SIMATIC WinCC flexible Engineering SW
Highest configuration efficiency

	Configuration tools
	Faceplate Technology
	Scripting
	Import- and Export functions

Configuration tools

Simple and convenient user interface

When using WinCC flexible Engineering Software you carry out configuration using up to 32 screen layers. For configuring the screens, you have available convenient functions for zooming in and out, for rotating and aligning objects, as well as a range of intelligent tools.
 

Table-based editors make it easier to create and edit objects of the same type, e.g. for variables, texts or messages

Convenient find and replace functions allow you to carry out a project- wide search for objects, to carry out central rewiring of variables and to find and replace texts. Apart from this, the cross reference list gives you direct access to all the objects in the project.

Handling graphics in different formats is much easier. Using a graphics browser, you can display supplied graphics and your own pictures, process them and integrate them in a project screen using Drag & Drop. If you want to process the image, the system automatically starts the associated external editor.

Faceplate technology

WinCC flexible has a large number of basic and enhanced objects and graphics that are scalable and can be dynamized;you can use these objects in your pictures. The Symbol Factory, for example, contains a large number of general and vertical market representations with different colour depths. Apart from this, you can combine project-specific faceplates from simple picture objects and store them in the library.
You can now use tags to interconnect the dynamic properties of a faceplate‘s picture elements, e.g. the design and visibility.
This means that at runtime you can, for example, hide and display individual components of the faceplate or of the complete faceplate in dependence on a tag value. You can carry out modifications in the entire project from one central location and the system then changes the module at the same time in all the screens of the project where it is used.
 

Fig. Interconnection dialog for faceplates

You can use faceplates without needing to invest a lot of time and effort in wiring, since they can be linked with structured data types. Each time you use the faceplate in a picture, you only need to configure one structure variable of the same data type on the faceplate to establish the complete link.

Scripting

As standard, WinCC flexible offers a large number of dynamic options for objects. However,  if you want to be even more flexible, in projects with 270 Series Panels and above you have available VBScript, which is a powerful and easy to learn script language based on Visual Basic. You can immediately leverage your Visual Basic knowledge. The IntelliSense function allows you to quickly program accesses to runtime objects and to simply establish control sequences within the script. Script debugging is possible during engineering using the Simulator and, if required, at runtime.

Fig. Integrating scripts into the function list

Import- und Export functions

You can export any configured messages from a project to CSV files. These exported data can be expanded externally (with MS Excel, for example) and reimported in a project. Reuse reduces configuration effort for new projects. All properties of a message will be imported. A test routine ensures that there are no messages with the same message number in the target project. You can use the export-import function to exchange message texts that are to be set up in several languages with translators.
You can also export and import tag data. This way you can import tags from different control programs (Step 7, AllanBradley, etc.) in WinCC flexible projects. There are converters for the programming software of the major vendors (Rockwell RS Logix500, Modicon Telemecanique PL7, GE Fanuc VersaPro). These converters translate the vendor-specific formats into the Excel format so that all tag information can be imported to WinCC flexible at the touch of a button.