Patent ID: 8464168

Claim:
A workstation including a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer executable instructions for providing a field device management utility including a generalized graphical user interface facilitating access to a variety of resources associated with selected device types, the field device management utility including computer-executable instructions for performing, on the workstation, the steps of: providing information interfaces communicatively linking the field device management utility to a variety of data sources; and providing a graphical user interface display that simultaneously displays a variety of information associated with a selected field device type, the graphical user interface display including: a device identification information pane for displaying information provided by a device description file, a links box for presenting user-selectable electronic data links to supplemental information resources, the supplemental information begin rendered in a viewing application launched in response to selection of a presented one of the electronic data links, a screen selection control for exposing multiple user-selectable functional modes of operation of the field device management utility, and wherein each functional mode has a corresponding interface display, and a graphics files pane identifying graphics files.