Write Protecting Files

[Tony]

How can I keep production from overwriting files.  We built several testers that have 13 different programs for the PLC.  They call up a particular program using DSLaunch.  Then they select "READ FROM DISK" and then "WRITE TO PLC". 

Today, someone must have selected "USE PLC" instead of "READ FROM DISK".  Then they clicked "WRITE TO DISK" and overwrote one program with another. 

Is there a way to delete the "WRITE TO DISK" button?  All they ever need to do is "READ FROM DISK" and "WRITE TO PLC".

Thanks

[Greg]

If you are using DirectSOFT5, you can right-click on the Toolbar, turn the standard Toolbars OFF, and then create your own personal Toolbar that has only what you want.

[Tony]

Can you do anything with DirectSOFT4?  That is what they are using.

Thanks,
Tony

[franji1]

Every time you save to disk, a backup of the current disk files are automagically saved in the AUTOBACKUP folder, in case you wanted to retrieve the version they accidentally overwote.

Below your Projects folder, there should be an AutoSave folder.  Below THAT should be a folder with the name of the PROJECT (e.g. MyMachine).  Below THAT are the 4 most recent copies of THAT SPECIFIC PROJECT, organized in folders with DATE/TIME STAMPS as the name of the folder, e.g. $08-01-17$12-18-33 is a snapshot copy of my project from January 17, 2008, 12:18:33PM.

DO NOT OPEN THESE PROJECTS FROM THERE, BUT COPY THEM TO YOUR PROJECTS FOLDER OR SOME OTHER PLACE.  ANY/ALL projects below the Projects\Backup folder should never be opened from within DirectSOFT, but copied to a safe place to open them.  The reason is because these folders are automagically created, opened and deleted by the backup facility in DirectSOFT, so if you open a project of the same name, strange things might happen.

The most recent 4 versions of any project are saved via the "auto-save" process.  If you manually backup a project using the BACKUP button on the toolbar, it saves as many as you want.  The manual backup copies are just located in the Projects\Backup folder, not the Projects\Backup\AutoSave folder.  However, you are given the opportunity on a manual backup to save the backup anywhere you wish, but the default is the Projects\Backup\(your project name)/($time$date)

The manual backup facility was added in Rel 4, but I don't remember if the auto backup mechanism is in Rel 4.  I know that Rel 4 does NOT allow configurable toolbars.

[franji1]

You may want to utilize DNLoader, which is a free utility that downloads programs and data into a PLC without the need for DirectSOFT?  Then you could configure Rel 4 to have NO TOOLBARs (no need to READ FROM DISK or WRITE TO PLC), or your operators may not need to run DirectSOFT at all if the only reason they use DSP in this situation is for reading programs from disk and writing to the PLC, but not ladder status, data view, PID view, etc.

You could write a little windows script that let's them select which "program" they want to load, then run DNLoader (it's a command line utility) with a specific previously generated DNLoader file, based off their selection???

Just thinking out loud.   

[Tony]

Thanks for the replies.  Tried the DNLoader thing.  It takes too long...up to 10 minutes to download a program on a 260 CPU.  Also, the number a writes we do will destroy the EEPROM within 1 year.  Greg and I went through this a few years ago.

Getting rid of the WRITE TO DISK toolbar with DS5 almost works.  If the operator READS FROM PLC and then tries to close DS, then he gets the little window which says "Changes have been made to the program in memory and have not been saved to the disk" and allows you to overwrite your file anyway. 

[Tony]

I figured it out.  If you right click on the folder in windows explorer (c:\DirectSOFT4\Projects), you can check READ ONLY.  That doesn't work.  You must select the individual files themselves, then right click and select READ ONLY.  Then you can't accidentally save over them.

Thanks.

[roscho]

How big are these test programes? why can't you combine all the test programes and use bits to turn on the part that you need for the test you are going to run? You can use a mirco c-more for the oper. select
the test to run, or if they need more data from test use a c-more touch screen.