Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk View Machine Edition Users Guide - Manual (Page 227)

14 • Create run-time applications
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Create run-time application files
Before you can run your application, you must create a run-time version. When you create
the run-time version, FactoryTalk View Studio compiles all of the necessary application
information into a single file with the extension .mer.
Create .mer files for previous versions
You can specify the version of FactoryTalk View ME Station for which to create the .mer
file. For example, if the application will run on a terminal that uses FactoryTalk View ME
Station version 3.20, you can specify that version for the .mer file.
If the application contains features that are not supported by the version you select,
FactoryTalk View shows a validation report that lists the unsupported features. The run-
time application file is not created. You must remove or turn off the unsupported features
before you can create the run-time application file.
For information about the features supported in different versions of FactoryTalk View,
and how to remove or replace them, see Appendix G.
Convert .mer files to development applications
For FactoryTalk View version 5.00 and later .mer files, you can convert the run-time .mer
file back to a development application (.med file). This option is useful if:
 You lose or don’t have access to the original .med file and you need to make a change
to the application.
 You make changes to the .mer file at run time, such as adding passwords, updating
RSLinx Enterprise device shortcuts, or saving recipes, and you need to make a change
to the application but don’t want to lose this run-time information.
Starting with FactoryTalk View 8.0, all security information modified at runtime is
saved in the .mer files. These changes will be restored after converting FactoryTalk
View 8.0 .mer files to .med files.
Version 6.0 or earlier .mer files created on a 64-bit operating system cannot be converted to
design-time projects (MED files).
PanelView Plus 7 or PanelView Plus 6 terminals cannot process a Gradient Fill that uses a
Diagonal Up or Diagonal Down direction, nor can the PanelView Plus 7 or PanelView Plus
6terminal apply a Gradient Fill to a rotated object. While running an MER on a PanelView Plus 7
or PanelView Plus 6 terminal, the gradient attributes will be animated using the gradient fill
starting color as the object’s solid color background.
When running the MER on a computer, the system can process all gradient fills and this warning
does not apply.