Installation under Windows

A WinCC OA installation installs the different components of WinCC OA such as database, UI runtime and other features based on the selected installation components.

In order to use WinCC OA under Windows, minimum hardware and software requirements must be met (see chapter Hardware and software requirements for WinCC OA).

Installation instruction

  1. Download the WinCC OA installation package from the WinCC OA Portal or copy the already downloaded installation package into a locally accessible directory.
  2. Within the Windows Explorer navigate to the directory in which the WinCC OA installation package is located.
  3. Double-click on the WinCC_OA_3.18_windows_x64.exe to start the installation, see installation process
Important: Administrative rights are necessary for the installation of WinCC OA!
Note: You can specify settings in Windows to generate a file in the event of a system crash and eliminate the causes of crashes to prevent them in the future. For more information, see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wer/collecting-user-mode-dumps.

Language of the Setup Wizard

If you start the WinCC OA installation through WinCC_OA_3.18_windows_x64.exe, the installation language depends on the language that was set via the control panel. First the "User locale" language is used if it was configured. You can set the "User locale" via Control Panel > Region and Language > Formats tab > Format.

If the "User locale" language was not set, the "System locale" language is used. Set the "System locale" via Control Panel > Region and Language > Administrative tab Click the Change system locale... button. This means that if a language was set for a user, this language is used. If a user language was not set, the system language is used.

If neither "User" nor "System" language was specified, English is used. If you install an update, the language of the original version installation is used by default. The WinCC_OA_3.18_windows_x64.exe can also be called by using a language option directly.

You can call the setup by using a language option directly.

Setup call in English:

WinCC_OA_3.18_windows_x64.exe /lang en
Restriction: Note that if the installation was executed in one language, e.g.: in German, you have to uninstall WinCC OA to execute the installation in another language, e.g.: English.
Important: If the error "Error 1324. The path Datenpunkttypen_f?_Symbolkatalog contains an invalid character." occurs during the installation of WinCC OA, the settings for programs that do not support Unicode must be changed. Under Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Advanced the option Select a language to match the language version of the non-Unicode programs you want to use must be set to either German or English.

Related Installation Version

If a related WinCC OA installation is found, an error message is shown.

Installation Process

The WinCC OA setup process is performed by using a Wizard. The setup program displays the version number during the installation. To install the WinCC OA components (features) complete the following steps:

  1. EULA - accept the terms in the End User License Agreement and continue by clicking "Next"

    Figure 1. Install wizard - Welcome and EULA
    .

  2. Select the installation options that should be installed.

    Figure 2. WinCC OA Install wizard - Setup Options

    By default the base installation and the Documentation are preselected. The base installation is required for the use of WinCC OA. Most features are installed together with the base installation (see the feature list further below). To install other features, select the features you want to install. The following features can be selected, the S7PlusDriver, Video-AddOn, Example projects, API and, OldVersion Support. Once a standard installation exists, individual features can also be installed later. Note that for most of the features a unique license is required (see Licensing).

  3. Select an installation directory as well as a project directory for the WinCC OA DemoApplication and GettingStarted projects (applications). By default WinCC OA is installed in the C:\Siemens\Automation\WinCC_OA\3.18\ directory. The projects are installed under C:\WinCC_OA_Proj\ by default.
    Restriction: Note that the installation path must not contain any spaces.
    Restriction: WinCC OA cannot be installed on a network drive.
  4. Click on "Next" to continue.
  5. Ready to Install the Program - click on "Install" to install WinCC OA with the selected components.

  6. You can launch WinCC OA immediately after installation. As a rule, it is not necessary to modify environment variables.

    Use the WinCC OA functions intended for backup in order to backup the WinCC OA data (online backup, backup of the alert archives, backup of the HDB directories). For details, see the chapter Database.

Base Installation

The Base setup contains the runtime and engineering components.:

  • Server (Development & Runtime)
  • UI Runtime (client only) - minimum option. Requires access to a WinCC OA server system.
  • Advanced Maintenance Suite - tool for efficient planning, management, execution and control of maintenance and disturbance.
  • BACnet - BACnet building automation package (driver, object library library and HMI)
  • Communication Center - provides alert information via SMS or e-mail.
  • Disaster Recovery System - addOn for coupling / data synchronization of two hot-standby systems, to create a double redundant warm-standby system
  • DBLogger - Database connection to relational databases via ADO.
  • OleDB Provider Client only - installs all essential files for accessing historical WinCC OA data via OLE DB. Requires access to a WinCC OA server server system.
  • Recipes - Recipe management system for configurable recipe types and unlimited number of recipes. Value acquisition from current process values, Excel (CSV) import / export.
  • Report (Excel) - WinCC OA Reporting system for Microsoft for Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Excel program files are not included.
  • Standard Object Library - Base framework for branch specific WinCC OA object libraries.

Video Add-on

Video-Components for integration and management of video IP devices. For more information on the Video components, see the chapter Video Basics.

  • Video Explorer - Object explorer for easy configuration and management of video devices.
  • Video Server - 3rd party component for the installation of a video management server (WinCC OA installation not required).
  • Display Server - Optional 3rd party-component to display video streams on a computer (WinCC OA installation not required).

Example Projects

  • Demo Application - sample application 'DemoApplication' introducing the possibilities of WinCC OA. Bilingual graphical user interface and database (English/German).

    The name of the demo application project contains the version number, for example, the demo project of version 3.18 is called "DemoApplication_3.18". Therefore, it is possible to execute the setup program of more than one versions and to have one demo project of each version.

  • GettingStarted-Application - sample application 'GettingStarted' for building a WinCC OA project step by step. Bilingual graphical user interface and database (English/German).

    The projects are installed in the directory C:\wincc_oa\by default.

API AddOn

WinCC OA application programming interface (API). The environment variable API_ROOT is mapped to the directory where the API is installed. The default installation directory is C:\Siemens\Automation\WinCC_OA\3.18\api.

Old Version Support

This contains the old version database definition files and binaries. These are required to update old WinCC OA projects to the current version.

Documentation

WinCC OA Online Help is available in English, German or Russian. Select the desired language(s).

Update Installation\Uninstall

If a WinCC OA version is already installed and you try to install a version, a window for upgrade is opened "Upgrade your installation of WinCC OA 3.18"

You can also modify, repair or remove the version via the Control panel > All Control Panel Items > Programs and Features:

Select the option Change , either via right-click-menu on the WinCC OA 3.18 symbol or marking the symbol with a left-click and selecting Change in the menu options above.

You can select the following options in the WinCC OA dialog:

  • Repair - Repairs the installed program, for example, corrupt files, registry entries. This option is an MSI feature.
  • Modify - allows you to install additional features or to uninstall already installed features. Features that are already installed are preselected. If you deselect a preselected feature, it is uninstalled.
  • Remove - Removes WinCC OA from your computer (see also Uninstall).
Troubleshooting: Under certain circumstances, the MSI uninstall routine might not remove WinCC OA correctly from the system. Since a newer installation is already installed, former versions cannot be installed. In this case use the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility to remove the old installation.