Parameters

The Parameters page contains project-wide system settings organized into sections. These settings control application behavior, branding, communication, runtime appearance, gateways, historian behavior, and feature configuration for the entire project.

Changes on this page apply globally and are not limited to a single page, device, or user.

Parameters is accessible only to users in the Administrators group.

Using the Parameters Page

The Parameters page is organized as a list of collapsible sections. The Sections list on the left lists every section on the page. Selecting an entry in the Sections list opens that section and scrolls to it, and the entry for the section currently at the top is highlighted while scrolling. On narrow displays the Sections list is hidden and the sections remain available in the main list.

Each section is shown as a header that can be opened or closed. Select a section header to expand or collapse it. Sections start collapsed so the full list of sections stays visible.

The search box at the top filters the settings. Enter text in the Search parameters field to show only the settings whose label contains the entered text. Sections that contain a match open automatically, and a No matching parameters message is shown when nothing matches. Use the clear button next to the search box to reset the filter. Expand all and Collapse all open or close every section at once.

Most settings are saved automatically. A setting is stored as soon as the field loses focus or the control is changed, and a short confirmation is shown after the value is saved.

The AI Chat section and the Redundancy Shared Secret field use an explicit Save button instead of automatic saving. After a value in these areas is edited, an Unsaved changes indicator is shown next to the Save button, and the value is stored only when Save is used. A confirmation is requested before leaving the page or collapsing the section while unsaved changes are present.

Color settings accept a color value or the name of a Color Library entry. The color picker lists the library entries, and picking one stores the name, so the setting follows that entry and the theme the station is using. Enter or pick a color value instead to keep the setting fixed.

Parameter Settings

The Parameter Settings section provides export and import of the Parameters page parameter set. This is used to back up the current configuration or move the project-wide settings to another system.

Export, import, and page-scoped API access include all Parameters page parameters except AI chat settings and redundancy-related settings. These excluded settings remain managed through their dedicated configuration flows.

Engineering Settings

The Engineering Settings section contains engineering and maintenance settings used during design, import, export, and page history handling.

Branding

The Branding section controls the appearance of the login page and parts of the runtime user interface.

Several color settings accept a text value and also provide a color picker in the user interface.

Guest Settings

The Guest Settings section controls the default behavior for users who are not logged in.

Redundancy

The Redundancy section configures the primary-standby high-availability behavior of the system.

These settings define the participant addresses and synchronization timing used between the redundant nodes.

Email Settings

The Email Settings section configures the SMTP server used for outgoing email notifications such as alarm-related messages.

AI Chat

The AI Chat section configures the built-in AI assistant for runtime users and administrators.

It contains provider settings, model selection, API endpoint settings, the system prompt, and runtime limits.

Tool availability depends on the user's group membership. AI chat for non-administrator runtime users is limited to read-only runtime tools that read live values, active alarms, events, and historian data. Writing variable values, executing Python scripts, configuration tools, design tools, and database queries are available only to users in the Administrators group. Tools that change runtime or configuration state always request an explicit confirmation in the chat before they are executed.

When AI chat creates, changes, or deletes records of the configuration type shown on the open page, the page list is reloaded automatically so the result is visible without a manual refresh. The applied filters, sorting, and the chat panel stay as they are. A change to a different configuration type leaves the open page unchanged.

MCP OAuth

The MCP OAuth section enables and configures OAuth 2.0 authentication for the MCP server. When it is turned off, the MCP server keeps using HTTP Basic authentication and the session cookie only. When it is turned on, the MCP server also accepts OAuth 2.0 bearer tokens and publishes its discovery endpoints, so OAuth-aware clients can sign in interactively. Access granted through OAuth carries the same permissions as the account used to sign in.

The signing key is stored on each server and is not replicated. On a single server it is generated automatically when the field is left empty. For a redundant pair, set the same signing key on both servers so that a token issued by the primary is accepted by the standby.

Languages

The Languages section configures the project languages available to users and the default language used by the system.

The project language texts are translated on the Translations page, opened with the Translations button of Project Language Texts. That page lists the operator texts of the project with one column per language and provides the import and export of the texts as CSV; see the Translations article.

Alarm Settings

The Alarm Settings section defines the colors used for different alarm states in the runtime viewers, and the rules for alarm shelving and alarm cascading. Shelving from the Alarm Viewer and the Parent Alarms, Suppress When and Release Delay (s) settings of an alarm are described in the Alarm Viewer and Alarms articles.

Viewer Colors

The Viewer Colors section defines the shared appearance of runtime viewers such as alarm and event tables.

These settings control the background, font, border, hover, row, header, and icon colors used by the viewers.

These settings follow the Color Library in the same way as the other color settings on this page, so the viewers change with the theme the station is using.

Active Directory

The Active Directory section configures LDAP or Active Directory login integration for domain users.

When enabled, users can authenticate with their domain credentials and can be mapped to EnvisionSCADA groups through the User Groups configuration.

Login and Password Policy

These settings control sign-in protection and the password policy for local accounts. Active Directory accounts are managed by the domain and are not affected by the password policy.

The password policy applies when a password is set or changed. Existing passwords continue to work until they are changed.

Part 11 Compliance

The Part 11 Compliance section enables 21 CFR Part 11 compliance mode and configures which operations require an electronic signature before they can be executed.

When Part 11 compliance mode is enabled, any action included in Signature Required Actions prompts for a signature. The ComplianceMode.Disable action is always included and cannot be removed, so disabling compliance mode always requires a signature.

Historian

The Historian section configures where historical data is stored and how historian rotation is managed.

It also provides historian deletion and size overview functions.

Rotation exists to bound disk usage so the historian cannot fill the volume and stop the system. It is not the record retention mechanism for a 21 CFR Part 11 deployment. The archive database that a Data Forwarder writes to holds the records for the mandated period.

