IoT Tips

Build a Predictive Analytics Model Guide Part 1   Overview   This project will introduce ThingWorx Analytics Builder. Following the steps in this guide, you will create an analytical model, and then refine it based on further information from the Analytics platform. We will teach you how to determine whether or not a model is accurate and how you can optimize both your data inputs and the model itself.   NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete ALL 2 parts of this guide is 60 minutes.      Step 1: Scenario   MotorCo manufactures, sells, and services commercial motors. Recently, MotorCo has been developing a new motor, and they already have a working prototype. However, they've noticed that the motor has a chance to FAIL CATASTROPHICALLY if it's not properly serviced to replace lost grease on a key moving part. In order to prevent this type of failure in the field, MotorCo has decided to instrument their motors with sensors which record vibration. The hope is that these sensors can detect certain vibrations which indicate required maintenance before a failure occurs. MotorCo has decided to utilize ThingWorx Analytics to scan their prototype data for any insights they can gain to address this issue. Challenges: There is a known failure mode of a prototype, but it is not currently possible to predict when the failure might happen Until this failure mode is mitigated, the prototype cannot move into full production While connected data is being monitored, what to do with that data is not currently known The additional sensors are adding to the overall cost of the product   Step 2: Settings   If you manually installed the Analytics extension, then you need to complete the steps below to finalize the connection.  On the ThingWorx Composer Analytics tab, click ANALYTICS BUILDER > Settings. In the Analytics Server field, search for and select your Server Thing Entity, such as AnalyticsServer_Thing or localhost-AnalyticsServer. Click Verify Configuration.   Click Save. WARNING: You MUST CLICK SAVE or the configurations will be lost when you move to Data in the next step.   Step 3: Upload Data   We will now load the data that ThingWorx Analytics will use to generate a model. Download the attached analytics_vibration.zip to your computer. Unzip the analytics_vibration.zip file to access the vibration_data_and_header.csv and vibration_metadata.json files. On the left, click ANALYTICS BUILDER > DATA.   Under Datasets, click New.... The New Dataset pop-up will open.         5. In the Dataset Name field, enter vibration_dataset. 6. In the File Containing Dataset Data section, search for and select vibration_data_and_header.csv. 7. In the File Containing Dataset Field Configuration section, search for and select vibration_metadata.json.   8. Click Submit. Note that it will take a variable amount of time for the data-upload to complete, based on the size of your dataset.              Step 4: Signals   The Signals section of ThingWorx Analytics looks for the most statistically correlated single field in the dataset which relates to your selected goal. This doesn't necessarily indicate that it is the cause of your goal, whether maximizing or minimizing. It just means that the dataset indicates that this single field happens to correlate with the goal that you desire. On the left, click ANALYTICS BUILDER > Signals.   At the top, click New…. A New Signals pop up will open.   3. In the Signal Name field, enter vibration_signal. 4. In the Dataset field, select vibration_dataset. 5. Leave the Goal field set to the default of low_grease. 6. Leave the Filter field set to the default of all_data. 7. Leave the Excluded Fields from Signal field set to the default of empty. 8. Click Submit. 9. Wait ~30 seconds for Signal State to change to COMPLETED The results will be displayed at the bottom.             The results show that the five Frequency Bands for Sensor 1 are the most highly correlated with determining our goal of detecting a low grease condition. For Sensor 2, only bands one and four seem to be at all related, and bands two, three, and five are hardly related at all.   Click here to view Part 2 of this guide. 

Create Industrial Equipment Model Guide   Overview   This project introduces how to model industrial equipment in ThingWorx Foundation. NOTE: This guide’s content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete this guide is 30 minutes.    Step 1: Learning Path Overview   This guide explains the steps to get started modeling industrial equipment in ThingWorx Foundation and is part of the Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment Learning Path. You can use this guide independent from the full Learning Path. Other guides are available for more complete Data Model Introduction. When using this guide as part of the Industrial Plant Learning Path, you should already have ThingWorx Kepware Server installed and sending data to ThingWorx Foundation. In the next guide in the Learning Path, we'll use Foundation's Mashup Builder to construct a GUI that displays information and from ThingWorx Kepware Server. We hope you enjoy this Learning Path.   Step 2: Create Thing Shape   Thing Shapes are components that contain Properties and Services. In Java programming terms, they are similar to an interface. In this section, you will build Thing Shapes for an electric motor. Motor Start on the Browse folder icon tab of ThingWorx Composer. Under the Modeling section of the left-hand navigation panel, hover over Thing Shapes, then click the + button. Type MotorShape in the Name field. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. Click Save.   Add Properties   Click the Properties and Alerts tab at the top of your Thing Shape.   Click + Add. Enter the Property name from the first row of the table below into the Name field of the Thing Shape. Name Base Type Persistent? Logged? serialNumber String X   currentPower Number   X 4. Select the appropriate Base Type from the drop-down menu. 5. Check Persistent and/or Logged according to the table. NOTE: When Persistent is selected, the Property value will be retained when a Thing is saved. Properties that are not persisted will be reset to the default after every Save of the parent Thing. When Logged is selected, every Property value change will be automatically logged to a specified Value Stream. 6. Click ✓+ button. TIP: When adding multiple Properties at once, click Done and Add after each, once you've entered a Name, selected a Base Type and any other criteria. If adding a single Property, click Done. 7. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for the other Properties in the the table. 8. Click the done ✓ Button. You'll see that these Properties have been created for the Motor Thing Shape. 9. Click Save.   Step 3: Create Thing Template   You can create reusable building blocks called Thing Templates in ThingWorx to maintain scalability and flexibility of your application development. With Thing Templates, you define a set of similar objects by specifying the Properties (characteristics) and Services (behaviors) that are common for all the objects. In Java programming terms, a Thing Template is like an abstract class and can be created by extending other Thing Templates. Once a Thing Template is defined and saved in ThingWorx Foundation Server, you can replicate multiple Things to model a complete set without duplicating effort. In this step, you will create a Thing Template that defines Properties for a pump. This pump Template could be used to create multiple Things that each represent a specific pump used in an industrial facility. Start on the Browse folder icon tab on the far left of ThingWorx Composer. Under the Modeling section of the left-hand navigation panel, hover over Thing Templates and click the + button. Type PumpTemplate in the Name field. NOTE: Thing Template names are case-sensitive.       4. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject.       5. In the Base Thing Template box, click + to choose GenericThing as the Template.              6. In the Implemented Shapes field, click the + to select the MotorShape Thing Shape.              7. Click Save.   Add Properties   In this step, you will specify the Properties that represent the characteristics of a Pump. Some Properties like the location may never change (static), while other Properties like power and temperature information may change every few seconds (dynamic). Select the Properties and Alerts tab under Thing Template: PumpTemplate.   Click the Edit button if the Template is not already open for editing, then click + Add next to My Properties. Enter the Property name in the Name field copied from a row of the table below. Name Base Type Persistent Logged PlantID STRING x   plant_lat_long LOCATION x   watts NUMBER x x 4. Select the Base Type of the Property from the drop down menu. 5. Check the appropriate Persistent and Logged check box. NOTE: When Persistent is selected, the Property value will be retained when the parent Thing is saved. Properties that are not persisted will be reset to the default during a system restart and whenever the Thing is saved. When Logged is selected, every Property value change will be automatically logged to a specified Value Stream. 6. Click the ✓+ button. TIP: When adding multiple Properties at once, click Check+ after each, once you've entered a Name, selected a Base Type and any other criteria. If adding a single Property, click Check button. 7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each of the Properties in the rows of the table. 8. After entering the final Property, click the ✓ button. 9. Click Save. You should see the following Properties in your Composer.   In the next guide of this Learning Path, we will create a single Thing based on this Template to represent a specific Pump.     Step 4: Next Steps   Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Create Industrial Equipment Model tutorial, and learned how to: Use Composer to create Thing Shapes and Thing Templates Create Model Tags to keep entities organized   The next guide in the Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment learning path is Build an Equipment Dashboard.    

Build an Equipment Dashboard Guide Part 2   Step 5: Display Data   Now that you have configured the visual part of your application, you need to bind the Widgets in your Mashup to a data source.   Add Services to Mashup   In the top-right, ensure the Data tab is selected. Click the green + symbol. In the Entities Filter field, search for and select MyPump. In the Services Filter field, type GetPropertyValues. Click the right-arrow beside GetPropertyValues. Note how GetPropertyValues was added to the right-side under Selected Services Check the checkbox for Execute on Load. This causes the Service to execute when the Mashup starts.        7. In the Services Filter field, type QueryPropertyHistory. 8. Click the right-arrow beside QueryPropertyHistory. 9. Check the checkbox for Execute on Load. 10. Click Done to close the pop-up. Note how the Services have been added to the Data tab in the top-right.          11. Click Save. Now that we have access to the backend data, we want to bind it to our Widgets.   Value Display   Configure the Value Display to display the SerialNumber of the pump. Under the Data tab, expand GetPropertyValues > Returned Data > All Data. Drag-and-drop GetPropertyValues > serialNumber onto the Value Display Widget in the top section. On the Select Binding Target popup, select Data. Image   We want to use an Image Widget to display a thumbnail picture of the pump for easy reference. To do that, though, you first need to upload an image to Foundation by creating a Media Entity. Right-click the image below, then click "Save image as..." to download. Click Browse > Visualization > Media. Click + New. In the Name field, type pump-thumbnail. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. Under Image, click Change. Navigate to and select the pump-image.png file you just downloaded. On the navigation pop-up, click Open to close the pop-up and confirm the image selection. At the top of Foundation, click Save. Change Image to pump   We will now update the Image Widget to display the ThingWorx Media Entity we just created. Return to the pump-dashboard Mashup. Click the Image Widget to select it, and ensure that the bottom-left Properties tab is active. In the bottom-left Properties' Filter field, type SourceURL. For the SourceURL Property, search for and select pump-thumbnail. Click Save.   Line Chart   Configure the Line Chart to display Property values changing over time. In the top-right Data tab, expand QueryPropertyHistory > Returned Data. Drag and drop QueryPropertyHistory > All Data onto the Line Chart Widget in the bottom-right Canvas section. On the Select Binding Target pop-up, select Data. Ensure the Line Chart Widget is selected. On the Line Chart's Property panel in the bottom-left, in the Filter field, type XAxisField. For the XAxisField Property, select timestamp. In the Filter field, type LegendFilter. Check the checkbox for LegendFilter. Click Save.   Verify Data Bindings   You can see the configuration of data sources bound to Widgets in the bottom-center Connections pane. In the top-right Data tab, click GetPropertyValues. Check the diagram in the bottom-center Connections window to confirm a data source is bound to the Value Display Widget.       2. Also in the top-right Data tab, click QueryPropertyHistory. Confirm that the diagram shows it is bound to the Line Chart.         3. Click Save.     Step 6: Test Application   Browse to your Mashup and click View Mashup to launch the application. NOTE: You may need to enable pop-ups in your browser to see the Mashup. 2. Confirm that data is being displayed in each of the sections. 3. Open the MyPump Thing, then click the Properties and Alerts Tab. 4. Click Set Value on the line of the serialNumber Property. 5. Enter a value for the serial number, then click the Check-mark button. 6. Click Refresh to confirm the value is changed. 7. Refresh the browser window showing the dashboard to see the new serial number value.     Step 7: Next Steps   Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Build an Equipment Dashboard guide, and learned how to: Use Composer to create a Thing Shape and a Thing Template Make a Thing using a custom Thing Template Store Property change history in a Value Stream Create an applicaton UI with Mashup Builder Display data from connected devices Test a sample application   If you like to return to previous guides in the learning path, select Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment.    

