RSLinx not importing to excel on new computer

[Teslaj]

Hello!

I am trying to help a coworker get access to a company dashboard. It runs on my computer and I have set up similar dashboards myself, so I thought I knew what I was doing.

Before you ask, here are solutions I've seen online in my googling that weren't the culprit:
- RSLinx version is Gateway, so no issues with Lite.
- I did a backup of my RSLinx and restored it onto his computer, so topic configuration matches.
- Data is visible through Data monitor, so his RSLinx is running. I went online with the PLC to verify.
- His excel security settings match mine, so I don't think it's a security block.
- I have verified that topic name is correct, including by copy/pasting directly from RSLinx.
- I created a new excel file and just copied over one topic using =@RSLINX|Topic!'variable_name,L1,C1'
- When I try to use a DDE Initiate, it returns an error. Again, I am 100% certain that the topic is spelled correctly because it was copy/pasted from DataMonitor on RSLinx.
- Both computers are Dell with i9 servers and the same company settings.
- I went into topic configuration and set his to point to the proper PLCs.

The actual errors that I'm seeing:
- When I set up something on excel using =@RSLINX|Topic!'variable,L1,C1' it returns #REF!
- When I double click on the cell and press Enter (to force data refresh) it pops up and says "Remote data not accessible. To access this data Excel needs to start another application. ... Start application 'RSLINX.EXE'?" I click Yes and it says "Cannot run 'RSLINX.EXE'. The program or one of its components is damaged or missing." Again, I have verified about 20 times that it is NOT a topic mis-spell or variable spelling issue.

The only possible difference I have found (now that I've removed about other 20 differences) is that I am using RSLinx Classic Gateway 4.10.00

I did also copy his RSLinx.exe from the Desktop to Programs, in case that is where Excel is checking. I've restarted Excel since then.

Ideas are lovely. Poor Google has run out of blue links for me to click.
Thanks for reading!

 

[Aardwizz]

Welcome to the forum !

It sounds like you are doing just about everything right.

One thing that sounds a bit baffling though, is:

I did also copy his RSLinx.exe from the Desktop to Programs, in case that is where Excel is checking. I've restarted Excel since then.

You don't just copy .exe files anymore. This isn't DOS.

Take a step back. When you said,

When I set up something on excel using =@RSLINX|Topic!'variable,L1,C1' it returns #REF!

just exactly HOW did you set that up?

Did you launch RSLinx, go to Edit >> Copy DDE / OPC Link... , then browse the configured topic, pick Online, see the tags in the PLC, select a non-zero valued tag (timer PRE is good for that) and press <OK>, then Alt+tab to excel, pick any cell and do a Paste Special >> Paste Link >> (either text or unicode; doesn't matter), and thus have Excel create the whole
" =@RSLINX|Tope!variable,L1,C1 " formula ?

If you did that and still get #REF!, then there's something wrong with your coworker's DDE. Possibly he got updated with the newest Microsoft DCOM patch (newest -- as in it came out last week), which breaks OPC and quite possibly RSLinx's DDE.

There is a fix for it -- requires editing the Registry. Google should be able to tell you how.

If you didn't do it that way and merely typed in the formula, then give those steps a try and repost.


EDIT: Excel has always been lousy about launching RSLinx.exe. You should always have it running before starting Excel. In fact, I've found that if you don't, the DDE driver may be running in the background and will never make the link to RSLinx. The easiest fix is to reboot the PC, start RSLinx, then Start Excel. And don't have RSLinx running as a service.

 

[Teslaj]

Thank you so much for your thoughts!

My coworker is now headed back home, but I promise to update if we are ever on site together again and I figure out what is working. I'm glad I have some new threads to trace.

I did check that RSLinx wasn't running as a service, but rebooting the computer was probably a good solution. I forwarded your response to him as well. Hopefully we'll get a chance to troubleshoot again soon... it's very annoying to me that I couldn't get it to behave.

Thanks again for your thought and sharing your wisdom! I really appreciate it.

 

[roxusa]

I didn't think RS Logix Lite would work, I thought you need at least Classic. I
was using OEM

 

[Aardwizz]

I didn't think RS Logix Lite would work, I thought you need at least Classic. I was using OEM

The software is the same. The license unlocks certain features. In a nutshell:

RSLinx Classic is the software, distinguished from RSLinx Enterprise, which is for HMI applications (RSView, FTView -- ME and SE).

The "Lite" activation (really, no activation), allows Logix/Studio to talk with the PLC, and that's about it. But most of the time, that is enough.

"OEM" activation unlocks the ability to use DDE/OPC to talk to the PLC, allowing 3rd party applications (like Excel) to connect.

"Gateway" activation (which the OP had) unlocks everything, allowing the local PC to host connections from other PCs.