Getting Started With IFIX

Proficy* HMI/SCADA - iFIX
GETTING STARTED
VERSION 5.1
April 2010
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Table of Contents
Getting Started with iFIX .............................. 1
Reference Documents ................................ 2
General Installation Information ................... 2
Set-up Overview ......................................... 3
Hardware Requirements............................. 6
Recommended Computers ................... 26
Memory Requirements ......................... 27
Disk Space Requirements .................... 28
The Hardware Key ............................... 30
Software Requirements .............................. 41
Third-Party Software Installed During

the iFIX Install ...................................... 45
Supported Regional Settings ................ 46

Language Support ................................ 48
Video Drivers ........................................ 51
Using Third-party Video Drivers ............ 52
Optimizing Virtual Memory ................... 53
Running iFIX as a Service .................... 56
OPC Certification........................................ 64
Installing the iFIX Software ......................... 65
Using iFIX with Proficy Historian ................. 78
Configuring Security When Using iFIX

with Proficy Historian ............................ 84
Configuring iFIX to Use Proficy

Historian ............................................... 84
Using the Discover and Auto

Configure Tool with Proficy Historian .... 88
Installing the FIX Desktop Software ............ 89
Online Registration ..................................... 92

Additional Resources.................................. 93
Using iFIX and FIX on the Same

Computer ................................................... 96
General Notes on Installing FIX and

iFIX on the Same Computer ................. 96
Installing iFIX on a FIX 7.0 Node .......... 97
Uninstalling iFIX and FIX 7.0 ................ 97
Starting up FIX 7.0 After Installing

iFIX....................................................... 97
Installing iFIX after Uninstalling iVisualize... 98
Using iFIX with Microsoft Office .................. 99
Backup Files ............................................... 102
Proficy Change Management and iFIX ....... 104
iFIX WebSpace .......................................... 105
Discover and Auto Configure ...................... 106
Optional Hardware ..................................... 108

Uninstalling iFIX ......................................... 108
Sleep or Hibernate Mode ............................ 109
Upgrading from an Earlier Version of iFIX.... 110
The Database and the Upgrade ........... 110
DDA Drivers and the Upgrade .............. 111
Before You Upgrade ............................. 111
Steps to Upgrade from an Earlier

Version of iFIX ...................................... 115
Upgrading the iFIX License ........................ 118
Upgrading from iFIX 2.6 or Later .......... 118
Upgrading from iFIX 2.5 and Earlier ..... 121
Preserving Settings when Upgrading.......... 122
Notes on Database Dynamos and

Custom Programs that Run with iFIX
Startup ................................................. 122
SCU Files and the Upgrade ........................ 124

Enhanced Failover and Upgrading ............. 129
Title Bar in iFIX WorkSpace........................ 137
Programs that Run as a Service with iFIX .. 137
Toolbars ..................................................... 139
Standard vs. Classic Window Styles ........... 139
Changing Permissions for PlugAndSolve

and User Globals........................................ 140
Advanced Historian Not Supported............. 141
Proficy Historian ......................................... 142
Upgrading from iFIX 5.0 ....................... 143
Compatibility of iFIX Pictures ...................... 143
Resolving iFIX Displays ........................ 144
Converting Pictures from FIX 7.x to

iFIX....................................................... 144
Running Pictures Created in an Older

Version of iFIX ...................................... 145
Using Code Written for Pictures in
iFIX 2.1 ................................................. 146
Database Dynamos .................................... 147
Historical Datalinks ..................................... 149
iFIX Dynamo Sets ...................................... 149
Deleting Temp Directory Contents if iFIX

Installation Fails.......................................... 151
Alarm Summary Objects and Picture

Translation ................................................. 151
Upgrading from FIX 7.x................................ 156
Preparing for the Upgrade to iFIX with FIX

Desktop ...................................................... 158
Preparing the Recipe Files for the

Upgrade ............................................... 159
Preparing the I/O Drivers for the

Upgrade ............................................... 162
Checking the Environmental

Protection Settings ............................... 164
Backing Up FIX Files ............................ 165
Exporting a Report of the Security

Configuration ........................................ 172
Adding Passwords to the .RPT File ...... 174
Generating a System Configuration

Report .................................................. 176
Overview of Steps to Upgrade from FIX

7.x .............................................................. 178
Update Database Dynamos........................ 180
Install the Newest Drivers and iFIX

Product SIMs .............................................. 180
Copy the Backed Up Files into the New

Product Folder ............................................ 183
Import the FIX I/O Driver Configuration

Information ................................................. 187
Verify the I/O Driver and Database

Migration .................................................... 191
Import the Recipes Files ............................. 193

Import the Security Configuration ............... 194
Reconfigure the Application Features and

Passwords for Each User ........................... 196
Identical Application Features in

FIX32 and iFIX with FIX Desktop .......... 200
FIX32 Application Feature Names

That Are Different After the Upgrade .... 202
FIX32 Application Features No

Longer Available After the Upgrade ...... 207
New Application Features Available

for iFIX Users ....................................... 208
Redefine SCADA Failover Settings ............ 211
Enable Environmental Protection ............... 212
Understanding Environment
Protection in iFIX .................................. 215
Steps to Enable Environment

Protection ............................................. 217
Protection ............................................. 219
Setting up for Remote OPC Server Access . 223
Setting Up the Windows XP, Vista, or

Windows Server 2008 Firewall for Use
with Remote OPC Servers ......................... 224
Setting Up DCOM for Use with Remote

OPC Servers .............................................. 233
DCOM Settings .................................... 236
System-wide COM/DCOM Limits

Settings ................................................ 237
OPC Server-specific DCOM Settings ... 241
iFIX and Windows Vista ............................... 252
Windows Vista and Security ....................... 257
Running iFIX as a Service with Other

Services ............................................... 260
Examples: Using
GrantUserFixServiceRights .................. 261
Windows Vista and Mapped Network

Drives ......................................................... 262
EDA Applications and Windows Vista ......... 264
iFIX and Windows Server 2008 ................... 269
Windows Server 2008 and Security ............ 273

Services ............................................... 277
Examples: Using
GrantUserFixServiceRights .................. 278
Windows Server 2008 and Mapped

Network Drives ........................................... 279
EDA Applications and Windows Server

2008 ........................................................... 280
Other iFIX Installation Considerations.......... 286
Supported Drivers ...................................... 286
Special Keyboard Buttons .......................... 287
Networking .................................................. 288
Supported Networking Protocol .................. 288

Supported File Servers ............................... 289
Handling Time Zones when Using

Networked FIX 6.15 and iFIX Nodes .......... 291
Networking with Other iFIX and FIX

Nodes ......................................................... 292
Contact GE Intelligent Platforms .................. 293
General Contact Information....................... 293
Technical Support ...................................... 294
When You Have Questions ........................ 296
Assistance .................................................. 298

Getting Started with iFIX
Welcome to iFIX®! Thank you for taking the
time to install and use iFIX.
Before you begin installing our product, please

take some time to review this Getting Started
guide. The guide includes information about
the following:
• Installing iFIX
• Upgrading from earlier versions of
iFIX
• Supported networking components
Reference Documents
For more information on the System

Configuration Utility, troubleshooting your
set-up, working with the Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace, or setting up a process database or
SCADA system after you install iFIX, please
refer to the following electronic books:
• Setting Up the Environment

• Understanding iFIX
• Building a SCADA System
General Installation
Information
This chapter provides general information you
need in order to install iFIX including:
• Hardware requirements, including

required computer hardware,
recommended computers, required
memory, and required hard disk space.
• Installing the hardware key and
replacing defective keys.
• Installing iFIX, or iFIX with FIX
Desktop.
• iFIX software requirements, including
operating systems, supported regional
settings, video drivers, optimizing
virtual memory, and running iFIX as a
service.
• Optional installation features,
including online registration, and
installing optional hardware.
• Installing iFIX with other applications
including FIX Desktop, Microsoft®
Office, and Proficy Change
Management.
Set-up Overview
When you are ready to begin setting up your

iFIX environment, use the following steps to
set up your nodes.
To set up your nodes:
1. Set up each computer you require. Use

the section Hardware Requirements as
a guide and refer to the user manual
that accompanies each computer for
detailed setup information.
2. Install and optimize Microsoft
Windows on each computer as needed.
Also make sure you create a login
account with administrator rights so
you can install iFIX later. For
instructions on optimizing Windows,
refer to the Optimizing Virtual
Memory section.
3. Set up the network adapters and
network software required for each
computer. Refer to the Networking
iFIX Nodes and Advanced Topics
chapters of the Setting Up the
Environment manual for more
information.
4. Install iFIX and any other hardware
you may have purchased. Refer to the
Installing the iFIX Software section
for instructions on installing iFIX and
your hardware key. For information on
installing other hardware, refer to that
product's documentation.
5. Configure iFIX on each computer.
Make sure that the user installing iFIX
is a member of the Administrators
Windows group. Refer to the
Configuring iFIX Using the SCU
chapter of the Setting Up the
Environment manual for more
information on configuring iFIX.
Hardware Requirements
The minimum iFIX hardware requirements

are:
iFIX without Enhanced Failover or

Historian Server
For Proficy HMI/SCADA - iFIX computers,

the recommended minimum hardware
requirements are:
• A 2.0 GHz Dual-Core CPU or better

computer. Be aware that the computer
must be at least Dual-Core; a single
hyperthreaded core is not supported.
For better performance, GE Intelligent
Platforms recommends a Dual-Core
based 3 GHz computer with 4 GB
memory or greater. For a list of
machines tested by GE Intelligent
Platforms, refer to the Recommended
Computers section.
NOTE: To use more than 4 GB of
memory on a 32-bit platform (in
Windows Server 2003 or 2008), you
need to use Microsoft Windows 2003 or
2008 Enterprise Server in 32-bit mode.
Windows Vista and Windows XP do not
support Physical Address Extensions, so
you can only use up to 4GB of memory
on these operating systems.
• SpeedStep® technology is not

supported and must not be enabled.
• The power save settings on your
computer must be disabled. Do not use
any power setting features that affect
CPU clock speed. If you are using a
uninterruptible power supply, do not
use any power save settings.
• A minimum of 2 GB RAM. Refer to
the Memory Requirements section for
more information. For better
performance, please consider using
more.
• A minimum of 1 GB of free hard drive
space to install a typical iFIX system,
including pictures, databases, alarm
files, other data files, and help. Even
after allowing for an extra GB for
iFIX, it is strongly recommended that
many GBs of additional free space
exist on the hard drive to avoid
performance issues.
Be aware that iFIX alarm and
historical data files grow dynamically.
If you plan to perform extensive alarm
or data collection on a node, you may
need more disk space on that particular
node.
• Other Proficy products, such as
Proficy Plant Applications, Proficy
Historian, and Proficy Real-Time
Information Portal, impose additional
requirements. Refer to the Important
Product Information (IPI) topic in the
product's electronic books for specific
system requirements. Click the System
Req. tab in that product's IPI for
details.
• A DVD drive.
• A MBit TCP/IP-compatible network
interface adapter for network
communication and certain I/O
drivers.
NOTE: iFIX no longer supports
NetBIOS.
• One free direct-connect USB port.

Some touch screens, pointing devices,
and I/O drivers require a serial port.
Additional ports for I/O hardware
should be ordered with the computer.
• SVGA or better color monitor with a
24-bit (16,777,216 colors) graphics
card capable of at least 1024x768
resolution.
• Two-button mouse or compatible
pointing device (such as a touch
screen) that is capable of opening a
context menu.
iFIX with Enhanced Failover Enabled
For Proficy HMI/SCADA - iFIX computers

with SCADA Enhanced Failover features
enabled, the recommended minimum hardware
requirements are (for both primary and
secondary computers):
IMPORTANT: The minimum requirements

below assume that you are running only a
SCADA server without additional applications,
such as EDA or FIX Desktop applications. If you
want to run more applications, you will need to
increase your hardware support for better
performance.
• A 3 GHz Dual-Core CPU or better

computer. For better performance,
please consider using higher. Be aware
that the computer must be Dual-Core;
a single hyperthreaded core is not
supported.
computers and dedicated network card
(NIC) must be disabled. Do not use
any power setting features that affects
• A minimum of 4 GB RAM. For better
more.
• It is strongly recommended that 1
additional Gigabit-Ethernet card be
dedicated for SCADA-to-SCADA
traffic (for a total of at least 2 network
cards). The dedicated SCADA-to-
SCADA network card should be
excluded from the iFIX-to-iFIX
network (not enabled for LAN
redundancy), and used exclusively for
Enhanced Failover synchronization.
Additionally, the wake-up upon
receiving a socket or/and request
feature must be disabled on the
dedicated SCADA-to-SCADA
network card.
IMPORTANT: Due to limited
bandwidth and latency, it is strongly
advised that you do not use wireless
networking technology in your
networking solution.
IMPORTANT: You must use a direct

connection via a Cat6 crossover cable,
without going through any switches,
hubs, or routers.
• Jumbo Frames technology must be
used on the dedicated network for
Enhanced Failover. Jumbo Frames
technology allows for an Ethernet
frame of 9000 MTU for the payload,
compared to a frame of 1500 bytes
without the Jumbo Frames.
space. Even after allowing for an extra
GB for iFIX, it is strongly
recommended that many GBs of
additional free space exist on the hard
drive to avoid performance issues.
node.
details.
• A DVD drive.
• Primary and secondary SCADA
computers located physically next to
each other, in the same location/room.
• TCP/IP-compatible network interface
adapter for network communication
and certain I/O drivers.
resolution.
context menu.
iFIX with Historian Server
For Proficy HMI/SCADA - iFIX computers

with Proficy Historian Server, the
recommended minimum hardware
requirements are:

For better performance, GE Intelligent
Platforms recommends a Dual-Core
based 3 GHz computer with 4 GB
memory or greater.

more.
• If using the Enhanced Failover feature,
it is strongly recommended that you
use 1 additional Gigabit-Ethernet card
for dedicated SCADA-to-SCADA
traffic (for a total of at least 2 network
cards).
If also using Classic Historian, iFIX
alarm and historical data files grow
dynamically. If you plan to perform
extensive alarm or data collection on a
node, you may need more disk space
on that particular node.
• Other GE Proficy products, such as
Proficy Plant Applications, and
Proficy Real-Time Information Portal,
impose additional requirements. Refer
to the Important Product Information
(IPI) topic in the product's electronic
books for specific system
requirements. Click the System Req.
tab in that product's IPI for details.
• A DVD drive.
• 100 MBit TCP/IP-compatible network
interface adapter for network
communication and certain I/O
drivers.
resolution.
context menu.
iFIX with iFIX WebSpace
IMPORTANT:
• While running the iFIX WebSpace
Server and the SCADA Server on the
same machine is supported, it is
strongly recommended that
production SCADA Servers reside on
a different machine than the iFIX
WebSpace Server.
supported and must not be enabled on
either server.
iFIX WebSpace Server
The following minimum hardware

recommendations apply when using the iFIX
WebSpace Server on a low-end machine
supporting less than five iFIX WebSpace
sessions, and iFIX projects with pictures that
have a small number of animation, shapes, and
bitmaps:

more.
• A 100BaseT network adapter for

optimum performance.
node.
• Other GE Proficy products, such as
details.
• A DVD drive.
resolution.
context menu.
The following minimum hardware

recommendations apply when using the iFIX
WebSpace Server on a high-end machine that
can support up to 25 clients:
• Dual Quad Core Processors, running at

2.6 Ghz. For better performance,
please consider using higher. Be aware
that the computer must be Dual-Core;
a single hyperthreaded core is not
supported.
• A minimum of 16 GB RAM. For
better performance, please consider
using more.
support extended addressing memory
mode, so you can only use up to 4GB of
memory on these operating systems.
• A 100BaseT network adapter.

If you plan to perform extensive iFIX
alarm or data collection on a node, you
may need more disk space on that
particular node.
details.
• A DVD drive.
resolution.
context menu.
iFIX WebSpace Browser Session
The speed of the client computer viewing the

iFIX WebSpace session through a browser can
also impact performance. Faster client
machines typically load iFIX pictures much
quicker, and have improved performance while
those pictures are open. For instance, in
testing, a slow client with 512 MB RAM and
1.5 GHz processor had picture load times
approximately 1.5 times longer than a faster
client with 1 GB RAM and 3.0 GHz processor.
Network speeds and connection types also

impact performance for an iFIX WebSpace
session. A 100BaseT network adapter, which
is recommended, allows the iFIX WebSpace
session to utilize optimum speed for its
performance. Companies using VPN
connections for iFIX WebSpace sessions may
experience a decrease in performance.
Recommended Computers
iFIX has been tested by GE Intelligent

Platforms on the following machines that were
running Microsoft® Windows® XP, Windows
Server 2003, Windows Vista™, or Windows
Server 2008:
• Dell Optiplex GX620

• Dell Optiplex GX280
• Dell Optiplex 760
• Dell Precision 340
• Electrovaya Scribbler SC 2100 Tablet
PC (Microsoft Windows XP Tablet
Edition or Windows Vista, iClient
Only)
While GE Intelligent Platforms cannot
guarantee the integrity of any computer, our
testing has shown a higher potential for
problems with the economy lines of computers
on the market. Because of these problems, it is
not recommended that you use value or
economy type computers with iFIX. Instead, it
is recommended that you invest in the higher
end (premier) line of computers when
purchasing computer hardware.
Memory Requirements
iClients and SCADA nodes require at least

128MB RAM. This configuration provides
enough memory to run iFIX applications.
NOTE: As more applications run simultaneously

on a SCADA server, performance decreases.
Whenever possible, run additional applications
on different computers.
If the size of your process database is over

1MB, add 1 megabyte of memory for each
megabyte of database size. For example, if
your database is 2MB in size, your SCADA
server requires 130MB minimum
(128+2=130).
If your picture cache size increases, your
memory requirements should increase:
• 2 to 3 times the file size for each

picture that does not include bitmaps
and controls.
• 3 to 4 times the file size for each
picture that includes bitmaps and
controls.
For example, a 2 megabyte file that does not

include bitmaps and controls requires a 4 to 6
megabyte increase in memory. A 2 megabyte
file that includes bitmaps and controls requires
an increase in the memory of 6 to 8 megabytes.
Disk Space Requirements
The Proficy iFIX WorkSpace checks to make

sure you have at least 10 MB of disk space
when you save a picture or a schedule. If there
is insufficient disk space, the WorkSpace may
react unpredictably and you may lose your
work.
To help minimize this problem, the
WorkSpace warns you if you have less than 10
MB of disk space available. Although you can
continue loading the software, we recommend
that you stop iFIX, free some disk space, then
restart. Otherwise, the WorkSpace may
become unstable.
The WorkSpace examines the iFIX Picture

path and the Windows TEMP path when it
starts. If you change either path so that they
reference different drives, for example,
D:\Program Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX and
C:\Temp, the WorkSpace requires 10 MB on
each drive.
You may find that 10MB is not enough space

to protect against instability during file save
operations. You can increase this threshold by
changing the FreeDiskSpace parameter in the
FixUserPreferences.ini file. This parameter
sets the minimum amount of space that the
WorkSpace requires in bytes. By default, the
parameter is set as follows:
[AppRunPreferences]
FreeDiskSpace=10000000
To change FreeDiskSpace parameter:
1. Shut down the WorkSpace.

