FactoryLink 7.5 Application Editor: Bitmaps, Buttons, Visibility

Overview of FactoryLink 7.5 Application Editor

FactoryLink 7.5 is a SCADA/HMI runtime from the Siemens Tecnomatix product line. The Application Editor (AppEd) is the offline drawing tool used to assemble operator screens that the supervisory runtime resolves when the project is loaded. Unlike Client Builder, which configures client topology and channel routing, Application Editor works directly on the .G drawing files inside the project. The editor does not embed raster images inline; instead it consumes a same-stem .BMP file in the same project directory and uses it as both the design-time and runtime background.

Application Directory Layout and File Conventions

The Application Editor reads drawings from the project root denoted by the {FLAPP} token. {FLAPP} resolves to the directory that contains the project .FAP file. All static graphic resources consumed by Application Editor must live in dedicated subfolders under {FLAPP}\USER\DRW so that the supervisory runtime can resolve them at load time.

{FLAPP}
+-- application.FAP
+-- USER
    +-- DRW
        +-- MENU.G
        +-- MENU.BMP
        +-- AREA1.G
        +-- AREA1.BMP
        +-- SYMBOLS.G
        +-- SYMBOLS.BMP

Inserting a Bitmap Background into a Drawing

Application Editor does not provide an Insert → Image menu. The bitmap is bound at runtime by name match. To attach a company logo or a custom faceplate background to drawing MENU.G, the file MENU.BMP must be present in the same folder.

1. Create or export the desired graphic as an uncompressed Windows BMP (8-bit indexed or 24-bit; BI_RLE8 compressed BMPs are not rendered reliably by FactoryLink 7.5 and should be avoided).
2. Rename the BMP so its stem matches the target drawing exactly: MENU.G ↔ MENU.BMP, AREA1.G ↔ AREA1.BMP.
3. Copy the BMP into {FLAPP}\USER\DRW using Windows Explorer, a deployment script, or the project publisher. Do not place the BMP in the runtime BIN directory; the editor and the runtime both resolve it from USER\DRW.
4. Open the drawing in Application Editor. The bitmap appears as the design-time background. Reopen the project from the supervisory if a stale copy was cached.
5. At runtime, the supervisory service paints the bitmap before any vector primitives, so vector objects drawn on top overprint the image in z-order. Avoid placing transparent vector fills beneath visually critical image regions if the BMP carries gradients.

Controlling Object Visibility with Symbol Animation

Symbol Animation is the built-in mechanism to swap one or more predefined symbols based on a tag value. A symbol is a named object drawn inside the project-wide SYMBOLS.G file. The named symbol is then referenced by the Symbol Animation tool inside any drawing.

1. Open {FLAPP}\USER\DRW\SYMBOLS.G in Application Editor.
2. Draw two (or more) variants, e.g., STATE_HIDDEN and STATE_VISIBLE. The hidden variant is typically placed off-canvas at coordinates (-32000, -32000) so the symbol appears to vanish when the animation selects it.
3. Save SYMBOLS.G and reopen the target drawing (e.g., MENU.G).
4. Select the host object, choose Insert → Animation → Symbol.
5. Bind the animation to the controlling tag (e.g., PUMP1_RUN) and set the symbol mapping:
   • Tag value 0 → STATE_HIDDEN
   • Tag value 1 → STATE_VISIBLE
6. Set the refresh rate. Recommended: 250 ms for visibility, 100 ms for level meters, 500 ms for slow alarms.

Symbol Animation is purely declarative, requires no script, and survives HMI client rebuilds cleanly. Use it whenever the on/off visibility logic is static and the number of states is small (8 or fewer). For composite conditions or computed visibility, fall back to PowerVB.

Controlling Object Visibility with PowerVB Script

When visibility depends on compound expressions (multiple tags, computed thresholds, or alarm states), Symbol Animation becomes cumbersome. PowerVB scripts attached to OnShow or tag-change events give full control.

The classic FactoryLink pattern is to relocate the object off-screen rather than toggle a visibility property. The following PowerVB snippet, attached to the OnShow event of drawing AREA1.G, hides object VALVE_V1 when tag ZONE1_ENABLE is 0 and shows it when the tag is 1.

' PowerVB - AREA1.G - OnShow event
If ZONE1_ENABLE = 0 Then
    VALVE_V1.X = -32000
    VALVE_V1.Y = -32000
Else
    VALVE_V1.X = 220
    VALVE_V1.Y = 140
End If

For dynamic tag-driven visibility without OnShow, attach the same logic to a tag-change subscription on ZONE1_ENABLE:

' PowerVB - TagChange on ZONE1_ENABLE
Sub OnChange_ZONE1_ENABLE(NewVal)
    If NewVal = 0 Then
        VALVE_V1.Visible = 0   ' 0 = hidden, 1 = visible in 7.5
        VALVE_V1.X = -32000
        VALVE_V1.Y = -32000
    Else
        VALVE_V1.Visible = 1
        VALVE_V1.X = 220
        VALVE_V1.Y = 140
    End If
End Sub

Building a "Go To" Navigation Button

Application Editor exposes a button animation that fires an action on mouse click. The simplest action type is DRW, which loads another drawing in place of the current one.

