Release Notes
( 9521-VPx ) Provides unified access to virtually all manufacturing/plant data sources, and produces web-based reports.
Version 8.31.00 (released 1/2022)
Catalog Number FactoryTalk VantagePoint EMI Server
These release notes describe version information for FactoryTalk VantagePoint EMI Server, version 8.31.00 (released 1/2022).
Requirements
This release has the following requirements.
The following are the system requirements for FactoryTalk VantagePoint version 8.31.00.
FactoryTalk VantagePoint works within the system requirements of all Rockwell Automation® software products. For the latest information regarding software platform support, refer to Rockwell Automation Product Compatibility and Download Center.
The hardware required with FactoryTalk VantagePoint depends on the demands an application places on the system. The greater the demand, the more powerful system is required. In any application, faster processors and more memory will result in better performance. In addition, there should always be sufficient disk space to provide virtual memory that is at least twice the size of the physical memory.
Before installing, ensure your system meets the following requirements.
System Server
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Items
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Descriptions
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Operating
System
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Note: The VantagePoint IIS Application Pools are set to 32-bit
mode only.
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Software
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Hardware
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Full Client
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Items
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Descriptions
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Operating
Systems
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Note: Embedded versions are not supported.
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Web Browser
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Note:
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Software
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Hardware
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Browser Client
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Items
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Descriptions
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Operating System
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Note: Embedded versions are not supported.
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Web Browser
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Note:
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Software
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Hardware
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Mobile Client
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Items
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Descriptions
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Supported
Devices
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Note: A tablet is required to use the Import and Configure
features.
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Web Browsers
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Note:
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Product compatibility
FactoryTalk VantagePoint is compatible with the following Rockwell Automation products:
- FactoryTalk Historian SDK 1.4.7.618
- FactoryTalk Services Platform 6.20.00
- FactoryTalk Activation Manager 4.04.12
Rockwell Automation Test Environment
Rockwell Automation tests software products under a standard configuration of operating systems and antivirus software. For additional information, see the Knowledgebase Document ID: PN24 - Rockwell Software Products and Antivirus Software.
Security requirements
To help meet secure system design requirements, review these publications:
- Configure System Security Features User Manual (publication SECURE-UM001)
- System Security Design Guidelines (publication SECURE-RM001)
- Converged Plantwide Ethernet (CPwE) Design and Implementation Guide (publication ENET-TD001)
Features
This release includes the following system features.
FactoryTalk VantagePoint version 8.31.00 has the following enhanced features.
Installation
- When installing FactoryTalk VantagePoint version 8.31.00, we recommend that you use FactoryTalk Alarms and Events version 2.90.00 or later. If using versions prior to 2.90.00, you need to upgrade FactoryTalk Alarms and Events to 2.90.00 or later.
Upgrade
- When upgrading FactoryTalk VantagePoint from a previous version to 8.31.00, you can do one of
the following options based on the version of FactoryTalk Alarms and Events.
- If the version is prior to 2.90.00, you need to upgrade FactoryTalk Alarms and Events to version 2.90.00 or later and re-deploy database objects.
- If the version is from 2.90.00 through 6.20.00, you need to re-deploy database objects.
- If using FactoryTalk Alarms and Events SSRS to generate reports, you need to update the query statements to ensure that the data you queried are from the AllEvent table instead of the ConditionEvent table.
New operating system support
- Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Datacenter LTSC
- Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Standard LTSC
New database support
- Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Express
- Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard
New Transport Layer Security support
- TLS 1.2
New software support
- Microsoft Office 2019 (32-bit only)
Corrected Anomalies in This Release
This release corrects the following anomalies.
FactoryTalk VantagePoint version 8.31.00 has no corrected anomalies.
Known Anomalies in This Release
This release has the following known anomalies.
FactoryTalk VantagePoint version 8.31.00 has no known anomalies.
Functional Changes
This release has the following functional changes from the previous release.
FactoryTalk VantagePoint version 8.31.00 has the following functional changes:
Use Mobile Dashboard to generate reports
Xcelsius is no longer supported since FactoryTalk VantagePoint version 8.10.00. We recommend that you use Mobile Dashboard to generate reports.
Application Notes
This release has the following application notes.
The following are the application notes for FactoryTalk VantagePoint version 8.31.00.
Synchronize FactoryTalk Historian connectors after the VantagePoint upgrade to version 7.00, 8.00, 8.10, 8.20, 8.30, or 8.31
After upgrading VantagePoint to version 7.00, 8.00, 8.10, 8.20, 8.30, or 8.31, we recommend that you synchronize your FactoryTalk Historian connectors to get the correct values of historian tags' properties.
Improved transparency in data presentation between VantagePoint and InSQL
VantagePoint has taken the following approach towards the InSQL data presentation:
- The presentation of data aggregation types
In version 3.1.5, while fully supporting available InSQL versions, VantagePoint recognized only
two data aggregations of type delta, and cyclic that were provided with InSQL 8.0 at that time.
