FAQ

OpenPCS connection to substation does not work

OpenPCS reports “Connection does not exist”

Note

The problem generally stems from a missing “Connection” setting. That is, a connection with a specified name does not exist.

First, check if the Fidelix FX PLC driver is installed:

If the driver is not installed, follow these instructions to install the drivers: OpenPCS driver installation. If the driver window cannot be opened, OpenPCS must be reinstalled.

For each project (Resource), a corresponding connection to the substation must be created as follows:

The name can be anything.

Then OK -> OK -> close all settings windows Then, for the active project “Resource”:

Now, the active project (Resource) can communicate with the substation.

OpenPCS doesn’t create .M24IEC file anymore

It can happen that OpenPCS from version 7.3 upwards doesn’t generate the resource_name.M24IEC file anymore which is needed for remote uploading of the software to the multi-24 PLC module. Here is how to fix that.

From version 7.3.0 onwards, InfoTeam uses a new tool to generate the installer, which no longer includes the required drivers for generation of third-party compiled files in OpenPCS automatically. This means we need to install these drivers ourselves:

• download the driver here

• unpack the .cab file from the downloaded .zip file

• start OpenPCS

• go to Extras > Tools > Driver Install…

• select the path where you cab file is stored (1)

• select the .cab file in the table (2)

• click “Install” (3)

• restart OpenPCS

• now, the .M24IEC file will be generated inside your OpenPCS project folder with the resource name you have given in the “Resources” tab.

OpenPCS no longer automatically declares used global variables

When using Global Variables in your OpenPCS projects, you can use them in each and every program and functionblock you write. Here is how to fix it, if the compiler reports an error for each “undeclared” external variable.

From version 7.3.0 onwards, InfoTeam uses a new tool to generate the installer, which no longer includes the required registry entry for automatic declaration of global variables in OpenPCS upon generation of POE files.

Symptoms

OpenPCS reports:

Performing syntax check on file(s):

- E: S3026: Undeclared identifier.

And this for every instance of a global variable.

Fix

Set registry key:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\infoteam Software GmbH\OpenPCS\7.3.1\Settings\AutoDeclarationExternal

to value “1”.