1. In Application Editor, draw a rectangle on the source drawing. The rectangle becomes the hot region of the button.
2. Select the rectangle and click the OK-button icon in the toolbox (the icon resembles a check mark). This invokes the Button Animation dialog.
3. Set Action Type = DRW.
4. In the Value field, type the target drawing stem without the .G extension, e.g., AREA1 for AREA1.G.
5. Add a Text object on top of the rectangle to label the button (e.g., Open Area 1).
6. For an optional security gate, change Action Type to DRW_S and supply a numeric level code, or wrap the call in a PowerVB OnClick handler that checks operator level before invoking OpenDrawing "AREA1".

Implementing a Toggle Tag Button with PowerVB

FactoryLink 7.5 ships without a built-in toggle animation. The runtime pattern is a small PowerVB handler bound to the button's OnClick event.

' PowerVB - Toggle button OnClick handler
Sub OnClick_TOGGLE_PUMP()
    If PUMP1_CMD = 0 Then
        PUMP1_CMD = 1
    Else
        PUMP1_CMD = 0
    End If
End Sub

For auditable toggle behavior, route the new value through the command channel rather than the live value tag so the action shows up in the audit log:

' PowerVB - Toggle through command channel
Sub OnClick_TOGGLE_PUMP()
    Dim newState As Integer
    newState = IIf(PUMP1_CMD = 0, 1, 0)

    ' Write through channel; preserves audit trail
    Channel1.Write "PUMP1_CMD", newState
End Sub

1. Draw a rectangle on the operator screen (e.g., MENU.G) and apply the OK-button animation. Set Action Type to VB and Value to OnClick_TOGGLE_PUMP.
2. Save the drawing and reload the supervisory to register the new event handler.
3. Verify by clicking at runtime. Tag PUMP1_CMD should flip 0→1→0→1 on consecutive clicks.
4. For multi-tag toggles (start permissive + run command), extend the handler with a guard: If PERMISSIVE_OK = 1 Then ... Else MsgBox "Permissive not satisfied".

PowerVB Script Reference Snippets

The following snippets capture the canonical FactoryLink 7.5 patterns. Use them as a quick-reference when porting screens or troubleshooting field reports.

Common Errors and Troubleshooting Matrix

Migration Considerations to WinCC

Siemens positions WinCC as the strategic successor to FactoryLink, and the Tecnomatix integration path eventually folded the FactoryLink runtime into the WinCC ecosystem. Customers running FactoryLink 7.5 should plan a staged migration when:

• Windows XP / Server 2003 host support ends (FactoryLink 7.5 was certified only through those operating systems).
• Cyber-hardening mandates require signed binaries and current TLS stacks; FactoryLink 7.5 ships with DES-based OPC Classic tunnels and a 32-bit channel architecture.
• Operator training moves to WinCC Comfort / Advanced panels, which do not run the .G drawing format.
• PLC fleets migrate to S7-1500 / ET 200SP, which expect TIA Portal engineering flows.

Before migration, capture an inventory of:

1. Every .G drawing and its matching .BMP background (the file-stem coupling is the first casualty of automated converters).
2. Every PowerVB handler, its triggering event, and the tag namespace it touches.
3. Custom channel configurations (DDE, OPC Classic, SuiteLink) and their server names.
4. Operator security levels, group memberships, and override passwords.
5. Alarm priorities, audible annunciator mappings, and any external pager integrations.

For migration planning, consult the Siemens SCADA and HMI software portfolio and the official Siemens Industry Online Support portal. FactoryLink-specific migration notes are filed under the legacy SCADA archive.

Verification and Acceptance Tests

After implementing the techniques above, run the following acceptance checks before handing the screen back to operations.

1. Background test: Open the drawing at runtime. Confirm the bitmap fills the canvas, and that no white border or stretched distortion is visible at the configured client resolution (typically 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 1024 for FactoryLink 7.5 clients).
2. Visibility test: Force the controlling tag to 0 in the Database Manager, then to 1. Confirm the object disappears and reappears within one refresh cycle (typically ≤ 500 ms).
3. Navigation test: Click the Go To button. Confirm the new drawing loads in ≤ 1 s on the target client hardware.
4. Toggle test: Click the toggle button ten times. Confirm the tag values alternate 0, 1, 0, 1 ... and that no double-fire occurs on hold-down (mousedown debounce).
5. Symbol Animation test: Drive the tag through every defined state value. Confirm each symbol variant displays correctly and that no off-screen artifacts leak into the visible canvas.
6. Script audit: Open the PowerVB IDE, export the project, and diff against the source-controlled template to catch accidental edits.
7. Restart resilience: Restart the supervisory service (flMain). All custom graphics, animations, and handlers should restore without manual intervention.
8. Multi-client test: Repeat the visibility and navigation tests on at least two clients (one with 32-bit color, one with 16-bit) to surface palette-related display bugs.