Deployment

The Deployment section of the ProjectWorX Ribbon allows users to utilize packages of projects for future use, potentially on the same or different machine(s), for Runtime use or for further Configuration.

 

Deployment Section of the ProjectWorX Ribbon in the Workbench

 

The Deployment section is comprised of the following components:

 

Pack & Go

Unpack Project

Explore Package

Encrypt Package

Pack & Go

The Pack & Go feature allows users to move whole configurations from one installation to another using a single file. It includes only the Configuration data itself, packing both files and database data. It also includes the ability to restore the active database.

 

To Pack a Project:

  1. Click on the Pack & Go button in the Deployment section of the ProjectWorX ribbon in the Workbench, as shown below.

Pack & Go Button

  1. This opens the first screen of the Pack and Go Wizard, as shown below. Read the description, then click Next to continue.

Pack and Go Wizard

  1. The System Analysis screen appears. You will see a listing of the providers contained in your project that are, or are not, supported, as shown below. Review the analysis results, then click Next to continue. At this point in the wizard, you may also click on the Back button to change any previously made settings.

System Analysis

  1. The Advanced Settings screen appears, as shown below.

Advanced Settings

Package Info

The Pack and Go Wizard will automatically show the Workbench Version and Creation Time of your current project.

Encryption and Compression

The Password and Confirm Password fields are activated once you choose Protected or Encrypted from the pulldown menu.

Find and Replace

Properties Where Replacements Are to Be Made

Option:

Replaces the Original Value in the following properties:

All

All of the properties listed below

Custom Data

CustomData property of objects

Dynamic Data Source

OPC tags used as data sources in objects' DataSource property

Description

Description property of objects

Share Keyword

ShareKeyword property of objects

Text

Text property of objects

Title

Title property of objects such as AlarmWorX and TrendWorX objects

Advanced...

Clicking the Advanced... button opens the following Pack Selection window.

 

Pack Selection

 

You have the option of selecting individual Providers to be included in the packed project. You can also Select All, Unselect All or Invert Selection.

 

You can also select individual Providers and then select specific Items in the section to the right. The Items section is set up to mimic each Provider's Tree Explorer, allowing you to expand branches/nodes in order to select certain items for inclusion in the packed project.

 

Once you have finished making your selection of Providers and Items, click on the Close button and you will return to the Advanced Settings window.

 

Once you have finished updating your Advanced Settings, click on Next.

  1. The Display File Selection window appears, as shown below.

Display File Selection

Display Files Options

Display Files

Once you have made your desired updates to this window, click Start to begin packing your project.

  1. the Workbench then begins to process the packaged project. You can see the status of the project in the Task Panel in the right side of the Workbench, as shown below.

Pack & Go Project Status in the Task Panel in the Workbench

Right-click the task in the Tasks Panel to see related options, as shown below. Note: These are the same options (except for 'Show task explorer') that are available for the same task type in the Task Explorer.

 

Right-click Options for a Pack Task in the Tasks Panel

  1. You can select to Download Package, as shown above. The following window appears, as shown below. You have the option to Open the file directly into the Workbench (Note: The file won't be saved automatically.). You can Save the file with the currently set file name in the default location or click on Save as in order to set your own file name and destination. Once saved, the packed file is now able to be unpacked for future use.

Download Package Options

 

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Unpack Project

The Unpack Project feature works in tandem with the Pack & Go feature to utilize saved (or "packed") configuration files. These files contain Configuration data (both files and database data) and the ability to restore an active database.

 

To Unpack a Project

  1. Click on the Unpack Project button in the Deployment section of the ProjectWorX ribbon in the Workbench, as shown below.

Unpack Project Button

  1. This opens the first screen of the Unpack Wizard, as shown below.

Unpack Wizard

General Settings

Package Selection

Once you have selected your intended file, click Next to continue.

  1. The System Analysis screen appears. You will see a listing of the providers contained in your project that are, or are not, supported, as shown below. Review the analysis results, then click Next to continue. At this point in the wizard, you may also click on the Back button to change any previously made settings.

