Step-by-step Guide

Tabpage Settings

After starting the MultiOnlineChange tool, you will see the tabpage Settings:

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In the Project text box, you can enter the project, which shall be distributed to all the PLCs. This can either be done via opening a project file from the harddisk (in MOC stand-alone tool, see figure above) or via selection of the project, if the MOC was started from within Automation_Builder.

The field Path to CODESYS shows the path, where the file CODESYS.exe is available. This path is read from the registry. If the path cannot be retrieved from the registry, the tool will immediately exit after start-up.

The field Default Path for *.ri files is an optional field. It is recommended that you define a folder here.

Note

For Vista/Windows 7 compatibility reasons do not change the proposed path.

If the checkbox Ignore PLC if IP address is not available is checked, then all functions will ignore any PLC, which does not reply to a ping command (the IP state of the PLC is shown by different background colours). In normal operation, this checkbox should be checked. Otherwise the tool will try to access the defined IP in any case.

The checkbox Start PLC program after Multi Download defines, if the program is started on each PLC after a multi download.

Check the checkbox Create boot project, if a boot project should be created.

Change the default for the Max. timout for results.

The field Gateway Driver allows the selection of one of the following two options:

  • ABB TCP/IP Level 2 AC
  • TCP/IP

If the checkbox Execute commands with CODESYS GUI is checked, the IEC 61131-3 editor V2.3 UI will open up while the commands are executed. If the checkbox is unchecked, all commands will be handled in background.

Note

The checkbox “Execute commands with CODESYS GUI” is only visible in the Stand-Alone tool.

The checkbox Update Firmware first shall be checked, if the user wants to update the PLC firmware before sending any configuration to the PLC. The tool supports the update of up to 5 firmware files per PLC:

  • The user has to enter the name of each firmware file in the text box Selected firmware file 1-5.
  • The user has to select the type of any given firmware file (e.g. firmware, boot code or display) within the related box File type.
  • The timeout to download one file and to reboot the PLC after all files have been downloaded may be extended in the box Activation delay(s).

Buttons and Status Bar

The buttons at the bottom of the dialog have the following functions:

  • Save: After the definition of PLCs and settings is finished, all data can be saved in an XML file.
  • Load: Load a previously saved XML file.
  • Online Change: Perform a plausibility check and start online change.
  • Multi Download: Perform a plausibility check and start multi download.

The status bar below the buttons shows information about the status of operations.

Note

For this tutorial, we do not start any operations at the moment. Instead, switch to the tabpage PLCs, where we configure the PLCs we want to address.

Tabpage PLCs

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In the figure, there are already 2 PLCs added to the table. Each row represents 1 PLC.

The first row of the table has an orange frame: Here the master PLC must be defined. The master or reference PLC is the PLC, which will be used for changing the project and testing it later, before a download or online change is performed to the other PLCs in the table.

In the columns of the table, the following data is entered:

  • Column IP address: Enter the IP address of the PLC.
  • Column Directory: Define the directory, in which the *.ri file will be stored. Each PLC must have its own directory. If you double-click a selected cell, a browse button is shown. By clicking this button, you can browse a directory (if you want to do this, the directory must exist already). If you type a directory which does not exist yet, it will be created later during multi download.

Note

If you have defined a default folder for:emphasis:*.ri files on the tabpage Settings, this column will be completed automatically by entering an IP address and confirming it with Enter or Tab. In this case, the defined folder is the default folder and a subfolder with IP of the PLC (dots in the IP address are replaced by “-“).

Note

For Vista/Windows 7 compatibility reasons do not change the proposed path.

  • Column Comment: A comment for each PLC can be made here. This comment has no influence on the operation of the MultiOnlineChange tool, but will be stored in the data XML file.

  • Column Go online: This column contains a button for each PLC. By pressing this button you can start IEC 61131-3 editor and log in to the PLC defined in this row.

  • Column Show results will be explained in Verifying the Download/Online Change Success.

    Each IP address and each directory must be unique. Do not define the same IP or directory twice. If you do so, you will get an error message when you try to perform an action.

The context menu of the table can be opened by right mouse click and contains the\ following functions:

  • Add single PLC line: Adds 1 row to enter a new PLC.
  • Delete selected PLC lines: Deleted selected rows.
  • Add IP range: With this function, you can add a range of IP addresses by defining the start IP address, the end IP address and the increment. E.g. if you select start IP 192.168.3.1 and end IP 192.168.3.10 and increment 3, the following IP addresses will be created:
    • 192.168.3.1
    • 192.168.3.4
    • 192.168.3.7
    • 192.168.3.10
  • Clear Data: Delete all entries in the table.
  • Check IPs: Perform a check, using the ping command to see, if the defined PLCs are available. After the check, the IP addresses of all available PLCs are shown with green background, unavailable PLCs with a red background. White background means state unknown.