VantagePoint presented InSQL data using these aggregations in a transparent way, without
imposing its own interpretation of them. At the same time, it ignored any other aggregations
available with other versions of InSQL.
In the successive versions, VantagePoint has supported all aggregations that were provided with
InSQL, mapping them to its own aggregations.
- The presentation of data interpolation types
VantagePoint has imposed its own interpretation of InSQL data and has presented it always as
either the linear or stairstep interpolation, ignoring the data interpolation types available in InSQL
(linear, stairstep, and default).
If you want to do any of the following:
- Use the delta and cyclic aggregations in the way they were available in VantagePoint 3.1.5.
- Use all the interpolation types available in InSQL (linear, stairstep, and default)
You need to overwrite the settings in VantagePoint Manager.
To overwrite the InSQL data presentation settings
- In VantagePoint Manager, go to System > Sources > InSQL.
- Right-click the InSQL connector for which you want to define the data presentation rules, and then click Edit.
The Edit dialog box appears.
- In the Description box, add the following options of the data presentation rules:
- overrideGuiSettings
It is the primary option. Only when it is turned on, the other two options become effective.
Use either of the following settings:
- True - Choose this setting to turn on the overwriting of the InSQL data presentation configuration available in VantagePoint Manager.
- False - Choose this setting to turn off the overwriting of the InSQL data presentation configuration available in VantagePoint Manager.
- vp315Behavior
This option is effective only when overrideGuiSettings is on.
Use either of the following settings:
- <True - Choose this setting to use the inSQL-related configuration of VantagePoint 3.1.5.
- False - Choose this setting to use the InSQL connector configuration as defined in the current version of VantagePoint.
The setting forces VantagePoint to present data either as raw data, or to use the delta, and
cyclic aggregations that were originally supported by InSQL 8.0. All other aggregations will be
ignored.
For details on data aggregations in InSQL 8.0, see the product documentation.
This option is effective only when overrideGuiSettings is on.
Use one of the following settings:
- Default - Choose this setting to use the InSQL default interpolation settings.
- Linear - Choose this setting to force VantagePoint to present InSQL data using the linear interpolation, disregarding how they are actually defined in InSQL.
- Stairstep - Choose this setting to force VantagePoint to present the InSQL data using the stairstep interpolation, disregarding how they are actually defined in InSQL.
- The interpolation settings will have effect only on the Linear and Interpolative aggregations in VantagePoint.
- It is important that you separate each entry with a semicolon.
The default interpolation enforces the InSQL interpolation policy for each tag separately.
The linear interpolation joins each point of data with a smooth straight line.
The stairstep interpolation joins each data point with a straight horizontal line until a new value
is reached.
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Note:
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General issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
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Issues
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Description
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In a mixed Workgroup / Domain Environment user credentials must be cachedIn a mixed Workgroup / Domain Environment user credentials must be cached
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The first time a new client connects to a VantagePoint server across a security
boundary where the connecting client’s logged-on user is not a valid user in the
server’s security context; the client will be prompted to enter a valid user name
and password. Upon entering valid credentials, you must select the Remember
my password check box to ensure the proper function of the VantagePoint
system. After this initial login, you will never again be prompted for a
password, unless your password changes. Note that this procedure is not
required and the user should not be prompted if the client is a valid user on the
server’s Domain/Workgroup.
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Copy operation should not be used to copy a connector
into another connector
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Avoid copying one connector, such as InSQL, into a similar connector type,
such as ODBC. Doing so will result in an error when trying to use the
connectors.
Solution: Delete the connector that you copied under the original connector, and
restart IIS on the VantagePoint server.
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Delete operation does not work on Folders or Items
when permissions are granted to VantagePoint User
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A user with VantagePoint user rights is not able to delete a folder or its contents.
This is seen when a VantagePoint user tries to delete folders or contents of
folders that are directly below the My Enterprise node in the Model Browser.
This issue reflects the way permissions are granted on items that contain other
items. In order to delete an item, two conditions must be true:
These rules are required since the deletion of an item changes the parent item's
collection or reference property that holds the item.
Solution: Create folders for VantagePoint users that are two nodes down from
the MyEnterprise root folder. (e.g. MyEnterprise > NoDeleteFolder > User Can
Delete1, 2, 3 etc.)
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MFC71U.dll not found error after uninstalling VMware
Tools version 7.2.9
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After uninstalling VMWare Tools version 7.2.9 and either performing an
IISReset or rebooting the machine, you will receive the following error message
indicating a problem with the Rockwell Activation tool.
Error Message: 'flexsvr.exe-Unable to Locate Component"- "This application
failed to start because MFC71U.DLL was not found. Reinstalling the
application may fix the problem."
