PROMOTIC 8.0 - Release notes

- PmaSequencer object:

- PmaWeb object: Other minor bugfixes are related to object.

- PmgButton object: Other minor bugfixes are related to object.

- PmUpgrade10: This licenec extension (additional 10 years of free upgrades) was not working correctly if applied via software licence file as addition to existing HW Key (extension in the form of the SWK file).

- PmaTrendGroup.SaveToFile method: The method for DBF format returns the true value on success.

- PmgTrendViewer.LoadCfg method: returns the true value even if "http:"

- PmAlarmItem.AckerId property: After Web alarm acknowledgment the AckerId property contained the local user instead on the Web user that confirmed the alarm.

- Pm.SelectionDialog method: In the Web panel in InternetExplorer 9 displayed incorrect selection window.

- PmaWorkspace object: Fixed bug: The workspace window opens centered (if the position is not defined in the "sFramePars default value" configurator).

- Web panels:

- Alarm and Event system: In Windows OS XP, when opening the viewer some blank grey areas were drawn.

- PmABradleyDF1 communication driver: Fixed bug: If the response from the PLC device was negative, then the data transfer stopped.

- PmIEC8705 communication driver: Fixed bug: Had a problem with storing the values of the configuration window of the protocol parameters.

- PmaWorkspace object: Opening the immersed worksapec has been improved (i.e. if the PmaWorkspace object was displayed inside another PmaWorkspace object)

- PmaData.ReadFromWeb method: If the application tried to read Web pages from itself (e.g. by the PmaData.ReadFromWeb method, when the URL address is address of this application), then the data was read with an error.

- Pm.PrintHtmlPage method: Print now works also in modes "select" (printer selection) and "preview" (print preview).

- Alarm and Event system: for viewing the alarm history on the Web the scrollbar control has been improved.

- Preconfiguration PmModbusMr - AMiT modules DMM (Modbus RTU) - Communication set with data and panel: Created

- PmaComm object: Fixed bug: Sometimes the communication stopped and in order to restart it, it was necessary either to call the OpenPort method, or restart the application!

- PmgTrendViewer object: Fixed bug: on the Web, it was not possible to add new trends manually.

- How to create an application using different national languages: Added new supported runtime national languages: Spanish (es).

- PmaRoot object: The following configurators were improved: PmaRoot > Application > Main language of runtime and PmaRoot > Application > All used languages - now all the languages can be entered directly supported by the PROMOTIC system (see Fully supported languages in the PROMOTIC system), but also many other languages, that are not directly included as translations in the PROMOTIC system, but can be added by user translated texts (see Fully supported languages in the PROMOTIC system).

- Pm.IsDaylight method: Fixed bug: during the one hour when the time is switched from daylight-saving time to standard time, the method returned invalid flag.

- PmaDataTable.SaveToFile method: Generalization:

- PmMBus communication driver: Generalization by the possibility to receive the user values VIF (used by the ACTARIS meter).

- PmIEC8705 communication driver: (for norm 101) Generalization by the Master message of the Data send type by the new "Send mode" configurator (allows to send requested data).

- ExtOpcDa object: Fixed bug: this data extension was not functional (bug since Pm8.0.7 version).

- PmgTrendViewer.SaveToHtm method: Fixed bug: This method is used for printing the trends and in some cases did not print the trends correctly - different colors, limits, etc.

- PmaPrototype object: after the application is launched, the copying of subobjects from PmaPrototype into PmaInstance was speeded up.

- PmaSequencer.Running property: Allows to detect whether the onStep event is running or not.

- The "Events" tab of the PmaObject object: The "Test" buttons was removed (used for script syntax checking) and also the "Edit" button (for expanding the script editor window to fullscreen). These functions were moved to the context menu in the script editor.

- Parameters of the Pma object: Now can be created also in objects PmaFolder and PmaRoot.

- Macro expression: can be entered in other configurators, for example:

- PmaAlarmGroup object:

- PmMBus communication driver: Generalization allowing receipt of data with variable length (for meters Actaris and Sensus).

