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Software Installation
In order to install, just click on the MSIX file, which installs in just a couple of seconds to install FrameworX as a Windows App.
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When the application is running, you can right-click on its icon in the Windows Taskbar and select "Pin to Taskbar" to create a shortcut for easy access. Otherwise, when you want to execute it, type "FrameworX" in the Windows search box. |
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The first time you Edit and Run solutions after a new installation, Windows Firewall may request authorization. Just press OK if that prompt is shown. Windows Server and Enterprise 2019 and older need update to use the new .MSIX extension. In this case, it is easier to install using the FrameworX-Setup.exe application. |
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About the MSIX installationMSIX is a new Microsoft standard for installations, offering significantly faster installation times. However, the installation folder is predefined by the OS (under \Program Files\WindowsApps) and it is installed only for the current user. MSIX requires Windows 10, version 1709 or later; or Windows Server 2022 or later. Using FrameworX-Setup.exe for Server InstallationsFor computers that do not support the MSIX standard, or when installing in production environments, such as factory-floor servers or data centers, it is preferable to have more control over the installation folder and to install for all users of the computer. The traditional Setup.exe installation allows customization of the installation folder and installs the application for all users. .NET and Multi-Platform Applications To create solutions to other operating platforms like Linux, .NET 8 is required. If you receive a warning that .NET 8 is not available on your computer, it will not prevent you from configuring solutions targeting Windows only, but it will prevent multi-platform solutions. To install the .NET 8, follow the link in the installer message, or you can find the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime installer from Microsoft here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/8.0. Be sure to pick the version that matches your CPU architecture, which is likely x64. (And don't pick the "SDK" or ".NET Runtime" or other versions - just the ".NET 8 Desktop Runtime") |
Solutions Manager and Demos
When you open the software, the first user interface you’ll see is the Solutions Manager tool, which will list the solutions on your computer and allow you to create, edit, or run them.
The list will show a few Demos that were installed with the product.
You can either use the "New" button to create your own solution, or first explore our demo solutions. You can also download additional demos and examples from Solution Examples.
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To open a demo solution, simply select it |
System Requirements
The tables below show the system requirements for the proper installation and operation of the software. Keep in mind these are the recommended prerequisites for the basic installation - depending on your project, you may need different requirements.
Installation System Requirements
Hardware
Minimum
Recommended
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo
Intel Core i7
RAM
4 Gb
8 Gb
Operation System
Windows 10
Windows 10
Disk Space
2 Gb
10 Gb
Display Resolution
1024 x 768
1280 x 1024 or higher
.NET Framework
v4.8
v4.8
Downloading and Installing FrameworX
We commend downloading our evaluation version to start exploring our software. You can do that by filling out the form here.
We offer a FREE TRIAL with:
Two hours of resettable runtime
Multiple demo projects to use, review, and learn from
500 communication points
Access to all the features in the platform
Access to all our standard communication protocols
MQTT Broker
OPC Client and Server
The Engineering Environment is enabled to edit projects for 30 days with no time restrictions. After the 30-day evaluation period, your project will open but with limited access to the entire project. Project Information access is enabled.
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You can execute Project Examples and Demos with the Free Trial. For simple applications that show casing-specific functionality, check Solution Examples. For complete demos of typical applications, check Demo Projects Overview |
When you install FrameworX for the first time, just click Install. It takes less than a minute!
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Time Limit The Runtime will run for two hours. You will need to restart it during your 30-day evaluation period. The Runtime will not run after 30 days. Contact Sales if an additional access license is needed. |
Managing and Running Solutions
When you first open the software, you'll find a list of your current solutions. By default, you'll find all of our demos installed. Before creating your own solution, we recommend exploring our demos!
For new users, we recommend starting with the Brewery Demo. In this solution, we’ve built a brewery line from scratch, using all of the main software features. At our training site, you’ll find a free course that explains how we did this, from creating a project to adding alarming capabilities. *Update with the demo information for v10*
To open a Solution, just selectfrom the list and click "Run" to |
start executing it or "Edit" to |
see how it was created. You can also double-click the solution to load it. |
In order to know what features each demo includes, check the page Demo Solutions. When you open a Solution, you'll find the following Welcome Window:
Navigate to Runtime, and press the Run Startup button to execute the Solution. |
Creating a New Solution
If you want to create your own solution, simply click "New" in the Solution Manager, and follow the wizard steps.
Creating a new Solution consists of three phases. First, you must choose which version of the Product Family you'll use and click Next. The features included in your selection will be represented by the icons on the bottom of the page.
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Our platform doesn't require a license for you to explore the engineering space! With the evaluation version, you'll be able to run the solution for only 2 hours, but there are no limitations on engineering time. |
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The first step is to select the Product that the solution is intended to use. To facilitate multiple scenarios in a cost-effective way, FrameworX has its product line organized into families and models. More information can be found in Product Family.
Once you've selected the product |
, you must choose what kind of |
solution you'll build |
, Windows or Multi-Platform.
Finally, you can add a |
description and choose a |
template for your solution here as well |
. For this example, |
you can select "HeaderLayout". When you're ready, simply click "Create New Solution". |
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Creating a new solution may take a minute - once Once loading is complete, you'll see our Home Page, that contains all of the basic information for this solution.
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By default, our Solution Explorer Navigation is filtered by All Modules and Features. If you wish to work with a simplified version of the platform, simply change the filter in the first box. |
In the homepage you can also change the Theme you'll be using: we offer five different options (Light, Dark, Indigo, Blue and Live). By default, Light will be selected.