2. Locate the FixUserPreferences.ini file
in the Local path.
3. Open the file with a text editor, and
change the FreeDiskSpace parameter
to the amount you want.
4. Save the .INI file and restart the
WorkSpace.
The Hardware Key
The hardware key that is currently offered

supports USB port configurations. The
hardware key you use to run iFIX:
• Controls and enables software options

available to your installation.
• Uses a utility to electronically
reprogram options you choose to
upgrade or change.
iFIX runs in demo mode for two hours if the

key is not installed or found. Hardware keys
from version 2.5 and older will not work with
the current version of iFIX. The iFIX 2.6
SuperPro keys also do not work with iFIX 5.1.
iFIX 5.1 only supports HASP M4 keys.
NOTES:
• In some cases, an electronic file update

is not available for reprogramming
your key.
• If you want to upgrade an earlier

version of iFIX that came with a
Rainbow SuperPro or C++ key, you
will need to exchange your key for new
one. Typically, this includes SuperPro
keys from iFIX 2.6, and any 2.5 or
earlier release.
• Additionally, if you want to upgrade

iFIX to run with other Proficy products,
such as Proficy Change Management or
Proficy Plant Applications, you will
also be required to exchange your
hardware key for a new M4 key.
• You can exchange the older key by
contacting your iFIX sales
representative.
Be sure to file your hardware key packing slip

in a safe location. The codes on this slip are
necessary for GE Intelligent Platforms to
quickly duplicate the key in case it is damaged
or misplaced. You can verify that your serial
number matches the serial number on the
hardware key packing slip by using the Proficy
License Viewer utility to detect and display
your hardware key settings. For more
information, see the License and Key
Checking section.
Installing the Hardware Key
A hardware key is included with your iFIX

software. You must install your hardware key
in order to access all the components of the
iFIX software you purchased.
Typically, you install your hardware key as

you install the iFIX product. Refer to the
Installing the iFIX Software section for more
details.
If you are upgrading from a previous version,
you usually run the electronic licensing update
file for your key before installing the newer
version of iFIX.
If you insert the key after you install iFIX, it

should be detected automatically when iFIX
starts. It is recommended that you shutdown
your computer before plugging in a new
hardware key.
IMPORTANT: Do not remove the hardware key

from your node while iFIX is running. If you do,
iFIX features will shut down and you will need to
restart iFIX. You may also damage the hardware
key if you remove it while iFIX is running.
GE Intelligent Platforms supports the

installation of the USB port hardware key only
on systems running Windows XP, Windows
Server 2003, Windows Vista, or Windows
Server 2008. At this time, GE Intelligent
Platforms does not support USB keys
connected through an external USB hub.
On new installs on Windows XP SP1, GE
Intelligent Platforms recommends that you
insert your USB key after you run the iFIX
install.
License and Key Checking
To use iFIX and other Proficy products, you

must purchase the product with the desired
options from GE Intelligent Platforms.
Depending on the options you buy, you may
need to replace your current key or run an
update program on your existing key to enable
the options. If you are upgrading from an
earlier version of iFIX, you will also need to
update or replace your key.
If you want to determine the options that are

enabled on the computer you are currently
working on, use the Proficy License Viewer to
view the options enabled.
NOTE: If you try to run the Proficy License

Viewer when an older key is installed, an error
message appears.
TIP: The Proficy License Viewer programs can
be used to provide technical support personnel
with information about your iFIX hardware key.
To use the Proficy License Viewer to

determine the enabled options:
1. From the Start menu, point to

Programs, Proficy Common, and then
License Viewer. The License Viewer
appears.
2. In the Proficy Products list, select the
iFIX product. The License and Key
Diagnostics area should now display
the iFIX options.
For information on upgrading your key
to add other options, contact GE
Intelligent Platforms. GE Intelligent
Platforms will provide the steps for
upgrading your Proficy license file
when you purchase new options or
products.
Troubleshooting Hardware Key
Installation
If the hardware key does not install properly,

you may find that even though you have
followed the installation directions for your
hardware key, you see the following message
at iFIX startup:
Message when No Key is Detected
First, check to see that your hardware key is

firmly attached. Next, uninstall and reinstall
the driver for the hardware key. If this driver
has been incorrectly uninstalled, it may behave
unpredictably.
Troubleshooting the Aladdin HASP USB
Key
If the Aladdin HASP USB key does not appear

to be working, you can reinstall the licensing
to recover from the improper install. When the
Aladdin HASP key is not communicating
correctly, you will notice that the indicator
light at the end of the key is off.
To reinstall the Proficy Licensing if you

have an M4 key:
1. Reinstall the licensing by clicking the

ProficyClientInstallerlite.exe file in the
License folder on the iFIX product
installation CD.
2. Click Finish when the licensing install
completes.
Replacing Defective Hardware Keys
A defective hardware key causes your Proficy

product to run in Demo mode. In iFIX, that
means you will only be able run in iFIX in
DEMO mode.
Be sure to check that the key is firmly attached
to your USB port before assuming it is
defective. Additionally, if the indicator light at
the end of the key is off, then the key is not
communicating correctly.
You can also use the License Viewer to

determine if the hardware key is defective. If
your hardware key is defective, the License
Viewer does not display the proper enabled
options. Or, an error message stating that a
hardware key is required to view the enabled
options may appear. For more information on
using the License Viewer, refer to the License
and Key Checking section.
GE Intelligent Platforms replaces defective
keys as quickly as possible. To obtain a
replacement hardware key:
• Call your local GE Intelligent

Platforms technical support
representative. The support
representative will instruct you to FAX
a completed copy of a Merchandise
Return Authorization form. On receipt
of the form, GE Intelligent Platforms
can program a new hardware key and
send it to you overnight.
• When you receive the hardware key,
you must return the old one along with
a copy of the form sent with the new
hardware key. GE Intelligent
Platforms reserves the right to invoice
you for defective hardware keys that
are not returned.
Common Questions About Hardware

Keys
This section describes some frequently asked

questions about iFIX hardware keys.
What Does the Light At the End of the
USB Key Indicate?
The light indicates that the key and the

software are communicating. If this light is off,
it indicates a problem with the key.
If I Move the USB Key To Another Port Is

It Automatically Detected?
Yes. The USB key is automatically detected

when moved to another USB port. There are
no additional screens requesting software to be
installed for the Aladdin HASP USB key.
Software Requirements
The minimum iFIX (including FIX Desktop)

software requirements are:
• One of the following operating

systems:
• Microsoft® Windows® XP
Professional, Service Pack 3
or greater. Since Windows
XP has continuous updates,
you should run the Windows
update feature to get the
latest software.
• Microsoft® Windows®
Server 2003, Service Pack 2
or greater, Standard or
Enterprise Edition. Since
Windows Server 2003 has
continuous updates, you
should run the Windows
latest software.
Server 2008 (32-bit only),
Service Pack 2, Standard or
Enterprise Edition. Since
Windows Server 2008 has
latest software.
Vista™, Service Pack 2,
Business, Enterprise, or
Ultimate Edition. Since
Windows Vista has
latest software.
Vista™ Ultimate Edition,
Service Pack 2, running on a
Tablet PC, iClient Only.
NOTE: Proficy Historian 3.5
is available for use in Windows
Vista. Proficy Historian 3.1
currently does not support
Windows Vista.
Tablet Edition, iClient Only.
Embedded, Service Pack 2,
with the Microsoft Windows
XP update for Daylight
Saving Time (DST),
WindowsXP-KB933360-
x86-ENU.exe, applied.
NOTE: For charts to plot
properly in iFIX, you must
install the Windows update for
Daylight Saving Time (DST),
WindowsXP-KB933360-x86-
ENU.exe. While the Windows
Update service does not apply
in the Windows XP Embedded
environment, you can directly
obtain this download from the
Microsoft web site. See KB
article KB933360 on the
Microsoft Downloads web
page.
• Network interface software for TCP/IP

network communication and certain
I/O drivers.
• An I/O driver for SCADA servers. GE
Intelligent Platforms supplies I/O
drivers for many programmable
controllers or you may purchase a
driver separately. Be certain that the
I/O driver you purchase is compatible
with your hardware. Contact your GE
Intelligent Platforms Sales
Representative or visit the GE
Intelligent Platforms web site at
http://www.ge-ip.com for the latest list
of drivers and supported hardware.
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7 or 8.
For iFIX Webspace sessions, in
addition to Microsoft Internet Explorer
7 and 8, Mozilla Firefox® 3.0, 3.1.x,
or 3.5 is also supported.
• If using the Historian Excel Add-In,
Microsoft Office XP, Office 2003, or
Office 2007 SP1 is required.
• If using VisiconX and Proficy
Historian, you must install the
Historian 3.5 OLE DB driver.
• One of the following relational
database applications, if relational
database software is used with iFIX:
• Microsoft® SQL Server
2005 (SP2 and higher).
• Microsoft® SQL Server
2008.
• Oracle® 10g.
• Oracle® 11g.
• Microsoft® Access 2000 (or
higher). Microsoft Access is
supported for local installs
only.
Third-Party Software Installed During

the iFIX Install
Please note that Microsoft® VBA 6.4 software

is automatically installed with iFIX. If the
versions of VBA on the iFIX DVD are newer
than the versions on your computer, then the
iFIX install updates the version on your
computer.
Supported Regional SettingsiFIX
supports the following regional settings
available in the Windows Control Panel:
• Decimal symbol - one character

• Digit grouping symbol
• List separator - one character
• Time style
• Time separator
• Short date style
• Date separator
NOTE: The decimal symbol and the digit

grouping symbol cannot be the same character.
Also, the time separator and the date separator
cannot be the same character.
Formatting the Time and Date
Avoid changing the time style or short date

style in regional settings to values that are
outside of the standard styles provided.
Changing these values to non-standard styles
may result in improperly formatting times and
dates in some parts of iFIX.
iFIX supports the following short date formats,

some of which may not be available in certain
language versions of Windows:
• dd/mm/yy, or dd/mm/yyyy
• dd/yy/mm, or dd/yyyy/mm
• mm/dd/yy, or mm/dd/yyyy
• mm/yy/dd, or mm/yyyy/dd
• yy/dd/mm, or yyyy/dd/mm
• yy/mm/dd, or yyyy/mm/dd
Formatting the Regional Language
Setting
Avoid changing the language setting once a

timer has been used in a schedule. If changed,
the date always reverts to 30/12/99, regardless
of what you set the start time to be.
Setting the System Default Locale
The selected locale must be set as the system

default.
Language Support
The iFIX English product is supported on

English, non-English single-byte, double-byte,
and Cyrillic Windows Operating Systems,
running English Regional Settings. For a
detailed list of the iFIX supported Operating
Systems, refer to the Software Requirements
section in this chapter.
The iFIX product is also available in other
languages. The following table outlines the
currently supported languages and operating
systems. For more information on the available
iFIX versions for each language, contact your
regional Sales Representative.
Product Supported Operating

Language System (OS)
Chinese iFIX Chinese OS, with local

regional settings
Japanese iFIX Japanese OS, with local

regional settings
Polish iFIX Polish OS, with local

regional settings
Product Supported Operating
Language System (OS)
Russian iFIX Russian OS, with local

regional settings
French iFIX French OS, with local

regional settings
German iFIX German OS, with local

regional settings
Unsupported Items
• GE Intelligent Platforms does NOT

support running the localized version
of the product on an English operating
system.
• Multilingual User Interface versions of
the Windows Operating Systems are
not supported by the iFIX product.
• iFIX client/server configurations with
different OS languages are not
supported. For instance, connecting an
English SCADA Server (on an English
OS) with a with a German View node
or iClient (on a German OS) is not
supported.
Video Drivers
After much testing, GE Intelligent Platforms

has found that some video drivers have unique
problems that are apparent only when using
these drivers. Additionally, GE Intelligent
Platforms has found that many problems with
video drivers occur in both iFIX applications
and common applications, such as Excel and
Word.
If you are experiencing problems with your
video driver, try using it in a different mode to
find out if the problem is unique to a specific
configuration.
Using Third-party Video Drivers
If you need to use a third-party driver, please

use the following guidelines to resolve any
problems you may experience:
• Contact the manufacturer to ensure

you have the latest version of the video
driver. GE Intelligent Platforms has
found that the latest version of third-
party video drivers can fix some
problems.
• If the latest version of the video driver
does not fix the problem, notify the
video driver manufacturer to see if
they are aware of the problem.
• If all else fails to resolve the problem,
contact Technical Support.
Optimizing Virtual Memory
Through the use of paging files, Windows

allocates space on your hard drive for use as if
it were actually memory. This space is known
as virtual memory. The following steps
describe how to optimize virtual memory in
Windows to achieve maximum performance
from iFIX.
To optimize the virtual memory paging

file for iFIX in Windows:
1. From the Windows Control Panel,

open the System Properties dialog box:
• In Windows Vista, click the
System and Maintenance link,
the System link, and then, in the
Task list, click the Advanced
System Settings link.
• In Windows Server 2008, click
System, and then, in the Task
list, click the Advanced System
Settings link.
• In all other versions of
Windows, in the Control
Panel, open the System item.
2. Open the Performance Options:
• In Windows Vista, in the

System Properties dialog
box, click the Advanced tab,
and in the Performance
Options area, click Settings.
The Performance Options
dialog box appears.
• In Windows Server 2008, in
the System Properties dialog
and in the Performance
Options area, click Settings.
The Performance Options
dialog box appears. Click the
Advanced Tab.
• In Windows XP, in the
System Properties dialog
then in the Performance
group box, select Settings. In
the Performance Options
dialog box, click the
Advanced Tab.
• In Windows Server 2003, in
the System Properties dialog
then select Performance
Options.
3. In the Virtual Memory group box,
select Change.
4. In the Initial Size field, enter a value
equal to three times your physical
memory, as long as the result of the
calculation does not exceed 4 GB or
the Maximum Size value.
5. In the Maximum Size field, enter a
value equal to three times your
physical memory, as long as the result
of the calculation does not exceed 4
GB.
NOTE: For more information on the 4
GB paging file limit, refer to article
237740 on the Microsoft
Knowledgebase:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/237
740/en-us.
6. Select Set.
7. Click OK to save the changes and exit
the dialog box.
NOTE: If the paging file is set to grow
dynamically, your system may
experience severe performance
problems during runtime. To ensure
optimal performance, be sure that the
Initial Size and Maximum Size of the
paging file are the same so that the
paging file does not grow dynamically.
Running iFIX as a Service
If you are running iFIX as a service, please

take note of the following information.
Windows Services
In the Windows Services control panel, do not

stop the iFIX service or make changes to the
iFIX configuration. This applies to iFIX
running on any operating system.
Enabling iFIX to Run as a Service
To enable iFIX to run as a service:
1. Shut down iFIX.

2. Ensure that you are logged in as a user
in the Administrators group. If not, log
in as an Administrator now.
3. On the Start menu, point to Programs,
Proficy HMI SCADA - iFIX, and then
System Configuration. The System
Configuration Utility (SCU) window
appears.
4. On the Configure menu, click Local
Startup. The Local Startup Definition
dialog box appears.
5. In the Service area, select the Continue
running after logoff check box, as
illustrated in the following figure. This
configures iFIX to run as a service
when you start iFIX.
NOTE: The check boxes in the Service

area of this dialog box are unavailable
while iFIX is running. You need to shut
down iFIX, as you did in step 1, to
update them.
6. Additionally, if you want to start iFIX
whenever you start Windows, select
the Start iFIX at system boot check
box.
The Start iFIX at system boot option is
available only when the Continue
running after Logoff option is selected.
7. Click OK.
8. Exit the SCU.
9. Restart iFIX.
Disabling iFIX as a Service
To disable iFIX from running as a

service:
1. Shut down iFIX.

2. Ensure that you are logged in as a user
in the Administrators group. If not, log
in as an Administrator now.
Configuration Utility (SCU) window
appears.
4. On the Configure menu, click Local
Startup. The Local Startup Definition
dialog box appears.
5. In the Service area of dialog box, clear
the Continue running after logoff
check box.
6. Click OK.
7. On the File menu, click Save to save
the SCU file.
8. Exit the SCU.
9. Restart iFIX.
iFIX Paths
Windows does not map network drives until a

user logs in. Therefore, if you are running iFIX
as a service under Windows, all iFIX paths
must be set to a local drive.
Required Application Feature
You must assign the Enable Ctrl+Alt+Del

application feature to the user that is logged in
when iFIX is running as a service. Otherwise if
a user logs out of the operating system while
iFIX is running as a service, no one will be
able to log back in to the operating system.
Running iFIX with Terminal Services
You must configure the Default Service SCU

in the Startup Profile Manager if you want to
run iFIX as a service on the Terminal Server.
For more information, refer to the Configuring
the Default Profile section in the Using
Terminal Server electronic book.
Starting the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace
You should not have the WORKSPACE.EXE

file listed as a configured task in the Task
Configuration dialog box of the SCU. Instead,
you should start the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace
from the Startup group for the user, or have the
user start the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace
manually.
NOTE: If you do configure iFIX to run as a
service, and the WORKSPACE.EXE is listed as a
configured task in the Task Configuration dialog
box of the SCU, make sure you configure
WORKSPACE.EXE to run as a foreground
task. To do this, on the SCU's Configure menu,
click Task List. Select the WORKSPACE.EXE
task, and in the Startup Mode area click Normal.
Running iFIX with Other Programs
By default, iFIX uses the local System account

when running as a service. However, you
cannot use the System account with certain
applications, such as the Proficy Historian.
To configure a different user account

for iFIX running as a service:
1. From Control Panel, open the

Administrative Tools, then Services.
2. In the Services folder, right-click
Proficy HMI/SCADA iFIX server and
select Properties.
3. In the Log On tab, set the user name
and password for This Account to the
user account you want to log in when
iFIX is running as a service.
Fast User Switching Not Supported
Fast user switching is not supported with iFIX,

even if you are running iFIX as a service.
Running the OPC Client Driver and iFIX

as a Service
If you want to run the OPC Client driver as a

service, iFIX must also run as a service.
Likewise, if you want to run iFIX as a service,
the OPC Client driver must run as a service.
You cannot run one as a service, without the
other also running as a service.
OPC Certification
Based on Microsoft's OLE (Object Linking

and Embedding) technology, OPC (OLE for
Process Control) provides greater
interoperability between control applications,
field systems and devices, and front
office/backoffice applications. OPC servers,
such as DCSs, PLCs, smart field devices, and
analyzers provide real-time information and
can communicate directly with the Proficy
HMI/SCADA - iFIX product.
The iFIX 5.1 product is an OPC 2.05a DA

enabled client, which lets iFIX retrieve data
from any OPC 1.x or 2.x (up to version 2.05a)
compliant data server. To access local or
remote data from a third party OPC Server, use
the iFIX OPC Client version 7.4x, which is
also in included with iFIX.
iFIX also has an iFIX OPC Server

(OPC20iFIX.exe) that serves out data via OPC
from the iFIX Database.
Be aware that Proficy iFIX currently includes
two OPC servers:
• OPC20iFIX.exe (Intellution.OPCiFIX)
– an OPC 2.05a (out of process) Data
Server
• iFixOPCAESrv.exe – an OPC 1.10
Alarm and Events (A&E) Server
Both OPC Servers included with iFIX are in

compliance with the OPC Foundation’s "Self
Tested" specifications. GE Intelligent
Platforms ran a series of OPC tests to verify
compliance for the versions listed above.
You can find more information about OPC on

the Support web site at: http://www.ge-
ip.com/support.
Installing the iFIX Software
The steps that follow outline how to install the

iFIX software from the product install DVD.
To install iFIX software:
1. Log in to Windows with Administrator

privileges. Ensure that there are no
iFIX, FIX, or Proficy processes
running, and close any other programs
that are running.
NOTE: If you plan to use the integrated
Proficy Historian features in iFIX, you
must shut down Historian services and
licensing prior to installing iFIX and
Historian.
2. Insert the iFIX DVD into your DVD

drive. The iFIX installation screen
appears.
NOTE: If this screen does not
automatically appear, double-click the
InstallFrontEnd.exe file on the DVD to
display it. A message may appear with a
security warning, click Run to proceed.
3. Click the "Install iFIX" link. A

message box appears asking you to
confirm the install.
4. Click Yes to proceed. The install
program starts and the Welcome
screen appears.
5. Click Next to continue. The license
agreement screen appears.
6. Click "I accept the terms of the license
agreement" if you want to continue,
and then click Next.
IMPORTANT: If a previous version of
iFIX is detected, you can choose to
upgrade iFIX. For iFIX versions before
4.0, you have the choice to upgrade or
install iFIX to a completely new folder,
without upgrading. If you want to
upgrade, it is suggested that you do so
using the install at this point in time.
The Setup Type screen appears.

7. Select an option and click Next:
• Complete – Installs all iFIX
components, including options
such as FIX Desktop, the
Sample System, the Electronic
books (e-books), and the My-
T-Soft virtual (on screen)
keyboard.
• Custom – Installs iFIX and
the options that you choose.
You are prompted to enter
your options after you select
an install path.
• Typical – Installs iFIX, the
Electronic books (e-books),
the Sample System, and the
My-T-Soft virtual (on screen)
keyboard. FIX Desktop is not
installed with this option.
The Choose Destination Location
screen appears.
8. Leave the default C:\Program
Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX path or
click Browse to select a folder.
NOTES:
• If you are upgrading from

FIX32, make sure that you
choose a location other than the
folder that contains your FIX32
software, if it is installed on the
same computer. Do not install
over a current FIX32
installation.
• If you enter a custom install

path, be aware that the path can
be no greater than 100
characters long.
• If you want to use 6.x drivers,
the iFIX compressed install path
must be no greater than 64
characters long. iFIX uses the
Microsoft compression
algorithm to try to fit longer
paths within this boundary.
Some paths are not
compressible to the 64 character
maximum length. Please be
aware of this. In addition, make
sure that the registry key,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Syst
em\CurrentControlSet\Control\
FileSystem\NtfsDisable8dot3Na
meCreation, is not enabled (is
set to 0) when the install folder
is created. When set to 1, the
compression algorithm is
disabled. Refer to Microsoft
help for more information on the
GetShortPathName()
compression algorithm.
• After installing a 6x driver, the
driver is listed in the SCU in the
Drivers Available dialog box
(which can be accessed from the
I/O Driver Name browse button
in the SCADA Configuration
dialog box). You need to
manually add the driver to the
Configured I/O Drivers list in
the SCADA Configuration
dialog box.
9. Click Next to continue.

