Command Line Options

Introduction

You can use command line options to change the way the operator interface starts. For example the --Connect option will automatically connect the operator interface to a Fernhill SCADA Server.

These command line options are supported:

Option	Description
--Connect=CONNSTR	Automatically connects the operator interface to a Fernhill SCADA Server. The CONNSTR option value starts with a node name, which can be any of the following: A node name, for example: scadasvr A full qualified domain name, for example scadasvr.internal An IP Address, for example: 192.168.1.8 You can append additional parameters to CONNSTR using semicolons (;) to separate the additional values. For information on how to do this, see Connect Option below.
--ConnectLocalService	Automatically connects the operator interface to the Fernhill SCADA Server running on the local computer. This is equivalent to: --Connect=localhost.
--StartView=TAGNAME	Overrides the starting page to TAGNAME.
--Title=TITLE	Overrides the application window title to TITLE.
--FullScreen	Starts the Operator Interface in full screen mode. To exit full screen mode, press F11.
--NoDisconnect	Prevents the operator returning to the Operator Interface Start Page. When this option is used: The Disconnect entry is removed from the Operator Menu. The only option in the Connection Failed Dialog is to retry the connection to the Fernhill SCADA Server. Note: The Connection Failed Dialog opens when the connection to the Fernhill SCADA Server breaks. Pressing the Cancel Connection button opens the Connection Failed Dialog.
--DetectLongPress	Enables long press detection for the left mouse button. This option allows operators to open a right-click context menu using a long press of the left mouse button. It is useful in situations where the operator interface is a touch screen with no mouse pointer.
--NoAlarmBellSound	Starts the Operator Interface with the alarm bell sound disabled. For more information see Alarm Bell Sound.
--TimeZone=ZONE	Overrides the time zone used to display date and time of day values. For example --TimeZone=America/Los_Angeles overrides the operator interface to display timestamp values in Pacific Standard Time.
--Locale=LOCALE	Overrides the locale used to display messages in an alternative language. For example --Locale=de overrides the operator interface to display messages in the German language. Note: Translation of the user interface into alternative languages is work in progress.
--DateFormat=DFORMAT	Overrides the way date values are displayed. For example --DateFormat=dd-MMM-yyyy overrides date values to show: date, month name, and year. For example 12-Mar-2019. See Date and Time of Day Format for the format of the DFORMAT value.
--TimeFormat=TFORMAT	Overrides the way time of day values are displayed. For example --TimeFormat=HH:mm.ss.SXXX overrides time of day values to: Show tenths of seconds instead of thousandths of seconds. Show an ISO 8601 time zone indicator. See Date and Time of Day Format for the format of the TFORMAT value.
--GraphicMode=MODE	Selects the graphics API used to draw graphics. MODE can be one of these values: Auto (the default) Direct3D OpenGL GDI Cairo The default mode is Auto, where the operator interface will choose the most appropriate mode for the hardware. Not all modes are supported on all operating systems. For more information see GraphicMode Option below.
--BarcodePort=PORT	Sets the serial port name of the optional barcode reader. Use --BarcodeSettings=X to set the communication settings of the serial port.
--BarcodeSettings=X	Sets the serial communication format of the of the BarcodePort. For information on the format of X, see Serial Port Mode String. The default format is: Baud=9600 Data=8 Partity=N Stop=1

Connect Option

The first part of the CONNSTR option value is always the node name of the computer to connect to. You can append additional parameters to the CONNSTR option value to change how the connection is made. These additional parameters are supported:

CONNSTR Parameter	Description
USER=name	The username to login with. Use the special name Guest to login to the guest account. If this parameter is not used, the connection will try to use Windows Integrated Authentication.
PASS=secret	The password to authenticate the user with. This connect option is ignored if the USER parameter is not included.
TIMEOUT=value	The timeout for the connection in seconds. If this parameter is not used, the timeout defaults to 30 seconds.

Use quotation marks to escape complex CONNSTR option values. For more information see Escape Option Values below.

Examples:

Connect to the server scadasvr using windows integrated authentication:
--Connect=scadasvr

Note: Windows integrated authentication requires both client and server computer to run Windows.
Connect to the IP Address 192.168.1.5 using the Guest account:
--Connect='192.168.1.5;USER=Guest'

Note: This example uses Linux style single quotes to escape the option value.
For more information see Escape Option Values below.

StartView Option

The ViewName parameter of the command line option: --StartView=ViewName defines the first view shown to the operator. The ViewName parameter uses this syntax:

ViewName ::= full-tag-name { '?' type-name }

type-name ::= [ 'Graphic' | 'Trend' | 'ValueDurationPlot' | 'Text' | 'Alarms' ]

Where:

full-tag-name is the full name of a tag.
type-name is the type of view to show to the operator.

Examples:

Example	Description
--StartView=Graphics.Index	Shows the Graphic Page Tag "Graphics.Index" to the operator.
--StartView=Graphics.Index?Graphic	Shows the Graphic Page Tag "Graphics.Index" to the operator.
--StartView=Example.River Levels?Trend	Shows the Trend Plot Tag "Example.River Levels" to the operator.
--StartView=?Alarms	Shows all alarms to the operator
--StartView=System?Alarms	Shows the alarms in the folder "System" to the operator

GraphicMode Option

Operating systems often provide more than one library for drawing graphics. For example in Windows:

GDI is available on all Windows computers and provides a basic universal drawing capability.
Direct3D and OpenGL might also be available, and provide hardware accelerated drawing.

The Operator Interface automatically chooses the best available option for drawing graphics. You can override the automatic selection and tell the Operator Interface which graphics library to use. This table shows which modes are supported on the different types of hardware.

Mode	Windows	Linux	Android	macOS	iOS
Direct3D	Yes	No	No	No	No
OpenGL	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GDI	Yes	No	No	No	No
Cairo	No	Yes	No	No	No

Escape Option Values

If you want to use spaces, or special characters, in a Command Option Value you will need to use quotation marks. The quotation marks tell the command line where a Command Option Value begins and ends. The type of quotation mark to use depends on the operating system you are using:

On Windows use double quotes. For example:
--Connect="localhost;User=X;Pass=Y"
On Linux and macOS use single quotes. For example:
--Connect='localhost;User=X;Pass=Y'

Further Information

Operator Interface

To learn about the other features of the Operator Interface.

Alarm Handling

For an overview of how alarms are generated and managed.

Glossary

For the meaning of terms used in Fernhill SCADA.