Foxboro I/A Utilities

FeedForward is providing these utilities to our customers at no charge because we feel they may be useful for other Foxboro users. Our focus is Controls Engineering Services not the mass-software business.

Remote Control Configurator:

You will need to download all of the following files:

rccs.tar file

rccc.zip file

install doc

Provides ICC Functions from a networked, Windows-Based PC, without using X-Windows emulation software. Provides familiar Windows “Look and Feel,” multiple ICC sessions, and online block cross-referencing.

Remote ICC Access:

Provides ICC Functions from a networked, Windows-Based PC, without using X-Windows emulation software (like Exceed). The implementation is basically a client/server setup, and is essentially a Visual-Basic GUI for the ICCAPI.

Windows Look and Feel:

Provides familiar Windows “Look and Feel,” such as copy and paste functionality for parameter entry, and Tree-Views for Compound-Block browsing.

Multiple Simultaneous ICC Sessions:

Allows more than one ICC session per AW/AP host, unlike the standard ICC, which only allows one session per host. There can be as many open sessions as the number of CPs on the system. Cross-Referencing: Provides Cross-Referencing abilities. Any Foxboro block can be cross-referenced to show all other blocks, displays, and legacy historians that are connected to it, even while editing the block. This feature is not available on the standard ICC.

Allows ICC support on WP70/AW51 hybrid systems:

The standard ICC does not allow block configuration at a WP70, when the CP host is an AW51. This program supports ICC functions on any WP70 that is on the same node as the host AW.

ICC Functions Supported:

  • Block Parameter Edits
  • Add/Delete Blocks and Compounds
  • Move blocks and compounds
  • Copy/Paste (duplicate) Blocks
  • Sequence Code Editing/Compiling
  • Upload, Initialize, and Checkpoint CP
  • View PLB Ladder

Compound/Block Browsing

Block Editing (Block: FXH_PK:FIC2273)

Cross-Reference Listing for Block

Sequence Editing

PLB Editing (PLB Viewing is available now though)

Allow more than one simultaneous ICC session per CP, so more than one user can be editing a CP (as long as they are not editing the same block).

Track Control Changes

Change the GUI from other than standard Windows GUI to HTML, ActiveX or Java, so that the user does not need any special client software (they can use a s standard browser). Add other types of historians to report on, other than the legacy Historian (such as AIM or FoxHistory) Port the server-side of this program to NT, so that this program can work with NT-only systems.

Cross Referencing:

You will need to download all of the following files:

xref.tar file

Install.txt file

This utility creates a block-level cross-reference listing of:

  • Control connections
  • Display connections
  • Historian connections
  • Sequence code references

Features:

Cross Reference Foxboro I/A Comp:Block.Parm

  • Connected or referenced in other blocks connections
  • C:B.Ps that are connected to its input parameters, or referenced in its sequence code
  • Display connections (Both Display Manager and FoxView)
  • Historian connections (Legacy Historian only)
  • Sequence code references, as long as the references are explicit and not de-referenced from a variable (by using single quotes)
  • Provides output in both text-formatted and comma-separated-variables for easy import into Excel.

FMB Point usage

  • FBM Letterbug and Point number
  • COMPOUND:BLOCK that uses that FBM/point
  • Block type

Uses:

You could use this utility to determine every location that references a particular block. For example, if you wanted to change the name of a block, you could use this utility to determine where it is used so you find where you would need to make the necessary connection changes.

You could also use this utility to determine unused spare FBM points.

Example Output (Cross Reference)

Note the middle column is the sorted C:B lookup

Alarm Printer Simulator:

You will need to download all of the following files:

almhist.tar file

Install.txt file

Automatically adds new alarms to a file that can easily be imported into Excel for sorting or searching. Unlike many other commercial packages, this utility does not need an external PC to capture the alarms. Forget the printer and do your part to save a tree.

Features:

  • Continuously appends new process alarms to an ASCII-based file on an AW51x.
  • This text file can then be imported in to Excel.
  • The utility monitors the alarm history (legacy historian) for new process alarms
  • Executes on the historian's host AW51x.
  • Requires no external PC to capture the alarms, unlike many commercial packages.

Alarm Configuration Report:

You will need to download all of the following files:

almrep.tar file

Installar.txt file

Creates a report on configured alarms. For each configured alarm (with its alarm option ON), the utility lists information about the alarm such as alarm priority, alarm destinations, alarm limits, etc. The output of the utility is comma-separated values, so you can import it into Excel.

Features:

  • C:B Name
  • Block Type
  • Block Description
  • Alarm Type#1 (HLOP, HHOPT, DALOPT, SAO, BAO, etc)
  • Alarm Type#2 (Hi/Lo , Hi only, Lo only)
  • Priority
  • Names of Destinations (Printers, WPs, historians, etc)
  • Alarm Text Fields (ANM, NM0, NM1, etc)
  • Other information pertinent to the type of alarm, such as limits and deadbands for analog type alarms.

The output of the utility is comma-separated values, so you can import it into Excel.

Idle DM/FoxView:

You will need to download all of the following files:

alogoff.tar file

Install.txt file

With this utility, idle Display Managers or FoxViews can be configured to:

  • Automatically change environment to Initial Environment.This feature can be used to automatically restore an unprotected configuration environment to a protected one if an engineer inadvertently forgets to change back to an operating environment.
  • Close/Exit the idle Display Manager or FoxView. This feature can be used to free Display Manager licenses by killing unused DM/FVs that are inadvertently left open throughout the plant.

Features:

Automatically Logout from Engineering Environments to Initial Environment when Idle

This feature can be used to automatically restore an unprotected configuration environment to a protected one if an engineer inadvertently forgets to change back to an operating environment. The system is considered idle when the user's X-Window system does not see mouse or keyboard activity for a specified period of time.

Exit an Idle Display Manager or FoxView

This feature can be used to free Display Manager licenses by killing unused DM/FVs that are inadvertently left open throughout the plant. The system is considered idle when the user's X-Window system does not see mouse or keyboard activity for a specified period of time

Provides a Warning

Provides a warning message on the message line several minutes before the utility either exits the DM or changes to the Initial Environment

Configurable for each Individual Display Manager or FoxView

  • Define idle time for Logout
  • Define idle time for Exit
  • Define idle time to show Warning
  • Define no logout or exit for a particular DM/FV

∧TOP∧