NOTES:
• If you selected a Custom install,

instead of Complete, the Select
Features screen appears. Select
the features you want to install,
and click Next.
• If you chose a Complete or

Custom install and do not have
a web server installed, a
warning message appears
indicating that WebSpace
component is not available for
install. Click OK to close the
dialog box.
The Ready to Install Program screen
appears.
10. Click Install. The progress of the
installation displays on screen as the
files are copied. After a few minutes,
when the install finishes copying the
files, the Proficy iFIX Configure
Wizard dialog box appears.
11. Enter the Node Name, Node Type, and
Connectivity Type, if applicable, and
then click OK. A message box
appears, prompting you to install
Proficy Historian.
12. If do not want to install Historian,
click No and proceed to step 15.
13. If you want to install Historian, click
Yes. The Historian installation screen
appears.
NOTE: If you choose not to install
Historian, the following features will
not work:
• iFIX database tags from

Database Manager will not
automatically be added,
updated, or deleted to or from
Historian.
• You will not be able to update

the Proficy Historian tab of
Database Manager blocks.
• Imported or exported database

tags will have default values in
the Historian field, but will not
be used.
• The FixtoHist.exe and Historical

Datalink features will be
installed, but will not work
without Proficy Historian.
14. Install Historian. To do so:
a. Click Next. The Select
Components screen appears.
b. Choose the components you
want to install and click
Next. The Select OPC Alarm
and Event Servers screen
appears.
NOTE: If you only want to
install collectors on this node,
do not install the Historian
server; clear the Server check
box.
c. Select the OPC Alarm and

Event Servers you want to
use and click Next. The
Select OPC Servers screen
appears.
d. Select the OPC Servers you
want to use and click Next.
The Choose the Program
Folder screen appears.
e. Leave the default path or
click Browse to select a
folder, and then click Next.
The Choose the Log and
Buffer Folder screen
appears.
f. Leave the default path or
click Browse to select a
folder, and then click Next.
The Historian Server Name
screen appears.
g. Enter the name of the
Historian server name to use
for the default, and then click
Next. The Configuration
Review screen appears.
h. Click Next. The progress of
the installation displays on
screen as the files are copied.
The Setup Complete screen
appears.
i. Click Finish. The Historian
SIM installation screen
appears.
j. Click Next. The license
k. Click Yes to accept the terms
of the licensing agreement.
The SIM details screen
appears.
l. Click Next. After completing
the setup, a message dialog
box appears.
m. Click OK, and then click
Finish.
15. When a message box appears
requesting that you view the release
notes, click Yes. Close the release
notes after you finish reviewing them
to resume the install. The Setup
Complete screen appears.
16. Click Finish.
17. After the install completes:
• If you have a new key, power
off the computer and insert
your USB key into the
appropriate port.
• If you have an older key that
you are updating, use the
update file and follow the
instructions from GE
Intelligent Platforms to update
your key.
18. Restart the computer. As the computer
restarts, log in to Windows with the
same user name (with Administrator
rights).
IMPORTANT: If upgrading from FIX
v7 to iFIX with FIX Desktop, do not
start iFIX yet. Refer to the Overview of
Steps to Upgrade from FIX 7.x
section for information on how to
proceed.
19. If you installed Historian, proceed to

install the required Historian Service
Pack and SIM. The SIM provides you
with the new verison of the Historian
toolbar that includes the Configure
Historian Server button and the
new VisconX button.
Using iFIX with Proficy Historian
Beginning with iFIX 5.0, you can easily

configure Proficy Historian to be your
historian. The application is integrated with
iFIX, which means that after configuring the
Proficy Historian, you can perform the
following tasks in iFIX:
• Set Proficy Historian tags for

collection for the iFIX database.
• Insert a Historical Data Link into your
picture in the iFIX WorkSpace.
• Use VisiconX data and grid objects to
access Proficy Historian data from the
iFIX WorkSpace.
Although Proficy Historian is integrated with

iFIX, you do not have to use Historian in the
iFIX WorkSpace; you can choose to use
Historian as a separate application. When
making your decision on how you want to use
Historian, keep the following considerations in
mind.
Configuration Considerations
Although many of the features of Proficy

Historian can be configured in iFIX, some
cannot. They must be configured directly in
Historian. These features include:
• Security
• Alarms, if you are using them
• Collection on any field other than
F_CV
• Archive compression
• Archive back-up
• Other tag properties not configurable
in iFIX
• Historian parameters for Database
Dynamos, or loadable blocks
• Redundancy
Other Considerations
Multiple Databases
If you are using multiple databases, you may

want to use Proficy Historian separately from
iFIX. When used together, Historian does not
recognize tags from the iFIX database with the
same name as different tags, even though the
source is different. So, tags that exist in your
iFIX database are ignored. The data that is
populated comes from Historian, not from the
iFIX database. To avoid this problem, verify
that each tag has a unique name.
For example, you have a tag called AI1 in both

Process Database 1 (PDB1) and Process
Database 2 (PDB2). Both tags are added to
Historian as FIX.AI1.F_CV. If you reload
PDB1 and then PDB2, the AI1 tag is
overwritten in Historian.
Collection Delay
When iFIX and Historian are used as an

integrated application, rather than as separate
applications, it takes longer for tags to update
if the Collector is running. Additions, deletions
and modifications of tags may take twice as
long to display – approximately two minutes,
instead of one – than if each application was
used separately.
Collectors
If you choose to use Historian, not all installed

collectors will be available for selection as the
default Collector. Because this feature only
supports collectors that read data from iFIX,
the collectors available for selection are
limited to the following:
• iFIX Native Collector

• OPC Collector reading from
Intellution.OPCEDA or
Intellution.OPCiFIX OPC servers
Electronic Signatures
If you use electronic signatures, then you

should probably not use the integrated
Historian feature. If a tag requires an electronic
signature in Historian and does not in iFIX,
and a user makes a change in iFIX, the user is
not prompted for a password. Instead, the
change is made, bypassing Historian's
electronic signature requirement.
Result of Not Installing Historian
If you choose not to install Historian, the

following features will not work:
• iFIX database tags from Database

Manager will not automatically be
added, updated, or deleted to or from
Historian,
• users will not be able to update the
Proficy Historian tab of Database
Manager blocks, and
• imported or exported database tags
will have default values in the
Historian field but will not be used.
Choosing Not to Install Integrated
Historian
If you do not want to install integrated

Historian, and continue using Historian as you
did before, then never do the following:
• select the Automatically Configure

Tags for Collection in Historian on the
Proficy Historian tab of the User
Preferences dialog box.
• use Proficy Historian fields in iFIX
Database Manager to configure
anything in Historian.
Post-Installation Steps for Historian
If you choose to install Historian, there are

post-installation steps you will need to
perform. For more information, see
Configuring iFIX to Use Proficy Historian and
Configuring Security When Using iFIX with
Proficy Historian.
Configuring Security When Using
iFIX with Proficy Historian
Beginning with iFIX 5.0, iFIX configures

Historian by adding and deleting tags and
changing tag properties. Therefore, applicable
security measures must be configured.
However, tag level security and Historian
domain security cannot be configured in the
iFIX application; it must be done in Historian.
For Historian domain security, see "User

Privileges for Starting a Collector" in the
Historian eBook.
For all other security considerations for

Historian, see the chapter "Implementing
Historian Security" in the Historian eBook.
Configuring iFIX to Use Proficy

Historian
The following table describes the process for

configuring iFIX to run with Proficy Historian:
Configuration Process
Stage Description
1 If upgrading from a previous

release of iFIX and you have
Historian installed on the PC,
shut down Historian services
and licensing prior to
installing iFIX and Historian.
2 During the iFIX install, when

prompted, choose to install
Historian.
3 Start iFIX and the WorkSpace.
4 Verify that Historian Server is

set to Proficy Historian and
not Classic Historian. Close
and restart the Workspace.
Stage Description
5 Configure the Historian

Server. Use the Default iFIX
collector to add tags
automatically to Historian.
NOTE: This must be done for
each operating system user.
6 In the iFIX Database Manager,

add the blocks that you want
to start collecting on. Use the
Proficy Historian tab to enter
the information from
Historian. Save your database.
Stage Description
7 After approximately two

minutes, in the Historian
Administrator, check that your
tag was added. If your tag was
not added or collected in
Historian, check the log file
confighist.txt in the
iFIX\LOCAL directory.
8 Verify configuration. Add a

Historical datalink to your
picture, switch to run mode,
and view the last value
collected in the datalink.
Using the Discover and Auto
Configure Tool with Proficy Historian
Not only can you can use the Discover and

Auto Configure tool to automatically add tags
to your iFIX database, but you can also choose
which tags get collected on in Proficy
Historian as well.
Additionally, you can configure the Proficy

Historian description and the interval for the
collection for each tag through Discover and
Auto Configure. For information adding
Proficy Historian fields in Discover and Auto
Configure, refer to the Adding Proficy
Historian Fields as Columns topic.
Before you begin collection, however, you

must have your Historian Server is configured,
and your iFIX Collector configured as your
local, default collector.
Be aware of your license limits for Proficy
Historian. Your Proficy key limits the number
of iFIX tags you are permitted to add to the
Proficy Historian Server for collection. Use
care when you select which tags that you want
to collect on in Discover and Auto Configure.
You do not want to exceed your license limits.
For more information on this tool, refer to the

Discover and Auto Configure e-book.
Installing the FIX Desktop Software
FIX Desktop is provided as a custom option in

your iFIX product install. To install FIX
Desktop option when installing iFIX, select the
Custom option and then select the FIX
Desktop check box from the list of features. If
you install iFIX without FIX Desktop, you can
later install it by running the iFIX install
program again.
NOTE: Be aware that the changes to support 15
digits of precision in iFIX 4.5 and greater are
not supported in FIX Desktop applications, such
as Draw and View. If you try to use this feature
in FIX Desktop applications, you will get
unexpected results.
The steps that follow explain how to install the

FIX Desktop software from the product install
DVD, after you already installed iFIX.
To install FIX Desktop software after

installing iFIX:
1. Ensure that there are no iFIX, FIX, or

Proficy processes running, and close
any other programs that are running.
privileges.
3. Insert the iFIX DVD into your DVD-
ROM drive. The iFIX installation
screen appears.
display it.
5. Click Yes to continue. The install
screen appears.
6. Click the Modify option, and then
click Next to continue. The Select
Features screen appears.
7. Select the FIX Desktop check box and
click Next. The install begins.
NOTE: FIX Desktop applications are
installed into the iFIX product folder. If
you installed iFIX to the default
location, this folder is C:\Program
Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX.
When the install completes a

Maintenance Complete message box
appears.
8. Click Finish.
9. Restart your computer.
IMPORTANT: If upgrading from FIX
v7, do not start iFIX yet. Refer to the
Overview of Steps to Upgrade from
FIX 7.x section for information on how
to proceed.
Online Registration
You can register iFIX online after you have

installed the product.
To register iFIX online:
1. In Classic view, from the WorkSpace's

Help menu, point to Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace Help, and then GE
Intelligent Platforms On the Web, and
click Register Online.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, click the WorkSpace
button, and then on the Application
menu, click Options. On the Options
dialog box, select Resources from the
navigation plane, and then click
Register.
2. Enter the appropriate fields on the
registration form, and click Next until
all pages are completed.
Additional Resources
You can access many additional resources

after you install your product. To do so, use
one of the following procedures.
NOTE: The following procedures apply only to

Ribbon view.
To access technical support online:
1. Click the Application button and then

on the Application menu, click
Options.
2. In the Navigation pane click
Resources.
3. Click Support.
4. Click OK on the Resources page.
To access GE Intelligent Platforms

online:

Options.
Resources.
3. Click Home Page.
4. Click OK on the Resources page.
To determine the software version
number:

Options.
Resources.
3. Click About.
4. Click OK.
5. Click OK.
Using iFIX and FIX on the Same
ComputerAlthough you can run iFIX and FIX
Desktop applications at the same time, you
cannot run iFIX and FIX 7.0 at the same time
on a single computer. You can have iFIX and
FIX 7.0 installed on the same computer,
however. The following sections address
issues that occur when installing iFIX and FIX
7.0 on the same computer.
NOTE: Because the hardware key for iFIX with

FIX Desktop is different from the FIX hardware
key, remember to remove the iFIX hardware key
and insert a FIX hardware key before installing
or running FIX 7.0.
General Notes on Installing FIX and

iFIX on the Same Computer
When installing FIX 7.0 on a computer that

already has iFIX installed (or vice versa) do
not elect to use the current SCU configuration
when prompted during the install. If you select
to use the current SCU, both FIX and iFIX will
launch with errors when you try to run either
program after the install.
Installing iFIX on a FIX 7.0 Node
If you install iFIX on a node that has FIX

installed and you have at least one version 7.0
driver installed, the registry paths for FIX 7.0
are changed to iFIX paths. Therefore, when
you run a FIX 7.0 application, such as the
System Configuration Utility, you will receive
errors.
To avoid these errors, install iFIX without I/O

drivers. This preserves your FIX 7.0 paths in
the registry.
Uninstalling iFIX and FIX 7.0
You can install iFIX and FIX 7.0 on the same

computer. If you subsequently uninstall iFIX,
you must re-install FIX 7.0.
Starting up FIX 7.0 After Installing

iFIX
An application error occurs when you start up

FIX 7.0 as a service under Windows after you
install iFIX. The error occurs because both
FIX 7.0 and iFIX 5.1 use the same key name
(FIX) under the Services key in the registry.
Therefore, when you install iFIX 5.1, it
overwrites the entry for FIX 7.0.
Each product needs to have its own Services

key. FIX 7.0 runs correctly if it is not run as a
service.
The workaround for this problem is to edit the

registry so that the Services key points to the
service executable in the correct path. The key
is located in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Current
ControlSet\Services\Fix. Set the ImagePath
value to the correct path for fixsrv.exe.
Installing iFIX after Uninstalling

iVisualize
If you have uninstalled iVisualize®, you must

modify the FixUserPreferences.ini file before
installing iFIX 5.1. This file is located in the
C:\Program Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX\Local
folder.
The section [AppConfigPicturePreferences]

contains the following lines:
TotalConfigPicturePath=1
PicturePath#0=*C:\Program
Files\Proficy\Proficy
iFIX\PDB\PanelStart.ivs
Change TotalConfigPicturePath=1 to
TotalConfigPicturePath=0 and delete the line
that reads PicturePath#0=*C:\Program
Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX\PDB\PanelStart.ivs.
You will then be able to install iFIX 5.1.
Using iFIX with Microsoft OfficeYou

can use the Microsoft Office family of
products and iFIX on the same computer.
However, to ensure that VBA works correctly,
install Microsoft Office products before
installing iFIX.
Use the following table as a guide for

installing and removing either product.
If you And you Then...
have... want to...
Installed Install Remove

iFIX Microsoft iFIX,
Office install
Products Microsoft
Office
products,
and re-
install
iFIX.
Installed Remove Remove

Microsoft Microsoft iFIX,
Office Office remove
Products Products Microsoft
Office
products,
and re-
install
iFIX.
If you And you Then...
have... want to...
Started the Use iFIX and Uninstall

iFIX Microsoft iFIX,
WorkSpace Office uninstall
for the first harmoniously Microsoft
time, and Office,
this re-install
message Microsoft
appears: Office,
and re-
Run time
install
error "48":
iFIX.
Error in
loading dll.
Backup Files
When you save one of the following files, iFIX

creates a backup file:
• *.PDB – backed up as *.^DB

• *.SCU – backed up as *.^CU
• Profiles.cfg – backed up as
Profiles.cfg.ÂK
• DISPLAY.DOV – backed up as
DISPLAY.ÔV
• NODENAME.DOV – backed up as
NODENAME.ÔV
iFIX also creates these backup files after you

start iFIX for the first time after an upgrade.
These backup files are helpful in disaster
recovery of the individual files.
For new iFIX installs, be aware that you can
also use the Factory Default Backup for
disaster recovery – performing a clean restore
of your entire iFIX system. A clean restore
includes the files listed above along with other
Factory Default files. For more information,
refer to the Using and Creating Factory Default
Files section in the Understanding iFIX
electronic book.
For upgrades, be aware that you can perform a

Custom Backup to backup the files listed
above before the upgrade. After the upgrade,
you can restore these files with the Backup and
Restore wizard. Refer to the Overview of the
Backup Process section in the Understanding
iFIX electronic book for more information.
IMPORTANT: Do not use a Full Backup from a

previous release of iFIX to update the files in the
currently installed iFIX folder. Issues can occur
with upgrade paths, and possibly other files.
Optionally, after you upgrade your system with
the Custom Backup, you can create a new
Factory Default Backup, that you can use for
disaster recovery in replace of the original
Factory Default Backup file. This information
is described in the Using and Creating Factory
Default Files and Sample BackupRestore.ini
sections.
Proficy Change Management and iFIX
If you plan to use Proficy Change Management

with iFIX, to help you manage your iFIX
project files, and track changes to these files,
install iFIX first. After you install iFIX, you
can install Proficy Change Management 5.7 or
5.8.
Additionally, you need to configure a few

items on both iFIX and the Change
Management Server, as described in the
Setting up iFIX for Use with Change
Management topic in the Change Management
and iFIX e-book.
NOTE: If you want to run iFIX with other
Proficy products, such as Proficy Change
Management, you will need to upgrade to an M4
key. For more information, refer to the The
Hardware Key section.
If you are upgrading an iFIX computer with

the Proficy Change Management, upgrade to
Proficy Change Management 5.7 or 5.8.
iFIX WebSpace
The iFIX* WebSpace product allows you to

open iFIX pictures in run mode from a web
browser. The iFIX WebSpace is a server-
based, thin-client solution that eliminates the
need for Citrix MetaFrame or Windows
Terminal Services.
The iFIX WebSpace Server is a keyed option

that you can purchase for use with your iFIX
SCADA or Proficy Pulse client.
For more detailed information on the iFIX

WebSpace, including configuration
information, refer to the Viewing Pictures from
a Web Browser e-book.
Discover and Auto Configure
The Discover and Auto Configure is a tool

used to extract tag information from PLC
programming software files or OPC servers
and then add the tags to your target
application's iFIX database. Using the
Discover and Auto Configure tool saves you
valuable time and effort when creating tags for
your driver(s) and iFIX application database
because you no longer need to manually create
the individual tags.
You can currently extract information using

the following Discovery Agents:
• OPC Discovery Agent

• Siemens S7 Discovery Agent
• Allen-Bradley PLC-5/SLC
500/MicroLogix Families Discovery
Agent
• IGS - Industrial Gateway Server
Discovery Agent
Not only can you automatically generate create
tags for OPC, Siemens S7, and Allen Bradley,
but with the Industrial Gateway Server (IGS)
,you have support for tag creation in over 90
protocols.
Within Discover and Auto Configure, you can

also configure the iFIX tags that you want to
collect on in Proficy Historian (through the
iFIX Collector). For information on using
Discover and Auto Configure with Proficy
Historian, refer to the Using the Discover and
Auto Configure Tool with Proficy Historian
section.
For more information on this tool, refer to the

Discover and Auto Configure e-book.
Optional HardwareiFIX supports the
following optional hardware. You may want to
purchase one or more of these items to
enhance your iFIX system.
• A Microsoft-supported touch screen or

other pointing device.
• A DigiBoard™ to provide your
computer with up to 9 serial ports. If
you are using multiple I/O drivers or
multiple ports for one I/O driver, you
may require the use of a DigiBoard.
GE Intelligent Platforms has tested and
supports the Digichannel PC/8E.
Uninstalling iFIX
To uninstall iFIX, from the Control Panel, in

the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, click
the Remove button next to the "Proficy HMI
SCADA - iFIX 5.1" entry. This action
launches the install program allowing you to
remove the iFIX product.
If you want to uninstall other items that install
along with iFIX, such as the iFIX OPC Client,
the Proficy Change Management Client API,
M4 Common Licensing, Proficy Discover and
Auto Configure application, you need to
uninstall these items separately.
IMPORTANT: For the Proficy Discover and

Auto Configure (DAC) application, it is
recommended that you uninstall it before you
uninstall the iFIX product. If you wait until after
you uninstall iFIX, the DAC uninstall will
display error messages.
Sleep or Hibernate Mode
If your SCADA computer has been sleeping

overnight, or in hibernate mode, be aware that
you will need to acknowledge all of the queued
"License Warning" messages.
Upgrading from an Earlier
Version of iFIX
This chapter contains information about issues
concerning upgrading to iFIX 5.1. Issues
specific to upgrading from iFIX 2.5 and earlier
are clearly marked.
The Database and the Upgrade
Be aware that when you upgrade to iFIX 5.1,

the file size of your process database file will
increase.
Also, when you upgrade your database, the

high and low engineering units (EGU) fields
are converted from single precision to double
precision floats. What that means, is that the
degree of accuracy (the Epsilon value) changes
from +/_0.00000012 to
+/_0.00000000000000022. If you are using
extreme ranges (very large or very low values)
for your EGU limits, you may possibly
experience issues after an upgrade. To resolve
these issues, open the Database Manager,
export your database and then re-import it.
This procedure resets the block values.
DDA Drivers and the Upgrade
If you are using DDA drivers, such as ROC,

BR3 or MBR, you must reinstall them after
upgrade. If the driver installation files are
unavailable, you can use a copy of your
existing FIX.INI file to compare to the one
created after the upgrade. Then, copy the
missing lines from your old FIX.INI file to
your new FIX.INI file.
Before You Upgrade
Before you upgrade your version of iFIX make

sure you:
• If you are upgrading an iFIX computer

with the Proficy Change Management,
upgrade to Proficy Change
Management 5.7 or 5.8.
• Shut down the DEP (Data Execution
Protection) feature. One way to do this
is from the Control Panel, access the
System Properties. Select the
Advanced tab, and click the Settings
button in the Performance area. On the
Data Execution Protection tab, select
the "Turn on DEP for essential
Windows programs and services only"
check box.
• Shut down all Proficy applications. It
is important that no Proficy products
are running when you run the iFIX
installation program.
• Save copies of your existing .INI files
with your application preferences and
any custom files you create.
Customized files, such as *Res.dll
files, and some *.INI files may be
overwritten during an upgrade. As
such, you may need to integrate your
custom changes into the newer
versions of these files after you
upgrade.
• Back up your existing iFIX projects.
This includes the files in your
LOCAL, Config Files Backup, PIC,
and PDB folders.
• It is also recommended that you create
a backup copy of your Alarm ODBC
configuration file(s).
• Export a report of your system
configuration (SCU), for reference. (In
the SCU, on the File menu, click
Report. Refer to the Generating a
System Configuration Report section
for detailed steps.)
• Export a report of your security
configuration, for reference. (In the
Security Configuration application, on
the File menu, click Export. Refer to
the Exporting a Report of the Security
Configuration section for detailed
steps.)
• If you have an application created by
an Integration Toolkit, Database
Dynamo Toolkit, or System Extension
Toolkit from iFIX 2.5 or earlier, and
you want to use this application with
iFIX 5.1, do not uninstall iFIX. You
must install iFIX 5.1 over your
existing iFIX configuration. Your
toolkit application will not run if you
uninstall your previous version of
iFIX.
• Be sure to obtain any toolkit updates
that you need, prior to installing iFIX.
For instance, if you have previously
installed the iFIX Productivity Pack
for Allen Bradley, you must get the
updated version prior to upgrading to
iFIX 5.1.
• If you plan to use Enhanced Failover
feature provided in iFIX 5.1, review
the Enhanced Failover and Upgrading
section.
Steps to Upgrade from an Earlier
Version of iFIX
To upgrade from earlier versions of iFIX
1. Update your license and/or hardware

key. For steps refer to the Upgrading
the iFIX License section.
privileges.
3. Ensure that there are no iFIX, FIX, or
Proficy processes running, and close
any other programs that are running.
4. Insert the iFIX DVD into your DVD-
ROM drive. The iFIX installation
screen appears.
display it.

