EandM is an authorized Siemens industrial automation distributor serving manufacturers,
system integrators, and industrial facilities across the West Coast—California, Oregon, and
Washington—including full support for TIA Portal software and WinCC Unified projects.
Siemens' modular add-in for WinCC Unified project analysis and optimization has
been updated with full TIA V21 support and several brand-new features for control engineers.
The SmartAdvisor Add-in is a specialized utility developed by Siemens that extends standard TIA Portal
functionality by leveraging the native TIA Openness programming interface. It is engineered specifically
to automate the deep analysis and optimization of WinCC Unified projects—helping engineering teams flag
configuration inefficiencies, maximize runtime performance, and simplify long-term project maintenance
through a highly structured workspace workflow.
- TIA V21
Optimization: Fully adapted to the TIA V21 ecosystem, natively supporting all underlying
Openness API structural changes.
- Hierarchical
Pathing: Raw screen names are now automatically replaced with complete, absolute screen
path navigation files in all exported datasets.
- Navigation
Diagnostics: Injected intelligent design recommendations focusing on Screen Window
Navigation object usage.
- Overlap Collision
Detection: Automatically scans for and flags overlapping button bounds, outputting
positioning optimization tips.
- Content
Separation: The integrated Content Collector now explicitly distinguishes between
original system files and custom user files during import/export actions.
The Four-Step Modular Workflow
SmartAdvisor deploys a logical, four-step approach that can be executed across an entire HMI catalog
structure or isolated to specific screens. Each phase acts as a prerequisite for the next, granting clean
project traceability:
1
Content Collection
Compiles a detailed quantity overview of all HMI devices in the TIA project—logging exact structures for screens, tag dynamizations, local scripts, and event handlers.
2
Project Analysis
Surfaces hidden engineering bottlenecks. Generates itemized diagnostic files for text
boxes, symbolic I/O fields, and buttons, exporting them as queryable
.csv and
.js files inside your local project tree.
3
Safe Optimization
Suggests performance upgrades for text box rendering, visibility dynamization,
and script scope declarations (replacing generic vars with precise
let and
const blocks). Originals are preserved as safe buffers.
4Object Removal
Once optimizations are fully validated, this step permanently strips out the bloated original
objects in a single click, instantly committing the sleek, optimized configurations to the active
build.
Irreversible Deletion Alert
The final Removal step permanently purges original HMI design
components from the database file. This action cannot be reversed or undone. Ensure your engineering
team completes a full project backup and validates all screen optimizations prior to execution.
System Installation
Requirements
- Ensure your local engineering workstation runs the corresponding master software
environment: TIA Portal V21 is required for SmartAdvisor V21.6 compatibility.
- Install current instances of Node.js and the
JSCodeshift toolkit to enable the integrated automated script optimization features.
- Verify your local Windows user account possesses explicit administrative inclusion
inside the official "Siemens TIA Openness" OS security group.
- Locate and drop the compiled
.addin file package straight into the target
AddIns folder located within your primary TIA Portal installation directory tree.
Key Project Benefits
Automates repetitive optimization
audits.
Scales up WinCC Unified runtime
speeds.
Generates clean documentation
tracing reports.
Flags project limit breaks prior to
compilation.
Preserves original designs until
final sign-off.
Known Engineering
Limitations
Prior to rolling out SmartAdvisor across active plant-floor application designs, note these specific
boundaries inside the current version:
- Custom Faceplate asset contents are bypassed and not optimized by the scanning tool.
- Grouped screen objects can occasionally experience minor pixel position shifts following
optimization updates.
- Optimized graphic elements are uniformly returned onto the primary base layer (Layer_0)
of the target screen.
- Specific native system functions are automatically refactored into equivalent structured
scripts.
- The add-in tool restricts font processing exclusively to standard families: Arial, Times
New Roman, Simsun, and SiemensSans.
Ready to Standardize Your HMI Optimization Pipelines?
Connect directly with EandM's specialized Siemens support desk. We provide
comprehensive TIA Portal add-in deployment licensing, configuration validation workshops, and free
local engineering help across your West Coast facilities.
Contact a Siemens Software Specialist