Visualize the right context
Add chart types, gauges, tables, maps, limits, and comparison views that fit the operational question.
Extend AVEVA PI Vision
PI Vision Custom Symbols
Add interactive charts, tables, filters, data-entry tools, Event Frame views, and operational controls to the PI Vision displays your teams already use.
PI Vision custom symbols are visual and interactive components built with the PI Vision Extensibility Framework to add capabilities beyond the standard symbol palette.
- Charts & analysis
- Manual data entry
- Event Frame workflows
- Navigation & controls
A practical introduction
What are PI Vision custom symbols?
PI Vision custom symbols are extensions that add new visualizations or interactions to AVEVA PI Vision. They can present PI System and Asset Framework data in purpose-built ways, accept controlled user input, or make a display easier to navigate and investigate.
Make displays interactive
Give users filters, selectors, navigation, playback, and Event Frame tools instead of a passive wall of values.
Support real workflows
Capture manual readings, comments, reason codes, and event details while the relevant PI data remains visible.
How PI Vision custom symbols work
Three layers, deployed on the PI Vision server
The PI Vision Extensibility Framework separates a symbol into implementation, presentation, and optional configuration. A typical extension uses JavaScript for behavior, HTML and CSS for its visual layer, and a configuration view when users need editable options.
- Define and registerThe implementation describes the symbol, its data behavior, and how PI Vision loads it.
- Present the resultThe template turns incoming PI data into the chart, table, input, or control users see.
- Configure and maintainAdministrators deploy the files to the PI Vision server and validate compatibility during upgrades.
AVEVA documents custom-symbol development through its supported extensibility framework. Stay inside that framework and test extensions against the PI Vision versions you operate.
Read the AVEVA PI Vision Extensibility Guide
From visualization to action
What can PI Vision custom symbols do?
The best custom symbol is not simply a different chart. It removes a workflow gap—helping users understand context, investigate events, enter missing information, or move through a display more efficiently.
Charts & analytics
Compare assets, inspect distributions, combine series, and highlight limits with purpose-built visualizations.
Explore visual symbolsFilters & context
Let users select assets, time ranges, or events so displays answer a focused operational question.
Explore dashboard controlsManual data entry
Capture readings, lab values, notes, reason codes, and corrections in the PI System workflow.
See Manual Data Entry+Event Frames
Review, filter, compare, create, and edit event-based operational records from a PI Vision display.
See Events Table+Navigation & playback
Connect displays, preserve useful context, and review how conditions developed over a selected period.
See Navigation Menu+Status & response
Make changing values and alarm states easier to notice with gauges, tables, sounds, and multistates.
Browse the complete libraryPopular examples
Four ways to extend a PI Vision display
These examples cover four different needs: capturing information, analyzing process data, navigating a display set, and working with Event Frames.
01→
02→
03→
04→
Manual Data Entry+
Write operator and lab data with timestamps, validation, and user context.
Combo Chart+
Combine trends, bars, limits, and Event Frame context in one analytical view.
Navigation Menu+
Create consistent display navigation and make large PI Vision applications easier to use.
Events Table+
Review and manage Event Frames in a structured, configurable table.
Build or use a supported library?
Choose the path that matches the workflow
A one-off visualization can be a good custom-development project. A growing set of production symbols creates a longer-term product responsibility: testing, security review, browser behavior, PI Vision upgrades, documentation, and support.
ConsiderationDevelop in-houseVision Library+
Best fit
A unique requirement tied closely to one internal workflow.
Reusable charts, controls, input, navigation, and Event Frame workflows.
Initial effort
Design, development, testing, deployment, and documentation.
Install and configure a ready-to-use, documented symbol.
Ongoing ownership
Your team maintains compatibility, fixes, and user support.
Product updates, documentation, and vendor support are included with the subscription.
Time to value
Depends on scope, specialist availability, and validation needs.
Start from proven capabilities and focus effort on the display workflow.
Vision Library+ for AVEVA PI Vision
Use supported custom symbols without building every extension yourself
Vision Library+ is a growing collection of professionally maintained PI Vision custom symbols and controls. Use it to add richer visualization, dashboard interaction, Event Frame workflows, data entry, navigation, and operational context to existing PI Vision environments.
Explore Vision Library+Common questions
PI Vision custom symbols FAQ
What is a PI Vision custom symbol?
A PI Vision custom symbol is an extension that adds a visualization or interaction not available in the standard PI Vision symbol palette. It can present PI System data, support analysis, accept controlled input, or add display controls.
How are custom symbols added to PI Vision?
An administrator deploys the symbol files to the appropriate extension folder on the PI Vision server. PI Vision then registers the extension and makes it available to users according to the symbol's definition and data behavior.
Do users need to write code to use Vision Library+ symbols?
No. Vision Library+ provides ready-to-use symbols with configuration options in PI Vision. An administrator still handles installation, licensing, and upgrade testing.
Which PI Vision versions are supported?
Vision Library+ symbols support PI Vision 2021 and newer. Confirm your exact PI Vision version and the required Vision Library+ version before deployment.
Should we build a custom symbol or use a symbol library?
Build in-house when the requirement is unique and your team can own development, testing, documentation, security review, and future compatibility. Use a supported library when the capability is reusable and faster deployment with ongoing maintenance is more valuable.
Can we try the symbols before purchasing?
Yes. You can request a Vision Library+ trial for your PI Vision environment or schedule a product demonstration.
Ready to extend PI Vision?
