Patent ID: 8566748

Claim:
A human-machine interface comprising: a communication interface configured to receive first machine data from an aggregation server, the aggregation server configured to transfer the first machine data corresponding to a plurality of machines in an industrial environment to the communication interface, receive a plurality of configuration changes of the machines automatically when the configuration changes occur, the configuration changes comprising at least one change in how the machines are coupled together in a new configuration, aggregate the plurality of configuration changes into second machine data, and transfer the second machine data to the communication interface; a user interface configured to display graphical data to a user; and a processor coupled to the communication interface and the user interface, the processor configured to: process the first machine data to produce first graphical data comprising one or more tabs; transmit the first graphical data to the user interface for display; detect a pointer over one of the one or more tabs; process the second machine data to produce second graphical data comprising an open drawer corresponding to the one of the one or more tabs, wherein the drawer includes a thumbnail graphic including the configuration changes; and transmit the second graphical data to the user interface for display; wherein the drawer includes a plurality of thumbnail graphical representations of the plurality of machines arranged within the drawer based on a physical layout of the plurality of machines.