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1. When clicking the "Test XPATH" button, the query and action are performed ONLY on the same row as the currently-selected cell.

2. The Number of Child Nodes column (H) gives the count of nodes requested by the Select Query, regardless of whether or not the query ends with "/count()".

3. The Select Query XML column (I) contains all queried nodes, separated by braces { }, as if the Column Header ended with [0].

4. The Modify Results column (J) contains the results of any Modify action, separated by braces { }, as they would appear in multiple columns of the Modify Results sheet.

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Using L5X Tags

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Import Utility

The L5X Tags sheet is used to query tags from an Allen Bradley PLC program file in order to aid in configuring polling of an EtherNet/IP device in the ACE Configuration editor. The Allen Bradley tags are queried from its L5X (XML) configuration file and displayed in the L5X Tags sheet. The user can select which tags to poll, and the ACE Configuration Management Utility will automatically add the information into an ACE configuration:

• Scan Table entries for Master Channel

• Poll Table entries for Field Unit

• RTDB Table entries

• TagNames Table entries

Initial Setup of ACE Configuration

The first step is to create an ACE configuration file that includes the basic configuration for a RediGate or Director. The ACE Configuration Management Utility doesn’t automatically create the ACE objects, but only fills in the tables of an already-configured EtherNet/IP Field Unit. The configuration must include at least one or more sets of the 5 required components for polling an Allen Bradley EtherNet/IP device:

Master Channel - Scan Table may begin with a blank table.

NetCircuit - Circuit should use Master Network Port = 44818, and the IP address of the PLC in the Connect Table.

FieldUnitEthernetIP - the Field Unit definition needs a unique Unit Address under the Master Channel. This doesn’t correspond to an actual address in the PLC, but is needed by the Master Channel to uniquely identify the PLC for scanning. The Poll Table can begin blank. Other settings (Controller Type, etc.), should be set based on Elecsys documentation for EtherNet/IP devices.

RTDB - Database Definition may begin with a blank table.

TagNames - may begin with a blank table.

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L5X Import Menu

The L5X Import sheet is used to manage the selection of Allen Bradley tags to be polled, and to configure one of the XML configurations included on the Configurations sheet.

NOTE: It is normally recommended in the Main Menu of the ACM Utility for Modify routines to use either a different Output XML Path and/or Output File Suffix, so the modified ACE configuration files will not overwrite the original files. The same thing can be done for the L5X Import utility as well – however, be sure to realize that if you make changes to the L5X configuration, and then wish later to make further to the configuration, you would need to select the modified ACE XML file to begin with.

On the other hand, it is permissible to use the same Output XML Path and a blank Output File Suffix, so the changes to an EtherNet/IP field unit will be made in place in the same configuration.

After setting up the list of configurations on the Configurations sheet, click on the L5X Import button in the Main Menu or the L5X Tags sheet to set up the information. The L5X Import Setup dialog will configure the following items:

• Select ACE XML Configuration (from the list of included configurations on the Configurations sheet).

• Choose the Master Channel and Field Unit of the Allen Bradley EtherNet/IP PLC to be polled. Select the Master Channel first (the dropdown only lists channels that have FieldUnitEthernetIP objects). Then select the Ethernet/IP Field Unit from the list of Field Units under that channel.

• Choose the L5X Program File of the PLC. Using the Rockwell Studio 5000 application, save the program in L5X format (Logix Designer XML File).

• Select or create an L5X Tag Setup File. Clearing the L5X Tag Setup File field will cause ACM to default to the same name as the L5X Program File (with an extension of “.L5Xtags”).
  This is a unique file used by the ACM Utility to help manage details of tags selected for polling on every Field Unit - thus, the .L5Xtags files should be named uniquely for each Field Unit. This file is not used by the RediGate or Director, but it is used by ACM in case the L5X Import details are modified in the future. Thus, it should be stored along with either the ACE XML configuration file or the L5X program file for future reference.

