About target platforms and product types

A project’s target platform and product type determine important things about the project, such as how many tags the project will support and which features can be used during run time.

Target platform

The target platform is generally either Windows or Windows Embedded.
Windows
A computer that runs one of the following operating systems:
  • Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3
  • Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 2
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Windows 8 or 8.1 (excluding Windows RT)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012
  • Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 3
  • Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard 7

The computer must have the full InduSoft Web Studio software installed, even if it is not used for project development, because the full software includes the modules that are needed to host the project runtime on Windows. The computer must also have an appropriate runtime license key. For more information, see Install the full InduSoft Web Studio software.

All project features are available when the target platform is Windows.

Windows Embedded
An embedded device that runs one of the following operating systems:
  • Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 3
  • Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard 7
  • Microsoft Windows Mobile or Windows CE 5.x/6.x
  • Microsoft Windows Embedded Compact 7

The device must have either EmbeddedView (for Windows XP Embedded and Windows Embedded Standard) or CEView (for Windows Mobile, Windows CE, and Windows Embedded Compact) installed. The device must also have an appropriate runtime license key. For more information, see Install EmbeddedView or CEView on a target device.

Please note that when the target platform is Windows Embedded, certain project features are not available:
  • All DDE features, including the DDE Server task and the DDE Client task and worksheets.
  • ODBC Runtime task, worksheets, and functions. (ADO database interface is still available.)
  • OPC HDA Server task.
  • OPC .Net Client task and worksheets.
  • OPC XML/DA Client task and worksheets.
  • Minor graphic features such as support for image formats other than BMP or JPG and fill effects for shapes other than rectangle.
  • Miscellaneous other built-in functions, as described in the documentation for the Built-in Scripting Language.

In most cases, if you want to host your project runtime on a Windows XP Embedded or Windows Embedded Standard device and you do not plan to do project development on that device, then you should only install EmbeddedView on the device and select Windows Embedded as the target platform. EmbeddedView has a smaller footprint than the full InduSoft Web Studio software, and it can be installed and managed remotely.

However, if you want to use any of the features that are not available when the target platform is Windows Embedded, then you must install the full InduSoft Web Studio software on the device and select Windows as the target platform.

Note: The full InduSoft Web Studio software cannot be installed on a Windows Embedded Compact device under any circumstances.

Product type

The product type primarily determines how many tags you can use in the project, including tags shared or imported from other systems. Given the available system resources, Windows can typically support far more tags than Windows Embedded.

Please note that the computer or embedded device that will host your project runtime must have a license key that matches or exceeds the selected product type. To verify the license key, run Protection Manager (Start > All Programs > InduSoft Web Studio v7.1 > Register) on that computer or embedded device. Although you can change both the product type and license key later, we recommend that you verify the license key and select the correct product type now so that you do not waste time developing a project that uses more tags than you are licensed for.

Also, if you plan to run your project on multiple stations with different license keys, then we recommend that you develop for the lowest common product type.

Target system

The target platform and product type together determine the target system, which you can change later by using the Target System command (on the Project tab of the ribbon).

About target platforms and product types