WinCC - Where do I begin?

I am quite familiar with PLC/OPC/DDE applications, but a project I've had land on my desk has me a little confused at the moment. This seemed the best place I could find to get my questions out there!

I have to 'upgrade' a WinCC HMI, and WinCC is not something I have ever used. I'm struggling to find a place where I can legally acquire the development/configuration software?

I have the old project files, but the person who made them is no longer available.

What software do I need in order to open the current system up and find out how it works? I am confident I can add the required features I just need a leg-up to get on the right track!

EDIT: Googling around and searching on here would suggest I need Siemens WinCC Flexible? I cannot find a source to purchase this, I imagine its not a freebie...

Cheers,

Al

Not a freebie. I have a few Win CC apps here but were are getting rid of them as fast as we can. IMO it Sux.

I think Win CC flexible is for the siemens hmi panels much like ab panelviews and Win CC is made to run on a pc and server for use as a standard scada hmi much like wonderware.

I think this year siemens made Win CC and Win CC flexible the same application with their newest release. I am not 100% sure about this but that was my understanding.

My plan is to replace the WinCC with a custom c# application - the problem is that the system is practically undocumented and I don't have a lot to go on. For that reason I was planning to open up the old project and have a snoop around to see what's what.

I'll try to find out versions used in the current HMI tomorrow and update this thread accordingly.

P.s. Siemens websites are awful...

Here is WinCC Flexible homepage

If you have a project file, it should be possible to open it up i a newer version of flexible and it will be converted.
But i had problems sometime to open old project files.

The best is if someone can try to open your project first.

Exactly what version is the old WinCC project ?

I had to do a little interfacing project about 18 months ago to talk to WinCC for some alarms (containerized Reverse Osmosis plant for the Christchurch relief effort, lots of fun with 3 guys stuck in half a 20 foot container, taking turns on the SCADA computer!).

I installed WinCC on my laptop, the guy who was on site commissioning the plant's PLC had a copy. From memory it ran for a couple hours without a licence - might be sufficient for your snooping. Would be a shame to fork out a couple grand for a package you hope to not use again!

You might be able to convince your local Siemens rep (if such a person exists) to supply you with a demo copy.

Version is unknown to me at the moment, is there a particular file I can find this information from?

The project dates from late 2005 if that is of any help.

There are two Versions of WinCC which, apart from the name, have nothing to do with one another (one of Siemens less than brilliant ideas!). If your project has pop-up windows or lots of C-type parameterisation (not just scripts) then it's probably WinCC V6.x.

If you don't have multiple windows and the parameterisation looks fairly "normal" then it's probably WinCC Flexible 2004. If that's the case, then you're in luck - Flexible costs about half of what WinCC V6/7 costs.

Go to Windows Start menu ... SIMATIC ... Information, and start the utility -Installed software.
Take a screenshot of the result and post it here.