6. Click Yes to continue. The install
screen appears.
7. Click Next to continue. The license
8. Click "I accept the terms of the license
agreement" if you want to continue,
and then click Next.
A message box appears indicating that
a previous version of iFIX has been
detected.
9. Click Yes to upgrade.
CAUTION: If you select No to this
message, you can no longer run the
older version of iFIX. By default, iFIX
installs to the C:\Program
Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX folder
instead. THIS IS NO LONGER AN
UPGRADE. Use caution in copying
files from your previous iFIX release,
into your new iFIX install folder.
The Setup Type screen appears.

10. Select Complete and then click Next.
If you selected Custom instead, you
will be prompted later to select your
install features, such as iFIX with FIX
Desktop. The Ready to Install Program
screen appears.
11. Click Install. The progress of the
installation displays on screen as the
files are copied. After a few moments,
a message box appears asking if you
would like to review the release notes.
12. Click Yes to view the release notes.
Close the release notes after you finish
reviewing them to resume the install.
The Setup Complete dialog box
appears.
13. Click Yes to restart your computer
now, or No to do it later.
14. Click Finish.
NOTE: Be sure to restart your
computer before starting iFIX. As the
computer restarts, log in to Windows
with the same user name (with
Administrator rights).
Upgrading the iFIX License
The instructions for upgrading your iFIX

license depend on the key you have and the
enabled options you want. You may need to
run an update program, or you may need to
exchange your key for a newer one. iFIX 5.1
only supports HASP M4 keys.
The version and type of key you have should

appear imprinted on the outside of the key. If
you do not know what type of key you have,
check the label on the physical key. If you are
still unsure whether you need to exchange your
key for a new one, contact your iFIX sales
representative.
Upgrading from iFIX 2.6 or Later
When you upgrade to iFIX 5.1 from iFIX 2.6

or later, you are required to update the license
on each iFIX machine. If you have an M4 key,
GE Intelligent Platforms provides utilities to
help you perform this task.
If you have an M1 key, you must replace it.
This requires you to physically remove the M1
key and insert the new hardware key. For steps
on how to install a hardware key, refer to the
Installing the Hardware Key section. For
information about replacing your key, contact
your iFIX sales representative.
For an M4 key, use the Proficy License Viewer

to update your license. To perform a key
update:
• For the Proficy License Viewer, you

will need to obtain a .plic update file
with specific information about your
key.
For information about obtaining the .plic file,

contact your sales representative. You will
receive the new licensing file by disk or by e-
mail.
If you receive the error message, "Workspace
encountered a problem and needs to close. We
are sorry for the inconvenience," while
registering, it is probably because you have an
unsupported key, such as the Rainbow
SuperPro. If you have a Rainbow SuperPro
(Sentinel) key, which was offered for iFIX 2.6
(before 2002), this key must be exchanged for
a newer key, if you want to upgrade to iFIX
5.1.
To update the license with the .plic file:
1. Save the .plic file to a directory of

your choice.
2. Double-click the file. The Key Update
utility appears. The full path to your
.plic file should appear in the Update
File text box. If it does not appear,
browse to it.
3. Click Update Now to update your
hardware key.
The utility validates your current
license. If the validation is successful,
the utility updates the license; if the
validation is not successful, the
upgrade is halted.
Upgrading from iFIX 2.5 and Earlier
When you upgrade to iFIX 5.1 from iFIX 2.5

and earlier, you are required to replace your
existing hardware key and license with a new
hardware key and license. You should return
your old key to GE Intelligent Platforms. For
information about obtaining a new hardware
key and license, or returning your old key,
contact your iFIX sales representative.
For more information about the new hardware

key, see The Hardware Key section of this
manual.
Preserving Settings when Upgrading
When iFIX is installed, all previously existing

configuration files in the iFIX Local folder,
with the exception of the *Res.dll files, are
backed up to the C:\Dynamics\Config Files
Backup folder. To preserve these settings, after
the install, copy your customized changes from
these backup files into each current file located
in the Local folder. Do not copy and paste the
entire file into the Local folder because it
would overwrite any new settings installed
with iFIX 5.1.
Notes on Database Dynamos and

Custom Programs that Run with iFIX
Startup
When you install the newest release of iFIX,

the product install program places a new
version of the startup control file, FIX.INI, into
your iFIX Local directory. The previous
version of this file is copied to the iFIX Config
Files Backup folder, along with the other
configuration files.
If you configured Database Dynamos, also
known as loadable blocks, or other custom
programs to run as part of iFIX startup, you
should compare the new FIX.INI file in the
Local folder against the FIX.INI file stored in
the Config Files Backup folder. If you find any
changes between the two files, add the
necessary lines to the new FIX.INI stored in
the Local path. Do not copy the old FIX.INI
over the new FIX.INI file.
NOTE: Paths with embedded path spaces in the

FIX.ini require quotes. For example:
RUN="%E:\PROGRAM
FILES\PROFICY\PROFICY
IFIX\SysAlertQMgr.exe" /F /NSysAlertViewer
SCU Files and the Upgrade
If a previous version of iFIX already resides on

your computer when you try to install iFIX
5.1, a message box appears during the
installation suggesting that you upgrade your
existing iFIX install. It is recommended that
you elect to upgrade iFIX when this message
appears. By following the upgrade process,
iFIX 5.1 installs to same folder where your
previous version existed. For example, if you
have iFIX 3.5 installed to the C:\Dynamics
folder, when you upgrade, iFIX 5.1 installs to
the C:\Dynamics folder. After the iFIX 5.1
install completes and you restart iFIX, your
SCU file is upgraded automatically, and the
original file is backed up with a .^CU
extension.
If you choose not to upgrade and install iFIX

to another path, such as the default:
C:\Program Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX, there
are a few extra steps you need to perform
before you can start the older version SCU file
in iFIX 5.1. First, you must rename the older
version SCU file, so that the name is different
than the default iFIX 5.1 SCU file.
For instance, if you try to start an iFIX 4.0
SCU file in iFIX 5.1 when the names of both
SCU files are the same, an error message
appears instead. So, be sure to rename your
iFIX 4.0 SCU file to something other than the
startup default file name before opening it in
the iFIX 5.1 System Configuration Utility.
After launching the SCU application, open the
older SCU file. Now you can manually update
the information in it, as described in the steps
below.
Be aware that if you have a Custom Backup

available of your node with the previous
version installed, you also can use that file to
upgrade your SCU. During the restore, make
sure you select the Use SCU File from Archive
check box. If the SCU file name you are
upgrading is the same as the iFIX 5.1 default
SCU file name, you need to change the path
configuration at this point. Click on the View
Project Path Configuration button to check the
current paths. In the Project Path edit box,
enter the iFIX 5.1 install path. This upgrades
your SCU file automatically, however you still
have to manually update other SCU
information in the System Configuration
Utility, as described in the steps below.
For more information on the restore process,
refer to the Overview of the Restore Process
section.
IMPORTANT:
• You do not need to use a Full Backup

from a previous release of iFIX if you
are just upgrading the SCU file.
Instead, use a Custom Backup. Make
sure that you back up the SCU only in
the .fbk file and restore it only in iFIX
5.1. If you do a Custom Backup, click
“NO TO ALL” other files when
restoring just the SCU file. Do not use a
Full Backup between iFIX versions.
Issues can occur with upgrade paths,
and possibly other files.
• During a restore, use caution in

restoring other configuration files. For
instance, if you overwrite the .INI files
in your iFIX Local folder, you lose all
of iFIX 5.1 .INI settings. After that is
done, there may be issues that cause
iFIX or certain features not to work
properly.
For instance, if you overwrite the 5.1
FIX.ini file with a 3.5 one, you need to
remove or comment out the
RUN=REGISTERHELPFILES line in
order to start iFIX 5.1 with this file.
To update the SCU information

manually:
NOTE: The following steps describe

how to modify an SCU file with a path
outside the install path, so that you run
it in iFIX.
1. Shut down iFIX.

System Configuration to open the
SCU.
3. From the SCU Configure menu, click
Paths.
4. In the Path Configuration dialog box,
change the base path and NLS path to
point to the local install path. Change
the project path to point to the project
destination folder, if it does not
already do so.
Tasks.
6. In the Task Configuration dialog box,
change the path of the configured tasks
to the local install path, make sure that
you include the same command line
options.
Network.
8. In the Network Configuration dialog
box, confirm the information is correct
and make changes if necessary.
SQL, and then click Configure SQL
Tasks.
10. In the SQL Task Configuration dialog
box, make sure that the Primary and
Backup paths are correct, if used.
Local Startup Paths.
12. In the Local Startup Definition dialog
box, change the path to the folder you
copied the project to with the get
command.
13. From the SCU File menu, click Save.
Save it as the default startup SCU file
name or indicate that this is the SCU
you want to use on startup.
14. Restart iFIX.
Enhanced Failover and Upgrading
If upgrading from a previous version of iFIX

with failover enabled, and you want to use the
Enhanced Failover feature in iFIX 5.1, be
aware that:
• The Enhanced Failover feature is a

keyed option in iFIX 5.1. You must
purchase the additional Enhanced
Failover option (SCADA Failover) if
you plan to use SCADA Failover in
iFIX 5.1. If you had purchased the Ack
Failover option in your previous
version of iFIX, your key upgrade will
include the new SCADA Failover
option.
• If you purchased the Failover feature
when you bought a previous version of
iFIX, then your iFIX 5.1.plic license
file update will enable the Enhanced
Failover option automatically. Be
aware, when you use the Proficy
License Viewer in iFIX 5.1, that the
part description changed from "ACK
Failover" to "SCADA Failover."
• Before installing iFIX, it is
recommended that you confirm that
the SCADA Failover option is enabled
on your key. iFIX 5.1 software checks
the Enhanced Failover option at
startup. Without this option enabled,
the Enhanced Failover functionality
will not work. An error message
appears if you try to run iFIX with the
SCADA Failover feature.
• If your 5.1 SCADA key does not show
the SCADA Failover functionality
enabled, and you purchased this
additional option, please contact you
sales representative before upgrading.
• When you upgrade your iFIX SCADA
node to iFIX 5.1, you will need to
make configuration changes on your
iFIX 5.1 SCADA nodes for the
Enhanced Failover feature to work
properly. For example, the Data Sync
Transport dialog box in the System
Configuration Utility (SCU) is new in
iFIX 5.1. It requires that you enter the
partner's IP address on both the
primary and secondary SCADA nodes.
• You can choose to upgrade your iClent
(View) nodes with Failover enabled to
iFIX 5.1, or to continue using your
iClent (View) nodes with Failover
enabled from any previous version of
iFIX. There are no additional steps to
configure the Enhanced Failover
feature on the iClients if you already
configured them in previous releases.
• The Alarm Acknowledgement
synchronization feature from previous
iFIX versions is NOT supported on
SCADA nodes upgraded to 5.1. The
Alarm Acknowledgement
functionality is replaced by the
database synchronization and alarm
area files provided in iFIX 5.1.
• It is strongly recommended that you
use a dedicated network between the
primary and secondary SCADA nodes
for dedicated SCADA-to-SCADA
traffic. If the SCADA nodes are
physically close to each other, then a
crossover cable can be used.
• It is strongly recommended that the
network components (LAN adapters,
hubs, switches, cables, etc.) used for
SCADA-to-SCADA connection of the
SCADA pair support a minimum 1
Gigabit Ethernet. This allows for a
higher rate of speed for data transfer
between the primary and secondary
SCADA nodes.
• In iFIX 5.1, you will need to configure
a primary and a "secondary" SCADA
node. One SCADA will be in Active
mode (processing data and alarms)
while the other will be in Standby
mode. This is unlike previous versions
of iFIX, where you configured a
primary and "backup" SCADA node
and both nodes were processing data
and alarms. The concept of the
SCADA pair still exists in iFIX 5.1,
but GE Intelligent Platforms does not
support using your standby SCADA as
a development machine in iFIX 5.1
(for example, for database or picture
development). However, there is a
maintenance mode that allows you to
upgrade your SCADA configuration
without requiring a SAC restart.
• Stratus solutions will continue to be
supported in iFIX 5.1. Any Stratus
SCADA nodes that you want to
upgrade to use Enhanced Failover will
require configuration changes on your
iFIX 5.1 SCADA nodes for the
Enhanced Failover feature to work
properly (the same configuration
changes as the non-Stratus nodes).
• Custom applications or scripts that
were written to synchronize databases
or alarms on previous versions of iFIX
will no longer be required with
Enhanced Failover enabled. So as not
to interfere with the 5.1 SCADA
failover, you should remove these
custom applications or scripts from
your failover configuration.
The following steps describe how to upgrade

your failover system.
To configure your iFIX SCADA nodes
after an upgrade, if failover was used in a
previous release:
1. On the primary SCADA node, on the

Start menu, point to Programs, then
Proficy HMI/SCADA - iFIX, and then
Configuration Utility (SCU) appears.
2. On the Configure menu, click
SCADA. The SCADA Configuration
dialog box appears.
3. In the Failover area, select the Enable
check box if it is not already selected.
4. In the Node area, verify or select the
node type: Primary or Secondary.
5. In the SCADA Name field, verify or
enter the name of your partner
SCADA node.
6. Click the Data Sync Transport button.
The Data Sync Transport dialog box
appears.
7. From the Description list, select the
LAN adapter(s) to use for data
synchronization between the SCADA
pair, then select the Enable check box.
Make sure that the LAN adapters you
will not be using for data
synchronization are not enabled.
8. In the Partner's Address field, enter the
IP address of the partner node.
9. Use the default settings for the rest of
the fields.
NOTE: The Bandwidth Limit field in
the Data Sync Transport dialog box
allows you to enter a value to throttle
down or limit the synchronization rate
or bandwidth used. It is recommended
when using a corporate, non-dedicated
or shared network (10/100 or 1GB),
that you "throttle" network traffic to
limit bandwidth that the data
synchronization process will consume.
10. Click OK.

11. Repeat steps 1-10 on the secondary
SCADA node.
Title Bar in iFIX WorkSpaceiFIX 3.0 and
later provides a new title bar in the
WorkSpace, which reads "Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace." If you have any custom
applications that use the FindWindow
Microsoft API call, you will need to update
these applications to reflect the new title bar.
Programs that Run as a Service with

iFIX
When you start iFIX as a service, programs in

the startup task list also start as services. If you
upgrade from a previous version of iFIX, be
aware that programs listed in the SCU's Task
Configuration dialog box will continue to run
as services if iFIX remains running as a
service.
However, if you previously started the iFIX

OPC A&E Server with this command:
iFixOPCAESrv.exe -service
The -service option is no longer needed to run
the iFIX OPC A&E Server as a service. You
should go into the Task Configuration dialog
box and remove the -service command from
the startup task list.
Be aware that you can only run programs such

as the iFIX OPC A&E Server as a service if
iFIX is configured to run as a service.
If you want to run the OPC Client driver as a

service, iFIX must also run as a service.
Likewise, if you want to run iFIX as a service,
the OPC Client driver must run as a service.
You cannot run one as a service, without the
other also running as a service.
ToolbarsIf your Proficy iFIX WorkSpace
contains additional standard toolbars from
other iFIX versions, such as the Proficy
Historian toolbar, these toolbars will appear in
the iFIX WorkSpace system tree, in the Project
Toolbar Files > Toolbars folder. Double-click
a toolbar to display it in the WorkSpace.
Standard vs. Classic Window Styles
Because the standard window styles now

include larger title bars and menu bars, such as
those in Windows XP, scroll bars may appear
in iFIX pictures (that you created in earlier
versions of Windows) when you open them.
To resolve this issue, it is recommended that

you change the Appearance Scheme in the
Windows Display Properties dialog box to
Windows Classic.
Changing Permissions for
PlugAndSolve and User Globals
If you upgrade from iFIX 2.6, you may need to

change the security properties of the user.fxg
and plugandsolve.fxg files. To change the
permissions on these files, you must be logged
in as an Administrator. Use the following
steps.
To change permissions on a file:
1. Open the File Explorer.

2. Right-click the PlugandSolve.fxg or
user.fxg file in your iFIX PIC folder,
and select Properties. The Properties
dialog box appears.
NOTE: If the Security tab does not
appear in Windows XP, open Windows
Explorer. From the Tools menu, choose
Folder Options. The Folder Options
dialog box appears. Click the View tab.
Clear the Use simple file sharing
(Recommended) check box and click
OK.
3. Select the Security tab.

