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NOTE:  Passwords are optional.  If they are not needed then skip this section.

 

SpecView has the facility of password protection, which can be used as detailed below:

 

 

To save time it is a good idea to setup the Password system once all the screen layouts (GDWs) for a Project are complete.

 

Ideally there should be a thorough understanding of how the screens will be used in practice, in terms of who needs to use which parts of which screen.

 

For example, if there are 4 screens: MAIN.GDW, FURNACE.GDW, COOLER.GDW & SUPERVISOR.GDW and 2 users: Operator & Engineer, then to setup the Password system use the GDW Setup menu command and go to each screen in turn and choose the 'Level' of the user (for example, 1 for Operator & 3 for Engineer), then select the objects on EACH screen that the user needs to have access to. Remember to save the changes to the screens.

 

For the Engineer level (in this example this is Level 3) it is advisable to check the Allow Edit Mode checkbox, and for Operator level (in this example this is Level 1) have this unchecked. This will just allow the Engineer level user to enter Edit Mode.

 

It may also be worth considering using Full-Screen mode.

In this case it will be necessary to put a Button with the action: Password: Log In or Log Out on at least the first screen.

Put a Button to Toggle Full-Screen Mode onto a screen which is accessible by the Engineer level user.

 

To Setup users use the User Control menu command to create user IDs and Passwords for the users at the required levels.

 

Finally uncheck the Disable Password System checkbox (on the GDW Setup dialog) and test that each user has access to the correct parts of each screen.

 

For future changes to the project, to save time in repeatedly entering the password every time Runtime Mode is used for testing, it is a good idea to disable the password system, make the amendments, test them, modify the password system appropriately so that any new items on the screen are accessible by the correct level of user, and then once everything is completed, re-enable the password system.

NOTE: When setting up the password system it is necessary to ensure that all variables, which may need to be changed during Runtime,  are accessible by at least one user.

 

 

NOTE: that when Passwords are used in conjunction with Full Screen mode it is important to ensure that there are buttons on a GDW for Login and Logout.

 

When Passwords are enabled it is not possible to go directly into Edit mode using the shortcut of holding the Shift or Control keys and clicking the Start button to force SpecView to go directly into Edit Mode when it starts. It is necessary to login as a user who can access Edit Mode and temporarily disable passwords.

 

For traceability it is recommended that each individual user is given their own ID and password - even if they use the same Level as other users. This is because Password login/logout events can be recorded in the Event Log and the user ID that was logged in at a certain time can be traced.

 

It is also important to set the Password Timeout to the shortest possible time, so the user is automatically logged out after the briefest possible period of inactivity.

 

Passwords - GDW Setup

Passwords - User Control

 

For information about the use of Passwords with ActiveX controls see here.

 

There is a video on SpecView's YouTube channel that illustrates SpecView's password system functionality here: 3000 SpecView Version 3 Passwords Tutorial.