Creating a Simple Display with Symbols
Note: the current Alpha has some bugs on previewing so I'd like to review this part after it has been corrected.
Let's start by exploring the Draw Environment. To access, go to Displays → Draw, or simply click the Draw button at the top menu.
This will open the main Draw Environment. By default, the first page created will be the MainPage, where your main content should go.
Before adding anything to the display, you can create tags directly from this environment to use in your page. Simply click the New Tag button in the top menu. This will open a dialog box.
For this example, create a tag with the following settings and click "OK":
Name: Fan1Enabled
Type: Digital
After you've created your tag, you add graphical components to link it to. On the left side of the screen, you'll find all of the components you can use to build your display. Search for "RotateBlower" to get a fan from our Symbol Library. To add it to Display, simply drag it to the main drawing area. You can then double click it to open the Symbol Settings and map it the tag as shown below.
Then, search for "SelectorSwitch" to add a switch to the display as well. Double click it to connect it to the tag we created.
Click on Document Preview, and then click on the SelectorSwitch to turn on or turn off the RotateBlower2 fan.
You can also go to Runtime and click "Run StartUp" to run your solution.
Connecting to Devices: Modbus Master
To add Devices, go to Devices → Channels. Here, click the "+" sign to create a new channel. From the list, select "Modbus Master Protocol" and click "OK".
Them, go to Nodes, on the same section of the menu, and do the same thing to create a node connected to the channel.
Then, let's go to the Unified Namespace section to create some tags related to this device. Simply click New Tag to create four tags, as defined below:
After the four tags have been create, select them and copy the selected rows: we'll use them on the Points section and in our Display, to showcase data from the device.
First, in Devices > Points, right-click to Insert Rows and copy the tags.
Then, go to our main display (by clicking on Draw) and paste the tags there as well. Text bales will be automatically created.
To view your display, choose Document Preview once again.
Note: training material mentions running a simulator, but I couldn't find that in the new version. I'll update after I figure it out.
Create a Real-Time Alarm
To test out the Alarming functionalities in the platform, let's create an alarm. First, on the UNS section, create a new Tag, named FilterAlarm, with the Type "Text".
On Alarms → Groups, you'll find some default groups created.
On Alarms → Items, you'll need to create some items, as shown below. To create, simply click on directly on the first line of the table.
Tag.temperature
Tag.temperature
In the Draw Environment, search for AlarmWindow and drag it into the display.
Insert three buttons under the AlarmWindow object and give their respective names: “All”, “Warning”, “Critical”. You can change the button text in the Drawing Properties, on the right side of the screen.
Double-click on the buttons and configure the filters:
Create Trends
Let's create a Trend Legacy to show the real-time values.
On Unified Namespace → Data Templates, create a new template called Trend.
After you've done that, add the following lines to the table (just start typing on the first line of the table and click Enter to add it).
Name: Reference | Type: Reference
Name: Cursos | Type: Double
Name: pen | Type: Integer
Go to Unified Namespace and create a trend tag as shown below.
Finally, let's add it to the Display. Search for TrendChart and drag it into the display. Double click it to configure it as shown below.
Suggestions for this step:
- Create a Database and DataGrid
- Reports
- ExternalTags
- More details on Runtime
- Scripts
Data Explorer Tools
The DataExplorer tools allow you to easily perform data mining and monitoring from various data sources, including MQTT Brokers, OPC-UA, PLCs and SQL databases. Here, let's see how you can connect to our MQTT Simulator to browse its data.
Go to Data Explorer → MQTT Tools to start. You'll need to press the green "start" button to start our Local Built-in Broker and the MQTT Publisher Simulator.
Once you've done so, click Connect to see and browse the generated data.
If you have any PLCs in your network, you can automatically connect to browse its data structure.
the Designer homepage, the main UI for editing your solutions.
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→ Go to Solution Configuration for a step-by-step guide on adding content to your first solution. |
Licensing And Registration
To deploy into production and run without time limitations, you'll need a license. Information about your license and links to activate it can be found on the Solutions Manager page, where you can choose between online and offline activation. See more about Licensing and Activation.
If you don't have a license yet, feel free to reach out at sales@tatsoft.com.
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Click on the "Your License" title, at the left side, to navigate to the Page License Information, with all the information about your current license, and the to tool to add or modify the license. |
Next Steps, Exploring More Features
With these
10. Licensing And Registration
To get the full capabilities of our platform and start building your real solutions, you'll need a License. The information about your license and the links to activate it can be found in the Solution Manager page. There you may choose between online and offline activation. You can learn more Licensing and Activation here.
Exploring More Features
With these ten steps, you've learned the basic on working with FrameworX and you're ready to continue your journey.In this chapter, you'll find more basic information to get you started.
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Once you're ready, we recommend you:
- Learn how to start designing your solution in Solution Configuration.
- Look the Platform Overview to learn about the overall features of the platform.
- Explore the Tutorials for more comprehensive exercises on the platform.
- Explore the User Guide, that goes into detail on each module.
- Sign in at the Training Site to access free videos and training courses
- Check out Take a look at our Solution Examples, that showcase showcasing different aspects and functionalities of the platform.
- Join our community forum and exchange ideias!
You can also schedule a an introductory meeting with one of our onboarding specialists here.
Feedback
Please provide us with feedback on our software and documentation.
Share your ideas for new features or specific training topics on our website.
We look forward to engaging with you and making progress together.
In this section:
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