Build an Equipment Dashboard Guide Part 1   Overview   This project will introduce you to the principles of ThingWorx Foundation by creating an eqipment dashboard. Following the steps in this guide, you will create the building blocks of your first IoT application, including Things and Streams. We introduce the basics for creating an IoT application. NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete ALL 2 parts of this guide is 30 minutes.    Step 1: Learning Path Overview   This guide explains the steps to create an Industrial Eqipment Dashboard, and is part of the Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment Learning Path. You can use this guide independently from the full Learning Path. If you want to learn the basics of creating an eqipment dashboard with ThingWorx, this guide will be useful to you.When used as part of the Industrial Plant Learning Path, you should already have ThingWorx Kepware Server installed, and it should be sending data to ThingWorx Foundation. You also need to have previously created the Thing Shape and Thing Template used for this dashboard. We hope you enjoy this Learning Path.   Step 2: Create Thing   A Thing is used to digitally represent a specific component of your application in ThingWorx. In Java programming terms, a Thing is similar to an instance of a class. In this step, you will create a Thing that represents an individual Pump using the Thing Template we created in the previous guide. Using a Thing Template allows you to increase development velocity by creating multiple Things without re-entering the same information each time. In ThingWorx Foundation, navigate to Browse > Modeling > Things. Click + New. In the Name field, type MyPump. NOTE: This name, with matching capitalization, is required for the data display created in a later step.       4. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject.       5. In the Base Thing Template field, search for and select the previously-created PumpTemplate.       6. At the top, click Save.          Manage Property Bindings At the top, click Properties and Alerts. At the top, click Manage Bindings. In the top-left Local > Search Things field, search for and select IndConn_Tag1. Drag-and-drop Simulation_Examples_Functions_Random3's + symbol onto the watts Property on the right. At the bottom-right of the pop-up, click Done. Note how the Tag from ThingWorx Kepware Server is now bound to the the watts Property. Click Save. Click Refresh repeatedly to confirm the watts Property value is changing.     Step 3: Store Data in Value Stream   Now that you have created the MyPump Thing to model your application in ThingWorx, you need a storage Entity to record changing Property values. This step shows how to save time-series data in a Value Stream already created in a previous guide. To learn more, refer to the Methods for Data Storage guide. Navigate to Browse > Modeling > Thing Templates. Click the previously-created PumpTemplate Thing Template to open it. Confirm you are on the General Information tab. If necessary, click Edit to allow changes. In the Value Stream field, search for and select IndConn_ValueStream. Click Save.   Step 4: Create Application UI   ThingWorx Foundation is used to create customized web applications that can display and interact with data from multiple sources. These web applications are called Mashups and are created using the Mashup Builder. The Mashup Builder is where you create your web application by dragging and dropping Widgets such as Grids, Charts, Maps, and Buttons onto a Canvas. All of the user interface elements in your application are Widgets. We will build a web application with three Widgets: Image showing a picture of the pump Value Display showing the pump serial number Line Chart showing the value of watts Property trend over time.   Create New Mashup   Navigate to Browse > Visualization > Mashups.   Click + New.   Keep the defaults and click OK.   In the Name field, type pump-dashboard. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. Click Save.   At the top, click Design.   Define Mashup Areas   At the top-left, ensure the Layout tab is selected. Click Add Bottom to split your UI into two halves.   Click the newly-created bottom-half to select it. Click Add Left.   Click the bottom-left container to select it. In the top-left Layout section, scroll down and select Fixed Size.   Type 200 in the Width text box that appeared, then press your keyboard’s Tab key to record your entry.   Add Widgets   In the top-left, click the Widgets tab.   In the Filter field, type image.   Drag-and-drop an Image Widget onto the lower-left area of the central Canvas. This Widget will show an image of the pump in use. 4. In a similar manner to what was just done with the Image Widget, drag-and-drop a Value Display Widget onto the top area. 5. Likewise, drag-and-drop a Line Chart Widget onto the lower-right area.   6. Click Save.          Click here to view Part 2 of this guide. 

    Step 5: Log to Value Stream   Now that you have explored the Properties of IndConn_Tag1, you’ve seen how ThingWorx Kepware Server feeds information to ThingWorx Foundation. To get an even better indication of changes and confirm continued connectivity, we will log the changes to a Value Stream in order to record the values with a TimeStamp.   Create Value Stream   Return to the ThingWorx Foundation New Composer browser. Click Browse. Click Data Storage -> Value Streams. Click + New. In the Choose Template pop-up, select ValueStream. Click OK. Type IndConn_ValueStream in the Name field. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. In the Description field, enter an appropriate description, such as Value Stream to record changes from ThingWorx Kepware Server. Click Save.   Bind Value Stream   Open the IndConn_Tag1 either by clicking on the tab at the top, or by clicking on PTCDefaultProject on the left At the top, select General Information. In the Value Stream field, enter indconn. Select IndConn_ValueStream from the sorted list. At the top, select Properties and Alerts. Click Simulation_Examples_Functions_Random3. A new set of options will expand from the right. Check the box for Persistent. Check the box for Logged. Click the Check button to close the expanded options. Click Save. All changes to the Random3 Tag, fed from ThingWorx Kepware Server, are now stored and TimeStamped in the Simulation_Examples_Functions_Random3 Property.   Step 6: Visualize the Data   We'll now create a Mashup to visualize the record of information from ThingWorx Kepware Server. In ThingWorx Foundation's Browse, click Visualization -> Mashups. Click +New. In the New Mashup pop-up, leave the default selections. Click OK. In the Name field, enter IndConn_Mashup. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. At the top, click Save. At the top, click Design. In the Filter Widgets field at the top-left, enter chart. Drag-and-drop a Line Chart onto the central canvas area. Add Data   On the right-side of the Mashup Builder, click the Data tab. Click the + button on the Data tab.        3. In the Add Data pop-up, enter indconn in the Entity field, overwriting Filter. 4. Select IndConn_Tag1 from the sorted list. 5. In the Filter field below Services, enter queryprop. 6. Click the right arrow button beside QueryPropertyHistory. The QueryPropertyHistory Service of the IndConn_Tag1 Thing will appear on the right in the Selected Services field. 7. Check the box under Execute on Load in the Selected Services field.' 8. Click Done. Note that the QueryPropertyHistory Service now appears on the right side Data tab. 9. Click the arrow to expand QueryPropertyHistory, then click to expand Returned Data. 10. Drag-and-drop All Data from the QueryPropertyHistory Service from the right onto the Time Series Chart in the center. 11. In the Select Binding Target pop-up, select Data.        Configure Chart Properties   In the bottom-left Properties of timeserieschart-1, enter xaxisfield in the Filter Properties field. Expand the drop-down for XAxisField. Select timestamp. Click Save. Click View Mashup. (You may have to enable pop-ups to view the mashup.) The IndConn_Mashup will show you the recorded history of property changes that came from ThingWorx Kepware Server. NOTE: If the Mashup visualization is blank, confirm your connection to IndConn. Return to the Test Connection section of the Bind Industrial Tag step.   Step 7: Next Steps   Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Connect Kepware Server to ThingWorx Foundation guide. You've learned how to: Connect ThingWorx Foundation to ThingWorx Kepware Server Map Tags to Properties     The next guide in the Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment learning path is Create Industrial Equipment Model. 

Configure Permissions Guide Part 2   Step 5: Permissions   These permissions can be accessed on any Entity created on the platform. All Entities have permission control for both design time and run time. Permission Time Control Design time Controls what Users are able to do with Entities themselves while building the solution. Run time Controls what the Users are able to do with the data for an Entity when they use the solution.   Permission Type Description Property Read Read property values Property Write Update property values Service Execute Execute Services in this Entity Event Execute Queue or fire Events in this Entity Event Subscribe Ability to subscribe to Events in this Entity   Access Type Description Allow Allow the User's access to this feature. Deny Deny the User's access to this feature. Inherit Set the User's access to this feature based on permissions in Entities this Entity is based on or the configurations at a higher level.   Add Permissions for an Entity   Once an Entity has been selected for editing, select the Permissions tab. Based on what you would like to edit, select the Visibility, Design Time or Run Time tab. The All Properties, Services, and Events section provides blanket security to all of these features for a User Group or User. The Property, Service, or Event Overrides section is used for any overrides that need to be made for specific features. In the example blow, the User a.jones has the ability to read properties, fire events, and subscribe to events. The User does not have the ability to update a property or execute a Service. In the second section, a.jones is allowed to call the GetConfigurationTable Service (even though he was restricted from doing so in the other section).   To set a permission, filter and select a User/User Group. When their name is in the table, click the Permission Type you would like for this Entity. Default permissions are added to the User or User Group you filtered and selected. This will be full access permissions unless you've changed one of the fields.   Set Permissions Programmatically   In some cases it will be useful to set permissions using a programmable interface. This can be done through a built-in set of services which can be accessed in many different ways including: Internal service call through an entity’s service Service call using the extension framework, or REST API call to a service on the platform. The following is a list of services built into all entities on the platform. Service Name Description AddDesignTimePermission Adds a new design time permission AddRunTimePermission Adds a new run time permission CheckDesignTimePermission Checks to see if an entity has a specific design time permission for the current User CheckDesignTimePermissionForGroup Checks to see if an entity has a specific design time permission for a given User Group CheckDesignTimePermissionForUser Checks to see if an entity has a specific design time permission for a given User CheckPermission Checks to see if the entity has a specific run time permission for the current User CheckTimePermissionForGroup Checks to see if the entity has a specific run time permission for a given User Group CheckDesignTimePermissionForUser Checks to see if the entity has a specific run time permission for a given User DeleteDesignTimePermission Delete a design time permission DeleteRunTimePermission Delete a run time permission GetDesignTimePermission Get a list of design time permissions in Info Table format GetDesignTimePermissionAsJSON Get a list of design time permissions in JSON format GetPermissionsForCurrentUser Get the run time permissions for the current User GetPermissionsForGroup Get the run time permissions for a given User Group GetPermissionsForUser Get the run time permissions for a given User GetRunTimePermissions Get a list of assigned run time permissions in Info Table format GetRunTimePermissionAsJSON Get a list of assigned run time permissions in JSON form SetDesignTimePermissionAsJSON Sets all of the run time permissions for a given Entity to the given JSON list You may want to apply a set of permissions to a large group of Entities at once. This can be done using either the projects or the tags feature on the platform through the EntityServices resource. The EntityServices resource has many useful services in it, but for the purpose of this section, we will only talk about the run time permission service. This will act on all entities with the provided tags or assigned to the given project. Service Name Description SetEntityPermission Sets run time permissions for a set of Entities   Step 6: Application Keys   Application Keys   Application Keys or appKeys are security tokens used for authentication in ThingWorx when not using a standard credentials method of authentication. They are associated with a given user and have all of the permissions granted to the user to which they are associated.   Create an Application Key   Using the Application Key for the default user (Administrator) is not recommended. If administrative access is absolutely necessary, create a user and place the user as a member of the SecurityAdministrators and Administrators user groups. Create the User the Application Key will be assigned to. On the Home screen of Composer click + New. In the dropdown list, click Applications Keys. Use MyAppKey  for the name your Application Key. Set the User Name Reference to a User you created and set the Project field (ie, PTCDefaultProject). The Expiration Date field will default to 1 day. Click Save. A Key ID has been generated and can be used to make secure connections.   IP Whitelisting for Application Keys   One of the features of an Application Key is the ability to set an IP whitelist. This allows the server to specify that only certain IP addresses should be able to use a given Key ID for access. This is a great way to lock down security on the platform for anything that will maintain a static IP address. For example, connected Web-based business systems may have a static IP from which all calls should be made. Similarly, you can use wildcards to specify a network to narrow the range of IP addresses allowed while still offering some flexibility for devices with dynamic IP addresses. Extremely mobile devices should likely not attempt to implement this however as they will often change networks and IP addresses and may lose the ability to connect when the IP whitelist feature is used.   Interact with Application Keys Programmatically   Service Name Description GetKeyID Returns the ID of this application key GetUserName Get the user name associated with this application key IsExpired Returns if this application key is expired ResetExpirationDateToDefault Resets the expiration date of the application key to the default time based on configuration in the UserManagement subsystem SetClientName Sets the client name for this application key SetExpirationDate Sets the expiration date of this application key to a provided date SetIPWhiteList Sets the values for the IP whitelist for this application key SetUserName Sets the associated user name for this application key TIP: To learn more about Application Keys, refer to the Create an Application Key Guide.   Step 7: Organizations   Organizations are hierarchical structures that allow the user to assign visibility to entities in the ThingWorx Model. This model provides the top down structure from the highest level in an organization or department, to the lower levels of said entity. Each level within this structure also allows for users and groups to be added. This provides a greater level of customization to resources within the ThingWorx Composer.   Create an Organization In the ThingWorx Composer, click the + New at the top of the screen. Select Organization in the dropdown. Name your Organization Constructors. Set the Project field (ie, PTCDefaultProject) and click Save Select the Organization tab to see the hierarchy. With the top organization selected, in the Members search bar, search for the user you have created yourself and add them.   Create Organizational Units   Click the green + under the structure you would like to expand. Name your Organization unit UpperManagement. In the Members search bar, search for the user or user group you created and add it. Click Save. Repeat the steps to create the full heirarchy of the organization and its department/unit members.   Setup Entity Visibility   ThingWorx provides added security checks and access control with Entity visibility. Visibility ensures an entity is accessible to members of an organizational unit. Those members will then have access to the entity and the underlying security model determines what specific interaction any users that are members of that organization unit may have with a specific asset. If a user in the system is not granted visibility, then that asset essentially does not exist within that user’s domain. Select the Permissions tab of any custom Thing in Composer. Filter and select Constructors in the Search Organizations field. Click Save. Login Pages for Organization   Creating an Organization automatically creates a login page for you. If you would like to add more to this login screen and customize it to fit your needs, create a Mashup and set it to the Organization's Home Mashup field. If you plan to use a Login Screen, use the View Mashup URL generated from the Login Mashup you create. To view the login page of your application (whether custom or default), type the following URL: [server]/Thingworx/FormLogin/ (ie, localhost/Thingworx/FormLogin/Constructors).     Step 8: Next Steps   Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Configure Permissions guide, and learned how to: Configure and utilize the user access system Control permissions at design time and run time   The next guide in the Getting Started on the ThingWorx Platform learning path is Build a Predictive Analytics Model.    If you are completing the Connect and Configure Industrial Devices and Systems learning path, the next guide is Choose a Connectivity Method.   Learn More   We recommend the following resources to continue your learning experience: Capability Guide Build Design Your Data Model   Additional Resources   If you have questions, issues, or need additional information, refer to: Resource Link Support Help Center    

