FactoryTalk SE Table component

Have been strong armed by customer's corporate Engineering department to use FactoryTalk SE, rather than Inductive Automation's Ignition.

Need to run a query against a SQL database and populate a data table. Then index through data table and select a specific record and access other values.

In Ignition , this is easy with the table component and attaching the table's data to an SQL binding.

Been banging my head trying to find a way in FactoryTalk SE to do this. Has anyone done this before?

As far as I'm aware, the only way to do it natively within FTView SE is using VBA. Post #8 in this thread has some example code (which I never tested, as I ended up deciding that it wasn't worth the hassle, and quoted an Inductive solution and a hardware solution instead )

Oh and there's also FactoryTalk Transaction Manager, which is apparently also awful to use

curlyandshemp said:

...
In Ignition , this is easy with the table component and attaching the table's data to an SQL binding.

Click to expand...

This component alone was what validated Ignition for me, bummer you're stuck w/SE.

Unfortunately I add no value to this thread.

ASF said:

As far as I'm aware, the only way to do it natively within FTView SE is using VBA. Post #8 in this thread has some example code (which I never tested, as I ended up deciding that it wasn't worth the hassle, and quoted an Inductive solution and a hardware solution instead )

Click to expand...

Yes, I was part of that thread recommending Ignition. Unfortunately the VBA sample code is for Excel.

I have already written the VBA code with the ADO object model added in. ADO is required to read and write to FTSE tags. No more getTag
Have already successfully created a query to the SQL Server database and created a STATIC recordset within the code. Issue is writing records to HMI tags is very slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Customer will never accept the response time. This is a conversion from RSView32 to FactoryTalk SE, and the RSView VBA is lightning fast.

Moving data around in FTSE VBA is very slow as compared to RSView32. I was just trying explore a quicker option on presenting data in a table form. Custom code outside of FTSE is not permitted with this customer.

I pushed for Ignition, but they are fixed on FTSE. If I knew what I know now, I would have turned down this contract.

ASF said:

Oh and there's also FactoryTalk Transaction Manager, which is apparently also awful to use

Click to expand...

It is awful. The set up alone is a nightmare. The Transaction Groups in Ignition is in another galaxy compared to FTTM

#1, your customer is an absolute idiot for insisting on FTView.

#2, the best (only) way you can do this (and remain partially sane, except for the inevitable brain damage caused by merely interacting with Rockwell's flagship visualization ****) is by using an ActiveX control. There are several provided by Microsoft, which you want to use is up to you...
Microsoft DataCombo Control, DataGrid Control, DataList control, DBList Control, DBCombo Control, FlexGrid Control...

You could also possibly use an OLE Object, and directly insert an Excel sheet.

Either are workable, but cumbersome (Not because of the controls, but because FTView sucks, and was designed from the ground up to leverage work by other software publishers, but try to cripple it).

---- ETA:
Never tried it, but maybe you can just embed a full AdvancedHMI system as a full display control and use that.

Could not agree with you more on point #1.
This client is a large US food manufacturer that has facilities world wide . They have an engineering branch in Kansas that dictates what type of new automation is to placed in their facilities. Funny thing is, it was previous managers at this office that put us onto FactorySQL soon to be Ignition.

The current regimes thinking is if they have standardized installations worldwide, any one of their technicians can walk into a plant and know exactly the configuration.
They have selected Rockwell as the standard as it is patriotic to select American branded Chinese products rather than German or Japanese branded Chinese products.