Pulse

SCADA/HMI
Version 3.1
Release Notes

November 2014

Copyright
The information in this document is subject to change without prior notice and does not
represent a commitment on the part of AFCON Control and Automation Ltd., AFCON
Software and Electronics Division.
No part of this document may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission from AFCON Control and Automation Ltd., AFCON Software and
Electronics Division.
The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement or a nondisclosure agreement.
The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
It is against the law to copy this software on any other medium for any purpose other than
the purchaser's personal use.
Copyright 2014 AFCON Control and Automation Ltd., AFCON Software and Electronics
Division.
All rights reserved.

Pulse logos are registered trademarks of AFCON Control and Automation Ltd., AFCON
Software and Electronics Division.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other
countries.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

Table of Contents
Copyright....................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 4
System Requirements........................................................................................ 5
Hardware Requirements................................................................................... 5

Pulse
Pulse
Pulse
Pulse

Standalone Configuration.......................................................... 5
Server ................................................................................... 6
Client..................................................................................... 6
Client Running from a USB Flash Drive ....................................... 6

Software Requirements.................................................................................... 7

Additional Software Requirements...................................................... 8

Mandatory Services.......................................................................... 9

Installing Pulse ............................................................................................... 10

Installing Communication Drivers .................................................................... 15
Pulse 3.1 New Features ................................................................................... 19
Pulse 3.1 Solved Issues ................................................................................... 20
Pulse 3.1 Known Issues................................................................................... 22
Pulse 3.1 Application Notes ............................................................................. 28
Add-ons Supported by Pulse 3.1 ...................................................................... 30

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

Introduction
AFCON Software and Electronics announces the release of Pulse SCADA/HMI
Version 3.1. Pulse is AFCONs latest software application, incorporating .NET
Application Framework technology with client-server architecture to optimize the
development of industrial, building, and security SCADA/HMI applications.
These release notes are updated during every version release, and include
information about the following:
System Requirements
Installation Instructions
New Features
Solved Issues (if applicable)
Known Issues (if applicable)
Application Notes (if applicable)

For technical support, customer support, and other AFCON Software and
Electronics news, please go to www.afcon-inc.com.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

System Requirements
Hardware Requirements
Pulse Standalone Configuration

3 GHz Core i7 or faster

Minimum 8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended)

NOTE The RAM size has to be increased as the database size increases, to ensure
optimal performance.

320 GB of free hard disk space

NOTE The size of the free hard disk space has to be increased as the size of the
database increases, ensure optimal performance.

Super VGA 3D display card with a minimum of 512 MB DDR3 memory

Keyboard and mouse or compatible pointing device

Network adaptor 100/1000 MB

USB

SEK (supplied with Pulse package); without the SEK, Pulse runs in Demo
mode.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

Pulse Server

2.4 GHz Xeon Quad Core processor 2.4 or faster

Minimum 16 GB RAM (32 GB recommended)

NOTE The RAM size has to be increased as the database size increases, to ensure
optimal performance.

NOTE

Minimum 150 GB free SAS hard disk space

The size of the free SAS hard disk space has to be increased as the size of
the database increases, ensure optimal performance.

Keyboard and mouse or compatible pointing device

Network adaptor 100/1000 MB

USB (for Virtual Machine: USB over TCP adaptor)

SEK (supplied with Pulse package); without the SEK, Pulse runs in Demo
mode.

Pulse Client

3 GHz i5 or faster (i7 recommended)

Minimum 3 GB RAM (4 GB RAM recommended)

60 GB free hard disk space

Super VGA 3D display card with a minimum of 512 MB DDR3 memory

Keyboard and mouse or compatible pointing device

Network adaptor 100/1000 MB

Pulse Client Running from a USB Flash Drive

1 GB free disk space

USB2 or faster port

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

Software Requirements
The table below details the operating systems that you can use to run both Pulse
server and client components.
Pulse Components
Operating Systems

