Configuring the Plug-in

The configuration of the MODICON®* plug-in can be adjusted in the "Communication" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup. In the "Communication" tab, you can add an instance of the MODICON®* plug-in, configure the parameters, and you can start and stop the plug-in directly in the user interface.

Enabling the Configuration in the MERLIC RTE Setup

To enable the configuration of the plug-in in the "Communication" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup, you first have to start the MERLIC Communicator and perform the following steps:

Open the MERLIC RTE Setup and go to the "Communication" tab. In case the MERLIC Communicator is not running, you can start it directly from the "Communication" tab.
Add the MODICON®* plug-in to the list of plug-in instances on the left.
Make sure that the plug-in is currently not running. Otherwise, the parameters are not available for the configuration. You can see the current state of the plug-in at the respective status icon in the list of plug-in instances. If the status shows the icon , the plug-in is running. In this case, you have to stop it by clicking the " Stop plug-in" button on the bottom of the MERLIC RTE Setup. If the status shows the icon instead, the plug-in is currently not running. In the example image below, the selected instance of the MODICON®* plug-in is currently not running and therefore the configuration is possible.
Select the MODICON®* plug-in on the left to display its parameters and to start with the configuration.

The parameters of the selected MODICON®* plug-in are shown on the right of the "Communication" tab.

Plug-in Parameters

Parameters of this type represent general parameters for the Communicator plug-in that cannot be adjusted in the configuration area of the "Communication" tab. They may show the version number of the plug-in, the current parameter value for the log level, the access level of the plug-in, and the setting for the validation of the plug-in configuration. These values need to be set in different locations or with different methods, respectively.

Version

This parameter shows the version number that has been defined during the plug-in implementation. It consists of a major, minor, and maintenance version. It is also shown when adding a new plug-in instance. The version is optional. Therefore, it is possible that no version number has been defined during the implementation.

Log level

This parameter shows the log level that is used for the MODICON®* plug-in. By default, the log level of the Communicator is used which is "Info". This means that all types of messages of severity "critical", "error", "warning", and "info" are logged, i.e., messages for general non-critical information.

You can also set a different log level for the Communicator in general or for a specific plug-in instance only. For more information, see the section Starting a Plug-in with a Specific Log Level in the topic Starting and Stopping Plug-ins of the MERLIC manual.

Access level

This parameter shows the access level that is set for the plug-in. For the MODICON®* plug-in, the access level is set to "monitor and control" by default. This means that the plug-in can receive "events" and send "actions". The access level correlates with the capability that is defined in the implementation of the plug-in. The implemented capability cannot be adjusted in the MERLIC RTE Setup. However, it is possible to restrict the access level of the plug-in to only "monitor".For more information, see the topic Changing Communicator and Plug-in Settings.

Supports rapid validation

This parameter shows whether the plug-in supports the immediate validation of the current plug-in configuration. For this plug-in, the check box is ticked indicating that "rapid validation" is supported. This means that the configuration of the plug-in is validated with each modification of any editable parameter in the "Communication" tab of the MERLIC RTE Setup. If the plug-in does not support "rapid validation", the configuration of the plug-in is validated only when saving the configuration.

User Parameters

The "User parameters" represent the set of parameters that can be configured for the plug-in. They are displayed in different categories which can be expanded or closed.

The following sections describe the parameters for each category.

Ethernet Connection Details
Result Handling Behavior
Writing Data to PLC Memory
Reading Data from PLC Memory
Export Symbols

Ethernet Connection Details

The parameters in this category define the settings for the connection to the Schneider Electric Modicon®* PLC. For more information on how to set up the connection to the PLC, see the topic Setting Up the Connection to the PLC.

The following image shows an overview of the parameters with the respective default setting. A detailed description of the parameters follows after the image.

IP address

This parameter defines the Internet Protocol address (IP address) of the MODICON®* PLC to which you want to connect. By default, it is set to "127.0.0.1". The parameter supports only Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses. The usage of host names is thereby not supported.

Port

This parameter defines the port used for the connection. By default, it is set to "502".

