Patent Publication Number: US-2023145994-A1

Title: System and method for industrial automation rules engine

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/586,165, filed Sep. 27, 2019, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION RULES ENGINE,” which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of automation control and monitoring systems. More particularly, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to techniques for designing, monitoring, and troubleshooting automation control systems. 
     This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. 
     Design of industrial automation systems typically involves a designer writing portions of programmatic code for each device and/or object within the industrial automation system. Accordingly, design of even relatively simple industrial automation systems involves a designer having multiple windows of code open at a time and paying close attention to making sure the various portions of code properly function with one another. Though certain combinations of devices or objects may be used frequently together, when used in a particular industrial automation system, the designer writes code for each component as though they have never been used together before. Further, in existing design environments, the designer is free to use incompatible objects together, or form invalid connections between objects, without any warning that design actions taken may render the industrial automation system inoperable. This may result in designer spending a great deal of time reviewing previous designs and/or specifications of candidate objects or devices. If a problem arises, the designer is left on his or her own to troubleshoot the programmatic code for the industrial automation system without any guidance as to what the issue is and how to resolve it. Additionally, if designer wishes to employ a particular naming convention for objects or devices within an industrial automation system, the designer manually updates names of objects or devices when a name change is warranted by the naming convention. Accordingly, if the designer wishes to insert, remove, or relocate an object, the naming convention may dictate that the names of objects upstream and/or downstream of the change should be updated accordingly. Typically, a designer would manually update the names one by one. Further, if the designer wishes to change naming conventions, the designer manually derives new object names according to the new naming convention and then goes through and updates the names one by one. Not only is manually updating the names of objects in the industrial automation system time consuming and tedious, but when each component has an associated portion of programmatic code that may reference other components in the industrial automation system by name, manually updating component names may be subject to human error. 
     As a result of these factors, designers of industrial automation systems are a relatively small, highly trained, and highly experienced group. Accordingly, rather than designing industrial automation systems themselves, customers typically hire as a designer as a contractor to design an industrial automation system, or pay a vendor to design an industrial automation system and deliver the programmatic code for the customer to implement. Accordingly, the customer may have limited understanding of a design for an industrial automation system that it operates, making modifications to that industrial automation system difficult and resource intensive. Further, once a design is implemented, the resultant industrial automation system may be operated by an operator via a run-time environment. However, the run time environment may not provide the operator with avenues to make small adjustments or modifications to the industrial automation system to troubleshoot the industrial automation system when an issue arises. Instead, the industrial automation system may be taken offline and an engineer or designer brought in to diagnose and resolve the problem. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
     When designing industrial automation systems with existing design software, designers are free to use incompatible objects with one another, create invalid connections between objects, or otherwise take actions that do not comply with best practices or internal guidelines for designing industrial automation systems. If a designer takes multiple actions that do not comply with best practices or guidelines during design of an industrial automation system, issues that arise from taking these actions may not present themselves until later in the design process. Attempting to resolve the issue later in the design process, when the offending action is stacked under multiple subsequent design actions, may be time consuming and challenging to unpack and resolve. The disclosed techniques include applying a set of industrial automation system design rules to determine whether each action taken by a designer (e.g., adding an object to a project, drawing connections between objects, etc.) is allowed by the rules. The rules may act as “design guardrails” to help designers design better systems more efficiently, avoiding long periods of time spent troubleshooting. In some cases, designers may be entirely prevented from taking prohibited actions, whereas in other cases, designers having certain specified credentials may be able to override the warning message that a given design action does not follow the guidelines. 
     Typically, designers designing industrial automation systems manually select components they want to include in a system and define connections between those components. Accordingly, the designer may spend a significant amount of time reviewing previous designs of industrial automation systems and reviewing specification sheets of components to determine the suitability of a given component for use in the industrial automation system and the component&#39;s compatibility with other components within the system. The disclosed techniques include using AI and/or machine learning to consider actions taken by a designer in view of previous designs and known component specifications to suggest design actions, which the designer may accept or reject. Suggestions may include, for example, using specific models of components, adding connections between components, inserting additional components, replacing end of life components with replacement components, and so forth. When an action is suggested, the designer may choose whether to accept the suggestion or dismiss the suggestion. In some cases, the system may also provide the designer with contact information or hyperlinks to vendors or manufacturers of the suggested component, or other avenues to purchase the suggested component. 
     Typically, designers of industrial automation systems are left to their own devices when troubleshooting a design of an industrial automation system. Accordingly, designers are left to develop their own processes for troubleshooting designs. As a result, a designer&#39;s proficiency in troubleshooting a design depends upon the troubleshooting processes he or she has developed, as well as the experience of the designer in troubleshooting a wide range of circumstances. The disclosed techniques include using AI and/or machine learning to analyze a historical data set, identify when the instant issue has been encountered before, and suggest a remedial action to the designer. For example, the system may recognize that a problem has been encountered and use a historical data set to identify when the problem has been encountered in the past. The system may then consider what was done in those previous occurrences to remedy the problem. The system may then identify one or more possible remedial actions to address the problem. In some cases, the system may rank or otherwise evaluate the possible remedial actions to identify a likelihood of success for each possible remedial action. The system may then suggest one or more of the remedial actions to the designer. For example, the system may communicate to the designer, “The last time this problem occurred, we took this remedial action.” In some cases, the designer may have the option to automatically implement the suggested remedial action, see instructions for manually implementing the suggested remedial action, or dismiss the suggestion. 
     Industrial automation system software is typically separated into design-time environments and run-time environments. Design-time environments are used by designers to design industrial automation systems and develop the code that runs these systems. Typically, design of industrial automation systems occurs at a location remote from the industrial automation system. In contrast, run-time environments are used by operators, on site, to monitor the operation of the industrial automation system. Sometimes issues arise during operation of an industrial automation system that only require minor adjustments to resolve (e.g., reset component, adjust set point, adjust threshold, etc.). Run-time environments typically do not have the capability to make even minor adjustments to industrial automation systems. Accordingly, when an issue arises, the industrial automation system may be stopped and a designer or engineer brought in to resolve an issue that may only require minor adjustments. The disclosed techniques include a light engineering client environment, which is similar to a run-time environment, but includes some functionality of the design-time environment, allowing operators to make minor adjustments to an industrial automation system to resolve minor issues. In some embodiments, the light engineering client may also be capable of providing recommendations for how to resolve issues that arise. 
     When designing industrial automation systems, designers typically write a portion of code for each object or device in the industrial automation system. Though a group of components may be used together frequently (e.g., a tank, a valve, and a pump), for each instance in which the group of components is used, the designer has to write new code defining the interactions between the components. This can be tedious and resource intensive. The disclosed techniques include using component libraries that include objects that are programmed to interact with one another in known ways. Accordingly, the designer may drag components from a library into a design window, and the system may understand how the components are intended to interact with each other. Using the example from above, a user may drag a tank, a valve, and a pump into a design environment, and the system may automatically arrange the components and connect the components accordingly to how they are frequently implemented. Each component in a library may have a respective portion of code that defines the operation of the respective component. Based on how the components are arranged and connected in the design window, the system may then generate or modify program code for the components so the designer is not burdened with writing the code for the system. 
     Typically, if a customer or designer wishes to use a naming convention for one or more industrial automation systems, it is the responsibility of the designer to manually edit the names of components in libraries and/or components used in industrial automation systems. Thus, creating a new naming convention and updating the names of existing components to adhere to the naming convention can be time consuming. Additionally, some frequently used naming conventions may give unique names to each instantiation of a component within an industrial automation system. In such a naming convention, the names may include fields that increase or decrease along a flow path of the industrial automation system (e.g., motor_1, motor_2, motor_3, etc.). However, when a component is inserted into, removed from, or rearranged within, the middle of an industrial automation system, it may be up to the designer to manually adjust the names of the other components in the industrial automation system to maintain the naming convention. Because this is tedious and time consuming, a designer may choose to break the naming convention or not make the modification to the industrial automation system, even though it would improve the performance of the industrial automation system, because of the work involved in making the modification. The disclosed techniques include using AI and/or machine learning to learn new naming conventions and propagate the new naming convention through one or more industrial automation systems and/or libraries, and to automatically adjust component names to maintain a naming convention when components are added, removed, or rearranged within the system. 
     Writing project code files for industrial automation systems is typically outsourced to contractors or third parties who are paid to deliver a project code file for an industrial automation system and then are subsequently not involved in the operation of the industrial automation system. Accordingly, the person who created the project code file for a particular industrial automation system is frequently not available to make adjustments to the project code file or answer questions about the project code file. Accordingly, while the customer that paid to have the project code file generated may have possession of the project code file, the customer may have no understanding of the structure of the project code file (e.g., the structure of the project code file, the quality of the project code file, etc.), and may not have the ability to modify the project code file. The disclosed techniques include a project code file analysis algorithm that may be applied to project code files and generate a report for the project code file. The project code analysis algorithm may be configured to determine a structure of the project code file, create a visualization of the project code file, identify dead code (i.e., code that is not executed) within the project code file, identify dead ends within the project code file, identify inefficient tag usage, identify parallel concurrent tasks, consider the validity of connections between components, identify overload situations, calculate a complexity score for the code, determine whether the project code file meets an acceptance criteria, and so forth. Further, once the project code file has been analyzed, a database may be updated with data from the analysis. As the database is populated with data from analyzing numerous project code files, adjustments may be made to the project code analysis algorithm, such that the project code analysis algorithm improves over time. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present embodiments will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic of an industrial system, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  2    illustrates an embodiment of an industrial automation environment, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  3    is a diagrammatical representation of a control and monitoring software framework illustrating how a design-time environment, a run-time environment, and a light engineering client environment interact with one another, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  4    illustrates how the design-time environment interacts with an operating system, an application, the run-time environment, and the light engineering client environment, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  5    is a screenshot of a dashboard of an industrial automation software package, accessible via a web browser or a running as a native application, within which the design-time, run-time, and light engineering client environments operate, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  6 A  is a screenshot of an explorer window of the dashboard on  FIG.  5    when a system tab is selected from a vertical navigation bar, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  6 B  is a screenshot of the explorer window  204  when the application tab  258  is selected from the vertical navigation bar  202 , in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  6 C  is a screenshot of the explorer window when a devices tab is selected from the vertical navigation bar, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  6 D  is a screenshot of the explorer window when a library tab is selected from the vertical navigation bar, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  6 E  is a screenshot of the explorer window when an extensions tab is selected from the vertical navigation bar, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  7    is a screenshot of a design-time environment dashboard when a user begins creation of a new project, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  8    is a screenshot of the design-time environment dashboard when a user opens an existing project, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  9    is a screenshot of a pop-up window that opens when a user selects an add device button within a devices window of the dashboard shown in  FIG.  8   , in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  10    is a screenshot of the dashboard showing various libraries when a library tab is selected from a vertical navigation bar, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  11    is a screenshot of the dashboard showing a service provider library when a service provider library tab is selected, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  12    is a detailed item view for a temperature sensor, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  13    is a screenshot of the dashboard illustrating the creation of areas within the project, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  14    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which the user has selected a roller control object and dragged it into a guide roll area in a design window, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  15    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which the user has selected a motor object and dragged it into the guide roll area in the design window along with the roller control object, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  16    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which the user has attempted to drag an incompatible object into the guide roll area in the design window, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  17    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which the user has added a roller control object and two of the motor objects to the guide roll area in the design window, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  18    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which the system has proposed a connection to the user, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  19    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which the user has drawn an invalid connection, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  20    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which the user has selected a routine and dragged it into the guide roll area in the design window along with the roller control object  600 , in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  21    illustrates a flow chart of a process for defining a naming convention and propagating the naming convention through one or more projects and/or one or more libraries, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  22    illustrates a flow chart of a process for generating a name for an instantiation of on object within a project, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  23    illustrates a flow chart of a process for revising the names of one or more existing objects in a project based on the addition of a new object instantiation, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  24    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard showing a project for a cookie making facility in the logical view style, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  25    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard showing the project for the cookie making facility shown in  FIG.  24    in a network view style, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  26    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard showing the project for the cookie making facility shown in  FIGS.  24  and  25    in a tree view style, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  27    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard showing the project for the cookie making facility shown in  FIGS.  24 - 26    in a table view style, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  28    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard showing the project for the cookie making facility shown in  FIGS.  24 - 27    in a logic view style, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  29    is a screenshot of the dashboard in a split screen view, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  30    is a screenshot of the dashboard that illustrates the creation of areas for an existing project, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  31    is a screenshot of the dashboard in a tag editing mode, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  32    is a screenshot of the dashboard in a logic editing mode, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  33    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which the system is suggesting controllers for the cookie making project of  FIGS.  24 - 27   , in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  34    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which the controller suggestions have been accepted (e.g., via user input) and the controllers are being added to the project, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  35    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which an additional motion control module has been suggested for the wrapper area, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  36    is a screenshot of the dashboard displaying an end of life notification, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  37    is a screenshot of the dashboard showing a disconnected component and a new unconfigured component, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  38    illustrates a new replacement CLX controller in the packer area in place of the old CLX controller, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  39    is a screenshot of the dashboard showing multiple people editing a totalizer routine simultaneously, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  40    is a screenshot of the dashboard illustrating users sending messages to each other, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  41    is a screenshot of the dashboard in which a user has been prompted as to how they would like to resolve conflicts, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  42    is a screenshot of the dashboard displaying three mockups, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  43    illustrates a flow chart of a process for analyzing a project code file, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  44    is a screenshot of the dashboard displaying an alarm notification and an alarm pop-up window, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  45    is a screenshot of the dashboard displaying an alarm summary screen, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  46    illustrates a home screen of a light engineering client dashboard as displayed on an HMI, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  47    is a screenshot of the light engineering client dashboard when an alarm tab has been selected, in accordance with embodiments presented herein; and 
         FIG.  48    is a screenshot of the light engineering client dashboard when the explorer window and the connected devices window have been minimized, in accordance with embodiments presented herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
       FIG.  1    is schematic of an industrial system  10 , which may be displayed, for example, in a graphical user interface (GUI), such as a dashboard, viewable on a workstation, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a smartphone, a human machine interface (HMI), some other mobile device, or any other computing device. The industrial system  10  may be part of an industrial automation environment, such as an automobile manufacturing facility, a food processing facility, a drilling operation, a semiconductor or microprocessor fabrication facility, or some other type of industrial facility. As shown, the industrial system  10  may include one or more subsystems  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 , or areas, which may work in concert to perform one or more industrial processes. For example, in a food processing application, the first subsystem  12  may be a mixing system, the second subsystem  14  may be an oven or heating system, the third subsystem  16  may be a packing system, and the fourth subsystem  18  may be a wrapping system. 
