New DirectSoft 5 service pack idea

[ben.dee]

It would be really advantageous if the DirectSoft software would allow the program to be written in the boolean (mnemonic) form and then convert it to ladder or stage. The software will convert the ladder and stages to boolean already. I have many old boolean type plc's that this would save a great deal of time on. This would also help with the discussions in the forum. Then anyone could use the software to convert the program and see what the person is talking about when a boolean (mnemonic) program is sent.

[franji1]

We don't have a built-in editor, but you can import (and export) mnemonic text from a .TXT file.  Use File->Import->Program... as Mnemonic Text (*.txt)

As you mentioned, mnemonic text IS a great way to share programs via the forum or whererever.

I forgot to mention, there is also the ability to "insert" mnemonic instructions at a specific location to insert snippets of code in an existing program.  Do Tools->Insert Instructions from File.  The Import mechanism mentioned above creates a whole new project/program.

The Export mechanism (File->Export->Program) allows you to export with or without ladder comments or element documentation.  Also, you can export with mnemonic instructions referencing PLC elements (e.g. STR X0, OUT Y1, the default), OR export using nicknames (e.g. STR StartPump1, OUT MotorStarter1).  One last cool feature is you can export IBoxes to blow-out their logic.  IBoxes really just wrapped native instructions.  So if you ever wanted to see the logic for your PONOFF IBox, check Expand IBoxes in the Options group in the Export Options dialog (which comes up after you select the output file in the Save As type Export dialog).

All this info is just simple text, and can be pasted into emails, web forums (like this one) or as a human readable "program file".

One other thing we do with mnemonic text files is that when you backup your project, we also export the entire program with all documentation, and save it in the same folder as the backup.  A Backup occurs either actively by the user hitting the Backup button, or automatically/passively, every time you save to disk.  Yes, we maintain your last 4 projects in the Backup\AutoSave folder in your Projects folder, with the project name as the sub-folder, then the last 4 versions below that in a folder named by the date-time stamp.  Many people don't realize this is automatically being done.  When you ACTIVELY do a backup, the backup is stored under the Backup folder with a folder name identical to the project name, then sub-folders below that based off the date-time stamp.  Browse to your C:\DirectSOFT5\Projects\Backup folder and check out the goodies that are there to get a better understanding.

One key point about the backups - DON'T try to OPEN them from there.  If you want to "restore" or open a backup, copy the files back to your Projects folder or to a temporary folder, THEN open them up from the Projects folder or the temp folder.