Result Handling Behavior

The parameters in this category define settings with respect to the retrieval of the results. For more information on the result handling of the different modes, see the topic Result Modes.

The following image shows an overview of the parameters with the respective default setting. A detailed description of the parameters follows after the image.

Result mode

This parameter allows you to select the mode of querying the results. You can choose between "Free-running" and "Dequeue from buffer". By default, the parameter is set to "Dequeue from buffer". In the following table, we give a short description for each mode.

Mode	Description
Free-running	In this mode, the results of a single or continuous execution are immediately written to the respective memory addresses of the PLC without any handshake mechanism. This mode is the fastest but it can also be the most error prone. Depending on the timing of both MERLIC and the PLC, it might be possible that some results get lost or overwritten before the PLC can collect them.
Dequeue from buffer	In this mode, an internal FIFO queue is used to save the incoming results after starting a single or continuous execution. If the PLC requests a result by setting the "gMV_ReqCommandCode" to 10, the first result in the buffer is written to the respective memory address of the PLC. The requested result is then immediately removed from the queue.

Result buffer capacity

This parameter defines the size of the buffer which is used to temporarily store the results when using "Dequeue from buffer" as result mode. It represents the number of results that can be saved in the buffer. By default, it is set to 10.

This parameter is used only if "Dequeue from buffer" is set as result mode. It has no effect if "Result mode" is set to "Free-running". Therefore, it will be deactivated for configuration if the "Free-running" mode is selected.

DequeueResult command timeout

This parameter defines the timeout for the "Dequeue from buffer" mode when waiting for a new result. If the PLC requests a result and the respective result is not available yet, all other requests will be blocked until the result is available or until the specified timeout expired. By default, the timeout is set to 1000 ms.

Writing Data to PLC Memory

The parameters in this category define how many results of each data type can be transmitted to the PLC.

For each result you want to transmit, you have to reserve a so-called field. A field represents a specific memory block on the PLC which is used for the respective result value. However, there are also fields for other contents or for commands, for example, for the current state or to request commands. Each field has a predefined name. In the PLC engineering software "EcoStruxure™ Machine Expert - Basic" of Schneider Electric, these names are defined as "symbols". For example, the symbol for the field that contains the current state is named "GMV_CURRENTSTATE".

The plug-in will assign the required fields to a specific register address range on the PLC. Depending on the number of results that shall be transmitted and their data types, a different amount of memory is required, that is, a different amount of register addresses. For example, a result of data type INT requires exactly one register address but a result of data type DINT requires two register addresses. If fewer results are transmitted than the number specified for the respective data type, not all of the reserved registers on the PLC will be used.

By default, no fields are reserved for any result data type. This means that no results will be transmitted to the PLC.

To enable the transmission of a result, you have to select the parameter that represents the respective data type of the result and set its value to the number of results you want to transmit. If you are not sure of the result's data type, you can look it up in the MVApp. For example, if your MVApps may contain up to five MVApp results of data type INT, you have to set the respective parameter in the plug-in's configuration, "INT (signed 16-bit integer) result allocation", to at least 5 to ensure that the values of all INT results will by available for the PLC.

If more results of a specific data type are transmitted than specified in the plug-in configuration, not all parameters will be available because not enough register addresses were reserved on the PLC.

The following image shows an overview of the parameters. A detailed description of the parameters follows after the image.

Head Holding Register address

This parameter defines the first "Holding Register Address" of the block that is reserved on the PLC. This block includes all values that are written by the plug-in and read by the PLC, for example, the current state and result values.

By default, it is set to 0 which corresponds to %MW0 on the PLC.

BOOL (Bit) result allocation

This parameter defines the number of Boolean results that can be transmitted to the PLC. For example, if you want to transmit up to five Boolean results, set the parameter to at least 5. The PLC will reserve and map the register addresses for the required fields. The symbol of the fields will be composed of the prefix "GMV_RESULT_BOOL", followed by the index of the respective MVApp result. For example, "GMV_RESULT_BOOL_0" will be used for the first result of this data type.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no Boolean result will be transmitted.

