✨ New Features

1. Enhanced MPC Model Validation and Guidance

SharpBot now detects when MPC model gains deviate significantly from process behavior and provides recommendations to help users improve model quality. This simplifies controller tuning and helps maintain optimal performance throughout model lifecycle updates.

2. MPC Equipment Safety Constraints

MPC controllers now support equipment safety bounds alongside more flexible target definitions. Users can define protected operating limits and apply bounded control objectives, helping prevent unsafe operating conditions while maintaining optimization goals.

3. Bulk Label Creation and Placement

A new bulk label workflow dramatically accelerates model development for large simulations, digital twins, and data-driven applications. Users can create and place multiple labels at once, streamline tag organization, and reduce repetitive configuration effort.

4. Advanced Model Search Capabilities

The Find in Model tool now supports compound search criteria using AND/OR logic. Engineers can combine multiple filters, refine searches more precisely, and perform actions on selected groups of objects with greater efficiency.

5. New “Not Equal To” Logic Block

A dedicated logical comparison block has been added for inequality conditions. This simplifies model construction and reduces the need for additional logic elements when implementing comparison-based workflows.

6. Elevation-Aware Tank Modeling

Tank connector elevations now influence hydraulic calculations, enabling more realistic pressure and flow behavior in process simulations where elevation differences are important.

🐞 Bug Fixes

1. MPC Startup and Control Stability

Resolved several MPC control issues affecting simulation startup and long-term controller performance. Controllers now initialize more consistently, maintain stable operation after setpoint changes, and avoid conditions that could cause loss of control action.

2. Logic Comparison Accuracy

Resolved an issue affecting equality comparisons in logic blocks. Comparison operations now produce correct results, improving reliability in automation and decision-making logic.

3. Array Splitter Configuration Reliability

Resolved dialog handling issues in Array Splitter configurations, ensuring settings can be applied and saved correctly without interrupting workflow.

4. Mixer Scalar Input Compatibility

Resolved an issue that prevented mixer objects from correctly receiving values from scalar connectors, improving interoperability between model components.

5. Excel Data Import Consistency

Resolved a DataFrame Creator issue that could progressively remove columns when reloading Excel files containing empty or skipped columns. Data structures are now preserved correctly across repeated imports.

6. Read/Write Data Type Persistence

Resolved issues affecting user-defined data types in Read/Write objects. Configured types are now retained correctly, improving compatibility with OPC data exchange and mixed-type applications.

7. OPC UA Certificate Validation

Resolved certificate validation issues that could prevent secure OPC UA connections. Certificate handling is now more consistent and reduces the likelihood of trust-related connection failures.

8. Visualization Color Consistency

Resolved issues affecting several chart types where individual trends could display incorrect color behavior. Visualizations now apply user-defined colors consistently across supported plot styles.

9. Industrial Icon Distribution

Resolved an installer packaging issue that prevented certain equipment icons from being included in deployments, ensuring required graphics are available immediately after installation.

10. Label Formatting Consistency

Resolved an issue affecting format-copy operations so that text styling is transferred more consistently when duplicating visual formatting between objects.

🎨 UI & Usability Improvements

1. Improved Format Painter Behavior

Formatting workflows have been refined to provide a more consistent design experience when applying styles across model elements and annotations.

2. Installer Version Visibility

The installer now displays the product version before installation begins, allowing users to verify the release being deployed before proceeding.

3. Enhanced Large-Model Engineering Workflow

New bulk-management capabilities and improved object selection workflows reduce the effort required to build and maintain complex engineering models with large tag counts.

⚙️ Performance & Stability Improvements

1. MPC Reliability Enhancements

Underlying MPC improvements increase controller robustness when operating with imperfect process models, helping maintain control performance while models are refined over time.

2. More Reliable Data Exchange Components

Core data handling and object configuration workflows have been strengthened to improve consistency across simulation, integration, and runtime operations.

🔌 Connectivity & Integration Enhancements

1. Improved Universal Read/Write Functionality

Read/Write object enhancements provide more reliable support for multiple data types and improve compatibility across OPC-based integration scenarios.

2. Enhanced OPC UA Trust Management

Certificate handling has been streamlined to improve long-term trust relationships between SharpBot and OPC UA servers, reducing maintenance effort for secure connections.

📘 Documentation & Examples

1. Updated OPC UA and OPC DA Example Projects

New example models demonstrate current Read/Write capabilities, including array transport scenarios. These examples provide a clearer starting point for implementing OPC integrations.

2. Refreshed MPC Reference Examples

MPC example content has been updated and synchronized with the latest controller functionality, making it easier to reproduce, validate, and extend advanced control configurations.