Patent ID: 8332773

Claim:
A method for providing a user interface for an industrial control system comprising a computer and a display device, and a plurality of process graphics comprising one or more software objects for controlling and/or monitoring control objects controlled by said industrial control system, said one or more software objects being arranged in one or more of a plurality of hierarchical functional groups or structures, arranged such that elements of said one or more of the software objects or part thereof may be displayed on an interface displayed on said display device, the method comprising: automatically generating one or more designated views arranged with a tab for loading a new process graphic into the designated view of a selected tab; updating the objects in a designated view with a tab and updating the said designated view with all new objects found the corresponding hierarchical logical group; comparing any new objects found in the designated view with one or more criteria for the designated view and including the new objects meeting the criteria; comparing any new objects found in the designated view with criteria and determining a logical grouping of a new object; and displaying the one or more designated views, each designated view comprising one or more tabs and comprising any of said process graphics, software objects or elements, dependent on location of a said software object in a said hierarchy of object instances or a said structure.