Overview of the Functionality Checklist

WebVue is a light runtime client. Most of the functionality provided by PcVue mimics at runtime is available to a WebVue client. Generally, WebVue does not include features related to design, configuration and diagnostics of the PcVue project. Due to the Web Browser environment in which WebVue is rendered, there are some restrictions and also behavioral differences compared to the PcVue desktop application.

The topics in this book describe the extent to which the graphic rendering and user interaction features of the PcVue desktop application are available on the WebVue Client. They list the properties configured in PcVue for a window, a drawing element, an animation or a control. For each of these, they specify whether a property is:

• Supported, in which case it is fully effective,
• Partially supported, in which case it is effective with restrictions or behavioral differences,
• Not supported, in which case it is ineffective when used in a WebVue context,
• Not applicable to WebVue rendering and user interactions, for example if it affects design-time behavior or is designed for a feature which is not applicable to WebVue.

This part of the Help book does not explain the functions or how to configure them in PcVue. That is covered in the main Help books, to which cross-references are provided in the Help topics here.

Main behavioral differences

• The pan and zoom behaviors are different as WebVue takes advantage of the web browser built-in pan and zoom capabilities instead of relying on the PcVue web back end for these. The advantage is a better user experience, in particular on touch devices, and limited risks linked to web browser updates.
• Within the WebVue client, shortcuts handled by the web browser have precedence. As a consequence, the usage of functions keys customizable for the desktop client is very limited.
• The online help is not accessible.
• Central Project Management is not accessible.
• Fonts are generally supported if they are installed on the browser of the WebVue Client's device. The fonts Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, and System are widely supported.
• When using the automatic logoff of users, no warning box is displayed to the inactive WebVue user prior to logoff.
• Password modification is only available from the login page.

Main restrictions

• The following animations and controls are not supported or not applicable.
  • Color - Legend animation
  • Send - Recipe animation
  • Send - Region animation
  • Send - Languages animation
  • Send - Timetable animation
  • Run - Macro animation
  • Security device - PTZ
  • Web browser - Commands
  • Security - Password animation
  • Grid control
  • Chart control
  • Pie/doughnut/pyramid control
  • Messaging control
  • Text-box form control
  • Third party ActiveX controls
  • Web browser control
  • BIM control
  • ONVIF control
  • Video control
• User account management is not accessible, including profile configuration.
• The user interface for the Data export is not supported (data export via SCADA Basic is supported).
• Variable linking is only supported for form controls.
• The use of substitution strings for opening mimics is not supported (#I, #P, #U, #M11 to #M20).
• The form controls are supported except the text box. Their appearance is slightly different, in particular, the intermediate state of a check-box list or option-button list control is not available. You cannot use variables linking with Form Controls for mimics displayed in WebVue, use SCADA Basic scripting instead.
• The Trend, Alarm and Log Viewers have some limitations.
• AVI (multimedia) files not supported.
• If a mimic is repeated in the PcVue Workspace, only the first instance appears in the WebVue Client.
• No feature associated with multi-screen and region management is supported.
• Control zone animation accelerator keys not supported.
• OLE objects in mimics not supported.
• VBA and Enable scripts not supported.
• Partial support for SCADA Basic instructions and modes. The SCADA Basic help contains detailed information for each instruction and mode.
• 3D mimics not supported.
• VCR mode not supported.
• Visibility of graphic objects according to layers is supported, but no layer selection toolbar is available for the user.
• Because zooming rely on the web browser built-in capabilities and is processed on client side, zooming via SCADA Basic and decluttering features are not supported.

Features no longer supported since version 12

WebVue in version 12 is a new implementation using different technology compared to previous versions. The following features, available in previous versions, are no longer supported for security reason.

• The Security Mode for Login and Password property, configured in the Web Services settings dialog, which allowed a user to log in to WebVue without entering a user name and password.

• The Automatic Login property, in a User's profile, which allowed WebVue to start and connect to PcVue without having to enter a user name and password.

SCADA Basic scripting

You can execute SCADA Basic programs in the context of a WebVue session. They are executed on the computer that is the web back end station. The level of support of the SCADA Basic instructions and modes, and noticeable difference in behavior when scripts are executed in a WebVue client context (compared to behavior on the desktop application), are noted in the book on SCADA Basic.

General points for designing a project when deploying WebVue clients

• Keep in mind that WebVue content will be delivered over the internet or intranet which will almost certainly not be as fast as a dedicated network. Mimic content must be optimized, in particular minimizing the use of large images and the number of graphic elements.
• If screen sizes and resolutions vary across the network and any remote stations, design or adapt the parts of the application that the WebVue Clients will display to fit the most limited visible area in any of the browser windows. In particular, mimic scaling and rendering are directly impacted by the Web back end property called Fit rendering to the web browser viewport. See the Application Explorer help for more information.
• If a browser is only (or often) used to run the WebVue Client, its default address can be set to the WebVue Server's Url.
• Check the elements of the mimics to be accessed against the information in this book so as to avoid unavailable features and incompatible behaviors.
• Avoid a mimic structure that allows all the mimics to be closed at one time, since then the user will have to disconnect and reconnect to re-display the initial mimic.
• Mimics can be larger than the window. Scroll bars are then automatically added. This feature is compatible with the newly supported auto-sizing. For this feature to work, the option Allow mimic to be larger than window must be enabled for each mimic.
• Due to the web browser environment, the <Esc> key is not effective to close context mimics, so your pop-up mimics shall include a button or the title bar for the user to close them.
• Security animations, in particular Login, Logout and Change password, as well as the corresponding SCADA Basic instructions (System mode Login, Logout and ChangePassword) are designed for PcVue desktop application and must not be made available to WebVue users in a mimic. Execution by a WebVue user has no effect.
• User access via web & mobile apps are subject to authorization defined at the profile level. See the topic Properties That Affect Access to Web Services in the Application Explorer book for more information.

Restrictions related to web browsers

Each web browser can come with its own restrictions, in particular when security is at stake. Below is a list of known behaviors, specific to one or the other web browser available on the market at the time of writing. These restrictions may be cleared and others appear depending on web browser updates and their publisher's strategy.

• Safari on iOS - When the Safari web browser is closed without logging out from WebVue, WebVue is re-open by default the next time the user opens Safari, but the user will not be able to successfully login, and will be stuck on the WebVue loading page. This is due to the Safari snapshot of the last visited page where Safari display the web page without actually requesting the web server. The solution is to go to the address bar and click the Go button, or ask Safari to reload the page.
• Safari on iOS - For the beep on alarm to work properly, the Safari setting called Allow All Auto-Play must be enabled.
• Google Chrome - The password manager of Chrome does not store credentials if the connection to the web server is insecure. As a consequence, if you do not have a proper certificate on the web server, users will not be able to use the Chrome password manager to store their credentials.
• Microsoft Edge - Edge in versions prior to 79 (Jan 2020) does not store the session cookie when using the local computer as a web server with a binding on the computer name at the IIS level. As a consequence, you cannot successfully log in, and can see a warning message indicating that the version of the client is not compatible with the server. The solution is to add .local to the computer name when setting up the web site binding with the Web Deployment Console (for example, https://mycomputername.local instead of https://mycomputername).