Parameters of this data type require exactly 1 bit. Therefore, exactly one bit of a register address is mapped to the field of a Boolean result provided that up to 16 results are selected. The individual results within a given register are addressed using a hexadecimal digit, for example, %MW35:X0. If more than 16 Boolean results are returned, further register addresses are mapped to provide a field for each result.

INT (signed 16-bit integer) result allocation

This parameter defines the number of INT results that can be transmitted to the PLC. For example, if you want to transmit up to five INT results, set the parameter to at least 5. The PLC will reserve and map the register addresses for the required fields. The symbol of the fields will be composed of the prefix "GMV_RESULT_INT", followed by the index of the respective MVApp result. For example, "GMV_RESULT_INT_0" will be used for the first result of this data type.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no INT result will be transmitted.

Parameters of this data type require exactly 16 bits which correspond to exactly one register address, for example, %MW36.

DINT (signed 32-bit integer) result allocation

This parameter defines the number of DINT results that can be transmitted to the PLC. For example, if you want to transmit up to five DINT results, set the parameter to at least 5. The PLC will reserve and map the register addresses for the required fields. The symbol of the fields will be composed of the prefix "GMV_RESULT_DINT", followed by the index of the respective MVApp result. For example, "GMV_RESULT_DINT_0" will be used for the first result of this data type.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no DINT result will be transmitted.

Parameters of this data type require exactly 32 bits which correspond to exactly two register addresses. Therefore, two registers are reserved but only the address of the first will be mapped, for example, %MD37 if the addresses %MD37 and %MD38 are used. The prefix "%MD" of the address also indicates that parameters of this data type are mapped via a double word.

REAL (single-precision floating-point) result allocation

This parameter defines the number of REAL results that can be transmitted to the PLC. For example, if you want to transmit up to five REAL results, set the parameter to at least 5. The PLC will reserve and map the register addresses for the required fields. The symbol of the fields will be composed of the prefix "GMV_RESULT_REAL", followed by the index of the respective MVApp result. For example, "GMV_RESULT_REAL_0" will be used for the first result of this data type.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no REAL result will be transmitted.

Parameters of this data type require exactly 32 bits which correspond to exactly two register addresses. Therefore, two registers are reserved but only the address of the first will be mapped, for example, %MF39 if the addresses %MF39 and %MF40 are used. The prefix "%MF" of the address also indicates that parameters of this data type are mapped via a double float word.

STRING[80] result allocation

This parameter defines the number of STRING[80] results that can be transmitted to the PLC. For example, if you want to transmit up to five STRING[80] results, set the parameter to at least 5. The PLC will reserve and map the register addresses for the required fields.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no STRING[80] result will be transmitted.

For example, the field with symbol "GMV_RESULT_STRING80_0_W0" references the first register address which is reserved for the first STRING[80] result. Thus, it will be used for the value of the first two bytes of the first STRING[80] result. The fields "GMV_RESULT_STRING80_0_W0" to "GMV_RESULT_STRING80_0_W39" then represent the registers that are reserved for the value of the first STRING[80] result.

Reading Data from PLC Memory

The parameters in this category define how many iteration parameters can be provided per data type to the PLC. An iteration parameter represents a parameter that serves as argument for the execution of the MVApp to override the value of the corresponding MVApp parameter that is given in the prepared recipe. This allows you to run the MVApp with other input values without the need to change the recipe. Thus, the user parameters in this category define how many parameter values per data type can be overridden by the PLC for the execution.

Just like for the results in the category "Writing Data to PLC Memory", you have to reserve a field on the PLC for each iteration parameter that shall be available for the PLC. This means that the required memory needs to be allocated for the iteration parameters. You can do this by setting the value of each user parameter in this category to the number of iteration parameters you want to make available for the PLC for the respective data type.

The plug-in will assign the required fields for the parameters to a specific register address range on the PLC. Depending on the number of iteration parameters that shall be transmitted and their data type, a different amount of memory is required, that is, a different amount of register addresses. For example, a single iteration parameter of data type INT requires exactly one register address, while a single iteration parameter of data type DINT requires two register addresses. If fewer iteration parameters are transmitted than the number specified for the respective data type, not all the reserved registers on the PLC will be used.