Create Your Application Guide UI Part 2    Step 4: Bind Data to Widgets   Mashup Data Services allow you to access IoT data so you can push data to the platform's backend as well as pull data into the Mashup itself. In the table below, we describe some common Mashup Data Services that enable that functionality: Service Name Description GetProperties Pulls in a particular Thing's Properties, as well as the associated current values contained within those Properties. GetProperties has an option to automatically update the Mashup whenever a Property value changes. GetPropertyValues Pulls in a particular Thing's Properties and their associated current values. However, it does so in an All Data grouping, opening the possibility of assigning all Properties to the same Widget. This can be helpful with some Widgets, such as the List Widget. SetProperties Pushes a value from some Widget (Checkbox, TextBox, etc.) into the Property of a Thing. NOTE: Using a combination of a "Get" and "Set" Mashup Service establishes a bidirectional communication between the Mashup and the backend IoT data storage.   Import an Entity   In order to focus on the Mashup Builder in this lesson, we have created a Thing for you to download and import. This Thing has predefined Properties and associated Values which will simplify the demonstration of binding data to Widgets in subsequent steps. Download and unzip the attached MBQS_Entities.zip file. In the bottom-left, click the "up/down arrows" for Import/Export, then Import.   In the Import pop-up window, click Browse.   In the OS's pop-up, navigate-to, select, and open the MBQS_Entities.twx file you downloaded earlier.   Click Import.   Click Close.   Retrieve Data   You now have a Thing called MBQSThing from which you can retrieve data. To demonstrate this, we'll use the GetPropertyValues Service. At the top-right of Mashup Builder, click the Data tab.   Click the + symbol.   In the Add Data pop-up window's Entity filter field, type mbqs.   Select the MBQSThing.   In the Services Filter field, type getprop.   Click the right arrow to select GetPropertyValues. The GetPropertyValues Service for MBQSThing has now been added to the Selected Services section on the right side of the Add Data pop-up window. Check the box for Execute on Load under Selected Services. Checking this box causes the GetPropertyValues Service to execute as soon as the Mashup is loaded. 8. Click Done.        9. At the top, click Save. Note how the GetPropertyValues Service now appears in the top-right under the Data tab.   View Data Connections   In the top-left of the Mashup Builder, click the Explorer tab, select the Mashup itself, and you can see the connections between the Mashup and the Data sources.   Mashup Builder Section Description Data Previously empty, now has a reference to the GetPropertyValues Service of the MBQSThing. GetPropertyValues On the Data tab, click GetPropertyValues. The Connections window in the bottom-center will update. Bindings Shows the logical flow of the Mashup. In this instance, it shows how GetPropertyValues is called from the Event triggered by the Mashup being Loaded in a web browser. This means that all Properties of the MBQSThing will be available to the Mashup as soon as your UI is opened.   Bind Widget to Property   Follow the steps below to place a Widget in the Mashup and bind the Property named Gauge_Value (of MBQSThing) to it. On the left-side of the Mashup Builder, select the Widgets tab. In the Filter Widgets search box, type gauge. Drag-and-drop a Gauge Widget onto the central Canvas area.   On the right-side, expand GetPropertyValues > Returned Data > All Data. There is a clear left arrow pointing away from the Gauge_Value Property. This indicates that this Property is to be used to set the value on something else. If the arrow had been pointing towards the Gauge_Value Property, that would indicate that it was ready to accept an external value. The clear status of the arrow indicates that it has not yet been tied to anything.        5. Drag-and-drop MBQSThing > GetPropertyValues > Returned Data > All Data > Gauge_Value onto the Gauge Widget in the central Canvas area.          6. On the Select Binding Target pop-up, select Data.       7. At the top, click Save.       8. Click View Mashup. You must enable pop-ups in order to view the Mashup in a new tab.   In your new Mashup, notice that the Gauge has been set to the Gauge_Value default value of 25. In a real-world scenario, you would likely utilize an IoT sensor that would report back to the Thing storing the value. When the Mashup loads, that value would be set to the real-world sensor data value. In the next few steps, you will build a GUI using several different Widgets and Services.   Click here to view Part 3 of this guide.  

Connect Kepware Server to ThingWorx Foundation Guide Part 1   Overview   This guide has step-by-step instructions for connecting ThingWorx Kepware Server to ThingWorx Foundation. This guide will demonstrate how easily industrial equipment can be connected to ThingWorx Foundation without installing any software on production equipment. NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete ALL 2 parts of this guide is 30 minutes.    Step 1: Learning Path Overview     This guide explains the steps to connect ThingWorx Kepware Server with ThingWorx Foundation and is part of the Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment Learning Path. You can use this guide independently from the full Learning Path. If you want to learn to connect ThingWorx Kepware Server to ThingWorx Foundation, this guide will be useful to you. When used as part of the Industrial Plant Learning Path, you should have already installed ThingWorx Kepware Server and created an Application Key. In this guide, we will send information from ThingWorx Kepware Server into ThingWorx Foundation. Other guides in this learning path will use Foundation's Mashup Builder to construct a website dashboard that displays information and from ThingWorx Kepware Server. We hope you enjoy this Learning Path.   Step 2: Create Gateway   To make a connection between ThingWorx Kepware Server and Foundation Server, you must first create a Thing. WARNING: To avoid a timeout error, create a Thing in ThingWorx Foundation BEFORE attempting to make the connection in ThingWorx Kepware Server. In ThingWorx Foundation Composer, click Browse. On the left, click Modeling -> Things.   Click + NEW. In the Name field, enter IndConn_Server, including matching capitalization. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. In the Description field, enter an appropriate description, such as Industrial Gateway Thing to connect to ThingWorx Kepware Server.   In the Base Thing Template field, enter indus, then select the IndustrialGateway Thing template from the sorted list. Click Save.   Step 3: Connect to Foundation   Now that you’ve created an IndustrialGateway Thing and an Application Key, you can configure ThingWorx Kepware Server to connect to ThingWorx Foundation. Return to the ThingWorx Kepware Server Windows application. Right-click Project. Select Properties….       4. In the Property Editor pop-up, click ThingWorx.       5. In the Enable field, select Yes from the drop-down.       6. In the Host field, enter the URL or IP address of your ThingWorx Foundation server, Do not enter http://       7. Enter the Port number. If you are using the "hosted" Developer Portal trial, enter 443. 8. In the Application Key field, copy and paste the Application Key you just created. 9. In the Trust self-signed certificates field, select Yes from the drop-down. 10. In the Trust all certificates field, select Yes from the drop-down. 11. In the Disable encryption field, select No from the drop-down if you are using a secure port. Select Yes if you are using an http port. 12. Type IndConn_Server in the Thing name field, including matching capitalization. 13. If you are connecting with a remote instance of ThingWorx Foundation and you expect any breaks or latency in your connection, enable Store and Forward. 14. Click Apply in the pop-up. 15. Click Ok. In the ThingWorx Kepware Server Event window at the bottom, you should see a message indicating Connected to ThingWorx.   NOTE: If you do not see the "Connected" message, repeat the steps above, ensuring that all information is correct. In particular, check the Host, Port, and Thing name fields for errors.   Step 4: Bind Industrial Tag   Now that you've established a connection, you can use ThingWorx Foundation to inspect all available information on ThingWorx Kepware Server. ThingWorx Kepware Server includes some information by default to assist you with verifying a valid connection with ThingWorx Foundation. Create New Thing Return to ThingWorx Foundation. Click Browse. Click Modeling -> Industrial Connections.   Click IndConn_Server. At the top, click Discover.   The Discover option is exclusive to Things inheriting the IndustrialGateway Thing Template and displays information coming from ThingWorx Kepware Server. Expand Simulation Examples. Click Functions.   On the right, you’ll see several pre-defined Tags to assist with connectivity testing. Click the checkbox next to Random3. Click Bind to New Entity.   In the Choose Template pop-up, select RemoteThing and click OK.   Finalize New RemoteThing   You’ll now be in an interface to create a new Thing with a predefined Property based on ThingWorx Kepware Server Tag1. Type IndConn_Tag1 in the Name field. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. In the Description field, enter an appropriate description, such as Thing with a property fed from an Kepware Server Tag. The Base Thing Template has been automatically set to RemoteThing. The Implemented Shapes has been automatically set to IndustrialThingShape. 4. Click Save.   Test Connection   The IndConn_Tag1 Thing you created now has a Property with a value that will change with each update from ThingWorx Kepware Server. The Tag1 we utilized is a 'ramp' and therefore, the value will increase at regular intervals. At the top, click Properties and Alerts. Under Inherited Properties, you will see entries for both RemoteThing and IndustrialThingShape. The Property isConnected is checked, indicating a connection from Foundation to ThingWorx Kepware Server. The Property IndustrialThing has been automatically set to IndConn_Server. Notice the predefined Property named Simulation_Examples_Functions_Random3.   Click Refresh repeatedly. You’ll see the value increase with each Refresh. This represents data being simulated in ThingWorx Kepware Server. Click  here to view Part 2 of this guide.  

