S7 PLC Search/Replace Or Rewire function

Hey,

I have a program that I want to use as a base program for other projects. I want to create a shared data block that is used only for placing " replacement bits" in my PLC program when I change IO for different programs. Those dummy bits will have the same name as the real IO bits but will start with a r for replacement. For instance if I don't want to use a certain real IO bit in my PLC program (I0.0= inEstop), I replace it with a DB?.DBX?.? bit (DB5.DBX2.0 =rInEstop). That way I keep my code the same but take out IO that are not used at the time and if I want to check what IO was used in a previous program for a certain function, I just look at its symbol since the IO name is the same as the real IO. I want to know an easy way to search and replace the program so that I can go ahead and make my shared data block and then replace the IO that are not used in this project. I am not sure if the rewire function will let you access the data block and bit level so I was wondering if someone knows a better way to do it so it is fast?

Thanks!

PK

You can export the blocks as a STL source code which is a text file, manipulate the code with a word processor or text editor, and reimport the program as an STL source file.

If you wanted to get a bit clever you could write a macro which would operate on a list of changes.

If you use a word processor, remember to save the resulting source file as a text file.

Another thought, for small/medium projects you can create dummy I/O's at the top end of the I/O area, where your I/O will never reside, and then you can use the inbuilt rewire functions.

Mike