How Do I Create cMT-FHDX-820 Daily PDF Reports?

EasyBuilder Pro V6.09.02 cannot generate a PDF on the cMT-FHDX-820. Use Screen Hardcopy to save a JPG of a purpose-built report screen, or use a Backup object to export historical values as CSV or SQLite DB. Create the PDF later on another system if PDF is mandatory.

Rule out the wrong PDF fixes

Do not start by writing a macro, assigning a PLC address, or searching for a PDF filename setting. A macro or PLC Control Object can request only functions that the HMI runtime provides; it cannot add a PDF renderer to EasyBuilder Pro.

Printing a displayed screen and exporting historical records are different jobs. A hardcopy captures the rendered screen as an image. A backup exports stored records as structured data. Choose the output according to what production actually needs.

Gate check: Write down whether the receiving process needs a visual page, machine-readable records, or both. Do not configure a trigger until that choice is fixed.

Build the report screen for hardcopy

For a visual daily report, draw a dedicated HMI screen that looks like the required report. Screen Hardcopy records what the runtime renders, so omitted fields will not appear in the JPG. Treat the screen as the report template rather than as an operator-control page.

1. Place the production values, labels, units, status indications, and date context needed by the reader on one screen.
2. Remove navigation controls and unrelated alarms that would make the saved image ambiguous.
3. Use readable text sizes and clear separation between labels and values.
4. Open the screen at runtime and compare every displayed value with its originating PLC or historical value.

A screenshot is not a historical query. It records the values visible at capture time. If totals reset before the capture, or if the screen displays live values instead of completed-shift values, the image can be technically valid but operationally wrong. Arrange the production reset and capture sequence so the completed period remains visible when the hardcopy occurs.

Gate check: Display the report screen and have the intended reader confirm that one still image contains every required value with unambiguous units and period identification.

Connect the Screen Hardcopy action

Configure Screen Hardcopy through a function key or combo button and direct the image to USB1 or USB2. Start with a local manual action. This isolates the hardcopy and storage path before daily automation adds PLC timing, edge detection, or screen-selection problems.

1. Insert writable USB storage in the selected destination.
2. Add a function key or combo button to the project.
3. Assign its supported Screen Hardcopy action.
4. Select USB1 or USB2 as the storage location.
5. Run the project, display the report screen, and operate the control once.
6. Inspect the USB storage and open the resulting JPG on another device.

If no file appears, check the destination selection, USB presence, available capacity, and whether the storage accepts a test write. If a file appears but shows the wrong page, correct the screen displayed at the instant of capture. Repeated button presses may create repeated reports, so use one deliberate action during commissioning.

Gate check: One button operation must produce one readable JPG of the correct report screen in the selected USB destination.

Add the daily trigger without inventing a PDF workflow

Do not attach a PLC-driven schedule until manual hardcopy works. The installed configuration does not establish a documented macro or PLC Control Object method for invoking Screen Hardcopy, so verify the available trigger actions in the help for EasyBuilder Pro V6.09.02 before assigning any PLC address.

If the installed software exposes a supported external trigger for the hardcopy action, drive it with a one-shot event at the reporting boundary. A continuously held request is a poor production trigger because scan-based logic can retrigger an action or make completion difficult to distinguish from the request. The sequence should select the report screen, allow its displayed values to update, request one capture, and then prevent another request until the next reporting period. Use the actual runtime indication or stored file as proof of completion rather than assuming a PLC bit means the image was written.

If no documented external trigger exists, retain the function key or combo button as the supported HMI action. An operator can capture the daily JPG, or a separate system can collect exported data and create the required PDF.

Gate check: Run two simulated report boundaries. Each boundary must create only one new artifact, while ordinary PLC scans and a held control condition create none.

Configure structured data when an image is not enough

Use a Backup object when the report depends on records from an Event Log or Data Sampling object. The backup route can output CSV or SQLite DB files. These formats preserve data as records rather than pixels and are the better input for calculations, filtering, archiving, or downstream PDF generation.

1. Confirm that the required production values are already recorded by an Event Log or Data Sampling object.
2. Add and configure the Backup object for that historical source.
3. Select CSV when a simple tabular exchange file is required, or SQLite DB when the downstream process reads a database file.
4. Run a manual backup before adding the daily operating sequence.
5. Open the exported file and compare its period and values with the HMI source.

A Backup object cannot recover values that were never logged. Adding it after production data has passed does not reconstruct that missing history. It also does not format the records as a PDF; a computer, reporting service, or other downstream process must turn the exported records into the final document.

Gate check: Open the CSV or SQLite DB outside the HMI and confirm that the expected production period, records, values, and units can be identified.

Verify the complete daily production cycle

Test the same sequence the night shift will use, including the production-period boundary and any counter reset. A successful manual screenshot proves only the hardcopy action; it does not prove that tomorrow's report will contain the correct period or avoid duplicates.

1. Record known test values in the PLC or historical source.
2. Display the dedicated report screen, or prepare the configured historical backup.
3. Execute the daily action once.
4. Confirm that the JPG, CSV, or SQLite DB appears in USB1 or USB2 as configured.
5. Open the artifact on another device and compare its values with the known test values.
6. Repeat the boundary test and check that it creates one additional artifact, not zero or several.
7. Run the reset sequence and confirm that the completed-period report was captured before its source values changed.

For a required PDF, pass the verified JPG or structured export to the downstream conversion process and compare the PDF against the source artifact. Keep the original file until the converted document passes that comparison.

Gate check: Accept commissioning only after two consecutive reporting cycles produce readable, correctly timed, nonduplicated artifacts with matching values.

FAQ