Solution: Copy the MFC71U.dll to the C:\Windows\System32 directory. A
copy of the MFC71U.dll is located on the VantagePoint DVD in the Resources
folder.
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Clients must be installed in Local Intranet Zone
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VantagePoint only supports clients located in the Local Intranet Zone, so you
must add the Portal URL to this zone. To add the URL to the Local Intranet
Zone, in Internet Explorer, select Internet Options > Security tab > Local
Intranet. Click Sites, and then click Advanced, and add the Portal URL.
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Clients from previous VantagePoint versions cannot be
launched from the VantagePoint server
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The machine that hosts the VantagePoint server cannot launch clients from
previous versions of VantagePoint because the policy files use assembly
rebinding for core assemblies.
Solution: Use a machine that is not hosting the VantagePoint server to launch
clients from previous versions of VantagePoint.
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Error: Json Service: Unauthorized exception with
FQDN or Host Header in IIS
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If the host header setting has been configured in IIS or if a fully qualified
domain name is used for your site, Json returns an error message.
Solution: To resolve this issue, see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896861/en-us
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Sending emails over SSL using port 465 is not
supported
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FactoryTalk VantagePoint supports only the SMTP Service Extension for
Secure SMTP over Transport Layer Security. In this mode, the SMTP session
begins on an unencrypted channel, then a STARTTLS command is issued by
the client to the server to switch to secure communication using SSL. We
recommend that you use the port number 587.
An alternate connection method where an SSL session is established up front
before any protocol commands are sent is not currently supported. This
connection method is sometimes called SMTP/SSL, SMTP over SSL, or
SMTPS and by default uses port 465.
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Installation and administration issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
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Installation Issues
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Description
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Unable to configure the FactoryTalk Directory. Access
Denied error during FactoryTalk Services Platform
install
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(Windows 2012 R2) If FactoryTalk Services Platform is installed after
FactoryTalk Activation Manager, this error occurs. You can ignore this error
and click OK to continue the install; and FactoryTalk Services Platform will
install correctly.
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VantagePoint server installs to the Root of the Default
Web Directory
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The default web directory for IIS will typically be located on the C:\ drive. If
you have limited space on this drive, you may want to install VantagePoint on
a different drive. In order for VantagePoint to install on a different drive, you
will need to first change the location of default web directory to the desired
location. This is done through the Properties dialog box on the Default Web
Site.
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Files in Use dialog appears during VantagePoint
installation with a list of process ID
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During the VantagePoint installation, on some systems, a Files in Use dialog
may appear, but the list of files consists of a list of process IDs.
Solution: To continue installation, click Retry twice.
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Cannot change drive if drive is full when installing
VantagePoint
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VantagePoint installs on the default system drive. Prior to installing
VantagePoint, ensure that the default system drive contains at least 1 GB of
free disk space.
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"Application cannot be started. Contact the Application
vendor" error when installing a client
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This issue occurs if you have .NET 4.0 installed on the client machine.
Solution: Upgrade to .NET 4.5 on the client machine.
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Upgrade Issues
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Description
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Upgrading a large VantagePoint system may take a long
time to complete
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Upgrading a large VantagePoint system may take a long time to complete.
During this time, attempts to access the VantagePoint system may result in
timeout errors.
After the indexes have been rebuilt and SQL Server is idle again, the
VantagePoint system behaves normally.
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An HTTP status 503 error: "The type initializer for
'DataWorks.MI.Core.MiddleTier.Licensing.ClientLicense' threw an exception" appears after upgrade
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This error occurs if the following DLLs were moved into the incuity web
application so that licensing does not occur in the Incuity service. This is no
longer supported.
Solution: Remove these two files from C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\Incuity\bin.
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Charts and Grids do not work after upgrading to
VantagePoint
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After upgrading to the latest version of VantagePoint, Charts and Grids no
longer work.
Solution: Re-install Charts and Grids.
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Administration Issues
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Description
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VantagePoint log files are not deleted
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The VantagePoint server creates a log file detailing certain activity on the
server. A new log file is created by default each day at midnight. The archived
log files are not deleted. You should periodically check to ensure that the log
files are not consuming too much of the available disk space. You can delete
the log files using Windows Explorer. The old log files have a file extension
ending in the date. Do not delete the logging configuration files
(LoggingConfig.xml). Log files are created in the following directories:
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\Incuity\Logging
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\IncuityOffice\Logging
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\IncuityPortal\Logging
C:\Program Files\Incuity\bin\Logging (on 32-bit operating systems)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Incuity\bin\Logging (on 64- bit operating systems)
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For continuous server operation, IIS Default
Application Pool Recycle Time needs to be disabled
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The VantagePoint server applications are installed in the default application
pool of IIS which means that the applications are recycled every 29 hours.
