name of the

164 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 restored node. Used with the /A option.
/C Deletes all existing files under the selected project path before restoring a Custom or
Full Backup file.
/BackupSec Includes security files in the backup.
/RestoreSec Replaces the current security settings with the security settings in the archived files
during the restore.
/DelSec Deletes all existing security files and disables security upon restore.
/S Runs the Backup or Restore project in silent mode, with no progress bar or user
prompt.
/Y Automates the user prompt and displays the progress bar while the backup or restore
runs in silent mode.
/I Specifies an .INI file and path, if you want to use an .INI file other than the
BackupRestore.ini file.

By default, Backup and Restore reads the BackupRestore.ini file in the Local folder.
By using the /l command, you can specify another .INI file name. The format must be
the same as the BackupRestore.ini file however. Refer to the Sample
BackupRestore.ini section for more information.
/? Opens the Help for the command line options.

NOTE: If you do not define the /P option while running a Backup, the source path is taken from the current
SCU setting. If you do not define the /P or /A option while running a Restore, the destination is the current
SCU setting.

Examples

This command performs a custom backup silently including security files, without displaying the Backup
and Restore Wizard:
BackupRestore.exe /B="C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\ProjectBackup\FIX.fbk" /S /BackupSec

This command performs a project restore to the current project path silently, without displaying the
Backup and Restore Wizard:
BackupRestore.exe /R="C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\ProjectBackup\FIX.fbk" /S /RestoreSec

This command performs a project restore to the project path archived in the SCU, and shows a progress
bar for restore process:
BackupRestore.exe /R="C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\ProjectBackup\FIX.fbk" /A /Y

NOTE: When including the /A command, you may need to review the SCU to see if the base path has
changed.

This command performs a factory default backup, without displaying the Backup and Restore Wizard:
BackupRestore.exe /FactoryDefault /B="C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\ProjectBackup\FIX.ifd" /S

This command performs a factory default restore, without displaying the Backup and Restore Wizard:
BackupRestore.exe /FactoryDefault /R="C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\ProjectBackup\FIX.ifd" /S

Return Code

The Backup and Restore application returns the following exit codes after it runs.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 165

 Exit Code Description
0 Backup or Restore action completed without errors.

When you run the user interface for the Backup and Restore, instead of using the com-
mand line, the exit code also will be 0.
1 Backup or Restore action aborted with an error. This usually indicates that the error
occurred during the action. For example: a backup file was unable to be opened, a
backup file is corrupted, or security settings could not be adjusted .
2 Backup or Restore action unable to start, for any reason. For example: an invalid com-
mand was detected, or a specified file was not found.

Also, when you run the BackupRestore.exe /? help command, the exit code is 2.

When the BackupRestore.exe program returns a 1 or 2, the action failed. If an error is detected before an
action log file opens, these errors are recorded in the BackupRestoreDefaultLog.txt file. By default, this
file is located in the iFIX base path. If you installed iFIX to the default location, then the base path is the
C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX folder.

If a 1 or 2 is returned, look to the BackupRestoreDefaultLog.txt first for details on the error. If there is no
information there, then look at actual action log (BackupLog.txt or RestoreLog.txt).

Be aware that the BackupRestoreDefaultLog.txt log also contains full command line parameter inform-
ation and the time when the BackupRestore.exe program started.

Using and Creating Factory Default Files

The Factory Default is a set of default iFIX files used to perform a clean restore. A standard Fact-
oryDefault.IFD file is provided with the iFIX product. Refer to the Files Included in the FactoryDefault
Backup File section below for a list of files included in the standard .IFD file.
NOTE: Be aware that if you later install an iFIX SIM as a product update, and that SIM contains updated iFIX
factory default files, the SIM installer prompts you to update the original FactoryDefault.IFD file as a part of the
SIM installation.

You can also create your own Factory Default file, with the .IFD file extension, to include custom tool-
bars, custom Dynamo objects, application specific picture templates, or user specific .INI settings. To
do this, you use the Factory Default command line option for the Backup and Restore application. You
can overwrite the original FactoryDefault.IFD file, or create a new one. Most likely, you will want to
leave the original Factory Default file, and save the file under another name.
IMPORTANT:
l Be aware that whatever files are included in the FactoryDefault.IFD file are also used in the restore
process, by default, when you select the Restore default iFIX files before restoring your backup files
check box in the iFIX Restore Wizard. If you overwrite the original FactoryDefault.IFD file, you change
the files that get restored when that check box is selected. Use caution when overwriting the original
FactoryDefault.IFD file.
l If you want this check box to reference another Factory Default file, modify the [WizardSettings] section
of BackupRestore.ini file. On the FACTORYDEFAULT=FactoryDefault.IFD, replace FactoryDefault.IFD
with the name of your new factory default file. For more information on the BackupRestore.ini file, refer
to the Sample BackupRestore.ini file section.

To create a Factory Default backup file, type the following at the command line and press ENTER:

166 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 BackupRestore.exe /FactoryDefault

This command starts the Backup and Restore application with the Create New Factory Default file
option enabled.

To restore the files in a Factory Default file, use the same command line option:
BackupRestore.exe /FactoryDefault

When the /FactoryDefault option is specified, the Backup and Restore Wizard appears with the Custom
and Full Backup buttons unavailable, as shown in the following figure. To create a new Factory Default
file, click the Project Backup button to open the Project Backup Wizard. To restore a Factory Default
file, click the Project Restore button to open the Project Restore Wizard.