• Default Scan Period (in seconds). This can be modified for individual polls later. The Scan Period can be set to a negative number, which will disable all scans.

• Choose whether to include Program Tags from the PLC file, or just global tags. Including Program Tags will increase the time to read data from the L5X file, depending on how large the program is.

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• After setting up all the details, click the OK (List L5X Tags) button to create a list of all the L5X tags and switch to the L5X Tags sheet.

• Clicking the Close button after making changes in the L5X Input Setup dialog will prompt to keep the changes, but will not refresh the list of tags.

• Clicking the Go to L5X Tags List or Main Menu button will close the dialog (any changes will be lost), and open the L5X Tags sheet or return to the Main Menu dialog.

After clicking the OK button, a dialog will summarize what is being done before listing the L5X tags. Click the Cancel button to return to the L5X Import Setup dialog.

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L5X Tags Sheet

After the L5X program file has been read, the tags will be listed on the L5X Tags sheet. An example is shown below. All AOI and UDT nested structures are automatically expanded.

Most of the information in the L5X Tags sheet is informational only and doesn’t need to be modified. The main column that needs to be modified is the Include=1 column. Occasionally, the Data Type and Bit Position columns may need to be modified to read an integer and store individual bits, instead of storing the whole value into an integer register.

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• Include=1 – Enter a “1” in this column to include the PLC tag(s) in the Poll Table of the ACE configuration.

  • When the Include column is set to “1”, the entire row changes to a green color.

  • If the tag is unable to be polled by the RediGate/Director, it will have an “x” in the Include column, and the entire row changes to a red color.

  • Arrays are initially shown with just a single row (see “Array Size” below). Arrays can be expanded by selecting any cell on the first row of an array and clicking the Expand Array button. An array with a non-blank Include column will be automatically expanded when saving to XML.

  • If any other character is entered in the Include column other than “1”, that cell will change to a yellow color, but it will not be included as a polled tag. This might be used to disable polling of a tag for testing, but still indicate it as important (with the yellow color), as opposed to just clearing the cell to disable polling.

  • You can disable the polling of individual tags within an expanded array or AOI/UDT structure by clearing the Include column or changing them to something other than “1”. This can be important especially for large structures or PLC programs, to avoid polling unneeded data.

  • If a “1” is entered in the Include column for the first element of an expanded array or the first element of a AOI/UDT data type definition (top-level or inner structure), the ACM Utility will automatically change the Include column to “1” for all blank cells in the array or AOI/UDT structure. Any cells that are not blank will not be changed.

  • Entering a “1” on the row for a non-expanded array automatically implies that the entire array will be polled (and it will be expanded later when saving to XML).

  • If the Include column is cleared (set to blank) for the first element of an expanded array or the first element of a AOI/UDT data type definition (top-level or inner structure), the ACM Utility will automatically clear all the Include=1 cells for the array or AOI/UDT structure. Any cells that are not “1” within the array or structure will not be cleared.

  • Enter a value or clearing the cell in the Include column for any element in an array or AOI/UDT besides the first element or structure data type only affects that single row, not any others in the structure.

• Scan Period – This column contains the default scan rate from the L5X Import dialog (in seconds) and will be saved into the Master Channel’s Scan Table. The Scan Period may be changed manually for individual tags. A negative Scan Period can be used, which will disable

• # - This column shows the numerical order of the tags as read from the L5X program file. This column should not be modified. If the table is sorted by another column for some reason, this “#” column can be used to re-sort the table back into its original order.

• Tag Name – This column contains the top-level tag (or array or AOI or UDT) name used in the L5X program file. Cells are blank except for the top-level tag name.

• Element Name – This is the expansion of the top-level tag plus additional array or AOI/UDT structures defining each individual tag. These are the tag names that will be polled by the RediGate or Director.

  • Array elements are named using square brackets, such as “DINTARY[0]” or “Ary2D[0,0]”.

