In Thingworx release 7.4, we’ve re-imagined the Composer interface using modern browser concepts with an aim of unleashing developer and administrator productivity. We want the next generation Composer to be a world class application which enables model building, quick integration of data sources, efficient service authoring, easy application management, and ability to configure each and every Thing.
We are planning a phased roll-out of new features in the Next Gen Composer as we improve our designs and receive your feedback. The original Composer is still available in 7.4 in its entirety. You should still use the original Composer in situations where functionality is not yet available in the new Composer interface. In a future release we will be deprecating the original Composer, but only when the new one is complete and unquestionably superior!
What does it look like?
Here are some screenshots of our new interface.
Thing List View
JavaScript Service Editor
Viewing Kepware tags mapped to an Industrial Thing
How do I get it?
To enable the new interface and try it out yourself, open the Preferences menu under your username in the top right of the original Composer and click “Turn on New Composer Features”.
Enabling New Composer
Now you’ll see a “New Composer” menu item in the top navigation area. Click on this link and you’ll receive a new browser tab with the new interface.
New Composer link
What does it do now?
Here are some features we’ve enabled in our initial release of the new Composer in Thingworx 7.4:
Modeling
- Projects
- Thing Shapes, Thing Templates, Things
- Data Shapes
- Model Tags
- Creation of Industrial Connections (e.g. Kepware integration)
Data Storage
- Data Tables, Streams, Value Streams
- Data Tags
Collaboration
- Blogs
- Wikis
Security
- Application Keys
Navigation
- A “Recent” and “Browse” left hand navigation which allows for quick location of entities
- A “Project” anchor in the top left of the application so you define the default project used in model creation
- A third level navigation drop down in the Thing editor which allows access to Properties, Alerts, Services, Subscriptions, etc.
What is next?
We are going to iteratively release functionality in the next generation Composer. Here are some features we’ve prioritized for upcoming releases.
- Enhancements for JavaScript service developers (intelli-sense, linting, code snippets, remote service bindings)
- Enhancements for SQL service developers (SQL Commands and queries authoring and execution, creating DataShapes from output)
- Improved support for complex Thingworx base types (Vectors, Thingcodes, HTML)
- Event Management (CRUD of events, browsing remote events)
What about my Mashup builder?
We are planning improvements to our Mashup technologies and the building experience for future releases so stay tuned. We continue to aim for enabling rapid application development, contemporary web visualization, and reuse with other industry standard widgets, libraries and frameworks. Going forward, we are also looking towards contextualized experiences with Things through our AR/VR capabilities and data within your existing PTC/Thingworx software.
How can I help?
This community is intended to drive out feedback from our users and influence our product direction. Please use this forum as your direct line into the product team and let us know how we are doing!
See you at Liveworx 2017!
Chris