For more information on using Command Line options, refer to Using the Command Line Options sec-
tion.
Files Included in the Factory Default Backup File

The following is a list of files included in the FactoryDefault.IFD file provided with the iFIX product. If you
select the Restore default iFIX files before restoring your backup files option during a restore, these files
will be restored to your system before the archive is restored.
IMPORTANT: Be aware that if you later install an iFIX SIM as a product update, and that SIM contains
updated iFIX factory default files, the SIM installer prompts you to update the original FactoryDefault.IFD file
as a part of SIM the installation.

The FactoryDefault.IFD file includes the following files:

ALM Files
None
APP Files
APP\BuildDynamoInstall.grf
APP\ChartGroupInstall.grf
APP\iDetective.tbx
APP\sqlerr.txt
HTR Files
HTR\ChartGroup1.csv
HTR\ChartGroup2.csv

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 167

 HTR\ChartGroup3.csv
HTRDATA Files
None
Local Files
LOCAL\alarm.ini
LOCAL\AnimationTasks.tbc
LOCAL\Applications.tbc
LOCAL\ApplicationToolbar.tbx
LOCAL\ApplicationToolbar.xbt
LOCAL\Association.dat
LOCAL\BackupRestore.ini
LOCAL\BuildDynamo.bmp
LOCAL\CADToolbar.tbx
LOCAL\CADToolbar.xbt
LOCAL\CADTools.tbc
LOCAL\ChartGroups.tbc
LOCAL\ChartGroupToolbar.tbx
LOCAL\ChartGroupToolbar.xbt
LOCAL\CommandTasks.tbc
LOCAL\ConfigureWizard.ini
LOCAL\CreateObjects.tbc
LOCAL\CrossReference.ini
LOCAL\CustomButton1.bmp
LOCAL\CustomButton10.bmp
LOCAL\CustomButton2.bmp
LOCAL\CustomButton3.bmp
LOCAL\CustomButton4.bmp
LOCAL\CustomButton5.bmp
LOCAL\CustomButton6.bmp
LOCAL\CustomButton7.bmp
LOCAL\CustomButton8.bmp
LOCAL\CustomButton9.bmp
LOCAL\databasemanager.ini
LOCAL\DatabaseTasks.tbc
LOCAL\DataEntryTasks.tbc
LOCAL\ddeclnt.ini
LOCAL\default.fmt
LOCAL\default.qry
LOCAL\default.rft
LOCAL\default.srt
LOCAL\draw.ini
LOCAL\dwnarrow.ico
LOCAL\dwndwnarrow.ico
LOCAL\DynamoToolbar.tbx
LOCAL\DynamoToolbar.xbt
LOCAL\DynamoTools.tbc
LOCAL\Edit.tbx
LOCAL\Edit.xbt
LOCAL\Experts.tbx
LOCAL\Experts.xbt
LOCAL\filterederrors.ini
LOCAL\FindReplace.csv
LOCAL\fix.ini
LOCAL\FixGraphicConnectionObjects.tbx
LOCAL\FixGraphicConnectionObjects.xbt
LOCAL\fixodbc.ini
LOCAL\FixUserPreferences.ini
LOCAL\FormatObjects.tbc
LOCAL\GraphicConnections.tbc
LOCAL\Horn.ico
LOCAL\HPLookupColors.ini
LOCAL\htd.ini
LOCAL\iFixScreenSaver.bmp
LOCAL\iFIXSysMgmt.ini
LOCAL\ImportToolbars.txt
LOCAL\logmsg.tov

168 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 LOCAL\NoHorn.ico
LOCAL\ProficyEnableFocusTracking.ini
LOCAL\PictureExporter.tbc
LOCAL\PictureTasks.tbc
LOCAL\ProficyHistorian.tbx
LOCAL\ProficyHistorian.xbt
LOCAL\ProficyHistorianCat.tbc
LOCAL\ReportTasks.tbc
LOCAL\RestoreLog.txt
LOCAL\Ribbon.ini
LOCAL\SCADASync.ini
LOCAL\Scheduler.tbc
LOCAL\SECNET.ini
LOCAL\SetupComServerApp.ini
LOCAL\Shapes.tbx
LOCAL\Shapes.xbt
LOCAL\Standard.tbc
LOCAL\StandardCategories.txt
LOCAL\StandardToolbars.ini
LOCAL\StandardToolbar.tbx
LOCAL\StandardToolbar.xbt
LOCAL\SystemTree.csv
LOCAL\Toolbox.tbx
LOCAL\Toolbox.xbt
LOCAL\Tools.tbx
LOCAL\Tools.xbt
LOCAL\TranslationToolbar.tbx
LOCAL\TranslationToolbar.xbt
LOCAL\uparrow.ico
LOCAL\upuparrow.ico
LOCAL\Utilities.tbx
LOCAL\Utilities.xbt
LOCAL\view.ini
LOCAL\VisiconXControls.tbc
LOCAL\VisiconXToolbar.tbx
LOCAL\VisiconXToolbar.xbt
LOCAL\Web_HMI.tbx
LOCAL\Web_HMI.xbt
PDB Files
PDB\aa61.tbl
PDB\ai61.tbl
PDB\ao61.tbl
PDB\ar61.tbl
PDB\bb61.tbl
PDB\bl61.tbl
PDB\ca61.tbl
PDB\CGW.csv
PDB\da61.tbl
PDB\dc61.tbl
PDB\Default.SM2
PDB\di61.tbl
PDB\do61.tbl
PDB\dr61.tbl
PDB\dt61.tbl
PDB\empty.pdb
PDB\etr61.tbl
PDB\etr73.tbl
PDB\ev61.tbl
PDB\fn61.tbl
PDB\hs61.tbl
PDB\ll61.tbl
PDB\mdi61.tbl
PDB\pa61.tbl
PDB\pg61.tbl
PDB\pid61.tbl
PDB\rb61.tbl

