PI Vision Advanced

Advanced PI Vision techniques: display creation principles, custom symbols, role-based dashboards, asset-based navigation, and real-world industrial dashboard patterns.

75 min8 topics1 code examples

PI Vision Architecture

PI Vision is AVEVA's web-based visualization platform delivering real-time and historical operational data through browser-based dashboards.

Browser (Chrome/Edge/Firefox)
        | HTTPS
        v
PI Vision Web Server (IIS)
        |
        ├── PI Data Archive (real-time data)
        └── AF Server (context, hierarchy, analyses)

Symbol Types

Symbol	Use Case	Key Config
Value	Current reading	Tag, UOM, thresholds
Trend	Historical chart	Tags, time range, scale
Gauge	Visual level	Min/max, alarm bands
Multi-state	Status indicator	State ranges, colors
Table	Tabular data	Multiple tags, columns

Multi-State Configuration

Symbol: Pump Status Indicator
States:
  0 = Stopped  → Red,    "STOPPED"
  1 = Running  → Green,  "RUNNING"
  2 = Fault    → Yellow, "FAULT"
  3 = Standby  → Blue,   "STANDBY"

Data source: PUMP_A_STATUS (integer tag)

Asset-Based Navigation

Asset-based displays use AF element paths instead of hardcoded tag names:

Display: Pump_Monitor
  Tag reference: |FlowRate|  (uses current element's FlowRate attribute)
  
Navigation:
  User selects: PumpStation_001 → Pump_A
  Display shows: Pump_A's FlowRate, Pressure, Vibration

  User switches to: PumpStation_001 → Pump_B
  Same display now shows: Pump_B's data

Role-Based Dashboards

PI Vision Security Layers:
1. PI Vision Identity Groups (Windows AD groups)
2. Display-level permissions (Read/Write/Admin)
3. PI Data Archive security (tag-level)
4. AF Server security (database/element level)

Example Role Setup:
  Operators:    Read access to production displays only
  Engineers:    Read/Write access to all displays
  Managers:     Read access to KPI/summary displays

Custom Calculations

Efficiency (%):
  ('PROD_ACTUAL' / 'PROD_TARGET') * 100

Differential Pressure (bar):
  'PRESSURE_IN' - 'PRESSURE_OUT'

Temperature (F from C):
  'TEMP_CELSIUS' * 1.8 + 32

Rolling Average (1 hour):
  TagAvg('FLOW_001', '*-1h', '*')

UI/UX Best Practices

Color Standards

Green  (#00C853): Normal / Running / Good
Yellow (#FFD600): Warning / Caution / Degraded
Red    (#D50000): Alarm / Fault / Critical
Blue   (#0091EA): Information / Standby
Gray   (#757575): Inactive / Unknown / No Data

Layout Principles

F-pattern reading: Place critical KPIs top-left
Visual hierarchy: Larger = more important
Consistent spacing: Use grid alignment
Minimal animation: Only for state changes
Max 6-8 tags per trend: More creates visual clutter

Common Mistakes

Inconsistent time ranges across symbols
Missing units of measure on value symbols
Hardcoded tag names (use asset-based instead)
No alarm acknowledgment workflow

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