4. Click the Advanced button. The
Advanced Security Settings for file
name dialog box appears, where file
name refers to the name of the file you
selected in step 2.
5. On the Permissions tab, for the
specified user, check the Inherit from
parent the permission entries that
apply to child objects. Include these
with entries explicitly defined here.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for the other file.
Advanced Historian Not Supported
Advanced Historian is not supported in iFIX

2.6 and greater. So, you cannot use Advanced
Historian with iFIX 5.1. If you have Advanced
Historian installed, contact your local iFIX
sales representative about upgrading to Proficy
Historian.
Proficy Historian
Beginning with iFIX 5.0, Proficy Historian is

integrated with iFIX. However, using Historian
in an integrated manner is entirely optional.
Historian can still be used as a stand-alone
application. If you choose to use Historian as a
stand-alone product, its functionality is not
impaired; it continues to work the same way as
it did before your upgrade. To help you decide
whether or not to use Historian as an integrated
component of iFIX, see Using iFIX with
Proficy Historian.
If you decide to install the integrated Proficy

Historian features in iFIX at a later date, all of
the integration features, including the Historian
toolbar, will be installed.
If you decide to use the integrated Proficy

Historian features in iFIX, you must shut down
Historian services and licensing prior to
installing iFIX and Historian and you must
choose to install Historian during the iFIX
install.
After the iFIX database is upgraded, all newly
added block fields for Historian are added with
default values.
Upgrading from iFIX 5.0
If you are upgrading from iFIX 5.0 and you

used the integrated Proficy Historian features,
you must also upgrade Proficy Historian from
version 3.1 to version 3.5. If you do not
upgrade your version of Historian, it may crash
unexpectedly.
Compatibility of iFIX Pictures
iFIX 5.1 supports pictures created, saved, or

built in previous versions of iFIX. However,
pictures created, saved, or built in iFIX 5.1 are
not compatible and cannot be opened in prior
versions of iFIX.
When you open a picture from a previous
version of iFIX in the newer version, and save
it, your picture is automatically updated to the
newest version of iFIX. However, due to the
design of the VisiconX objects in iFIX 5.0 and
greater, it is recommended that you manually
replace your older VisiconX objects with the
newer versions.
Resolving iFIX Displays
When you upgrade your iFIX system, or add or

delete tags from your database, it is important
that you run resolve on all pictures and
schedules. This will ensure that you are getting
maximum performance from your iFIX
system.
Converting Pictures from FIX 7.x to

iFIX
When converting pictures from FIX v7 to

iFIX, we recommend that you load the
corresponding database in Database Manager
before converting a picture.
If you do not load the current database, you
will need to manually reset each animation.
For more information, see the Using the
Picture Converter Utility section of the
Creating Pictures manual.
Running Pictures Created in an Older

Version of iFIX
If you performed your original picture

development on an earlier version of iFIX and
have not upgraded to iFIX 2.2 or later, you
may experience color mapping errors when
upgrading to iFIX 5.1.
To avoid color mapping problems, perform the

following steps before saving and resolving
any pictures in iFIX 5.1.
To avoid color mapping problems:
1. Copy and save the tables.lst file from

the older version of iFIX.
2. Install the iFIX upgrade or switch to
the upgraded machine.
3. Shut down the WorkSpace.
4. Delete the tableconversion.lst file from
the iFIX directory (C:\Program
Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX).
5. Copy the original tables.lst file to the
iFIX directory.
6. Restart the WorkSpace.
Using Code Written for Pictures in

iFIX 2.1
Code written to position or size a picture using

the ActiveWindow object in iFIX 2.1 may
produce different results in an iFIX 5.1 system
using multiple monitors with autoscale
disabled. The incorrect positioning and sizing
occurs because the ActiveWindow object in
2.1 does not account for the disabled autoscale
in 5.1.
You can access the ActiveWindow object

directly from the documents collection or by
calling the OpenPicture subroutine.
To correct the sizing and positioning, multiply

the parameters in the 2.1 script by the number
of monitors.
For example:
In iFIX 2.1, you opened a picture on the

second monitor of a dual monitor system by
issuing the following command:
openpicture "picture.grf",,0,50
In iFIX 2.6 and later, open a picture on the

second monitor of a dual monitor system by
issuing the following command:
openpicture "picture.grf",,0,100
Database Dynamos
Database Dynamos, also known as loadable

blocks, will require updates to work with iFIX
5.1. If you have old Database Dynamos on
your system, the iFIX install program will
detect them, and generate a warning message.
This includes any Database Dynamos that you
downloaded from the Support web site, or
installed from the Allen-Bradley Productivity
Pack CD before you installed iFIX 3.x.
The GE Intelligent Platforms web site contains
updated versions of the database dynamos
supplied by GE Intelligent Platforms. To
obtain updated version of other dynamos,
contact the vendor of that dynamo. To obtain
the current version of the Database Dynamo
Toolkit, contact your local iFIX sales
representative.
NOTE: When upgrading an iFIX SCADA node

with loadable blocks, always make sure that the
block slot number prior to the upgrade matches
the block slot number after the upgrade. Slots
are saved inside the FIX.INI (in the [Scada]
section) . If the block slot numbers do not match
after the upgrade, iFIX will be unable to load
these blocks, and eliminate them from the
database. In addition, you may receive a
warning message stating that the there is a block
configuration mismatch.
Historical Datalinks
Beginning with iFIX 5.1, the configuration

requirements for historical datalinks changed.
To upgrade your existing historical datalinks,
for each picture which contains them, open the
picture and save it. If you do not make any
changes on the Historical Datalinks dialog box,
the historical datalink, by default will use
CurrentValue for its Historical Mode.
iFIX Dynamo Sets
When you upgrade iFIX, or install a Software

Improvement Module (SIM) that updates any
iFIX Dynamo sets, the newer Dynamo sets
overwrite the older ones. To avoid losing any
modifications made to the older files, you can
rename them or move them to a folder located
outside the iFIX picture path. Dynamo set files
have an .fds extension and are located in the
C:\Program Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX\PIC
folder, by default.
Be aware that when you upgrade iFIX, the
Dynamos in pre-built Dynamo sets and the
Dynamos created before iFIX 4.5 are not
considered Dynamo objects. This means you
cannot use the Quick Dynamo Updater, the
Dynamo Updater Wizard, and the Cross
Reference Tool (available in iFIX 4.5 and
greater) to update instances of these Dynamos
within existing pictures. Only Dynamo objects
created in the newer version of iFIX can be
updated with these tools.
Pre-built Dynamos include the following

Dynamo sets:
• Historical.fds
• Miscellaneous.fds
• Motors.fds
• Pipes.fds
• PipesAnim.fds
• Pumps.fds
• PumpsAnim.fds
• Tanks.fds
• TanksAnim1.fds
• TanksAnim2.fds
• Valves.fds
• ValvesAnim.fds
Deleting Temp Directory Contents if

iFIX Installation Fails
When upgrading to iFIX, in some cases the

installation will run too quickly, taking only a
few seconds, or hang and not complete the
process. In both cases, the product will not
successfully install.
If this happens, delete the contents of the Temp

directory and run the installation again.
Alarm Summary Objects and Picture

Translation
For each picture created in a previous release

that uses the picture translation feature and
includes an Alarm Summary object(s), you
must export the language file again after you
upgrade.
This step updates your language files to
include the Alarm Summary object
information.
Next, using a text editor, you must provide

translations for each of these new fields in the
exported language (.csv) file(s). This step is
required because the iFIX language translation
file originally did not include the Alarm
Summary object.
NOTES:
• iFIX 5.1 supports translation of the

Alarm Summary object information
through the picture object, or through
the Alarm Summary object. You may
also want to create new pictures which
take advantage of the SwitchLanguage
Method on the Alarm Summary object
itself. For more information on how to
use this feature, refer to the
SwitchLanguage Method Example in
the iFIX Automation Reference.
• In iFIX 5.1, you can also change the
font of the Column Headers and the
Status Bar in the Alarm Summary object
for translation display purposes. This
Font changing feature is new in iFIX
5.1 and can be accessed from the
General tab of the Alarm Summary
object in configure mode. You may want
to update your pictures to use this
feature, as well. For more information
on how to use this feature, refer to the
Configuring Fonts for the Column
Headings and Status Bar in the
Creating Pictures electronic book.
To export a single language file:
1. In the WorkSpace configuration mode,

open the picture you want to export a
language file for.
2. In Classic view, on the WorkSpace
menu, click User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in
the WorkSpace group, click Settings,
and then click User Preferences.
3. Click the Picture Preferences tab and
make sure the Translate Picture On
Open check box is cleared. If it is
selected, the LanguageDesired and
TranslateOnOpen properties in the
Properties window cannot be changed.
4. Click OK to close the User
Preferences dialog box.
5. Right-click in the picture and choose
Property Window.
6. From the LanguageDesired list, select
the appropriate language.
7. From the TranslateOnOpen list, select
Yes.
8. On the Translation toolbar, click the
Export language file button. A
message appears letting you know the
language file was successfully
exported.
9. You can now open the language file in
a text editor and translate the text
strings for the picture.
To export multiple language files:
1. In the iFIX WorkSpace, on the

Translation toolbar, click the Export
multiple language files button. The
Language File Exporter dialog box
appears.
2. In the Select pictures list, select the
check box for each picture you want to
export a language file for.
3. If applicable, select the Show Tag
Status pictures check box to display
and select tag status pictures in the
Select pictures list.
4. If applicable, select the Always
overwrite existing export files check
box. If you are exporting a language
file for a picture that already has a
language file for the selected language,
the existing language file will be
automatically overwritten. If you clear
this check box, you will be prompted
to replace the existing language file.
Click Yes to replace it and No to keep
it.
5. From the Select language list, choose
the language that you want to provide
translations for.
6. Click Export. A separate language file
is created for each picture you
selected.
7. You can now open each language file
in a text editor and translate the text
strings for the pictures.
Upgrading from FIX 7.x

If you want to upgrade from FIX 7.x to iFIX
5.1, but continue to use your FIX 7.x pictures,
you must install iFIX with the FIX Desktop
option. FIX Desktop is provided as a custom
option in your iFIX product install. To install
FIX Desktop option when installing iFIX,
select the Custom install option, and then
select the FIX Desktop check box from the list
of features.
After you upgrade to iFIX with FIX Desktop,
you can run FIX Desktop Draw, View, and
HTD applications alongside the Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace. All applications use the iFIX
security, database, and system configuration
information.
This chapter describes how to upgrade the FIX

7.x product to iFIX 5.1 with FIX Desktop.
After you upgrade, you can continue to use
your FIX32 pictures in FIX Desktop Draw and
View applications, or you can migrate and
create new pictures in the Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace.
Before you upgrade, you need to follow the

steps outlined in the Preparing for the Upgrade
to iFIX with FIX Desktop section. The actual
upgrade steps are outlined in the Overview of
Steps to Upgrade from FIX 7.x section.
Preparing for the Upgrade to iFIX
with FIX Desktop
The following sections describe the steps you

need to take to prepare your computer for
upgrading to iFIX with FIX Desktop. These
sections are presented in the order that you
should proceed with each task. These tasks are
also outlined in the list below.
To prepare for the upgrade:
1. Convert recipes to the required format

by Preparing the Recipe Files for the
Upgrade.
2. Export I/O driver information by
Upgrade.
3. Record the enabled environmental
protection options by Checking the
Environmental Protection Settings.
4. Be sure to save all required files by
Backing Up FIX Files.
5. Compile a list of user accounts by
Configuration.
6. Edit the user accounts in the report file
by Adding Passwords to the .RPT File.
7. Finish by Generating a System
Configuration Report.
Preparing the Recipe Files for the

Upgrade
If any of your current FIX32 projects uses

recipes, you will need to convert these recipes
to .rcx (Master text) and .rcy (Control text)
files before you upgrade to iFIX with FIX
Desktop. These recipes are located in the
FIX32 RCM and RCC folders. This step is
necessary so that you can import your recipes
after installing iFIX with FIX Desktop.
To convert your recipes to .rcx and .rcy
files:
1. Start FIX32.
2. If security is enabled, log in using a
user account with Administrator rights.
3. Start the FIX32 Recipe Manager,
RCP.EXE.
4. Save each master recipe as a .rcx file:
a. Open the master recipe
(.RCM file).
b. On the File menu, click Save
As. The Recipe Mod Log
dialog box appears.
c. Click Save As. The recipe
Save As dialog box appears.
d. From the Save File As Type
drop-down list, select Master
text (*.rcx).
e. Confirm that the location is
the RCM folder and the file
name is the same as the
original file.
f. Click OK.
5. Save each control recipe as a .rcy file:
a. Open the control recipe (.rcc
file).
b. On the File menu, click Save
As. The Recipe Mod Log
dialog box appears.
c. Click Save As. The recipe
d. From the Save File As Type
drop-down list, select
Control text (*.rcy).
e. Confirm that the location is
the RCC folder and file
name is the same as the
original file.
f. Click OK.
6. Verify that you saved all recipes by
inspecting the FIX32\RCC and
FIX32\RCM folders.
Upgrade
Before you upgrade to iFIX with FIX Desktop,

it is recommended that you use the driver
configuration program to export the driver
information into .CSV files. By default, these
files are saved to the FIX32/PDB folder. You
use these .CSV files later to import the driver
information into the upgraded system.
Later in the install process, after importing the

driver files, you can verify the driver migration
and convert the process database for use with
iFIX and FIX Desktop.
To export the driver configuration:
1. Start the current installation of FIX (if

it is not already running).
3. Start the System Configuration Utility
(SCU).
dialog box appears.
5. Select an installed driver (other than
SIM), and click the Configure button.
The Driver Configurator program
starts.
6. Select the first channel, CHANNEL1,
in the browser on the left side of the
window.
7. On the File menu, click Save As. The
8. Leave the default location of
FIX32\PDB, and enter a name for the
file in the File Name field.
9. From the Save as Type drop-down list,
select Text Files (*.CSV).
10. Click Save.
11. Repeat steps 6-10 for each channel of
the driver that is currently installed.
Note the file names and their location
for later use.
12. Repeat steps 5-11 for each I/O driver
installed on your system.
13. Exit the SCU.
Checking the Environmental

Protection Settings
Before the upgrade to iFIX with FIX Desktop,

you should open the Environment Protection
dialog in the Draw application and record these
settings. After the upgrade, you cannot access
this dialog box from Draw. Instead, you
configure all environmental protection options
in the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace.
To record your current environment
protection settings:
1. Start FIX.
2. Open the Draw application.
3. On the Edit menu, click Environment.
The Environment Protection dialog
box appears.
4. Inspect and record the enabled options.
Backing Up FIX Files
After you create the support files for your

recipe and I/O driver upgrades, you can
proceed to back up your FIX 7.x files. Create a
new folder on your computer, separate from
the FIX 7.x (FIX32) folder, for the files you
want to save.
After you back up the FIX files, you may also

want to copy this new folder to another
location, such as a network drive or a
removable media, as a safeguard until the
migration is complete.
The following table lists the files and folders
that you must back up.
Files or Location Description

Folder to of FIX32
Copy Component
*.PDB, FIX32\PDB Process

*.CSV, database and
*.GDB, all driver
driver configuration
configuration files.
files
*.ODF FIX32\PIC Picture files.
*.ODT FIX32\PIC Template

files for
pictures.
*.TGE FIX32\PIC Tag Group

Editor files.
*.KMX FIX32\PIC Key Macro

Editor files.
Folder to of FIX32
Copy Component
*.LYT FIX32\PIC Layout files.
*.SBL FIX32\PIC Custom

Dynamos.
*.RCX FIX32\RCM Master

recipe files,
in text
format.
NOTE: These
files do not
appear unless
you followed
the steps in
the
Preparing
the Recipe
Files for the
Upgrade
section.
Folder to of FIX32
Copy Component
*.RCY FIX32\RCC Control

recipe files,
in text
format.
NOTE: These
files do not
appear unless
you followed
the steps in
the
Preparing
the Recipe
Files for the
Upgrade
section.
Folder to of FIX32
Copy Component
Draw.ini, FIX32\LOCAL Initialization

View.ini, settings for
*.RPT the Draw and
View
applications,
and report
files.
Entire FIX32\HTRDATA Collected

HTRDATA historical
folder data.
Entire HTR FIX32\HTR Historical

folder collection
preferences.
Entire ALM FIX32\ALM Alarm file

folder and event
log.
Folder to of FIX32
Copy Component
Entire APP FIX32\APP Custom data

folder and
configuration
files for your
iFIX
applications.
To back up the required files:
1. Create a new folder on your computer,

separate from the FIX32 folder, for the
files you want to save.
2. Copy the entire PDB folder into this
new folder. The PDB folder includes
the process database and driver
configuration files (*.PDB, *.CSV,
*.GDB, all driver configuration files).
3. Copy the entire PIC folder, which
includes all displays, display
templates, tag groups, key macros,
layouts, and custom Dynamos (*.ODF,
*.ODT, *.ODT, *.TGE, *.KMX,
*.LYT, and *.SBL files).
4. Copy the converted master recipe files
(*.RCX) in the RCM folder.
5. Copy the converted control recipe files
(*.RCY) in the RCC folder.
6. Copy the initialization settings for the
Draw and View applications and
report files (Draw.ini, View.ini,
*.RPT) from the LOCAL folder.
7. Copy the entire HTRDATA folder,
which includes all collected historical
data.
8. Copy the entire HTR folder, which
includes your historical collection
preferences.
9. Copy the entire ALM folder, which
includes all alarm files and event logs.
10. Copy the entire APP folder, which
includes any custom data and
configuration files for your iFIX
applications.
11. After you copy all of these files, you
may want to back up these files to
another location, such as a network
drive or a removable media, as a
safeguard until the migration is
complete.

Configuration
Before you upgrade to iFIX with FIX Desktop,

you need to export a report from the FIX
Security Configuration application. This report
includes a list of iFIX users along with the
application features configured for each user in
your FIX applications. Save this file along
with the other FIX files and folders that you
backed up.
IMPORTANT: Passwords are not exported with

the security configuration report; you must re-
enter the passwords manually. See the Adding
Passwords to the .RPT File section for details.
This policy is for security purposes.
After you install iFIX and FIX Desktop (in the

same language as the original install), you can
import this report file into your new security
configuration to recreate the user accounts on
the upgraded system. You can also use this
printed report as a cross reference when you
reassign the new application features to each
user.
To export a list of user accounts:

(SCU).
4. On the Configure menu, click Security
to enter the Security Configuration.
5. On the File menu, click Export. The
Select File dialog box appears.
6. Browse to the folder that you want to
save the file to. By default, this folder
is the FIX32\Local folder. Most likely
you will want to save this file to the
location where you backed up the
other FIX files.
7. Use the default name for the .RPT file,
which is Security.RPT.
8. Click Save.
9. Open this report in a text editor such
as Notepad or Wordpad and print a
copy.
Adding Passwords to the .RPT File
The report file that you export from the

Security Configuration application does not
include user passwords. This is done to protect
your system.
If you later try to import this file into the

Security Configuration application without the
passwords, none of the iFIX user accounts will
require passwords. In this case, you would
need to re-enter each password manually. You
can avoid this step entirely by editing each
account in the report file from a text editor
before the migration.
To add passwords to your exported file

with the security configuration:
1. Open the Security.RPT file in a text

editor such as Notepad or WordPad.
By default this file is located in the
Local folder, on the FIX32 node.
2. Search the file for the first instance of
the word User: in the report. For
example:
User: GUEST
Login-name: GUEST
Timeout: 00:00:00
Feature: View
3. Insert the text Password: after the

user's login name.
4. Type the user's password after the
colon. An example of what this might
look like is as follows:
User: GUEST
Login-name: GUEST
Password: GUEST
Timeout: 00:00:00
Feature: View
5. Scroll down through the report and

repeat steps 3 and 4 for each user in
the report.
Generating a System Configuration
ReportBefore you migrate to iFIX with FIX
Desktop, it's a good idea to create a system
configuration report. This report includes
information that you may need later when you
are configuring your SCU. It is also helpful if
you want to verify your system after the
migration. This report includes:
• General node configuration

information, such as the node and
setup file name, as well as SCADA,
network, NLS, and security options.
• System path locations for base, local,
language, database, pictures, and so
on.
• SCADA configuration such as the
name and number of I/O drivers.
• Alarm configuration information such
as default message format, application
message routing, remote alarm areas,
alarm network service, alarm
summary, and alarm history service
settings.
• List of startup tasks.
• SQL configuration.
• Auto Alarm Manager configuration to
send and receive alarms.
This report contains valuable reference

information on your current FIX system before
the upgrade.
Steps to Generate a System

Configuration Report
To generate a system configuration

report:
1. Start the current installation of FIX32

(if it is not already running).
(SCU).
4. On the File menu, click Report. The
Select Report Name dialog box
appears.
5. In the File Name field, leave the
default name. The default name is the
node name.
6. Click Save. A report named
NodeName.RPT is saved to the Local
folder. A message appears when the
save is complete.
NOTE: NodeName is the name from
step 5.
7. Click OK to continue.
Overview of Steps to Upgrade from

FIX 7.x
After you complete the steps described in the

Preparing for the Upgrade to iFIX with FIX
Desktop section, you can proceed to the actual
product upgrade.
To upgrade from FIX 7.x:
1. Complete the steps for Installing the

iFIX Software.
2. Follow the steps for Installing the FIX
Desktop Software.
3. Update the Database Dynamos.
4. Install the Newest Drivers and iFIX
Product SIMs.
5. Copy the Backed Up Files into the
New Product Folder.
6. Import the FIX I/O Driver
Configuration Information.
7. Verify the I/O Driver and Database
Migration.
8. Import the Recipes Files.
9. Import the Security Configuration.
10. Reconfigure the Application Features
and Passwords for Each User.
11. Redefine SCADA Failover Settings.
12. Enable Environmental Protection.
Update Database Dynamos
To use FIX 7.x Database Dynamos in iFIX

with FIX Desktop, you must recompile them
with the iFIX Database Dynamo Toolkit.
Follow the steps outlined in the iFIX Database
Dynamo Toolkit and the Database Converter
will update your Database Dynamos. The
Database Converter runs whenever iFIX is
started.
For information on the Database Dynamo

toolkit, contact GE Intelligent Platforms.
Install the Newest Drivers and iFIX

Product SIMs
You must install the most current drivers

before you migrate the Process Database
(PDB) from FIX32 to iFIX with FIX Desktop.
This is necessary so that your FIX32
applications can migrate properly to iFIX with
FIX Desktop.
You can install the newest drivers from the
most current Driver CD, or by obtaining the
driver file from the Proficy GlobalCare
Support web site, http://www.ge-
ip.com/support.
To install the driver, follow the instructions

that came with your driver CD, or with your
download. If you install a driver from the web,
the process generally entails extracting files
from a .EXE and running a simple install
program or manually copying files. Refer to
the driver documentation for information on
the install process.
After obtaining and installing the latest drivers,

it is recommended that you check for the latest
patches for the iFIX product. Obtain all
applicable iFIX SIMs and add-ons from the
Proficy GlobalCare Support web site,
http://www.ge-ip.com/support. Install these
SIMs on top of the current iFIX installation.
To install the newest drivers and iFIX
product SIMs:
IMPORTANT: You must install the

most current drivers before you migrate
the Process Database (PDB) files from
FIX32 to iFIX. This step is necessary so
that your FIX32 applications can
migrate properly to iFIX.
1. Obtain the latest the most current

