Fixing WinCC Web Navigator Authorization and Alarm Text Issues

Overview

Two symptom clusters appear repeatedly when an integrator installs WinCC V6.0 SP3 together with Web Navigator V6.1 SP1:

1. The Authorizations dialog opened from Graphics Designer > Object Properties > Miscellaneous > Authorization is empty, so access levels cannot be assigned to buttons, screens, or soft-keys.
2. The Alarm Control rendered in the Web Navigator Runtime shows the timestamp, status, and priority, but the message text column is blank, even though the same alarms display correctly in the native WinCC Runtime.

Both symptoms share a common root cause family: WinCC V6.0 SP3 is not compatible with Web Navigator V6.1 SP1. Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 was packaged against WinCC V6.0 SP4 runtime libraries and language resources. A secondary contributor is the language configuration of the WinCC project; WinCC V6 ships with five supported configuration languages (English US, French, Spanish, Italian, German) and any other base language – for example Icelandic – produces a fragmented authorization and text-library dataset that Web Navigator cannot resolve.

This reference walks through root-cause analysis, the official compatibility matrix, the free upgrade path to WinCC V6.0 SP4, and field-verified workarounds for sites that cannot immediately upgrade.

Affected Software Versions

Refer to the official WebNavigator / WinCC compatibility entry (entry ID 23991658) in the Siemens Product Support database and the master WinCC V6.0 SP4 compatibility document (entry ID 21927773) for the full matrix.

Root Cause Analysis

Why the Authorization Window is Empty

Authorizations configured in the User Administrator are stored in a project-internal authorization table and, simultaneously, exposed as localization keys to the graphics pipeline. The Graphics Designer queries the text library at editor open time using the editor's current configuration language. If the project was created with a base language that is not one of the five supported configuration languages, the authorization entries are written to a localized text-library column that Graphics Designer cannot bind to. The dialog therefore appears empty even though User Administrator shows the rights correctly.

This was reproduced in the field by switching the Graphics Designer configuration language to English (US): the authorization list immediately populated. Switching back to the original (Icelandic) base language re-emptied the list.

Why the Alarm Message Text is Blank

The WinCC alarm text pipeline stores the active Message Text in the text library column that matches the active configuration language at compile time. The Web Navigator Runtime, in contrast, reads the column that matches its own configured runtime language. When those two columns diverge, Web Navigator renders the timestamp, status, and acknowledgment columns but cannot resolve the localized MsgText field, leaving the message column empty. Native WinCC Runtime, which uses the same language column as the editor, displays the text normally.

Why SP Mismatch Amplifies Both Failures

Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 was compiled against WinCC V6.0 SP4 internal structures, including the extended text-library schema, revised authorization enumeration, and the newer alarm-locking service. Running that server against a WinCC V6.0 SP3 project produces partial schema reads. Authorization enumeration succeeds but returns an empty enum; alarm read succeeds for header columns but the MsgText field bind fails. A mixed install is therefore the dominant field cause of the dual symptom.

Pre-Upgrade Verification

Before applying any patch, capture a baseline so the upgrade can be reverted without data loss.

1. Open WinCC Explorer > Tools > Project Duplicator and create a complete project duplicate on a separate drive.
2. Export all User Administrator accounts and authorization assignments via User Administrator > File > Export to a CSV file. This captures the UTF-16 text the upgrade may need to re-map.
3. From Alarm Logging, export the active message configuration to a .csv for diff comparison after the patch.
4. Note the current Computer Properties > General runtime language and the Graphics Designer configuration language. Both must be reconciled post-upgrade.
5. Stop the WinCC Explorer service and the CCWriteEngine service before installing the hot-fix rollup.

Primary Resolution: Upgrade to WinCC V6.0 SP4

The deterministic fix for both symptom clusters is to align WinCC with the Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 prerequisite. Siemens distributed WinCC V6.0 SP4 as a no-charge upgrade for V6.x license holders.

Ordering the Update Package

1. Open the Siemens Product Support request referenced in entry 22450372 (WinCC V6.0 SP4 update request).
2. Log in with the Siemens Support Customer Center credentials associated with the original WinCC license.
3. Select the OS variant that matches the runtime host (Windows XP Professional SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, or Windows 2000 SP4).
4. Download the WinCC_V60_SP4_HF7.exe (or later HF rollup noted in the compatibility note). The HF rollups are cumulative; only the highest-numbered package is required.

