A popup opens full screen because a change-screen call button replaced the display, so open and close the popup with a toggle pushbutton pair instead. Send the popup frame to the back, keep it at the final popup size and position, and check the result on the panel.
Two problems make an HMI popup misbehave: a popup that should be a small window over the main screen opens full screen, and the Pop-up Window Frame object parked on the main screen blocks layout work underneath it. Both fixes are short. The frame marks the popup's size and position, so keep it at the final size and send it to the back while you work. The full-screen result comes from the button type, so open and close the popup with toggle pushbuttons instead of a change-screen call button. This page works through both in the order you meet them and ends with the checks to run on the panel before handover.
Why does my HMI popup open full screen instead of a small window?
Your popup opens full screen because the button you used is a change-screen call button, and that button type replaces the whole display with the target screen, so a full screen is its normal result and no frame setting can change it. The two objects do different jobs. The popup frame's job, as the object's documentation describes it, is to display a preselected screen in a window on top of the existing screen, at the size and position you drew the frame. A change-screen call button has none of that logic: it switches the display to the target screen, full size, every time it is pressed. That is why resizing or repositioning the frame never repairs a full-screen popup. The repair is to swap the opening control for a toggle pushbutton pair, covered in the sections below.
How do I stop the popup frame blocking my main screen layout?
Right-click the popup frame, send it to the back, and keep it at the final popup size and position, because the frame marks where the popup will appear and your main-screen objects then sit on top and stay selectable. The frame is a placeholder that covers everything inside its area until you move it down a layer. To see which object the editor has selected, click where your object should be: if the frame is selected instead, the frame is in front. Three repairs waste time here:
- Shrinking the frame: the popup then opens at the smaller size and the motor-control objects no longer fit.
- Dragging the frame aside: the frame position is where the popup appears, so the popup moves with it.
- Deleting the frame: the popup then has no window to display in and you rebuild the layout.
After the frame is behind your objects, check the layering again before each download, because later edits can leave it in front once more.
Where do I set the frame position and size for a centered popup?
Set the frame position from the panel's screen resolution: subtract the popup size from the screen size, divide each result by two, and enter that as the frame's x and y position, which centers a 320 x 240 popup at 240, 120 on an 800 x 480 screen. The frame's property dialog carries the four numbers that matter: position x, position y, width and height. Set width and height to the size you want the popup on the panel, compute x and y from the screen resolution, and leave the frame alone afterwards. Nudging it by eye during layout work moves the finished popup with it.
Worked example
Say the panel screen is 800 x 480 pixels and the motor-control popup needs 320 x 240 pixels for six pushbuttons and four run indicators.
- Width: 320 pixels; height: 240 pixels.
- x = (800 - 320) / 2 = 480 / 2 = 240 pixels.
- y = (480 - 240) / 2 = 240 / 2 = 120 pixels.
The popup covers pixels 240 to 560 across and 120 to 360 down. Place the open toggle below pixel row 360, at the bottom left, and the popup never covers it while open. If the operator needs the motor's run indicator during control, keep that indicator outside the popup area or repeat it on the popup, so the window never hides the state of a running motor.
Which pushbuttons open and close a popup properly?
Open the popup with a toggle pushbutton on the main screen and close it with a second toggle pushbutton on the popup screen itself, then delete the change-screen call button, because the popup's open and close actions are toggles in this kind of HMI software. Work the steps in order:
- Fit the popup screen's contents inside the frame size. Contents larger than the frame come out cut off or at the wrong size.
- On the main screen, add a toggle pushbutton outside the frame area and assign its action to open the popup screen. The assignment sits in the pushbutton's action properties, alongside the screen-change actions.
- On the popup screen, add a toggle pushbutton, label it Close, and assign it to close the popup.
- Delete every change-screen call button that still targets the popup screen. A single leftover button fills the display again.
- Save, download, and run the panel checks below.
