Overview
The Designer home page is the entry point when you design a solution using the software platform. It provides interface for the folioing actions:
- User Login: some configuration features my be protected according the the user
- Solution Information: Summary of key information about your solution
- User Preferences: Allow customization of the IDE, like themes and Help messages.
- Recent Changes: Show Information about the last objects monied in the solution.
- Help Quick Links: On the Left side, some information for new users, on where to Start.
On this page:
On Solution Designer welcome page, there is a configuration section called Solution Explorer Navigation. It enables the modules and features filtering allowing users to filter which modules and features will display on the software platform user interface. This feature was designed to restrict unnecessary settings and enhances the focus on the solution. Also, it allows alternate between Tree or Accordion view style, changing the appearance of the modules navigation sidebar.
The Designer home page is the entry point when you design a solution using the software platform.
You can log in or check the current user and its permissions. The default security configurations, such as the guest and the administrator users, are customizable through the Security Module configuration interfaces. Refer to the Security Module documentation for overall reference. Refer to the Security - Users for detailed information on the default users configured for the Designer workspace. Refer to Security - Permissions for more information on user permission groups.
The home page gathers navigation customizations, solution information, and local preferences for the Solution Designer user interface. The Designer workspace home page lists recent items, showing only the last modifications made to each object. To see the complete list of modified configuration items, navigate to Track Changes/Recent Changes in the Solution Explorer. For more information, refer to the Track Changes documentation page.
The workspace homepage also provides quick tips for where to start with a link to the interfaces. It is useful when you are starting to develop your solutions on the software platform. The "Where do I start?" guides users in discovering the Solution Designer features, including DataExplorer, Unified Namespace, Devices, Application and Draw, and Runtime. It helps users explore data sources, organize data models, map tags for data protocols, set up application modules, and verify connections.
Solution Information
The Solution Information provides details about the solution. It specifies the "ProductName," which is determined based on the Product Family it belongs to, and the "TagQuantity," which varies according to the Product Series. It describes solution compatibility, informing which target-framework the solution is based. Additionally, it features a "Tags Counter" to distinguish between tags sourced locally from the user's computer and those obtained externally from tag providers.
Solution Information | |
|---|---|
Target | ProductName (ProductFamily based). TagQuantity (Product Series based) |
Tags counter | Local: from local computer and External: from external TagProviders sources |
Designer User Preferences
The Designer Users Preferences allow users to customize their workspace by setting local preferences.
Designer Local Settings Options | |
|---|---|
Theme | Changes the platform color scheme to Sky, Dark, Navy and more. |
Switch at | Enables switching from a light to a dark theme based on the configured schedule. The following time options are available to select on the drop-down menu:
The "Switch at" option in the Designer workspace automatically switches to the dark version of the selected theme when opening a solution after the specified time. For example:
If you enable this checkbox already using a night version theme (e.g., Dark, Navy, Graphite), it will only activate at the defined time. To use a dark theme as default, this checkbox must be unchecked. |
Show Quick Help | Setup if the Quick Help Expander, in all configurations, is open by default. |
Collapse Menu on Draw | When enabled, it collapses the Solution Explorer automatically when accessing the Draw environment. |
Auto-save | Enables or disables auto-save feature. Also, the drop-down list contains options about how auto-save frequency (When Closing Documents, or Every 5, 10 or 15 minutes). |
Automatically Export Changes | Setup to export all configuration changes to CSV or JSON files at the GIT sub-folder. |
Solution Explorer Preferences
The Solution Explorer Preferences enables users to choose the format that best suits their navigation preferences. It has two available configuration: the Filter shows a combo box allowing select a filter option and the Style shows radio buttons for users to switch the navigation style between 'Tree' or 'Accordion'. For new users, you can filter out some of the software functionality, using the Navigation Filter options.
Designer Keyboard Shortcuts
Key | Action |
|---|---|
In this section: