When a Mimic is displayed in Run Mode, its operational features are active. For example, hyperlinks can be selected and will cause other displays to be shown, and animated values will update in real-time. Run Mode is usually the active mode for Mimics in control rooms and so on, where they are used by operator level users to interact with the system.

The Mimic configuration-related features are unavailable when a Mimic is displayed in Run Mode. You cannot configure any Mimic objects when a Mimic is in Run mode, even if your User account has the Configure permission.

When a Mimic is displayed in Design Mode, its configuration features are active. For example, if you select a hyperlink, you access the configuration settings for the hyperlink rather than trigger the hyperlink to show the target display.

You can only access Design Mode if your User account has the Configure permission for the Mimic. When a Mimic is in Design mode, you can add objects, edit objects, rearrange objects, add views and layers and so on. You can also create scripts and animations and associate Mimic objects with pick actions.

Typically, operator level users have accounts that restrict their access to configuration features, so they will only use Mimics in Run Mode. Engineers often have the Configure permission and so can access both Run Mode and Design Mode.

If you are configuring a Mimic and need to test whether pick actions, animations and so on work, you will need to switch the Mimic from Design Mode into Run Mode. This is because pick action menus and animations are only active in Run Mode.