Configure Permissions Guide Part 1   Overview   This project will introduce you to permissions inside of the ThingWorx platform. Permissions are used to control usage during development, runtime, and experience. Following the steps in this guide, you will be able to create Users, User Groups, Application Keys, and Organizations and tie them together. We will teach you how to create functional permission schemes in the ThingWorx platform to create a secure application and development environment.   NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete ALL 2 parts of this guide is 30 minutes.    Step 1: Completed Example   Download and unzip the completed files attached to this tutorial: PermissionsEntities.zip.   In this tutorial, we walk through security concepts within ThingWorx. Utilize this file to see a finished example and return to it as a reference if you become stuck creating your own fully flushed out application.   Keep in mind, this download uses the exact names for entities used in this tutorial. If you would like to import this example and also create entities on your own, change the names of the entities you create.   Step 2: Common Terms   It is important to understand the terminology before creating Users, Groups, and Permissions: Term Definition Entity Generic name for any of the customizable building blocks inside the ThingWorx Platform User An Entity dedicated to identifying a person or device accessing the platform User Group An Entity that defines role-based permissions for Users in bulk Tags and Projects Mechanisms used to group Entities together by marking them as similar or related Composer The ThingWorx GUI tool for building your solution Resource A collection of Services which are not stateful (i.e. they do not have Properties, Events, etc.); they can be found in Composer under the System category Organization Hierarchical structures that allow you to assign visibility to Entities in the ThingWorx Model     Step 3: Users   Users represent an individual person or connected system. They contain information such as a username, email, and password (Standard Credentials) as well as peripheral information such as Name of the actual person/system/device it was created for. Users can be created, updated, and deleted just like every other Entity.   Create User   In the ThingWorx Composer, click the + New at the top of the screen. Select User in the dropdown. Name the User default_user and add a password. Set the Project field (ie, PTCDefaultProject) and click Save. User-Related Services   There are a few Services available through a resource called EntityServices, that allow you to interact with user entities programmatically.   Once a user has been created, you can interact with it through some built-in Services:     Default Users   There are two key users built into every instance of ThingWorx when initially created.   Administrator: When setting up your platform, you'll use the Administrator user first, because it is the user that will allow you to set up new users and assign them to Administrator or other roles.   NOTE: It is extremely important to reset the Administrator password after your first login. Leaving the default password could allow the system to be compromised in the future.   System User: The System User is created to allow service chaining on a given Thing when a user may not have direct permissions for every part of the chain. It exists so that access to given Services can be granted based on some previous logic instead of direct overarching permissions. For example: if the user is within the building, then trigger a Service, otherwise do not trigger the Service.     Step 4: User Groups   In many IoT solutions there will be a large scale of Users using the system. Because of this it doesn’t make sense to manually set the permissions of every User added to the system. This is why we created User Groups. User Groups provide a role-based approach to permissions and exist to give similar Users the same permissions across multiple Entities on the platform. User groups set permissions exactly the same way as Users do (see next section), but you can simply add a User to a User Group in order to set permissions at scale. For example: Creating a User group such as "Solution Architects" would allow you to do something like set all permissions for design time but limit permissions for run time. Similarly you could create a user group called "Solution Users" who have no design time permissions and specific run time permissions.   Create Group and Add Users   In the ThingWorx Composer, click the + New at the top of the screen. Select User Group in the dropdown. Name your group ExampleGroup. Set the Project field (ie, PTCDefaultProject) and click Save. Click Members to view current members in the group. Filter and select the user you want to add in the Available Members section. Click the arrow on their row or drag the User to the Members section. Click Save. NOTE: Individual user permissions will override group user permissions. In other words, if you initially add a user to a group so they inherit the permissions of the group, you will still be able to customize permissions for an individual user in that group as needed.   User Group Services   There are a few Services available through a resource called EntityServices, that allow you to interact with user group entities programmatically. Service Name Description CreateGroup Creates a new User Group DeleteGroup Deletes a user Group   Once a group has been created you can interact with it through built-in services to add or remove a User. Service Name Description AddMember Adds a User or User Group to this group AssignMembers Adds a list of Users or User Groups to this group DeleteMember Removes a User or User Group from the members of this group     Default User Groups   The platform has a few User Groups included in the platform by default. These are used to set up common roles that are often associated with using the platform and have built in permissions.   Click here to view Part 2 of this guide. 

  How to Display Data in Charts Guide Part 3   Step 6: Configure Charts   You now have a test Thing that has an Info Table Property and Time Series Property with values appropriate for display in various Chart Widgets, as well as a Mashup with those charts inside. However, in order for the Widget to display data, you need to bind it to the data source.   Bring Data into the Mashup   Select the Data tab in the top-right section of Composer.   Click the green + button under Data.   In the Entity Filter field, search for and select DDCThing. In the Services Filter field, type GetProperties. Click the right-arrow beside GetProperties The GetProperties Service will now appear on the right under Selected Services. Check the Execute on Load box under Selected Services. This will cause the GetProperties Service to execute as soon as the Mashup is loaded.   6. In the Services Filter field, type QueryPropertyHistory. 7. Click the right-arrow beside QueryPropertyHistory. 8. Check the Execute on Load box under Selected Services. 9. Click Done to close the Add Data pop-up window.   Drag-and-Drop Data Bindings   Under the Data tab, expand the Things_DDCThing > GetProperties service.   Drag GetProperties > InfoTableProperty to the Pie Chart Widget in the top-left section of the Canvas.           3. On the Select Binding Target pop-up, select Data. 4. Repeat steps 2-3 for the Label, Proportional, and Bubble charts. Note that the Bubble chart will be bound to DataSource1 rather than Data.     5. Drag-and-drop QueryPropertyHistory > Returned Data > All Data to the Line Chart Widget in the bottom-middle section of the Canvas. 6. On the Select Binding Target pop-up, select Data. 7. Repeat steps 5-6 for the Event Chart in the bottom-right of the Canvas.   Configure Chart Properties   Click the Pie Chart in the top-left of the Canvas to select it. In the bottom-left section of Composer, showing the Properties of the Pie Chart, type LabelField in the Filter Properties field. For the LabelField drop-down, select Label.   In the Filter Properties window, type ValueField. In the ValueField drop-down, select Value.       Repeat steps 1-5 for each of the other charts, making the following Widget Property changes: Chart Property Setting Label XAxisField XAxis Label DataField1 Data Proportional XAxisField XAxis Proportional DataField 1 ASensor Proportional DataField 2 BSensor Proportional DataField 3 CSensor Bubble XAxisField1 XValue Bubble YAxisField1 YValue Bubble BubbleValueField1 BubbleValue Line XAxisField timestamp Event XAxisField timestamp Event LabelField TimeSeriesProperty 7. At the top, click Save. 8. Click View Mashup.     Step 7: Next Steps   Congratulations!  In this guide, you learned how to:   Create a Data Shape to format an Info Table Create a Value Stream to record Property Value changes Create a Thing with an Info Table Property and a Time Series Property Create a Mashup with various Chart Widgets Link your Thing's Properties to the Chart Widgets   This is the last guide in the Customize UI and Display Options to Deploy Applications learning path.    Additional Resources   If you have questions, issues, or need additional information, refer to:   Resource Link Community Developer Community Forum Support Widget Help Center    

  How to Display Data in Charts Guide Part 2   Step 4: Create Thing   In order for the Mashup to pull data into the display, you first need to create an Entity. In this example, we utilize a Thing with an Info Table Property, as well as a Time Series Property. We’ll use the DataShape we created in the last step to format the Info Table Property. Then, we'll assign the Info Table Property some default values to display in our non-time-series charts.We will change the values of the Time Series Property (which will record them to the Value Stream) for display in our time-series charts.   Info Table Property   From the Browse tab of ThingWorx Composer, click Modeling > Things, + New.   In the Name field, enter DDCThing. If Project is not set, search for and select PTCDefaultProject. In the Base Thing Template field, search for and select GenericThing. In the Value Stream field, search for and select DDCValueStream.   At the top, click Properties and Alerts.   Click + Add. In the Name field, enter InfoTableProperty. Select INFOTABLE from the Base Type drop-down. In the Data Shape field, search for and select DDCDataShape. Check the Persistent checkbox.   First Default Value   Check the box for Has Default Value. A new DDCDataShape button will appear under Has Default Value. 2. Click the new DDCDataShape button under Has Default Value. 3. Click + Add. 4. Enter the following values for each field: Field Value PrimaryKey 1 Label A - 25% Value 25 XAxis 1 Data 5 ASensor 5 BSensor 3 CSensor 1 XValue 1 YValue 5 BubbleValue 7     3. At the bottom-right of the pop-up, click the green Add button to apply the first Default Values.   Second Default Value   Click + Add. Enter the following values for each field: Field Value PrimaryKey 2 Label B - 35% Value 35 XAxis 2 Data 10 ASensor 10 BSensor 6 CSensor 2 XValue 2 YValue 10 BubbleValue 9   3. At the bottom-right of the pop-up, click the green Add button to apply the second Default Values.   Third Default Value   Click + Add. Enter the following values for each field: Field Value PrimaryKey 3 Label C - 40% Value 40 XAxis 3 Data 20 ASensor 15 BSensor 9 CSensor 3 XValue 3 YValue 20 BubbleValue 14     3. At the bottom-right of the pop-up, click the green Add button to apply the third Default Values. 4. At the bottom-right of the pop-up, click the green Save button to close the pop-up.   Time Series Property   At the top-right, click the "Check with a +" button for Done and Add. In the Name field, enter TimeSeriesProperty. Change the Base Type to NUMBER. Check the Persistent checkbox. Checking this box causes the last Value entered into the Property to persist through reboots of the system. Check the Logged box. Checking this box causes all changes to the Property to be logged if you have a Value Stream defined to record the changes. 6. At the top-right, click the "Check" button for Done.   7. At the top, click Save.   If the DDCThing's TimeSeriesProperty changes from this point onward, it will now be recorded in the DDCValueStream. Normally, any changes would come from an Edge IoT sensor of some type, but for the purposes of this guide, we will manually change the value repeatedly to simulate these types of changes.   Set 5   Under TimeSeriesProperty's Value column, click the "pencil" button for Set value of property.   In the slide-out at the top-right, enter 5.   At the top-right, click the "Check" button for Done.   Set 10   Under TimeSeriesProperty's Value column, click the "pencil" button for Set value of property. In the slide-out at the top-right, enter 10.   At the top-right, click the "Check" button for Done.   Set 15   Under TimeSeriesProperty's Value column, click the "pencil" button for Set value of property. In the slide-out at the top-right, enter 15.   At the top-right, click the "Check" button for Done. Set 20   Under TimeSeriesProperty's Value column, click the "pencil" button for Set value of property. In the slide-out at the top-right, enter 20.   At the top-right, click the "Check" button for Done. Set 25   Under TimeSeriesProperty's Value column, click the "pencil" button for Set value of property. In the slide-out at the top-right, enter 25.   At the top-right, click the "Check" button for Done. At the top, click Save.   Step 5: Create Mashup   Before we can bind the data to the various Chart Widgets, we first have to create a Mashup and add the charts to it. From the Browse tab of ThingWorx Composer, click Visualization > Mashups, + New.   Keep the default of Responsive, and click OK.   In the Name field, enter DDCMashup.   If Project is not set, search for and select PTCDefaultProject. At the top, click Save.   At the top, click Design.   Divide the Mashup   On the top-left under the Layout section, click two times on Add Left.   With the left-third selected in the central Canvas window, click Add Bottom.   With the middle-third selected in the central Canvas window, click Add Bottom. With the right-third selected in the central Canvas window, click Add Bottom.   At the top, click Save. Add the Charts   At the top-left, click on the Widgets tab.   Search for pie inside the Filter Widgets field in the top-left. Drag-and-drop a Pie Chart Widget onto the top-left section of the Canvas.   In the top-left, change Category to Legacy, and search for label chart inside the Filter Widgets field in the top-left. Drag-and-drop a Label Chart Widget onto the top-middle section of the Canvas. Note that, even the Label Chart is a Legacy Widget, it will still work. 6. Change Category back to Standard, and search for proportional inside the Filter Widgets field in the top-left. 7. Drag-and-drop a Proportional Chart Widget onto the top-right section of the Canvas. 8. Search for bubble inside the Filter Widgets field in the top-left. 9. Drag-and-drop a Bubble Chart Widget onto the bottom-left section of the Canvas. 10. Search for line inside the Filter Widgets field in the top-left. 11. Drag-and-drop a Line Chart Widget onto the bottom-middle section of the Canvas.   12. Search for event inside the Filter Widgets field in the top-left. 13. Drag-and-drop a Event Chart Widget onto the bottom-right section of the Canvas.   14. Click Save.   Click here to view Part 3 of this guide.   

