Ribbon Tabs

Each of the ribbon tabs holds a set of one or more groups. Each group holds a set of one or more controls that are used to manage screens and functions in a project.

The behavior of the ribbon tabs can be conﬁgured to be context dependent using the Options button in the File menu.

Double-click on any of the ribbon tab headings to collapse the ribbon area. A double-click on a ribbon tab, when the ribbon is collapsed, brings back the original style. This can also be changed from the context menu of the Quick Access toolbar. Tooltips are displayed for all controls on the ribbon tabs. The tooltip offers a brief description of the selected control.

iX Developer contains the following ribbon tabs:

Related information
Options
Quick Access Toolbar

Home Ribbon Tab

The Home ribbon tab contains groups of controls for editing screens in the project:

Clipboard Group

The Clipboard group contains the paste, cut, copy and format painter controls.

Cut

Cuts the selection to the clipboard. Also available from the keyboard with [Ctrl] + [X] or from the context menu.

Copy

Copies the selection to the clipboard. Also available from the keyboard with [Ctrl] + [C] or from the context menu.

Paste

Copies the clipboard to the current screen. Also available from the keyboard with [Ctrl] + [V] or from the context menu.

Note

Text from a compatible source, e.g. clipboard text, will be converted to a Text Box object when pasted into a screen.

Format Painter

The Format Painter control is used to copy formatting from one object to another. This is useful when creating a uniform appearance for objects.

To apply formatting to another object:

Click on an object with the desired format and font properties. Click on the Format Painter control. The mouse pointer changes to a paintbrush.
Click on the object to format. The format properties from the ﬁrst object is applied to the selected object.

Format and font properties can be copied between objects of different types, for example from a rectangle to an HMI control.

Note

Modification to an object using the Other Colors control is not applied when using the Format Painter.

Related information
Other Colors

Screen Group

The Screen control group contains the add screen, background screen and delete screen. Screens can also be added and deleted from other controls, such as the Navigation Manager and the context menu of the Project Explorer.

Add Screen

The Add Screen command creates a new empty screen that opens for editing. Clicking the lower part of the Add Screen button shows a selection of screen templates that are available for selection.

Delete Screen

The Delete Screen command removes the current screen from the project, and also disconnects any associations from other screens to the removed screen.

Note

A deleted screen cannot be restored with the Undo command.

Background Screen

Any screen can be used as background to the current screen.

All objects in a background screen will work as designed in the project application.

Objects in a background screen must be edited in the screen that they reside in. Objects in a background screen will be dimmed in the current screen in the development environment.

Related information
Screens
Language Management

Objects Group

The Objects control group contains static and dynamic objects that can be added to a screen.

Related information
Objects

Object Variations

For many of the objects it is possible to apply a preset style, using the Object Variations feature. For the Button object and the Circular Meter object there is a large number of different styles available as default, whereas for most other objects it is possible to save user-deﬁned styles.

To display the Object Variations menu, click on one of the objects in the Objects menu. The Object Variations menu appears to the right of the Objects menu, provided that there are some styles available for the selected object.

To add user-deﬁned styles in the Object Variations menu:

Select an object to start from.
Modify the object, using the tools under the Home ribbon tab or the Property Grid.
Select the designed object and right-click to open the context menu.
Select Save Variations to save the modiﬁcation.

The new variation will appear in the Object Variations menu when clicking on the object type it originated from.

Objects supporting Save Variation
Rectangle	Ellipse	Analog Numeric	Button
Text	Linear Meter	Slider	Circular Meter
Trend Viewer	Chart	Action Menu	Animated Label
Digital Clock	Alarm Viewer	-	-

The object properties are shown in the Property Grid. When saving the variation the following properties are saved (when applicable):

Variations saved (where applicable)
Color	Font	Rotation	Size
Visibility	Security groups required	Audit trail description	Delay Mouse/ Touch Input
Visibility on access denied	Opacity	Horizontal and vertical alignment	Picture horizontal and vertical alignment

In addition to the general properties listed above, a number of object speciﬁc properties are saved:

Object	Property
Action Menu Object	View type Orientation
Alarm Viewer Object	Button position
Analog Numeric Object	Limit number of characters Number of characters Number of decimals Prefix Suffix
Animated Label Object	Animation direction View type
Chart Object	Chart type 3D view Show header Show legend Show scale
Digital Clock Object	Display format Show seconds
Linear Meter Object	Orientation Scale Transparency
Slider Object	Orientation Scale Transparency
Text Object	Horizontal alignment Vertical alignment
Trend Viewer Object	Major value ticks Minor value ticks
Rectangle	Radius Effects

Note

Features only supported in PC environment might not work on other platforms.

Related information
Objects

Font Group

All fonts available in the development PC are available for selection when designing the project. All fonts used in the project are included when downloading the project to the target.

Note

For PC and iX TxC, non-standard fonts are not transferred or installed to the target. Install non-standard fonts manually on the target.

Note

The number of fonts needs to be considered when calculating the total size of a project.

Note

The default font Tahoma does not support Chinese characters in HMI panel projects in runtime. The font has to be changed to a font that supports Chinese characters, e.g. MS Song. Keep in mind that some fonts require a lot of project memory.

The Font group is used to change text style. The text style is deﬁned for the currently selected object.

Font and Font Size

Select font from the drop-down list. Use the increase/decrease font size buttons or set a speciﬁc font size.

Note

Objects, for which Auto Stretch Font is selected, will not be affected by these settings. The font size will be autosized when resizing the object height.

Style and Color

An italic, underlined or bold style can be selected for the text. The style stays regular if all the boxes are left unchecked. Use the Font Color drop-down list to set the color of the text.

Format Group

The Format group controls the color and position of a selected object. Predeﬁned quick styles offer selection of uniform appearance for different objects. Selection of multiple objects makes it possible to easily affect more than one object at the same time.

Clicking the small arrow in the lower right corner of the Format group displays the shadow, ﬁll and outline properties with a number of additional format settings.

It is possible to use the Format Painter (in the Clipboard group) to copy color and font properties from one object and paste it to another object.

Related information
Selecting Multiple Objects

Arrange

The Arrange control can be used to order, group, resize, align and distribute screen objects.

Order Objects

The commands in the Order Objects group are used to send objects to the front or back of each other.

Command	Description
Bring to Front	Positions the selected object on top of any overlapping objects
Send to Back	Positions the selected object behind any overlapping objects
Bring Forward	Makes the selected object swap place with the nearest overlapping object
Send Backward	Makes the selected object swap place with the nearest obscured object

Note

The Object Browser offers an easy way of arranging objects to the front or back of each other.

Related information
Object Browser

Group Objects

The Group Objects commands are used to manage selections of multiple objects. A grouped object is moved and treated as one object with respect to formatting and resizing, and can also be stored in the Component Library for reuse.

Any selection of objects on the screen can be grouped.

When multiple objects are selected, one object is the primary selection. This is shown with an orange frame, while other objects in the group have blue frames. Click on any object in the group to change this to the primary selection.

A grouped object can be resolved into individual objects using the Ungroup command. A property that was given to the group will be kept by each of the object, provided that the property is applicable.

Make Same Size

The Make Same Size commands are used to adjust the size of a group of selected objects. The size will be determined by the primary selection (the guide object).

Position Objects

The Position Objects commands can be used to align and distribute multiple objects neatly. Objects can be aligned vertically and horizontally using the primary selection for the group as guide object. Objects can be aligned with respect to their center (center/ middle) or their edges (top/bottom/right/left).

Related information
Component Library
Snap Objects to Other Objects
Grid

Quick Styles

The Quick Styles control contains a number of preset visual object color schemes that can be applied to screen objects.

The predeﬁned graphical styles make it possible to achieve a uniform appearance on items like meters and trend viewers. An object that has a style applied can be further customized, for example with font settings.

It is also possible to customize the predeﬁned styles to styles of your own preference. The quick styles are not speciﬁc to the current project. They will be available for all iX Developer projects.

Note

Controls in the Style group on the General tab can be used to reshape objects such as meter, slider and trend viewer to predefined styles. These styles are not the same as the quick styles.

Related information
Font Group

Other Colors

Color settings for special properties of an object, for example scale color for a meter or out-of-range validation of an analog numeric object, are available from the Other Colors control.

Shape Fill

The Shape Fill control is used to alter the ﬁll color and gradient of the selected shape. A preview of the colors in the Shape Fill selection window is displayed directly on the object on the screen as the pointer hovers over the different colors.

Shape Outline

The Shape Outline control is used to alter the outline color and outline width of the selected shape.

Shape Effects

Shape Effects makes it possible to add bevel style and shadow effects.

Note

Bevel in combination with fill color “no fill” is only supported for iX TxC and PC targets. The bevel will not be visible in runtime on other HMI panel targets.