Size Rotation Days and Audit Retention Days longer than the longest period the archive database can be unavailable. Rotation removes records on age alone and does not check whether a Data Forwarder has already sent them, so a record that ages out while the archive server is unreachable is not recoverable. If the archive server can be offline for two weeks for maintenance or a network fault, set the retention periods well above that.

Setting Audit Retention Days to 0 disables audit trail rotation and keeps the audit records indefinitely, which removes the constraint at the cost of unbounded growth on the local disk. Signature records are never removed by rotation.

Numpad

The Numpad section configures the on-screen numpad and keyboard used on touch systems.

Gateways

The Gateways section configures the built-in Modbus TCP server and the Modbus RTU servers used to expose project variables to external systems.

When a server is enabled, additional communication settings become available in the page.

Two independent Modbus RTU slave servers are available. Enable Modbus RTU Slave configures the first COM port and Enable Modbus RTU Slave (Port 2) configures a second COM port. Each port has its own Port Name, Baud Rate, Parity, Stop Bits, Handshake, Unit ID, and Verbose settings, and both ports expose the same project variable mapping.

OPC UA Server

The OPC UA Server section configures the OPC UA server that runs inside EnvisionSCADA. The server publishes every variable that has OPC UA ticked in its variable settings as a node under the ENVISION folder. The first segment of the variable name (the part before the first dot) becomes a sub folder, so PLC1.Pump1_Speed is published as Pump1_Speed inside the PLC1 folder and a variable without a dot, for example Counter, is published directly under the ENVISION folder. Clients read the live value, subscribe to changes, and write to variables that have Writeable ticked. A Writeable Local variable counts as a license point, see the Local Variables article.

Variables that also have Historize ticked expose their Historian data through OPC UA Historical Access. The node carries the Historizing attribute and the HistoryRead access level, and a client reads raw values for a time range with the HistoryRead service (for example the history view of an OPC UA client or a historian collector). A single HistoryRead call returns at most 10000 values per node; a client asks for the rest through the continuation point returned with the first page. Values are returned as stored in the Historian with their UTC timestamps and quality, and history can only be read through OPC UA, never inserted, replaced or deleted.

The security settings are the OPC UA client device settings in the other direction: Enable Secure Channel, Subject Name, Validate Client Certificate, Username and Password have the same meaning as on the OPC UA Devices page, applied to connecting clients instead of to a connected server. All of them are off or empty by default, which gives an unsecured endpoint with anonymous access. Each of these settings restarts the OPC UA server when changed, which disconnects its clients.

In a redundant pair both servers run and both accept client connections. The standby publishes the values it receives from the primary, so a client reads the same data on either node, and a write on the standby is forwarded to the primary before it reaches the device. A write is accepted only on an enabled variable that has Writeable ticked.

MQTT Broker

The MQTT Broker section configures the MQTT broker that runs inside EnvisionSCADA. The broker accepts connections from external MQTT clients and routes messages between them. It does not read or write project variables.

When the broker is enabled, the port, TLS, authentication, and topic access control settings become available in the page. Press Edit MQTT Broker Users to manage broker user accounts and their topic rules.

Training Simulator

The Training Simulator setting enables the training simulator mode.

This setting is configured separately on the Parameters page and is not part of the gateway server settings.

Debugging

The Debugging section contains diagnostic logging settings used to retain additional information for service analysis and troubleshooting.

Use these settings when you need to keep file-based traces of system events or embedded AI chat tool activity. All log files are written to the File Logging Path directory, and Log Retention Days and Log Maximum Size (MB) limit the disk space they use.

When the application encounters an unexpected error, the browser shows a generic error page with a reference code and the time the error occurred. Technical detail is not shown on the page. The full error, including the reference code and the request path, is written to an error log file named EnvisionErrors_[date]_[n].txt in the File Logging Path directory. This error log is always written, independently of the Enable File Logging setting. To investigate a reported error, ask the operator for the reference code shown on the error page and locate the matching entry in the error log file. If the error log file cannot be written, the System Log records the reference code, the request path and the error message instead.

Log retention runs when the application starts, every hour, and directly after Log Retention Days or Log Maximum Size (MB) is changed. Log files last written more than Log Retention Days ago are deleted. When the total size of the log files exceeds Log Maximum Size (MB), the oldest files are deleted first, and the most recent file of each log is kept. Retention applies only to the log files EnvisionSCADA creates: EnvisionLog_[date]_[n].txt, EnvisionErrors_[date]_[n].txt and the files in the AiToolActivity subfolder. Other files in the File Logging Path directory are left in place. Every run that deletes files adds an entry to the System Log. In a redundant setup, each server applies the limits to its own log files.

Knowledge Base

The Knowledge Base section controls access to the built-in product documentation.

Notes

Most parameter changes are applied immediately. Some settings, especially redundancy, Active Directory, and gateway-related settings, may require reconnecting clients or restarting related services to fully apply the change.

Use Export before making major changes so the current parameter set can be restored if needed.

Color settings use hexadecimal color values. A color picker is available in the user interface for supported fields.

Gateway exports and imports are separate from the full Parameters export and import.

The AI Chat API key is stored encrypted in the configuration database. Leaving the API Key field empty keeps the current stored key.

Two engine tuning parameters are system-managed: ChangeBusDrainWindow, the batching window of the variable change bus (100 ms), and ChangeBusSafetyNetInterval, the interval at which every alarm, event and script condition is re-evaluated regardless of changes (5000 ms). The configuration API and MCP return them but refuse to change them, and the Parameters page has no field for them. Their defaults are the intended values; a change made under guidance in the Parameters table of the configuration database applies at the next start.