Pulse
Server

Pulse
Client

Standalone

Windows 7 Home

No

Yes

No

Windows 7 Professional 32-Bit

No

Yes

Yes*

Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit

No

Yes

Yes

Windows 7 Enterprise 32-Bit

No

Yes

Yes*

Windows 7 Enterprise 64-Bit

No

Yes

Yes

Windows 7 Ultimate 32-Bit

No

Yes

Yes*

Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit

No

Yes

Yes

Windows 8.1 32-Bit

No

Yes

No

Windows 8.1 64-Bit

No

Yes

No

Windows 8.1 Professional 32-Bit

No

Yes

Yes*

Windows 8.1 Professional 64-Bit

No

Yes

Yes

Windows Server 2012 Standard 32-Bit

Yes

Yes

Yes*

Windows Server 2012 Standard 64-Bit

Yes

Yes

Yes

Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard

Yes

Yes

Yes

Windows Server 2008 Standard 64-Bit

Yes

Yes

Yes

Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard

Yes

Yes

Yes

* - Installing Pulse Server/Standalone successfully on a 32-Bit operating

system depends on the application size.
NOTE Windows 2003 and Windows XP are not supported in Pulse 3.1.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

Additional Software Requirements

The following list describes other third-party software requirements to run the
Pulse Server:
Microsoft .NET Framework
Internet Information Service (IIS) installed on server computer.
Microsoft Message Queuing Service (MSMQ) installed on server computer.
NOTE For IIS and MSMQ installation instructions, refer to the Pulse 3 Installation
Guide.
NOTE When installing Pulse 3.1 on Microsoft Windows 8 or Microsoft Windows
2012 Server, it is strongly recommended to follow the .NET, IIS and
MSMQ installation instructions explained in the Pulse 3 Installation Guide.
Internet Explorer 7 or higher
User Accounts Control (UAC) disabled
For more information, refer to for the relevant procedures.

The following software is installed by the Pulse Setup:

Aladdin HASP Device Driver 6.60
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0
OPC Core Components 3.0
Windows Installer 4.5
NOTE If you are using ESET NOD 32 Antivirus, use version 3 or higher.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

Mandatory Services
The following services must be in the Started state on the Pulse Servers host
computer while the Pulse Server is running. Before starting up Pulse, ensure that
the services are started.

World Wide Web Publishing Service (IIS)

Net. TCP Port Sharing Service (SMSSVCHost)

SQL Server (PULSESQLEXPRESS) - required when using Microsoft SQL

Server 2008 Express database.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

Installing Pulse
NOTE Before installing the Pulse Server, verify that your computer and network
meets the requirements described in the System Requirements chapter.
NOTE Pulse Version 3.1 is a full installation. If a previous Pulse version is already
installed and remains on your computer or the Version 3.1 installation does
not succeed, do the following steps in order:
1 Back up all projects (using Backup and Restore Wizard)
2 Uninstall any previous version of Pulse.
3 Install Pulse Version 3.1.
4 Restore the backed-up projects.
==================================================
Follow these steps to install the Pulse server.
1 Close all open programs.
2 Insert the AFCON DVD to the DVD drive. The installation process starts
automatically and you can proceed to the next step. If the installation does not
automatically start, go to your DVD drive and double-click the Setup.exe file.
Alternatively, if youre installing Pulse from a network location, select Run from
the Start menu and then browse to locate and run the Setup.exe file.
The Pulse - InstallShield Wizard window is displayed.

3 Select the language to install from one of the following drop-down list options:

English (United States)

German

Spanish

4 Click OK.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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NOTE The Pulse - InstallShield Wizard window may be displayed if one or

more software pre-requisites are not installed. See Additional Software
Requirements to install the required software components before installing
Pulse 3.1.
The Welcome to the InstallShield Wizard for Pulse window is displayed.

5 Click Next; the License Agreement window is displayed.

6 Read the license and click on the I accept the terms in the license
agreement option then click Next.
The Destination Folder window is displayed.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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7 By default, Pulse is installed in the C:\AFCON\Pulse\ folder. Click Change to

change the path of the destination folder, otherwise click Next.
The Custom Setup window is displayed.

8 Select the program features you prefer to install. To install any of the
additional features, click on the feature name to select and install it.
The installation script only installs two features, Program Files and Demo
Project. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express, Supreme Report and Samples
components are not installed by default.
NOTE If the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express feature is not installed, the Pulse
Server will utilize the MDB database by default.
9 Click Next.
The Pulse Server Settings window is displayed.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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In the Pulse Server Settings window, the servers external (public) and
internal (private) IP addresses, TCP port and the virtual directory name are
defined (the virtual directory holds the Pulse clients files). Use the default
settings or define other addresses or names.

10 Click Next to continue.

The Ready to Install the Program window is displayed and the wizard is
ready to begin installation.