Installation Procedure

1. Close all WinCC editors, the Explorer, and any client sessions.
2. Stop the services S7DOS, CCWriteEngine, CCAlgRtServer, and CCMsgServer via services.msc.
3. Launch the SP4 executable. When prompted, choose Update existing installation.
4. Reboot when the installer completes; the Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 server service re-registers against the upgraded CCRT.dll, CCAlg.dll, and text-library *.tlb resources.
5. Open the project once in WinCC Explorer in Configuration mode to force the project-internal schema migration. The Explorer prompts to back-convert; confirm.

Post-Upgrade Reconciliation

1. Open Computer Properties > General and confirm the runtime language equals the Graphics Designer configuration language.
2. Open the Text Library Editor. Verify that the column headers read English (US), French, Spanish, Italian, German in that order. Any other column header indicates the original project used a non-supported base language and the relevant texts must be re-entered under one of the five supported columns.
3. Open User Administrator and re-validate every user's authorization set. The schema migration occasionally drops redundant rows.
4. Open Graphics Designer and re-open any screen that uses Miscellaneous > Authorization. The list will now populate.

Field-Workable Workarounds (Pre-Upgrade)

If an upgrade cannot be executed in the current maintenance window, the following have been verified in the field as interim mitigations.

Workaround A: Force Configuration Language to English (US)

1. In WinCC Explorer, select the project root.
2. Open Tools > Language Settings (or Options > Language in the editor).
3. Disable every editor language except English (US). Keep English (US) as the runtime default as well.
4. Re-open Graphics Designer. The Authorization dialog now lists all configured levels.
5. Re-open Alarm Logging and re-save each message; the text is written to the English column that Web Navigator queries.

Workaround B: Re-Author Alarm Texts in the Web Navigator Runtime Language

1. Open Alarm Logging > Message Configuration.
2. For every message that displays blank in Web Navigator, click into the Message Text field for the Web Navigator runtime language column.
3. Re-enter or copy the text. The field now carries a non-null entry in the Web Navigator's expected column.
4. Save and re-activate Runtime.

Workaround C: Runtime Reset

Deactivating and reactivating Runtime frequently clears transient language-binding corruption.

1. In WinCC Explorer, click the Activate button to stop Runtime.
2. Wait for the CCAlgRtServer and CCMsgServer services to fully stop (verify in services.msc).
3. Click Activate again. Authorization and alarm text bindings are rebuilt from the current configuration language.

Workaround D: Windows Regional and Anti-Virus Sanity Check

• Confirm Control Panel > Regional and Language Options is set to English (United States), not English (United Kingdom). Several field reports traced the empty authorization list back to UK locale, which collides with WinCC's US locale binding.
• Temporarily disable any third-party anti-virus with file-system hooks (McAfee, Trend Micro, Sophos). These have been observed to block the *.tlb text-library writes during configuration-mode saves.
• Re-test the authorization dialog after each variable change.

Verification Procedure

After applying the primary fix or any workaround, verify both symptom clusters end-to-end.

1. Authorization list: In Graphics Designer, open any screen, select a button, navigate to Properties > Miscellaneous > Authorization. Confirm the drop-down lists every level defined in User Administrator. Assign User_Admin to a button and save.
2. User-level enforcement: In Runtime, log on as a non-administrative user. Confirm the button is hidden or disabled per its Authorization setting. Log out and back in as the administrator to confirm the button is visible.
3. Alarm text in WinCC Runtime: Trigger a configured alarm from the AS (e.g. via the WinCC tag simulator). Confirm the message text appears in the Alarm Control.
4. Alarm text in Web Navigator Runtime: Connect a browser to the Web Navigator server (typically http://<server>/WebNav), authenticate as the same Web user, and confirm the message text column is populated identically to the native Runtime.
5. Multi-client: Repeat step 4 from a second Web client on a separate host. If only one client shows blank text, the issue is client-side caching; clear the browser cache and reload.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Long-Term Path: Migration to TIA Portal WinCC

WinCC V6 is at end of life. Sites still running V6.0 SP4 should plan a migration to WinCC Web Navigator RT Professional within TIA Portal. In TIA Portal, user administration for the Web client is decoupled from the editor language: the Web Navigator client user administration and the WinCC Unified user management provide separate, language-independent authorization stores that are not subject to the V6 text-library binding limitation. Migrating a V6 project is performed through the TIA Portal migration tool with an as-built export.

Configuration Reference: Language Codes

FAQ