Batch Command Signature

Sepasoft MES Module Suite

Batch Command Signature - Perspective

Description

The Batch Command Signature component is a minimized Batch command toolbar for custom Perspective screens. It issues recipe-level Batch commands (Start, Pause, Resume, Hold, Restart, Stop, Reset, and Abort) against a single configured Batch Queue Entry, and can require a Signature Template per command before the command is sent.

Use this component when you need a compact command bar on an operator screen and want to gate selected commands with e-signature authorization—independently of the full Batch Controller or Batch List.

Installed with the Production module (Batch Procedure).

Find this component under the Ignition Designer Perspective Component Palette in the Batch category, named Batch Command Signature.

Version specific: In 3.81.13 SP1 and 4.83.3 SP1 and later.

How signature gating works

For each command the operator selects:

1. If props.signatureTemplates.<command> is set to a Signature Template name, that template is required.
   
   
2. If that property is blank, the component falls through to the built-in / global Batch command Signature Template for that command (if one is configured with an expression).
   
   
3. If neither applies, the command is sent using normal Batch command behavior (no component-defined authorization challenge).

When a Signature Template applies, the component does not send the Batch command immediately. Instead, it creates a pending authorization challenge. After the challenge is approved (for example from an MES Auth Challenge List on the same or another session), the original command is sent to the Batch engine for the same Batch Queue Entry. If the challenge is rejected, the command is not sent.

Important: Place an MES Auth Challenge List on the view (or another screen operators/supervisors use) so pending challenges can be acknowledged and completed. Batch Command Signature creates the pending request; it does not open the authorization dialog on the clicker’s session.

Existing Batch Controller and Batch List behavior is unchanged when this component is not used on a screen.

Batch Command Signature Component Properties

Properties are provided that can be set to affect the operation and look of the component. They can be set through the Perspective Property Editor in the Designer or through scripting. Note that the section prefix is included before the property name (props, position, custom, or meta).

Example

self.getSibling("BatchCommandSignature").props.batchId = selectedBatchId

Signature Templates

props.signatureTemplates holds one optional template name per command. Enter the name of an existing Signature Template (as configured in MES), not a UUID or object link.

Blank or missing means: use the built-in Batch command Signature Template if configured; otherwise send the command without a component-defined challenge. A non-blank name that does not resolve to a valid Signature Template blocks the command and shows an error. The command is not sent and no authorization challenge is created. Custom (user) Signature Templates used here can appear in the MES Auth Challenge List and can be approved from another Perspective session. Configure templates in the MES Signature Template Manager.

Position, Custom, and Meta Properties

Position — Component layout properties. Refer to Ignition Perspective Component Properties for details.

Custom — New user-defined custom properties can be created in this section. Best practice: if user-defined properties are required, create them here rather than under Meta.

Meta — Contains the name and visibility properties for the component.

Runtime Behavior

Binding a Batch

1. Set props.batchId to the ID of a queued Batch Queue Entry (often bound from a Batch List or Batch Selector selection).

2. The toolbar updates enablement from the current Batch state for that entry.

3. When the Batch state changes (including changes made outside this component), the toolbar updates to match the bound Batch.

If batchId is blank, command buttons stay disabled. If a command is attempted with a missing or mismatched Batch ID, the command is rejected with an error and no authorization challenge is created.

Toolbar commands

The toolbar provides Play, Pause, Stop, Hold, Abort, and Reset.

Play issues a contextual command based on Batch state:

Each button is enabled only when all of the following are true: The corresponding enable* property is true (Play uses enablePlay). props.batchId is set. The command being issued is valid for the current Batch state (same Batch command availability rules used by other Batch command clients).

Typical state enablement for the dedicated toolbar buttons (when the matching enable* property is true):

Play follows those same availability rules for the command it will issue (Start, Resume, or Restart). Configure signatureTemplates.start, signatureTemplates.resume, and signatureTemplates.restart for whichever Play command you expect operators to use on that screen.

After authorization is completed, the Batch engine still validates the command against the current Batch state. If the Batch state changed while a challenge was pending, the engine applies normal lifecycle rules and may reject a command that is no longer valid.

Authorization flow

1. Operator selects an enabled command.

2. If no Signature Template applies (component property blank and no built-in expression), the command is sent immediately. The EBR change-by value uses props.user when set; otherwise the session user when available.

3. If a Signature Template applies:

   • A pending authorization challenge is created.

   • The Batch command is not sent yet.

   • The initiating session does not automatically open an authorization dialog.

4. An authorized user acknowledges and completes the challenge (typically from MES Auth Challenge List), including from another workstation when the template allows it.

5. When all required signatures are approved, the original command is sent for the same batchId. Approving usernames are recorded in the EBR change-by field (comma-separated when multiple signers approve).

6. If a required signer rejects the challenge, the command is not sent.

Multiple gated commands may be pending at the same time. Approving one challenge releases only that command.

Pending authorization challenges are held in gateway memory for the running Gateway. They are not retained across a Gateway restart.

Errors operators may see

Configuration Examples

Example 1 — Compact command bar with no extra signatures

Use a Batch List (or Selector) to choose a batch, and bind the command bar to the selection. Leave all signatureTemplates blank so commands follow built-in / default Batch signature behavior only.

# Batch List selection → Batch Command Signature
self.getSibling("BatchCommandSignature").props.batchId = self.props.selectedBatchID

Example 2 — Require a supervisor template only for Stop and Abort

Create or select Signature Templates in the MES Signature Template Manager (for example SupervisorStop and SupervisorAbort). Set those names on the component; leave other commands blank.

Also add an MES Auth Challenge List to the operator or supervisor view so Stop/Abort challenges can be approved.

Example 3 — Operator initiates; supervisor approves on another session

1. On the operator screen: Batch Command Signature with signatureTemplates.abort set to a multi-role or supervisor template, plus a minimized MES Auth Challenge List (optional for the operator).

2. On the supervisor screen: MES Auth Challenge List (Standalone or Minimized).

3. Operator selects Abort → a pending authorization appears for the supervisor.

4. Supervisor approves from their session → Abort runs against the original batchId.

Example 4 — Record a fixed operator name for unsigned commands

Commands without a signature record Line1Operator in the EBR when set. Commands that complete a signature record the approving signer(s) instead.

Related Components

Sepasoft MES Module Suite