Troubleshooting | Open Automation Software

Troubleshooting Topics:

Universal Driver Interface

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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Modbus

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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Modbus Bad Data Quality

Below are some helpful troubleshooting steps to resolve bad data quality for tags with a Data Source of Modbus.

Master or Slave

To communicate to Modbus slave devices set the Type under Configure-Drivers to Master so OAS is a Modbus Master.

When the Type is set to Slave OAS can act as a Modbus slave for Modbus masters to read and write data from OAS.

Protocol Type

The protocol type can be set to TCP, RTU, or ASCII. Although OAS can support all 3 protocols on either Ethernet or Serial interfaces it is typical to use TCP over Ethernet and RTU or ASCII over Serial.

IP Address

When connecting to a Modbus slave over Ethernet the device will need to be reachable from the OAS system. Use Windows Command Prompt or Linux terminal where the OAS Engine is running to ping the device to verify it is reachable.

Memory Type

Specify the correct Memory Type for the data within the device.

Coil Status: 1 - 09999
Input Status: 10001 - 19999
Input Register: 30001 - 39999
Holding Register: 40001 - 465535

Address

The Address field should not contain the base address of the memory type used.

For example to access holding register 40,001 set the Memory Type to Holding Register and the Address to 1.

Extended addressing is also supported. To communicate to 410001 set the Memory Type to Holding Register and the address to 10001.

Holding Register Address Range

40,001 use Address of 1
49,999 use Address of 9,999
50,000 use Address of 10,000
410,001 use Address of 10,001
420,000 use Address of 20,000
430,000 use Address of 30,000
440,000 use Address of 40,000
450,000 use Address of 50,000
460,000 use Address of 60,000
465,535 use Address of 65,535

Zero Based Addressing

Zero Based Addressing will subtract 1 from the address when communicating to the device.

Example: When communicating to Holding Register 40000 the Memory Type will be Holding Register and the Address would be 1.

Refer to the vendor's documentation if the device uses 0 base addressing or 1 base addressing.

Modbus Data Type

The Modbus Data Type for the tag should be set to the correct type based on the data to obtained from the controller.

To access 4 byte single floats use Float32. To access 8 byte double floats use Float64.

To access individual bits of a Holding Register or Input Register use Int16 As Boolean, Int32 As Boolean, or Int64 As Boolean.

Also match the OAS tag Data Type to the correct value type to be set. If you are unsure of the data type use Object to see the result.

Note: If you are using Gain and Offset in a tag to scale an integer value to a floating point value use Double Float or Single Float as the Data Type.

One or More Invalid Addresses

If one or more of the Tags defined to the Driver Interface has invalid address defined or the address does not exist in the device the remaining good addresses can be affected with either taking the device offline or invalid packet request or response.

To isolate one or more tags to their own dedicated communication channel select the existing driver interface and change the name to a new unique name and select Add Driver.

To define a tag to the new driver select Configure-Tags, then select the tag you want to isolate to select the new driver interface.

Select Apply Changes.

If the data quality changes to good for the tag then resolve the other addresses in the tags defined to the first driver interface used.

To help you further identify which tag addresses are bad use the Tag Watch Window to view multiple tags in one window.

To add a tag to the Watch Window, select any tag or tag group and right click on it. Then choose Add to Watch from the context menu.

The tag you selected will then appear in the Watch Window.

Set Bad Msgs to Offline to 0 temporarily so the Driver Interface will remain online to continue to poll all addresses.

If an address is defined that does not exist in the device other tags with valid addresses can also be affected if the address is within range of the Max Words per Packet.

You can temporarily override packet optimization by adjusting the Max Words per Packet to 1 to poll each address independently in its own packet request. See Max Words per Packet following. Use Tag CSV Export and Import to set multiple tags with the same Max Words per Packet.

Once you identify which addresses are invalid investigate if the address exists in the device or refer to the vendor's documentation to find the correct addresses to use.

