Quick Start Guide

To Download and Install Ignition on Windows

1. Go to the Inductive Automation website at
   www.inductiveautomation.com
   
   
2. Select Download Ignition in the upper right corner of the page. The browser will determine what operating system you're running and will bring up Download for Windows. 
   
   

3. Click Download for Windows. If you want to see what other operating systems are supported, click on the Other operating systems and versions link. 
   
   

4. Run the downloaded file Ignition-X.X.X-windows-x64-installer.exe (found on the lower-left of the window if using Chrome), or go to your downloads folder and double-click the file to start installation.
   
   
5. The Setup window welcomes you to the Ignition Setup Wizard. To being the installation, click Next.
   
   
   
   
6. The Installation Directory window will be displayed. By default, Ignition is installed under your Program Files folder: Program Files\Inductive Automation\Ignition. This is usually a good choice.
   To accept the default Installation Directory, click Next.
   
   
   
   
   
7. The Installation Mode window will be displayed. Select either the Typical or Custom mode. The Typical installation includes Ignition with most of the most commonly used modules. The Custom installation lets you control and individually select the modules that you want installed. (Both options are shown in this step). If you choose Typical mode, click Next.
   
   Typical Installation
   
   
   If you select Custom mode, check the box for the modules you want to install and uncheck those modules you don't want installed as part of your Custom Ignition installation. To see a brief description of the module, click on the module name. If you choose Custom mode, click Next.
   
   Custom Installation
   
   
   
   
8. The Setup Wizard shows Ignition is now Ready to Install. If you decide to change your selections, click Back to go back and make your changes. Click Next to continue.
   
   
   
   
9. Ignition will install the selected modules. When installation is complete, click Next.
   
   
   
   
10. After Setup Wizard shows Ignition installation is finished, make sure that the check box for Start Ignition now is selected, then click Finish.
    
    
    
    
11. Once Ignition is installed, your default web browser will open and you will be greeted with a Welcome to Ignition message. Click Get Started.
    
    
    
    
    
12. The End User License Agreement (EULA) window will be displayed. Click the button acknowledging you have read and agree with the terms and conditions, then press Next.
    
    
    
    
    
13. An Account Setup window will open for you to enter your first user. This first user will be the main / administrator account with full privileges in Ignition. Enter a username and password, and click Next.
    
    
    
     
14. The HTTP Configuration window will open for you to configure the HTTP and HTTPS Ports. The default HTTP Port is 8088, and the default HTTPS Port is 8043. Click Next to continue.
    
    
    
    
    
15. The Setup Completed window will be displayed, and now you can Start the Gateway.
    
    
    
    
    A splash screen informs you that Ignition is starting. This may take a few minutes to finish.
    
    
    
    
    

16. That’s it! Ignition Installation is complete and the Gateway is launched. You will then be presented with the following Congratulations window to complete your configuration setup. You can click a link to Setup a Device, Activate a License, Connect to a Database, Edit Gateway Settings, or go to the GatewayHomepage. You can also do theses steps from the Gateway Homepage.
    
    
    
    
    Your web browser opens the Gateway Homepage at http://localhost:8088. Sign in using the credentials for the administrator or user with full privileges for the Gateway as shown in Step 13 above.
    
    
    
    
    

    Ignition installs itself as a Window Service (Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > Ignition Gateway), so it starts automatically when your computer starts up.

To learn more, go to Windows - Install!

1. Figure out the IP address of the computer you installed Ignition on. If this computer is the one Ignition is installed on, then you can use localhost instead of the IP.
    
2. Open up a web browser and go to this address: http://ipaddress:8088 and it will bring up the Gateway webpage. If you are using localhost, it will look like this: http://localhost:8088.
   
   
   
   The first time you go to the Gateway webpage, it shows you the Designer, Perspective Projects, and Vision Client Launchers.
   
   
3. To navigate back to the Gateway Homepage, click the Home button.
   
   

1. If you are not already logged into Ignition, enter the credentials for the administrator or user with full privileges for the Gateway, and click Login.
   From the Gateway Webpage, navigate to the Config section.
   
