Copying a Siemens Step 7 project to load on my VM.

Oh boy... If I can build my Step 7 knowledge fast enough, I have a new customer who needs a guy to help with some projects. I went on a site visit today and everything is Siemens... PLCs, Drives, Purple hose... it's all there. Their automation tech retired last July. I have Sematic Manager 5.5 on an XP virtual machine, along with WinCC and more. I usually use it for troubleshooting existing machines. So, I told the plant manager that I'd look into the learning curve and get back to him. I'd love to have an account like this to build my Siemens skills.

I haven't had a lot of time to look for learning resources yet, but I see the first issue I'm facing is getting a copy of his project files onto my laptop. A simple question for today... Should I be Archiving his project files on his laptop, and Retreiving the files on my VM? I tried just copying the project files today, and I have issues opening the WinCC files tonight. That usually means there is more to transferring a project than just copying the project file. I'd just like to confirm before I drive back down there.

Also, if you have stumbled upon any great learning resources for Step 7, I'd love to take a look.

Should I be Archiving his project files on his laptop, and Retreiving the files on my VM?

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Yes. Was that a simple enough answer?

That said, I have had success opening projects that were given to me with a simple directory copy, but I always recommend archive/retrieve.

I find especially for STEP V5.x, training is the best initial resource. I used to conduct classroom training for clients at my former employer in STEP 7, and since then, gave a couple of "crash-courses" online 1-on-1. If you're interested, let me know.

For Step 7 and WInCC Flexible, Archive/Retrieve should work for you fine.


As a note, there is technically a way to have two instances of Simatic Manager share the same project file on a shared drive at the same time (as long as they are networked together), but it's been a really long time since i've seen that setup.


If you're doing WinCC Scada (v6 or v7, most likely), then I think it gets a little more complicated.


Siemens tech support is your friend. You can create cases either via the support site or a hotline, and you usually get a response pretty fast. No support contract needed, as long as you aren't calling about a legacy product.

AutomationTechBrian said:

Also, if you have stumbled upon any great learning resources for Step 7, I'd love to take a look.

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If you like to read i can recommend the Siemens books from Hans Berger. There are a couple of them but i learned a lot from these 2 books when I was a Siemens rookie.


There is also a PLC simulator that ships with the professional version of Step 7 classic that is a great tool for experimenting without the need of a PLC. The HMI simulation can also be connected to the plc simulator so you can learn and experiment a lot without the need to buy any hardware.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3895784109/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3895783412/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i9

mk42 said:

No support contract needed, as long as you aren't calling about a legacy product.

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...but I thought TIA Portal was current, and Step 7 was Legacy. ???

Bratt said:

If you like to read i can recommend the Siemens books from Hans Berger. There are a couple of them but i learned a lot from these 2 books when I was a Siemens rookie.


There is also a PLC simulator that ships with the professional version of Step 7 classic that is a great tool for experimenting without the need of a PLC. The HMI simulation can also be connected to the plc simulator so you can learn and experiment a lot without the need to buy any hardware.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3895784109/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3895783412/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i9

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You know... I have a license for the simulator in my license manager, but since I don't have the original disks, I don't know how to get the simulator. I believe the version is 5.3 (maybe 5.4). I don't see a download for it.

Thanks for the book recommendation. I bought the LAD book right away. I've a very visual learner, so it might not be a good match, but I need something that I can reference for questions.

I'll be checking out YouTube, like always. I do appreciate all of you guys who respond to questions. This board is invaluable!

sigmadelta said:

Yes. Was that a simple enough answer?

That said, I have had success opening projects that were given to me with a simple directory copy, but I always recommend archive/retrieve.

I find especially for STEP V5.x, training is the best initial resource. I used to conduct classroom training for clients at my former employer in STEP 7, and since then, gave a couple of "crash-courses" online 1-on-1. If you're interested, let me know.

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Thanks! I'll keep this in mind. I have a little time, so I'd start with learning the basics that I should know. If I did some training, we would focus on using the customer's files to learn.

If you have a license you can download the trial version. Your license will unlock full functionality if the version matches your license.

https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109750064

Bratt said:

If you have a license you can download the trial version. Your license will unlock full functionality if the version matches your license.

https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109750064

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Thanks! I looked at my VM... S7-PLCSIM V5.3. I don't know if it will work for 5.4. You would think it would cover 5.x versions, but I'll have to wait until Siemens clears me for their export-restrictions to download it and try.

I looked at my VM... S7-PLCSIM V5.3. I don't know if it will work for 5.4.

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No it won't, but you could download V5.3.

sigmadelta said:

No it won't, but you could download V5.3.

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All I can find is the service pack for 5.3- SP1. Prereq is a installed version of 5.3

https://support.industry.siemens.co...vice-pack-1-for-s7-plcsim-v5-3?dti=0&lc=en-WW

Then I guess worst case, you use the V5.4 for 14 days as a trial.

I called tech support... gotta say, they've been very helpful every time I've talked to them. He pointed out that 5.3 is 14 years old, and everything older than 10 years is probably not on the site for download. I told him that being a tech meant that I mainly see legacy products, and that I have a new customer that is head-to-toe Siemens Step 7.

He emailed me a secure link to download 5.3. I'm doing it right now.

....kinda like Christmas! Lol!

That was unexpected....!

I went to install 5.3, and I got a window that said I couldn't install it over 5.4. So I went back to my Start menu and found it in a different folder.... V5.4 + SP5 + Upd1

I feel both dumb and happy at the same time!

You should definitely install STEP7 v5.3 and v5.4 in separate VMs.
TIA allows you to install parallel versions, but even then it is recommended to install in separate VMs.