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 169

 PDB\rm61.tbl
PDB\sc61.tbl
PDB\sd61.tbl
PDB\sqd61.tbl
PDB\sqt61.tbl
PDB\ss61.tbl
PDB\tm61.tbl
PDB\tr61.tbl
PDB\tt61.tbl
PDB\tx61.tbl
PIC Files
PIC\TagStatus
PIC\3D_TEXT.SBL
PIC\aa.bdf
PIC\ai.bdf
PIC\ao.bdf
PIC\ar.bdf
PIC\bb.bdf
PIC\bl.bdf
PIC\BORDERS.SBL
PIC\BUNGEE.odt
PIC\BUNGEE.SVA
PIC\BUNGEE.VGA
PIC\BUTTONS.SBL
PIC\ca.bdf
PIC\ChartGroupDemo.grf
PIC\CHARTS1!.SBL
PIC\CHARTS2!.SBL
PIC\CHARTS3!.SBL
PIC\CHARTS4!.SBL
PIC\CHKBOX!.SBL
PIC\CHKBOX2!.SBL
PIC\da.bdf
PIC\di.bdf
PIC\do.bdf
PIC\dr.bdf
PIC\draw.kmx
PIC\dt.bdf
PIC\DTALNK1!.SBL
PIC\DTALNK2!.SBL
PIC\etr.bdf
PIC\ev.bdf
PIC\EmergencyStopButtons.fds
PIC\ExpertGlobal.fxg
PIC\ExpertGlobals2.fxg
PIC\FACEPLT!.SBL
PIC\FactoryGlobals.fxg
PIC\fn.bdf
PIC\FREEFALL.odt
PIC\FREEFALL.SVA
PIC\FREEFALL.VGA
PIC\GaugesHozizontalLarge.fds
PIC\GaugesHozizontalMedium.fds
PIC\GaugesHozizontalSmall.fds
PIC\GaugesRoundLarge.fds
PIC\GaugesRoundMedium.fds
PIC\GaugesRoundSmall.fds
PIC\GaugesVerticalLarge.fds
PIC\GaugesVerticalMedium.fds
PIC\GaugesVerticalSmall.fds
PIC\HANGTEN.odt
PIC\HANGTEN.SVA
PIC\HANGTEN.VGA
PIC\High Performance.FTB
PIC\Historical.fds
PIC\HistoricalLineChart.fds

170 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 PIC\HPArrows.fds
PIC\HPLinearGauges.fds
PIC\HPLinearGaugesHist.fds
PIC\HPMixers.fds
PIC\HPMotors.fds
PIC\HPPipes.fds
PIC\HPPumps.fds
PIC\HPTanks.fds
PIC\HPTanksAnim.fds
PIC\HPTanksAnimHist.fds
PIC\HPValves.fds
PIC\hs.bdf
PIC\INLINE.odt
PIC\INLINE.SVA
PIC\INLINE.VGA
PIC\ISA-S55A.SBL
PIC\ISA-S55B.SBL
PIC\ISA-S55C.SBL
PIC\ISA-S55D.SBL
PIC\ISA-Y32A.SBL
PIC\ISA-Y32B.SBL
PIC\ISA-Y32C.SBL
PIC\ISA-Y32D.SBL
PIC\ISA-Y32E.SBL
PIC\ISA-Y32F.SBL
PIC\ISA-Y32G.SBL
PIC\ISA-Y32H.SBL
PIC\ISA-Y32I.SBL
PIC\KEYPAD!.SBL
PIC\ll.bdf
PIC\LocalAsBackup.grf
PIC\LocalAsPrimary.grf
PIC\LUGE.odt
PIC\LUGE.SVA
PIC\LUGE.VGA
PIC\mdi.bdf
PIC\METERS!.SBL
PIC\METERS2!.SBL
PIC\Miscellaneous.fds
PIC\MOTORS!.SBL
PIC\Motors.fds
PIC\MOTORS.SBL
PIC\NetworkStatusDisplay.grf
PIC\NetworkStatusOverview.grf
PIC\NetworkStatusRedundancyDisplay.grf
PIC\on.bdf
PIC\pa.bdf
PIC\PanelButtonsLarge.fds
PIC\PanelButtonsMedium.fds
PIC\PanelButtonsSmall.fds
PIC\PC_PLC.SBL
PIC\pg.bdf
PIC\pid.bdf
PIC\PilotLightsLarge.fds
PIC\PilotLightsMedium.fds
PIC\PilotLightsSmall.fds
PIC\Pipes.fds
PIC\PIPES1.SBL
PIC\PIPES2!.SBL
PIC\PIPES2.SBL
PIC\PIPES3!.SBL
PIC\PIPES3.SBL
PIC\PipesAnim.fds
PIC\PlugandSolve.fxg
PIC\PSHBTN1!.SBL
PIC\PSHBTN2!.SBL