   
   
   
2. Scroll down to the OPC-UA Server section on the left and click the Device Connections link.
   
   
3. To add a new Device Connection, click the Create new Device... link.
   
   
   
   
4. Select Simulator: Generic and click Next.
   
   
   
   
5. Give the new connection a name and click Create New Device.
   
   
   
   A green "success" message will be displayed when the device is created.
   
   
   
   

Ignition can connect to many different devices natively with the built-in OPC-UA Server.

• Allen Bradley Ethernet
• Modbus
• Siemens
• UDP and TCP Driver
• DNP3
• Omron
• Simulators
• Third Party OPC Servers

To learn more, go to the OPC UA and Devices pages!

1. If you are already logged into Ignition, then go to the Config section of the Gateway Webpage, otherwise login as the user with full / administrative privileges.
   
   
2. From the Config section, navigate to the Databases > Connections page. 
   
   
3. Click the Create new Database Connection... link.
   
   
   
   
4.  Select the MariaDB Connector/J option and click the Next > button. The MariaDB connector will work for many types of MySQL installations. It is recommended to get the official driver, see the JDBC Drivers and Translators page for more information.
   
   
   
   
5. Enter a Name, Connect URL, username, and password.
   If you just installed MySQL on the same machine as Ignition and it has a schema called test you will be able to use the following Connect URL:
   Connect URL: jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/test
   The username and password should have been set when MySQL was installed, but root is often the username for test systems.
   
   Scroll to the bottom and click the Create new Database Connection button.
   
   
   
   A "success" message will appear when the database connection is created.
   
   
   
   

To get detailed descriptions for a number of different database connections, see Connecting to Databases. You can also go to Database Connections to learn how databases are used in Ignition and how to get started.

1. If you are already logged into Ignition, then go to the Homepage of the Gateway Webpage, otherwise login as the user with full / administrative privileges.
   
   

2. From the Gateway webpage, click the Download button for the Designer. 
   
   

   
   

3. Select the Download button for the platform you are running on: Windows, Mac OS, or Lunix. In this example, we are running on Windows.
   
   
   
   

4. Run the downloaded file (DesignerLauncherSetup.exe) found on the lower-left of the window, or go to your downloads folder and double-click the file to run it.
   
   
5. The Select Additional Tasks window will open. Here, you can select additional tasks that you would like to setup to perform while installing the DesignerLauncher. It's a good idea to Create a desktop shortcut so it's easily accessible when you want to open the Designer Launcher. Click Next.
   
   
   
   
6. Now, you're Ready to Install the Designer Launcher on your computer. Click Install to continue. 
   
   
   
   
7. Once the Designer Launcher is installed, complete the setup by checking the box to Launch Designer Launcher and click Finish.
   
   
   
   
8. The Ignition Designer Launcher window will open. Here you can select any Designers you have permission to launch. If you are running this for the first time, by default, you will only see one Designer. Click Launch.
   
   
   
   
   1. You also have the option to Create Shortcut, or Launch + Create a Shortcut on your desktop by clicking the dropdown.
      
      
      
      
      If you Create a Shortcut, it will look like the image below with the name of your Designer (i.e., Controller) on it like the icon below. Click on the shortcut icon to launch your Designer.
      
      
      
      Since a Designer Launcher icon was created in Step 7, it is aready on your desktop. By clicking the Designer Launcher icon, it will open the Ignition Designer Launcher window and display all your Designers.To learn more, refer to Designer Launcher.
      
      
      
      
9. The Designer starts up and the login window is displayed. Enter the credentials for the administrator or user with full privileges for the Designer, and click Login. It should be the same as the login for the Gateway Config section.
   Note: Login credentials are set in the Config section of the Gateway Webpage, under Security > Users, Roles.
   
   
   
   
10. The Open/Create Project window is displayed giving you two options, to create a new project or open an existing one. Let's create a new project by clicking + New Project.
    
    
    
    
11. This opens the New Project Setup window.
    
    
    
    
    

12. Enter the Project Name (required) and any other configuration settings you need for your project. Most settings are optional. Refer to the New Project Setup Properties Table below for a description of each property.
    
    
    

    It is not advisable to change the Project Name after it's been created, instead, change the Title property in Config > Projects if you want to change how the project appears later.

