Patent ID: 8086955

Claim:
A method of modifying process control data, comprising: storing process control data in an extensible markup language format in a server database in accordance with a server schema and in a client in accordance with a client schema, the process control data associated with a plurality of control devices of a control system; receiving a request from a user to edit the process control data, the request indicating whether to edit the process control data in the client, the server database, or an editor external to a process control system application associated with the process control system; determining based on the request to edit the process control data in the client, the server database, or the editor external to the process control system application associated with the process control system; when the request indicates a user request to edit the process control data in the client, editing the process control data in the extensible markup language format in accordance with the client schema; when the request indicates a user request to edit the process control data in the server database: receiving a value from a user interface of the process control system application; and submitting the value and an update query to the server database, the update query requesting the server database to store the value in a corresponding entry of the process control data in accordance with the server schema; and when the request indicates a user request to edit the process control data using the editor external to the process control system application: converting the process control data in the extensible markup language format to a second data format; editing the process control data in the second data format; and converting the modified process control data from the second data format to the extensible markup language format based on the client schema.