How to Display Data in Charts Guide Part 1   Overview   This project will introduce various Chart Widgets. Following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to graphically represent multiple data points simultaneously. We will teach you how to utilize the Pie, Label, Proportional, Bubble, Time Series, and Event Charts. NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete ALL 3 parts of this guide is 60 minutes.    Step 1: Introduction   As an IoT application developer, there are times when you want to display multiple data points simultaneously. In this situation, it is often helpful to make use of one of the various Chart Widgets. This guide will discuss the following Chart Widget options: *Old widget = no web component replacement Pie – old widget Label (Legacy) Proportional – old widget Bubble – old widget Line – new web component Event – old widget Before you can display this information in your UI, you need to first configure the ThingWorx system to store those values. For the time-series charts (including both the Line and Event Charts), you need to store information in a time-series friendly manner. In this case, we’ll use a Value Stream to store Property value changes. We’ll use an Info Table (similar to a spreadsheet) to track the values for the non-time-series charts (Pie, Label, Proportional, and Bubble).   Step 2: Create Data Shape   Many data structures in ThingWorx require a Data Shape to format their values. This is true for a Stream, a Data Table, and an Info Table. We'll be using an Info Table in this example. NOTE: Any time you use an Info Table, you must first define a Data Shape. From the Browse tab of ThingWorx Composer, click Modeling > Data Shapes, + New.   In the Name field, enter DDCDataShape.   If Project is not already set, search for and select PTCDefaultProject.  At the top, click Field Definitions.   Click + Add. In the Name field, enter PrimaryKey. Change Base Type to INTEGER. Check the Is Primary Key box. The primary key is used to uniquely identify a row of data. DataShapes used for DataTable configuration must have a primary key. 9. Click the "Check with a +" button for Done and Add. 10. In the Name field, enter Label. 11. Leave Base Type as the default of STRING. 12. Click the "Check with a +" button for Done and Add. 13. Repeatedly add additional fields, each with a Base Type of NUMBER, until all of the following Field Definitions have been entered: Value XAxis Data ASensor BSensor CSensor XValue YValue BubbleValue Note that you'll want to click the "Check" button for Done after entering the last definition. 14. Click Save.    Step 3: Create Value Stream   An easy way to record changes to a Thing Property is via enabling the Logged functionality. However, without a place in which to log the changes, logging the Property does nothing. One way in which to create a storage location for Property changes is a Value Stream. On the ThingWorx Composer Browse tab, click Data Storage > Value Streams, + New.   In the Choose Template pop-up, select ValueStream and click OK.   In the name field, enter DDCValueStream.   If Project is not already set, search for and select PTCDefaultProject.  At the top, click Save.   Click here to view Part 2 of this guide. 

  Create Your Application Guide UI Part 5    Step 7: Test Your GUI   At this point in the lesson, your Mashup now contains: Graphics to represent data Data Logical connections between the graphical elements and the data   Run Application   Execute the following steps to test that your application works as expected. Click the View Mashup button at the top. You may have to disable your pop-up blocker to load the Mashup in a new browser tab.   2. Wait and observe the Mashup for at least 20 seconds, clicking the Manually Retrieve Counts button regularly. NOTE: The values in the Mashup will increase roughly every 10 seconds, after you press the button to manually retrieve them. This happens because the Thing you imported earlier is simulating data and the work already done by the Edge and Backend Developers in this scenario. In this simulation, different production lines are continually producing new inventory, and that information is being fed into ThingWorx Foundation. As the count for each production line reaches 100, the batch is shipped out, and the count resets to 0 for the next iteration. 3. Check the Gears Manually Set Checkbox, change the Gears Count Text Field to read 7, and click the Manually Set Counts button. After 10+ seconds have passed, click the Manually Retrieve Counts button again. NOTE: This simulates a situation where an IoT sensors in the inventory warehouse has failed. Maybe it's over or under-counting inventory. Maybe there's a network issue. Maybe the sensor has simply stopped working entirely. Regardless, the warehouse floor has contacted a user of your GUI, and asked them to manually set the inventory to the correct amount. Performing Step 4 is all that is required to do so. As long as the Gears Manually Set checkbox is active, the inventory does not increase on the 10 second timer. This is to prevent a malfunctioning sensor from providing incorrect data to your GUI. 4. Uncheck the Gears Manually Set Checkbox and click Manually Set Counts. NOTE: The Gears Count starts increasing again after 10 seconds have passed. Remember to click the Manually Retrieve Counts button to see this change. This represents the previously-malfunctioning IoT sensor having been repaired.   Spend some time interacting with your Mashup GUI to get a better sense of its functionality. For the purposes of this exercise, this is a Minimum Viable Product. After testing it and getting feedback from your users, you would likely make further enhancements.   Collect Feedback   When testing your GUI, it is a best practice to collect feedback from users regarding your design, so that you can improve the experience with your application. Example User Feedback Possible Resolution Manually Set Counts button is too easy to accidentally press. Implement a Confirmation pop-up. Manually Retrieve Counts button is not ideal, should automate Remove the manual button and implement auto-update functionality instead. Manually Set Checkboxes have confusing names. Change the text to read Disabled, indicating that the sensor-input is being ignored. User wants to use your GUI on their smartphone and on a desktop computer. Re-implement the GUI using a Responsive (rather than Static) Mashup, so that there isn’t as much dead space on larger-resolution screens. User wants a visual indication of each inventory line amount at which the pallet is shipped out. Instead of using TextBoxes to show the current inventory counts, you could implement them as Gauges, showing a minimum and maximum amount that is easy to see at-a-glance.   Now that we've gotten some feedback, let's implement one such change-request as an example.   Enhance your GUI   Set up GetProperties to automatically update whenever data changes instead of using a button to manually retrieve the data. Close your MVP Mashup browser-tab and return to the Mashup Builder. Click the button-manual-retrieve Widget to select it.   Hit your keyboard's Delete key.   Click Yes in the Remove the selected widgets? pop-up window.   Click the green </> button beside Things_MBQSThing in the top-right Data tab.   6. In the Services Filter field, type getprop. 7. Click the right-arrow beside GetProperties. Be sure to select GetProperties, not GetPropertyValues. 8. Check the Execute on Load checkbox. 9. Click Done. 10. In the Data tab on the top-right, expand the newly-added GetProperties Service. 11. Drag-and-drop Gears_Count onto textbox-gears-count. 12. On the Select Binding Target popup, click Text. 13. On the Confirm Binding Replace pop-up, click Yes. 14. Repeat steps 11-13 for Pistons_Count and Wheels_Count onto their respective TextBox Widgets. 15. Drag-and-drop Gears_Count_Manually_Set onto checkbox-gears-manual. 16. On the Select Binding Target popup, click State. 17. On the Confirm Binding Replace pop-up, click Yes. 18. Repeat steps 15-17 for Pistons_Count_Manually_Set and Wheels_Count_Manually_Set onto their respective Checkboxes. 19. Click the GetProperties Service to select it. 20. In the bottom-right Data Properties section, check the Automatically update values when able box. 21. Click Save. 22. Click View Mashup.   You have now enhanced your MVP Mashup based on user feedback. The Counts in each TextBox will automatically update whenever there is a change in the Property values, as requested. ThingWorx Foundation provides a platform that allows you to quickly create a GUI for your IoT application in an extremely flexible and agile manner. The options to continue to improve your GUI are entirely up to you.   Step 8: Next Steps   Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Create Your Application UI guide, and learned how to: Create new Mashups Choose a Static or Responsive layout Add Widgets to your Mashup Bind data Services to Widgets in your Mashup Create a functional GUI with applied usage of Widgets and Service   The next guide in the Customize UI and Display Options to Deploy Applications learning path is Basic Mashup Widgets.    Learn More   We recommend the following resources to continue your learning experience: Capability Guide Build Data Model Introduction   Additional Resources   If you have questions, issues, or need additional information, refer to: Resource Link Community Developer Community Forum Support Mashup Builder Support Help Center    

Create Your Application Guide UI Part 1    Overview   This project will introduce the ThingWorx Mashup Builder. Following the steps in this guide, you will learn how to use this tool to create a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for your IoT Application. We will teach you how to rapidly create and update a Mashup, which is a custom visualization built to display data from devices according to your application's business and technical requirements. NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete ALL 5 parts of this guide is 30 minutes.    Step 1: Create New Mashup   The Mashup Builder is a drag-and-drop environment with a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) interface. With the Mashup Builder you can quickly and easily create a visualization of your IoT data. In this step, we'll explain various options to customize your application GUI. Click Browse > VISUALIZATION > Mashups.   Click + New. You are now on the New Mashup pop-up window.           Layout Options When creating your UI, you must choose whether you want a Responsive, Static, or Responsive (Advanced) Mashup, depending on the resolutions of the displays you want your application users to utilize when running your application. Mashup Layout Description When to Use Responsive Expands to the resolution of the display in an even more dynamic manner than the Responsive (Legacy) option. Previously-labeled as Responsive (Advanced), this is now the default option with modifications to the Mashup Builder interface versus previous versions. For instance, divisions such as a header or footer are available with the Template options at the bottom of the pop-up. Static (Legacy) Sized to the dimensions that you define. Static Mashups are appropriate when your users have a standard device on which they’ll be utilizing your application, such as a smartphone or tablet. When displayed in a lower resolution you will see scroll bars, in a higher resolution there will be unused space around the Mashup. Responsive (Legacy) Expands to the resolution of the display without leaving any unused space around the Mashup. Responsive Mashups should be utilized when you anticipate that users will interface with your application through various-sized screens. Responsive Mashups should always be tested at various resolutions to ensure optimum display of your IoT data.   Keep the default of Responsive (with NO Responsive Templates chosen), and click OK in the pop-up window. In the Name field, enter appui_mashup.   If the Project is not already set, search for and select PTCDefaultProject.  At the top, click Save.   At the top, click Design. This is the Mashup Builder user interface we will use for the remainder of this guide.              6. On the left, click the "left arrow" Collapse icon to cause the Composer Navigation to slide-out, revealing more room for the Mashup Builder interface.         Step 2: Mashup Builder Sections Now that you've launched the Mashup Builder, you'll need an understanding of the layout and configuration options.     NOTE: Section 1 in the top-left has a drop-down arrow you can click to reveal additional sections if your screen resolution is too small to show all of Widgets, Layout, and Explorer. There is also the Mashups tab in Section 1, but it is not covered in this guide.   Mashup Builder Section Description 1a Widgets Widgets provides a list of every graphical element within the platform. There are a wide variety of selections, from grids to graphs to text boxes to buttons. There is also a Filter Widgets field where you can enter the name of a particular Widget to sort the list. 1b Layout Layout is used to divide your Mashup into logical sub-sections. 1c Explorer Explorer allows you to reach any individual element of a Mashup. This can be helpful when multiple Widgets are overload on top of each other in the central Canvas window, making it difficult to click on them individually. 2 Canvas This is an area into which you can drag-and-drop Widgets to your desired location to build your application UI. You can also drag-and-drop data onto the Widgets in the Canvas. 3a Data Data is fundamental to any Mashup that wants to display ThingWorx IoT data, as it allows you to bind backend-data to particular Widgets. 3b Session Session provides access to Session Parameters, which are similar to global variables that may be used across multiple Mashups, such as cookies or security information for a logged-in User. 3c User User provides access to the User Extensions. User Extensions are the Properties of the logged-in User and can be used on the Client side and/or the Server side. 4a Properties Properties displays the Properties for the selected Mashup or Widget. These Properties allow you to perform a variety of modifications to Widgets, such as setting its exact position. 4b Style Properties Style Properties are a sub-set of Properties dealing with items such as changing color. 5a Bindings As data connections are made to various Widgets, the Bindings window will show these links in an easy-to-understand 'arrow' format. For instance, if a button press causes a Thing’s Service to be called, then you’ll see a connection from the Button Widget’s *Clicked* Event over to the Thing’s Service. 5b Reminders Reminders points out issues with your Mashup, such as unbound but required Properties, which often must be fixed before the Mashup can be saved. 6a Data Properties Data Properties displays properties of the selected data element. This can be helpful, for instance, when you want something to be triggered only when something else has completed. In that scenario, you’d look for the ServiceInvokeCompleted Event in this bottom-right area. 6b Functions Functions provides the ability to write custom business logic within the Mashup itself.   Step 3: Introducing Widgets   The primary way in which you'll create the GUI for your IoT application is with Widgets. Widgets are self-contained graphical elements that you can drag-and-drop onto the central Canvas area. Once placed on the Canvas, you can: Modify Widget layout Resize Widgets Bind Data to Widgets Combining several Widgets together will allow you to quickly and easily create a functional GUI for your IoT application. Widget Name Widget Example Picture Description Button   The Button Widget triggers an Event when it is clicked. Typically, this Event will be used to trigger a Service to either push or pull data from the platform’s backend. Checkbox   The Checkbox Widget provides a simple box which can be either set or not-set. You primarily use a Checkbox when you’re setting or displaying Boolean data. Gauge   The Gauge Widget provides a more “graphically interesting” way to display a numerical value. You can set the minimum and maximum values which a Gauge displays, or style a Gauge so that different areas are different colors. Label   The Label Widget displays a non-user-interactable string within your Mashup. You can use this to create headings or descriptions for parts of your Mashup. Text Field   The Text Field Widget is a small, one-line area into which you can either accept an input string from the User or display a string from the platform’s backend. Combining a few of the basic Widgets described above allows you to create a Mashup for your IoT application. However, without data being supplied to these Widgets from the platform's backend, they're just pretty graphics. In the next section, we will introduce a few of the Mashup Services that enable bidirectional data flow between your GUI and device data.   Click here to view Part 2 of this guide.     

