Top Menu

The top menu at the top of the PLC Shift Manager window allows you to undertake the actions listed below. Some options, especially in the 'File' menu are context sensitive and depend on which item is highlighted in the tree view.

 

Use the settings here to change global options, like the color theme. 

 

Use this option to import device and application configurations that were previously exported.

 

Use this option to export device and application configurations to a file. The export depends on the selection in the tree view. To export just a single application configuration, select an application. To export a device and all of its applications, select a device. To export all devices and applications, select the 'System' node in the tree view.

 

Use this option to export the selected device or application in the tree view as an Rockwell Logix UDT (user defined type). This will create a single file with multiple UDTs in it. Each application will have a UDT for each group that has at least one parameter that has its 'Sync with PLC' option checked. A top level for each application will be created that references the group UDTs. In this way, it's possible to create a single tag in Rockwell Studio 5000 that holds the structure for an entire app as a hierarchical model.

 

See the 'Logix EtherNET/IP' section for more details on how to use this export.

 

Use this option to generate an export of the selected device in the tree view.  For each app in he export, the export file will contain a list of parameters that have the 'Sync with PLC' option checked. Modbus register addresses are assigned sequentially starting from the configured base addresses in the app's 'Modbus TCP Settings' group.

 

This option is only available when a device is selected in the tree view.

 

When multiple apps are selected, care must be taken to change the Modbus base addresses for each app from their default values to avoid register overlaps. Any overlaps appear as errors on the export file.

The export can be in either Microsoft Excel or CSV (comma separated values) format. To change the format, choose the appropriate file extension in the 'Save as Type' field in the file picker window.

 

See the Modbus section for more details on how to use this export file.

 

 

Use this option generate an export for Schneider Electric Remote Connect software that is used to manage SCADAPack RTUs. For each app in the export, the export files will contain a list of parameters that have the 'Sync with PLC' option checked.

 

The file that is generated cannot be imported into Remote Connect directly. First generate an export from Remote Connect and then copy and paste the contents of this file into that exported file and then import the updated file into Remote Connect. The columns in this export file align with the columns in the export file that is generated by Remote Connect.

 

See the SCADAPack 47xi section for more details on how to use this file.

 

Use this option to generate an export file that can be imported into CODESYS as a DUT (data unit type) structure. or each app in the export, the export files will contain a list of parameters that have the 'Sync with PLC' option checked.

 

The file itself is just text. The contents of the file can be copied into a STRUCT DUT in CODESYS. See the 'CODESYS OPC-UA' section for more information on how to use this file

 

Create a CSV file that has tag and Modbus register information for Sensia's HCC2 RTU. The export file will contain a list of parameters that have the 'Sync with PLC' option checked.

 

Use this option to generate an export file in the JSON format that can be imported into Ignition. The export file contains tags where the 'Sync with PLC' option is checked.

 

As of August 2024 (v1.45), only the Modbus protocol is supported. We will support no protocol ('None' option) and OPC-UA in a future release. Choosing a protocol option of 'None' will result in an error.

 

Use this option to show the Compare tab. Applications that are the same type and same configuration version can be compared to see the differences between their configuration. You can compare Plunger Lift at version1.3 against another Plunger Lift at version 1.3. but you cannot compare Plunger Lift at version 1.3 against any other version, or Plunger Lift against Gas Lift.

 

To use the compare tab, drag applications from the tree view to the 'First Application' and 'Second Application' spots on the compare tab, and then click the 'Show Differences' button.

 

If any differences exist, you can select the differences and then copy them from application 1 to application 2 or vice versa. Use the buttons in each column header of the grid view to filter for specific types of differences or parameters.

 

 

This option starts Windows Explorer and shows a directory that contains database configuration scripts. These scripts can be used to prepare a database with the right tables so that flow computer history can be exported directly to the database.

 

See the MS SQL Server section for more details.

 

This option opens a tab that lets you work with TE Connectivity BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) wireless and battery operated sensors. Supported sensors include the M5601 pressure sensor family and the D5601 differential pressure family.

 

In the future the PLC Shift Gas Flow computer will be modified to work with these sensors. However, the app will not be able to configure the sensors. Configuration of the sensors, including the sensor name and update rate, must be done in PLC Shift Manager.

 

To communicate with the sensors, we use Ezurio BLE654 USB to Bluetooth dongle that is configured specifically for our application. Only part number 451-00003 can be used. No other Bluetooth dongle or radio is supported, including other BLE654 part numbers.

 

A BLE654 dongle appears as a virtual serial port on a Windows Computer. With a dongle connected, click the 'Open BLE Dongle' button. This opens the virtual comm port and configures the dongle, if required.

 

 

Once the dongle is configured, we can pair up to 4 sensors. To pair a sensor, we need the Bluetooth MAC ID, which can be read off the sensor itself. The MAC ID is exactly 12 hexadecimal characters without any spaces or punctuation.

 

 

TE Connectivity BLE sensors come in two different variants. One variant allows pairing at any time (pairing mode), while the other type only allows pairing within the first 6 hours after power is applied (beaconing mode).  The PLC Shift Gas Flow application can only work with pairing mode sensors. This document has additional details.

 

Beaconing mode sensors can be used for testing with PLC Shift Manager, but since they can only be paired within 6 hours of power being applied, they are not useful for an unmonitored application

 

 

Once a sensor a paired, view the tab for that sensor and change the update rate and device name if desired.

 

 

Once the sensors are configured correctly, Click the 'Capture Data' button to read data from the sensors. Data will appear in the tab for each sensor, and data can also be written to disk in CSV. Data is pushed from the sensor, and as such, data will appear at whatever the configured update rate for each sensor is.

 

The battery voltage is shown alongside the sensor data, however, since the battery voltage changes slowly, it's actually only read from the sensor once per minute.

 

See the 'Licensing' section for more details. Use the 'License Request' option to generate a license request. Use the 'Decode License' option to decode a license file and view its contents.

 

This menu contains options to let you view information about PLC Shift Manager.

 

Get the current version and build date and time for PLC Shift Manager.

 

View this manual.

 

See what's changed with every version that is released.

 

View the End User License Agreement (EULA). You must agree to this before PLC Shift Manager starts.

 

PLC Shift uses open source code and libraries. These are listed in this section.