- PmIEC8705 communication driver:

- PmaCommMsg object: New configurators AutoRun transfer enabled and Transfer period [ms]. For communication by this object, in common cases, is not necessary call the Run method in the timer.

- Web panels: Fixed bug: Some configurators set by Macro expression $.par did not work properly.

- PmgButton object: Icon and text alignment is now working. If the "Show image" configurator is set to "left from text" and the text is still algned to the left, then the icon is also aligned to the left together with the text (it was always centered in the previous versions). It is functional also for Web panels.

- Pm.PrintHtmlPage method: Fixed bug: The preview was sometimes displayed outside the visible desktop.

- How to use a PROMOTIC application on two or more displays: The multi display application support has been improved (see How to use a PROMOTIC application on two or more displays):

- Prototypes and instances: New objects PmaPrototype and PmaInstance have been created.
These objects allow to create prototypes and instances and can significantly simplify creation and maintenance of the application in cases when multiple similar object subtrees are present (e.g. if there are multiple boilers in the biler room containing similar data).
In one prototype (the PmaPrototype object representing for example a boiler) the complete structure of objects and subobjects is created and the PmaInstance objects then represent the specific usage of the template (i.e. will represent for example Boiler1, Boiler2, ...).

- Pm object:

- Pm.PlaySound method: Fixed bug: Available for Web panels.

- Macro expression: Re-enabled for additional configurators, for example:

- PmaAlarmGroup object: Generalization: The "Delete inactive acknowledged (green) (valid only for dynamically created items)" configurator has new option "2 = Hide only new non-initialized".

- Web panels: Fixed bug:

- Menu and toolbar of the graphics editor: Fixed bug: The import of complete panel did not work (on the selection in the menu "Import / Import into select object ...").

- PmgPipe object: Fixed bug: In Windows OS 7 the flow in vertical direction did not work.

- PmKoyo communication driver: Fixed bug: It was not possible to edit the message parameters in the application editor.

- PmaTrendGroup object: Fixed bug: When saving into Database dBase backups the time can be saved with the precision up to one thousandth second. On reading the data, the time was rounded off to seconds.

- PmgRasterImage object: has new properties ColorItem (light color) and ColorBg (Background color).

- PmIEC8705 communication driver: Fixed bug: When the "ASDU information object address size" configurator was set to the value 3, it was not possible to address registers on higher addresses.

- PmModbusMr communication driver:

- PmaTrendGroup object:

- PmMBus communication driver: Generalization in order to use the PmaCommGroup object and the ExtComm data extension. This generalization allows to get the basic data from meters regardless on meter type. The driver now searches the desired data in the received message that are defined in the PmaCommGroup object or in data extension ExtComm.

- Communication by OPC DA interface: Improved access to OPC-DA servers on another computer: now it is not necessary to install remote OPC server on the computer with the PROMOTIC application. See Configuration of the DCOM interface for OPC-DA server.

- Basic control of script editor: The PmAutocomplete functionality has been added. When creating the scripts, the system now offers you a list of methods and properties of corresponding objects and thus simplyfies the script creation. This functionality will be further improved in following versions.

- PmModbusMr communication driver:

- PmMelsecQA communication driver: Generalization:

- Users and permissions:

- Preconfiguration Runtime users management: Created

- PmaSequencer object: The Add method has a new additional Params parameter, that specifies whether the added request should run in the basic or work thread.

- HW Key: New driver for HW Key with better support for Windows OS 7 and Windows OS Server 2008.

- PmaTrendGroup.GetValueByTime method: Fixed bug: did not work if the "Storage type" configurator is set to one of the "cyclic" types.

- Web panels:

- PmaWorkspace object: in the PmgFrame object another PmaWorkspace object can be opened now.

- The "Object" tab of the PmaObject object: In each Pma object the time of last modification of this object is being saved now. The time of last modification can be found in the "The time of last editing" configurator of this object.
It is also possible to sort out all objects modified since defined time: in the Pma object tree by the right mouse button open the context menu and select the "Find object by edit time ..." item.

