External tool for diffing acd files

Evirua

Member
Join Date
Aug 2018
Location
Here
Posts
34
As it apparently isn't possible for VCS to diff native binaries like .acd files, are there any known integratable external tools that can fill that function?
 
Just basic version control that's done easily with text files, but with binaries; I would have my dummy1.acd files, perform some changes and then save/commit it as dummy2.acd, then I want to be able to view the differences between the two versions, what changed.

RS Logix has it own compare tool to do that, but I'm looking for an external one that I can integrate with a VCS.
 
Last edited:
I know of nothing beyond the RS Logix compare that will look into them for changes like that. Maybe others will have any idea of other software, but rockwell is rather... protective and might not allow the development of outside readers.
 
You'll have a problem with .ACD files, because those files keep track of online data, which naturally changes over the course of time, but can be ignored when comparing for differences.

If you save your .ACD file to a .L5K or .L5X format, these are native ASCII text files, and could possibly be integrated into your VCS. The Rockwell compare tool does essentially the same thing -- exports the two ACDs to L5Ks, so that it can compare them readily.

Heck, I've used DOS's fc.exe to find differences between .L5K files when desperate.
 
There was a thread in here recently about opening up acd files to get the contents out. Turns out they are 7zip archives. Install 7zip and you can access file structure inside in much the same way as .jar or .docx file.
 
Factory Talk AssetCentre can compare files and show changes. This is to compare what you are checking out versus what is running in the controller or what you are checking in to the database.

It can also go out and compare files on its own and alert you if what's running in the controller is different from the last version checked in and alert you to investigate.

GIT will also show you a checksum change and files size change but can't provide any details on what the differences are.

Software similar to FT AssetCentre like MDT Auto Save and Version Dog can detect changes also but they are not as in depth as AssetCentre.
 
We use Versiondog (from auvesy). It does a pretty good job with .acd files (showing differences, also detecting if no changes were made)
 
Last edited:
I'm not sure if it will work on that file extension type, but a really great file comparative tool i use all the time is called Beyond Compare from Scooter Software. Once you've installed it, when you right click on a file you'll get the option to "compare", then right click n the second file and select "compare" again. It red lines all the differences in the two files and even gives options to equalize the differences either from left to right or vice versa. If the file extension is a compiled file it may look funny though. Oh, and its free but you can buy a copy if you plan to use it for longer than the trial period.

I have no affiliation with the company, just an end user.

https://www.scootersoftware.com/
 
Last edited:

Similar Topics

Hi guys, I want to learn about interfacing and control programming between robots and machine tools. Are there any good practical introductory...
Replies
0
Views
2,574
I am trying to enable an external alarm via computer speakers for Factory Talk Network Distributed Edition. I am using Alarm and Events setup. I...
Replies
7
Views
126
Good evening all! I hope you folks are doing alright today, as I've got a situation that I believe I've come up with a solution to but I wanted to...
Replies
1
Views
391
As the title says, I'm trying to figure out a way to import and export recipe files from an external CF card to a USB drive and vice versa. I've...
Replies
1
Views
435
Hi All, I'm using Studio 5000 ver 30 to modify existing logic that has PID, and I want to be able to use an external/remote source as a setpoint...
Replies
3
Views
607
Back
Top Bottom