Create a runtime application

Before you can run an application, you must create a runtime version. When you create the runtime version,
FactoryTalk View Studio
 compiles all of the necessary application information into a single file with the extension .mer.
When you create the runtime application file (with the file extension .mer), you can specify the version of
FactoryTalk View
 ME Station for which to create the file. For example, if the application will run on a terminal that uses
FactoryTalk View ME Station
 15.0, you can specify that version for the .mer file.
If the application contains features that are not supported by the version you select,
FactoryTalk View
 shows a validation report that lists the unsupported features. The runtime application file is not created. You must remove or turn off the unsupported features before you can create the runtime application file.
To create a runtime application
  1. In
    FactoryTalk View Studio
    , with the application open, do either of the following:
    • From the
      Application
      menu, select
      Create Runtime Application
      .
    • On the toolbar, click me_11_create_runtime_application.
  2. Specify the folder, in which to save the runtime application file.
  3. In the
    File name
     box, enter the name for the application file.
    The default name is the same name as the development application.
  4. In the
    Save as type
     box, specify the version of
    FactoryTalk View
     ME Station for which to create the .mer file.
  5. In the
    Conversion to development application
     area, select one of the following options:
    • Always allow conversion
       - The .mer file can always be used to generate an .med file.
    • Never allow conversion
       - The .mer file can never be used to generate an .med file.
    • Conversion protected by password
       - The .mer file can only be used to generate an .med file by providing a password.
  6. If you want to include
    FactoryTalk ViewPoint
     content in the .mer file, select the
    Include ViewPoint content
    check box and from the list, select a
    FactoryTalk ViewPoint
     version.
    TIP:
    To enable the
    FactoryTalk ViewPoint
     check box and list, publish displays from
    FactoryTalk ViewPoint
     first. For details, see
    FactoryTalk ViewPoint
     Help.
    To create a v8.20 or earlier version runtime application which includes
    FactoryTalk ViewPoint
     content, .NET Framework 3.5 is required. For information about how to install .NET Framework 3.5, see
    FactoryTalk View ME
     Installation Guide
    .
  7. Click
    Save
    .
  8. If there are multiple languages in the application, the language wizard opens. Select the language or languages to be included in the runtime application and click
    Finish
    .
    TIP:
    To show undefined strings in the default language at runtime, include the default language in your selection. The default language is also required for filtering alarms.
FactoryTalk View Studio
 creates a runtime version of the application in the directory you specify. If any editors are open, you are prompted to save any unsaved changes.
TIP:
  • Using
    FactoryTalk View Studio
     version 11.00.00 or later, you can create a v9.00 or v10.00
    PanelView Plus 7 Standard
     runtime application (.mer) that contains more than 50 displays. The runtime application can be run on a
    PanelView Plus 7 Standard
     terminal installed with firmware version 9.00 or 10.00, and can be restored to a design time application (.med) using
    FactoryTalk View Studio
     version 9.00.00 or 10.00.00. However, from the restored application, you cannot create a
    PanelView Plus 7 Standard
     runtime application using
    FactoryTalk View Studio
     version 9.00.00 or 10.00.00, because the number of displays exceeds the restriction defined in
    FactoryTalk View Studio
     version 9.00.00 or 10.00.00. To maintain a
    PanelView Plus 7 Standard
     application that includes more than 50 displays, it is recommended to use
    FactoryTalk View ME
     v11.00.00 or later.
  • Using
    FactoryTalk View Studio
     version 9.00.00 or later, you can create a v8.20 or earlier version of
    PanelView Plus 7 Standard
     runtime application (.mer) that contains more than 25 displays or more than 200 alarms. The runtime application can be run on a
    PanelView Plus 7 Standard
     terminal installed with firmware version 8.20 or earlier, and can be restored to a design time application (.med) using
    FactoryTalk View Studio
     version 8.20.00 or earlier. However, from the restored application, you cannot create a
    PanelView Plus 7 Standard
     runtime application using
    FactoryTalk View Studio
     version 8.20.00 or earlier, because the number of alarms or displays exceeds the restriction defined in
    FactoryTalk View Studio
     version 8.20.00 or earlier.
  • Earlier versions of ME Station will not be able to run later versions of ME runtime applications.
  • If the application contains features or objects that were not available in the selected version, error messages will be shown stating what feature or object is invalid. Errors or warnings are logged in a text file named <
    application name
    >ValidationResults.txt in the same location as the runtime application file. Warnings indicate something that will not prevent the application from running, but may produce problems at runtime. Errors indicate the presence of some feature or object that will prevent the application from running at all. If errors are found during validation, the .mer file will not be created. If only warnings are found, the .mer file will be created, but a message stating that errors may appear at runtime will be shown. Delete or modify the invalid objects and recreate the file. For information about the features supported in different versions of
    FactoryTalk View
    , see "Appendix A" in the
    FactoryTalk View ME
     User's Guide
    .
  • If the application is a
    PanelView Plus 7 Standard
     or
    PanelView Plus 6 Compact
     application, and the application exceeds the limits, the runtime file will not be created and error messages will be shown.
  • When a runtime file for an earlier version is created, the test run behavior on the current version of
    FactoryTalk View Studio
     may not be the same as actual runtime behavior on the targeted version.
  • When an .mer file is created, each Windows-linked user account is verified and its security identifier (SID) is used to get the latest account name. A
    MobileView
    ,
    PanelView Plus 7
    ,
    PanelView Plus 6
    ,
    PanelView Plus
    ,
    PanelView Plus Compact
    , or
    PanelView Plus CE
     terminal uses this account name for login purposes. If a user account name is blank (for example, the domain controller could not be accessed at the time when the runtime file was created, or a referenced account does not have trust in the domain), logins for that user on the terminal will fail. If this occurs, you must correct the blank name. Verify that the domain controller is connected or resolve the trust issue, and create the runtime file again.
  • Version 6.0 or earlier .mer files created on a 64-bit operating system cannot run on
    FactoryTalk View
     ME Station 6.0 or earlier or be converted to MED files. If you are creating a version 6.0 or earlier .mer file on a 64-bit operating system,
    Never allow conversion
     is the default and only choice in the
    Conversion to development application
     area.
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