Project Management
The Control Center Project Management panel allows the user with possibility to create and import projects to the i4designer platform.
The main feature of the Control Center is represented by the Project Management section. As described in the upcoming sections, we shall distinguish two types of projects, based on their access type:
Personal projects - are projects created by a user that have their access restricted for other portal users. Private projects can only be accessed and managed by the currently logged in user, regardless how powerfull are the permissions of other users. Any user can decide to share projects with their organization, but keeping in mind that once a project is shared, it can only be set back to private by the organization administrator.
Shared projects - are projects that have been shared with a user's organization memebers. Shared projects can be opened in design mode and exported, by all the members of an organization. However, only an organization administrator will be allowed to edit, delete or set a project back to private.
The Project Management area is located at the left side of the Control Center page, providing the user with the following functionalities:
The Projects Management area
Create new project
The first function available in the Control Center Project Management area is guarded by the Create new project button.
The Create new project button
Under the New project page the user needs to define the following settings:
The New project page
Name of the new project
Platform of the new project which can be selected by clicking the button corresponding to the desired button.
The Platform selectors
i4SCADA platform
OPC-UA / HMI platform
i4connected platform
Project description which can be optionally added to provide more details about the project contents
the Access type field is displayed when users belonging to an organization are in the Create project mode, allowing them to chose from the following options:
Access restricted to currently logged in user - by default, the access to all new projects is restricted to the creator user. Projects that are created as restricted are private projects.
Project shared with currently logged in user's Organization - by clicking the Share button, the project access type will be changed from restricted to shared with the project creator's organization. Once a project was shared, only an organization administrator will be allowed to set the project back to private.
After filling in all the desired Project settings, the user can click on the Create project button to save the project or the Cancel button to leave the create project mode, without making any changes.
Import project
The user can also load projects available locally on their machine, by using the Import project button.
The Import project button
On the Import project page the user is required to organise the following settings:
The Import project panel
Type in the new project name that will be created after the import.
Select the appropriate project platform by clicking the desired Platform button.
Warning
When selecting the Project platform the user needs to pay attention as some configuration are not compatible among platforms, as we shall discover in the upcoming articles.
Set the project access type:
Access restricted to currently logged in user - by default, the access to all new projects is restricted to the creator user. Projects that are created as restricted are private projects.
Project shared with currently logged in user's Organization - by clicking the Share button changes the project access type, from restricted to shared with the project creator's organization. Once a project was shared, only an organization administrator will be allowed to set the project back to private.
Add the import file. The import file can be added either by drag and drop or by clicking anywhere in the import area and selecting the file from the local machine. The system expects a zip archived file.
In case any of the required field are missing or are incorrect the system will provide warnings highlighting the errors.
Error message
Warning
Imported projects will not contain sensitive information such as Usernames and Passwords, regardless of the fact that the project file was exported from another project.
Hence, the user should recheck the FTP and Platform settings areas.
Project filter
The Project Management area of the i4designer Control Center, features a filtering mechanism allowing the user to easily pinpoint their projects.
When searching for projects, the user can apply the following search and filtering criteria:
textual search - by typing in the search field the name / description or a part of the project name / description updates the list of projects, displaying only the results corresponding to the searched criteria.
Textual search
By applying the Shared filter the list of projects is updated to display only shared projects.
Shared filter
platform search - by applying a platform filter and selecting the desired criteria from the Platform buttons. The list of Projects is updated to display only the projects available for the platform in the applied filter. The user can combine various platform filtering options.
Note
The applied platform filters are maintained when the browser is refreshed.
Platform filter
by sorting by projects based on the drop-down list criteria. The user can select to sort the projects list:
Sort list chronologically or alphabetically
chronologically by Newest projects
chronologically by Oldest projects
alphabetically by Name of the projects
Manage existing projects
The Projects Management area of the Control Center lists all the Projects available for the currently logged in user.
The list of i4designer Projects
The projects are displayed as cards in a scrollable list. Each Project card displays the following details:
The Project card
The Project name
The Project description
The project access type (shared or restricted to owner)
The user and date of creation
The user and date of the last changes
Further on, each listed Project can be managed by clicking the buttons available for each project card.
Open Project
In order to open a project in design mode the user can click the Open button displayed in the Project card toolbar.
The Open project button
As soon as the Open button is clicked the i4designer project is opened in a new tab.
Tip
For more details about the Project Design mode can be found in the i4designer Projects articles.
Edit Project
The Project details can be updated at any point by clicking the Edit button displayed in the Project card toolbar.
The Edit project button
In the Edit project page the user can update the Project name, platform and description.
Warning
By changing the platform, some configuration settings will be lost or incompatible and need to be reconfigured for the application to function properly.
The Edit project page
To leave the Edit project page without processing and changes, the user can click the Cancel button.
By clicking the Submit button, the Edit project page is closed and the changes are visible in the list. The "Modified by" field displays the latest changes.
Example of updated project
Note
Shared projects can only be updated by an organization administrator.
Export Project
The users can download Projects locally on their machines by clicking the Export button located in the Project card toolbar.
The Export button
As soon as the Export button is clicked the download will start directly in browser.
Project export
Warning
Sensitive information such as Usernames and Passwords filled in the FTP and Platform settings areas are not aken over by the export.
Show connection token
The users can view and copy a project's i4connected connection token, by clicking the designated button.
The Show connection token button
The i4connected Connection Code can be used by the i4connected portal, to establish the connection between the two environments.
By clicking the Copy to clipboard button, a confirmation message is displayed.
The Copy connection token button
Using the copied code, the user can configure the Application mapping at level of i4connected.
Tip
To learn more details about the i4designer integration with i4connected, please read the dedicated articles.
Delete Project
The users can decide to remove Projects by clicking the Delete button located in the Project card toolbar.
The Delete button
In the Delete project page the user is provided with information about the project selected for deletion.
The Delete project page
Warning
The deletion action cannot be undone.
To confirm the delete operation the user can click the Delete button. The Delete project page will be closed and a successful delete operation toast message will be displayed.
Toast message "Project deleted successfully"
To abort the Project removal the user can click the Cancel button.
Note
Shared projects can only be deleted by an organization administrator.