  • AOI/UDT nested structures are noted with “.” separating the levels, such as: “myUDT_tag.myUDT_inStrc.innerINT”.

  • Program tags are prefixed with “Program:” and the program name, such as: “Program:MainProgram.COUNTER1.ACC”.

• Data Type – This is the PLC Data Type for the tag or AOI/UDT. Primitive data types (such as BOOL/BIT, SINT, DINT, REAL), some standard AOI/UDT types (such as TIMER, PID, STRING, COUNTER), and some custom structures may be supported if they are defined in the L5X file.
  If you desire to read an integer type (INT, SINT, DINT) and store individual bits to Boolean registers, you will need to modify the Data Type column to be: SINT_BIT, INT_BIT, or DINT_BIT (respectively, all uppercase) for each data tag to be handled in this way. (Also modify the Bit Position column to identify individual bits.)

• Array Size – This is the array size for array variables. The ACM Utility and the RediGate/Director only currently support up to 2-dimensional arrays.

• Bit Position – This is the bit position of a BOOL/BIT within an analog word. For individual bits that are part of AOI/UDT structures, this value is simply included in the ACM Utility as information.
  If you wish to read an integer type (INT, SINT, DINT) and store individual bits to Boolean registers, you will need to modify the Data Type column, as described above. Also, modify the Bit Position column to be a comma-separated list of bit numbers to read, where bits are numbered from 0 (least significant).
  Example – you wish to read a DINT tag named “DINTARY[0]” (first element in a DINT array) and store only the 1st, 2nd, and last bits as Booleans: DINTARY[0].0, DINTARY[0].1, DINTARY[0].31. Modify the Data Type column to be “DINT_BIT” and the Bit Position column to be “0,1,31”.

• Read/Write – This is the Read/Write type for the tag, if it’s declared in the L5X file or known structure.

• Tag Depth – This is an indication in the ACM Utility of the level of the tag within an array or AOI/UDT structure, where 1 is a top-level tag, and numbers increase with increasing depth.

• Alias – For any tags configured in the L5X file with an alias name, this column displays that information.

• Hidden – For tags that are hidden, they are shown here with “TRUE”.

• Usage – For tags that include a “Usage” property, they are shown here.

• TimeInterval – The TimeInterval column is used in the ACM to indicate how much time elapsed from the beginning of reading the L5X tags. This is diagnostic information only.

In summary, view the L5X Import Setup dialog and enter information specifying configuration, channel, unit, and L5X program file. Click the OK button to read tags from the L5X file. Select tags to include in the polling by entering data under the Include column. Optionally, enter comma-separated list of bits under Bit Position to identify bits within integers. Then click the Save to XML button to set up the PLC tag polling in the RediGate or Director configuration.

Save to XML

After setting up the L5X Tags sheet to select tags for polling, click the Save to XML button. Make sure the configuration is not open in the ACE Editor. After changes are made, the configuration will need to be re-opened in the ACE Editor to view the changes or to load to a RediGate or Director.

Click the OK button to confirm saving to XML. The output file will be saved according to the settings in the Main Menu (Output XML Path and Output File Suffix).

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After saving the data to the XML configuration file, it will need to be re-opened in the ACE Editor to see the changes.

The ACM Utility also saves a record of the included tags into the L5X Tag Setup File (.L5Xtags extension) configured in the L5X Import Setup dialog. This file is used later upon re-reading the L5X program file and modifying the tag list for ACE. The .L5Xtags filename (including full path) is stored within the configuration as the Description of the TagNames object:

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Note: Because the output of the L5X Import utility should typically be a different file

Note: the ACE configuration (any of the 5 tables) can be changed manually in the ACE Editor after saving data using the “Save to XML” option of the ACM Utility. However, any manual changes in the ACE Editor to these tables will be overwritten the next time the ACM Utility is used to import data from the L5X file.