In this guide, we walk through the essential steps for downloading, configuring, and commissioning a WinCC Unified Comfort Panel using Siemens TIA Portal. You will learn how to set network parameters, configure users and security, enable encrypted transfers, and successfully load your project to the device. As Siemens Solutions Partners, we also provide tips for common commissioning tasks to save time and prevent headaches in the field.

All example screenshots were captured using TIA Portal V20 and an MTP700 Unified Comfort Panel (6AV2 128-3GB06-0AX1), but the same concepts apply across the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel family.

Pre-requisites

Before you begin commissioning, your system must meet certain prerequisites. For instance, your TIA Portal project must be set up with the appropriate hardware, network connections, and screens developed, and your WinCC Unified Comfort Panel must be powered on. Here is how you download your project and commission your WinCC Unified Comfort Panel.

Change IP Address

On the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel, go to Network and Internet, then Network settings. Here, select the port you wish to set the IP address for, then select Specify an IP address. Enter your desired IP address and subnet mask and click the Set IP address button.

Configure Users

To configure users, go to “Security settings” > “Users and roles” in the TIA Portal project tree. From there, create an administrator user, set a password, and assign it all roles. Feel free to learn more about Users and roles, by seeing a previous guide about setting up basic user profiles for WinCC Unified Runtime.

Configure Encrypted Transfer

An encrypted transfer ensures secure download of project files to your WinCC Unified Comfort Panel. On the panel, navigate to Service and commissioning > Transfer. Enable the Enable transfer checkbox and create a password.

In TIA Portal, go to Runtime settings under your HMI. In the General section, enable the Activate encrypted transfer checkbox and enter the same password that you created on your WinCC Unified Comfort Panel.

Download to the Unified Comfort Panel

Finally, it is time to download your developed screens and configured TIA Portal project to the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel. To do so, click on your HMI in the Project tree, then click the Download button in the toolbar. This opens the Extended download to device window.

From here, set the Type of PG/PC Interface to PN/IE, and the PG/PC Interface to your network adapter, and click Start search. If you do not see your device, you can see all compatible devices by selecting the drop-down menu above the table of possible target devices and choosing Show all compatible devices. When you see your HMI appear in the table, select it and click Load.

In the Load preview window, select Full download and click Load. Check to ensure that the option to download all users and authentication settings is selected. If successful, you should then see your TIA Portal screens loaded onto the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel!

Trusting the PLC Communication Certificate

By default, the Only allow secure PG/PC and HMI communication setting in your TIA Portal project for your PLC is enabled. Enabling this means that during the download of your TIA Portal Project to the PLC and HMI, a PLC communication certificate will be automatically generated and transferred to your WinCC Unified Comfort Panel. But this PLC communication certificate needs to be trusted by completing the following steps.

Go to Security>Certificates on the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel. In the Certificate store dropdown menu, select Other Certificates. Here you should see your certificate, and press Trust. Then, restart the HMI runtime software.

Additional Settings to Apply to Your HMI Panel

Beyond core commissioning steps, there are a handful of additional settings that can be helpful for further improving system reliability and maintainability. While they aren’t required for every project, these settings are commonly used to help reduce downtime, manage system access, and recover information and settings in the event of outages or reboots. Consider the settings below as they apply to your unique project requirements. Storage Device Set Up

Storage Device Set Up

When commissioning a WinCC Unified Comfort Panel, it is often recommended to activate the Automatic Backup option. This will ensure that the HMI device’s data is backed up to the storage device. If the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel becomes inoperable, you can simply purchase a replacement and insert it into the new HMI to resume operation.

To do this, slot in a SIMATIC HMI Memory (SD) Card into the X50 SYSTEM slot of the Unified Comfort Panel. Note, the system memory card of the comfort panel must be a SIMATIC HMI Memory Card.

Slotting in the storage device will cause a System memory card plugged dialog window to pop up. Click OK. This takes you to the settings Service and Commissioning/ Automatic Backup screen.

Here, click the Start button, and OK in the Start automatic backup dialog window to activate Automatic Backups. Once preparation is complete, the Status box will display automatic backup active.

