aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.

Release Notes
Version Number: V8.8.1
August 2015
Copyright (c) 2015 by Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.

Aspen InfoPlus.21, Aspen Data Source Architecture, Aspen IP.21 Process Browser, Aspen Process Explorer, Aspen
Production Record Manager, aspenONE Process Explorer, the aspen leaf logo, and Plantelligence & Enterprise
Optimization are trademarks or registered trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc., Bedford, MA.

All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

This document is a guide for using AspenTech's software. This documentation contains AspenTech proprietary and
confidential information and may not be disclosed, used, or copied without the prior consent of AspenTech or as set
forth in the applicable license agreement. Users are solely responsible for the proper use of the software and the
application of the results obtained.

Although AspenTech has tested the software and reviewed the documentation, the sole warranty for the software
may be found in the applicable license agreement between AspenTech and the user. ASPENTECH MAKES NO
WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THIS
DOCUMENTATION, ITS QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.

Aspen Technology, Inc.

20 Crosby Drive
Bedford, MA 01730
USA
Phone: +(781) 221-6400
Toll Free: (1) (888) 996-7100
http://www.aspentech.com
Contents
About these Release Notes......................................................................................1
Introduction to aspenONE Process Explorer .........................................................1
Related Documentation .....................................................................................2

Installation and Upgrade Notes...............................................................................3

Before you upgrade ..........................................................................................3
Installation ......................................................................................................5
After Installation ..............................................................................................6
Verification of installation ..................................................................................6

Licensing .................................................................................................................7

Software Fixes ........................................................................................................9

Known Issues........................................................................................................15

Frequently Asked Questions ..................................................................................18

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes iii

iv aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes
About these Release Notes

These Release Notes describe aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1, the latest
release of aspenONE Process Explorer. This document includes:
 Installation and Upgrade Notes
 Licensing
 Software fixes
 Known issues
 Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Introduction to aspenONE
Process Explorer
aspenONE Process Explorer delivers analysis and visualization of real-time
and historical data. Based on HTML5, it is a true thin client resulting in
reduced cost and effort to deploy and maintain. aspenONE Process Explorer
contains a variety of features for visualization and analysis:
 Trends that can plot dozens of tags at once.
 Search for finding tags, characteristics, aliases, and saved displays.
Search has property-based filters to help narrow down the result set.
 Comments for recording observations on a chart. Comments that are
relevant to the information on the chart will automatically appear.
 Graphics in HTML5 that are published from Aspen IP.21 Browser Graphics
Studio or Aspen Process Graphics Editor. Graphics can contain gauges and
trends. Clicking on points on a graphic can be designated to cause
different actions such as plotting the tag or viewing its details.
 KPI and SPC plotting that displays relevant information regarding points
on the trend.
 XY chart for relationship analysis. The XY chart can plot data based on
time or events.
 Frequency chart for distribution and Pareto analysis.
 Ad hoc SPC for creating and adjusting SPC charts using any tags.
 OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) for equipment utilization
analysis.

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 1

  Event chart modes for analyzing data using an events context such as
batches. There is a single event, event overlay, and multiple event chart
mode. There is also a special Golden Profile chart.
 Tag lists that display the values and statuses of tags along with any
additional desired tag properties.
 Events lists that display a set of automatically or manually queried
events. Events can be batches from APRM (Aspen Production Record
Manager), tag alarm ranges, or comment ranges.
 Manual data entry of tag values through a tag list or of characteristic
values through an events list.
 Tab groups for grouping displays as one saved set.
 Dashboards for viewing multiple displays together on one screen.

Related Documentation
In addition to these Release Notes, AspenTech provides the following
documentation for aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1. The PDF documents
are available on the AspenTech Support website; the Help is available from
the application.
Aspen InfoPlus.21 Product Family Installation Guide
Aspen InfoPlus.21 Product Family Configuration Guide
Aspen Production Record Manager Installation Guide
Aspen Production Record Manager Configuration Guide
Software License Manger Installation and Reference Guide
aspenONE Process Explorer Help

2 aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes

Installation and Upgrade
Notes

This section describes the prerequisites and installation of the aspenONE

Process Explorer V8.8.1 feature pack.
The feature pack is available on DVD or it can be downloaded from the
AspenTech Support website.

Before you upgrade

The Aspen V8.8 MES Suite must be installed on the machine on which you are
installing the aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 feature pack.

InfoPlus.21
As with previous versions of aspenONE Process Explorer, the V8.8.1 Feature
Pack can connect with earlier versions of InfoPlus.21 (V7.3 and above).
There are certain features that require new record definitions. Those
definitions will be added to the snapshot upon upgrading IP.21 to V8.8.1. If
you are using an earlier version of IP.21, you can load in the respective rld
file in order to add the new record definitions. The new record definitions are:
 IP_CommentDef
o This is necessary for recording comments on plots.
o Use Comment.rld to load the definition into a pre-V8.8.1 IP.21.
 OEEDef
o This is necessary for using the OEE feature.
o OEE_EquipDef, OEE_EventTypeDef, OEE_ReasonsDef are also needed.
o Use OEE.rld to load in all the required definitions into a pre-V8.8.1
IP.21.

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 3

 The map records (AtMapDef) contain new fields that are used by different
features of aspenONE Process Explorer. V8.8.1 contains all the new fields;
they are:
 MAP_TrendingAttr
o This is a text field that gives a label for what the map record maps to
(a label for the attribute).
 MAP_TagType
o This is a formatted integer field for choosing what the tag/attribute
type is (i.e., KPI, Analog, Discrete). The types are then used as filters
when searching for tags in aspenONE Process Explorer.
o The field is formatted by Map_TagTypeFormat, which refers to a
selector record defined by AtMapSelectDef whose field Type is set to
Tag Type.
 Map_Area
o This is a record pointer field for referencing the field that specifies the
plant area of the tag.
 Map_TrendViewTime
o This is a record pointer field for referencing the field that gives a
nominal (suggested) timespan when viewing this tag’s data. That
timespan is used in the preview plots for a tag.
 Map_#AlarmInfo
o This is a normal repeat area for referencing any alarm state fields that
exist in the tag. There is one occurrence for each alarm type (For
example, a value-based alarm and a rate of change-based alarm).
Also, there are fields for referencing the current alarm state field,
acknowledgement field, historical alarm state field, corresponding
historical time field, and corresponding historical acknowledgment
field.
o Alarming in V8.8.1 aspenONE Process Explorer requires this repeat
area to show current and historical alarms for tags.
In V8.8.1 IP.21 SPC alarms are historized within each SPC record; whereas,
in earlier versions of IP.21 they were not. Viewing SPC alarms on the plots in
aspenONE Process Explorer requires using V8.8.1 IP.21.

APRM
V8.8.1 aspenONE Process Explorer plots and displays APRM production
records (batches) and their characteristics and aliases. This functionality
requires that Aspen Production Record Manager (APRM) and the
APRM database be upgraded to V8.8.1.

4 aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes

 Installation
The feature pack is available on DVD or it can be downloaded from the
AspenTech Support website.
To apply the aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Feature Pack:
1 On a computer that has aspenONE V8.8 installed, open the
Aspen_MES_V88FP_Patch1 folder.
2 Double-click aspenONE Update Agent to launch the application.
3 Click Next. The list of products installed on the computer is displayed.
4 Click Next to install the updates. The list of updates being installed is
displayed.
The Patch Status column changes when the update installation is
complete.

5 Click Next to view the installation summary.

For additional instructions on how to install and configure the Aspen
InfoPlus.21 Product Family, see the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Product Family
Installation Guide, Aspen InfoPlus.21 Product Family Configuration Guide, the
Aspen Production Record Manager Installation Guide, and the Aspen
Production Record Manager Configuration Guide. These consolidated guides
contain installation and configuration information for all Aspen InfoPlus.21
family and Aspen Production Record Manager products.

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 5

 After Installation
After you have installed the aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 feature pack:
1 Ensure that IP.21 is not running on the computer.
2 Under IP.21 Manager, Open the InfoPlus.21 Database Upgrade
Wizard.
4 Select the Typical mode and browse for the snapshot file that is to be
upgraded under the Source section.
5 From File Chooser, rename the InfoPlus21.snp and select the file, then
click OK.
6 Click Output File, then specify the file name to be InfoPlus21.snp.
7 Click Finish.
8 Start IP.21.

Verification of installation
Open the aspenONE Diagnostics Tool, and navigate to the Installed
Products tab. Here you can verify that aspenOne Process Explorer and
related products have been updated to v8.8.1.

6 aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes

Licensing

aspenONE Process Explorer always requires the aspenONE Process Explorer

license key. The application will continuously check for the aspenONE Process
Explorer license key. If the key is not present in the license server or there
are not enough tokens to check out the license then a license error message
will display over the application forcing the user to close the browser.
Certain features/entities of aspenONE Process Explorer require the aspenONE
Process Explorer Analytics license key. They are:
 Events List
o Any time the Events List is present in the Legend the Analytics key is
required
 Ad hoc SPC
 Frequency chart
 Using APRM characteristics or APRM aliases in the Tags List (Legend) of
any plot
 Golden Profile chart
 OEE
o The Events Table for OEE does not require the Analytics license key
 Dashboards that contain any of the above content
 Tab groups when the open tab contains any of the above content
The application continuously checks for the aspenONE Process Explorer
Analytics license key when any of the features or entities in the list above are
viewable. If the key is not present in the license server or there are not
enough tokens to check out the license, a license error message will be
present in the aBar; no new data will appear in this condition.