     As shown, each subsystem may include one or more combinations of components, referred to as modules. For example, the first industrial subsystem  12  shown in  FIG.  1    includes an industrial controller  20 , a drive  22 , a motor  24 , an input/output (I/O) device  26 , a motion control system  28 , and an HMI  30 . The second industrial subsystem  14  shown in  FIG.  1    includes an industrial controller  20 , a temperature sensor  32 , an I/O device  26 , and an HMI  30 . The third industrial subsystem  16  shown in  FIG.  1    includes an industrial controller  20 , an industrially managed Ethernet switch  34 , a drive  22 , a motor  24 , a temperature sensor  32 , a motion control system  28 , and an HMI  30 . The fourth industrial subsystem  18  shown in  FIG.  1    includes an industrial controller  20 , an I/O device  26 , a motion control system  28 , three motors  24 , and an HMI  30 . It should be understood, however, that the particular combinations of components shown in  FIG.  1    are merely examples and that many other combinations of components are envisaged. Further, it should be understood that the scope of possible industrial automation components is not intended to be limited to those shown in  FIG.  1   . For example, other industrial automation components may include pumps, actuators, filters, robots, drills, mills, printers, fabrication machinery, brew kettles, reserves of materials and/or resources, and so forth. 
     The schematic of the industrial system  10  may be displayed to a user within a dashboard on a display of a computing device (e.g., a HMI, a programming terminal, a desktop computer, a tablet, a mobile device, a smartphone, etc.) that may allow a user to design, configure, modify, monitor, and/or troubleshoot the industrial system  10  or one or more of the industrial subsystems  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  of the industrial system  10 .  FIG.  2    illustrates an embodiment of an industrial automation environment  50 . The industrial automation environment  50  provides an example of an industrial automation environment  50  that may be utilized to design, configure, modify, monitor, and/or troubleshoot the industrial system  10 , but other environments are also envisaged. The industrial automation environment  50  includes one or more computing devices  52 , the industrial system  10 , a database  54 , and an application integration platform  56 . The computing devices may be equipped with software that allows a user to design and/or configure aspects of the industrial system  10 , monitor the industrial system  10  during operation, and troubleshoot the industrial system  10  when the industrial system  10  encounters a problem. 
     The industrial system  10  may be configured to run a process  58 . For example, the process  58  may include a compressor station, an oil refinery, a batch operation for making food items, a mechanized assembly line, and so forth. Accordingly, the process  58  may include a variety of operational components, such as electric motors, valves, actuators, sensors, or a myriad of manufacturing, processing, material handling, and other applications. Further, the process  58  may include control and monitoring equipment (e.g., an industrial controller  20 ) for regulating process variables through automation and/or observation. The control/monitoring device  20  may include, for example, automation controllers, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), programmable automation controllers (PACs), or any other controllers used in automation control. The illustrated process  58  may include one or more sensors  60  and/or one or more actuators  62 . The sensors  60  may include any number of devices adapted to provide information regarding process conditions, such as temperature sensors, pressure sensors, position sensors, motion sensors, accelerometers, flow sensors, chemical sensors, and so forth. Similarly, the actuators  62  may include any number of devices adapted to perform a mechanical action in response to an input signal (e.g., linear motors, servos, electric motors, pumps, etc.). 
     As illustrated, the sensors  60  and actuators  62  are in communication with the control/monitoring device  20  (e.g., industrial automation controller) and may be assigned a particular address in the control/monitoring device  20  that is accessible by the computing devices  52 , via the application integration platform  56  and database  54 . In some embodiments, the sensors  60  and actuators  62  may be in communication with one or more of the computing devices (e.g., an HMI), via the control/monitoring device  20 , to operate equipment associated with the process  58 . Indeed, the sensors  60  and actuators  62  may be utilized within process loops that are monitored and controlled by the control/monitoring device  20  and/or one or more of the computing devices  52  (e.g., an HMI). Such a process loop may be activated based on process inputs (e.g., input from a sensor  60 ) or direct inputs (e.g., operator input received through the computing device  52 ). 
     The control/monitoring device  20  and the database  54  may be in communication via a communication link  64 , the database  54  and the application integration platform  56  may be in communication via a communication link  64 , and the application integration platform  56  and the computing devices  52  may be in communication via communication links  64 . Note that, as shown and described with regard to  FIG.  1   , there may be multiple processes  58 , multiple control/monitoring devices  20 , and many more sensors  60  and actuators  62  in an industrial system  10  than are shown in  FIG.  2   , but the number of components within the industrial system  10  has been reduced for clarity. Similarly, it should be understood that the industrial system  10  may be part of an automobile manufacturing factory, a food processing plant, an oil drilling operation, a microprocessor fabrication facility, or some other type of industrial enterprise. Further, the industrial system  10  may include drives, pumps, filters, drills, motors, robots, fabrication machinery, mills, printers, a brew kettle, or any other pieces industrial automation equipment. 
     As the process  58  operates, the sensors  60  and actuators  62  acquire/produce operational data over time, such that the operational data is provided to the control/monitoring device  20 . The operational data indicates the current status of the sensors  60  and actuators  62 , such as parameters, pressure, temperature, speed, energy usage, operational equipment effectiveness (OEE), mean time between failure (MTBF), mean time to repair (MTTR), voltage, throughput volumes, times, tank levels, or any other performance status metrics. In some embodiments, the operational data may include dynamic charts or trends, real-time video, or some other graphical content. The control/monitoring device  20  is capable of transferring the operational data over the communication link  64  to the database  54 , the application integration platform  56 , and/or the computing devices  52 , typically via a communication links  64 , which make up a communication network. The database  54  may be stored on one or more memory devices on premises, on a remote server, or in the cloud (e.g., public cloud, private cloud, etc.). Accordingly, the database  54  may reside in a single device or may be distributed among multiple memory devices. 
     The application integration platform  56  may include a processing system, a communication transceiver, a router, a server, a data storage system, and a power supply, or some combination thereof. As with the database  54 , the application integration platform  56  may reside in a single device or may be distributed across multiple devices. The application integration platform  56  may be a discrete system or may be integrated within other systems, including other systems within industrial automation environment  50 . In some examples, the application integration platform  56  could comprise a FACTORYTALK VANTAGEPOINT server system provided by Rockwell Automation, Inc. 
     The communication links  64  over which data is exchanged between the process  58 , the sensors  60 , the actuators  62 , the control/monitoring device  20 , the database  54 , the application integration platform  56 , and the computing devices  52  could utilize metal, air, space, optical fiber such as glass or plastic, or some other material as the transport medium, including combinations thereof. Further, the communication links  64  could include one or more network elements such as routers, gateways, telecommunication switches, servers, processing systems, or other communication equipment and systems for providing communication and data services. These communication links  64  may use various communication protocols, such as time-division multiplexing (TDM), Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet, telephony, optical networking, packet networks, wireless mesh networks (WMN), local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN), wide area networks (WAN), hybrid fiber coax (HFC), communication signaling, wireless protocols, communication signaling, peer-to-peer networking over Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi Direct, near field communication (NFC), or some other communication format, including combinations thereof. The communication links  64  could be direct links or may include intermediate networks, systems, or devices. 
     The computing devices  52  may be representative of any computing apparatus, system, or systems on which the disclosed techniques for designing, configuring, modifying, monitoring, and/or troubleshooting industrial automation systems  10  may be suitably implemented. The computing devices  52  provide may be used as either servers or client devices in some implementations, although such devices could have alternative configurations. The computing devices  52  could include, for example, mobile computing devices, such as cell phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, and gaming devices, as well as any other type of mobile computing devices and any combination or variation thereof, whether designed specifically for industrial automation applications (e.g., HMI), or not. The computing devices  52  may also include desktop computers, server computers, and virtual machines, as well as any other type of computing systems, variations, or combinations thereof. In some implementations, the computing devices  52  could include a mobile device capable of operating in a server-like fashion which, among other uses, could be utilized in a wireless mesh network. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , each of the computing devices  52  includes a processor  66 , a memory device  68 , software  70 , a communication interface  74 , a user interface  74 , and a display  76 , which may or may not be combined with the user interface  74  (e.g., a touch screen that also accepts user inputs via touches on its surface). The processor  66  is communicatively coupled to the memory device  68 , the communication interface  72 , the user interface  74 , and the display  76 . The processor  66  loads and executes software  70  from the memory device  68 . The processor  66  may be implemented within a single processing device but may also be distributed across multiple processing devices or sub-systems that cooperate in executing program instructions. Examples of processors  66  include general purpose central processing units, application specific processors, and logic devices, as well as any other type of processing device, combinations, or variations thereof. 
     The memory device  68  may include any computer-readable storage media capable of storing software  70  and readable by processor  66 . The memory device  68  may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. The memory device  68  may be implemented as a single storage device but may also be implemented across multiple storage devices or subsystems co-located or distributed relative to each other. The memory device  68  may include additional elements, such as a controller, capable of communicating with the processor  66 . Examples of storage media include random-access memory, read-only memory, magnetic disks, optical disks, flash memory, virtual memory and non-virtual memory, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and that may be accessed by an instruction execution system, as well as any combination or variation thereof, or any other type of storage media. 
     In operation, in conjunction with the user interface  74  and the display  76 , the processor loads and executes portions of software  70  to render a graphical user interface for one or more applications  80  for display by display  76 . The software  70  may be implemented in program instructions and among other functions may, when executed by the processor  66 , cause an HMI associated with the industrial automation system to display a plurality of graphical elements that represent one or more industrial devices. The software  70  may include, for example, an operating system  78  and one or more applications  80 . For example, the computing devices  52  may include one or more applications  80  for designing, configuring, modifying, monitoring, and/or troubleshooting the industrial system  10 . Examples of operating systems include Windows, iOS, and Android, as well as any other suitable operating system. The software  70  may also include firmware or some other form of machine-readable processing instructions (e.g., non-transitory) executable by processor  66 . In general, the software  70  may, when loaded into the processor  66  and executed, transform the computing device  52  from a general-purpose computing device into a special-purpose computing system customized to facilitate designing, configuring, modifying, monitoring, and/or troubleshooting industrial automation systems  10 . For example, encoding software  70  on the memory device  68  may transform the physical structure of the storage media of the memory device  68 . The specific transformation of the physical structure may depend on various factors in different implementations of this description. Examples of such factors may include, but are not limited to, the technology used to implement the storage media of the memory device and whether the computer-storage media are characterized as primary or secondary storage. 
     In some examples, if the computer-storage media are implemented as semiconductor-based memory, software  70  may transform the physical state of the semiconductor memory when the program is encoded therein. For example, software  70  may transform the state of transistors, capacitors, or other discrete circuit elements constituting the semiconductor memory. A similar transformation may occur with respect to magnetic or optical media. Other transformations of physical media are possible without departing from the scope of the present description, with the foregoing examples provided only to facilitate this discussion. 
     It should be understood that the computing device  52  is generally intended to represent a computing system with which software  70  is deployed and executed in order to implement applications  80  for designing, configuring, modifying, monitoring, and/or troubleshooting industrial automation systems  10 . Further, the application integration platform  56  may run on one or more computing devices  52 , and computing devices  52  may store and maintain the database  52 . However, the computing system  52  may also represent any computing system on which software  70  may be staged and from which software  70  may be distributed, transported, downloaded, or otherwise provided to yet another computing device  52  for deployment and execution, or yet additional distribution. For example, computing device  52  could be configured to deploy software  70  over the internet to one or more client computing systems for execution thereon, such as in a cloud-based deployment scenario. 
     The communication interface  72  may include communication connections and devices that allow for communication between the computing devices  52  or services, over a communication network or a collection of networks. In some implementations, the communication interface  72  receives dynamic data over the communication network via one or more communication links  64 . Examples of connections and devices that together allow for inter-system communication may include network interface cards, antennas, power amplifiers, RF circuitry, transceivers, and other communication circuitry, and so forth. 
     The user interface  74 , which may or may not include the display  76 , may include a voice input device, a touch input device for receiving a gesture from a user, a motion input device for detecting non-touch gestures and other motions by a user, and other comparable input devices and associated processing elements capable of receiving user input from a user. Output devices such as the display  76 , speakers, haptic devices, and other types of output devices may also be included in the user interface  74 . The user interface  74  may also include associated user interface software executable by processor  66  in support of the various user input and output devices discussed above. Separately or in conjunction with each other and other hardware and software elements, the user interface software and devices may provide a graphical user interface, a natural user interface, or any other kind of user interface. The user interface  74  may be omitted in some implementations. Along these lines, the computing devices  52  may also include additional devices, features, or functionality not discussed here for purposes of brevity. 
     Design-Time, Run-Time, and Light Engineering Client Environments 
     The computing devices  52  may include applications  80  that enable a user to design, configure, modify, monitor, and/or troubleshoot industrial automation systems  10 . The computing devices  52  may run (e.g., execute) a single application  80  or multiple applications  80  that provide a design-time environment for designing, configuring, modifying, and making major changes to the industrial automation systems  10 , a run-time environment for monitoring the operations of one or more components within the industrial automation systems  10 , and a light engineering client environment for troubleshooting, or otherwise making minor changes (e.g., relative to the changes made in the design-time environment) to the industrial automation systems  10 .  FIG.  3    is a diagrammatical representation of a control and monitoring software framework  100  illustrating how the design-time environment, the run-time environment, and the light engineering client environment interact with one another. 