By default, no fields are reserved for any iteration parameters. This means that no iteration parameter can be set via the PLC because no parameter is available for transmission.

If you want to allow the PLC to override the value of a specific MVApp parameter for the execution, you have to ensure that the user parameter for the respective data type is set accordingly. If you are not sure about the data type of the respective iteration parameter, you can look it up in the MVApp. For example, if your MVApps contain up to three MVApp parameters of data type INT, you have to set the respective user parameter in the plug-in's configuration, "INT (signed 16-bit integer) iteration parameter allocation", to at least 3 to ensure that all MVApp parameters of this data type can be adjusted via the PLC.

The plug-in configuration only defines how many iteration parameters will be available for the PLC to override the respective MVApp parameters in the execution. However, the specified iteration parameters don't have to be used. The PLC may also request a single or continuous execution without using an iteration parameter. In this case, the MVApp will be executed with the values defined in the respective recipe.

When specifying iteration parameters to override parameter values in the recipe, the PLC needs to consider some requirements. The number of specified parameter values need to correspond to the number of values defined in the recipe file. In addition, their data type must be suitable to enable a lossless conversion into the data type of the respective parameter value in the recipe. If these conditions are not met, the whole set of iteration parameters is discarded and the recipe is executed with the default values instead. In this case, a warning will be emitted, also on the "GMV_ERRORCODE" and "GMV_ERRORCAUSE" fields. For more information, see the description of the corresponding rules stated for the parameter "MV_PARAM_START_PARAMS" in the topic Available Actions in the Communicator API reference documentation.

Example

If your recipe contains two INT parameters and one STRING_80 parameter and you want to enable the PLC to override the values of these parameters for a single or continuous execution, you have to set the following parameters:

User parameter	Value
INT (signed 16-bit integer) iteration parameter allocation	2
STRING[80] iteration parameter allocation	1

It is also possible to set higher values even if your current recipe only contain two INT and one STRING_80 parameter. However, for this example we assume that the values in the plug-in configuration are set as described in the table above.

The plug-in will then allocate five fields:

Allocated field	Description
GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_INT_W0	This field will serve as indicator whether the recipe parameters of data type INT shall be overridden for the next single or continuous execution by the value defined in "GMV_ITPARAM_INT_0" and "GMV_ITPARAM_INT_1".
GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_STRING80_W0	This field will serve as indicator whether the recipe parameter of data type STRING_80 will be overridden for the next single or continuous execution. Parameters of this data type are mapped via a sequence of single WORDS defined in 40 register addresses. Therefore, the recipe parameter will be overridden by the value defined via the 40 fields "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W0" to "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W39" if "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_STRING80_W0" is set accordingly.
GMV_ITPARAM_INT_0	This field will be provided to define the new value for the MVApp parameter of data type INT and index 0, that is, for the first INT parameter in the recipe. The number that is added as suffix indicates the index of the recipe parameter. In this example, it refers to the first recipe parameter of data type INT. The list of recipe parameters and the respective index number is also visible in the overview of the MVApp parameters within the MERLIC Creator.
GMV_ITPARAM_INT_1	This field will be provided to define the new value for the MVApp parameter of data type INT and index 1, that is, for the second INT parameter in the recipe. As indicated by the suffix 1, this field refers to the second recipe parameter of data type INT.
GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W0 ... GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W39	These 40 fields will be provided to define the new value for the MVApp parameter of data type STRING_80 and index 0, that is, for the STRING_80 parameter in the recipe. The suffix of the fields reserved for STRING_80 parameters is composed of two components. The first represents the index number of the recipe parameter as with the other data types. The second component indicates to which of the 40 WORDS defining the STRING[80] value the respective field refers to. In this example, the index number 0 indicates that the fields refer to the first recipe parameter of data type STRING_80. The last part "W0" of the field "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W0" indicates that the field refers to the first two bytes of the STRING_80 value whereas "W39" of the field "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W39" indicates that if refers to the last two bytes of the STRING_80 value.