If your HMI software builds popups with a screen window object instead of a frame, the mechanism and the steps differ; they are set out in build an HMI pop-up screen with a screen window.
What do the other popup symptoms mean?
Each symptom points to one cause: a frame with no popup means nothing toggles it open, a popup you cannot dismiss means the popup screen has no close pushbutton, and a popup at the wrong size or position means the frame was moved or resized after you set it. Match what you see against the table before you change anything:
| What you see | What it points to | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Popup fills the whole display | A change-screen call button is still doing the opening | Delete it and build the toggle pair |
| Frame visible, popup never opens | Nothing toggles the popup open | Add the open toggle on the main screen |
| Popup opens but cannot be dismissed | The popup screen has no close toggle | Add a Close toggle on the popup screen |
| Popup opens at the wrong size or position | The frame was resized or moved after setup | Restore the frame to the final size and position |
| Objects under the frame will not select in the editor | The frame is in front | Send the frame to the back |
| Frame back in front after new objects | Layering changed during the edit | Send it to the back again |
| Popup covers controls the operator needs | Main-screen objects sit inside the frame area | Move them outside the frame or repeat them on the popup |
When the open and close actions run through property scripting and still misbehave after these checks, the debugging path in diagnosing popup window property scripting applies.
How do I check the popup on the panel before handover?
Run five checks on the panel or in the simulator: press open, operate a control, close, repeat the cycle several times, then press an object under the closed frame; the popup must appear at the frame's size and position and never stick open.
- Press the open toggle. The popup appears at the frame position and size, and the main screen stays visible around it.
- Press a pushbutton on the popup and watch that its indicator responds.
- Press Close. The popup disappears and the main screen is untouched.
- Repeat the open and close cycle several times. The popup neither sticks open nor drops into full screen.
- With the popup closed, press each object under the frame area. It responds normally, which tells you the frame is behind them.
When is a change-screen call button the right choice?
A change-screen call button is the right choice when you want the operator's full attention on one screen, such as a settings, trends or alarm-history screen, and the wrong choice whenever the main screen must stay visible and live around the window you are opening. For deliberate navigation the call button is the correct tool, and the setup is the same as any other navigation button; the steps are in set up HMI screen navigation with change screen buttons. A popup is a different job because the main screen has to stay live underneath the window.
Recommendation: open and close every small control popup with the Pop-up Window Frame sent to the back and a toggle pushbutton pair, one to open on the main screen outside the frame area and one to close on the popup screen. Reserve change-screen call buttons for screens the operator switches to on purpose, keep the frame at the final popup size and position, and check the layering before each download.
Questions
Can one toggle pushbutton both open and close the popup?
Only if it sits where the open popup cannot cover it, and only if your HMI software's popup function treats a single toggle as an open and close pair. The dependable arrangement is two pushbuttons: one toggle on the main screen outside the frame area to open, one toggle on the popup screen to close. A pushbutton inside the frame area disappears under the window while the popup is open, so the operator has no way left to dismiss it.
How big should the pushbuttons on a motor control popup be?
Common touch-target guidance puts a fingertip button at about 19 mm (0.75 in) minimum across, with 2 to 3 mm of clear space between neighboring buttons, and a gloved finger needs 25 mm or more. Convert to pixels with your panel's pixels-per-millimetre before you fix the frame size, because a 320 x 240 popup is generous on one panel and cramped on a smaller one.
My toggle pair is in and the popup still fills the screen. What is calling it?
A second path is calling the popup screen. Check for another change-screen button left anywhere in the project, a screen-change request written from the PLC, and any action that runs at startup or on an alarm. Remove or repoint each one, then retest. If the frame also refuses to stay behind your objects, rebuild the layering: place every main-screen object first and send the frame to the back last.
How many popups can one main screen hold?
Several. Each popup needs its own frame at its own size and position, plus its own open and close toggle pair, and frames must not overlap if two popups could ever be open at the same time. Give each frame and each button a name that says what it opens, so a later edit does not repoint the wrong popup by mistake.
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