  Basic Mashup Widgets Guide Part 2    Step 3: Slider   A Slider allows your application users to interactively select a numeric value. When the user changes the position of the slider bar, an event is fired and the value property is changed. On the New Mashup tab, enter slider inside the Filter field in the top left. Drag-and-drop the Slider widget onto the top-right Container of your Mashup. 3. In the lower panel of the left dock, scroll to the Maximum property and change the value to 1000. 4. Change the Value property to 500 set the default position of the slider.   Add Value Display To demonstrate the Slider functionality we will add a Value Display Widget within the same Container of your Mashup as the Slider and bind the slider widget output to the input of the Value Display.         1. In the Filter field where you entered slider, enter value.        2. Drag-and-drop a Value Display widget onto the same upper-right Container as the Slider widget. 3. Click the drop-down arrow on the left side of the Slider widget. 4. Click and drag the Value property listed in the Slider drop-down onto the Value Display widget. 5. Click the Data property that is available from the Select Binding Target pop-up. 6. Click Save to save your Mashup. 7. Click View Mashup then adjust the slider to see the changing value shown in the Value Display widget.             Many properties are available that give control over how a Slider widget will be displayed. Properties can be changed both statically when designing the Mashup, and dynamically in response to changes in property values.   Bindable Name Type Default Direction Description Value Number 0 Input/Output Value defined by position of Slider that can be used by downstream widgets or services Minimum Number 0 Input/Output Value for left-most position of Slider, bottom-most position of Vertical Slider Maximum Number 100 Input/Output Value for right-most position of slider, top-most position of Vertical Slider HandleSize Number 34 Input Size in pixels of the slider handle Visible Boolean True Input Widget is visible if set to true StepSize Number 1 Input Smallest change in value when slider is moved   Static Name Type Default Direction DisplayName String None Name used for widget in user-facing interactions Description String None Description used for widget in user-facing interactions HandleIcon None/Circle/Split Circle Slider handle style SliderBar Thick/Thin Thick Slider bar style SteppingMode Boolean False When True, moves the slider by Step amount toward the click on the Slider bar TrackingMode Boolean False When True, the slider generates events as it changes value. Use with caution, this mode generates many events rapidly. DisplayMinMaxLabels Boolean True When enabled, displays the minimum and maximum values of the slider DisplayValueLabel Boolean True When enabled, displays the value of the slider   Widget Events Name Description ValueChanged Fired when Slider Value changes   Widget Services Name Description Increment Increase value of Slider by Step amount Decrement Decrease value of Slider by Step amount     Step 4: Toggle Button   A Toggle Button widget is used when a Mashup user may select only one choice from two options. On the Widgets tab in the top-left, enter button in the Filter field. Drag-and-drop the Toggle Button widget onto the lower left container of the mashup.   Scroll to the State property in the lower panel of the left dock where Toggle Button widget properties are shown. Click the check box to set the default state to true.   Add Value Display To demonstrate the toggle Button, we will add a Value Display Widget to the same Mashup container and bind the toggle Button State property to be shown by the Value Display. Drag-and-drop a Value Display Widget onto the same lower left container of the Mashup where the Toggle Button was placed. Click the drop-down arrow on the left side of the Toggle Button Widget. Click and drag the State property listed in the drop-down onto the Value Display Widget and a Select Binding Target pop-up will appear.  Click the Data property that is available from the Value Display Widget. Click Save to save your Mashup so it can be tested. Click View Mashup then click the Toggle Button to see the value of the button shown in the Value Display Widget.   Other properties are available to provide control over how a Toggle Button Widget will be displayed. Properties can be changed both statically when designing the Mashup, and dynamically in response to changes in property values.   Bindable Name Type Default Direction Description State boolean false Input/Output Value of toggle, can be used by downstream Widgets or Services Label String None Input Text that is displayed next to toggle button Visible Boolean True Input Widget is visible if set to true   Static Name Type Default Description DisplayName String auto-generated Name used to identify Widget in Mashup Builder Description String None Description used for Widget in user-facing interactions Height number autosize Sets the height of the widget in pixels LabelAlignment Left/Right Left Where label is shown relative to toggle button   Widget Events Name Description StateChanged Fired when user clicks the button   Click here to view Part 3 of this guide.

  Basic Mashup Widgets Guide Part 3   Step 5: Gauge   A Gauge is best for displaying a quickly readable approximate value. Select the Widgets tab in the uppper panel of the left dock, then enter gauge inside the Filter field in the top left. Drag-and-drop the Gauge widget onto the bottom-center container. We will now bind the Slider to the Gauge. Click the Slider Widget in the top-right Container. Click the drop-down arrow on the left side of the Slider widget. Click and drag the Value property listed in the Slider drop-down onto the Gauge widget.   Click the # Data property that is available from the Select Binding Target pop-up.   Click Save to save your Mashup. Click View Mashup then adjust the slider to the left to see the changing value shown on the widget. Many properties are available that give control over how the Gauge widget will be displayed. Many properties can be changed both statically when designing the mashup, and dynamically in response to changes in property values.   Bindable Name Type Default Direction Description Data Number None Input Value displayed by gauge indicator MinValue Number 0 Input Value used for lowest gauge display MaxValue Number 100 Input Value used for highest gauge display Legend String None Input Text Shown under Gauge ToolTipField String None Input Text shown when mouse hovers over gauge Visible Boolean True Input Widget is visible if set to true   Static Name Type Default Description DisplayName String None Name used for widget in user-facing interactions Description String None Description used for widget in user-facing interactions MinorTicks Number 4 Number of minor ticks per interval TickLength Number 8 Tick mark length MinorTickLength Number 4 Minor tick length ValueDisplayMode None/Top/Bottom/Inside None Location on gauge where numeric value is shown. LabelDigits Number 3 Number of digits for label display LabelDecimals Number 0 Number of decimals for label display ValueDigits Number 3 Number of digits for value display ValueDecimals Number 0 Number of decimals for value display LegendDisplayMode None/Top/Bottom None Location on gauge where Legend is displayed ReferenceAngle Number 225 Angle that controls the gauge orientation (degrees) Aperture Number 270 Angle that controls the gauge size (degrees) NeedleDiameter Number 10 Diameter of the gauge needle (pixels) CenterDiameter Number 20 Diameter of the gauge center (pixels) GaugeBorder Number 20 Width of the outside gauge border (pixels)     Step 6: Grid Advanced   A Grid Advanced widget is used to display data to a mashup user in a table Select the Widgets tab in the uppper panel of the left dock, then enter grid inside the Filter field in the top-left. Drag-and-drop the Grid Advanced widget onto the top-left container on your Mashup that already has the Button Widget. Add Data Source   Before you can customize the Grid display, you must first bind an Infotable to the Grid's Data property. In this example we will use the QueryImplementingThingsWithData Service to bind a group of Things created with the same Template. We have created a file with sample entities for this exercise. Download the attached demoTractors.xml. Click Import/Export in the lower left of Composer, then select Import   Click From File in the drop down, then Browse. Browse to the demoTractors.xml file and click Open. Click Import, then Close after entities are successfully imported. Click the green + button in the Data tab on the right side of the Mashup Builder window. In the Select Entity panel click Thing Templates from the drop down.   Scroll through the available Thing Templates and select the Connected Tractors Template that was imported. Enter query into the filter text box then click the arrow to the right of QueryImplementingThingsWithData. Click the Execute on Load check box, this option will execute the QueryImplementingThingsWithData Service when the Mashup is loaded.   Click Done. Click the arrow icon to expand QueryImplementingThingsWithDate, and Returned Data. Click and drag All Data onto the Grid widget.   Click Data in the Select Binding Target pop-up.   NOTE: The Grid widget now shows Property names in the column headers.  15. Click the drop down in the upper left of the Grid widget, then click Configure Grid Columns to show the Configure Grid Columns pop-up. 16. Uncheck the check box next to the property names in the left-hand panel that you don't want shown in the Grid. NOTE: You can drag and drop the property names to change the display order. You can customize Column names and formatting by making changes in this window. 17. Click Done when you are satisfied with the column formatting options. 18. Click Save to save your Mashup. 19. Click View Mashup.         In addition to properties that give control over how a Grid widget will be displayed, the scroll position of a Grid can be read in the CurrentScrollTop property and can be set with the ScrollTop property.   Bindable Name Type Default Direction Description Data Infotable None Input The data that is displayed in the Grid EditedTable Infotable None Output The data that is in the Grid after a user edit CurrentScrollTop Number 0 Output How far down (in pixels from the top of the full data list) the Grid is currently scrolled ScrollTop Number 0 Input How far down (in pixels from the top of the full data list) the Grid will be scrolled. Visible boolean true Input Widget is visible if set to true   Static Name Type Default Description DisplayName String None Name used for widget in user facing interactions Description String None Description used for widget in user facing interactions RowFormat StateDefinition None Specify a State Formatter to control display of the data in each grid row AlignHeader Boolean False When enabled, align column headers with their data MultiSelect Boolean False allow multiple items to be selected IsEditable Boolean False Allow grid value editing in Configure Grid Columns pop-up AutoSelectFirstRow Boolean False Automatically select the first row upon initial loading of data. CellTextWrapping Boolean False Enable or disable text wrapping within the grid cells. TabSequence Number 0 Tab sequence index   Widget Events Name Description DoubleClicked Fired when user double clicks on the grid   Step 7: Next Steps   Congratulations on completing the guide!   The next guide in the Customize UI and Display Options to Deploy Applications learning path is Define Your UI Style.    If you have questions, issues, or need additional information, refer to: Resource Link Experience ThingWorx Application Development Reference Community Developer Community Forum Support Button Widget Help Center Support Slider Widget Help Center Support Gauge Widget Help Center Support Advanced Grids (Themable) Help Center    