Tag/Security Group

Connection to controller tags as well as object access (based on security groups) and visibility are conﬁgured from the Tag/Security group.

Tag/Security group without and with selections.

Parameter	Description
Select Tag	Connection to a tag from the tags configuration page. Tags may also be added directly, but will be remain internal until connected to a controller tag. Click ... to configure expressions.
Select Security Groups	Allows limiting access of the object based on security groups. If left empty, the object can be accessed by anyone.
Select Visibility	Configuration of visibility: Default: The visibility specified on the General tab of the Security Manager is used Disabled: The object is disabled for users with insufficient access rights Hidden: The object is invisible for users with insufficient access rights Normal: The object looks normal also for users with insufficient access rights

Parameter

Description

Select Tag

Connection to a tag from the tags configuration page. Tags may also be added directly, but will be remain internal until connected to a controller tag. Click ... to configure expressions.

Select Security Groups

Allows limiting access of the object based on security groups. If left empty, the object can be accessed by anyone.

Select Visibility

Configuration of visibility:

Default: The visibility specified on the General tab of the Security Manager is used

Disabled: The object is disabled for users with insufficient access rights

Hidden: The object is invisible for users with insufficient access rights

Normal: The object looks normal also for users with insufficient access rights

Note

When access rights are not fulfilled, showing an access denied message or opening a login dialog can be configured using the security function.

Related information
Expressions
Adding Tags during Editing
Security Management

Name Group

All objects and screens are automatically named when they are created. The name is displayed and can be edited in the Name group. Screen names can also be edited in the Project Explorer.

The name of an object isa symbolic identiﬁer and is an alphanumeric string, beginning with a letter. Name strings can contain letters (a-z, A-Z), numbers (0-9), and underscore (‘_’) characters.

Note

Renaming objects and screens included in scripts will cause the scripts not to function.

Related information
Project Explorer
Invalid Names

Design Language Group

Current Language

Current language is the language that is being used at the particular moment that the project is designed. If multiple languages are not used in the project, only Default is available.

Project Ribbon Tab

The Project ribbon tab contains a number of project related functions, divided into the following groups:

Run Group

Transfer Group

Servers Group (Project Ribbon Tab)

Project Group

Run Group

The Run group enables validation, rebuilding, simulation and debugging of the project.

Build

The build control validates the script code and compiles the current project.

Recompiling the project using the Build control will result in only the changes being made to project to be recompiled. To fully recompile the project, instead use the Rebuild control.

Rebuild

The rebuild control validates the script code and recompiles the complete project.

Run

A test of the project can be executed directly on the PC. Clicking Run will perform a validation and start a simulation, if the project can be built. If errors are found during validation, an error message will be displayed.

During simulation, the project will communicate directly with the conﬁgured controllers, provided that the controllers are correctly connected to the development environment.

If there are unused tags in the project, the Run, Build, and Rebuild commands will result in a notiﬁcation about this. The CheckForUnusedTags function can be disabled or enabled under Options in the File menu.

Note

If project build fails, check that the absolute path to the project, including its components, does not exceed 260 characters.

Note

Projects must be stored on the local hard drive for iX Developer to be able to run or simulate them.

Simulate

It is also possible to test and run the application on the development PC without connection to the selected controller, by clicking Simulate. If the project is valid, the simulation is started.

Debug

The Debug command will allow the user to debug scripts in a real c# debugger with the possibility to set breakpoints etc. User preferences for the script debugger may be entered under Options, available from the File menu.

Note

Debugging of a CE project requires Visual Studio.

Related information
Output
Database
Options
Removing Unused Tags

Transfer Group

The Transfer group enables download to HMI panel, upload database and export to folder functions.

Note

Time zone, region or daylight saving settings will not be transferred if these settings have been changed manually in the panel.

Download

The Download control sends the project to an HMI panel or a PC with an iX Runtime installation, in the network environment.

Do the following:

Choose a target type to transfer the project to.
Start the project transfer.
Click the Download all source code (for later upload) check box to compress the project and save it as a ZIP ﬁle on target.
Click the Password protected check box and enter a password to protect the ZIP ﬁle.
Click the Copy downloaded project to Memory Card check box to copy the downloaded project and the targets IP settings to the memory card. When project is copied to memory card, it can be used for restoring the project.

The verify function enables the user to check if a target platform conﬁguration is identical to the project conﬁguration.

Click the cogwheel icon to the right of the project name to show the dialog below. Here the IP settings of the connected port can be updated.

Note

An automatic check is done for mismatch between the iX Developer version and the target system versions. All version parameters are considered. If the target is indicated as being incompatible with the version of the iX Developer that hosts the project, please update the target with the latest iX Runtime and system program versions.

The log can be shown/hidden by clicking on the expand collapse button on the transfer client. Each log entry will be colored based on the type of the log entry. For example, green (for success messages), red (for failure/error/exception messages) or black (for all other type of messages). When an exception happens or when the download fails, the log status will be a link. Click on the link to automatically expand the log section and point to the ﬁrst exception occurred. If the transfer fails, click the retry button to retry the project transfer.

If the target for the download contains newer ﬁles or ﬁles that don’t exist in the project, a dialog will appear prompting for which ﬁles to be kept, overwritten or deleted.

If the same project is to be downloaded to a panel again, the original datalogger in the panel will be replaced if any settings have been changed in the datalogger since the last download. A single project can be downloaded to many panels at the same time.

Note

Downloading a project built by an earlier version of iX Developer (downgrading) might result in data loss.

Once a transfer is completed, the log for the transfer will by default be saved to "%temp%\Transfer Logs\". There will be one log file per device per transfer. The name of the file will be in the format: [TimeStamp]_[IP]_[TargetType]_[TransferType].log

Downloading a Project to an HMI panel or a PC with an iX Runtime installation

Connect the HMI panel to the development PC via an Ethernet connection.
Click Download.
The download dialog opens and all panels connected in the network are listed with information about IP address and panel type. Select the panel to download to in the list.
Check that the IP address is correct and click Download.
1. Optional: Click the Include compressed project check box to compress the project and save it as a ZIP ﬁle.
2. Optional: Click the Password protected check box and enter a password to protect the ZIP ﬁle.
3. Optional: Click the Copy downloaded project to Memory card check box to enable SD card backup of HMI panel project and settings.

The panel responds to a download request by stopping any current project. The panel displays that it is ready for project download. When the download is completed, the new project automatically starts running.

The project folder is located at the following path. Only for PC targets!

%public%\Documents\Beijer Electronics AB\iX Developer Runtime\Project. The panel settings can be controlled from the Service menu in the panel.

Note

It is necessary to open TCP port 9999 and UDP port 9999 in the firewall for the runtime PC application.

Note

Do not attempt to use the:

<emphasis xmlns=

"http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"

role="strong">Download</emphasis>

command if a project opened with the .exe file is open. This might fail to close the project and the transfer will not be completed.

Note

If Chinese or Korean languages are to be used in the HMI panel, then firewalls in Windows must be configured to allow TransferClient.exe full access on all ports, otherwise project transfer might fail.

Related information
Starting an iX Runtime project on a PC

Downloading a Project to an HMI Panel or a PC with an iX Runtime installation Using FTP

A project can be loaded to the panel via FTP. To be able to load a project remotely an external storage device (SD card or USB stick) must be attached, and a conﬁguration ﬁle named ProjectCopy.conﬁg must be present in the root directory of the storage device.

Set up the conﬁguration ﬁle as follows. Use # for parameters to be ignored.

Parameter	Description
automatic	the download of the project automatically starts, without any dialogs, when a project file is loaded to the storage device and the panel is rebooted
path "\Storage Card\Project3"	the path to the project, if multiple projects are stored on the storage device. SD cards use the path \StorageCard\ and devices attached to USB use \HardDisk\
applyipsettings	applies saved IP settings
deletesource	deletes the source file from the storage device after the download
deleteconfigfile	deletes the configuration file after the download. If the configuration file is left on the storage device it is initiated each time the panel is rebooted.

Note

This is only supported in the latest released images.

Example:

In the following example, without displaying any dialogs, the project found in the folder Project_5 located on the USB stick is loaded, the project is deleted from the USB stick, and the configuration file is deleted. The IP-settings are not updated.

automatic
path "\HardDisk\Project_5"
#applyipsettings
deletesource
deleteconfigfile

Project Locked With Password

If the project is locked with a password (see Project Transfer), the following dialog will appear:

Upload Database

The Upload Database command will collect the database from an HMI panel in the network environment to a ﬁle on the development PC. The panel will pause during the upload, and will be started automatically afterwards.

The database may only be collected from a panel running the same project (i.e. a project with the same name and of the same size) as the current iX Developer project.

Collecting a Database from an HMI Panel

Connect the HMI panel to the development PC via an Ethernet connection.
Click Upload Database.
The Upload Database dialog opens and all panels connected in the network are listed with information about IP address and panel type. Select the panel to collect from in the list.
Check that the IP address is correct and click Back Up.
Select location of the saved database.

Export

Exports the project to a folder which is selected by the user.

When exporting the project, the user might be prompted whether or not the panel IP settings should be set. If yes, the Target Settings dialog is opened.

The dialog will show IP settings for each Ethernet port on the target panel. Assigning IP settings is not supported on PC or iX TxC.

Exporting a Project to an HMI Panel or a PC with iX Runtime Installation

A project can be exported to an HMI panel or a PC with an iX Runtime installation via the Export command. The project can be exported to a USB stick or, on the condition that a network connection is conﬁgured, directly to a folder in the runtime PC.

The project in the runtime PC is started by running the .exe ﬁle located in the project folder.

There will also be a TransferClient.exe ﬁle, which is a standalone application for downloading the exported project to a target. Executing the TransferClient.exe ﬁle will open the Download dialog. It is possible to view a log for the export by clicking the Log button on the Download dialog.

Note

It is not recommended to handle further project transfers from a PC already used as a target for export. If additional transfers are to be done, then keep using the same export method for all.

Related information
Download
Starting an iX Runtime project on a PC

Starting an iX Runtime project on a PC

The different methods of transfer will have an impact on how the projects are started and stopped in the runtime PC. It is recommended to keep to one of the selected transfer methods to avoid problems.

When a project has been transferred to a PC using the Download command, the project normally starts automatically when the computer is started. However if the project is stopped and needs to be restarted, this should be done via the Target Control Service in Windows. This will ensure that the status of the project is fully recognized for all functions that depend on this.

To manually open or close a project in iX Runtime for a PC target, go to the Services tab in Windows Task Manager. Click on the item Target Control Service and the available commands are shown on the top left of the list.

Double-clicking the Target Control Service item opens a dialog box that displays Service Status along with other additional settings. Start or stop the project from here.

A running project will then be visible when entering the iX Developer Download dialog.

Note

If a runtime PC project is started using the project .exe file, the Target Control Service will not recognize that the project is running. This will lead to problems using the iX Developer transfer functions.

A project that has been transferred using the Export command must be started by opening the .exe-ﬁle in the project folder. A running project is not detected by any of the transfer or service status dialogs in the runtime PC. This means that it is up to the user to keep track of the status.

Servers Group (Project Ribbon Tab)

The Servers group contains theWeb Server and OPC UA Server commands.

It is highly recommended to set a password when enabling a server, especially when it is exposed to the internet. To get high security on the password, it must include upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters.

Web Server

Enables the possibility to host project ﬁles for a web client.

Parameter	Description
Enable Web Server	Click this check box to enable the web server.
Port	Enter a server port number.
Enable forms authentication	Click this check box to enable forms authentication and enter user name and password. The password can be any alphanumeric string. The passwords minimum length is four characters and the maximum length is 20 characters.

Parameter

Description

Enable Web Server

Click this check box to enable the web server.

Port

Enter a server port number.

Enable forms authentication

Click this check box to enable forms authentication and enter user name and password.

The password can be any alphanumeric string. The passwords minimum length is four characters and the maximum length is 20 characters.

Related information
Web Server

OPC UA Server

Enables the possibility to publish tags with an OPC UA Server.

Parameter	Description
Enable OPC UA Server	Click this check box to enable the OPC UA server.
Port	Enter a server port number.
Allow anonymous login	Click this check box to enable anonymous login. For a secured login enter user name and password and leave the check box unchecked.
Expose tag names as OPC UA node identifier	Click this check box to enable the use of tags names instead of a unique number in the published OPC UA node identifier of each tag. Switching this setting or changing tags names with this setting active will require updating previous integrations using OPC UA since the Node Identifier to address the tags will change.
Tag visibility	Available options: All tags visible No tags visible Customized
Tag default visibility	Determines the initial visibility value for new tags. This option is only available when Tag visibility is set to Customized.
Allow deprecated security policies	Click this to allow deprecated security policies for backward compatibility. If this is set and user name and password is used as authentication method, a deprecated security policy (http://opcfoundation.org/UA/SecurityPolicy#Basic256) will be used as default security policy instead of more secure security policies.

The Tags editor displays the fVisible column when the Tag visibility option is set to Customized.

Address space

All tags, except array tags, deﬁned in project will be shown.

The tags will be put in a folder named Tags in Namespace TagProvider on the server.

The NodeClass of all tags will be Variable. All tag values will be published scaled with the offset and gain of the tag.

Tag Properties Mapping

Parameter	Description
Tag property	UA Server Attribute
Name	DisplayName / BrowseName
Data Type	DataType
Access Right	AccessLevel / UserAccessLevel
Description	Description
Poll Group Interval	MinimumSamplingInterval

Note

Data type BIT is not supported by OPC UA. Tags of this type will be handled as INT16 type in the server. For best result, use BOOL type instead.

Certificate

A certiﬁcate will be auto generated and self-signed when the server ﬁrst starts up. The certiﬁcate will be valid for 20 years.

The certiﬁcate contains no IP address since this could change after the certiﬁcate has been generated.

Limitations

Limitation	Description
Discovery	Not supported
Encoding / Transport	Only UA TCP Binary
User authentication	Only user name / password Only one account
Security	No encryption support
Sessions	The maximum number of sessions the server can create is 20. Sessions are terminated after 20 minutes of inactivity (timer is reset if the server is restarted).

Related information
OPC UA Client

Project Group

The project target, as well as name and title, are available for editing in the Project Group. The project title is displayed in the title bar in runtime by default. Leaving the title empty displays the screen name/screen title only in runtime.

The Project Group also contains the Back Up Project command, a Project Settings control and the possibility to refer to other assemblies using the Referenced Assemblies control.

Related information
Back Up Project
Settings
Referenced Assemblies

Back Up Project

The project source ﬁles can be compressed into a Zip ﬁle using the Back Up Project command. The Zip ﬁle can be saved to a USB stick or, on the condition that a network connection is conﬁgured, directly to a folder in the runtime PC.

Parameter	Description
Path to Zip file	Browse to the location to save the Zip file.
Password protected	Optional password protection of the Zip file.

Related information
Opening a Project

Settings

Properties such as application behavior in runtime, system font, and settings for mouse and keyboard can be edited by clicking Settings in the Project group.

Related information
Deployment
Display/Target
Mouse/Touch Input Delay
System Dialogs
Virtual Keyboard
Screen Name and Screen Title
Memory Card

Database

iX Developer projects use SQLite databases. Upgraded/converted projects will by default be changed to SQLite. When converting from SQL CE to SQLite, some custom queries might need to be updated manually.

Parameter	Description
Back up database at startup	When using this option a backup is created at startup if the integrity check of the database succeeds. If the integrity check fails the previous backup is used. The drawback is that the databases use twice the space on disk and the startup time gets longer. If there is no backup available and the database has become corrupt, then the corrupt database is replaced by a new empty database.
Max size (MB)	When the database exceeds this size, the system tag Database Max Size Exceeded will be set. By pointing the mouse at the lower right part of the desktop area, a window will popup and show the memory usage of different activities. This will give you a hint about what would bea suitable value for the Max size (MB) setting.
Database Location	This setting can be used to determine whether the Database(s) should be stored and actively read/written against on the Hard disk of the panel or the SD Card. If the location is changed in the settings the Databases(s) will also be moved from the previous location on the panel to the newly chosen location ensuring the pre-existing history/data in the Database(s) remains intact. For more information go to Memory Card.

Parameter

Description

Back up database at startup

When using this option a backup is created at startup if the integrity check of the database succeeds. If the integrity check fails the previous backup is used. The drawback

is that the databases use twice the space on disk and the startup time gets longer.

If there is no backup available and the database has become corrupt, then the corrupt database is replaced by a new empty database.

Max size (MB)

When the database exceeds this size, the system tag Database Max Size Exceeded will be set. By pointing the mouse at the lower right part of the desktop area, a window will popup and show the memory usage of

different activities. This will give you a hint about what would bea suitable value for the Max size (MB) setting.

Database Location

This setting can be used to determine whether the Database(s) should be stored and actively read/written against on the Hard disk of the panel or the SD Card. If the location is changed in the settings the Databases(s) will also be moved from the previous location on the panel

to the newly chosen location ensuring the pre-existing history/data in the Database(s) remains intact.

For more information go to Memory Card.

Project Transfer

Parameter	Description
Prevent accidental transfer of the project by setting a password	This setting can be used to enable a password on the target for the specific project for future transfers. If the password is set the user needs to provide the password when transferring the project to the panel. If the password is forgotten, delete the project from the panel through the panels menu system. After that, download a new project to the panel.
Overwrite Files on Target	This setting can be used to determine the default behavior when transferring projects and the transfer finds critical files already present on the target.

Display/Target

Parameter	Description
No Title Bar ^[a]	Displays the project without title bar in runtime.
Title Bar	Displays the project with its title and a set of minimize, maximize and close buttons in the title bar.
Close Button	Displays the project with its title and a close button in the title bar.
Topmost	Makes the project the topmost application in runtime. Only available for iX TxC and PC targets.
Maximize On Startup	Makes the project maximized in runtime. Only available for PC targets.
Screen Size	Screen resolution. Only available for PC targets.
Use wide scrollbars	Enlarges scroll bars on the panel to make them easier to operate with a touch screen. This is a global setting which affects all applications on the panel. Only available on iX TxC targets.
Panel Rotate	Displays selected rotation. It is possible to change the rotation of the panel and panel content by 0, 90, 180 or 270 degrees. Not supported on panels with 4” screens or on iX TxC.
Panel Type	Displays selected target. It is possible to select another target.
^[a]No Title Bar can not be used for popup screens.

Related information
Changing Project Target

Changing Project Target

When changing to another target, you can select to automatically resize objects to the new target size. Different scale factors are used horizontally and vertically, to optimize conversion to and from wide screen targets. In this case, the aspect ratio of objects changes.

The serial ports settings will also be reset to default values if ports differ in possible conﬁguration.

Note

An object might be wrongly positioned after conversion. When this happens you must change the position of the object manually.

The following items are resized with the same factor when having selected automatic resizing:

Item
Graphical objects
Popup screens
Font^[a]
Dynamics size and move
^[a]A minimum scaled font of 10 pixels ensures readability in the smaller HMI panels.

Not all objects and styles are supported for all project targets. When changing to another project target, objects and styles that are not supported in the new target are deleted and are possible to restore. Removed objects are logged, and displayed in a window after the transformation. The log may be saved to ﬁle. Build ﬁles are always cleaned and project saved after transformation.

Note

Changing back to the previous target does not restore removed objects.

Mouse/Touch Input Delay

It is possible to conﬁgure delay of mouse and touch screen input in runtime. The delay used is either global and affects all objects for which Delay Mouse/Touch Input is selected, but with no speciﬁc delay conﬁgured, or can be set individually on each object. The Property grid is used to enable and conﬁgure delay of mouse and touch screen input for individual objects.

To revert to the global setting, enter 0 as Delay Period.

Related information
Property Grid

Advanced

Parameter	Description
Set default value on all new screens to cache	When this is checked, all the new screens created in the project will have the value for Cached (under general settings for the screen) as checked by default. When this is unchecked, all the new screens will have the Cached option set to false. As before, this is not applicable to start screen and popup screens. Start screen will always be cache enabled and popup screens will always be cache disabled.
Set all to cache	Clicking this button will set the value of Cached for all the existing screens to true (except the start screen and popup screens).
Remove all cache	Clicking this button will set the value of Cached for all the existing screens to false (except the start screen and popup screens).
Enable FTP friendly names	Clicking the Enable FTP Friendly Names checkbox you will get report names of the following format (without quotes): "ReportTemplateName_yyyy-mm-dd_hh:ss.extension". All spaces ( ) are replaced with underscores (_) and all dots (.) (except for the dot that signifies the extension) are replaced with dashes (-). If you leave the checkbox unchecked the names will be generated in the same format as before.
Memory management	Set garbage collection mode (Workstation and Server) for the runtime project. By default the workstation mode will be selected. Workstation mode is suitable for single core/processor targets. Server mode is suitable for multi core/processor targets. For a single core processor, even if the Server mode is selected, in effect the target will be run with Workstation mode for garbage collection.

Parameter	Description
Enable Watch Dog	If enabled, a timer will be started in the panel when starting a project. If the project does not start within the configured time, it tries to restart the project in the panel. It will retry for a maximum of 3 times. The default value for the configured time is 120 seconds.
OPC UA Structured Tags	Enable/disable OPC UA Structured Tags in a project via this setting. This is a limited functionality feature and the link to the document describing limitations can be found below the setting. By default, OPC UA Structured Tags will be disabled for the project.

Note

Memory management option is only available for iX TxC panels and PC targets.

Enable FTP Friendly Names

The Enable FTP Friendly Names checkbox controls the names of the following ﬁle producing actions:

Any reports generated through the Generate Report action. The default names for reports are :ReportTemplateName yyyy.mm.dd hh:mm:ss.extension. The extension is either .xls or .pdf (based on what is supported).
Any exported data logger ﬁles generated through the Database Export action with a Data logger selected. The subfolder name "Data Loggers" will be renamed to "Data_Loggers"
Any exported Alarm Server ﬁles generated through the Database Export action with an Alarm Server selected. The subfolder name "Alarm Server" will be renamed to "Alarm_Server"

Note

The same rules will apply for exporting Recipes, Audit Trails and performing a Print Screen.

System Dialogs

Parameter	Description
Font	Select a system font that is used as the default font.
Font Size	Use the increase/decrease font size buttons or seta specific default font size.

Virtual Keyboard

Parameter	Description
Enable Virtual Keyboard	Select whether a virtual keyboard is to be displayed when alphanumerical input is needed.
Keyboard Layout	The following layouts are available for the virtual keyboard: Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese (Compact), Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, US
Keyboard Size Customization	It is possible to customize the size of both the alphanumeric keyboard and the numeric keyboard. To do so, check the enable size customization checkbox to unlock the settings. Then choose if scaling should be based on the height or width of the target resolution. Finally, use the slider to select what percentage of the target height/width the keyboard should be.^[a]
^[a]It is recommended to test the keyboard size by simulating the project before downloading to target, to make sure that the result is as expected. Please verify that the PC's DPI settings are at 100% for more accurate scaling.

The virtual keyboard that is displayed in runtime depends on settings made for the Multiple Languages function. If only the default language is used, the project settings (above) are used.

Note

Asian keyboard layouts do not work in PC projects.

Related information
Language Management

Referenced Assemblies

The Referenced Assemblies command makes it possible to refer to your own or third-party .Net assemblies (.dll). Their methods and properties are made available when scripting and are included by the name completion function, in the same way as for built-in components.

Click on Referenced Assemblies.
Click Add.
Browse to the desired dll ﬁle in your PC environment and click Open. The methods and properties of the added dll ﬁle are now available for scripting.

When referencing your own third-party assembly (.dll ﬁle) make sure not to have two ﬁles with the same fully qualiﬁed assembly name in the same folder:

Example:

You have the files "Iocomp.Instrumentation.CF2005.Ultra.dll" and "Iocomp.Instrumentation.CF2005.Ultra.WindowsCE.asmmeta.dll" in the same folder. Both have the same fully qualified assembly name (but different file names). Trying to add a control from the first assembly seems to work. However when the application uses namespaces in the XAML to locate the correct assembly it picks one of them, and it might be either of them. If it is the wrong assembly you get a message saying that there is an error in the XAML.

Note

When importing third-party assemblies for use on a X2 pro, it is important that the supplier supports running the code on Windows Embedded Compact 2013 and that the assembly targets compact framework 3.5.

Transfer Client CLI

The Transfer Client CLI is a cross platform tool used for transferring a project to one or many panels. This tool is distributed along with iX Developer.

Prerequisites

.NET 8.0 Runtime or later is required to run Transfer Client CLI.

The runtime can be downloaded from https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download

Usage

The Transfer Client CLI is included when an iX Developer project is exported. If the project will be transferred from a different machine than the one it was exported on, the entire exported project folder needs to be copied to this machine.

Open a command prompt - Windows Command shell, PowerShell, Bash and so on - in the folder with the exported project.
Type in the following command: dotnet TransferClientCLI.dll [Argument]

Argument	Description
-h or --help	Displays the information on the usage of the application.
[ipAddress1] [ipAddress2] ... [ipAddressN]	The list of IP addresses the projects should be transferred to.

Example:

Display the help:

dotnet TransferClientCLI.dll --help

Transfer the project to a panel with IP address 192.168.98.1:

dotnet TransferClientCLI.dll 192.168.98.1

Transfer the project to multiple panels with IP addresses 192.168.98.25, 192.168.98.50:

dotnet TransferClientCLI.dll 192.168.98.25 192.168.98.50

The transfer logs are stored in a folder called TransferLogs, found within the export folder.

Limitations

This is a non-interactive command line tool for Transfer Client. Hence there will be no conﬁrmation dialogs or warning dialogs during the transfer. All ﬁles and databases will be overwritten during transfer.

System Ribbon Tab

The System ribbon tab controls system settings. These settings are divided into the following groups:

Date, Time, and Region Group

Buzzer Group

Backlight Group

Serial Ports Group

Servers Group (System Ribbon Tab)

Output Devices Group

Service Menu Group

Date, Time, and Region Group

National settings are made in the Date, Time and Region group.

Select time zone, whether to adjust for daylight saving, and region. If no time zone is selected, the time zone that has been selected for the panel or PC will be retained.

Note

After changing the Adjust for Daylight Saving setting, the HMI panel must reboot for the changes to take effect.

If EnableTimeSync is set to true SNTP time synchronization will be enabled by default on creation of new projects. The default server name used is time.windows.com.

Note

It is recommended to use SNTP time synchronization with 'time.windows.com' server while using cloud compatible panels. A build warning for projects created against cloud compatible panels will be generated if SNTP time sync is not enabled or if it is enabled and not synchronized with the recommended server. A warning message will also be shown when changing these settings for the cloud compatible panels.

Choose SNTP time synchronization if the panel clock is to be synchronized against an external SNTP (Simple Network Time Protocol) server. Enter the name of the SNTP server and the time interval for the synchronization.

The date and time display format (for example using AM/PM for time) is based on the operating system settings. For HMI panel projects, this format may be altered by selecting another region.

For a PC the regional settings for date and time display need to be changed in the system account to be carried out correctly.

Go to the Control Panel and select Clock, Language and Region, then Region and Language.
Make the regional settings in the dialog box under the Formats tab.
Then go to the Administrative tab and click Copy settings.
In the dialog box that appears, check Copy current settings to: Welcome screen and system accounts, and click OK.
Reboot the system to apply the new settings.

Note

iX TxC targets only: If the regional settings are changed only for the user account without copying them to the system account, the new settings will not be applied when downloading a project, even after a reboot.

Buzzer Group

Select whether to let a key beep sound when making keyboard input in runtime. Only available when an HMI panel is selected as target.

Backlight Group

Select to automatically turn off the backlight after a certain number of seconds, and whether to keep the backlight on if a notiﬁer window (e.g. alarm indicator or communication error message) is visible.

Backlight settings are supported only for HMI panel targets. For other targets, the Microsoft Windows screen saver may be used.

Serial Ports Group

For each of the COM ports, select if it is to be conﬁgured as an RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 port. Only available when an HMI panel is selected as target.

The number of available ports and possible conﬁguration differ depending on selected target.

For example, on X2 base v2, iX TxC, and IPC, four COM ports can be conﬁgured:

Note

When running 2xRS-485 (COM 2 and COM 3) the serial ports are switched. COM 2 runs on COM B(2) and COM 3 runs on COM A(1).

Servers Group (System Ribbon Tab)

The Servers group contains the FTP and Remote Access commands. The FTP and Remote Access commands are only available when an HMI panel is selected as target.

FTP

When enabled, it is possible to upload/download ﬁles to/from the HMI panel provided that there is an FTP client program in the development PC, e.g. Internet Explorer, Windows Commander or some other standard FTP program.

It is possible to set up access to the FTP server with login requirements and/or as anonymous. An anonymous user has read-only access rights. A user that logs in with the correct user name and password gets read/write access rights.

It is possible to allow access to an SD card or a USB stick used in the target. If multiple USB sticks are used in the target, only the ﬁrst one can be accessed.

FTP is only available when an HMI panel is selected as target. The functionality is not supported by iX TxC and PC.

Username and password is only supported in Western European languages.

Remote Access

The Remote Access function makes it possible to access, reﬂect and control an HMI panel from a PC by using the free VNC client program Remote Access Viewer together with the built-in VNC server in the HMI panel.

It is possible to set up Remote Access with a view only password and/or a full access password. The view only password allows reﬂecting the panel remotely; the full access password allows also control of maneuverable objects in the panel.

The maximum length of the password is eight characters according to the VNC standard.

Only one VNC client can connect to the VNC server. Only available when an HMI panel is selected as target.

To protect secrecy when entering a password via Remote Access Viewer, it is recommended to use the PC keyboard. Otherwise it is possible that the cursor on the remote HMI panel displays which keys are pressed on the alphanumeric keyboard.

When a panel is remotely controlled, it will beep as if it was touched.

For more information about Remote Access, refer to the documentation for Remote Access and Remote Access Viewer.

Output Devices Group

Printer devices can be set up by clicking the Settings control in the Output Devices group.

Printer Device

USB Printer Connection

When printing from a iX TxC/PC, the default printer in Windows will always be used if USB is selected as Printer Connector.

Parameter	Description
Printer Connector	Select USB
Printer Type	Select printer type. Selection possibilities: PCLINKJET and PCLLASERJET.
Printer supports PCL 5c	Click this check box if the printer supports the PCL 5c color printer protocol. This option is only available if the printer type is set to PCLLASERJET.
Network settings	Not available
Serial settings	Not available
Page Orientation	Portrait or landscape orientation of the printout

Ethernet Printer Connection

When printing from a iX TxC/PC, the default printer in Windows will always be used if ETHERNET is selected as Printer Connector.

Parameter	Description
Printer Connector	Select Ethernet
Printer Type	Select printer type. Selection possibilities: PCLINKJET and PCLLASERJET.
Printer supports PCL 5c	Click this check box if the printer supports the PCL 5c color printer protocol. This option is only available if the printer type is set to PCLLASERJET.
Network settings	Enter Printer name / path
	Enter user name
	Enter password
Serial settings	Not available
Page Orientation	Portrait or landscape orientation of the printout

Serial Printer Connection

When printing from a iX TxC/PC, the data will be sent out on the selected COM port if SERIAL is selected as Printer Connector.

Parameter	Description
Printer Connector	Select Serial
Printer Type	Not available
Printer supports PCL 5c	Not available
Network settings	Not available
Serial Settings	Port Name: Select which COM-port the printer is connected to
	Baud Rate: Select the baud rate for transmission of data.
	Data Bits: Select the number of data bits in each character.
	Parity: Set the parity bit. The parity bit in each character can be set to none , odd, even, mark or space.
	Stop Bits: Select the number of stop bits to be sent at the end of every character. Selection possibilities: None, One, Two or TwoPointFive.
	Hand Shake: Select which handshaking protocol to be used. Selection possibilities: XON/XOFF, CTS/RTS.
	New Line Character: Select end of line character. Selection possibilities: None, CR/LF, CR or LF.
Serial Settings	Page Length (lines): Select the number of lines to be printed out before form feed. Form feed will not take place if the page length is set to 0.
	Page Width (characters): Set the page width specified as the maximum characters in a single line of text.
	Code page: The code page consists ofa table of values that describes the character set for a particular language. The default code page in iX Developer is 850.
Page Orientation	Not available

Printouts via HMI panel

When printing to a serial printer from an HMI panel, the printer must support IBM character set (850).

When printing to a USB printer from an HMI panel, the printer must support PCL levels according to the table below:

Printer type	PCL level requirement
Color laser printer	USB + PCL 5c
Monochrome laser printer	USB + PCL 5e
Color ink-jet printer	USB + PCL 3e

When printing via Ethernet from an HMI panel, the network printer must be a shared resource in the Windows network.

Connecting a printer via Ethernet requires that a PC is connected between the HMI panel and the printer.

Printing to a color laser printer via Ethernet is not supported for HMI panels. PCL 6 is not supported at all on HMI panels.

Service Menu Group

The Service Menu group provides a possibility to protect the service menu with a pin code.

Parameter	Description
Pincode	Entera PIN code for the service menu. No pincode enables the service menu for all users. Only numbers (0–9) are allowed.

Insert Ribbon Tab

The Functions group, available from the Insert ribbon tab, contains functions and screen that can be added to the project.

Functions Group

All added components are available from Project Explorer folders. The Project Explorer already includes alarm server, multiple languages, security functions and tags. All functions are managed through their conﬁguration pages.

Parameter	Description
Text Library	With the text library function, text tables can be created, where values are linked to texts.
Data Logger	Data can be logged and saved toa database on time intervals or depending on changed values.
Alarm Distributor	Alarms can be distributed between HMI panels, with notification via e-mail using the alarm distributor.
Script	A script module can be included to program features not covered by included functions and actions, or to be used to share functionality among functions.
Recipe Management	Several recipes can be inserted in the project. Each recipe function handles a pre-defined set of recipe items.
Function Keys	Function keys for HMI panels as well as for the regular PC keyboard can be configured.
Scheduler	A scheduler can be used to control events in the process at special times.
Audit Trail	The Audit Trail function enables tracking of operator actions.
Reports	The reports function allows adding Excel report templates to the project.
Screens	The Screen control adds new screens to the current project.

Related information
Project Explorer
Configuration Pages

View Ribbon Tab

The Windows group, available from the View ribbon tab, contains controls to toggle visibility of the tool windows:

Windows Group

The tool controls in the Windows group are highlighted when active.

Tool window	Description	Default Position
Project Explorer	Shows all screens and components included in the application	Docked to the left part of the application window
Output	Displays detailed information concerning the project validation and build	Docks to the lower part of the application window
Cross Reference	Provides an overview of where a specific tag is used	Docks to the right part of the application window
Error List	Displays information about problems and errors detected during build	Docks to the lower part of the application window
Navigation Overview	Provides an overview of all screens included in the project, with zooming facilities.	Floating window
Navigation Manager	Manages screens and screen navigation	Desktop area
Property Grid	Shows detailed properties of a selected screen or object	Docks to the right part of the application window as a tab
Object Browser	Displays an overview of all objects in the current screen and enables setting visibility and locking objects easily, as well as placing objects in front or back of each other.	Floating window
Component Library	Contains predefined as well as user-defined graphical components	Docks to the right part of the application window as a tab

Dynamics Ribbon Tab

The Dynamics ribbon tab includes the following groups:

Layout Group

Color Group

General Group

The controls on the Dynamics tab are used to change the properties of an object depending on a changed tag value.

A lock icon resembling a chain indicates that a speciﬁc dynamic setting is made for the selected object.

If, for example, dynamic ﬁll settings are made, it is not possible to make ﬁll settings for the object from the Format group on the Home tab.

Note

Security has higher priority than dynamics. Visibility has higher priority than blink.

Note

Scripting to a property for which Dynamics has been configured disables the dynamic settings.

To release an object from a dynamic control, click the control with the lock icon and click Clear Dynamics in the appearing dialog.

Layout Group

Move

The Move control in the Position group changes an object’s position, based on a tag value.

Position coordinates on the screen are given in pixels of the screen resolution. The position 0,0 corresponds to the upper left corner of the screen.

To move an object vertically when a tag value changes:

Draw and position the object at the start position. Keep the object selected.
Click on Move on the Dynamics tab to open the Move Dynamics Editor.
Select the tag to control the movement.
Enter a start and end value for the tag.
Start and end positions are suggested based on the current start position. A ghost object will appear at the suggested ﬁnish position. A guide line that connects the center of the original object with the ghost object appears.
Move the ghost object in the screen to its ﬁnal position.
The coordinates for the object is updated. An animation of the move appears on the screen. Coordinate values can also be updated directly in the numerical ﬁelds (End Top, End Left). The coordinates for start and ﬁnish will limit the movement of the object irrespective if the tag value is outside its start and end value.
Click OK to save and close the Move Dynamics Editor.

When Position or Size dynamics is applied, moving or resizing of the object will be disabled. A lock icon resembling a chain in the upper left corner of the object (when selected) indicates that the object has a dynamic control applied and that it cannot be moved or resized.

Size

The Size control in the Size group changes an object’s size, based on a tag value.

Dynamic resizing of external picture ﬁles may result in a resolution loss if the picture is enlarged to a size larger than what is used elsewhere in the current project.

Width and height of an object are given in pixels of the screen resolution. To resize the width of an object when a tag value changes:

Draw and size the object at its start size. Keep the object selected.
Click on Size on the Dynamics tab to open the Resize Dynamics Editor.
Select the tag to control the resizing.
Fill in the values that for start and ﬁnish. Size is given in screen resolution pixels.
Start size is suggested based on the current start size. A ﬁnish size is suggested as a ﬁxed increase of the start size horizontally and vertically. A ghost object will appear with the ﬁnish size.
The object can only be resized from left to right and top to bottom.
Resize the ghost object in the screen to its ﬁnal size.
The coordinates for the object is updated. An animation of the resizing appears on the screen. Coordinate values can also be updated directly in the numerical ﬁelds (End Width, End Height). The coordinates for start and ﬁnish will limit the size of the object irrespective if the tag value is outside its start and end value.
Click OK to save and close the Resize Dynamics Editor.

Color Group

The Fill and Outline controls in the Color group change an object’s ﬁll color or outline (border) color, based on a tag value.

To alter the ﬁll color of an object when a tag value changes:

Draw the object. Keep the object selected.
Click on Fill on the Dynamics tab to open the Color Dynamics Editor.
Select the tag that is to control the color.
Fill in values to trigger color change.
Select color and gradient from the color menu.
Click OK to save and close the Color Dynamics Editor.

General Group

Visibility

The Visible control in the Visibility group determines if an object is to be displayed in the screen or not, based on a tag value.

To hide an object when a tag value changes:

Draw the object. Keep the object selected.
Click on Visible on the Dynamics tab.
Select the tag that is to control visibility. The object will be visible on the screen at a certain tag value.

The selected value will be treated as True (visible). All other values will be treated as False (invisible).

Blink

It is possible to select a tag to enable blinking depending on the tag’s current value.

The selected value will be treated as True (blink enabled). All other values will be treated as False (blink disabled).

The blink interval can be set dynamically or constantly.

Note

Security has higher priority than dynamics. Visibility has higher priority than blink.

Related information
Blinking Objects

General

The general control offers a possibility to alter the properties of objects in iX Runtime.

Converter Operators

Converter operators are used to alter the properties of the objects. The converter operators can be selected from the Edit general dynamics dialog.

Parameter	Description
Bool Converter	Converts 0 to false and all other values to true.
Color Converter	Converts value intervals to specified colors.
Linear Converter	Converts values according to the linear equation.
Raw Converter	Converts the value to a new value matching the target type.
Text Library Group converter	Converts a value to a text.

Edit General Dynamics

The Edit general dynamics dialog contains different properties depending on which object is selected. The dialog is accessed by clicking the General control on the General group.

