May 2001
Upgrading your
Genesis32 5.x
application to
Genesis32 6.x
This document describes the procedure involved in migrating a GENESIS32 5.x application to a
GENESIS32 6.x platform.
The latest Genesis32 suite of OPCA full upgrade, which can be purchased from
compliant software, Release 6, adds several
your regional sales manager or representative,
powerful features and extensions beyond its
is truly a Release 6 license, in that the license
successful predecessor, version 5.x. The 5.x
needs to be reauthorized, either by an Iconics
applications have been enhanced for greater
representative or through Iconics’ website,
power and ease of use, and new applications
http://www.iconics.com.
A full upgrade will
have been added to enhance the suite’s
impose a limit of 500 client units, enough client
functionality. Many Genesis32 5.x applications
units to run a single instance of every
would benefit from being upgraded to Release
application and ActiveX that comes with
6. Certain issues must be considered before a
Release 6.
5.x application will work on Genesis32 Release
Application Files
6, however. These can be classified into three
Once the licensing decision is made, we turn
main categories: licensing changes, application
our attention to the files that comprise the
file modifications, and automation (VBA
application itself. In almost every instance,
Scripting) issues.
Release 6 applications are completely
Licensing
compatible with 5.x application files.
This
There are two distinct paths to choose from
backwards compatibility has been specifically
with regards to licensing. The differences
and thoroughly tested to ensure that upgrades
between your old 5.x license and your 6.x
require minimal effort for the user.
The
license depend upon which path you choose:
exceptions are listed below:
Maintenance update
TrendWorX32 Data Logger
A maintenance update, which is free for users
The data logger (also called the TWX32 SQL
with a current maintenance plan, means the
Server) has undergone a substantial change to
application is in effect running on a 5.x software
provide greater functionality and flexibility for
license. This means that, although the entire
the user. The primary difference between 5.x
Release 6 suite may be installed on the
and 6.x is that, instead of using the proprietary
licensed machine, only up to 400 client units
file format of the *.txd file in version 5.x, the
worth of software may be in runtime
Release 6 data logger actually reads its
simultaneously. This is the same client unit
configuration from a Microsoft Access
limit imposed on a full Genesis32 5.x system.
database. In order to use the data logger, the
With a maintenance update, the user can run
following steps must be taken:
the Release 6 versions of all 5.x applications,
1. Start the TrendWorX32 SQL Data Logger.
but will not have sufficient client units to run
2. Click File | Open, and select your 5.x *.txd
applications new to Release 6, such as
file.
ScriptWorX32, OPC DataSpy,
or the Dr.
3. Click File | Export Configuration.
DCOM utility.
4. Click the “Set…” button, and under “Data
Source”, enter the full path of the target
Full upgrade
database. Click OK to close the window
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May 2001
and return to the “Export Configuration”
window.
5. Enter a name under “Configuration Name”
different from any other configuration
names you may have already entered into
the TrendWorX32 Configurator.
6. Click the “Export” button to add this
configuration to the default TWX32
Configuration database.
7. Close the TrendWorX32 SQL Data Logger.
8. Open the TrendWorX32 Configurator. Your
configuration will be listed.
More information on this topic can be found in
the TrendWorX32 help file.
(Search for
“migration”.)
AlarmWorX32 Logger
The AWX32 Alarm Logger has undergone
substantial changes from 5.x to Release 6, to
provide a great deal more customization and
configuration options to the user, and to make
its interface consistent with the TrendWorX32
Data Logger. As a result, the 5.x and Release
6 version are not compatible. However, since
the 5.x version of the logger allowed for only a
handful of configuration properties, the creation
of a new Alarm Logger configuration is a fast
and painless task. Note that all default settings
for 5.x are still the default settings in Release 6,
so only the user-modified settings will need to
be reconfigured.
Start the Alarm Logger Configurator. Click on
the default configuration, and do the following
to implement the 5.x options:
 Enable Database Logging To: To disable
database logging, clear the “Enable
Database Logging” checkbox.
 Database: To log to an Access database
other than the Alarm Configuration
database, do the following:
 Under “ODBC Data Source”, click “…”.
 Follow the procedure below labeled
“Creating an ODBC Data Source”.
 Table: To log to a table other than “Event
Log”, click “Table(s) Management” and
enter your table name. The name must
start with a letter, and consist only of letters,
numbers, and underscores (‘_’).
