RSView Button Greyed out on PV+1000

[virgilio]

I'm a little confused where to begin with this project. I've taken CCv204A FT View ME and PV+, but this is my first time trying to fix an HMI, and this HMI is running really old software. I'm a bit lost.

On my laptop, which is running RSView Studio on WinXP, the button looks fine. I attached a screenshot called (greyedOut.png). Pressing it should open a popup with more options (see attachment called "popup.png"). The link to that popup are in the properties, (see attachment "props.png")

On the PV+ HMI the button is greyed out and does not respond to button taps.

What could be causing it to be greyed out?

 

[virgilio]

I pulled the .mer from the HMI, and I'd like to just download the version that looks like it is working. But I'm not sure that the version on my laptop is complete, and I don't think I can restore that .mer to a working state.

How can I be sure that the version on the HMI is not lost, and I can recover it if I download from my laptop and it turns out to be old/wrong version?

 

[virgilio]

When I right-click "Tag Substitution" I see that there is a tag associated with that button:

{::[LOAD AUTOCLAVE]B15:72/2}

But this is just the option to replace the tag with something else. I want to see what the state of the tag is, of course to chase it out.

How can I see where that tag is, and why isn't it obvious what tag is associated with that button?

 

[plvlce]

When I right-click "Tag Substitution" I see that there is a tag associated with that button:

{::[LOAD AUTOCLAVE]B15:72/2}

But this is just the option to replace the tag with something else. I want to see what the state of the tag is, of course to chase it out.

How can I see where that tag is, and why isn't it obvious what tag is associated with that button?

That is Logix 500 (or 5) style addressing, suggesting that the PLC being read from does not use tag-based addressing.

The data is the bit located in File 15, Word 72, Bit 2 of the PLC for which the associated shortcut is named LOAD AUTOCLAVE

 

[virgilio]

I was hoping to kind of “take that button apart” to see if I could tell what it was made of and linked to. I’m new to this kind of programming, I guess I should connect to that other plc and download the tag table to see what that tag does?

The online training courses are not good.

 

[JTCat]

Is there a visibility condition for that button?

 

[Level]

Hey virgillo,

Yes - uploading from the PLC and chasing down the tag you've associated with your button will help you get to the bottom of the button.

In your FT View program, right click your button and verify under the connections tab what addresses are associated with your push button.

Right click your button and verify under "Animation" whether there is a visibility associated with it.

Frequently HMI designers will overlay identical buttons, one that is active and one is only a grayed out version of the active button. The active PB is only visible under a certain set of conditions. Those conditions would activate the address associated with your "visibility" settings in FT View.

If you'd like to DL to your panel, choose a unique name for the runtime file and verify what is present on the panel already. (Reboot your panel and press white square in bottom LHS to crash into the setup menu.)

Good luck!

 

[virgilio]

Not sure if I should start a new thread, because this is a new problem, same project though.

When I try to find a device using RS Who, everything has a red X over it, even though I can ping everything. I'm trying to find the tag database on a different virtual machine with windows 10, RSLogix 500, and RS Linx classic Lite.

What conditions cause RSWho to paint everything with a red x?

 

[Level]

In my experience, that'll be your driver configuration within RSLinx.

If you're pinging everything and able to see the reply, double check within linx that your drivers are appropriately set up and able to connect. Which driver is selected?

Verify (twice) that you've set your laptop/pc to a unique static IP.

If that's all good - verify the communications settings within FTView - ensure that the drivers there (you may have to set them up) match your RSLinx.

 

[virgilio]

The tag that appears to be linked to that button is not in the "Address/Symbol" database associated with this project. Based on that alone I would think that it is not a valid reference, and I need to find the correct tag to link to. But I'm not certain that there isn't another controller with another set of tags that I am not able to see.

Are possibly additional tag databases on separate devices?

I uploaded a screenshot of the devices that RSLinx can see on this network.




In response to previous questions: There does not appear to be visibility criteria for the button, I'm using a really old version of RSView Studio v4.

 

[plvlce]

The tag that appears to be linked to that button is not in the "Address/Symbol" database associated with this project.

All that means is that there is not a symbolic name associated with the bit.

A SLC does not have 'tags.' It has data tables, and the bit in question is (as previously stated) bit 2 of word 72 in data (bit) file 15.

It is theoretically possible that file 15 does not exist or is not a bit file, or that it has fewer than 73 words, but the only way to be certain of this would be to examine the actual Logix file.

Symbolic addresses in the SLC are purely a programmer convenience and in no way necessary for the program to function; additionally they are not stored in the processor and so are easily lost leaving holes in documentation.

 

[MikeyN]

I can see 5 separate SLC-5/05 devices on your list. Each one of those will have its own "tag database" although as previously mentioned RSLogix 500 doesn't use tags but data files. Each one of those programs is going to be structured similarly by default so could look correct but will not necessarily be the right device.

In your FT View project, open up the Communications Setup tab. On the left of the screen is the device shortcut, this should be LOAD AUTOCLAVE. When you click on the Runtime(Target) tab, you should see which IP address the shortcut is trying to access. It may be the same in the Design(Local) tab, but not always. For instance, I design on a Class A subnet, but deploy on a Class C subnet so both of my communications tabs are always different. The Runtime(Target) tab will hopefully tell the IP address of the SLC that you should be looking at.

 

[virgilio]

I don't see "Device Setup" in the Communications tab, maybe I'm looking in the wrong place? I'm using RSView Studio ME, not FT View, maybe that's the issue....

 

[MikeyN]

It won't be on the communications tab at the bottom which is what your image shows, but rather on the application tab in the tree to the right with your displays and everything else. You are looking for RSLinx Enterprise near the bottom, expand that and you should see Communication Setup. It should be located above the System folder.

 

[virgilio]

Ok. When I go there, target doesn't populate with anything, just a backplane and an ethernet link.

Does that mean that I am accessing a local upload and need to go online?
Or does it mean that the runtime target is not configured at all?

Here's what my local tab looks like: