Designer

Unified environment for building and testing FrameworX solutions.

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Overview

Designer is the unified configuration component where you build and test complete FrameworX solutions.

This page introduce two key concepts:

Four Pillars - Methodology to build solution
Designer - Workspace for solution development and test

Key Concepts

Four Pillars Methodology

t is an optimized methodology for solution development of industrial applications. It organize the all the necessary core modules for typical projects into four groups:

Data Foundation	Industrial Operations	Business Operations	User Interactions

Unified Namespace	Process Modules	Application Modules	Operator UI Modules
Tags Asset Tree UserTypes (UDTs)	Devices Alarms Historian	Databases Reports Scripts	Security Displays Clients

Designer Workspace

It is the unified environment for all configuration, No need to switch between tools. It includes:

(shortcuts) - Menu and toolbar
Solution Runtime Unified Namespace Devices Alarms Historian Datasets Reports Scripts Security Displays Data Explorer Track Changes (Pillar Filter)	Solution / Settings (Selected Module Configuration )
	Workspace Selected Module UI
Tatsoft FrameworX 10.1	[Output] [Find Results] <profile> offline config

How Designer Fits in the Solution Lifecycle

Designer is the configuration workspace in the Solution Lifecycle:

Solution Center - Create and manage solutions
Designer ← You are here (Configure all modules)
Runtime - Execute and monitor

Designer produces the configuration that Runtime executes. Execution Profiles let you validate behavior before publishing to production.

Solution Development Workflow

Following the Four Pillars methodology, Designer guides you through a structured configuration process:

Configuration Flow Diagram

P1: Foundation

Tag
UserTypes
Assets

→

P2: Industrial Operations

Devices
Alarms
• Historian

→

P3: Business Operations

Datasets
• Reports
• Scripts

→

P4: User Interaction

Displays
Symbols
Layouts

↑ ______________________________________________________↑

Development Phases

Phase	Pillar	Configuration Tasks	Designer Modules
1. Foundation	P1: Foundation	Create tags Define UserTypes Build Asset Tree	UNS → Tags, UserTypes, Assets
2. Industrial Operations	P2: Process	Setup devices Configure alarms Enable historian	Devices, Alarms, Historian
3. Business Operations	P3: Application	Setup datasets Build reports Create scripts	Datasets, Reports, Scripts
4. User Interaction	P4: Operator UI	Design displays Create symbols Configure clients	Displays, Symbols, Layouts

Module Organization by the Four Pillars

Module Organization by Four Pillars
Pillar 1: UNS Foundation	Pillar 2: Process Modules
Unified Namespace - Tags & UDTs	Devices, Field Connections: 100+ connectors
DataExplorer Tools	Alarms, Events, and Audit-trail
TagProvider Services	Historian, time-series data

Pillar 3: Application Modules	Pillar 4: Operator UI
SQL Database Connections and Queries	Symbol Library extensions
Scripts and business logic (C#, VB.NET, Python 3)	Displays (Canvas & Dashboard) & UI Security
Reports, data pub (PDF, CSV, HTML, XML & JSON)	Layouts, Client deployment settings

What the Designer Does

Configuration	Development Tools	Testing & Validation
Define tags and data models	IntelliSense everywhere	Execution Profiles
Configure field devices	Real-time validation	Online configuration
Setup alarms and historian	Cross-reference tracking	Simulation tools
Create scripts and logic	Refactoring support	Error checking
Design displays and UI	Import/export capabilities	Performance monitoring
Manage security settings	Version control ready	Build validation

Integrated Development Environment

Editor Type	Features	Purpose
C#/VB.NET Editors	IntelliSense, syntax highlighting, debugging	Control logic and system integration
Python Editor	Output playground, interactive execution	Analytics and data processing
SQL Editors	Query builder, visual designer	Database integration
JSON/XML Editors	Schema validation, formatting	WebData exchange
Rich Text Editor	PDF/HTML output	Report generation

Feature Highlights

Development Productivity

IntelliSense everywhere - Auto-completion for tags, objects, properties
Real-time validation - Red borders and tooltips for errors
Refactoring support - Rename with automatic reference updates
Cross-reference tools - Find all uses instantly
Keyboard shortcuts - Standard editing (Ctrl+S, F5, etc.)
Search and replace - Global changes across solution

Unified Configuration

Single environment - All modules in one interface
Consistent UI patterns - Same experience across modules
Context menus - Right-click relevant operations
Drag-drop support - Between panels and modules
Quick navigation - Jump to Home, Tags, Draw, Runtime
Dockable panels - Customize workspace layout

Testing and Validation

Execution Profiles - Run in Development, Validation, or Production modes
Online configuration - Modify running solutions
Simulation tools - Test without field devices
Build validation - Automatic error checking
Performance monitoring - Real-time resource usage
Breakpoint debugging - Script development tools

Collaboration Features

Multi-user editing - Teams work simultaneously
Change tracking - See who modified what
Version comparison - Track configuration evolution
Module locking - Prevent conflicts
Comment system - Document decisions

Designer Links

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