Logix/Studio 5000 - Change pop-up tag editor default data type

Anybody know if there is a registry entry that can be changed/added for Logix/Studio 5000 that will change the default data type for an analog (non-boolean) tag from DINT to REAL?

I'm most interested in the new tag function (CTRL-W) in the Ladder Editor. I just don't use many DINTs, everything tends to be REALs these days for me. I asked around and while I received no help, several colleagues want to know if I find an answer, so I know I'm not alone.

There is an option to change the default data type in the Tag Editor under Tools-Options, but that doesn't work for the Tag Editor launched from the Ladder Logic Editor. I suspect it's just for the full-screen spreadsheet style Tag Editor/Monitor.

I did find and change these settings below in the registry from DINT to REAL, but that didn't help. Even did a Windohs reboot and verified the registry settings were retained.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Rockwell Software\RSLogix 5000\Tag Options\Default Type = REAL
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Rockwell Software\RSLogix 5000\Tag Options 2.0\Default Type = REAL

There are several keys I can't decipher the values for though:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Rockwell Software\RSLogix 5000\Tag Editor\Type = 5 100 1
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Rockwell Software\RSLogix 5000\Tag Editor 2.0\Data Type = 5 100 1
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Rockwell Software\RSLogix 5000\Tag Editor 3.0\Type = 5 79 1
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Rockwell Software\RSLogix 5000\Tag Editor 4.0\Type = 6 87 1

Wondering if these last bunch are the Tag Editors in the different languages editors? I believe the default in FBD, for example, is REAL.

Any direction would be appreciated.

Thanks,
-Brad

Tools > Options. Select Tag Editor / Data Monitor. Change Default Data Type from DINT to REAL.

dmroeder said:

Tools > Options. Select Tag Editor / Data Monitor. Change Default Data Type from DINT to REAL.

Click to expand...

I know my post was kind of long, but if you had read it you would have seen that doesn't work for the Ladder Editor Tag Editor pop-up (CTRL-W).

It absolutely works with CTRL+W. I tried it before I posted

EDIT: Oh wait, I see, it doesn't if you have typed the name in the instruction and use CTRL+W (in a MOV for example). My bad. It does work if focus is not on the instruction.

EDIT2: That is kind of dumb. If you don't have focus on an instruction, it will default to your option configuration. If you do it while an instruction has focus, defaults to DINT. Seems broken.

EDIT3: I get that if an instruction doesn't support the data type that it would default to something that it does support, however a MOV, for example, supports REAL but defaults do DINT regardless of your configured default data type.

dmroeder said:

It absolutely works with CTRL+W. I tried it before I posted

EDIT: Oh wait, I see, it doesn't if you have typed the name in the instruction and use CTRL+W (in a MOV for example). My bad. It does work if focus is not on the instruction.

EDIT2: That is kind of dumb. If you don't have focus on an instruction, it will default to your option configuration. If you do it while an instruction has focus, defaults to DINT. Seems broken.

EDIT3: I get that if an instruction doesn't support the data type that it would default to something that it does support, however a MOV, for example, supports REAL but defaults do DINT regardless of your configured default data type.

Click to expand...

Ha! You nailed it, I never even tried CTRL-W without a pending new tagname selected within the block. And yes, I was using MOV blocks too.


Agreed, it seems broken. I am very curious what those other registry entries do though...

I'm thinking those registry entries are for the Edit Tag Database window (IE: Controller Tags > Edit view):

x yyy z

x = column order from left to right
yyy = column width
z = visible

so for this one:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Rockwell Software\RSLogix 5000\Tag Editor 2.0\Data Type = 5 100 1

Click to expand...

the data type column would be the 5th one from the left, its width would be 100 pixels and it would be visible.

dmroeder said:

I'm thinking those registry entries are for the Edit Tag Database window (IE: Controller Tags > Edit view):

x yyy z

x = column order from left to right
yyy = column width
z = visible

so for this one:

the data type column would be the 5th one from the left, its width would be 100 pixels and it would be visible.

Click to expand...

Good deduction. When you look at the rest of the keys in the folder that makes perfect sense.


So as far as existing registry keys I may be SOL. I wonder if there are keys that can be added or if the Tools-Option selection is suppose to do it?

I'm thinking it is an "undocumented feature" that is not exposed to the registry or user in any way, could be wrong though. When you CTRL+W on a TIMER for example, it will default to the TIMER type. I bet every instruction has a default type data type, even ones that support multiple types and it just goes with that. It would seem to me that you'd have something like : If user default type is supported, use it, otherwise, fall back on instruction default.

dmroeder said:

I'm thinking it is an "undocumented feature" that is not exposed to the registry or user in any way, could be wrong though. When you CTRL+W on a TIMER for example, it will default to the TIMER type. I bet every instruction has a default type data type, even ones that support multiple types and it just goes with that. It would seem to me that you'd have something like : If user default type is supported, use it, otherwise, fall back on instruction default.

Click to expand...

+1. There are many bugs in Logix/Studio, I doubt this is even on their list.

I wonder if you could find a registry key (or anything else) that defines each instruction's default data type?

ASF said:

I wonder if you could find a registry key (or anything else) that defines each instruction's default data type?

Click to expand...

Not that I could find. That would be a lot of registry keys.

Rockwell left me a voicemail this morning. "The bug has been verified and submitted to the software team". Obviously if anything is actually done about it, it will be in future versions.

dmroeder said:

Rockwell left me a voicemail this morning. "The bug has been verified and submitted to the software team". Obviously if anything is actually done about it, it will be in future versions.

Click to expand...

Wow! :-O


Thanks for pursuing that, I tried to push it up the chain through our local distributor as well.

BAJ said:

Wow! :-O


Thanks for pursuing that, I tried to push it up the chain through our local distributor as well.

Click to expand...

They changed their mind. I got this today:

Rockwell said:

The software team looked into the issue you found about the default data type. The feature is actually working as intended.

In the software under tools, the default data type is for the “Tag Editor and Data monitor”. It is not available for Ladder editor.



The reason the GSV accepts the default setting is that it has no set default within the software. So, its default becomes

whatever is in the Tag Editor/Data monitor’s default setting as a fallback.

Click to expand...

dmroeder said:

They changed their mind. I got this today:

Click to expand...

That's more like what I'm use to hearing from RA. It's always worth a try though. I beat them up for years before CTRL-SHIFT-F (Finalize Edits) was finally added.