     The framework  50  includes three interrelated software environments that can reside on a single system (e.g., computing device), or be distributed among multiple computing devices. Specifically, a design-time environment  102  permits a designer (e.g., a human user) to design, configure, and make modifications to the industrial automation systems. A run-time environment  104  enables an operator (e.g., a human user) to interact with an application, such as a process during run-time (e.g., during use of the interface, typically during interaction with or observance of a process in operation). For example, an industrial automation system may be graphically represented with run-time information to an operator via the run-time environment  104  on a display (e.g., computing device or interface device screen). A light engineering client  106  enables an operator to troubleshoot and/or make limited adjustments to the process in operation when a problem is encountered during operation or the operator wishes to make adjustments to the system without shifting to the design-time environment  102 . The environments interact as described below, in innovative ways to provide greatly enhanced programming via a computing device, such that the operation of the computing device itself is more efficient. 
     The run-time environment  104  includes or provides access to objects  108 . The objects  108  are software components that may include any accessible or configurable element in a software environment. For example, the objects  108  may include software components that are managed by the run-time environment  104 . Accordingly, it should be understood that “objects” may include any components or self-sufficient programs that can be run as quasi-independent elements. Objects generally include four features: properties, methods, connections (or connection points) and communications interfaces. Properties, in this context, are attributes that can be adjusted, such as to define an image or representation of the element in a screen view, as well as its location on the screen, and so forth. In this context, a method is an executable function (sometimes referred to herein as the element&#39;s “functionality” or “state engine”), and defines an operation performed by execution of the element. A connection, in this context, is a link between elements, and can be used to cause data (read from a memory or written to a memory) to be sent to another element. 
     Specific examples of objects  108  may include software pushbuttons, timers, gauges, PLC communication servers, visualizations (such as screens that illustrate state of components within the automation control and monitoring system), and applications. In general, virtually any identifiable function may be configured as such an element. For example, such elements may include controllers, input/output (I/O) modules, motor control centers, motors, human machine interfaces (HMIs), operator interfaces, contactors, starters, sensors, drives, relays, protection devices, switchgear, compressors, network switches (e.g., Ethernet switches, modular-managed, fixed-managed, service-router, industrial, unmanaged, etc.), scanners, gauges, valves, flow meters, and the like. Moreover, as discussed below, such elements may communicate with one another to perform a wide range of display, monitoring operations and control functions. It should be noted that objects  108  do not require special limitations for supporting a design mode. Also, while elements associated with an image are quite useful, particularly for visualizations, many elements may not have a visual representation, but may perform functions within an HMI or other computing device, such as calculations, or even management and data exchange between other elements. 
     The run-time environment  104  typically operates using a communications subsystem  110  adapted to interconnect the objects  108 . In practice, the communications subsystem  110  may be thought of as including the connections of the objects  108 . However, it may include a range of software, hardware and firmware that send data to and receive data from external circuits, such as automation controllers, other computers, networks, satellites, sensors, actuators, and so forth. 
     The run-time environment  104  typically operates using a behavioral subsystem  112 , which is adapted to manage the behavior of the objects  108 . For example, responsibilities of the behavioral subsystem  112  may include place and move objects, modify objects, group objects on interchangeable screens, save and restore screen layouts, manage security, save and restore connection lists, and supply remote access to the run-time environment  104 . Such behaviors may be defined as part of the profile (i.e., the “method” or “state engine”) of each object. 
     The design-time environment  102  includes an advanced implementation of the behavioral subsystem  112  that facilitates direct or indirect manipulation of the run-time environment  104 , without impeding or compromising the behavior of the run-time environment  104 . That is, design and reconfiguration of the objects  108  can be done while an interface is operating. In some instances, the behavioral subsystem  112  may extend access to the run-time environment  104  via remote provision of the design-time environment  102 , such as in a conventional browser or an application run on a computing device. The behavioral subsystem  112  allows a designer to interact with and change aspects of the run-time environment  104  of an HMI via a separate computing device (e.g., a remote programming terminal) by serving the design-time environment  102  or aspects thereof to the programming terminal from the HMI. For example, an HMI communicatively coupled to a laptop via a wired or wireless network connection may provide a user with configuration capabilities by serving up a specific design-time environment  102  to the laptop via the network. 
     By facilitating changes to objects  108 , the design-time environment  102  allows the designer to make interchangeable design-time models or specialized implementations of the behavioral subsystem  112 . A specific example of a design-time implementation of the behavioral subsystem  112  includes a Web-based or application-based design-time environment  102 , which extends access to a run-time environment  104  on an HMI or other computing device via a wired or wireless connection between the HMI and a remote device. The Web-based or application-based design-time environment  102  facilitates management of the objects without compromising run-time performance or security. In one implementation, the behavioral subsystem  112  gives designers the ability to manipulate aspects of the run-time environment  104  using a Web browser or application that is capable of accessing a related interface or HMI. 
     As described in more detail below, the light engineering client environment  106  may bring aspects of the design-time environment  102  into an environment that has more in common with the run-time environment  104  than the design-time environment  102 . As previously described, the design-time environment  102  is primarily used by a designer to design, configure, and/or modify the industrial automation system. After the industrial automation system has been configured, the designer likely moves on to other projects. In contrast, the run-time environment  104  is primarily used by an operator within an industrial automation environment to monitor the industrial automation system as a process runs. Use of the design-time environment  102  may involve the writing and/or manipulation of computer code, which may be largely absent from the run-time environment  104 . As such, the design-time environment  102  and the run-time environment  104  may be designed for different users having different skillsets and different capabilities. However, if a problem arises during operation of the industrial automation system  10  that is relatively simple to resolve, it may not be an efficient use of resources to stop the operation of the industrial automation system  10 , exit the run-time environment  104 , and have a designer or engineer diagnose the problem and resolve the problem using the design-time environment  102 . Accordingly, if a problem arises, the light engineering client environment  106  may be available to the operator to troubleshoot the problem, attempt to diagnose the problem, and use the more limited design capabilities of the light engineering client environment  106  to address the problem and resume operations with minimal downtime. If the operator is unable to resolve the problem via the light engineering client environment  106 , a designer, engineer, or service technician may be brought in to diagnose and resolve the issue via the design-time environment  104  or the like. 
       FIG.  4    represents, at a high level, how the design-time environment  102  interacts with the operating system  78 , the application  80 , the run-time environment  102 , and the light engineering client environment  106 . The arrow  150  represents dynamic exchange of content between an HMI  152  (i.e., a first computing device  52 ) and a programming terminal  154  (i.e., a second computing device  52 ). As previously described, interaction with the design-time environment  102  is generally the task of a designer  156 , who initially configures the industrial automation system. The run-time environment  102  and light engineering client environment  106  are generally interacted with by an operator  158  directly via the HMI  154 , or some other computing device  52  within the industrial automation environment. It should be noted that while the design-time environment  102  operates according to certain parameters, in a current embodiment, the parameters may depend on the operating system  78 , the application  80 , the run-time environment  102 , and the light engineering client environment  106 . The design-time environment  102 , the run-time environment  102 , and the light engineering client environment  106  may utilize certain base technologies (e.g., DHTML, HTML, HTTP, dynamic server content, JavaScript, Web browser) to operate respectively. While, in the illustrated embodiment, the design-time environment  102  resides on a separate platform from the run-time environment  102  and the light engineering client environment  106 , in some embodiments, they may reside on the same platform. For example, the design-time platform, run-time platform, and the light engineering client platform may be configured as or considered a single platform. 
     Design-Time Environment Dashboard 
       FIG.  5    is a screenshot of a dashboard  200  of an industrial automation software package, accessible via a web browser or a running as a native application, within which the design-time, run-time, and light engineering client environments operate (e.g., run). The dashboard  200  includes a vertical navigation bar  202 , an explorer window  204 , a primary window  206 , and one or more accessory windows  208 . As shown, the vertical navigation bar  202  includes a system tab, an editor tab, a devices tab, a library tab, a monitor tab, and an extensions tab, which may be displayed separate from the other tabs of the vertical navigation bar  202 . Though not shown in  FIG.  5   , in some embodiments, the vertical navigation bar  202  may include an application tab. While other aspects of the dashboard  200  may change as different tabs within the vertical navigation bar  202  are selected, the vertical navigation bar  202  remains mostly constant during use of the dashboard  200 . As described in more detail below with regard to  FIG.  6   , when various tabs within the vertical navigation bar  202  are selected, the visualizations depicted within the explorer window  204  changes. 
     The information displayed within the primary window  206  is dependent upon which of a plurality of tabs  210  extending along a top edge of the primary window  206  is selected, as well as selections within the explorer window  204 . As shown in  FIG.  5   , the tabs across the top of the primary window  206  may include, for example, a selected routine, tags, a faceplate associated with the selected routing, general information, control strategy, etc. The accessory windows  208  may be configurable by a user to display other related information, such as properties of a selected component, a project library, a toolbox, one or more external libraries, and so forth. 
       FIGS.  6 A- 6 E  illustrate how selection of tabs within the vertical navigation bar  202  control what is displayed within the explorer window  204 .  FIG.  6 A  is a screenshot of the explorer window  204  when the system tab  250  is selected from the vertical navigation bar  202 . As shown, when the system tab  250  is selected from the vertical navigation bar  202 , the explorer window  204  displays a system explorer tab  252  and a views explorer tab  25 . When the system explorer tab  252  is selected, the explorer window  204  displays a list  256  of components within the selected system or subsystem. As shown, the list  256  of components can selectively collapse and expand based on inputs from a user. When a selected component or subcomponent is expanded, the explorer window  204  may display selectable options for programs, processes, or routines performed by the selected component, tags associated with the selected component, portions of code associated with the selected component, documents associated with the selected component, subcomponents of the selected component, relationships and/or dependencies with other components, and so forth. As items are selected within the explorer window  204 , the primary window of the dashboard may be updated to display data associated with the selected item. Though not shown in  FIG.  6 A , when the view explorer tab  254  is selected, the explorer window  204  is updated to display options for various alternative views of the components shown in the explorer window  204 . 
       FIG.  6 B  is a screenshot of the explorer window  204  when the application tab  258  is selected from the vertical navigation bar  202 . As shown, when the application tab  258  is selected, the explorer window  204  displays a controller tab  260  and an HMI tab  262 . When the controller tab  260  is selected, the explorer window  204  displays a list  264  of controllers within the selected system or subsystem. As shown, each controller within the list  264  may be selectively collapsed and expanded based on inputs from a user. When a selected controller is expanded, the explorer window  204  may display tags associated with the selected controller, a controller fault handler, a controller power up handler, tasks performed by the controller, time periods, alarms, programs and/or routines, tags and/or parameters associated with the selected task, related documentation, and so forth. As items are selected within the explorer window  204 , the primary window of the dashboard may be updated to display data associated with the selected item. Though not shown in  FIG.  6 B , when the HMI tab  262  is selected, the explorer window  204  is updated to display similar information for various HMIs within the system. 
       FIG.  6 C  is a screenshot of the explorer window when the devices tab  266  is selected from the vertical navigation bar  202 . As shown, the when the devices tab  266  is selected, the explorer window  204  displays a list  256  of devices that have been added to the selected system or subsystem. The list  268  of components can selectively collapse and expand based on inputs from a user. As shown, devices may be initially categorized (e.g., all devices, test devices, emulation devices, etc.), and then further categorized into multiple subcategories (e.g., controllers, drives, MCC, etc.). 
       FIG.  6 D  is a screenshot of the explorer window  204  when the library tab  270  is selected from the vertical navigation bar  202 . As shown, when the library tab  270  is selected, the explorer window  204  displays tabs for various connected libraries. For example, in the embodiment shown in  FIG.  6 D , the tabs include a project library tab  272 , a service provider library tab  274 , and an external library tab  276 . When each tab is selected, the explorer window  204  displays a list  278  of various available components within the selected library. In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG.  6 D , the components within the library may be grouped by category. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG.  6 D , the project library may be a library of components that have been approved for use in the project in question. The service provider library may include components that have been configured by a service provider and may be compatible with the instant project. The external library may be populated up by a third party and may include components that have been configured for a certain purpose, so be compatible with specific other components, and so forth. 
       FIG.  6 E  is a screenshot of the explorer window when the extensions tab  280  is selected from the vertical navigation bar  202 . As shown, the when the extensions tab  280  is selected, the explorer window  204  displays a list  282  of available extensions that may be added and/or utilized during a project. 
     Creating New Projects and Editing Existing Projects in the Design-Time Environment 
       FIG.  7    is a screenshot of the design-time environment dashboard  200  when a user begins creation of a new project. In the instant embodiment, the user has created a new project called “ACME System Project” and the system tab  250  has been selected from the vertical navigation bar  202 . As shown in  FIG.  7   , the dashboard  200  includes a start window  300 , a system status window  302 , a devices window  304 , a library window  306 , and a team window  308 . 
     The start window  300  provides a user with shortcuts to build out the project. In the embodiment shown in  FIG.  7   , the start window  300  includes a build system button  310  and an import piping and instrumentation diagram (P&amp;ID) button  312 . When the build system  310  button is selected, the dashboard  200  may guide a user through basic layout of a project and selection of one or more components to add to the system. When the import P&amp;ID button  312  is selected, the dashboard  200  may open an explorer window that allows a user to locate a P&amp;ID file to import. The imported P&amp;ID may then provide a framework for the new project. 
     The system status window  302  displays one or more system status indicators of the system. Because the project is new and does not yet have any components, the system status window  302  does not display a system status. Similarly, because the project is new and no devices or libraries have been added to the project, the device window  304  and library window  306  do not display any devices or libraries, respectively. The device window  304  displays an add device button  314  that, when selected, allows the user to select devices to add to the project. Similarly, the library window  306  displays an add library button  316  that, when selected, allows the user to select one or more libraries to add to the project. 
     The team window  308  facilitates communication between members of a team that are working on the project. As shown, the team window  308  includes a messages tab  318 , an activity tab  320 , and a members tab  322 . The information displayed in the team window  308  is controlled by which tab is selected. In the screenshot shown in  FIG.  7   , the members tab  322  has been selected. When the members tab  322  is selected, the team window  308  displays members of the team with access to the project. Because the project is new, the list of team members only includes a single user profile. However, the user may select the add team member button  324  to add other uses to the team. Selection of the messages tab  318  causes the team window  308  to display messages sent between members of the team. Selection of the activity tab  320  causes the team window  308  to display recent activity by team members within the project. 