While this does not hurt VantagePoint, it can lead to gaps of a few minutes in
the history of tags that are stored by VantagePoint storage. It also requires that
a new instance of Excel be started the first time an Excel report is requested
after a server restart. Every time this happens, report rendering will take
significantly longer than normal.
On the Windows Server operating system, the recycling of the Web
applications can be disabled in the application pool that hosts the Web
application. The VantagePoint web applications are installed into the default
application pool. The recycling should only be disabled if there is no risk that
other web applications in the same application pool will be affected. Preferably,
the VantagePoint and VantagePoint Office web applications should be moved
to a dedicated application pool as described in the Tech Note 'Creating
Application Pools'. See Using the Default Application Pool for VantagePoint
and IIS in the online help.
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Type packages designed for Sample Content must not
be used for official modeling
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Sample content instances AND the type packages that are specific for the
sample content are usually deleted as part of the upgrade to the next (future)
version. You must not use types in the sample type packages for official
modeling since the resulting instances or derived type packages will likely be
deleted as part of a future upgrade.
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Cannot change Incuity System User when Current User
is not an Admin for the IncuityStore
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This issue arises when VantagePoint is running on Server1 while the
IncuityStore database is running on Server2.
When you install VantagePoint, you get the chance to specify the database
credentials used for setting up the IncuityStore database. These credentials are
often different from the current Administrator that is running the install.
When you later want to change the Incuity System user account, two groups of
operations are required:
For the latter, it must be possible to specify db credentials as offered during the
install. However, the configuration UI of VantagePoint Manager does not offer
an entry form for db credentials.
Solution: Create an account on the VantagePoint server that is also an
administrator on the machine running SQL Server. Log into the VantagePoint
server with this account; and run VantagePoint Manager.
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After moving a database, the password no longer works
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If you move the database used by a database connector, the password no longer
works after the move.
Solutions:
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UAC error when adding or removing features using
Add/Remove Programs
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When adding or removing a feature using Add/Remove Programs, if UAC is
on, and you are logged on as a user that is part of the Administrators group but
not the local Administrator, a blank error dialog box appears.
Solutions: You can resolve this issue using any of the following methods:
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Error when launching Historian SDK
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When launching the Historian SDK, you receive the following error "The
program can't start because rsdbgutils.DLL is missing from your computer."
Solution: You will need to install the FactoryTalk Services Platform.
If you do not want to install the FactoryTalk Services Platform, you can
dismiss the error and the Historian SDK will launch successfully.
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Connector issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
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FactoryTalk Connector Issues
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Description
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Support for a single FactoryTalk directory
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The FactoryTalk Connector in VantagePoint supports connectivity to a single
Factorytalk Directory. This means that if your organization uses multiple
FactoryTalk Directories, VantagePoint will only be able to access data from the
sources that are part of the single FactoryTalk Directory that you specify when
configuring a FactoryTalk connector (to Live, History, and Alarm & Event
data). Data sources that are associated with other FactoryTalk Directories will
not be accessible using the FactoryTalk connector. They may be accessible
using a 3rd party connector that is available for VantagePoint. Please contact us
for an update on this issue and possible workarounds.
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Error when browsing for LiveData tags
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When creating a FactoryTalk connector and browsing for LiveData tags, you
receive the following error "String reference not set to an instance of a String.
Parameter name: s."
Solution: You will need to install the OPC Core Components from the
VantagePoint DVD and perform an IISRESET.
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FactoryTalk EnergyMetrix Connector Issues
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Description
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Rate and Usage report fails if non-standard tagnames
are used on the EnergyMetrix server
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To display the Rate and Usage report for a given meter type, the meter type
must have tags with standardized names.
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FactoryTalk Historian Connector Issues
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Description
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FactoryTalk Historian import fails with Unable to
access SCM Manager
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When importing FactoryTalk Historian tags, an "Unable to access SCM
Manager. 5" error message displays under the following scenarios:
Solution: It is safe to ignore this error by closing the dialog box and importing
again. Subsequent imports will not give this error.
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FactoryTalk Metrics Connector Issues
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Description
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Error when inserting a Database Query
(IncuityLinkedQuery function) in the Excel Add-In
using a FactoryTalk Metrics query that contains
parameters as the source
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When inserting a Database Query (IncuityLinkedQuery function) in the Excel
Add-In using a FactoryTalk Metrics query that contains parameters as the
source, if you click the Edit Item button on the Insert Query page, a "Value
cannot be null" error displays.
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IndustrialSQL Server Connector Issues
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Description
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Adding IndustrialSQL Server connector fails if Service
Pack is not installed
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VantagePoint will not create an InSQL connector for IndustrialSQL Server 8.0
if the Service Pack is not installed. At the time of this release, an error message
does not warn the user of the problem, however it is recorded in the
VantagePoint log.
Solution: Install the Service Pack for IndustrialSQL Server, and create the
connector.