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 7

8 aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes
Software Fixes

V8.8.1 includes a number of software fixes that further improve the product.

aspenONE Process Explorer

CQ Number Description

CQ00527657 Tag search not working.

IP.21 V8.5 regular memory leak in Tomcat applications. Reboot
CQ00542125 required often.
Changing graphic size does not affect positioning of graphic in
CQ00543281 Process Explorer.
Graphics editor animations are not loading 100% in aspenONE
CQ00547232 Process Explorer.
Unable to display Portuguese characters in aspenONE Process
CQ00547368 Explorer.
CQ00547372 Getting error: XML Error(Read) NC_E_QNQMECHARACTER, when
more than one Ad-hoc IF..THEN..ELSE calc is present in the
Legend.
CQ00547649 Custom Detail Page (Tag Detail) in aspenONE Process Explorer.
CQ00552175 Relative path names don't work after publishing graphics.
In Add to Plot/List mode, only 1 tag of trend elements is getting
CQ00552179 added.
Double quotes in tag reference causes graphic not to render in
CQ00552181 a1PE.
Sometimes marker settings are not reflected correctly on plots
CQ00552362 exported from PE desktop.
CQ00554780 Large folder (100+ files) not visible in Tree Navigation.
CQ00554783 Grouped Objects seem to lose z-order.
Aspen IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio stops working when
CQ00555528 publishing to aspenONE Process Explorer.
CQ00556320 aspenONE Process Explorer dependency to get Search working?
aspenOne Process Explorer installation needs to verify location
CQ00558423 of IIS before installing.
CQ00560751 aspenONE V8.5 & V8.7 tag Plot action in graphics does not work.
Image changes between design view in Graphics Studio to the
CQ00561513 Published image.
When you save in Trends it defaults to the last name used and
CQ00561674 does not give warning before overwriting.

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 9

 CQ Number Description

Apply button (formating of tag columns) was off the screen and
CQ00561686 not obvious.
Hovering over clock icon shows what the status is rather than
CQ00561692 what the icon does.
CQ00561700 Shape Builder – usability.
In RBV - the A1PE Web Part does not allow a Trend Plot - from
CQ00561752 the Add to Plot feature.
CQ00562949 Swedish Characters not Displayed in Tag description.
When viewing from Chrome canvas, the graphic looks jumbled
CQ00563015 up at the ends.
After flipping the object from horizontally to vertically - natively
CQ00564317 designed symbols do not appear to move.
Colors/blinking/undisplay all different for "Animation On" Symbol
CQ00564343 in a1PE compared to Process Browser.
CQ00566115 tagDetail(..) function does not work in a1PE.
Decimal points are not showing significant figures if 0 in comma
CQ00566117 decimal format (on Spanish OS).
CQ00566118 Zooming-in shows path deformities.
When publishing the graphic from graphic studio to A1PE the
CQ00566791 studio does not work.
A circle representing a traffic light is converted to a hexagon
CQ00567180 when published to A1PE.
Graphic Text Data point published to A1PE shows rounding value
CQ00567980 instead of real value precision and this is same on Tag Details.
Unable to see trend saved under Private (When doing "save
CQ00569005 as").
CQ00569006 Symbols in mapped shared drive are not published.
CQ00569207 Found issue with A1PE display when # is in tag name.
CQ00569927 Object not publishing correctly.
Swedish letters are not working in A1PE when character is used
CQ00570250 in tag name.
Further object not publishing correctly issue with ER release for
CQ00571158 CQ00566114.
CQ00571544 JavaScript in graphic does not work when in "Add to plot mode".
A1PE is unable to scan tags in datasource; it shows
ProcessTagMetadata:XmlException:Data at the root level is
CQ00572088 invalid.
CQ00572320 A1PE tag search counters are not correct or accurate.
CQ00573333 V8.5 A1PE does not work with IP.21 V7.3 (Works with V7.3.0.4).
Unable to create search index - No DataSources Found
CQ00574731 /AtProcessDataREST.dll/DataSources returns {"data":[]}.
CQ00575100 Tag descriptions not shown during search.
CQ00575350 AspenONE Process Explorer Analytics Event screen questions.
The statement IF THEN ELSE does not work when publishing
from Aspen Process Graphic Editor to AspenONE Process
CQ00575687 Explorer.

