Archive Data Extractor for WinCC turns tag logging archives into clean CSV files, one per tag, with correct time zones. Run it on a live system or on archive files copied from a plant PC.
Windows · Works offline, licenses never need an internet connection · WinCC V7.4 to V8.1 and WinCC Professional
You need last quarter’s tank temperatures. Or you’re migrating a plant off WinCC. Or the system is down and all you have is a backup folder of .mdf files.
WinCC’s own export options assume a running system and a lot of manual work. Tag logging archives are stored compressed, so plain SQL can’t read them. You need the WinCC OLE DB provider, which is installed with WinCC and with the WinCC Connectivity Pack. Exporting through it from SQL Server Management Studio into Excel is limited and slow, and it’s easy to get the time zones wrong.
Point it at a folder of tag logging .mdf files from a running system, a stopped system, or a backup copied from another PC. It processes every file in the folder in one run, so there’s no handling files one by one. All you need is the archive files. You don’t need the WinCC project.
Gets the newest values, up to now, from the open project’s runtime database. This works over the network, so you can read from another PC’s SQL Server.
Predictable file names in a year and month folder, ready for scripts and bulk loads.
Enter your range in the plant’s time zone. Every row carries both UTC and local time, including daylight-saving changes.
Choose columns, order, delimiter, and timestamp format. Add fixed-text (literal) columns, empty columns, and columns built from part of the tag name, such as a station ID. Or start from the “Bulk insert” preset for loading into a database.
Export everything, or filter with a tag list that supports wildcards. Import lists from a file.
It only reads. Archives WinCC has attached are read in place and left attached.
Pre-checks for SQL Server, permissions, and the WinCC OLE DB provider before touching any database, with plain advice on what to do.
An archive folder, where every .mdf file in it is processed in one run, or a running WinCC project.
Date and time in your time zone. The tool shows the UTC range it will request.
Watch progress per archive. Open the CSV files in Excel or load them anywhere.
One CSV file per tag, in a year and month folder taken from your start date. Open them in Excel, or import them into SQL Server or any standard database, such as Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft Access. They also load into a historian.
ArchiveStats.txt reports how many values were exported for each tag, and how long the run took.
<computer name>\WinCC instance. For a running project the SQL Server can be on another PC on your network. For an archive folder it must be on the PC you run the tool on.Just the archive files: to export archive files, you don’t need the full WinCC SCADA or WinCC Professional project, or WinCC itself. You need the archive files, a PC with SQL Server, and the WinCC OLE DB provider.
Already have WinCC on the PC? Then the WinCC OLE DB provider is already installed. Run the tool on that PC and point it at a folder of archive files. There’s nothing else to find or install. On a PC without WinCC, install the WinCC Connectivity Pack, which includes the provider and can be installed on its own.
Tested with: WinCC V7.4 through V8.1, and WinCC Professional. Not supported: WinCC Unified.
Prices in USD. Taxes are calculated at checkout.
The trial needs no license file and no sign-up. It exports up to 24 hours of data per run, which is enough to check that it reads your archives and that your CSV layout is right.
Download free trial [trial download URL]
After you buy, your license file arrives by email. In the app, click License… and import the file or paste the text. Delivery time: within one business day of purchase.
Yes. Point it at archive .mdf files and it reads them directly through SQL Server. You don’t need the WinCC project, only the archive files, and you point it at the folder rather than at each file. Only the “running project” source needs WinCC open.
It only reads data. It never detaches or changes archives that WinCC has attached. Very large exports add load to the SQL Server while they run, so schedule those sensibly.
No data is changed, but attaching a file to a newer SQL Server version than the one that created it upgrades the file. If the archives must go back into an older system, export from copies.
Nowhere. The tool runs on your PC and writes CSV files to a folder you choose. It doesn’t send archive data anywhere. Licenses are checked on the PC and never need an internet connection.
By default: tag name, UTC timestamp, local timestamp, value, quality code. You can change the columns, order, delimiter, and timestamp format.
Excel hides the date and hour on times with milliseconds. The data is intact. The User Guide shows the one-line custom format that displays it properly.
Yes, with the Running WinCC project source. Enter the other PC’s SQL Server, for example WINCCPC01\WinCC, and you can read its runtime databases from your own PC. You need Windows access to that SQL Server, and the WinCC OLE DB provider must be installed on the PC you run the tool on.
The Archive DB folder source doesn’t work over the network, because SQL Server opens archive files from its own disks. Run the tool on the PC whose SQL Server holds the files, or copy the .mdf and .ldf files to a PC with SQL Server and the WinCC OLE DB provider. For other setups, contact us.
A Project Pass covers 30 days of use by one person.
Yes. Each person on your team needs a seat, and a seat can be used on any computer, including your customers’, for work that person is doing. See the Integrator Pack.
Nothing stops working. You keep every version released during your update period. Renew if you want newer ones.
Please try the free trial first to check compatibility. If you’ve bought a license and it doesn’t work with your archives, email us. If we can’t fix it, we’ll refund you. See the Refund Policy.
No. Archive Data Extractor for WinCC is an independent product of iQagent. It works with archives created by Siemens WinCC.
No. It’s a desktop application you run when you need an export. It isn’t designed to run unattended or on a schedule.