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Enable Printing To: To enable printing,
click the “Printer Logging” tab and check
the “Enable Printing” checkbox, then
proceed to the next step.
Primary: To set a primary printer, click the
down arrow on the dropdown box next to
“Printer”, and select a printer from the list.
Backup: To set a backup printer, click the
down arrow on the dropdown box next to
“Backup Printer”, and select a printer from
the list.
Lines Per Page: To set the lines printed per
page, enter the proper value under “Height”.
Server-type applications
Several programs in the Genesis32 suite are
server-based programs, in that they will
automatically launch when called by a client
application. In order for these to function
properly, the proper configuration file must be
loaded prior to the client launch. For each of
the following applications, open the program,
load the 5.x configuration file using the File |
Open option, and close the program:
 Security Configurator Open the desired
.*.sec file.
 TrendWorX32 Persistent Trending Open
the desired *.b32 file.
 Alarm Server Configurator
Open the
desired Alarm Server Access database
(*.mdb). The database also needs to be set
as the active database by selecting File |
Make Active…
 DataWorX32 Open the desired *.dwx file.
 All OPC Servers
Open the desired
configuration files. (File extensions vary
from server to server.)
After this is complete, the application files are
prepared.
Moving the application to another machine:
If the program files have been moved to
another machine for this upgrade, care must
also be taken to insure that all file paths in all
files are correct as well. The following is a
checklist of places where file paths exist within
a 5.x application:
 100 Foxborough Blvd.  Foxborough, MA 02035  (508) 543-8600  FAX (508) 543-1503  BBS (508) 543-3881  E-mail info@iconics.com
January 2000

GraphWorX32
Any “Load Display”, “Embedded Window”,
“Popup Window”, or “Launch Application”
button. Any button that uses the option “Set
Aliases from a file”.
 AlarmWorX32
The “Configuration File” in the AWX32 Viewer
ActiveX properties.
 TrendWorX32
The “Configuration File” in the TWX32 Viewer
ActiveX properties.
 VBA Scripting
Any scripts that directly access files.
Automation
For the purposes of maximum backwards
compatibility, almost all automation interfaces
were preserved from 5.x to Release 6. Below
are the exceptions:
GraphWorX32
No interfaces were changed. However,
GraphWorX32 handles OPC data writes
differently in Release 6, which could effect a
script. In 5.x, GWX32 made the assumption
that, unless the application was notified, an
OPC write had succeeded. With some OPC
Servers, this is not the case. As a result,
GraphWorX32 has been modified so that,
immediately upon writing to an OPC tag, the
application assumes that the write failed until
the server announces a data change. This new
behavior is evident onscreen, especially with
slow OPC servers. If a data-entry process
point is used to change the value, the process
point will “blink back” to the old value for a
moment, until the OPC Server is updated. At
that point, GWX32 will show the new value.
As a result of this new functionality, any
VBA script that writes to an OPC tag, then
immediately checks that value, will see that the
value has not changed. If your script relies on
a check like this, it will apparently fail, even on
success.
AlarmWorX32 Viewer
The obsolete methods GetAlarmOLEBlob() and
SetAlarmOLEBlob() are no longer available.
CREATING AN ODBC DATA SOURCE
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Click the “Machine Data Source” tab.
If you are selecting an already configured ODBC datasource, select it from this list. The configuration of
this option is now complete.
If you are creating a new database or using a database that has not been configured in ODBC, click
“New…”.
Click “System Data Source” and “Next”.
Double-click “Microsoft Access Driver”.
Click “Finish.”
Enter an ODBC “Data Source Name”. The only restriction is that it must be without spaces and different
from any other ODBC data source name.
If you are creating a new database, click “Create…”, select the location for the database file, type in a
database name (including the .mdb file extension) and click “OK”.
If you are logging to an existing database, click “Select…”, select your database and click “OK”.
Click “OK” to exit ODBC Setup.
Click “OK” to select your ODBC source. Your configuration for the ODBC datasource is complete.
 100 Foxborough Blvd.  Foxborough, MA 02035  (508) 543-8600  FAX (508) 543-1503  BBS (508) 543-3881  E-mail info@iconics.com
May 2001
 100 Foxborough Blvd.  Foxborough, MA 02035  (508) 543-8600  FAX (508) 543-1503  BBS (508) 543-3881  E-mail info@iconics.com