The fields are assigned to 44 consecutive register addresses on the PLC, for example, %MW104, %MW105, %MW106, %MW107, and %MW108 to %MW147, respectively.

The new fields can then be used to specify parameter values for the execution of the MVApp that is referenced in the prepared recipe.

For our example, we assume that the recipe with two INT parameters and one STRING_80 parameter is prepared. To override the parameters for the next execution, the PLC has to set the desired values for the parameters into the respective fields and specify that all three parameters values should be used for the next "StartSingleJob" or "StartContinuous" command. This means, the PLC has to set the values for the following fields:

Field	Description
GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_INT_W0	The first two bits in this array must be set to 1 . This indicates that each of the two "GMV_ITPARAM_INT" values should be used for the next execution.
GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_STRING80_W0	The value for this field must be set to 1. This indicates that the value defined by the sequence of WORDS in the fields "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W0" to "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W39" should be used for the next execution.
GMV_ITPARAM_INT_0	This field must be set to the integer value that shall be used for the first INT parameter instead of the value defined in the recipe.
GMV_ITPARAM_INT_1	This field must be set to the integer value that shall be used for the second INT parameter instead of the value defined in the recipe.
GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W0 ... GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W39	The sequence of WORDS in these fields must be set to the string that shall be used for the STRING_80 parameter instead of the value defined in the recipe.

When the new "StartSingleJob" or "StartContinuous" command is requested by the PLC, the plug-in will use the specified values of the iteration parameters for the next execution. The recipe values will be overwritten with each "StartSingleJob" and "StartContinuous" command as long as the fields "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_INT_W0" and "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_STRING80_W0" are set as described above, that is, until their values are reset to 0. If no iteration parameters are set to "in use", the default value defined in the recipe are used again.

The following image shows an overview of the parameters. A detailed description of the parameters follows after the image.

Head Input Register address

This parameter defines the first "Input Register Address" of the block that is reserved on the PLC. This block includes all values that are written by the PLC and read by the plug-in, for example, requested commands and values of iteration parameters. By default, it is set to 100 which corresponds to %MW100 on the PLC.

With the default setting of the corresponding parameter Head Holding Register address in the section "Writing Data to PLC Memory", 100 register addresses are available for the block of values that are written by the plug-in. However, these might not be enough in all use cases. For example, if a lot of results shall be transmitted with the execution of an MVApp and these result require more than 100 register addresses on memory, the "Head Input Register address" must be increased. Otherwise, the block written by the plug-in and the block written by the PLC would overlap because they attempt to write to the same addresses. To prevent this, the MERLIC RTE Setup shows an error if the "Head Input Register address" is set too low. In such cases, it is best to simply try out the next address outside the range that is given in the error and check if that one fits.

Alternatively, you can also set the parameter to a large number to minimize the chances of a memory overlap. However, you have to avoid setting a register address outside the valid range. The amount of available memory depends on the PLC model and cannot be queried in advance from the plug-in. Therefore, the setting of this parameter will be checked first when starting the plug-in and attempting to communicate with the PLC. As soon as the PLC attempts to write a value to an unavailable register address, an error occurs. The error is emitted on the "GMV_ERRORCODE" and "GMV_ERRORCAUSE" fields and the errors will also be logged in the log file of the Communicator.

Polling cycle time for ReqCommandCode

This parameter defines the cycle time in which the value of the field "GMV_REQCOMMANDCODE" is read.

By default, it is set to 10 ms which means that the plug-in checks every 10 ms whether a new command is requested by the PLC.

BOOL (Bit) iteration parameter allocation

This parameter defines the number of iteration parameters of data type Boolean that can be transmitted from the PLC to MERLIC. For example, if you want to allow the PLC to override the Boolean values of up to five MVApp parameters defined in the recipe, set the parameter to at least 5. The PLC will reserve and map the register addresses for the required fields. The symbols of the fields will be composed of the prefix "GMV_RESULT_BOOL", followed by the index of the respective MVApp result. For example, "GMV_RESULT_BOOL_0" will be used for the first result of this data type.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no field will be added for any parameters of this data type.