11 Click Install to start the installation process.

The Installing Pulse window is displayed. The installation progress is shown
in the Status progress bar.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

13

When the InstallShield Wizard Completed window is displayed, the

installation process is complete.

12 Click Finish and restart the computer.

NOTE If upgrading from Pulse 1.10
If SQL Server 2005 Express was previously used as your project database,
the Setup program will upgrade it to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express.
The installation may pause and display the following message:
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SP1 Installation Failure. To solve this
problem, complete the current Pulse installation and restart your
computer. Run the Pulse installation again and select the Repair
option.
Follow the instructions to complete the installation successfully.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

14

Installing Communication Drivers

In Pulse Version 3.1, the Pulse Driver Setup Wizard simplifies the process of
installing drivers.
Drivers can be installed either from your AFCON Pulse DVD or downloaded from the
AFCON web site (www.afcon-inc.com). Click the Products link, and then click
Drivers 32 bit to locate and download the relevant driver zip file to your computer.
Additionally, the Install Driver option in the Communications Setup dialog box
enables assigning an installed driver to a Pulse project. From all of these entry
points, the Driver Setup Wizard will execute the installation.
To install drivers from the AFCON Pulse DVD
1 Before installing a driver, shut down Pulse.
2 Insert the AFCON DVD into the DVD drive on your computer. Wait for it to open
on your screen.
3 Select Pulse and then select Communication Drivers to open the
Communication Drivers dialog box.

4 Locate and select the required driver. Click the Install button to run its setup.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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The Pulse Driver Setup wizard is displayed.

5 Click Next. Select a project or install the driver into multiple projects using the
standard Windows selection key combinations (<Shift>+click, <Ctrl>+click,
<Ctrl>+A [for all]).

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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6 Click Next. Review the summary information. You may expand the driver table
to see which files the driver setup will install and their destination folder.

7 Click Install. The Install Progress page shows you the progress and status of
the driver installation. When the Current Task and Setup Status bars display
100%, the installation is done.
As an option, you can generate, store, and print installation reports:
Report All

Generate a report detailing the installation of the driver

files.

Report Errors

Generate a report detailing any errors which may have

occurred during the driver installation.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

17

8 Click Next. If successful, the wizard notifies that the driver was successfully
installed. If you want to install another driver, click Install Another Driver to
start the process again. Otherwise, click Finish to close the wizard.
Start Pulse
Server

The Pulse Server will start up after you click Finish.

After the Server completes startup, the Driver Setup
wizard closes.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

18

Pulse 3.1 New Features

Work Item 3008

(this) can Now be Used in the Event Management User

Event Workflow Properties
When creating a user event workflow in the Event Manager,
you can now use this instead of a specific display name in
the Workflow Properties.

WI 2302

Tooltips are Now Visible in Monitoring Mode

Until the present, animation tooltips were only visible at
Runtime (in the Operator Workstation).
Now, tooltips are also visible in Monitoring mode.

WI 3158 & WI 3157

A Display Opens when Max Developer Clients > 0

with an Incompatible I/O Number
When the SEK feature Maximum Developer Clients is
positive (greater than 0), it is now possible to open a display
with an incompatible Input/Output number; the display will
be opened and not be blocked.

WI 1551

PathToPrograms and ProgramArgs Parameters are

Now Supported in the Workflow Run Activity
The Run Activity in the Worklow now supports expressions in
the PathToPrograms and ProgramArgs parameters and
the parameters can now be binded.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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Pulse 3.1 Solved Issues

Work Item 3111

The Datasheet Publisher is Corrected

The Datasheet used to publish endlessly when the query has
a binary datatype field.
The issue was fixed.

WI 3037

The Operator Workstation Does Not Exit Unexpectedly

The Operator Workstation exited unexpectedly when running
certain project.
The issue was fixed.

WI 2967

The GetAdvisedItem Activity Works Properly Now

When Used in a Workflow Sequence
The GetAdvisedItem Activity used to cause the Workflow to
fail when it is used in a sequence.
The issue was fixed. The GetAdvisedItem Activity does not
cause the Workflow to crash when used in a sequence.

WI 2928

The Switch to Development (Display Name)

Malfunctioned the First Time It was Selected
When a user wanted to switch from the Operator Workstation
display mode to the Developer Workstation display mode, the
Pulse Developer Workstation did not to open the first time it
was selected.
The issue was fixed.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

20

WI 2535

Alarms and History are Now Displayed Correctly in the

Supreme Report
In the Supreme Report, alarms and history values did not
show the correct data in the Supreme Report table.
The issue was fixed. The Supreme Report alarms are
displayed in the Supreme Report Alarm table and history data
are displayed correctly in the Supreme Report Item table.

WI 3244

The PCIMAUDIT Table Can Now be Restored with the

Project
The PCIMAUDIT table failed to restore for certain projects.
The issue was fixed. The PCIMAUDIT table is now restored
with a project.

WI 3510

Supreme Report Can Retrieve Data Correctly Now

Previously, Supreme Report failed to retrieve history data
from Pulse for the month of January.
The issue was fixed. Supreme Report can now retrieve data
correctly from Pulse.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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Pulse 3.1 Known Issues

WI 2132

The GDisplay|Pcim!OpenBusy Item Returns an Incorrect

Value

The GDisplay|Pcim!OpenBusy item always returns a False

value even when it is supposed to return a True value.

WI 2342

An Incorrect Error Code for the Data Logger is Displayed in

the Event Viewer

An incorrect error code for the Data Logger is displayed in the

Event Viewer when a setting similar to the one below when
defined in a Data Logger Report.
For example:
In the Report Logger Group windows Tag tab, the Address
is defined as |!$ds1 and the Width as 8 and saved.
Result:
In Data Scope, when the Tags Value is set to more than 8
characters (i.e., abcdefghij) and the report is generatedm an
error is seen in the Event Viewer.
In the Event Viewer, an ErrorCode = 1000 is displayed which is
an error unrelated to the Data Logger Report.

WI 2723

Table Instrument Logs Do Not Appear in the Event Viewer

Logs related to the Table Instrument are not displayed in the

Event Viewer.

WI 2808

Correlation Historical Trend Graph Does Not Support Data

Logger Tag Items

When setting the item in the correlation Historical Trend Graph

with a Data Logger tag item, the correlation Historical Trend
Graph malfunctions.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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WI 2829

The First Timestamp Record in the Historical Correlation

Trend Graph Report is Not Displayed

When the Data Logger History is enabled in a Historical

Correlation Trend Graph, the report does not show the first
timestamp recorded..
For example, if the first Pen value was set to 10:00:00, the
report only shows the value from 10:00:01.

WI 2838

The Database Server Does Not Return Values for the Batch
Trend Graph when the Data Logger History is Enabled

The Batch Trend Graph does not receive values from the
Database Server therefore the values are not displayed in the
Batch Trend Graph when the project is set with the Data Logger
History enabled.

WI 2853

The User May Experience Difficulty in Moving the

Instrument or Control in a Display When the AutoScroll
Option is Checked

When the AutoScroll option is selected for a display and the

objects are placed closed to the edges of the display, the user
may experience difficulty in moving an Instrument or Control to
a different location in the display. The Instrument or Control
tends to return to its original position.

WI 2679

Batch Values from other Batches are Displayed in the

Batch Trend Graph when Set to Display Values for a
Single Batch

Batch values from other batches that were not set to be

displayed appear in the Batch Trend Graph together with the
batch values that were set to be displayed.

WI 2669

The Pens Legends are Calculated Differently in the Historical

Trend Graph Showing a Different Span Time for Each Pen

When multiple pens were defined in the Historical Trend Graph,

the graph may show a different span time between pens. The
Pens legend are individually calculated showing a slight
difference between one pen to other pen(s) in the Historical
Trend Graph.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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WI 2775

The Historical Trend Graph Report May Show a New

Date and Value after Performing Refresh

The Historical Trend Graph Report might show a different value

on the last row on the report after a Refresh action is
performed. After Refresh, the row before the last one is not
consistent with the values on the last row before the Refresh
action was performed.

WI 2846

The Maximum/Minimum and Average Functions are

Not Supported by the Historical Batch Trend Graph

The Maximum/Minimum and Average functions do not work in

the Historical Batch Trend Graph.

WI 3316

Oracle Database is Not Supported in Pulse

The Oracle Database is not supported in Pulse.

WI 1272

The Trend Group is Opened When No Trend Groups are

Available

A Trend Group and any of its group selection pop-up dialog

boxes are opened when there are no private AND/or public
Trend Groups are available.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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WI 3364

The Supreme Report DRweb Virtual Directory in the IIS

Manager has to be Created Manually

The Supreme Report setup does not create the DRweb virtual
directory in the IIS Manager.
Solution:
The DRweb virtual directory has to be created manually.
To create the DRweb virtual directory manually:
NOTE
1

Pulse must be running before you can access the

Supreme Report Studio.