- The "Appearance" tab of the PmaRoot object: The "Application appearance zoom" configurator: When increasing the size of the view the PmaWorkspace frames did not expand and the fonts in panels also did not enlarge.

- PmaTrendGroup object: For saving the data into Database Access backups (obsolete) and Database MS SQL Server backups (obsolete) the GetValueByTime method did not work.

- PmMBus communication driver: Faster data sending and receiving via Ethernet without the need to wait for timeout.

- PmChar communication driver: Fixed bug: checksum was not calculated correctly in some cases

- PmModbusMr communication driver: Fixed bug: The PmaCommGroup object was unable to read/write 4-byte values (Long, Single).

- PmSBUS communication driver: Fixed bug: by the PmaCommGroup object it was unable to write real registers and read flags.

- PmIEC8705 communication driver: Fixed bug: The PmaCommGroup object was not functional

- Pm.TransformValue method: New option (nType=50) for matrix transposition (exchanging the rows and columns).

- PmaPanel object: Fixed bug: In some cases the displayed numbers were incorrectly rounded to 2 decimal places.

- PmaCommMsg object: New "AutoRun transfer enabled" configurator and a new the onBeginOfTransfer event allows to simplify the launching of periodical Master messages.

- PmFree: The maximum number of enabled PmWebClient has been increased from one to two.

- PROMOTIC runtime licence: Fixed bug: when stopping the application with runtime licence the unnecessary window was opened (bug since Pm8.0.0 version).

- PmFree: The PROMOTIC system can be used for free (as a freeware), for applications up to 30 variables and the development environment is free for applications up to 100 variables.

- Price list of the PROMOTIC system: There is a new item in the pricelist PmUpgrade10, that implies the limitation of free system upgrades to maximum 10 years after purchase. The PROMOTIC system applications can be runned with no time limitation on the original PROMOTIC version. If the application that is older than 10 years is to be upgraded to a new PROMOTIC version, then it is necessary to purchase this new item.

- PmaCommGroup new object: Significantly siplyfies the usage of embedded communication drivers. In this object, the variables are defined with an identifier, that is used by the system in order to obtain the desired value correctly. The system then executes optimalized and automated communication transmissions and the designer does not have to manage it manually.

- PmaOpcDaClientGroup object:

- Trends: Viewing in the "Read only (new records cannot be written)" mode is now functional also for the formats Promotic binary file cyclic and Database dBase backups.

- The "Logical groups" configuration window: Allows to define object groups. Each Pma object can be registered into selected groups (on the "Object" tab in the "Member of logical groups" configurator). This concept of object groups will be further developed in the future, but so far it can be used just for a single purpose: to create groups of object to be viewed, (object groups PmaPanel, PmaReport, PmaAlarmGroup, etc.), that will be offered in the Pm.FindViewers method mentioned above.

- #pragma: When creating the scripts it is now possible to use so-called #pragma script directive. It is used for easier creation of instrumental variable, or for special signs for script interpretation.

- The "Methods" tab of the PmaObject object: Application global methods (i.e. the methods defined on the "Methods" tab of the PmaRoot object) cannot longer (in default mode) be called directly in scripts by their name, but are now called by means of the Pm.Methods property. The reason is the limitation of the direct calling - for example it is not functional for Web panels. The old way of method calling (i.e. direct calling by method name) can still be used, but to od so, the #pragma option OldGlobalMethodCall script directive with the value 1 (flag of old calling the method) must be used. When transforming current applications into PROMOTIC 8 a conversion will be done: the directive will be added into all global methods making the application fully functional.

- PmMBus communication driver: Generalization for reception of 64-bit float values.

- Pm.FileCsvRead method: Allows to enter arbitrary separator type ("delimiter:xxx;").

- PmaPanel object: The "Open at application launch" configurator has been removed. The panel to be opened at application launch is now defined in the PmaWorkspace object, in the "Viewer of component" configurator. The old applications can be converted, in order to set the starting window in the corresponding configurator.