Basic Mashup Widgets Guide Part 1    Overview   This project will introduce how to use some basic Widgets in a Mashup. Following the steps in this guide, you will create a Mashup that reacts to user input using a Button, Toggle Button, and Slider Widget. We will also teach you how to display data to users with the Grid Advanced, Gauge, and Property Display widgets. NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete ALL 3 parts of this guide is 60 minutes.    Step 1: Create Mashup   Build Mashup Click the Browse folder icon on the top left of ThingWorx Composer. Select Mashups in the left-hand navigation, then click + New to create a new Mashup.        3. For Mashup Type select Responsive. NOTE: A Responsive Mashup scales with a browser’s screen size. In the steps below we will create 5 containers, one for each widget, to organize how the widgets are presented.          4. Click OK. 5. Enter a name for your Mashup. 6. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. 7. Click Save. 8. Select the Design tab to display Mashup Builder. 9. Select the Layout tab in the upper panel of the left dock. 10. Click Add Bottom to split the Mashup canvas into two halves. 11. Click inside the bottom container to selected it, then click Add Left. 12. Click inside the bottom-right container to select it, then click Add Right. 13. Click inside the top container to select it, then click Add Right again. You should now have 5 containers in two rows, ready to have widgets added.   Step 2: Button   A button allows users to trigger an action, or stop and start long-running processes. Select the Widgets tab in the uppper panel of the left dock, then enter button inside the Filter field in the top-left. Drag-and-drop the Button widget onto the upper left container.        3. Click the drop-down arrow on the left side of the Button widget. 4. Click and drag the Clicked service shown in the drop-down onto a free area of the Mashup canvas.         5. When the Select Service pop-up appears, Click the ResetInputsToDefaultValues service that is provided by the Container. 6. Click Save. 7. Click View Mashup then click Show/Hide Debug Info. 8. Click the Trace tab and click Start Trace. 9. Click the button you created in your Mashup then click Stop Trace to see the log of the Clicked event triggering the ResetInputsToDefaultValues service.   Many properties are available that give control over how a Button widget will be displayed. Many properties can be changed both statically when designing the Mashup, and dynamically in response to changes in property values.   Bindable Name Type Default Direction Description ContextId String None Input/Output User-definable value that can be used by downstream triggered widgets Disabled Boolean False Input Widget is not usable and is displayed greyed-out if set to true Label String Button Input The text that appears on the button ToolTipField String None Input Text shown when user hovers over widget Visible Boolean True Input Widget is visible if set to true CustomClass String None Input/Output User-definable CSS class applied to top di of the button   Static Name Type Default Direction DisplayName String auto-generated Descriptor used for referring to widget in Composer and Mashup Builder Description String None Description used for widget in user-facing interactions TabSequence Number 0 Tab sequence index Height Number Autosize Height of button Width Number Autosize Width of button Z-index Number 10 Controls widget placement on top or below other widgets   Widget Events Name Description Clicked Fired when user clicks button   Click here to view Part 2 of this guide. 

Install ThingWorx Kepware Server Guide    Overview   This guide will walk you through the steps to install ThingWorx Kepware Server. NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete this guide is 30 minutes.    Step 1: Learning Path Overview   This guide is the first on the Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment Learning Path, and it explains how to get up and running with ThingWorx Kepware Server. If you want to learn to install ThingWorx Kepware Server, this guide will be useful to you, and it can be used independently from the full Learning Path. In the next guide on the Learning Path, we will create an Application Key which is used to secure the connection between Kepware Server and ThingWorx Foundation. Later in the Learning Path, we will send information from ThingWorx Kepware Server into ThingWorx Foundation. In other guides in this Learning Path, we will use Foundation's Mashup Builder to construct a website dashboard that displays information from ThingWorx Kepware Server. We hope you enjoy this Learning Path.   Step 2: Install ThingWorx Kepware Server   ThingWorx Kepware Server includes over 150 factory-automation protocols. ThingWorx Kepware Server communicates between industrial assets and ThingWorx Foundation, providing streamlined, real-time access to OT and IT data — whether that data is sourced from on-premise web servers, off-premise cloud applications, or at the edge. This step will download and install ThingWorx Kepware Server. Download the ThingWorx Kepware Server executable installer. Select your Language and click OK 3. On the "Welcome" screen, click Next.        4. the End-User License Agreement and click Next.   5. Set the destination folder for the installation and click Next.   6. Set the Application Data Folder location and click Next. Note that it is recommended NOT to change this path. 7. Select whether you'd like a Shortcut to be created and click Next. 8. On the "Vertical Suite Selection" screen, keep the default of Typical and click Next. 9. On the "Select Features" screen, keep the defaults and click Next. 10. The "External Dependencies" screen simply lists everything that will be installed; click Next. 11. On the "Default Application Settings" screen, leave the default of Allow client applications to request data through Dynamic Tag addressing and click Next. 12. On the “User Manager Credentials” screen, set a unique strong password for the Administrator account and click Next. Note that skipping setting a password can leave your system less secure and is not recommended in a production environment. 13. Click install to begin the installation. 14. Click finish to exit the installer.     Step 3: Open ThingWorx Kepware Server   Now that ThingWorx Kepware Server is installed, you will need to open it. In the bottom-right Windows Taskbar, click Show hidden icons. 2. Double-click on the ThingWorx Kepware Server icon. 3. ThingWorx Kepware Server is now installed. 4. For additional information on ThingWorx Kepware Server, click Server Help on the Menu Bar.   Step 4: Next Steps   Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Install ThingWorx Kepware Server guide. In this guide, you learned how to:   Download, install, and open ThingWorx Kepware Server   The next guide in the Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment learning path is Connect Kepware Server to ThingWorx Foundation.    The next guide in the Using an Allen-Bradley PLC with ThingWorx learning path is Connect to an Allen-Bradley PLC. . 

Data Model Introduction    Overview   This project will introduce the ThingWorx Foundation Data Model. Following the steps in this guide, you will consider data interactions based on user needs and requirements, as well as application modularity, reusability, and future updates. We will teach you how to think about a properly constructed foundation that will allow your application to be scalable, flexible, and more secure. NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete this guide is 30 minutes.    Step 1: Benefits   A Data Model creates a uniform representation of all items that interact with one another. There are multiple benefits to such an approach, and the ability to break up items and reuse components is considered a best practice. ThingWorx has adopted this model at a high level to represent individual components of an IoT solution. Feature Benefit Flexibility Once a model has been created, it is simple to update, modify, or remove components without needing to rework the system or retest existing components. Scalability It’s easy to clone and modify devices that are either identical or similar when changing from a Proof of Concept or Pilot Program to a Scaled Business Model. Interoperability Seamlessly plug into other applications. Collaboration A Data Model allows pre-defined links between components, meaning that various parts can be defined when designing the model so that multiple people can work on those individual parts without compromising the interoperability of the components. Seamless platform A Data Model allows for seamless integration with other systems. A properly-formed model will make it easier to create high-value IoT capabilities such as analytics, augmented/virtual reality, industrial connectivity, etc.   Step 2: Entities   Entities   Building an IoT solution in Foundation begins with defining your Data Model, the collection of Entities that represent your connected devices, business processes, and your application. Entities are the highest-level objects created and maintained in Foundation, as explained below.     Thing Shape   Thing Shapes provide a set of characteristics represented as Properties, Services, Events, and Subscriptions that are shared across a group of physical assets. A Thing Shape is best used for composition to describe relationships between objects in your model. They promote reuse of contained Properties and business logic that can be inherited by one or more Thing Templates. In Foundation, the model allows a Thing Template to implement one or more Thing Shapes, which is similar to a class definition in C++ that has multiple inheritance. When you make a change to the Thing Shape, the change is propagated to the Thing Templates and Things that implement that Thing Shape; so, maintaining the model is quick and easy.   Thing Template   Thing Templates provide base functionality with Properties, Services, Events, and Subscriptions that Thing instances use in their execution. Every Thing is created from a Thing Template. A Thing Template can extend another Thing Template. When you release a new version of a product, you simply add the additional characteristics of the version without having to redefine the entire model. This model configuration provides multiple levels of generalization of an asset. A Thing Template can derive one or more additional characteristics by implementing Thing Shapes. When you make a change to the Thing Template, the change is propagated to the Things that implement that Thing Template; so again, maintaining the model is quick and easy. A Thing Template can be used to classify the kind of a Thing or asset class or as a specific product model with unique capabilities. If you have two product models and their interaction with the solution is the same (same Properties, Services, and Events), you could model them as one Thing Template. Classifying Thing Templates is useful for aggregating Things into collections, which are useful in Mashups. You may want separate Thing Templates for indexing, searching, and future evolutions of the products   Thing   Things are representations of physical devices, assets, products, systems, people, or processes that have Properties and business logic. All Things are based on Thing Templates (inheritance) and can implement one or more Thing Shapes (composition). A Thing can have its own Properties, Services, Events, and Subscriptions and can inherit other Properties, Services, Events, and Subscriptions from its Thing Template and Thing Shape(s). How you model the interconnected Things, Thing Templates, and Thing Shapes is key to making your solution easy to develop and maintain in the future as the physical assets change. End users will interface with Things for information in applications and for reading/writing data.   Best Practice: Create a Thing Template to describe a Thing, then create an instance of that Thing Template as a Thing. This practice leverages inheritance in your model and reduces the amount of time you spend maintaining and updating your model.   Step 3: Inheritance Model   Defining Things, Thing Templates, and Thing Shapes in your Data Model allows your application to handle both simple and complex scenarios. Entity Function Thing Shapes Assemble individual components. Thing Templates Combine those components into fully functional objects. Thing Unique representation of a set of identical components defined by the Thing Template.       In this example, there is a Parent/Child model between two related Thing Templates. NOTE: Things and Thing Templates may only inherit ONE Thing Template. Both Things and Thing Templates may inherit any number of Thing Shapes. Thing Templates employ a linear-relationship, while Thing Shapes employ a modular-relationship. Any Thing or Thing Template may have any number of sub-components (i.e. Thing Shapes), but each Thing or Thing Template is just one description of one object as a whole. How you decide to compartmentalize your Data Model into Thing Shapes and Thing Templates to create the actual Things that you’ll be using is a custom design that will be specific to each implementation.   Step 4: Scenario   The ThingWorx Data Model provides a way for you to describe your connected devices and match the complexity of a real-world scenario. Things, Thing Templates, and Thing Shapes are building blocks that define your data model.     You can define the components of Things, Thing Templates, and Thing Shapes, including Properties, Services, Events, and Subscriptions. Component Definition Properties Each Property has a name, description, and a data type (Base Type). Depending on the base type, additional fields may be enabled. A simple scalar type, like a number or string, adds basic fields like default value. More complex base types have more options. Properties can be static (i.e. Model Number) or dynamic (i.e. Temperature). Services A Service is a method/function defined by a block of code that performs logic specifying actions a Thing can take. There are several implementation methods, or handlers (for example: Script, SQLQuery, and SQL command), for services depending on the template you use. The specific implementation of a user-defined Service is done via a server-side script. The Service can then be invoked through a URL, a REST client capable application, or by another Service in ThingWorx. When you create a new service, you can define input properties and an output. You can define individual runtime permissions for each Service. Events Events are triggers that define changes of state (example: device is on, temperature is above/below threshold) of an asset or system and often require an action to correct or respond to a change. Business logic and actions in a ThingWorx application are driven by Events. Subscriptions Action associated with an Event, primary method to set up intelligence in ThingWorx model which enable you to optimize/automate. Subscriptions use Javascript code to define what you want your application to do when the Event occurs.   NOTE: Anything inherited by a Thing Template or Thing will inherit the associated Components.     This diagram shows what a specific Inheritance Model might look like for a connected Tractor. There is one master Template at the top. In this case, it’s a collection of similar types of tractors. The parent Template inherits a few Shapes - an Engine and a Deck that have been used in previous designs. Importing them as Shapes allows us to reuse previous design work and expedite the development process. One of the child Templates incorporates another Shape, this time in the form of a GPS tracking device. Then, at the bottom, there are the specific tractors with individual serial numbers that will report their connected data back to an IoT Application.   Step 5: Next Steps   Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Data Model Introduction, and learned about: The function of a data model for your IoT application Data model components, including Thing, Thing, Shape and Thing Template How ThingWorx components correspond to connected devices Please comment on this post so we can improve this guide in future ThingWorx version iterations.   This guide is part of 2 learning paths: The next guide in the Getting Started on the ThingWorx Platform learning path is Configure Permissions.  The next guide in the Design and Implement Data Models to Enable Predictive Analytics learning path is Design Your Data Model.      

