Many of you complained about a particular sentence in the Deployment book (online help 11.2 SPR #62352).
I was not comfortable with this one, it's a piece of text written the week-end before the release - Never the good time to write something 😉
To those who complained, are you Ok with this proposal:
04/01/2017 BL - Hint for fixing this one:
In the what you need to know topic, replace the following bullet item:
"You cannot start another instance of the Supervisor on the same computer, except when deploying Remote Desktop instances"
By 2 bullets:
- Only one instance of the Supervisor process can be executed at a time. You cannot start another instance of the Supervisor if one is already running on the same computer.
- You cannot execute the Supervisor in Remote Desktop Sessions. If your deployment includes usage of RDS, the Supervisor must be configured for running as a desktop application on the RDS server. See Deploying the Supervisor on a RDS host for more information.
And now the spoiler: For the first time (ever), we are planning a bulk of online help SPR fixes for a next 11.2 update.
Thank you for your feedback.
I don't understand the last of your 2 new bullets.
You cannot execute the Supervisor in Remote Desktop Sessions
Hi Ludo
It is in the topic "What you need to know when running PcVue as a Windows service".
It is a mix of benefits, drawbacks, project & system design tips.
And in this context, part of what you *need to know* is that you cannot run RDS session if PcVue is deployed as a Windows Service on the RDS host.
Is it clearer for you now ? What can we do to make it clear to the reader ?
Ok understood now.
I had not the context clear in mind.
Is it clearer for you now ? What can we do to make it clear to the reader ?
Yes. Sounds okay to me now.
But still I would include in the first bullet point that it is indeed possible on Remote Desktop Servers:
"Only one instance of the Supervisor process can be executed at a time. You cannot start another instance of the Supervisor if one is already running on the same computer, except if you are deploying the supervisor on a RDS server."
Hi,
We are finalizing the online help updates. For this SPR, here is the text we end up with, both in French and in English.
Let me know if it is Ok for you.
In English:
What you need to know when running the Supervisor as a Windows service
- There is no user interface. Therefore you need at least one other Supervisor station configured as a client, or WebVue, to display mimics.
- No user interface means that the Event Viewer normally displayed using F7 is not available. Instead you need to monitor events from the logging and tracing sub-system, including the trace files. The Log Monitor can be started from a shortcut in the Supervisor's program group in the Start menu.
- Only one instance of the Supervisor process can be executed at a time. You cannot start another instance of the Supervisor if one is already running on the same computer.
- You cannot use:
- DDE communication (client or server)
- Graphical printing
- Anything that requires User interaction
- VBA - Scripts can be run but must be started by some method that does not require user interaction, and they should not require any user interaction to go to completion. As an example, any instructions that have an HMI (MsgBox for example) must not be used.
- SCADA Basic - Programs can be run but must be started by some method that does not require user interaction. Any instructions related to the HMI or requiring user interaction (Window for example) must not be used.
- External DLL called from VBA or SCADA Basic if they require user interaction.
- SV Manager extensions if they require user interaction.
- You cannot access resources using mapped drive letters. Instead you must use the Universal Naming Convention name. For example “\MyServerMyFolder”.
- You cannot start the Supervisor in a Remote Desktop Session. If your deployment includes usage of RDS, the Supervisor must be configured for running as a desktop application on the computer that is the RDS server. See Deploying the Supervisor on a RDS host for more information.
And in French:
Ce que vous devez savoir sur l'exécution du Superviseur en tant que Service Windows
- Il n'y a pas d'interface utilisateur. Par conséquent, vous aurez besoin d'au moins un autre Superviseur configuré en tant que Client, ou WebVue, pour afficher des synoptiques.
- L'Observateur d'Evénements n'est pas disponible. A la place, vous devez surveiller les événements issus du sous-système de traces et de journalisation, notamment les fichiers de traces.
- Vous pouvez utiliser le Log Monitor accessible à partir du dossier Outils dans le groupe de programmes du Superviseur.
- Une seule instance du Superviseur peut être exécutée à un moment donné. Vous ne pouvez pas démarrer une autre instance du Superviseur, s’il en existe déjà une en train de s’exécuter sur l’ordinateur.
- Vous ne pouvez pas utiliser:
- De communication DDE (client ou serveur)
- Impressions graphiques
- Quoi que ce soit qui requiert une interaction avec l'utilisateur
- VBA - Des scripts peuvent être exécutés en arrière-plan, mais ils doivent être démarrés par une méthode ne nécessitant pas une interaction utilisateur, et ils ne doivent pas requérir une telle interaction pour aboutir. Par exemple, les instructions possédant des éléments d'IHM (MsgBox par exemple), ne doivent pas être utilisées.
- SCADA Basic - Des programmes peuvent être exécutés en arrière-plan, mais ils doivent être démarrés par une méthode ne nécessitant pas une interaction utilisateur, et ils ne doivent pas requérir une telle interaction pour aboutir. Par exemple, les instructions possédant des éléments d'IHM (WINDOW par exemple), ne doivent pas être utilisées.
- Appels de DLL externes depuis le VBA ou le SCADA Basic s'ils nécessitent une interaction utilisateur.
- Des Add-ons SV Manager s'ils nécessitent une interaction utilisateur.
- Vous ne pouvez pas accéder à des ressources en utilisant des lecteurs mappés. A la place, vous devez utiliser la convention de nommage universelle. Par exemple “\MyServerMyFolder”.
- Vous ne pouvez pas démarrer le Superviseur dans une session Bureau à Distance. Si votre déploiement inclut l'usage de sessions Bureau à Distance, le Superviseur doit être configuré pour s'exécuter comme une application de bureau sur l'ordinateur qui est le serveur hôte des sessions Bureau à Distance. Pour plus d'informations, voir la section Déploiement du Superviseur en session Bureau à distance.
Ok for me.
Just some details:
- The title: I would use "Limits & constraints when PcVue is running as a Windows service"
- For the Logs I would add that some logs (INFO and WARNING level) are written in the Windows Event Viewer on top of the Log Monitor.
- For VBA: It should be a good information to know what will happen if the code execute a msgbox. Does the program stop?
Nico
Ok for me.
I don't want to rename the title. Because it is not limits or constraints, it is "What you need to know when running the Supervisor as a Windows service".
For VBA, I think this message is enough :
"•VBA - Scripts can be run but must be started by some method that does not require user interaction, and they should not require any user interaction to go to completion. As an example, any instructions that have an HMI (MsgBox for example) must not be used."
Anthony
Thank you for your feedback.
As a conclusion, know that 72 SPRs related to documentation have been fixed for the 11.2 update of April (out of 120 SPR in total in our Intra).
Big thanks to Mireille and Robin, I hope it will be useful to everyone.


