Introduction to Workstation.ini

The purpose of a workstation.ini configuration file is to enable you to set different values for variables on different workstations in your networked applications. For example, you might wish to have two specific workstations tile multiple pages on the screen at one time using the "DispMgrHoriz" and "DispMgrVert" variables, while having all other workstations running the same application to display only one page at a time (as is the default VTS behaviour). You could therefore set the "DispMgrHoriz" and "DispMgrVert" variables in two workstation.ini files according to the number of pages you wish to tile. All other workstations will obey the default variable values for "DispMgrHoriz" and "DispMgrVert", as they will not have been presented with a workstation.ini configuration file to command them otherwise. Workstations without an applicable workstation.ini configuration file will obey the Config.ini configuration file for the application.

Unlike the configuration files we have examined thus far, there is no default or template workstation.ini file present in your application directory. In order to establish a workstation.ini configuration file, you should create a simple text file using the text editor of your choice, and configure the variables you require within it.

In order for a workstation to identify and obey a workstation.ini configuration file and its variables, the name you give the text file must indicate the name of the appropriate workstation followed by the extension ".INI" (e.g. "FREDSPC.INI"). A workstation running VTS will only obey the variables it finds in the workstation.ini configuration file that features its name; it will ignore all other workstation.ini files. This makes it convenient for you to configure all the workstation.ini files you require on one workstation, and then propagate copies out to all workstations.

Workstation.ini configuration files may set any of the variables typically set in the Config.ini configuration file. VTS is configured in such a way that the variables of a workstation.ini configuration file take the highest priority; that is, the values given variables in a workstation.ini file will override any values established for the same variables in Config.ini files in lower application layers. Remember that VTS loads variables from the top (highest application layer) down to the VTS layer. A workstation.ini file should therefore always be saved in your application directory.

You may choose to specify those variables that you wish to apply to specific workstations in workstation.ini files, while configuring those variables that you wish to apply to the majority of workstations in the Config.ini file.

The variables listed below are generally considered workstation-specific, with the exception of Realm Area Filtering.  While they may potentially be set in your application's Config.ini configuration file, it is highly recommended that they be set in workstation.ini files.

[ALARM_MANAGER]

The [ALARM_MANAGER] section enables you to load specific alarm tags on specific workstations according to the Area property configured for the alarm tags.

[AREAS]

The [AREAS] section enables you to restrict certain tags from loading at startup on specific workstations (see Workstation.ini [AREAS] Section Variables).

[PRIORITYSTART]

The [PRIORITYSTART] section contains a list of variables and modules that will be started before any of the items in the [SYSTEM] section is started (see Workstation.ini [PRIORITYSTART] Section Variables).