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 171

 PIC\PTV.odt
PIC\PTV.SVA
PIC\PTV.VGA
PIC\PUMPS!.SBL
PIC\Pumps.fds
PIC\PumpsLarge.fds
PIC\PumpsSmall.fds
PIC\PUMPS.SBL
PIC\PumpsAnim.fds
PIC\RADIO!.SBL
PIC\RADIO2!.SBL
PIC\rb.bdf
PIC\rm.bdf
PIC\ROWERS.SBL
PIC\RUNTASK!.SBL
PIC\sc.bdf
PIC\sd.bdf
PIC\Shades Of Blue.ftb
PIC\Shades Of Cyan.ftb
PIC\Shades Of Gray.ftb
PIC\Shades Of Green.ftb
PIC\Shades Of Magenta.ftb
PIC\Shades Of Red.ftb
PIC\Shades Of Yellow.ftb
PIC\SHAPES.SBL
PIC\SLIDERS!.SBL
PIC\SPIKE.odt
PIC\SPIKE.SVA
PIC\SPIKE.VGA
PIC\sqd.bdf
PIC\sqt.bdf
PIC\StorageTanksLarge.fds
PIC\StorageTanksAnim.fds
PIC\ss.bdf
PIC\SwitchesLarge.fds
PIC\SwitchesMedium.fds
PIC\SwitchesSmall.fds
PIC\System Default.ftb
PIC\SYSTEM!.SBL
PIC\TANKS!.SBL
PIC\Tanks.fds
PIC\TANKS.SBL
PIC\TanksAnim1.fds
PIC\TanksAnim2.fds
PIC\TICMARKS.SBL
PIC\tm.bdf
PIC\tr.bdf
PIC\tt.bdf
PIC\tx.bdf
PIC\UpDownButtons.fds
PIC\VALVES!.SBL
PIC\Valves.fds
PIC\VALVES.SBL
PIC\ValvesAnim.fds
PIC\ValvesISAHorizLarge.fds
PIC\ValvesISAHorizSmall.fds
PIC\ValvesISAVertLarge.fds
PIC\ValvesISAVertSmall.fds
PIC\VBARS!.SBL
PIC\view.kmx
PIC\WizLayouts.tpl
PIC\TagStatus\Aa_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\AI_TS.grf
PIC\TagStatus\AO_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Ar_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Bb_TS.Grf

172 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 PIC\TagStatus\Bl_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Ca_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Da_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\DI_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Do_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Dr_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Dt_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Etr_TS.grf
PIC\TagStatus\Ev_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Fn_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Hs_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Ll_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Mdi_TS.grf
PIC\TagStatus\Pa_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Pg_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Pid_TS.grf
PIC\TagStatus\QuickTrend.grf
PIC\TagStatus\Rb_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Rm_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Sc_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Sd_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Sqd_TS.grf
PIC\TagStatus\Sqt_TS.grf
PIC\TagStatus\Ss_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\TagControlPanel.grf
PIC\TagStatus\Tm_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Tr_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\TS.ini
PIC\TagStatus\Tt_TS.Grf
PIC\TagStatus\Tx_TS.Grf
RCC Files
None
RCM Files
None

Sample BackupRestore.ini

Use the BackupRestore.ini to specify default and custom settings that appear in the Backup and
Restore Wizard, and when you run BackupRestore.exe from a command line. The BackupRestore.ini
file is located in the iFIX LOCAL folder. If you installed iFIX to the default location, you can find the
BackupRestore.ini in the C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX\LOCAL folder.

The BackupRestore.ini file can contain information in the following sections:

l [Version] – used to determine iFIX product version in archive header signature. This section is
required. Do not change this value.
l [DefaultSubProject] – used to determine default sub-project paths for the Create New Project
option in the Restore operation.
l [FactoryDefaultExtension] – used to determine which files are included in Factory Default set-
tings.
l [WizardSettings] – used to determine file name and path (if it is different than your iFIX base
path) of the Factory Default file when you select the "Restore default iFIX files before restoring
your backup files" option during a Restore operation.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 173

 l [AddCustomExtension] – used if you want to include or exclude any additional files or file types
in your custom backup. By default, the AddExtension feature is set to False. Set AddExtension
to True to enable this feature. Each category has keys to include (xxxIncludeExtn=) and exclude
(xxxxExcludeExtn=) files. The xxxxExcludeExtn key is used to exclude files from xxxxIn-
cludeExtn key, not to exclude a default extension.
The entire key can be up to 2048 characters long, in total. If you exceed this length, for instance if
the path is too long, an error message appears and the custom file or file extension is ignored
when you attempt the backup.
IMPORTANT: Make sure that you do not include the same file or file extension (from the same loc-
ation) in more than one category. If you back up the same file or file type in more than one category,
you will experience issues restoring your files. Configure your custom settings carefully.

By default, the Backup and Restore application references the BackupRestore.ini file when it runs. If
you want to change the name of the .INI file, you must run BackupRestore.exe with the /i command line
option, and specify the file name of the custom .INI file. If you create a custom .INI file, it must follow
the same format described above.