Max Words per Packet

Some Modbus devices have a limitation of packet size. Refer to the vendor's documentation as to what maximum packet size it can support. There are 2 bytes to each word, so if the device can support 250 bytes, the Max Words per Packet can be left at the default of 125.

The default value of Max Words per Packet is 125.

Note: Setting Max Words per Packet to a lower value can decrease the overall communication speed to the device. Use the highest possible the device supports for the best performance.

Word Swap and Byte Swap

Refer to the device vendor's documentation to determine if bytes or words need to be swapped to covert the raw integer values received and sent. If so use the properties Word Swap and / or Byte Swap.

Device Read Enabled

When the property Device Read is enabled polling communications will be disabled and read requests will only be performed when the tag defined for the Device Read transitions from false to true. If data is to be polled continuously from the device disable the tag property Device Read.

Enable by Tag

The Enable by Tag property is used to define a Boolean tag that will enable or disable communications for the tag. If data is to be polled continuously from the device disable the tag property Enable by Tag.

License

Use Configure-License to verify that the Driver Modbus is enabled.

System Errors

Select Configure-System Errors and expand any Modbus or Driver Interface error to see the details of the error.

The information provided can often help you determine the cause of communication failures.

The history of all systems errors can be found in the OAS Error Log specified under Configure-Options-System Logging.

The default directory is the Log subdirectory in the OAS installation directory. On Windows the default location is C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Log\.

Example from log:

11:29:58.421 Modbus - Modbus Device - Communications - 006 - Modbus Comm Failure: The operation is not allowed on non-connected sockets.
11:30:00.464 Modbus - Modbus Device - Communications - 004 - Modbus Comm Failure: Read values are null
11:30:04.125 Modbus - Modbus Device - Communications - 007 - Modbus TCP connection was not accepted. Socket connect failed. Exception: One or more errors occurred.

Log Modbus Communications

You can enable the Modbus transaction logging under Configure-Options-System Logging to verify the device is responding to a request and analyze the packet optimization for each memory and address defined in the tag configuration.

Optionally specify a specify a specific Driver Interface to capture with the property Driver Interface To Log or leave this blank to log all Modbus drivers.

Specify the location of where the communication logs will be saved with the property Transaction Log Path further down in System Logging.

Following is an example from the log reading Holding Register 40001 with Zero Based Addressing.

12:10:12.944 ReadHoldingRegisters: Start Address: 0 Number of Points: 1

Wireshark

Wireshark is an excellent third party tool to analyze network communications over Ethernet. It has built in support for Modbus TCP and RTU protocols to convert the raw packets into easy to read Modbus protocol requests and responses. Select Analyze-Enabled Protocols to enable the Modbus protocols.

Use Apply a display filter field to filter the network traffic based on the IP address of the Modbus device you want to monitor with ip.addr == <IP address>, an example ip.addr == 192.168.0.1

You can download Wireshark from https://www.wireshark.org/download.html

ModScan32

ModScan32 is a good test application to communicate to Modbus devices to verify the device can respond to requests from the system.

You can download Modscan32 from WinTech Software Design.

Poor Network or Line Quality

If communication failures are intermittent due to weak radio signal or slow device response you can increase the Timeout and / or Number of Retries under Configure-Drivers.

The default Timeout is 1000 milliseconds (1 second).

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OPC

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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I am unable to browse and OPC Server or get good data quality for the OPC Items?

View the OPC Communications - Troubleshooting section in this file on how to resolve all OPC Server communication errors.

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Networking OPC Data

The best way to network to remote OPC Servers is to install the OAS Service on the remote PCs where the OPC Server is running and use the built in network features of Open Automation Software. Easy Networking How to network all products to central service using a fixed IP Address or registered domain name for the Internet.

If you decide you still want to use remote DCOM to connect to remote OPC Servers use the Configure-OAS application and go to Configure-Options-Networking to define the available IP addresses of the remote OPC server nodes in the Network Nodes list.

