Specify Compare Configuration for Custom Devices

After you add a new custom device configuration or import a configuration file, you can specify the
Compare Configuration
 for Custom Devices by specifying the
Command
,
Arguments (<ARG>)
,
Delay
,
Report Location
, and
Success Return Code
.
To specify the Compare Configuration for Custom Devices
  1. Click in the
    Command
     field
     and then click browse_button_small. The
    Command Editor - Compare
     dialog box opens.
  2. In the
    Command Editor - Compare
     dialog box, click in the
    Program
    field and then click browse_button_small to navigate to the application which performs compare operations for custom devices.
  3. Use the
    Open
     dialog box to navigate to and select an application file, and click
    Open
    .
    TIP:
    • FactoryTalk AssetCentre supports the following types of application files: *.exe, *.bat, *.vbs, and *.ps1.
    • Make sure that the folder location for the application files is C:\Users\Public\RockwellSoftware\AssetCentre.
  4. In the
    Arguments
    section, select an available argument from the left combo box. Click right arrow, and the selected argument will be added to the right combo box. You can add one or more available arguments from the left combo box to the right combo box. Click
    OK
    to close the
    Command Editor - Compare
    dialog box.
    TIP:
    For the arguments in the right combo box, you can use left arrow to move an argument back to the left combo box, or use up arrow and down arrow to change their sequences.
  5. In the
    Arguments (<ARG>)
    field, enter a text string, or click CustomDeviceArguments to select the following mnemonics:
    • %ArchiveFilePath%:
      This refers to the version of the backup or configuration data.
    • %BackupFilePath%:
      This refers to the version of the newly uploaded device data.
    • %ReportFilePath%:
      This refers to the location to store the compare report files.
      Click
      OK
      .
      TIP:
      • If the
        Global Argument <ARG>
         item is not added into the right combo box in the
        Command Editor - Compare
        dialog box, this field is not editable.
      • Make sure that the folder or file location for
        Arguments (<ARG>)
         is C:\Users\Public\RockwellSoftware\AssetCentre.
      To complete the final command line, you also need to specify the
      Arguments (<ARD>)
      for the custom device (if any).
  6. In the
    Delay (seconds)
    field, enter an integer from 0 through 3600 as a maximum time duration in seconds for which a compare operation is completed. The default setting is 180 (seconds).
    TIP:
    If you set the Delay (seconds) to 0, the program delay timeout is disabled, meaning that the FactoryTalk AssetCentre agent will not proceed until the command completes.
  7. In the
    Report Location
    field, click browse_button_small, and then enter the path to the location on your hard drive where you want to store the compare report files of custom devices. Click
    OK
    .
    Make sure that the folder location for
    Report Location
     is C:\Users\Public\RockwellSoftware\AssetCentre.
    The report location will replace %ReportFilePath% in
    Command Preview
    .
    IMPORTANT:
    In some cases, custom compare utility detects no differences but the log message indicates that there's difference found. This is because the log message is generated by the checksum compare utility, which conducts a more thorough compare than the custom compare utility.
  8. In the
    Success Return Code
     field, enter one or multiple integers that are defined as success exit codes in the application script. Only if FactoryTalk AssetCentre receives these codes, it means the backup and compare schedule task performed by the application successfully completed. If not, it means the task failed.
    Leaving this field blank will always mean the task successfully completed. The information that a schedule succeeded or failed will be recorded in the event log. Use comma but without space to separate multiple integers.
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