Parameter	Converter	Object	Description
Acknowledge all	·bool	Alarm viewer	Set visibility for the Acknowledge All button.
Acknowledge Visible	·bool	Alarm viewer	Set visibility for the Acknowledge Visible button.
Acknowledge Selected	·bool	Alarm viewer	Set visibility for the Acknowledge Selected button.
Address	·raw ·text library group	Web browser	Change the default URL.
Alternate background color	·color interval	Animated label	Set background color.
Alternate foreground color	·color interval	Animated label	Set foreground color.
Animation speed	·linear	Animated label	Set animation speed.
Auto-size	·bool		Resize the object according to the size of the default text string length and font size.
Button color	·color interval	Alarm viewer	Set the button color
Button height	·raw ·linear	Alarm viewer	Set the height of the buttons.
Button width	·raw ·linear	Alarm viewer	Alter the width of the buttons.
Clear	·bool	Alarm viewer	Set visibility for the Clear button.
Clear Visible	·bool	Alarm viewer	Set visibility for the Clear Visible button.
Clockwise	·bool	Circular meter	Set the rotation orientation.
Column header color	·color interval		Set the column header background color.
End angle	·raw ·linear	Circular meter	Set the end angle.
PDF-file	·raw ·text library group	PDF viewer	Select PDF file to add to the PDF viewer.
Filter	·bool	Alarm viewer	Set visibility for the filter button.
Font color	·color interval		Set font color in for instance the text object.
Font size	·raw ·linear		Set font size in for instance the text object.
Group background	·color interval	Action menu	Set the group background color.
Group foreground	·color interval	Action menu	Set the group foreground color.
Header	·raw ·text library group	Chart	Set the header.
High Region Color	·color interval	Circular meter	Set the high region color.
High Region Max	·raw ·linear	Circular meter	Set the maximum value of the high region indicator.
High Region Min	·raw ·linear	Circular meter	Set the minimum value of the high region indicator.
Indicator color	·color interval		Set the indicator color in for instance the circular meter object.
Info	·bool	Alarm viewer	Set visibility for the info button.
Active	·bool	Chart	Activate or stop the data input.
Enabled	·bool		Enable or disable an object.
Show header	·bool	Chart	Set visibility for the header.
Show legend	·bool	Chart	Set visibility for the legend.
Read only	·bool		Control whether for instance an analog numeric object editable or not.
Auto-scale X-axis	·bool	Chart	Used with the chart object to toggle whether iX Runtime automatically should calculate the minimum and maximum X Axis values or not.
Show X-axis grid	·bool	Chart	Set visibility for the X Axis grid.
Show X-axis	·bool	Chart	Set visibility for the X Axis.
Auto-scale Y1-axis	·bool	Chart	Used with the chart object to toggle whether iX Runtime automatically should calculate the minimum and maximum Y1 Axis values or not.
Show Y1-axis grid	·bool	Chart	Set visibility for the Y1 Axis grid.
Show Y1-axis	·bool	Chart	Set visibility for the Y1 Axis.
Auto-scale Y2-axis	·bool	Chart	The bool converter can be used with the chart object to toggle whether iX Runtime automatically should calculate the minimum and maximum Y2 Axis values or not.
Show Y2-axis grid	·bool	Chart	Set visibility for the Y2 Axis grid.
Show Y2-axis	·bool	Chart	Set visibility for the Y2 Axis.
Lock aspect ratio	·bool	Multi picture	Used with the multi picture object to toggle the height/width ratio of the object.
Low region color	·color interval	Circular meter	Set the low region color.
Low region max	·raw ·linear	Circular meter	Set the maximum value of the low region indicator.
Low region min	·raw ·linear	Circular meter	Set the minimum value of the low region indicator.
Major ticks	·raw ·linear		Set the number of labeled time marks in for instance the linear meter object.
Maximum	·raw ·linear		Set the end value of the scale in for instance the linear meter object.
Major value tics	·raw ·linear	Trend viewer	Set the number of labeled scale marks on the scale.
Max value	·raw ·linear	Trend viewer	Set the end value of the scale.
Min value	·raw ·linear	Trend viewer	Set the start value of the scale.
Minor value ticks	·raw ·linear	Trend viewer	Set the number of scale ticks between two adjacent major ticks on the scale.
Medium region color	·color interval	Circular meter	Set the medium region color.
Medium region max	·raw ·linear	Circular meter	Set the maximum value of the medium region indicator.
Medium region min	·raw ·linear	Circular meter	Set the minimum value of the medium region indicator.
Minimum	·raw ·linear		Set the start value of the scale in for instance the linear meter object.
Minor ticks	·raw ·linear		Set the number of scale ticks between two adjacent major ticks.
Lower limit	·raw ·linear	Analog numeric	Set the minimum value that can be entered.
Opacity	·raw ·linear		Set the opacity of for instance the PDF viewer object.
Outline thickness	·raw ·linear		Set the outline thickness of for instance the rectangle object.
Picture height	·raw ·linear	Button	Set picture height.
Picture name	·raw ·text library group	Picture	Set the picture shown in the picture object.
Picture stretch	·bool	Button	Stretch a picture.
Picture width	·raw ·linear	Button	Set the picture width.
Play/Pause	·bool	Alarm viewer	Set visibility for the pause button.
Prefix	·raw ·text library group	Analog numeric	Set a prefix to the digits entered.
Radius X	·raw ·linear	Rectangle	Set the radius of the X axis in the rectangle object.
Radius Y	·raw ·linear	Rectangle	Set the radius of the Y axis.
Scale color	·color interval	Circular meter	Set the scale color.
Scale	·bool	Circular meter	Set visibility for the scale.
Selected background	·color interval	Action menu	Set the background color of the selected action.
Selected foreground	·color interval	Action menu	Set the foreground color of the selected action.
Selected group background	·color interval	Action menu	Set the background color of the selected menu group.
Selected group foreground	·color interval	Action menu	Set the foreground color of the selected menu group.
Separator color	·color interval		Set the separator color.
Source	·raw ·text library group	Media player	Set the source file.
Start angle	·raw ·linear	Circular meter	Set the start angle.
Stretch	·bool		Adjust the height and width to the selection frame in for instance the picture object.
Suffix	·raw ·text library group	Analog numeric	Set a suffix to the digits entered in the analog numeric object.
Text	·raw ·text library group		Set the text shown in for instance the text object.
Title	·raw ·text library group	Roller panel	Set the title.
Title background color	·color interval	Roller panel	Set the title background color.
Title foreground color	·color interval	Roller panel	Set the title foreground color.
Transparent	·bool		Set the transparency of for instance the button object.
Upper limit	·raw ·linear	Analog numeric	Set the maximum value that can be entered.
Value	·raw ·linear	Progress bar	Set the value.
X1	·raw ·linear	Line	Set the X1 pixel coordinates
X2	·raw ·linear	Line	Set the X2 pixel coordinates
X3	·raw ·linear	Line	Set the X3 pixel coordinates
X4	·raw ·linear	Line	Set the X4 pixel coordinates
X-axis grid color	·color interval	Chart	Set the grid color of the X axis.
X-axis max value	·raw ·linear	Chart	Set the maximum value of the X axis.
X-axis min value	·raw ·linear	Chart	Set the minimum value of the X axis
Y1-axis grid color	·color interval	Chart	Set the grid color of the Y1 axis.
Y1-axis max value	·raw ·linear	Chart	Set the maximum value of the Y1 axis.
Y1-axis min value	·raw ·linear	Chart	Set the minimum value of the Y1 axis.
Y2-axis grid color	·color interval	Chart	Set the grid color of the Y2 axis.
Y2-axis max value	·raw ·linear	Chart	Set the maximum value of the Y2 axis.
Y2-axis min value	·raw ·linear	Chart	Set the minimum value of the Y2 axis.

Related information
Text Library

General Ribbon Tab

The General ribbon tab contains different property groups and controls for different objects. Appearance can be modiﬁed for graphical shapes and objects. Scale settings can be made for meters and trend viewers. Additional settings can be made for some objects.

The Tag/Security group is available also on the Home ribbon tab. The general properties are described separately for each object.

Related information
HMI Controls in the Objects group
Media Controls in the Objects group
Special Controls in the Objects group
Windows Controls in the Objects group
Tag/Security Group on the Home Ribbon Tab

Actions Ribbon Tab

Actions can be triggered in various ways, for example by clicking a button. The Actions tab controls are used to deﬁne actions for objects. Alternatively, a script can be used to trigger an action.

An action is something that is performed, for example closing a screen. An action trigger is the act that generates an action, for example clicking a button.

The Actions ribbon tab contains different control groups for different objects.

A Click action conﬁgured for a button

Note

It is not recommended to use multiple trigger methods, as this may lead to undesired behavior. It is recommended either to use a script or to program actions with the controls in the Actions tab. For example, avoid using Click Action Trigger in combination with Mouse Button Action Triggers.

Related information
Script

Click Action Trigger

Most objects can be assigned click actions, that will be executed when the object is clicked in runtime.

Mouse Button Action Triggers

The Mouse Down and Mouse Up action triggers can be used to create two-step actions when clicking with the left mouse button on an object.

Parameter	Description
Mouse Down	A Mouse Down action will be performed when the left mouse button is pressed down on the object in runtime.
Mouse Up	A Mouse Up action will be performed when the left mouse button is released from the object in runtime.
Mouse Enter	A Mouse Enter action will be performed when the cursor enters the boundaries of an object in runtime.
Mouse Leave	A Mouse Leave action will be performed when the cursor leaves the boundaries of an object in runtime.

The object boundaries are not adapted to the visible outline of the shape for any target types except for PC and iX TxC. Instead the active area of the object is extended to a rectangular box. This will result in a mouse action as soon as the mouse pointer is placed inside the rectangular bounding box of the object:

Function Key Action Triggers

The Key Down and Key Up action triggers can be used to create two-step actions for function keys.

Parameter	Description
Key Down	A Key Down action will be performed when a function key is pressed in runtime.
Key Up	A Key Up action will be performed whena function key is released in runtime.

Value Changed Action Triggers

Parameter	Description
Input Value Changed	The Input Value Changed action will be performed when a value is entered by the operator.
Value Changed	The Value Changed action will be performed when the value of the object has changed.

Tags Action Triggers

Parameter	Description
Value Changed (tag will always be active)	The tag will always be active.
Value Changed (tag will be polled as needed)	The event will only trigger if the tag is active. The tag can be deactivated if it is not in use by anything else. When the tag is deactivated the event will remain idle until the tag is activated.

Focus Action Triggers

Parameter	Description
Got Focus	The Got Focus action will be performed when the object is selected.
Lost Focus	The Lost Focus action will be performed when the object is no longer selected.

Navigation Action Triggers

Parameter	Description
Navigated	The Navigated action will be performed when having navigated to the address entered in the address field of the Web browser object.
Navigating	The Navigating action will be performed when having entered, but not reached, an address in the address field of the Web browser object.

Data Logger Action Triggers

The LogItemValueChanged and LogValuesUpdated are available for the Data Logger.

Alarm Server Action Triggers

Alarm server actions can be conﬁgured for the entire alarm server, for alarm groups or for individual alarm items. The actions will be activated upon alarm status changes.

Related information
Alarm Server Events and Actions
Actions and Events for Alarm Items and Alarm Groups

Action Groups

Actions are divided into action groups.

