OPC Studio User's Guide and Reference
Excel Connector Product Editions
The Excel Connector allows you to set up a communication link between Excel (on Windows) and any OPC server. It is possible to subscribe to and view real-time data, and also write the data back. No programming, macros or add-ins are necessary. With just drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste, you can create Microsoft Excel sheets with live, animated OPC data.
Following table will help you to understand the features of different Excel Connector editions, and assist in selecting the edition that is best for you.
| Product Edition: | Professional | Trial (free) | |
| Unlimited run time | The trial version delivers valid data for 30 minutes since you have started your application. You then need to re-start the process in order to receive valid data again, and so on. Paid editions have no such limitation. Contact us if you need a longer run time for your evaluation. |
✓ |
⨯ |
| Unlimited topic count | The trial version delivers valid data for up to 15 points (not counting points referring to our own demo servers). Paid editions have no such limitation. Contact us if you need a higher topic count for your evaluation. |
✓ |
⨯ |
|
OPC Specifications |
|||
| OPC Data Access | OPC-DA is the original specification. It is commonly used to move real-time data from PLCs, DCSs, and other control devices to HMIs and other clients, for display purposes and further processing. |
✓ |
✓ |
| OPC XML-DA | OPC XML-DA specification builds on the OPC-DA specifications to communicate data in XML. It incorporates SOAP and Web services. |
✓ |
✓ |
| OPC Unified Architecture (Generic/Data) | OPC-UA is the next generation of OPC. It brings the existing specifications together with a unified data model and uses Web services, rather than Microsoft COM, for messaging. |
✓ |
✓ |
|
Tools |
|||
| Connectivity Explorer | Allows to navigate through hierarchy of OPC Data Access and OPC Unified Architecture servers and data nodes. You can subscribe to data changes, and view the results live. |
✓ |
✓ |
| other tools | Launcher, License Manager (GUI and Console), OpcCmd Utility, UA Configuration Tool. |
✓ |
✓ |