Deploy project to target system

You can deploy (transfer) projects from the IDE to one or more target devices using the Target Device Manager.

To open the Target Device Manager, open the desired project in the IDE and select Project > Target Device Manager on the ribbon.

The Target Device Manager is displayed on a tab in the center of the IDE. The ribbon provides access to the general Target Device Manager functions.

Target Device Manager

The Target Device Manager helps you with the following tasks:

Add new target device
Configure connection
Connect to target device
Check project
Deploy project
Start and stop project on target system
Update project

Software prerequisites on the target system

To deploy a project to the target system and to run the project, the following software must be installed on the target system:

Software	Remarks
FAST UI runtime	The FAST UI runtime is part of the controller firmware and integrated into every controller with an HMI license. Significant enhancements to HMI functions may require updating the firmware.
Server Manager	For runtime versions 7.2 and higher Included with the runtime. Starts automatically.
VisiWin(.NET) Driver/OPC (UA) Server	Must be installed manually on the target system, as a rule.

Add new target device

If you open the Target Device Manager for the first time for a project, you will see that a target device has already been added. You have to provide some information on this target device (see Configure connection) before you can establish a connection.

To add another target device, click on the Add button on the ribbon.

To delete an existing target device, click on in the Target Device Manager.

Configure connection

Set the following options for the target device:

Active

Specifies whether the target device participates in the Connect, Disconnect, Deploy, Start, Stop and Cancel bulk operations.

Host

Indicate the IP address of the target device in this field.

Protocol

Sets the protocol for the connection to the target device.

TCP (unsafe)

Unencrypted communication via TCP (default setting). If a connection via TCP (unsafe) and the indicated port cannot be established, an attempt to connect via TCP/SSL and the respective port is automatically started.

TCP/SSL

Encrypted communication via TCP. If a connection via TCP/SSL and the indicated port cannot be established, an attempt to connect via TCP (unsafe) and the respective port is automatically started.

You can change the default setting for the Protocol field in the Options dialog under Project transfer > Server Manager. If you add a new device in the Target Device Manager, this protocol will be indicated in the Protocol field.

Port

Sets the port that the Server Manager listens to.

The port must be identical on both, the development and the target system. However, the Servers Manager uses a different default setting for the TCP/SSL port (7101). To see the protocol and port settings, open the Server Manager and select Settings > Server Manager.

Protocol and port settings of the Servers Manager

You can set the default port for the Server Manager in the Options dialog under Project transfer > Server Manager > Port. If you add a new device in the Target Device Manager, this port will be indicated in the Port field.

Timeout (s)

Indicates after how many seconds the connection attempt will be abandoned if the target system cannot be reached.

You can set the default timeout for the Server Manager in the Options dialog under Project transfer > Server Manager > Timeout (s). If you add a new device in the Target Device Manager, this timeout will be indicated in the Timeout (s) field.

Show Server Manager of the target device

This button allows to show the Server Manager of the connected target device in order to check ports and paths, for example. In the title bar of the remote Server Manager, the network address (IP address and the port number) of the target device appears in parentheses to avoid confusion with the local Server Manager.

Servers manager of the connected target device with the network address indicated in the title barte

Authentication

During the connection between »EASY UI Designer« and the controller, authentication takes place by entering a user name and password. This security prompt is active if the user management has been activated in the EASY UI project and at least one user with administrator rights has been created in the associated PLC project.

User management can be activated either directly during project creation or subsequently via the project configurator. To activate user management retrospectively, open the project configurator and select the Edit project option. User management can be activated and configured there.

Without active user management and defined users in the PLC project, no authentication is required. In this case, the connection to the controller is established without access control.

Authentication in the Target Device Manager

Connect to target device

To connect to a target device, you have the following options:

To connect to a single target device, indicate the IP address under Host and press Enter.
To connect to all selected ( Active) target devices, click on Connect in the ribbon.

If the connection was successfully established, the message Successfully connected to the target device appears and the projects that are currently open in the IDE appear below the message.

If an error message appears, see here to find a solution.