  Create An Application Key Guide   Overview   In order for a device to send data to the Platform, it needs to be authenticated. One authentication method is to use an Application Key. Application Keys, or appKeys, are security tokens used for authentication in ThingWorx. They are associated with a given User and have all of the permissions granted to the User with which they are associated. This is one of the most common ways of assigning permission control to a connected device. NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete this guide is 30 minutes.    Step 1: Learning Path Overview   This guide explains the steps to create a ThingWorx Application Key, and is part of a Learning Path. You can use this guide independently from the full Learning Path. If you want to learn to create a ThingWorx Application Key, this guide will be useful to you. When used as part of the Industrial Plant Learning Path, you should already have installed ThingWorx Kepware Server. We will use the Application Key to send information from ThingWorx Kepware Server into ThingWorx Foundation. Other guides demonstrate Foundation's Mashup Builder to construct a website dashboard that displays information from ThingWorx Kepware Server. We hope you enjoy this Learning Path.   Step 2: Create Application Key   Application Keys are assigned to a specific User for secure access to the platform. Using the Application Key for the default User (Administrator) is not recommended. If administrative access is absolutely necessary, create a User and place the User as a member of the SecurityAdministrators and Administrators User groups. Create the User the Application Key will be assigned to. 1. On the Home screen of Composer click + New. 2. In the dropdown list, click Applications Key. 3. Give your application key a name (i.e. MyAppKey). 4. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. 5. Set the User Name Reference to a User you created. 6. Update the Expiration Date field, otherwise it will default to 1 day. 7. Click Save. A Key ID has been generated and can be used to make secure connections.   IP Whitelisting for Application Keys   One of the features of an Application Key is the ability to set an IP whitelist. This allows the server to specify that only certain IP addresses should be able to use a given Key ID for access. This is a great way to lock down security on the platform for anything that will maintain a static IP address. For example, connected Web-based business systems may have a static IP from which all calls should be made. Similarly, you can use wildcards to specify a network to narrow the range of IP addresses allowed while still offering some flexibility for devices with dynamic IP addresses. Extremely mobile devices should likely not attempt to implement this, however, as they will often change networks and IP addresses and may lose the ability to connect when the IP whitelist feature is used.   Interact with Application Keys Programmatically Service Name Description GetKeyID Returns the ID of this Application Key GetUserName Get the username associated with this Application Key IsExpired Returns if this Application Key is expired ResetExpirationDateToDefault Resets the expiration date of the Application Key to the default time based on configuration in the UserManagement subsystem SetClientName Sets the client name for this Application Key SetExpirationDate Sets the expiration date of this Application Key to a provided date SetIPWhiteList Sets the values for the IP whitelist for this Application Key SetUserName Sets the associated user name for this Application Key   Tip: To learn more about Application Keys, refer to the Help Center   Step 3: Next Steps   Congratulations! You have successfully created an application key. We hope you found this guide useful.     The next guide in the Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment learning path is Install ThingWorx Kepware Server.    The next guide in the Azure MXChip Development Kit learning path is Connect Azure IoT Devices.   The next guide in the Medical Device Service learning path is Use the Edge MicroServer (EMS) to Connect to ThingWorx.   The next guide in the Using an Allen-Bradley PLC with ThingWorx learning path is Model an Allen-Bradley PLC.

Create Custom Business Logic    Overview   This project will introduce you to creating your first ThingWorx Business Rules Engine.   Following the steps in this guide, you will know how to create your business rules engine and have an idea of how you might want to develop your own. We will teach you how to use your data model with Services, Events, and Subscriptions to establish a rules engine within the ThingWorx platform.   NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete this guide is 60 minutes.    Step 1: Completed Example   Download the attached, completed files for this tutorial: BusinessLogicEntities.xml.   The BusinessLogicEntities.xml file contains a completed example of a Business Rules Engine. Utilize this file to see a finished example and return to it as a reference if you become stuck during this guide and need some extra help or clarification. Keep in mind, this download uses the exact names for entities used in this tutorial. If you would like to import this example and also create entities on your own, change the names of the entities you create.   Step 2: Rules Engine Introduction   Before implementing a business rule engine from scratch, there are a number of questions that should first be answered. There are times in which a business rule engine is necessary, and times when the work can be down all within regular application coding.   When to Create a Rules Engine: When there are logic changes that will often occur within the application. This can be decisions on how to do billing based on the state or how machines in factories should operate based on a release. When business analysts are directly involved in the development or utilization of the application. In general, these roles are often non-technical, but being involved with the application directly will mean the need for a way to make changes. When a problem is highly complex and no obvious algorithm can be created for the solution. This often covered scenarios in which an algorithm might not be the best option, but a set of conditions will suffice.   Advantages of a Rules Engine The key reward is having an outlet to express solutions to difficult problems than can be easily verifiable. A consolidated knowledge base for how a part of a system works and a possible source of documentation. This source of information provides people with varying levels of technical skill to all have insight into a business model.   Business Logic with ThingWorx Core Platform: A centralized location for development, data management, versioning, tagging, and utilization of third party applications. The ability to create the rules engine within the ThingWorx platform and outside of ThingWorx platform. Being that the rules engine can be created outside of the ThingWorx platform, third party rules engines can be used. The ThingWorx platform provides customizable security and provided services that can decrease the time in development.     Step 3: Establish Rules   In order to design a business rules engine and establish rules before starting the development phase, you must capture requirements and designate rule characteristics.   Capture Requirements The first step to building a business rules engine is to understand the needs of the system and capture the rules necessary for success.   Brainstorm and discuss the conditions that will be covered within the rules engine Construct a precise list Identify exact rules and tie them to specific business requirements.   Each business rule and set of conditions within the business rule will need to be independent of other business rules. When there are several scenarios involved, it is best to create multiple rules – one handling each. When business rules are related to similar scenarios, the best methodology is to group the rules into categories.   Category Description Decision Rules Set of conditions regarding business choices Validation Rules Set of conditions regarding data verifications Generation Rules Set of conditions used for data object creation in the system Calculation Rules Set of conditions that handle data input utilized for computing values or assessments   Designate Rule Characteristics Characteristics for the rules include, but are not limited to: Naming conventions/identifiers Rule grouping Rule definition/description Priority Actions that take place in each rule.   After this is completed, you will be ready to tie business requirements to business rules, and those directly to creating your business rules engine within the platform.   Rules Translation to ThingWorx There are different methods for how the one to one connections can be made between rules and ThingWorx. The simplified method below shows one way that all of this can be done within the ThingWorx platform:   Characteristic  ThingWorx Aspect Rule name/identifier Service Name Ruleset  Thing/ThingTemplate Rule definition  Service Implementation Rule conditions Service Implementation Rule actions Service Implementation Data management DataTables/Streams   Much of the rule implementation is handled by ThingWorx Services using JavaScript. This allows for direct access to data, other provided Services, and a central location for all information pertaining to a set of rules. The design provided above also allows for easier testing and security management.   Step 4: Scenario Business Rule Engine    An important aspect to think about before implementing your business rules engine, is how the Service implementation will flow.   Will you have a singular entry path for the entire rules engine? Or will you have several entries based on what is being requested of it? Will you have create only Services to handle each path? Or will you create Events and Subscriptions (Triggers and Listeners) in addition to Services to split the workload?   Based on how you answer those questions, dictates how you will need to break up your implementation. The business rules for the delivery truck scenario are below. Think about how you would break down this implementation.   High Level Flow 1 Customer makes an order with a Company (Merchant). 1.A Customer to Merchant order information is created. 2 The Merchant creates an order with our delivery company, PTCDelivers. 2.A Merchant order information is populated. 2.B Merchant sets delivery speed requested. 2.C Merchant sets customer information for the delivery. 3 The package is added to a vehicle owned by PTCDelivers. 4 The vehicle makes the delivery to the merchant's customer.   Lower Level: Vehicles 1 Package is loaded onto vehicle 1.i Based on the speed selected, add to a truck or plane. 1.ii Ground speed option is a truck. 1.iii Air and Expedited speed options are based on planes usage and trucks when needed. 2 Delivery system handles the deliveries of packages 3 Delivery system finds the best vehicle option for delivery 4 An airplane or truck can be fitted with a limited number of packages.   Lower Level: Delivery 1 Delivery speed is set by the customer and passed on to PTCDelivers. 2 Delivery pricing is set based on a simple formula of (Speed Multiplier * Weight) + $1 (Flat Fee). 2.i Ground arrives in 7 days. The ground speed multiplier is $2. 2.ii Air arrives in 4 days. The air speed multiplier is $8. 2.iii Expedited arrives in 1 day. The expedited speed multiplier is $16. 3 Deliveries can be prioritized based on a number of outside variables. 4 Deliveries can be prioritized based on a number of outside variables. 5 Bulk rate pricing can be implemented.   How would you implement this logic and add in your own business logic for added profits? Logic such as finding the appropriate vehicle to make a delivery can be handled by regular Services. Bulk rates, prioritizing merchants and packages, delivery pricing, and how orders are handled would fall under Business Logic. The MerchantThingTemplate Thing contains a DataChange Subscription for it's list of orders. This Subscription triggers an Event in the PTCDelivers Thing.   The PTCDelivers Thing contains an Event for new orders coming in and a Subscription for adding orders and merchants to their respective DataTables. This Subscription can be seen as the entry point for this scenario. Nevertheless, you can create a follow-up Service to handle your business logic. We have created the PTCDeliversBusinessLogic to house your business rules engine.   Step 5: Scenario Data Model Breakdown   This guide will not go into detail of the data model of the application, but here is a high level view of the roles played within the application.   Thing Shapes ClientThingShape Shape used to represent the various types of clients the business faces (merchants/customers). VehicleThingShape Shape used to represent different forms of transportation throughout the system.   Templates PlaneThingTemplate Template used to construct all representations of a delivery plane. TruckThingTemplate Template used to construct all representations of a delivery truck. MerchantThingTemplate Template used to construct all representations of a merchant where goods are purchased from. CustomerThingTemplate Template used to construct all representations of a customer who purchases goods.   Things/Systems PTCDeliversBusinessLogic This Thing will hold a majority of the business rule implementation and convenience services. PTCDelivers A Thing that will provide helper functions in the application.   DataShapes PackageDeliveryDataShape DataShape used with the package delivery event. Will provide necessary information about deliveries. PackageDataShape DataShape used for processing a package. OrderDataShape DataShape used for processing customer orders. MerchantOrderDataShape DataShape used for processing merchant orders. MerchantDataShape DataShape used for tracking merchants.   DataTables OrdersDatabase DataTable used to store all orders made with customers. MerchantDatabase DataTable used to store all information for merchants.     Step 6: Next Steps   Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Create Custom Business Logic guide, and learned how to: Create business logic for IoT with resources provided in the ThingWorx platform Utilize the ThingWorx Edge SDK platforms with a pre-established business rule engine   We hope you found this guide useful.    The next guide in the Design and Implement Data Models to Enable Predictive Analytics learning path is Implement Services, Events, and Subscriptions.