Parameters of this data type require exactly 1 bit. Therefore, a single bit of a register address is mapped to the field of a Boolean parameters, up to 16 parameters. The individual iteration parameters within a given register are addressed using a hexadecimal digit, for example, %MW109:X0. If more than 16 Boolean parameters are defined, further register addresses are mapped to provide a field for each iteration parameter.

In addition, another field will be added: "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_BOOL_W0". This field is used by the PLC to indicate whether the provided parameter values in the recipe shall be overridden for the next execution by the values defined in the fields of the respective iteration parameters. The symbol of the field is composed of two components. The first component is the prefix "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_BOOL" which indicates that the field refers to iteration parameters of data type BOOL. The second component is the suffix "W0" which refers to the first of the two register addresses that were reserved.

For each available iteration parameter of data type BOOL, the PLC needs to define bit by bit whether it should be used for the execution. For example, if you set this parameter to 2 and want to use both BOOL parameter in the next execution, the PLC needs to set the value of the "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_BOOL" field to 0b11 (or 3 in decimal notation).

INT (signed 16-bit integer) iteration parameter allocation

This parameter defines the number of iteration parameters of data type INT that can be transmitted from the PLC to MERLIC. For example, if you want to allow the PLC to override the INT values of up to five MVApp parameters defined in the recipe, set the parameter to at least 5. The PLC will reserve and map the register addresses for the required fields. The symbols of the fields will be composed of the prefix "GMV_ITPARAM_INT", followed by the index of the respective MVApp result. For example, "GMV_ITPARAM_INT_0" will be used for the first result of this data type.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no field will be added for any parameters of this data type.

Parameters of this data type require exactly 16 bits which correspond to exactly one register address, for example, %MW110.

In addition, another field will be added: "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_INT_W0". This field is used by the PLC to indicate whether the provided parameter values in the recipe shall be overridden for the next execution by the values defined in the fields of the respective iteration parameters. The symbol of the field is composed of two components. The first component is the prefix "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_INT" which indicates that the field refers to iteration parameters of data type INT. The second component is the suffix "W0" which refers to the first of the two register addresses that were reserved.

For each available iteration parameter of data type INT, the PLC needs to define bit by bit whether it should be used for the execution. For example, if you set this parameter to 2 and want to use both INT parameter in the next execution, the PLC needs to set the value of the "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_INT" field to 0b11 (or 3 in decimal notation).

DINT (signed 32-bit integer) iteration parameter allocation

This parameter defines the number of iteration parameters of data type DINT that can be transmitted from the PLC to MERLIC. For example, if you want to allow the PLC to override the DINT values of up to five MVApp parameters defined in the recipe, set the parameter to at least 5. The PLC will reserve and map the register addresses for the required fields. The symbols of the fields will be composed of the prefix "GMV_ITPARAM_DINT", followed by the index of the respective MVApp result. For example, "GMV_ITPARAM_DINT_0" will be used for the first result of this data type.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no field will be added for any parameters of this data type.

In addition, another field will be added: "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_DINT_W0". This field is used by the PLC to indicate whether the provided parameter values in the recipe shall be overridden for the next execution by the values defined in the fields of the respective iteration parameters. The symbol of the field is composed of two components. The first component is the prefix "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_DINT" which indicates that the field refers to iteration parameters of data type DINT. The second component is the suffix "W0" which refers to the first of the two register addresses that were reserved.

For each available iteration parameter of data type DINT, the PLC needs to define bit by bit whether it should be used for the execution. For example, if you set this parameter to 2 and want to use both DINT parameter in the next execution, the PLC needs to set the value of the "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_DINT" field to 0b11 (or 3 in decimal notation).