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Double type tag value becomes zero if it is invalid on
the Industrial SQL (InSQL) server
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If a double type tag value is invalid on the Industrial SQL (InSQL) server, after
importing the tag to FactoryTalk VantagePoint, the value becomes zero. First
identified in FactoryTalk VantagePoint version 8.20.00.
Solution: There is currently no workaround for this issue.
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ProficyHistorian Connector Issues
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Description
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Unsuported tags in VantagePoint
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The following types of tags from the ProficyHistorian server are not supported
in the VantagePoint system and are not mapped to VantagePoint tag types
when importing data:
You can view information about ProficyHistorian tags which are not mapped to
VantagePoint tag types in the log file located in
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\Incuity\Logging\.
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OPC DA Connector Issues
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Description
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Attempting to import items from an OPC DA server
finishes, but no items are added
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Some OPC DA servers do not contain a tag dictionary (the optional
IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace interface) containing the necessary
information about the items VantagePoint would typically import. In these
cases, it is necessary to use the 'Import from file' operation of the OPC DA
connector. This operation accepts a well formatted XML string as an import
parameter and can be invoked by script. For more information on constructing
this XML string or using a script to add items to your OPC DA connector, see
Creating Aliases for OPC Items in the online help.
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OPC DA connector cannot browse Linx Classic tags
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Creating an OPC DA connector to a Linx Classic controller fails.
Solution: Add the controller to a FactoryTalk Directory and create a
FactoryTalk connector to the Linx Classic tags or use FactoryTalk Gateway.
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ProductionCentre Connector Issues
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Description
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Using the TimeOfDay operator to compare values
requires the ProductionCentre time format
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When you use the TimeOfDay operator to compare time values, you must enter
the time values in ProductionCentre format:
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.SSS
where
Example of a correct query command:
<XmlQuery Command="GetAreas">
<Filter>
<SearchConstraint
FilterAttribute="CREATIONTIME"
Operator="TimeOfDayEqual"
Values="2000-01-01T23:29:45.000">
</SearchConstraint>
</Filter>
</XmlQuery>
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Using the TimeOfDay operator to compare values will
result in truncated values in ProductionCentre
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When you use the TimeOfDay operator to compare time values,
ProductionCentre will truncate the values to seconds. For ProductionCentre, the
milliseconds value equals 0.
Solution: There is currently no workaround for this issue.
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Using the Equal operator to compare values in a comma
separated list causes ProductionCentre to use only the
first value for comparison
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When you use the Equal operator in the SearchConstraint section to compare
values in a comma separated list, ProductionCentre will use only the first value
from the list, and display the result in the query result set.
If you want to include values in a comma separated list in a query, you must
use the In operator.
Example of a correct query command:
<XmlQuery Command="GetAtRows">
<Filter Name="CPG_SetList" MaxResultCount="*">
<SearchConstraint Column="Key" Operator="In"
Values="77,78,79">
</SearchConstraint>
</Filter>
</XmlQuery>
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Creating a query for large amount of data may cause a
timeout message to appear in ProductionCentre
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When you create a query for a large amount of data, a timeout message may
appear.
By default, the number of items displayed in the query result set is 10000, as
defined in the MaxResultCount attribute. Changing the default value may cause
timeout.
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Creating a query with the ExecuteSql command with
data from more than one table will return an incorrect
query result set in ProductionCentre
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When you create an SQL query with the ExecuteSql command and the Join
function to get data from at least two tables, the result set will display incorrect
data. This is due to the fact that both tables contain columns with the same
names (e.g., both contain the Name, Description, and Key columns), which
cannot be distinguished in the query result set.
If you want to combine the results of more than one table, you must use the
CombineXmlQuery special query.
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Creating queries from data tables with duplicate column
names results in displaying values incorrectly in
ProductionCentre
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When you query data from a table which contains duplicate column names
distinguished only by the letter case (e.g., Name, NaMe, nAMe), the result set
will not be displayed correctly in VantagePoint.
You should disregard this because the query returns correct results when used
in Microsoft Excel. The results are only displayed incorrectly in the data grid of
a query result set in the VantagePoint model.
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The query result set displays incorrect information for
the WithContainedObject attribute set to "false"
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When you query data from a table that contains certain columns with lists of
keys, and you set the WithContainedObject attribute to false so that the lists of
keys from these columns are not retrieved, they are displayed in the query
result set anyway.
The issue applies to the following columns in the following queries:
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Excel add-in issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
|
Issue
|
Description
|
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Error: "The VantagePoint Office feature will not be
installed because Microsoft Excel has not been installed
on your machine"
|
This problem can occur with "non-standard" installations of Office. The
problem can be seen when installing the VantagePoint server or the
VantagePoint client tools. If Microsoft Excel is installed and the error occurs,
verify that the following Registry Key exists on your machine:
Office 2010:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\14.0\
Excel\InstallRoot Path=<PathValue>
If this registry key does not exist, you can create the key manually and provide
a value for Path that points to your Excel.exe. Rerun the Client Install to
complete installation of the VantagePoint Excel Add-In feature.
