rslogix 5000 revision

hello guys.
can anyone here answer my quiry regarding rslogix revision?
we have version 20 of rslogix and we have plc program that was created in version 19. is it necessarily need to use the same revision of rslogix just to go online with the controller? or i just dont know how to use it properly. please enlighten me because i want to dig deeper in the plc because im a newbie

thanks...

Welcome to the forum!

Short answer - yes, you will need the same revision.

Slightly longer answer:

In general*, if your Logix processor has a firmware major revision of 19, you will need RSLogix major revision 19 to talk to it. The minor revision doesn't matter; you can have firmware v19.11 and RSLogix version 19.00 and you will still be able to work with it. Match the major revision of firmware and software, and generally*, you'll be OK. You can install multiple major revisions of RSLogix 5000 on the same PC at the same time, and when you open a file, RSLogix will look at it and open the correct revision.

*Slightly longer answer again:

Version 20 and 21 of RSLogix 5000/Studio 5000 (as it's now known) have a minor revision "quirk" (read: SNAFU) where you can't use v20.01 to talk to a v20.03 processor, or vice versa. Same thing applies with v21.01 and v21.03. This article explains it well: http://theautomationblog.com/what-you-need-to-know-before-upgrading-to-rslogix-5000-version-20-03/

If you can't get hold of v19 of RSLogix 5000, your other option is to update the firmware on the PLC to v20. But before you do that, consider:

- Doing that will erase the PLC program. If you don't have any way of accessing the old program, you won't be able to put it back in afterward
- Flashing firmware has quite a few "gotchas", and there are some risks involved. If you don't do things right, you could break the PLC permanently. If I were a total newbie, I wouldn't be doing it myself; I'd be contracting someone with plenty of experience (and the right version of RSLogix 5000) to do it for me
- If you upgrade to v20, that minor revision issue I mentioned above will come into play. Make sure you understand it completely

thanks for ur reply ASF. i am aware that flashing the firmware will erase fhe entire program and it will mess me because my main purpose is to go online only and upload whateved program currently installed in the controller so we can proceed with the troubleshooting and analysis of our problem.

No problem! If that's your goal then yes, you'll need to get your hands on a copy of RSLogix 5000 v19. Your activation will work for all versions, so probably all you'll need to do is get in touch with your local RA distributor and ask them to burn you a disc. Alternatively, if you have a support contract, you can download it from the Rockwell website.