The following is an example of the BackupRestore.ini that includes all four of the sections defined
above:
[Version]
Version=4.00
[DefaultSubProject]
LOCPATH=LOCAL
PDBPATH=PDB
NLSPATH=NLS
PICPATH=PIC
APPPATH=APP
HTCPATH=HTR
HTDPATH=HTRDATA
HTRDATA=HTRDATA
ALMPATH=ALM
RCMPATH=RCM
RCCPATH=RCC
AADPPATH=PDB
AADBPATH=PDB
[FactoryDefaultExtension]
ALM_EXTN=*.*
APP_EXTN=*.grf,*.tbx,sqlerr.txt
HTR_EXTN=*.csv
HTRDATA_EXTN=*.*
LOCAL_EXTN=Association.dat,default.fmt,FindReplace.csv,SystemTree.csv,default.qry,default.rft,default.srt,logmsg.
PDB_EXTN=CGW.csv,Default.SM2,FIX.sm2,empty.pdb,*.tbl
PIC_EXTN=WizLayouts.tpl,*.fds,*.ftb,*.fxg,*.grf,*.SBL,*.BDF,*.odt,*.SVA,*.VGA,*.kmx,*.CSV,TS.ini
RCC_EXTN=*.*
RCM_EXTN=*.*
[WizardSettings]
FACTORYDEFAULT=FactoryDefault.IFD
FACTORYDEFAULT_PATH=
[AddCustomExtension]
AddExtension=FALSE
;
;Configuration files (*.SCU,*.INI,*.CFG), LOCPATH
SCUIncludeExtn=
SCUExcludeExtn=
;
;Picture files (*.GRF,*.FDS,*.FTB,*.LST), PICPATH
PicIncludeExtn=
PicExcludeExtn=
;

174 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 ;Database files (*.PDB,*.AAD), PDBPATH
PDBIncludeExtn=
PDBExcludeExtn=
;
;Database ASCII files (*.GDB), PDBPATH
GDBIncludeExtn=
GDBExcludeExtn=
;
;Driver Configuration Binary files (*.*), PDBPATH
DrvIncludeExtn=
DrvExcludeExtn=
;
;Database/Driver CSV files (*.CSV), PDBPATH
DBCSVIncludeExtn=
DBCSVExcludeExtn=
;
;Historical Config files (.CFG,*.HGP,*.DAT), HTCPATH
HistConfigIncludeExtn=
HistCOnfigExcludeExtn=
;
;Tag Group files (*.TGD,*.TGS,*.TGE), PICPATH
TagGroupIncludeExtn=
TagGroupExcludeExtn=
;
;Recipe Control files (*.RCC,*.RCY), RCCPATH
RCPIncludeExtn=
RCPExcludeExtn=
;
;Master Recipe files (*.RCM,*.RCX), RCMPATH
RCMIncludeExtn=
RCMExcludeExtn=
;
;Application files (*.*), APPPATH
APPIncludeExtn=
APPExcludeExtn=
;
;Project Toolbar files(*.TBX,*.TBC), LOCPATH
ToolbarIncludeExtn=
ToolbarExcludeExtn=
;
;Event Schedule files (*.EVS), PDBPATH
ScheduleIncludeExtn=
ScheduleExcludeExtn=
;
;Project Global Definition Files(*.FXG), PICPATH
FXGIncludeExtn=
FXGExcludeExtn=
;
;Chart Group Wizard files(*.CSV), HTCPATH
CGWIncludeExtn=
CGWExcludeExtn=
;
;FIX32 Picture files(*.ODF,*.ODT,*.SBL), PICPATH
FIX32PicIncludeExtn=
FIX32PicExcludeExtn=
;
;FIX32 KeyMacro files(*.KMX), PICPATH
Fix32KMEIncludeExtn=
Fix32KMEExcludeExtn=

Specifying a Batch Execution Project

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 175

If you have Batch Execution installed on your computer, you can configure the local node by specifying
a name for the current project with the iFIX WorkSpace. In Batch Execution, a project is the entire set of
files needed to deliver a batch solution. Typically, a project includes:

l Pictures
l An equipment database
l Recipes
l Configuration files

However, a project can also include Word files, Excel spreadsheets, or documents from other OLE-com-
pliant applications.

Associated with each Batch Execution project is an actual project file. This file stores project-related
information. When you specify a project in iFIX, you are selecting the project file you want to open the
next time the Batch Execution Server starts. As a result, you must restart the iFIX WorkSpace and then
the Batch Executon Server to load the project you specify.

176 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Using the Electronic Books

This section describes how to:

l Access electronic books from iFIX.

l Use the table of contents and the index for the document set, and the text and figures in the
books themselves.
l Search for information across all iFIX books using the index or full-text search feature. Use
Boolean, wildcard, and nested expressions for advanced full-text searches. You can also limit
the full-text search to previous results, match similar words, or search topic titles only.
l Print individual topics from electronic books.
l Hide or show the frame that contains the Contents, Index, and Search tabs.
l Copy text and paste it into another application, such as Microsoft Word.
l Create a personalized list of favorite Help topics using the Favorites tab.

Accessing Information in Electronic Books

You can access the electronic books:

l In the WorkSpace tree, by double-clicking the Help and Information folder.

l On the Help menu in any iFIX application, by clicking Electronic Books.
l For WorkSpace and Database Manager only: In Ribbon view, from the Help list, located on the
right, near the minimize button.
l By clicking the Start button, pointing to Programs, iFIX, and then Electronic Books.

You can display the Contents, Index, or Search navigation tools in the left frame by clicking the appro-
priate tab. Text and graphics in the electronic book appear in the frame on the right side of the screen. Ini-
tially, the collapsed table of contents is displayed in the left frame and the cover page is displayed in the
right frame.

Electronic Book Buttons

The following buttons are displayed at the top of the electronic book window.

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 177

 Electronic Book Toolbar Buttons
Hide/Show – Lets you toggle the display of the frame that contains the Contents, Index, and Search
tabs.

Locate – Displays the contents heading that corresponds to the current topic.

Back – Displays the last topic that you accessed.