Restrict Control Panel Access

To limit access to certain system settings, go to Security and Control panel access on the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel and click the checkbox to Enable password protection for control panel. This option requires a user with proper access to log in to use the WinCC Control panel, reducing the risk of accidental or unauthorized changes.

Automatic Runtime Start

To set a delay time before the automatic start of a project, click the icon with a wrench and a play button. This will open the Runtime Properties page. Locate the Automatic runtime start section and select a time from the “Waiting time(s)” dropdown menu. This is a very helpful setting to allow for some time before the automatic start to access the control panel.

Enable Smart Server Access

Enabling Smart Server Access allows VNC access to the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel.

To enable this setting in TIA Portal, go to Runtime settings, > Remote Access, >  Smart Server. Click the Enable Smart Server checkbox. You must then configure unique passwords for each User1 and User2.

If you wish to allow a user with that password to access the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel, click the Authorize User# for remote access to the panel checkbox. Upon your next download, the Smart Server will be enabled on the WinCC Unified Comfort Panel.

Firmware updates

Depending on the panel and the version of TIA Portal you are using, you may need to update the device firmware prior to commissioning. If this is the case, follow these steps:

1. It can be helpful to connect to the maintenance port on the HMI (PN-X2).
2. Right-click the HMI in the Project Tree while the device is offline. Go to HMI device maintenance and select Update operating system.
3. TIA Portal will now prompt you to connect to the HMI via ethernet. Enter the IP address of the PN-X2 port. A pop-up with a progress bar should appear on the HMI, and a pop-up will appear on TIA Portal stating the firmware is being transferred.

Date and time

Operators can also set a date and time on their panel by clicking the world icon in the sidebar menu. This will open the Language, Region and Formats/Date and time UI, allowing you to set your local date and time.

Synchronizing Time

If the clocks between the HMI and PLC are not synchronized, HMI communication may be limited or blocked. If the HMI still cannot read tags from the PLC after following the steps above, first ensure the correct time zone is selected for the PLC. Then check the clock on the PLC through Online and Diagnostics. Under Functions > Set Time, select Take from PG/PC Interface to synchronize the PLC with your PC.

Conclusion

Commissioning a WinCC Unified Comfort Panel is about more than getting screens to load. Proper network configuration, security settings, and runtime behavior all play a critical role in building a reliable, maintainable HMI system. By taking the time to configure encrypted transfers, user access, certificates, and startup behavior correctly, you set your system up for long-term success in the field.

Whether you are bringing a new HMI online, modernizing an existing system, or troubleshooting communication and security challenges, we can support you at any stage of the project. Partner with DMC to streamline your Siemens automation efforts and commission your systems with confidence.

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Prerequisites 

1. TwinCAT XAE installed 
2. TwinCAT HMI installed 
3. PLC Project built and running (see bonus information for the PLC Code used in this example)

Project Setup

Creating the Project

With the prerequisites checked off, we can start the basic project setup for the HMI. Begin by right-clicking the solution in the Solution Explorer project tree and selecting Add > New Project. When the Add New Project window launches, navigate to TwinCAT HMI > TwinCAT HMI Project and name it whatever you like.

Linking Tags 

The first step in setting up a TwinCAT HMI project is linking PLC symbols to the user interface. This is done by exposing symbols to the TwinCAT HMI Server and binding them directly to HMI control properties.

Navigate to TwinCAT HMI > Windows >  TwinCAT HMI Configuration.

From TwinCAT HMI Configuration, navigate to All symbols > ADS > PLC, and wherever you have your variables defined, in my case ‘MAIN’.

Note: If ADS is not appearing, check your ADS Route (review the bonus information to learn how). 

From here, you can right-click on a variable and hit ‘Map Symbol’. You can also simply double-click on a symbol to map it. We have now successfully pulled the PLC data into the HMI Server.

Now, we can bind these tags to controls in the HMI screen. Navigate to ‘Desktop.view’. This is the main screen on which we will develop.

Creating Controls 

On the right pane, we have properties and the toolbox. These are used to add and edit controls within the project. We’ll start by dragging a Button into the project.

After your component is added, you can then select it to edit the Properties tab. For a basic button, we will want to create a data binding for the state symbol. Click the square to the right of the text field to link tags and select ‘Create data binding’.