    
    New Project Setup Properties

    Property	Description
    Project Name	The Project Name can only consist of alphanumeric characters and the '_' (underscore) character. Spaces and other special characters are not supported.  Note: It is not advisable to change the Project Name after it's been created, instead, change the Title property in Config > Projects if you want to change how the project appears later.
    Project Title	This is the name that will be displayed on the launch page of the Gateway and in the runtime Client or Session, (optional) There are no restrictions on using special characters or spaces. If you do not specify a title, the project name will be displayed on the Gateway launch page and in the runtime.
    User Source	Controls access to the project. If this field is left blank, the 'default' user source is set. For more information or to add users, see Security.
    Default Database	Select a Default Database (optional). Any queries to the database will use this default database connection unless explicitly specified otherwise.
    Default Tag Provider	Select a default Tag Provider (optional). Most installations will likely only have one provider, but in situations where there are more than one, this is the provider that will be used unless explicitly specified otherwise.
    Parent Project	Each project may have a parent project, and will inherit all of the resources of that parent project, (optional). Click the dropdown list to see all the available options.
    Project Template	Select a Project Template (optional). There are several pre-built project templates focused on navigation that support either Perspective or Vision: Perspective Menu Nav, Perspective Web Nav, Vision 2-Tier Tab Nav, Vision Tab Nav, and Vision Tree Nav. Click the dropdown to see all the available options.
    Description	Enter a description of the project (optional). Note that once a project is created, this description can be viewed on the Open/Create Project screen when you hover over the Information icon.

    
    

13. Click on Create New Project. 

14. When you open the Designer interface for the first time, the Perspective Page Configuration opens if you have the Perspective Module installed. If you don't have the Perspective Module installed, the Vision Designer window will open. 

    You can begin designing in either Perspective or Vision from the Designer interface, as shown below. Expand the Perspective and Vision folders and you'll notice that the folder contents are dfferent. In Perspective, you add components to Views. In Vision, you add components to Windows. To learn how to add components and bring them to life, go to Quick Start - Perspective Session and Quick Start - Vision Client.

Learn more about the Designer, Perspective Designer Interface, and Vision Designer Interface.

If you are connected to a device in Step 3, the easiest way to create some Tags is by dragging the Tags from the OPC Browser.

On the left side of the Designer you will see 3 panels, the Project Browser, the Tag Browser, and the Property Editor.

1. In the Tag Browser, select the Tags folder then click the Browse OPC Servers icon. The OPC Browser will be displayed and you can browse all of your OPC connections.
   
   
   
   
2. By default, you have a connection to the internal Ignition OPC-UA Server. Expand the Devices folder to find your list of devices, and expand your device folder to see some Tags inside. From the OPC Browser, highlight the Tags you want (for example, as in the image below, the entire Sine folder is selected) and drag it to the Tags folder in the Tag Browser. You can drag individual Tags or whole folders. When you drag folders, Ignition keeps the same hierarchy as the PLC.
   
   
   
   
3. That's it! You now have some Tags. Expand the Tags folder and the new Sine folder to see what was added. You can see their values come in and start updating automatically. By default, they update at a 1 second rate.
   
   

Learn more about Tags!

1. In the Designer, go to the Tag Browser and select one or more Tags.
   For example, select all the Sine Tags in the Sine folder by holding the Ctrl key and clicking on several Tags.
   
   
2. Right-click on the selected Tags, and then select Edit tag(s).
   The Tag Editor window is displayed. Here, you can edit the Tag and change the name, data type, scaling options, metadata, permissions, history, and alarming.
   
   
   
   
3. Scroll down to History on the left side of Tag Editor, and set History Enabled to 'true'.
   
   
   
   
4. Choose a database from the Storage Provider dropdown, like the one we set up earlier.
   
   
5. To set the rate that data is logged:
   1. Change the Sample Mode to Periodic.
   2. Set the Sample Rate to 1. (Data will be logged every 1 second).
   3. Verify that the Sample Rate Units is set to Seconds (which is the default).
      
      
6. Click OK.
   
   
   
   
7. Now look in the Tag Browser, to the right of each Sine Tag that is storing history, an icon () appears letting you know it is setup.
   
   
   
   If you were to look in your database, you can see all the tables and data Ignition created for you.

Learn more about Tag Historian!