OP7 Display for S7300 PLC

I have a customer with an OP7 display connected to a S7313-5 PLC.
Unfortunately the customer has little documentation, no Step7
project and nothing to do with programming the OP7 display.
I have downloaded the Step7 project and am in the process of
reverse engineering the STL code. However, I am not familiar
with OP7.
How is OP7 display programmed?
Does it require purchase of software from Siemens?
(I have Step7 V5.3)
Regards...........John Gaunt

i havent programmed much OP7 but when i was programming it. i programmed my OP7 with protool an expension running on siemens you can implement a protool program in a siemens program at the start of a new protool program. so that isnt to hard to do

Thanks Walters,

Is Protool some software I need to Purchase separately from
Siemens or is it part of Step7?

Yepp John

im affraid that it is software you have to purchase but you can also use it for programming touchpanels and other HMI's

Thanks for your prompt replies.

OK I will purchase Protool.

Mow I don't have anything in the way of Protool program
or project for what exists. Can Protool suck it out of
the OP7 display?

Regards..........John Gaunt

Hi John,
Although the OP7 program was created by protool, you cannot upload the configuration and modify it using protool. You can back it up using "Prosave" but you cannot edit it. You can get prosave as a download from here:
http://www4.ad.siemens.de/-snm-0135030360-1095414978-0000018281-0000000378-1096533320-enm-WW/llisapi.dll/csfetch/10347815/ProSave.exe?func=cslib.csFetch&nodeid=14435486

If you need to modify the OP program you need the original programmers copy of the program.

Hope this helps

Steve

Thanks Stevo,

If I get Prosave can I use it to get to the existing OP7
program and be able to view it or print it out?

If so can I then re-enter that programming into Protool
to get to a useable OP7 project?

I have no possible access to the original programming.

Regards.........John Gaunt

i think that you have to make a new program if you havent got any acces to the original programming according to stevo's explanation. i dont know the program prosafe but if i read it wright you can upload the program but not change it.

Thanks Walters,
But what I need to know is once I have uploaded the program
from the OP7 display can I at least look at it?

The program will not be very big so if necessary I can put
it on paper and then re-programme the OP7 with ProTool.

However if I can't see the program I am in trouble.

Regards...........John

Hello john Gaunt;

The program downloaded to an OP7 from ProTool is compiled, and there is no tool I know of to unassemble it. The only way to use Prosave is to transfer a program to another OP7. You cannot open the uploaded file for viewing. So:

However if I can't see the program I am in trouble.

Click to expand...

I guess you are right...
Hope this helps,
Daniel Chartier

Hi John,

I haven't worked with any of the OP panels, but from what I've read in other posts, as far as I understand it Prosave is, as it's name implies, purely a backup tool. You can save a ProTool project and copy it back to the same OP or to another OP, but you cannot do anything else with it.

However, all is not lost, if the system you are going to have to modify is still working. ProTool is a pretty simple beast and in fact, to speak of programming it is overkill. The screen is split into two areas, a permanent window at the top (size adjustable) which as the name implies, is always visible and the rest of screen, where you can switch pictures.

If your system is still running, just go through the various screens and save them using screen dump. Having done that, when you've got your copy of ProTool and sussed out the various features work (which won't take long for most of it), you'll be able to fathom out about 90% or more (if it's a fairly simple setup) of the "program".

About the only "advanced" feature that ProTool has is its so-called "multiplexed" addressing. This allows you to use a single picture to access multiple (identical or at least, very similar) objects. There's a bit of a learning curve associated with its use, but if necessary, you can always get some help here (I didn't have that luxury, when I plowed my way through it, because I hadn't discovered the forum at that time!).

Oh, nearly forgot, the other "advanced" feature is a menu/recipe system, but in comparison to the multiplex addressing, it's pretty straightforward.

Cheers

Roy

Hi John,
Got called to a problem earlier and couldnt reply sooner.
As i'm sure that you gathered,you cannot use a prosave backup for anything other than reloading.

Ive been in the same boat as you in the past in this matter, Here's how i broke it down.

The event/error messages will almost certainly be a Datablock reference in bit form ie DB21.DBX2.0. when you find them use a VAT table activate them to identify each message.

Screen wise i noted all the screens and replicated them in a new project and added all the remaining tags as i found them.

Area Pointers such as screen number etc can be more difficult but not impossible,especially if you have eliminated the I/O and Bit memory using Elec Schematics.

I hope this is some help to you. If i can help you anymore just ask!

good luck

Steve

Thanks Everybody,

I will get Protool and then try to sort it out.
The system is running so first I will play with it and
try to document it as best I can. I am still working on
reverse engineering the Step7 project that I uploaded from
the PLC. I have no original programming for this system.
I think I will have little trouble determining the details
of the DB's that the OP7 "talks" to. I will create a VAT to
mimic the operation of the OP7 to make sure everything lines
up correctly.
Thanks again......John Gaunt