WinCC Flexible Alarm Indicator Fixed Position Configuration

Problem Statement

WinCC Flexible's alarm indicator (also called the alarm flash symbol) provides visual notification when alarms are present or pending acknowledgment. By default, this icon appears on the Template screen and can be repositioned by the operator during Runtime using mouse or touch input. Engineers often need to lock this indicator in a fixed position, particularly for:

• Consistent operator interface across multiple machines
• Compliance with Human Machine Interface (HMI) design standards
• Preventing accidental repositioning in industrial environments

Root Cause Analysis

Siemens designed the alarm indicator as a moveable Runtime object with no configuration option to disable the drag functionality. This behavior is hardcoded into WinCC Flexible (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2008 SP3) and cannot be modified through standard project settings.

Workaround: Custom Alarm Status Button

Since the built-in alarm indicator cannot be locked, create a custom fixed-position indicator using a button and alarm system tags.

Step 1: Access the Alarm System Tags

WinCC Flexible exposes internal tags that reflect alarm states. Locate these in the Tag Management tree:

Step 2: Create a Custom Button

1. Open your Template screen in WinCC Flexible
2. Insert a Button object at your desired fixed position
3. Configure the button appearance using dynamic properties:
   • Background Color: Use a tag animation referencing AlarmTotalQuitt (e.g., green when =0, red when >0)
   • Visibility: Set to always visible or use AlarmTotal > 0 for conditional display
4. Assign an event to open the Alarm View screen on press

Step 3: Configure Button Animation

In the button properties, navigate to Animation → Dynamic:

// Trigger condition for visibility
Tag: AlarmTotal
Operator: >
Value: 0
Action: Make visible

// Background color trigger  
Tag: AlarmTotalQuitt
Operator: ==
Value: 0
Action: Set background color to Green (#00FF00)

Tag: AlarmTotalQuitt
Operator: >
Value: 0
Action: Set background color to Red (#FF0000) with flashing enabled

Alternative: Alarm View Overlay Mode

For applications requiring a dedicated alarm window, configure the built-in Alarm View in Overlay mode:

1. Insert Alarm View object into the Template screen
2. Set Layout Mode to Overlay
3. Enable Show always on top
4. Set Size and Position to your requirements

This approach displays alarm messages directly in a fixed window rather than using the indicator icon. Reference SIMATIC HMI Device Operating Instructions (Page 45) for alarm indicator specifications.

Alarm Counter Access via VB Script

For programmatic access to alarm counts, use WinCC Flexible's VB Scripting:

' WinCC Flexible VB Script - Read alarm counter
Function ReadAlarmCount()
    Dim alarmObj
    Set alarmObj = HMIRuntime.Alarms
    ReadAlarmCount = alarmObj.Item(1).CountPending
End Function

' Trigger on button press
Sub ShowAlarmCount()
    SmartTags("MyAlarmCountTag") = ReadAlarmCount()
End Sub

Supported Platforms