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Double-clicking an Excel file or selecting the Excel
shortcut from the VantagePoint Start Menu does not
work
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Xcelsius 2008 enables ’Live Office Compatibility’. As a result, the Excel
advanced general option 'Ignore Applications that Use Dynamic Data
Exchange (DDE)' gets selected. To resolve this issue:
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Excel workbook does not display at full size after
running Xcelsius (Dashboard Builder)
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After running Xcelsius, if you open Excel, the workbook does not display at
full size.
Solution: Click the maximize button for the Excel workbook to display full
size.
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Hyperlinks are not removed if they exist in a cell with a
conditional expression and the false condition occurs
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In Excel, if you create a conditional formula to execute a hyperlink condition,
the hyperlink will not be removed if the false condition occurs.
Solution: Prior to publishing the report, delete all hyperlinks in cells with these
conditional formulas. To delete hyperlinks, right-click and select Delete
hyperlinks.
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Limitations for UDFs when the function is array-entered
into the maximum number of rows (1,048,576)
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UDFs now return values when the function is array-entered into the maximum
number of rows (1,048,576); however, the following limitations exist:
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The TimeStamp information shows the incorrect start
time
|
When using multiple History functions to show tag values in an Excel
worksheet, the TimeStamp information of the functions may show different
start time. First identified in FactoryTalk VantagePoint v8.10.00.
Solution: To show the correct start time in the TimeStamp information, select
multiple tags to run a single History function.
|
FactoryTalk services issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
|
Issue
|
Description
|
|
Remote Desktop Console session prevents creation of a
FactoryTalk connector
|
FactoryTalk has an option to restrict which client computers can connect to the
directory. This option can cause VantagePoint to fail to log into the directory if
the following conditions occur:
Solution: To avoid this issue, do the following:
|
|
LiveData import does not validate that an ACD file for
the selected controller is correct
|
When performing a Live Data import, VantagePoint assumes that the selected
ACD file is correct for the selected controller. VantagePoint performs no
validation of the ACD file, and tags that are not found in the OPC server are
not brought into VantagePoint.
Solution: When performing a LiveData import, make sure that VantagePoint
points to the correct ACD file for the selected controller.
|
License issues
|
Issue
|
Description
|
|
VantagePoint client application displays ’Failed to
initialize the type repository’ error
|
While using a VantagePoint client application, you may receive a 'Failed to
initialize the type repository' error. This error occurs because the same user has
logged into the VantagePoint system from multiple locations. This is a
violation of the VantagePoint licensing system.
Solution: After receiving this error, you must wait 20 minutes for the session
from one of these locations to expire. After one of the location sessions has
expired, you can continue to use the application.
|
|
VantagePoint may display two error messages when you
have a license violation
|
If the VantagePoint system encounters a license violation, it may display two
error messages. After closing the first license error message dialog box, you
may receive the following error message "Object reference not set to an
instance of an object".
Solution: Close the second error message dialog box and resolve the licensing
issue.
|
Portal issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
|
Issue
|
Description
|
|
VantagePoint Portal redirected home page does not
display
|
While using VantagePoint, a redirected Portal home page does not display.
Solution: Add the redirected VantagePoint Portal home page site to the Local
Intranet Zone prior to browsing to it. To add the home page to the Local
Intranet Zone:
|
|
Trend and XY Plotter reports will not display unless the
Portal is in the Intranet Zone
|
To view Trend and XY Plotter reports in the Portal, you must add the Portal
URL to the Local Intranet Zone. To add the URL to the Local Intranet Zone, in
Internet Explorer, select Internet Options > Security tab > Local Intranet.
Click Sites, and then click Advanced, and add the Portal URL.
|
|
Error occurs when generating Trend, XY Plot, or
Dashboard reports on Windows 8.1
|
This issue only occurs if you are prompted for credentials when logging into
VantagePoint on Windows 8.1 systems.
Solution: Ensure that you have applied Windows Updates to the system. Then,
select the Enable Protected Mode check box under Security Level for this
zone for the Local Intranet Zone under Internet Options > Security > Local
Intranet.
|
|
Trend must finish loading the interactive control before
switching to another item in the Model Browser
|
When selecting a trend in the Portal, an image of the trend displays while the
interactive trend control loads. In most cases, this occurs quickly, and is not
noticeable. However, you cannot select another report in the Model Browser
tree until the interactive control finishes loading.
|
|
Downtime Summary report may generate with an error
|
Depending on the configuration of your VantagePoint server, the Downtime
Summary report MyEnterprise.Samples.v4.Advanced.Production.Reports.Line
Downtime Summary may fail to execute properly. The report uses a SQL
Query object that is configured in the IncuitySample database connector.
