All Patch Release Notes

UI

• The new table property tabKeyCellFocus() allows the use of the tab key within the table widget to quickly and seamlessly navigate through table cells.
• A new function minMaxNumeric(bool) can reset the value of text input fields to a valid value if an invalid value has been entered, which helps to minimize input errors.
• The new property allowEmptyNumeric() now allows for input fields to remain really empty as well as having a value of 0. These two states can be distinguished by the CTRL code.

WebView EWO

The WebView EWO received a new function setFeaturePermission(). This allows users to grant access to external requests, such as video/microphone input.

Details concerning the function can be found here.

User Management

The outdated Microsoft NTLM service for Active Directory authentication has been replaced by LDAP/Kerberos functions. The config entry useWindowsNTLM allows users to enable the previous functionality, should it be needed for compatibility reasons.

ULC UX

A new config autoReconnectOnShutdown lets the ULC UX automatically reconnect after a normal shutdown.

NGA

• The NGA query speed when reading from multiple archive groups simultaneously has been improved.
• The trend widget can now also use the direct read feature for NGA-based archiving.

NextGeneration Archiver

• The function alertGet() can now be used for DirectRead.

Driver

• SNMP: Improved handling of large amounts of data (bulk requests).

OPC UA Server

• The new configuration entry rootNode can be used to set a general prefix for node IDs to enable extended context.

CTRL

• The functions disRecSystem_ReplaceSystemName() and disRecSystem_ReplaceSystemNamesInit() are now deprecated and will be discontinued with Version 3.21.

MQTT Publisher

• The MQTT Publisher now also supports the use of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) certificates. This increases security even further and can be a necessary requirement when using certain MQTT brokers.

Driver

• S-BUS driver: The driver now also supports the dpGetMaxAge() function. This function returns the value of a data point element (DPE) if the current value is older than a specified point in time.

Siemens Industrial Thin Client (ITC)

• The specific User Interface for ITC devices received an update.
• Note:

  WinCC OA V3.19 only supports newer ITC versions (V3). The new minimum required firmware with this update is now 3.2.3.

Next Generation Archiver Importer

• In the Value Archives (HDB), the file structure and therefore also the header sizes can differ between Linux and Windows projects. As a project can be switched from one underlying operating system to another during its lifecycle, a new import parameter useHeaderSize = ["windows"|"linux"] allows you to specify the correct setting.

Documentation

The WinCC Assistant has been updated to an optimized version based on the newest and fastest GPT-4o openAI engine, delivering impressive results.

Driver

• S7 Plus: Version 2 of the Time Stamp Push Protocol has been introduced, which provides a reworked data structure and performance improvements compared to version 1.

OPC UA

• The OPC UA server now supports ServerRedundancy variables in the OPC UA Server object.

Dashboard

• The new HTML widget has been added to the Dashboard, which allows the user to display native HTML content as well as directly access WinCC OA by using the oa-rx-js-api.

CodeMeter

• CodeMeter has been upgraded to version 8.10.
• Due to version incompatibilities between CodeMeter 7 and 8, following FAQ describes the procedure on how to fix the CodeMeter installation when CodeMeter 8.10 is installed on a machine where CodeMeter 7.60 is already installed.
• CodeMeter 8.10 is automatically installed when installing WinCC OA 3.18 P026 (or newer) or 3.19 P012 (or newer).

NextGen Archiver

• It is now possible to select one instance out of all available types for your locally installed NGA backend in the NGA Basic license at no extra costs. The included archive groups have also been extended by one additional group. With this change, you are now getting more WinCC OA for the same price.

CTRL Functions

• Better URL encoding: the two new CTRL functions urlEncode() and urlDecode() allow easier communication handling with webservices.
• The CTRL function dpGetAllAliases() received a significant performance improvement, allowing for faster Alias retrieval

Video Add-On

• In the WinCC OA Video EWO and the vimacc Display Server, the option Unicast UDP streaming is no longer available. Multicast remains as before.

SQLite

• The WAL parameters of the SQLite database schema are now automatically adjusted when creating new projects and no longer need to be manually adjusted.

General

• If a time difference error occurs on a PLC, the timestamp of said error will now also be transferred to WinCC OA and displayed in the Log Message. This will make finding the root causes of PLC errors much easier. .

NextGen Archiver

DRS

• Within the disaster recovery system (2x2 Redundancy) for NGA, the PostgreSQL database is now also available for Windows platforms.

