Layouts overview

DeltaV Live layouts define various aspects of the operator environment, including arranging and purposing regions of an operator's available screen real-estate and defining which displays should appear in each region. The display surface of a layout can be either a single screen (monitor) or an entire video desktop that includes multiple screens. Layouts can also include multiple main graphics on a single large display, such as a large screen 4k display or a high-resolution wall-sized display. Layouts can also be designed accordingly for smaller screen devices or production floor HMI panels or stations.

Layouts are created based on monitor size and automatically resize to fit varying monitor sizes, allowing you to create one-size-fits-all displays rather than an individual display for each monitor size. Screens, which are graphic elements that represent an operator's physical monitors, define the total available layout space. Display frames, which are graphic elements that represent regions on a screen, are used to arrange a screen's available real-estate into regions and designate which level of displays open in each region.

Layouts are created, configured, and managed in Graphics Studio, then published and assigned for use on DeltaV Live-enabled Operator Stations and remote client sessions. You can either build a custom layout from scratch or create a layout from a library template. Custom layouts start with a blank layout on which you add the desired number of screens and display frames, and then configure them as needed. Layout templates provide the screens, display frames, and recommended configuration. You can, however, modify templates as desired.

Automatic display routing and coordination

It is vital that operators maintain situational awareness of the overall view while having the means to easily view related content. To that end, layouts can be configured, through configuration options on display frames, to support automatic display routing and coordination for the displays included in a DeltaV Live workstation's active display set. Automatic display routing and coordination defines whether a display frame can automatically:
  • Automatically open displays, launched from this display frame, in other display frames.
  • Automatically open displays of a certain hierarchy level.
  • Automatically change content so that displays hierarchically related to each other appear together.
  • Relocate displays to another display frame.
  • Include a navigation bar at the top of the display frame.
  • Open displays launched from other display frames.
  • Change content so that displays hierarchically related to each other appear together.
  • Open displays of certain hierarchy levels.
A navigation bar can also be added to a layout (through a display frame), providing operators with tools for navigating between the displays included in that workstation's active display set.

Assigning a layout to a workstation

A layout must be assigned to a workstation or remote client session to make it available on that workstation, but only one layout at a time can be assigned to each workstation/session. When DeltaV Live starts, it opens the layout assigned to that workstation. When a workstation does not have a layout assigned to it, DeltaV Live uses a built-in default layout containing one screen, two display frames, a menu bar, and a navigation bar.