This opens the symbol browser where you can select mapped PLC variables. On my screen, some variable groups include ‘ADS’, ‘PLC1’, ‘Global_Version’, and ‘MAIN’. Within the ‘MAIN’ category, we’ll select the bRun variable. It is worth noting that you can also map symbols from this screen using the same method as in HMI configuration.

You should now see the name for that symbol populated in the ‘StateSymbol’ box. You can also hover over property names to see a description of what they do. Now, we will drag in an Ellipse to show how the Events tab works.

With your ellipse selected, navigate over to the Events tab indicated by the lightning bolt symbol. From here, you can see that there are many built-in events to configure, like .onMouseDoubleClick, .onMouseEnter, .onMouseLeave, etc. You also have the option to configure a custom event.

Click the small square next to the Custom field to map a symbol to this control. In our case, we will select ‘bState’. Once that symbol is mapped, click the pencil icon to open and edit the custom event associated with the control.

In the Events tab, you will see a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to define logic for the controller’s behavior. This visual workflow makes it easy to configure interactions without writing traditional code. For this example, we will use a Condition block. Drag the condition into the steps section, then begin populating the auto-generated fields.

Here, we want to check whether the boolean variable bRun is set to ‘True’. If the condition evaluates to true, we will update the ellipse’s appearance to indicate an active state. To do this, drag the FillColor property into both the ‘then’ and ‘else’ branches. Set the ‘then’ color to green to represent a running state, and the ‘else’ color to grey to indicate that the system is not running.

Testing in Live View

After configuring this logic, it’s also important to establish your screen’s behavior. Return to the Desktop.View, where you will see a set of controls on the right-hand side. Click the ‘L’ button to launch the live view.

As you interact with the interface, observe the ellipse once again. When the button is pressed and held, the condition should evaluate to true, and the circle should toggle from red to green in real time. This confirms that your event logic is working as expected and that the control is properly responding to changes in the mapped variable.

User Controls 

As your HMI projects grow in size and complexity, maintaining reusability and consistency becomes increasingly important. TwinCAT HMI addresses this need through User Controls, which are reusable templates that combine multiple HMI elements into configurable, modular components.

To get started, create a new folder in your project called ‘UserControls’. This helps keep your project organized as your library of reusable components expands. Within this folder, add a new item and select ‘User Control’. From here, you can begin building a custom control that can be reused across screens, reducing development time and ensuring a consistent user interface.

Once again, on the right‑hand side of the screen, you’ll see a set of small buttons. Selecting the ‘P’ button opens the User Control parameters. These parameters are configurable values that are passed into each instance of the User Control, allowing multiple instances to be created without modifying the control’s internal layout, grouping, or logic. 

We are going to create two parameters:

• One for the HMI_PbLight struct
• One String for the name of the component

Note: If your struct does not show up, try closing parameters, adding a button to your user control, and linking HMI_PbLight. Return to the parameters and the datatype should now appear as PLC1.HMI_PbLight, with String for sName.

With the User Control parameters defined, we can now build the control in much the same way as before, with one key difference: instead of binding directly to PLC symbols, we bind each element to properties exposed by the User Control. The pushbutton is configured so its state and behavior reference the bRun member of the HMI_PbLight parameter, allowing each instance of the control to respond to its own data source.

In the same way, the ellipse used as a status indicator is bound to the bState variable within the same struct, and simple logic is applied to drive its fill color, green when the run condition is true and grey when it is false. Finally, we’ll add a text element and bind its Text property to the sName string parameter, enabling each instance to display a unique label.

Notice that none of the elements inside the User Control are bound directly to PLC symbols. Instead, each element references the variables exposed by the HMI_PbLight struct parameter. This indirection is what makes the control reusable.

After saving the User Control, switch back to Desktop.View and you will see it appear in the toolbox alongside the standard HMI elements. From there, drag the control onto a screen, bind the HMI_PbLight parameter to a specific instance of the struct, and assign a name. Boom! With that single step, the control is fully configured, and you can now drop in as many instances as needed while maintaining consistent behavior, appearance, and logic across your HMI.

Bonus Information

Adding a Combobox

This section introduces a Combobox that allows the operator to change the light’s color behavior within the User Control. Rather than hard-coding the color logic, the Combobox provides a simple, configurable way to select between predefined color states at runtime.

To add the Combobox, navigate to SrcData, click the three dots on the right-hand side, and create a new data source that will hold the selected value. This data source is then bound to the Combobox and referenced by the User Control logic, allowing the selected option to drive how the indicator is displayed. By handling the color selection this way, the control remains flexible and reusable while giving each instance the ability to behave differently based on user input.

Next, define the selectable color options for the Combobox. Add three entries labeled Green, Yellow, and Red, and assign each one a corresponding hex color value in the Value category. These values will be used directly by the User Control logic to drive the appearance of the status indicator.

Once the options are in place, navigate back to the ellipse inside the User Control and update its custom action. For the bRun true condition, set the fill color using a function binding that references the Combobox selection: ({ color: %ctrl%TcHmiCombobox_1::SelectedValue%/ctrl% })

This binding allows the ellipse color to be determined dynamically based on the selected Combobox value rather than fixed logic. With that complete, you can add additional instances of the User Control to your screen, bind each one to a different HMI_PbLight [HO16.1] struct instance, and select the desired color from the Combobox. Each control now behaves independently, while still leveraging the same reusable design.

Basic PLC Project 

This section walks through setting up a simple PLC project to support a basic pushbutton and light, which will later be consumed by the TwinCAT HMI. Start by creating a new solution and selecting ‘TwinCAT XAE Project’. This initializes the TwinCAT environment and provides the framework needed to add PLC logic and HMI communication.

Once the project is created, navigate to the Solution Explorer, right-click on PLC, and add a new PLC project. This creates the runtime environment where the control logic will live. With the PLC project in place, we can define the shared data structure used by the HMI. Right-click on DUTs, select Add > DUT, and choose Structure. Name this structure HMI_PbLight and add two boolean members: bRun to represent the pushbutton command, and bState to represent the resulting status of the light.

Next, navigate to POUs > MAIN (PRG) and declare an instance of the HMI_PbLight struct along with any supporting variables. Add simple logic that drives bState based on the value of bRun, mimicking the behavior of a pushbutton controlling a status light. This keeps the PLC logic intentionally straightforward while clearly demonstrating the data flow between the PLC and HMI.

With the code in place, activate the configuration and log in to the PLC. If you are running TwinCAT on a local host, be sure to execute the required .bat script before logging in. At this point, the PLC is ready, and the HMI_PbLight structure can be bound to the HMI elements and User Controls created in the previous sections.

Updating to User Mode Runtime ADS Route

This final step ensures that the TwinCAT HMI Server is communicating with the correct runtime by updating the ADS route to point to the User Mode Runtime. Begin by opening the TwinCAT HMI Server configuration by going to TwinCAT HMI > Windows > TwinCAT Server Configuration. From there, navigate to ADS > Runtimes > AMSNetId. This setting defines which TwinCAT runtime the HMI will connect to for symbol access and data exchange.

Verify that the AMSNetId is set to the AmsNetId of your User Mode runtime, if that is the runtime you are using.

This is especially important when running TwinCAT locally or when multiple runtimes are present, as an incorrect AMSNetId will prevent the HMI from resolving PLC symbols and binding data correctly.

Once the AMSNetId is confirmed, the HMI and PLC are fully aligned, allowing the User Controls and bindings configured in the previous sections to function as expected at runtime.

Conclusion

This tutorial walked through the foundational steps required to build a simple, reusable TwinCAT HMI project, starting with PLC structure design and basic HMI bindings, then expanding into User Controls and runtime configuration. By introducing the HMI_PbLight struct and gradually abstracting symbol bindings into User Control parameters, we demonstrated how to move from a single hard-coded screen toward a scalable, modular HMI architecture. The use of events, visual logic blocks, and configurable parameters highlights how TwinCAT HMI enables powerful interaction design without requiring custom scripting.

By the end of this project, you should have a working HMI that connects cleanly to a PLC, supports multiple instances of a reusable control, and allows runtime configuration via simple UI elements such as a Combobox. These same concepts scale directly to larger applications, where consistency, maintainability, and development speed become critical. Whether you are building a small operator interface or a plant-wide visualization system, following these patterns will help you create HMIs that are flexible, readable, and easy to extend.

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