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Project Handling
| Further Info
For information on basic project handling operations, such as creating, opening, saving a project, etc., refer to the topic "'File' Menu". |
Open a project created with an earlier version of PLCnext Engineer
If you open a project created with an earlier version of the programming system via 'File > Open', a dialog appears where you can decide to convert the project with or without creating a backup copy of the project file.
- Clicking 'Yes' saves a backup copy of the project under the same name as the original project to the backup folder as indicated in the dialog. If the backup folder contains already a file with the same name, a sequential number is appended to the file name.
- Clicking 'No' converts and opens the project. The original project will be overwritten by the converted project. After the project is converted, it can no longer be opened with an earlier version of the programming system.
- Clicking 'Cancel' does not open the project.
During the conversion process, a progress dialog is displayed. Clicking 'Cancel' stops the project conversion. No backup project is created, if selected before.
A project archive is a single, compressed file (file extension *.pcweax) which contains all configuration data and libraries added to your project when archiving it.
| Note
PLCnext Engineer provides an archive consistency check which is (if enabled in the 'Options' dialog) executed immediately after the archive file is created. This check validates the data consistency in the archive file. If inconsistent data is detected (i.e. the archive is invalid), you will receive a desktop notification and a message in the 'Error List' of the MESSAGE window. The entry in the 'Error List' indicates the path to the corresponding report file which you can view. In case of an unsuccessful check, repeat the archive command. You can activate/deactivate the archive consistency check by selecting/deselecting the 'Enable archive diagnostics check' checkbox in the 'Options' dialog under the 'Tool | Diagnostics' category. |
- Select 'File > Archive Project As'.
- In the appearing file save dialog, select a destination folder and, if desired, modify the proposed file name (current project name + time stamp).
- Click 'Save'. The 'Archive Project' dialog appears.
- In the 'Archive Project' dialog, select the libraries to be added to the project archive. Activate the 'Include project user settings' checkbox to save the current project settings. These include the size and position of the editor areas and the current PLANT and COMPONENTS display (collapsed/expanded elements).
- Click 'OK' to save the current project to the project archive.
When you open a project archive, PLCnext Engineer creates, by default, a new project using the project's original name in the default project directory (to be set in the dialog 'Options | Tool, Directories').
- Select 'File > Open Project'.
- In the appearing file open dialog, browse for the project archive (*.pcweax file) and click 'Open'.
The 'Open Archive' dialog appears.The dialog displays the archived parts (project file and added library files) in the archive to be opened. In the 'Name' column you can see the original name of the archived part with the corresponding file extension. The name displayed here will be used, by default, for the new project/library file that will be created in the directory displayed in the 'Destination Path' column.If the destination directory already contains a project/library file of the same name, a warning symbol is shown right to the 'Action' column. Hovering the mouse over the symbol shows the associated message. - From the 'Action' drop box, select the action to be applied for the project/library file:
- 'Overwrite Existing File' will overwrite the existing file in the destination directory.
- 'Keep Existing File' will keep the files of the same name stored in the destination directory. In case of added libraries, the libraries will be available in the project.
- 'Rename' will open the Save As dialog where you can select a destination folder, enter a file name and select the file type.
- Optional: Activate the 'Extract project user settings' checkbox to extract the project settings. These include the size and position of the editor areas and the current PLANT and COMPONENTS display (collapsed/expanded elements).
- Click 'OK' to open the project archive.
Open a project from a removable storage device or from the network
When opening a project from a removable storage medium, such as an USB stick, or from a connected network drive, PLCnext Engineer creates shadow copies. While the project remains open and is edited/stored, changes are made to these shadow copies. When closing the project, these copies are automatically removed.
Shadow copies are stored on your computer under %APPDATA%\Roaming\PHOENIX CONTACT\PLCnext Engineer\${Version}\SHADOW.
Keep in mind that these shadow copies might be compromised, for example, by being modified, replaced, moved, deleted or read/copied by unauthorized access to your computer.
Recommendation: Always close projects opened from such locations after using them in PLCnext Engineer. Then the shadow copies are removed from your PC and no longer represent a potential security risk.