Where does a Vision image request actually go?
Follow the request. The Image Path string on the component decides which hop serves the bytes. Ignition Vision uses two storage models, and each has a different data path.
| Image source | Where the bytes live | Who fetches them | What moves with a project export |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image Management tool | Gateway internal configuration database, not as loose files | Client requests the image from the gateway over the gateway connection | Only the path string. The image data stays in the source gateway. |
| Filesystem-based image | A folder on each client workstation | The Vision client reads its own local disk | Only the path string. The files stay on whichever PCs had them. |
In both cases the project carries a reference, not the image. When you open the project on a different computer or a new gateway, the reference points at storage that is not there.
Two symptoms identify the Image Management case:
- A disk search for
.pngor.jpgfinds nothing, even on the original server. - The files exist only as records inside the gateway's internal database, so the operating system never shows them as separate image files.
Check 1: What does the Image Path property contain?
Open the Vision window in the Designer, select a broken Image component, and read its path property. The shape of the string tells you which branch you are on.
| Path pattern | Meaning | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| Relative folder/file string with no drive letter or scheme | Image Management reference served by the gateway | Check 2 |
| Drive letter, UNC share, or file scheme | Filesystem-based image on the client | Check 3 |
| Full web URL | External web server | Test that URL from the new client network. Neither gateway is involved. |
If windows mix both patterns, sort every path into these buckets before moving anything.
Check 2: Does the source gateway's Image Management tool list the file?
The Image Management tool shows only what the connected gateway holds. A Designer on a new laptop pointed at a new gateway shows that gateway's store, which is empty of your images.
- Launch the Designer and connect it to the original gateway, not the new one.
- Open the Image Management tool from the Designer's Tools menu.
- Browse to the folder named in the Image Path from Check 1.
| Result | Meaning | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| File present at the same folder/name | Data exists on the source gateway | Export/import procedure below |
| Folder present, file missing | Image was deleted or renamed on the source | Recover it from a gateway backup of that server or re-create it, then export |
| Designer cannot reach the source gateway | Network or gateway problem, not an image problem | Layer one first: confirm the server is up, the route exists, and the gateway web port answers from your PC |
Check 3: Where do filesystem-based images have to live?
A Vision client resolves a filesystem path against its own disk. For Vision to keep working, deploy the images to every client workstation using identical folder and file names. One missing PC gives one broken screen.
For Perspective, this branch changes shape. A Perspective session runs in a web browser, and browsers do not let a page served over HTTP read the local disk of the viewing machine. A drive-letter path that worked in a Vision client will not render in a Perspective session no matter where the files sit. Upload these files into the new gateway's Image Management tool so the gateway serves them over the same connection as the view. Then repoint the Perspective Image components at the gateway-hosted copy.
Which traps break image paths after the move?
| Pitfall | Symptom | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| Imported into a different folder than the original | Images exist in the new gateway but components still show broken | Recreate the exact folder tree. The path string must match character for character. |
| Case mismatch in folder or file names | Some images load, others do not | Match the case used in the Image Path property. |
| Designer connected to the wrong gateway during export | Export is empty or holds the wrong set | Confirm the gateway address in the Designer title/connection before exporting. |
| Searching the server disk for image files | Nothing found | Expected for Image Management storage. Use the tool, not the file explorer. |
| Full gateway backup restored onto the new gateway | Images return, but other gateway configuration is overwritten | Use a full restore only when you intend to replace the target configuration. Otherwise move images through the tool. |
How do you export and import images between gateways?
- Connect the Designer to the source gateway and open the Image Management tool.
- Select the folders or images the project references. Export the parent folder so the export keeps the subfolder structure.
- Save the export file to a location the new environment can reach.
- Reconnect the Designer to the target gateway and open its Image Management tool.
- Recreate the top-level folder with the same name if needed, then import the exported file into it.
- For filesystem-based images found in Check 3, upload them into the target's Image Management tool.
- Compare the folder tree on source and target side by side. Every path recorded in Check 1 must resolve in the target tree.
How do you verify the images resolve in Perspective?
- In the target Designer, open a Vision window that uses the imported images. The components should render without the broken-image placeholder, which confirms the path strings match the imported tree.
- Open the migrated Perspective view in the Designer and confirm each Image component points at the gateway-hosted image, not at a local drive path.
- Launch a Perspective session in a browser on a machine that has never held the image files, and load every view that contains images.
- Open the browser developer tools, go to the network tab, and reload the view. Every image request should go to the gateway address and return a success status. Any failed request names the exact path still missing from the target Image Management tree. Fix that entry, reload, and repeat until every image request completes against the gateway.
FAQ
Why does searching the Ignition server for .png files find nothing?
Images added through the Image Management tool are stored inside the gateway's internal configuration database, not as loose files on disk. Open the Image Management tool in a Designer connected to that gateway to see and export them.
Why does a Vision image work on one PC but not another?
If the Image Path is a filesystem path, each Vision client reads the image from its own local disk. Deploy the files to every client workstation with identical folder and file names, or move them into the gateway's Image Management tool.
Why do Vision images disappear after importing the project into a new gateway?
A project export carries only the path strings, while Image Management images stay in the source gateway's internal database. Export them with the Image Management tool on the source gateway, then import them into the same folder structure on the new gateway with the same tool.