You will then be able to browse the remote systems under the Network Nodes with browsing for OPC servers.

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Remote OPC Servers

Connecting to Data Access OPC Servers is best implemented when the OAS Service is installed where the OPC Servers you are connecting to are. View Getting Started - Networking on how to enable easy remote networking from the client applications to a service without using remote DCOM.

If you prefer to use remote DCOM without OAS networking view Networking OPC Data troubleshooting topic on how to define the IP Address of remote systems under Configure-Options-Networking.

If you are having trouble connecting to a local or remote OPC Server try setting the Service Logon to a proper local User Account or use the OPC Data Fix which can be enabled using the OAS Services control application.

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OPC Server Identity

If you can obtain data from one OPC Client, but not other OPC Clients at the same time verify that the OPC Server identity is set to Interactive User in the DCOM Configurator. View the steps listed below. If you are using the OPTO 22 OPC Server you will need to do this step after installing their OPC Server.

Step 1

Start the DCOM configurator by selecting run and type DCOMCNFG and select OK. OPC Server Identity 542

Step 2

Select Component Services, Computers, My Computer, and DCOM Config. OPC Server Identity 543

Step 3

Select the OPC Server you are connecting to in the right window and right click to select Properties. OPC Server Identity 544

Step 4

Select the Identity tab and select the option “The interactive user.” OPC Server Identity 545

Step 5

Restart the system and verify using the Task Manager under Processes that only one instance of the OPC Server runs with multiple clients connected to it.

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DCOM Security Configuration

If both Open Automation Software and the OPC Foundation Sample Client are unable to access data from OPC Servers and the OPC Foundation Core components are installed use the following section to setup the DCOM Security of the operating system.

Registry

If it is not possible to edit limits in DCOM (buttons Edit Limits grayed, not like below): DCOM Security Configuration 504

With regedit delete the 2 restrictions MachineAccessRestriction and MachineLaunchRestriction, in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows NTDCOM

System Wide Configuration

dcomcnfg => System wide configuration DCOM Security Configuration 506

My Computer => Properties

Access Permissions => Click Edit Default

Access Permissions => Click Edit Limits

Performance… and Distribute COM… same settings as ANONYMOUS

Launch and Activation Permissions => Click Edit Default…

Launch and Activation Permissions => Click Edit Limits…

Performance... and Distributed COM… same settings as INTERACTIVE DCOM Security Configuration 533

SYSTEM WIDE CONFIGURATION => ADD A USER IN COM security

If it is necessary to add a user click Add…

Click Advanced…

Click Find Now

COM APPLICATION WIDE CONFIGURATION

OPC enum service DCOM configuration

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OPC Server Does Not Run as a Service

If the OPC server does not run as a Windows Service and OAS cannot connect to the server or is receiving bad data quality due to DCOM security permissions implement the OPC Data Fix or set the OAS Data Service LogOn to a local user account.

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RS-Linx OPC Server

The RS-Linx installation corrupts the OPC Foundation Core component and puts in an older version of the OPC Foundation Core components. Download them and reinstall them and restart the operating system if receive an RCW dll messing error.

Download: https://filedownloads.openautomationsoftware.com/tools/OPCCoreComponentsRedistributable(x86).zip If you are having trouble browsing RS-Linx go to Configure-Options-OPC and enable or disable the Classic RSLinx Fix for Browsing errors and select Apply Changes.

Also some versions of RS-Linx require you to select the + next to each branch first before selecting the branch to show the items.

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OPC Data Fix

The OPC Data Fix is an easy solution to connect to OPC Servers that do not run as a Windows Service and require a Desktop Account permission to connect to the OPC Server. First verify with the OPC Foundation Sample Client if the OPC Server is working properly with Desktop account permission.

Step 1

Start the OAS Services control manager under the program group Open Automation Software.