Driver CD or the driver update from
the GlobalCare Support web site,
http://www.ge-ip.com/support.
2. Follow the instructions that came with
your driver CD, or the information
included with the driver download.
3. Check for the latest patches for the
iFIX product. Obtain all applicable
iFIX SIMs and add-ons from the
GlobalCare Support web site,
http://www.ge-ip.com/support.
4. Install these SIMs on top of the
installed iFIX product.
5. Do not start iFIX.
Copy the Backed Up Files into the
New Product Folder
After iFIX with FIX Desktop is installed,

along with the drivers, appropriate SIMs, and
hardware key, you can copy your previous
FIX32 files into the new iFIX with FIX
Desktop install location. As you remember,
you backed up these files before beginning the
iFIX with FIX Desktop installation. The
default iFIX install folder is: C:\Program
The following table lists the files to copy from

your backup folder, and the location to copy
them to (assuming you used the default iFIX
directory).
Files to Copy Location to
Copy in iFIX
Folder
*.PDB, *.CSV, *.GDB PDB

all driver configuration
files
*.ODF PIC
*.ODT PIC
*.TGE PIC
*.KMX PIC
*.LYT PIC
*.SBL PIC
*.RCX RCM
*.RCY RCY
Files to Copy Location to
Copy in iFIX
Folder
Draw.ini, View.ini, LOCAL

*.RPT
HTRDATA/*.* HTRDATA
HTR/*.* HTR
ALM/*.* ALM
APP/*.* APP
To copy the backed up files into the
appropriate Proficy iFIX product folders:
1. Copy the *.PDB, *.CSV, and *.GDB

files from the FIX32 PDB folder into
the iFIX PDB folder.
NOTE: If you installed iFIX to the
default location, the iFIX folders are
located in this path: C:\Program
2. Copy the contents of the FIX32 PIC

folder into the iFIX PIC folder.
3. Copy the *.RCX files into the iFIX
RCM folder.
4. Copy the *.RCY files into the iFIX
RCC folder.
5. Copy the Draw.ini, View.ini, *.RPT
files for FI32X into the iFIX Local
folder.
6. Copy the contents of the FIX32
HTRDATA folder into the iFIX
HTRDATA folder.
7. Copy the contents of the FIX32 HTR
folder into the iFIX HTR folder.
8. Copy the contents of the FIX32 ALM
folder into the iFIX ALM folder.
9. Copy the contents of the FIX32 APP
folder into the iFIX APP folder.
Import the FIX I/O Driver

Configuration Information
After you copy the backed up FIX files into

your new iFIX with FIX Desktop folder, you
are ready to import the I/O driver configuration
information.
To import the I/O driver configuration

information:
1. Start the iFIX SCU, by clicking the

Start button, pointing to Programs,
System Configuration.
2. Verify that the Node name that
appears on the main screen is correct.
Refer to the NodeName.RPT report
described in the Generating a System
Configuration Report section if you
are unsure of the name.
3. Double-click the Database Name to
enter the database name you want to
use. The Database Definition dialog
box appears. Ensure it is the same
name as the previous project.
4. Click OK. A prompt appears stating
that the database does not exist.
5. Select Yes, and use the database
anyway.
dialog box appears.
7. Verify that the required drivers appear
in the Configured I/O Drivers list. If
required, add the SIM and any other
required driver to the Configured I/O
Drivers list.
8. Click OK, and then Yes when
prompted.
9. On the File menu, click Save.
10. Close the SCU.
11. Click Start and point to Programs,
Proficy HMI SCADA - iFIX 5.1, and
then iFIX 5.1 to launch the iFIX
Startup dialog box.
12. Make sure the local node name is
correct, and click the button in this
dialog box to start iFIX.
13. When iFIX is running, start the SCU
again.
dialog box appears.
15. Verify each driver configuration is
correct by selecting the driver and then
clicking the Configure button. The
Driver Configurator opens.
If the driver configuration is correct,
you can close the Driver Configurator
and proceed to step 24.
If you need to make changes, you can

make the necessary changes, save the
file, and proceed to step 24. Otherwise,
import the driver configuration by
following steps 16-22.
16. Select the first channel, CHANNEL1,
in the browser on the left side of the
window.
17. On the File menu, click Open. The
Open dialog box appears.
18. From the Save as Type drop-down list,
select Text Files (*.CSV).
19. Select the .CSV file for the channel.
20. Click Open.
21. Repeat steps 16-20 for each channel of
the driver that is currently displayed.
22. Repeat steps 15-21 for each I/O driver
installed on your system.
23. When you finish these tasks for all
drivers, on the File menu, click Save
and exit the Driver Configurator.
24. Save and Exit the SCU.
Verify the I/O Driver and Database
Migration
After configuring the SCU, complete the

following procedure to verify the migration of
the I/O drivers and to convert the Process
Database.
To verify the migration:
1. Start iFIX.
2. Start Mission Control from the Proficy
iFIX WorkSpace. You can find the
button to launch Mission Control in
the WorkSpace tree.
3. Examine the information on the I/O
Control tab. Ensure that data is being
polled. If data is present, advance to
Step 6.
4. If there is no data present, ensure that
the driver is loaded and is running.
Exit Mission Control and select
System Configuration to start the
SCU.
dialog box appears.
6. Select the I/O driver and verify that the
Poll Records are present. If they are
not present, repeat the steps in the
Import the FIX I/O Driver
Configuration Information section.
7. Maximize the Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace and then:
a. Start Database Manager
from the WorkSpace System
Tree.
b. Verify that the I/O addresses
for your data blocks are
correct.
8. Save and exit Database Manager.
Errors that occur during the database
conversion are written to the error log
file (dbcvt.err). You can open this file
in any text editor. Use this log file to
identify the individual tags causing the
problems. Consult the online help or
contact GE Intelligent Platforms for
more details on how to troubleshoot
database conversion errors.
Import the Recipes Files
After converting and successfully running the

I/O Drivers and Process Database, you can
import the recipes that you previously saved as
.rcx and .rcy files.
To import recipe files:
1. From the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace,

select the FIX Recipes folder in the
system tree.
2. Double-click the New Recipe icon.
The Recipe Development utility
appears.
3. Open each .rcx file in the iFIX RCM
folder and save each file as a .rcm file.
4. Open each .rcy file in the iFIX RCC
folder and save each file as a .rcc file.
5. When you are finished, exit the Recipe
Development utility.
Import the Security Configuration
When you import the security configuration

file that you created before the install, all your
FIX 32 users are re-added to the iFIX with FIX
Desktop software. Later you will need to re-
enter passwords for these users and redefine
the application features assigned to each user,
since the iFIX with FIX Desktop software
includes new and reassigned application
features. However, before you can do that, you
need to import the list of users from the
security configuration.
To import the list of users from the

security configuration:

2. From the Proficy HMI SCADA - iFIX
program group, start the System
Configuration application. The SCU
opens.
Security. The Security Configuration
application appears.
4. On the File menu, click Import. The
Select File dialog box appears.
5. Browse to the folder that you copied
the original .RPT file to. By default,
this folder is the C:\Program
Files\Proficy\Proficy iFIX\Local
folder.
6. Select the file and click Open. A
message box appears warning you that
the imported user accounts will not
contain passwords.
IMPORTANT: Be aware that you
cannot import a security file exported
from another language.
7. Click Yes to continue. Another

message box appears requesting that
you replace or add this file to the
existing configuration.
8. Click Replace.
IMPORTANT: Do not shut down the
SCU before moving on to the next set of
steps. If you did not add passwords to
the user accounts before you migrated,
as described in the Adding Passwords
to the .RPT File section, you could
possibly lock yourself out, if security is
enabled.
9. Continue by following the steps in the

Reconfigure the Application Features
and Passwords for Each User section.
Reconfigure the Application Features

and Passwords for Each User
After you import the security configuration

(.RPT) file, you can proceed to reconfigure the
features available for each user and reassign
new passwords, if you did not already do so.
Use the Security Configuration program to
open each group profile and user profile,
assign application features, and create a new
password (if a password is required). Use the
printout that you created in the Exporting a
Report of the Security Configuration as a
reference when reassigning the application
features to users on the upgraded system. This
printout lists the original application features
available for each user.
Refer to the following sections when

comparing this printed list of features with the
features that appear in the Application Features
Selection dialog box.
• Identical Application Features in

FIX32 and iFIX with FIX Desktop
• FIX32 Application Feature Names
That Are Different After the Upgrade
• FIX32 Application Features No
Longer Available After the Upgrade
• New Application Features Available
for iFIX Users
To assign the application features and a
password to each user:
NOTE: The SCU should still be open

from the previous set of steps in the
Import the Security Configuration
section.

Security. The Security Configuration
application appears.
2. On the Edit menu, click User
Accounts.
3. Select a user and click Modify. The
User Profile dialog box appears.
4. In the Password field, enter a new
password if you want to assign a
password.
5. Click the Modify button beneath the
Application feature list (the list on the
right-side of the window). The
Application Feature selection dialog
box appears.
6. Add the required features. Click Add
All if you want to allow this user to
use all application features.
See the sections that follow for
information on the names used with
each feature and the new features
available.
7. Click OK.
8. Click OK to exit the User Profile
dialog box.
9. Repeat steps 3-8 for each user listed in
the User Accounts dialog box.
10. Click OK to exit the User Accounts
dialog box.
11. On the Edit menu, click Group
Accounts. The Group Accounts dialog
box appears.
12. Select a group and click Modify. The
Group Profile dialog box appears.
13. In the Application Features area, click
Modify. The Application Feature
selection dialog box appears.
14. Add the required features. Click Add
All if you want to allow this group to
use all application features.
15. Click OK.
16. Click OK to exit the Group Profile
dialog box.
17. Repeat steps 12-16 for each group
listed in the Group Accounts dialog
box.
18. On the File menu, click Save to save
the security configuration.
19. On the File menu in the Security
Configuration program, click Exit to
return to the SCU.
20. Save and exit the SCU.
Identical Application Features in

FIX32 and iFIX with FIX Desktop
After you import your security configuration,

the following application features are
automatically imported for each user. You do
not need to assign these features again after the
upgrade since the same names are used for
FIX32 and iFIX with FIX Desktop:
• Background Task Exit
• Database Reload
• Database Save
• Historical Trend Assign
• Historical Trend Collection
• Historical Trend Export
• Recipe Load
• Recipe Save
• Security Configuration
• System Configuration
• System User Login
• System User Logout
• Tag Group Editor
NOTE: While the Tag Group Editor applications

may be different executables for Draw and the
Proficy iFIX WorkSpace, they both use the same
application feature.
FIX32 Application Feature Names
That Are Different After the Upgrade
After you upgrade to iFIX with FIX Desktop,

you will notice that some of the FIX32 features
correspond to different names in iFIX with
FIX Desktop. These features do not
automatically appear in the user's application
feature list. You need to add these again.
For instance, to allow a user to access Draw,

you need to add the WorkSpace Configure
feature to the user's application feature list. By
doing this, the user has the same access to both
Draw and the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace in
configure mode.
Similarly, to allow access to the View

application, you need to add the WorkSpace
Runtime feature to the user's application
feature list. By doing this, the user has access
to both View and the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace
in run mode.
The application feature names are different
because they take into account changes to
support the iFIX system. As another example,
since the FIX32 Database Builder is replaced
with the iFIX Database Manager, you need to
add the Database Manager to the user's feature
list since the supported application actually
changed with the upgrade.
When re-assigning these features for each user,

use the following table to locate the FIX32
feature name and determine the corresponding
name in iFIX with FIX Desktop.
Feature Name for Feature Name for

FIX32 iFIX with FIX
Desktop
Database Builder, Database Manager

Database Create
Draw WorkSpace
Configure
FIX32 iFIX with FIX
Desktop
View WorkSpace
Runtime
Key Macro Editor Fix32 - Key Macro

Editor
Operating System Fix32 - Operating

Window System Window
FIX - System iFIX - System

Shutdown Shutdown
Alarm Summary Fix32 - Alarm

Display Summary Display
Historical Trend Fix32 - Historical

Display Trend Display
Run a Task from Fix32 - Run a Task

View from View
FIX32 iFIX with FIX
Desktop
Historical Display Fix32 - Historical

Configuration Display
Configuration
Exit from View WorkSpace

Runtime Exit
Database Block Database Block

Add/Delete Add-Delete
GUI Recipe Builder Recipe Builder

Operations Window Operations Window
GUI Recipe Builder Recipe Builder

Development Development
Window Window
GUI Recipe Save Recipe Save from

Recipe Builder
FIX32 iFIX with FIX
Desktop
GUI Recipe Recipe Download

Download from Recipe
Builder
GUI Recipe Upload Recipe Upload from

Recipe Builder
GUI Recipe Text Recipe Text Output

Output from Recipe
Builder
GUI TASK Enable Task

Switching Switching
GUI System Enable Ctrl-Alt-Del

Reboot
Historical Trend Fix32 - Historical

Display View Only Trend Display View
Only
FIX32 iFIX with FIX
Desktop
CDA Feature 1 - 54 EDA Feature 1 - 54
FIX32 Application Features No

Longer Available After the Upgrade
In iFIX with FIX Desktop, it is no longer

applicable to include security for these
features, many of which are FIX BOS related
or discontinued:
• All features that begin with the word:

Batch
• Data Transfer Utility
• Dial Manager for Modem Support
• Ingredient Manager
• Inventory Manager
• Procedure Monitor
• Procedure Monitor - Hold/Resume
Control
• Procedure Monitor - Modify
Parameters
• Procedure Monitor - Run/Skip Control
• Procedure Monitor - Stop Procedure
• Quality Test Manager
• Recipe Handler
• Recipe Manager
• Recipe Manager - Authorize
• Recipe Manager - Remove
• Report Creator
• Report Generator
• Report Manager
• Scheduler
• Scheduler Configuration
New Application Features Available

for iFIX Users
By upgrading to iFIX with FIX Desktop, you

also obtain some new features that you can
assign to your iFIX users. The features that
you can choose from include:
• Application Validator - Creation of
Baselines
• Application Validator - Run-time
Access
• Change Management
• Electronic Signature - Bypass
• Electronic Signature - Perform By
• Electronic Signature - Verify By
• GE Intelligent Platforms OEM
Reserved 1-12
• Manual Failover
• Project Backup-Restore
• Recipe Text Output from Recipe
Builder
• Runtime Visual Basic Editor Access
• Security Synchronizer
• Startup Profile Manager
• VisiconX Writes
• A group of Proficy Batch Execution
product features available if you have
this product installed (each feature
starts with the word: Batch Execution)
For more detailed information on using these

features with your iFIX pictures, refer to the
iFIX Electronic Books.
NOTE: iFIX does not include a separate Key

Macro Editor application feature. For iFIX, the
Key Macro Editor (FDKeyMacros.exe) does not
run outside of the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace. So,
security for this feature is set at the WorkSpace-
level by allowing access to the WorkSpace
Configure feature. For FIX32, the Key Macro
Editor (KME.exe) can run alone without Draw
running. This is why the Key Macro Editor
appears as a separate entry for FIX32 for use
with FIX Desktop.
Redefine SCADA Failover Settings
If your FIX32 applications used the failover

feature prior to the iFIX 5.0 with FIX Desktop
upgrade, you need to set up failover again. Be
aware that, if you want to use failover, all
nodes (primary, secondary, and view nodes)
must be upgraded to iFIX with FIX Desktop.
FIX32 failover is incompatible with iFIX.
One of the biggest changes required for iFIX

failover is that you include a logical node
name in your configuration. Failover in iFIX
follows a different paradigm. In iFIX with FIX
Desktop, the applications on the iClient
communicate to the logical node name, and
iFIX substitutes the physical node name at run
time based on which SCADA server is
available. The combination of the logical node
name, and physical primary and secondary
SCADA server names, is referred to as the
primary and secondary pair. You configure the
primary and secondary pair in the SCU of the
iClient and of each SCADA server.
For detailed instructions on configuring
Enhanced Failover and LAN Redundancy,
refer to the Enhanced Failover and
Redundancy e-book in the iFIX Electronic
Books.
Enable Environmental Protection
If your FIX applications used the environment

protection feature prior to the iFIX with FIX
Desktop upgrade, you need to enable it again.
To enable this feature for iFIX and FIX
Desktop, use the Environment Protection tab
of the User Preferences dialog box of the
Proficy iFIX WorkSpace, as shown in the
following figure.
Environment Protection Options in the Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace
From this dialog box, you can enable the

options that your applications require. When
re-entering these settings, be sure to refer back
to the settings that you recorded in the
Checking the Environmental Protection
Settings section, when you prepared for the
iFIX with FIX Desktop upgrade.
Important Note About Using
Environment Protection
When you use environmental protection for

iFIX with FIX Desktop, be aware that some
limitations apply to these options when View
is running and the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace is
in run mode:
• Disable <Ctrl><Alt><Del>
• Disable Task Switching
If you exit the WorkSpace or View, either by

shutting down one application or by switching
the WorkSpace to configure mode while View
is still running, these environmental protection
settings no longer apply to the application still
running.
Protection in iFIX
When you upgrade to iFIX with FIX desktop,

there are environmental protection settings that
apply to both iFIX and View. There is also a
FIX32 environmental protection setting that is
unavailable after the upgrade. However, with
the upgrade, there are also new settings now
available in the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace. The
sections that follow describe these changes.
Settings that Apply to Both the Proficy

iFIX WorkSpace and View
From the Environment Protection tab of the

User Preferences dialog box, the following
settings apply to both View and WorkSpace in
run mode:
• Disable Title Bar and Menu Bar

• Disable Menu Bar
• Disable <Ctrl><Alt><Del>
• Disable Task Switching
FIX32 Setting Still Available After the
Upgrade
The only environmental protection setting that

does not appear in the Environment Protection
tab of the User Preferences dialog box is as
follows:
Disable Pop-up Menu
This setting is still available for FIX Desktop

View, however, you must enable this setting
through the FixUserPreferences.INI file.
New Settings for the Proficy iFIX

WorkSpace
The remaining environmental protection

options are new for the Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace:
• Disable "WorkSpace" Menu Pulldown

• Disable VBE Access
• Disable "WorkSpace" File Menu
Accelerators
• Disable Open Accelerator
• Disable Print Accelerator
For more details on these settings, refer to the

table in the Understanding Environment
Protection section.
Steps to Enable Environment

Protection
The steps below explain how to enable

environment protection feature after you
upgrade.
To enable the environment protection

feature after you upgrade:
1. Start iFIX.
2. Shut down View and the WorkSpace if
either is running.
3. If you want to use the Disable Pop-up
Menu option, open the
FixUserPreferences.ini file in the
C:\Program Files\Proficy\Proficy
iFIX\Local folder. In the
[AppRunPreferences] section, make
the following change:
PopUpMenu=0
When the PopUpMenu=1, then the

right-click pop-up menu is not
available. When this value is set to 0,
the pop-up menu is available in View.
4. To set the other environment settings,

open the Proficy iFIX WorkSpace.
5. In Classic view, on the WorkSpace
menu, click User Preferences.
-Or-
In Ribbon view, on the Home tab, in
the WorkSpace group, click Settings,
and then click User Preferences.
4. Select the Environment Protection tab.
5. Select the Enable Run Time
Environment Protection check box.
After you enable this setting, the check
boxes below become available.
6. Select the options that you want to
enable. Use the table in the
Protection section as a guide when
assigning these options.
NOTE: After you enable the
environment protection feature in
WorkSpace, you must shutdown View (if
it is still running) and restart it for the
environmental protection settings to
apply.
Protection
The following table outlines common tasks

you may want to restrict operators from doing
in the run-time environment, and the
environmental option associated with each
task.
To restrict an Select this check box...
operator from...
Closing the Disable Title Bar and

current picture Menu Bar.
displaying in
NOTE: Be sure to also
View or the select the Full Screen in
Proficy iFIX Run mode check box
WorkSpace (in from the General tab and
run mode). clear the Title bar and
Resizeable check boxes
from the Picture
Preferences tab.
Switching from Disable Task

View or the Switching
Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace (in
run mode) to
another
application that
may be running.
operator from...
Restarting the Disable

computer using <Ctrl><Alt><Del>
Ctrl+Alt+Del or
logging out of
Windows when
running View or
the Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace (in
run mode).
Using the Disable "WorkSpace"

Proficy iFIX Menu Pulldown
WorkSpace
menu or
switching to the
configuration
environment
(while in run
mode).
operator from...
Accessing the Disable VBE Access.