Video Add-On

• The vimacc version of the WinCC OA Video feature has been upgraded to version 2.2.10.35.

NextGen Archiver

• The NGA Importer for WinCC OA V3.19 not only allows you to convert your old data into NGA Archives, but can also handle data transfer between different NGA Backends (e.g. InfluxDB to PostgreSQL). This allows a seamless transition from old ValArchs to NGA without any data loss, as historical data can now be preserved with the switchover.
• Note:

  As of the release of this update, backend-to-backend conversion might require additional licenses. This will however no longer be the case with the release of WinCC OA V3.19.10. Additionally, the local database backend included in the NGA Basic license (which is part of the WinCC OA Server Basic package) will be made freely selectable between InfluxDB, PostgreSQL and MMSQL, whereas right now it is still restricted to InfluxDB only. We therefore recommend postponing data migration between backends until the release of WinCC OA V3.19.10.

Dashboard

• Single Sign-On offers customers the advantage of a simplified and more efficient use of the Dashboard with a one-time login, which helps save time, improves convenience, and increases security.

Video Add-On

• Camera meta names/description are now displayed in the camera list overview for improved clarity.

Driver

• BACnet: The new config entry "onlyActivePolls" is now available for the BACnet driver, providing a useful tool to increase performance significantly as the poll load can be reduced, which is especially useful for redundant systems.
• OPC UA: The OPC UA Server can now handle the method configuration script "opcuaSrv_Method" even if it has been encrypted, helping to increase the protection on your intellectual property, such as your own additions to the scripts.

Documentation

• The WinCC OA Online Documentation is now equipped with a comment function, which makes it easy for users to directly leave feedback on every page. A short description on how to use this new feature can be found here.

Core

• The function printRootPanel() allows to print several panels as a multi-page PDF document now.

Driver

• Modbus driver: The driver is executing a general query on connection establishment now. This behavior can be configured with the new config entry:

  [mod]
  autoGQ = 1

• The OPC UA Server supports to log method calls to the logging DPE _OPCUAPvssServer.State.DatapointLogging.Method now. Method call logging can be activated in the OPC UA Server configuration panel.

DotNET API

• Improved shutdown behavior by providing event when shutdown process starts and ends. In addition, the possibility to wait for shutdown is provided now.
• Simplified project creation by using project templates.
• Signal-handling in .NET API managers is now supported by using events as described in the API documentation.

Dashboard

• API version was updated to 7.0.0

Security

• Callback triggering can now be suppressed via a config entry when a user switch is conducted.

Core

• Excel 2021 is now supported with WinCC OA version 3.19, e.g., for the Excel Report Reporting feature.

Driver

• SNMP: ErrorOID will now be set if the connection is deactivated through setting of an empty IP-address.
• OPC UA:
  • Associated Alert Values of the S7-1500 can now also be read, displayed, and processed by WinCC OA.
  • JSON format for EVENT strings is now supported.

User Interface

• The Zoom Navigator widget has been extended with two new properties:
  • "viewportBorderColor" - Border color of the view window box can now be modified.
  • "sliderVisible" - The slider on the bottom of the zoom navigator can now be removed via property.

Dashboard

• The new Sankey Widget offers an intuitive and visually appealing way to understand the flow of data, resources, or processes within a system. Flow data is visualized through arrows proportional to the respective flow quantities. With this widget, customers can easily identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement within their processes. By visualizing data flows, valuable insights into how to optimize resource allocation and streamline operations can be gained.

  

Security

• OpenSSL Version 3.0 is now supported.
  Restriction:

  Due to an incompatibility with openSSL 3.0, the feature of “Secure Connections for IEC 61850” will not be available with current P006. Currently Secure Connections with IEC 61850 are not supported by any real device, but only in combination with simulator software. The incompatibility will be resolved with an upcoming update for 3.19

Driver

• SNMP: The SNMP driver has been enhanced to now also support the SHA 256 authentication protocol which makes communication even more secure.
• OPC UA Client: The S7-1500 specific OPC UA alarm types are now included in the WinCC OA OPC UA subscription panel, making engineering even easier and more comprehensible.
• OPC UA Server:
  • Historical alarms and conditions are now supported by the WinCC OA OPC UA server, further extending the already broad feature range of our OPC UA connectivity.
  • OPC UA Server can now be used on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

UI

• Widgets: The Tree widget will call a DragEnter event now if a dragged object is moved over a tree cell.

