Using Embedded Screens

Introduction

Hello and welcome to a new guide on how to best use Movicon.NExT™.

In this technote, we will use an example to show you how to use embedded screens in Movicon.NExT.

Embedded screens

The philosophy behind embedded screens is one of rendering a container screen to other screens.
To do this, the Movicon.NExT software offers a purpose-built object called Embedded Screen Selection Tab which can be found in the Toolbox Library.
Let’s go into more detail by creating an example to show you how.

Example

Creating the main screen

After having started up the Movicon.NExT editor and created, or loaded, a project, create the Main screen in this way:

• Look for the Screens resource in the project's tree structure in the Project Explorer window and select it.
• Right-click it and select the New option from the menu which opens.
• A New Screen popup will appear through which you can set the screen's main properties. Configure the screen as follows:
• • Width: 1920
  • Height: 1080
  • Name: Main
• Click the OK button to confirm the configuration.

Creating secondary screens

Repeat this procedure to create three more screens and size them as 800x600 and assign them with different background colors. In our example, we will call them screens Screen1, Screen2 and Screen3, and assign them with the red, yellow, and blue background color respectively.

Startup screen configuration

Once you have created the screens, you can change the project’s properties by inserting the Main screen as the project’s startup screen. To do this:

• Select the name of the project from the application's tree structure.
• Open the Properties window.
• Change the following project properties in this way:
• • Startup Page Type: Main Screen
  • Startup Screen Name: Main

Once you have finished configuring the project startup page, click on the Save All icon located on the Movicon.NExT editor’s toolbar at the top to save the project.

Use of the embedded screens

Make sure that the Main screen is open, click on the Toolbox tab on the editor’s far right, next to the properties window, to open the Toolbox library offered by Movicon.NExT.
Go to the Screen Tabs folder and select and drag the Embedded Screen Selection Tab object onto the screen and size it as needed.
Select the object and then open its Properties window and look for the Object Configuration property in the Embedded Screen Tab section.
Click on the three dots to open the object configuration wizard.
Once the wizard has opened, click on the + button to add a row and select Screen1 from the combobox to add it to the object.
Repeat this operation to add rows for Screen2 and Screen3 and click the OK button to confirm.

Save the project by clicking on the Save All icon located on the Movicon.NExT editor’s toolbar at the top.

Runtime Test

Launch the project into runtime by clicking on the Start Runtime button on the toolbar to run a test what you have created.
As soon as the project is loaded in runtime, it will show the Screen1 screen with the possibility to change screens by clicking on the Screen2 or Screen3 tabs at the top.
Substantially, the Embedded Screen Selection Tab allows you to create a screen navigation between different screens automatically using a container screen of other screens.