'Data List' Editor (IEC 61131-3)

Note In Data Lists, the selection in drop-down lists is done with a single-click, not with a double-click.

Toolbar button	Description
	Moves the selected variable(s) or variable group up or down.
	Collapses/expands all variable groups. The arrow icon in front of the group name shows whether a variable group is expanded or collapsed.  : Group expanded.   : Group collapsed.
	Creates a new global variable in the current Data List.
	Creates a new variable group. The new group is created above the group containing the table line that you have selected previously.
	This button is only available, if a Safety PLC is included in the project. for variables which are not yet assigned to a Safety PLC variable. It creates a new Safety PLC variable for the selected variable in both Data Lists (controller and Safety PLC) and inserts it into the column 'Variable (Safety PLC)'. Note The resulting data type of a new Safety PLC variable created this way depends on the context in which it was created (i.e., on the leading role in the respective table row): In case of an exchange variable which is assigned to a global controller variable (no process datum involved), the added Safety PLC variable has a standard (non-safety-related) data type. If a safety-related process datum (signal) is assigned (i.e., controller reads safety signal), the Safety PLC variable has the data type of this process datum.
	This command is only available, if a Safety PLC is included in the project. for variables which are assigned to a variable of the Safety PLC (exchange variable). It deletes the variable and its assignments from the current Data List. If the exchange variable is not yet used in any POU of the respective other resource it is also deleted there. If, however, the exchange variable is already used in a POU, or if at least a related external variable is declared, it is not deleted. Instead, it becomes a usual global variable which is no longer assigned to a variable of the respective other resource (Safety PLC/controller).
	Creates a new HMI tag for the selected variable and inserts it into the 'HMI' column. The variable and the HMI tag are assigned at the same time. By default, the inserted tag name is identical to the variable name. For user-defined variables, the tag name can be edited. The command is only available for variables which have no HMI tag assigned. In the Safety PLC Data List, HMI tags can only be created for exchange variables.
	Removes the HMI tag from the variable. This way, the tag is deleted. Note When you remove an HMI tag in the 'Data List' table from a variable and the variable is connected to a dynamic property of an HMI object, a corresponding error message is reported in the message window. Double-clicking the message opens the HMI page with the respective HMI object in the editors area. To remove the error, either delete the linkage between variable and dynamic property or assign another variable to the property.
	Connects the selected list entries. The command is only available if two table entries are selected that can be connected to each other and while the debug mode is not active.
	This command is only available for controller variables which are assigned to a Safety PLC variable (exchange variables). Deletes the assignment of the selected controller variable to the Safety PLC variable. The disconnected Safety PLC variable is not deleted.
	Deletes the assignment of process data item and variable in the selected table line.
	The command is available in all Data Lists for variables which are connected to at least one other role. It is also useable for multiple mappings (e.g., threefold mapping between controller variable and Safety PLC variable and process datum). Deletes all assignments in the selected table row. The disconnected variable is not deleted.
	Removes all unused global variable declarations of this resource (controller) from the Data List. Unused means that the variable or instance is declared but not used in the code of any POU. The number of removed variables is shown in the Message Window.
	Imports data items from a .csv file (semicolon-separated values) to the Data List. The progress of the import is displayed in the MESSAGES window. The log entries provide, amongst other, information on the number of imported process data items, variables, HMI tags, etc. Observe the following when importing data items: Only variables and HMI tags are imported. Process data items assigned to variables are not imported. The data items are imported into the pool of data items (contains the data items of all Data Lists). This means data items which do not belong to the active Data List are also imported and added to the respective Data List. Example: If the .csv file contains safety-related variables and you perform the import in the Data List of the controller node (contains only variables of the standard controller), the safety-related variables are imported into the Data List of the Safety PLC node. Existing data items are not overwritten or modified. Only those data items are imported which are not yet contained in the Data List. Data items with invalid properties, for example, invalid data types are imported but marked as errors in the Data List (a corresponding entry is also shown in the MESSAGES window). Data items with invalid variable names are not imported and the process is aborted.
	Exports all data items contained in the active Data List to a .csv file. The progress of the export is displayed in the MESSAGES window. The log entries provide, amongst other, information on the number of data items exported. Note If you edit the exported csv file with an external tool, you must make sure that the editor used does not change the column separators (semicolons) or the file encoding. For example, MS Excel may be set to modify csv files so that they cannot be reimported.
	Opens the 'Init Value Configuration' editor below the Data List table where members of user-defined data types (ARRAYs and STRUCTs) can be initialized. After selecting the declaration line of the user-defined data type in the variables table, its members can be edited in the grid of the 'Init Value Configuration' editor.
	Opens the toolbar for local find and replace operations.

Further Info The meaning of the available context menu items is described in the topic "Data List - Toolbar, Context Menu".