     Though  FIG.  7    shows the dashboard  200  for creation of a new project, in many instances, the user will open an existing project rather than opening a new project.  FIG.  8    is a screenshot of the design-time environment dashboard  200  when a user opens an existing project. It should be noted that some of the windows of the dashboard  200  in  FIG.  8    are different from the windows of the dashboard  200  shown in  FIG.  7   . Some of the differences may be attributable to the dashboard in  FIG.  7    displaying a new project, while the dashboard in  FIG.  8    displays an existing project. However, some of the differences in windows may be attributable to the dashboard  200  being customizable by the user. For example, the dashboard  200  shown in  FIG.  8    includes an edit this page button  350  that, when selected, allows a user to control which windows are displayed on the dashboard  200  and how the selected windows are arranged. 
     The dashboard  200  shown in  FIG.  8    includes, in addition to the devices window  304 , the library window  306 , and the team window  308  shown and described with regard to  FIG.  7   , a recent items window  352 , and a project areas summary window  354 . The recent items window  352  displays a list of the most recently viewed items. Selecting an item from within the recent items window  352  may open the item in a new window, allowing a user to return to editing the selected item. The project areas summary window  354  displays the various areas of the project, which may be expandable to display subareas and modules within the area. Each project may be divided into multiple areas, which may correspond to different processes within the project. In the embodiment shown in  FIG.  8   , the project is a chemical processing project including three areas: extraction, fermentation, and distillation. Each area may or may not be further subdivided into one or more sub-areas. Additionally, each area may include one or more groups of components, called modules, that act in concert to perform some action or set of actions. As shown in  FIG.  8   , the project areas window displays the number sub-areas within each area, as well as the number of modules within each area. As with the start window  300  shown in  FIG.  7   , the project areas summary window  354  includes the build system button  310  and the import P&amp;ID button  312 . 
     The devices window  304  displays a scrollable list of devices within the project. Each device listing may include a name given to the device, a model name, a status, and so forth. As shown, the top of the devices window  304  may display the total number of devices within the project, as well as the add device button  314 , allowing a user to add devices to the project. Selection of a device within the devices window  304  may display more detailed information about the selected device. 
     The library window  306  displays one or more libraries of components that have been imported or otherwise linked to the project. For example, the libraries may include libraries created for the project by the customer, public and/or private libraries created by a service provider, and public and/or private libraries created by a third party. The add library button  316 , allows a user to add libraries to the project. Selection of a library within the library window  306  may display more detailed information about the selected library. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIG.  8   , the messages tab  318  has been selected within the team window  308 . The messages tab  318  includes a number indicating the number of unread messages. Similar functionality may be utilized for the activity tab  320  (e.g., reflecting the number of notifications for new activities) and for the members tab  322  (e.g., reflecting the number of notifications for members, or requests to add new members). Because the messages tab  318  has been selected, the team window  308  displays a message from a user named Jane Doe requesting review/feedback on a new object. 
       FIG.  9    is a screenshot of a pop-up window  400  that opens when a user selects the add device button  314  within the devices window  304  of the dashboard  200  shown in  FIG.  8   . In the instant embodiment, the user has identified a file called “Ethanol_Plant”, so the pop-up window  400  has been populated with various components referred to in the identified file. Each component referenced in the identified file is given a row within the pop-up window  400 . Columns are then generated for fields associated with data within the identified file. For example, in the embodiment shown in  FIG.  9   , the columns include data for tag, device type, model number, remote I/O rack tag, channel, controller, task, HMI server, HMI screen, etc. From the pop-up window  400  shown in  FIG.  9   , the user may select one or more devices to import, or import all of the devices. After the devices have been imported, the devices may be part of a library. A similar process may be used to add a library to the project. 
       FIG.  10    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  showing various libraries when the library tab  270  is selected from the vertical navigation bar  202 . As shown, the project library, the service provider library (e.g., “Rockwell Product Library”), and the customer process library (e.g., “ACME process library) appear in the explorer window  204 . Upon selection of one of the libraries in the explorer window  204 , the selected library is displayed in the primary window  206 . As shown in  FIG.  10   , the primary window  206  may also include a row of tabs (e.g., project library tab  450 , service provider tab  452 , and customer process library tab  454 ) that allow a user to toggle between the various available libraries. In the embodiment shown in  FIG.  10    the project library has been selected and is being displayed in the primary window  206 . As a project is worked on, members of the team may populate a library of items, which may appear in the primary window  206  as a collapsible/expandable list. The items may include, for example, hardware (e.g., controllers, actuators, valves, pumps, agitators, heaters, sensors, etc.), definitions, routines, programs, instructions, calculations, alarms, etc. 
     In the instant embodiment, the library is grouped by definitions, add on instructions (AOIs), add on graphics (AOGs) and user-defined data types (UDTs). As a user navigates the library and selects and item, the primary window  206  may update to display more information about the selected item. It should be understood, however, that the specific contents of the library shown in  FIG.  10    are merely an example and that libraries having different contents are also envisaged. As is described in more detail below, each object in the library has a corresponding file or script of computer code, or a portion of computer code that defines the object and how the object interacts with other objects. The computer code for the various objects in the library may be stored in a database. Upon execution by a processor, the code causes an industrial automation control component to perform some action. Accordingly, as an entity (e.g., designing, customer, service provider, 3 rd  party vendor, etc.) builds out a library, how the various objects within the library interact with one another may be considered. For example, the database on which the library is stored may include compatibility data that specifies with which objects within the library a given object in the library is compatible, and how those objects interact with each other (e.g., what are the inputs and outputs?). 
     Historical data may also be referenced for determining compatibility and/or interaction between objects. Accordingly, when a user selects a set of commonly combined objects for a project, the library may anticipate how those objects are going to interact with each other and may as far as generating or retrieving code that defines the operation of the objects and the interaction between the objects so the designer does not have to write the code from scratch. In some embodiments, the automatically generated or retrieved code may be accessible by the designer for editing to fine tune the code to the intended use. 
     Because populating a library for a complex project from scratch is a substantial undertaking for the team working on the project, in some embodiments, a service provider may populate a library of items to be used by its customers.  FIG.  11    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  showing the service provider library when the service provider library tab  452  is selected. When the service provider provides a component, system, service, or the like to a customer, the service provider may have provided a similar system, service, or the like to a different customer for use in a similar application. Accordingly, to reduce the resources expended by its customers and to reduce redundancies in designing projects for similar applications, the service provider may provide a library that is accessible by the customer. In some embodiments, the library may be a public library that is available (e.g., accessible for download) to public or to customers of the service provider (e.g., with user login credentials). In other embodiments, the service provider may create a library specifically for a customer and limit access to the library to individuals associated with the customer or to the team working on the project in question. As shown, the library includes folders for instructions, hardware, graphics, and predefined data types. The instructions folder may include, for example, subfolders for alarms, time/counter, compare, compute, etc., each of which may include one or more library items and/or additional subfolders. It should be understood, however, that the specific contents of the library shown in  FIG.  11    are merely an examples and that libraries having different contents are also envisaged. 
     Additionally, the customer may populate libraries intended to be used across multiple projects. For example, an oil and gas company, a food processing company, or any other entity may design and build multiple facilities that perform the same or similar functions in different geographical locations. Accordingly, selection of the customer process library tab  454  may cause the primary window  206  to display a navigable library (e.g., expandable/collapsible listing) populated by the customer to be used in multiple projects and linked to by the current project. 
     As previously described, a user may navigate through the various libraries (e.g., the project library, the service provider library, the customer process library, etc.) to arrive at a specific item, or find the specific item via the devices tab  266 . Upon selection of the item, the primary window updates to display more details information about the selected item. For example,  FIG.  12    is a detailed item view for a temperature sensor. As shown, a top portion of the primary window  206  includes a listing  500  of various information about the selected temperature sensor. A bottom portion of the primary window  206  includes a listing  502  of settings and/or outputs from the selected temperature sensor. 
     Drag and Drop Design Interface 
     In the design-time environment, the dashboard  200  utilizes a drag-and-drop style interface that allows a user to drag items from a library into a design window. Previously, to configure a group of items to work with one another, a user would open a programming window for each item in the group and individually write programming code specifying operation of the item and how the item interacts with other items in the group (e.g., inputs, outputs, settings, algorithms, routines, and so forth). Though such a system may work well for users that are proficient in programming and are looking to program an item or a group of items to perform a somewhat uncommon task, for other users, such a system is challenging, time consuming, inefficient, and prone to human error.  FIGS.  13 - 20    illustrate designing a project in the design-time environment using the drag-and-drop features.  FIG.  13    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  illustrating the creation of areas within the project. A user may draw dotted lines in a design window  550 , which is displayed within the primary window  206 , to define areas within the project. In the instant embodiment, the project is for a paper line, so the areas include a first reel area  552 , a guide roll area  554 , a press area  556 , and a second reel area  558 . It should be understood, however, that the areas shown in  FIG.  13    are merely an example and that many other areas and combinations of areas are also envisaged. Each area includes one or more components that work in concert to perform a function. In some embodiments, the components within an area may be further grouped into sub-areas and/or modules. Though the areas  552 ,  554 ,  556 ,  558  shown in  FIG.  13    are defined by squares and rectangles, a user may draw dotted lines or identify points that define any closed shape or polygon within the design window  550 . After an area boundary has been drawn, the user may type in a name for the area, or select the area name from a list. 
     As shown in  FIG.  13   , the dashboard  200  includes a pop-up window  560  that provides a user with options to add content to the design window, save the last action performed, and/or repeat the last action performed. Further, the accessory windows  208  may be populated with tools that a user may utilize to build the project. For example, the in the instant embodiment, the accessory windows include a tools window  562 , a definitions window  564 , a logic window  566 , an HMI window  568 , and a properties window  570 . The tools window  562  includes tools that allow a user to manipulate the project within the design window  550 . For example, the tools window  562  may include tools for zoom in, zoom out, select, draw line, draw shape, change view, and so forth. The definitions window  564 , the logic window  566 , and the HMI window  568  may include icons representing objects that a user can drag and drop into the design window  550  to add to the project. In some embodiments, the accessory windows  208  may be scrollable to reveal additional windows with icons that can be dragged into the design window  550 . Accordingly, the accessory windows  208  shown in  FIG.  13    are not intended to be limiting. The properties window  570  may display properties of a selected item or may allow a user to search for items within the project or the various connected libraries having specific properties. 
     After an area has been selected, the design window  550  updates to show only the selected area. In the instant embodiment, the user has selected the guide roll area  554 , so the design window  550  has been updated to show the guide roll area  554 .  FIG.  14    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which the user has selected a roller control object  600  and dragged it into the guide roll area  554  in the design window  550 . Because the guide roll area  554  does not have any components attached thereto, the design window  550  includes text inviting the user to drag (e.g., move) an object into the design window  550  to start designing the guide roll area  554 . As shown in  FIG.  14   , the user has selected a roller control object  600  and dragged it into the guide roll area  554  in the design window  550 . 
     After the roller control object  600  has been placed in the design window  500 , other objects may be selected and dragged into the design window  500  to join the roller control object  600  in the guide roll area  554 .  FIG.  15    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which the user has selected a motor object  602  and dragged it into the guide roll area  554  in the design window  550  along with the roller control object  600 . In some embodiments, the system may reference compatibility data and/or rules to determine whether or not an object the user drags into the design window  550  is compatible with the other objects that are already in the area. The rules may consists of guidelines that define and/or dictate relationships between industrial automation devices or components.  FIG.  16    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which the user has attempted to drag an incompatible object (e.g., a valve object  604 ) into the guide roll area  554  in the design window  550  along with the roller control object  600 . As shown, the user has attempted to add the valve object  604  to the guide roll area  554 . However, the system has referenced compatibility data and/or rules (e.g., stored in a database) and determined that the valve object  604  is not compatible with the roller control object  600 . Accordingly, a warning message  606  has been displayed warning the user that the valve object  604  is not compatible with the other objects in the design area. In some embodiments, the system may prevent the user from placing incompatible objects in the design window  550 , whereas in other embodiments, the user may be capable of overriding the system. Further, whether the user has authority to override the system may be dependent upon permissions granted to the user, the user&#39;s rank, the user&#39;s department, the user credentials, etc. 
     After multiple objects have been placed in an area, the inputs, outputs, statuses, and other interface elements of the object may be identified and displayed.  FIG.  17    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which the user has added the roller control object  600  and two of the motor objects  602  to the guide roll area  554  in the design window  550 . After multiple objects have been added to an area, the design window  550  may update to identify inputs, outputs, status indicators, and/or other interface elements for each object. In some embodiments, the user may utilize the line drawing tool to draw lines  604  identifying connections between the inputs, outputs, status indicators, and/or other interface elements of the various objects. In other embodiments, the system may utilize machine learning, historical data, compatibility data, preference data, and/or a set of rules to predict connections between the devices.  FIG.  18    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which the system has proposed a connection to the user. In such an embodiment, the proposed connections may be suggested to a user via a message  610 , as shown in  FIG.  18   , which the user may review and accept or reject, either in bulk or individually. In other embodiments, the system may proceed to draw the suggested connections, which the user can delete if the user desires other connections. 
     The system may be configured to monitor actions by the user in designing the system and reference historical data to anticipate future actions and make suggestions. These may include, for example, adding one or more objects, adding one or more connections, specific configurations of objects, etc. In some embodiments, the system may reference historical data to find previous instances of the monitored actions taking place. The system may then, based on the historical data, identify a set of possible next actions. The set of next actions may then be assigned a probability based on the historical data. For example, the system may consider what percentage of instances in the historical data set when a specific combination of objects were being used that the next object added to the project was object A. In some embodiments, when the probability of a specific possible next action exceeds some threshold value, the system may generate a recommendation for the specific possible next action. In other embodiments, at certain intervals or upon certain actions taking place, the system may select the specific possible next action having the highest probability and generate a recommendation for the specific possible next action. 