Forward – Displays the next topic in a previously viewed sequence.

Stop – Stops downloading file information if you are connected to the Internet.

Refresh – Reloads the current file if you are connected to the Internet.

Print – If the Contents tab is displayed, provides options for printing pages, headings, sub-topics, or the
entire table of contents. If the Index or Search tab is displayed, allows you to print the current topic.

Using the Table of Contents

You can navigate through the electronic books using the tables of contents. The Contents tab appears
on the top of the left frame.

From the Contents tab, you can:

l Double-click the book title to expand the table of contents and display section titles in the book.
The closed book icon changes to an open book icon.
l Click the plus (+) icon to the left of a section title to display subsection titles within that section. A
chapter or section is completely expanded when the minus (-) icon appears to the left of the title.
l Click a topic title to display that topic in the right frame.

You can fully expand the table of contents by right-clicking anywhere within the left frame and selecting
Open All from the menu. Likewise, you can fully collapse the table of contents by right-clicking the left
frame and selecting Close All from the menu.

The following figure shows a fully-expanded table of contents.

178 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Electronic Book with a Fully-Expanded Table of Contents

Searching Electronic Books

You can search for topics in the iFIX electronic books by using either the Index tab or the Search tab:

Index – Lets you search all iFIX books for topics by keyword. The index displays entries that match or
begin with the keyword.

Search – Lets you search all iFIX electronic books for a specific text string. A list of all topics that con-
tain that search string is displayed.

To find a topic using the index:

1. Open the iFIX Electronic Books.

2. Click the Index tab to display the master index for the electronic books.
3. Enter the keyword for which you want to display topics. As you enter the word, the topic list
scrolls to display the first topic that begins with or matches the keyword you entered.
4. Click Display to display the topic in the right frame, or double-click the topic.

To find a topic using full-text search:

1. Open the iFIX Electronic Books.

2. Click the Search tab to perform a search for a text string throughout all electronic books.
3. Enter the text for which you want to search. For more information, refer to the Refining Your
Search section.
4. Click List Topics.
5. Select the topic that you want to display and click Display, or double-click the topic.

Refining Your Search

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 179
When you search for a word in the iFIX electronic books, you obtain a list of all topics in which that word
appears. If you enter more than one word, every topic that includes all of the search words appears in the
topics list. There are several ways to refine your search:
Using Quotes to Define a Phrase
Enclosing multiple words in quotes generates a list of topics in which that phrase appears.

For example, if you enter the search string:

database blocks

in the Search tab, the topics list includes all topics in which both words appear. The words can appear in
any order anywhere in the topic text.

If you enter:
"database blocks"

enclosed in quotes, the topics list only includes those topics in which the exact phrase (or slight vari-
ations, such as database block) appears in the topic text.
NOTE: Be aware that if the text you search for contains the words AND, OR, NOT, or NEAR, you must sur-
round the search phrase with quotes, or quotes surrounded by parentheses. Otherwise, these words will be
treated as search operators, and the expected topic(s) will not be found in the search. For example, both of
the following search strings should find the appropriate topics:
"items not supported"
("items not supported")
Searching with Wildcard Expressions
You can use the * symbol to search for multiple unknown characters in a word or phrase. You can also
use the ? symbol for a single unknown character in a search. For example, the entry iW* would display
iWebServer and iWebCast. The entry ?DO would display topics for both ADO and RDO.
Defining Search Terms
The AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR operators enable you to precisely define your search by creating a rela-
tionship between search terms.
Using Nested Expressions
Nested expressions allow you to create complex searches for information. For example, "control AND
((active OR opc) NEAR window)" finds topics containing the word "control" along with the words "act-
ive" and "window" close together, or containing "control" along with the words "opc" and "window" close
together.

The basic rules for searching Help topics using nested expressions are as follows:

l You can use parentheses to nest expressions within a query. The expressions in parentheses are
evaluated before the rest of the query.
l If a query does not contain a nested expression, it is evaluated from left to right. For example:
"Control NOT active OR opc" finds topics containing the word "control" without the word "active,"
or topics containing the word "opc." On the other hand, "control NOT (active OR opc)" finds top-
ics containing the word "control" without either of the words "active" or "opc."
l You cannot nest expressions more than five levels deep.

180 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Using Other Searching Methods
There are three other options available for searches at the bottom of the search window that you can
click. These options are as follows:

l Search titles only: Allows you to search for words in the titles of HTML files.
l Match similar words: Enables you to include minor grammatical variations for the phrase you
search. For example, a search on the word "add" will find "add," "adds," and "added." This feature
only locates variations of the word with common suffixes. For example, a search on the word
"add" will find "added," but it will not find "additive."
l Search previous results: Enables you to narrow a search that results in too many topics found.
You can search through your results list from a previous search by using this option. If you want
to search through all of the files in a Help system, this check box must be cleared.

Determining Your Location within the Electronic Books

When you select a topic from the Search tab or from the Index tab, the topic appears in the right frame
while the left frame continues to display either the search results or the Index. You can see the relative
position of the topic within the table of contents by clicking the Click to Show Browse Buttons... link,
and then clicking the Locate button from the electronic books toolbar.

If you have the Contents tab displayed, the title of the current topic is highlighted in the table of contents
as you browse through the book.

Printing Electronic Books

The steps that follow describe how to print from the electronic books.

To print a single section:

1. Select the topic that you want to print.

2. Click Print.
3. Click Print the Current Page to print the selected topic.
4. Select the printer and printer options, if necessary.