Column	Property	Meaning
Variable (PLC)	Expand the column by clicking the icon in the column header to display further properties.	Identifier of the global IEC variable.
	Type	Data type of the variable. The data type determines what kind of value the variable can have and it defines the initial value, range of possible values and the number of bits. Left-clicking into the cell shows the selectable data types represented by a corresponding symbol and the data type name.
	Usage	Keyword that defines the scope of the variable. In the Data List of the controller, only 'Global' is available for declaring resource-global variables which can be used in all POUs of the related resource.
	Comment	User-defined comment. The input is limited to 128 characters.
	Init	According to IEC 61131-3, initial values can optionally be assigned to variables. This means that a variable which is going to be used for the first time in the controller program is used with its initial value. The initial value has to fit to the selected data type. Note Variables which are assigned to physical inputs cannot be initialized. Note If you are using PLCnext Engineer in another user interface language and/or with another Windows system locale than English you must enter numeric values with a '.' as decimal separator (always according to the English standard). This applies, for example, when entering initial values in variables tables or REAL/LREAL literals in the code.
	Retain	Specifies that a retentive variable is declared. The value of a retentive variable is kept in the controller memory even if power is switched off. In case of a warm start, the last value of the variable is going to be used. The 'Retain' attribute is not allowed in combination with the 'Constant' attribute and vice versa. Also refer to the topic "Retain Handling" for further information.
	Constant	Declares a constant variable (VAR_CONSTANT acc. to the IEC 61131-3). The value of a constant variable cannot be changed by the running application (read-only access). See the topic "Constant Variables" for further information.
	OPC	Specifies that the variable is visible for the integrated OPC UA server and can therefore be subscribed by OPC clients. Note This attribute is not relevant for the OPC UA PubSub communication. Global variables can be added to a PubSub data set even if the checkbox is not selected.
Variable (Safety PLC) This column and its properties are only available if a Safety PLC is used in your project.	Expand the column by clicking the icon in the column header to display further properties.	Identifier of the safety-related global IEC variable.
	Type	Data type of the variable. The data type determines what kind of value the variable can have and it defines the initial value, range of possible values and the number of bits. Left-clicking into the cell shows the selectable data types represented by a corresponding symbol and the data type name.
	Usage	Keyword that defines the scope of the variable. In the Data List of the controller, only 'Global' is available for declaring resource-global variables which can be used in all POUs of the related resource.
	I/Q/M	Data direction of the variable. This property is only available for Safety PLC variables (of both standard and safety-related data types). M = variable is marker variable. It is neither connected to a device input/output nor it is used as exchange variable. I = variable can be read by the safety-related application. It can be connected to an input process data item or it can be used as "incoming exchange variable" which is written in the standard (non-safety-related) application. Q = variable can be written by the safety-related application. It can be connected to an output process data item or it can be used as "outgoing exchange variable" which is read in the standard (non-safety-related) application. Further Info Refer to the topics "Role Mapping in Data Lists" and "Exchanging Data between Controller and Safety PLC".
	Comment	User-defined comment. The input is limited to 128 characters.
	Init	According to IEC 61131-3, initial values can optionally be assigned to variables. This means that a variable which is going to be used for the first time in the controller program is used with its initial value. The initial value has to fit to the selected data type.
	Confirm	The 'Confirm' flag is active and must be selected under the following circumstances: Each time you assign a process data item to a safety-related variable (thus defining a safety-related input or output variable). Each time a process data item which is assigned to a safety-related variable was modified in the PLANT.1 PLCnext Engineer reports a warning message in the Safety Log (MESSAGES window) as long as 'Confirm' is not selected for all safety-related I/O variables. The 'Confirm' flag is automatically deselected after replacing a safety-related module. In this case, you must repeat the I/O verification and set 'Confirm' again for the affected variables. Observe the hazard message and information given in the topic "Replacing Devices", section "Safety requirements when replacing the Safety PLC...".
HMI tag	Expand the column by clicking the icon in the column header to display further properties.	Identifier of the HMI tag.
	Read-only	If marked, the HMI tag cannot be written by the assigned data item.
Process data item	Expand the column by clicking the icon in the column header to display further properties.	Identifier of the process data item.
	I/Q	Indicates the data direction of the process data item: I = Input process data which can be read by the application program. Q = Output process data which can be written in the application program.
	Type	Data type of the process data item (field bus data type).
	Offset	Indicates the bit offset of the process data item from the start address of the communication packet for this device/module.

1	After modifying the PLANT structure by adding, deleting or replacing devices, the following applies:

WARNING

Unintended equipment operation Inspect and correct as necessary any global I/O variables related to physical, safety-related I/Os whenever you modify the PLANT structure. Whenever you add, delete or exchange devices in the PLANT, validate the physical wiring of your safety-related architecture and thoroughly test the application.