Command Line Options

1. Fernhill SCADA
2. Help
3. Operator Interface
4. 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:

--InactivityTimeout=T#5m

--AutoRetryConnection=T#15s

--AutoRetryConnection=T#30s

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:

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

Examples:

1. Connect to the server scadasvr using windows integrated authentication:

   --Connect=scadasvr

   Note: Windows integrated authentication requires both client and server computer to run Windows.

2. 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.

3. Connect to the IP Address 192.168.1.5 using the Guest account and a non-standard port number:

   --Connect="192.168.1.5;Port=30599;User=Guest"

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

4. Connect to the IP Address 192.168.1.5 with a backup connection IP Address 192.168.2.5 and user account Operator:

   --Connect='192.168.1.5;BackupConnection=192.168.2.5;User=Operator;Pass=*****'

   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:

Toolbar Option

The Operator Toolbar can appear in one of two locations:

• Horizontal: The toolbar is placed along the top edge of the window.
• Vertical: The toolbar is split into two and placed along the left and right edges of the window.

The default behavior of the Operator Interface is to automatically choose the best location for the current screen orientation.

You can use the Toolbar option to override the default behavior:

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 to provide hardware accelerated drawing.

The Operator Interface automatically chooses the best 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.

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'

Working With Long Command Lines

If you are setting up the Operator Interface to work in kiosk mode, the command line can get very long. You can use multi-line commands to make the command line easier to read.

On Windows, use the circumflex accent (^) to extend a command onto the next line. For example:

"C:\Program Files\Fernhill Software\Fernhill SCADA\FHViewApp.exe" ^
    --Connect=192.168.1.10 ^
    --Title="Equipment Monitoring Station" ^
    --StartView=HomeScreen ^
    --FullScreen ^
    --TouchScreen ^
    --NoDisconnect

Note: For a powershell command use a grave accent (`) to continue each line.

On Linux and macOS use a backslash (\) to extend the command onto the next line. For example:

FHViewApp \
    --Connect=192.168.1.10 \
    --Title='Equipment Monitoring Station' \
    --StartView=HomeScreen \
    --FullScreen \
    --TouchScreen \
    --NoDisconnect

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.

Fernhill SCADA Version 4.37 (20260901.1). Copyright © 2012-2026 Fernhill Software Ltd: All rights reserved.