     Further, as with the incompatible objects described above, the system may utilize historical data, compatibility data, preference data, and/or a set of rules to determine when connections provided by the user violate connection rules or are otherwise invalid.  FIG.  19    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which the user has drawn an invalid connection. The user has attempted to draw a connection  612  between the input of the roller controller object  600  to the input of the motor object  602 . Because connecting the input of one object to the input of another object breaks the connection rules, a warning message  614  appears to notify the user that the connection  612  is invalid. As with the incompatible objects described above, the system may prevent the user from drawing invalid connections at all. In other embodiments, the user may be capable of overriding the system, which may be dependent upon permissions granted to the user, the user&#39;s rank, the user&#39;s department, the user credentials, etc. 
     In addition to objects from the definitions window  564 , the user can drag objects from other windows into the design window.  FIG.  20    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which the user has selected a routine  616  and dragged it into the guide roll area  554  in the design window  550  along with the roller control object  600 . The routine may define actions of one or more of the objects within the guide roll area  554  in the design window  550 . It should be understood however, that the specific combinations of objects and elements shown in  FIGS.  13 - 20    are merely examples and not intended to be limiting. Accordingly, other combinations of objects and elements are also envisaged. 
     As previously discussed, each object in the library may have a corresponding file of computer code or portion of computer code that defines object and the object&#39;s interaction with other objects within the library. When the design of a project is complete, or at intermittent time periods during development, the system may take the portions of code for each object in the project and modify the code based on the other objects in the project such that each object interacts with the other objects in the project as depicted in the design window  550 . The modified portions of code may then be combined into a project code file that defines the operation of the entire project. By automatically generating the project code file, writing all of the code for the project code file is no longer the responsibility of the designer. 
     Customer-Specific Naming Conventions 
     A user may develop custom customer-specific naming conventions for objects in the design-time environment, via the dashboard  200 , which may then be propagated through one or more projects and/or one or more libraries used by the corresponding customer. That is, different clients may use different naming conventions (e.g., formats) to designate an identity of each device. For example, motors may be designated as “MOTOR_1,” “MOTOR_2,” and so on. In addition, the naming convention may provide some information regarding a hierarchical level of the respective device. For instance, for systems that are organized according to areas, sections, and devices, motors may be designated as “SECTION1_MOTOR2.” Updating libraries and/or projects of objects to adhere to naming conventions may be resource intensive, tedious, and prone to human error. Accordingly, the following techniques may be used to learn a naming convention and apply the naming convention to one or more groups of objects by giving the objects new names that comply with the new naming convention. Additionally, as the number of devices in a system grows, it becomes increasingly challenging to add new devices into an existing system&#39;s naming convention. That is, a new motor installed in a system that should be associated with a particular number because of its location may be provided a different number because of the particular number is already used to represent another motor. However, by employing the embodiments described herein, any device may receive the correct or appropriate naming designation and name changes for other relevant devices may be automatically incorporated throughout the system. 
     By way of example,  FIG.  21    is a flow chart of a process  620  for defining a naming convention and propagating the naming convention through one or more projects and/or one or more libraries. At block  622 , one or more example object/device names and/or definitions of a naming convention, or partial definitions of a naming convention are received. In one embodiment, the user may provide one or more names for objects to be used as examples. In some embodiments, the one or more example names may include objects selected from an existing library that accord with the naming convention. Further, in some embodiments, data from other projects in which the naming convention was used may be provided as training data. The number of examples may correspond to the complexity of the underlying naming convention. For example, in some embodiments, for simple naming conventions, a single example name may be given. For complex naming conventions, 5, 10, 20, or more examples may be provided. Further, as is described in more detail below, a user may rely on a feedback loop to provide additional examples over time to fine tune the naming convention. 
     In other embodiments, the user may provide a definition or a partial definition of the underlying naming convention. For example, the user may define the various fields of a naming conventions, open or closed lists of examples for possible values for one or more fields, and/or provide rules for how the naming convention is applied to a project, library, etc. For example, the user may define a naming convention as including an object type field, a model name/number field, and/or an instantiation number field, where the object type field represents a respective object type (e.g., motor, controller, routing, pump, valve, etc.), the model name/number field represents the model name/number of the device, and the instantiation number field represents the number of instantiations of the object type within the area or the project. In some embodiments, the naming convention may also include an area field representing the area of the project in which the object is disposed. It should be understood, however, that these are merely examples and that any naming convention the user desires may be used. In some embodiments, fields may be omitted from an object&#39;s name when the object is in the library, and then added to the name of an instantiation of the object when added to a project. For example, the instantiation and/or area fields may be omitted from an object&#39;s name when the object is in a library, as the object in the library is not tied to a particular instantiation or area. However, when an instantiation of the object is placed in a project, the name of the instantiation of the object may appear with an instantiation field, an area field, and/or one or more additional field. This is described in more detail below with regard to  FIG.  22   . 
     The user may also provide rules or guidelines for how the naming convention is to be implemented. For example, the user may specify that the instantiation number field counts upward for the whole project or resets for each area. Further, the user may specify that the instantiation field may be omitted for the first object of a given object type until a second object of the object type is added, at which point the instantiation field for the first object is included as having a value of “1” and the instantiation field for the second object is given a value of “2”. 
     At block  624 , a machine learning algorithm may be applied to the received example names and/or naming convention definitions to derive one or more rules for defining the naming convention. In some embodiments, the machine learning algorithm may also use otherwise known information about the objects associated with the example object names (e.g., object type, instantiation number, area, etc.) when deriving the rules for defining the naming convention. For example, the machine learning algorithm may recognize alphanumeric character strings that correspond to known object types, known area names, known instantiation numbers, known component manufacturers, known part model names/numbers, known serial numbers, other known alphanumeric character strings, and/or known abbreviations of these known alphanumeric character strings. In some embodiments, because naming conventions may follow a handful of common forms, the naming convention may be identified with an acceptable level of confidence (e.g., 70%, 80%, 90%, etc.) based on a small number of example names. 
     In some cases the underlying naming convention may even be identified with an acceptable level of confidence based on a single example. For example, the design window  550  in the dashboard  200  shown in  FIG.  20    include a first motor object named “Motor_1”. Based on this single example, the naming convention may be understood to include an object type field and an instantiation number field, separated by an underscore, where the object type field is populated by a character string assigned to a respective object type (e.g., motor, controller, routing, pump, valve, etc.), and the instantiation number field corresponds to the number of instantiations of the object type within the area or the project. Accordingly, when a second motor is dragged into the design window  550 , based on the assumed naming convention, the object may be given the name “Motor_2”. 
     At block  626 , other devices to which the naming convention applies are identified. This may include, for example, searching the instant project, one or more other projects, the instant library of objects, one or more other libraries of objects, objects corresponding to industrial automation devices connected to the network, etc. The naming convention may be determined to apply to an object or industrial automation device based on the item being of a known object type, the item being used in an area of a project, used in a specific project, existing in a specific library, the data for all of the fields in the naming convention being known for an object, etc. In some embodiments, once the devices are identified, the devices in question may be presented to a user (e.g., via a GUI) to confirm that the user wishes to apply the naming convention to the identified devices. In some embodiments, if the user wishes not to apply the naming convention to an identified device, the machine learning algorithm may be updated to reflect that the user wishes to exclude the identified devices from the naming convention. 
     At block  628 , the derived rules defining the naming convention are used to generate a derived new name for the one or more identified devices. For example, in the example given above with respect to  FIG.  20   , if a third motor was in the design window  550 , but named according to its serial number (e.g., “123456789”), the third motor may be identified and a new name generated in accordance with the naming convention (e.g., “Motor_3”). At block  630 , the derived new name may be presented to a user (e.g., via a GUI) for review. In some embodiments, multiple derived new names may be presented to the user at once for bulk review. If the user approves the derived new name (block  632 ), the name may be propagated through the instant project, one or more other projects, the instant library, one or more other libraries, etc. by replacing the old name with the derived new name (block  634 ). That is, other instantiations of the same object or device in other libraries or projects may be updated to replace the old name with the new name. Further, approval of the new name by the user may be indicative of the derived rules defining the naming convention being correct. As such, the system may derive new names for other objects according to the naming convention and replace the old names for the other objects with the new derived names throughout one or more libraries or projects without additional input from the user. However, in some embodiments, if the user rejects the derived new name, the feedback may be utilized to further train the machine learning algorithm and update the rules defining the naming convention. It should be understood that in some embodiments, the user review and approval of blocks  630  and  632  may be omitted and the derived new name for one or more devices may automatically be propagated through one or more projects and/or one or more libraries without review and approval by the user. Further, in some embodiments, a user may designate one or more other projects and/or one or more other libraries to which to propagate the naming convention. 
       FIG.  22    is a flow chart of a process  640  for generating a name for an instantiation of on object within a project. At block  642 , an input is received placing an instantiation of an object in a design window. For example, a user may select an object from a library and drag the object into the design window. In other embodiments, the user may select an object from the library and insert or paste the object into the design window. In further embodiments, the user may select an instantiation of an object already in the design window and copy and paste the object or duplicate the object to create a new instantiation of the object. The user may also provide inputs locating the instantiation of the object within the design window, relative to other objects in the design window, and/or specifying how the object interacts with, or is coupled to, other objects in the design window. 
     At block  644 , a name for the object instantiation is determined according to a naming convention. In some embodiments, the name of the instantiation may be the same as appears in the library. In other embodiments, the name of the particular instantiation of the object may be different from the name shown in the library. For example, fields may be added to the name (e.g., area field, instantiation number field, etc.), fields may be changed, fields may be removed, etc. to reflect the location of the object instantiation within the project and the object instantiation&#39;s interactions with other objects. For example, an object for a motor may appear as “Motor” in the library, but when the object is inserted into a project, the name for the particular instantiation of the object may be “Motor_1” or “Section_1_Motor2”. At block  646 , an icon for the object and the determined name for the object instantiation, or an abbreviation of the determined name for the object instantiation, may be displayed within the design window. The user may then provide inputs adjusting the position of the object within the design window and specifying how the object is to interact with other objects in the project. 
     At block  648 , the underlying portion of code for the instantiation of the object may be updated to reflect the new name. For example, the portion of code may include place holders for the name for the object instantiation. The portion of code may be searched for the place holders, which are then replaced with the new name for the object instantiation. In other embodiments, the portion of code for the object instantiation may include one or more instances of an old name for the object instantiation. In such embodiments, the portion of code may be searched for instances of the old name. Once an instance of the old name is identified, the portion of code may be modified to replace the instance of the old name with the new name. Further, in some embodiments, the underlying portions of code for the other objects in the project may be updated to reflect the new name of the instantiation of the object. For example, the portions of code associated with other objects in the project may reference the instantiation of the object (e.g., receive input from object instantiation, send output to object instantiation, receive control signal from object instantiation, send control signal to object instantiation, receive set point from object instantiation, send set point to object instantiation, receive measurement value from object instantiation, send measurement value to object instantiation, and so forth.). In such embodiments, the portions of code associated with the other objects in the project may be searched for references to the object instantiation (e.g., place holders, the old name for the object instantiation, etc.) and replaced with the new name for the object instantiation. 
     As previously described, as the number of devices in a system grows, maintaining a logical naming convention may be difficult as objects are added, removed, and/or rearranged. A logical naming convention may dictate, for example, that values for one or more fields within a name increase or decrease with each instantiation along a flow path of a system. In one embodiment, a value for a field of a first object upstream of a second object may be higher than that of the second object. In another embodiment, the value for the field of the first object upstream of the second object may be lower than that of the second object. As such, the value for the field may count upward or downward in the direction of flow. The direction of flow may refer to the flow of product within the system, the flow of data within a system, the flow of logic within the system, the actual physical arrangement of components within the system, the sequential flow of steps of a process, and so forth. For example, a project may include motors named “Motor_1”, “Motor_2”, “Motor_3”, and “Motor_4”. If a user adds a new motor between Motor_2 and Motor_3, based on the location of the new motor, the logical name for the new motor may be “Motor_3” and, as such, the names of Motor_3 and Motor_4 should be adjusted accordingly (e.g., Motor_3 becomes Motor_4, and Motor_4 becomes Motor_5). However, adjusting the names of the other components and the underlying associated portions of code may be extremely resource intensive, tedious, and prone to human error, especially for systems with many more than 4 or 5 motors. Accordingly, the likely result is that the user names the new motor “Motor_5” and locates the motor between Motor_2 and Motor_3, or decides not to add the additional motor at all, even though it would improve the operation of the system. 
     Accordingly, the disclosed techniques may be used to adjust the names of other objects in a project based on the addition, removal, or relocation of an object.  FIG.  23    is a flow chart of a process  660  for revising the names of one or more existing objects in a project based on the addition of a new object instantiation. At block  662 , an input is received placing an instantiation of an object within the design window of a project. For example, a user may select an object from a library and drag the object into the design window. In other embodiments, the user may select and an object from the library and insert or paste the object into the design window. In further embodiments, the user may select an instantiation of an object already in the design window and copy and paste the object or duplicate the object to create a new instantiation of the object. The user may also provide inputs locating the instantiation of the object within the design window, relative to other objects in the design window, and/or specifying how the object interacts with, or is coupled to, other objects in the design window. 
     At block  664 , a name for the object instantiation is determined according to a naming convention, based on the object instantiation&#39;s position within the design window relative to other objects. The name of the instantiation may be the same as appears in the library, or the name of the particular instantiation of the object may be different from the name shown in the library. For example, the name of the particular instantiation may include fields omitted from the listing of the object in the library (e.g., area field, instantiation number field, etc.). In other embodiments, fields may be changed, fields may be removed, etc. to reflect the location of the object instantiation within the project and the object instantiation&#39;s interactions with other objects. 
