QuickHMI FAQ - Frequently asked questions about your HMI/SCADA system

The QuickHMI Viewer provides an additional display medium (client) in the runtime environment.
Alternatively, the QuickHMI viewer can be used if viewing in the browser is not possible or desired.

In addition, the QuickHMI Viewer gives you the opportunity to adjust the provided software graphically and functionally to your requirements or corporate design. For this purpose, the QuickHMI viewer was released as an open source project.

You can find the Github project under:

https://github.com/IndiSystemsGmbH/QuickHMI-Viewer

The network participants must be able to connect to the network. The connection must not be interrupted by a firewall or similar. Unfortunately, we cannot assist you with the configuration of your network; if in doubt, please contact your network administrator.
The QuickHMI viewers connect to the QuickHMI server. The QuickHMI server connects to the parameterized devices, such as PLCs.

No, after the start, the viewer pulls the project itself from the server.
If an update of the project should be carried out, that must be done only within the QuickHMI Server (Part of the QuickHMI standalone runtime).

If you need a free license for schools or universities please contact us via e-mail at [email protected].
You'll receive a serial key as soon as possible.

To get the licenses you have the following possibilities:

• on our website
• by sending an email to [email protected]
• by phone at +49 421 989703-30
• by fax to +49 421 989703-39

The required license for the editor is delivered in a license file. After installing the license, the program will guide you through an activation procedure.

If you need help, please call us!

QuickHMI is compatible with:

• Siemens S7 controllers via put/get access (200, 300, 400, 1200, 1500, ET200SP series as well as SoftPLC WinAC RTX), Logo!0BA7 and Logo!0BA8 as well as CPUs from other manufacturers (e.g. VIPA 100V/200V/300V/300S)
• Siemens S7 controllers via symbolic access (1200, 1500, ET200 series) 1*)
• OPC UA interface
• TWINCAT2 from version 2.1 and TWINCAT3 2*)
• MODBUS TCP, RTU, RTU via TCP or ASCCI
• Allen-Bradley “Control Logix” or “Compact Logix” controllers via Ethernet/IP protocol
• KNX/EIB
• MQTT protocol
• Various SQL databases using JDBC
• Files from the file system with the file system data source
• InfluxDB

Native migration of additional protocols is planned.

QuickHMI is a client-server architecture, where the clients do not connect directly to the plant but to the QuickHMI server process.
The installed services of the QuickHMI server communicate with the connected devices (e.g. PLC) and make the data available centrally to the clients in the network.
The clients connect to the runtime and visualize the data or send write commands to the server, which then forwards them to the devices (eg PLC).
As an alternative to the client-server architecture with central processing, the system can also be operated as a pure client application.
If you have any questions, we are happy to advise you and look forward to hearing from you via [email protected]

It is possible to access inputs, outputs, flags and enabled DBs with QuickHMI. Access to an S7-1200, 1500 or ET200 controller is deactivated by default. You must carry out the following steps to enable access to the controller:

If you use absolute addressing (Put/Get) for access, you can only access non-optimized blocks. If you use symbolic addressing, however, you can access non-optimized and optimized areas.

Prerequisites for put/get access

Access to an S7-1200- 1500- or ET200 is deactivated by default. To activate it, you must carry out the following steps:

Up to firmware version 3.0 (S7-1500 and ET200) or 4.6 (S7-1200)

1. Allow the general access. Activate in the property settings section protection the option 'Connection mechanism - Allow access PUT/GET communication from remote partner.
2. Enable access to your DBs. Go to DB properties and deactivate 'optimized access'.
3. Load to PLC, done!
   If the changes don't have any effect, use 'extended download to device' to load to PLC.

Firmware version 3.1 (S7-1500 and ET200) or 4.7 (S7-1200) and higher:

1. Go to “Security settings” in the project navigation.
2. Double-click on “Users and roles”.
3. Select the “Roles” tab.
4. Create a new role and assign a name, for example “HMI_Access”.
5. Open the “Runtime rights” tab.
6. Select the corresponding PLC from the “Functional rights categories”.
7. Activate the “HMI access” access level in the “Function rights”.
8. Go to the “Users” tab in the “Users and roles” area.
9. Activate the user “Anonymous”.
10. Confirm the displayed message with “OK”.
11. Assign the newly created role to the anonymous user under “Assigned roles”.
12. Open the “Device view”.
13. Go to the “Properties” of the CPU.
14. Select “Protection & Security > Connection mechanisms” in the area navigation.
15. Activate the option “Allow access via PUT/GET communication by remote partner”.
16. Save the configuration, translate the project and transfer the changes to the CPU.

Certain requirements must also be met for symbolic access:

1. The controller software must have been created with at least TIA version 17.
2. If software components were created with an earlier version, they must be recompiled and transferred with TIA version 17 or higher. The same applies to the hardware configuration of the PLC.
3. At least the following firmware versions are required:
   • S7-1200 series with firmware versions V4.5 to 4.6
   • S7-1500 series from firmware version V2.9 to 3.1
   • S7-ET200 series from firmware version V2.9 to 3.1
4. If a password has been assigned at controller level, you must have it. The password can be transferred up to firmware version 3.0 (1500 and ET200 series) or 4.6 (S7-1200 series). For higher firmware versions, the login mechanism has changed on the PLC side; the new “Anonymous” user must be configured and enabled in the PLC.

Important, firmware version 3.1 (S7-1500 and ET200) or 4.7 (S7-1200) and higher: Configuration of the “Anonymous” user for symbolic access.

1. Go to “Security settings” in the project navigation.
2. Double-click on “Users and roles”.
3. Select the “Roles” tab.
4. Create a new role and assign a name, for example “symb_Access”.
5. Open the “Runtime rights” tab.
6. Select the corresponding PLC from the “Functional rights categories”.
7. Activate the desired access level “Full access”, “HMI access” or “Read access” in the “Function rights”.
8. Go to the “Users” tab in the “Users and roles” area.
9. Activate the user “Anonymous”.
10. Confirm the displayed message with “OK”.
11. Assign the newly created role to the anonymous user under “Assigned roles”.
12. Save the configuration, translate the project and transfer the changes to the CPU.

The warning message is displayed because we deliver QuickHMI with a self-signed SSL certificate. This certificate is not signed by an official certificate authority and therefore gives you this error. However, the connection is in fact encrypted and secure. The browser simply reports that it cannot check whether the server is who it claims to be.

If you do not want to see this message, you have two possibilites:
1. You can purchase an SSL certificate from a certificate authority or use a free of charge service. In both cases, you will receive a certificate that you must import into the Runtime Manager then. After that, you will no longer receive this error message.
2. You can set the QuickHMI certificate as trustworthy: You can configure your computer so that it recognizes the certificate issued and signed by QuickHMI itself as valid.

To do this, first save the certificate from the browser in a local file and then import the certificate into your "Trusted root certification authorities".

It is important that you use the host name that is also entered in the certificate for the connection in the browser.