PI Vision Tips
Taking screenshots of dashboards and pasting them into Word documents is a waste of engineering time. We examine how to upgrade PI Vision with a fully integrated reporting engine.
The Difference Between "Printing" and "Reporting"
Native PI Vision offers a browser print function, but it cuts off trends, ignores background colors, and cannot handle multi-page data. To get professional results, you need a dedicated solution.
The "Browser Print" Way
The Struggle: You hit Ctrl+P, and the layout breaks. The dark mode background turns white, yellow trends become invisible, and the time bar gets cut off.
The Result: You end up using the Snipping Tool, pasting images into PowerPoint, and manually typing out timestamps. It is unscalable and unprofessional.
The Integrated Solution
The Solution: Vision Report+ is a comprehensive reporting engine that lives inside PI Vision. It renders your displays exactly as they are designed, preserving data fidelity.
The Result: Whether it's a scheduled PDF delivered to your inbox or an instant download from a dashboard button, the output is always a perfect, high-resolution vector PDF.
Ad-Hoc vs. Formal Reporting
A true reporting solution needs to handle two distinct workflows: the quick snapshot for a meeting, and the formal shift report for compliance.
1. Ad-Hoc Printing
"I need this right now."
- One-Click PDF: Operators can generate a PDF of their current view instantly.
- Context Aware: Captures the specific time range and asset context currently selected on the screen.
- No Tools Needed: No SnagIt, no Clipping Tool. Just a clean PDF download.
2. Formal Reports
"I need this every morning."
- Standardized Layouts: Generate multi-page PDFs that combine different displays into a single packet.
- Automation: Configure reports to run automatically (e.g., at shift handover) or triggered by specific events.
3. The Rendering Engine
Quality Matters
- Vector Graphics: Unlike screenshots, our engine produces vector-based PDFs. You can zoom in 500% on a trend line and it stays sharp.
- Smart Sizing: Automatically handles scrolling displays to ensure no data is cut off at the margins.
Solving the Data Gap
Vision Report+ bridges the gap between live monitoring and static documentation.
Meeting Ready
Walk into your morning production meeting with a clean, high-resolution PDF packet, not a blurry screenshot pasted into Word.
Shift Handover
Create an immutable record of the process state at the end of every shift. Store these PDFs for compliance and audit trails.
Analysis Archives
When an event occurs, capture the entire context immediately. Don't rely on recreating the trend configuration weeks later.
See the Output Yourself
Stop struggling with the print dialog. See how a true integrated reporting solution transforms your workflow.