     At block  666 , a determination is made that the names of one or more other object instantiations within the project should be revised to account for the new object instantiation. For example, values for some fields may be adjusted to account for the insertion of the new object instantiation. In the example described above, a user adds a new motor between Motor_2 and Motor_3 of a system containing Motor_1, Motor_2, Motor_3, and Motor_4. Based on the location of the new motor, it is determined that the new motor should be named “Motor_3” and the names of Motor_3 and Motor 4 adjusted accordingly to become becomes Motor_4 and Motor_5, respectively. At block  668 , new names for the surrounding objects are generated based on the insertion of the object instantiation. At block  670 , the underlying portions of code for the instantiation of the object and one or more other object instantiations in the project may be updated to reflect the new names for the object instantiations and the other object instantiations in the project. For example, the portions of code for the various object instantiations may include place holders for the names of object instantiations or old names of the object instantiations. Accordingly, the portion of code may be searched for the place holders or old names, which are then replaced with the new names for the object instantiations. 
     Though the above techniques are for situations in which an object instantiation has been added to a project, it should be understood that similar techniques may be used when an object instantiation is removed from a project, modified, or relocated within a project such that the names of other object instantiations within the project should be changed. For example, when an object instantiation is removed from the project, the names for other object instantiations within the project, and portions of code referencing those object instantiations, may be revised with new names. Using the example described above, if a user adds removes Motor_2 from a system containing Motor_1, Motor_2, Motor_3, and Motor_4. The names of Motor_3 and Motor_4 may be adjusted accordingly to become Motor_2 and Motor_3, respectively. Correspondingly, when an object instantiation is relocated within the project, the names for other object instantiations within the project, and portions of code referencing those object instantiations, may be revised with new names. Continuing with the same example described above, if a user moves Motor_2 within a system containing Motor_1, Motor_2, Motor_3, and Motor_4 to a location between Motor_3 and Motor_4, the names of Motor_2, Motor_3, and Motor 4 may be adjusted accordingly such that Motor_3 becomes Motor_2, and Motor_2 becomes Motor_3. Accordingly, the to reduce the tedious workload on designers to rename objects within a system in response to addition, removal, or relocation of objects, which is also prone to human error, and to incentivize designers to implement designs of systems that are going to maximize performance, the names of components within a project and the underlying portions of code may be automatically updated in response to the addition, removal, or relocation of an object within the project. 
     Design Environment View Options 
     In the design-time environment, the dashboard  200  may be configured to display projects in several different view styles that are selectable by the user. In  FIGS.  13 - 20   , the dashboard  200  is shown in the logical view style, however, other styles may be available.  FIG.  24    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard  200  showing a project for a cookie making facility in the logical view style. As shown, the design window of the dashboard  550  includes multiple areas including a mixer area  700 , an oven area  702 , a packer area  704 , and a wrapper area  706 . In the illustrated embodiment, the mixer area  700  includes an industrial controller  20  (e.g., CLX), a drive  22 , a motor  24 , an input/output (I/O) device  26 , a motion control system  28  (e.g., KINETIX), and an HMI  30 . The oven area  702  includes an industrial controller  20  (e.g., CLX), a temperature sensor  32 , an I/O device  26 , and an HMI  30 . The packer area  704  includes an industrial controller  20  (e.g., CLX), an industrially managed Ethernet switch  34  (e.g., STRATIX), a drive  22 , a motor  24 , a temperature sensor  32 , a motion control system  28  (e.g., KINETIX), and an HMI  30 . The wrapper area  706  includes an industrial controller  20  (e.g., CLX), an I/O device  26 , a motion control system  28  (e.g., KINETIX), three motors  24 , and an HMI  30 . It should be understood, however, that the particular combinations of components shown in  FIG.  24    are merely examples and that many other combinations of components are envisaged. Further, it should be understood that the scope of possible industrial automation components is not intended to be limited to those shown in  FIG.  24   . As shown, the logical view is characterized by the various areas  700 ,  702 ,  704 ,  706  being separated from one another such the areas are self-contained and connections between components do not cross area boundaries (i.e., the dotted lines). Further, connections between components are represented by a single line. In some embodiments, not all components that are in communication with one another are connected by a line on the dashboard  200 . For example, though one or more components within an area may be in communication with the HMI  30 , in the dashboard  200  shown in  FIG.  24   , none of the HMIs  30  are connected to components with lines. Accordingly, the logical view offers a simplified view of a project that reduces the number of connections shown so as to communicate how the system components within an area interact with one another. 
     A user may toggle between various available view options using the drop-down view menu  708 .  FIG.  25    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard  200  showing the project for the cookie making facility shown in  FIG.  24    in a network view style. As shown, whereas the connection lines within each area of in the logical view are mostly vertical, in the network view, the lines are mostly horizontal. Further, the areas emphasized in the logical view are deemphasized in the network view style. In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG.  25   , the area boundaries may be completely omitted. As shown in  FIG.  25   , the network view style emphasizes network architecture and connections between components through which data (e.g., control signals, measurement signals, etc.) pass. 
       FIG.  26    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard  200  showing the project for the cookie making facility shown in  FIGS.  24  and  25    in a tree view style. As shown, when the tree view style is selected in the drop-down menu  708 , the dashboard transitions to a configuration similar to the configuration shown and described with regard to  FIG.  5   , in which the explorer window  204  occupies one side of the dashboard  200 , the primary window  206  occupies the middle of the dashboard  200 , and the accessory windows  208  occupy a second side of the dashboard  200 , opposite the explorer window  204 . The explorer window  204  displays an expanding and collapsing nested list of all of the components in the project. As a user navigates the explorer window  204  and selects components, information about the selected components is displayed in the primary window  206 . The structure of the nested list of the components in the explorer window  204  corresponds to how the various projects and components within a project are configured relative to each other. In the embodiment shown in  FIG.  26   , the dashboard is for a customer called “MightyQ”, for one of multiple lines (e.g., line  1 ) within a process and/or facility called “cookie”. As was shown and described with regard to  FIG.  24   , Line  1  includes the mixer area  700 , the oven area  702 , the packer area  704 , and the wrapper area  706 . Each area is expandable to expose the components within the area. For example, as shown in  FIG.  26   , the mixer area  700  includes an HMI client  30 , a CLX chassis, including a CLX M1 controller, an input module, and an output module, and a PowerFlex motion control system  28  including three KINETIX units. Similarly, as shown in  FIG.  26   , the oven area  702 , the packer area  704 , and the wrapper area  706  each include expandable subsystems. 
     Periodically, the system may generate an alarm, an alert, or an informational notification (collectively referred to as notifications) for a specific component or group of components. As shown in  FIG.  26   , notifications  710  may appear in the explorer window  204  on or next to the component to which the notification is related. In the instant embodiment, the notification  710  is an exclamation point inside a diamond. However, it should be understood that notifications may take many different forms (e.g., a star, a colored shape, emphasis or deemphasis of the object, etc.). Further, the shape, color, or style of the notification may change to reflect the category of the notification, the severity of the notification, etc. After selection, a pop-up window may appear, or the primary window  206  may update to show more information. Another option for viewing notifications is a table view (selectable by via the drop down view menu  708 ).  FIG.  27    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard  200  showing the project for the cookie making facility shown in  FIGS.  24 - 26    in a table view style. The table view emphasizes alarms, alerts, and informational notifications by displaying information in a table  750 . Each row within the table  750  corresponds to a notification. The table  750  has columns for displaying information for different fields within the table. As shown, the fields may include, for example, notification type  752 , area  754 , date and time  756 , component  758 , and notification message  760 . The notification type field  752  may include, for example alarm, alert, warning, information, etc. The date and time field  756  specifies the date and time of the notification. The equipment field  758  specifies the piece of equipment associated with the notification. The message field  760  displays a message of the notification. In some embodiments, the table  750  may include a column of checkboxes  762  that allows a user to deal with and/or dismiss notifications in bulk. It should be understood, however, that in other embodiments, the table  750  may include different combinations of fields, including fields not shown, that the fields shown in  FIG.  27   . 
       FIG.  28    illustrates an embodiment of the dashboard  200  showing the project for the cookie making facility shown in  FIGS.  24 - 27    in a logic view style. As shown, the logic view is available via the editor tab  800  of the vertical navigation bar  202 . Various components appear in an expandable/collapsible nested list in the explorer window  204 . Logic is a nested item within most of the components in the explorer window  204 . By selecting the logic for a particular component, the logic associated with that component appears in the primary window  206 . Further, when a component is selected in the explorer window  204 , the primary window  206  is updated to display information about the component. For a selected device, the primary window  206  may include a logic tab  802 , a tags tab  804 , an HMI tab  806 , and an alarms tab  808 . As shown in  FIG.  28   , when the logic tab  802  is selected, the primary window  206  displays a logic schematic  810  describing the various logic tasks for which the selected component has been programmed to perform. 
     In some embodiments, the logic view style may include a logic diagnostics tool that occupies a logic diagnostics tool window  812  within the primary window  206 . The logic diagnostics tool may run one or more scripts or algorithms and/or apply a set of rules to analyze the logic within a project. In some embodiments, the scope of the logic diagnostics tool may be limited to a single selected component. In other embodiments, the logic diagnostics tool may consider a module having a number of components, multiple modules of components, an area, multiple areas, a whole project, etc. The logic diagnostics tool window  812  includes a logic diagnostics tool banner  814 , which provides a summary  816  of results of a logic diagnostics run, including for example, the number of errors, the number of warnings, the number of informational messages, etc. A user may select specific items within the summary  816  to view more detailed information. Below the logic diagnostics tool banner  814 , the logic diagnostics tool window  812  displays the detailed results  818  of the logic diagnostics run. 
     Similarly, when the tags tab  804  is selected, the primary window  206  updates to display the various tags assigned to the selected component. When the HMI tab  806  is selected, the primary window  206  displays information about the HMI associated with the selected component and interactions between the selected component and the HMI. When the alarms tab  808  is selected, the primary window  206  displays information about the various alarms associated with the selected component. 
     A user may also select multiple objects in the explorer window  204  to create a split screen view within the primary window  206 .  FIG.  29    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in a split screen view. As shown, a main display  850  of a distillation visualization has been selected, as well as a totalizer routine  852  within the distillation process. Accordingly, the primary window has been split into a first subwindow  854 , which shows details of the main display  850 , and a second subwindow  856 , which shows details of the totalizer routine  852 , as if each component/object has been chosen individually and detailed information for the chosen components are displayed within the primary window  206 . Though the primary window  206  is divided into two subwindows in the embodiment shown in  FIG.  29   , it should be understood that, in some embodiments, the primary window  206  may be divided into 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or any suitable number of subwindows. In such an embodiment, all of the subwindows may not be able to fit within a single screen, the user may be able to scrolls through the various subwindows. Similarly, each subwindow  854 ,  856  may include a row of tabs  858 , each corresponding to a selected component, such that a user may toggle the view displayed by a subwindow  854 ,  856  by selecting a tab from the row of tabs  858 . Further, in some embodiments, the various subwindows  854 ,  856  of the primary window  206  in split-screen mode may be capable of displaying different view types simultaneously. For example, the first subwindow  854  may display in a logical view while the second subwindow  856  displays in a network view. 
     Manipulating Existing Projects 
     Creating areas for a project was shown and described with regard to  FIG.  13   . Though the areas in  FIG.  13    (e.g., first reel area, guide roll area, press area, second reel area) were created before any objects were dragged into the design window  550  of the primary window  206 , areas may also be added and/or adjusted in projects that already have one or more objects in the design window.  FIG.  30    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  that illustrates the creation of areas for an existing project. As shown, a drawing tool has been used to draw lines, forming closed shapes, that define one or more areas of an existing project. Specifically, the user has used a drawing tool to draw closed shapes that define a preparation area  900 , a milling area  902 , and a dispatch area  904 . The drawing tool may allow the user to select from a menu of standard shapes, including circles, ovals, triangles, squares, rectangles, diamonds, parallelograms, pentagons, hexagons, heptagons, octagons, nonagons, decagons, or any other polygon. Further, the user may draw other shapes by defining points, which may then be connected with straight lines. In some embodiments, the drawing tool may also allow users to add curved lines. After area-defining shapes are drawn, the system may identify objects that are not entirely within the lines of a shape defining an area. If an object is not entirely within an area&#39;s shape, the system may determine the extent to which the object lies within the area (e.g., is the object mostly inside the area or mostly outside the area?), and consider the extent to which the object interacts with other objects within the area to determine whether or not the object should be considered within the area. In some embodiments, the use of areas may be used to define or designate networks or subnetworks. Further, in some naming conventions, the area in which an object is located, or the role an object plays in an area may help to define the name given to an object. 
     The dashboard  200  may also be used to generate and/or edit tags for a project.  FIG.  31    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in a tag editing mode. As shown, when a tags/parameters item  950  is selected from the explorer window  204 , the primary window  206  updates to display a tags/parameters editing window  952 . From the tags/parameters editing window  952 , a user may add and/or edit tags/parameters associated with a selected component. 
     A tag is a text-based name for an area of a component&#39;s memory in which specific data is sported. Thus, creating a tag is somewhat like creating a partition within the memory. Before tags, data location was identified by an network or memory address. Thus, using tags within a project is a mechanism for allocating memory of components within the system. Typically, the amount of memory allocated to a tag varies from tag to tag, but is at least four bytes. As shown, the tags/parameters editing window  952  includes a tag table  954  that lists the tags associated with a selected component. Within the tag table  954 , each tag occupies a row. The row may include various data fields that define or describe the tag. For example, in the embodiment shown in  FIG.  31   , the data fields include name, value, style, data type, tag description, history, and alarms. The tag name may be generated by a user or automatically generated. Similarly, the description may be a string provided by a user or automatically generated by the system. The data type may include one of several options including REAL (e.g., for floating point numbers, such as provided by an analog device in floating point mode), INT (e.g., for an analog device in integer mode), STRING (e.g., for a string of ASCII characters), BOOL (e.g., for bits and/or digital I/O points), COUNTER (e.g., for a counter), DINT (for whole number integers), CONTROL (e.g., for sequencers), TIMER (e.g., for timers), and so forth. To add a tag to a component, a user may fill in the open fields at the bottom of the tag table  954 . To add a tag, the user may provide an alpha-numeric character string for each field, select from a drop down menu, enter a number value, etc. 
