RS Logix 500 File Matching

When I save RS Logix 500 files in the projects folder normally I can select the latest and go online with all comments and such but sometimes If after I save the file and go offline I change something in the file name such as add the upload date to the file name it will no longer work.

I normally don't like to save the file name as the default which is the processor name because it's not very descriptive.

We make a lot of small changes but I like to keep the old versions for reference and I try to add the date to the file name to keep track of things.

Can someone help me under stand the proper way to manage RS Logix 500 files and not have issues?

Changing the file name alone should not cause a problem. I don't do it often but usually it checks the online and offline processor name and then what I always thought was a logic checksum of some sort.

But, if it is giving you fits, I would recommend you use the "Save As..." function and save the file as your new modified Date in the Revision and upload while online. Then your file is saved, an exact match, and has the date modified in the name all at once and can later go online quickly without problem.

The way I make sure avoid issues is not to modify copies of the programs currently running while offline. The original file actually in the machine remains untouched. If I have to do work on a project offline, I save it as a different rev level, and in a different location if it is a work in progress. That way if I or someone else come around later before the work in progress file is complete and loaded, it does not get confused with a file that is in production.

I have also turned off the Automatic Backup feature of RSlogix 500 and 5000, because I found out that other, less experienced, users were opening up the BAK files and working directly off of those. I felt my own backup process would cover any problems and avoid the issues I was running into where I would open up the latest Rev file, only to discover later that another user had decided to use BAK0132 as their main program and had half a dozen modifications made to the logic already

Hi Tim,

Our practice here is to use the date as part of the filename at save time.

Example for machine number 4321 saved on September 18, 2015:
4321_20150918.RSS

Now, if you save the file, and then save the file again with a different name, Logix500 will grab the first one it finds that matches what's in the PLC the next time you go online.

On the surface, it sounds like that is what you're running into.