REAL (single-precision floating-point) iteration parameter allocation

This parameter defines the number of iteration parameters of data type REAL that can be transmitted from the PLC to MERLIC. For example, if you want to allow the PLC to override the REAL values of up to five MVApp parameters defined in the recipe, set the parameter to at least 5. The PLC will reserve and map the register addresses for the required fields. The symbols of the fields will be composed of the prefix "GMV_ITPARAM_REAL", followed by the index of the respective MVApp result. For example, "GMV_ITPARAM_REAL_0" will be used for the first result of this data type.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no field will be added for any parameters of this data type.

In addition, another field will be added: "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_REAL_W0". This field is used by the PLC to indicate whether the provided parameter values in the recipe shall be overridden for the next execution by the values defined in the fields of the respective iteration parameters. The symbol of the field is composed of two components. The first component is the prefix "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_REAL" which indicates that the field refers to iteration parameters of data type REAL. The second component is the suffix "W0" which refers to the first of the two register addresses that were reserved.

For each available iteration parameter of data type REAL, the PLC needs to define bit by bit whether it should be used for the execution. For example, if you set this parameter to 2 and want to use both REAL parameter in the next execution, the PLC needs to set the value of the "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_REAL" field to 0b11 (or 3 in decimal notation).

STRING[80] iteration parameter allocation

This parameter defines the number of iteration parameters of data type STRING[80] that can be transmitted from the PLC to MERLIC. For example, if you want to allow the PLC to override the STRING_80 values of up to five MVApp parameters defined in the recipe, set the parameter to at least 5.

By default, the parameter is set to 0 which means that no field will be added for any parameters of this data type.

Parameters of this data type require exactly 80 bytes (640 bits) which corresponds to exactly 40 register addresses. They are mapped via a sequence of single WORDS, for example, %MW115 to %MW154, each corresponding to two bytes of ASCI characters. The symbols of the fields will be composed of several components. The first component is the prefix "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80" which indicates that the field refers to an iteration parameter of data type STRING[80]. The second component is the index of the respective MVApp parameter. The third and last component is a suffix which is composed of the character "W" and an index number which indicates to which of the 40 registers, reserved for the STRING[80] parameter value, the respective field refers to. For example, the field with symbol "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W0" references the first register address which is reserved for the first STRING[80] iteration parameter. Thus, it will be used for the value of the first two bytes of the first STRING[80] iteration parameter. The fields "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W0" to "GMV_ITPARAM_STRING80_0_W39" then represent the WORDS reserved for the value of the first iteration parameter of data type STRING[80].

In addition, another field will be added: "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_STRING80_W0". This field is used by the PLC to indicate whether the provided parameter values in the recipe shall be overridden for the next execution by the values defined in the fields of the respective iteration parameters. The symbol of the field is composed of two components. The first component is the prefix "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_STRING80" which indicates that the field refers to iteration parameters of data type STRING[80]. The second component is the suffix "W0" which refers to the first of the two register addresses that were reserved.

For each available iteration parameter of data type STRING[80], the PLC needs to define bit by bit whether it should be used for the execution. For example, if you set this parameter to 2 and want to use both STRING[80] parameter in the next execution, the PLC needs to set the value of the "GMV_ITPARAMUSEARRAY_STRING80" field to 0b11 (or 3 in decimal notation).

Export Symbols

The parameters in this category define the location and name of the of the file that is exported with the global symbols when starting the plug-in. The file is based on the configuration of the plug-in and contains the global symbols for all fields that are to be reserved by the PLC. It contains some standard symbols that are always exported, for example, the symbols for requesting commands and also symbols of the fields for the number of results and iteration parameters that are defined in the configuration of the plug-in.

The file is formatted as a .csv file (comma-separated values file) and can be imported to the project of the PLC program.

The following image shows an overview of the parameters with the respective default setting. A detailed description of the parameters follows after the image.

Output directory

This parameter defines the directory in which the file will be saved. You can select the directory from the file system via the button (on local systems) or you can type the path directly into the text field. By default, it is set to "%LOCALAPPDATA%/Temp" on Windows systems and to "/tmp" on Linux systems.

Output file name

This parameter defines the name of the file. You can change the name directly in the text field. By default, it is set to "gMV_Symbols".

The file extension is automatically appended to the file name. If any other file extension is added manually, it is replaced with the compatible extension.

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