     As shown in  FIG.  31   , the tags/parameters editing window  952  may also include a parameters table  956  and a child table  958 . The parameters table  956  may define one or more parameters associated with the selected component, such that each row corresponds to a parameter and may include multiple fields that describe and/or define the parameter. In some embodiments, parameters may be used to further define tags. The child table  958  lists child instances of the selected component. If the selected component is a child of another component, in some embodiments, the parent component may also be displayed, either in the child table  958  or in a separate parent table (not shown). 
     The dashboard  200  may also be used to add logic to an existing project or a component within an existing project.  FIG.  32    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in a logic editing mode. As shown, when a logic item  1000  is selected within the explore window  204 , in the instant embodiment, for an agitator object, the primary window  206  updates to display a logic window  1002 . Within the logic window  1002 , a pop-up window  1004  may be displayed that allows a user to select how he or she would like to add logic. As shown, from within the pop-up window  1004 , a user may choose to add ladder logic, add a structured text file, add a function block file, or add an SFC file. It should be understood, however, that the options for adding logic in the pop-up window  1004  are merely examples and not intended to be limiting. Accordingly, other ways for adding logic to a project or component are also envisaged. Upon making a selection within the pop-up window  1004 , the dashboard  200  may guide the user through adding the ladder logic or locating and importing the appropriate file. 
     Suggesting Components 
     The ability of the dashboard  200  to use historical data to suggest connections between components is shown and described above with reference to  FIG.  18   . The dashboard  200  may also use historical data to suggest specific components within a project based on the other objects already in a project.  FIG.  33    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which the system is suggesting controllers for the cookie making project of  FIGS.  24 - 27   . In  FIGS.  24 - 27   , the industrial controllers  20  were shown with the generic label CLX. As shown in  FIG.  33   , the system may be configured to analyze the instant project, as well as historical data (e.g., previous projects from the designer, the designer team, the customer, and/or one or more other customers) to suggest specific CLX industrial controller  20  models for the project. As shown, when the system suggests one or more components, the dashboard  200  updates to display a suggestion notification banner  1050 , which notifies the user that one or more suggestions are being made, and allows the user to accept or discard the suggestions individually or in bulk. Additionally, the dashboard may display a suggestion pop-up window  1052  over one or more of the objects. The suggestion pop-up window  1052  allows a user to accept the suggestion, reject the suggestion, see more information about the suggested object, and/or view object preferences. Suggestions may be used based on historical data (e.g., frequently used combinations of parts in past designs from the historical data set). For example, the system may recognize that the designer has used three specific objects in an area and determine that the combination of objects is typically used with a fourth object. The system may then suggest the fourth object via the dashboard  200 . Further, the system may also suggest components based on an anticipated load and suggest specific products based on their known specifications. For example, a designer may have placed a generic controller  20  in a project. Based on the components connected to the controller, the system may be able to determine an anticipated load on the controller, as well as the number and type of components with which the controller  20  is designed to interface. The system may then reference specifications for known products and recommend a specific product that is well suited in the project. In some embodiments, the system may utilize machine learning to analyze trends in historical data and/or catalogs of available components in order to generate the suggestions. 
     In some embodiments, the about object option may send a user to a website for the vendor of the object. The about object option may also provide contact information for the vendor of the object and provide the user with guideline as to how to purchase the object, if a purchase is appropriate. Further, the object preferences option may allow a user to define his or her preferences with regard to certain objects, such as preferred vendors, preferred models, budgets, preferred programming languages, compliance with preferred standards, preference for objects designed for specific industries, etc. In other embodiments, the object preferences option may allow a user to view and edit the settings for a given object. When multiple objects are suggested, as is the case in  FIG.  33   , the suggestion pop-up windows  1052  for each suggestion may appear simultaneously, or one at a time, as each suggestion is accepted or discarded by the user. Further, a user may have the option to hold a suggestion and put off making a decision on the suggestion in order to further consider the suggestion. In the instant embodiment, the system has suggested a CLX L83 controller  20  in the mixer area  700  and the oven area  702 , whereas a CLX L85 controller  20  was suggested for the packer area  704  and the wrapper area  706 . In some embodiments, the dashboard  200  may present each suggested instance of an object as a separate suggestion. In other embodiments, all instances of a suggested component may be treated as a single suggestion (i.e., all suggested CLX L83 controllers are a single suggestion and all CLX L85 controllers are a single suggestion). 
     As shown in  FIG.  33   , the suggested objects are displayed within the design window  550  in an emphasized (e.g., bolded, flashing, color coded, etc.) or deemphasized (e.g., greyed out, dotted lines, etc.) fashion relative to the other components. Upon acceptance of the suggestions, the suggested objects are added to the project and the appearance of the suggested objects is updated to match the other objects in the project.  FIG.  34    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which the controller suggestions have been accepted (e.g., via user input) and the controllers are being added to the project. As shown, the CLX L83 controllers and the CLX L85 controllers have been added to the project and are shown in the same style as the other objects in the project. 
     In the embodiments shown and described with regard to  FIGS.  33  and  34   , the system suggested specific models of objects where generic placeholders for those objects existed within the project. However, in some embodiments, the system may also suggest new objects to add to the project.  FIG.  35    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which an additional motion control module  1100  has been suggested for the wrapper area  706 . Though a generic motion control module  1100  has been suggested in  FIG.  35   , in some embodiments, the system may suggest specific models of objects. Though in the embodiments shown in  FIGS.  33 - 35   , the suggested objects are hardware components, it should be understood that the system may be configured to suggest that other objects be added to the project that are not necessarily hardware components, such as routines, software components, logic, alarms, timers, processes, etc. 
     In some embodiments, the system may also recognize when a component of a project has reached, or will soon reach, the end of its suggested life cycle, has become, or is expected to become, obsolete for lack of software/firmware updates, or has otherwise become an end of life product. In such a situation, the system may generate an end of life notification and suggest a replacement product.  FIG.  36    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  displaying an end of life notification  1102 . As shown, when an end of life product is recognized, the system may deemphasize (e.g., grey out) the other objects in the area and attach an end of life notification  1102  to the end of life product. Further, the dashboard  200  may also display an end of life pop-up window  1104 . The end of life pop-up window  1104  may display that the identified component is an end of life product and suggest a replacement product, identified based on the existing designed system, to interconnect with the existing components with minimal programming. In some embodiments, the pop-up window  1104  may include a hyperlink to website for the product, which may allow the user to order the product, or contact information for a vendor of the product. In instances in which the product is available from multiple vendors, the system may compare prices for the product from multiple vendors. The system may also apply an algorithm or one or more rules to confirm the compatibility of the suggested product with the rest of the components in the area and/or project. 
     The system may also detect when known hardware components have disconnected from the network and when new hardware components have connected to the network.  FIG.  37    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  showing a disconnected component and a new unconfigured component. In the instant embodiment, the CLX controller  20  in the packer area  704  has been disconnected from the network and a new unconfigured CLX controller has been connected to the network in its place. The system has recognized that the known CLX controller  20  in the packer area  704  has been disconnected from the network. Accordingly, the object corresponding to the CLX controller  20  in the packer area  704  has been deemphasized (e.g., greyed out) and a notification  1106  has been generated to communicate to the user that the component has been disconnected from the network. Further, an object corresponding to the new unconfigured CLX controller  20  appears floating above the various areas  700 ,  702 ,  704 ,  706  of the project. The object corresponding to the new unconfigured CLX controller  20  also includes a notification to notify that the new CLX controller has been connected to the network, but not configured. A notification window  1110  also appears, indicating that an unconfigured controller  20  has been attached to the network and giving the user the option to configure the new CLX controller by selecting a configure button  1112 . Upon selection of the configure button  1112 , the system may walk the user through configuring the new piece of hardware. During the configuration process, the system may update the dashboard  200  to replace the object associated with the old CLX controller  20  with the object for the new CLX controller  20 . However, in some embodiments, the system may recognize that a component has been disconnected and that a new unconfigured component has been connected in its place. Accordingly, the system may skip the dashboard  200  view shown in  FIG.  37    and assume that the new component replaces the old component and that the user wants to configure the new component. 
       FIG.  38    shows new replacement CLX controller  20  in the packer area  704  in place of the old CLX controller  20 . As shown, the new replacement CLX controller  20  has been emphasized via highlighting, however other forms of emphasis (e.g., bold lines, color coded, flashing, notification, etc.) are also envisaged. The dashboard  200  updates the accessory windows  208  to display an object properties window  1114 . Within the object properties window  1114 , the dashboard  200  displays a direct replacement box  1116  that enables the user to provide inputs stating whether or not the new component is a direct replacement for the disconnected component. If so, the system may assign configurations for the old component to the new component. 
     Simultaneous Edits by Multiple Users 
     As described above with regard to  FIG.  2   , in some embodiments, rather than being stored locally on a computing device, industrial automation projects may be hosted by an on-premises (on-prem) server, a remote server, a private cloud network, a public cloud network, or some other way that is simultaneously accessible by multiple users. Accordingly, the dashboard  200  may be configured to facilitate two or more people accessing and editing the project simultaneously.  FIG.  39    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  showing multiple people editing a totalizer routine simultaneously. When multiple people are editing an aspect of a project simultaneously, a notification  1150  may appear to inform the users that multiple people are editing an aspect of the project. As shown in  FIG.  39   , the notification  1150  may include the number of users editing the aspect of the project. Further, in some embodiments, when a user selects the notification  1150 , a pop-up window  1152  may appear identifying which users are editing the project. The dashboard  200  may allow the users simultaneously editing a project to send messages to one another.  FIG.  40    is a screenshot of the dashboard illustrating users sending messages to each other. As shown, when multiple users are editing a project simultaneously, the users may exchange messages via a chat window  1154 . In some embodiments, the chat window  1154  may allow two users to exchanges messages. However, in other embodiments, the chat window  1154  may have more extensive capabilities, such as allowing users to assign tasks to each other and reference specific modifications to the project. Further, in some embodiments, the messages may appear as comments coupled to specific portions of the project. As shown in  FIG.  40   , these comments may appear as a comment notification  1156 , which a user may select to open a larger chat window  1154 . 
     In some embodiments, multiple users may be editing a master copy of the project, which is hosted by an on-premises (on-prem) server, a remote server, a private cloud network, a public cloud network, or some other way that is simultaneously accessible by multiple users, and updated in real time or near real time (e.g., within seconds of an edit being made). However, in some embodiments, a user&#39;s computing device may make a local copy of the project to edit rather than working from the master. Differences or conflicts between the master and the local copy may be considered at set intervals (e.g., seconds, minutes, hours, days), or upon some triggering activity (e.g., certain number of changes made, user selects save button, or requests to sync master and local copy, when a user closes their local copy, etc.). Upon noticing one or more conflicts, the user may be prompted as to how to deal with the realized conflicts.  FIG.  41    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  in which a user has been prompted as to how they would like to resolve conflicts. As shown, a conflict pop-up window  1158  may open, presenting multiple options for resolving the identified conflicts. For example, the options may include merging the local file with the master version  1160 , ignoring the changes to the local version  1162 , and pushing the changes to the local version to the master version  1164 . In some embodiments, after the user has made a selection, the dashboard may display mockups of the changes for the user to consider.  FIG.  42    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  displaying three mockups. In the illustrated embodiment, the user has selected to merge his or her changes with the master version. Accordingly, the dashboard presents three windows: a local version  1166 , a merger version  1168 , and a mockup of what the updated master version would look like if user proceeds with the selected options. The mockups assist the user in understanding the possible ramifications of their chosen action before implementing it. Accordingly, the dashboard may include a cancel button  1172  to stop the chosen action return to the previous screen, and a finish button  1174  to proceed with the chosen action. 
     Retrospective Project Code File Analysis 
     As discussed with regard to  FIGS.  18 ,  19 , and  33 - 38   , rule sets, algorithms, and historical data may be used to analyze projects in real time, near real time, at set time intervals, or upon the occurrence of triggering events, during design of a project, to discourage users from designing systems that do not follow certain guidelines and/or generating recommendations for adding objects and/or connections as the user designs a project. However, in some embodiments, the system may also analyze completed project code files.  FIG.  43    is a flow chart of a process  1200  for analyzing a project code file. As shown, in block  1202 , the project code file is received or retrieved from some suitable storage component. In some embodiments, the project code file may be sent or uploaded by a customer. In other embodiments, the customer may provide a hyperlink to the project code file, or otherwise identify a location of the project code file. At block  1204 , the rules and/or analysis algorithms are received or retrieved. The rules and/or analysis algorithms may define guidelines and/or best practices for project code files. In some embodiments, there may be multiple sets of rules and/or analysis algorithms that may be used. Selection of a specific set of rules and/or analysis algorithms may be performed by the customer or based on one or more characteristics of the project code file (e.g., industry, application, size of project code file, etc.). At sub-process  1206 , the sets of rules and/or analysis algorithms are applied to the project code file to analyze the project code file, for example, via static code analysis. 
     For example, as shown in  FIG.  43   , the sub-process  1206  may include a collection of blocks that represent different aspects of the analysis. It should be understood, however, that the blocks shown in  FIG.  43    are merely exemplary and that the sub-process  1206  may include only some of the blocks shown in the sub-process  1206 , may include different combinations of blocks in the sub-process  1206 , may include the blocks shown in sub-process  1206 , but in a different order, or may include additional blocks not shown in  FIG.  43   . 
     At block  1208 , the system may analyze the project code file to identify its code structure. This may include, for example, recognizing the larger portions of the code, as well as identifying modules of code, loops, interactions between portions of code, etc. For example, the system may suggest alternate structures for certain portions of the project code file, such as suggesting an if, then, else structure. In instances in which the project code file was written by a person who is no longer available (e.g., departed employee, contractor, employee of third party hired to develop the project code file), identifying the structure of a project code file may help an owner of the project code file to understand how the project code file is constructed. At block  1210 , the system may generate one or more visualizations of the project code file. The visualizations may include, for example, a map of data flow within the project code file, a call graph, etc. 