Step 2

Select the Enable OPC Data Fix button.

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OPC Foundation Sample Client

You can verify if the OPC Server is working correctly with the OPC Foundation Sample Client with the following steps. If the value comes in from the OPC Foundation Sample Client by not Open Automation Software try enabling the OPC Data Fix using the OAS Service control manager.

Step 1

Start the OPC Foundation Sample Client under the program group Open Automation Software.

Step 2

From the Server pull down list select Browse. Getting Started-OPC Client 435

Step 3

Select the local OPC Server that you want to connect to.

If the OPC Server is now shown under Data Access 3.00 change the Specification to 2.XX.

Select the OK button when highlighted on the OPC Server.

Step 4

Create a group subscription by right clicking on the OPC Server and select Create Subscription.

Enter a Name for the subscription and select Next. Getting Started-OPC Client 438

Step 5

Browse for the items you want to connect to. Getting Started-OPC Client 439

Step 6

Double click on the items you want to monitor. Getting Started-OPC Client 440

Step 7

Select Next and then Done and the value of the remote item will appear. Getting Started-OPC Client 441

If the value comes in from the OPC Foundation Sample Client by not Open Automation Software try enabling the OPC Data Fix using the OAS Service control manager.

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RCW DLL Missing

If you receive an error that a RCW component is missing while browsing or connecting to any OPC Server install the OPC Foundation Core Components and restart the system. You can download the OPC Foundation Core Components from: https://filedownloads.openautomationsoftware.com/tools/OPCCoreComponentsRedistributable(x86).zip.

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Overview - Troubleshooting OPC Communications

View the appropriate sub section for resolving communication problems with OPC Servers.

Please note that for the most common communications to Modbus, Allen Bradley, and Siemens controllers Open Automation Software has built in communications that works at a higher speed than OPC Servers.
If you receive an RCW DLL Missing error install the OPC Foundation Core Components and restart the system. This will be a requirement if you have installed RS-Linx.
Use the OPC Foundation Sample Client to verify the OPC Server is working correctly.
If the OPC Foundation Sample Client works use the OPC Data Fix to connect to OPC Servers that do not run as a Windows Service.
If you are browsing RS-Linx OPC Server and you encounter a problem view the topic of RS-Linx OPC Server.
If only one OPC Client at a time can connect to the OPC Server set the OPC Server Identity with the DCOM Configurator to Interactive User.
View the DCOM Configuration Guide if the Windows Firewall is blocking DCOM access or the default DCOM security is not setup.
To connect to Remote OPC Servers install the OAS Service on the same computer as the OPC Servers.
Contact Open Automation Software at 1-303-679-0898 or send an email to support@oasiot.com if you have an OPC Server that you cannot connect to.

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OPC UA

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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OPC UA Server Connection Error

Below are some helpful troubleshooting steps to resolve connection errors with OPC UA server.

Server Url

The Server Url under Configure-Drivers must be specified correctly to then browse for the available Security Profiles.

Refer to the OPC UA server vendors documentation for the correct endpoint of the server. Once the Server Url is correctly set use the Browse button to select the Security Profile.

Certificate Authentication

If the OPC UA Server's authentication certificate is rejected it will be placed in C:\ProgramData\OpenAutomationSoftware\pki\rejected\certs on Windows or the pki\rejected\certs sub-directory where the OAS Engine is located on Linux. To resolve and move the OPC UA Server's certificate file in the rejected\certs directory to trusted\certs.

OAS Certificate Creation

Version 18.0.0.17 of OAS added the ability to self create a certificate for OPC UA Servers and Clients to authenticate against. Check the current version under Configure-System Status and if older than version 18.0.0.17 update the version of OAS if you are receiving a certificate authentication error under Configure-System Errors.

User Authentication

If the OPC UA Server requires a user name and password to validate the connection enable User Security under Configure-Drivers and specify the Username and Password that is required by the OPC UA Server.