By default, the IncuitySample database connector is ”locked down” so that
users without elevated privileges have limited access to the connector or child
objects of the connector. In this case, the user in question is the VantagePoint
Office user (used to generate Excel Reports in the Portal). If this user is not an
administrator (or if the security settings of the IncuitySample database
connector has not been altered), this report will generate with an error.
For recommendations about configuring database security for the
IncuitySample database, please see
http://<ServerName>/VantagePointPortal/PortalInfoPages/IncuitySampleDB/DBConnectorSecurity.html
|
|
Some composite reports in the Report Library cannot be
generated for a new installation
|
Under MyEnterprise.Samples v4.Support.Report Library.Composite, the
ControlLoop, DowntimeEquipment, EquipmentTimePeriod, and Standard
Equipment reports are used by a previous version of VantagePoint. If you are
not upgrading VantagePoint from a previous version, these reports will be
empty.
Solution: Use the ControlLoop_v4, DowntimeEquipment_v4,
EquipmentTimePeriod_v4, and Standard Equipment_v4 reports instead.
|
|
Some reports have been reordered in the Model Browser
|
If you have used Content Type Rules based on inherited types for items that
display in the Portal, in previous releases, child types displayed first, followed
by parent types. This was a defect that has been resolved, and the Portal now
orders these items based on parent types first, followed by child types.
For example, previously, the first report under Line 1 (MyEnterprise.Samples
v4.Advanced.Production.Chicago Plant.Lines) was the Line Report, and the
last report was the Equipment Trend. In this release, the first report under Line
1 is Equipment Trend, and the Line Report is the third report in the list.
It is not possible to reorder these reports to the original display that sorted by
child types first.
|
|
StatusItems folders now display in the Model Browser
|
A StatusItems folder now displays in the Model Browser, and in some cases,
will include duplicate content from other nodes. For example, under
MyEnterprise.Samples v4.Advanced.Production.Chicago Plant, a StatusItems
folder now appears with Lines 1 and 2. This content is also available in its
original location under the Lines folder.
Solution: To hide the StatusItems folders:
|
|
(Windows 2008, IE 10 only) When using the Lock Full
Screen option to view reports, external websites open in
new windows
|
On Windows 2008 with IE 10 installed, when using the Lock Full Screen
option, external websites open in new windows, and in some cases, the website
will open in the main Portal window.
Solution: Add the external website to the Trusted Sites. To do so:
|
|
Memory leak while using the content rotator in Internet
Explorer
|
When the content rotator is used in Internet Explorer there is a memory leak.
Solution: It is recommend to run the content rotator (except for any activeX
control) in Chrome version 73. We also recommend using 60 seconds or more
for the AutoRotationInterval time if running the content rotator in Chrome.
Note that on some browser versions, a faster update rate may cause a small
memory leak.
|
Security issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
|
Issue
|
Description
|
|
Changing a user's Windows local or domain group is not
reflected by VantagePoint
|
If you change a user's Windows local or domain group, this change is not
reflected in VantagePoint. The VantagePoint server is not notified by
Windows when the group membership of a local or domain group changes.
Solution: For VantagePoint to recognize a change in a user’s Windows local
or domain group, you must restart IIS after making the change.
|
Storage issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
|
Issue
|
Description
|
|
Size-based aging strategy is not supported in this release
|
A size-based aging strategy for Storage Servers is planned for a future release
of VantagePoint, and is not supported in this release.
|
|
Floating point numbers for VantagePoint tags can result
in rounding errors
|
Floating point numbers in VantagePoint are typically stored with 8-bit
precision resulting in rounding errors such as the following: a 55.22, value in
the database is 55.2200012207031.
|
|
After renaming an Incuity tag and performing an
IISRESET, only the last value is retrieved
|
If you rename an Incuity tag, any values created with the old name and values
created with the renamed tag can be retrieved until an IISRESET is performed.
Afterwards, only the last value entered can be retrieved.
|
Trend and XY Plotter issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
|
Issue
|
Description
|
|
How to improve performance in the Portal controls
(Trend and XY Plotter)
|
By default, each web service call into the VantagePoint server is individually
authenticated. In Intranet environments, this level of security and the
associated performance overhead is typically too much. For this reason, the
VantagePoint client install configures the system to allow the authentication of
a web service call into a given VantagePoint server to be reused for subsequent
calls into the same server.
|
|
Unable to view Trends in the Portal on Windows
|
If the "System objects: Default owner for objects created by members of the
Administrators group" Group Policy on your computer is set to Administrators,
attempting to open a trend in the Portal may result in an error message.
Solution: Apply the Microsoft Hotfix in
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954494, or reset the computer's Group Policy
to the default setting of "Object Creator."
|
Eventing and Report Set issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
|
Issue
|
Description
|
|
Automatic printing of reports
|
An option in the Report Set allows you to automatically print a report when it
is generated. You can configure this feature to print to any printer available on
the network including virtual-printers such as PDFCreator, which prints to a
PDF document on disk.