Access the Supreme Report Studio (from the Startup

menu, click All Programs > AFCON Pulse > Development
> Supreme Report Studio.
The Supreme Report Studio window is displayed.

3
4

In the Open Project dialog box, select the Open

Existing Project option, select the project from the
drop-down list or browse for projects path by clicking the
Browse button.

Click the Open button.

In the Supreme Report Studio window, go to the
Project ribbon and click Web configuration.
The Project Settings window is displayed.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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In the Project Settings dialog box, click the Web

configuration tab.

Click the Configure IIS button.

The IIS Configuration dialog box is displayed.

Select the web site where you want your web portal to be
created from the drop-down list.
The IISconfigurator window prompts you whether you
prefer to backup the content of your project web files.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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Click Yes.
The DRweb directory is created in the IIS Manager.

9
WI 2889

Click OK to complete the process.

Data Logger Values are Deleted When the Servers

Switch or are Restarted in Redundancy Mode

When servers are switched or restarted in Redundancy Mode,

all the data in the Data Logger's database are deleted upon
startup or when a Virtual IP is attached.
Workaround:
Use SQL replication when using the Data Logger with a
Redundancy configuration.

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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Pulse 3.1 Application Notes

Work Item (WI) 2856

An error message appears when attempting to insert a

Media Player Instrument into a display
When Pulse is installed in a Windows 2008 platform, an error
message is displayed when attempting to insert a Media
Player Instrument into a display. Neither the Display nor the
instrument can be accessed.
Solution:
Windows 2008 does not include Media Player by default.
Install the Desktop Experience feature (Control Panel >
Programs > Programs and Features > Desktop Experience).

WI 2410

The Trend Graph Range option is not available when

using multiple scales
The Trend Graph Range option for multiple pens is not
available when the Multi-Scale option is selected.

WI 1978

Activate the DDE Server first before opening the

Database Server
To be able to access a DDE item such as Excel file from a
Database block, the DDE item has to be running in the
system before the user accesses the Database Server.

WI 1880

The Acrobat Reader does not support 64-Bit operating

systems
Supreme Report *.pdf (Adobe Acrobat portable document
format) files do not open on the Pulse Client when Pulse is
installed on a 64-Bit operating system.
Solution:
Install Acrobat Reader version 8 or higher supporting 64-Bit
platforms.

Pulse Version 3.0 Release Notes

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WI 2069

Database Server OPC Dot Field items time stamps are

different from OPC Clients
The Database Server Dot Field items have different time
stamps from that of the OPC Clients' third party application.
Workaround:
To retrieve correct OPC timestamps via the Database Server,
create and use OPC User group Items.

WI 2404

An error message may appear during the Pulse Client

deployment
An error message may appear during the Pulse Client
deployment process in the Pulse Client web page when
attempting to deploy the Pulse Client.
Workaround:
When the deployment of the Pulse Client does not succeed
and an error message is displayed, define the path of the
Pulse IIS to a specific user.

Pulse Version 3.0 Release Notes

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Add-ons Supported by Pulse 3.1

Pulse Smart Login

The Pulse Smart Login add-on feature is now available for Pulse 3.1. It is an automated
authentication system used for user login into the Pulse Workstation. This feature allows
you to securely save user credentials into the Pulse Smart Login and automatically
authenticate the user ID when logging into Pulse via a proximity card reader or through a
biometric fingerprint authentication device.
Pulse Geographic Information System (GIS)

Pulse 3.1 has a new add-on feature, which is the Geographic Information System (GIS).
The GIS control feature supports GIS maps that indicate and graphically show objects
and events on a map.
The GIS control can represent an organizations geographical map with specific layers
and object instances through location based information.
The Geographic Information System (GIS) module enables the following:
Add pre-defined maps and services
Configure layer instance states, add custom context menus and reference layers to
user events
Display the live locations of devices and user events
The Geographic Information System (GIS) control integrates with devices and Pulse data
to manage all forms of geographically referenced information in real time.
The GIS technology can be integrated into any enterprise information framework to help
solve and manage location based events. It can be integrated with the Pulse Event
Manager in a way that is quickly and easily understood.
The benefits of the GIS add-on control are as follows:
Cost savings and increased efficiency
Better decision making
Better communication
Better record keeping
Managing geographically

Pulse Version 3.1 Release Notes

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