Check project

If the target device was successfully connected, the project(s) of the currently open solution appear under Projects.

Set the following options for the project:

Deploy/Start

Specifies whether the project participates in the Deploy and Start bulk operations.

Project name

Name of the project to be deployed. The name cannot be changed.

Path

Specifies the directory into which the files will be copied.

You cannot edit the path in the Target Device Manager. To edit the path, open the Server Manager of the target device and edit the path under Settings > Paths > Search paths.

Port

HTTP port used for communication between web server and web client.

This HTTP port is only required for runtime versions up to EASY UI Designer version 1.7.1.

Compatibility

Each project is automatically checked for compatibility with the target system. The result appears below the project name (Project is compatible/Project is incompatible).

The projects are compatible with the target system and ready for deployment.

To view details on the compatibility check, click on Report. This is particularly helpful if the project was marked as incompatible.

By default, incompatible projects cannot be deployed. If a project is incompatible, the Deploy project button is disabled and the Deploy bulk operation skips that project.

However, you can deploy a project despite its incompatibility with the target device, e.g. if you want to update the runtime at a later time. To do that, open the Options dialog, select Project transfer > Compatibility Check and enable the Show the "Approve transfer" button option. If you open the report for the project in the Target Device Manager and click on Approve transfer, the Deploy project button for that project will be enabled and you can also deploy the project using the Deploy bulk operation.

The compatibility check takes the following check elements into account:

UI type

Checks if the UI type of the client project is supported by the target system. Only checked for Client projects.

Project type

Checks if the project type type is supported by the target system. Only checked for Client projects.

Runtime version

Checks if the required runtime version is available on the target system. If the runtime version of the project differs from the runtime installed on the target system, the project is marked as incompatible. Only checked for Servers projects.

Project file version

Checks if the project file version is supported by the target system.Only checked for Server projects.

The project file version is four digits long, with each digit separated by a period, e.g. 7.3.3.0. Only the first three digits are relevant for compatibility. Therefore, only the first three digits are checked and displayed in the report in case of a discrepancy.

Device type

Checks if the device type indicated in the project corresponds with the target device.

This check element is only displayed if the values differ.

Deploy project

Before the Target Device Manager starts to deploy, the solution is build first, i.e. the project(s) are compiled (default setting).

You can change this default setting. In the Options dialog, expand the Project transfer node, select Common and choose the desired option under Project build.

Prior to deployment, a meta data file (*.metadata) is generated containing a list of all files to be transferred (e.g. DLLs) and the time stamp of the last change of each file. The meta data file is created in the output directory and transferred together with the other files. It ensures that already transferred files that have not changed are excluded from transfer to minimize the amount of data to be transferred.

The following files are transferred:

Project files: *.exe, *.vw7 etc.
Files within the output directory (bin/debug, as a rule)
If applicable, the Content folder and its contents, except *.pdb files. The Content folder is created automatically, e.g. if the Save texts per language in a separate file parameter was enabled in projects for runtime version 7.3.

To start the deployment, you have the following options:

To deploy one project, click on Deploy project next to the indicated path.
To deploy all selected ( Deploy/Start) projects, click on Deploy on the ribbon.

After successful deployment, the message Project successfully deployed appears.

If an error message appears, see here to find a solution.

Start and stop project on target system

You can start the deployed project(s) on the target system.

To start and stops the project(s), you have the following options:

Client projects can currently only be started via the web server's homepage or by entering the URL of the client project.

To start/stop an individual project, click on Start or stop project next to the indicated path.
To start/stop several projects, click on Start/Stop on the ribbon. This will start/stop all projects that were enabled for this bulk operation ( Deploy/Start).

If an error message appears, see here to find a solution.

Update project

If you have changed your project and want to deploy the updated project to the target device, then proceed as described in section Deploy project after having configured the target device.

If the old project is executed on the runtime system, then stop the project before deploying the new one.

For updated projects, only those files will be transferred that are new or have changed since the last transfer (see meta data file).

The project file (*.vw7) is always transferred and overwrites the already existing project file on the target system.