Review the following for issues related to automatic printing:
|
|
QueryProvider
|
The QueryProvider does not support NameSpaceFilter for folders with " and *
in the name.
|
|
Run all reports in a folder
|
When the Report set source is selected as "Run all reports in a folder" and if
there is an asterisk (*) character in the folder name, Reports will not be visible
in public catalog.
|
Mobile issues
Review the following for additional information about issues you may encounter.
|
Issues on All Devices
|
Description
|
|
"Communication error" may appear
|
This issue may occur if:
|
|
Hyperlink and Portal Report widget issues
|
Review the following:
|
|
Web site does not load in mobile site; page is blank
|
Some web sites do not support being rendered in an iframe, which is what the
Portal and Mobile site use to display content. If a site does not support iframes,
the page will be blank in the mobile site.
|
|
Displays created under folders do not support the Show
in Portal option
|
If you create a display under a folder or item that derives from a core.folder
type, when saving the display, the Show in Portal option is not available.
|
|
Tag collection that contains a period results in No Items
Found error message and a broken breadcrumb
|
If you navigate to a tag collection that contains a period, when selected, the
breadcrumb changes to ?/ and the screen indicates that no items were found
even though there are items in the collection.
|
|
Performance limitations on devices with small amount
of RAM
|
When you are browsing, searching or selecting large data collections (for
example, instances including multiple members) on devices with small amount
of the random-access memory (RAM), any of the following may happen:
|
|
Importing members with restricted names fails
|
If you create in Studio 5000 Logix Designer a member, use one of the
restricted expressions listed below as its name, and then import it, the import
will fail.
The restricted expressions that cause the import failure are:
|
|
Phone Issues
|
Description
|
|
Cannot create a display if the view name contains a
forward slash
|
If the View name on the Model page contains a forward slash(/), you cannot
create a display.
Workaround: On a tablet or desktop, rename the view and remove the
forward slash. You can also use the rename feature in Manager to rename the
view.
|
|
On iPhones, buttons on the Action Bar may appear to be
pressed or disabled when they are available
|
Buttons on the Action Bar may look as if they have been pressed or are
disabled even though they are available. You can tap the screen to make them
change to white, or can tap them to perform an action.
|
|
Occasionally, value boxes do not display on the iPhone
in Portrait mode
|
In Portrait mode on the iPhone, a cell containing a value box appears, but the
actual value box does not appear.
Workaround: Rotate the phone to landscape mode and back to portrait mode.
The value box now appears.
|
|
Some reports created with the Portal Report widget do
not display correctly on the iPhone in Landscape mode
|
Some reports created with the Portal Report widget do not display correctly on
the iPhone in Landscape mode. You will need to rotate the phone to Portrait
mode.
|
|
Tablet or Desktop Issues
|
Description
|
|
When importing tags, details on the Summary page do
not expand to the width of the browser in IE
|
This issue occurs when using IE 11.0.9600.16663.
Solution: Upgrade to IE 11.0.9600.18376CO.
|
|
Adding tags to the Trend Report widget removes tags in
the original report
|
Attempting to add tags to an existing Trend Report widget removes the
original tags in the report.
|
|
When editing a display, you do not see the tags that are
being used
|
This occurs if the tags exist under a location that has been hidden from all
views using a navigation rule.
|
|
Using tag parameters in Portal Report widget
|
If you want to add a tag parameter to an Excel Report, you must know the
exact FQN of an existing tag parameter used in the report and enter that in the
Name field. Otherwise, the report will continue to use the existing tag
parameters.
Solution: To locate the FQN
|
|
Linked content such as SSRS reports, etc., do not
display on Android and iOS
|
Netbios name resolution is not supported on iOS and Android operating
systems so linked content such as SSRS reports will not display by default.
Solution: Use the full computer name that includes the domain or the IP
address to view the mobile site.
|
Rockwell Automation recognizes that some of the terms that are currently used in our industry and in this publication are not in alignment with the movement toward inclusive language in technology. We are proactively collaborating with industry peers to find alternatives to such terms and making changes to our products and content. Please excuse the use of such terms in our content while we implement these changes.
Copyright © 2026 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved.
Rockwell Automation, Allen-Bradley, and FactoryTalk are trademarks of Rockwell Automation, Inc.
To view a complete list of Rockwell Automation trademarks please click here.
Trademarks not belonging to Rockwell Automation are property of their respective companies.
Copyright © 2026 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved.
Rockwell Automation, Allen-Bradley, and FactoryTalk are trademarks of Rockwell Automation, Inc.
To view a complete list of Rockwell Automation trademarks please click here.
Trademarks not belonging to Rockwell Automation are property of their respective companies.