Introduction + Questions GX DEV / WORKS2 /FX1n

Hello everyone! I'm a 27 year old(or young) guy from Sweden, I have been studying and am nearly done with my exams (upcoming in april)

So here's the deal. I have an internship at Volvo that includes maintenance of industrial PLC's starting february, and I thought i'd prepare a bit before just so I have a clue about what I'm doing. I stumbled upon PLC programming (sfc and ladder) in class and I enjoy it quite a bit. Also including connecting electrical components and the whole shebang. We have mainly been uaing mitsubishi's FX-series and i feel somewhat comfortable with them, but here's the catch--

I got a laptop with windows 7, 64bit. It is not compatible with GX Works 2 (managed to get it running in a virtual environment) and the new trial version of GX IEC Developer has changed it's interface into some text-type ladder environment and I cannot for my life find out where to find the I/O variable lists.
But for now I'll use Works I guess.

My main issue here, pre-work panic, is that I cannot afford a PLC at the moment, and there's no simulation program that both gives me virtual inputs and outputs, so I have no way of testing. I'm pretty sure they'll be fine with what i currently know BUT It would be nice to know some more before diving headfirst into this. I have knowledge of cable standards and such (RS232 being the easiest to mention)

If my text is too long:
1. I need to find a simulator for both in/outputs for the FX1n series that isn't alongside gx developer
2. Any professional tips on what to prepare with would be welcome
3. Text-type ladder form, what is it?
4. Where can variables(apparently labels) be found in GX developer

Very thankful for answers! Merry christmas!
/Michael

Ps. This isn't a hit & run thread, I would like to make introduction tutorials for beginners once i get comfortable with myself and PLC's, because it's kind of hard to start out if you have nobody to teach you the beginning. Looking forward to buying an ardino as well, when I make myself worth a paygrade.

Cheers!

There are a few videos here to help you with your IEC questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoYJtwlxGAs

After watching them a bit myself, I am glad I don't have to use that software for anything. It appears to cumbersome to build simple networks in a timely manner.

I am not certain what you mean by "text type ladder form". If you mean "structured text" then that is not "ladder". In any regard, if you are curious about IEC programming in general, go to the wiki here and it will explain things to whatever depth you are looking for.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_61131-3

Be genuine about what you do and do not know. There is nothing wrong with not knowing a piece of software you have never used before. Your preparation should instead focus on researching the company.

You come across as someone who will make a fine employee. I hope things work out well for you and wish you all the luck.

Thankyou! I'm as most people not at home during the holidays so I'll check the links when I get back!
Yeah, that might be it, Structured text..

Update: I passed all the PLC-related courses and electrical maintenance courses. Evaluation work starts in february and I'm all in all very happy. Thanks for an awesome page, and I'll check in again once I have something to add!