System Errors

Select Configure-System Errors and expand any OPC UA or Driver Interface error to see the details of the error.

The information provided can often help you determine the cause of communication failures.

The history of all systems errors can be found in the OAS Error Log specified under Configure-Options-System Logging.

Log OPC UA Communications

You can enable the OPC UA transaction logging under Configure-Options-System Logging to track all interface calls to the OPC UA server.

Specify the location of where the communication logs will be saved with the property Transaction Log Path further down in System Logging.

There will be multiple files generated with the opc-ua within the file name and also the base OAS Transactions file.

UA Expert

The UA Expert program is a good test application to communicate to OPC UA server to verify the server can be interfaced with. You can download UA Expert from https://filedownloads.openautomationsoftware.com/tools/uaexpert.zip.

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MQTT

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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AWS IoT

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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REST API

How do I troubleshoot REST API calls?

If there are errors executing a REST API call, you can check the OAS Configuration app, click on the triangle icon (should be flashing of there's an error) and you'll see system errors.

Locate the REST API and expand it out and you should see the failed calls. But it often won't give you the detailed HTTP request/response and just contain the failed URL that was attempted. It's a good way to see if people are hitting incorrect endpoints.

If you use Postman to execute REST API calls, you can see the proper URLs, headers, body contents, etc. for making proper calls.

If you ever get these response or codes, this is what they mean:
401: Unauthorized - you have not included the clientid and token fields in the request header, or the session has expired
500: Unknown server error - this may be something we need to investigate since the data was submitted properly but an error occurred on the server processing the request.
404: The object you're trying to GET or PUT (update) does not exist

If you see "Service Unavailable" that means the REST API did not start up properly.
If you see a message indicating the Endpoint does not exist, this means the URL is not correct for the call.

If there's something specific you're attempting and don't know what the issue is, you can always look at a successful call from Postman's console and it will expose everything in the request header/body and response header/body. You can compare it to your failing call to see what you might need, such as the correct Content-type. You can always let us know what call you're stuck on and we can investigate why it might not work for you.

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MTConnect

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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GPIO

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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AWS IoT Gateway

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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Troubleshooting General

Memory Management

Below are some common memory management issues and how to resolve them:

Cause
Data logging or alarm logging errors returned from the database engine when Store and Forward to Disk is disabled. You will see a warning that store and forward to disk needs to be enabled under Configure-System Errors.

Solution
Go to Configure-Options-Store and Forward and enable Store Buffer to Disk.

Cause
Data logging from a remote data source engine when Store and Forward to Disk is disabled.

Solution
Go to Configure-Options-Store and Forward and enable Store Buffer to Disk on the data source engine.

Cause
Remote data logging from a data source engine that does not have license of data logging will data buffering in the data source that cannot be resolved. You will see a warning of this under Configure-System Errors.

Solution
Disable the remote data logging and restart the data source engine or update the data source engine to OAS version 17.0.0.5 or greater.

Cause
Larger number of tags enabled for real time trending.

Solution
Change the Longest Realtime Time Frame under Configure-Options-Trending to 3600 seconds.

Cause
Driver Interface setup to OPC UA servers that are offline. You will see communication errors under Configure-System Errors of the OPC UA server driver interface being offline.

Solution
Update the OAS Engine to version 16.0.0.101 or greater.

Cause
Large number tags using statistic calculation functions of AVG, MOVMIN, MOVMAX, and MOVSUM for a long time period. See the total in use under Configure-System Status.

Solution
Log data to a database and use the recipe feature with aggregate field names of SUM(fieldname), AVG(fieldname), MIN(fieldname), and MAX(fieldname).

Cause
Operating system disk with no space remaining.

Solution
Free up disk space for database engine and OAS CSV logging and error recording.

Cause
MQTT, Azure IoT, AWS IoT Gateway with Store and Forward enabled in driver interface with network error to cloud service.

Solution
Go to Configure-Options-Store and Forward and enable Store Buffer to Disk.

Cause
Large number of Time On and Counts enabled with long Period 1 and Period 2 times defined with data changing frequently.

Solution
Reduce Period 1 and Period 2 times of the Time On and Counts or log events with data change logging group and use recipe feature with COUNT(fieldname) aggregate to return the number of transitions.

Cause
Retain All Realtime Alarms to Show All Occurrences in Window enabled under Configure-Options-Alarms with long retention time.

Solution
Disable Retain All Realtime Alarms to Show All Occurrences or shorten the time retained with the property Remove Old Alarms from Realtime Alarms under Configure-Options-Alarms. 0 is unlimited time which is the default.

Cause
When Log Network Transactions is enabled under Configure-Options-Systems Logging and there is high network traffic from client applications the logging buffer can be overrun and not keep up with recording the transactions to disk. Log Network Transactions should only be used for short troubleshooting sessions to track all data send to all clients.

Solution
Disable Log Network Transactions under Configure-Options-System Logging.

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Memory usage of OASEngine.exe or OASReports.exe Windows Service is high.

To see common causes of high memory usage view Memory Management troubleshooting guide.

Once cause of high memory usage is unresolved data logging or alarm logging errors, or Excel has a CSV file open that is currently being logged to.

Go to Configure-Options-Store and Forward and enable data buffering to disk.

View the following video on how to setup data logging and alarm logging so there is no data loss on a network or database engine failure:

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The amount of RAM used on the operating system is very high.

Use the Windows Task Manager under Processes. If you see that SQL Server is using up too much memory you can limit the amount of memory SQL server uses in the SSMS server properties under the memory section.

To see other causes of high memory usage view Memory Management troubleshooting guide.

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Kafka

Troubleshoot Bad Data

How to identify and resolve communications errors with data sources.

0:00 - Introduction
0:40 - Bad Tags
3:30 - System Errors
4:20 - Watch Window
6:20 - Error Logging
7:20 - Troubleshooting Guides
8:55 - Contact Us

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.NET WPF HMI

WPF Properties Edit Ellipses Missing in VS 2022

Visual Studio 2022 design time properties no longer support custom property editors for WPF applications. Use Visual Studio 2019 to develop WPF applications. The free Community Edition of Visual Studio 2019 can be download from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/older-downloads/. WinForm applications are still well supported in Visual Studio 2022.

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Bad Data Quality in .NET Application.

Below are some possible reasons your .NET application is not able to read OAS tag values.

Data Source Quality

Use Configure-Tags to verify that the data quality of the source tags is "Good Quality".

Security

The Default security group on either the local or remote OAS Engine may have Disable All Tags from Reading checked under the Read Tags Tab. See Restrict Tag Access of Security setup to see how read, write, and browse access can be restricted. View how to Implement User Credentials in Client Applications to provide log in method for each user in the .NET application.

Network

.NET applications can be defined to communicate to remote OAS Engines. See Network Communications Troubleshooting to verify that port 58727 is allowing both incoming and outgoing traffic through your firewall.

Tag Path

The full tag path would include the full tag name including its parent groups and the variable of the Tag.

MyGroup.MyTag.Value

Tag names are case sensitive and the current value of a tag would be .Value as the most common variable.

If the tag is from a remote OAS Engine see Basic Networking for standard remote tag syntax or Live Data Cloud Networking if the OAS Engine system has a dynamic IP address.

\\192.168.0.1\TagName.Value

License

Use Configure-License to verify that a product feature .NET Data Connector, WinForm HMI, or WPF HMI is enabled on the data source system where the tags are located.

Target Framework for WPF and WinForm Applications

The project type for WinForm and WPF applications should be set to include (.NET Framework) and target .NET Framework 4.6.1 or greater.

See the correct project type for WinForm above that is listed as Windows Forms App (.NET Framework) while Windows Forms App would not be the correct project type.

