Disable Downloading In RSLogix 5000

To be fair, it's not their fault that AB is *** backwards on Download/upload terminology.


In almost any other device in existence, clicking download would give them what they want.

+1 @MorphiusOGrady: The keyswitch is your friend here. Turn to RUN.
Take out the key if your system is not latest model, I have a routine that if you move the switch or the key toward run/pgm the program will stop.
Or you can use the same routine to determine when was the last time somebody turned the key or switch toward run/pgm.

theColonel26 said:

To be fair, it's not their fault that AB is *** backwards on Download/upload terminology.


In almost any other device in existence, clicking download would give them what they want.

Click to expand...

What are you talking about? Most standard PLCs have the same Rockwell convention.


Even if they didn't the maintenance staff would just end up doing an upload. The true fix is what Phil Buchanan suggested earlier, with FTSecurity setup. Or what Ken suggested with the RUN mode(Although, this becomes less reasonable with bigger plants which require online modifications).

Thanks for the replies

Again, I apologize for the tone of my comments, I was upset as I typed most of them. That doesn't even sound like me!

I recognize that each of us works under our own set of circumstances, and I did not explain all of mine. One thing is, we have new electricians often, and they must be trained on the job for lots of different PLC types not to mention non-PLC work. The one who made this mistake last (not a new guy) swears he knows the difference and just "got sloppy" because he was so busy.

I stand by my critique of the dialog- I think it would help if the dialog explicitly stated "to the PLC".

Also, the "key in Run mode" option is no good in my circumstances. In fact, that's another thing on my list that happens that I need to fix, so I can make online changes. The PLC's are a long distance away from my desk, (especially when I am working from home!)

I did print a reminder page and posted it in a couple good spots.

theColonel26 said:

To be fair, it's not their fault that AB is *** backwards on Download/upload terminology.


In almost any other device in existence, clicking download would give them what they want.

Click to expand...

LESLed said:

Again, I apologize for the tone of my comments, I was upset as I typed most of them. That doesn't even sound like me!

I recognize that each of us works under our own set of circumstances, and I did not explain all of mine. One thing is, we have new electricians often, and they must be trained on the job for lots of different PLC types not to mention non-PLC work. The one who made this mistake last (not a new guy) swears he knows the difference and just "got sloppy" because he was so busy.

I stand by my critique of the dialog- I think it would help if the dialog explicitly stated "to the PLC".

Also, the "key in Run mode" option is no good in my circumstances. In fact, that's another thing on my list that happens that I need to fix, so I can make online changes. The PLC's are a long distance away from my desk, (especially when I am working from home!)

I did print a reminder page and posted it in a couple good spots.

Click to expand...

Some screenshots of what Phil was talking about:

Multiple and more featureful/complicated ways to do this. Here's one:

Make a new user here: https://imgur.com/xCfb9FB
Call this user the "DownloadAuthorizedUser" or something similar.
Hit "This Network" on the top, and then right click, security.
Expand RS5000, navigate to here:
https://imgur.com/gOfX1QG
Deselect the "Download" from ALL users, and enable it for DownloadAuthorizedUser. Note, that this is a PC specific change. If you want to roll out groups across your org, you can do that too. Just needs more work.

Regards,
-PreLC

LESLed said:

I stand by my critique of the dialog- I think it would help if the dialog explicitly stated "to the PLC".

Click to expand...

I don't know if A-B uses a checksum to validate their binaries, but it is rarely difficult to edit a .EXE or .DLL to replace text strings.

LESLed said:

...I think it would help if the dialog explicitly stated "to the PLC".

Click to expand...

This always frustrated me. The old ICOM software used to have the text "Download to PLC" and "Upload from PLC". I think that made it all the way to WinLogic 5 before RSLogix changed it to simply "Upload" and "Download". Seemed as though a lot of headaches could have been resolved by keeping those to extra little words. But it is still better than the old "Save" and "Restore" terminology from 6200.

OG

Operaghost said:

This always frustrated me. The old ICOM software used to have the text "Download to PLC" and "Upload from PLC". I think that made it all the way to WinLogic 5 before RSLogix changed it to simply "Upload" and "Download". Seemed as though a lot of headaches could have been resolved by keeping those to extra little words. But it is still better than the old "Save" and "Restore" terminology from 6200.

OG

Click to expand...

The Siemens terminology always made me uneasy.

"Transfer PC > PG"
"Transfer PG > PC"

Once you know that "PG" is your "ProGrammer" (i.e. your laptop), and "PC" is your PLC, it's fine - but for a newbie, it'd hardly be a stretch to think "well I know what a PC is, that's my laptop, so "PG" must be the German abbreviation for PLC", and voila, instant f***up!

Factory talk asset centre version 7. The maintenance personal can only go online/ offline, pull up controller properties and everything else is grayed out.

ken roach said:

the simple technique many people overlook is just to turn the keyswitch to the run position. You cannot download to or edit a controller that's in run mode.

If version control and modification authority is a significant problem with your staff, then maybe the extra step of gaining physical access to the controller before making a change is worthwhile.

Click to expand...

+1!!

proof said:

If they cannot grasp the concept of the difference between upload and download, they have no business in the PLC.

Click to expand...

Go to anywhere on the world wide web and find a file you want, how many times do you click upload to get that file to your PC? Now take the file from your PC and put it somewhere on the web (even this forum), what does that button say? I didn't have an issue until I got to the world of Rockwell, screwed it up many times. The other PLCs I've used may have had it but they said "Upload to PC, Download to PLC" and I guess I ignore the first part because I can't remember for sure.

Go to anywhere on the world wide web and find a file you want, how many times do you click upload to get that file to your PC? Now take the file from your PC and put it somewhere on the web (even this forum), what does that button say?

Click to expand...

When the things we now call PLCs were first introduced they were called PCs (Programmable Controllers). Then an upstart company (related to the HAL computer in the movie, 2001 A Space Odyssey) introduced a product called the Personal Computer, shortened to PC. So the factory automation industry had to rename their products to minimize the confusion.
To the original makers of PLCs, it seemed logical that the programmer was superior to the PLC, thus the transfer of data was "down" from the programmer to the PLC, "Download" and "up" from the PLC to the programmer, "Upload".
Then along came the internet which the world has deemed to be superior to all of us. Thus the transfer from the internet to us, coming from a superior power to mere mortals is a download and the transfer from us to the almighty internet is an upload.
Some PLC vendors are clinging to their original terminology, some are adapting to the reality of the world's idea of data direction.

I have had this discussion so many times with classes in the past.

The issue here is that neither Download or Upload convey any sense at all of the direction of the data transfer.

You can Download TO something, you can Download FROM something, in the same way you can Upload TO something, and you can Upload FROM something.

And there is no convention, it is what it is, and there are some equipment manufacturers using the opposite terms to nearly everyone else.

Of course, if software developers CBA to add the magic words "... TO the PLC" and "... FROM the PLC" in the appropriate places, then we will always have this dilemma, but even if they did, a lot of people don't read the dialog boxes.

The two camps will believe their method is correct, and neither will want to change, so we have a stalemate. Perhaps the easiest way out is to drop the usage of Upload/Download, and go for something that does implicitly convey data direction, and I see not a lot wrong with READ and WRITE.