Configure C-More Web Server Refresh and Remote Access

C-More Web Server browser images refresh only when the browser requests a new page; use Remote Access when you need live viewing and control rather than a manually refreshed snapshot.

Separate browser snapshots from Remote Access

The C-More Web Server can present a screenshot of the HMI project through a web browser. In the documented behavior for the project described here, the image updates when the browser is refreshed. It is not a continuously streaming view, so an operator may see a stale screen until another refresh request occurs.

Remote Access is a separate feature. It provides live viewing and control, which makes it a better fit when the production display must track changing targets and goals without repeated manual refreshes. Confirm which path you are testing before changing HTML: browser access to the Web Server and Remote Access do not have the same update behavior.

• Use Web Server screenshots when periodic, user-triggered updates are acceptable.
• Evaluate Remote Access when the display needs live viewing or operator control.

Check: Open the intended access path and confirm whether the display changes only after browser refresh or updates through Remote Access.

Configure browser refresh for the required update cadence

For browser screenshots, the operator controls the refresh cadence by refreshing the browser. If manual refresh is unsuitable, the panel’s index.html file can be modified to refresh automatically. The refresh interval and exact HTML implementation are not specified here; choose them based on how current the display must be and validate the behavior in the browser used on the production floor.

1. Back up the existing index.html before editing it so you can restore the working page.
2. Add an automatic refresh mechanism to the page and load the edited page through the panel’s Web Server.
3. Observe multiple refresh cycles and confirm that the displayed screenshot changes as the HMI values change.
4. Check that the refresh behavior does not interrupt the operator’s intended use of the browser page.

Automatic refresh requests a new page; it does not turn the screenshot into a live stream. A short interval can increase request traffic, while a long interval can leave production values visibly stale. Select an interval through testing rather than assuming the HMI updates itself at a fixed rate.

Check: Change a value that appears on the HMI and verify that a browser refresh—or the configured automatic refresh—shows the new value.

Measure screen and PLC effects instead of guessing

Do not assume that adding HMI screens makes the Web Server screenshot refresh less often. The behavior described for the Web Server ties refresh to the browser request, not to a stated screen-count schedule. Likewise, no fixed slowdown is specified for connecting multiple PLCs. Both questions need a test on the actual project and network.

Test with the intended number of screens and PLC connections. Record whether the local HMI and browser show the same values, and whether slow response occurs during browser refresh, PLC communication, or both. This separates display-update behavior from a PLC connection problem.

Check: Repeat the same refresh test with the production configuration and confirm that the update cadence meets the display’s operational requirement.

Handle an unpowered PLC without hiding the timeout

When a connected PLC is unavailable, the panel can report a PLC timeout. A documented option is to create a tag that disables the connection to that PLC. This avoids treating an intentionally offline PLC as an active connection, but the disable logic must match the machine’s intended operating state.

1. Identify which PLC connection is timing out and verify that the PLC is actually offline rather than suffering an intermittent communication fault.
2. Determine when the connection should be disabled and how operators will know the PLC is unavailable.
3. Use a tag to disable that PLC connection only under the intended conditions.
4. Restore the connection when the PLC is powered and verify that its data returns.

Do not use a disable tag to conceal an unexpected loss of PLC communication. Keep an operator-visible indication or other diagnostic path for a PLC that is required for the process. A timeout that disappears without a clear status can make stale or missing data look valid.

Check: With the PLC unavailable, confirm that the expected timeout/disabled state appears; after restoring the PLC, confirm that the connection and displayed values recover.

Enable Remote Access with a compatible project setup

The documented setup path places Remote Access in the C-More software help topic C-more Network Features Setup > Remote Access. The described project used C-More Version 2.42 or later. Treat that version detail as a legacy setup reference, not as confirmation of current compatibility: check the project’s installed software and panel documentation before applying it to another system.

After configuring the feature in the project, verify both the panel-side page and the actual access behavior. A link on the panel home page is not by itself proof that Remote Access works; confirm that the remote view opens and that the displayed content behaves as intended.

Remote Access provides control as well as viewing. Restrict access to personnel authorized to operate the equipment, and test control functions only under the site’s normal operating controls.

Check: Confirm the expected Remote Access entry is present and that an authorized client can open the live view.

Restore a missing Remote Access link without losing the project

A firmware update did not, by itself, make the Remote Access link appear in the described case. The recovery used System Defaults from the panel’s System > Memory screen to reload the panel’s HTML files. This operation erases the project from the panel, so treat it as a destructive recovery step—not a routine first fix.

1. Back up the project and confirm that the backup can be used to reload the panel.
2. Confirm that the project software and firmware setup includes Remote Access.
3. Only if the missing link persists, use System Defaults from System > Memory to reload the HTML files.
4. Reload the backed-up project and verify the home page and Remote Access behavior.

Do not reset to System Defaults before securing the project backup: the reset removes the project from the panel. If the panel contains a project that cannot be recovered, stop before resetting and obtain the project backup or contact official support.

Check: After reset and project reload, verify the project is present, the link appears, and Remote Access opens.

Diagnose a browser page that will not fill the screen

First distinguish a Web Server page-layout problem from a Remote Access display problem. The documented HTML editing guidance applies to viewing screens through a Web browser. It does not establish that the same HTML change controls Remote Access layout.

If the browser page shows only part of the C-More screen, inspect the edited index.html and test it in the same browser and display environment used in production. Compare the browser view with the panel’s local screen to determine whether the missing area comes from the page presentation or from the HMI content itself. Restore the backed-up HTML if an edit makes the page less usable.

No specific fullscreen code is established for this configuration. Avoid copying unverified HTML or changing the HMI project to compensate until you have isolated which view is being displayed and confirmed the browser’s behavior.

Check: Confirm that the complete intended screen is visible in the target browser and that refreshing still updates the screenshot.

Verify the complete production display path

Before relying on the display for production targets and goals, exercise the complete path: PLC data to HMI, HMI to the chosen Web Server or Remote Access view, and expected behavior when a PLC is unavailable. A browser screenshot can be stale between requests; Remote Access is the live viewing/control option. Make that distinction clear to operators.

1. Confirm current target and goal values on the panel itself.
2. Confirm the browser refresh or Remote Access path presents those values as required.
3. Test the intended behavior with each relevant PLC connected, then with an intentionally unavailable PLC.
4. Verify that operators can distinguish current data from a timeout, disabled connection, or stale browser image.

Check: Release the display for production only after the panel and remote view agree on current data and the unavailable-PLC condition is clearly handled.

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