Systems and methods for ease of graphical display configuration design in a process control plant

A graphical configuration system for a process plant, the graphical configuration system comprising:

• a graphical configuration application executing in an configuration environment of the process plant, the graphical configuration application having a user interface via which a draft of a configuration of a display view is presented, the draft of the configuration of the display view including one or more graphical elements;
• the display view configuration defining respective links between one or more graphical elements included on the display view and one or more control elements included in an operating environment of the process plant so that, upon download and execution of the display view at a user interface device included in the operating environment of the process plant, respective indications of one or more values that are generated by the one or more control elements while executing in the operating environment of the process plant to control the process are presented and repeatedly updated at the executing display view;
• and
• the graphical configuration application providing, on the user interface, a preview user control that, when activated prior to a publication of the configuration of the display view, causes a preview depicting at least one of a runtime appearance or a run-time behavior of the one or more graphical elements included in the draft of the configuration of the display view to be generated and displayed at the user interface of the graphical configuration application,
• wherein publications of display view configurations are allowed to be provided to the operating environment of the process control system, and wherein drafts of display view configurations are prohibited from being provided to the operating environment of the process control system.