Visual Basic
Editor from the
Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace
(while in run
mode).
Using the Disable "WorkSpace"

Ctrl+O or Ctrl+P File Menu
shortcuts in the Accelerators
Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace
(while in run
mode).
Using the Disable Open

Ctrl+O shortcut Accelerator
in the Proficy
iFIX WorkSpace
(while in run
mode).
operator from...
Using the Ctrl+P Disable Print

shortcut in the Accelerator
Proficy iFIX
WorkSpace
(while in run
mode).
Setting up for Remote OPC

Server Access
Before you can access remote OPC servers in
iFIX, such as through the Discover and Auto
Configure (DAC) application and the OPC
Client driver, you must make sure that your
firewall settings are correct (if you are using
Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows
2008), and that the DCOM settings for your
operating system are correct.
You may not be able to access remote OPC
servers if these settings are not correctly set.
For more detailed information on configuring
these settings, refer to the following topics:
• Setting Up the Windows XP, Vista, or

Windows Server 2008 Firewall for
Use with Remote OPC Servers
• Setting Up DCOM for Use with
Remote OPC Servers
Setting Up the Windows XP, Vista, or

Windows Server 2008 Firewall for
Use with Remote OPC Servers
If Firewall security is enabled on Windows

XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 2008 you
may need to modify or add items to the
Exceptions list.
It is recommended that you enter these settings

on the local machine running iFIX, as well as
on the remote machine that has the OPC server
you want to use.
To modify Windows Firewall settings:
1. Log into the Windows operating

system with an Administrator account.
2. Open the Control Panel and double-
click Windows Firewall. The
Windows Firewall dialog box appears.
For the Windows Vista operating
system, you also need to click the
"Allow a program through Windows
firewall" option.
3. Click the Exceptions tab and make
sure that the File and Printer Sharing
check box is selected. The following
figure shows an example of this dialog
box in Microsoft Windows XP.
4. Click the Add Port button. The Add a
Port dialog box appears. The following
figure shows an example of this dialog
box in Microsoft Windows XP.
5. In the Name field, enter a name for the
port.
6. In the Port Number field enter 135.
7. Select the TCP option.
8. Click OK to save your changes.
The port name you entered is now
listed with its check box selected.
9. Select the Add Program button. The
Add a Program dialog box appears.
The following figure shows an
example of this dialog box in
Microsoft Windows XP.
10. Click the Browse button. A Browse

dialog box appears.
11. Navigate to the System32 folder. This
folder is found under the operating
system folder (usually Windows or
WINNT).
12. In the System32 folder, select the
OPCENUM.exe file, and then click the
Open button.
In the Add a Program dialog box the
path field displays the full path to, and
including, the OPCENUM.exe file.
13. Click OK.
OPCENUM.exe should now be listed
in the Exceptions list with its check
box selected.
14. Complete steps 9-13 for each OPC
server that you want to access.
NOTES:
• If any OPC server that you want to use

is a dll surrogate (an in-process dll and
not an .exe), you must add
\system32\dllhost.exe into the
Exceptions list.
• You must also add the GE Intelligent

Platforms OPC Client driver by adding
the file OPCDrv.exe into the Exceptions
list.
• OPCENUM must reside on the remote

machine with the OPC server. While
most OPC Server applications install
and register this file, some do not. You
can download this file from
www.opcfoundation.org. Currently it
is contained within the OPC Core
Components 2.00 Redistributable
2.30.msi file. After you download
OPCENUM, run the .msi file.
Setting Up DCOM for Use with
Remote OPC Servers
iFIX supports DCOM (Distributed Component

Object Model) to browse remote OPC Servers.
If you want to grant only certain users
permission to launch or access the remote OPC
servers, you can use the Windows utility,
DCOMCNFG.EXE for configuring DCOM
applications. DCOMCNFG.EXE is usually
located in your operating system’s \system32
folder.
When OPC Servers register, they set up initial

custom DCOM security settings to enable
users on the network to access and launch the
Server. On large networks, it is recommended
that you modify these settings to avoid
confusion and inadvertent changes to a running
OPC Server.
If Firewall security is enabled on Windows

XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 2008, you
must also modify or add items to the
Exceptions list. Refer to Setting Up the
Windows XP or Vista Firewall for Use with
Remote OPC Servers.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
• It is recommended that all users that

need to access remote OPC Servers be
members of the Administrators group.
To facilitate this, it is recommended that
you create a users group to contain
individual users that need to access
remote OPC servers.
For example, for the Discover and Auto

Configure application, create a group
named “DAC” and add those users who
will log into the operating systems and
access remote OPC servers. Add the
users Tom, Denise, and Harry into the
DAC group. Each of these users will also
be added into the Administrators group.
This DAC group should also contain the
following built-in security principals:
INTERACTIVE; NETWORK; SYSTEM.
• To make any OPC Client / OPC Server

application work via DCOM, changes
need to be made on both sides,
especially if you intend to use
Asynchronous I/O communications.
• OPCENUM must reside on the remote
machine with the OPC server. While
most OPC Server applications install
and register this file, some do not. You
can download this file from
www.opcfoundation.org. Currently it
is contained within the OPC Core
Components 2.00 Redistributable
2.30.msi file. After you download
OPCENUM, run the .msi file.
• This section applies to OPC servers that

need to use DCOM communications,
regardless of whether the OPC server
uses Serial or Ethernet devices.
• If OPC communications is confined to a

single machine (that is, using COM, but
not DCOM), it continues to work
properly without making changes to
DCOM settings.
• If you do not plan to use iFIX to connect

remotely to OPC servers, then you may
not need to change your DCOM
settings.
• If this is the first time you are
connecting to (or allowing connections
from) other machines on the network,
you must run the Windows Network
Wizard (from Start > Control Panel) to
set up your computer to run on your
network. This allows you to share
resources on your computer with other
computers on your network. It is
recommended that you run the Network
Setup Wizard before modifying the
DCOM settings.
DCOM Settings
The following procedures provide general

guidelines for configuring DCOM settings.
Differences between Windows 2003, Windows
XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 2008 are
noted.
To launch the DCOM configurator:
1. From the Start menu, select or type

Run. The Run dialog box appears.
2. Type dcomcnfg and click OK. The
Component Services dialog box
appears.
System-wide COM/DCOM Limits

Settings
This procedure modifies the system-wide

DCOM settings for the computer on Windows
XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 2008
operating systems. When these steps are
implemented, they apply to all programs that
use COM/DCOM communications on the
computer.
IMPORTANT: Be careful when making any

system-wide security changes. Any inadvertent
changes may affect the entire system and may
cause some or all programs to stop working.
For Windows XP, Windows Vista, and
Windows 2008:
To update system-wide COM/DCOM

limits settings:
1. On the Component Services dialog

box, expand Component Services, then
expand the Computers item.
2. Right-click My Computer and choose
Properties. The My Computer
Properties dialog box appears.
3. Click the COM Security tab. There are
four permissions on this dialog box.
You may need to make changes to the
Edit Limits… for Access Permissions
and Launch and Activation
Permissions.
Do not change the Edit Default…
settings, since this will change the
default settings for all programs and
applications running on the computer.
4. Click Access Permissions > Edit
Limits… The Access Permission
dialog box appears.
a. Select the user labeled
ANONYMOUS LOGON,
and then select the Allow
check box for Remote
Access.
NOTE: This setting is

necessary for applications that
use OPCenum.exe to function
and also for some OPC
Servers and OPC Clients that
set their DCOM
‘Authentication Level’ to
’None’ to allow anonymous
connections. If you do not use
such applications, you may not
need to enable remote access
for anonymous logon users.
b. Select the user labeled
Everyone, and then select the
Allow check box for Remote
Access.
IMPORTANT: Since
“Everyone” includes all
authenticated users, it is
recommended to add these
permissions to a smaller subset
of users. One way of doing this
is to create a Group named
“OPC” and add all user
accounts to this Group that
will access any OPC server.
Then substitute “OPC”
everywhere that “Everyone”
appears in the entire DCOM
configuration dialogs.
c. Click OK to close the Access

Permissions dialog box and
return to the My Computer
Properties dialog box.
5. Click Launch and Activation
Permissions > Edit Limits… The
Launch Permission dialog box
appears.
For each user or group (preferably add
the “OPC” group) that needs to launch
or activate the OPC server, or
participates in OPC / DCOM
communications, make sure that the
Local Launch, Remote Launch, Local
Activation, and Remote Activation
check boxes are selected.
6. Click OK to save your changes, then
click OK again to save and close the
My Computer Properties dialog box.
OPC Server-specific DCOM Settings
The following procedures detail the OPC

server-specific COM/DCOM settings on all
supported Windows operating systems. You
must change the OPC server settings so remote
users can access the OPC server as an OPC
Data Access Server. This procedure is also
necessary for the GE Intelligent Platforms
OPC Client driver to connect to, launch,
configure, and start the remote OPC servers.
It is recommended that all users requiring
access to remote OPC servers be members of
the Administrators group.
IMPORTANT: Since the “Everyone” group

includes all authenticated users, it is
recommended to add these permissions to a
smaller subset of users.
It is recommended that you create a group to

contain individual users that need to access
remote OPC servers. It is also recommended that
all users who require access to remote OPC
Servers be members of the Administrators group.
For example, for Discovery and Auto-Assembly

Component, create a group named “DAC” and
add those users who will log into the operating
systems and access remote OPC servers. Add the
users Tom, Denise, and Harry into the DAC
group. Each of these users will also be added
into the Administrators group. This DAC group
should also contain the following built-in
security principals: INTERACTIVE;
NETWORK; SYSTEM. Then substitute “DAC”
everywhere that “Everyone” appears in the
entire DCOM configuration dialogs.
To modify driver-specific DCOM
settings:
In Windows 2003
1. Access the DCOM configurator

(dcomcnfg.exe). The Component
Services dialog box appears.
2. Expand the Component Services item,
then expand the Computers item, and
then expand the My Computer item.
3. Select the DCOM Config object. A list
of applications displays.
4. Right-click the OPC server you want
to modify and choose Properties. The
<Selected OPC Server> Properties
dialog box appears.
5. Click the General tab. The
Authentication Level should be left as
“Default”. This uses the default
authentication rules that are set in the
system-wide DCOM settings.
6. Click the Location tab and make sure
that the Run Application on this
computer check box is selected.
7. Click the Security tab and select the
Customize option for each of the
permissions in this dialog box and edit
them as described in the following
steps.
8. In the Launch Permissions area, click
Edit. The Launch Permissions dialog
box appears.
9. Click the Add button. The Select Users
and Groups dialog box appears.
10. Click the Advanced Button. The Select
Users and Groups dialog box appears.
11. Click the Find Now button. In the
search results, select the OPC group
and click OK. The Select Users and
Groups dialog box displays the OPC
group.
12. Click OK to return to the Launch
Permission dialog box. The OPC
group is displayed in the Group or user
names list.
13. Select the OPC group and select the
Allow check box for Launch
Permission.
14. Click OK to return to the <Selected
OPC Server> Properties dialog box.
15. In the Access Permissions area, click
Edit. The Access Permission dialog
box appears.
group.
19. Click OK to return to the Access
names list.
Allow check box for Access
Permission.
22. In the Configuration Permissions area,
click Edit. The Change Configuration
Permission dialog box appears.
group.
26. Click OK to return to the Change
Configuration Permission dialog box.
Allow check boxes for Full Control
and Read,
29. Click OK.
30. Repeat steps 2 through 29 for each
OPC server you need to access
remotely.
31. When you are done, close the
Component Services dialog box.
In Windows XP, Windows Vista and

Windows 2008
1. Access the DCOM configurator

(dcomcnfg.exe). The Component
Services dialog box appears.
2. Expand the Component Services item,
then expand the Computers item, and
then expand the My Computer item.
3. Select the DCOM Config object. A list
of applications displays.
4. Right-click the OPC server you want
to modify and choose Properties. The
<Selected OPC Server> Properties
dialog box appears.
5. Click the General tab. The
Authentication Level should be set to
“Default,” if it is not already. This uses
the default authentication rules that are
set in the system-wide DCOM
settings.
6. Click the Location tab and make sure
that the "Run Application on this
computer" check box is selected.
7. Click the Security tab and select the
Customize option for each of the
permissions in this dialog box and edit
them as described in the following
steps.
8. In the Launch and Activation
Permissions area, click Edit. The
Launch Permission dialog box appears
for Windows XP, or the Launch and
Activation Permission dialog box
appears for Windows Vista and
Windows 2008.
or Groups dialog box appears.
10. Click the Advanced Button. Another
Select Users or Groups dialog box
appears.
and click OK. The Select Users or
group.
12. Click OK to return to the Launch
names list.
13. Select the OPC group and then select
the Allow check boxes for Local
Launch, Remote Launch, Local
Activation, and Remote Activation
permissions.
15. In the Access Permissions area, click
Edit. The Access Permission dialog
box appears.
appears.
group.
19. Click OK to return to the Access
names list.
the Allow check boxes for Local
Access and Remote Access
permissions.
22. In the Configuration Permissions area,
click Edit. The Change Configuration
Permission dialog box appears.
appears.
group.
26. Click OK to return to the Change
Configuration Permission dialog box.
The OPC group is displayed in the
Group or user names list.
the Allow check boxes for Full
Control and Read permissions.
29. Click OK.
30. Repeat steps 2 through 29 for each
OPC server you need to access
remotely.
31. When you are done, close the
Component Services dialog box.
iFIX and Windows Vista
iFIX 5.1 supports Microsoft® Windows®
Vista, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate
Editions. Additionally, for iClients, iFIX
supports Microsoft® Windows® Vista
Ultimate Edition. If you are upgrading your
iFIX install, be aware that Microsoft does not
recommend upgrading Windows XP or 2003
to Windows Vista.
When using iFIX in Windows Vista, be aware

of the following limitations when working
with these products:
• GE Intelligent Platforms OPC

Client Driver – If you want to run the
OPC Client driver as a service, iFIX
must also run as a service. Likewise, if
you want to run iFIX as a service, the
OPC Client driver must run as a
service. You cannot run one as a
service, without the other also running
as a service.
If you want to run the OPC Client
driver on the Microsoft Windows
Vista operating system, be sure to
check with the vendor of your OPC
Server software to see if your OPC
Server supports Vista.
• Third-Party OPC Servers – Be
aware that at the time of the iFIX 5.1
release there were a limited number of
OPC Servers supported on Windows
Vista. iFIX was tested with the
OPC20iFIX.exe (Intellution.OPCiFIX)
Server – an OPC 2.05a (out of
process) Data Server.
• Proficy Historian – You cannot
install or use the Proficy Historian on
Windows Vista. In other words, you
cannot collect iFIX data with Proficy
Historian or chart against Proficy
Historian tags in Windows Vista.
• Proficy Change Management –
Running the Proficy Change
Management (PCM) Server or the
Client/Scheduler on iFIX 5.1 nodes is
not supported on Microsoft Windows
Vista, since Proficy Change
Management 5.6 and 5.7 do not
support Windows Vista.
• Terminal Server – iFIX does not
support running a Terminal Server on
Windows Vista, or an upgraded server
running Remote Desktop Protocol
(RDP) 6.0. However, iClients installed
on Windows Vista using RDP 6.0 can
connect to a server node running
Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000
Advanced Server, or Windows Server
2003, with RDP 5.0, 5.1, or 5.2.
• Drivers and DAC – If you want to
run a driver on the Microsoft Windows
Vista operating system, be sure to
check with the vendor of your driver
software to see if your driver supports
Vista. Your driver must support Vista
to interface with the Discover and
Auto Configure (DAC) application on
Windows Vista.
• Biometric Toolkit – The iFIX
Biometric Toolkit is supported in
Windows Vista only if you have a
biometric solution that is Windows
Vista compatible.
• VisiconX – Make sure that your data
sources use UNC pathing, rather than
mapped network drives. For example,
use a path like this:
\\myserver\users\\mydb.mdb, instead
of this: d:\myserver\users\mydb.mdb
for your data source. Otherwise, you
may experience connection errors.
• PMON – The GE Intelligent Platforms
diagnostic utility PMON.exe does not
work when iFIX is running as a
service in Windows Vista.
• Proficy Portal Control – For best
performance in Windows Vista, it is
recommended that when you insert
Proficy Portal control into your iFIX
picture, that you do not insert any
other ActiveX controls into the same
picture.
Additionally, be aware of the following
differences when working with iFIX in
Windows Vista, as opposed to other operating
systems:
• Security – Microsoft Windows Vista

includes many new security
enhancements. Due to these
enhancements, there may be changes
you need to make for the users who
run iFIX. For more information, refer
to the Windows Vista and Security
section.
• Drive Mapping – Security and data
protection enhancements in Windows
Vista may require you to use data
sources with UNC pathing, as opposed
to mapped network drives. For more
information, refer to the Windows
Vista and Mapped Network Drives
section.
• Sleep Mode – Be aware that an iFIX
View node running on Windows Vista
will lose its connection to the iFIX
network when going into "Sleep"
mode.
Windows Vista and Security
In Windows Vista, the basic user groups

changed. There are three main types:
Administrators, Users, and Guests. In
Windows Vista, the Power Users group can
exist; however, it is a modified version of the
standard Users group. Like Power Users, the
standard Users group allows for some of the
rights granted to Administrators, but not all.
As an Administrator, you have all of the rights

you need to operate a SCADA node (start and
stop iFIX), as well as running iFIX as a
service. However, if you want to allow a user
in the Power Users group to operate an iFIX
SCADA node or run iFIX as a service, you
need to make some adjustments to the user
rights.
To allow a Power User to operate an iFIX
SCADA node, you need to add the individual
user or group to the "Create Global Objects"
policy. If you want the user or group to run
iFIX as a service, then you need to run the
GrantUserFixServiceRights command for the
user or group. A user must be a Power User or
greater to run a SCADA node on Windows
Vista.
To allow a user who is not an

Administrator to operate an iFIX SCADA
node:
1. In Windows Vista, log in as an

Administrator.
2. Click the Start button, and in the
Search box, type secpol.msc and press
Enter. The Local Security Policy
window appears.
3. In the tree, double-click Security
Settings, and then Local Policies, to
view the contents of the Local Policies
folder.
4. Click the User Rights Assignment item
to view the policies.
5. Double-click the Create Global
Objects policy. The Create Global
Object Properties dialog box appears.
6. Click Add User or Group. The Select
Users or Groups dialog box appears.
7. Enter an individual user name, or
group name, such as "Power Users."
8. Click OK to add the user.

Administrator to run iFIX as a service:
1. In Windows Vista, click the Start

button, and in the Search box, type
Command Prompt and press Enter. If
the Command Prompt does not appear
immediately, double-click the
Command Prompt from the list of
results.
2. In the Command Prompt window,
type:
GrantUserFixServiceRights GRANT
FIX USERNAME
where FIX is the name of the service

(iFIX) that you want to grant rights to,
and USERNAME is the name of the user
or group that you want to grant rights to.

