PanelView Plus Communications Shortcuts.

[WireBiter665]

I have a curious question and I can't seem to find any information on it. I'm hoping I'm just overlooking something simple.

I have 4 machines that all do the same thing. Each machine has its own ControlLogix PLC. Each machine also has its own PV Plus. I need to make changes to the HMI programs. Since all are going to be the same, I'd like to just change one of them and download to each PV Plus. My issue is when I do this, either with "Replace Communications" checked or unchecked, it changes the Shortcut on the PV Plus to interface with the wrong PLC. Then I have to reconfigure the shortcut on the PV Plus to point to the correct PLC. These are all on the same network so I can't set the ControlLogix PLCs to the same IP address.

The question is, how do I update the HMI program in the PV Plus without changing the PLC Shortcut?

 

[jstolaruk]

If you downloaded the application just once with "replace communications" checked, that is the target address set from there foreward.

From the config menu on the HMI, you can view/edit the Factory Talk Link settings and the target PLC's IP address that the application is using.

 

[WireBiter665]

Thank you. I'm really wanting to understand this communications thing so forgive the questions.

Scenario: Machines 1, 2, 3, 4 each with a PLC and HMI. All should be identical except the IP addresses. I took the HMI image out of HMI #1, made the modifications and downloaded it into HMI #2 with the replace communications option NOT checked. HMI #2 was then linked to PLC #1. I went into the HMI Config and redid the shortcut link to point back to PLC #2.

What I did next was to redo the communication shortcut in the project itself to point to PLC #2 and download to HMI #2 with the option checked. This worked. But when I then downloaded to HMI #1 with the option unchecked, HMI #1 now tries to link to PLC #2 so I have to go back into the HMI Config to reset the shortcut. And I was definitely careful this time to NOT have that option checked but it didn't matter.

Not a huge deal but is there a way to make this work so I don't have to do this? It seems that whatever communications shortcuts are set in the actual project in FTV is what the HMI will use regardless of whether the option is checked or not checked.

 

[WireBiter665]

After playing around with this a bit more, I think I'm understanding it better. The shortcut itself is part of the application so whatever the settings are for the shortcut that is compiled into the application is what it will use. The communications are still the same so the actually weren't being replaced as I thought. I was, in my own thought process, linking the 2 of them together as being the same thing.