To print a topic from the Search or Index tab:

1. Select the topic or sub-topic from the list.

2. Click Print.
3. Select the printer and printer options, if necessary.
NOTE: If you want to print an entire book or large sections of a book, use the associated .PDF file and print
from Acrobat Reader. Contact your Support representative for more information on obtaining .PDF files.

Displaying or Hiding the Left Frame

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 181

 You can choose whether or not to display the left frame, which contains the Contents, Index, and
Search tabs. To hide the left frame, click Hide. To show the left frame, click Show.

Copying and Pasting Text from an Electronic Book to Another Application

You can copy all or part of any topic in an electronic book and paste it into any application that accepts
text from the clipboard. For example, you may want to copy an example from the Writing Scripts manual
and paste it directly into the Visual Basic Editor.

To copy selected text in a topic:

1. Display the topic from which you want to copy text.

2. Highlight the text that you want to copy.
3. Press CTRL+C, or right-click the highlighted text and select Copy.
4. Paste the text into another application, such as Word.

To copy all of the text in a topic:

1. Display the topic from which you want to copy text.

2. Press CTRL+A, or right-click anywhere within the right frame and select Select All.
3. Press CTRL+C, or right-click the highlighted text and select Copy.
4. Paste the text into another application, such as Word.
NOTE: You cannot copy graphics from an electronic book.

Using the Favorites Tab

The steps below explain how to add links to the Favorites tab in HTML Help.

To create a list of favorite Help topics:

1. Locate the Help topic you want to make a favorite topic.

2. Click the Favorites tab, and then click Add.
NOTES:

l To return to a favorite topic, click the Favorites tab, select the topic, and then click Display.
l If you want to rename a topic, select the topic, and then type a new name in the Current topic
box.
l To remove a favorite topic, select the topic and then click Remove.

182 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 Index architecture

open 148

archiving data 126, 147

A
arranging 41
ActiveX 7
toolbar buttons 41
in iFIX 4
arranging buttons on a toolbar 136
integrating documents 18
automatic save 103
support 7
automatically open pictures 102
ActiveX controls 4

iFIX as a container 4 B

in iFIX 4 backing up data 126

adding 42 Backup and Restore Wizard 126

buttons to a toolbar 41 backup files 60, 102

toolbar buttons to a category 42 saving 60

toolbar categories 42 Batch Execution

adding a button to a category 140 specifying a project 175

adding a button to a toolbar 136 blind SCADA server 7

adding a category 140 block alarms 15

adding an OPC server 143 defined 15

alarm areas 15 block messages 15

defined 15 blocks 9

alarming 14 chains 9

as a system function 146 primary 9

in iFIX 14 secondary 9

alarms 15 browsing the process database 119

routing 15 building an expression 120

tasks 15 buttons 42, 136

types 15 configuring 42

application creating for toolbars 42

starting 36 deleting from a category 42

applying a filter to the tag list 122 modifying properties 42

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 183

 C new document 38

categories 141 new pictures 38

centralized processing 14 new schedules 38

chains 9 toolbar buttons 42

Change Management 124 toolbar categories 42

changing paths 123 creating a Dynamo set 101

chart preferences 117 creating a new file 101

charts 60 creating a new picture 101

setting preferences 60 creating a new schedule 101

closing folders 99 creating a toolbar 137

COM 3 creating backup copies 117

command line parameters for WorkSpace 20 Crystal Reports 148

communicating to a remote OPC server from using with iFIX 148

the WorkSpace 144

Component Object Model (COM) 3 D

components 1 data 145

configuration environment 2, 106 accessing 7

described 36 archiving 147

configuring 151 flow 8

buttons 42 retrieving 145

run-time preferences 60 Data Server Installer 3

the picture path 151 data sources 7

your local computer 150 defined 7

control 147 data transfer on demand 13

copying 43 database control strategies 10

toolbar categories 43 DCOM 5, 144

copying an object 100 deadband 121

electronic books 182 defining the active iBatch project 128

Create New Picture wizard 101 deleting 41

creating buttons from a category 42

dynamo sets 38 document from the system tree 38

toolbar categories 42

184 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 deleting a button from a category 141 E

deleting a category 140 editing the script of a toolbar button 139

deleting a toolbar 138 electronic books 179
deleting an OPC server 143 accessing information 177
deleting files 104 buttons 177
disabling 37 changing the color of search hits 182
error dialog boxes 37 Contents tab 178
GE Historian errors 37 copying and pasting text 182
disabling environment protection 108 display options 181
disabling toolbar docking 137 features 176
display the WorkSpace full-screen 118 Index tab 179
displaying 32 Locate button 181
system tree path 32 printing 181
displaying a system tree path 99 Search tab 179
displaying the Visual Basic Editor 104 enabling environment protection 108
distributed processing 12 enabling picture caching 115
docking 137 enabling toolbar docking 137
documents 38 environment protection 37, 108
creating 38 environments 36
deleting and renaming 38 changing the start-up 61
integrating with iFIX from other programs 18 configuration 36
opening 38 described 36
saving 38 run-time 36
working with 38 switching between 36
drawing options 60 exception-based processing 11
setting preferences 60 Experts
drawing preferences 116 and the Task Wizard 43
dropping and dragging objects 100 expression builder 120
dynamo sets 38

creating 38

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 185

 F iClient 7

file server 151 components 1

using to share files among nodes 151 enabling technologies 3

files 13 enabling technologies, ActiveX 3

backing up and restoring 154 enabling technologies, OPC 3

saving backup 60 plug-in components 2

sharing among nodes 151 iFIX WorkSpace 2

filtering data sources 121 importing 142

finding data 125 importing a toolbar 142

folders 99 electronic books 179

full screen 118 Internet 2

iWebServer 2
G
iVisualize 2
GE Batch Execution 2
working with iFIX 2
working with iFIX 2
iWebServer 2
GE Historian
working with iFIX 2
disabling errors 37

working with iFIX 2 K

GE Machine Edition 2 keyless entry 25

GE Plant Applications 3
L
working with iFIX 2
local node 6
globally translating picture text 115
Locate button 181

