Resolving AdvancedHMI BarLevel Diagonal Fill Lines

Diagonal lines across a BarLevel indicate that the control is using a hatched fill. On AdvancedHMI 3.99D, changing FlatStyle from Flat to Popup can hide the lines, but that change can also force the displayed fill to green and prevent the intended color selection. Leave the rendering style alone and correct the fill pattern.

Reject the Popup workaround

FlatStyle controls how the BarLevel is rendered, not whether its fill uses a hatch pattern. Switching from Flat to Popup changes the renderer far enough to conceal the original symptom, but it also changes other appearance behavior. That makes it a poor production fix when the level must use a specified color.

Return FlatStyle to Flat before troubleshooting the fill. Do not compensate by repeatedly changing colors, deleting communication addresses, or replacing the control. The diagonal pattern is a local display-property problem and does not indicate bad PLC data or a communications fault.

Check: The BarLevel should again show its original color behavior, even if the diagonal lines have returned. That confirms the workaround has been removed before the real correction is applied.

Confirm the affected control and property state

Select the BarLevel itself in the form designer. If several controls overlap, use the designer's object-selection facilities or select the control by name from the Properties window rather than clicking repeatedly on the form. Record the current settings for FlatStyle and FillStyle before changing either one.

A hatch is a brush pattern laid over the filled region. Because the pattern belongs to the fill brush, the proper repair is to replace that brush mode with a solid one. Changing borders, size, level limits, or PLC addresses attacks unrelated parts of the control.

Check: The selected object must be the BarLevel that displays the fault, with its current FillStyle visible. Stop here if the Properties window is showing a parent container or another control.

Set FillStyle to Solid

1. Open the Windows form containing the affected BarLevel.
2. Select the BarLevel in the designer.
3. Open its Properties window.
4. Find FillStyle.
5. Change the value from Hatch to Solid.
6. Save the form.

This change removes the pattern at its source. It does not alter the process value, scaling, communications driver, or PLC address. A valid level should occupy the same height before and after the change; only the texture of the filled area should change.

If FillStyle already reads Solid, confirm that the correct BarLevel instance is selected. Multiple instances can look alike, especially when they are aligned or layered. Change only one suspect control at a time so the result remains traceable.

Check: In the designer, the filled area should have a continuous color with no diagonal strokes. The level position and dimensions should remain unchanged.

Restore the intended Flat style and color

Set FlatStyle back to Flat if it was changed during troubleshooting. Then select the required color through the same appearance setting used before the workaround. Do not leave Popup selected merely because it also removes the visible lines; the reported 3.99D behavior changed the control to green and blocked the desired color choice.

1. Verify that FillStyle remains Solid.
2. Set FlatStyle to Flat.
3. Apply the intended BarLevel color.
4. Click another object and reselect the BarLevel to confirm that the designer retained all three choices.

Keep the functions separate during commissioning: FillStyle selects patterned or continuous fill, while FlatStyle selects the broader rendering treatment. Changing one property to mask a fault produced by the other makes later color changes unpredictable and leaves the original configuration error in place.

Check: The Properties window should show FillStyle as Solid and FlatStyle as Flat. The preview should show the intended color without diagonal lines.

Build and test the running display

A clean designer preview is only the first gate. Run the application and test the same BarLevel under changing process values. The solid fill should remain solid across the full portion of the range that can be exercised safely.

1. Save all changed project files.
2. Build the AdvancedHMI application.
3. Start the application through the normal test path.
4. Observe the BarLevel at its current live value.
5. Change the source value through the approved commissioning method, or observe a normal process change.
6. Confirm that the fill moves while its texture and color remain stable.

Do not write arbitrary values to a running process just to test appearance. If the input cannot be moved safely, use the existing simulation or offline test method for the project. The display correction does not require any PLC logic change.

Check: The runtime control must track the input value, retain the intended color, and show no diagonal lines. Passing only the designer check is not enough for release.

Trace any setting that returns at runtime

If the diagonal pattern returns only after the application starts, separate a saved-property problem from a runtime override. Reopen the form after saving and confirm that FillStyle is still Solid. Then inspect the project code for assignments that change FillStyle or FlatStyle during form loading, initialization, or value updates.

If no runtime assignment exists, verify that the executable being launched came from the build just completed. A shortcut or copied deployment folder can start an older binary whose designer settings still contain Hatch. Confirm the running form also contains the same BarLevel instance edited in the designer.

Check: Close and reopen the designer, rebuild, and run the intended executable. FillStyle must remain Solid at all three stages.

Complete the end-to-end commissioning check

Test the correction as a display function, not merely as a static color change. Watch the BarLevel while the source value rises, falls, reaches a normal low point, and reaches a normal high point where operating conditions permit. The fill boundary should move with the data while the filled region stays continuous.

1. Confirm the correct form and BarLevel open at startup.
2. Confirm live communications update the displayed level.
3. Confirm no diagonal lines appear at more than one input value.
4. Confirm the selected color remains unchanged throughout the test.
5. Restart the application and repeat the visual check.
6. Record the final settings as FillStyle = Solid and FlatStyle = Flat in the project change record.

Get production running with the one-property correction, then check the saved project and deployed build properly. Restart testing matters because it catches unsaved designer changes and startup code that rewrites appearance properties.

Check: After restart, the BarLevel should initialize, update from its normal data source, retain the selected color, and remain free of diagonal lines.

FAQ