API

• .NET Logging can be used for the C# API now.
• C# API now allows for the use of CNS node properties during node creation and in observations.

User Management

The functionality of the OS Authentication User Management was optimized to allow for a faster integration of changes into WinCC OA.

Any changes in the Operating System are by default synchronized to WinCC OA within an hour. This time can now be shortened with the config entry checkADAuthIntervall. In addition, a restart of the project triggers the synchronization immediately.

NGA

• Improvements to the Archive Conversion Routine were made to always open the Archive Conversion panel in case an Archive migration is performed.
• Alarm Groups can now be migrated using the NGA migration panel.

ASCII Manager

Improved handling of historical entries within the ASCII file, when importing into an SQLite database.

Third Party Tools

• CodeMeter has been upgraded to 7.60a.

• OMS+ has been upgraded to V13.

Online Documentation

A BETA version of the WinCC OA Assistant-Chatbot has been integrated within the 3.19 documentation. A disclaimer for the Chatbot can be found here.

Dashboard - New Pie Chart

The Pie Chart Widget is useful for quick and clear visualization of data distribution through larger or smaller segments. The relative size of different segments can be further distinguished by using different colors or patterns for each segment, allowing for easy comparison between them. Key areas of interest can be highlighted to draw attention to them in a simple and intuitive way.

Overall, the Pie Chart Widget is a powerful tool for presenting customer value data in a clear, concise, and engaging way, allowing businesses to communicate key insights to customers, stakeholders, and decision-makers.

Drivers

The MQTT Publisher has received a small enhancement; it is now possible to use the Plantmodel display name as topic name. This allows for more flexibility and further enhances the usefulness of the Plantmodel feature.

Licensing

The native WinCC OA license tool has been enabled for auto updates without the need for a license ticket. License updates for a container can be performed automatically and without explicitly having to state the license ticket ID. With this new functionality, the customer can now perform license operations quicker and more flexibly.

Performance improvement

Significant performance optimization has been achieved through faster loading times for the aes.ctl and sdSymbolDynamics.ctl libraries.

REST Reporting API

The WinCC OA REST API, introduced in WinCC OA 3.19, allows the requesting of data via a web-based interface. With this update, the REST reporting API’s JSON answer format has been majorly improved. The resulting answers are available as JSON objects to provide a self-contained data format which makes automated parsing as easy as possible. The data format has improved state and error reporting, enabling the user to be absolutely secure about the reliability of the data in the report.

Driver

The expiration date of the default certificate for IEC 104 driver has been updated to match other default certificates of WinCC OA.

Trend

• Two new script functions (curveValueFactor/curveValueFactorX) allow the application of a scaling factor to trend curves.
• The NGA downsampling functionality can now be accessed through the trend configuration panel.
• The Trend widget’s legend tooltip now displays data point information (Name, Comment, Alias).

GEDI

• Project view
  • When a subproject is unlocked, files and colors/colorDBs can be added to or removed from it.
  • Directories (e.g., the colorDB directory) or whole subprojects (root-node in project tree) can now also be opened in external applications via the right-click context menu.
• Catalog view
  • The context menu for message catalogs and user-defined catalogs can now be used to change the project icon if the project was unlocked in the ProjectTree view.
  • Further, files or directories can be added to, removed from or renamed directly in catalogs within subprojects.
  • The window titles of the catalog dock windows are now unique.

ULC UX

• The number of reconnects an ULC UX client will do if the connection to the web server is lost can now be individually configured in the new config section [ulcUX] with the ../../cfg_doku/all_config_entries.html#ulcUX_reconnectCount entry (Standard before was 2 reconnects). This adds more flexibility, e.g., in case of unstable network connection.

Dashboard

• The new iframe widget allows the integration of external content into the dashboard via a content window. Content from external sites is loaded and displayed within a frame. This allows the integration of 3rd party intranet or internet sites directly into the dashboard, which means no switching between windows/tabs for the user.

Drivers

• The S7Plus driver now supports TIA portal V18 export.
• The IEC 60870-104 driver allows deletion and recreation of connection data point (DPT _IecConnection) with the same name without driver restart if all related addresses are deleted beforehand.
• The BACnet driver now supports the reading of the following object properties: Current_Command_Priority / Value_Source_Array / Timer object Initial_Timeout / CredentialDataInput object Supported_Formats / NetworkSecurity object Key_Sets property.