Differences Between the WebX Client and ViewX

Many of the functions and displays that are available from a ViewX client are also available from a WebX client—see the other sections of this guide for more detail:

• ViewX Client
• Object Menu
• Alarms
• Events
• Mimics
• Lists
• Trends
• Reports
• Status Displays
• Operator Document Stores.

The differences in how you use a WebX client compared with ViewX mostly relate to how you access items and functions.

The main differences between a WebX client and ViewX are:

• A WebX client provides operator, rather than configuration, access to the system. (Engineers have to use a ViewX client to make any configuration changes.)
• A WebX client can only display one window at a time (it cannot display inset windows as pop-ups as in ViewX). Any inset windows are displayed using the entire main display area and you use the Back navigation button to return to the previous screen.
• A WebX client can only connect to one server at a time.

  On ClearSCADA systems that have:

  • Multiple Databases (see Multiple Databases in the ClearSCADA Guide to Client Administration).

  and:

  • Contain Mimics that include hyperlinks to displays on other ClearSCADA databases

  WebX can navigate between the servers that run those databases and therefore display the other display(s) successfully. However, WebX cannot access multiple servers simultaneously. As such, in order for all of the ‘live’ data on a Mimic to update correctly in WebX, all of that data has to be sourced from the same ClearSCADA database as that on which the Mimic itself is located.

  Cross-database hyperlink support is possible providing that:

  • The WebX client can obtain a network connection to each server (connecting to one server at a time)

  and:

  • The relevant Cross-Database Hyperlinks settings have been configured on each of those servers (see Define the Cross-Database Hyperlinks Settings in the ClearSCADA Guide to Server Administration).
• Alarms are displayed using a dedicated screen on a WebX client.
• Audible alarms are not supported on a WebX client.
• Events are displayed using a dedicated screen on a WebX client.
• Lists are displayed using a dedicated screen on a WebX client.
• A WebX client can display the latest generated version of a report, providing that specific criteria are met. This includes the report being made available for display in WebX. For more information, see View the Most Recently Generated Version of a Report on a WebX Client in this guide, and see the ClearSCADA Guide to the Crystal Reports Driver.
• A WebX client does not have the ViewX ribbon. For displays such as Trends and Mimics the WebX client provides access to options such as Zoom and Pan via a context-sensitive menu. Access the menu by right-clicking on the main display area.
• A WebX client cannot display the Explorer Bars. Equivalent Database Bar functionality is provided via the Database button. Equivalent Queries Bar functionality is provided via the Lists button.
• A WebX client can only display single windows that have been saved as Favorites. (Any Favorites that comprise multiple windows, or multiple windows and inset windows, are excluded from the Favorites list in WebX.)
• You cannot access the ClearSCADA context-sensitive help feature from a WebX client. In the ViewX client, the context-sensitive help feature allows you to display help for the ClearSCADA display that you are currently using. See Context Sensitive Help.

  To display context-sensitive help in the ViewX client (and in many other Windows® applications) you press the F1 key. If you press F1 in the WebX client, then context-sensitive help for Microsoft Internet Explorer appears, rather than context-sensitive help for the ClearSCADA application.

  However, you can display the ClearSCADA online help system by selecting the Help button on the WebX navigation bar. See ClearSCADA Help. and See Understand the WebX Interface.

Further Information

Run a WebX Client.