Security overview

Security overview

View Designer
 security provides the ability to control access to the runtime application by controlling access to:
  • The HMI device
  • Individual screens, shortcuts, and popups
  • Graphic elements
  • Downloads to the HMI device
Security is project-specific, not application-wide, and applies only to user (role) runtime access.
Security for the HMI device
Access to the HMI device can be a user name and password or PIN.
Set up user accounts on the
Security Administration
 dialog box for everyone who interacts with the HMI device, and assign each user a password and/or PIN. Use the
Policies
tab on the
Security Administration
 dialog box to create security policies, such as password complexity and length, to enforce password strength.
Use the Guest user account to restrict users who are not logged in to be able to view only certain screens, or limit their access to viewing only the
Home
 screen. Assign the Guest User any role except the
Administrator
role to prevent any non-Administrator user, including Guest users, from changing settings on the HMI device. This prevents any non-Administrator user from performing tasks such as rebooting the HMI device.
Security for individual screens, shortcuts, and popups
Access to HMI screens is based on user roles, and not specific users. A role is comparable to a Windows user group. When creating a user account for each user, assign the user a role.
By default, all users on HMI devices have access to these items in the
Project Explorer:
  • Shortcuts in the
    Navigation Menu
     folder.
  • Screens and popups in the
    User-Defined Screens
     and
    Predefined Screens
     folders. Navigate to these items on the HMI device by triggering an event with a navigation command. Users who do not have the Administrator role have read-only access to the
    Settings
    screen and related popups in the
    Predefined Screens
     folder.
The root-level folder of a project is assigned
Full Access
, which gives users access to all items regardless of role. The
Navigation Menu
,
User-Defined Screens
, and
Predefined Screens
 folders inherit security access from the root folder. The Settings screen and its related popups in the
Predefined Screens
 folder have Ready Only access for any user who does not have the Administrator role.
Each folder and screen has a
Security
category, which provides a way to select the level of access for each role for individual screens or the contents of a folder.
Security for graphic elements
There are two ways to secure graphic elements on a screen:
  • Enabled
    property in the
    Appearance
    category. When you clear the
    Enabled
    property check box for the graphic element, it disallows touch and key events for that graphic element and shows as cross-hatched regardless of the
    Security > Access
     property setting for the screen. For example, use this method if, during a particular machine state, the HMI designer wants the graphic element disabled. This is generally used with binding and controlled at runtime.
  • Access
    property in the
    Security
    category
    .
    The
    Security > Access
    property works with the
    Enabled
    property and the cross-hatch functionality of graphic elements. When
    Access
    is set to
    Inherit,
    the graphic element uses the current screen
    Security
     setting to determine if it should be enabled or disabled and cross-hatched. For example, if the screen is
    Read Only
    ,
    Access
    is set to
    Inherit
    , and the
    Enabled
    property is selected, the graphic element is disabled and displays cross-hatched. If the current screen security changes to
    Full Access
    , the graphic element is enabled and the cross-hatch does not show.
    When
    Access
    is set to
    Full Access
    , the graphic element uses the state of the
    Enabled
    property to determine if it is enabled or disabled and displays cross- hatched regardless of the current screen
    Security
    setting. For example, use this if the HMI designer wants a button with a screen navigation command to be enabled and active even if the screen
    Security
     level is
    Read Only
     so that the operator can navigate the project in Read Only mode. Use this capability with caution because all commands, not just screen navigation, for the button are enabled in this mode.
Security for downloads to the HMI device
The
HMI Device
 screen in the
Predefined Screens
 folder provides a way to prevent overwriting the runtime application in the HMI device. Clear the
Allow Downloads and Firmware Updates
 check box on the HMI Device screen to prevent the download of a project or an update of the firmware on the HMI device.
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