System Analysis

  1. The Advanced Settings screen appears, as shown below.

Advanced Settings

Package Info

The Pack and Go Wizard will automatically show the Workbench Version and Creation Time of your current project.

General Options

Find and Replace

Properties Where Replacements Are to Be Made

Option:

Replaces the Original Value in the following properties:

All

All of the properties listed below

Custom Data

CustomData property of objects

Dynamic Data Source

OPC tags used as data sources in objects' DataSource property

Description

Description property of objects

Share Keyword

ShareKeyword property of objects

Text

Text property of objects

Title

Title property of objects such as AlarmWorX and TrendWorX objects

Advanced...

Clicking the Advanced... button opens the following Unpack Selection window.

 

Unpack Selection

 

You have the option of selecting individual Providers to be included in the unpacked project. You can also Select All, Unselect All or Invert Selection.

 

You can also select individual Providers and then select specific Items in the section to the right. The Items section is set up to mimic each Provider's Tree Explorer, allowing you to expand branches/nodes in order to select certain items for inclusion in the packed project.

 

Once you have finished making your selection of Providers and Items, click on the Close button and you will return to the Advanced Settings window.

 

Once you have finished updating your Advanced Settings, click on Next.

  1. The Display File Selection window displays, as shown below.

Display File Selection

Display Files

Select the files you want to unpack.

Once you have made your desired updates to this window, click Start to begin unpacking your project.

  1. The Tasks Panel will then show the status of the unpacking, as shown below.

Unpack Task Status in Tasks Panel

 

You can right-click on the running task to perform other actions, such as Show task explorer or View log, both which will show more details about the unpacking process, as shown below.

 

Unpack Task Right-click Options

 

Unpack Task Log

 

Once the Unpack Task has completed, you can check the the Workbench Project Explorer to see the results.

 

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Explore Package

The Explore Package feature allows users to review the elements of a package while they are still in a packed file format.

 

To Explore a Package:

  1. Click on the Explore Package button in the Deployment section of the ProjectWorX ribbon in the Workbench, as shown below.

Explore Package Button

  1. This opens the Explore Package window, as shown below.

Explore Package Window

Package Selection

Select the package you want to explore by entering the file location in the text entry field or click on the ellipsis button [...] to access the file browser, which allows you to navigate to your selected package.

Database Tab

Once you have selected your package (created via Pack & Go), it will enable the Database tab and populate the Providers field, as shown below. If displays were included in the packed project, the Files tab will also be activated.

 

Explore Package Window - Database Tab Activated and Populated

 

Selecting a provider in the Providers section allows you to see its contained Items in the next column, as shown above. This set-up is similar to how you would normally expand the branches of a provider within the Tree Explorer in the Workbench. You can explore further by selecting an Item, which then lists its Properties in the third column. The example above shows Properties for the 'Company' asset within the AssetWorX provider.

 

Within the Properties listing for most items, you can click on the ellipsis button [...], which will open an additional window allowing you to see properties for associated items. In the example below, the 'Company' item includes additional properties including Name, Description, Enabled, CustomIdentifier, Created, etc. Clicking on an Item in the right column allows you to see its Properties in the right column. In some instance, you can Add or Remove items via the buttons on the bottom left of the window.

 

Properties Window

 

Click the [X] button in the top right to close the Properties window.

  1. Click Close to close the Explore Package window.

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Encrypt Package

The Encrypt Package feature allows users to set encryption and/or password protection for previously generated packed projects. [Note: These settings are available as part of the packing procedure itself. This button is to retroactively add encryption or password protection to existing files].

 

To Encrypt a Package:

  1. Click on the Encrypt Package button in the Deployment section of the ProjectWorX ribbon in the Workbench, as shown below.

Encrypt Package Button

  1. This opens the first screen of the Package Protection window, as shown below.

Package Protection Window

  1. Once you have selected a packed project to encrypt, the Package Protection section of the window is enabled, as shown below.

Package Protection Section Enabled

Package Protection

  1. Click Apply to save your settings.

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See Also:

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