10 aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes

 CQ Number Description

After applying CP1, the tag count increases and decreases

CQ00575962 intermittently when using the Add to Plot feature.
CQ00576795 Rotating text label issue.
CQ00576963 Symbol library preview issue in Graphic Studio.
After having set it to PM time, unable to change 24 hour
formatted Time Fields to AM time using the plot Timeline
CQ00577784 Control.
CQ00577868 Line border does not include entire line length.
CQ00577875 The z-order is wrong for certain symbol items.
CQ00578410 Symbols with text can become distorted on zoom.
Unable to get required results when configuring the security on
CQ00579277 graphics displayed in a1PE navigation tree.
CQ00579923 Search by description is not working in type ahead.
tagMove() functionality not working in aspenONE Process
CQ00580007 Explorer (works in Aspen IP.21 Process Browser).
A1PE does not change background color on shapes object with
CQ00580057 animation.
CQ00581312 Tag sort order is not alpha-numeric.
When a date is selected for a trend using the Calendar object,
CQ00582039 the time is set to 12:00:00 PM instead of AM.
When a folder contains more than 26 objects, the Navigation
CQ00582040 Page Menu Tree is not adjustable.
With many plot files in a folder it is not possible to view them all
CQ00582472 in the navigation window.
When scrolling through a trend, the time and date labels on the
CQ00582474 x-axis (time axis) of the chart do not decrease correctly.
Text in Text object aligned center horizontally becomes left-
CQ00584025 aligned when published.
CQ00584043 M letter is miss-aligned after publishing to A1PE.
CQ00584152 Unable to set timeline refresh rate for graphics.
Unable to edit descriptions for template parameters when a
CQ00584153 template is embedded in Graphic Studio.
Cannot remove header with tag names above published plot
CQ00584156 objects.
CQ00584157 Plot object in graphic sometimes shows the wrong left margin.
CQ00584164 X-Y plot is missing in a1PE.
A1PE search does not display graphics with special characters in
CQ00584512 file name.
CQ00584525 Graphic symbol with Blink Animation, does not blink in A1PE.
Take off Delete option from A1PE when opening a folder from
CQ00584601 the Public.
CQ00584679 Graphics Studio crashes when saving a project to A1PE.
Images and thumbnails do not display on user interfaces in cross
CQ00584892 domain environment.
CQ00585074 Search not working properly on a1PE Search Page when
including (dash) minus sign "-" character.

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 11

 CQ Number Description

CQ00585149 The Tomcat Exception dialog is issued by the A1PE type ahead
when plots or other content are returned by the Search.
CQ00585165 Lines thicker than 1 pixel extend too far in a1PE.
CQ00585169 Ellipse is drawn slightly too small in a1PE.
A1PE Direct to Plot button does not work for tags associated to
CQ00585175 symbol.
Export of tag data to a CSV file does not work after applying
CQ00585476 recent patches.
Having logged out of a1PE with a published graphic selected,
CQ00585951 "The file does not exist" is displayed when reopening.
CQ00586719 Values in A1PE Search Details screen are not aligned.
Tags added through A1Bar search returns "Invalid History
CQ00587150 Request" while tags added through HPT search works fine.
On Click event does not work for Symbols in As defined in
CQ00587416 Graphic mode.
CQ00587733 Value with Bad quality status is displayed.
Indexing servers for AspenONE Process Explorer consumes
CQ00588210 100% of CPU on a different server.
DataPoint showing value for good tag and bad tag summation in
CQ00590188 graphic.
Text Data Point in graphic is not displayed with format defined
CQ00590692 by IP_VALUE_FORMAT.
Action on data point always triggers, even when in "add to list"
CQ00590688 mode.
CQ00590804 A1PE displays invalid tag for ad-hoc calculation.
CQ00591023 Autoscale not working.
Comma decimal symbol (Windows setting) corrupts JSON file
CQ00591142 when certain Graphics are published to a1PE.
No data source is passed to the Process Data service by
animated symbols in a1PE so they always use the
CQ00591145 DefaultDataSource.
CQ00591624 Unexpected file format in A1PE.
A1PE graphic does not obey animation display parameters as it
CQ00592174 does not hide the object.
Graphics not displaying correctly when large values are specified
CQ00592413 for Scale Maximum and Major Grid Divisions.
When an A1PE Trend using an Avg Calculation is left running in
CQ00593001 Real-Time Mode, some points on the Trend Line do not connect.
aspenONE Process Explorer in Google Chrome cannot log out.
When trying to retrieve data, Security System Error 0xffffff95
CQ00594618 occ.
Show Menu Tree does not work after selecting any option in OEE
CQ00595863 Trend.
CQ00595865 Browser does not automatically adjust to expanded screen.
CQ00596182 a1PE issue Export to Excel.
CQ00596331 Batch details display does not work.
Wrong Process Explorer URL formed when click on graphic
CQ00596453 button with action to use PBPlots.asp without full path.