H login, security 17

hiding the system tree 99

M
hiding toolbars 135
message 15
HMI 145
routing 16

I types 15

I/O drivers 145 modifying

using the OPC Toolkit 8 button properties 42

iBatch 128 modifying a buttons properties 141

186 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 modifying a toolbars properties 138 Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) 8

modifying an OPC server 143 opening 38

monitoring 146 opening backup files 102

moving an object 100 opening folders 99

operator messages 15
N

networking 12 P

nodes 5 passwords 25

blind SCADA server 7 entering 25

iClient 7 paths 151

local 6 specifying network path as iFIX path 151

remote 6 picture caching 115

run-time 7 picture text 115

SCADA server 6 translating 115

stand alone 6 pictures 60, 125

creating 38
O
setting preferences 60
ODBC 7
plug-in components, iFIX 2
OLE 7
pop-up window 20
using to access data 7
preferences
OLE for Process Control (OPC) 3
animation error 61
on-demand data transfer 13
charts 60
one-shot processing 11
configuring run-time 60
OPC 3
drawing options 60
using with iFIX 3
pictures 60
opc connection 121
saving backup files 60
OPC connections 119
setting in WorkSpace 59
OPC error preferences 119
shapes 60
OPC server 61
start-up environment 61
customizing error strings 61
primary blocks 9
OPC Toolkit 8
electronic books 181
open architecture 148
process data flow 8

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 187

 process database 9 save preferences 117

process databases 119 saving 38

processing 11 backup files 60

centralized 14 document 38

exception-based 11 saving backup files 117

one-shot 11 saving files 103

time-based 11 saving files automatically 103

SCADA server 6
R
Scan, Alarm, and Control program 10
refresh rate 121
Scheduler 11
remote node 6
schedules 38, 125
removing 41
creating 38
toolbar buttons 41
scripting 4
removing a button to a toolbar 136
in iFIX 4
renaming 42
using VBA 4
document in the system tree 38
scripts 139
toolbar categories 42
SCU 123, 151
renaming a category 140
configuring your local computer 150
renaming files 104
path definitions for system tree 32
resetting a standard toolbar 137
starting 150
resetting filters 122
Search tab 179
restoring 154
electronic books 179
files 154
searching data 125
run-time environment 2, 106
secondary blocks 9
configuring preferences 60
secure containment 4
described 36
security 16
run-time node 7
areas 16
running Experts 105
selecting a data source 119
running schedules in the background 118
setting chart preferences 117

S setting drawing preferences 116

setting OPC connection error preferences 119

SAC 10

188 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

 setting picture preferences 114 system messages 15

setting preferences 59 system tree

setting shape preferences 116 described 23

setting up DCOM support in the displaying the path 32

WorkSpace 144
dragging and dragging files 35
shape preferences 116
hierarchy 31
shapes 60
item description 31
setting preferences 60
navigating 33
sharing 151
paths 32
files among nodes 151
resizing 33
sharing files 123
right-clicking 35
showing the system tree 99
showing and hiding 33
showing toolbars 135
starting an application 36
sorting fields in the tag list 122

specify the tolerance 121 T

specifying 151 tag list 122

network path as iFIX path 151 Task Wizard 43, 105

specifying the deadband 121 time-based processing 11

specifying the refresh rate 121 tolerance 121

SQL 8 toolbar buttons 136

stand alone node 6 toolbar categories 42, 140

start-up 61 adding 42

changing the environment 61 adding buttons 42

starting iFIX applications 104 copying 43

starting in the configuration environment 106 defined 41

starting in the run-time environment 106 deleting 42

Structured Query Language 8 renaming 42

supervisory control 146 toolbars

switching 36 adding buttons 41

between WorkSpace environments 36 adding categories 42

switching environments 106 arranging buttons 41

system applications 150 configuring buttons 42

© 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. 189

 copying categories 43 Visual Basic Editor (VBE) 4

creating buttons 42 Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) 4

deleting 41
W
deleting buttons from a category 42
work area 24
deleting categories 42
described 24
importing 43
WorkSpace
modifying a button's properties 42
configuring run-time preferences 60
modifying properties 41
copying objects 35
owners 40
described 18
removing buttons 41
displaying full screen 36
renaming categories 42
enabling environment protection 37
sharing 43
moving objects 35
showing and hiding 40
saving backup files 60
touch-screen environment 25
setting animation error preferences 61
translating picture text globally 115
setting user preferences 59
translations 115
specifying an iBatch project 175
troubleshooting OPC server installations 143
start-up options 61
U starting 19

Universal Data Access 7 starting an application 36

user applications 150 system tree 23

user configuration applications 149 working with documents 38

WorkSpace command line parameters 20

V

VBA 3

using the Visual Basic Editor 18

using with iFIX 4

writing scripts 62

VBE 4

Visual Basic Editor 62, 104

described 18

displaying 62

190 © 2020 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.