Ignition 7.3 Beta now available

Ignition v7.3 is now available for download by request. Please register on our support forum and then contact us to give you access to the Beta Download part of our forum. If you have not already done so, please register at: http://www.inductiveautomation.com/forum/

While there are hundreds of improvements and new features in this release the following are some of the major ones:

• Drawing tools added for vector graphics.
• Zooming in the Designer.
• Better grouping support for components and shapes.
• New Symbol Factory module.
• More efficient serialization format for windows.
• Better color-choosing UI.
• Internationalization in Gateway/Designer.
• New compression algorithm for analog SQLHistorian tags.
• New ability for SQLHistorian to create preprocessed history tables for better query performance over long time spans.
• New query cache in the client to avoid unnecessary repeated querying of the same time span.
• Data density histogram on the Easy Chart for SQLHistorian pens.
• Improved memory usage for SQLTags in the Gateway.
• Automatic SQLTag creation when dragging and dropping OPC items.
  
• Improved performance and scan class settings for SQLTags (one-shot, triggered on-change, subscribed vs polled).
• Improved memory usage for ControlLogix driver.
• Improved performance and stability for all drivers.
• Improved installer allows choosing individual modules on install and upgrade.
• New graphical and command-line installer for Linux.
• Ignition installation directory structure changed.

Please realize that this is an early beta and so it should not be used in production.

I've been using this release for a while now and it is a joy to use. Working in the designer is a fluid experience. The new 2D drawing tools exceed anything I've ever used in any other package and now with the inclusion of Symbol Factory graphics development is lightning fast.

Please call us with any comments or suggestions on this new release.

Running Ignition on Panelview Plus 6 update

In my post entitled "Ignition runs of Panelview Plus 6", I stated that "One good thing is that the logic modules are separable from the screen unit and you can upgrade your logic modules using the Rockwell Step Forward program."

As it turn out there are some exceptions. According to the Rockwell KB, the following display modules have 5-wire touch screens, and therefore will not work with the newer Panelview Plus 6 logic module:

2711P-RDB7C / Series A, all revs
2711P-RDT12C / Series A, all revs
2711P-RDB12C / Series A, all revs, Series B Rev A

The newer units use a more robust 8-wire touch screen. I would recommend that you verify your own display module's compatibility with the newer logic module (through Rockwell) before deciding on a course of action.