RSView32 v6.3 to current. What has happened since then ?

JesperMP

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Hi all.

I have a project that was originally made with RSView32 v6.3, and now it needs to be updated. I havent worked with RSView32 since back then so I am a bit out of touch.
Can someone tell me in a nutshell what has happened in the meantime, new features, things to be aware of, etc.

Another tangent is - would it be better to convert to RSView SE ?
Is that even possible without too much trouble ?
If I go that way, are there things one should be aware of ?

The project consist of a single HMI station with a 2000 tags license. No database connections, recipes, or anything fancy. But there is a bit of logging of data to disk.

One thing that I want to stay clear of is any VBA code.

Thanks in advance.
 
I don't know about the current generation of RSview32, but I have to believe that trying to convert it to FTView SE is about the worst idea possible. FTView is much more limited in many ways, buggy, and wondrously expensive.

If your existing app is RSView32 and working, I'd definitely not change the platform.
 
Thanks for ths info rdrast.

I had forgotten about the name change from RS to FT. :)
I thought that FTView SE had at least the same feature set as RSView32.
And I just thought that maybe it would be wise to think about futureproofing the project. But if there is even the slightest risk involved, I will definitely not go that way.
 
FTView SE/Station is completely different from RSView32. It is based on a server/client system from the ground up (read: Your displays are glorified web pages, and the client is a very thin slipcover over a browser). For this reason, there really are no 'project level intercommunications' like you could have with View32. Each display exists in it's own world, and is completely unaware of any other display out there.

The licensing is also very different, being licensed by the number of display screens total (popups count as a display), but with an unlimited* tag count.

* - The 'Tag Count' is limited to somewhere on the order of a maximum of 3000 tags per display.

I wouldn't use FTView SE/Station to futureproof anything, Stick with View32 until it is completely gone, and then worry about the issues.

There would also be a significant cost in going from View32 to View ST/Station, as there is no upgrade path I know of.
 
Thanks again rdrast.

The webserver functionality could be one of the neat things that could be worth having.
But the way you describe it, I will stay way clear of FTView SE.

No upgrade path ? Thats like telling existing customers, we dont know you please go away.
Rockwell Automation keep surprising me.
 
You know what? That characterization of FTView SE is totally wrong. It's up to version 6.0 now. I'm doing an upgrade from RSView32 to FTView SE 6.0. FTView will do a pretty complete conversion automatically. Obviously, there are things which do not convert automatically, VBA code being one. I've done many SE projects, and if you have multiple clients, its the only way to go.
 
OK, now I have two votes.
Completely differing opinions.
:unsure:

Well, I do not have many client in the existing project.
What could be nice would be to have a main HMI station, and then the possibility to have several clients that can go on and off according to demand. But it would be a nice-to-have, not a must-have.

Thanks for your input jkerekes.
 
I still use RSView 32 and the word for the later versions is its more mature and the latest version is more stable

You said a webserver would be nice, well there is Webserver 32 available as an add on to Rsview 32 fairly basic but it does what we need it is version dependent to fit RSView 32

Below is a link for migrating RSView 32 to Factory talk View
It appears most of it goes well except I think VB and the trending needs to be TrendX option in RSview 32 for a smooth transition


http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/qr/ftalk-qr004_-en-p.pdf
 
We have one RSView32 station that works quite well, and we leave it alone. I think it is running version 6.3 Rarely, we have an issue with communication or something and have to reboot the PC, otherwise, it runs 24/7/365.

We have four FTView 5.10 Standalone Stations and they are a consistent pain in the butt. Every time changes are required we discover new bugs and quirks. Things as simple as changing a display size by one pixel have caused us problems that took hours and days to sort out.

I would never think of replacing View32 with FTView, but we have discussesd doing it for the sake of uniformity. My counterpart has gotten really good at wading through technotes and applying patches and uninstalling and reinstalling software for no valid reason, so he is more comfortable with FTView than me. He is also investigating Ignition as the replacement for the whole mess including FTSQL.

There are features that View32 has that FTView doesn't but most of those bells and whistles are not in use here.

So, I lean more towards RDRasts views of the two packages, but my experience is more limited. Were it my choice, I would use iFix or Ignition even though it means re-development of the project. I thnk that avoiding the bugs in FTView would still end up taking less time and causing less gray hair.

Paul
 
RSView32 comes back to haunt me.

Now I have a real request from a customer to have a new PC and his RSView32 updated to the latest version. Last time it was updated was in 2000.

I have RSView32 7.5 and I check the release notes, and it says Windows is supported from 2000 over XP to Vista, but NOT Windows 7 (!).

The migration from RSView32 to FT View is out of the question.

So what do I do, get a current PC and downgrade it to XP or Vista ?
Or get a PC with Windows 7, and install RSView32 RT in a VMware ?

The online connection is via ethernet, so no PKTX card os similar to worry about.
If I go for the VMware solution, ís there anything to worry about regarding the online connection via RSLinx OEM and a bridged guest-to-host ethernet ?

Opinions appreciated.
 
Hey fuzzy, thanks for the info.

OK, so now I have the possibility of doing a full upgrade, if the customer wants to. Just got the quote from RS what it will cost to upgrade the customers RSView32, "to reinstate support contract" as they put it.

Hmmm....
I was beginning to warm up to the idea of just installing the old software under VMware. As I see it, VMware would mean I have a universal solution to the next time Microsoft updates Windows, and the next time, and the next time, etc.
And for how long will RS continue to update RSView32 ? Maybe this is the last time.

Therefore I am still interested in experiences with RSView32 under VMware.
 
I was going to vote for FTView SE, but it looks like you need to stick with RSView32. I just did a conversion from RSView32 to SE without any problems. The automatic conversion utility works great. There are a few issues of stuff that is different in SE than 32: VBA code runs on the client, not the server. No RecipePro. Trends usually need to be reconfigured to new type. There was/is a upgrade program from Rockwell to give you a discount when you retire your RSView32 licences and move to FTView SE. This was a RAD system too. FTView SE works much better in this enviroment.
 
Thanks jkerekes.

Just to highligt why I dont want to go FT View:
I dare not jump onto a new HMI platform (new to me). I cannot even touch this RSView32 program apart from very small things. It has been 10 years since I worked on it last. I am afraid that the hours will run away. For this small upgrade the upgrade cannot bear the cost for many extra hours, and I have absolutely no spare time to play with a new software.
 
Then stick with RSView32. Upgrade if you need to the latest rev. It looks like it will support Win 7 and Server 2008, only 32 bit. It's a mature product and works OK for things it was designed for, especially if its a single station. It does not work well in a client/server configuration. That's what SE is for.
 

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