Remote Access to AB PanelView Plus 7

[Jim ManleyModeratorKarma: 262Rank: Jedi]

Looking for suggestions on how to remotely access a PanelView Plus 7 Perf.  I found one AB tech note that talked about using VNC Viewer that I tried but it failed with a “connection refused” error.

Anyone else out there doing this?

Thanks.

[PLCGuruKeymaster]

Hey Jim, happy new year! Depending on what it is you want to do or what functionality you’re looking for, have you looked into FactoryTalk Viewpoint. This is Rockwell’s solution to allow you to remotely monitor and control their HMIs.

[Jim ManleyModeratorKarma: 262Rank: Jedi]

Happy new year Fred.

I only have two Panel Views to deal with so I was looking for a quick and dirty solution (e.g., free) that would allow me to keep my lazy arse in the office and not have to walk out onto the production floor to update the network information on the things.  (The original installers only put a bare minimum of network information on them.)

[Thumper _ParticipantKarma: 141Rank: Jedi]

Hi Jim

There are two ways built into all current models of the panelview family (Pv+6,pv+7 and even the Panelview 800 component hmi)

As long as your mobile device is connected to the same network as the Panelview, you can use either Viewpoint or VNC. Both have their place, so here is a brief explanation of each.

 

Viewpoint- Viewpoint allows you to view only certain screens of the application without interacting with the actual Panelview. Viewpoint works by using the Viewpoint configuation tool in FT Studio  and you select which displays you want to publish to the Viewpoint server. Once you choose the displays and download the Panelview application to the Panelview, you can connect to the viewpoint server running on the Panelview and you will be able to view a copy of the displays published.

 

VNC- The Panelview has a Vnc server built in as well. You have to enable the Vnc server on the panelview in the configuration menu. You can configure a view only password and a view/control password if you wish to give the ability to control the Panelview through the vnc connection. Once this is setup, you will need a VNC client on the device you are trying to use to connect to the Panelview remotely . There are numerous free vnc client apps for both Apple and Android devices. One of the recommended ones from Rockwell is by RealVnc called tight vnc. You can also get a Windows app if you are using a computer to connect remotely. Once you have the vnc client installed, you simply setup the vnc client to connect to the ip address of the panelview. You will then be prompted to login with either the view only or view/control password you setup on the panelview.  One this to note about Vnc is that it acts just like you are using the actual Panelview, so as you navigate to different screens, the local Panelview will change screens as well. The connection is as if you were in front of the Panelview.

 

Hope that helps. If you have any other questions let me know. I have setup vnc a bunch of times and have just configured one this week on my desk.

[Jim ManleyModeratorKarma: 262Rank: Jedi]

Thumper –

I tried VNC but didn’t know I had to configure it on the PanelView.  That’s probably why it failed to connect.

I’ll take a whack at it again with the VNC server enabled on the PanelView and report back here on the results.

[Thumper _ParticipantKarma: 141Rank: Jedi]

Hi Jim

 

Sounds good. Like I mentioned, it is a fairly simple setup from the Panelview. I found a video that should help. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DxraLx1Srz5M&ved=2ahUKEwjHnv72-IbnAhUCCawKHR-sCJoQFjABegQIDRAK&usg=AOvVaw3xNe4R5FAxzUgXfeizvGgw

 

If you search setting up Vnc on Panelview Plus 7 there are other resources as well as some tech notes on Rockwell support.

 

Good Luck

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