Handling Flex Client Desktop App Issues

Error 102 Connection Refused

When starting Flex Client as desktop application if the following error displays ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED (Code = 102), this means that the endpoint.json is missing. Do the following:

  1. In the Connection error page, click Configure endpoint.
  • The Flex Client Endpoint address page displays.
  1. In SMC, under Websites, select the Flex Client project.
  1. In the Web Applications Details of the Management tab, click Copy URL.
  1. Press Ctrl+V to paste the copied address to the Address field in the Flex Client Endpoint address page.
  1. Click Save.
  • The Flex Client logon page displays on the screen.

Error 400 Bad Request

When starting Flex Client as desktop application if Error 400 Bad Request displays this might mean, for example, that:

  • The Flex Client service is not available because the WSI fails to start. Wait until the connection is re-established.
  • The address in the endpoint.json file is invalid. Do the following:
  1. Open Windows Task Manager and stop Flex Client as desktop application.
  1. Go to C:\ProgramData\Siemens-Gms-FlexClient, open the endpoint.json file, set a valid address, and save the changes.
  1. Restart Flex Client as desktop application.

Edit Endpoint Address

If for any reason you need to modify the endpoint address, do the following.
NOTE: This action is not available for Flex closed mode.

  1. Display the Endpoint address page in one of the following ways:
  • Press CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E.
  • From Desigo CC menu, select Advanced > Edit Endpoint address.
  • The Endpoint address page displays.
  1. Enter a valid address and select Save.

Delete Security Settings

If for any reason you want to allow the possibility to select a client certificate different from the stored one you must first delete the certificate settings as follows:

  • From Desigo CC menu, select Advanced > Security Settings.
  • The client-identification.json is deleted in C:\ProgramData\Siemens-Gms-FlexClient.

Refresh Data

To ensure you see the Flex Client app with the latest data, do the following:

  • From Desigo CC menu, select Advanced > Empty Cache and refresh.
  • The Flex Client app is reloaded with refreshed data.

Uninstall Kiosk Mode

If for any reason you need to uninstall Flex closed mode, see the following steps.

  • You have administrative privileges on the computer where Flex Client as desktop application runs. You want to log on with the Administrator account to access the operating system (for example, for troubleshooting, checking log traces, manually restarting some services, or handling apps)
  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del.
  1. Click Switch User.
  1. In the Windows login screen, select the Administrator account.
  1. Enter password, and click the next button.
  • You are logged on to the Flex Client desktop app with administrator’s credentials.
    NOTE: In case of user’s inactivity, the system automatically starts the Flex Client desktop app.
  1. Open Task Manager and disconnect the kioskuser.
  1. In C:\Program Files\Siemens-Gms-FlexClient\dist\closed-mode, double-click the UninstallKiosk.bat file.
  1. In C:\Users, delete the kioskuser folder.
  • If required, you can now proceed to uninstall the Flex desktop app.

Uninstall the Flex Client Desktop Application

  • You have administrative privileges on the computer where Flex Client as desktop application runs.
  • Flex closed mode has been uninstalled from a computer that runs Flex Client as desktop application.
  1. Open Windows Apps.
  1. From the list of apps found, select Flex Client, click Unistall, and then follow the instructions in the Uninstall wizard.
  1. To clear the computer completely from Flex Client files, also delete the Siemens-Gms-FlexClient folders from:
  • C:\Program Files
  • C:\ProgramData

InstallKiosk.bat File Fails With Error

When trying to set up a closed mode Flex station and the run of the InstallKiosk.bat file fails with the following error:
Cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system

Do the following:

  1. Run Windows PowerShell as Administrator.
  1. Enter the command: powershell Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted.
  1. Press ENTER.
  1. Run again the InstallKiosk.bat file.

Content with Long URL Not Displaying

Any selection on the Flex client that generates a URL longer than 260 characters may not display in the Flex client due to IIS and Web API character limitations. This can cause links to graphics or trends, for example, to fail, preventing the associated content from being displayed.

Note that some language files may count the characters differently. For example: 14 Chinese (zh_TW or zh_CN) characters are equivalent to 260 characters.

Resolution:

In order to display content from URL links longer than 260 characters, you must manually increase the accepted number of characters in the following:

  • Register entry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System|CurrentControlSet\Services\HTTP\Parameters
  • Registry key: UrlSegmentMaxLength – The valid value range for the key is: 0 – 32,766