Services
If you plan to run iFIX as a service on

Windows Vista along with other services such
as the iFIX scheduler, the OPC A&E Server,
and the OPC DA Server, make sure that your
user has the rights to start/stop/pause all of
those services. A user who is a member of the
Administrators group usually has all these
privileges. (This can be verified by opening the
Windows service control panel and checking if
the Start/Stop setting is enabled.)
To grant a user who is a standard user (Power
User) rights to start/stop/pause these services,
log in to Windows as an Administrator and run
the following commands:
IFIXSCHEDULER username
GrantUserFixServiceRights GRANT IFIXOPCAESRV
username
GrantUserFixServiceRights GRANT IFIXOPCDA
username
Examples: Using
GrantUserFixServiceRights
If you want to allow a Power User named QA1

to run iFIX as a service, type:
FIX QA1
If you want to allow all Power Users to run

iFIX as a service, type:
FIX "Power Users"
If you later need to revoke the right to run iFIX
as a service, use the following command:
GrantUserFixServiceRights REVOKE
FIX USERNAME
where SERVICENAME is the name of the

service that you want to revoke rights from,
and USERNAME is the name of the user or
group that you want to revoke rights from.
Windows Vista and Mapped Network

Drives
In Windows Vista, when you elevate an

application and it runs under a different
context, the application may or may not be
related to the user who is logged in. As a
result, drive mappings are not available in an
elevated session unless you specifically map
them while it is elevated.
To resolve this issue, make sure that your

system data sources use UNC pathing, rather
than mapped network drives.
For example, use a path like this:
\\myserver\users\\mydb.mdb, instead of this:
d:\myserver\users\mydb.mdb for your data
source. Otherwise, you may experience
connection errors. Be sure to select the
"Remember my password" check box in the
Connection dialog box when setting up your
UNC pathing. By doing this, the next time you
log in, your connection will succeed without
failing.
For example, you add a system data source

(ODBC) with a mapped network drive for use
with VisiconX. When you configure a
VisiconX data control and select a data source
on the Database tab, an error appears (error
number -2147467259 indicates that you do
have a valid path). To resolve this issue,
configure your data source with UNC pathing
instead.
EDA Applications and Windows Vista
When running an iFIX Easy Database Access

(EDA) application on Windows Vista, you
may experience errors due to inadequate
permissions. For instance, the logged in user
may not have enough permissions to create the
necessary global memory that the application
requires, or the user may not be running an
application with the fullest permissions
(running elevated).
The "Allocation of Shareable Memory Failed"

message is one of the messages that can appear
in this scenario. To resolve these types of
issues, elevate the application to the fullest
privileges.
To mark an application for elevation

using an external manifest:
1. Create a text file named

yourappname.exe.manifest, where
yourappname is the name of the
application you want to elevate.
2. In a text editor such as Notepad, open
yourappname.exe.manifest.
3. Paste the following lines of code into
the text file:
<?xml version="1.0"
encoding="UTF-8"
standalone="yes"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-
microsoft-com:asm.v1"
manifestVersion="1.0">
<assemblyIdentity
version="1.0.0.0"
processorArchitecture="X86"
name="yourappname"
type="win32"/>
<description>Description of
your application</description>

<trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-
microsoft-com:asm.v2">
<security>
<requestedPrivileges>
<requestedExecutionLevel
level="highestAvailable
"
uiAccess="false"/>
</requestedPrivileges>
</security>
</trustInfo>
</assembly>
4. Save the file in the same folder as the

yourappname.exe, where
TIP: If yourappname.exe was built with
an internal manifest, yourappname.exe
will ignore the external manifest
created in the above manner. Instead,
you need rebuild the application with
the new elevation information.
IMPORTANT: If you have run the
executable before performing the above
steps and it failed to work, see this link
for information on adding a manifest
after the fact:
http://blogs.msdn.com/vistacompatte
am/archive/2006/11/13/manifest-
and-the-fusion-cache.aspx.

with an internal manifest:
• Build your application's executable

(.exe) file with the elevation
information built into it. Be aware of
issues with fusion cache when you use
an external manifest file. For more
information, refer to the MSDN web
site:
http://blogs.msdn.com/vistacompattea
m/archive/2006/11/13/manifest-and-
the-fusion-cache.aspx.
For more information on User Account
Control (UAC), refer to the Microsoft
web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/
details.aspx?familyid=ba73b169-a648-
49af-bc5e-
a2eebb74c16b&displaylang=en.
To elevate a third party application that

you do not own the source code for:
Microsoft recommends writing a wrapper to

invoke the application's executable (.exe) file
in an elevated manner. If this is not feasible,
the following is suggested:
• Create a shortcut (.lnk) to the

• Right-click the shortcut and select
Properties. Configure the shortcut to
run as an Administrator.
iFIX and Windows Server
2008
iFIX 5.1 supports Microsoft® Windows®
Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Editions. If
you are upgrading your iFIX install, be aware
that Microsoft does not recommend upgrading
Windows XP or 2003 SP1 to Windows Server
2008.
When using iFIX in Windows Server 2008, be

aware of the following limitations when
working with these products:
• GE Intelligent Platforms OPC

Client Driver – If you want to run the
OPC Client driver as a service, iFIX
must also run as a service. Likewise, if
you want to run iFIX as a service, the
OPC Client driver must run as a
service. You cannot run one as a
service, without the other also running
as a service.
If you want to run the OPC Client
driver on the Microsoft Windows
Server 2008 operating system, be sure
to check with the vendor of your OPC
Server software to see if your OPC
Server supports Server 2008.
• Third-Party OPC Servers – Be
aware that at the time of the iFIX 5.1
release there were a limited number of
OPC Servers supported on Windows
Server 2008. iFIX was tested with the
OPC20iFIX.exe (Intellution.OPCiFIX)
Server – an OPC 2.05a (out of
process) Data Server.
• Proficy Change Management –
Running the Proficy Change
Management (PCM) Server or the
Client/Scheduler on iFIX 5.1 nodes is
not supported on Microsoft Windows
Server 2008, since Proficy Change
Management 5.6 and 5.7 do not
support Windows Server 2008.
• Drivers and DAC – If you want to
run a driver on the Microsoft Windows
Server 2008 operating system, be sure
to check with the vendor of your driver
software to see if your driver supports
Server 2008. Your driver must support
Server 2008 to interface with the
Discover and Auto Configure (DAC)
application on Windows Server 2008.
• Biometric Toolkit – The iFIX
Biometric Toolkit is supported in
Windows Server 2008 only if you
have a biometric solution that is
Windows Server 2008 compatible.
• VisiconX – Make sure that your data
sources use UNC pathing, rather than
mapped network drives. For example,
use a path like this:
\\myserver\users\\mydb.mdb, instead
of this: d:\myserver\users\mydb.mdb
for your data source. Otherwise, you
may experience connection errors.
• PMON – The GE Intelligent Platforms
diagnostic utility PMON.exe does not
work when iFIX is running as a
service in Windows Server 2008.
• Proficy Portal Control – For best
performance in Windows Server 2008,
it is recommended that when you
insert Proficy Portal control into your
iFIX picture, that you do not insert any
other ActiveX controls into the same
picture.
Additionally, be aware of the following

differences when working with iFIX in
Windows Server 2008, as opposed to other
operating systems:
• Security – Microsoft Windows Server

2008 includes many new security
enhancements. Due to these
enhancements, there may be changes
you need to make for the users who
run iFIX. For more information, refer
to the Windows Server 2008 and
Security section.
• Drive Mapping – Security and data
protection enhancements in Windows
Server 2008 may require you to use
data sources with UNC pathing, as
opposed to mapped network drives.
For more information, refer to the
Network Drives section.
• Sleep Mode – Be aware that an iFIX
View node running on Windows
Server 2008 will lose its connection to
the iFIX network when going into
"Sleep" mode.
Windows Server 2008 and Security
In Windows Server 2008, the basic user groups

changed. There are three main types:
Administrators, Users, and Guests. In
Windows Server 2008, the Power Users group
can exist; however, it is a modified version of
the standard Users group. Like Power Users,
the standard Users group allows for some of
the rights granted to Administrators, but not
all.
As an Administrator, you have all of the rights
you need to operate a SCADA node (start and
stop iFIX), as well as running iFIX as a
service. However, if you want to allow a user
in the Power Users group to operate an iFIX
SCADA node or run iFIX as a service, you
need to make some adjustments to the user
rights.
To allow a Power User to operate an iFIX

SCADA node, you need to add the individual
user or group to the "Create Global Objects"
policy. If you want the user or group to run
iFIX as a service, then you need to run the
GrantUserFixServiceRights command for the
user or group. A user must be a Power User or
greater to run a SCADA node on Windows
Server 2008.
Administrator to operate an iFIX SCADA
node:
1. In Windows Server 2008, log in as an

Administrator.
2. Click the Start button, and in the
Search box, type secpol.msc and press
Enter. The Local Security Policy
window appears.
3. In the tree, double-click Security
Settings, and then Local Policies, to
view the contents of the Local Policies
folder.
4. Click the User Rights Assignment item
to view the policies.
5. Double-click the Create Global
Objects policy. The Create Global
Object Properties dialog box appears.
6. Click Add User or Group. The Select
Users or Groups dialog box appears.
7. Enter an individual user name, or
group name, such as "Power Users."
8. Click OK to add the user.
Administrator to run iFIX as a service:
1. In Windows Server 2008, click the

Start button, and in the Search box,
type Command Prompt and press
Enter. If the Command Prompt does
not appear immediately, double-click
the Command Prompt from the list of
results.
2. In the Command Prompt window,
type:
FIX USERNAME
where FIX is the name of the service

(iFIX) that you want to grant rights to,
and USERNAME is the name of the user
or group that you want to grant rights
to.
Services
If you plan to run iFIX as a service on

Windows Server 2008 along with other
services such as the iFIX scheduler, the OPC
A&E Server, and the OPC DA Server, make
sure that your user has the rights to
start/stop/pause all of those services. A user
who is a member of the Administrators group
usually has all these privileges. (This can be
verified by opening the Windows service
control panel and checking if the Start/Stop
setting is enabled.) To grant a user who is a
standard user (Power User) rights to
start/stop/pause these services, log in to
Windows as an Administrator and run the
following commands:
IFIXSCHEDULER username
GrantUserFixServiceRights GRANT IFIXOPCAESRV
username
GrantUserFixServiceRights GRANT IFIXOPCDA
username
Examples: Using
GrantUserFixServiceRights
If you want to allow a Power User named QA1

to run iFIX as a service, type:
FIX QA1
If you want to allow all Power Users to run

iFIX as a service, type:
FIX "Power Users"
If you later need to revoke the right to run iFIX

as a service, use the following command:
GrantUserFixServiceRights REVOKE
FIX USERNAME
where SERVICENAME is the name of the

service that you want to revoke rights from,
and USERNAME is the name of the user or
group that you want to revoke rights from.
Network Drives
In Windows Server 2008, when you elevate an

application and it runs under a different
context, the application may or may not be
related to the user who is logged in. As a
result, drive mappings are not available in an
elevated session unless you specifically map
them while it is elevated.
To resolve this issue, make sure that your

system data sources use UNC pathing, rather
than mapped network drives. For example, use
a path like this: \\myserver\users\\mydb.mdb,
instead of this: d:\myserver\users\mydb.mdb
for your data source. Otherwise, you may
experience connection errors. Be sure to select
the "Remember my password" check box in
the Connection dialog box when setting up
your UNC pathing. By doing this, the next
time you log in, your connection will succeed
without failing.
For example, you add a system data source
(ODBC) with a mapped network drive for use
with VisiconX. When you configure a
VisiconX data control and select a data source
on the Database tab, an error appears (error
number -2147467259 indicates that you do
have a valid path). To resolve this issue,
configure your data source with UNC pathing
instead.
EDA Applications and Windows

Server 2008
When running an iFIX Easy Database Access

(EDA) application on Windows Server 2008,
you may experience errors due to inadequate
permissions. For instance, the logged in user
may not have enough permissions to create the
necessary global memory that the application
requires, or the user may not be running an
application with the fullest permissions
(running elevated).
The "Allocation of Shareable Memory Failed"
message is one of the messages that can appear
in this scenario. To resolve these types of
issues, elevate the application to the fullest
privileges.

using an external manifest:
1. Create a text file named

yourappname.exe.manifest, where
2. In a text editor such as Notepad, open
yourappname.exe.manifest.
3. Paste the following lines of code into
the text file:
<?xml version="1.0"
encoding="UTF-8"
standalone="yes"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-
microsoft-com:asm.v1"
manifestVersion="1.0">
<assemblyIdentity
version="1.0.0.0"
processorArchitecture="X86"
name="yourappname"
type="win32"/>
<description>Description of
your application</description>

<trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-
microsoft-com:asm.v2">
<security>
<requestedPrivileges>
<requestedExecutionLevel
level="highestAvailable
"
uiAccess="false"/>
</requestedPrivileges>
</security>
</trustInfo>
</assembly>
4. Save the file in the same folder as the
TIP: If yourappname.exe was built with
an internal manifest, yourappname.exe
will ignore the external manifest
created in the above manner. Instead,
you need rebuild the application with
the new elevation information.
IMPORTANT: If you have run the

executable before performing the above
steps and it failed to work, see this link
for information on adding a manifest
after the fact:
http://blogs.msdn.com/Server
2008compatteam/archive/2006/11/1
3/manifest-and-the-fusion-
cache.aspx.
with an internal manifest:
• Build your application's executable

(.exe) file with the elevation
information built into it. Be aware of
issues with fusion cache when you use
an external manifest file. For more
information, refer to the MSDN web
site: http://blogs.msdn.com/Server
2008compatteam/archive/2006/11/13/
manifest-and-the-fusion-cache.aspx.
For more information on User Account
Control (UAC), refer to the Microsoft
web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/
details.aspx?familyid=ba73b169-a648-
49af-bc5e-
a2eebb74c16b&displaylang=en.
To elevate a third party application that
you do not own the source code for:
Microsoft recommends writing a wrapper to

invoke the application's executable (.exe) file
in an elevated manner. If this is not feasible,
the following is suggested:
• Create a shortcut (.lnk) to the

• Right-click the shortcut and select
Properties. Configure the shortcut to
run as an Administrator.
Other iFIX Installation
Considerations
This chapter provides information you need to
consider when using databases or drivers and
iFIX. This information includes:
• Supported Drivers
• Special Keyboard Buttons
Supported Drivers
iFIX supports the following drivers:
• Version 6.x
• Version 7.1 or higher
NOTE: Version 7.01 drivers have known issues
with iFIX and are not supported.
If you want to run a driver on the Microsoft

Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008
operating system, be sure to check with the
vendor of your driver software to see if your
driver supports Vista.
Special Keyboard Buttons
Some computer keyboards have special

buttons for e-mail launch, internet launch,
search, and other functions. These keyboard
buttons may disable certain key macros or
allow users to circumvent iFIX security
measures.
It is recommended that you reprogram or

disable the software that operates such special
buttons. Refer to your computer's
documentation for instructions on disabling
these buttons.
Networking
This chapter provides general information
about the iFIX supported network protocol,
supported network software, supported file
servers, and installing network cards with
Windows. Refer to the following sections for
more information:
• Supported Networking Protocol

• Supported File Servers
• Handling Time Zones when Using
Networked FIX 6.15 and iFIX Nodes
• Networking with Other iFIX and FIX
Nodes
Supported Networking Protocol
If you decide to implement a networked iFIX

system, make sure that all nodes are using
compatible network configurations. iFIX
supports TCP/IP interfaces for peer-to-peer
communication. NetBIOS is no longer
supported.
GE Intelligent Platforms has tested and
recommends 3COM plug-in boards and built-
in network adapters from Compaq, Dell, and
Gateway.
If you have difficulty networking your

computer, refer to the Troubleshooting chapter
of the Setting Up the Environment manual to
pinpoint and resolve your problems.
Supported File ServersGE Intelligent

Platforms supports using a file server to store
System Configuration Utility, alarm area
database, security, historical, and recipe data
files and file server-based iClients. iFIX does
not require a file server.
The following operating systems for file

servers are recommended:
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

• Novell NetWare. If you use a NetWare
file server, it is recommended that you
use Microsoft's Client Service for
NetWare on your iFIX node.
Refer to your file server documentation for
installation and configuration instructions.
If a file server becomes unavailable and an

iFIX node attempts to access a file, you may
experience no response, slow response, or
time-outs. These conditions are a result of
continuously polling all available drives while
it waits for a response from the file server. It is
recommended that you store a backup copy of
the files you need on the local node. It is not
recommended that you use the file server for
files if it is susceptible to failure.
Handling Time Zones when Using
Networked FIX 6.15 and iFIX Nodes
In FIX 6.15, time zones are ignored when

passing alarms over the network. For example,
if a FIX 6.15 node in Boston (Eastern Standard
Time), generates an alarm at 4:00 PM, then a
FIX 6.15 node in Chicago (Central Standard
Time) displays that alarm with a time stamp of
4:00 PM.
By comparison, iFIX uses time zones and

adjusts the time stamp accordingly. For
example, if an iFIX node in Boston generates
an alarm at 4:00 PM, another iFIX node in
Chicago displays the alarm with a time stamp
of 3:00 PM.
When FIX 6.15 and iFIX transfer alarms over

the network, the time zone handling is similar
to FIX 6.15 as the following table shows.
When... Then...
A FIX 6.15 node An iFIX node in

in Boston Chicago displays the
generates an alarm alarm with a time
at 4:00 PM stamp of 4:00 PM.
An iFIX node in A FIX 6.15 node in

Boston generates Chicago displays the
an alarm at 4:00 alarm with a time
PM stamp of 4:00 PM.
Networking with Other iFIX and FIX

Nodes
iFIX 5.1 can share data and alarms with

previous versions of iFIX, as well as with
FIX32 6.15 and FIX v7.0. FIX32 view nodes
will only receive alarms from alarm areas A-P.
IMPORTANT: You cannot run iFIX and FIX v7

at the same time on a single computer.
Contact GE Intelligent
Platforms
If you purchased this product through a GE
Intelligent Platforms Authorized Channel
Partner, please contact them directly.
General Contact Information
Online Technical Support &

GlobalCare: www.ge-ip.com/support
Comments about our manuals or online
help: [email protected]
Additional Information: www.ge-ip.com
Solution Provider:
[email protected]
Authorization: [email protected]
Technical Support
If you have technical problems that cannot be

resolved with the information in this guide,
please contact us by telephone or email, or on
the web at www.ge-ip.com/support.
Americas
Online Technical Support: www.ge-

ip.com/support
Phone: 1-800-433-2682
International Americas Direct Dial: 1-
434-978-5100
Technical Support Email:
[email protected]
Customer Care Email:
[email protected]
Primary language of support: English
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
(EMEA)

ip.com/support
Phone: +800 1-433-2682
Technical Support Email:
[email protected]
Customer Care Email:
[email protected]
Inside Sales: [email protected]
Primary languages of support: English,
French, German, Italian, Czech, Spanish
Asia Pacific

ip.com/support
Phone: +86-400-820-8208
+86-21-3217-4826 (India, Indonesia, and
Pakistan)
Technical Support
Email: [email protected] (China)
[email protected]
(Japan)
[email protected]
(remaining Asia
customers)
Customer Care
Email: [email protected]
customercare.cn.ip@g
e.com (China)
When You Have Questions
Most questions deal with setup or normal

operations. Our support representatives can
normally answer these questions immediately.
When you call:
• Have your contract number ready.

Your contract number is an eight-digit
number that is a combination of your
company's six-digit identification
number and a two-digit extension that
identifies the product you are using. It
can be found on your invoice and in
the body of your original packing list
from GE Intelligent Platforms. If you
are a member of our Extended Support
Services program, your contract
number is also on your customer
support PhoneCard.
• Be next to your computer so that the
engineer can step you through the
proper procedure.
• Be familiar with your product's
documentation so that the engineer can
direct you to information on related
topics.
• Have the names and version numbers
of the I/O drivers in use.
• Know the HMI Application you are
using.
• Know the type of operating system
you are using and the version number
of your software.
Assistance
When you call for assistance with software that

does not perform as you expect, the answer
usually has to do with your computer's setup.
You should be able to answer the following
questions when you call:
• What is the nature of the problem? Be

as specific as possible.
• Can you reproduce the problem easily?
List the steps.
• Can you still reproduce the problem
after disabling all unnecessary third-
party software?
• Do you encounter any error messages?
What are they?
• What types of hardware are you using?
List model numbers.
Index
B drivers ....... 286
buttons, special K
keyboard ....... 287
keyboard, special
H buttons .......... 287
hardware key R
described......... 30 registration for

iFIX ................. 92
serial number .. 30
S
I
special keyboard
iFIX buttons .......... 287
online supported
registration .. 92
iFIX drivers... 286
supported

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Proficy* HMI/SCADA - iFIX

Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability

The information contained in this manual is believed to be

©2010 GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc. All rights reserved.

We want to hear from you. If you have comments,

Reference Documents ................................ 2

General Installation Information ................... 2

Set-up Overview ......................................... 3

Recommended Computers ................... 26

Memory Requirements ......................... 27

Disk Space Requirements .................... 28

The Hardware Key ............................... 30

Software Requirements .............................. 41

Third-Party Software Installed During

Supported Regional Settings ................ 46

Video Drivers ........................................ 51

Using Third-party Video Drivers ............ 52

Optimizing Virtual Memory ................... 53

Running iFIX as a Service .................... 56

Installing the iFIX Software ......................... 65

Using iFIX with Proficy Historian ................. 78

Configuring Security When Using iFIX

Configuring iFIX to Use Proficy

Using the Discover and Auto

Installing the FIX Desktop Software ............ 89

Online Registration ..................................... 92

Using iFIX and FIX on the Same

General Notes on Installing FIX and

Installing iFIX on a FIX 7.0 Node .......... 97

Uninstalling iFIX and FIX 7.0 ................ 97

Starting up FIX 7.0 After Installing

Installing iFIX after Uninstalling iVisualize... 98

Using iFIX with Microsoft Office .................. 99

Backup Files ............................................... 102

Proficy Change Management and iFIX ....... 104

iFIX WebSpace .......................................... 105

Discover and Auto Configure ...................... 106

Optional Hardware ..................................... 108

Sleep or Hibernate Mode ............................ 109

Upgrading from an Earlier Version of iFIX.... 110

The Database and the Upgrade ........... 110

DDA Drivers and the Upgrade .............. 111

Before You Upgrade ............................. 111

Steps to Upgrade from an Earlier

Upgrading the iFIX License ........................ 118

Upgrading from iFIX 2.6 or Later .......... 118

Upgrading from iFIX 2.5 and Earlier ..... 121

Preserving Settings when Upgrading.......... 122

Notes on Database Dynamos and

SCU Files and the Upgrade ........................ 124

Title Bar in iFIX WorkSpace........................ 137

Programs that Run as a Service with iFIX .. 137

Toolbars ..................................................... 139

Standard vs. Classic Window Styles ........... 139

Changing Permissions for PlugAndSolve

Advanced Historian Not Supported............. 141

Proficy Historian ......................................... 142

Upgrading from iFIX 5.0 ....................... 143

Compatibility of iFIX Pictures ...................... 143

Resolving iFIX Displays ........................ 144