Same HMI application for 2 machines - Rockwell HMI & PLC's

i have 2 near identical machines both have their own HMI (original Panelview 10" on Remote I/O comms) & PLC (PLC5/20E Ethernet)they are all on same network.

the HMI application is exactly the same on both machines but the plc program differs slightly due to other equipment.

i am upgrading the hmi to Panelview + 1000 (ethernet) so both the PLC's and HMI will all be on ethernet. i want to keep the HMI's as same ap[plication but the target PLC's will be different and i dont want one HMI writing to the other PLC etc.

How do i manage the same HMI application on FTV to 2 different plc targets. that is only the HMI on that machine to control its own PLC

One way to do it is save the Runtime files with different names that reflect the machine name (since the IP differs). The Project stays the same since the only difference is the IP Address.
That is assuming you are using Ethernet - if you are using serial then the runtime can be the same.

I would create the HMI project once for the first PLC, and then duplicate it for the second PLC such that only the target PLC details (or shortcut as RSView Enterprise calls it) will be different.

I use the exact same copy of HMI programs on multiple lines that are nearly identical, because all that really matters is what IP address the shortcut is applied to. As long as you have [PLC] in program 1 pointing at 192.168.1.1 (for example) and [PLC] in program 2 pointing at 192.168.2.1 (for example), you won't have any issues.

Similar idea to the others, but using parameters.

Setup both PLC1 and PLC2 in your communications shortcuts
Build your complete project using the comms shortcut to PLC1
Search & replace your project, changing "PLC1" into "#1"
On your project startup page, create a GoTo button that either loads the Main page with
#1 = PLC1
or
#1 = PLC2

But, create a small test project first before you get too far into it.

appreciate the responses and thanks for all the replies, all good info here. i like "arlenjacobs" idea as i don't want to change the shortcut for each HMI when i modify.

i was hoping to code it to do this automatically via the IP of the HMI, i will investigate this as i have another app done by a SI similar using HMI IP to disable some code.

Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't you want to just change the IP address? You can use the same shortcut name on all the HMI programs, so the amount of work to port an existing program to another line is extremely minimal... a matter of a few minutes start to finish.

Edit: upon re-reading your post, I'm guessing you don't even want to have to edit the runtime in studio, just drop the same one on all the lines and have it function automatically? That would be a neat trick!

Use the ME TerminalInfo ActiveX to get the PanelViews IP address and automatically select the correct parameter files.