WinCC - Configuration

Overview of the WinCC Editors

In the life cycle of an automation solution, engineering costs make up as much as 50% of the total costs. If you want to significantly lower costs, you will need simple and efficient tools for configuring – and intuitive operator prompting. SIMATIC WinCC provides both.
WinCC makes available a range of editors and interfaces that you can use to individually configure the functionality of your respective application:

• WinCC Explorer
  The WinCC Explorer is the central coordinating point in WinCC for project management and provides access to all the components of WinCC. It gives you a detailed overview of the loaded project and shows all the files that are associated with the project.

• WinCC Graphics Designer
  Graphics system for designing a user interface. Using the wide range of graphics objects, which are offered on several tool palettes, you can easily and quickly create complex process screens. Parameterizing and linking a graphic object to an internal PLC tag for animation purposes is as easy as can be. As soon as a new object has been placed in the picture, an easy to edit dialog box appears.

• Editor for menus and toolbars
  Application-specific menus and toolbars can be integrated into the user interface of the runtime application. These new user interface elements can be set up, "fixed" or "movable" - as usual in Windows.

• Centrally changeable objects (Faceplates)
  The configuration can also be performed using modular construction: Any graphical object can be grouped with others to form a new, userspecific faceplate, where only the interface parameters relevant for the process connection "come to the surface". These faceplates are centrally created and managed. Changes are automatically incorporated into all places of use.

• WinCC Alarm Logging Editor
  for configuring the alarm and message system for recording and logging events with display and operating facilities; freely selectable message categories, message display and reporting.

• WinCC Tag Logging Editor
  for configuring the Archive System which allows the archiving of process values for acquisition, logging and compressing measurement values, e.g. for displaying trends and tables and further processing.

• WinCC Report Designer
  To document configuration and runtime data, you can generate logs and reports in WinCC. The supplied layouts cover the majority of possible applications for documenting your configuration information, and for logging the runtime data. Using the WinCC Report Designer, you can change the default layouts or create new layouts that meet your own requirements.

• SIMATIC NCM PC
  Using SIMATIC NCM PC, you can load WinCC project to the corresponding target systems. This applies to both singleuser and multiuser configurations. If required, you can also load WinCC singleuser projects on several computers without needing to duplicate the WinCC project. Any changes to the WinCC project that may become necessary can be carried out later centrally at one location with the system distributing the changes to all the affected stations. For this, you use OS references in SIMATIC NCM PC that only contain a reference to the corresponding projects.

Wizards and libraries

Delegating routine tasks helps cutting engineering time: SIMATIC WinCC supports developers by providing wizards (assistants) for easy configuration tasks. The message wizard, for example, offers default settings that developers can confirm or modify. Preview windows show the effect of the chosen parameters. If the developer confirms the settings, he can implement cost effective and practical solutions in a very short time.

Once graphic objects have been created, the library makes it possible to reuse them in other pictures and/or projects. Developers can create company-, technology- or industry-specific standards, making it quick and easy to create projects. The objects for those projects are finished and sorted by topic in the library and can be brought into the pictures via Drag & Drop. Inserting objects in the library is just as easy. In order to be able to make full use of multiple languages in WinCC`s runtime mode, objects like these should be configured in several languages

Engineering of large projects

To keep an overview of the host of tags, images and functions that are used in a project, WinCC offers a cross-reference list that can be generated individually on the basis of filter settings. You create the cross-reference list using the Cross Reference Editor.

For convenient and quick configuration of mass data, WinCC provides a configuration tool based on Microsoft Excel. You can read in existing projects and create new ones. In addition to process connections and process tags, you can edit measured value archives, alarm messages and the Text Library..

The table format allows convenient editing, which also includes auto fill-in. Experienced users can expand their options by using macros based on VBA (Visual Basic for Applications).

Configuring multilingual applications

The configuration user interface of the WinCC system software can be switched between English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. WinCC is also offered in an ASIAN version for China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. The configuration user interface of the Asian version of WinCC is switchable between the respective Asian national language installed and English. With that, configuration personnel from other countries can make any necessary changes to the project in the English configuration environment, e.g., in case of maintenance.

The texts for the runtime application can be edited in all primary languages of Windows. Besides static texts, this also includes the tooltips. At the push of a button, a switch between these languages can be executed while in runtime. For the export and import of all texts in the CSV format, the WinCC Text Distributor is provided, through which the translation can be easily carried out via standard tools.

To facilitate the translation of message texts, a text block library (Text Library) exists, which in tabular form lists the terms used in the individual languages. Convenient filter mechanisms make working with large quantity structures easier.

For the localization of WinCC to the Asian market, the Siemens partner DCC can provide valuable assistance. DCC, too, offers a WinCC Add-on for the translation and updating of multilingual projects, the DCC TranslationEditor: