Lookout 6.1 Readme

April 2007

This file contains important last-minute information about Lookout 6.1, including installation and upgrade issues, compatibility issues, and changes from Lookout 6.0.2. Refer to the Lookout Release Notes for more information about upgrade and compatibility issues and for a complete list of new features in Lookout 6.1. You can access the Lookout Release Notes by selecting Help»Contents in Lookout and navigating to the Related Documentation topic on the Contents page.

Overview
Supported Platforms
Installation Instructions
Licensing
New Features
Known Issues

Overview

Lookout is a human machine interface (HMI) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software system that National Instruments provides. Lookout 6.1 addresses support issues from Lookout 6.0.2 by providing Windows Vista support, Fatek and Mistubishi Ethernet support, more text functions, more data members and parameters, extended data member ranges, and enhanced usability and stability. National Instruments strongly recommends that you upgrade to Lookout 6.1 for better performance and stability.

Supported Platforms

Lookout supports Windows Vista/XP/2000. Lookout does not support Windows Me/9x/NT. Refer to the Lookout Release Notes for a complete list of system requirements.

Installation Instructions

If you already have Lookout 6.0.2 or another previous version installed on your machine, first uninstall that version before installing Lookout 6.1. Refer to the Lookout Release Notes for more information about installing Lookout. This section describes additional installation considerations.

The Lookout software requires the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Express). This component is installed by default when you install Lookout. During the installation process, the Lookout installer creates an instance of SQL Express named CITADEL. To prevent unauthorized access to SQL Express, the installer also generates a password for the SQL Express administrator sa. The default password is the computer ID. Complete the following steps to find the computer ID using NI License Manager.

1. Launch NI License Manager by selecting Start»Programs»National Instruments»NI License Manager.
2. Click the Display Computer Information button in the toolbar.

The Lookout installer enables a mixed security mode on existing SQL Servers. If the target computer does not have an SQL Server installed, the Lookout installer installs SQL Express in the mixed security mode.

Use the following command line prompt to change the default password for the sa user:

Sqlcmd -S"localhost\CITADEL" -U"sa" -P"COMPUTER_ID" -Q"sp_password 'COMPUTER_ID', 'NEW_PASSWORD', 'sa'"

If the mixed security mode is not acceptable, change both the SQL Express and Citadel login modes. You must set the registry DWORD values HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\MSSQLServer\LoginMode and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\National Instruments\Citadel\5.0\IntegratedSecurity to 1.

National Instruments recommends that you change the login mode immediately after you install Lookout. Otherwise, you must relink all existing Citadel databases. Restart the SQL Express and Citadel services in order for changes to take effect. If you use integrated NT security, you might need to configure the server machine and all clients explicitly.

Note: Lookout 6.0.2 and earlier use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000), not SQL Express. If you upgrade Lookout to Lookout 6.1, any existing databases continue to use MSDE 2000 for alarm logging, but new databases you create use SQL Express. If you detach an existing database from Lookout and then reattach the database, Lookout migrates the database to SQL Express.

You might want to uninstall MSDE 2000 after installing Lookout 6.1. Complete the following steps to uninstall MSDE 2000.

1. Stop all running processes in the Variable Manager dialog box.
2. Open NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) and select My System»Historical Data»Citadel 5 Universe from the Configuration tree.
3. On the Databases page, detach all databases from the local computer.
4. Open the Windows Control Panel and uninstall MSDE 2000.
5. Restart the computer.
6. Open MAX and reattach all databases.

Licensing

Lookout relies on licensing activation. You must activate a valid Lookout license before you can run Lookout. To activate Lookout, use the serial number you received as part of your installation package.

Refer to the Lookout Release Notes for more information about licensing in Lookout.

New Features

Lookout 6.1 incorporates the following new features:

• Text functions—Lookout 6.1 provides two new text functions: ASCII2CHAR and CHAR2ASCII. You can use these functions to convert an ASCII code to the corresponding character or vice versa.
• Fatek Ethernet support—The Fatek_MC object supports the Fatek Ethernet mode when communicating with Fatek MC-series devices. You can use a Fatek_MC object to simulate a Fatek Ethernet or Fatek Serial device.
• Mitsubishi Ethernet support—The Mitsubishi_EM object supports the Mitsubishi Ethernet mode when communicating with Mitsubishi Q-series devices. You can use a Mitsubishi_EM object to simulate a Mitsubishi Ethernet Q-series device.
• Menu items—The File»Recent Files menu item enables you to re-open files that you opened recently. The submenu can contain up to eight recent files. The System button on the Help»About Lookout menu item enables you to obtain detailed information about installed Lookout components and the computer on which you installed Lookout.
• I/O point information on the toolbar—When Lookout is in edit mode, Lookout displays the number of I/O points currently in use on the right-hand side of the toolbar.
• Parameter names in Connection Browser—The Connection Browser displays all connected parameters with the appropriate parameter names.

Refer to the Lookout Help for detailed information about these new features.

Known Issues

The following known issues exist for Lookout 6.1. Internal tracking codes are shown in parentheses for applicable issues.

• The Lookout Developer's Manual did not change for Lookout 6.1. Therefore, the content might not reflect changes made in Lookout 6.1. Refer to the Lookout Help for the most updated information.
• (Windows Vista) You cannot start and stop the following services from the command line on Windows Vista using the -start and -stop parameters or the Windows net start and net stop commands:
  • Shared Variable Engine
  • National Instruments PSP Server Locator
  • NI Lookout Citadel Server 4.x
  • Citadel 5.x Database
  • National Instruments Time Synchronization Service
  • National Instruments Domain Server
  To start and stop these services, use the Services utility, available by selecting Start»Control Panel»Administrative Tools»Services. Also, NI applications no longer start these services automatically if these services are not running already.
• (Windows Vista) You cannot stop the National Instruments Lookout 6.1 service using the Services utility. To stop this service, exit Lookout. (43NFEP00)
• A SquareD object with the SY/ENET Interface does not work properly.
• If a Pushbutton is connected to the saveAs data member of the Lookout WebBrowser ActiveX, it stays pressed in when you click it. To release it, click it again. (2V5DL402)
• If a panel is minimized, you cannot programmatically change its position. Changes to its X and Y data members are ignored. If you want to use pushbuttons to open a panel in more than one location, create two panels that look the same but open in different locations. (2UIEAACP)
• ActiveX pipe controls in Lookout show white lines around the object border. When you save and reopen the process, the RelX and RelY settings in the Property Pages are changed. (2UGH8TR3)
• When using a TI 435 PLC with a 405 FACTS network, there is a 70 byte response limit. One Tiway object with multiple connections and I/O points might cause the PLC to go offline. The Lookout Tiway driver object does not enforce this limitation. To avoid exceeding the 70 byte response limit, create multiple Tiway objects, each of which requests only a few data members or values. (2NT882PE)
• When a Lookout Listbox ActiveX object is used in an expression with =, the expression does not evaluate correctly. For example, ListBox1.properties.selectedItem="Text1" is not TRUE when it should be. Use an EXACT(Text1, Text2) function instead, which returns TRUE when Text1 = Text2. (2MGDMCI1)
• If you have edit access to a process in a development version of Lookout, loading a new recipe, which is a process change, prevents Lookout from saving the state file. Select File»Save to save the process after loading the recipe file, and Lookout will save the state file properly. Run-time versions of Lookout do not have this problem. (2ICAIECC)
• A second DataTable connected to a source DataTable through DDE will not shrink when the source table shrinks. If the number of rows in the source DataTable is reduced, the second DataTable receives the new data but does not clear the extra rows of old data. To avoid this problem, use the enable data member to disable and re-enable the second DataTable whenever the source DataTable changes size. (25TEA49L)
• The Pager object might not send a message to a numeric pager service that asks for the # key at the end of the message. To send a message to a numeric pager that uses the # key to indicate the end of the message, put the phone number and message in the phone number field separated by commas, and leave the message field empty. (2ET9BFCC)
• If you drag another window over some custom .wmf graphics on a control panel, the graphic might appear partially erased. Minimize and restore the control panel to redraw the graphic. (2G39SQ26)
• If you move a display off the screen, you cannot delete it from Object Explorer due to remaining dependencies. Either edit the display coordinates in the .lks file or increase the screen size to make the display visible again. (1XF9K97F)
• A Lookout control with a Local source and a direct connection does not change if something acts to alter the value or status of the PLC or object it is connected to. Instead, Lookout restores the control value to the PLC or object in the following circumstances:
  • When the driver object is modified or I/O is reconfigured
  • When the process is reloaded
  • When communication is restored after a communications failure
  • After 100 polls in some cases (this varies from driver to driver and might depend on .ini file settings)
  If you operate a Lookout control with a Remote source connection, and the PLC register it is connected to cannot or does not change when Lookout writes the new value out to the PLC, the control snaps back to display the actual PLC register value or status. Whether or not this problem occurs depends on data transmission time between your Lookout computer and the field hardware. To prevent this problem, Lookout has built-in delays for most driver objects. The following driver objects do not have a built-in delay:
  • AdvantechPCL
  • DeltaTau
  • Dynamic
  • ProfibusDP
  • ProfibusL2
  • Reliance
  • Sixnet
  • Wizdom
  The following two driver objects do not support remote source connections at all because the underlying protocols do not allow this sort of connection:
  • Aquatrol
  • DeviceNet
  Another way to correct snap-back problems caused by slow communication is to adjust the SnapDelay setting that is available with some control objects. For Switch and Pushbutton objects, use the SnapDelay data member; for the Pot object, use the SnapDelay lookout.ini setting.
• Occasionally the Connection Browser might open with no processes visible in the window. Close the Connection Browser and then reopen it. This usually clears the problem. If for some reason it does not, close the Connection Browser again and make sure you select a process in your Object Explorer before reopening the Connection Browser.
• If you load a process that includes an Aggregate object, but the corresponding aggregate definition is unavailable, the Aggregate does not function properly. It appears in Object Explorer as expandable, but it does not expand. (270DIAYZ)
• If you want to use the Lookout Web Client feature, you must have administrator privileges to install the Lookout Player component of the Web Client. After the Lookout Player is installed, administrator privileges are not required to use the Lookout Web Client successfully.
• When you change the value of a Pot object that is remotely connected to a published data member of the FieldPoint FP-2010, the Pot can fluctuate in value before it reaches its final state. To address this problem, try changing the SnapDelay setting in the lookout.ini file. Refer to the Lookout Help for more information about this setting. (28I89I7M)
• If the ToshibaTSeries object does a write before a read, it sets all the PLC values to 0. (1V5HS5M0)
• If you use the Web Client to browse a Lookout process that uses a Sequencer, and you browse to another URL while the Sequencer is active, Lookout might stop the process and reset the Sequencer, inserting a huge wait value in the active sequence step. Avoid using the Web Client with Lookout processes that use a Sequencer object. (28FGCNBD)
• The Lookout Pulse object might operate erratically, including missing some pulses, if you use period or duration numbers that are not simple. Using an expression to calculate a pulse period or duration is one way to encounter this problem; using too precise a number such as 1.26 seconds is another way. (28B89NBD)
• Remember that graphics are not included in Lookout source files (.lks). When you move processes from one computer to another, you must copy all graphics, including custom graphics. (2D6F3BDF)
• Lookout resizes expression displays when reopening a project. If an expression value has more characters than can be displayed in the given size of the expression display, it shows ####. If you close the project and reopen it, Lookout automatically resizes the expression display so that the string stored in the state file fits. This can be a significant problem if, for example, an expression is displaying input that is several hundred characters long. (2AJCJQTM)
• No matter what URL you enter in the Web Client export options, the slashes are always shown as forward slashes in a Web Client Alert. If you use back slashes with an http URL, the URL does not work, but the Lookout alert message displays the correct URL with forward slashes. If you are confused because the URL looks correct in an alert message, check the direction of the slashes in your export options. (28B9OI9L)
• If you have the incorrect computer name entered in the System Options dialog box and you drag and drop an Aggregate object data member on a panel, you get bad quality (a red X) for the data member. Additionally, you might find that some data members you did not intend to expose in the Aggregate object are visible in Object Explorer. Select Options»System and make sure the computer name matches the name in your Windows networking configuration. (246FA49L)
• In Lookout expressions, the ! function has a transient TRUE value, but the NOT function does not. To negate an expression without a glitch, use NOT rather than !. (239957E9)
• Tooltips show up only when the toolbox is the current active window. (39J9NAPQ)
• Modbus Ethernet does not retry when it is not getting a valid response. The Retry Attempts parameter is ignored. (2VCBRUCP)
• Report object may generate a black .bmp file on computers with 256 colors (8 bits) display settings. Increase the color depth to 16 bits or higher to correct this. (2X0AKM02)
• Sometimes the items in Connection Browser are not sorted. (2M6H2BB4)
• If you create a driver object (like Modbus) and connect it to a LPT port (like LPT1), Lookout hangs. To prevent this from happening, you need to configure the driver object corresponding to the physical connection. For example, if you connect the Modbus device to COM1, you need to configure the Modbus driver object to COM1 as well. (32TAH9A3)
• If Lookout detects a circular reference for remote connection, like Pot1:=Pot1.value, it reports an alarm as "Circular reference in logic: Source -> Source -> ...". The alarm is not accurate enough for you to locate the problem. You can first check all the remote connections in your application to see if there is circular reference. If you still cannot locate the problem after checking the remote connections, contact National Instruments for help. (33C0T3PQ)
• If you chose to install the NI Keyboard Filter Driver, and when your computer is going to enter standby mode, the Windows system may hang. Avoid installing the NI Keyboard Filter Driver if you want to use computer standby. (39K19CGO)
• The following driver objects do not support the time/quality feature:
  • AdvantecPCL
  • All Applicom Objects
  • DeltaTau
  • NIDeviceNet and NIDeviceNetExplicit
  • Dynamic
  • FF (FOUNDATION FieldBus) Objects
  • ProfibusDP
  • ProfiSinecL2
  • Sixnet
  • Wizdom
  Without the time/quality support, these objects will not be able to detect that their data members are invalid (by a red X) when they have a problem communicating with the devices. Also, the Lookout quality functions will not work on these objects. (3C8CD8ZU)

Copyright

© 2007 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.

Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.

In regards to components that use Citadel 5, the following copyright applies. Copyright © 1994 Hewlett-Packard Company. Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appears in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. Hewlett-Packard Company makes no representations about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Trademarks

National Instruments, NI, ni.com, LabVIEW, Citadel, FieldPoint, and Lookout are trademarks of National Instruments Corporation. Refer to the Terms of Use section on ni.com/legal for more information about National Instruments trademarks.

Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Patents

For patents covering the National Instruments products, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your CD, or ni.com/patents.