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Key Concepts and Terminology

Target Platform

The target platform refers to the operating system and hardware environment on which your project will be deployed and executed. Our platform supports various target platforms, including Windows, Linux, and real-time operating systems, ensuring flexibility and compatibility with a wide range of industrial automation systems.

By selecting the appropriate target platform, you can optimize your project's performance and ensure seamless integration with your existing infrastructure.

Target License

The platform uses a licensing model to provide different levels of functionality and scalability, depending on the needs of your project. The target license determines the features, modules, and tag limits available within a specific project.

We offer several licensing options, catering to various project sizes and complexity levels. By choosing the right target license for your project, you can ensure access to the necessary tools and features while optimizing costs.

Categories

One interesting feature in the software platform is the ability to use Categories to organize and group items on runtime, such as variables, alarms, and trends.

Plugins

Plugins are additional software components that can be integrated into the platform to extend its functionality and compatibility. These plugins can be developed by third-party vendors or even end-users. They enable you to add custom features, support for specific devices, or integration with other software systems.

Our platform provides an SDK (Software Development Kit) that allows developers to create their own plugins, ensuring maximum flexibility and adaptability to meet unique project requirements. By leveraging plugins, you can tailor the platform to fit your specific needs and create highly customized automation solutions.

Understanding Project Settings and Utilities

Access the Project Settings through Project → Settings to tailor your projects to specific requirements and ensure seamless integration with external systems.

This section is organize in the the following topics:

• Verify the Target Platform
• Customize Settings
• Define Categories
• Import Tag Definitions
• Project, Settings and Utilities
• Export the Project Configuration
• Access the Project History

Solution Options

Here, the users can fine-tune the following configurations:

Solution Options
Culture Info	Select the target language for the runtime application. This setting controls the formatting of dates, numbers, and other information so they are in compliance with the selected language. It is possible to change this setting later.
Allow Client Tasks (WPF only)	This checkbox allows the execution of client-side tasks in WPF.
Diagnostics Log Files Location	This dropdown let's you define the location of diagnostic data, aiding in system analysis and troubleshooting.

Retentive Database Settings

In the Solution Option, click on the gear icon next to the Retentive Database to open the Edit Database Connection popup window.

Edit Database Connection Popup window
Name	Defines the database connection name.
Description	A brief overview informing the purpose or specifications of the database connection.
Provider	Data providers serve as bridges between applications and specific types of databases. While some providers like ODBC and OleDb offer multi-database support, others like OracleClient, SQLClient, SQLite, and PostgreSQL are specialized for their respective databases.
Database	The databases you can connect to will vary depending on the selected Provider.
ServerIP	If the database you want to connect to isn't on the local computer, the ServerIP should be the IP address or network name of the computer with the database. If a tunneling service is required to access the remote computer, the TWebServices utility must be enabled and running on the remote computer.
Test button	To test the connection.
DataSource	Displays the configuration string used to connect to the SQLite database. This string specifies the file path and name of the database file, directing the system to the correct database location. The format typically follows "Data Source =ExecutionPathAndName.dbRetentive".
Password	The security key to authenticate and access the database.

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You can verify the Target Platform, which is set when creating a new project, at Project → Settings. Information such as Product Family, Product Model and Canary Historian are also located at this environment and they are editable even after the project is created.

The Managing Projects documentation explains in details the procedure to create a new project, as well as how to select the target platform.

Categories are used to organize and manage various elements of an industrial automation project in a structured and logical manner. By grouping similar components or items under specific categories, you can streamline your project development process and maintain a clean, organized workspace.

Categories can be applied to several elements, including:

• Tags: categories help you to group and organize tags based on their purpose, type, or function. This makes it easier to locate, manage, and monitor the tags during the project development and runtime.
• Alarms: categorizing alarms helps in differentiating alarm types, priorities, and sources, enabling efficient alarm management, filtering, and response.
• Screens: organizing screens into categories allows you to manage various user interfaces, such as operator screens, reports, and diagnostics, in a structured manner.
• Scripts: categorizing scripts helps to group related scripts or functions, facilitating easy navigation, editing, and maintenance.

Check Project, Settings and Utilities for detailed information about how to create categories and assign items to them.

The Import Tag Definitions feature enables you to efficiently import tag information from external sources, such as CSV or Excel files, allowing for quick and easy integration of pre-existing tag definitions into your project, streamlining the development process. Check the Import Tag Wizards for detailed information about this subject.

Add, remove, or configure plugins that extend the functionality of your project, allowing for seamless integration of custom modules and third-party tools to enhance your industrial automation solution.

Create a backup or share your project's settings, such as tags, screens, alarms, and more, facilitating collaboration, version control, and easy migration between different environments.

View and track changes made to your project over time, providing insights into modifications, user actions, and version management, ensuring traceability and effective collaboration throughout the project's lifecycle.

Create a Category

To create a category, go to the Project Explorer, right-click on the Categories folder, and select "Add Category". Give the category a name and description, then click OK.

Assign Items to Categories

To assign items to a category, select the item in the Project Explorer, go to the Properties window, and select the Category tab. From there, you can select the category you want to assign the item to.

Display Categories on the runtime

To display categories on the runtime, you can use the Category Navigator widget. To add the Category Navigator widget, go to the Toolbox, select the Category Navigator widget, and drag and drop it onto the runtime screen.

Organize the Display of Categories

You can customize the display of categories on the runtime by adjusting the properties of the Category Navigator widget. For example, you can set the width and height of the widget, change the font size and color, and specify the order in which categories are displayed.

By using Categories you can organize and group items on runtime, making it easier to manage and navigate through large and complex projects.

You can create a dictionary of Categories to allow classification of engineering objects. Most configuration tables have the Category column, where you can apply one or more categories to that object.

Create user-defined categories labels that you can use as tag metadata. Categories are useful for filtering when creating the project and during runtime.

1. Go to Project → Categories.
2. Add and edit the desired categories for this project.

In order to apply a Category to a Tag or any other object:

1. Open the DataGrid Configuration Table for that object.
2. Set the column Category to be visible.
3. Edit the contents of that column. It is possible to select multiple rows. 

Using Categories on Runtime

The object categories can also be accessed during runtime for filtering and other custom applications from Category.

A list of all the categories that are defined in the project during runtime is available in the property Server.Categories.