Archiving Trends in WinCC (TIA Portal V13): HMI Data Logging

Overview

WinCC (TIA Portal) — the HMI configuration environment delivered with STEP 7 / TIA Portal — supports both runtime trending (live curve on an HMI screen) and historical archiving (persistent logging of the same tag data to non-volatile storage). The two are related but distinct: a trend is a display object on an HMI screen, while an archive (also called a log) is the underlying set of stored tag values plus a database on the HMI's flash media.

This article walks through configuring both, then explains how to inspect the archived values from the HMI directly — without routing them through the PLC — and how to export them for engineering use. The procedures target TIA Portal V13 SPx with WinCC Comfort or WinCC Advanced, which support the Comfort Panels, the Multi Panels, and the WinCC Runtime Advanced PC target. The same model applies to V14, V15, V16, V17, and V18 with cosmetic differences in dialog titles.

Scope of this article:

• Configuring a tag and an archive (data log) under HMI Tags → Archive tags.
• Mapping the archive to a Trend View and a Trend/Archive Viewer on a screen.
• Triggering archives on demand or at scheduled intervals.
• Reading archives back on the HMI without PLC interaction (the original question).
• Exporting the underlying archive files to a CSV that Excel / Sheets can open.

Prerequisites

Archive Architecture in WinCC (TIA Portal)

Before wiring anything, understand the four object types involved:

1. Tag — the live process value (HMI tag, polled from the PLC or internal).
2. Archive tag — a reference to the tag plus acquisition settings (cycle, threshold, compression).
3. Data log — the file-based or database-backed container holding the values of one or more archive tags.
4. Trend view / archive viewer — the screen object that visualizes the live or historical data.

In TIA Portal V13 the data log storage location is configured per panel under HMI device → Properties → Archive. The default is on the panel's internal flash for Comfort Panels; for PC Runtime you select a Windows folder path.

Step-by-Step: Configuring a Time-Stamped Trend Archive

Step 1 — Open the HMI project and verify the WinCC version

Launch TIA Portal V13, open the project, and double-click the HMI device in the project tree. The Devices > HMI node should show WinCC [device], never just WinCC Flexible. If the HMI was migrated from WinCC Flexible, run Project > Migrate project to upgrade to the WinCC (TIA Portal) configuration before proceeding — V13 cannot open archives created under V12 or older.

Step 2 — Declare the HMI tag

Expand HMI Tags, double-click Default tag table (or a project tag table you have created), and add a new tag:

Repeat for every tag that should appear in the trend.

Step 3 — Create a Data Log

In the project tree, right-click Archives → Add new archive. WinCC adds an entry under Historical data > Archive tags. Rename the data log, e.g. PressureLog_24h. The number of data logs is limited by the runtime license and the panel's archive DB size (default 1024 segments).

Step 4 — Add Archive Tags with Acquisition Modes

Right-click the new data log → Add archive tag. For each archive tag set:

Step 5 — Place a Trend View on a Screen

Open an HMI screen, drag a Trend view from the toolbox (right pane → Controls → Trend view) onto the screen. In the properties:

1. Set Source: Trend → choose the configured trend (e.g. Trend_24h) or Source: Archive → choose the data log.
2. Bind each curve to an archive tag you defined in Step 4.
3. Define the time axis (X) and value axis (Y) ranges, colour, and line thickness.

A separate control — Trend companion — provides buttons for Pause, Start/Stop, Zoom, and Print at runtime.

Step 6 — Compiling and Loading

Compile the HMI (right-click HMI device → Compile → Software (rebuild all)) and then load the project to the panel (right-click → Download to device → Software + Recipe data + Archive data). When you select Archive data on a Comfort Panel, the existing archive segments are deleted on the panel — only take this option on initial commissioning, not for normal reloads.

Viewing Archived Trends Without Using the PLC

The original question asks for an HMI-only way to view archived trends. There are three independent paths.

Path A — Online Archive Viewer (Trends window)

1. Right-click the HMI device in the project tree → Online > Trends (or use the toolbar button Project tree → HMI device → Trends).
2. TIA Portal opens a Trends dialog showing archive tags in the right-hand Recordings list.
3. Right-click a recording → Export. The dialog offers two outputs:
   • Export as TIA export file (.exp) — re-importable, useful to ship a recording to engineering.
   • Export as CSV — the binary archive is converted to a columnar text file that Excel / LibreOffice Calc can open directly. This is the answer to the original poster's request.
4. Confirm the target folder, finish the export.

Path B — Inline archive viewer on the HMI screen

Add an f(t) Trend View control on the screen and bind it to an archive (Source = Archive). Configure the Representation → Time period and Time axis ranges to span the desired interval. Use the on-screen cursor to read individual values from the historical record without the trend view being live — the control will draw past segments directly from the data log. A second trend companion object can switch between Live and History view at runtime via a tag change.

Path C — Export from Runtime

On the runtime project, configure a function on a button: SetTag → ExportArchive or the V13 system function "ExportDataRecord" with parameters listing the archive tag name and target file path (USB or network share). The CSV is produced directly on the target without needing TIA Portal.

Exporting Archived Trends for Excel / Spreadsheet Use

For users who need to bring the historical data into Excel, LibreOffice Calc, Pandas, or any downstream tool, follow this sequence:

1. Connect the engineering PC to the HMI via PROFINET.
2. In TIA Portal, open the Online → Trends and data logs dialog. The right pane shows Recordings.
3. Right-click the recording → Export → CSV.
4. When prompted to include compression values, choose Yes (raw and min/max for each compression interval) unless you specifically want the raw stream.
5. Save the file. The CSV columns are: Timestamp (local time of the panel), Value, Validity (1 = good).

For batch export of multiple segments, use the system function ExportArchive and call it from a script or a V13 button. The export runs asynchronously and writes to the configured storage path.

Storage Paths and File Layout

Verifying the Configuration

1. Online → Trends on the engineering PC. The recorder list must show the configured data log with a green dot (runtime active).
2. Click the recording → Display. Verify that new entries arrive at the configured logging cycle.
3. Stop the trend recording (right-click → Stop) and export to CSV. Open the CSV; rows should appear with timestamps matching the runtime clock of the panel.
4. On the HMI screen, change the time axis on the trend view from Live to Last 1 h. A historical line should appear.
5. Reboot the panel power: confirm the archive segments persist (they should — the SD card is unaffected by power loss).

Troubleshooting Matrix

Migrating to Newer TIA Portal Versions

If the project is upgraded from V13 to V14+:

1. Open the project in the newer portal — the configuration is carried across.
2. The archives switch to file-based archives automatically. The CSV is the new native format.
3. The export dialog from V13 still produces .exp files, which V14+ accept on import.
4. If the panel firmware is also upgraded (e.g. Comfort TP1200 from V13.0.4 to V15.1), the new firmware accepts both RDB and CSV archives; older V11.x firmware requires RDB.

Refer to the manual WinCC (TIA Portal) V13 commissioning manual for the authoritative procedure, and to SIMATIC HMI Panels WinCC (TIA Portal) Programming and Operating Manual for archive tag semantics and licensing information.