Technical Reference Manual - InduSoft

Communication with Other Devices
Configuring direct communication with a remote device
A communication driver is a DLL containing specific information about the remote equipment and implements
the communication protocol. Drivers for dozens of common and not-so-common devices are installed with
InduSoft Web Studio.
( InduSoft also provides a toolkit to develop new communication drivers. For more information, please contact
Customer Support.)
The Drivers task/worksheet allows you to define the communication interface (or interfaces) between the
project and remote equipment; such as a PLC, a single-loop, and transmitters.
Note: Consult the Help menu for a description of the functions and characteristics that are standard
for all drivers. When developing a project, you can also refer to the specific documentation provided
with each communication driver. This documentation is usually located in the DRV directory.
To configure a communication driver, you must specify the interface parameters (for example, the station
address and the baud rate), specify the equipment addresses, and then link them to project tags.
Use one of the following methods to add or remove a driver:
• On the Insert tab of the ribbon, in the Communication group, click Add/Remove Driver; or
• Right-click the Drivers folder in the Project Explorer, and then click Add/Remove drivers on the shortcut menu.
Both methods open a Communication Drivers dialog, which displays a list of available drivers.
Use the parameters on this dialog, as follows:
Communication Drivers dialog
• Available Drivers field: Lists all available drivers and a brief description of each.
• Help button: Click to open the Help menu, which contains detailed configuration instructions for the driver
currently highlighted in the Available Drivers field.
• Select button: Click to select the driver currently highlighted in the Available Drivers field.
• Selected Drivers field: Lists all selected drivers and their descriptions (if available).
• Remove button: Click to remove a driver currently highlighted in the Selected Drivers field.
When you click OK in the Communications Driver dialog, you create a subfolder for the selected driver(s) in the
Drivers folder located on the Comm tab.
InduSoft Web Studio Page 325