12 aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes

 CQ Number Description

Export of tag data to a CSV file does not work after applying
CQ00596741 CP2.
CQ00596977 Dashboard Layout Error Message.

Aspen Audit & Compliance Manager

CQ Number Description

If the database wizard is used to create an existent account, it

CQ00593240 will not work.

Aspen InfoPlus.21
CQ Number Description

dbclock.exe may get into an infinite loop if one of the activation

CQ00588042 queues is corrupted.
CQ00596056 SPC records are missing default alarm rule format.

Aspen IP.21 Process Browser

CQ Number Description

Some users get "no servers available" message in Aspen IP.21

CQ00594252 Process Browser.

Aspen IP.21 Process Explorer

CQ Number Description

PE and PD for OPC-HDA do NOT handle all the value types from
CQ00588136 MatrikonOPC server.

Aspen MES Excel Addins

CQ Number Description

COM PD Excel Addin downloaded from IP.21 PB Server does not

CQ00580650 work if the Web Server OS is Win 2012 or Win 2012 R2.

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 13

14 aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes
Known Issues

This section describes the Known Issues in aspenONE Process Explorer

V8.8.1.

APRM server will be unable to find the data

sources seen by the A1PE clients
CQ00588472
It is generally recommended that a site has a single ADSA server.
In the case of an A1PE server communicating to an APRM server on another
machine, those machines are required to share an ADSA server.
If they do not, then the APRM server will be unable to find the data sources
seen by the A1PE clients.

Moving from 32-bit to 64-bit installation

CQ00593240
To successfully move from a v8.8 32-bit installation to a V8.8.1 64-bit
installation, you must uninstall V8.8 32 bit and re-install V8.8 64 bit before
installing V8.8.1 Feature Pack.

Aspen Process Explorer only publishes the

standard trend to aspenONE Process
Explorer
CQ00596197
The desktop application, Aspen Process Explorer, can publish content to the
web application, aspenONE Process Explorer. However, this publishing
capability is restricted to the standard trend.
In V8.8.1, the aspenONE Process Explorer web application supports new plot
types. These new plot types include KPI, SPC and Event (Batch) plots.

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 15

 If you have these plots defined in the desktop application, Aspen Process
Explorer, you cannot publish these plots to the web application, aspenONE
Process Explorer.

Event Legend Characteristic values are

incorrect after columns are removed
CQ00599968
If a custom characteristic column is removed from the Events List, the
remaining columns may have incorrect values.
Workarounds:
1 Save the plot file and reopen it; the columns will then show the correct
values.
2 Remove all custom columns and then re-add those that are needed.

16 aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 17
Frequently Asked Questions

This section anticipates, and then answers, questions that you may have
about aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1.

How can I schedule scans for

tag data sources?
1 On the aspenONE Process Explorer server, go to the Tomcat folder:
c:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\AspenTechShared\Tomcat7.0.57
2 Navigate to the Tomcat Scheduler Jobs folder:
appdata\scheduler\config\jobs
3 Copy NPEScanData to another folder, rename it, change the name of the
job within the jobname XML tag, e.g.,
<jobname>ScanDataSource<jobname>, and copy the updated file back
to scheduler\config\jobs.
4 Restart Tomcat.
5 Log into the Scheduler: http://localhost:8080/AspenCoreSearch/scheduler
using the Tomcat username password (admin/admin is the default).
6 Go to the Job that you created, expand it, and open Primary Workflow.
7 Change the AtProcessDataRest.dll method in the Data Source URL field
from ScanAllLocalDataSources to
ScanTagsByLocalDataSource/<datasource> where <datasource> is the
name of the data source.
8 Close Primary Workflow and open Schedule.
9 Schedule the scan by setting clicking the radio button to the left of Every
and select 24 hours for a daily scan.
10 Specify the Starting Date and Time when the Scan Schedule will begin.
11 Scroll up and press Save.
12 The Data Source will be scheduled at the defined interval.
13 Open the Admin interface after this scheduled time has been reached to
see the log of the scan on the All tab.

18 aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes

aspenONE Process Explorer V8.8.1 Release Notes 19