So, I just learned an important thing about the Do-More. The PLC memory image is not stored in the Project file! Without going into detail, I'll just say I learned this "the hard way." Not sure how I've never noticed it before... 
A discussion of my woes with AutomationDirect technical support led me to recognize the importance of the Memory Image Manager and I now have an image stored that contains all of the values that I'll need whenever I set up a new processor.
That said, I'd like to offer the following suggestions to streamline using the Memory Image Manager, based on my current understanding of how it works:
- Given the importance of the MIM, don't hide it under Tools! It deserves an icon -- preferably one that also functions as a visual alert if data stored in retentive ranges is "stale," similar to the System Configuration (S,P,D) icons in the Status Bar.
- Option check-box in the MIM to "Always refresh all regions image during save," which would do exactly what it says. And/Or...
- Option check-box in the MIM to "Always refresh selected regions image during save," which would add a check-box to each listed region that the user could use to include/exclude auto-refresh regions. And/Or...
- Option check-box in the MIM to "Always prompt for refresh during save," which (when I save the project) would present a prompt to/not-to refresh (all or selected) regions during the save.
Regarding the
toolbar button preferences, the toolbars are completely configurable. You can add (or remove) any command to any toolbar, including Offline and Online.
If you want to add Memory Image Manager to the Online or Offline toolbar, first create a New (empty) project or open an existing one.
1. Right click in the toolbar area. Select
Customize...2. Hit the
Commands tab
3. Select the
Tools entry in the
Categories list box.
4. Look for the Memory Image Manager in the
Commands list. Click on it and hold down the mouse button and drag-and-drop it onto the Offline or Online toolbar, wherever you want it to be.
5. The button text will be way too long, so right click on the dropped button (the dropped button takes on the "tooltip" name, not the "short" button name, oops!), and in the context menu, and change the "Name:" field to "Memory Mgr" (or whatever) so it doesn't take up half the screen.
6. Close the Customize dialog
Now you have your own customized toolbar with the Memory Image Manager where you want/need it!
We are planning to have the next version of Designer to have Memory Image Manager available offline, with the ability to edit bit blocks, numeric blocks, and string blocks in the MIM.
Regarding
what/when we save the Memory Image, we are looking to address this, among other save/load issues in a future release.
