DBDOC 11.6 -- Northern Lights Edition

 

DBDOC 11.6 features the ability to build bookmarks, annotations, and home pages right into project files for use by all users. Direct support for ABB 800xA graphics continues to be improved, and many updates to support for SPlus/SPO graphics have been made. See the full Release Notes for further information on DBDOC 11.6 and prior versions.

Download DBDOC 11.6 now!  DBDOC 11.6 Download

DBDOC 11.6 is available for download at DBDOC 11.6 Download.   Let us know what you think!

System Data in the DBDOC File

This feature has long been requested, and we hope it will be useful in many contexts! Basically, you can now build bookmarks, text and live loop annotations, and home pages into a DBDOC file. All the users who view that DBDOC file see these predefined items. Users can still add their own bookmarks, annotations, etc.

This new functionality makes it possible for the DBDOC admin to add notes (annotations) to the the project file that will be seen by everyone, and to add bookmarks to places of interest.  These are called "System" bookmarks and annotations, and look different from the regular kind.  They can be hidden by regular users viewing the DBDOC file, but not edited or deleted.

Similarly a set of System bookmarks and even a default System home page can be distributed to all the users and updated centrally.  

Sortable Sticky-Header Tables

DBDOC is good at presenting large amounts of data, and in 11.6 a lot of it will be considerably more pleasant to interact with.  Tag tables in INFI 90 projects, and most of the various variable tables in AC 800M projects, are now presented in interactively sortable tables.

Click on a column header to sort the table by the contents of that column.  Values like Loop, PCU, Module, Block, sort correctly.  The contents of the table itself scroll "under" the header, which sticks to the top.  All of this combines to make this sort of presentation considerable easier to use.

Fancy Tooltips in Hyperview

We've gone all in on adding useful information to tooltips, particularly block/tag tooltips.  The documentation explaining what inputs and outputs of function blocks actually are is now shown.  

Of course, it is still possible to view the basic documentation for any function code right in the DBDOC file.  And you are encouraged to build your ABB Function Code Manual PDF(s) into your DBDOC file as well, for convenient access to this information. 

Leaps & Bounds for 800xA Graphics

Our support 800xA graphics continues to become more comprehensive.  800xA graphics now include linked PDF files and embedded graphical symbols.  Chapter organization has been rationalized to be more familiar and intuitive. 

Another change you may notice is that 800xA graphical "elements" and their components are now represented explicitly and hierarchically in the Block Use Index (for Infi 90 systems) and in the Function Block Use Index (for AC 800M systems) in Hyperview. 

SPlus Operations Graphics 

SPO .bin and .g files are now organized into chapters based on the directory structure found in the sibling “work” directory. In addition, there are many improvements to hotspot, link, and text generation and placement.

AC 800M 

Comprehensive development of our support for AC 800M continues, and you may notice that there are now links to the individual components of elements.

External links 

Have you ever wanted to make links from inside the DBDOC file to external URLs? You can now include external links in text and PDF documents, as well as SPO graphics. They will be displayed in your default web browser when they are clicked on.

Hyperview Web Application

Hyperview in a Web Browser can now be configured to be served over https, using either an automatically generated or your pre-existing site-specific certificate. We're interested in seeing how this works for you. Contact us if you have any questions!

Live Text Strings

Live text strings are now displayed in 800xA and SPO graphics via FC151 Text Selector Blocks, both on graphics on on CLDs. Previously only the index number was displayed, so this is much more useful!

Configuration & Tag Linking

Finally, there have been a number improvements on how we process the configuration and link tags. Selection of HGS / HPG / GPI MDB files is now supported with the module information. BATCH file links and organization is better. And there are improvements in how we identify and link tags in PDF, AutoCAD, and MicroStation files

We love feedback!

We would love to hear if any of these improvements and new features in DBDOC 11.6 are useful to you!  And we actively solicit suggestions as to how DBDOC can be improved to better meet your needs in 11.7.

Download DBDOC 11.6 now!  DBDOC 11.6 Download