FactoryTalk View Machine Edition Version 8 Released!

By
Shawn Tierney
-


FTView_8_SplashRockwell Automation just released the latest version of its FactoryTalk View product.

Without any fanfare, FactoryTalk View Machine Edition version 8 became available for download earlier this week. This was a pleasant surprise to many of Rockwell’s own employees and distributors who had expected it to come out much later in the year.

But even better than an early release are the new features included in version 8.

While View Machine Edition and View Site Edition were released simultaneously, today we’ll focus on what’s new with Machine Edition, and we’ll cover View Site Edition on Monday.

What’s new in FactoryTalk View Machine Edition v8.0

Here’s my own take of the most important new features in ViewME 8.0:

Additional Operating System Support

We finally get official Windows 8 (and 8.1, and Server 2012) support! Not that I plan to ditch Windows 7 anytime soon, but it’s essential for successful software products to support the latest Microsoft operating systems.

PanelView Plus 7 Support

Huh? Yeah, we were just talking about this last week. Now we finally have a public acknowledgement that the PanelView Plus 7 is coming. But it’s not just that. The release notes also confirm that the PVPlus 7 will come in a standard and enhanced version, and will support new resolutions including widescreen aspect ratios.

Project based security

This is great news for anyone out there who has been frustrated with ViewME FT Local Directory Security which debuted in version 4. Now in FTViewME 8.0 security is project based, and no longer tied to the local PC’s FactoryTalk Directory. This will make sharing projects with users, groups, and passwords much much easier.

FTView_ME_8_User_ManagementRuntime Use Management

With version 8 you can now add, delete, modify, unlock, enable, disable, and change users during runtime! You can also add, delete, and modify groups too.

In addition, support for domain authentication using Windows 2012, 2008, and 2003 via LDAP or LDAP over SSL has been added.

Additional Enhancements

Many smaller enhancements are also included in this release. One is a warning if the resolution of the project being run is different than the terminal. Another is a warning if a shortcut is applied to an unsupported device.

But my favorite miscellaneous update is with the new application manager. It now no longer closes after completing a task. Instead (like many Rockwell utilities) at the end of a task (like backing up a project) it will return to its start page. This is definitely going to make managing libraries of projects much easier.

Well that’s all I know right now about FactoryTalk View Machine Edition and View Studio version 8.0. In the coming days and weeks as I begin to use it I’ll bring you any additional changes I encounter.

Until then, if you have some thoughts you’d like to share on ViewME 8.0 please let us know by filling out the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

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Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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4 COMMENTS

    • Good morning James,

      That’s a great question. I just checked Rockwell’s site and they haven’t added Windows 10 yet so we don’t know for sure.

      My guess is it does, but I haven’t tried it and you never know until you do,

      I did hear 8.1 is due out any day now, and hopefully it will be officially supported on Windows 10?

      Shawn Tierney

      Join my free community to follow along! You can also become a member and support our work at: Automation.Locals.com

  3. I would like to “shave” that you have a spelling mistake in your closing. This is exciting news, particularly the project-based security! That will make managing 97 PV+ units across 4 facilities much easier.