Assembly References

Visual Studio on some operating systems will assign a legacy assembly to the project causing an incompatibility due to an older version of the reference assembly. A common assembly that can be incorrect is Newtonsoft.Json that has been registered in the GAC by another software product. Select Newtonsoft.Json under the Project References to verify the correct path and version as 13.0.0.0.

If the Path does not reference the OAS installation directory remove the reference and select to Add Reference and browse for dll from the respective directory for the specific product feature. For .NET Framework applications include the .dlls located in C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\. The Target Framework set for the VS project must be .NET Framework 4.6.1 or greater. For .NET Standard supporting the following targets include the. dlls located in C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetStandard\. See a list of locations for the correct type in the troubleshooting type After updating to OAS Version 17 the project no longer compiles for a list of correct project reference paths for each type of Visual Studio Project.

.NET Assembly is Blocked

If you have copied an application or project to another computer you may need to Unblock one or more the .dll files. Right click on the .dll file that you have downloaded. Check the Unblock checkbox for security as shown in the example below, then click Apply or OK.

Legacy .NET Application with OAS Version 17

If the OAS .NET assemblies are from OAS version 16 or less contact support@oasiot.com for compatibility instructions.

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Tag Browse in Visual Studio Missing

Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 no longer supports custom property editors to browse for tags. Use Visual Studio 2019 to develop WPF applications. The free Community Edition of Visual Studio 2019 can be download from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/older-downloads/. If you prefer Visual Studio 2022 with WPF application development use the OAS Excel Tag browser to browse for the full tag path of a remote or local tag and copy the full tag path from the Tag field and paste into the desired Tag property in Visual Studio.

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After updating to OAS Version 17 the project no longer compiles

OAS version 17 implements an improved network interface which requires some additional assemblies.

All dependent .dlls are located in the relative subdirectory of the Controls directory of the OAS installation directory, typically C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\.

To add a reference to a Visual Studio project right click on References in the Solution Explorer.

Select Browse to browse the directory for each application feature.

Include all .dlls files in the respective directory for the specific product feature.

For .NET Framework applications include the .dlls located in C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\.

The Target Framework set for the VS project must be .NET Framework 4.6.1 or greater.

For .NET Standard supporting the following targets include the. dlls located in C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetStandard\.

.NET 5 or greater
.NET Core 2.0 or greater
.NET Framework 4.61 or greater
Xamarin.iOS 10.14 or greater
Xamarin.Android 8.0 or greater
UWP 1.0.0.16299 or greater

WPF HMI Assemblies

C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\OPCWPFDashboard\

WinForm HMI Assemblies

C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\OPCControls\

Alarm .NET Assemblies

C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\OPCAlarmControl\
C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\OPCAlarmDataOnly\
C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetStandard\OASAlarms\

Trend .NET Assemblies

C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\OPCTrendControl\
C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\OPCTrendDataOnly\
C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetStandard\OASTrends\

.NET Data Connector Assemblies

C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\OPCSystemsDataConnector\
C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetStandard\OASData\

Server Configuration Assemblies

C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetFramework\OPCSystems\
C:\Program Files\Open Automation Software\OAS\Controls\NetStandard\OASConfig\

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Visual Studio

WPF Properties Edit Ellipses Missing in VS 2022

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Bad Data Quality in .NET Application.

Below are some possible reasons your .NET application is not able to read OAS tag values.

Data Source Quality

Use Configure-Tags to verify that the data quality of the source tags is "Good Quality".

Security

Network

Tag Path

The full tag path would include the full tag name including its parent groups and the variable of the Tag.

MyGroup.MyTag.Value

Tag names are case sensitive and the current value of a tag would be .Value as the most common variable.

If the tag is from a remote OAS Engine see Basic Networking for standard remote tag syntax or Live Data Cloud Networking if the OAS Engine system has a dynamic IP address.

\\192.168.0.1\TagName.Value