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Working with Projects

This guide covers the essential operations for creating, opening, running, and managing project versions.

When to Use This Page​

Use this page when you need to:

  • create your first blank project
  • open an existing .cmsproj file
  • test a project in Editor
  • move from engineering to Vision
  • keep safe copies of a project before changes

Before You Start​

Make sure:

  • Editor opens and shows the Project Manager
  • you know whether you are using Desktop or Web
  • you are ready to create a new project or import an existing one

What You Will Complete​

After this page, you should be able to:

  • create and open a project
  • import or replace an existing project safely
  • run a project in Editor
  • understand when to create copies and when to deploy to Vision

Note: Depending on the product edition, the same action may appear with slightly different labels such as Create New Project or New Blank Project, and Open Existing Project or Import Project. Use the action that opens the project creation or import dialog in your build.

Day-1 Quick Path​

If you are new to AI SCADA, focus on only these sections first:

  1. Create a New Project
  2. Open the Project
  3. return here later to Run a Project after tags and views are ready

The remaining sections on import edge cases, legacy upgrade, and version maintenance are useful, but they are not required to reach the first success milestone.

Create a New Project​

Step 1: Launch Project Creation​

  1. Click Create New Project in the top toolbar
  2. Enter a project name in the dialog
  3. (Desktop only) Choose a storage path or use the default location
  4. Click Confirm

📷 [UG-PROJ-WORK-01] New Project dialog with name field and path selector Reuse note: Strong reuse candidate: GS-BUILD-01.

⚠️ Caution: When using the Web client, projects are stored on the server at the default path and cannot be changed.

Step 2: Open the Project​

  1. Double-click the project record in the list
  2. The Editor opens in a new window/tab

💡 Tip: You can edit multiple different projects simultaneously. The same project can only be opened once.

Open an Existing Project​

Add Project to List​

If you have a project file (.cmsproj) on your local machine or need to import one:

  1. Click Open Existing Project (Desktop) or Import Project (Web)
  2. Browse and select the project file
  3. Click Confirm

📷 [UG-PROJ-WORK-02] File browser dialog for selecting .cmsproj file

Advanced Cases When Opening Existing Projects​

The sections below matter mostly when you are taking over an existing project, comparing versions, or replacing a previously imported project.

Handle Duplicate Projects​

If a project with the same ID already exists in the list, you'll see three options:

OptionBehavior
Add as New ProjectCreates a new project record; original project remains unchanged
Replace (Keep Runtime Data)Replaces configuration but preserves historical data, alarms, and logs
Replace (Clear Runtime Data)Replaces configuration and deletes all runtime data

📷 [UG-PROJ-WORK-03] Duplicate project handling dialog with three radio buttons

Upgrade Legacy Projects​

If the project version is older than your current AI SCADA version:

  1. A prompt appears asking to upgrade the project
  2. Choose whether to keep a backup of the original version
  3. Click Upgrade

⚠️ Caution: Projects from versions prior to 2.0.3 may have compatibility issues with tag publishing and data archiving. Consider manually exporting/importing data or using the matching software version.

Run a Project​

Test in Editor​

After configuring your project:

  1. Click the Run button in the Editor toolbar
  2. Configure runtime settings:
    • Service management
    • Display settings
    • System security
  3. Preview the project behavior

📷 [UG-PROJ-WORK-04] Editor toolbar with Run button highlighted

Note: For a first project, always confirm the project runs in Editor before you spend time on deployment to Vision.

Deploy to Vision​

For production deployment:

  1. Open Vision (the runtime client)
  2. Navigate to Project Settings
  3. Select the project file to run
  4. Click Start

📷 [UG-PROJ-WORK-05] Vision project selection interface

Update Running Projects​

To push configuration updates to a running Vision instance:

  1. In Vision, open Service Monitor
  2. Click Update
  3. Select the updated project file
  4. Click Confirm to replace the configuration

⚠️ Caution: The project file version must match the software version, or the update will fail.

Maintain Project Versions​

This section is usually a stage-two topic. You can safely return to it after your first project already runs.

Create a Project Copy​

Use project copies to maintain configuration versions or test changes safely:

  1. Locate the project in the list
  2. Click Create Copy in the operations menu
  3. Enter a new name (system suggests a default)
  4. (Desktop only) Choose a storage path
  5. Click Confirm

📷 [UG-PROJ-WORK-06] Create Copy dialog with name field

Key Points:

  • The copy has the same configuration but a different project ID
  • Copy names must be unique across the project list and server storage
  • Editing one copy does not affect the other

💡 Tip: Do NOT copy project files directly in the file system - this creates two references to the same project. Always use Create Copy in the Project Manager.

Export Projects (Web Only)​

To download a project from the server to your local machine:

  1. Locate the project in the list
  2. Click Export in the operations menu
  3. The browser downloads the .cmsproj file to your default download folder

⚠️ Caution: Exported projects are still the same project (same ID). They only serve as backups if stored on different machines.

Best Practices​

Version Control Strategy​

  1. Always create a copy before major changes
  2. Use descriptive names: StarterDemo_v1.0, StarterDemo_v1.1_Testing
  3. Back up runtime data weekly (or based on your data retention policy)
  4. Test in Editor before deploying to Vision

Folder Organization​

Organize projects by:

  • Area: Utilities, Packaging
  • System: Station_A, Station_B
  • Status: Production, Testing, Archive

Example structure:

📁 Production
  └─ StarterDemo_v2.3
  └─ UtilitiesDemo_v1.8
📁 Testing
  └─ StarterDemo_v2.4_Beta
📁 Archive
  └─ StarterDemo_v2.2

Next Steps​

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