Action Group	Action	Description
Screen	Close Screen	Closes the current screen If triggered from a tag in a popup screen, this will close both the popup and the parent screen.
	Print Screen	Prints the current screen on printer or to a .PNG file. Selecting Print to file enables the following options: Project files folder: The file will be saved in a folder named “Project Files” in the projects execution path. Browse: A save dialog will be shown in runtime. (PC only). Path: The file will be saved to a specified path. (PC only). If the Enable FTP Friendly Names functionality has been enabled in the Advanced Project Settings, any spaces and dots in the filename will be replaced according to Enable FTP Friendly Names.
	Show Next Screen	Shows next screen.
	Show Previous Screen	Returns to previous screen.
	Show Screen	Shows the specified screen. If the screen is a popup the position of the screen can be defined by entering (X,Y) coordinates.
	Show Start Screen	Shows the screen set to Startup screen.
Address Book	Open Address Book	Opens the address book for editing. This action is used for Alarm Distributor purposes.
Alarm Distributor Server	Open Routes Configuration	Modifies routes for the distributed alarm server.
Alarm Viewer^[a]	Acknowledge All Alarms	Acknowledges all alarms in all Alarm Viewers.
	Acknowledge Visible Alarms	Acknowledges only visible alarms on associated alarm viewer control.
	Acknowledge Selected Alarm	Acknowledges the selected alarm in the Alarm Viewer.
	Alarm Info	Performs the action configured for the Alarm event info requested in the Alarm Server. The action is performed on the selected Alarm Viewer.
	Clear All Alarms	Remove all alarms in all Alarm Viewers.
	Clear Visible Alarms	Removes only visible alarms on associated alarm viewer control.
	Filter Alarms	Shows the filter configuration dialog for the selected Alarm Viewer.
	Pause Viewer	Starts and pauses the selected Alarm Viewer.
	Enable/Disable selected Alarm	Toggles the enable status of the selected alarm in the viewer.
	Manage Alarms	Manage enable status of alarms in a popup window.
Chart	Pan Down	Pans down in selected chart.
	Pan Left	Pans left in selected chart.
	Pan Right	Pans right in selected chart.
	Pan Up	Pans up in selected chart.
	Reset View	Resets any panning and zoom in selected chart.
	Zoom In	Zooms into selected chart.
	Zoom Out	Zooms out of selected chart.
Database	Back Up Databases	Backup one or many databases.
	Restore databases	Restore one or many databases.
	Database Cleanup	Removes empty space and runs a defragmentation of the database. This reduces the database size and optimizes performance.
	Database Export	Exports selected database in csv format.
Datalogger	Clear Datalogger	Clears the specified datalogger.
	Log Once	Makes the specified datalogger log once.
	Start Logging	Enables the specified datalogger.
	Stop Logging	Disables the specified datalogger.
Output Devices	Email Configuration	Shows the e-mail configuration page. This action is used for Alarm Distributor purposes.
Recipe	Delete Recipe	Deletes recipe.
	End Offline Recipe Editing	Sets the tags in the specified recipe in online mode.
	Export Recipe	Exports a recipe to a .CSV file If the Enable FTP Friendly Names functionality has been enabled in the Advanced Project Settings, any spaces and dots in the filename will be replaced according to Enable FTP Friendly Names.
	Import Recipe	Imports a recipe from a .CSV file.
	Load Recipe	Loads recipe.
	Save Recipe	Saves recipe.
	Start Offline Recipe Editing	Sets the tags in the specified recipe in offline mode.
Reporting	Generate Report	Generates a report file that can be output to a printer or saved as an Excel file. If multiple reports are to be generated, then these actions should be queued up and not run in parallel since this operation can consume a considerable amount of memory. Selecting “File” enables the following options: Project files folder: The file will be saved in a subfolder named ”Reports” in the “Project Files” folder. Browse: A save dialog will be shown in runtime. (PC only). Path: The file will be saved to a specified path. (PC only). If the Enable FTP Friendly Names functionality has been enabled in the Advanced Project Settings, any spaces and dots in the filename will be replaced according to Enable FTP Friendly Names.
Security	Export User Accounts	Exports user data to a location that the operator states.
	Import User Accounts	Imports user data from a location that the user states.
	Login	Displays a login dialog.
	Logout	Logs out the current user.
	Show Users Dialog	Displays a dialog where users can be added, edited or removed.
Tag	Clear Non-Volatile Values	Clears all stored values for tags marked as non-volatile.
	Decrement Analog^[b]	Decrements tag value.
	Increment Analog^[b]	Increments tag value.
	Reset Tag^[b]	Resets tag to 0.
	Set Analog^[b]	Sets tag to the specified value.
	Set String^[b]	Sets tag to the specified string.
	Set Tag^[b]	Sets tag to 1.
	Toggle Tag^[b]	Toggles tag between 0 and 1.
Trend Viewer	Show Trend Viewer Legend	Displays the legend tool in the selected trend viewer, with a possibility to show and hide curves and to display values of a specific trend viewer sample.
Trend Viewer	Trend Viewer History	The Trend Viewer History action includes the following choices (all applicable to the selected trend viewer): On: Shows trend history from when the action was triggered (including offset settings made using trend viewer dynamics). Off: Returns to showing real time trend viewer data. Toggle: Allows entering and terminating history mode using the same object (for example a button). Show Dialog: Lets the user select a period of time, for which to show trend viewer history.
Other	Change Active Controllers	Defines which controllers are to be active, OPC UA controllers requires a restart of the project for changes to take effect. The controller's IsActive property can be changed by script e.g. Globals.Controller1.IsActive = true;, this is not supported for OPC UA controllers. The controllers ID property (Optional short name for controller) can be read in script. Note If the driver settings dialog (Change Active Controllers > Settings) is opened in runtime, the Controller (with the exception of OPC UA Controllers) will be put in Configuration mode, and no longer be active, until the new settings are confirmed or the dialog is closed.
	Run Script	Executes a script method saved in a script module.
	Close Application	Closes the runtime application.
	Copy Debug Log to USB Memory	Copies the debug log to a USB memory.
	Disable Debug Logger	Disables the debug logger.
	Enable Debug Logger	Enables the debug logger.
	Run	Starts an external application
	Scroll Left	Scrolls the screen carousel object left
	Scroll Right	Scrolls the screen carousel object right
	Set Date and Time	Allows changing date and time in the HMI panel
	Set Language	Sets the language in the HMI panel to the selected language
	Set Time Zone, Region and Daylight Saving	Allows changing time zone, region and daylight saving settings in the HMI panel
	Show Backlight Settings	Allows changing backlight settings in the HMI panel When approaching 0% backlight, changes in brightness level may no longer be noticeable in the panel. If a panel is restarted, the backlight settings will only be saved if the system tag SystemTagBacklightBrightnessLevel is used in the project and set to non-volatile.
	Show IP Settings	Shows the IP settings in the HMI panel
^[a]All Alarm Viewer actions must be associated with an Alarm Viewer in the same screen as the object with the action configured. This also applies to actions that affect all Alarms. ^[b]This action can be used with Aliases.

Script Action

Script actions are used to execute script methods in script modules, triggered by actions. Script modules in the project can be selected, and for each script module all methods are listed along with their exposed parameters. Static methods are not supported.

To apply a script to a selected object:

Go to the Actions group and select the appropriate action trigger.
Select action Run Script under Other.
Select one of the scripts from Script Modules.
This results in a list of available script methods for that speciﬁc script module. Select script method.
The parameters for the script appears in a dialog with information about the parameter name and type. Complete the settings by entering a tag or a ﬁxed value for each parameter, and click OK.

The script action will now be executed when the object is triggered.

Note:

Script actions will have precedence over other script code for an object.

Related information
Script

Multiple Actions

Multiple actions can be conﬁgured by clicking small arrow in the lower right corner of any action group.

Note the small arrow in the lower right corner

The properties window allows conﬁguring and sorting additional actions. The actions available depend of which object is selected in the screen prior to selecting the Actions ribbon tab.

After conﬁguring multiple actions, this is indicated for the action group on the Actions tab.

iX Developer 2.52

Ribbon Tabs

Home Ribbon Tab

Clipboard Group

Cut

Copy

Paste

Note

Format Painter

Note

Screen Group

Add Screen

Delete Screen

Note

Background Screen

Objects Group

Object Variations

Note

Font Group

Note

Note

Note

Font and Font Size

Note

Style and Color

Format Group

Arrange

Order Objects

Note

Group Objects

Make Same Size

Position Objects

Quick Styles

Note

Other Colors

Shape Fill

Shape Outline

Shape Effects

Note

Tag/Security Group

Note

Name Group

Note

Design Language Group

Current Language

Project Ribbon Tab

Run Group

Build

Rebuild

Run

Note

Note

Simulate

Debug

Note

Transfer Group

Note

Download

Note

Note

Downloading a Project to an HMI panel or a PC with an iX Runtime installation

Note

Note

Note

Downloading a Project to an HMI Panel or a PC with an iX Runtime installation Using FTP

Note

Project Locked With Password

Upload Database

Collecting a Database from an HMI Panel

Export

Exporting a Project to an HMI Panel or a PC with iX Runtime Installation

Note

Starting an iX Runtime project on a PC

Note

Servers Group (Project Ribbon Tab)

Web Server

OPC UA Server

Address space

Tag Properties Mapping

Note