System features

Projects

contain the elements of a project and application that represents your system. Projects contain objects, object types from which you create object instances, variables that determine the characteristics of objects, variable types, runtime method types, and NetLogic objects that implement custom application logics developed in C#. Create, open, upgrade, save, duplicate, restore, and backup projects. Manage project content by creating folders, moving, renaming, and deleting nodes, and view references of a node.

Alarms

are events that indicate the status of a process of machine at runtime and indicate that an event, such as a temperature reaching a critical degree, requires attention or intervention. Create an alarm, create an alarm type from which you can create instances of an alarm, make alarms visible, create an Alarm grid that lists alarms, create an alarm log grid to view alarm log events, create an alarm message to appear when the event occurs, filter alarms, configure and acknowledge alarms.

Aliases

are variables that point to a node and allow you to have instances of an object display different values. For example, a single motor faceplate can show data for multiple motors. Create an alias, create a dynamic link using an alias, and use widget and built-in aliases.

Audit signing

triggers an electronic signature workflow when specific users and groups access select areas of your application or perform specific actions. Configure audit signing and default settings for electronic signature workflows.

Communication drivers

establish connections and import tags from controllers. Use this feature to configure a Communication driver and manage imported tags.

Converters

transform the source value and assign the value to the parent node. Create a converter type to create a conditional, engineering unit, expression, key-value, linear, and string converters.

DataStore

database

represents a project-embedded or external database. Read and write to the database through SQL queries or OPC UA methods exposed by an object. Create a database and configure a database table structure to display database table data. Export a database table to a CSV file.

Dynamic links

link the variable of a parent node with the source node of another variable or object property. For example, set the text property of a label based on a temperature value. Create dynamic links and complex dynamic links.

Events

allow you to configure a response when a certain situation occurs at runtime. Add an event, add the method the event is to perform, create a custom event, add an event to an object from another object.

FTP

is File Transfer Protocol to communicate and transfer files between computers that are on a TCP/IP network such as the Internet. Configure an FTP server and client.

Graphic and layout objects

create the user interface and runtime application. Add and arrange graphic objects on the user interface editor, change the properties graphic objects, and allow runtime interaction with graphic objects. Create a presentation engine to determine how the interface of an application appears at runtime Create a style sheet to globally specify styles to appear at runtime.

Libraries

contain object definitions that you can add to your project. There are both built-in template libraries that contain general objects and user-defined libraries that contain customized objects. Create libraries, templates from an object or variable, and then apply a template to your project.

Logger

samples values of one or more variables at user-defined intervals or every time a value changes. The logger then stores the value changes in a database. Manage data loggers, read operation codes, set dead-band interval properties, add an event logger, and display logger data.

OPC UA

is the OPC Unified Architecture standard with which

FactoryTalk Optix Studio

is compliant.

FactoryTalk Optix Studio

can communicate with any OPC UA client or server. OPC UA requires a minimum security policy and user identity types for each client. Manage the OPC UA server, OPC UA client, and manage OPC UA certificates and keys.

Recipes

are based on ingredients defined in recipe schema objects. Use the recipe editor widget to configure and manage recipes at runtime or to develop your own recipe management solution.

Reports

are configured in

FactoryTalk Optix Studio

and display data from the control system and databases at runtime. Use the

Reports

object to design, layout, and generate PDF reports.

Retentivity storage

. Retentivity storage allows you to retain changes made to the project at runtime in a data store. Create your own retentivity storage.

Sessions and locales

determine the context at runtime in which users executes reads and/or writes operations based on their permissions. The session displays information, such as the groups to which the user belongs and their locale. This information can be used to create dynamic interfaces based on the permissions of the user, settings, or custom property of the user. Configure user locales and idle timeouts. Specify measurement systems and time zones for a user.

System object

allows you to access system settings that provide information such as an example date and time and the IP addresses of network interfaces. Add a

System

object to configure the network interface settings and date and time. Add a button to restart the system at runtime.

Translations

allow users in different locales to use

FactoryTalk Optix Studio

applications because the application displays the language of the user at runtime. Use a localization dictionary to translate text strings in the interface of the application. Projects that use a standard template have a default localization dictionary in the

Translations

folder. Create additional localization dictionaries to manage text string translations.

Trends

display how values change over time on a chart. You can display data from a database or sample it in real time. Add a trend object to a project at design time. At runtime, navigate a trend chart, zoom in and out, and display the details of a value.

Version control

allows you to create versions of a project by committing changes that you make. By default, all

FactoryTalk Optix Studio

projects have version control. Configure your user authentication to save changes of a local project to a repository, open a project from a remote location, or add version control to an existing project.

View history

allows you to view changes to a project and work on a specific version of the project.

Security

is part of your security policy and controls how users access your application. Add and view the users and groups configured for your project. Assign users to groups and change the user authentication mode.

Deployment

compiles and deploys a

FactoryTalk Optix Studio

project to a

FactoryTalk Optix Studio

application on a client device. Export an application to a folder or USB drive to then transfer the application from the folder or USB drive. You can also run a

FactoryTalk Optix Studio

application in a Docker container.