PI Vision Custom Symbols, Compared
Updated July 2026 · by PIForge
We build and sell PI Vision symbols, so treat this page accordingly. We have still tried to write the comparison we wanted to read when we started: what the actual options are, what each one costs, and which one is genuinely the right answer for a given situation — including the cases where that answer is not us.
Why this comes up at all: the ProcessBook migration
Most teams do not go looking for custom symbols because they want custom symbols. They go looking because they moved from PI ProcessBook to PI Vision and something they relied on for fifteen years is no longer there. PI Vision is a better platform in most respects — it is web-based, there is nothing to install on the client, and it scales across a site. But the migration is not feature-for-feature, and the gaps show up in the first week on shift.
Here are the ones we are asked about most often, and what closes them.
| What is missing | Why it hurts | Closes it |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-state, high-visibility gauges | ProcessBook operators expect a value they can read across a room. PI Vision ships basic value symbols. | PIForge Linear Gauge · PIForge Radial Gauge |
| Audible alarms on a display | ProcessBook displays could make noise when a value went out of range. PI Vision has no built-in sound. | PIForge Sound Alarm |
| Operator data entry back into PI | Manual readings that used to be typed into a ProcessBook display now tend to end up in a spreadsheet. | PIForge Manual Data Entry |
| Navigating a large display estate | ProcessBook navigation was built by hand per display; PI Vision has no menu symbol. | PIForge Navigation Menu |
| Statistical process control | SPC/SQC charts with control limits and rule violations are not part of stock PI Vision. | PIForge Smart SQC · PIForge Histogram |
| Replaying an event | Walking a display backwards through an upset, at speed, is a habit ProcessBook users miss. | PIForge Playback Pro · PIForge DateTime Picker |
The five ways to fill a gap in PI Vision
We compare categories rather than name other vendors. Where an option's pricing is typically not published, we say so rather than guess — ask the supplier directly.
| Option | What you get | Price | Licence | How you buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIForge | Individual symbols, bought and downloaded like software | $99 – $249 per symbol, listed publicly | Perpetual, one PI Vision server, unlimited displays and users | Card checkout, instant download, licence key by email |
| Bundled symbol suites | A large symbol library sold together with other add-ons as one enterprise package | Usually on request | Usually negotiated per site | Contact sales, book a demo |
| Individually sold symbols | Single-purpose symbols sold one at a time on a digital storefront | Per symbol — see the seller | See the seller | Storefront checkout |
| Community samples on GitHub | AVEVA/OSIsoft's own extensibility samples plus community forks | Free | Open source — check each repository | Clone the repository |
| Build it yourself | Write against the PI Vision extensibility framework | Engineering time | Yours | — |
Written July 2026. If anything here is out of date or wrong, tell us at [email protected] and we will correct it.
Which one is right for you
PIForge
You want a specific capability now, at a known price, without a sales call.
Bundled symbol suites
You are buying for a whole site and want a single contract that also covers things like reporting, display versioning or system health — ground a symbol-only vendor does not cover.
Individually sold symbols
You need exactly one small thing and nothing else.
Community samples on GitHub
You have JavaScript capacity in-house and want a starting point you can own and modify. Genuinely the right answer for many teams.
Build it yourself
The requirement is specific to your plant and no product will ever match it exactly.
What we think we are actually good at
Two things, and they are narrow on purpose.
You can see everything before you pay. Every symbol has a full narrated walkthrough recorded against a live PI System — not a slide deck, not a thirty-second loop. Nineteen of them are published. The price is on the page and checkout is instant; there is no call to book.
Some of these are unusual. A Duval triangle for transformer dissolved-gas analysis with an IEEE C57.104 verdict; process capability that tells you when its own Cpk is invalid because the tag is really two blended populations; ISA 18.2 chatter and first-out analysis on live PI tags. These came from field problems, not from a feature list.
Try one for free first
Our Combo Chart Free Edition is on GitHub, with no licence key and no signup. It is the fastest way to confirm that custom symbols install cleanly on your PI Vision server before you spend anything.
See the full catalogue
20 symbols and utilities for AVEVA PI Vision and the PI System, with prices on the page.
Browse the marketplace