     At block  1212 , the system may identify dead code within the project code file. For example, the system may find portions of code within the project code file that are not run because of how the code is written (e.g., portions of code are not called upon). Further, in block  1214 , the system may identify dead ends in the project code file. If the system finds portions of dead code or dead ends within the project code file, the system may suggest one or more steps for addressing the dead code or dead ends. In block  1216 , the system may identify improper or inefficient tag usage within the project code file. If the system finds improper or inefficient tag usage, the system may suggest one or more steps for addressing the improper or inefficient tag usage. In block  1218 , the system identifies overlapping and/or concurrent tasks within the project code file and determines whether those tasks should be separated and how to go about separating the overlapping and/or concurrent tasks. At block  1220 , the system considers whether connections between components are valid. That is, the system considered whether connections between components comply with one or more sets of rules or guidelines. If one or more connections are found to be invalid, the system may recommend one or more steps for bringing the one or more connections into compliance with the one or more sets of rules or guidelines. At block  1222 , the system identifies overload situations for a component or a group of components (e.g., when a component is running too many processes simultaneously) and provides suggestions for addressing the overload situations. 
     At block  1224 , the system calculates a code complexity score for the project code file. Calculating the code complexity score may include applying an algorithm to determine a single numerical value that represents the complexity of the project code file. It should be understood, however that the project code file analysis in sub-process  1206  may include calculating other scores for the project code file that ascertain, for example, the extent to which the project code file complies with various rules or guidelines, such as, well-organized structure, lack of dead code and dead ends in code, efficiency of tag usage, amount of parallel overlapping/concurrent tasks, lack of overload situations, etc. Accordingly, in some embodiments, calculating the code complexity score may utilize the results of other blocks within the project code file analysis sub-process  1206 . At block  1226 , the system determines whether the project code file meets an acceptance criteria. The acceptance criteria may include one or more sets of rules or guidelines that define best practices for project code files. In some embodiments, the output of whether the project code file meets the acceptance criteria may be a binary yes/no, pass/fail, etc. However, in other embodiments, the output may include a selection of one or multiple gradations, such as letter grades, poor/satisfactory/good/excellent, etc. In further embodiments, the output of whether the project code file meets the acceptance criteria may be a numerical score. However, other embodiments for the output of whether the project code file meets the acceptance criteria are also envisaged. 
     At block  1228 , the system generates and outputs a report summarizing the analysis of the project code file sub-process  1206 . Accordingly, the report may include results from blocks within the sub-process  1206 , as well as other information. The report may be displayed within the dashboard, within a different GUI, output as a PDF, or provided in some other fashion. At block  1230 , data from the analysis sub-process  1206  may be added to a database or other store of historical data, where the data may be further analyzed. At block  1232 , data collected from analyzing the project code file, as well as other project code files may be used to update the rules and/or analysis algorithms. Updating the rules and/or analysis algorithms may occur at set intervals (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.), upon some triggering event (e.g., threshold number of project code files analyzed, a request to update rules and/or analysis algorithms, change in processes, etc.). 
     Alerts 
       FIG.  44    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  displaying an alarm notification  1250  and an alarm pop-up window  1252 . As described above, the dashboard  200  is configured to display notifications to a user when in the design-time environment. In some embodiments, the notifications may include alarms. For example, if an industrial automation process is running while a user is editing the corresponding project within the design-time environment, and alarms are generated, the alarms may appear as notifications  1250  within the dashboard  200 . As shown, the industrial controllers  20  in the oven area  702  and packer area  704  both have outstanding alarm notifications  1250  adjacent to the respective icons. Further, as shown in  FIG.  44   , in some embodiments, when one or more components have outstanding alarm notifications  1250 , the other objects in the project may be deemphasized (e.g., greyed out) within the dashboard  200 . Further, the dashboard  200  may also display the alarm pop-up window  1252 , which brings the user&#39;s attention to the outstanding alarm. The user may select a view button  1254  to display more information about the alarm notification. When the view button  1254  is selected, the dashboard  200  may update to display an alarm summary screen.  FIG.  45    is a screenshot of the dashboard  200  displaying an alarm summary screen  1256 . As shown in  FIG.  45   , the alarm summary screen  1256  occupies the primary window  206  of the dashboard and displays an expandable and collapsible list of alarms  1258 . The list of alarms  1258  includes a banner  1260  for each alarm, which displays the associated object, a priority level for the alarm (e.g., low, medium, high, urgent), and a message associated with the alarm. Selecting the banner  1260  for an alarm opens a window that displays information about the selected alarm. For example, the information may include the priority, a severity score, an in-alarm time, an event time, and the message. The priority level reflects the determined urgency of the alarm (e.g., the degree to which timely resolution of the alarm will reduce the impact of the underlying issue). The severity score may be a value (e.g.,  1 - 100 ) that conveys the extent of the ramifications of the underlying issue on the industrial automation system if the issue goes unaddressed. Further, the alarm summary screen  1256  may include a row of tabs  1264  for each expanded alarm that control what is shown in a content window  1266 . The tabs may include, for example, HMI, code, trend, manuals, etc. The when the HMI tab is selected, the content window  1266  may display items being displayed in the HMI screen. In some embodiments, the user may interact with buttons recreated from the HMI screen within the content window  1266  as if the user were holding an HMI. Selection of the code tab may cause the content window  1266  to be updated to display code associated with the affected object or component. The user may then make edits to the code within the content window  1266 . Selection of the trend tab may cause the content window  1266  to be updated to display a graph of a value or metric over time and whether the value is above or below an average or some desired target for the value or metric. Selection of the manuals tab may cause the content window  1266  to be updated to display hyperlinks to the manuals of the components or objects experiencing the alarm. In other embodiments, the one or more relevant manuals may be embedded within the content window  1266 . 
     In some embodiments, the system may reference historical data and make one or more suggestions as to how to address the alarm. For example, the system may utilize machine learning or artificial intelligence trained based on collected historical data. The system may recognize that the same or similar situation has occurred in the past and been resolved. The system may recognize the solution that worked previously and suggest the solution to a user. The system may provide instructions for implementing the suggested solution, or provide the user with an option to automatically implement the suggested solution. In some embodiments, where multiple possible solutions are available, the system may present multiple possible solutions. In further embodiments, the system may be configured to evaluate and rank the possible solutions. The system may provide, for example, a predicted likelihood of success for each possible solution. 
     Light Engineering Client 
     As described above with regard to  FIGS.  3  and  4   , a light engineering client environment may provide an operator with a run-time style environment, but with limited functionality of the design-time environment for troubleshooting and/or making adjustments to an industrial automation system.  FIGS.  46 - 48    illustrate various aspects of the light engineering client. Specifically,  FIG.  46    shows a home screen of a light engineering client dashboard  1300  as displayed on an HMI  30 . It should be understood, however, that the light engineering client may be displayed on any computing device. As shown, the dashboard  1300  includes an explorer window  1302 , a connected components window  1304 , and a primary window  1306 . As with the explorer window of the design-time environment, the explorer window  1302  includes an expandable and collapsible list of components and objects associated with the HMI  30 . As a user navigates the explorer window  1302 , selections from the explorer window  1302  may dictate what is displayed in the primary window  1306 . The connected devices window  1304  displays information associated with one or more devices connected to the HMI  30 . The information may include, for example, whether the component is online, a state of the component, whether there are any notifications associated with the component, etc. 
     The data window  1308  may be configured to display data associated with one or more connected components or objects. In some embodiments, the data may be displayed via one or more visualizations. In other embodiments, the data may be displayed via one or more scores. What is displayed within the data window  1308  may also be customizable by the operator. The devices window  1310  displays one or more devices associated with the HMI  30  and may include one or more pieces of information for the one or more devices. The system model window  1312  may list one or more models associated with the HMI  30 , which the user may select to view the selected model. The alarm window  1314  displays a list of alarms experienced by the HMI  30 , or components associated with the HMI  30 . 
     The home screen of the light engineering client dashboard  1300  may be visible when a home screen tab  1316  has been selected. Selection of an alarm tab  1318  may cause the primary window  1306  to update to display information associated with one or more alarms.  FIG.  47    is a screenshot of the light engineering client dashboard  1300  when the alarm tab  1318  has been selected. As shown, when the alarm tab  1318  has been selected, the dashboard  1300  updates the primary window  1306  to display an alarm listing window  1320  and an alarm details window  1322 . The alarm listing window  1320  lists the alarms relevant to the HMI  30  or any components associated with the HMI  30 . Upon selection of an alarm within the alarm listing window  1320 , the alarm details window  1322  updates to display information associated with the selected alarm. For example, the alarm details window  1322  may display an alarm priority, an alarm severity, an in-alarm time, an event time, an alarm message, a location of the associated component, a parameter in question, as associated controller, a path, a trend of the value in question, hyperlinks to manuals for the relevant components, and tabs to display associated code and to the HMI screen. 
     In some embodiments, the user may minimize the explorer window  1302  and the connected devices window  1304  such that the primary window  1306  occupies the entirety of the HMI screen  30 .  FIG.  48    is a screenshot of the light engineering client dashboard  1300  when the explorer window  1302  and the connected devices window  1304  have been minimized. As shown, the alarm details window  1322  includes a row of tabs  1324 . The tabs may include, for example, code and HMI. When the HMI tab is selected, the content screen  1326  may display information associated with the HMI  30 . Selection of the code tab may cause the content window  1326  to be updated to display code associated with the affected object or component. The light engineering client dashboard  1300  may receive inputs from the user making modifications to the code, similar to the design-time environment, to address the alarm. As previously discussed, the light engineering client environment may be similar to the run-time environment, but with added functionality from the design environment, allowing the operator to make modifications to the code to make adjustments to the industrial automation system and/or to address alerts and alarms. For example, the light engineering client environment may allow an operator to adjust target or threshold values for certain parameters (within a specified range set by the designer), switch parameters to check different sensors, change time periods, change input value, etc.). In contrast, the design-time environment allows a user to change the function of analysis, change analysis algorithms, etc. In some embodiments, the added functionality from the design environment may be limited in scope as compared to the full functionality available in the design-time environment. 
     In some embodiments, the system may be configured to reference historical data and make one or more suggestions as to how to address the alarm. For example, the system may utilize machine learning or artificial intelligence trained based on collected historical data. The system may recognize that the same or similar situation has occurred in the past and been resolved. The system may recognize the solution that worked previously and suggest the solution to a user. The system may provide instructions for implementing the suggested solution, or provide the user with an option to automatically implement the suggested solution. In some embodiments, where multiple possible solutions are available, the system may present multiple possible solutions. In further embodiments, the system may evaluate and rank the possible solutions. The system may provide, for example, a predicted likelihood of success for each possible solution. 
     The disclosed techniques include applying a set of industrial automation system design rules to determine whether each action taken by a designer (e.g., adding an object to a project, drawing connections between objects, etc.) is allowed by the rules. The rules may act as “design guardrails” to help designers design better systems more efficiently, avoiding long periods of time spent troubleshooting. In some cases, designers may be entirely prevented from taking prohibited actions, whereas in other cases, designers having certain specified credentials may be able to override the warning message that a given design action does not follow the guidelines. 
     The disclosed techniques also include using AI and/or machine learning to consider actions taken by a designer in view of previous designs and known component specifications to suggest design actions, which the designer may accept or reject. Suggestions may include, for example, using specific models of components, adding connections between components, inserting additional components, replacing end of life components with replacement components, and so forth. When an action is suggested, the designer may choose whether to accept the suggestion or dismiss the suggestion. In some cases, the system may also provide the designer with contact information or hyperlinks to vendors or manufacturers of the suggested component, or other avenues to purchase the suggested component. 
     Further, the disclosed techniques include using AI and/or machine learning to analyze a historical data set, identify when the instant issue has been encountered before, and suggest a remedial action to the designer. For example, the system may recognize that a problem has been encountered and use a historical data set to identify when the problem has been encountered in the past. The system may then consider what was done in those previous occurrences to remedy the problem. The system may then identify one or more possible remedial actions to address the problem. In some cases, the system may rank or otherwise evaluate the possible remedial actions to identify a likelihood of success for each possible remedial action. The system may then suggest one or more of the remedial actions to the designer. For example, the system may communicate to the designer, “The last time this problem occurred, we took this remedial action.” In some cases, the designer may have the option to automatically implement the suggested remedial action, see instructions for manually implementing the suggested remedial action, or dismiss the suggestion. 
     The disclosed techniques include a light engineering client environment, which is similar to a run-time environment, but includes some functionality of the design-time environment, allowing operators to make minor adjustments to an industrial automation system to resolve minor issues. In some embodiments, the light engineering client may also be capable of providing recommendations for how to resolve issues that arise. 
     The disclosed techniques further include using component libraries that include objects that are programmed to interact with one another in known ways. Accordingly, the designer may drag components from a library into a design window, and the system may understand how the components are intended to interact with each other. The system may automatically arrange components and connect the components accordingly to how they are frequently implemented. Each component in a library may have a respective portion of code that defines the operation of the respective component. Based on how the components are arranged and connected in the design window, the system may then generate or modify program code for the components so the designer is not burdened with writing the code for the system. 
     The disclosed techniques include using AI and/or machine learning to learn new naming conventions and propagate the new naming convention through one or more industrial automation systems and/or libraries, and to automatically adjust component names to maintain a naming convention when components are added, removed, or rearranged within the system. 
     The disclosed techniques include a project code file analysis algorithm that may be applied to project code files and generate a report for the project code file. The project code analysis algorithm may be configured to determine a structure of the project code file, create a visualization of the project code file, identify dead code (i.e., code that is not executed) within the project code file, identify dead ends within the project code file, identify inefficient tag usage, identify parallel concurrent tasks, consider the validity of connections between components, identify overload situations, calculate a complexity score for the code, determine whether the project code file meets an acceptance criteria, and so forth. Further, once the project code file has been analyzed, a database may be updated with data from the analysis. As the database is populated with data from analyzing numerous project code files, adjustments may be made to the project code analysis algorithm, such that the project code analysis algorithm improves over time. 
     While only certain features of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the embodiments described herein.