Appearance
Feature toggles and per-user feature access
Last updated
A feature is usable only when all three of these are true:
- It is licensed (the base set, your purchased key, or a live trial).
- It is switched on for the appliance in Feature Toggles.
- The user has access to it — always true for admins, and for users whose feature access is not restricted.
Feature Toggles
The Feature Toggles card is under the License card on System → Settings (admins only). Features are grouped as Tag System, Production, Alarms & Reporting, Data Infrastructure, Manufacturing Execution, Visualization, Control & Logic, Connectivity, and Audit & Compliance. Each row has the feature name, a one-line description and a switch.
- A lock icon and a grayed switch mean the feature is not licensed; it cannot be switched on.
- A flask badge (Trial until date) means only a trial licenses it; it stops when the trial ends.
- The count in the corner (for example 16 / 45 enabled) includes the 16 page-access entries, which are always on and not listed on the card.
- A change takes effect immediately for everyone signed in; there is no Save button for toggles.
Note: Every feature is off on a new appliance, including the free base-set features such as Expression Tags and Shift Scheduling. Switch on what you use. Activating a purchased key switches on everything it licenses; a trial switches on only what it adds.
What switching a feature off does
- Sidebar entries that need it disappear for everyone.
- Pages that check it show a lock and a message such as "OEE Tracking Not Available", with "Contact your administrator to enable this feature or upgrade your license."
- The API refuses its requests with HTTP 403 and code
FEATURE_DISABLED: Feature "oee" is not enabled. Check your license or feature settings. - Configuration and data are not deleted by the toggle. Switching it back on brings the pages back as they were.
Restricting what one user can use
- Open System → Users.
- On the user's row click the lock icon (Manage permissions). Admin rows cannot be restricted: "Admins bypass all restrictions".
- On the Feature Access tab, turn on Restrict feature access ("When enabled, user can only see checked features below").
- Tick the features the user may use. Only features currently switched on for the appliance are listed, including page access entries such as Devices, Dashboards, Settings or Backup. Select All and Clear All help with long lists.
- Click Save Feature Access.
The next time the user's page loads, their sidebar shows only the ticked entries. For licensed features (OEE, Reports, Work Orders and so on) the appliance also refuses the user's API requests with HTTP 403, code FEATURE_USER_RESTRICTED: "You do not have access to this feature." Turning Restrict feature access off again gives the user every feature the appliance has on.
Warning: For page access entries (Devices, Scripts, Workflows, Settings, Backup and the rest) the restriction only removes the sidebar link. A user who types the page's address can still open it and do whatever their role allows. Use roles and security levels to control what someone can change; use feature access to keep their menu short.
The Resource Access tab next to it limits access to individual dashboards, pages and other resources; see Users.
Worked example
A packaging plant has OEE, Downtime and Reporting licensed. Line operators should see dashboards, the Andon board and downtime entry, but not scripts, workflows or settings:
- In Feature Toggles, switch on OEE Tracking, Downtime Tracking, Andon Display and Reporting Module.
- For each operator account, open Manage permissions → Feature Access, turn on Restrict feature access, tick Dashboards, Devices, History, Andon Display and Downtime Tracking, and click Save Feature Access.
- Pages such as Scripts, Workflows, Settings and Backup vanish from those operators' sidebars. Pages with no feature behind them (Alarms, Files, Schedules and so on) stay visible; hide them for everyone in the Navigation card if needed.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The switch will not move and shows a lock | Not licensed | Activate a key that includes it |
| Feature "…" is not available in your license tier | The feature is not licensed (for example a trial just ended) | Buy the feature or remove the trial record |
| Core page feature "…" cannot be toggled — restrict per-user instead | Page access entries cannot be switched off system-wide | Restrict individual users instead |
| A feature turned itself off | A trial ended, or a key was removed | Check the Trials list on the License card |
| A user still sees a page after being restricted | Their page has not reloaded, or the page has no feature behind it | Reload; hide the page in Navigation if it has no feature |
| A restricted user opened a page by its address | Page access restrictions hide links but do not block the page | Limit what they can change with their role |