Introduction
It is often the case that a PLC will be linked with an HMI and it is very helpful if both items can share the same variables list (Tag list or I/O list). Here we explain how this can be done.
Design Considerations
Firstly, it must be understood that the method outlined below treats the GX IEC Developer (PLC programming software) Global Variables List as the master, which means that all changes to the variables list must be made in GX IEC Developer and re-exported. E Designer HMI programming software will automatically pick up changes from GX IEC Developer when they are exported.
From GX IEC Developer right-click on the Global Variables List and select Export. This will give you the chance to save the variables database as an ASCII test file.
From E Designer select the Name List from the View menu and then select Connect File. This will now populate the name list with all the variables from the GX IEC Developer project.
NOTES:
- You will note from the above that the variables list cannot be modified from within E Designer software as the Update, Add and Delete functions are disabled. This is because the list is connected to the ASCII file exported by GX IEC Developer and thus it is GX IEC Developer that must be used to modify the list.
- The data type field is not filled in for any variable so care needs to be taken when using the variable names in the HMI project to ensure that the correct data type is chosen.
Further Information
For further information see E Designer help and GX IEC Developer help.
